#anyway i thought of this scene the second I saw it in do do sol | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

saturnsummer · 4 years ago

Text

helpless.

han joon hwi does all he can to save kang sol a. kang sol a, for the first time, realises she’s not alone.

ao3 link

notes: this has been manifesting in me ever since i saw the scene of sol a fainting. i’m sorry it’s so long, but i hope the law school fans like it! it’s my first time, but i’m open to request and improvements. do share with your fellow solhwi fans if you like it! any grammar mistakes and all will be taken fully responsible by me.

edit: this is written by @inactiverat , which is MY secondary account. i did not copy this from someone else. both accounts belong to ME. i am republishing this on my primary blog to better manage.

words: 4130 words.

it’s been a terrible day for sol.

forget about a terrible day, it has been a week of horror.

she can’t remember the last time she laid her head on the pillow of her clean sheets and mattress. with her semester test coming on friday, she has spent the entire weekend cramming for her test. she has opted to sleep at her desk for no more than 10 minutes at a time. her eyes sting from the roll-on muscle relief ointment that she rolls on every few hours under her eyes. her head pounds and the only things she has eaten are ramyeon and black coffee. (no sugar, extra shots.)

sol sighs as she fixes another highlighter in her top bun. she’s been staring at the same question for hours. she looks over her desk, hoping to find peace by seeing a sleeping sol b, but only remembers that she went home. her tiger mom’s orders, since “she shouldn’t study with her roommate, who is at the bottom of the cohort.”

sol visibly frowned as she thought of that sentence. she doesn't need to be reminded every minute and second of her life that she’s the worst. that whenever she fails a test, the smarty pants are cheering due to the bell curve. that she barely scrapes through every class. that she blubbers and mutters answers like an idiot in every lecture.

that’s why she works so hard. to show that she doesn't need money or connections to succeed in this school. that a single parented girl, making enough to get by, holding a part time job can be like the rest. for her mom, she tolerated years of violent abuse, yet still being so strong for her children. for dan, who she so desperately misses and wants to find, even though she knows dan may never want to see her. for byeol, the reason why she decided to study law; the only human she loves in this lawless world.

sol knows she’s pushing herself too hard. yeseul made an effort to remind her to sleep via text. bokgi teased her once during a study group after mentioning she looks like a disheveled panda. even professor kim pulled her out of lecture to give her a talk to remind her to eat.

but joon hwi hasn't.

she internally scoffs. she doesn’t expect him to. (what does a second round judicial exam passer want to know about the worst student?) and maybe, she doesn't want him to. she wants to show him she can do it on her own. she can’t count the number of times he helped her with her grades and cases. studying alone without help was the smallest thing she can do to show him her independence.

thus, she found every moment to stay away. well, from him, in particular. she only came to lectures on time, sat at the back (as opposed to next to him) and left immediately. she returns to her dorm to study (ditching study groups with him in it) and only leaves in the odd hours to get drinks and food when she’s absolutely starving. she hears the buzzes and rings from yeseul and joonhwi, but only smiles when they ask about her inactivity. (“it was dead. i must have forgotten to charge it again.”)

she sighs in frustration and stands from her chair, grabbing her phone and keys out to the pantry area. she needed more caffeine, if she was going to survive this night.

what she doesn't expect to see, is han joon hwi, devouring his late night snack of ramyeon at the table. the shuffling of her furry slippers raises his head from his precious bowl.

“you’re still up?” he asks.

it’s too late to turn around and pretend she didn’t see him. so instead, sol just nods silently as opposed to her defensive remarks. joon hwi stops slurping his noodles and sets the bowl aside. preparing to walk to the staircase, his next question freezes sol in her steps.

“why have you been avoiding me?”

his voice is gentle and nowhere near angry. but concerned and fearful, as if he’s done something wrong to upset her. for a moment, sol feels like she’s in her first lecture with professor yang and is left speechless. (only now, there is no where to hide.)

joon hwi wasn’t blind to her actions. he noticed her absence when she didn’t sit next to him in lectures. he noticed that whenever he was there for a study group session, she wouldn’t; but when he would ask the others, they would say she was there for the ones he wasn’t. joon hwi was certain that sol was avoiding him.

and he couldn’t understand why.

until now.

joon hwi’s eyes examine the young woman in front of him. he’s certain that a middle school student could figure this out; kang sol a is overworked. her dark eye circles are prominent, puffy and her bloodshot eyes do nothing but intensify her lack of sleep. he noticed just how pale her lips look, as he walks over to her. how has she gotten skinnier too?

joon hwi’s certain that she’s avoiding him not because of something he said that annoyed her. but because he knows that she doesn’t want him to see her in this state. his eyes soften and heart aches from the amount of effort she's putting in to her tests.

for sol, he knows how much the tests meant. it was like her entire life depended on it. that’s why he always wanted to help her. he didn’t want to see such a talented person fall behind. she has already proven herself worthy with all the cases she has participated in. but joon hwi knows that no matter how many times yeseul or bokgi or him say how smart and talented and how she’s doing great, she will never be satisfied in this cold, competitive prestigious school. she will always think she’s the worst and has no potential.

“sol.” his voice firm and serious. sol swears she felt a chill run down. she mentally braces herself for this conversation that she has tried all means to avoid. only one person dares address her as just ‘sol’.

“when did you last sleep? or eat proper food?” his eyes are serious, yet soft and glassy. his voice is gentle and soothing. she closes her eyes and lets out a silent sigh. she is nowhere the mock court, yet she feels like she has taken the witness stand and the oath. lying is perjury, she hears herself say.

“i’m doing fine. i just need to do well on this test.” she lies through her teeth. well, it’s a half true and a half lie. it’s just up to him to pick out which is the lie and truth. joon hwi isn’t an idiot, and can read her emotions with just a single look. it’s an utter lie.

“i’m getting coffee.” she mutters to herself. it was the whole reason she came out, anyways. her sleeve is caught by him but she yanks it away forcefully. she doesn’t even know why she’s being so harsh and angry to him. all he’s done is just ask how she’s doing.

“you need sleep. not caffeine.” he spins her around by her shoulders, his eyes serious and almost frustrated. she fails to meet his eyes, afraid of falling apart before him.

“joon, just let me be.” she says harshly and pushes his hands off before running to get that extra potent coffee. it was the first time she has ever called him that, and it falls out just as naturally as the word ‘sol’ does out of his. sol doesn’t notice how wet her eyes are until she’s downstairs, grabbing cans of coffee from the vending machine. (pathetic, she thinks, getting teary because of lying to her best friend.)

joon hwi doesn't follow. and sol isn't one bit affected.

not. at. all.

-----

the next time sol sees joon hwi is in the morning. he’s carrying his books and has his backpack slung over his shoulder, leaning against the wall. sol braces herself. she knows joon hwi to be protective and caring. but for him to be waiting at the entrance of their dorm was downright surprising.

sol’s not doing any better. when the caffeine and sugar stopped her from staying late, she resorted to stabbing her hand to keep herself awake. when her hand got too red and bloody, she switched to another spot on her arm. underneath her hoodie is her arm with dried blood and bruises all over. she’s surprised she hasn’t had blood poisoning yet.

sol flashes the most natural smile she can on her face, pretending as if her argument with him did not happen a few hours ago. her head was numb, but hanging on with the ointment she applied at her temples. she needed to act okay. just so he would stop worrying and leave her alone.

“sol.” joon hwi’s voice calls, going forward and grabbing her arm to support her. sol is about to create a joke, laugh it off and pretend everything is okay, hopefully convincing him she’s doing better (even if she’s far from it.). but what she doesn’t anticipate is his hand accidentally squeezing the sore wound of hers,

she hisses as his fingers dig into her wound and he immediately lets go. joon hwi’s eyes well in concern, not knowing what he’s done that caused her so much pain. sol’s eyes meet his, uncertain and afraid, as if a secret has been exposed. she pulls her sleeve down and is almost regretting that when joon hwi gently lifts her arm and lifts her sleeve up slightly to expose her arm and hand.

joon hwi takes her good hand in his and drags her to an empty staircase not far from where they were. joon hwi notes the dried blood on her hand and gives a disapproving sigh. just what was she doing to herself? she draws her hand back and pulls her sleeve down, hiding it away.

“sol, you need to take care of yourself.”

“joon, i’m doing okay, i promise. it’s not a big deal.” her voice upbeat and slightly more energetic. joon hwi is about to call her out from lying, but she flashes a smile. “come on, how can an exam defeat me?”

“i’m going to be late.” she says and runs ahead of him, joining yeseul and yebeom in front. sol feels a gnawing guilt in her heart for lying, but she momentarily forgets about it as yebeom sweeps them into a conversation.

i’m sorry, joon. i really am. but i’m not going to burden you any further.

joon hwi is left, helpless and broken, watching the back of the woman he loves stray further.

-----

it isn’t a secret that joon hwi and sol a are good friends. everyone on campus is always shocked. joon hwi, the school’s top student. sol a, the school’s worst student. everyone would have expected sol b when they heard ‘kang sol’. after all, it made sense, didn’t it? the two best students in school.

but what would be even more shocking is that han joon hwi, second round judicial exam passer, is deep in love with kang sol, the klutz with the top bun.

joon hwi couldn’t deny the joy he felt whenever sol was around. it started with study group and tutoring and messages about school. then it became lunches every moment they could. now, he couldn’t go a day without seeing her, hearing her voice or even a simple text. he can’t remember the moment he started falling for the clumsy woman, but when he realised it, he knew it was too late. he was in, deep.

and that's why he can’t bear to see her suffer. that’s why he spends late nights studying with her even though he doesn't need to. that’s why he insist walking her home, even though he installed the camera. (“i miss byeol! that smart cookie...” would always be his excuse.) that’s why he calls her ‘sol’, and he lets her call him ‘joon’, even though no one calls him that anymore.

sol locks herself in her room and buries herself under multiple books after her lectures. sol admits it, she’s tired. she can barely keep herself together and her body is so weak she doesn’t know how she managed to survive the week with less than two hours of sleep combined per day. she can’t remember the last nap she had that lasted more than half an hour.

the guilt from lying is eating her inside. when she closes her eyes, she can only see how hurt joon hwi’s face looks when he saw her arm. taking a shaky breath in, she doesn’t notice the tear running down her cheek. what was she even crying about? lying? hurting her best friend? fatigue? she slams her head against her books, shaking her thoughts out. it’s already 3am, and she doesn’t have much time left.

“kang sol a, you need to do this exam, you hear me? if you want to pass out, do it later on in the afternoon! you have 9 hours till the test.” she scolds herself out loud. stabbing her arm once again, she jerks herself awake and writes her notes over and over. just 9 more hours.

later on in the day, sol finds herself seated next to joon hwi. but she doesn’t notice him. her eyes are too out of focus to concentrate on anything but the paper and pen she holds. when the teaching assistant makes an announcement to start, she races against time and scribbles furiously. her head throbs, but she clings on to her last ounce of sanity keeping herself awake.

-----

she’s worse. joon hwi thinks. much, much worse. her skin is paler than normal and her eyes are fluttery. with her sleeve pulled up slightly, he notices the wound on her hand more bloody than it was. he visibly winces. but it’s nothing to the hurt in his heart. he knows that he should be busy scribbling, but his eyes are slightly glassy and all he can think of is her bloody hand.

all he wants to do is to drag her away. to take her far from this school. he wants to hold her small body in his arms and cradle her as he tends to her wounds. he wants to tuck her into a soft bed and stroke her brown hair. he wants to tell her how he feels, how she’s perfect, smart and beautiful in his eyes. how sol has already had his validation, and no matter how many kang sols there are, he will only have one in his heart.

as the clock leaves a minute or so to the end, sol struggles to keep her head from falling. she just needs to finish the last sentence. her eyes are blurred and her head has never felt more tight and woozy. her ramyeon from 4am is threatening to make an appearance.

“sol, you’re bleeding.” she hears an familiar echoed voice say next to her. instinctively, she brings a hand up to her nose, and wipes it, revealing the bright red blood. she can’t care for her jacket sleeve and carelessly wipes even though her arm aches. just a bit more, she tells herself.

the voices around her blur as she feels hands on her shoulder stopping her. she pushes them off weakly as she finishes the last word on her paper. she lets out a breath of relief and pushes her paper away from her. she’s finally done. she can finally breathe and have that nap. someone calls her name, but she’s too tired to respond.

then her eyes rolls back and she crashes into oblivion.

joon hwi manages to catch her head before it hits the table as she slumps sideways. he scribbles his name on his paper before chucking his paper and hers towards the teaching assistant. yeseul passes a tissue over to joon hwi and shakes her, eyes getting teary. he gently blots her nose, soaking up the blood. the other students leave unbothered, with only their study group crowding around them.

the next hour is a mad rush in joon hwi’s head. they are frantic for an ambulance, but joon hwi just cradles her body in his arms and runs outside. “it’s faster to run.” he says before taking off. she’s light, way too light for her frame, even with the layered coats that she’s wearing. when he reaches the hospital, she’s laid on a stretcher and sent for checks while the nurses ask him to wait for short while outside.

and for the third time, he stands outside, clutching to a bloody tissue, helpless.

-----

joon hwi wants to beat himself over and over. he should have been more forceful with her. heck, he should have done more than just watch silently. he should have sent packed lunches, compiled his notes, offered to stay up with her. even after when he knows how much sol is suffering, he only stood by.

his eyes are teary when he is allowed to see her. she looks so small under those white sheets. the doctor mentions that they had to take her hoodie off to patch her wounds and insert her IV drip. “dehydrated on caffeine, lack of nutrients and fatigue.” the doctor tells him. he only nods as the doctor leaves him.

his group chat is pinging with endless messages and he takes a moment to update them. he sends a quick text that he’ll let them know when she’s awake. his hand brushes the stray hairs out of her eyes and as best as he can, arranges her bangs the way she likes. his touch is as light as a butterfly as he lets his fingers brush pass her bandages.

with the curtain closed around him, joon hwi lets himself crumble silently, as tears run down his face, hands gripping sol’s stained hoodie sleeve. he wishes he could do something then just watch sol lie on the bed. he knows she is okay, but knowing that he could have prevented this worse case scenario from happening makes him upset. he gives himself a few minutes to compose himself before taking his own hoodie and layering it on her.

and for hours, joon hwi sits by her bed in his own thoughts, once again helpless.

-----

when she wakes up, her head pounds worse than the time she got the worse hangover in school. her eyes flutter, drawing the attention of joon hwi. her mind is cloudy as she starts registering the antiseptic smell and bright lights. her eyes come into focus as she turns over to find a pair of warm brown eyes looking at her.

“joon hwi...?” she says with barely any energy.

“you’re awake.” joon hwi lets himself sigh in relief knowing that she’s awake. it’s already 6pm. the others should be on their way over soon. he sends a quick “she’s awake” to the chat and shuts his phone.

“i... finished my exam right?” the words come tumbling out of sol’s mouth.

“that’s all you are thinking of now?” the anger in joon hwi’s voice catches her by surprise. she lowers her hand and avoids his eyes. she’s really done it, then. she’s really pissed him off.

“aren’t you one bit concerned about your health? you could have literally died being so overworked.” his eyes are glassy. realising that he’s frightening her, he lets a sigh out. joon hwi helps her sit up and props a pillow for her. her fingers fiddle with the thin blanket of the bed. there’s no point being strong in front of him now, after all this.

“you know how much every test means to me.” she mutters in a voice so soft, it’s unlike her to be so...small. joon hwi knows under that strong woman with a fiery passion for justice, there’s a vulnerable little girl, insecure and uncertain. but this was the first time, he realised, that she’s opening up herself.

“i’m so tired, joon. i’m so tired of running this stupid rat race that i’ll never win. i’m so sick of putting everything into my grades and not receiving anything back.” her voice so small, staring at the bandages on her hand. was the pain worth it? she’s not sure now.

joon hwi doesn’t say anything back. how could he? this man was born for this system, to bring law back to the country. he can’t compare to her, who spends countless nights studying, while taking care of her family. all he can do is sit by her bed and provide comfort.

“my head hurts. my body aches all over. yet, i can’t seem to do well in my exams. tell me, joon. just how long must i suffer?” his heart is pierced with every word she says. she’s so broken. joon hwi then notices the small pearls of tears dripping down her face.

his hand reaches out and his thumb rubs away her tears on her cheeks. he doesn’t know what prompted this, but sol doesn’t swat his hand away. she lets him as her hand wipes her remaining tears away.

“i’m here now. you can rely on me.” he says softly to her. suddenly, he takes her small hand in his and squeezes it in comfort. sol’s slightly taken aback, but she doesn’t know why she feels fuzzy inside. she feels warm and for the first time, she feels her burden lifted. with much courage, she gives a small smile.

“noona!” they hear a familiar panicked voice ring and they instinctively draw away from each other. if joon hwi’s face is slightly red, sol doesn't notice. sol is swept away into arguing with bokgi with her health and a teary eyed yeseul. even jiho and sol b came, but stood by silently. (jiho notices joon hwi’s flushed cheeks and his too-bright smile that he finally realises is meant for kang sol a. he makes a mental note about it.)

joon hwi leans back as he watches yeseul and bokgi fuss with sol’s health. he suppresses a smile as he looks at sol’s light laugh, knowing how her burdens are slowly fading and lifted. that he’s finally managed to reach out for his soulmate as she sinks further. it was going to be a journey, but joon hwi will drag her, his sol, out from her darkness every time.

i’m going to be there, no matter what, kang sol. you will not fight alone. i will stay with you, even when you think you don’t deserve it. it doesn't matter if you feel the same towards me or not. if i can see you smile and laugh, it’s enough for me. your happiness is all that matters.

because kang sol, i just love you so damm much.

-----

sol doesn’t notice the switch in her jacket. when she leaves about an hour later with her friends to eat jjajangmyeon (extra pickles, she orders.), she assumes the jacket she has by her bed is hers. she doesn't notice the sandalwood and jasmine smell, as opposed to her pine scented fabrics. when joon hwi teases her and she argues back in annoyance, she’s carefree and light.

when joon hwi smiles at her with his sweet smile, she can’t help but think she’s so lucky that she has him, of all people, by her side. her heart skips a beat, and she’s certain that she feels more than friends towards him. that all this time, she has finally fallen for the cheeky and charming joon hwi behind his intellect.

she smiles back, teeth bared and eyes crinkled as they walk back.

after all, who is to stand against her now, when she has him by her side?

joon hwi, thank you for finding me no matter how much i try to hide away. thank you for believing in me when everyone didn’t. i know you like someone else, and it’s okay. because whoever that is will be so damm lucky to have you. to see you smile your charming smile is enough to put me at ease.

because han joon hwi, i admit, i have fallen for you. i’m in love with you.

-----

bonus:

“noona, they like each other, don’t they?” bokgi watches as sol a barks at joon hwi. joon hwi only runs ahead and buries his hands in his hoodie pockets while letting out light laughs and continues teasing.

“oh, they are so whipped for each other.” yeseul triumphantly says as she walks with the rest behind the not-so-obvious lovebirds.

well, this would be an interesting relationship to see unfold.

160 notes · View notes

mysticaltea · 3 years ago

Text

NEVERTHELESS FINALE ➡️ 🗑🔥🚮

Okay....what was this ending?

It defeats the purpose of this whole drama and its storyline. Suddenly park jae eon changes and wants to date nabi. Meanwhile nabi, having the moral backbone of a chocolate eclair (in words of john mulaney) crawls back to jae eon when he helps her with putting her piece back together. I will give them the benefit of doubt here.

Ok nabi liked jae eon and could not move on

Ok jae eon realised he hurt nabi and wanted to be with her sincerely (it's hard to believe tho)

BUT THE ENDING SCENE PROVED THAT THESE TWO ARE NOT ENDGAME

She did cast curious glances at do hyeok, she did lose her grip on jae eon's hand. And jae eon could have given his number to those girls very easily.

And the biggest bullshit is that scene where nabi realised jae eon saw her at her ex's exhibition and was instantly attracted to her. Realistically that's just downright creepy. Think about it- seeing your nude sculpture in an exhibition without your knowledge is humiliating in itself. Then a person you are dating later on, says hey btw I saw you staring at your own nude piece and I thought you were the prettiest person I have ever seen.

That's gotta be awkward. Why was it romantic here is beyond me?!!

And do hyeok.....I feel so bad for him. He was so good until the end. And they did him dirty like a classic kdrama second lead.....so much for expecting something different from this kdrama. Anyways do hyeok deserves someone better than nabi and maybe she knew that herself.

She and jae eon are the typical couple who can't break away from their toxic cycle. That is until they have no choice but to grow up.

But so happy for our queens sol-jiwan. They are the cutest. We also got good ost out of this drama so that's a plus.

#nevertheless #yu nabi #park jae eon #netflix kdrama #yang do hyeok

31 notes · View notes

scriptureient · 4 years ago

Text

Maybe, we did get a SolHwi endgame after all.

The first thing that kept me sober when I woke this morning is the aroma of my coffee and the realizations that hit me after watching Law School’s finale. Everyone was kind of disappointed with how Sol A and Joon Hwi’s (SolHwi) ending didn’t reach their expectations. Well, of course, I include myself. I, too, wasn’t that satisfied. And maybe, the reason why we aren’t as satisfied as we should be is because we’re actually expecting a more blunt confession than a subtle one. But in all honesty, if we are going to decode piece by piece, we can say that they’re truly meant for each other. Maybe, JTBC didn’t include the confession thing because they wanted to stick with the fact that Law School is not a romance, hence, a legal drama. Which is acceptable. We’re just the ones who expected that it was.

In Law School episode 16, we saw how Sol A’s treatment towards Joon Hwi changed (I hope you noticed that). The way she stares at him and the way she gets conscious every time Joon Hwi gets close to her, is too obvious and safe to say that the feelings are mutual. I actually enjoyed episode 16 if we are going to tackle about SolHwi’s relationship. But if we are going to talk about beyond that, I can say that I was disappointed. And we’ll talk about that later.

Going back to SolHwi (because that’s the reason why I started to write this anyway lol). The crumbs that I got during the finale was enough. And unlike other fans, I wasn’t actually expecting a kissing scene, hug scene or whatever lovey-dovey thing that is, because in all honesty, I love how Joon Hwi and So A give me butterflies everytime they do their own thing. You know? the thing wherein they’re not that intimate when showing their affection towards each other.

Most dramas are like that and it gets boring and cringey. Not like in Joon Hwi and Sol A’s case, the love between them doesn’t look like it was rushed and flew smoothly, instead. It feels more genuine that you’d actually think that they’re dating for real. I can say that there was a loveline and JTBC made us see it for ourselves without bluntly telling us. I am sure that they’re truly soulmates and knowing that makes me feel relieved.

Especially when Kang Sol A said to Joonwhi, “I’ll be rooting for you in your uncle’s place.” And Joonhwi replied, “I’ll be rooting for you too.” Man! That's another way of exchanging I love yous for me. And believe me, that’s the sweetest and prettiest thing.

On the other hand, if we are going to address how the whole finale went… I’d be frank if I say that it’s still lacking. There are so many queries that aren’t provided with better explanations and answers. Like, why the hell Seung Jae decided to study law? Why the hell did he grab Lee Man Ho’s collar in the first episode (if I’m not mistaken)? No one would dare to grab someone’s collar unless you have a strong motive to do so. Right?

The first episodes are full of cases and trials. The trial that really took time was Yang Jong Hoon’s that they forgot to put some details on Assemblyman Ko Hyeong So, which in fact, his trial should be well detailed. I expected that his trial wouldn’t go like this. It feels so rushed. Lee Man Ho’s death was too.

Everything feels so rushed.

In Seo Ji Ho’s case, I was also expecting that they would show us at least a glimpse of how the trial against Prosecutor Jin went. But I guess it's expectation vs reality, indeed.

But all in all, I enjoyed watching the finale. I’m just kind of still hoping that it gets a second season. Or if we are fortunate enough, I’m genuinely anticipating for Kim Beom and Hye Young to have a project together as lead couples, because why not? ^_^

Sighs. Anyway, we have finally reached the end. I hope y’all enjoyed watching law school as much as I did. I never thought that I’d get attached to a certain drama, like law school. I’ve learned so much and even was inspired to become a lawyer/prosecutor if fate would let me.

Watching law school made me realize that not everyday… Everyone's okay. It made me realize that at the end of the day, there will be those ones in the higher positions that will drag those unprivileged individuals down. There will be those who possess the so-called crab mentality. There will be those parents who are willing to sacrifice their children's souls in order to save their ego. There will be those who are abused and can’t sleep at night thinking, what did they do wrong to experience that kind of brutality. There will be those who are greedy with money. And the ones who are willing to risk it all to make law just.

And that’s what matters for me. The moral that we have learned. Not only in law but also in life.

#solhwi #law school #lawschoolfinale #lawschoolfinaleverdict #lawschoolep16 #myfinalverdict

38 notes · View notes

maydaymadier · 4 years ago

Text

Time

[Disclaimer: I’m currently slightly more than halfway through the c2 finale and I’m going to try and avoid spoilers since well, there’s still like 3hrs of content to get spoiled on. Will likely crosspost to my ao3]

“Time, it takes time, not days or weeks or years. Time.”

Caleb Widogast was right, though to be precise it takes 100 consecutive days of inscribing a teleportation circle in the same place to make it permanent. Nicodranas was the first teleportation circle Essek Thelyss finished. 100 days of pounding sun and coastal heat felt fitting to start his time. He had his trepidations about better acquainting himself with Yussa, less so with Ms. Lavorre. The Nein asked why he needed to make a teleportation circle in Nicodranas, they already had access to Tidepeak Tower’s. ‘Yes, however, we will not have to give anyone advance notice to use our own.’

Jester made something of a habit of bringing him a new parasol or sunhat each time she visited, even brought him tinted glasses she found once. If he knew she was coming he’d make sure to wear one of them.

Each time he ran out of chalk he’d wrap himself in illusion and teleport himself to Zadash. Meanwhile, the stores in his towers grew dust-laden, his absence from the Dynasty more suspicious, and he bought his chalk from Enchanter Sol. The Mighty Nein were a family, regardless of any distance, and he had the means to make distance mean nothing.�� So Essek Thelyss carried on. And on the hundredth day, he stepped into a circle in Nicodranas and stepped out in the Blooming Grove.

He was invited in for tea, as expected, and accepted as was polite. The next day he found the spot behind the temple where the grass had been flattened by the circle delivering him and started his next hundred days. He ‘compensated’ for his intrusion with his floating meditative guard each night. Caduceus seemed to pick up on what he was doing faster than Jester had, by a thin margin. The remaining Clay children would poke their noses in once and a while, curious about their drow visitor they’d only met briefly before but they remembered him helping garden after Ikithon set the temple ablaze. They would offer him a plate at meals, he insisted on using his own rations in a strange dance of hospitality and being a polite guest.

At one point, after finishing the day’s circle he considered venturing through the Savalirwood to Glory Run Road, find Mollymauk’s grave. But it felt disrespectful to Kingsley somehow in a way he couldn’t articulate. If he were to be more dramatic it felt like an invasion of privacy to the rest of the Nein as a whole, intruding on a moment on a place where they were unknowing adversaries. So he kept inscribing circles in the grass and sometimes he found fresh chalk in his component pouch. On occasion, Caduceus found saplings and cuttings of Xorhasian plants on his windowsill.

On the hundredth day he stepped into the circle in the Blooming Grove and came out under Caduceus’s tree in the Xorhaus. He was far more careful with this one. The Xorhaus was sparsely used, bordering on abandoned at this point, more than ready for the Nein to inhabit it once again. Beauregard, oft accompanied by Yasha, used it the most for when they visited Rosohna on Cobalt Soul business. The Bright Queen had been more than amenable to working with the Soul once she knew they were dismantling the organization that had stolen the beacons.

Though it took three days before Beau realized he was working on making a circle on the roof, pruning away his extra time by trying to tame the garden, clad in his rose-patterned gardening gloves, what with his lackluster previous experience. She offered to go bring him chalk from his towers, anything else he might need that he’d left behind when he was posted in Eiselcross. He accepted the offer, to eschew suspicion, asking for some simple components that filled any wizard’s pouch. Sooner than later, soon enough Beau couldn’t knock the truth out of him (not that she needed to do that or would, he was growing increasingly susceptible to disappointed stares from his friends) he stepped into the circle in Rosohna and stepped out in Rexxentrum.

His skin crawled and felt like it would slough off with each passing day. He wasn’t so bold at this point to attempt and make a circle on Soltryce’s grounds but he did take pleasure in chipping away the next hundred days in the courtyard of Trent Ikithon’s now abandoned tower. It was a joy, absolutely cathartic tearing apart what little remained hidden away of the bastard’s stores. The most valuable and precious artifacts and components were hidden in ways only an archmage would even know about or know how to unlock. Malicious clumsiness might have gotten him to break an important, now inert, magical tool or two as he rummaged through the tower for chalk.

Though one day, he noticed an owl perched in a tree, watch him for an hour, disappear for a few minutes, reappear, so on and so forth for the whole day. He had a good idea who the owl was but she never watched him again after that. If she wanted to know what he was doing here, fine. It wasn’t like either could rat out the other without drawing unwanted attention to them both. So on the hundredth day, what little remained of Trent Ikithon’s personal study even more thoroughly destroyed, he stepped into the circle in Rosohna and stepped out.

Essek chipped away at the for now final circle under the watchful light of Pelor. Passively, the part of him that absorbed every ounce of knowledge, regardless if he cared or not, wondered what the connection may be between whatever the Luxon is and the Dawnfather. Just a fun little thought experiment to occupy him while he worked through the next hundred days.

By the end of Brussendar, with Highsummer fast approaching, he’d decided that he ought to have brought at least one of Jester’s hats. Though more importantly he’d decided that the thought was silly and any connection between the two deities must be entirely aesthetic. Nothing he didn’t already know but what else can a wizard do but overthink?

It wasn’t the same level of festivities he’d heard about with Harvest’s Close but Highsummer seemed to be the close second in Blumenthal. He sat, disguised in the shade of an oak probably as old as he was and simply watched from afar. Somewhere in the crowd, he saw a flash of copper. Tried not to think to much of it. Red hair seemed slightly more common in this corner of the empire. He caught the sweeping arc of a long, striped scarf being tossed over a shoulder. A leather coat dusting at the ground (though he had looked so good in purple).

Caleb Widogast stepped out of the crowd and sat under the oak with him, “I suppose a criminal always returns to the scene of the crime.” “I suppose I have,” Essek stared at his feet. Caleb offered him some sort of sweet roll wrapped in paper, “I was not talking about you.” He ignored the comment, “How long has it been? Since we last spoke.” “Four hundred and eighty-six days. About a year and a half to be informal,” he just set down the roll next to his hand when he didn’t move to take it. “I keep thinking one day it will have been enough time.” “Looking for the specific number will drive you mad. Are you just going to keep making circles across Wildemount until you feel that you’ve atoned?” Essek took the roll but only held it, “I know that I cannot make up for everything. What are you doing here, anyways?” “I have been trying to convince myself to visit. Maybe try to pay my respects if I can stomach it. The others had already told me what you were doing, but Astrid told me where you were going. Figured now was good a time as any,” his expression darkened, the reality beyond the afterglow of a hard-won victory whispering into both their ears. “I-,” Essek started. “Did you know I was from here before you picked it or did you just want to taunt Rexxentrum by hiding in their breadbasket for a while?” Caleb stared him down. “I knew.” “Alright then.” “I hope I have not intruded in some way by coming here.” “I suppose we were both curious about the echo. It’s right up your alley, prodigious dunamancer and whatnot,” Caleb glanced back up at the revelers before turning his attention back to him “I would not discount your own skill, you’ve picked up dunamancy quite quickly and with a level of skill I have rarely seen.” Maybe they can just talk about magic. “Danke.” There was an uncomfortable pause in the conversation.

“When do you think-?” Essek tried asking. “I don’t. I will not pretend to know when enough time will have passed for the past not to hurt us anymore, Essek. And counting it in teleportation circles will not make it go any faster,” he said, though with the crushing sadness to his eyes of a man who wished he were wrong. “I am trying to make it easier for us to see each other,” he said with easy authority. “It is much easier to see each other when we don’t run off to the four corners,” Caleb added on with a tired chuckle. “What are you implying?” Something caught between excitement and unease hit him. “I can stay. Help you finish the circle here, we can leave, make another. As many circles as we want. We can have the continent at our fingertips. Maybe even go back to what remains of Aeor in Eiselcross. Devexian couldn’t have been the only mechanical inhabitant. For all we know there is a city of automatons underneath the ice now,” Caleb got more excited and dreamy as he went on, the unbridled excitement of a mage faced with knowledge. “That sounds...nice...,” Essek trailed off, trying to sound as neutral as he could manage. “Do you want that, Essek?”

It felt like the word was tearing its way out of him, “Yes.”

#my post #critical role #mighty nein #cr fic #cr fanfic #essek thelyss #shadowgast #just a sprinkling of shadowgast there at the end #post-canon #Essek is Coping

33 notes · View notes

secretive3amramenmaker · 4 years ago

Text

More Fire Force Opinions That Literally Nobody Asked For (pt.2)

Guess who finished the manga~ Guess who finished the manga~ This gal~ I’m surprised that my Fire Force rant/essay meta was so well received by the fandom, thank you guys so much!!! Anyways, today I’ll be discussing some a lot of my ideas, opinions, thoughts, future predictions, and commentary on moments from the Fire Force manga.

Warnings: Spoilers for future Fire Force Season Two arcs, and for the Fire Force manga. Read at your own discretion! Now that the warnings are over, onwards! ヽ(ヅ)ノ

(I’m actually trying to order my opinions via arcs, but I feel that this is really important, so I’m putting it first.)

1. There are no iPhones in the Fire Force.

This is so sad? My favourite characters don’t know the joy that is staying up late, scrolling through social media, watching YOUTUBE, having MEMES, KNOWING👏THE👏GREATNESS👏THAT👏IS👏VINES!!!

I’m slightly disappointed that Vulcan, who is literally named after the god of forging himself, who can make frickin’ HOLOGRAMS, didn’t bring back any of the pre-Catalysm technology to recreate, improve, or experiment with. As an expert engineer (I say this 0.2% seriously, with the two years of high school engineering course experience under my belt), I would’ve been interested to see what kind of gadgets Vulcan could whip up. *insert ‘Inspector Gadget theme song*

Please have this very sad Jigglypuff to show how sad this is.

2. Sister Iris and Religion in the Fire Force Storyline

In the beginning of the Fire Force series, I’ve accepted the fact that Iris' role as noncombatant, meant to act as the religious and public face of the Eighth Company. I think it is a fascinating role, because it allows the story to explore the idea of religion and belief in depth, which I was really looking forward to. I was excited how the author would handle Iris’ character, but I’m somewhat disappointed that it took so long for us to see Iris and other side characters like Maki and Tamaki become more fleshed out (I’m not counting Iris’ and Hibana’s backstory in Season 1. I felt that was more backstory to flesh out Hibana’s character rather than Iris’).

Throughout Fire Force’s story, some of the things I looked forward to the most were the religious elements, motifs, themes, and questions that are sprinkled throughout the story, one of my favourites being the portrayal of the dichotomy of religion. In Joker’s backstory, we see the darkness of the Holy Sol faith, and what happens when any religious belief is taken TOO far, without any regard for human life or rights. This idea of viewing humans as a collective, no regard for the individuality and feelings of a single person in the pursuit of faith is embodied by the captain of the Shadow of the Holy Sun, Joker’s former captain and abuser. However, we also get to see the goodness religion and belief can achieve in Iris’ mini arc, which focuses on Iris’ internal struggle as she struggles with her faith after being informed of the Evangelist’s part in the founding of the Holy Sol’s religion. Shinra and Huo Yan Li, the bucket hat 1st Brigade lieutenant (Seriously, which is the correct way to pronounce this guy’s name? Huo Yan Li?? Foien Li???) interaction in the Iris arc really summed up the arc and Iris’ character beautifully. Religion and belief gives people closure, hope, and strength to keep on moving forward. Seeing the anime adaption was an amazing experience. Fire Force’s animation was the reason I decided to watch it in the first place (before staying for the intriguing plot and religious side plot), but this particular episode?? Pure art. The colouring, ambience, storytelling? So good＼\ ٩( ᐛ )و /／

Like, the little detail of the burning nun in Iris’ eyes? (lmao sorry for the extra trauma, sweet child) *chef’s kiss*

The importance of belief is also hinted in the Asakusa arc, where all the district’s inhabitants believe in Benimaru, and expanded upon in later manga chapters, when we learn that Adolla is linked to humanity’s perception and beliefs about the world around them.

I would’ve liked Iris a lot more if we got to further explore her character and the affects of religion on others more deeply, perhaps see Iris visiting the Infernals’ families and loved ones, trying to help give closure through the nation’s (mostly) shared faith in Sol. They mentioned offhandedly in both anime and manga that Iris visits the deceased’s families, and I felt it would’ve given the deaths more significance and depth if we get screentime of how families are affected by the death of their loved ones. It would have also given the Holy Sol’s religion more depth and meaning if we saw believers of Sol’s actions due to their religion, (also giving more impact when we learn surprise surprise! The Holy Sol temple is founded by the Evangelist!) since belief without actions is just lip-service.

I would have also liked to see how Iris’ prayers affect others in the Eighth company. We do get to see this, 140+ CHAPTERS LATER in the mini Iris arc does Shinra (finally) mentions how Iris’ prayers helps him not lose sight of why he serves as a firefighter and kills Infernal. I’m glad that we got this scene, because better later than never, especially since Iris’ and Shinra’s discussion and overall the entire Iris mini arcs shows the power of prayer, but I would’ve like to have this topic discussed sooner.

2. Obi’s Sole Flaw

I think that Obi was an okay character, but they kind of pushed the boundary of his “normalcy” when we saw him topple pillars and rip railways out of the ground with “brute strength”. There are limits to the human body, it is fragile, and it doesn’t matter how much conditioning or “going beyond your limits” you do. People do experience boost of adrenaline, which is probably what the very anime-like titled “Pressure of Death” is based on, since life or death situations can heighten your performance and strength. However, I do understand that this IS shonen, and it isn’t meant to be realistic.

What made Obi’s sole flaw (and a physical flaw, at that!) was his “normalcy” while surrounded by more powerful individuals then he, and having to make up for something he can’t help by working twice as hard as everybody else. Now, although I was disappointed that Obi didn’t have any character/moral flaws, what made Obi’s character mediocre to me wasn’t the choice of Obi’s sole flaw. In fact, I could see how this could be an interesting character narrative IF WE LEARN MORE ABOUT OBI’S BACKSTORY, THEREFORE EXPLORING HIS CHARACTER MORE!!! (We only know Obi was a regular firefighter, being decorated twice, and then having his titles revoked for prioritizing the lives of citizens before becoming the captain of the Eighth.) No, what I didn’t like about Obi’s character is that we never see him STRUGGLE with his flaw, how others were born “superior” to him thanks to there invulnerability to flames, how he lives knowing one day he could just burst into flames. There’s SO many interesting things about Obi’s character, that could explained further, making him so much more interesting!!!

On the other hand, Obi’s character is a great role model for what a “normal” person can do (while jacked up on adrenaline, and when they manage to overcome flight reaction in fight or flight). He works hard, training to the best of his ability, doing what he CAN do, pushing his limits so that he can go above and beyond, overcoming the “Pressure of Death”, and staying true to his ideals, something very hard to do in a world where you might burst into flames at any given moment. I know that if I were to wake in a world where I could die any second (I mean, I could die tomorrow in Real Life™, but what are the chances of that?), I would definitely find myself struggling with my faith, and staying true to the morals I admire and was taught by my parents, especially if I was putting myself in danger despite of this weakness.

3. Asakusa Showdown Arc and Shinmon Hibachi

The Asakusa Showdown arc. Yes. Just yes. I-

It was amazing, periodt. The art, the overall aesthetic, the storytelling. *Cue violent fangirling* I took SOOOO many screenshots of the fight between Benimaru and Hibachi, I’m pretty sure my camera roll is 95% manga caps now. I love how the author actually gave a (fairly) valid reason for the cool Japanese aesthetic of this arc, in that Adolla is slowly gradually colliding with the Fire Force universe, causing people’s perception of the fight to seep into the universe. Overall? It. Was. Amazing. Albeit not my favourite arc, (that honour goes to the mini-Iris arc) I think that the Asakusa Showdown arc is easily in my Top 5 Fire Force arcs.

The Asakusa Showdown Arc mirroring and showing the ideals taught in the Mini Iris Arc was quite clever, though I’m not sure if this was purposefully done Okubo, or if I’m just scrabbling at crumbs.

In the Mini Iris arc, we see how religion and belief gives closure; a stark contrast to Asakusa with its proto-nationalist/atheist values. In THIS arc, centering around Asakusa and it’s proto-nationalist inhabitants, we see what happens when there isn’t enough effort to emphasize or give closure in what happened to Hibachi, and his subsequent death.

Shinmon Hibachi, as the leader of the neighbourhood fire watch, understood the significance of killing Infernals; of taking somebody’s life. But because of the unwillingness to let others (i.e. the inhabitants of Asakusa, that one kid who stabs him) understand the weight of killing Infernals and gain closure through understanding the reasons behind his harsh actions, Hibachi shoulders the consequences of both his and the actions of his predecessors’ ALONE, therefore leading to his demise.

The kid who stabbed Hibachi was still a CHILD, and children don’t always have a comprehensive understanding of death and the consequences of responsibility (no matter how much that kid believes he was ready to be an adult and support his mother).

3.5 Extra Worldbuilding Questions About Asakusa

I also have so many questions about Asakusa in general! How is Asakusa powered without being supported by Amaterasu, which is the country’s (and isn’t that mind boggling, that a whole country is supported by one power source with no backup source or other forms of energy/electricity, because of patriotic pride in a machine that might one day shut down, cough manga readers where u at?) I’m assuming that Asakusa mainly use coal, candles, and lamps for energy and lighting, since we did see one example of lighting in Asakusa (an ancient oil lamp), but I’m not sure if that would be sufficient to support a whole district of people. People were able to do that in the olden days, but back then there was a smaller concentration of people, and power necessary to support them.

Is Asakusa a district that is mostly atheist or polytheist? Do the inhabitants believe in no gods, not just the Sun god brought by the White Clads and Raffles I, including the Shinto or Buddhist gods from before the Catalysm, or do they believe in multiple gods/ancestor worship and they just don’t want to worship the Sun God like the rest of the Tokyo Empire because they’re unwilling to accept the new culture, immigrants and religion caused by Amaterasu, wanting to keep up the old Japanese traditions?

4. Arthur Deserves Better Parents 2k20 (Hint of Arthur’s Secret Ability?)

When Team Vulcan + Arthur found Arthur’s parents in the sewers Nether... Honestly, I don’t want to touch on them much, since I want to be (fairly) logical in my opinions on them, not letting my personal feelings twist my hypotheses for what may happen in the future of the Fire Force storyline.

Putting aside Arthur’s parents obvious neglect and bad parenting, I’m curious if Arthur's dad is actually a prophet or did he just get lucky with his delusions. Is this related to how Arthur can notice the difference between dopplegangers and real people? Perhaps because Arthur’s delusions of knighthood are so different from how he truly is (an abandoned child who deluded himself as a knight), therefore allowing him to notice the difference between dopplegangers and Adolla, as they are created by people’s perception of a subject.

5. Let Sho Be a Normal Kid at the End of the Show 2k20

Please let the small child be happy at the end of the manga. I mean, being raised by a cult underground isn’t exactly a Hallmarks childhood. For example, in the beginning of chapter 231, look at how Sho looks longingly at those kids on scooters and was so happy when he got a balloon from the firefighter mascots! (bruh, same balloons bring me so much joy)

I hope that in the end of the manga Okubo lets Sho, Shinra, and Eighth have some quality time. In one of the early arcs (with the first speaking demon, Minamoto?) Shinra saw some kids going to school wearing school uniforms, mentioning that if Sho was still alive, he’d be old enough to go to school. I’d be so sweet if at the end of the manga, Sho would have the chance to go to school, maybe the Fire Force academy (if it’s still running if by the end of the manga they’ve discovered the reason behind Human Combustion), makes friends and beat up anybody who badmouths the Eighth.

6. Cool Combat Medics!

I’d love to see more of the cool combat medics from the Sixth! We only saw the captain, Kayoko Huang, in action with her Asclepius staff pyrokinesis, which, might I add is a fascinating and terrifying ability. Think about it, she’s controlling CELLULAR DIVISION!!! She could start creating tumors in the bodies of her enemies! Could disintegrate people cellularly and no one would know, because fire snake, so no fingerprints!

Anyways, that is all I have right now. Thank you for reading my opinions about “Fire Force”, and for the nice response I got when I published my first opinion piece! Bruh, it took so long for me to edit this... 😔 I’m thinking of doing another meta going more in depth with my theory on Arthur and how he’s able to distinguish the difference between people and their dopplegangers, but that’s for another day. Feel free to discuss about your own ideas or thoughts in the chat, or tell me what you think! I promise I don’t bite. Have a wonderful day!

43 notes · View notes

blackcloverdatabase · 5 years ago

Text

English Translation of Novel 3: Chapter 3 – The Sun Doesn’t Set For Troubled Women (Part 2 of 2)

Here’s the second half of the rom-com chapter! This one goes deeper into Bell’s feelings than I ever thought we would. It also gives a little reminder of how cool these girls can be before reminding us that they are still, in fact, walking disasters.

--- The Sun Doesn’t Set For Troubled Women: Part 2 ---

“Okay, that’s three separate purchases, right? Please wait for a moment while I wrap these.”

After explaining their circumstances to the shopkeeper and nearly a full hour of discussing things with her, they each peacefully decided on a book pouch to give as a gift.

‘We did it……,’ Charlotte and Noelle thought as they placed their hands over their chests in relief. However, for some reason, Bell sat on Noelle’s shoulder with a dissatisfied expression on her face.

“…….What’s wrong, Bell? Is there still something worrying you?”

“……I wouldn’t say I’m ‘worried’ about it, but…… how should I put this? I was thinking…… is it really alright to settle on a gift for someone important to you so easily?”

“……Isn’t this fine? You may say this was easy, but we spent quite a lot of time on this, and each of us chose a gift with earnestness…... I-I wouldn’t be embarrassed to give a person i…important to me a gift like that.”

Charlotte sat down on the bench as she said this. She was self-conscious of the fact she stuttered at the end, but, completely unaware of that fact, Bell responded with downcast eyes,

“It’s not that I’m embarrassed, but, for a present like this…… I feel like we should try our very hardest to look around at all kinds of stores before we choose a gift.”

“I don’t think you need to fuss over this to that degree, though?”

“I have to fuss over this. I mean, I’m with Yuno because I love him. That’s why I feel like I shouldn’t cut corners when I’m trying to convey how much love I feel for him.”

“I-is that so……?”

A bit surprised by the serious side Bell was showing her, Charlotte couldn’t help but nod in agreement…… she also felt a little envious of how honestly Bell could convey her feelings. Then, Bell continued,

“Also, I might be digressing a little, but…… I chose to be with Yuno because I love him, but…... it’s not like Yuno chose to be with me, you know?”

For just a moment, a glimpse of fear could be seen within her determined, unyielding eyes.

“That’s why…… sometimes, I can’t help but wonder…… what Yuno thinks of me……”

“……….”

Bell’s words caused Noelle and Charlotte to fall silent.

“Of course, I’m pretty sure he needs me in battle, but…… every once and a while…… I worry about what he thinks about me outside of that. ‘Needing someone’ and ‘loving someone’ are pretty different.”

Charlotte and Noelle couldn’t find a response to these words either, but they sort of understood where Bell was coming from. There could a mismatch in feelings between the person who did the choosing and the person who was chosen…… it seems that Bell felt anxious about this at times. At first glance, it might seem like a strange thing to be worried about. Being chosen by one of the great spirits is one of the highest honors a mage could receive, and lending her power to Yuno has helped him accomplish many great things.

However, that wasn’t the point. Bell was not worried about whether Yuno accepted her as a “Great Spirit”, but as a “person”. That’s why Noelle and Charlotte didn’t know how to respond. They felt that it would be too irresponsible for the two of them, who knew very little about what Yuno is actually like, to say anything. Realizing that she just made the atmosphere incredibly gloomy, Bell waved her hands in a panic.

“Ah, but it’s not like I’m all that worried about it or anything! I mean…… I’m just saying that I feel like I should choose a gift for him with extra enthusiasm to convey my thanks to him, since I chose to be with him on my own convenience!”

She said with her usual tone of voice before looking at the clock in the store. After confirming that it was just past noon, she looked at Noelle and Charlotte once more,

“And so, we still have plenty of time, so I’m going to look at the other shops for a bit longer.”

Then, while sounding a little bit embarrassed but also somehow happy, she added,

“Today was exhausting for all sorts of reasons, but I’ve never gone shopping with someone else before, so…… um, that was… kind of fun…… thanks for coming with me.”

“………”

In response to those words, Noelle and Charlotte exchanged glances, smiled, and then nodded. As they thought earlier, they didn’t know how Yuno and Bell usually were around each other, so they couldn’t offer any advice on their relationship. However……

“…….Sigh~ You leave me no choice. If that’s how it is, then I guess I can stay with you for a little while longer.”

It was Noelle who responded first. Charlotte then followed with a tone of voice that would make one think this was all a bother for her,

“Agreed. However, before that, let’s take a lunch break. You won’t be able to come up with any good ideas on an empty stomach.”

“Huh……?”

Noelle and Charlotte laughed when they saw how surprised Bell looked.

“It’s good that you’re being so considerate about him, but you might be trying a bit too hard. Why not try relying on someone else every once and a while? …… W-well, not that I can give you very good advice.”

“Even so, we can do it if we all think about this together. We’ve come this far, so let’s see this through to the end!”

That’s right, they may not be able to give Bell any relationship advice, but they can all choose a gift together. They can, at least, stand from her point of view and share her worries. Bell had said that she wasn’t too worried about it, but, at the very least, they could tell that she looked sad as she was talking. That’s why they couldn’t leave her to worry about this alone. Noelle and Charlotte knew all too well how painful it is to worry alone.

“……You guys.”

Bell said with a dumbfounded expression on her face, which only remained there for a second before she turned downward to hide it. When she looked back up, her usual determined smile was back as she fluttered in front of Noelle’s and Charlotte’s faces.

“Just so you know in advance, I’m going to have you two follow behind me until your legs fall off, so prepare yourselves!”

“Hey! We get it, so stop flying in front of our faces! The scales from your wings are getting into my eyes!”

“O-ow, my eyes! They sting! What is this!? Is this also part of your powers as a great spirit!?”

While the three continued with such antics, the clerk approached them with a paper bag and a wry smile.

“Thank you for waiting. Here are your things.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“Also…”

When Charlotte took the bag, the clerk also handed them a sheet of paper.

“…...Please use this as well, if you’d like.”

“……Oh!”

All three of them exclaimed when they saw it. What the clerk handed to them was a map of the local area used for sightseeing. Moreover, it was practically a guidebook, filled with all the information they could want, such as which stores sold what, recommended items for each store, and more.

“I don’t mean to be nosy, but I overheard your conversation earlier, and……”

“No, no, no! You’re not being nosy at all! This helps us out a lot! Thank you!”

Bell flew around the clerk’s face as she said this.

“I’m glad to be of hel-ow, OW! Your scales got in my…… come to think of it, what are you anyway!? Some sort of magical tool!?”

The clerk sputtered in alarm while Noelle and Charlotte stood beside them, their gazes affixed to the map. If they have this, then even they, with their terrible sense of taste, might be able to find a good gift. They saw hope, but then,

“KYAAAAAAAAH!”

“Woah!? W-what’s with you! That’s dangerous!!”

They heard two screams in quick succession from outside the store, and they could hear the main street gradually becoming noisier. All three of them knew that there must be trouble.

“……Let’s go.”

Charlotte headed toward the exit with Noelle and Bell following behind her as they prepared themselves for battle. At the same time, in the corner of her heart, Charlotte thought to herself,

‘Has it come for its revenge after all……?’

“Ah, Big Sis! Perfect timing!”

The moment the three of them arrived at the scene, Sol, who was riding a broom, stopped in front of them with a halt. Looking toward where Sol was headed, the three of them could see a man escaping away on a broom above the crowd of people, pursued by several members of the Blue Roses. Charlotte asked Sol,

“What’s our current status?”

“Well…… he’s some thug named Carlo who holds a copy of the Original Sin. He managed to get away before we could restrain him…… which is why me and the rest of the squad are chasing after him!”

Sol said awkwardly, causing Bell to respond in a panic.

“You shouldn’t do that! If you make an owner of the Original Sin feel cornered, then you could cause it to go wild! You need to take him to a place without a lot of people and fast…… It’ll be really bad if it goes off in town!”

“Yeah, we know that, but……”

Sol’s voice became more and more quiet as she said with frustration,

“……We don’t know this area too well, so we couldn’t find a place like that.”

Certainly, this area was filled with couples and families. There’s no doubt that the members of the Blue Roses tried to find an unpopulated area, but this area was a business district, and today was a holiday, so there probably was no such place to be found. As Charlotte was agonizing over what to do, Noelle handed her something.

“Captain Charlotte! Look at this!”

What Noelle handed her was the map they received from the clerk earlier. Charlotte looked at her with a troubled expression. What could that map possibly have to do with a situation like this…… Wait.

“I see……”

Understanding what Noelle wanted to say, Charlotte asked Sol,

“Sol, how many transmitters did you bring with you today?”

“Uhh, I thought we’d mostly be asking people questions today, so I brought six or seven of them.”

“Excellent. Give one of them to us. Also, please lend us a broom.”

“Sure, but…… Big Sis, what’re you planning to do?”

In response, Charlotte pointed at the center of the map and said,

“Everyone should drive the culprit to the center plaza. We’ll guide everyone there as we look at the map. Please have someone go to the plaza before everyone else and evacuate the people there.”

“……I see! That’s Big Sis for ya! With a wide space like that, even if a fight breaks out…… hm?”

She inched her face closer to the map as if she had just noticed something.

“This shop’s sweets have become super popular with high school girls! Perfect for a gift!”

“The manager of this shop is the best beauty consultant you can find! You might be able to schedule a consultation with him……”

Looking at the annotations scattered throughout the map, Sol looked at Charlotte with a strange-looking face.

“Hey, Big Sis, what’s this? What’s up with this weird map……?”

Charlotte’s face steadily became more and more red and, in an attempt to distract Sol, shouted,

“This is a state of emergency! Let’s mobilize at once!”

“Teams 1 and 2 should surround and barricade the main road to the East! Teams 3 and 4 should remain on standby in the sky!”

While Charlotte navigated on her broom, Noelle sat behind her and relayed her orders to the others using a magic tool used for transmission. While she did this, Bell clung to her shoulder, commenting on their next action.

“That’ll be fine as long as the culprit continues to go straight, but it’ll be trouble if he tries to escape through the alleyway a bit further ahead! I think you should have that area blocked off as well!”

“I see…… tell teams 3 and 4 to block that alleyway!”

The three of them rode on a broom they borrowed from Sol as they chased after Carlo, giving orders to the other members of the Blue Roses in order to guide the culprit and steadily drive him toward the central plaza. Charlotte turned back a bit toward Noelle, who was currently carrying on such a leader-like role.

“You’re amazing, Noelle. To be able to give out such exact instructions…… even with a map, most people wouldn’t be able to guide others as well as you are doing right now.”

“Huh? T-this is nothing…… nothing special about this.”

It was because she had been wandering about this area since early in the morning…… she couldn’t admit to that, so she simply gave a vague reply instead. Bell smiled as she pushed Noelle’s cheeks, unaware of Noelle’s attempts to hide her embarrassment.

“You’re being so modest~ Ah, that store we just passed is famous for its fashionable accessories!”

“I-I’m not trying to be modest! …….By the way, I’ve heard that store will throw in a cute handbag for free if you spend more than 1000 yuls.”

With a small smile on her face, Charlotte turned her head forward as she listened to their conversation.

“That sounds like a good deal…… Let’s go there after we’ve made our arrest.”

In their moment of levity, Sol’s voice came through the transmitter.

“This is Sol! We just finished evacuating the plaza! You can come whenever you’re ready!!”

“Good work. We will be arriving shortly. Prepare for battle and remain on standby for now.”

After that, Noelle’s skillful guidance led Carlo to flee toward the plaza, just as they wanted.

“W-what’s with this place!? There’s nobody here…..!?”

He felt suspicious the moment he realized that there was nobody there, but, by then, it was already too late for him. Noelle’s wand was already pointed toward the plaza as she cast her spell.

“Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Nest!”

WOOSH

A hemispherical dome of water covered the entire plaza in an instant, forcing Carlo to suddenly hit the brakes on his broom.

“Give up! You’re completely surrounded!

Noelle declared as she and the others descended to the ground. “Sea Dragon’s Nest” protects those inside from outside attacks. It doesn’t prevent people on the inside from getting out. In other words, she was bluffing, but that was more than enough to keep Carlo in place. It was an illusion that kept him “trapped”, both visually and psychologically.

Large roses bloomed from the hilt of Charlotte’s sword as she said coldly,

“Hand over the Original Sin this instant. Otherwise, we will take it from you by force. Choose whichever option you prefer.”

Sol, who had joined up with them at the plaza, yelled with a provocative smile as she clenched her hand into a fist,

“Well, there’s nothing you can do when faced with the power of Big Sis’s and my love!”

Charlotte was about to deny that they had such a power, but then Carlo gnashed his teeth in frustration.

“Damn it……. Why was your response time so quick…….Guh! Aah, GWAAAAH!”

His whole body began to convulse unnaturally in anguish. The four of them quickly raised their guard as Charlotte asked Bell,

“…….Is that an omen that the Original Sin is about to go on a rampage?”

“It does feel that way, but…… somehow, this feels a little different from the other times……”

Immediately following Bell’s reply, Carlo’s body swung forward dramatically, his upper body becoming slack as if all force had left it. However, then……

“Kishi~ As I thought, this person is no good. To think he’d get cornered so easily.”

He lifted his upper body back up slowly and whispered with a mischievous smile,

“Hey, won’t one of you girls become my new host? I was able to manifest myself like this because this person’s wavelength matches mine quite well, but it’s troublesome how weak and stupid he is~”

His expression, tone, and even the air around him was different than before. It was eerie, as if someone else was speaking through Carlo’s body. Charlotte tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword.

“What the……. You bastard, what are you talking about?”

“Yeah, that’s right! You’re talking like some parasitic host, some sort of manifestation, or like you just experienced puberty! Either way, you’re gonna be embarrassed about this five-years down the road!”

In response to Bell’s heckling, Carlo lightly tilted his neck and said,

“You’re spot on…... well, aside from the puberty. Right now, I’m talking to you because I’ve taken over this person’s body. “

He pulled out a pure white grimoire, the Original Sin, from his chest as he informed them,

“I’m the incarnation of this grimoire…... what you call the Original Sin.”

“…….Huh?”

Noelle said with a frown, but at that moment,

“…… Get down!!”

Charlotte shouted, grabbing Noelle’s and Sol’s heads and pressing them toward the ground. Right afterward,

WOOSH!!

Something invisible but very, very large flew over their heads. A moment later, the broom that they left behind and the surrounding stone pavement shattered into pieces.

‘What the heck is going on……!?’ Noelle thought with a shudder as Charlotte stood up and pointed her sword at the enemy.

“Everyone, activate your mana skin to protect yourselves! Most likely…… this guy is using invisible tentacles to attack us! Focus on your mana perception!”

Everyone froze when they heard her instructions. Even if she tells them to focus on their mana perception and detect his attacks, if his attacks are that fast, their bodies won’t be able to react in time. If his attacks continue like this, they won’t be able to protect themselves.

“Kishi~ I’m impressed that you were able to sense that attack…… I like you. You seem like you’ll be able to resonate on my wavelength, too.”

Just as everyone had become cognizant of the danger they were in, Carlo…… no, the Original Sin said this in admiration, but then,

“Well, whatever. I’ll make you all half-dead and then take my time choosing a new host~”

He struck the stone pavement with his invisible tentacles and then launched his attack.

“……Briar Creation Magic: Limb-cleaving Briar Lance”

“Earth Creation Magic: Rampaging Mother Earth”

Charlotte conjured her thorns while Sol conjured a giant clay doll as they launched their attacks on the Original Sin. However, Charlotte’s thorns were repelled by the invisible tentacles, and the clay doll was showered with blows. As they expected, it was difficult to deal with a target whose attacks you cannot see. Feeling that she couldn’t simply stand back and do nothing, Noelle pointed the tip of her wand at the Original Sin.

“Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Roar!!”

However, her spell crashed into an invisible wall of tentacles that had stretched around her foe, turning her spell into a mere splash of water in the blink of an eye.

“Oh, you’re impressive, too. Moreover, that wasn’t your full power, was it?”

Hearing him speak in such a carefree tone made Noelle click her tongue. The tentacles served as both a means of attack and a shield to protect him. If you can’t see his shield, then there’s no way to know where to attack.

‘How are we supposed to capture an enemy like this…….!?’

“……Huh!?”

While Charlotte was feeling anxious, she noticed some unexpected movement in the water which had scattered about from that last attack. Though the tentacles were invisible, they repel the water, making their movements and shape visible.

‘With this, we could…!’

To give more substance to the glimmer of hope she spotted, Charlotte instructed Noelle,

“Noelle! Keep firing your water magic at him! There is nothing to fear if we can see his attacks!”

“Ki shi shi~ I wonder about that. I don’t think that’ll do much for you unless you can halt my movements.”

The incarnation said to provoke them, but then Charlotte replied as if she already had taken that into consideration,

“……Then, we’ll just keep you from moving.”

At some point during the battle, Bell flew overhead, right above the incarnation. With a smirk, she took a deep breath.

“Sylph’s Breath!!”

Bell exhaled, creating a prodigious torrent of wind which headed toward the incarnation with tremendous speed.

“……Hmmmmm. The wind spirit is here, too? Just who are you people?”

Perhaps he had determined that this wasn’t an attack he could take on, but he used his tentacles to leap to the side to avoid it. Because he took the time to evade, his onslaught of attacks ceased. Taking advantage of that momentary interlude, Charlotte moved between the gaps of his tentacles.

“We’re nobody in particular. Just some girls who were in the middle of shopping.”

Charlotte fired thorny briars from the hilt of her sword, shooting straight through the true form of the Original Sin, the white grimoire, before the grimoire was finally torn into pieces by the briars which spread radially from where it was struck. The grimoire turned into particles of light, dispersing into the air. At the same time, its invisible tentacles also disappeared.

“……I see. That was…… rude of me. Please continue enjoying your little shopping trip.”

The incarnation didn’t seem particularly bothered by what just happened, and said in an uninterested tone,

“……To make up for getting in your way, I’ll tell you this. I’m simply a ‘manuscript’, one that was born from the first Original Sin. The first is much stronger than me, and is capable of much more than I am.”

“…...What, are you making excuses because you lost?”

“……. Maybe. I might be feeling a little frustrated after losing so easily after all that talk. I shouldn’t even have such a “function”…… jeez. Maybe my consciousness remains imperfect, or perhaps this is just his residual thoughts.”

After hearing him speak so mysteriously for the second time that day, Charlotte couldn’t help but ask him,

“Just what are you……?”

“……I’m nobody. Just like what you were saying earlier.”

The incarnation responded as if in revenge for the answer Charlotte gave him earlier before looking straight at her. She could see a mixture of black emotions in his eyes - deeply held resentment, vengefulness, but also fear.

“We are the “Original Sin”. We were born from the first sin that you, the human race, had committed.”

“………”

With those parting words filled with hidden meaning, the man’s body fell limp like a puppet whose strings were cut, and the Original Sin completely disappeared. Despite the many mysteries that remained, the current situation was resolved, so everyone began cleaning up the aftermath. Shortly after the battle, many other Magic Knights rushed in to help clean up, so everyone was able to finish in no time at all. What did take a lot of time was their report to the magic tool researchers. This was the first time anyone had heard of the Original Sin hijacking a person’s body, so they needed to explain what happened very thoroughly. They also had to relay the apparent danger that the first Original Sin poses, as well as the fact it was looking for strong mages as its host. By the time they finished conveying all this and more, the sun had begun to set. That fact by itself was normally not a problem, but……

“………”

After changing out of their soaked clothes, they stood in the plaza illuminated by the red of the setting sun. With a sorrowful expression on their faces they stared…… at the book pouches they all bought as a present, which became completely soaked and tattered after their battle with the Original Sin’s incarnation. Charlotte didn’t even know how many times she sighed already before saying,

“I’m sorry. This is all because I fastened these onto the broom. I should have just left these at the store.”

That’s right. The bag the book pouches were in was fluttering in the wind as they were chasing after Carlo, so she ended up tying the bag onto such a dangerous place. She thought that was better than holding onto it herself, but her decision backfired. To think it would be demolished in one shot……

Noelle shook her head slowly and said,

“There was nothing else you could do in a situation like that. Besides, by that point, that book pouch store was already closed……

While they were running around town dealing with the aftermath of this incident, they saw that the store had turned off its lights and closed for the day. They also noticed that many of the other stores were closed, probably as a precaution after an incident like that.

Bell spoke with an apologetic expression on her face,

“No, I should’ve taken them and hidden them somewhere safe. I’m sorry……”

“There’s no way you would have found time to do that in a hectic situation like that. If you’re going to go there, then I’m the one who should’ve hidden them in my clothes. I could’ve done that since I wasn’t the one driving the broom……”

Noelle responded without a moment’s delay, but Charlotte furrowed her beautiful brows as she objected,

“No, that wouldn’t have been possible since I tied them to the broom from that start! It’s my fault!”

“No, this is my fault!”

“That’s not true at all! It’s my fault!”

For a short while, the three glared straight into each other’s eyes, but then……

“……Pfft, fu fu, ku fu fu fu”

Suddenly, Bell started to laugh, and, as if they were pulled in by her laughter, Noelle and Charlotte began to laugh as well. This exchange was just too weird, and they were happy to hear such sympathy from the other two…… with their hearts filled with such emotions and more, they couldn’t help but burst out laughing. The three of them continued to laugh for some time before Bell stretched her back and said,

“Okay! Then, let’s choose a new present for everyone with all our might!”

She said this cheerfully, but the store where they had bought their original book pouches was closed, and many of the other stores were closed as well. Moreover, the ink on the map was now too blurred to read. On top of all that, they were all exhausted after today’s incident. Faced with such unfavorable conditions, choosing another present was sure to be an arduous task. However……

“……Right. Let’s hurry up and go buy a gift!”

“Yes. First, let’s go to that store that sells small accessories that we were talking about earlier.”

Noelle and Charlotte responded with a smile and a nod, as if going out to choose another gift was only natural. Certainly, choosing another gift will be tough. However, they won’t be doing this alone. After overcoming a day full of turbulence and adversity, they will be shopping with their reliable comrades. Maybe all of them have terrible taste, but after overcoming as many challenges as they have, such a problem was trivial at worst.

The sun was still setting, not quite fading into twilight. If they unite their powers one more time, then they’ll surely find a way. These troubled women were bad at giving up. Filled with such emotions, the three began to walk with a spring in their step. However, at that moment,

“……Huh? Prickly Queen, is that you?”

Suddenly, they heard a man call out to them from behind.

“!!”

Charlotte timidly turned her head around. There, she saw……

“Oh, I was right. What the? Why’re you dressed so girly today?”

The man she was planning to buy a gift for, Yami, was loitering around with a cigarette in his mouth. To make matters worse, to his left and right were…...

“Oh, Noelle! I didn’t know you were here! I was looking for ya!”

Asta waved at Noelle while the mysterious bird Nero sat on his head with an unpleasant look in its eyes.

“Bell, where were you? I know you said you were going out, but you were gone for way too long.”

Yuno said with his usual expressionless face.

‘………..You’ve gotta be kidding.’

Faced with the day’s biggest adversity just as the day was about to end, all three of them turned as white as a ghost. To think they would run into the very people they were planning to buy gifts for…… It would have been fine if they had already bought gifts for them. However, since they were here before their gifts were bought, they were going to have to explain why they were here. In other words, they’ll have to explain that they came here to buy a gift for them…….

As the three’s heads were spinning with such chaotic thoughts, Yami opened his mouth and let out a puff of smoke as he asked,

“So, what are you girls doin’ here…..?”

“I-I could ask the same of you! What are you doing in a place like this!?”

Charlotte bitterly answered his question with a question of her own. Though he felt a little out of place by how frantic Charlotte seemed to be, Yami pointed to Charlotte as he answered,

“What do you mean? Today’s Three-Leaf Day, isn’t it? That’s why I was lookin’ for a gift for ya.”

“!!”

In an instant, Charlotte’s face turned completely red, and she felt her consciousness suddenly begin to fade. However, this time, she managed to stop herself before falling down, and she calmed down just enough to say,

“A-a-a-a a g-gi-gi-gi gif…… gift…… f-for me?”

She didn’t calm down completely, but it was enough for Yami to nod and say,

“For once, I won big when I was gambling, so I got some gifts for my squad, but then Vanessa said, “It doesn’t feel right for you to buy a gift for me, but not for my rival…… Captain Charlotte!”. I really don’t get it. Anyway, she told me to buy a gift for you.”

“H-how meddlesome…… Plus, I have no idea what she could be talking about.”

She somehow managed to regain her composure and cleared her throat as she responded. She was a little bothered by the fact he was told to do so by someone else, but still, this was more than enough.

‘A gift from Yami…… I-I’m so happy…… I’m so, so…… HAPPY!!’

Actually, this was perfect. Rather than being told to, if he had said he bought a gift for her on his own accord, she would have, without a doubt, collapsed on the spot. As she was thinking this, Yami added casually,

“Well, frankly, I was plannin’ to buy a gift for you anyway. I sorta feel like you’ve helped me out a lot, especially this year…… Hey, wait, are you okay? Your eyes just rolled to the back of your head.”

“S-shut up…… SHUT UUUUUUUUUUP!”

“Wait, what’s with you all of sudden……. Hey, HEY! Why are you attacking me!? What do you want from me!?”

“I want you to disappear from my sight! Please!”

While Charlotte was launching her briars at Yami, who was uncharacteristically frazzled by what was happening, Noelle asked Asta as she fidgeted,

“……W-why did you come here, Asta?”

“Me? I’m here to buy a gift for everyone in the Black Bulls!”

“……I see.”

‘Everyone’…… As that word echoed in her mind, Noelle fell silent.

“Ah, that’s right!”

For some reason, Asta started to complain,

“Where have you been since this morning!? I was looking everywhere for ya!”

“I-it’s not like it matters……”

“Yeah it does! I was planning to go shopping with you today so that I could buy something you liked!”

In an instant, Noelle’s face turned completely red. He was basically saying that he was planning to buy a gift just for her. Moreover……

“I-in other words…… y-y-y-you wanted to g-go on a…… date with me?”

Immediately after she let that slip out,

‘Oh no!’

She thought immediately after. By letting those words slip out, it’s going to seem like she thinks of Asta as a man. Before she could attempt to retract her words, Asta blinked and said,

“Date? I’m not sure what that is, but I wasn’t sure what you wanted, so I figured we could stroll through town, and then I could buy anything you wanted. I was also thinking, while we were at it, we could stop to eat somewhere and look for gifts for everyone else.”

‘That’s literally a date!’

While Noelle was thinking this, she shouted without thinking,

“Stupid Asta! Why didn’t you search for me harder!”

“Why are you being so unreasonable!? There’s no way I could have!”

“……Y-you’re lying. You’ve got to be lying! It doesn’t matter anyway! I wouldn’t have wanted to go with you, anyway!”

“You’re scaring me! What’s with that attitude!? For now, just calm down!”

Next to Asta and Noelle, who were engaged in a lively but puzzling conversation, Bell asked Yuno awkwardly,

“……Did you come here, um…… to buy a gift for someone, too?”

“No, while I was walking through town searching for you, I ran into these two.”

“……I see…… That makes sense.”

Bell muttered as she subconsciously lowered her head. She was a little disappointed, but, on the other hand, it’s not like she was expecting anything different. Bell is a spirit, so the idea of giving a gift to her might not even occur to Yuno.

……It’s just, Bell planned on buying a gift for Yuno, and yet Yuno didn’t plan to do the same. That was a major misunderstanding. It turned out that she didn’t understand Yuno’s feelings at all. She thought that he needed her, but only as a spirit. She had no idea how much he thought of her as a person. He may not even think of her as one, as a person he likes, or even as a person he hates.

Exhausted by the day’s events, such uncharacteristically negative thoughts began to invade her, but……

“Besides, there wasn’t any need for me to buy any gifts today…… I already bought them.”

“……Huh?”

Bell raised her head. Yuno reached into his book pouch and pulled out a small paper bag. From that, he pulled out small clothes, no larger than the palm of a human hand, and held them up to Bell’s body.

“……Good. I had these done as a special order from a clothing store, so I’m glad these are the right size.”

“Yuno, this is……?”

Bell asked, dumbfounded. Yuno put the clothes back into the paper bag as he replied,

“You must be sick of wearing the same clothes every day. With this, whenever you want to change your look, you’ll be able to.”

He presented the bag to Bell as he continued,

“Thank you for everything, Bell. Because you’re here, every day is lively and fun.”

“………!”

Before she could even take another breath, tears began to pool in her eyes.

“……R-really?”

“Well……because I grew up in a pretty noisy environment, I feel calmer when I’m next to someone as lively as you.”

As Yuno said this, he pushed the paper bag toward Bell…... he sounded a little shy as he said this, but he spoke clearly as he continued,

“That’s why, I hope you continue to support me in the future. Thank you for choosing me.”

“………!!”

Her tears began to spill out, and she found herself unable to respond to his words. His delivery may have been blunt, and not all of her anxieties have been expelled, but the unsociable and taciturn Yuno conveyed his feelings clearly to her. He said the words she most wanted to hear, and that made her extremely, extraordinarily happy. Hearing him tell her his feelings, she couldn’t help but cry.

“…….Bell, why are you crying?”

Unusually for him, Yuno looked concerned as he said this. Not seeming to notice this, Bell hugged his face, her own face a tear-covered mess.

“Sniff……sniffle…… I’m the one who should be thanking youuuuuuuuu!”

Bell pushed even her wings into his face as she hugged him. He struggled to peeled her off. In the end, this turned into one of their typical exchanges, but Bell was content. Does Yuno accept her? That was the anxiety she held in heart, but Yuno’s words from earlier blew those anxieties away. He essentially told her that he was fine with her doing what she has always done. That’s why, for sure, staying like this will be fine…… no, not just fine, but best.

While Bell was playing around with Yuno, her thoughts filled with satisfaction, Yami was finally set free from Charlotte’s mystery attack.

“Damn, what the hell was that…...?”

He cursed, before finally returning to the original subject.

“Come to think of it, you’re dressed in those fancy clothes because you were out shoppin’, too, right?”

He let out another puff of smoke from his cigarette before suggesting,

“Then, how ‘bout we all go shop together? That eliminates the step of giving it to you later.”

“!!”

Internally, Charlotte and Noelle were grinning from ear to ear, but they strained not to show that on their faces. Since the guys are being so insistent, they should do them a “favor” and go shopping with them.

‘If we take a position like that, then it’s not so bad……!’

The two of them came to that idea instantly, but it was Noelle who responded first.

“Sigh…… I guess there’s no helping it~ If you’re that desperate, then we’ll go with you.”

“When you say it like that, it’s difficult to refuse…… Good grief, what a bother.”

Charlotte agreed with a disinterested tone of voice. These troubled women sure were troublesome.

“Nice! It’s more fun to go shopping with everyone! Well, I don’t know much about stores and such, though.”

“That why we’re askin’ these girls in the first place. Do you know any shops you can recommend?”

In response to Asta and Yami, the three women secretly exchanged glances with each other and, with a small smile on each of their faces, made their replies. First, it was Charlotte who responded, who brushed her fingers through her smooth hair as she said,

“I know of a general store that sells small, fashionable accessories. Let’s start there. I’ll guide you.”

Noelle followed by puffing out her chest, a smug expression floating to her face.

“When you buy their products, you get a cute handbag for free!

Finally, Bell added information that she remembered from earlier today.

“Also, there’s a sweets shop that’s super popular with high school girls! Let’s go there next!”

Today may have had its ups and downs, but this was the way the girls of the Magic Knights chose their gifts from the boys of the Magic Knights. Incidentally……

“No, I already bought a gift, so I’m good. Plus, I want to start training for the Royal Knights Selection Exam.”

“What are you talking about!? You’re already here, so let’s go shopping together!”

Asta solidly clamped his arm on Yuno’s shoulder and forcibly took him along.

That night, at Vangeance’s office.

“The Original Sin can take over the body of any human who matches its wavelength. Moreover, it’s looking for a stronger host…… I see, that truly is troublesome.”

Vangeance said quietly as he read the report that had just come to his office. At the opposite side of his desk stood a member of the Golden Dawn who was fiercely loyal to him, a man named Sandler.

“Speaking of troublesome, this incident at the royal capital has caused its citizens’ anxieties to rise.”

“I see. That might be just what we need……”

“……Huh?”

Unable to think of why Vangeance would say this, Sandler couldn’t help but falter. With a thin smile on his face, Vangeance waved his hand lightly as he elaborated,

“Sorry. I was thinking about what we could do about the poor atmosphere spreading throughout the country because of today’s event and the attacks from the Eye of the Midnight Sun. I just thought of a countermeasure that should work. I’m sorry that it came out so weird.”

“……No need to apologize.”

While replying so, doubt continued to smolder in Sandler’s heart. He couldn’t help but feel that Vangeance starts acting strangely whenever there is an incident involving the Original Sin. There were many moments where he seemed to understand much about the Original Sin when presented with only a little information.

……He talks as if he has known about the Original Sin since long ago.

‘What am I thinking…...?’

He shook his head lightly to disperse such ridiculous thoughts. If he had known about it that long ago, he would have made his move a long time ago, before the Original Sin ever became a public menace. The captain Sandler admired was that kind of man.

“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”

Sandler said, turning around to leave, but…...

“Ah, could you wait just a moment?”

Vangeance opened the drawer of his desk and pulled out a small box. He went out of his way to walk to where Sandler was standing, and said as he held the box.

“Thank you for everything, Alecdora. Will you please accept this?”

“………V-Vangeance-sama, this is……?”

Sandler stammered, overcome with surprise. Vangeance informed him with a smile behind his mask,

“Today is Three-Leaf Day, isn’t it? You’re always trying your best, so I wanted to thank you for that. Well, this isn’t all that valuable, but…...”

“N-no…… that’s no problem at all. I gratefully accept.”

Sandler took his gift, said goodbye, and left the office. Then, after finishing his work for the day, he flew into the middle of an unpopulated forest. He carefully checked to make sure that nobody else was around, took a deep breath, and,

“YYYYYYEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

While holding his present up to the sky with both hands, he shouted with great joy, but then……

Well, that’s a different story.

--- The Sun Doesn’t Set For Troubled Women: The End ---

Glad everyone gets a happy ending. Noelle, Charlotte, Bell, and even Alecdora (?). I kinda wonder what he got from William, and what happened to him at the end there…

But the boys got their gifts, too, right!? The story ends with them going to the stores the girls discovered throughout the chapter to buy them what they like, but Asta, Yuno, and Yami get their gifts in the end, too, right!?

What did they get!? How did they react!? Don’t tell me Charlotte fainted again! (　ﾟДﾟ)＜!!

#Black Clover #noelle silva #Charlotte Roselei #Asta #yami sukehiro #Yuno #Bell #sol marron #Book of Yuno #my translations

113 notes · View notes

crqstalite · 4 years ago

Note

You've been visited by the random writing prompts goblin!! - Write about your character just... talking. Are they talking to themselves, or with someone else? What kind of slang or phrases do they use often? Do they have an accent?

I really should quit writing these one-on-one scenes with Kodelyn and Lali (and maybe y’know, with their actual partners) but I couldn’t get the prompt out of my head! I love them too much and Citlali’s POV is one of my favorites to write -- she goes off on a lot of tangents and I find it more funny and entertaining that anything. Way different than I write Kodelyn’s. Probably should do more shippy writing at some point, but some point is not now.

Post-war. Word count: 2,008. no warnings.

“Y’know, she even said she might even put a good word in for me,” Citlali leans back in her chair, grinning around her straw, “Might be a real flight lieutenant, give or take like a decade. No more stowaway-ing for me.”

“Sounds nice.”

“Yeah. Dealing with ships is more my speed than people. Biotic regiment sounds too...I don’t know, challenging? Out there? For little old me.” The younger woman sighs, throwing a hand over her forehead dramatically, “Plus I’d have to work with our dear Major Alenko of all people. As if I don’t see enough of him now, he’d be my actual CO this time around.”

“Yep.”

“Still, that’s years out when the galaxy gets it’s head back on straight. Think they’re just absurdly shortstaffed right now. Not even sure whether this is a good idea or not, I mean, I spent half my life afraid of what I could do and now? Supernova. Might as well make good use of this.” She snaps her fingers, “Like lighting...something on fire. Damn it, lost the analogy that quickly.”

“That’s great.”

Citlali straightens in her chair again, looking around the atrium and shaking her cup, ice rattling inside of the plastic. The Citadel was rebuilding, after nearly a year and a half after the war had ended, and a few wards were getting back to the idea of normal. If one went wandering, one could probably still see the scars and missing shops, homes and even nearly half a ward on the other side. Yet, here they were, at a little fast food place, still very much alive and thriving.

Suck on that, Reapers. Shepard 3, Reapers 0.

The energy in the food court is different from where it had been before the Citadel had been moved to Sol. Less nervous energy to burn, less fatalistic views being preached from every corner of the Presidium. Life was getting back to good. Summer was right around the corner on Earth at least. Less death and mass murder at the hands of the Reaper putting a dampener on dinner.

She squints at her sister. Kodelyn Shepard, entirely off duty, was still in something that made Citlali think she was going to spar with James. Offhandedly she wonders if she would ever take her up on that offer to get a full wardrobe beyond the one or two shirts, jeans and boots she owned. Considering she rarely saw Kaidan out of anything similar, she’d have to do something about that soon.

She’d always looked nice in yellow.

However, said Shepard has a smile just gently tugging at the corners of her mouth while one hand flies over her omni-tool’s keyboard, not a glance up to where Citlali is.

She’s not paying attention. Probably hasn’t been since she started talking nearly five minutes ago. Her offhanded responses have gotten better though, Kodelyn almost had her fooled that she was carrying on a two-way conversation. Probably should’ve gotten suspicious when she didn’t actually offer anything to the conversation. Or when she opened the omni-tool to begin with. Multi-tasking had always been a skill that she had, not so much one that Citlali did.

“Anything good?” Citlali reaches over the table to gently (alright, she’ll admit it wasn’t all that gentle) pull at her sister’s wrist. A quick glance at the ID tells her all she needed to as she slumps back in the chair, “Damn, speak of the devil! You haven’t been listening to a single thing I’ve said have you?”

“Hey!” Kodelyn yanks her hand back, swiping at the screen a few times, “I have been listening.” She retorts indignantly.

“Have you?” Citlali raises an eyebrow. She hasn’t been, but knowing her sister, she’s good enough at halfway paying attention to reconstruct what she’s said well enough that she wouldn’t be able to accuse her otherwise.

Damn her. Sound doesn’t turn to soup whenever multiple conversations are going on around her. Lucky.

“Yes! I have.”

“Uh huh,” Citlali gnaws at the straw, wickedly grinning when she returns to typing, “Anything dirty?”

“No!” Kodelyn yelps, closing the UI, and dropping her face into her hands as Citlali cackles at her own jab, “Would you give it a rest?”

“I would, if he didn’t take over every waking thought of yours.” Citlali playfully presses a finger into her vulnerable forehead, “Fi-an-ce, brother-in-law-to-be or otherwise, you could at least spare your maid of honor and baby sister twenty minutes of your undivided attention.”

Kodelyn softly smiles. She’s at least genuinely apologetic, leaning back into her own chair with her hands out in front of her, “I know. And I’m sorry, just...”

“I know. He’s important. This whole shing-ding you have planned for the dead of summer is important. Actually, why the middle of July? Do you know how sticky July is? How humid it is to my poor hair? And yours?” Citlali gets a bit carried away (well that was on Kodelyn, July was the month of the devil. But then again she’d never been to Vancouver in July...and she was getting carried away again), “But have you spent a single second today not on that thing?”

“You know, I don’t just use it to talk to Kaidan. There is spectre business to attend to as well. Just because the war ended didn’t mean that work did.”

“Really? You had me fooled, thought he was the only contact in there,” Citlali snickers as Kodelyn rolls her eyes, “I get it, you’re still important and you’re still really busy. I respect that. Just sometimes I just want to know what’s going on with you without having to hear it secondhand, or on my ‘tool.”

“As if you haven’t been equally quiet the last few months.”

“I haven’t! I even sent the RSVP note back. In pen. That’s how much it meant to me.”

“That was your writing? Thought Mason got ahold of it. Kaidan and I could barely tell who it was from.”

“Ok, glad we can agree our baby brother writes like a chicken, but my handwriting is not that bad!” Kodelyn snickers as Citlali pops the cap off her cup, rattling around the ice at the bottom of the cup. Pink liquid still hangs onto the cubes, which meant the last of the juice was still hiding from her. She sucks on the straw anyway, “We have all the time in the galaxy now and we still just keep missing each other. Twice you were presumed or actually dead -- three if you want to count the original battle of the Citadel, and sometimes it still doesn’t feel real that you’re sitting across from me, very much alive and kicking. Three times I had to come to terms with the fact you might actually be gone.”

Kodelyn’s expression softens at her admission, “Is that why you keep trying to invite me out to ‘girl’s nights?’ Because you just want to make sure I’m still here?”

“No that’s mostly mom, you really have to start answering those. Occasionally Tali whenever she’s here, she’s asks after you, y’know. Liara and I hang out sometimes. Not as much fun, she’s as quiet as you sometimes and I’m not an archeologist. Or information broker. Or Asari. Not much we can talk about that isn’t confidential or something way out of my realm of understanding -- not like she wants to talk about the newest extranet series either.” Citlali remarks. She did genuinely like Liara, even if their interests were on opposite sides of the galaxy. Maybe she should bother the Asari a bit more before she took off again into the unknown, wherever said unknown was. What did a Shadow Broker do all day?

Beyond the point though, “Look, I won’t get sappy, but the piece of your pie chart that’s dedicated to me means a lot. It’s good when I don’t nearly get a heart attack every time you’re on the news.”

“If it was that serious-”

“-And it’s not.”

“If it is,” Kodelyn continues, “I’ll always be here. Just a call away.”

“I had to schedule this a week in advance, Dee.” Citlali gestures with her pretty much empty cup, though backs down a moment later, “Maybe I’m being a bit ridiculous, but I can count on one hand how many just...days like this we’ve spent together since the war ended. I mean, you could probably count everyday I was in your hospital room, but those are technically invalid since you weren’t conscious for most of them.”

“You know better than anyone that I’ve been pulled in thirteen different directions at once, not all of them as fun as you make them out to be. And yeah, you’re right, maybe I haven’t been making as much of an effort as I could be to spend some 1-on-1 time with you.” Kodelyn taps her nails on the table, thinking while the conversation lulls, “You still mean everything to me Lali. I’ll be better, just give me some time to figure all of this out, okay?”

Time, all they had was time these days. And yet it felt like she’d blinked, the war happened, and she was sitting in a hospital waiting room for hours on end. Blinked again, and she found herself back in her own apartment, her own bed, her semi-old life. Startling, almost like none had passed at all between when she’d picked up that call from Miranda to now. And yet, now it didn’t feel like she was wasting any of it by pulling her sister away to do something silly or inane. Death was no longer rapping at their door with increasing ferocity, almost like a much too determined salesman. Felt like they’d managed to crucible it across the front lawn and send it scrambling.

“Yeah, of course. Just...for the record.” She shrugs. The cup is finally empty, making an ugly noise when she sucks on the straw, instead still gnawing on it, “All we have is time these days. And I’m not being sarcastic, we honestly do. We’ll see the passing of another century given something else doesn’t try to annihilate the galaxy.”

“Yeah, if they could wait until after the next Council summit as well as after the wedding, that’d be great.” Her sister says, flickering open her UI again, “I spent way too much time helping planning both of those to have them ransacked by the next Harbinger.”

“Oh yes!” Citlali grins, “Councilor Shepard-Alenko, that’ll be the day. Yes ‘Reapers’, we have dismissed that claim already.”

“I still haven’t accepted,” Kodelyn laughs, turning her wrist to show Citlali something, “And I might not, I’ll recommend Petrakis but that’s as far as I’m going to help them find a proper representative. I’m not really Councilor material, and Kaidan’s had to remind me I can’t exactly hang up on them if they’re standing right next to me.”

“Really? Finally time to kick back and settle down with you, huh? Nice little place in Vancouver? Here? Part of me is going to be surprised if I see you in anything other than a t-shirt and jeans.”

“Probably not forever, but there is a piece of my pie chart dedicated to not driving myself up the wall anymore,” She gently presses her finger into Citlali’s forehead, making her chuckle, “Not such a bad thing. And I wore that spring dress you bought for me last month.”

“The day you step back from all this,” Citlali waves her arms around them, “Is the day I eat my hat.”

“I’m capable of more than just all this.” Kodelyn gestures similarly, “It’ll be nice to step back and enjoy what we saved. Preferably not from a war room anymore.”

“Never thought I’d peel you out of one,” Citlali says, “Mrs. Kaidan Alenko.”

“You have to get tired of saying that at some point.” Kodelyn’s partially right, though it amuses her. Sort of sweet at times.

“Will I? I don’t think so.”

“Really?” Kodelyn raises an eyebrow, “So how soon can I call you Mrs. Jeff Moreau?”

“New topic!”

#kodelyn shepard #citlali shepard-velasquez #oc #original character

3 notes · View notes

hide-in-imagination · 5 years ago

Text

Kaleidoscope Of Views // an excerpt of the Gary is her father AU

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Because an anon asked me to write everyone’s reactions to finding out Gary is Ámbar’s father, and because Taylor Swift’s folklore album fed my inspiration.

I dedicate this oneshot to the anon who wrote me, obviously, and to my friend @theuniversezecho because she loves dissecting every line on my fics and I feel like she’ll have fun with this one doing just that.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nico was there for it all.

His uncle’s presence had always had some kind of double effect on him. On one side, it made him want to avoid him as much as possible, but on the other, it kept him hyper-aware of everything he did when he was near. Maybe all of it could be summarized in apprehension. In wanting to be ready for whatever he did.

That’s how, when his uncle started talking with a woman he had never seen before, with an expression he had never seen in him either, Nico almost by instinct gravitated toward the scene, keeping a distance but completely tuned in to the conversation.

He hadn’t even noticed Ámbar was in the middle of it until it became evident. He couldn’t believe his ears and eyes as everything unfolded. It was like a scene taken out of a soap opera. It didn’t seem real, but the dawning, heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach was disturbingly real.

Ámbar left the Roller as if her life depended on it. Nico could only imagine what it must have felt like for her. Maybe it really was like she’d collapse onto herself if she stayed there a second longer.

The woman— Silvana, her mom— tried to go after her, but his uncle grabbed her before she could get far.

“You have a lot of explaining to do,” he told her.

Silvana didn’t look like she wanted to talk. She told him as much, that it wasn’t the time, but his uncle roared at that.

“The time passed eighteen years ago, I’m not waiting any longer!”

Silvana looked around then, and her eyes met Nico’s for a fleeting instant.

“Not here,” he heard her say.

His uncle all but dragged her outside after that.

Around the Roller, conversations resumed— or maybe they never stopped— and everything was as usual again. Normal. Calm.

As if nothing had happened.

***********************

Pedro noticed Nico had stopped working.

That wasn’t unusual, unfortunately. His friend wasn’t a bum, don’t take him wrong, but he did have a tendency of getting distracted. It could be over anything— a pretty girl, a notification on his phone, a song beginning to play through the speakers of the Roller making him go ‘Bro, this is my jam!’

So, when Pedro saw him standing in the middle of the Roller staring at nothing in particular, he didn’t think any of it at first. He just walked up to him, intending to snap him out of it as always and get him back to work.

When he reached him though, two things became instantly apparent.

One, he hadn’t been staring at nothing as Pedro had thought. The appearance of a wandering, unfocused gaze was just a cover, an attempt at hiding the fact he was actually quite focused on something.

Two, the scene he was witnessing, and now, in turn, Pedro as well, was very important.

He could tell by the tension between the three, by the tones of their voices and their body language, even before he heard the words that actually changed everything.

Ámbar ran out of there, Gary and the woman quickly followed, and Pedro could do nothing more than stare agape.

He turned to his friend. “Nico?”

Nico looked positively shocked.

“Did… Did that really just happen?” He asked, meeting Pedro’s gaze. “You heard it too, right? Right? It’s not just me, I’m not hallucinating, right?”

“No, I heard it too,” he confirmed. It was really crazy though. Gary? Ámbar’s father? “Did you know any of this?”

“No! I had no idea!” Nico snapped, distressed. “Oh my god…”

Nico ran a hand through his hair and paced, his face scrunching more and more in confusion.

“So, Ámbar is my cousin? But- But she’s Luna’s cousin. Does this make Luna my cousin too? I- What the fuck is going on?!”

“Okay, slow down, slow down,” Pedro said, placing calming hands on his shoulders. “First of all, there’s no real blood relation between Ámbar and Luna so, no, technically Luna’s not your cousin. Ámbar though... yeah, it appears she is.”

“But- how?! How could we not know any of this before?!”

“Judging by the looks of it, it was a very complicated situation,” Pedro said. It was all he could say, really. Nothing was very clear; not even to those involved, apparently. “Now that I think about it though,” he commented after a pause, “you’re both blond and have fair eyes. It does make kind of sense.”

“You have fair eyes too!” Nico countered. The ‘you idiot’ at the end was implicit. “Are you my lost cousin as well?!”

“Lost cousin?”

Both boys turned to find Simón looking at them with an amused expression.

“What did I miss?” He chuckled.

Pedro and Nico looked at each other.

This was going to be a hard one to explain.

***********************

People could say anything they wanted about her, but Jazmín Carvajal was talented.

Perhaps not at studies, or at board games, or at videogames, or at cooking, or at chores, or at swimming— but who cared about any of that? Her talent was better than all of that together, it was the Louis Vuitton of talents. And no, she wasn’t talking about her impeccable fashion sense or enviable good looks. Although, she had been born with both. But whatever, her other talent was still better than those.

Now, people would probably wonder: Jazmín, what could possibly be better than having a great fashion sense? Well, at first, she had thought so too. But then she realized that there was something even better:

Being in the right place at the right time for gossip.

Whether it was arriving at just the right time to see new couples form, or at just the right time to hear juicy secrets, Jazmín had a talent for being there.

And this? This was the juiciest secret to ever juice.

Gary was Ámbar’s father? And her biological mother was not only also in the picture but she was way prettier than Sharon. Now she understood where Ámbar had gotten her beauty from— with those parents there was no way to be anything less than gorgeous. She had to admit, she was a little jealous. But then she remembered she was Jazmín, the Roller’s second prettiest, owner of Ja-Jazmín, and luckiest girl in the world because this news was going to be a HIT.

Right when the Sol Benson drama was starting to subside, life gifted her with this pure gold scoop. Her talent really was the best. Even Delfi, her best friend and biggest competition in the media world, hadn’t been there to see it due to a Uni class. No one had, except Jazmín. If you asked her, it was a divine sign that this was her calling. Being a star/influencer was her destiny.

Sadly, by the time she realized what was going down, most of it had already been said. She was a little slow at pulling out her tablet discreetly, so she only got to film Ámbar’s storm out and the tense exchange between Gary and Silvana before they left as well. But whatever, she’d just recount the rest. Storytelling was her specialty after all.

Once the coast was clear, Jazmín stood rapidly and walked out of the Roller. Normally, she’d record in the lockers, but she didn’t want anyone to overhear her and find out about everything before she could post her video.

She found a quiet place next to some trees, lifted her tablet and began filming.

“Guys, you will not believe what just happened.”

***********************

Simón could not believe his ears.

Ámbar knew her biological mother? She had never mentioned that. He thought she didn’t know who her real parents were. Well, no, at the time they all thought she was Sol Benson, but then that had turned out to be a lie. When had Ámbar met her real mom? It couldn’t have been in Cancún, unless the woman followed her all the way here. Maybe it had happened shortly after they came back.

Silvana— that’s what the guys had said her name was. They’d also said that, apparently, Ámbar didn’t get along with her at all. That made sense. If the woman had appeared out of nowhere after 18 years of absence— years in which she had to live with Sharon— Ámbar had valid reasons to be resentful.

Simón wondered how it must’ve been for her to see her for the first time. To finally be able to put a face to the empty space.

Then the guys finished their recounting and he didn’t have to wonder anymore. He could picture it better than he wanted to.

“She ran out.”

“It was too much.”

“She was very upset. I honestly had never seen her like that.”

Simón had.

He had seen her sad, had seen her lost, had seen her trying to act strong with tears in her eyes.

If it had been like that or worse…

Simón found himself wishing he had been there. But for what? What would he have done? Run after her? He didn’t do that anymore. They weren’t like that anymore.

Wanting to be by her side was almost nostalgic, except the feeling was too wrapped in barbed wire to be remotely nice.

(And could it really be nostalgic if it had only been two months? If he still had flashbacks in dreams? If he hated himself for seeing her sometimes and not hating her as much as he wanted to?)

Simón got back to work along with the guys. But as he delivered orders or wiped tables, the image of Ámbar remained in his mind; sad, lost and broken as those times before, but this time alone. It came with the anxious thought that, if he wanted to, he could find her. He knew he could. If he just walked out that door, he’d know where to find her.

But he stayed where he was, because he had promised himself not to go near her again.

She probably wanted to be alone anyway. She’d want to pull herself together before having to face anyone again. She had a lot to think, a lot to come to terms with— surely the calm of solitude would help with that. And even if she wanted someone… it surely wasn’t him.

And so, the minutes ticked by. He wouldn’t be able to say exactly how many, but it had been a while when Gary returned.

Simón saw him immediately, but he didn’t notice him. He was by himself. His conversation with Ámbar’s mom must have ended and she left. Would she come back another day to see Ámbar? Simón wasn’t sure if he wanted that or not.

His thoughts, though, focused on the one that was there. Gary. Gary López. The new representative of Vidia and manager of the Roller. The creator and manager of the Red Sharks. Ámbar probably had a good image of him due to that, before. Then she’d had to watch that image corrode into the man that should’ve but was never there.

Simón knew Gary was arrogant and selfish. He had swayed Vidia into dropping the music business because he wanted to pursue rollerskating instead. He had dismantled their skating team for deeming them not good enough and forbidden them from using the rink. All of that he’d done it without the slightest empathy.

But one thing was to be a business obsessive man willing to push everyone aside in order to get what he wanted, and another very different one was to be the kind of man capable of causing an irreparable damage to a person that was his responsibility and carry on with his life as if it was nothing.

If Simón didn’t like Gary before, now he hated him.

“Nico,” Gary called the instant he spotted his nephew. “Come here.”

Nico left the table he had been cleaning and went to his side obediently. Simón stood close to them, watchful.

“Yes, uncle?”

“Ámbar’s not picking up her phone and I need to find her, any idea where she could’ve gone?”

“Um, I don’t know. Her house, maybe?”

Gary pulled out his phone. “Send me the address.”

Nico pulled out his own phone and began searching for it.

Simón moved towards them.

“Nico, don’t.”

Both turned to him as Simón stood next to Nico and put a hand on top of his phone, pushing it down. “Don’t give him anything.”

Gary glared at him. “Who told you this was your call? Mind your own business,” he spat.

“If Ámbar’s not answering your calls then she doesn’t want to talk to you,” Simón reasoned firmly.

“Well, I need to speak with her, I’m not asking for your opinion.” He turned to his nephew. “Nico.”

Nico looked nervous at the threat in his voice, but Simón kept his hand stubbornly over his phone. He stood in front of Gary and stared him down.

“Do you even realize how hard this must be for her?” He said indignantly. “Have some empathy and give her some space—”

“The one who doesn’t understand anything is you!” Gary roared, taking Simón by surprise, but he managed not to back down one centimeter. “I didn’t know any of this, I didn’t even know I had a daughter walking around somewhere— So don’t come telling me to have some empathy because the only one who knows exactly what she’s feeling right now is me!”

Simón was left as if in pause.

He hadn’t been expecting the outburst. No; that wasn’t exactly right. Gary was known for being short-tempered. He could be calm and then screaming at some poor soul the next second. Simón had been prepared to stand his ground against that.

But, the thing was, those outbursts were always based on anger, on annoyance. And while this one had much of that too, there was an emotionality, a raw anguish in his eyes and voice that Simón had never seen or expected to see in Gary.

And so, against all logic and all he thought he knew, Simón found himself forced to accept what was in front of him.

He does care.

Gary seemed to realize his slip. He squared his shoulders and lifted his chin, straightening the scarf over his chest. Simón recognized the gesture, the physical display of putting his guard back up. His heart skipped when he realized from where.

Ámbar does the same.

“She needs to know I had no idea,” Gary stated, serene now but with the same firmness of steel. “So, Nico,” he said turning to him again, “hurry up.”

Simón saw Nico glance at him out of the corner of his eye. A question.

Simón lowered his hand.

Nico lifted his phone and typed on it for a while. He looked at his uncle and said, “Sent.” Gary checked his phone and turned to leave.

“I don’t think she’ll be at her house.”

Gary stopped in his tracks and turned. Simón met his gaze.

“Check the park around the corner. That’s where she used to go when she was upset.”

Gary didn’t say ‘thank you’, but the feeling was there in the one courteous nod he gave him before heading out.

Simón watched him go, clenched fists and anxious heart.

He hoped he had done the right thing.

***********************

Luna, Nina, Jim and Yam had just finished P.E class, their last class of the day, when they found out about everything through Jazmín’s video.

Luna had been the last one to finish changing from her gym clothes back to regular ones. When she walked out of the dressing rooms, she saw all her friends were already on the schoolyard and hurried towards them.

“Sorry I’m late, I’m ready now,” she said as she reached them. “What are you watching?”

They were all glued together looking at something in Jim’s phone. They turned to her and there was an expression in their faces Luna couldn’t pinpoint.

“Luna, you need to see this,” Nina said, at the same time as Jim passed her the phone.

“What is it?” Luna frowned, receiving it. It was open on a video in Jazmín’s channel. All girls gravitated toward her as Luna tapped ‘play’, watching it along with her over her shoulders.

At first, it was just Jazmín’s typical blabbering, but as the video went on Luna’s eyes widened, and by the time it ended, she was totally agape.

“What?” She uttered, blinking rapidly as if the video she just watched would disappear from the screen and prove to be a figment of her imagination. “Wait, wait, wait, wait, is this real? Gary is Ámbar’s dad?”

“Well, there’s not much video of the moment but, why would Jazmín lie about something like this?” Nina reasoned, who also looked taken aback.

“Yeah, I mean, Jazmín may want to make her channel popular but, she wouldn’t just make up something like this to achieve that,” Yam said.

“Yeah, Jazmín is not a liar,” Jim agreed, “so we can only assume she’s saying the truth.”

“Wow…” Luna murmured. It was the only thing she was capable of saying.

“‘Wow’ is cutting it short,” Nina said. “Statistically speaking, this is something near impossible. I mean- Gary didn’t get here because of Ámbar, he came because Vidia hired him and he happened to get interested in the skating business. If none of that had happened, he and Ámbar would never even have crossed paths. This is like— less likely than getting struck by lightning.”

“And if Ámbar’s mom hadn’t appeared and Gary hadn’t recognized her, they never would’ve even known either,” Jim added, just as surprised as the rest.

“The worst part is that, if we look at their actions, it makes sense that they’re related,” Yam reflected. “I mean, Ámbar has done nothing but harm the Roller lately, and in the short time Gary’s been here he’s done exactly the same. Except worse because he’s the manager and therefore he can do whatever he likes.”

“You think they’ll join forces against us?” Nina asked worriedly.

Luna shook her head.

“No, no, no, stop. You’re getting way ahead of yourselves,” she reproached. “Ámbar just found out that he’s her father— Do you really think she even cares about the Roller or us right now? Finding out about something like this is very shocking. Didn’t you see how she ran away? She must be very upset.”

The girls looked shamefaced.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Jim said. “It must be very tough.”

“Yes,” Yam expelled reluctantly. “Although it’s a little hard for me to feel sorry for her after all she’s done.”

After some coaxing from Luna, the girls continued with their daily routine of dropping off their bags and then meeting again at the Roller as usual.

As Luna walked home though, she thought that nothing was ‘as usual’ anymore. Her whole life had changed in the last couple of months, and now things kept changing around her at a dizzying speed.

Luna didn’t want more things to change. She wanted some sense of normalcy back into her life, like the warm feeling of happiness and belonging that washed over her whenever she was with Simón.

The Roller team didn’t exist anymore, they weren’t allowed to skate in the rink she loved so much, her given name was Sol Benson which meant everything was different and her biological parents were long gone… She didn’t know how she would be dealing with all of it if it wasn’t for Simón accompanying her all summer, the unconditional love of her parents, the grandpa she didn’t know she had, and the girls, who were always there for her.

Now Ámbar knew who her real parents were too, but, unlike hers, Ámbar’s were alive, which meant she actually had to face them.

And, unlike her, Ámbar didn’t have that many people around.

Well, it’s her own fault, a little voice protested in her head, but Luna couldn’t help but feeling sympathy for her. After all, she knew very well what it felt like to uncover your past, and no matter what bad things she had done, no one deserved to be alone during a time like that.

She could only hope that the Red Sharks would act as a support for her, although she doubted it with the kind of people they were. Ramiro perhaps would want to help, although he and Ámbar were never really close.

Luna was the one farthest from Ámbar, they always had been, but at the same time, she had moments in which she felt like they were the ones who could get the other the most. At least on some level. If only they could understand each other… but Ámbar had never wanted to get along with her.

Luna sighed, half from tiredness and half from frustration.

She was gonna try to be nice to Ámbar during this time— like she always had, to be fair— but if Ámbar kept pushing everyone away, there was nothing she could do.

***********************

Juliana looked at her watch and back at the three teenagers in front of her.

“Still no news from Ámbar?”

Benicio lowered his phone from his ear. “She’s not picking up.”

“Something must have happened,” Ramiro said. “Ámbar has never been the kind to skip training sessions, and she’s always on time.”

“Well, what do we do?” Emilia asked. “Do we train without her?”

Juliana looked at her watch again, seeming troubled. She was probably thinking of how to adjust steps that required couples to just three people. For Ramiro it wasn’t an issue because he was paired up with Emilia, so he was more worried about why Ámbar hadn’t appeared than about the training session.

“Juliana.”

Ramiro looked to the side and saw Simón standing near the entrance of the rink.

“Can I speak with you?” He asked.

With a slight frown, Juliana nodded. “Yeah, sure.” She turned to the trio. “Try contacting her one last time,” she told them and walked toward Simón.

“As if I hadn’t sent her a bunch of messages already,” Emilia said with a roll of her eyes, but she unlocked her phone anyway.

Ramiro focused his gaze on Juliana and Simón. He couldn’t hear what they were saying from he was standing and Juliana’s back was to him, but he could see Simón’s face and he looked serious as he spoke. Juliana must have asked something because Simón shook his head no. He looked somewhat... unhappy? No. Worried, maybe. Ramiro wondered what it could be about.

It was over as soon as he formed that thought though. Simón walked away from the rink and Juliana returned to their side.

“Ámbar is not gonna come today.”

“What? Why?” Benicio asked, voicing Ramiro’s thoughts.

“I don’t know, but she’ll tell us whenever she comes back,” Juliana replied. Ramiro frowned. If that’s what they had talked about, why didn’t Simón tell her? “In the meantime, today we’ll—”

“I think I know why.”

Everyone turned to Emilia. She tapped on her phone and positioned herself so everyone could see the screen. Juliana protested at first, claiming they were already behind in their training and it wasn’t the time to watch silly videos, but then, as Jazmín’s tale went on, even she was left speechless.

The video came to an end and there was a collective silence. Ramiro felt it as one of those moments during skating when you connected with your partner on a level so instinctual that you almost became one mind. At this moment, they were all processing the same.

Benicio was the first one to react.

“I gotta go see her.”

He attempted to skate away, but Juliana stopped him immediately with a hand on his chest.

“You will do nothing of the sort, you’re staying right here,” she declared firmly. “All of you.”

“But Juliana,” Emilia said, looking bothered, “this is…”

“I know,” Juliana said, more softly now. “And I’m sure Ámbar is going through a lot right now, so if really you want to help her, give her time to process all of this. Okay?”

Ramiro understood the logic of what Juliana was saying, and if Benicio’s and Emilia’s deflated stances said anything, they understood it as well. And Ámbar was not his friend by any means or even someone he had talked to that much. But…

“Does she have to process it alone?” He had to ask.

Juliana looked at him.

“This kind of news? …Yes.”

That afternoon, Juliana put them up to do individual training. Ramiro loved perfecting himself so it was an almost ideal outcome for him, but even though he tried to focus wholeheartedly on his footwork, his thoughts kept jumping back to Ámbar intermittently.

Like- First they had convinced her that she was Sol Benson when in reality it was Luna –that alone was enough to merit an existential crisis— and now she had to deal with this? If Ramiro had to deal with a life like that then, fuck, he’d be burning things down too.

He had said that he didn’t care about his Red Sharks teammates, only about their skating abilities and the chances the team had at succeeding and making it big. His friends were the Roller guys, even if they were mad at him, and that wasn’t going to change. But maybe he’d make an exception.

After all, Ámbar had been part of the Roller Team once too. And from the look of things… She was gonna need a friend.

***********************

The instant the video ended, Delfi was already marking Pedro on her phone.

“Hello, my l—"

“Is it true?” She fired instantly.

“What is?”

She could perfectly picture his frown of confusion but she had no time for it.

“Is Gary Ámbar’s dad?” She quickly clarified.

“Wh- How do you know about that?!” He asked, stunned.

“So it is true!” She replied agape. “Oh my god!”

She was speed-walking through her campus, meaning to take a cab the moment she was outside. She had to go to the Roller asap.

“Delfi, seriously, how did you find out? I thought you were in class.”

“Jazmín made a video about it and posted it on Ja-Jazmín.”

“What? I didn’t even see her there. Oh god.”

“How is Ámbar? Is she there?”

“No, she never came back. Gary either. Her mother even less, she looked like she didn’t want to be near Gary for another second.”

“Wow… I can’t believe all of this, it’s so crazy. I mean, what are the odds that precisely her biological father would be put in charge of the very place she had frequented all her life AND the new skating team she is now part of? This is insane.”

“Tell me about it. Nico is freaking out.”

“Oh my god, Nico! Right, this makes them cousins! Wow…” She finally got to the street and turned her gaze to the traffic. “Now that I think about it, they do look quite alike.”

“I said the same thing!” Pedro jumped, maybe a little too excited, but it warmed Delfi too that they had thought the same. “At least genetically it adds up.”

“Was anyone else there when it happened?”

“Only Simón. Although he didn’t see it first-hand, Nico and I told him.”

Delfi told him to hold as she climbed into the cab and gave the driver the destination.

“And what was his reaction?” she asked once she was settled. “I mean, I know he’s still mad at Ámbar for what happened, but he did have a thing for her at one point…”

Pedro sighed. “I think that thing you mention may not be as in the past as we thought,” he said worriedly.

She frowned. “Why do you say so?”

“You should’ve seen how he confronted Gary when he returned asking for Ámbar’s address. He blatantly told him to leave her alone and have some empathy.”

“Oh wow. Was Gary mad?”

“Super mad. He yelled at him, told him he had no idea what it was like and that he had no right to meddle. Simón had no other choice but to let him be.”

Delfi sighed, staring out the window as the streets passed and blurred together.

“Yeah, I think the only ones who really know what it feels like are Ámbar and Gary.” The rest of them could imagine it but… No, scratch that, she couldn’t imagine it.

“You know Ámbar is not my friend anymore,” she continued. “And truthfully, I’m happy it is that way, but… I don’t know, I think this whole thing is awful. I hope she and Gary can talk and figure things out. I hope he’ll be nice to her. Although, it’s very unlikely because Gary it’s a brute. I mean, neither of them are very good people but… I still hope they can clear things up, get along, bond… It’d be awful if Gary denied her. Or if he ran away; she doesn’t deserve that. I mean, sure, Ámbar it’s no innocent flower but, as much pain as she’s caused, I don’t want Gary to treat her badly…” She paused, going over her own words. “…Is it silly of me to think that?” She asked, feeling unsure.

There was a small silence before he answered.

“No. It just goes to show the amazing, beautiful girl you are.”

Delfi could hear the smile in his voice, see the tenderness written in his expression as clear as if he were with her, and it made a thousand butterflies flutter in her stomach.

She smiled warmly. “You are the amazing one. The best boyfriend any girl could ask for.” She looked out the window again. “I’ll be there in a couple minutes, talk to you there?”

“I’ll have an apple juice ready for when you arrive.”

God, could he be any sweeter?

“Thank you. See you soon. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Delfi put her phone back into her bag and let out a long sigh.

Yeah, she was quite content with her life right now. She wouldn’t change it for the world.

***********************

When Matteo arrived at the Roller after some long classes at University, he had been hoping for some peace. Studying Business Administration wasn’t as boring as he had feared, made even more bearable each time he imagined himself owning his own record company. The classes could be very tedious though, and the amount of information his teachers could shoot his way in one hour and a half was as impressive as it was tiring.

Matteo wanted to relax, but just walking into the cafeteria, he realized that wouldn’t be possible.

Tension hung heavy in the air as everyone was gathered talking about something. Matteo heard them mention Ámbar and Gary and he immediately prepared himself for the worse.

“What happened?” He asked as he joined the group.

“You didn’t see Jazmín’s video?” Yam asked.

He frowned. “No, I haven’t seen anything, why?”

There seemed to be a silent conversation between everyone. Luna looked at Simón. He didn’t seem happy, but he sighed and made a gesture as if saying ‘go ahead.’ Matteo felt the usual jab of jealousy he got each time he watched them together, but he pushed it down. He was more worried about what Gary and Ámbar could’ve done this time.

He expected to hear some new, unfair prohibition, like they couldn’t be in the Roller for more than two hours at a time or something.

He did not expect what they actually told him.

“What?” He looked at everyone, searching for signs that they were messing with him. “Are you serious? Gary?”

“Yeah, we couldn’t believe it either,” Pedro said.

“I still can’t believe it,” said Nico. “I mean- Ámbar is my cousin. This is so weird.”

It was weird. It was very weird indeed. Just with Luna turning out to be Sol Benson, Matteo thought he had met his quota of coincidences for the rest of his life. Apparently not.

He was still getting his head around everything Nico and Pedro had told him when, suddenly, many voices rose at once.

“Jazmín!”

“Where have you been?”

“We called you many times!”

Jazmín looked absolutely ecstatic and unconcerned as she entered the Roller and came up to them.

“I was doing some celebratory shopping!” She said cheerily, showing off the shopping bag in her hand. “What are you doing all gathered like this? Ah, I know, you’re talking about my video, right?” She grinned. “Isn’t it the best? I totally made it in a rush but it’s such a hit, guys. You have no idea how many comments I’m getting. Everyone is so shocked by the news!”

“Jazmín…” Delfi said in a disapproving tone, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“Now tell me, what were your thoughts? I mean, besides the fact I look gorgeous in this outfit,” she said with a flip of her hair. “Do you think Gary will take a paternity test? Many people seem to think so, but I think that with how alike they look it’d be a joke to take one– I mean, how do you deny that?”

“Jazmín.”

Simón’s voice finally stopped her. He stood in front of her and looked at her seriously.

“You need to delete that video right now,” he said in a polite but rigid manner.

Jazmín snorted. “What? Are you crazy? Is my biggest success so far!”

“What you told in that video was something private, not something for everyone to find out about,” he reprimanded. “It wasn’t right for you to upload that.”

Jazmín’s smile finally fell and her posture turned defensive.

“And was it right when she burned down the rink?” She demanded. “Was it right when she gave our choreography to The Sliders? Or when she bought dislikes to my video in the Vidia competition? Guys, it’s Ámbar,” she reminded them, in a tone that suggested it was silly to be even talking about it. “She has done worse things.”

No one jumped to contradict that and Matteo could understand why. Everyone had been affected by Ámbar in one way or another.

Which is precisely why it was so telling when Luna, the one who had been targeted the most, was the one to intercede on her behalf. She told Jazmín that Simón was right, that even though Ámbar had done bad things, those had nothing to do with what was happening now.

Not a day went by that Matteo wasn’t amazed by how big Luna’s heart was.

Jim was the next one to say she agreed, and it was written in everyone else’s faces that they did as well, even if begrudgingly.

With one last “please” from Simón’s lips, Jazmín finally gave in and deleted the video. She moved to one of the chairs and sat down, sad, holding her shopping bag to her chest as if it was a plush toy. The pout remained on her face even after everyone else carried on with their day.

Unfortunately, it didn’t matter much now if the video was gone. Deleting it was more a nice gesture than anything else considering the ton of views it had. Everyone who knew Ámbar probably knew everything already.

Matteo settled down at one of the tables with an orange juice, and his thoughts went back to their dating days. Ámbar used to love having videos made about them, showing off how perfect they were. Or just about her, to bask in people’s love and attention. To be honest, he couldn’t completely blame Jazmín for not having thought twice when Ámbar used to be like that.

But she was not that Ámbar anymore, just as he was no longer the same.

There was a shift that occurred in the mind of a person that used to live for praise when they realized image was of no help when they needed it most. When they realized they couldn’t get what they truly wanted because they didn’t know how, because in the world of appearances it was never taught how.

Something happened at that moment. Something that Matteo knew very well because he had been through that too.

The visibly defined lines in the world seemed to fade, like a chessboard with no squares, leaving you in doubt of how to move. You had to rebuild your sense of self, but without the polished, beautiful vase of glass that had always been there, water had no shape.

Matteo had slowly found his way thanks to the people around him. His friends had shown him there were other scales to weigh his worth. Luna taught him that not being bound by fixed contours could be a good thing— it allowed new, better things to come in.

Matteo was a slow learner. He still had times when he felt that to lose or win defined if he had worth or not. He lashed out when he felt insecure. He lost Luna for it. But he had a sense now of who he was and what he wanted. He was still like a clay figure made by a kindergartener, but he was getting there.

Ámbar though, seemed to had collapsed without a direction. From the spilled water had risen a storm, still shapeless and chaotic, but strong enough and deathly enough to keep any harm from ever touching her again.

Matteo wondered what she would do now that her past had hit her and her present had changed. Now that everyone knew what was happening, turning her storm into no more than a snow globe, displayed for everyone to see.

Would she become even worse? Like a vengeful hurricane destroying everything in its wake?

Or would she finally subdue her waves into a less hostile tide and allow someone to try to reach her?

Knowing Ámbar, he feared it would be the first. From his experience, he hoped it would be the second. But if she let someone like Gary in— would that be a good or a bad thing?

After everything Ámbar had done to the Roller and the team, he doubted anyone else would want to get near.

But maybe…

He looked over to the side and watched Simón as he took the orders from one of the tables.

Maybe the one who tried once would be willing to do it again.

After all, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?

Matteo took a long sip of his drink and leaned back in his chair.

Only time would tell.

…

-------------------------------------

This was a very fun writing exercise for me. I had to get into a lot of character’s minds and, sometimes, it was like I wasn’t even the one writing anymore. There are some lines here that make me proud, but I feel like I can’t take the credit for them because they came to me almost as if something had possessed me.

In my experience, though, that’s the best kind of writing.

I hope you liked this and thank you for reading ♡ — C

#simbar fanfic #kinda #soy luna fanfiction #soy luna fanfic #My Writing #short writings #although not so short- this one is 6k sljdfn #gary is her father AU #I *AM* WORKING ON ROADS- PLZ HAVE PATIENCE <3

15 notes · View notes

sorrelstream · 5 years ago

Text

entering “proper grammar” mode because I’m writing this on a google docs first and I don’t want to deal with all those ugly squiggles ahdfsdfds…

But!! Here’s the fully answered Ailuornymy question list, as requested by anon :D! More below the cut!

Favourite canon warrior name?

Hmm… let’s see… Honestly? Probably Silverstream! I don’t think we get many -stream suffixes anymore and there’s something soooo pretty about her name and the way it flows !!

Least favourite canon warrior name?

Snowbush. There’s something so clunky about the way this dude’s name reads in my head and I don’t know why!!! Also Harrybrook >:(

Warrior you’d most like to rename?

Harrybrook. I just!! It doesn’t sound nice at all please give him a better name :( Best name-change name? One-eye! I’m not sure if she asked for her name change or not, but I’ll admit “One-eye” is a pretty baller sounding name and I love that. Also Deadfoot has a cool name too (though I wish he had asked for that name change rather than saddled with it :/)!

Favourite canon character overall?

Mousewhisker and Hazeltail! They’re two unimportant side characters that don’t really do anything ever but man do I love them with my whole heart <3!

Least favourite canon character overall?

Thistleclaw and Crowfeather. I’ve talked about why I don’t like either of them a lot before so to keep it short they both make me incredibly uncomfortable nor do I enjoy reading about them at all.

Favourite Warriors book?

The Darkest Hour! It was my first Warriors book that I read from the main series (Sasha's manga was the first Warriors book in general and how I got into Warriors), and MAN does it still stick with me! So many scenes from that book are just iconic.

Least favourite Warriors book?

Anything from Dawn Of The Clans honestly :'). I tried so many times to get into reading that arc and I never could get into it -- it just bored me any time I tried. Same for AVoS, eh.

Favourite canon scene or dialogue of all time?

Such a random scene but there’s a scene I think about all the time from Power Of Three where Lionpaw has a nightmare about Hollypaw, and she just playfully (? ominously?) says “I’m going to get you” while hidden in the shadows before turning into a fox and attacking him. I think about it SO much…...

Favourite canon leader of all time?

Crookedstar, followed closely by Tallstar! I love them….

Character you think deserved better?

SO, SO MANY. IT’S UNREAL. Hollyleaf didn’t deserve to get killed off the VERY NEXT BOOK after she came back to ThunderClan, Snowkit didn’t deserve to get killed off just to push Speckletail into the nursery, Nightcloud didn’t deserve… literally anything she got both in canon and how the authors and fandom demonized her, Honeyfern…. Silverstream… the list goes on really :’/

Character you’d like to see “morally” flipped (made “bad” or made “good”)?

Leopardstar, kinda?? But not like. Morally flipped? I guess? I just mean I wish they had gone more into her redemption arc and why she allied herself with Tigerstar besides just “oh she was in love with him”. So it’s not that I wish she was morally flipped, but I wish they went more into her morality because she’s soo vague as it is (and, frankly, maybe I’m biased because I like her but I would’ve loved to see her overcome her initial prejudice or perhaps work for forgiveness for her Clan - perhaps her alliance with Tigerstar was out of worry for the entirety of her Clan since she saw him as the strongest cat and not just… because she “loved” him). Same for Breezepelt, honestly! They kept dancing between “he’s a troubled son of a negligent/abusive father” and “he’s evil :)” and personally? As a child of a negligent father who also abandoned me, it would’ve been way more … I’m not sure WHAT the word I’m looking for is but I think Breezepelt’s story would’ve been better if they focused on making him a troubled teen of a negligent, bad father and actually embraced Crowfeather being an antagonist in PO3 instead of not wanting to make him look bad. It’s just weird the erins flip flop between “this character is evil” and “this character is ok” so much it’s FRUSTRATING :/

Favourite AU (alternate universe) concept?

Answered here!

Warrior code rule you think is best?

Always help a kitten in need, no matter their heritage! I know that’s not the exact wording but anyways. Perhaps I’m biased because I, in general, don’t like reading about child death (I know it happens and I can handle it in some plots but sometimes it’s just so excessive), but in general I think it’s one of the best and genuinely helpful code laws, especially because kittens always deserve a chance at life. I think the second best rule would be the one that states a warrior does not need to kill to win a battle, because I think that adds a lot more depth (potentially) to how warriors value the lives of others and creates a bigger scene? scandal? when someone is killed in battle versus dying of wounds later on. It also, again, keeps the youngsters like apprentices safe!

Warrior code rule you think shouldn’t exist/should be changed?

If you know me, you won’t be surprised because it’s the same answer as always: the leader’s word is law. I’ve spoken a lot about that code before and even have a comic about its flaws, so I won’t go into it too much here, but I just think it’s a recipe for disaster.

Describe your ideal vision of Starclan/clan afterlife.

Hmmm let’s see… my ideal vision of StarClan/clan afterlife would be a little bit like what it’s like in canon at the moment but with a few twists. I think the borders would dissolve in StarClan so there’d be less in-fighting (though I imagine, after growing up your whole life hating your neighbors, a lot of cats have a hard time getting used to the no-boundary life-style of StarClan, and a lot of young/new spirits tend to stick within their own Clan cliques before venturing out and meeting former members of other Clans. Older spirits would be the ones most used to interacting with former members of other Clans). I think there’d be sections that mimic the corporeal Clan’s territories in theme, but with different landmarks and such so that new spirits have a new world to explore. I’d also take away the fading aspect because I don’t really think that’s… fair? I guess? It’s weird to me but I’d prefer not to go into it. I’d also make it so that there’s no great wisdom to these cats - or, at least, the wiser StarClan spirits are the ones that have been around for as long as anyone can remember. They wouldn’t be able to interfere with the living as much in canon and can only really visit medicine cats, or possibly leaders, in dreams; anyone else has to go to the sacred area to commune with the dead. Not sure what else though! This is just kind of a general idea.

Traditional or non-traditional naming. Thoughts?

I think both have their merits! While I prefer traditional naming systems because I enjoy seeing the way people develop suffix meanings and assign well-known meanings to them (and even connotations!), plus it helps me personally assign even the smallest trait to a side character so they feel just a little more real, I see why people would enjoy non-traditional naming systems as it does give more breathing room for individual name creation. Also, I’m not gonna lie, there’s some gorgeous lyrical names out there that flow beautifully. My heart will always belong to traditional naming, though, I think.

If traditional: What non-traditional suffix would you include in your system? If non-traditional: What’s your favourite canon suffix?

Traditional! I actually have included some non-traditional suffixes in my system, just for variety! But those are: -throat, -pool, -belly, -fern, -bee, -berry, -chirp, and -tooth, for example. There’s actually quite a few more but I don’t wanna list every single addition shfbd!

Best thing about the clan system as a concept in your opinion?

Hard to pick, honestly! But I do think the best thing about clans as a system is their unity; they’re a little society that has each other’s backs, and the care for young and elderly a lot is touching!

Favourite Warriors fanfiction (or fanfiction writer)?

HA this might be an obvious answer, but 100% solacefruit on ao3 (also: @/ailuronymy and @/burnt-sycamore on tumblr!). His worldbuilding is to die for and there’s something so charming and attention grabbing about his writing style that always has me waiting for the next update. Seriously, probably one of my biggest writer inspirations.

Favourite Warriors fanartist (includes animators)?

Answered here!

Most interesting villain?

Mapleshade and Sol, honestly. I’ve rambled about Mapleshade before, I think, but I think her story could have had a lot of potential to call out the misogyny and bias of StarClan and the code, and how mollies are often punished harsher than the toms for their code-breaking. Her story also features how weird the warriors are with the warrior code - it’s like they cherry pick what they want to believe? Oakstar sends three innocent kittens out of the Clan, presumably to die (which they do), despite the code speaking to never endanger a kitten’s life no matter their heritage, and no one ever questions him, or the rest of ThunderClan, for standing by to watch kittens die? Even Frecklewish outright stated she watched the kittens die and did nothing about it. Why? Why was everyone okay with punishing Mapleshade for breaking a rule of the code but no one questioned Oakstar or anyone else in ThunderClan for kicking out the kits alongside Mapleshade, when it was Mapleshade’s crime and not the kits? And why doesn’t Appledusk get punished or ostracized by his clanmates as severely as Mapleshade did? It had a lot of potential but it’s just a mess. Anyways - onto Sol. Another interesting concept kinda messed up by the Erins. In general, I really love villains that are just nuisances at best and no real threat - kind of like Heinz Doofenshmirtz - and with Sol’s backstory being the way it was, he was the perfect opportunity to have him be this little antagonistic shithead who, while annoying and causing problems, wasn’t actually a serious threat, and he of all villains would have had the best shot at redemption I think.

Favourite canon clan?

RiverClan! I love their aesthetic, their territory, and their general vibes. In love with water-based places <3!!

What would you ask Erin Hunter, if you could?

“Would you hand the series off to a new team of writers?” All good series must come to an end, but with Warriors being as broad as it is, I think this is a series where spin offs can be made and still thrive - just not with the current author staff we have at the moment. There’s lots of people with amazing, creative ideas for Warriors, and I know this is just a fantasy at best, but I would love to see a new writing team take over and weave brand new stories and worldbuilding with it in spin-offs. Hell, even I’d love to take a crack at publishing a Warriors spin off, but, again, it’s a fantasy at best.

Top five prefixes (canon or otherwise)?

Sorrel-, Chub-, Mink-, Rose-, and Vervain- (you can tell I like these prefixes considering these are all prefixes of characters featured in my webcomic besides Sorrel-, which is used for my wcsona’s name ha!) Honorable mentions to: Black- (or any color based prefix like Yellow-, Red-, Ginger-, Blue-, Gray-, White-, etc. I don’t know why but I’m fond of them), Beetle-, and Fidget- (which isn’t a traditional prefix, but I think it’s cute hehe.)

Top five suffixes (canon or otherwise)?

Just narrowing down for traditional because I need a smaller pool to pick from habdfsd but! -face, -flower, -stripe, -storm and -nose!

If you were on Drunk Warriors Rants, what would you talk about?

I have no idea what Drunk Warriors Rants is actually but I’m assuming it’s something where you get drunk and rant about warrior cats so… I would absolutely rant about Hollyleaf and mainly the wild mischaracterization the fandom has made of her break down and the murder of Ashfur. It irks me to no end how so many people have pushed this weird concept that Hollyleaf was aware her parents were Crowfeather and Leafpool when she murdered Ashfur to the point that most people I talk to genuinely don’t realize this, because not only does it just make so sense narratively but I feel like it really does take away from the depth that is her character. I think Hollyleaf is one of the few characters we get, like, an actual depth to, who is developed beyond “typical protagonist with love interest”, and has an interesting arc, downfall, and redemption. When she killed Ashfur, she was totally unaware that Leafpool and Crowfeather were her parents - in fact, the entirety of Sunrise is about Hollyleaf, Jayfeather, and Lionblaze trying to figure out who their parents are, so I honestly don’t know where this whole “Hollyleaf knew about her heritage when she killed Ashfur” thing came from. It really ruins her arc by making her out to be some nonsense cat who killed to keep a secret she spilled anyways, and not a cat who killed to keep a secret she didn’t fully understand yet, who then completely unraveled once she discovered the origins and how her existence completely went against everything she was raised to believe in.

What would your warrior name be?

Pretty obvious answer but my warrior name would be Sorrelstream! Or possibly Sorrelstripe, but I lean towards Sorrelstream. I love to swim a lot actually but I wouldn’t say I’m a particularly strong or skilled swimmer but hey… It’s my warriors sona and I get to give him one (1) skill.

Bonus questions:

Describe your favourite original Warriors characters!

HONESTLY this question is a little tough because I have such a huuuge cast of original warrior characters it’s hard to narrow down! I’d say if you’re interested in hearing more about my ocs or seeing them in action to check out my @/roseface blog, which is dedicated to my wc comic, or check out my ao3 account (kiittenteeth) because I’ll probably be posting warriors-centric original character stories there soon!

Describe your original Warriors clans!

Heyyy fun fact! I’m actually working on a small novel fanfic (only about ten chapters long) featuring my fanclans! They’re a group of four Clans set in an abandoned gated neighborhood/area - FernClan (located in the local abandoned mall), PondClan (located in the abandoned golf course), GleamClan (located in the local abandoned restaurant/diner), and FieldClan (located in the abandoned K-12 academy school). I won’t go too much into them here since I want to explore their worldbuilding in my fic, but keep an eye out for them when I drop the first chapter of Ribs!

Talk about your feelings about the Warriors series!

Oh man. A lot. The series itself is… disappointing, at best, but I’m awfully attached to it no matter how many times I try to break away from it. It was my biggest media interest growing up (keyword: media), so it’s a pretty big part of me and the way I grew up. Plus I met a good chunk of my friends through warrior cats related areas, so :’)!!! It’s a series that despite all its flaws is incredibly close to me but I’m mainly here to read everyone’s fan content because MAN does the fan content go above and beyond!

(Asked by @/whocares-idont) What’s your opinion on fan made Clan pantheons?

I LOOVE fan made Clan pantheons actually! Mythology was always something I loved learning about as a kid, and I’m particularly fond of the worldbuilding people make for the Warriors setting. I feel like creating a pantheon and mythos tied to it adds to the depth of the world and makes it all the more interesting and realistic, especially since mythology is such a huge part of so many cultures, both ancient and modern one. I think creating pantheons really adds to the setting people make with warriors, and, honestly, they’re always really fun to read about!!

#yes i did this instead of working on season change pages dshfbsdfds didnt feel like drawing today #nor have i felt like drawing in the past UHHH [checks watch] 3 days. oops!#anyways :)!! anon who requested this i hope u enjoy :D!#long post

7 notes · View notes