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stargazer-dreamer · 2 years ago

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It’s on the Tip of My Tongue Chapter 1

character: yami sukehiro

content warnings: misunderstandings

reader: gender neutral; ring magic user

chapter list: 1 [you are here], 2

notes: also on ao3. 2k word count. pre-relationship (but we’re getting somewhere). part of the stoprewind verse

Your room, when presented to you, was covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. It took you a considerable while to feather and air it out—but you just couldn’t find the time to roll up your sleeves and get down to the dirt and grime of it all. Between that, imprinting locations with Finral, reviewing all your past and future responsibilities, and preparing for the transfer into the Black Bulls, you found little time to settle into your new home within the base.

You didn’t even get the chance to mingle with any of its other members, much less the captain himself. He talked real big, but you’ve hardly seen a glimpse of him all week. This frustrated you—he wandered in, in the middle of your day-to-day operations, uprooted your entire lifestyle, demanded you work under him specifically, yet he has not greeted you once. If he was going to be this sort of captain, he would have to earn your respect.

You, however, were finding a quick friend in the spatial mage—going from location to location got boring fairly quickly and, as polite as he was, he seemed to drop the act when Yami wasn’t looking.

“He works me to death! You know how hard it is managing funds while having to pay out property damages every other day, in between having to joyride him around the country? I have to do paperwork on the road!” Finral stepped through his own portal and waited patiently on the other side for you. “It’s the worst, really.”

There must have been a change to your expression, since he seemed to backtrack a little bit. “But it’s not so bad! Really! Now that you’re here, I’ll have more time to work through it!” He scratched at the back of the neck as his gaze traveled. A tilt of the head—like he was debating on saying his next words. “And he seemed pretty sincere when he said you’d only be doing the transportation thing. He usually leaves me to my own devices until he’s ready to head back or move locations, so you’ll probably get a lot of downtime…!”

He smiled at you, good-naturedly. “Lucky you.”

This did not help improve your quickly souring impression on the captain. You spared a moment to mark the area before moving on to the next. It turns out, Finral had well-over a hundred different locations he had imprinted upon, not including the local area—and the captain wanted you to retain all of them! The nerve!

Hardly ever having left your hometown, the sudden increase to your mental magic map took a little while to get used to; and with it rapidly expanding every day, it was a bit overwhelming, to say the least. Finral must have realized this early on, dividing up his list into digestible sections throughout the week—but the two of you were far from done yet. First came the important locations, then the common ones, next were the useful areas, followed by the more niche places…

Despite Yami’s command of all of Finral’s impressions, the two of you found no need to share his more personal locations, such as his family home and room back at the base. Those were for Finral specifically, and there was no need to hand over such keys.

As a seasoned spatial mage, his senses were naturally more adept at managing a mental map of the world; for you, it was far from the case. After going at it for a few hours, you found that you developed headaches that could only be mended with proper rest or mana-regaining methods, such as specialized drinks or medicine Finral would graciously provide. It was more of a nuisance than anything else—all you wanted to do was finish this first task, but you couldn’t handle the load.

That’s something you admired about Finral; he was a pretty capable mage.

The day finally arrived when the documents were properly filed; Captain Yami Sukehiro stood you in front of the rest of the squadron and introduced you properly—as properly as it seemed he could manage, at least—followed by a multitude of questions from everyone in the room.

Instead of navigating through the sea of voices yourself, the captain made short work of it for you. “No fighting, no hazing, no eating; you just ate, no looking at pictures, no one can hear you, no shopping—we’re busy.”

“We are?” you asked before he handed you, rather unceremoniously, the infamous black robe.

“Yes,” he replied, short, before addressing the squad once more. “This is my new ride, so I won’t be sharing. Finral’s still here, if you need quick transport.” You sputtered at his choice of words—his ride? Sharing?

“Oh! So you use spatial magic too?“ A starry-eyed boy inched closer. “That’s so cool! Can I see?”

“Oh, no,” you shook your head, but at his continued interest, showed him the band encircling one of your fingers anyway. Haunted by the memory of your shoddy escape the week prior, you started wearing multiple rings on both hands, in addition to keeping one tucked away in your grimoire pouch, just in case. “While I do use a form of spatial magic, I’m actually—”

“What did I just say?” You didn’t need to turn around to know who was towering behind you, the mana in the air stirring like crazy.

Despite that, the boy carried on, unfazed. “But sir! The use of any teleportation magic must take an incredible amount of control—”

“Which is why I need you to bugger off, so my ride can be in top condition for me. C’mon,” with a glance in your direction, he gestured with a jerk of the head and walked towards the front door.

Stepping outside in the dancing shadow of the trees, you were struck at the difference in lighting, how striking he really was. Out in the morning sunshine, you forgot the words you held for him for over a week. The blue morning glow of the waking sun didn’t do him justice, if this is what he truly looked like, underneath the new warm hue. The thin undershirt he wore did little to hide anything—especially since he chose to wear nothing over said shirt—skin all but bared to the world, in all it’s severe beauty.

He was a warrior alright and had the scars to match, crisscrossing his skin in rough patches; down his arms, across his shoulders, and up higher, to the one bisecting his brow, and the one set at the corner of his mouth.

To keep from staring at his lips, your eyes lowered to his jaw, and focused in on the stubble, down his neck, evolving into the hair leading to the peek of his toned chest underneath it all.

Suddenly, you felt the need for a cold drink. You spun a band circled around a finger. “Um,” you began. “Captain Yami Sukehiro?”

“Just Yami’s fine,” he said, and went to light a cigarette.

“Captain Yami,” you said instead, resulting in a click of his tongue and quirk of his brow. Actually just Yami, I guess. You’d work on it. For now, you were trying to remember what it was that you had been meaning to say to him.

He led you out here with some type of purpose. You stopped fretting with the robe in your hands. You had to speak your mind, first and foremost.

“Yami,” you met his eyes. Steel. Like his blade, you did not know how much power it hid. But you were not afraid. “You said you wanted me for my magic. You may be my captain now, but I do not intend to be taken advantage of. I will not be overworked.”

His reply was instantaneous. It was different than before, when he walked out of the alleyway; instead of his entire being, this laugh came from the chest—throwing his head back with the force of it. Your eyes widened, before it clicked. Before, you felt as if he was laughing at you—now, it was something different entirely.

He smiled at you, big and proud, and declared—“I like you.” Warmth welled up inside as a weight seemed to lift itself off of you; like the smoke rising from his lips. He lifted a hand and before you knew it, he was ruffling the hair atop your head. “I don’t give jobs to people who can’t handle it.” You blinked. “Don’t sweat it—you’re my ride. Simple as that.”

So what Finral told you was true. You were so lost in that thought, you didn’t notice Yami’s hand go to smooth out your hair, running down, until it stilled, cupping the side of your face. You felt warmth once more, but not from the inside. “What—what are you—”

“Getting to know one another, like I said we would.” Before you could piece together what he meant, he pinched at your cheek.

“Ack!”

“You’re too serious,” he said, like a statement. “You’ve been running around all week. Every time I tried to find you, you were off doing some other thing. When you were here, you were either off with Finral or busy in your room. When was I supposed to be with you?”

It sounded distinctly like a pout. You stood there, rubbing at your cheek, staring at him. Yami Sukehiro, with a plume of smoke surrounding him, trying to wave it away. Like a distraction. He shifted his feet. Put his hands in his pockets. Removed one to scratch at the back of his neck.

He clicked his tongue. The robe you had resumed fretting with was snatched from you, and before you could even process it, Yami’s hands were at your front, doing up the button and straightening up the hood around your shoulders. “You’re a Black Bull,” his eyes were downcast, focusing on his work. And then, quieter: “I said I wanted you.”

You remembered the alleyway, and the sun eclipsing him; his touch, and the way he held your hand. “Oh,” was all you could manage. The transfer was busy work. He must have not realized that. And when he gestured to your still fretting hands, all you could do was stare harder.

“You have more this time,” his hands went back into his pockets. “That’s good, for you.”

The subject change nearly gave you whiplash, despite the pause between. “Um, thanks?”

“Yeah. Anyways, mark this one too.”

It was a simple band. Black, with no embellishments; and when he tilted it in the light, it seemed to swallow the sunshine whole. Dark and—when you got a closer look—incredibly inviting. As you held it in your hand, you noticed it was lightweight. Sturdy, with a smooth finish. Whichever material it was made of felt powerful where it sat. Indestructible. It would not shatter so easily.

It was only after you marked it did you realize you’ve never imprinted upon a ring that didn’t belong to a family member.

After you were done, he slipped it on—left hand, ring finger. His non-dominate hand. A good choice, for his fighting style; he wouldn’t have to worry about changing the way he handled the grip of his sword. It would be out of the way, but at the ready if he needed it.

“There,” he said, with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. You tried not to stare. “Had it made. Figured I’d need one for myself—your hands are puny.”

You sputtered. “Not everyone is as big as you!”

He carried on as if you didn’t say anything. “Thought maybe, if you gave me one of yours, I could wear it on a chain or something. But that seemed like a hassle, so this was what I got instead.”

He held his hand up to the light. One of the things Yami was known for was his magic attribute—it seemed fitting that he would choose an accessory that physically matched the aesthetic; though, you never would have guessed he cared about that sort of thing. A black hole, it claimed space for itself; tugging you in and pulling you within his reach. His hand was warm, when your fingers intertwined.

“It’s beautiful,” you told him. The compliment, however, got drowned out by another, more pressing noise.

“Attaboy, Captain!” someone cheered from an open window. Then, from someone at the front door—“I’m happy you found the perfect ring!”

You turned to see what seemed like the entire base crowded around each other in windows and the entranceway, making no effort to hide themselves as they watched the two of you.

“That’s the man’s way!” The man with the mohawk pumped his fist in the air. “Straightforward!”

The witch held up a bottle, “Let’s celebrate!”

The short one next to her nodded enthusiastically, “We’ll have a feast!”

The man with the hair covering his eye looked surprised. “So this is what they meant when they said Yami was after someone…”

It appeared, where you stood, that there had been a major misunderstanding. Rumors are already spreading in the workplace—on your first day, nonetheless! Involving your boss. Your mother had warned you to stay out of Black Bull scandals; but there you were, in front of the entire squadron, probably ruining Yami’s reputation even more. You dreaded the headlines already—the immigrant Magic Knight captain, abusing his position of authority. Alternatively: the rookie mage, a golddigger.

In your horror, you spotted Finral in the back. Meeting your eyes, he gave you a thumbs up.

“What are you bums doing standing around for?!” Yami charged forth. “Go find some work, all of you!”

Scrambling out of sight, the group dispersed rapidly. Based on the shielded grins and fading laughter, you did not think that reaction cleared up anything at all. What a start to the day.

#yami sukehiro #black clover #black clover fic #black clover fanfic #black clover fanfiction #yami sukehiro x reader #yami sukehiro x you #yami sukehiro x y/n #black clover imagine #black clover imagines #fic #fanfic #fanfiction #stoprewind #finral is your best friend and i will not hear otherwise i love finral lmao #ive had most of this written shortly after part 1 but only now had the motivation to finish <3 #as a side note: before nacht i always assumed finral was yamis co-captain of sorts #so i guess this would date the fic at least before the elf reincarnation arc #but like...this cannot be placed within the timeline theres no way lol

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loosesodamarble · 2 days ago

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A self-indulget, OC-centric addendum

So this is my addendum to by BC chapters 374-376 post and I will be talking about how my oc, Josele, fits into the situation that played out in those chapters.

So for anyone who isn’t aware Josele is my main Black Clover and is shipped with both Nacht and Morgen. Yes, you read that right. See, I can't pick a favorite between the two so Josele gets both.

So I want to start with a overview of the relationship dynamic between Nacht, Morgen, and Josele.

Josele's role in Morgen and Nacht’s lives is in a similar vein to Yami: she is a shared friend to the twins that keep them in proximity and gives them an indirect connection to each other. Except well, Josele is a romantic interest to both Nacht and Morgen.

Like any good romantic interest character, Josele is someone that sees a different side of the Fausts that others don’t see. For Morgen, she doesn’t see him as a perfect man but as a normal person trying their best and dealing with the assumptions made about him. She shows Morgen the care that he gives others and lets him indulge in his selfish wishes (namely their romantic relationship). For Nacht, Josele sees past his delinquency to know that he is nicer than he lets on and lonelier than he admits. She gives Nacht her time to soothe his loneliness as best she can and thanks him for small acts of kindness he does show.

The fact that both Nacht and Morgen love Josele is another means of characterizing them. Because their feelings affect them in vastly different ways. Morgen’s love is something freeing to him; with Josele, there are no grand expectations for him to live up to and so he allows himself to love her as openly as he can, not for anyone else but just the two of them. Morgen loving Josele builds him up. For Nacht, his feelings are a burden to him. He compares himself to Morgen, seeing himself as undeserving of loving Josele or being loved by her, so he feels guilty about his love and hides it. Nacht’s love for Josele further tears him down.

Don’t worry, Josele isn’t just giving to Nacht and Morgen, they give back to her. While Josele sees deeper parts of the Fausts, the twins bring out the parts of Josele that she would’ve been hesitant to show on her own. She used to be a shy girl but the twins’ friendship brought out the spirited and loving heart that had been hiding. Morgen’s love made Josele’s hope and romanticism stronger. And Nacht was key in breaking the curse Josele had placed on her heart.

With the general overview of Josele and the Fausts’ relationship covered, now to talk about Josele’s place in the actual chapters.

Now of course, I would have Josele join in on the battle. I would have to be insane to put her anywhere else during the arc. Heck, I already have Morgen stepping away from the battlefield to reunite with her. So he just has to pick her up and fly back to Clover’s capital where she and Yami can team up to (try) and fight Morgen. Josele and Morgen were together and even got engaged before Morgen’s death. She blamed herself for being unable to save him. Morgen’s return as a Paladin leaves Josele’s conflicted—a part of her wishing he could stay alive and a part of her knowing that him returning to death is the right thing—but she’d still bring herself to fight him. But even with Josele at her best and working with Yami, it’s not enough to beat Morgen.

If/when I find time to write this, I’d have Morgen hesitate to hurt Josele because the part of the real him that loves her is present. But he’d eventually fall under the sway of Lucius’s brainwashing and go for a near-kill. Morgen would unleash a devastating attack and leave Josele to either rethink her decision to stand against Lucius or die. Nacht and Ichika would then enter the fray. Ichika still goes to her brother obviously. But I still have to figure out whether Nacht goes to Josele to help her back on her feet or to try stalling Morgen and the Lucius clone as he does in canon. I can reason myself in either direction but that’s for my brain, not this post. Anyways, with all five combatants (Morgen, Nacht, Yami, Ichika, and Josele) on the field, the true battle commences.

Now that’s just the plot-related things that Josele gets up to. There’s more going on with her thematically.

Josele does stick out as an only child in a battle of siblings (the Yami siblings working together and the Fausts working against each other). But she still has her place.

Josele joins Yami and Nacht as another who lost Morgen. She is more like Nacht in that Morgen’s death weighs heavy on her and she sees Paladin Morgen as just Morgen, the one she loves, and not as Lucius’s puppet. But she still has her own distinct stance in the fight. Where Yami quickly accepts Morgen as the enemy and Nacht needs a moment to himself to prepare his resolve, Josele fights with hesitation as she wishes the situation was different. That Morgen could’ve come back as himself. A futile desire but it’s what’s on her mind.

Something else about Josele, Yami, and Nacht is their relation to time. For starters, how the loss of Morgen affects the three of them can be associated with a point in time (past, present, and future). Nacht lost the brother he had all his life (past). Yami lost the friend and partner he was working with at the time (present). And Josele lost her fiance and the life they hoped to share (future). The trio dynamic is then changed after that. Nacht still represents the past, past sins always on his mind and influencing his actions. But Yami and Josele switch the present and future. I do say that Yami has his thoughts in the present, but I see his character being more about working towards the future, he’s in the present but doesn’t linger there, pushing forward instead. After all, when he left Hino he didn’t say anything like “don’t know what I’ll do now” but talks about how he’ll get stronger and eventually see Ryuuya again. Yami is a man with the future in mind. As for Josele, she only went through the motions day-to-day due to her curse. She couldn’t recall her past or consider her future. Even after breaking her curse, she doesn’t focus on the past or future, instead dedicating herself to fully living in the present world she’s regained.

I never actually intended to create this time-based trinity for the three survivors but when I realized it, it made me giddy, knowing how well Josele could fit into the dynamic Yami and the Fausts already have.

While not as deep, there’s also connections she has with Ichika. Like Ichika, Josele faced a tragedy and misattributed the blame of it, except she blamed herself instead of another the way Ichika did. Yami also makes sure both women have someone to watch their back when they get left by someone they love. Yami had to leave Ichika in Ryuuya’s care and when Nacht left for Spade Kingdom, Yami was the one who took care of Josele. I love that with Josele, Yami can do the same thing that Ryuuya did for him, and do it for Nacht. A chain of friends helping each other, you know! Again, unintentional but awesome connection!

Sin. Punishment. Atonement. Those are the main themes that Nacht’s character centers on. An idea that’s not as prominent but still related to Nacht’s arc is that of forgiveness. Long story short: while he did seek atonement, Nacht avoided forgiveness despite it not being his place to ask for it or deny it if it’s given to him. In their dynamic, Josele is the forgiver and Nacht is the forgiven (despite not asking for it and even rejecting it for a time). Josele forgives Nacht to lessen his guilt and suffering. Still, she knows that it’s ultimately up to Nacht to forgive himself and release the last of his pain. Only… Nacht has determined that he will hold onto his pain forever.

The pain of losing Morgen and the guilt of taking his life are with Nacht forever. It’s something that Josele wholly accepts, as she will love every part of him. And she does know, at least partially, what it’s like. Josele’s grief over Morgen and (incorrectly) thinking herself responsible for not saving him are also part of her. A physical representation of that ever-present grief is seen in the effects that her curse and devil contract have on her magic.

So during the battle against Morgen, Josele will get a moment with Nacht. Yami would’ve already said that Nacht has to be the one to stop Morgen (and I mean as the one borrowing anti-magic it really does have to be him). But Josele will tell Nacht that she won’t allow him to suffer forever on his lonesome. If Nacht is going to do kill Morgen, she will commit to the same sin.

“Shoulder the pain if you must,” Josele would tell him, “but let me take on the burden with you. We’re in this together. I am your wife, after all.”

Nacht can’t argue. There’s no time for arguing on the battlefield. And Nacht can’t deny Josele’s resolve. So he nods and agrees.

Josele will end up adding a bit of her own magic to the combo spell Nacht, Yami, and Ichika already have going. With her adding her Emotion Magic, I’ll call the spell “Dreadful Walpurgis Night.”

With the combo spell fired off, Nacht and Josele would close in and send off Morgen. They kill him, but it is out of love for him and the man they know him to be. Morgen’s spirit would be set free and he would say goodbye to his brother and his beloved, relieved that they are able to truly be together in both love and pain.

Once again, Nacht and Josele are forced to grieve Morgen. Morgen’s first death was followed by the two of them growing apart, as Nacht thoughtlessly accused Josele of not saving Morgen and ran away in regret. This time, however, Nacht and Josele are both taking the blame and will be there to comfort each other through it.

(Also, Yami will make sure they don’t stay mopey on the battlefield for long. And Ichika will wonder what the hell the situation is between Josele and the twins.)

And that concludes my self-indulgent addendum to my original post about chapters 374-376! I know that this being centered on my own oc means that not many people will be interested in it. But I wrote this for myself, so it doesn’t really matter if anyone else shows interest. Writing this post has made me love Black Clover more, made me love the Fausts more, and made me love Josele more so I’m glad I went through with it!

But, to those of you who cared enough to read, thank you for your time. Hopefully you got something out of me talking about my girl Josele and her place in these chapters and with the characters involved.

#black clover #nacht faust #morgen faust #black clover oc #josele canty #morgsele #nacsele #soda's ocs #soda asides #long post #this post is long but it's still only 1/3 the length of that original post #now... to go rest my brain for the first time in a week...

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