A friend of mine was running Malwarebytes on her Toshiba Satellite, and all of a sudden she ended up with a bluescreen. I told her to run a BSOD viewer, and she gave me this:

So, I don't know how many people know this.. but Strawberry Shortcake enjoys some nice popularity in Brazil apparently. I like to follow the Brazilian Facebook page, because there is plenty of goodies there. Though, there is something odd.. they like all the other places made the switch to the current generation of Strawberry Shortcake however, Baby Strawberry Shortcake, as a line, still enjoys popularity over there too. You know, the line of stuff from the generation that most people here enjoy.

So you end up with some wierd pictures like this.



So it's like alternate universe meets alternate timeline. Hehe.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNT7hhgs-LQ[/youtube]

I don't even know who might be interested in the clip, not sure if there is anyone active here who watches it other then me.. but I'm sort of squeeing about how cute Blueberry looks with twintails. That's like the main reason I even posted this, to squee about twintails.

Otherwise this episode looks okay. The plot looks cute, Strawberry finding a fun way to encourage being brave. Poor Lemon all scared! I'm still trying to catch up, not having the channel that plays these things myself but the Youtube page keeps uploading clips lately. Suddenly the Youtube page is getting a lot more views, I hope that means Strawberry is seeing a surge in popularity. The Cherry Jam song has over two million views! Not all of them are mine, I swear.

I might post my feelings about clips more often? I'm not sure. I still need to review the comics I haven't done yet. (They have been really good though!)

Quote:Year 1


Chapter 4: Dark Forest


"Hey, Blackberry! Wake up!" a voice, which I recognized as Huck, said while shaking my body.

"Eh, what? Have we arrived?" I asked, waking up. I remembered that the four of us: me, Glinda, Huck, and a dwarf named Boli Gearcraft, were on the way to the Dwarven Capital in order to figure out what gift the Dwarf King wanted for his birthday, which would come in two weeks. The distance between Emerald City and Dwarven Capital was quite far that even with Boli's car it would take five hours to get there. Therefore, I had asked Glinda to cast a tranquilizer spell on me so I would sleep through the trip.

"Actually, no," Huck said. "We're kinda stuck."

"Eh, what?" I asked. "How come?"

"I'm not sure!" Boli said from behind the car. "I'm trying to work on it!"

"How far have we gone?" I asked, getting off from the car.

"About halfway," Glinda said. She was standing right behind Boli.

"And out of all places, we're stuck right here!" Boli said while still working.

"Here? Here what?" I asked. I looked around and only noticed that we had stopped not far from a forest. "Does that forest have something bad in it?"

"No, it's just a regular forest!" Boli said. "I meant this open field! We have no cover and I'm worried about the sunlight! Or rain! Or worse, storm!"

"Ah, come on! Be strong!" Huck said.

"I am strong! I'll show you if you want me to!" Boli said.

"No need," Huck said. He then looked at me. "Hey, Blackberry. How about we explore the forest while waiting for Boli to fix the car?"

"Huh? I'm not sure about that," I said. "We don't know what's in there, and we might get lost."

"Don't worry. I'll protect you," Huck said. "Although you're probably right about getting lost."

"I can help you on that," Glinda said. She then waved her wand and conjured a glowing pink orb about the size of a baseball ball. She then gave the orb to Huck. "Try walking around while having that in your hand."

Huck then walked around the car, and I noticed that every few seconds a pink sparkle fell from the orb. The sparkles were glowing bright enough to be noticed even under sunlight.

"Cool! With this we can trace back our trail!" Huck said.

"Just be careful exploring. If you sense any trouble, come back immediately," Glinda said.

"We will! Thank you for the help," Huck said. "Let's go, buddy!"

"Well, alright," I said. The two of us then left Glinda and Boli and walked into the nearby forest. We had quite a bit of fun exploring the forest, which reminded us of the days back in Strawberryland. Huck would often bring me out from my house to walk around the forest between our houses, just so I would not be isolated from outside world. At least that had been what he had said, but I actually believed that it had been true.

We kept walking around until we were under a rather tall tree compared to other trees around.

"Hey, let's climb this tree!" Huck said.

"Huh? Climb this tree? Are you serious? This large tree?" I asked.

"The trunk has a lot of spots we can step on. It's actually easier than it seems," he said. "Don't worry. We're only going for that large branch, not all the way to the top."

"Well, maybe I can if it's only that branch," I said, looking at the branch Huck meant. Its location was about as high as Huck's fort tower.

"I'll put this orb in my pocket for now. I need both hands to climb," he said, putting Glinda's orb into his pocket. We then began climbing the tree with him going first and me going right below him. Like he had said, the tree trunk had many spots I could grab and step on, so even someone like me could climb the tree with enough effort. The main problem was my stamina. By the time I reached the branch, I was already panting heavily with massive exhaustion. Huck, who was already sitting at the branch, had to pull me for the final step. Finally, I was able to sit next to Huck on the branch.

"Finally," I said, still panting heavily.

"Great job, buddy!" Huck said, patting me on the back. "Oh hey! Hahaha!"

"What's funny?" I asked.

"Your hair is full of pink sparkles!" he said, still laughing. "Let me clear those."

"Eh, what? How?" I asked as Huck dusted the sparkles off my hair.

"Maybe they fell off my pocket when we climbed," he said. "Alright, done."

"Thanks," I said.

"So, what do you think so far about this trip?" he asked.

"I don't have much to say yet, especially that this forest exploration is not supposed to be part of the trip," I said. "Though this feels better than sleeping all the way to Dwarven Capital."

"I second that," he said. "Well, I actually wonder what the king actually wants for his coming birthday."

"I kinda wonder about that too," I said. "Though I'm kinda worried."

"Why is that?" he asked.

"Boli said that the king was the richest of all dwarves. I'm afraid what he wants will be something difficult or expensive to get," I said.

"Maybe he doesn't want anything because seeing his people prosper is already a gift for him," he said.

"I frankly doubt that. Boli said that the king is also pretty greedy," I said.

"And also a treasure hunter in his younger days," he said.

"If what he wants is a treasure somewhere, it will be a difficult gift, if not impossible," I said.

"Indeed. I hope it will not be the case," he said.

"Do you think we should go back now?" I asked.

"Yeah, Boli might have fixed the car already," he said. "Let's go back."

"You first," I said. "Don't want the sparkles on my hair again."

"You're right," he said after chuckling.

The two of us then climbed down the tree. I had a harder time than when I had climbed up because I couldn't see where I should step on next. Huck tried to guide me, but my fear slowed me down greatly.

"Hey Huck," I said, still clinging to the tree trunk with my face straight to it.

"What?" he said.

"How far I am to the ground?" I asked.

"Not near enough to jump off from right there," he replied.

"Heh, are you a mind reader?" I said.

"Of course not. It's just that I have known you long enough," he said. "Now lower your right foot slowly. There's a spot you can step on there."

"A-alright," I said, being overcome by fear of falling.

In the end, I finally reached the ground and immediately lied down on it, panting heavily.

"I'm so pathetic," I said.

"Yeah, you're pathetic," Huck said.

"Aw come on! I actually expected some consolation!" I said, fully aware that he was kidding. The two of us just laughed after that. After resting for a few more minutes, the two of us then started walking back to the place where we had come. However...

"Hey, Blackberry..." Huck said. "How can we get back?"

"By following the trail of sparkles, right?" I said.

"Yeah, but..." Huck said. "Which one should we follow?"

"Of course... Oh no..." I said, noticing the fact that the pink sparkles were on the ground in every direction. "How could this happen?"

"The ones I dusted off from your hair were blown around by winds, and they kept falling down from my pocket while we were sitting on the branch," he said.

"What should we do now?" I asked.

"Calm down," Huck said. "Let's just drop this orb here and try walking straight."

We then walked straight after Huck dropped the orb to the ground, hoping that we eventually would be out of the forest. However, some minor obstacles such as small river, land elevation, large rocks, and other things, might had curved our way without us noticing, because we walked for what felt like hours and we were not even close to the exit.

"Are we really lost now?" I asked. I was exhausted by all the walk.

"I want to say no, but that would be lying," Huck said.

"Heh, I thought so," I said. "I guess we only can sit down and wait now."

"You mean waiting until Glinda and Boli come for us? Well, you have a point actually," he said. "But they won't find us easily in the middle of these trees. Let's look for a slighly open field."

"Alright," I said. We then walked some more, looking for a slightly open field. Fortunately, we found one within less than ten minutes later. However, on that open field there was also a strange house. What made it strange was the fact that the whole house seemed to be made from cookies, biscuit, and other kinds dry food.

"What a strange house," Huck said as we stood right in front of the house. "Do you think we can eat some parts of it?"

"Better not," I said. "It doesn't belong to us."

"Well, you have a point," Huck said.

"Strangely, this house seems familiar..." I said.

"In any case, let's try knocking the door. Maybe someone who lives here can tell us the way out of this forest," Huck said.

"Hmm..." I said, trying to remember. Huck then walked to the front door and knocked the door.

"Hello! Anybody home?" Huck shouted. "We're lost here and we need some help!"

"Come on, why can't I remember?" I said. Huck then repeated what he had just done, and then I suddenly remembered.

"Huck! We have to get away from here!" I said, grabbing Huck's left wrist and dragging him to run away with me.

"Huh? What?" Huck asked while running.

"I just remembered! This is the same as the cookie house I saw in one of Blueberry's fairy tale books!" I said. "In the tale, the one who lived in the cookie house was a wicked witch who kidnaps any kids that eat her house!"

"Really? But we are not in a fairy tale now. Maybe this one is different!" he said.

"We can never be sure! We've only lived in Oz for less than two weeks! Better safe than sorry!" I said, then suddenly I tripped on something and fell down.

"Blackberry! Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine but..." I said, looking at what had made me fall. It turned out that my right ankle got entangled by a tree root, not because of me tripping but because the tree root was alive and actively trying to pin me down. I tried to get free, but the root wouldn't let go. Instead it kept creeping up my leg, slowly wrapping my right leg up to the knee.

"Huck, help me!" I said.

"I'm trying!" Huck said, trying to pull the root away from my leg but to no avail.

"Come on, Huck! The witch could be here in any moment!" I said in panic. "Ah, no that's not it! Huck, you should run away and tell Glinda!"

"There's no chance I would leave you here!" Huck said, still trying to pull the root away.

"It's the best chance we got, Huck!" I said. "You must go and tell Glinda about this!"

"It will be too late..." Huck said, looking at the direction we had come from. There was someone clad in dark robe walking slowly to us. The face of the person was concealed by the hood he wore and the lush trees blocking most sunlight didn't help at all. I couldn't even determine whether the person was a man or a woman. He then pointed a wand towards Huck and shot a red lightning. Huck tried to evade, but the bolt was too fast and he took a direct hit. He got thrown back by the bolt, but luckily a pile of leaves cushioned his fall.

"Ugh, that kinda hurt," Huck said, getting up.

"Huck! Are you alright?" I asked.

"Pretty much," he said. "But I'm not sure if I'll be as lucky if he attacks again."

The mysterious figure then seemed to look at me. He then pointed his wand towards me and shot the same red lightning. I braced my face with my arms and closed my eyes, prepared to receive anything that would come. I then heard a loud banging noise, but I didn't feel anything. I then slowly opened my eyes, and then I saw that there was someone standing in front of me. It was Boli. He had saved me by standing in front of me and taking the attack. I noticed small smokes coming from his chest.

"Heh, not bad," Boli said. "Come on! Give me more!"

The hooded person then launched another attack which hit Boli directly, but Boli didn't even budge from his standing position. The hooded person attacked again, but once again Boli stood still and firmly. I remember Boli being small, smaller than me. However, somehow the Boli standing right in front of me seemed really big like a giant.

"I believe you know about dwarves being partially immune to magic," Boli said in loud voice. The hooded man launched another attack, but this time Boli blocked it with his right hand instead of letting the attack hit his chest. "But I'm a special dwarf. Not only that I'm almost totally immune to magic, I can launch back the magic at whoever casts it!"

Right after saying his last sentence, with his right hand Boli punched towards the hooded person who was still too far for a punch to hit. A red lightning similar to the ones I had just seen came out from Boli's fist and directly hit the hooded person. The hooded person was thrown away and fell to the ground. Immediately, the roots which bound my right leg came loose. Boli then turned around, quickly picked me up, and carried me on his right shoulder. He also did the same to Huck with his left shoulder. He did all those so quickly that my glasses fell off my face to the ground.

"Ah, my glasses!" I said.

"We gotta scram from here now while he's stunned!" Boli said while running really fast carrying both of us. He carried me with my head facing behind him unlike Huck, so I could still see, although very blurry, the hooded person slowly getting up.

"Who is that guy actually?" Huck asked.

"I have no idea!" Boli replied. "Let's just get back to the car and get away from here fast!"

"Can you find the way?" I asked.

"I see the way, no problem!" Boli said.

"Glinda made a waypoint for us, Blackberry!" Huck said. I couldn't see what he meant, but I was glad to know it. Within a minute, we were out of the forest and Boli's car was parked right there with Glinda already sitting on her seat. He then put us down and quickly jumped to the driver's seat. I and Huck also jumped to our seats, and immediately Boli turned the engine on. The car engine roared to life, and then the car accelerated away from the forest. I felt so relieved for successfully getting away from the forest, and then I fell asleep on my seat.

Meanwhile, inside the forest, the hooded person walked a bit from the position where he had fallen. He looked down to the ground and found something. He then picked up the thing, which turned out to be my glasses which had fallen when Boli had picked me up. He then looked at the glasses for a minute.

"Wizard of Oz..." the person said, and then my glasses vanished from his hand with a blue flame.

I didn't know how long I had fallen asleep. I woke up because Glinda woke me up.

"What? What happened?" I asked.

"We're almost there! That's what happened!" Boli said. "Did you sleep well?"

"Pretty much," I said. "I was so relieved that we got out from that forest."

"Huh? What are you saying? What forest?" Boli asked.

"You saved me and Huck from a wicked witch in that forest, don't you remember?" I asked.

"As far as I know, we never stopped," Huck said.

"Huck, you don't remember too?" I asked. "Glinda?"

"Maybe you were dreaming, Blackberry," Glinda said.

"But it felt so real. Boli saved me and Huck from a wicked witch, and we ran away while that witch was stunned. I lost my glasses and..." I said. "Eh?"

My speech was interrupted because I just realized that my glasses were still there on my face. I then began to doubt whether all those experiences in the forest were real or just a dream.

"I guess I was dreaming," I said. "Though I've never had any dream that felt so real. Hey, Boli."

"Yes?" Boli said.

"Are you, unlike other dwarves, almost totally immune to magic, and can launch back spells thrown at you?" I asked.

"Wha...? How did you know?" Boli asked back.

"That was what you said when you saved us, and you did exactly that," I said. "You blocked the wicked witch's attack and launched it back."

"Well, actually it's true but it's not like what it seems," Boli said. "My clothes are actually made from rare material that wards off magic. I can launch back spells because of this ring I wear on my right hand. It's actually the same machine you saw back then, only modified to be able to be worn as a ring."

"Well, now I really doubt that it was just a dream, but let's put it aside for now," I said.

"Indeed, we will arrive in five minutes. Better be ready to meet the king," Boli said.

"Yeah," I said.

The car kept running through the open field towards the Dwarven Capital, and without anybody noticing, a pink sparkle fell off from my hair to the ground. The sparkle kept sparkling for a few seconds as the car got further away, until it vanished completely.

-End of Chapter 4-

Quote:Year 1


Chapter 3: A Visitor Comes


In the morning right after the Berry Drifting Festival, I woke up on my bed not remembering how I had ended up there. I didn't remember walking back to Emerald Castle and falling asleep on my bed. It felt as if all my memories from that point had been taken from me. I tried hard to remember, but it was of no use. I then began to worry that something was going wrong with my brain. However, I realized that I had just woken up so it probably was my own brain not working fully yet. I then searched for my glasses near the bed.

"Good morning, silly boy," a voice I easily recognized as Peppermint's said.

"Good morning, Peppermint," I said, putting my glasses on.

"Do you remember what happened last night? Or do I need to tell you?" she asked, still with her usual cynical face and voice.

"I don't remember anything, so I guess I need you to tell me," I said.

"Not long after Strawberry finished singing that night, we found you sleeping at the river bank," she said.

"Really? Oh yeah... I was sitting there being stunned by the view and Strawberry's singing..." I said. "But then, how did I end up right here?"

"None of us had the heart to wake you up, so in the end we asked Glinda to teleport you right into your bed," she said.

"I guess I owe her an apology for the bother," I said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Yeah, you definitely do," she said. "She's still in the dining room with the others. Do it now."

Right after she finished her sentence, I got off from my bed and walked towards the dining room. Peppermint walked alongside me, but none of us said anything. Soon, we arrived at the dining room and as Peppermint had said, everyone else including Glinda and Henry were still there having breakfast.

"Good morning, Blackberry!" Strawberry greeted. "Did you sleep well?"

I knew Strawberry didn't intend to make me feel embarrassed, but I felt embarrassed hearing that regardless. I also felt that the others were secretly laughing at me for falling asleep in the middle of the festival. They probably weren't, but I still felt as if they were.

"Uhh... yeah," I said timidly. "Uhh... Glinda."

"Yes?" Glinda replied kindly.

"Thank you for what you did last night... and... sorry for the bother," I said, still timidly. I felt so embarrassed that I wanted to dig a deep hole and hide there, but of course I couldn't and wouldn't do that.

"It was no problem at all," Glinda replied. "It's already a common thing for me every year to teleport those who fall asleep during the berry drifting."

"Huh? You mean, I was not the only one last night?" I asked.

"Apple Dumplin' sleep too!" Apple said.

"Me too, actually," Orange said, looking a bit shy.

"And also quite a number of berrykins," Glinda said. "I was actually a bit surprised that the number of berrykins falling asleep at the river area last night was more than double compared to any previous years."

"I think it might be caused by Strawberry," Huck said.

"Huh? Me?" Strawberry asked, looking confused.

"I actually agree," Angel said. "Strawberry's singing last night was so beautiful calming, it made people fall asleep."

"Yeah, Strawberry. The song was beautiful! Nobody can sing better than you!" Orange said.

"Thank you," Strawberry said after giggling and blushing a bit.

Later, I and Henry were in the workshop, and as it had always been, we had nothing to do other than discussing plans. Lack of proper tools and materials prevented us from making any actual progress. I had taken one gem berry from Emerald Castle lighting reserves for us to study if it could be used as fuel for a generator, but there was no significant result. We even tried eating it, and from it we only got a vague information that eating it had the effect of reducing fatigue. I had said vague because it could have been just a psychological effect, the name of which is known as Placebo Effect.

"No progress at all again today," I said after sighing.

"It's still morning, son!" Henry said, cheering me up.

"All we need for now is a generator, and we don't know how to make one," I said.

"Indeed. Being too used to modern technology is a flaw here," Henry said. "Maybe we need outside help after all."

"Outside help? Who?" I asked.

"I know that the..." Henry said, before Glinda teleported in, interrupting Henry's speech.

"You have a visitor," Glinda said.

"Ah, thank you for telling me," Henry said. "I should get going then."

Henry then ran inside the Emerald Castle, leaving me and Glinda at the workshop. We had a conversation as we walked towards the castle.

"Visitor?" I asked.

"Henry's name as the Wizard of Oz is well known throughout the land. Sometimes people come to him to speak, usually seeking help for a problem they are facing," Glinda replied.

"Now I'm wondering why he is that famous. Has he saved the land or something?" I asked.

"You can say so," she said. "It's quite a long story."

"Tell me the story someday," I said.

"I think Henry himself will be better at telling you the story," she said.

"You're probably right," I said. "By the way..."

"Yes?" she said.

"You have your own castle like your sister, right?" I said. "But why are you here everyday? I'm just wondering."

"Right, I haven't told you yet," she said while smiling. "Emerald Castle is my castle."

"What? Isn't this castle supposed to belong to the Wizard of Oz, or in other word, Henry?" I asked.

"You're not wrong," she said. "Emerald Castle is... Oh!"

"What is it?" I asked.

"Henry just gave me the sign that he is ready to receive the guest," she said, although I had no idea how Henry had given the sign from a distance. "Let's go to the guest room then."

Glinda then used her teleportation spell to bring the two of us to the guest room of Emerald Castle. When we got there, I saw someone sitting anxiously on one couch. That person was small, although still larger than berrykins. He grew thick brown beard and moustache, and he wore what seemed like a technician's working outfit. He seemed surprised seeing us.

"Glinda! Is the wizard ready yet?" he asked. "And who is that boy?"

"I will introduce you two later since the wizard is ready. We don't want to waste his time, right?" Glinda said. "Please go to his throne room immediately."

"You're right! I better get going!" the person said, and he immediately ran off to the throne room.

"Was that a dwarf?" I asked.

"A Berry Dwarf, yes. Though they usually are only called as dwarves," she replied. "They live quite far West of Emerald City. The dwarves are well known in Oz for their ability to construct machines for any need."

"Really? Maybe I could use their help for my project," I said.

"It's actually not a bad idea, but there is a problem," she said. "The dwarves are also well known for being short tempered and not willing to help and be helped by other races. In fact, this is the first time I see a dwarf come seeking the wizard's help in my entire life."

"Uhh, doesn't that mean there is a very serious threat which might come here as well?" I asked, getting worried.

"If that was the case, I would already notice," she said. "Don't worry. I'm sure it's not something dangerous."

"I sure hope so," I said. "By the way, you said 'your entire life'? How long has Henry been here?"

"Three years, but I have never said that there had been no wizard before Henry," Glinda said. "Anyway, there's a balcony inside the throne room. We can watch them from there."

Glinda then once again used her teleportation spell. When we arrived at the balcony, I saw that Huck was there as well. On the floor below, the dwarf was standing at a distance in front of the throne, and there was a fireball above the throne.

"Huck, why are you here?" I asked.

"I was just walking around," he replied. "Who's that dwarf who just arrived?"

"A visitor seeking for help," I said. We then watched the conversation between the dwarf and the fireball Henry was projecting.

"So, you're the one with desire to speak to me," the fireball said. "Now speak!"

"I need help! Our king's birthday is just two more weeks and we still don't know what gift we should give to him!" the dwarf said.

"Are you serious with that? Seeking my help for such petty thing?" the fireball said.

"How dare you saying that it is a petty thing!" the dwarf shouted loud. "Our king has helped the dwarves in more ways than you can possibly imagine! The people love him and want to give him something in return, but he always refuses to tell what he wants no matter what we do to make him talk! Years have passed without him receiving any gift from us, and now we absolutely want this to succeed! And that is why I seek your help! DON'T YOU DARE CALL THIS A PETTY THING!"

"As I expected from a dwarf. Such a short fuse," the fireball said. "So, what do you expect from me?"

"I only need a spell for projecting mind. If I can know the king's mind, people will know what he really wants!" the dwarf said.

"I want to respect people's privacy, and such spell violates it. I cannot help you on that," the fireball said.

"I'm not asking you to cast the spell on the king! Cast it on this machine!" the dwarf said, taking a small object from his pocket. The object looked like a small mechanical cube with a round core on one side.

"Ah, I see. A dwarven device," the fireball said. "I suppose it absorbs and stores a spell for future use."

"Indeed," the dwarf said.

"It's still violating the privacy of mind," the fireball said. "Normally I would reject this kind of request. However, I am now under a certain cirmcumstance so I will consider. Return to the guest room for now and wait until I call you again."

"Alright. I will be waiting," the dwarf said, and he left the throne room. The three of us then went downstairs to the hidden room where Henry operated his holographic device. He was still there sitting and looking a bit tired.

"Oh, hello, son," he said. "Did you see everything?"

"Yeah," I said. "I actually wonder now why as the wizard you were kinda... not friendly."

"I don't want to, but I have to," he said. "Otherwise all people will ask for help even for small problems they should be able to overcome themselves."

"I see," Huck said.

"Glinda, you can cast a mind projecting spell, right?" Henry said.

"Yes, but I don't really like doing it," Glinda said. "Why didn't you refuse the request and instead give advice like you usually do?"

"Son, remember when I said about outside help?" Henry asked, looking at me.

"The dwarves, right?" I said.

"Yes. If we successfully help them, maybe they will be willing to help us in our project," Henry said. "So, Glinda, could you please help us in this?"

"Well... Alright," Glinda said.

"Thank you, Glinda!" I said. "That means a lot for us!"

I then went with Glinda to the guest room where the dwarf was once again waiting anxiously. Huck also came with us because he was quite interested on the case and wanted to see how it would progress.

"Has the wizard given his answer?" the dwarf said when he saw us.

"He agreed," Glinda said. "As his representative, I will be the one casting the spell on the machine."

"That will do! Please do it right away!" the dwarf said, taking the machine he had shown before and putting it on a table. Glinda then waved her wand in a certain pattern and began murmuring words I didn't understand. After about half a minute, her wand let out a glow and she pointed it at the machine. The wand then shot a purple ray towards the machine, which absorbed the ray. The core of the machine then began to glow with purple color.

"Does that work?" I asked. Immediately, the machine blew up with black smoke.

"No... No, no! NO!" the dwarf said in frustration, repeatedly stomping the floor hard with his right leg. "The magic was too strong for this machine to contain!"

Both me and Huck then looked at Glinda, who seemed to get the message immediately.

"You two want me to go to his hometown and use the spell directly on the king, right?" Glinda said after sighing. "Alright, I will go."

"Really?" the dwarf asked. "Oh thank you! Our people will appreciate it very much!"

"By the way, let me introduce you all," Glinda said. "These two boys are Blackberry Bun and Huckleberry Pie. They, along with six girls, came from a far place and they are staying in Emerald Castle for a while."

"Nice to meet you two! I'm Boli Gearcraft, but you can call me with just Boli!" the dwarf said.

"You can call me with just Huck!" Huck said. "And for him, just Blackberry will do fine."

"Nice to meet you... B-B-Boli," I said timidly. I had no idea why my old syndrome struck me again.

"Hey, I might have a short fuse like the wizard told me, but I don't bite," the dwarf said, looking slightly upset.

"Please bear with him. He's just shy," Huck said, trying to defend me.

"Alright, that's fine," Boli said. "Let's get going then. You two can come too. Maybe you'll be of some use."

"Are we going with Glinda teleporting us?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, I cannot do that," Glinda said. "Dwarves are partially immune to magic. I better not tell what will happen if I try to teleport a dwarf..."

"Yeah, better not. I already feel sick now..." I said with a better-not-spoken image appearing in my mind.

"How far is your place from here?" Huck asked.

"I've never measured it, but it will take about ten days to walk there," Boli said. "But hey, I've never said that I came here walking."

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked.

"Come with me and see for yourself," he said. All of us then followed him to Emerald Castle's front gate, and what we found there was a four-wheeled vehicle with a large engine at its back side. The vehicle had seats enough for four people including the driver. There was no roof or such thing to cover the seats. "Behold my land vessel!"

"Uhh... land vessel?" I asked.

"Yeah! A vessel, but on land! I made it myself!" Boli said. "With this, we will arrive in Dwarven Capital within five hours!"

"That's great, but... do you have a better name for it?" I asked. "Land vessel kinda sounds... I dunno."

"What?! Are you telling me the name is not good? Then tell me! What should I name it with!?" he said, sounding really upset. I was quite surprised that what I had thought as a simple question could upset him so much.

"Uhh... How about... car?" I said. "Car, short of 'carriage'. It carries you. How does that sound?"

"Hmph! That's the simplest and laziest suggestion I've ever heard!" he said. "But as simple and lazy as it sounds, it works in my ears! That's it! From now on, this is a car!"

"We better tell the others that we are leaving," Huck said. "Can't have them wondering and worrying about us."

"Worrying about what, huh Blackberry and Huckleberry?" suddenly Ginger asked from behind us. "Are you going somewhere? Where are you going to go?"

"Ginger, you surprised me," I said. I then told her about everything I knew so far, except the reason for helping the dwarf because I didn't want Boli to know about it yet.

"I see. Don't worry, I will let the others know. I sure will, yessire!" she said. "Better go now before you miss the dwarf king's birthday."

"We'll be back as soon as we can," I said.

"I believe you will!" she said.

"Alright, it's ready! Get on!" Boli said loudly from his seat. Huck then sat next to Boli, while I and Glinda sat behind them. The car engine then roared to life and Boli put on his goggles. "You all should wear these too! Don't want dust to hit your eyes!"

Right after saying that, Boli gave each of us another pair of goggles. Glinda refused and put a transparent magical barrier around her eyes.

"Maybe someday you can build a cover for this car so we don't have to wear these," I said, putting on the goggles and wearing my glasses in front of it.

"I did it once, but I like the breeze!" Boli said. "Alright! Here we go! Blast off!"

The car then accelerated fast and left Emerald Castle within seconds. I was very surprised by the sudden acceleration, and later I was a bit scared by the high speed. I wanted to buckle up, but there was no seat belt in the car. Fortunately, a few minutes later the car slowed down to a fair speed.

"Hey, Boli," I said.

"Yes?" Boli said while still driving.

"Can you tell me about the Dwarven Capital?" I asked.

"Not much about the capital since I'm not into history," he said. "All I can tell is that it is much larger than Emerald City, and we are thriving thanks to the king."

"What can you tell me about the king then?" I asked.

"He is the greatest king I've ever known!" he said. "He is not only The King of The Dwarves, he is also the richest dwarf in the whole kingdom. He knows all about how economy runs, and he put his knowledge into good use. Without him, our kingdom would be just a bunch of simple, poor villages. I'm not saying that he's perfect, though. He has his downsides. But all the people love him and that's all that matters. Oh yes, he was an adventurer and treasure hunter in his younger days."

"Nobody's perfect," I said. "So, what are his downsides if you can tell me?"

"Well, he is very strict in enforcing prices. There's no such thing as discount in his dictionary, and anyone who owes him money must settle it within the time agreed upon or he will confiscate things without mercy," Boli said. "On a related note, he is quite greedy. I believe I don't need to explain that."

"I think I'll just wait and see for myself," I said.

"Is this trip really going to take five hours?" Huck asked.

"I can trim it to four, or even three, if I speed up. But it will be too dangerous," Boli said.

"Oh man, this will be a boring trip," Huck said.

"Just sleep through it. I'll be fine," Boli said.

"As if I can sleep right here," Huck said.

"Glinda, do you know tranquilizer spell?" I asked.

"Uhh, yes," Glinda said. "You want me to cast it on you, right?"

"If it doesn't have any bad side effects, yes please," I said.

"Cast it on me too, I guess. Sitting here for five hours straight isn't going to be fun for me," Huck said.

"Alright, here I go. Sleep tight," Glinda said, waving her wand a bit. Some sparkles came out from it and surrounded both my and Huck's head. I then felt really sleepy, and I fell asleep within the next minute.


-End of Chapter 3-

Sometimes when my brother is using my wireless router for browsing or playing online game he just suddenly disconnect and cannot connect to my network anymore with message "Windows is unable to connect to the selected network". Turning off the router and turning it back on will enable him to connect again, but it's annoying whenever that happens. Not to mention that lately it happens twice a day. Anybody has any idea why it happens and what can be done to prevent it?

Quote:Year 1

Chapter 2: Berry Drifting


Four days had passed after the day we moved four gem berry trees from the wilderness to a greenhouse in Emerald City. I had discussed with Henry about the possibility of using gem berries as fuel for the generator we were going to make, and in the end we were still uncertain whether it was a good idea or not. First, we were still blank on what kind of energy the gem berries contain. Second, it was still unknown whether the gem berry trees could be cultivated in Emerald City. And third, even if it turned out the gem berry trees could be cultivated, we still had no idea if the berrykins would allow us to do it in Emerald Castle courtyard. Henry's status as The Great Wizard of Oz would help, but the status wouldn't last forever, and it probably would cause a backlash when Henry decides to reveal the truth someday.

This morning, after we were done with our breakfast, a messenger from Emerald City came to Emerald Castle bringing a letter. Glinda was the one who received it, and after reading it she called all of us to meet her. It only took a few minutes until all of us gathered at the castle's balcony.

"What's the matter, Glinda?" Strawberry asked.

"This letter just came from Emerald City," Glinda said, showing the letter. "It came from the mayor."

"What does it say?" I asked.

"It says that he wants all of you to come to his office as soon as possible," she said.

"All of us? Why? What we're gonna do?" Angel asked.

"Are the berrykins still afraid of us?" Orange asked.

"Don't worry," Glinda said. "The gem berry trees in the greenhouse are growing well, and he wants to thank you all personally. He also has further reinforced the news that all of you are no threat to the berrykins."

"Really? That's berry good to hear!" Strawberry said, followed by everyone else getting relieved.

"Took him long enough," Peppermint said.

"So, are we going there now?" Huck asked.

"If none of us has anything important to do right now, I suggest so," I said.

"Nope, I'm as free as a bird in the sky right now, yessire!" Ginger said.

"I can teleport you all to the city hall if you want me," Glinda said.

"Thank you, Glinda. But I think we will walk. I don't want to surprise any of the berrykins," Strawberry said.

"I see. I'll only teleport you to the castle's front door then," Glinda said. "Shall we go now?"

Everyone agreed to go immediately, and Glinda casted her teleport spell to transport us all to the front door of Emerald Castle. From there, we walked to the city hall of Emerald City. The berrykins we passed along the way still whispered to each other when they saw us, but they neither escaped on sight nor did other negative reactions any longer. It only took us less than ten minutes until we arrived at the city hall. Thanks to Glinda, we could enter the mayor's office right away. He looked enthusiastic when he saw us coming.

"Ah, welcome to my office!" he greeted. "Please be seated over there!"

All of us including the mayor then sat on a set of chairs and sofa around a table.

"First of all, thank you for coming here," the mayor said. "As you may already know, the gem berry trees are growing really well in the greenhouse. We will not have to worry about running out soon. And for that, we thank you."

"Despite that, I think all the berrykins should still use them properly," I said.

"Of course! I will always try my best to remind my people on that point!" the mayor said.

"That's good to hear!" Angel said.

"Yeah, it really is!" Orange said.

"I believe now we're no longer monsters in the eyes of the berrykins, right?" I asked.

"Ah, that's the other reason I called you all here," the mayor said.

"Is something wrong?" Huck asked.

"You see, even though I have spread and reinforced the news that none of you brings any kind of threats, my people are still cautious about you," the mayor said.

"Even after all of that?" Peppermint said, looking upset.

"The thing is, we berrykins are always cautious to those we don't know. Even Glinda had her difficult times back then, a very long time ago" the mayor said.

"So, what do you expect us to do now?" Peppermint asked, still looking irritated.

"First, I want to tell you that next week will be the day of the annual Berry Drifting Festival," the mayor said.

"Berry Drifting Festival?" I asked.

"We berrykins love berries. We love seeing them grow all over the land, and we have this festival to convey our hope for that," the mayor said.

"What do people do in the festival?" Strawberry asked.

"The main part of the festival is our high priestess giving her blessing to a large basket full of berries, then the berries are distributed to all people, and finally they go to the river just outside Emerald City and throw their berries into the river. The berries will then drift away, bringing our hope for them to spread and grow throughout the land," the mayor said.

"That sounds like a berry beautiful festival!" Strawberry said.

"You bet it is! Yessire!" Ginger said.

"Apple wants berry drifting!" Apple said.

"Outside that, it is just like any other festival you probably know already," the mayor said. "Food stands, game stands, a stage, all in the town square."

"Can we go to the festival? Please?" Angel asked.

"Sure," the mayor said. "In fact, that is what I was going to ask you. By participating in the festival, the people will hopefully get to know all of you more, and eventually accept you."

"Wow, that's actually a very nice idea! Yep, it sure is!" Ginger said.

"Thank you berry much for the information!" Strawberry said.

"This is not mandatory, but I personally think it will be much better if you all perform on the stage," the mayor said.

"All of us at once?" Orange asked.

"Some of you or all of you, you make the call," the mayor said. "Just tell me within three days from now, and I'll add you to the list."

"Sounds good. That gives us enough time to plan ahead," I said.

"That's all from me," the mayor said. "Any questions?"

There was a few seconds of silence. I wanted to ask if I would be allowed to grow gem berries inside the Emerald Castle, but I was too hesitant to even say a word.

"Looks like that's it for today then," the mayor said, getting up from the chair he sat on.

"Once again, thank you berry much for the information!" Strawberry said. "We will let you know as soon as possible!"

"It was no problem," the mayor said. "Now if you don't mind, I've got a city to keep."

We then left the City Hall with the upcoming festival in mind. People were still looking cautious at us, but we just walked all the way to Emerald Castle while thinking what to perform at the festival. After we arrived at Emerald Castle, we gathered at the castle's conference room to discuss about what to perform and who would do the performance.

"Any idea?" I asked.

"I think we should not think to hard about it and just have fun performing anything we can come up with, right?" Ginger said.

"But is it really gonna work?" Angel asked.

"Yeah, we could just have fun back in Strawberryland because all the audiences were our friends," Orange said.

"Things probably work differently with the berrykins, huh?" Huck said.

"Glinda, do you know anything about the Berry Drifting Festival? What do people usually perform on the stage?" Strawberry asked.

"Nothing, actually," Glinda said, which surprised everyone else. "The berrykins are generally shy, so the stage has been used only for the mayor to give speech at the opening and closing of the festival, and also for the main event where the high priestess gives her blessing to the berries."

"So there's pretty much no information. In fact, this might be worse than I thought," I said.

"Why is that, Blackberry?" Strawberry asked.

"If there has been no performance on stage, ignoring the stage has probably become a habit for the berrykins," I said.

"Hmph! So there will be no point performing," Peppermint said. "Let's just forget it then."

"No, Peppermint! We should never give up!" Strawberry said. "And there's nothing wrong in trying."

"As always," Peppermint said. "So, do you have any great ideas now?"

"Well..." I said. "How about the thing all of you are really good at?"

"Huh? What is it?" Angel asked.

"Yeah, Blackberry. What thing we all are good at?" Orange asked.

"Singing," I said. "The amount of songs you all have sung is just numerous, not to mention that most of them were spontaneous."

"That's a berry good idea, Blackberry!" Strawberry said.

"That's a good one, Buddy!" Huck said.

"Oh yeah, we can sing loudly and there's no way nobody would notice us!" Ginger said.

"I guess that can work," Peppermint said. "But you forgot something."

"What is that, Peppermint?" Strawberry said.

"The instruments," Peppermint said. "Or maybe you expect to just use vocals like you have always been?"

"Well, as much as I don't like that point, you're right," I said. "On the rare times we use instruments, all of them were modern instruments."

"Glinda, do we have any kind of music instruments in here?" Strawberry asked.

"Unfortunately no, but I know some berrykins who are musicians," Glinda replied. "I think maybe if you perform together with them you will show that you can get along with the berrykins."

"You have a point there, Glinda," I said.

"Can we ask for their help?" Orange asked.

"Maybe the right question is, are they gonna help us?" Angel said.

"I will try asking them," Glinda said, and then she teleported away. Less than ten minutes later, she came back. "They agreed to help, and they will come soon."

"That's berry good to hear!" Strawberry said.

"I guess for now all we have to do is wait and see," I said, and everyone else agreed.

About half an hour later, three berrykins came to Emerald Castle. When they arrived at the conference room where all of us were still gathered, I was a bit surprised looking at how they looked.

"Hey, Huck," I whispered. "Don't you think they look like Blueberry, Rainbow, and Lemon?"

"Yeah, but let's not think about it," he whispered back.

"Hello, newcomers! I'm Lemon, and I play an ukulele!" the berrykin in yellow greeted.

"I'm Blueberry, and I play a flute!" the berrykin in blue greeted.

"I'm Rainbow, and I play a trumpet!" the berrykin in colorful outfit greeted.

"We are the Melodies of Emerald City!" all three said at the same time, while striking a pose.

"Hello, there! I'm Strawberry Shortcake! It's berry nice to meet you!" Strawberry said.

"Berry nice to meet you too!" Lemon said.

"Yeah! Absolooootely!" Blueberry said.

"Other berrykins might be still cautious about you, but we don't!" Rainbow said. "Because we know that you all are good people!"

"How nice of you!" Angel said.

"Thank you berry much for your trust on us!" Strawberry said.

"We heard from Glinda that you want to sing at the Berry Drifting Festival, and you need our help!" Lemon said.

"So here we are!" Rainbow said.

"We absoloootely are glad to help!" Blueberry said. "Tell us what to do!"

"Heh, I'm out of here," Peppermint said, walking away from the conference room. "I can't stay any longer with these weirdos."

"Please forgive Peppermint," Strawberry said. "She always has a hard time making new friends, but I'm berry sure she's a nice friend once you get closer to her."

"No worries! We understand!" Rainbow said, followed by the other berrykins agreeing.

So, the rest of the remaining days before the festival were spent for practicing the performance. I decided not to take part in it because it had become common knowledge since a long time ago that I couldn't sing. Peppermint also didn't take part and would rather watch, at least that was what she had said. The mayor was notified, and he added the group to the list. I really hoped everything would go well.

And so, the day of the Berry Drifting Festival came. Like the mayor had said, the town square of Emerald City was filled with various stands all over the place, with a large stage at the north part becoming the center of crowd's attention because the mayor was about to give the opening speech. Glinda had casted a spell on the stage, so any sounds coming from the stage would be greatly amplified, just like how microphone and loudspeakers worked in modern days.

"Hello, my people! Today I'm very happy to say that once again we are having our annual Berry Drifting Festival!" the mayor said, and the crowd cheered. "I'm also very happy to say that for the opening of this festival, we will have a special performance by our special guests! So, without further saying, Melodies of Emerald City and Children of Strawberryland!"

After saying those, the mayor left the stage and my friends entered along with the three berrykins. The ones who performed on the stage along with the three berrykins were everyone except me and Peppermint, who was watching like me. Only Strawberry and Angel who would be the main vocals. The rest would only provide additional vocals on moments where the song would be sung in choir.

"Ready?! One, and two! And three!" Strawberry said, and the group started singing a song which was pretty much the Berry Blossom Festival song with its lyrics modified to fit with Berry Drifting Festival theme. I was pretty impressed by the fact that they managed to sing well despite limited instruments. I looked around a bit, and I saw that the crowd watching seemed impressed just like me. Seeing my friends work together with the berrykins shed a light of hope that we would finally be truly accepted by the people of Emerald City.

After the song was over, the crowd cheered with an applause as my friends bowed down. The mayor then returned to the stage.

"Thank you for the impressive performance! Now, I declare to all people of Emerald City that the Berry Drifting Festival is officially open!" the mayor said. The crowd cheered once again and then they spread around the town square. All my friends got off from the stage, looking very happy and satisfied.

"Berry great job, everyone!" Strawberry said.

"You said it!" Huck said.

"I'm glad it went all right," Orange said.

"Yeah! I actually was really nervous I thought I was gonna mess up!" Angel said.

"Apple Dumplin' love singing!" Apple said.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Peppermint said. "It's still morning and the main part of this festival will be at nightfall."

"Well," Strawberry said. "Just walk around and enjoy ourselves!"

"Yeah! You're right, yessire!" Ginger said.

"Let's meet here again at nightfall then," I said. We then spread out to walk around the town square, enjoying the festivities. I actually wondered why the main part of the festival was done at nightfall. The lightings in Emerald City was barely enough to see things happening on the stage, let alone at the river. I had asked Glinda about it, but she only had told me to wait and see. I then decided to comply and not think too much about it. I would get to see the answer soon anyway.

Later, nightfall finally came and all people including stand owners gathered in front of the stage. A decorated basket, about the size of Ginger's trike and almost fully filled with various kinds of berries, was put at the center of the stage. As I had expected, even with the gem berry lightings around I still didn't have a clear view of the stage. They could at least put more lanterns around the stage, but why didn't they do so? While I was wondering, the mayor stepped on the stage and began a speech.

"Hello there, my people!" he said. "I hope you all have been enjoying the festivities of the Berry Drifting Festival! Now, without further saying, here is the moment we all have been waiting for: The Blessing!"

The crowd cheered as the mayor stepped off, and then they fell into silence quickly.

"Are you as excited as I am?" I whispered to Huck, who was standing right next to me.

"Of course. This is the first time I see a festival outside Strawberryland," he whispered back. "I bet the others feel the same too."

"I'm eager to see what the High Priestess looks like," I whispered. Before Huck could reply, suddenly a tune was heard from the stage. The melody was chilling, yet also soothing. I could recognize that the melody came from the instruments played by the three berrykins, but I couldn't see them anywhere. Then, someone came out from the back of the stage. I was surprised that it was Glinda, wearing white robes instead of her usual purple dress.

"The High Priestess is Glinda?" I said in confusion.

"Yes, since ten years ago," a berrykin standing next to me said. "Now please be quiet. This is a solemn moment."

"Oh, sorry," I said. I then quietly watched the stage. I was stunned watching Glinda, who gracefully waved her wand singing in a language I didn't understand. Some sparkles were coming out from the wand as she did those, making the view even more beautiful. The singing lasted for about five minutes, and the she took a gem berry from one of the stage's lightings. She then walked to the large basket, and she slowly put the gem berry into the basket. I couldn't see the berries inside the basket from where I stood, but I could notice that the glow from within the basket grew larger and larger. I then realized that somehow the other berries within the basket were shining just like gem berries. The music then faded away, and the crowd kept silent.

"Now, it is time for me to share the berries to all people," Glinda said. She then waved her wand and all the berries in the basket floated above the crowd. The berrykins then raised one hand, as if they were ready to receive the berries. My friends and I understood the clue, and we all raised our hand as well. The berries then scattered, and each of them floated right into the hand of the people. Either coincidence or not, I received a glowing blackberry. Having it in my hands felt somewhat comforting.

All people then went to the river near the outskirts of Emerald City. There was no lighting at all in the area, but the moonlight was bright enough to provide visibility. Every people then scattered to various parts of the river, which was shallow enough for them to cross without a bridge, and then one by one they put the berries in their hands into the water. I saw Strawberry doing the same to her glowing strawberry, and then she watched it drifting away with other berries. I then remembered to do the same with the glowing blackberry in my hands. I went down into the river, put my hands slowly into the water, and I watched as my glowing blackberry drifted away. All the glowing berries drifting away made a very beautiful view, like a large group of fireflies. As I watched them, I heard a soothing music played, with Strawberry singing.

Berries
On the table of life
Wishing
That they all could be mine

Berries, I love berries
Made with sun from up above
Berries, give me berries
Pick them fresh with lots of love
With lots of love

Bunches
Of each flavor and type
Wishing
That they soon will be ripe

Berries, I love berries
Made with sun from up above
Berries, give me berries
Pick them fresh with lots of love
With lots of love

Berries
I love berries

Berries
In the fruit bowl or pie
Wishing
That they could multiply

Berries, I love berries
Made with sun from up above
Berries, give me berries
Pick them fresh with lots of love
With lots of love
With lots of love
Berries
They're the fruit that I love.


-End of Chapter 2-

As most of you may have been wondering, this site, among others hosted by my friend Chris at TGTAP, has suffered from a week-long downtime due to a hard drive failure. Here's what he has to say about it:

Quote:We're back!

First off, we're sorry about the lengthy downtime we suffered during the past week. For the most part it was completely beyond our control. We did unfortunately suffer some data loss, some of which was simply due to corruption. Now if you continue reading I'll explain what happened, or just skip to the end if you don't care and just want to know wtf is up with the site right now.

Back in the February we suffered some downtime, over 24 hours in fact. Scanning the system logs we were able to pinpoint this to an issue with one of the hard drives, but it was difficult to determine which one (we have 4 in a RAID 10 array) when the tools we have available were reporting them all as healthy! Fast-forward to last week, one of the hard drives decided to completely fail on us. Those of you who know about RAID will know that a single hard drive in the array failing is not a problem, so we simply asked the server techs to replace it for us. No big deal. As I was submitting the support ticket, I was running tests on the other 3 hard drives to check they were ok - turns out they weren't. A drive in the second pair was also failing, and as the test finished running, it did fail. This brought the server into a read-only state, we rebooted to allow the techs to replace the first bad disk. This was done, but we had to wait practically a whole day for it to finish filesystem checks and rebuild itself into the array.

The bad news got worse after that and long story short, the OS had become corrupted and we were unable to get the server to boot up. Combine this problem with incredibly slow support staff and you see where this is heading...
In the days that followed, they eventually replaced the second failed disk for us, and within another couple of days they finally got it into rescue mode and were able to get the server back online (today).

Unfortunately this was when I discovered quite a lot of file integrity loss, corrupted files everywhere. After working all night to get the server back into a workable state, we realised that unfortunately our database system was completely fucked, for lack of a better phrase. Worse still, our on-site nightly backups were mostly lost. The most recent off-site backups we had were over 2 weeks old, but these had to do.

What I've done is restored a database backup from 13th March. Anything that happened since then has been lost. As for files and uploads, we believe most of this is ok, but chances are there's some missing files we aren't aware of. Please let me know (in this topic) if you are experiencing errors or other weirdness on the forums or anywhere else on the website.

While no one is to blame (except myself for not having more recent backups available) for what happened, we feel the support staff made us wait unreasonably long times to both replace the failed hardware and recover the system for us. Downtime was almost inevitable with these kinds of failures, but it certainly should not have been this long. For this reason, we will be transferring TGTAP (and our other sites) to a new server within the next couple of weeks. We don't expect there to be any downtime while this happens, though the forums will be turned offline for approx 15 mins to ensure we have successfully migrated the data.

That's all.

The main character of the anime "Daisuki BuBu ChaCha"

Official character description:
"A highly curious 3-year old boy who matures through his experiences and friendship with ChaCha. His interest lies in everything he sees, and learning about anything excites him."

He is usually called BuBu by almost all of his friends and families because he always says that BuBu is his name. He has a lot of exciting adventures accompanied by his best friend ChaCha, his pet dog who died protecting him from a car crash and returned as a soul possessing Randy's toy car.

What I draw here is his 8 years old self. All of his special friends, including ChaCha, have gone back to the stars. Ever since that happened, Randy often goes alone to an open field at night and see the stars above, recalling the memories of his special friends he will never forget.

Quote:Year 1

Chapter 1: Gem Berries


As Henry and my friends had suggested, I had decided to take a few days off from working on building a new spaceship. I spent the first day off with my friends playing catch at the courtyard and other games such as hide and seek inside the castle. I pretty much enjoyed the free days, though sometimes I still couldn't stop thinking about where to start with the spaceship project. I and Henry had figured out that the first step should be providing electricity to the workshop because we would make modern tools to complete the project, and the tools would not work without electricity. However, I still had no idea what kind of generator would suffice to provide electricity for the project. Coal generator would probably make too much air pollution. Windmill generator would be too dependent on weather, and the same could apply to solar generator, unless we could make the generator capable of storing a large amount of excess energy. I then decided not to think too much about it for then, mainly because I still had no idea what kind of resource was more abundant and accessible in Oz. I had to find that out first before deciding on what kind of generator to make.

However, we couldn't leave Emerald Castle for a while because of what had happened in the second day when we had walked outside the castle into Emerald City. The inhabitants of Emerald city, namely berrykins, were afraid of us. None of us had any idea why, but all of them ran away on sight. Some of the brave ones even threw things at us. We were lucky that Glinda appeared to teleport us back into Emerald Castle safely, but after that Glinda had asked us to stay inside the castle while she handled the matter.

In the morning of my second day off, all of us were in the dining room having our breakfast.

"Glinda, have you figured out what was wrong with the berrykins?" I asked.

"Well... yeah," Glinda said. "I was about to tell you all after this breakfast."

"Better tell us now," Peppermint said. "I can't stand the thought of being hated without knowing why."

"Yeah. We want to know why so we can clear things up," Strawberry said.

"Okay then," Glinda said. "Among the berrykins, there is a legend. The legend says that someday a fire from the sky would fall upon Oz, bringing curse and disaster throughout the land. That is the cause of what has happened."

"Please tell me that the fire is not our spaceship, I sure hope it is not!" Ginger said.

"Oh man, that definitely is the case," Huck said.

"Indeed. The village where your ship fell was inhabited by berrykins, although Gladyy recently took over the village and she was building her second castle there when you fell down there. The berrykins who were about to move to Emerald City saw your spaceship falling, and the rumor spread quickly," Glinda said. "In fact, I knew about your arrival when I heard from some newcomer berrykins panicking that the fire from the sky has come bringing eight monsters."

"Monsters?! Us?! That's very disturbing!" Peppermint said.

"That sure is an unfortunate misunderstanding," Orange said.

"In addition, right now the berrykins in Emerald City actually believes that I am imprisoning you here and attempting to banish you all to where you came from," Glinda said.

"This is starting to sound funny," I said. "Though I kinda want the last part to happen for real."

"Unfortunately, I can't do such thing," Glinda said.

"We need to talk to them and clear things up!" Strawberry said. "I don't want the berrykins to rest uneasy for days because of a misunderstanding!"

"Apple Dumplin' not want hate," Apple said.

"Them? Rest uneasy? Who cares about them? I only care about clearing our name!" Peppermint said.

"The main goal here is exactly that, anyway," I said.

"To make matters worse..." Glinda said. "The berrykins are running out of gem berries lately, and they believe that it is because of your presence."

"Gem berries? What are those?" I asked.

"Have you noticed all the lightings inside the castle, and also the lights over Emerald City whenever you happen to look outside the window?" Glinda asked back. "Those are gem berries."

"What? I've been thinking that they're just some kind of magical lanterns," I said.

"What you said is actually true," Glinda said. "Gem berries are magical berries which radiate light. They are used as lightings mainly in Emerald City and Emerald Castle."

"Why are they running out?" Angel asked. Glinda was silent for a while.

"They brought it upon themselves," Glinda finally said. "The energy of gem berries are limited. To preserve their energy, they must be closed, wrapped by their leaves, whenever they are not used. But the berrykins just forgot to do that. They took the gem berries for granted. Because of this, the gem berries get replaced too often, more often than their growth can handle."

"Whoa, that sounds like how we back in Strawberryland must turn off the lights every morning, am I right?" Ginger said. "And the berrykins keep the lights on all day long, am I right again?"

"That's berry terrible!" Strawberry said.

"We must knock some sense into them!" Peppermint said.

"Yeah, immediately!" Orange said.

"Calm down, youngsters!" Henry, who had been just listening, said. "I agree that what the berrykins do is terrible. However, you cannot just barge in and speak to them."

"Henry is right," I said. "Remember that right now we are monsters to them. Bringers of curse and disaster. There is no way they will listen to us."

"Then what is your plan, kid?" Peppermint said, sounding upset.

"I don't know. At least, not yet," I said.

"Henry and Blackberry are right, everyone," Glinda said. "The berrykins are very firm with their beliefs. Simply talking to them won't work. We need a plan to convince them."

"Hmm... Henry, do the berrykins know you?" I asked.

"They only know me as The Great Wizard of Oz, and none of them has seen me in person," Henry said.

"I see," I said. "Glinda, do the berrykins in Emerald City have some kind of leader among them?"

"There is a mayor," Glinda said.

"That's good. I have a plan, then," I said.

Just less than one hour later, Glinda came into the City Hall of Emerald City. The mayor was in his office room doing his daily office work. Glinda got into his room easily because she had a special privilege to enter his room anytime without appointment.

"Ah, Glinda! How are you?" the mayor greeted when he noticed Glinda entering.

"I'm fine. Thank you," Glinda said with a smile.

"What can I do for you?" the mayor said. "Perhaps you need help in banishing those monsters? I sure hope not, because we can't do anything! And you have The Great Wizard with you there, right?"

"I'm here to tell you that you have been summoned by The Great Wizard of Oz," Glinda said, which surprised the mayor. "Please come immediately."

"What?! Me?! Summoned?! Have I done something wrong? Or perhaps he indeed needs help?" the mayor said in panic.

"Calm down. You will be fine," Glinda said. "Just come with me."

"Oh... Alright," the mayor said. He then walked with Glinda to the Emerald Castle. When they arrived at the throne room, a large fireball appeared above the throne. The mayor kneeled in front of the fireball.

"Greetings, mayor of Emerald City," the fireball said with echoing voice.

"Oh, Great Wizard of Oz. I humbly kneel before you, to listen to what you want to say," the mayor said.

"As you know, I and Glinda have been trying to banish the monsters from the fallen fire back to where they came from," the fireball said. "Unfortunately, that is not possible."

"What? But what will become of Oz with them around bringing the curse upon the land?" the mayor said in fear. "What will become of the gem berries?"

"Listen to me to the very end without cutting me off, will you?" the fireball said.

"Y-yes! Please forgive me! I will now listen to the end!" the mayor said.

"Alright," the fireball said. "Indeed banishing them back to where they came from is not possible. However, we have found that there is no such thing as curse within them. Each of them is no different than a regular person. Therefore, I ask you to spread the news that they do not pose any danger upon the land so you and other berrykins will treat them fairly. Do you have anything to say about this?"

"That is a good thing to hear! However, I need to say that as long as our problem with depleting gem berries still exists, people will not fully believe that there is no curse!" the mayor said.

"That is why I am going to send them to Emerald City to check the problem and give a solution. I really hope for the cooperation from you and other berrykins," the fireball said. "Spread the news within the rest of this morning. After lunch time I will send them to Emerald City."

"Yes, your majesty! As you command!" the mayor said. The fireball then faded away and the mayor left the place in a hurry.

"You can come out now," Glinda said, and Henry came out from behind the folding screen which had been hiding him from view. All eight of us also came into the throne room from the door near the place where Henry had been hiding.

"That went really well," I said. "Thanks, Henry."

"I still don't feel right seeing him behaving as if I'm a high king," Henry said.

"Is it alright to keep lying to people about you being a great wizard?" Strawberry asked.

"It sure doesn't feel right..." Angel said.

"Yeah," Orange said.

"Hey, I'm not for lying myself. Not anymore," Peppermint said. "But did we have any other choice?"

"Maybe we could have tried talking to them," Strawberry said.

"Oh, please," Peppermint said with her hand on her forehead and sighing.

"I feel the same way as you, Strawberry," I said. "But there are times when simply talking just doesn't work. This was one of those times, and that was why we used an alternative."

"I guess you're right," Strawberry said. "But I think you have to tell them someday that you actually are not a wizard."

"I will consider that. But for now I think we should figure out the solution for another problem," Henry said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"How to convince the berrykins that they are running out of gem berries because of themselves," Henry said.

"I have been thinking about that too," Glinda said. "I'm not sure if telling them outright will work. Despite what we have done to the mayor, the other berrykins probably still don't fully trust what you will say."

"No matter how hard I think about it, the only thing that will matter is how we talk to them," I said.

"Then I suggest only the ones who are good at talking and convincing to be the one going," Henry said.

"Oh, that means..." Huck said. He then looked at Strawberry. The others except Strawberry herself also did the same.

"Huh? Me?" Strawberry asked.

"Who else?" Peppermint said. "All the time in Strawberryland, you have always been the first one to become friends with newcomers."

"Yeah, Strawberry. You're the best at making friends with new people!" Orange said.

"Strawberry, good friends," Apple said.

"Yeah, for this case talking can work," I said. "And you're the best at it."

"I'm berry flattered, everyone," Strawberry said. "Alright, I will try."

"I will go with you," I said. "I want to know further about the gem berries."

So, it was settled that only I and Strawberry would go to Emerald City to somehow convince them that their depleting reserves of gem berries were caused by their own ignorance. As Henry had promised, after lunch time the two of us went to Emerald City. When we arrived, the mayor was waiting for us along with a number of citizens who seemed to be whispering to each other. Probably because of the bad rumor about us still around, and maybe also because the two of us were quite bigger in size than the berrykins, whose body were just as big as a berry ball. Their rather short arms and legs didn't help at all.

"Welcome to Emerald City. Only two of you?" the mayor asked.

"Berry nice to meet you! I'm Strawberry Shortcake!" Strawberry said, shaking hands with the mayor.

"Uhh, yeah. Nice to meet you too," the mayor said.

"I'm Blackberry Bun. Henr- I mean, the Wizard of Oz only sent the two of us because he believed we wouldn't need unnecessary crowd," I said.

"I see. Come with me then. I will show you the problem you need to solve," the mayor said. He then brought us to the town square with many townspeople whispering to each other as we passed by them. He stopped under an inactive street light. I noticed that the lamp of the street light seemed to be wrapped by leaves.

"Here we are," the mayor said. He then used a lever near the base of the street light, and the leaves wrapping the lamp opened, revealing a shining berry.

"It's berry beautiful!" Strawberry said.

"Indeed it is, but our problem right now is that we are beginning to run out of these gem berries," the mayor said.

"That's berry terrible!" Strawberry said. "Do you know what might be the cause?"

"Well..." the mayor said. "This is embarrassing, but I admit that it is because of ourselves."

"Really? Could you please explain?" Strawberry asked.

"Well, you see, the energy of gem berries are limited," The mayor said, using the same lever. The leaves then wrapped the gem berry again. "Whenever we don't need them, we must preserve their energy like this. But for quite a long time we just forgot to do that. Not only that, the younger berrykins often use the gem berries as balls for playing catch."

"Do you all like the gem berries?" Strawberry asked.

"Of course! The gem berries are valuable to us!" the mayor said.

"Well, if I like something... I will treasure it," Strawberry said.

"It was all our fault, for that I agree," the mayor said. "That's why we have stopped using the gem berries as toys, and we now regularly close the gem berries whenever they are not used."

"I'm berry happy to hear that!" Strawberry said.

"So that means your problem is solved, right?" I said.

"No, not at all," the mayor said. "Instead, it got worse. The gem berries are running out even faster recently."

The mayor's last sentence surprised both of us. It turned out the problem of the berrykins was not what Glinda had told us. It was something else.

"Great galloping gooseberries! How come?" Strawberry asked.

"We have no idea! The gem berry trees were just fine in the field one night, but in the following morning we found some of them withered," the mayor said.

"Could you show us the field where it happened?" I asked.

"Ah, sure. Let me show you the way," the mayor said. He then brought us to a gem berry field located a bit far from Emerald City, about half an hour walk. When we arrived there, what we saw was a rather barren field with most trees having no life in them. The amount of gem berry tree still living on the field could be counted with two hands.

"This is just... berry horrible," Strawberry said.

"My people believed that the cause of this is the curse you all brought when that fire fell from the sky and you came out from it," the mayor said.

"That's berry not true! It was..." Strawberry said.

"I know," the mayor interrupted. "Well, actually it just came to me right after the wizard spoke to me this morning. This mystery started happening before you came, so you shouldn't be the cause of this."

"That's a relief!" Strawberry said.

"So, now we need you to solve this mystery. Without the gem berries, Emerald City will no longer be... emerald," the mayor said, looking somewhat pitiful.

"Well, I'm new to this place so I'm not sure. But..." I said, pausing briefly. "Is it possible to move them all into a greenhouse or something in Emerald City and cultivate them there?"

"Well, none of us have tried that," the mayor said. "But I think it's worth a try. Not all of them, though. I don't want to risk it."

"Alright, let's get to it immediately," I said.

With the help of the mayor and some of the berrykins, the two of us then put three of the remaining trees into a pot and brought them into Emerald City. Fortunately and conveniently, the city already has a greenhouse, so we could place the trees there. After planting the three trees inside the greenhouse, we decided to check the gem berry field once more. We walked there with the mayor, and to our surprise, when we arrived there was only one tree left. The other trees have withered with thin dark smoke coming out from the dead trunk.

"Oh, no," Strawberry said, running to one of the smoking trees.

"It happened again!" the mayor said.

"Something happened while we were away. But what?" I said while following Strawberry. Suddenly, I heard a familiar laugh coming from above. I looked at the source and found that the laugh came from Gladys, riding her winged monkey.

"I hate gem berries! I will destroy gem berries!" Gladys shouted while laughing.

"You no good witch!" I shouted. Gladys just simply laughed.

"But first, I'm getting rid of some meddlers!" She then pointed her wand at Strawberry, and a green lightning came out from it. I had no idea what was in my mind. My legs just moved by themselves, pushing my body to leap to Strawberry, pushing her out of the way. Immediately, I was the one who got hit by the spell instead of Strawberry, and I fainted, having no idea what happened next.

I woke up later, having no idea where I was and how long had passed. I then immediately noticed that I was on the bed in my bedroom. From the morning sunlight coming from the window, I could notice that I had slept for at least one night.

"Welcome back, Blackberry," a voice I immediately recognized as Glinda's said. I was still unaware of her position because I couldn't see much without my glasses.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You blocked Gladys' spell with your body. Because of that, you fainted for the rest of the day," she said.

"Oh, I see," I said. "What happened after that? Is Strawberry all right? And the last tree?"

"Yes, don't worry," she said. "After you blocked her spell, her wand broke into pieces and she went back home. Strawberry is fine, and the last tree has been moved to the greenhouse and planted along with the other three trees."

"Glad to hear that," I said. "Where's my glasses by the way?"

"Right here, you stupid kid," another voice I recognized as Peppermint's said.

"Uhh, what?" I asked as I took my glasses from Peppermint's hand.

"Jumping in front of Strawberry and taking the attack, what made you do such thing?" she asked, sounding upset.

"I-I don't know. Maybe..." I said. "Maybe because once someone did it for me."

"You mean... Black Currant?" she asked.

"Yeah..." I said, getting up from bed. "What he did back then, might be the thing that drives me to do the same for my friends."

"Alright, I see what you mean and I appreciate that. We appreciate that," she said. "But do you know why I said that it was stupid?"

"Uhh, no. Why?" I asked. Suddenly, the rest of my friends came into the room, looking very delighted.

"Blackberry! I'm berry glad you're all right!" Strawberry said, hugging me.

"Uhh, Strawberry, I only fainted for one day but you act like I've been in coma for a long time," I said.

"I just can't understand you," Peppermint said while sighing. "You have the heart to sacrifice yourself for others, yet you still doesn't understand how we feel."

"Maybe I'm indeed that stupid," I said after chuckling.

Later, after having breakfast I went to the workshop to discuss with Henry about the possibility of making a generator fueled by gem berries. The rest of my friends and also Glinda were still in the dining room after I left, and a conversation happened without me knowing.

"So, do you think he should know that what he did was stupid?" Peppermint asked.

"Better not," Huck said.

"Yeah, better not," Orange said.

"It's not gonna be a good thing to make him look like a fool," Angel said.

"What he did was not stupid, everyone," Strawberry said. "It's true that I could actually reflect back Gladys' spell with this magic mirror Glinda gave me, and that was what I did when Gladys casted the spell again after Blackberry got hit by the spell. But we should remember that he didn't know that I had this magic mirror, and in his mind I was in danger and defenseless. He is a really good friend, and I will never replace him with anything."

"My oh my, Strawberry. You're right, very right! Yep, you sure do!" Ginger said.

"I think the same too!" Huck said.

"Hmph, well said," Peppermint said.

"By the way, is Gladys going to destroy the gem berries again?" Orange asked, looking at Glinda.

"I don't think so for now," Glinda said. "The reflected spell broke her wand, and making a new one takes some time."

"That's berry good to hear!" Strawberry said.

"But like I have told you when I gave you that mirror, it can only reflect a spell once. Making a new mirror takes longer than making a new wand, so you all need to be more careful from now on," Glinda said.

"We will! Thank you, Glinda!" Strawberry said.

-End of Chapter 1-