Modern Day Alchemists
WHY AREN'T YOU SIGNED IN!$#%@? -sends Aurel after you-

Join the forum, it's quick and easy

Modern Day Alchemists
WHY AREN'T YOU SIGNED IN!$#%@? -sends Aurel after you-
Modern Day Alchemists
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.
Latest topics
» This is the end I fear
Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 EmptySat Mar 19, 2022 4:18 pm by Reila Tsukino

» Best wishes
Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 EmptyThu Sep 17, 2020 12:08 pm by Reila Tsukino

» Simon Eris
Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 EmptyFri Nov 15, 2013 1:57 pm by ChaosAlchemist

» Pumpkin Spice
Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 EmptyWed Nov 06, 2013 4:13 pm by Rhea Stevenson

» BARBERSHOP BRUNCH, BRO'S.
Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 EmptyWed Nov 06, 2013 12:54 pm by Wolfgang Murinyo

» Training Private Daw (Open to Amestrian Militants Only)
Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 EmptyMon Nov 04, 2013 6:07 pm by Dawsic

» AKI'S NEW FORUM
Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 EmptyMon Oct 21, 2013 12:59 am by Silvac

» Baldursdóttir, Ymir [done]
Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 17, 2013 5:56 pm by Jay Furor

» Practice Makes PERFECTION
Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 EmptyMon Oct 14, 2013 11:19 am by Zayne O'Reilly

» Just a Checkup
Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 EmptyThu Oct 10, 2013 8:55 am by Crassus

Who is online?
In total there are 17 users online :: 0 Registered, 0 Hidden and 17 Guests

None

[ View the whole list ]


Most users ever online was 83 on Fri Oct 11, 2024 9:42 am
Join us on Facebook!
 

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Page 2 of 3 Previous  1, 2, 3  Next

Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 6:06 pm

Karyu was enjoying themoment, and enjoyed listening to her sweet voice, but it was abruptly interrupted. His phone began to vibrate, and he sighed angrily. He decided to ignore it this once, and hoped, no prayed, that it wasn't his contractor. He reached into his pocket and pressed the end button on the phone, and held Ilona gently. Karyu smiled warmly and placed his banana in the trashcan, but, to his dismay, right went it fell in, his phone vibrated once more.

"Annoying bastards..."

Karyu slid his hand back in his pocket and cut his cellphone off. He then went back to embracing Ilona before wondering just where her guns were hidden. There were so many last time...

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 6:11 pm

"You okay?"She asked but shrugged it off and stood up again, moving from behind him to infront of him and lay down on the couch, resting her head onto his lap and smiled.
"Aaah...Just the right height.."Ilona said with a sigh, carassing his cheek with her hand, feeling the soft skin againest hers. She never gave her cellphone number easily unless she can trust the person and was hardly. The only people who had her cellphone number was Karyu then her commander, Reila but that was all. Oh and her protege Jay. That girl still had a long way to go.
She closed her eyes and snuggled closer to Karyu, savouring his warmth and prescence, constantly repeating to herself that this was not a dream.

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 6:17 pm

Karyu smiled and nodded slightly before she placed her hand on his cheek. He had longed for her touch when he disappeared, and now he was able to feel her smooth skin once more. He sighed lightly and looked as the sun made its last decent and disappeared. Right when it did, he thought about all the trouble he'd have to go through with them being on opposig sides, but to him, it was well worth it. He looked down at Ilona, and when he saw the scar, he frowned a little.

"I'll kill them... don't worry..."

When Karyu said that, there were alot of hidden messages behind his words. Who would he kill? What was he talking about? And what made him think there were more than one person behind her accident? So many questions, no time to answer...

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 6:24 pm

Ilona said nothing about it. She then moved onto stroking his lips, feeling the frown on his face. Ilona made a somwhat worried smile and lightly tapped his nose.
"You don't have to worry about that..."She said and then stood up, thinking about packing the rest of the dishware, glasses and so on. Ilona walked to the kitchen, grabbing a few boxes and bubble warp and started doing her work. Whilst doing so, she hummed another song, this time "Heartbreaker" by G-Dragon and eventually started whispering the lyrics of the song.
"You're my heartbreaker.."She whispered in a singsong voice, her voice low yet melodic.

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 6:32 pm

Karyu smiled and leaned back in the couch, staring outside the window. He grabbed his phone, out of his pocket, and cut it back on. He saw the two missed calls, and his eyes widened slightly. They were the same number, both coming from a caller he named as 'X'. His smiled started to shrink, and he bore a serious look. When he heard Ilona's voice, he quickly smiled, not wanting worry her. He stood up, and grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the dishes and started packing them for her.

"You've worked enough, i'll handle the rest. I'll have your things packed and delivered to Briggs tonight, OK?"

His voice surely did sound like he was happy, and he seemed a little... happy... in a creepy way.

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 6:38 pm

"Um..okay..sure.But what about the guns...?"Ilona asked, blinking with confusion. Something was fishy and she knew it. But if he can handle everything else, then she might as well start with the guns; besides he's shit scared of them and only she can handle the large amount of guns. Ilona had even more in Resembool.
Ilona, not waiting for an answer, grabbed her checklist that included all the models of guns and walked to her bedroom, starting with the closet. The closet at least had several handguns and one assault rifle as the space was pretty tiny. It was a wonder on how she managed to fit those inside..

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 6:50 pm

Karyu listened intently to what she said, and when she mentioned the guns he froze. His eyes widened as he thought of the large numbers of them, and before he coulod even answer, she ended up packing them herself. Karyu took a deep breath in relief, and started packing her dishes once more. He could only imagine of everything that could go wrong if he had to pack the guns. What if he had said something stupid and she started shooting at him... the horror... the horror!!

"Women... can't be that scary.... can thy!?"

Karyu grew a little paranoid and began looking at his surrounding, and patted his bulletproof vest to make sure it was still on.

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 6:54 pm

Ilona managed to get one of the many crates for the guns, inside has cushioning and so on and started taking out the guns out of her closet. And it will much to Karyu's horror that the guns were getting bigger one after the other until Ilona managed to get the last gun out of the closet: an assault rifle that was as big as Ilona's top half of her body and packed that inside. She finished by drilling the crate shut and listed the crate as "Stash 1".
"Okay the next one.."She then walked towards the bathroom, another crate in tow with more guns underneath the tub. Who would have knew the guns would be under the tub? No one but Ilona and maybe Karyu knew.

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 7:07 pm

[size=9]Karyu began packing everything, his face frozen in horror. He then turned back to see the gu that was almost as big as Ilona, and fainted. He hit the ground hard, and when he looked back up, it was still there. He sighed slightly, looking at the ceiling before he blacked out. He began dreaming... it was a nice dream. He and Ilona were married, and they had a daughter. They were sitting at the table and enjoying dinner... untill he said something stupid. They both had big guns and were shootig, but before he died, he woke up screaming.

"Aishi!!"

Karyu was breathing heavily, and was looking around confused and checking his entire body for bullet wounds.[size]

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 7:11 pm

"What are you doing..?"Ilona asked as she just finished packing the guns from the bathroom, under the bed and now was just started on the living room, removing the floorboards one by one. The living room had the biggest guns in the apartment besides the bedroom and started lifting out the machine guns....The rocket launchers were somewhere in the stash along with the bedroom stash.
"If you're so scared you can try closing your eyes?"She said with a hint of amusement. Hey at least he doesn't have to deal with this when she moves to Briggs....I mean, I'm sure everybody wouldn't mind or would they? Ilona shurgged as she wouldn't care anyway..

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 7:24 pm

Karyu's eyes widened as he saw her pull out the large guns one by one from beneath the floorboards. He began to crawl backwards and hid behind the counter, hoping he could ignore the thought of all the guns. He was ready to start crying in fear, but he was a tough man, he never cried... was that a tear? He quickly sighed and tried to relax himself by counting to one hundred... in Aerugese. Once he got to one hundred, he sighed and peaked around the corner.

"Aishi, what's gotten into me Are you finished?"

Karyu waited for a reply, but made sure not to completly look around the counter in fear of seeing her aiming the guns at him. Scary women, scary women...

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 7:30 pm

Ilona packed the last of the guns, drilling the lid shut and labelled it. She sighed and skipped, did she just skip? And knelt infront of Karyu and took his hands gently and tried to comfort him as if he was a little boy."Okay I'm done now. Sorry for scaring you."She said with a smile, bright and happy. All the crates were packed and outside, ready to be moved to Briggs within the week. Ilona always thought that she can sleep on the couch, the one piece of furniture that she has not packed away yet. And she still had her blankets and stuff. It won't be long before she leaves this place. Ilona lived in Central for along time and surpisingly, found herself to be sad about it..

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 7:38 pm

When Ilona grasped his hands and comforted him like he was a little boy, he quickly acted like a tough guy. He stood up straight and scoffed, chuckiling in a tone in which you could tell he was still a little afraid. He then leaned against the counter and pulled a cigarrette box out of his pocket. He shook it and the end of one popped out, and without hesitation, he put it in his mouth and lit it. He took a short drag before blowing smoke into the air.

"Pfft, me Scared? Ha, i was just merely asking if you were done while searching for my contacts..."

At that moment, he pushed his glasses back up his nose, and realised the mistake he had just made. He grabbed a glass and poured himself a glass of wine... no, wait, that was vodka... which meant...

[color=red]"Aishi!!"[color]

Karyu nearly choked on the strong liquor which he had bought for show. He started coughing a little and grabbed his neck, as his throat was on fire. Ah, no matter how cool he was... he was an idiot none the less.

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 7:42 pm

Ilona tried to resist the urge to laugh and gave Karyu a whole bottle of fruit juice she found in the fridge. Hmm vodka doesn't look that bad. She helped herself to the bottle and took a sip, the strongness exploding inside her caused her to cough.
"Did you know Vodka means water?"She said, her voice now raspy from the drink but it still did not stop her from taking another sip. She never got the chance to drink something like this but since it might be her last day in Central, Ilona wanted to drink it off. In other words, drink herself to an oblivion. Besides; she had alot of coffee to get her sober in no time plus she can hold her drink..Well almost.

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 7:48 pm

Karyu took the juice and tried to play it off, his eyes tearing up from the stinging of his throat. He took a sip of the juice, and tried his best to calm down before seeing her take a sip. He smirked not feeling like an idiot when she too felt the burn, but was in total shock when she took another sip. His jaw was ready to drop, but he held it tightly closed.

"Aishi! They call that water I've had stronger water than that in my sleep..."

How obviously he was lying... Hesighed and took another sip of juice before he looked at his cellphone and saw the huge letter 'X' on it.What did it stand for?

"Wasn't there a guy at Briggs called Xanthus or smething like that?"

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 7:52 pm

"Oh..Yeah..."She said, resting the bottle on the kitchen counter. Ilona felt a little tipsy because of the drink. She never tasted anything that strong before and leaned on the counter as support. Why he is asking about Xan...
"He was 2nd in command until recently. Now I have his job."Ilona said simply and tok another sip of Vodka. It tasted gross, smelt like super glue and yet looked like water but still drank the damn thing anyway. For some reason she wanted to get wasted badly, Ilona never been wasted and never tried but there was always room for a first try...She pushed Xan and military work out of her head as Ilona was at home, drinking and with the person she cherished most in this world. More than anyone else.

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 8:03 pm

Karyu's eyes widened slightly, but they slendered in due time as to hide his intentions. He noticed that Ilona was already starting to feel the affects of alchol, and he quickly grabbed her and the bottle. He pushed the body far away from her, and helped her over to the couch. He didn't want to see her get drunk, for he knew exactly where that would lead. He sighed and sat her down on the couch and alked into the kitchen and began preparing coffee. Luckily, he had a few glasses and a coffee maker of his own here. After he finished, he hastened over to Ilona and handed it to her before sitting on the table.

"I can make you some soup too if you'd like..."

Karyu looked over at the kitchen, trying to remember where he put his cellphone, then he heard it vibrating again. He saw the large 'X' and managed to put two and two together before ignoring the call. He looked back at Ilona and wondered why she was trying to get drunk, and why off of liquor of all things.

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 8:11 pm

"I'll be fine..."She said, though abit woozy as she took the coffee and drank it, embracing the hotness of it. Before Karyu stood up, Ilona quickly grabbed his shirt, refusing to let go. Who knows when they will see eachother again after she moves to Briggs..
"Stay...Please..Just spend the night with me."Ilona said in a whisper, her eyes giving off a pleading aura, the ocean colored eyes, despite the scar, wavering. Suddenly she had the urge to..Ilona quickly shook the thought out of her head and let go of him, muttering a "never mind" and started lying down on the couch, feeling the alchohol wear off on her..

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 8:18 pm

Karyu felt her hold onto his shirt, and he looked over at her. Her beutiful blue eyes seemed to entrap him, but he quickly came back to his senses when she let go. He walked off and removed his jacket and armor, revealing just his black shirt. He sighed and placed them on the counter before sending a text to his guys, who were already outside waiting. They took the boxes and crates and took them out of the room, and Karyu, who had went into the bathroom, simply told them to wait untill morning. He removed his black, leather gloves and wet his hands, rubbig them through his hair. He finally placed his gloves back on and laid on the floor, looking up at Ilona.

"I guess i'll stay..."

He brushed her cheek with the back of his hand and sighed, looking up at the ceiling. The moonlight pierced through the window, and Karyu could feel the coldness embrace and wrap around him. He shivered for a moment, but soon began to hum a little tune that put him to sleep. This tune was 'Sayonara' by GACKT, his favorite song since he was a child.

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 8:24 pm

Ilona grabbed another cigerette from her back pocket and lit it, exhaling the smoke into the air. This was to mask her vodka breath to replace it with her usual vanilla. She saw, barely, that Karyu had taken off his jacket and, boy, Ilona thought, he looked sexier than ever...Wait what?
She just simply smiled and crawled next to Karyu, throwing the cigerette into the ash tray and lay beside him, her head resting on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. Ilona grabbed the blankets and wrapped them around themselves, keeping warm. The Ilona realised that the bright afternoon sun was gone but was replaced by the darkness of the evening. She shrugged this off and snuggled close to Karyu as possible, wanting this moment to last..

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 8:32 pm

Karyu could smell the smoke ad vanilla in the air and realised that Ilona was still awake. He opened his eyes only to see her lay down next to him and rest her head on his chest. He smiled, wanting this moment to last, and he then thought about all the things he wanted to do with the person he loved. One of those things was watch her sleep, and now he had that chance... He watched her, his eyes not beaming at her, but gently resting on her beauty. He then looked at the ceiling, his thoughts swarming and overflowing with images when he lost her the first time.

"Ha, i don't know the answer if good is in my heart... yet, i still can love?"

Karyu sighed slightly and tried to drift to sleep, but his mind was keeping him awake. Thoughts continued to overflow and fill his mind with random questions. He tried answering them all, but right when he got to the last one, he could not answer correctly, and more thoughts would pour in. He opened his eyes and wished he had a cigarrette at this moment, and wondered something else...

"Ilona... are you asleep"

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Tue Jul 13, 2010 8:44 pm

What answered him was the sound of Ilona's steady breathing. She wanted to stay up but the drink overcame her and she drifted off to sleep. Ilona dreamt of the day if they ever fullfilled their promise and got married but will that ever come true? Were they even still engaged? She had these thoughts whizz around her head, not knowing what to think..But Ilona submerged herself in her dream, hoping that somday that dream would become reality. It may take ages..Maybe even years if the obstacles grow larger but Ilona could wait...Even if she has to be half-dead to get the altar at least they fullfilled their promise in the end..Married in red instead of white..Funny that...

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Wed Jul 14, 2010 11:47 am

Karyu chuckled lightly and he sat up a little, placing Ilona's head on the pillow gently. He stood up slowly and placed the blanket over her gently before walking into the kitchen and grabbing his suitcase. He streched a little and carefully placed it on the table, unlocking it and opening it slowly. Within the suitcase was his gun, and also a small, red book. He pulled out his pen and started writing in it without bothering to pay much attention to his surroundings. When he finished, he placed the book back in his suitcase and closed it. He stood up and looked at Ilona and sighed lightly, his cellphone vibrating in his left pocket.

"What am i going to do with you, hm?"

Karyu pushed his hair out of his face and knelt down next to Ilona and kissed her cheek gently. He then leaned against the wall and watched her sleep, his thoughts finally starting to calm down. He reached into his pocket and went through his music playlist on his phone, finally finding a song to which he could enjoy for this small, fleeting moment.

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:24 pm

Ilona slept deeply as she was tired from the packing, the latest assignment she had in the south, which completely exhuasted her to no end. Then the sudden promotion to 2nd in command of Briggs. It came so suddenly and it did not leave Ilona room to think but she accepted the damn job anyway. It was getting boring and hectic in Cental anyway and she needed to get away from city life for awhile.
She turned around, snuggling closer to the couch, falling into deeper sleep. Ilona started mattering stuff in Drachman, a language and heiritage she got from her mother, and she hadn't spoken it for a long time but Ilona started sleep talking in Drachman anyway and Karyu would not understand what she was sayiing and Ilona would have no recollection whatsoever....
"I hope they have central heating there though...Damn snow and blizzards are going to mess with my alchemy goddamnit.."Ilona muttered in Drachman, her tone almost whining.

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Guest Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:48 pm

Karyu, despite having his earphones turned all the way up, could still hear Ilona's muttered. The language was unknown to him, so he didn't pay it much attention, but simply dismissed it. He yawned lightly, and looked at the clock, his mind distorting his vision a little. Karyu sighed and closed his eyes, as they were pulsating with a ferocious amount of pain. He sighed and wished that the date for his surgery would hurry and come, or else he'd go blind. He opened his eyes after the pulsating ended and looked at Ilona, who rested soundly asleep, and smiled slightly.

"If you ever need my help, just call out my name. I can become snow to embrace you; I can become flowers to colour the image of you in the night sky..."

Karyu smirked and stood up slowly from his spot against the wall and grabbed his jacket and armor off of the rack. He put them both back on and walked back over to Ilona, and knelt down beside her. He kissed his index and middle fingers and touched her cheek gently before placing a box beside her. He stood up and walked towards the door and looked back at the home of many memories, and spoke silently in Aerugese...

"Saigo no namida kasane konayuki ni kaette miseyou..."

He chuckled slightly, and grabbed his suitcase before walking out the door and closing it silently behind him. One would think that this would be the last moment they ever saw the two, however, in the darkness of the room, the moon caused the small item in the box to glisten, and when one got a good look, there was a necklace with a diamond snowflake as an ornament of the necklace. Could this necklace have any connection to what Karyu said?


[Topic Exit]

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-) - Page 2 Empty Re: Reunions and Goodbyes. (-CLOSED-)

Post by Sponsored content


Sponsored content


Back to top Go down

Page 2 of 3 Previous  1, 2, 3  Next

Back to top

- Similar topics

 
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum