#guardian was one i saw in a post on here from someone i follow and i liked the cover a lot so i wanted to try it out

[killjoy-prince]

Novel and manga haul from yesterday

[hyperfocusthusly]

Lifelines

——-

Tommy had been staring at his phone, typing out a message, an apology, anything. He always ends up deleting it. Over and over, so when it actually rings in his hand he almost drops it. The news hits him like a train, pushes everything else to the background.

His sister is dead. Her and her husband, car accident, didn’t stand a chance.

The flight is bad, the funeral worse and then someone from social services shows up with a baby he met once when she was newborn and only really recognises from pictures. The woman hands him a 6 month old child and explains that this is what they wanted. The will stipulated that he would be their guardian in such a circumstance.

He stares at her tiny face. She stares back.

He shuts the door and wonders how anyone could think this was the right choice.

——-

He has to tell his Captain. He chooses to tell Lucy. He distinctly chooses not to tell anyone else.

——-

Babies are hard, as it turns out. There’s no room for grief with an insistent baby taking up every waking second. No rest from being relentlessly needed. No telling her she’d be better off without him.

He thinks about calling.

While he watches her crawl down his hallway after a woodlouse, pointing insistently, letting out an excited little “ah!” as the bug in question scuttles under the shoe rack. She follows it carefully, watching with an intense curiosity that makes something churn deep inside Tommy’s chest.

He thinks about calling.

The first time she gets a fever and won’t settle unless she’s upright on his chest. It’s not the first time Tommy has gone 24 hours without sleep but it feels worse. His nerves scraped raw from her distress. His hand on her back counting her breaths over and over. He thinks about calling.

But what could he possibly say?

——-

The secrecy works until it doesn’t. Until the morning that Chimney is stood in the local doctor’s car park watching Tommy, darker eyed and more scruffy, strap an 8 month old into a seat in the back of his truck. Tommy doesn’t see him, or hear Jee whisper “is that Uncle Tommy daddy? Is that his baby?”

——-

It’s how Chimney ends up stood outside of Tommy’s door one lunchtime. He isn’t home but Chimney knows he needs to wait. He knows what trying to handle a baby that age by yourself is like.

When Tommy gets home and sees who is waiting for him Chimney has to give him credit for actually pulling into the driveway rather than continuing in the opposite direction.

Tommy gets out of the car, Chimney doesn’t miss the moment he takes to collect himself before looking up to him.

“What are you doing here Howie?” He sounds ragged.

“Just checking in, two months is too long, I’m sure someone owes someone a beer.”

He goes for light hearted, trying to ease out some of the tension that has appeared in Tommy’s stance. He is hovering by the back door of his truck, fingers tucked into the door handle, endlessly thankful that she closed her eyes and fell asleep on the drive home. Something hovers in the air between them until Chimney takes a step forward.

“I saw you at the doctor’s last week.” Tommy’s brows crease slightly, then pull back as he realises what Chimney is actually telling him.

“Are you going to hide her from me forever?” Tommy looks relieved somehow, less trapped. He shakes his head and carefully takes her out of the car. Settling her into the crook of his arm and pulling her diaper bag over his shoulder.

“I don’t really drink beer too much anymore.”

“A coffee then?”

“Yeah.” He swallows nervously, tries not to let the implications of this meeting, and the conversation he knows is coming, get to him. “I could do with a coffee.”

—-

[read on A03]

| Part two | Part three |

Tagging some people who interacted with my abstract post about this (hope you enjoy!🫶🏻);

@leashybebes @beanarie @accefan-blog @big-urchin-energy @loucifersbitch @fyrehose @evansbuck-ley @sad-girl-hours23 @certifiedbisexualdisaster @theweewooshow @beckym2001 @kinardevans

And also some beloved pals;

@bidisasterevankinard @rubydaiquiri @sweaters-and-silly @apassingbird @sunnywithachanceofbi @theotherbuckley @desert--moonchild @comfortingevanbuckley @livelaughlou @epiphainie @actuallyitsellie @typicalopposite @wikiangela @bi-bi-buckleys @littlepaws9 @ohithankyou

[dumbseee]

united in grief.

f1 au/fic: in which, you’re jules bianchi’s little sister. you’re the same age as charles and grew up with him, when jules passed away your world completely fell apart, and you left monaco for paris. eight years after jules’s death you finally decide to comeback to monaco to visit your old friend.

charles leclerc x bianchi!reader.

fc: madison beer.

warnings: mention of jules bianchi, grief, angst, fluff.

note: happy eighth heavenly birthday, jules, we will always love and remember you, champion 🤍

y/n just posted a story!

caption: missed you monaco 🤍

_

you really thought about going back for a while, you missed you life in monaco so much. all your friends were here, your family was here, even after jules’s death they stayed, but you couldn’t. every step you took in the luxurious city reminded you of your brother. his presence was everywhere. you were seventeen when you lost jules, he was your whole world, you always wished you were the one in that car. you left monaco for paris because you needed a fresh start in a new city where you could walk without feeling the people’s eyes on you. but a small part of your heart wondered if leaving monaco meant that you were abandoning jules too. he was buried there after all, his soul was now forever in monaco and you were leaving to run away from him.

but your parents reassured you, and told you to fly with your own wings, to find your way, that no matter what jules would be proud of you, and would follow you because he was now your guardian angel. that reassured you a lot since your worst fear was to disappoint him. but your parents were right, jules was an angel when he was still here, and he’s still one up there. so whenever you felt bad, defeated, sad, you knew jules was around you, that gave you the strength to stand up and stay strong. you had to, for your brother. to make him proud.

that’s why you decided to attend today’s race. the monaco grand prix, your brother’s home race. he loved that circuit so much because he knew his friends and family were watching him and cheering for him. you came back without telling anyone, but of course your mother had to tell pascale, so the elderly woman immediately called you to invite you to have lunch with her and lorenzo, her oldest son. you couldn’t say no, because you missed the leclerc, but also because you knew how much you leaving hurt them. you left without saying goodbye, it was too hard for you, so once jules’s funeral was over, you packed your bag and left.

pascale and lorenzo welcomed you with open arms and big smiles, the mother apologised for charles and arthur’s absence but they were busy. charles… you were glad he wasn’t here because you didn’t know how you’d be able to look him in the eye. "you should go to the grand prix with us." lorenzo had told you, with his usual warm smile. at first you refused, but after thinking it over you realised that you owned it to charles, you left him behind when he was also mourning. of course it was harder for you since he was your brother, but jules was everything to charles. his second older brother, he was also lorenzo’s best friend. you hated yourself for being such a selfish coward. guilt was eating you alive and lorenzo noticed it. "don’t be too hard on yourself y/n, jules isn’t going to be happy." he smiled and you had to fight back your tears.

so you came with the leclerc to charles’ home race, you knew that your presence would be the only talk in town and on the internet. "oh my god, y/n!" someone yelled from behind you and you smiled when you saw ‘little arthur’ like you called him back then. he ran to you and made you spin in his arms. you laughed and brushed his hair when he finally put you down. "look at you! where is my little boy?" you asked, still laughing. he flexed his muscles and flashed you a cocky smile before pascale came to hit him in the head. "where is charles?" she asked. "getting ready in the garage, he’s really nervous, i think you should go say hi." he told you. you immediately took a step back, you were nervous as hell too, but for different reasons than charles. what if he didn’t want to see you? what if seeing you ruin his race? what if-… "he still talks about you y/n, he misses you so much you have no idea." pascale chimes in, patting your shoulder.

you were in front of charles’ driver room, you knew that he was just behind it. you could hear voices inside which had to be charles and his teammate. you closed you eyes and knocked three times before waiting. a tall and tan man opened the door for you, he smiled at you and you recognised him as carlos sainz. "isa is waiting for me, see you on track charles." he told charles. "it’s nice seeing you here, y/n." you smiled and watched him go. you took a deep breath before walking into the room. your hands were sweaty and you didn’t know where to look. "y/n?" you haven’t heard his voice in nearly a decade, so him calling your name startled you. "h-…" you couldn’t even finish that charles had closed the gap between you, pulling you in his arms. his face was buried in your neck and his arms were hugging you tightly. you were completely frozen, you didn’t expect him to be that affectionate after what you did to him. "charles, i’m so sorry for leaving." tears were now rolling down your cheeks. he broke the hug and immediately wiped your tears.

"sorry for what?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows. his hands rested on your shoulders, his touch soothing you. "i’m not mad at you for leaving, y/n. i just wished i was here with you to help you through the grieving process." he smiled and you looked at the ground. he was too good to you, you didn’t deserve it. "you lost jules too, i acted like i was the only one grieving, i didn’t realise the impact my brother had on people’s lives." charles gently kissed your forehead and stroked your cheek. "let’s talk about that later, let me enjoy your presence, you don’t know how much i missed you." he hugged you once again, and this time you wrapped your arms around him, savouring the moment. "my lucky charm is back in town." you couldn’t refrain your laugh at his cheesy comment.

_

"and charles leclerc wins the monaco grand prix for the first time in his career!" the whole stadium cheered for the monegasque meanwhile you couldn’t stop crying. he won. he won in monaco. it was his goal and he did it. pascale hugged you while cheering for her son, lorenzo and arthur ran to their brother. but you stayed in your seat, looking at him jumping everywhere and celebrating with his brothers and carlos. then, when he turned around to face your direction he did something that sent shivers all over your body. he pointed at you, then at his heart, and then at the sky. this was jules’s celebration every time he’d win something and you were there to support him. he honoured jules even when he finally fulfilled his dream. "jules, you are so loved." you muttered to yourself, looking up at the bright sky.

liked by charles_leclerc, arthurleclerc, philippe_bianchi17 and 2 682 789 others.

y/n: coming back in monaco was hard, but i wanted to be here for charlie, i was scared at first because i knew that i handled my brother’s death terribly but in eight years i forgot how kind you were. i finally understood why jules loved you so much. congratulations on winning your first grand prix in monaco! i’m so proud of the man you became charles, i know that my brother is proud of you and will always look after you. je t’aime charlie ♥️

_

charles_leclerc: this one was for you, and of course jules, i’m so happy to have you back, je t’aime aussi ♥️

fan1: i can’t stop crying wtf

fan2: jules’ death affected everyone, even the people who never even met him, like me, he was such an angel

fan3: your brother is proud of you y/n! don’t be too hard on yourself!

fan4: we love you!

fan5: so happy to see you healthy!

fan6: man, this family suffered too much, i hope they’re happy now

fan7: charles and y/n relationship is so cute omg

fan8: the way he dedicated his win to the bianchi siblings 🥺

[sailorspica]

GOOGLE TRANSLATION: "perona, nightmare after nagashidaru" from one piece: heroines by jun esaka

i posted the illustrations by suwa sayaka here

this short story collection will have an official english release in april 2025

i just ran the japanese epub through google translate and lightly picked through for readability. it gets weird with pronouns in the narration, sometimes switching to 1st person with no obvious (to me) indicators that it's meant to be perona's internal monologue, but overall i think it makes sense

if anyone reads japanese and wants to take a look, send an ask! i only have vol. 1 as of posting

The once-prosperous kingdom of Shikeaar now lies in complete ruins.

The blackened houses are crumbled and tilted as if trampled by giants, and the old castle that is barely standing looks as if it will collapse and sink into the darkness at any moment. The stone flooring is completely covered in moss and cracks in many places.

The surroundings are completely silent, and no words are spoken. Not the sound of leaves rustling, not the cries of animals, nothing can be heard.

The ruins of the kingdom of Shikeaar should be enveloped in the same silence as ever tonight -- or so it should have been.

Until a noisy duo passed by.

"You were on shopping duty last week, weren't you? Why didn't you buy any cocoa?"

"There wasn't any, so I guess that's to be expected. You should be grateful that I went around the town looking for stores. Besides, you can just go and buy it yourself."

"Don't talk like that! It takes a ton of time even to go to the nearest small town!"

Perona and Zoro were walking along, arguing with each other. They were the wandering thugs from Shikkearu Castle. Two human drills were walking ahead of them, leading the way.

It had been about fifteen minutes since the Human Drills had knocked on Perona's window while she was relaxing. They gestured for her to follow them, and as she left the castle, she ran into Zoro, who had been brought out in the same way. It seemed the Human Drills had something to show her.

They trudged across the ruins of the Kingdom of Night, passed through the forest, and came out to the sea.

"…What is this place?"

The Human Drills pointed out to the ocean, as if to hurry Perona, who was puzzled. Looking, they saw a large barrel floating on the waves. A sacred rope was wrapped around the barrel, and something like a flag was hanging from it.

"Is that by any chance a floating barrel?"

Zoro narrowed his eyes and muttered,

"Maybe there's cocoa in it!"

Perona spoke up with a cheer.

Cocoa is Perona's favorite food. However, she has been unable to get any on Kuraigana Island, which has been frustrating her.

"…The floating barrel is a tribute to the guardian deity of the sea. Who would put cocoa in it?"

"It's possible. If I were the god of the sea, I would favor anyone who can offer me high-quality cocoa!"

Originally, the barrels were used to hold alcohol or preserved foods. But it's entirely possible that the person who released the barrel was a clever person and put something better in them.

"Anyway, we have to get that floating barrel back quickly!"

After saying this enthusiastically, Perona suddenly realized something and her face clouded over.

…I don't want to go that far.

Devil Fruit users are hated by the sea. When they are immersed in water, all strength leaves their body and they are unable to do anything. Perona could have retrieved the barrel without getting wet, thanks to her ability to float, but flying above the surface of the ocean was still a little scary.

But still--

Perona glanced at Zoro beside her. It would be cruel to ask a man who was still in training and had wounds all over him to enter the sea.

I guess I'll go.

She made up her mind and turned on her heels. Just as she was about to float up, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"I'll go."

With that, Zoro splashed into the sea without any hesitation. His movements were so natural that Perona almost saw him off, but then she suddenly realized and called out in a panic.

"What are you doing! It's going to sting your wounds!"

"It's not going to sting."

"You're lying!"

"Just wait."

Zoro said with his back turned to her, and jumped into the sea with a splash. He started to paddle the water and swim towards the open sea.

Perona grimaced.

"…Isn't that guy going to get another wound?"

During his daily training, Zoro was constantly being beaten by Mihawk. Not only was he always covered in wounds, but the wound he got when he was sent to this castle covered in blood was also questionable as to whether it had healed completely, yet Zoro didn't even look at his own body.

It must be for them that he wants to become so strong. Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates were in hiding.

Perona stared blankly at Zoro returning carrying a barrel.

"Friends, huh…"

Even Perona has people she cares about. Gecko Moria from the Seven Warriors of the Sea is one example. Well, when Thriller Bark was in chaos, I tried to leave him behind and run away, but at least I really respected him and sincerely wanted to be of help. When his obituary was published, I was so sad that I cried my eyes out, and if I found out he was still alive, I would pack my bags and go see him right away.

Perona had been with Moria ever since she was picked up at the age of eleven. But perhaps Moria isn't Perona's "friend." At least, I don't think they're the same as Roronoa Zoro's "friends".

…What are friends?

"Hey, what are you spacing out for?"

Perona came back to her senses when Zoro's voice came from above her head.

"It wasn't as heavy as it looked. Maybe it's empty."

Saying that, Zoro lowered the barrel onto the beach with a thud. It must have been drifting at sea for a long time; looking at it up close, it was quite old. The flag that had been attached to it was completely faded, and the metal fittings were covered in rust.

Perona quickly began to remove the fasteners on the lid. The Human Drills came over, excited and making "Uh-oh" and "Uh-oh-oh."

“Holohohorohoro~…”

I hope it contains cocoa.

Perona opened the barrel with hope in her heart - "Huh?" she said, grimacing in obvious disbelief.

Despite the barrel's size, it only contained three bottles of red wine.

"What a worthless thing they put in it…!"

Perona's body shook violently. "Wine's not cute at all! I would have preferred cocoa…"

Next to an indignant Perona, Zoro also frowned, "Oh, alcohol?" This man is a drinker by nature, but Mihawk had told him not to drink until he could gather his sword and spirit.

"My navigator said that wine that has been washed by the waves is special…"

Zoro muttered boredly and grabbed three bottles of wine at once.

"Wine will please Hawk-Eye. Let's go back to the castle."

As Zoro turns around and walks off with a confident stride, Perona hastily grabs him by the scruff of the neck.

"The castle isn't that way!"

"Hm.*

+ + +

Zoro's sense of direction is so extreme that it seems to be inversely proportional to his talent with the sword. After telling him that the kitchen is on the first floor, he immediately goes up the stairs, and just to get back to his room, he wanders around the castle for an hour. At first, Perona was always there to look after him whenever he wandered around, but no matter how many times she explained to him, he never learned anything, and he seemed to have plenty of energy, so she decided to just let him be.

If she walked beside him, even Zoro could find his way home. Walking side by side along the night streets, the two returned to the darkened Shikire Castle.

Tonight had been a waste of effort. She had hoped that there would be cocoa in the cup, but to no avail, it was wine!

She'd give this to him quickly and get to bed early -- just as she was about to head to Mihawk's bedroom, Perona suddenly stopped in her tracks. Zoro was walking ahead of her, and she noticed that all three wine bottles he was holding were quite dirty.

"Maybe we should taste them first. He's really picky about wine."

"Yeah, it's possible that it went bad while drifting at sea."

Zoro nodded, and the two of them went into the dining room.

Perona lined up two wine glasses on the dining table, removed the cork, and slowly poured herself some wine.

"Oh, I wish I'd had cocoa."

She grumbled, still reluctant, and took a sip.

At that moment, Perona's eyes, which were already round, became even rounder.

"What's wrong?"

Zoro asked suspiciously, but Perona couldn't reply for a while. She couldn't open her mouth now. She'd let this happiness slip away…!

The wine was unbelievably delicious. The delicate fruitiness, moderate acidity, and subtle astringency blend in with the tongue from the moment it enters the mouth. The complex aromas of blackcurrant, red currant, and cherry are sweetly numbing in the back of the nose, and the long aftertaste leaves a faint hint of white rose at the end.

Phew, Perona sighed and shouted with shining eyes.

"This wine… it's sooooooooo good!?!?"

"You're exaggerating. There's a limit to how good it can be."

Ignoring Zoro's amazement, Perona gulped down the remaining wine in her glass in one gulp and hurriedly poured herself a second glass.

"Hey, weren't you just tasting it?"

"There are three bottles, so it's okay, just a little."

"You're not supposed to drink without something to snack on."

Muttering in annoyance, Zoro left the dining room without even a glance in Perona's direction. Since he couldn't drink due to his alcohol ban, he probably didn't want to see Perona drinking wine with gusto.

"… What a boring guy."

Muttering, Perona rested her chin on the table. She let the light shine through the wine and stared at it for a while. The thick red color became slightly brighter in the light, like melted candy. She swirled the glass around and around, and a strange aroma that sounded like a mix of fruit and smoke oozed out.

Even if you're on a no-alcohol diet, you can still enjoy the color and aroma. But no, I guess there's no point if you can't drink it.

Perona rolled her eyes.

Zoro should learn this thing called Haki quickly. Then he'll be free to drink alcohol and we'll be able to drink wine together…

"Here, eat up."

Suddenly, an arm reached out from behind her and placed a plate on the table. It was a strange dish of sliced ​​melon layered with prosciutto.

"What is this?"

When Perona asked, Zoro frowned in disappointment.

"It's food. I bet you went to the trouble of making it because you didn't have any snacks."

What, you were cooking in the kitchen? I thought for sure you'd gone off somewhere.

Perona unconsciously felt relieved and shifted her gaze to the food on her plate.

"Melon and ham… I've never seen a dish like that before. What kind of taste do you have?"

"Just try it. It's just cut and put on top, so it shouldn't taste much different from what a shitty chef makes."

Really?

Skeptical, I popped a piece into my mouth, and it was surprisingly delicious. The saltiness of the ham went well with the sweetness of the melon. It was smooth to the touch because the cut of the melon was so beautiful. As expected of someone who aims to be the world's greatest swordsman, his fruit-cutting skills seem to be at expert level.

"Oh, that's right!"

Perona suddenly had an idea and said.

"Let's make sangria out of this bottle of wine!"

"What's with that all of a sudden?"

"You and that guy are both really good with swords. You can cut fruit so beautifully!"

"You know, the reason I'm honing my sword skills is to cut fruit…"

"It'll definitely be delicious! Ha, I'm looking forward to it!!"

Perona didn't listen to Zoro's rebuttal, and gulped down the wine in one gulp, letting out a happy sigh.

Taking the opportunity, she decided to turn off the lights in the room, and the moonlight filtering in through the window gently illuminated the fragile, clear glass. It was a sad and gloomy atmosphere, just the way Perona liked it.

"Holohohorohoro~…It's the best night."

Looking at the moon in the window frame, Perona smiled. Maybe it was because she was drunk, but her body had been warm for a while now. She felt light-hearted and inexplicably happy. The wine stains on the label gradually started to look like Mihawk, and she couldn't help but let out a strange chuckle, "Hehe."

Zoro began swinging his sword against the edge of the wall. There was no need for him to do it at this time of night, but it seemed to be some light training before bed. Despite that, there was an unbelievably huge, heavy weight attached to it.

It didn't feel bad to have Zoro in sight. Wine tasted even better with someone on the other side of the table. What was this strange feeling? A modest comfort, like hot milk getting just the right temperature, or new, stiff shoes fitting your feet.

"… that's weird."

She muttered to herself, but Zoro, who has ears like a pig, responded with "Huh?"

"Nothing!"

Perona roughly brushed it off and rolled onto the floor. The cool sensation felt good on her hot body.

"Hey, I'm feeling great right now."

"That's good."

"I'll sing you a curse song. So that you'll have the most terrifying dreams tonight."

"Oh, sing, sing."

With her back against the cold floor, Perona began to sing in a good mood.

A curse song filled with resentment, played with a dark and lonely melody.

Perona's mood is contagious to the ghosts. The ghosts are usually pale, but tonight they are a little red all over, and wander around the castle in a limp state. They slip through the walls, go through the floors, and end up in a room with a good view on the top floor. In other words, Mihawk's bedroom.

"You guys, don't go into other people's rooms without permission."

Mihawk, who was reading a book while leaning his arm on a chair, annoyedly shooed away the ghosts that were trying to get close to him, and sighed in exasperation.

"That ghost girl seems to be in a really good mood."

+ + +

"Ugh…"

The next morning, Perona woke up on the chaise longue in the hall.

She forced open her stubborn eyelids, and after staring blankly at the tiny dust particles dancing in the sunlight streaming in through the window, she finally slowly got up. A blanket was on top of her, but whoever it was had put it on her.

The dining table was still littered with glasses and bottles. It seemed she had fallen asleep while drinking the wine.

"But it was a really good wine…"

Remembering the taste of yesterday, Perona grinned as she tidied up the table. It was a substitute that she couldn't get anymore, so maybe she should have savored it more. But she still had two bottles left…

Huh?

Perona suddenly stopped. There were two empty bottles. It seems she had drunk two even though she had only intended to drink one. No wonder her memory was hazy.

What's more, the unopened wine bottle that should have been left was nowhere to be found.

"…Where did my wine go?"

With the weather and time being this nice, he'll probably be there. She went outside to find her destination and sure enough saw the back of a tall figure watering a field.

"Hey, you! Where did you put the last bottle of wine?!"

As she approached, yelling, Mihawk turned around with an annoyed look on his face.

"It's not your wine. It's mine."

“I found it!”

"It washed up in my castle."

“But---! I found it first!!”

"So, I'll give you and Roronoa one each. The remaining one is mine."

"Ugh…"

I'm so pissed!!

Not knowing what to say in response, Perona pursed her lips. The sun was unusually hot today, which made her even more irritated. The sunlight was a pain, but she had been in a hurry and had forgotten to put on her hat.

Mihawk placed his straw hat on Perona's head.

"It's still getting hot. Go back to the castle now."

"Shut up, don't give me orders! I don't mind the heat. I'll work in the fields too!"

Saying this in a fit of desperation, Perona went out of her way to a distant field. New seedlings were to be planted here soon, so she had to prepare the soil now.

The soil had been plowed yesterday, so it was soft and loose. Perona crouched down and picked up some pebbles mixed in with the soil.

"He stole the wine I found… I was planning to make sangria with the third bottle."

As she continued to work, muttering to herself, forgetting that she had originally intended to give all three bottles to Mihawk, the Human Drills came and squatted down next to her. They imitated Perona and helped her by skillfully picking up pebbles with their thick fingers.

"Hey, you only need to pick up stones."

Seeing that the Human Drills were even picking up leaves mixed in with the soil, Perona quickly reprimanded them.

"The leaves can be used as fertilizer. Only remove the stones. Pick up all the small pieces, because if any are left behind, they will cause stunted growth."

The Human Drills nodded.

As she was absorbed in her work, sweat started to trickle down her temples. It was hot. But it wasn't unbearable. It was fine, as long as she had a hat.

"Phew…"

Perona took a long breath and looked up at the sun.

Working outdoors on a sunny day would be a disgrace to the name of Ghost Princess. But the trouble is, it's quite fun. It's just so satisfying to see the crops grow, and it feels good to take care of them by watering them and thinning them out. And the feeling of pride when you put the vegetables you've grown with so much effort on the dinner table is amazing!

I used to like dark, damp places, but before I knew it, I was basking in the sunlight and working with the soil. This was all Mihawk's fault. He taught me experiences I wouldn't have had if I'd stayed in the dark, damp castle.

When I think about it, Mihawk and Zoro are both strange to Perona. It's not that I feel uncomfortable being with them. But they're definitely not friends, and they're definitely not companions. So what are they?

Roommates?

We live together, so I guess we are "roommates." But it seems like a vague word to describe our relationship.

…Well, whatever. Anyway, I'm in the field now.

"By the way, what kind of seedlings are we going to plant in this field?"

"…Huh?"

Perona muttered, and the human drills looked puzzled.

"So, even if I ask you guys, there's no way you'll understand. It's a sapling that he procured. It's probably an olive that goes well with wine, whatever."

Convinced, she went back to her work.

"…"

The human drills looked at each other quizzically, but Perona, who was looking down and busy preparing the soil, didn't notice.

+ + +

Mihawk prepared dinner that day.

It was a privilege for those who lived in Shikkeir Castle to see the world's greatest swordsman standing in the kitchen wearing an apron. One would never imagine this from his solitary appearance, standing with a cross sword on his back, as he stabbed a bamboo skewer into a chicken he had just taken out of the oven to check its doneness.

Today's menu was roast and sauteed chicken. It was a dish that would go perfectly with red wine. The sauteed dish was made with an abundance of vegetables freshly picked from the fields. The food at Shikkeir Castle was surprisingly organic.

Mihawk sat down at the table and ostentatiously poured the wine into glasses.

"Ugh… I hate that taste."

In the clear glass, the slightly dried red liquid shines beautifully. Just gazing at it brings back the dreamlike taste on my tongue.

As I gazed on him resentfully, Mihawk shot me an exasperated look.

"…Don't make such a pathetic face over just wine."

"What?! I didn't!"

"I did."

With that brief comment, Mihawk lightly put his mouth to the glass - "Mm," he groaned, narrowing his bird-like eyes slightly.

"This is… good wine."

"Right?"

Perona said this with some pride, and then moved her face closer to Mihawk.

"Don't you want to enjoy that delicious wine even more? You want to drink it, right? Right? So I have a suggestion. I'll make sangria out of that wine."

"No."

"Huh…"

After being flatly rejected, Perona was stunned and fell silent.

"There's no need to go to the trouble of adding things to high-quality wine."

"But! It's sweeter and cuter with fruit in it, isn't it!?"

"It's not my thing."

What!? Perona crept closer to Mihawk, but he told her "Don't get so close, you're annoying" and chased her away like a cat. Still, she didn't give up and kept trying.

"Just a little, just one glass, why don't you try making sangria? If you taste it and it's good, you might change your mind."

Mihawk replied without hesitation, but Perona ignored him and ran to the kitchen, rolled up her sleeves and grabbed a knife.

Sangria is made by soaking fruit and sugar in wine. Ideally, it should be left to sit overnight, but adding the fruit just before drinking should bring out the flavor.

Peaches, oranges, apples, lemons. She peeled each fruit and cut them into bite-sized pieces. However, despite her efforts to cut them neatly, the finished product was misshapen. It didn't have a clean, neat cut like the melon Zoro cut.

"Something's not right…"

Chop, chop, chop --

She tried cutting it into various shapes, but it just didn't work. The more she cut it, the less ideal it looked.

"Uwaah! I can't cut it properly!"

What should she do? At this rate, Mihawk will have all the remaining wine to himself.

Perona bit her lip. When she thought she might never be able to drink it again, the deliciousness of that wine seemed to come back to her tongue. The mellow aroma that wafted into her mouth the moment she put it in her mouth, the refreshing fruit flavor that lingers forever --

After all, she just couldn't give up. She wanted to drink sangria made with that wine. No matter what! "Enough with the persuasion tactics. I'll just use force!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Zoro, who had just entered the kitchen, frowned suspiciously. He had apparently just finished dinner, and sunk the plate he was holding into the sink.

"What are you doing?"

He peered at Perona's hands.

"I was cutting fruit for sangria, but I can't do it right."

"Huh?"

From the pile of cut fruit on the chopping board, Zoro picked up a thinly sliced ​​apple.

"It's cut properly, isn't it?"

"But it's not like the way you cut it! The cuts need to be cleaner, smoother, and more sleek!"

"Where are you headed?"

"But that guy!"

Zoro shoved a piece of apple into his mouth.

"Hawk-Eye has already finished his dinner and gone back to his room with his wine. Anyway, weren't you saying something strange just now?"

"Oh, that's right."

Perona looked straight at Zoro with her round eyes.

"I've decided. I've decided to take the wine from Mihawk by force."

"…"

"There's no point in stopping it!"

I firmly pointed my index finger and made a strong declaration to encourage myself. As he was about to leave the kitchen with that momentum, Zoro called out, "Wait."

"What? I told you there's no point in stopping me."

"I'm going too."

Perona frowned.

"Huh? Why?"

"Even if you take on the enemy alone, you'll probably just be brushed off. You have no chance of winning."

"Oh no, why did you even come here! You're not even my friend!"

Indignant, she strode over to Zoro. At that moment, she heard a rustling sound from behind the pile of fruit peels in the sink.

She turned around to see a giant cockroach, perhaps ten centimeters in length, twitching its antennae.

"Hii…"

The blood drained from her body. Cockroaches were the thing Perona hated more than anything in the world.

No, no, no, don't come near me -- the next moment Perona tried to step back, the cockroach spread its wings and flew away.

"Nooooo!! Don't come near me!!!"

Perona instantly fell into a state of panic.

And to her surprise, the cockroach flew towards her face.

No way! If something like that lands on her face, she'll die!!

But where should she run to?

As Perona stood there in confusion, the cockroach suddenly split in half.

"Huh…"

The right and left halves of its body fell to the floor at the same time.

Not understanding what had happened, Perona's eyes widened.

…It was so fast she couldn't see it at all, but maybe that was it.

"It's true that you're not my friend."

Zoro put his sword back into its sheath and the corner of his lips turned up slightly.

"Well, we're close enough that I'll help you out if you're in trouble. For free."

+ + +

By chance, Zoro ends up joining the wine retrieval. Knowing this guy, it seems like he just wants to fight Mihawk, but he's a reliable partner nonetheless.

"However, you must be fearless to challenge Hawk-Eye by yourself."

Zoro muttered as he walked up the spiral staircase to the top floor.

"I don't want to hear that from you!"

I reflexively replied, and after a few seconds, I suddenly understood. Zoro was right, and to the naked eye it would certainly look like a reckless act. The person I was about to pick a fight with was none other than "Hawk-Eye Mihawk." Speaking of which.

When she faced off against Bartholomew Kuma, another of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, she was so intimidated that he nearly collapsed, foaming at the mouth. But when it comes to Mihawk, she is able to face him with all his might without any hesitation. I wonder why, when we see each other every day, I forget that he is one of the Seven Warlords.

"He's inside."

Arriving at the door to Mihawk's bedroom, Zoro glared at Perona.

"I'm going to challenge him to a one-on-one duel. Don't get in the way."

So you just wanted to get in a fight with Hawk-Eye, didn't you?

"You don't have to tell me, I'm not interested in your fight. All I'm interested in is wine!"

The strategy meeting was over. The only strategy was a frontal assault. Zoro turned towards the bedroom and swung one leg back.

Bang!

When he kicked the door open, Mihawk was sitting in an armchair in the center of the room. It was as if he had been sitting there waiting for the two of them to arrive - Zoro and Perona were both talking in the hallway in ridiculously loud voices, so it seemed like everything was going through the roof.

A small sword, different from the cross sword he usually carries, is propped up next to Mihawk. And on the desk behind him, the same wine is placed proudly. It seems he is being told to take it if he can.

"You've lost your mind."

Mihawk chuckled softly and stood up.

"It's not like you were overconfident in your own strength and came to take my head."

"I told you I'm not stupid enough to think I could defeat you."

"So what are we trying to discuss?"

"It's already decided."

Zoro sank down slightly.

"I've been practicing a lot!"

With a big leap, he attacked Mihawk head on. Mihawk pulled the sword in his hand closer and, without even drawing it from its sheath, lightly blocked the blade with the guard. By the time the sparks had died down, Zoro had already drawn his second sword. Mihawk finally drew his sheath after deflecting the swords swung down from both sides with the guard.

"Don't break the furniture."

"I can't guarantee that!"

With a short shout, Zoro charged forward, fuelled by his spirit. While Zoro was already looking desperate, Mihawk looked calm and somewhat amused.

A fierce sword fight began, with such force that it seemed as if the whole room would be torn to pieces.

“Horohohorohoro…”

Perona could only chuckle to herself as she watched the two of them fight.

"That Hawk-Eye guy, you've got him completely distracted…"

She got on all fours to hide her presence and moved along the wall towards the wine. She would never normally crawl on the ground, but if it meant outwitting Mihawk then anything was fine.

She was almost to the table where the wine was placed.

Five meters, four meters, three meters away - when she got within two meters, a small knife suddenly came flying towards her.

"Ahhh!"

Perona jumped up with a scream. The knife had pierced the hem of her dress and was stuck in the floor just above her knee. She turned towards the two of them in shock, and saw Mihawk shooting her a triumphant look as he blocked Zoro's sword strike.

"You! You noticed me, didn't you!?"

"Of course."

The knife was stuck in pretty deep, and it didn't budge even when Perona pulled on it. She couldn't move like this, but she absolutely didn't want to tear her dress.

"Damn… I can't get it out!!"

While Perona jumps to her feet, Zoro is engaged in a fierce battle with Mihawk.

The sword's sharp point sank deep into Mihawk's solid defense, and shot into it at once. But Mihawk didn't lose his balance, and swung his sword around to block both of Zoro's swords at the same time. He pushed back with such force that Zoro was unable to withstand the blow and was sent flying backwards.

Mihawk let out a small sigh. Zoro hadn't seen that moment of carelessness, but Perona was different.

"Take that! Negative Hollow!"

The released ghosts head towards Mihawk, laughing hollowly, "Horororo…"

“You missed me, Hawkeye! You should regret being born and get down on your knees!”

Perona's cockiness was short-lived.

Zoro, who had been thrown back, regained his balance faster than expected and dove into Mihawk's arms, cutting into the path of the ghost.

"Ah…"

By the time he frantically tried to stop the ghost, it was too late. The Negative Hollow that Perona had unleashed passed smoothly through Zoro's torso.

"Ugh…"

Zoro fell to his knees in disappointment.

"I'm sorry for walking on the same earth as all of you…!"

He apologised as best he could, then rubbed his forehead against the floor and hung his head. His hips naturally rose higher, and the tip of the sheath hanging from his waist shot up and hit a lamp that was placed against the wall. The lamp lost its balance and crashed into a nearby bookshelf, causing the pile of books to fall onto the desk with a clatter, and the vibration caused a wine bottle to tip over and roll away――

Crash!!

"Ah"

The last bottle of wine that remained hit the floor and was shattered into pieces.

+ + +

Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, but the wine bottle broke in half from the body. Thanks to that, some wine remained at the bottom of the bottle. It was less than half a glass, but the three immediately stopped fighting and carefully carried the little remaining wine to the dining room.

and--

"Roronoa, pour it more quietly. If you stir it up, the scent will escape."

"Shut up. If you have a problem with that, you pour it yourself, Hawk-Eye!"

"Hey, there's less wine in my glass! About a millimeter."

The three of them were swearing at each other, but they struggled to rescue the remaining wine.

Zoro carefully tilts the broken bottle and pours the wine into two shot glasses. Perona watches him closely. Mihawk cuts up some of the fruit Perona had left cut up into pieces that would fit into the shot glasses. He puts this in just one of the glasses to make instant sangria.

"…This is it. This is really, really the last glass."

Perona said with a deep feeling, picking up the glass containing the sangria.

"Ah…I wanted to drink more."

"That's what I was supposed to say."

Mihawk glared at Perona with a bitter expression and picked up a glass of red wine. "You should join in the toast," urged Zoro, and he poured himself some carbonated water.

Perona gently let the light shine through the sangria in her hand. Perfectly cut square pieces of fruit sunk to the bottom of the beautiful red wine. As she shook the glass, the fruits Mihawk had cut began to dance round and round. There was no way she could cut fruit so small and neatly.

To Perona, Mihawk and Zoro were just roommates. They were definitely not friends. Definitely not. But they were not strangers either. They helped each other out when they were in trouble, they shared the same wine like this, and they worked in the fields together - that's how close they were. Probably.

"Cheers!"

Red wine, sangria, and carbonated water.

The glasses filled with each drink were clinked together in the middle of the table.

+ + +

The residents of Shikkeir Castle had shamelessly rescued the little bit of wine that remained - but a figure was secretly watching them from outside the window. It was a Human Drill.

"Wow…"

After making sure the three had finished toasting, the Humandrill quietly turned around and returned to the depths of the forest where his companions were waiting. They would sometimes come here to secretly observe how Perona and the others were doing.

"Uhh, uhhh (Perona called out over the last of the wine and invited Zoro to challenge Mihawk to a fight. Mihawk's room was a mess, but the three of them seemed to have made amends.)"

Hearing the report from the Human Drill who had gone out on a reconnaissance mission, Boss Drill raised one eyebrow.

"Uhhh, uhhhh? (Did Perona really like wine that much?)"

"Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh (Her favorite food is cocoa. But she can't get cocoa here, so she must have been craving a tasty drink.)"

When another Human Drill speculated, the Boss Drill's expression became even more puzzled.

"Uh, uh, uh, uh… (But if she waits a few more months, she'll be able to drink her favorite cocoa. Mihawk is planning to plant 'Cocoa Cacao' seedlings in the field.)"

"Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh (But it seems that Perona hasn't been told that the seedlings are 'Cocoa Cacao'.)"

"Uh? Uh, uh, uh, uh? (What? Why didn't Mihawk say it? Did he go out of his way to get it just for Perona?)"

The Boss Drill looked at her strangely, and the Human Drill tilted its head in confusion.

"Uh, uh… (Well… he's a quiet man.)"

[heartstringsduet]

Favorite Fandom moments (this got way too long who is surprised) Thanks for tagging me: @tellmegoodbye @nisbanisba @reyesstrand

@welcometololaland @rmd-writes

@she-walked-away @everlastingday @strandnreyes

1. I binged season 1-3 in December 2022 by myself. A fun fact about me, i HATE procedurals. Usually I can manage a few episodes and enjoy them and then I think the formula of episodic rescues/crime solving is too boring. I thought I could maybe stay for the hot gay dudes I saw on my dash. But I fell in love with so much more than that. I rarely have shows with ensamble casts where I genuinely really like all characters. Michelle is the only exception. Goddamn that woman should only play faeries for the rest of her life. And weirdly, something I appreciate is watching these three seasons all by myself. It allowed me to really take the episodes in without any outside opinions or controversies or even over-hyping through others. I loved the show all by myself. And though a part of me wishes I would have found it earlier, I find a lot of joy in having these three seasons locked deep in my own heart, just for me.

2. Okay after all that too long blabbering, of COURSE I have to say the friends I made. Friendship has always been my biggest source of joy. Always. And I'm so blessed to have so many friends in my life, and more blessed to add people on my dash to them. If we text sometimes/often/daily or I just like your personal posts, know that I really care for what you put out there. You all matter to me, and I mean that.

3. Meeting some of you peeps IRL. And hoping to expand the list 💓

4. Sending out Holiday cards. Truly, I love doing it so much, even if the production last year was stressful I hope this year people will still be here and be interested in getting my lil card. And ofc I loved the ones I got back.

5. How creative and wonderful this fandom is. We are quite smol, but look at the big things we create. 2022 was the toughest year of my life, and a lot of what followed was an ebb and flow mentally, but one thing thatr eally helped me was to be more creative. And I thank every one of you who has left comments or sweet tags or created something themselves that keeps me motivated.

6. The Hello! Rafa/Ronen photoshoot . Still lives in my head rent-free.

7. Having people beta-read my humble writing. It helps me a lot! Just like reading fics by people whose writing I admire (y'all basically).

8. Fandom events. Like Gotcha charity, but also the Holiday exchanges and the watch parties and the server and so many little things in the cosmos of this fandom.

9. Even the disagreements. Idk. Very family dynamic to me and I don't mean to downplay how marginalized people are affected by some of it. But you tell me you hate someone's outfit and I will lovingly side-eye you like a cousin. It kind of is necessary to the eco system of fandom to not all be harmonious.

10. Most of all, how welcoming this fandom was from the very beginning. I try to be part of that. If I ever annoy you with engaging with personal posts, that's why. I want you to feel heard.

OPEN TAG (please use it if you want to participate and tag me back so I see!)

@herefortarlos @tellmegoodbye @paperstorm @eclectic-sassycoweyes

@emsprovisions @sapphic--kiwi @lightningboltreader @reasonandfaithinharmony

@alrightbuckaroo @theghostofashton @carlos-in-glasses @carlos-tk

@rangersoup @freneticfloetry @literateowl @firstprince-history-huh

@neversleepuntilfive @certifiedflower @ironheartwriter @henrygrass

@never-blooms @whatsintheboxmh @girlsnightout304 @bonheur-cafe

@lutavero @guardian-angle22 @toomanycupsoftea @actual-sleeping-beauty

@butchreyes @goodways @thisbuildinghasfeelings @ladytessa74 @lemonlyman-dotcom

@birdclowns @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @ameriicansrequiems @ambiguouspenny

@liminalmemories21 @louis-ii-reyes-strand @chicgeekgirl89 @fitzherbertssmolder

[cryptictongues]

Purrfect Medicine

pairing: Joshua Rosfield x Fem!Reader rating: G word count: 4.2k summary: You find a stray cat and Joshua doesn't know how to feel. warnings: This is straight up fluff!

Author’s Notes: Remember when I posted a poll a while back and this and that Clive smut won? Well, here is this one LOL sorry for the wait!

Please read my pinned post before following me! Minors and ageless blogs will be blocked as this blog’s content is NSFW.

[AO3 Link]

The deadlands near the Northern Territories were dreary and dark, something that the realm has become far too familiar with in recent years. Its void of life has created an eerie stain on the map of Valisthea; a tell-tale sign to people that nothing good survives there with its lack of resources. Joshua knew this, yet you had somehow convinced him to set up camp for the night right in the heart of them.

It wasn’t something the both of you had planned for, being that he wanted to get to Prince Dion sooner rather than later. However, you had insisted on stopping for the night when he started to cough non-stop, wheezing more and more with each stretch of travel. He knew you wouldn’t take no for an answer, the stubborn being that you are, and he wasn’t in any mood to argue. The last thing he remembers was you setting up the tent around him as he went in and out of consciousness, sleep taking over his brain until he was no longer present mentally. Now, as his mind starts to wake up, his first instinct is to locate your figure. He didn't sense any movement and the sounds of the deadlands were silent. Sitting up quickly, fast enough to make him dizzy, he pulls back the flap of the tent to see everything has been set up for the night, except you were nowhere to be seen. 

Joshua groans. He can’t believe you ran off alone again. After telling you numerous times to not leave his sight, you still don’t listen. While marching to the beat of your own drum is a trait he admires greatly, it drives him absolutely insane at the same time. It is times like these where he wishes his body didn’t fail him so greatly; to have the energy to take care of himself better. It would save him a lot of trouble for himself, but for you especially.

Joshua has known you since the two of you were kids. You were kept in the medicine houses, learning how to heal Rosarian soldiers as the time for war was upon them. He recalls being there a lot as a kid, being as sick as he was. He would always watch you as you watched one of the healers work on him, concentrating on what to do and use for certain ailments. He was charmed the moment he saw you, his chest fluttering in ways he didn’t quite understand at the time. 

Those were the only times he saw you. The two of you hadn’t spoken any words to each other unless needed for assessing, and that was that. It wasn’t until after the events of Phoenix Gate, where he remembers vague images of someone pulling him out of the rumble and loaded onto a carriage, where the girl who made his heart flare worked on him all the way until they went into hiding under the protection of the Undying. Long story short, being the only two children in isolation from the rest of the world made it very easy to become fast companions and the Undying declared you his guardian for his travel due to such a bond. Not that he would have accepted any other answer, for you knew him like the back of your hand. 

Which means he knew that you knew leaving with no warning would upset him, especially out in the deadlands.

Joshua walks out into the open, starting to pace back and forth unknowingly. You have done this before and have turned up just fine. But the what ifs, the what ifs that fill his mind with dread, make him uneasy with the same questions. Does he go searching for you? Does he stay put? What would you do if he left with no sign? It is the same cycle over and over again.

“If you keep pacing like that, this stop will have been for not.”

Joshua whips his head around to see you standing a few feet away, smiling at him like you weren’t just gone for who knows how long. He takes a long, good look at you, examining to make sure nothing is out of place. But you looked just as you did when he passed out; clean and unscathed. 

“I wouldn’t pace if you would just listen to me for once.” He grimaces. 

All you did was smile at him, eyes turning into crescents as you walked towards him. “I apologize, Your Grace. I was out finding some herbs for your well-being, but I am sure you can assume how that went.”

“Well, my darling, this is the deadlands. One can assume that means everything is dead.” He feels his lip wanting to curve into a smirk, but he represses it. He can’t let you keep getting away with this: scaring him and shifting his mood back the minute he sees you. He wants to say more, but the second he starts to move his lips, he hears a chirp come from your satchel. 

You laughed amusingly, from what Joshua can assume is his reaction to the noise. He watches you reach for the latch, opening it slowly. “If everything is dead, care to explain this?”

He watches the satchel move slightly, and then sees two black ears pop up. A moment later, he sees piercing green eyes, and not a moment too soon he sees a pink nose and whiskers. He is at a loss for words as he stares at a black cat. A bloody black cat.

“Isn’t he cute?” You exclaimed, removing the satchel from your body and setting it on the ground, revealing the cats full form. “I found him hurdled in a crevice off the outer cliff. I didn’t see any other cats, so I guess he is all alone.” 

Joshua looks at the cat closely. “How do you know it is a boy?”

You smirked at him. “I can show you if you want.” You go to pick the cat up and immediately it clicks what you were about to do.

“No need!” Joshua rushes out, his face heating up from the embarrassment of his outburst, causing you to burst out laughing. 

“You should see the look on your face!” You laughed, sitting down in the process and letting the cat crawl into your lap. “I was thinking of what we should name him. Lance short for Lancelot? Crow? Maybe something more common like Bernard?”

Joshua’s eyes go wide. “Don’t tell me we are keeping him.”

“Well, why not?” You shrugged. “He could be the best healer in the group, especially if I train him.”

“My love, he is a cat.” Joshua states the obvious. He doesn’t even know the first thing about taking care of a cat. Sure, he knew how to take care of a Chocobo and even a frost wolf, but a cat? That was out of his range. 

“Cats can be wonderful companions, if you let them.” You smiled, slowly cradling the black ball of fur in your arms as you stood up. You walked over to him, holding the cat up by your face to give the most puppiest of eyes. “Come on, Joshua. Can we please take him with us? I’ll take care of him just like I take care of you. Besides, just you wait! I will make him the best healer you’ve ever seen!”

Joshua doesn’t want to give in, but the more he looks at you, the more his willpower crumbles. He hates how easily he folds for you, and as he continues to stare at you and the cat, he knows he has lost this battle. With a long sigh, Joshua nods in defeat. “Fine, but please, for the love of Greagor Herself, don’t run off again by yourself.”

In an instant, he feels your plush lips kiss his cheek. He watches as you buzzed with excitement, holding the cat close to you. “Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Joshua! You will not regret this!” 

He is going to regret this.

-

It had been a week since Crow, the name you decided to give your furry friend, was found. Like you had promised, you’ve been very good at taking care of both him and Joshua. Joshua was impressed with your ability to multitask between two beings. However, what was starting to crawl over him like a green second skin was all the fault of the little feline.

Joshua admits that Crow is very well-behaved. He doesn’t run off anywhere he isn’t supposed to. He is relatively quiet, letting out a meow or a chirp if he is hungry or wants some attention. He doesn’t get upset being carried in the satchel you carry, quite the opposite really. Joshua has noticed that Crow is quite keen on keeping his head perched over the bag to watch the surroundings during travel. There is nothing to complain about, except for one major thing: how much he got your attention. 

The first night, you had been curled up into Joshua’s side, per usual, with Crow settled at your feet. It wasn’t until he woke up the next morning that he noticed your warmth seemed further away and saw you lying flat on your back with Crow curled on top of your chest. Joshua remembers a glimmer of jealousy in his heart but set it aside quickly. It is just one night. This will not be common practice.

Until it did. It always started the same and ended the same. Joshua started to loathe the damn cat, and he felt silly for it. “It’s a bloody cat!” He thought. He should not feel such negative feelings towards it, but every time he pushes the jealousy out, it rolls back ten-fold.

Joshua is walking side by side with you, the two of you trailing the Crystal Road, getting closer to where the two of you need to be. Joshua is deep in thought, negative swirls of green dancing around his head, when he feels a small bump against his leg. He ignores it, thinking he got too close to your bag, when he feels it again.

He looks down to see Crow looking up at him, eyes wide and mouth curled. Joshua watches him bump his head against his leg, only to look back up at him with his big green eyes. 

Joshua is stumped. Is he hungry? Can he feel the negative energy enclosing in his brain? Can cats do that? 

“Um… dearest…” Joshua says softly, not wanting to disturb the peaceful walk. 

“Hmm?”

“Crow wants something.”

Joshua and you stop in the middle of the road, and you spread the bag apart. “What’s up, little guy?” 

You scratched his head, and Crow started to purr. You chuckled, looking at Joshua who was standing there feeling lost. 

“You are so knowledgeable, yet so clueless.” You smirked. “He wants attention. He wants you to pet him.”

“Me?” Joshua asks, seriously questioning how that could be true. Crow hadn’t been craving his attention; it had been yours.

“He wants you to scratch his head. He loooooves that.” You drawled out. “Go on. Just like this.”

You scratched his head around his ears, demonstrating to Joshua how to proceed. He hesitantly lets his fingers run across the back of Crow’s head, just petting him at first to get a feel for how he will react. Crow pushes his head into Joshua’s fingers, which encourages him to start moving his fingers back and forth quickly. 

Joshua couldn’t believe his luck. Crow was purring at the attention he was getting, and it made Joshua grow bolder. He starts to scratch down under Crow’s neck, making him lift his neck further for more room. In a way, this felt very therapeutic to him. It’s as if the twangs of jealousy that filled his head left within seconds, putting a smile on his face.

He hears a small chuckle, and he looks up to see you smiling behind your hand. He perks up, still scratching Crow in the process. “What’s so funny?”

“It just seems like the sun has decided to come back out.” You dropped your hand, letting it reach for his free one. “You seemed rather gloomy as of late. I’m just happy to see you smile genuinely."

“I apologize,” Joshua followed up with. “I have so much on my mind.” It wasn’t a lie, of course. He did have a lot on his mind, but he doesn’t have the courage to admit that the main thing getting to him was jealousy due to a damn cat.

“I know, but that’s why you have me. You know I’m always here for you.” You swayed, pulling him in a little closer.

Joshua hums and brings his hand to your face. With a gentle grasp, he pulls you in for a soft kiss, reminding himself that you are indeed here for him. He knows you wouldn’t put yourself in such a dangerous position if you didn’t feel strongly for him. 

The kiss is interrupted by another head bump, causing Joshua to pull away. He hears you laugh and next thing he knows the satchel strap is over his shoulder, the cat in the bag right by his right leg. 

“I’ll let you carry him for a while. He seems to want your affection.” You grin. He laughs softly and takes your right hand to press on the long, winding road with his right hand in the cat bag.

-

Joshua and you made camp, and for once he thought it best to stop for the night. It wouldn’t be long before the two, well three of you, reach the Crystal Belt, so some time to gather himself in preparation for his meeting with Dion sounded best. 

Joshua was settling into the tent, waiting for you to come join him. He had started to help clean for an early start tomorrow, but you insisted he go ahead. While he usually would insist right back to keep his gentleman roots intact, he could feel the long day weighing on his eyelids and chose to let your stubbornness flourish for the night. 

His eyes were starting to flutter shut, until he heard the soft patter of paws near him. He opens his eyes to see Crow staring at him, or at least what he can see of him. His black coat completely camouflages him into the shadows of the night, but his green eyes glimmer in the dark.

Joshua sits up on his elbows, hesitant to move. He watches Crow observe him, the cat's head tilting by the way the eyes become diagonal from one another. Petting Crow in a bag, where he is secure, is one thing. To engage with him where he can make any move he wishes is another. While Crow has been friendly, it has been when you were around. This is the first time he has been alone with the feline, and he doesn’t know how to act. 

Crow had gotten noticeably closer and was now at the crevice of Joshua’s left arm. He stiffed when he felt Crow sniffing him, goosebumps rolling over his body in anticipation. Great Greagor, he is going to jump me. However, not only did that not happen, but the next thing Joshua sees is Crow let out a yawn, stretching his whole body in the process, before falling on his side with his head laying in between Joshua’s elbow. Small breaths can be heard as Crow starts to relax further, causing Joshua to relax with him. He lays back down, getting more on his side so he is in a comfortable position that allows room for Crow to stay undisturbed from his slumber. Carefully, he pulls Crow closer to him, making him snuggle more into his arm. 

“This isn’t so bad.” Joshua thinks, a small smile forming on his lips. His mom never allowed Torgal to sleep with him as a child, her excuse being the wolf dander would deplete his immune system more than it already was. To have an animal so close to him is comforting. It makes him feel oddly safe, even when he feels safe in your company. 

He hears the tent flaps open, and the moonlight shines into the tent. He sees your expression as you look at him and Crow, and his heart melts at how your eyes lit up. He watches you tie the flap so it is slightly ajar, and then watches you crawl in. You sit criss-crossed beside him, very obviously admiring the scene occurring. 

“Well, isn’t this a sweet surprise?” You said smugly, arms crossed.

“Yeah,” Joshua lightly laughs. “I guess I can understand why you would want to sleep with him and not me.”

“Awe, was My Lord jealous of the little pussy cat?” You pouted jokingly, and all Joshua can do is groan. He knows it is silly, but he can’t deny it.

“I won’t deny my feelings, though rather immature.” He huffs lightly, looking down at the sleeping ball of fur. He moves his hand to stroke the black fur of Crow’s side, his mood lighting up even further. “This is strangely healing, however. I don’t blame you.”

“Well, you can now have a turn with him. He is a great sleepmate.” You moved to set up a side for yourself, but Joshua carefully reached for your arm causing you to turn to him quizzically. 

“I have a proposition, being that you join us instead of sleeping alone tonight.”

The warmth in your eyes at his statement makes his heart leap, knowing your answer before it slips your lips. He watches you undress to the undergarments that lie beneath your outer clothes, and lifts the covers when you go to lie beside him. He intertwined his legs with yours, both of your bodies getting as close as possible without crushing Crow. His forehead touches yours, inhaling with an ease he hadn’t felt in a while.

“What is it?” You asked, concern in your tone.

“Nothing,” Joshua mumbles, his left arm cradling Crow to his chest and his right hand settling on your waist. “This is just nice.”

You both fall asleep to the soft hum of Crow’s breathing.

-

Joshua’s perception of Crow has changed gradually as you all traveled. When he feels his mood sour, it’s like Crow knows and works to get his attention, and suddenly Joshua feels 100 times better. Crow was therapeutic, in a way, so traveling with him wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. If he was being honest with himself, he felt rather happy when Crow begged for his attention. 

There had been a change of plans in the journey to Prince Dion’s camp. On the belt of the Crystal Road, Joshua had started to feel worse for wear. His coughing had grown rougher and more painful, more blood coming out of his lungs. His chest wound was growing bigger by the day. He knows he is running out of time, so he had insisted that the journey must continue. Once again, however, you did not listen. Which is why he is now laying in a bed at the Dalimil Inn. 

“We really need to get a move on, dearest. We need to get to Dion.” He tries to sound healthy, but even he isn’t dumb enough to think he sounds convincing. He starts to move, wanting to sit up, before another round of coughing rushes out of his lungs.

“Yeah, and you struggling to stay up right is going to help us get there faster.” You snarked, still light hearted nonetheless.

Joshua wishes to retort, but he doesn’t have it in him. He falls back with a groan, his brain pounding and chest tight. He knew keeping Ultima locked away would be hard, but the agony that comes with it is more than he could have realized. Being naturally ill doesn’t provide any immunity to pain, and Joshua was learning the hard way.

You come into his vision, and like the angel you were, you pull the covers over him. Tucking him in like you were his baby, you pressed a kiss to his forehead, which Joshua relished in. He won’t admit it to you, but he has always loved being taken care of. 

“I’m going to run out to the market and find some minerals and herbs for your medicine. I’ll also get you some food as you should eat something.” You twirled a piece of his hair, only to drop it to brush your fingertips against the baby hairs that meet his forehead. “Crow will be here to keep watch.”

Joshua turns his head slightly to see Crow sleeping in the desk chair beside the bed, curled up into the seat. He knew he had to be tired, and a weird sense of envy seeped into Joshua’s bones. He wishes he could sleep with such ease. 

Fingertips graze his chin, rotating it until he meets your eyes again. The way you are looking at him makes his chest feel lighter, even with the chaos and muck that stirs within. Your skin on his soothes him, and he can’t help but to lean into your touch. His eyes flutter shut, and he hears you hum softly. “Try to get some rest. I shall return to you soon.” 

Light pressure sets against his lips, lasting for a few seconds, before releasing. He listens to your steps, and continues to listen after the door shuts. The faintness of your steps disappear, but Joshua still hears them in his mind. The soft pitter-patter of your light feet tap away, and slowly pulls him into a deep sleep.

-

Even in the few moments before Joshua’s slumber ends, he can sense a difference within himself. He feels as if his chest is heavier than before, but not as it was before. The angry flourishes of pain have settled to a dull ache, something he isn’t accustomed to these days. There is a peacefulness that has taken homage, and it is the most calm he has felt in the last few days. The heaviness on his chest is comforting. It felt like the times he would wake up with your head on his chest, with deep breathing that vibrated his being. 

In the early stages of being awake, he reaches for his chest expecting to feel your hair against his skin. His fingers brush against what he believes to be hair, until his brain reminds him that it isn’t coarse and surely doesn’t rise and fall. His eyes snap open, sleepy delirium resolved as he comes face to face with black fur. The light in the room had dimmed slightly, meaning it had been approximately two hours since his slumber. Sometime during the duration, Crow had taken it upon himself to rest on Joshua’s chest.

Crow was purring insistently loud, his eyes crescented as he rests with his body curled. Joshua couldn’t explain it, but the vibrations soothed the violent thumping that would make him stumble with each step. His whole body felt as if he had found an oasis; like he had discovered something that quenched his relief. Or more so, Crow had discovered how to help him. 

Joshua scratched Crow’s head, getting behind the ears, making the black feline purr louder and lean into his hand. He could feel a lump in his throat, for somehow, a cat had come to his aid. A cat took one look at him and knew how to help him. Who knew such a remedy would treat him so diligently and work so well. He presumes Greagor knew what She was doing when you had come across the ball of fur; a healer with a healer cat. 

Joshua was so immersed with Crow’s abilities, that the sound of the door opening and closing hadn’t caught his attention. It isn’t until he feels movement at the end of the bed that his head shoots up to see you with the biggest grin on your face.

“What did I tell you?”

“Regarding?” Joshua asks, confused as to why you are looking at him with such glee.

“I told you I’d make him a great healer!” You cheered enthusiastically. “Look at you! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look as comfortable as you do right now.”

“You’ve trained him well.” He continues to pet Crow, moving his fingers down to scratch under his neck. “However, I do believe you said he’d be the best healer I’d ever seen. I’ll admit I stand corrected, for he may even be a better healer than you.” He jests, knowing it’ll rile you up.

You gawked at him, “If he wasn’t lying on your chest right now, I’d make you take that back.”

“You can remove him if you’d like. I’d like to see what you’d do.” He draws out lewdly, loving how you are reacting to his quips. 

“Whatever, you perv.” You laughed, moving to crawl beside him. You had gently wrapped an arm across him, right behind where Crow lays. Your head is now beside his and he can’t help himself as he leans in to kiss you. The two of you stay like that for a while, enjoying the tranquility of the moment before the three of you prepare to experience the rough world out there. 

Him, his lady, and their cat.

[casuallyobssessed]

7 Minutes in Heaven - Ted "Theodore" Logan x Fem!Reader ❥ 1.3k Words

A/N: idk why I wrote this but i'm posting it bc I'm too self conscious to post the other fic I'm writing lol. lmk if there's any errors, I didn't edit this very much! Divider by enchanthings

Warnings: handjob, heavy petting/touching (?), no beta, no use of y/n

Archive of Our Own Link

Maybe it was fate that placed you at this party at the same exact time as Ted “Theodore” Logan. It definitely had to be some kind of divine intervention that had you sitting directly across from him during this game of spin the bottle. And if that wasn't enough, you must have had some kind of guardian angel by your side when Ted spun that bottle and it miraculously landed on you.

You have been crushing on Ted ever since you first saw him at one of his first Wyld Stallyns shows. Sure, the music wasn't great, but they were incredibly passionate about playing and that was enough to keep you coming back for more.

Now, you're being ushered into a closet with him, expected to play seven minutes in heaven and act entirely normal about it. Of course you're starstruck, who wouldn't be?

-

“Whoa, it is like, super dark in here. I can't see anything, dude,” Ted whispers as soon as the door closes behind you.

“Makes it more interesting,” You whisper back.

You say a silent prayer that he can't hear your heart hammering inside of your chest. With no time to waste, you make the first move.

You follow the sound of his breathing and search in the dark for his hand. He stiffens as you grab onto him and pull him close, using your other hand to reach up and feel for his cheek. You make contact with his neck and slide your hand up to his cheek.

“Can I kiss you, Ted?”

“Oh, I haven’t, uh-” He clears his throat before you feel him nod and stutter out, “Y-Yeah.”

The Ted “Theodore” Logan has never kissed anyone?! You weren't expecting that. Thinking about being his first kiss makes you nervous, but you're determined to make the most of this short amount of time you've been graciously given.

Leaning up a bit, you try your best to aim for his lips, but end up bumping your nose into his. Thankfully, he lets out an amused chuckle and doesn't seem put off by your blunder. You feel his large hand bump into your chest, followed by him pulling away and a hushed ‘sorry.’ This time, his hand lands higher up, between your neck and shoulder. He follows the contours of your neck to your jaw and guides you to his lips.

As dark as it was in the closet, kissing him lit you up inside. Warmth blooms in your chest as you slowly take the lead and show him the motions. For someone who hasn't kissed anyone before, he wasn't half bad. His lips are soft and taste faintly of… cinnamon?

You intend to give Ted the full experience here. So, when he tentatively puts his hand on your hip, you intercept it and place it on your breast, squeezing around the back of his hand to give him an idea of what you're asking of him.

Eagerly, Ted pushes up your shirt and cups your breast through your bra. The fabric is restricting, but thin enough for him to get a feel for where your nipple is and gently rub his thumb across it, sending a hot wave of want pulsing through you.

Blindly, you slide your hand down his chest, slowing as you trace the long, raised scar adorning his belly. You want to ask him about it as you run your fingers across it, but you feel him flinch as you linger on it and figure it's probably still a sensitive topic. Abandoning the scar, you continue your journey downwards to find the edge of his jeans. He lets out a shuddered breath as you creep your hand underneath his waistband and into his underwear. What you find is more than enough to sate your curiosity.

Nestled in a bush of soft curls is his dick; it's long, and once you wrap your hand around it, you can feel that it's thick enough to make your mouth water and your thighs clench. You've barely touched him when he lets out a low whine, desperate and unsure. You pause for a second and pull away, seriously considering if you should be doing this to him or not.

“Is this okay? Do you want me to stop?” You ask, concern heavy in your voice.

“No! Please, don't stop,” Ted exclaims in a hushed tone as you hear him unzip his pants and shuffle them down, “You can totally touch me again, if you wanna.”

His reassurance is enough to have you groping around in the dark again, searching for him. He catches your wrist, and brings your hand down to where he's fully exposed now. You take him in your hand again, testing the waters with a couple shallow pumps before leaning into his shoulder.

Hot huffs of his breath ghost across your neck as you stroke him; soft whimpers spill unfettered from his lips. Feeling a little daring, you press a few experimental kisses to his neck.

“Wait, I'm-” He cuts himself off with a sharp inhale of breath and a moan, and you suddenly feel his dick pulsing in your hand.

“Did you just…” You whisper in disbelief, feeling his cum drip onto your fingers.

“Y-Yeah. I'm sorry, it never happens that fast,” Ted stumbles over his words as he apologizes to you.

“You don't have to apologize, Ted. It was fun.”

“Sorry. You can wipe your hand on my jeans, if you want.”

“Do I have to?”

“Huh?"

Without another word, you lift your hand to your lips and slowly lick his cum off of your fingers, one by one. With the last finger, you make an exaggerated pop noise as you pull it from your mouth, hoping he gets the message.

“Whoa.”

Message received, loud and clear, it seems.

Next thing you know, you feel his hands on either side of your face, pulling you in. His tongue swipes across your bottom lip, hungrily licking into your mouth, chasing what's left of his taste on your tongue. The desperation as he moans into your mouth makes you weak in the knees.

You're about to break away from him when the closet door flies open, the sudden burst of light causing you to squint. Ted's hands fly down to shove himself back into his pants and zip them up. His cheeks are beet red as he looks from you to his friend Bill, who is holding the door open.

“Nice! Dude, you totally got lucky,” Bill shouts as Ted takes your hand and leads you out of the closet.

“Shut up, Bill!” Ted uses his free hand to shove Bill out of the way.

You follow Ted up the stairs, past the rest of the party, and into the kitchen . It's strange looking directly at him. In the dark, everything almost seemed fake, like it didn't actually happen with him.

As you're processing that it did, in fact happen, you watch Ted dig through a couple of drawers before he produces a notepad and a pen.

“Is it cool if I get your number?” He asks sheepishly.

You nod and write it down for him with a grin.

“Excellent! Thanks,” He rips the page off the notepad and shoves it in his pocket, “Does this mean I can see you again sometime?”

“Maybe. Why? You wanna hang out with me for a re-do?” You tease.

Just like that, the red is back in his cheeks and he’s rubbing his neck nervously, “I totally didn't mean it like that. I like you, I think you're cool.”

“I think you're cool, too, Ted.”

He freezes up, almost like he didn't expect you to respond positively. You gently grab his hand and take a step closer to him.

“So, is that a yes?” He asks hesitantly.

“Yeah. I think so,” You giggle as you kiss his cheek.

[solaarbeeam]

Walking in public with Nishinoya Yuu is odd to the outside perspective for two reasons.

One, you’re way taller than him. Two, the style of dressing was completely different.

Nishinoya, is clad in a pair of baggy jeans, beat up high tops, a hoodie that reads ‘Guardian Deity’ on the back that the Karasuno First Years (Yachi included) had gotten for his birthday, and black headphones around his neck.

You, on the other hand, completely contrast the outfit he’s wearing, and it’s making people stare. It’s totally uncomfortable.

“Meh, let them stare. They’re just made they saw someone totally awesome wearing better clothes than them and got jealous!” He jumps up and down, which gets a chuckle out of you.

- If we’re going to be honest here, Noya is totally the kind of person to be peeved about people taller than him. He literally gets pissed when someone gets at him for his height.

- Of course, what he doesn’t have in height, he makes up for it in two ways. One, volleyball, and two, being in a relationship with you.

- The first thing that he said when he saw you for the first time, was “God fucking damn.”

- Now, he’s seen some pretty tall people in his lifetime. His own kouhai being some of them, and Amanai, Tanaka’s childhood friend.

- But you were different.

- He’s seen you in the hallways of Karasuno before. Most people just know you as ‘that one kid who doesn’t really wear the uniform’, and they aren’t wrong in that sentiment, but not completely right either.

- All you did was style the uniform to fit your style more. He was captured by the look.

- And you were tall. Way taller than he was. Somehow, that just drove him further towards you.

- He was worried of coming off as weird, especially with his height. Even if he’s tried his best to have people ignore his height for the person he actually is, it’s not going to stop people from drawing their own conclusions.

- Until you, naturally.

- He got intimidated by your style of choice, to the graphics on your shirt to the chains and clips, shit, he had no idea what to do.

- He didn’t want you to think he was lame or anything, so he actually tried to start dressing like you. Key word being tried.

- He failed miserably. You on the other hand, simply laughed at his antics and decided that you’d give him a try.

- If we’re going to be honest, Noya was indeed a little miffed about having an S/O that was taller than him. He can’t help it! However, he slowly but surely came to terms with it and now he simply doesn’t care.

- His S/O is like a giant model! You stand out from the others with how you dress! You look stunning, amazing, show stopping, and drop dead gorgeous! All Monster High slang intended! (Okay I’m sorry moving on-)

- During post-timeskip, his instagram follows go up by like 10K each day just because of you. Of course, he travels everywhere, and on the trips he takes you on, it’s like two million likes per post.

- All in all, pre and post timeskip Nishinoya Yuu loves his S/O, loves the way your style fits you, love how it contrasts to his, and anybody who wants to say otherwise can fight him.

- Also, please piggyback him places. He likes heights more than solid ground.

@kyoghurts

this was a request from kenji <33 i hope its to ur liking, if there’s anything I missed or something you wanna see i’ll make a pt 2

[puffin-smoke]

puffin saw something that pissed them off, and started thinking. we've had things that have been outright stated not to be canon, things that wouldn't "make sense" in the universe or things that Erik has told us can't happen. But me, I think that's bullshit. So here's-

How a Ghost might Work in the Redactedverse!

But Puffin, I hear you ask, how would that make sense? Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of the river? And what about those 1500 dead by the Inversion, where are their ghosts? Where is Gabe's ghost and can I fuck him? All this and more will (probably) be answered on this post.

Imagine me this, an illusory. Bright-eyed, bushy tailed, and hanging out with their friend at the E&E Games. They love their friend, more than anything, they'd gotten through the worst times in their life with their friend at their side. Through thick and thin. They'd do anything for them.

Imagine the illusory and their friend as the shades come pouring into the stadium. Running for their lives, only to be trapped by the wards. The two get separated, lost in the crowd surge. And the Illusory, trying to find a way back to them, encounters a swarm of shades. They try to fight them off, but can't. They fall, and as they feel claws and shadow sink into them, as the light fades from their eyes, they think of their friend.

They needed to protect their friend.

But they couldn't. Their body went limp, their eyes dull. They were dead.

Halfway across the stadium, sits their friend. Huddled in a corner, trying to hide from the shades. They can hear more coming, the shrieking getting closer and closer. Their terrified, they need to run, but where to? Nowhere was safe.

Then they see something. The flash of a smile, the frayed sleeve of a well-loved hoodie. Their illusory stands before them, extending a hand. The friend grins and goes to take it- but it's like trying to grab air. They're not there.

But they can still help. The illusory guides their friend away, to a place less populated by shades, somewhere safe. And after the Inversion, they stay. They appear in the friend's apartment, following them around and giving them little tidbits of advice. Small things, like where to go get coffee or not to get lost, to big things. To big things. To not go down that alleyway, to run when that knife came down on them. To get out of bed, to get moving, to stay alive. Their very own guardian angel. A ghost of their best friend, with unfinished business.

Its not a ghost, its moreso a projection. One last illusion, conjured by their friend, with one final goal. Complete with their memories.

So, it's easy. To get a ghost you need unfinished business, and a way they can interact with the living world. This can work with almost any magic type, if you're creative enough.

Give me someone who feels a wall of heat appear whenever they're about to do something stupid.

How about someone who hears a constant wailing, that seems to follow them from building to building.

An abandoned restaurant where dishes go flying off of shelves, anyone entering is bullied out by gusts of wind.

A murderer who gets caught in a storm, who could almost swear they could see a wraith forming of rain and mist.

People's last wishes are given a chance to come to pass. Help the people they love, take revenge on those who wronged them. They can only be created through sheer force of will, explaining why there aren't very many of them, why they've been confined to folktale and the like.

All this to say, I don't know. This is mostly just me dumping random thoughts into a post that may never leave my drafts. The point is, canon is what you make of it. And I should go to sleep. Gnight.

[luminouslywriting]

Ok so I saw this post and like it would be really cute bob x guardian angel taking care of them when there depressed or anxious or whatever like I neeeed that

Nonny darling, this was just beautiful and I'm happy to do this for you :) Reminder that my requests are open and I don't mind spam one bit haha!

Cut for length, more under the cut, and please note that for this, I went with an actual guardian angel reader:

Dick Winters:

-You know that scene when he’s charging up the hill alone and starts shooting at the Nazis and they’re too stunned to shoot back until the other men arrive? Yeah, this is your time to shine as his Guardian Angel. -It’s one of the most dangerous times for him and when he first really catches sight of you and the way you’re protecting him. -The next time he feels your presence is when he’s alone in Paris and struggling with everything he’s been through. -A gentle hug from you and soft conversation makes all the difference.

Lewis Nixon:

-This gif above here?? Where Nix nearly gets shot? Yeah, you’re the one deflecting that bullet. -He doesn’t think much of it and thinks he’s hallucinating since he’s so drunk most of the time. But there you are, faithfully following after him and ensuring he doesn’t fall to his death or drink too much. -Lew definitely starts having conversations with you and thinks you’re a figment of his imagination for a hot minute. -Right up until he gets notice of the divorce and you’re there helping him through it….and he gets much better after that.

Ronald Speirs:

-Babe, you’ve got a full time job and he is fully aware of that and ready to make you earn your wings haha. -Literally do you even get rest?? -It isn’t until after Bastogne and Foy that he actually gets to talk with you and realizes he could benefit from chilling out a little bit. -And yes, he does have a small crush on you haha.

Buck Compton:

-Literally doesn’t realize you’re there until he leaves Bastogne?? -At which point, your soothing words and kindness in caring for him has him floored and trying to make sense of everything. -He definitely thinks he’s suffered some sort of mental break but you’re just his angel and there to help him. -Your encouragement and care help him get much better and want to return to the boys in episode 10!

Carwood Lipton:

-First becomes aware of you when he nearly gets blown up….and tries really hard to not have to see you again. -He does offer small little thanks at nighttime for your efforts and for helping him stay alive another day. -Starts asking questions and talking to you after Bastogne and Foy because he’s curious. -Lowkey knows what he wants in a partner after you cuddle with him when he has pneumonia haha.

Joe Liebgott:

-Again, someone who is putting you to the test….and enjoys seeing you roll up to help him out a bit. -Probably argues that he doesn’t need a guardian angel?? Yeah that’s a lie and you both know it. -Breaks down in your arms after he translates in the camps and it’s an emotional thing

-Probably prays and thanks God for you being his guardian angel

Donald Malarkey:

-Has a really rough time of things during Bastogne and this is when you arrive to help comfort him

-He thinks you’re the grim reaper or something but quickly grows to like you and the way you help care for him and protect him

-Honestly talks to you a lot during Hagenau and asks questions. -Sneaks a hug every now and then when he thinks he can get away with it.

Eugene Roe:

-How else would this man be so untouched and unharmed?? -He’s fully aware of your job and probably talks to you every chance that he gets. Your jobs are pretty similar anyway and there’s a good reliance on you. -But during Bastogne? Oh, you’ve got your work cut out for you and it’s an emotional time. He definitely cries in your arms. -Probably names one of his future children after you tbh

Bill Guarnere:

-Also thinks he doesn’t need one until he does?? He has a lot of near misses and ends up at the hospital a few different times. -You warn him not to go on the lam and to just stay in the hospital

-Does not appreciate you until you’re the sole reason why he doesn’t die in Bastogne…and then he’s real repentant and relies on you for recovery

-Literally so grateful and adored you…he tries to talk to you a lot.

Joe Toye:

-A softie who has been aware of your presence since he started doing stupid stuff in high school. -Even more grateful for you during the war and expresses so much gratitude. -Would not have made it out of Bastogne if you hadn’t been encouraging him to keep moving and to try and get up. -You’re a major part of his recovery after the war.

George Luz:

-First becomes aware of you during Toccoa when he nearly breaks a bone and you help him?? -He’s SHOOKETH and hitting on you a ton haha

-And during Bastogne?? He knows that he only makes it through all of that because of you. And he definitely cries in your arms after the dud doesn’t go off. -Probably is a lot softer and appreciates you more after the war.

[moonsoupstar-ao3]

Demons in aoex: a common misconception

Hi guys! Here I'm again talking :)

I posted this last night, but Tumblr decided to be an ass, almost gave me a heart attack (the post wasn't showing anywhere, not even in my own blog), and not show this in the tags, so here we go again.

Warning for some minor and major spoilers from the manga, read at your own risk!

Most spoilers are for Asylums' arc, and the lastest arc in the manga. So, if you haven't read them, maybe don't read the examples I've used after Mephisto! I didn't explicitly said too much, but I spoke about some major events a few times.

So, demons in aoex are a big part of the story (no shit!), but there's also a HUGE narrative that has been given to us, the audience, and the characters in the manga from the very beginning.

Demons are evil (or, to a certain degree, "neutral).

And

Demons are demons.

Sorry for how redundant that sounded, please let me explain.

Demons in aoex has been presented to us as "biblical/mythological demons" (depending on where the inspiration for them came from), mostly for the top demons and so one. But, in the very story, we have been repeatedly told that this is not true.

One of the mayor arguments of this is in the fight against that spore castle demon (sorry, I don't remember the name right now) from season 2. Both, in the manga and the anime, the fire demon (again, I'm sorry, I suck at names and I just want to get this done) that helps Rin burn the spores told him that he (or it was a she?) had been given tons of names an titles during his existence, from angel to guardian to demon, it was always just a label given by humans to defined him.

So, if demons are not necessarily demons, what are they? They are "spirits", plain and simple. Beings with powers from the mirror dimension (Gehenna).

Why are they evil then? Most are not! They're just mischievous or curious, especially the ones that don't tend to interact with humans. They're driven by impulsivity, naivety, ignorance, desires, curiosity, jealousy, resentment (does this remind you of any example? I'm sure it does), but not raw evilness MOST of the time.

Of course, there are evil ones, I won't be the one to deny it.

But, as I said, they're driven by emotions. The thing with demons is that they're not emotionally mature, nor do they completely understand human cultures and human's needs. On top of that, demons has been even worshiped all over the world during every step of civilization, so try to teach them to treat humans, well... humanly?

One of the biggest humanity supporters (not humans supporter, humanity as a concept/single thing and its creations), Mephisto, despite all his efforts for protect and help humans, doesn't see most of them as "equals". He does care, except that he just truly cares for the ones closest to him, everyone else are more like "ants" in his eyes. He's driven by desires when it comes to protect humans, the desire too see what things they would invent in the future.

(I have like, a LOT to say about my jester man (actually about almost all the main characters), so here's a limited extract of that).

And, then, there's the other side of the coin, Lucifer. I do believe that he, in his own twisted vision, do what he does because he thinks it will be good for everyone, but we cannot deny that he's following his plan for his own selfish reasons. He doesn't care about humans, or demons, or anyone but himself, not in a deeply way at least. He won't sacrifice himself for anyone, geez, he won't mind putting them at risk if his emotions get off control (that damn million yards stare when Yukio betrayed and challenged him 👀👀👀), but will stop if he's, well, stopped first.

Someone may think, "what about Satan? Wasn't he doing all that shit to get him a body?" And, let me tell you, he doesn't care about him either. He literally destroyed his body to catalyzed the Blue Night (though I must say I don't think he saw that coming, he just did it because he was furious and, partially, jealous that his father not only got a body (the thing he has yearned since forever and is obsessed about getting) before him, but also decided to threw it away as well as the elixirs research because he found "something better" ← quotation marks, 'cus I also think he thought Satan was being delusional), and took advantaged of the fact that Satan thought it was Yuri who betrayed him to convied him into (potentially) allying with him.

And speaking of, what about Satan? The "big baddie", dear, all I have to say is that I have a whole entire post in my draft dedicated to him. So, to summarize it, Satan is the equivalent of a child king throwing tantrums, who is trapped in the middle of political and royal plots to control everything through him, and has barely or no one who really cares about him at this point. (← I also has a LOT, LOT to say about my last statement, and it needs at least three entire paragraphs to fully bring the meaning behind it, so please take this bit with a grain of salt).

ㅤ

With all that being said, I don't know how to close this post :D! Jokes aside, I really don't JABDNDJDBDK

Sorry for any grammatical mistake or weird wording, English isn't my first language. I also would love to know your point of view! Or, overall, discuss my post! I love talking about aoex, so feel free to speak to me, even if you disagree with literally everything I said! /Seriously.

[veryextraincorrectfegbaquotes]

As promised, here is an in-depth brief overview of the circumstances surrounding Melady becoming Lalum's legal guardian

Got it out technically before the year end, and it goes under a read more so I don't fill your dash with a whole lotta words (1240 words to be precise) because I have some sense of courtesy. Hope you enjoy it!

It had, at least initially, been purely a matter of logistics. A child required housing, of those with space and time available, one said the other was the much better option. Echidna made very clear that her house full of weapons was not suitable for a kid, so said kid became Melady’s problem. The situation was even more awkward than is typical, due to its atypical circumstances. The child in question was, in one way or another, related to Sigune. So of course, information about her was impossible to find or never existed. They knew her name was Lalum, that her parents were dead, and that she was related to Sigune. They couldn’t even be certain she was a child. They were considering her as one, and Sigune said she was ‘underage’.

And Sigune never lies.

The child was both inoffensive and offensive. She took up little space, made little noise, occupied little time. She kept to the basement that had been made her room, emerged to eat, barely spoke and when she did it was quietly. Except when she started fires. And broke windows. And made graffiti. And started more fires. And ruined things. And threw knives. Every time, Melady would either reign her in mid-crime or haul her back home post-crime. Every time, Melady would ask the child why she had done this, and be told she didn’t know why, and she was sorry, and she wouldn’t do it again. Every time, she sounded honest, regretful, sad and scared and weak. Every time, she would do it again. What frustrated Melady wasn’t the behavior in and of itself, it was how inexplicable it was, how it came from nothing and vanished before it could be seen. Melady was told that the child was loud, insulting, dismissive, chaotic and insufferable. She only saw a quiet, fragile, empty person. A child seemingly too afraid of the consequences to ever make a noise or express a want.

It bothered Melady, that the child she was in charge of, that she cared for, was lying to her. Not by saying  she wouldn’t do this again, but by trying to hide whatever part of her it was that longed for chaos and relished in humor derived from starting fires and annoying people. That hiding, that refusal to show the wholeness of herself, was a lie, as offensive as any. And it wasn’t one she could make the child stop telling. She couldn’t force her to expose that side of her. Her only option was to make the child willing to be honest with herself and with Melady. She had to make herself into someone who could accept that honesty. And she set herself to that goal.

It was not an easy thing to do, offering acceptance to someone who offers nothing to accept. She did all in her power to be kind and understanding every time she had to question the child after one of her outbursts, despite Melady’s longstanding opinions on the value of militarily instilled discipline. But she valued honesty more. She mentally noted every bit of information about the child she could get from their brief conversations during meals, and followed those scant leads as best she could. Regardless of if it involved watching over 200 episodes of Dragon Ball Z or playing through Earthbound.

It was a delicate thing though. She couldn’t treat this like she was pursuing a quarry. She was researching an artwork, reading information about the artist to derive more from the work. She couldn’t just open conversation at dinner with “I watched DBZ so I could know you better”, that was an incredibly bizarre thing to do. She mirrored the child, making the occasional remark regarding the works.

She could see the results, as the remarks became more frequent, blossomed into brief discussions. She saw life and energy in the child that she never saw elsewhere, passion and opinions and humanity. It was often fleeting, something the child reigned in. But it was there, she was drawing it out. It took over a year for the approach to truly work, for it to create a real relationship that was not purely a matter of logistics. Melady saw that it took great effort, great courage on the part of the child to make her move, to acknowledge the bridge Melady had been building between them. To be honest with herself and her guardian.

“I’m going to play Radiant Silvergun. You can come watch if you want.”, said quickly, dismissively, by someone who left before she could receive the no she expected. Melady waited a minute before walking down to the basement. The child was visibly surprised, having already accepted that connection with her wasn’t wanted.

“So, tell me about Radiant Silvergun.” stated simply. It made the child pause, stunned. Then, for a brief moment, Lalum showed an incredibly earnest, honest smile. It was then quickly replaced by an expression of dismissive confidence.

“So it’s an old shmup that’s mad weird in a fascinating way. The gameplay kicks ass of course, but what really keeps me coming back is the way the story works. The stages are numbered chronologically but not played chronologically, so you start on stage 3 and then go to 2, then 4. It rules. Then there’s the story itself, which was sort of added in the saturn port, since the game didn’t have cutscenes in the original arcade version. So a bunch of kids took home a copy of their favourite shmup and then like 3 minutes after booting it up on their saturn they’re told all life on earth got killed by a tetrahedron.” 

Lalum continued rambling, going on about weapon types and The Stone-Like and BE ATTITUDE FOR GAINS. It was, at best, mildly interesting to a layperson, which Melady was. But the happiness and confidence expressed by someone she’d barely heard speak, let alone emote, was truly engaging. It had been worth the effort, she decided. It was worth further effort, she decided. She asked about what scenarios the ‘thunder beam’ was useful in just to hear Lalum keep speaking.

After that event, Lalum became significantly worse as far as most were concerned. She had been quiet before now, but suddenly she was overconfident, more annoying and her crimes increased in severity. As far as Melady was concerned, Lalum was finally alive and it was as beautiful as it was infuriating. Disagreements between child and legal guardian increased in frequency, but now it wasn’t a series of questions answered with quiet platitudes. Lalum would push back, would explain what vague whims and arbitrary standards drove her to act, and would make a very obviously false apology. This was a marked improvement in Melady’s eyes.

As far as Lalum was concerned, this adult that had been forced to take care of her had met her emotionless, people-pleasing facade head on, and as such now had to deal with the ‘real’ Lalum. If pressed, she’d admit Melady could be fun to talk to and the way she expressed actual interest in whatever weird garbage Lalum rambled about made her feel weird and vulnerable and something better than tolerated. But she figured Melady would crack eventually and get sick of her, like everyone else did. It was just taking a REALLY long time. Hopefully it’d take forever and things could stay like this, just don’t quote her on that because it sounds lame.

[biancatronic]

The First Meet the Seven Guardians

I decided to post parts for someone who doesn't have Ao3, so I'm going to do a poll for which guardian appears on side two.

Also, happy birthday, guardians of Lord X!

https://x.com/DaKittyfluf/status/1771737317763383770?s=20

Warnings before reading: Mockery of God and religion, minor profanity, mild and half light description of body horror.

Note: reader does not have a specific genre

Chapter one - Pray

You were running from your tormentor inside your castle where he takes you often and even to play with you, you took advantage of the game you were playing and ran with your life to have some gaming time with an old hedgehog from that horrible dimension, just one little peace without your executioner not breathing down your neck for a measly 3 seconds of peace.

You were sweating like never before and the tears coming out of your eyes showed how desperate you were to have peace in this world just for a moment, you kept running down each corridor turning every corner until you reached a specific corridor that caught your attention that you you hid without thinking about anything hoping that your something Lord wouldn't find them, taking a deep breath with each pause you looked around where they were and noticed the change in the environment around them the corridor was gray of different tones to a little white in certain details and pale with white candles lit the end that led to this running was different from the purple concrete walls and the floor of black and white checkered walkers you never saw this running the last time you were here, but the new place stops and interests you and with Afraid of finding something worse than your death, you curious people follow the instinct of curiosity and start walking in this mysterious new place.

Running was long and occasionally you looked back to see if anyone was following you, luckily no one has followed you yet since you infiltrate this new corridor, for now, thinking that this running only led to the long and torturous loop repeating the walk, finally this place led to a new place, the new room revealed a new curious and fascinating environment, the place you now arrived looked like, or rather was, a gray and white church surrounded by statues of slender dark gray hedgehogs with their hands up with their mouths abnormally open and black eyes, you walk cautiously in this unfamiliar place and you could have sworn you saw in your peripheral vision all of them slowly turn to fix their blank gaze on you as you passed by them you sometimes looked back to see and the statues moved but They didn't move at any point, maybe you were hallucinating.

[continue]

[ivanttakethis]

Before Round 27 - Tov’s Log

Jae (?) vs. Lang (?) -> ??? Win

————————————————————

Tov awoke the next morning to the phone ringing.

Nyx was gone, just as he said.

The only evidence of his presence left behind was rumpled sheets and a radio communicator so they could stay in contact.

They still had a lot to talk about.

All of the secrets Nyx spilled were still whirling around in her head.

“Vera is still alive.”

Good. Great. One less dead classmate.

“I never told you that I saw Aurien get taken away by Solei.”

They were even on that. Tov never told Nyx that she knew Solei was the one who rescued Aurien.

But that was before Round 7. Before she thought Tallis had died right in front of her eyes and lost her mind.

At least Tov returned the favor and spilled the secret about him too.

Now two people knew Tallis was out there somewhere.

Though what stuck in her mind the most, what left her with far more questions was—

“I never told you about my children.”

The thought of Nyx having just one child was enough to make Tov’s head spin. But he said children. Multiple.

He was so young. When the fuck did he have time to have multiple children?

Who were they? How long ago did he have them? Does he know their names? Are they still in contact? Where are they now? Please tell me they’re not in Anakt Garden—

The phone rang again.

Tov’s plot to tear that bastard Guardian Oryon’s wings off with her bare hands would have to wait for now.

She sat up in her bed and fumbled blindly for the answer button, hitting it with more force than necessary.

Wren started talking before she could greet her. “Hey! Where have you been? I’ve called you like three times already.”

“Late start.” She said around a yawn.

“Ah, so you haven’t read the news yet.”

Tov frowned, “What news?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just a bunch of gossip rags spewing bullshit about Round 26.” The distain in Wren’s voice was palpable. “‘Has the star of Season 39 fizzled out? Tov’s stellar fall from grace!’ Gag me.”

Ouch.

“That bad, huh?”

“It’s not bad, it’s tacky. They’re acting like you bombed on stage.” She said. “Akane was tough competition. Neither of you were going to win by a landslide. I don’t know why people are losing their fucking minds about it.”

Wren sounded pissed off enough for the both of them. Tov found herself smiling.

“Hey, I’m the one who almost died.”

“Yeah, but you didn't.” Wren said after a moment. “You beat death.”

“I just got lucky.”

“Then I guess that means my good luck charm worked.”

Oh, that’s right.

The new weight on Tov’s right ring finger came to the front of her mind.

She raised her hand up toward the window, letting the silver band catch the sunlight pouring in.

“Maybe...” Tov hummed softly, running her thumb over the sun and moon engraving.

“Something about your voice sounds different today,” Wren said. “You’re a lot more upbeat than I’d expect someone in your position to be.”

Is it really that obvious?

There was no way Tov was going to tell Wren anything about what happened last night.

She shook her head, “I think you're just hearing things.”

Wren laughs, “You're a terrible liar.”

“I'm a great liar.” Tov countered, affronted.

“Then l'm great at figuring out whether you're lying or not.”

“I don’t like the connotations of that.” She said flatly.

“You’re overthinking it.” Wren matched her tone.

Tov made a noncommittal noise, scrubbing the sleep from her eyes with her palms.

“I won't push you on where this new spark came from, as long as you put it to good use.”

“Put it to good use how?”

“For your next round!” She said. “You need a song that plays to your vocal strengths and uses that new spark you have. It should be something powerful, something that shows the audience that you’re still here and you’re still going to come out on top.”

“I still have to become the Sun.” Tov echoed.

“Exactly. It isn’t over yet.” Wren said. “You have a season to win, remember?”

————————————————————

This is a follow up to @imperfectnothing’s post of Tov and Nyx’s reunion after Round 26! Plus some sisterly bickering bonding!

Getting to see Nyx and being able to confirm that he’s okay has helped lift Tov’s spirits (even if she does want to put his owner in the dirt over what she’s learned).

She also has major survivor’s remorse over what happened with Akane, but Nyx and Wren’s encouragement makes her want to keep going. The power of siblings!!

While Nyx mentioned Solei to Tov, she still doesn’t know Solei is part bird 😅

[guardian-of-fun-times]

❄️Toxic Cosplayers: Frostplay❄️

This is going to be a long-ass post, so get comfortable with your favorite drink and a snack. As for me, the tea is hot and I'm ready to spill.

If you don't already know, this is Juliette, better known as Jacoby or Frostplay online. A band enthusiast, cosplayer, influencer, public figure, suicide prevention advocate, and YouTuber hailing from Southern California.

When I first saw Juliette, I assumed they were either Genderfluid or Trans in which they never stated until they made the post: "I'm a Girl!" after an Instagram account "exposed" her for wearing a binder. The account no longer exists because it was reported and deactivated.

I met Juliette at Anime Los Angeles years ago and she was very standoffish and rude to me seeing that I was also cosplaying the same character. I saw her again at ALA as Jack Frost and she asked me what happened to my leg noticing that I was in a knee brace and carried a crutch to lean on while I had my staff in my other hand.

She wasn’t well-liked in the Jelsa community circa 2013-2015 because she used to fail to credit artists. I never really paid attention to their work because of that, and some things she did… she came across at times as if she thought she was actually Jack Frost, and therefore the authority. It was just a different vibe to others who can have fun but, end of the day you know they know they aren't Jack Frost or any other character.

Her YouTube seemed to have some blurred lines where they thought they were THE Jack Frost. There’s a difference between playing the part at a cosplay convention, or for kids, but end of the day, even the Disney face characters know they aren’t actually Cinderella or something.

Another thing that disappointed me. How can you cosplay Jack Frost and ignore children? That’s such a big part of him. He’s the one who gets the Guardians to reconnect with the kids. Jackson was entertaining the kids. Jack was there for the kids well before he was a guardian.

You might know, that Frostplay went to Disney and dressed as Jack to get those photos and videos with the Elsa face character. Disney face characters have to feign ignorance of things outside of their Disney universe, so putting her in a rough position and potentially causing issues for her at work -- all for internet clout.

So, the stuff about Juliette and the Elsa cosplayers is the tip of the iceberg. She went full Q Anon. She "came out" as cisgender and straight in an emotional video. She was pretending to be in love with them for about five years, so it's a whole fucked up thing.

For a while, it was clear that her whole thing with Jack was some sort of coping mechanism for insecurity about who she was. She threw herself into the character so much that she dated two people at the time, both were Elsa cosplayers. So, it wasn't just one. She broke hearts and pushed people away.

There was a girl named Sofie before Alison. Sofie was from Florida and flew out here a time or two. I still think Juliette will one day accept that she's gender fluid or trans. Plus I know someone who told me that she once used a pseudo penis as a vessel to urinate through, sometimes. So, that adds to it. She's from a conservative area and that definitely influenced her. As for her being rude: she seemed to start gatekeeping the character.

She got awfully jealous and upset that GuardianFrosty on Instagram had taken inspiration from her Royal Jack Frost cosplay. He was literally was driven off Instagram and deactivated his account a few years ago for months because of Frostplay and their friends/followers since they kept sending hate, and death threats if he ever showed up at any California convention.

Claiming a character is childish behavior. Cosplay who you want, when you want. If other people have issues, let that trash take itself out.

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 3 Chapter 4 - Old Friend (Part 1)

this chapter broke into my house and robbed me. this chapter punched me in my stomach and proceeded to kick me as i was down

anyways we meet Seiya's brother Gaku. Gaku seems to be a gnc person but is still referred to as Seiya's brother so i will be using he/him pronouns for him

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1-18. The explanations of the puns were so long that i decided to make a separate post for them. tbh you can just skip the puns and go all the way to the end of this section

Previous | Next

It was a certain day off.

The five boys of the Kazemai High School kyudo club gathered at Minato’s house. It was a study session to prepare for a regular exam, and since Minato’s father wasn’t at home because of work, they occupied the living room.

Seiya smiled.

“Ryouhei, if there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me. I can help you with most of the liberal arts subjects.”

“Woo! I’m so glad that I have you, who’s at the top of our class, as my childhood friend.”

“I’m happy to be helpful to everyone.”

Nanao, hearing that, waved his mechanical pencil with a frog on it. There was also a pencil case with frogs in traditional Japanese design on the table.

“As expected of President Mustache. You really give off the composure of someone worthy of a mustache. Maybe I should have chosen science classes too, though it’s a bit late for that now.”

“Apparently, nowadays there are some universities where they don’t divide the courses into the sciences and liberal arts, but allow students to take both.”

“This is what they call the age of diversity. Our future is shining brightly. Exciting, sparkling!” Ryouhei also chimed in.

“Sparkling! This humble one is also excited!”

Next to them, Kaito put down his pen.

“You two! Those Yotubers’ ways of talking are rubbing off on you. Nanao, stop playing with frogs and focus on your problem set.”

“Yeah, yeah, Kacchan. Follow your own path.”

After checking on everyone, Minato went to the kitchen. He returned to the living room with a drink in hand.

Minato’s cup was purchased on the return trip from last year’s regional tournament, and it had the illustration of a dormouse on it. In his left hand, he held the dormouse mascot that Masa-san gave him. The dormouse was a small mouse that was a natural monument and also called the spirit of the forest and the guardian deity of the mountains. Masa-san gave him, who was suffering from target panic, the dormouse mascot in place of a talisman, but Minato had no way of knowing the prayer it contained.

When the five’s cups were emptied, the intercom sounded. When Minato looked through the camera, he saw a young woman standing there. “Hello?” he answered.

“Mii-chan, it’s me. It’s been a while.”

“Oh! I’m opening the door now.”

When Minato opened the door, the woman suddenly hugged him.

She was in her twenties. She was gorgeous and bewitching, but also cute—she was a superb beauty who made one feel that gap. She was dressed in a stylish outfit, and her straggling hairs fell gently.

The beautiful woman exclaimed in joy.

“Mii-chan, you smell as good as ever! Is it rosemary? It’s different from a vegetarian’s scent. The fact that you smell like this and don’t use antiperspirants or perfume is nothing short of a miracle.”

“Can’t you do something about that quirk of yours?”

“I feel so refreshed when I smell your scent, Mii-chan. ‘Mina-huffing’ is way better than cat huffing!”

Minato grimaced, looking fed up. Since he knew that the other person only looked slender in clothing and was actually a Jeet Kune Do master, Minato didn’t disobey her and stayed still. It was a martial art where the opponent was defeated within six seconds. He wouldn’t be able to stand a chance if he was hit in a vital spot.

“I’m studying right now.”

“Oh, that’s right. I came here for something else. Let me just come in for a minute.”

The woman left Minato and went into the living room without hesitation. She opened the door with a bang.

“Who’s that?” Just when Kaito muttered in his mind, Seiya shouted, “Onii-chan!”

Kaito let out a splutter.

Rather than the fact that the person who he thought was a woman was actually Seiya’s brother, he was more shocked by the fact that Seiya calling him “Onii-chan.” Seiya’s brother completely ignored the dumbfounded Kazemai High School kyudo club members and made a beeline for Seiya.

“Seiya, you completely ignored your phone even when I called you. I came back home after all this time, so keep me company for a little bit at least.”

“Why are you coming in all the way here, Onii-chan? You’re as restless as ever.”

“Can’t you be a little more affectionate towards your beloved brother? Something like, it’s been so long, I missed you, Nii-san!”

Seiya made no comment. His eyes were glassy.

“Ugh, you’re such a prickly kid. Everyone, sorry for interrupting your studying. Nice to meet you, I’m Seiya’s older brother, Takehaya Gaku. I do the branding for ‘Hanayoi,’ which promotes Japanese style merchandise. You over there, that frog pencil was also one of the things I had a hand in.”

“Whoa!” Nanao said. “I know Hanayoi. You did a collab with Yumihiki Douji recently.”

“You watched it? I’m so happy to hear that.”

Gaku sat down in front of the table.

“I’d feel bad about staying here for too long, so I’ll just tell you why I’m here. Everyone here should also listen. I chose the path I liked, so Dad wants Seiya to inherit the hospital. He says he wants Seiya to start preparing for that soon.”

“You’re talking about that again? And this isn’t something you talk about in front of everyone, you know? Onii-chan, you do what you want, and yet you expect to me to obey you.”

“Mom and Dad always respect our wishes. But in their hearts, they think that you’re suited to becoming a doctor. This is the countryside, so doctors are absolutely needed. They want you to contribute your service to the community. They won’t back down until you say yes.”

“There’s no point in using martial arts on me. I know your weak spots. It’ll be no trouble for me to defeat you.”

“Ugh, Seiya, how invincible are you? Well, it doesn’t matter. I plan on staying here for two or three days longer anyway.”

Gaku stood up, then stared at Nanao, who had been listening with his chin in his hands.

“…Magnificent. You’ve caught my eye since the moment I entered this room, but you’re so beautiful. How would you like to become our new brand image character?”

Gaku’s eyes roamed over Nanao’s figure, then he raised his hand and inhaled the scent deeply. Gaku’s sense of smell was unusually developed, and he was an eccentric who judged people based on their body odor. It was said that only one in five people could sniff out asparagus smell, which was the smell of urine after eating asparagus. He was one of them, and he was also a perfumer.

“Mm, mm, what a pleasant scent. It’s sweet, heartrending, and strong—. You fit the image perfectly. You’re the very picture of the crowned Frog Prince.”

“Hold on a minute, I can’t see what you’re talking about.”

“There is no one better suited for this role than you. This is a big project that will be expanded overseas. Don’t you think it’s a great opportunity?”

“No, no, no, the more skillfully someone speaks, the more I’m on guard.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being cautious. Please give me a reply in three days.”

After only saying what he wanted to say, Gaku left. In the calm after the storm, the five boys remained silent.

Ryouhei moved to break the silence.

“I was so surprised to see Seiya’s brother. He got even prettier than I remember. What will happen if Nanao takes on that job?”

“I’ll be okay, but it might be tough for Nanao to balance his thing with kyudo,” Seiya said.

“Huh!? Can’t you wait for a moment? Then I’m against it. You agree with me, right, Minato?”

“…I will respect the two’s wishes.”

“Huuuh!? Kaito-kun, you of course are also against it, right?”

“I dunno. It’s up to Seiya and Nanao.”

“What? Why aren’t you stopping them? Don’t you all want to stand on the same stage together again? We can only be high school second-years once! Well, you can be held back a year, though!”

Seiya opened the reference book on the table.

“Sorry, guys. My brother’s always like that. He throws everyone around him into confusion and immediately leaves. Nanao, you should think about it carefully before responding to him.”

With complicated feelings, the five boys faced the table again.

After the study session finished and everyone left, Nanao went to Kaito’s house.

He took two teacups in the kitchen and poured black tea, milk, and sugar into them. His brain needed sugar to work. He put the cups on a tray and went to Kaito’s room on the second floor.

“Hi, Kacchan. Today, I’m specially making this tea for you. Be thankful.”

“Yeah, yeah, Frog Prince.”

Nanao put the teacup on his desk and sat down on the bed. He flicked the frog-shaped clock by his side with his finger. The second hand was moving as usual.

“Kacchan, what do you really think about what Gaku-san talked about earlier?”

“I already said that I don’t know.”

“You didn’t put a stop to it this time.”

“Hah? Did something like that happen? If I say anything, your judgment might be affected, so I kept quiet.”

“You could have at least given your cousin some advice. What a useless man.”

“Shut up. Neither you or Seiya are little kids anymore. It’s the truth that by the summer vacation of your second year in high school, you have to decide on your career path to some extent.”

“That’s so early. I feel I only just entered high school.”

Seiya was also faced with the dilemma of choosing his career. Kaito was probably feeling nervous on the inside. Even Minato should be wondering whether he should encourage or discourage him.

Kaito got his phone out and started playing a game. Lately, he had been absorbed in a city building game. He had built a kyudojo, a library, and a concert venue just for Japanese rock. Once, he had cried tears of gratitude when the avatars of the bands he liked in the real world performed there.

Lucy the cat rubbed against Kaito’s back and showed her belly. Kaito petted Lucy without looking away from his game, and Lucy kicked him as though to tell him to look at her.

Nanao remembered when he and Kaito visited Tokyo together in middle school.

Kaito had let out a big yawn.

“Ah, this is such a pain. I only care about kyudojos and kyudo stores. Are there any nearby?”

“Don’t say that, Kacchan. Let’s take the classic course first.”

He stuffed his mouth with crepes and peered into a store where everyone was lined up. At the storefront where accessories were arranged next to each other, he could see a man giving out rings as a gift.

It was fun to walk around the city. The place where they lived was surrounded by mountains, but this place was full of man-made object and people. It was a stimulating and lively space.

A little further away, there was a man running through the crowd.

“Why is that guy running?”

“Who knows, maybe he forgot something.”

As they were talking, the man quickly approached them and handed him his business card. The name of an agency was printed on the front, and the names of the talents affiliated with the agency were printed on the back.

Talent scouts really did exist. He thought it was an urban legend.

Kaito’s eyes flashed in their usual way. From his point of view, the person approaching Nanao was nothing but a suspicious person who deserved to be guarded against.

“Sorry, we’re in a hurry,” they declined and started walking away.

As they continued on their way, eating snacks, someone called out to them again. Nanao didn’t know if it was a scout or someone trying to pick him up, but he completely ignored them. However, some people were persistent and would stubbornly keep talking to him. Thanks to that, they walked faster and faster.

“Hey, hey, you over there. You’re a shining diamond in the rough. Could please just listen to what I have to say?”

“If you put it like that, I might be a little interested.”

“Tell the kid next to you to consider it too. I really think he’s got what it takes. Getting famous with videos is fine and all, but I recommend that you join an agency that can manage you properly.”

“No, thank you,” Kaito answered.

“Why don’t you join with him, then? I think a combination of two different types is also a good idea.”

“…”

“You might have to pay for the lessons, but we also have plans that are better than other agencies.”

“Shut up! This guy won’t leave our hometown!” Kaito shouted and grabbed Nanao’s hand, then started running.

Masquerade.

This was a city where you could meet a different version of yourself.

A doll-like girl spinning on a music box and a man holding a fake sword studded with sequins. Were the woodwind instruments being played foreign? Many boats floated on the meandering river, and the two went against the current. Was this really reality? His feet felt unsteady.

“Let’s leave this place quickly. There’s too many people and we’ll keep getting bothered.”

“You’re right.”

The sounds of people bustling about was comfortable.

Kacchan said that there were too many people here, but everyone was nose-deep in their phones and no one’s looking around. No one’s paying attention to us. No one knows who we are.

I will protect Kacchan. In this city, he’s the only who knows me, and I’m the only one who knows him.

I will never forget Kacchan gripping my hand.

It seems like he forgot about it, though.

That’s fine. This is a memory that only I remember.

“Kacchan, I wanna eat chips. Go and buy some.”

“What, go buy it yourself. I think we have some downstairs.”

“Can I eat them?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks, Kacchan.”

When Nanao got up, Lucy let out a small meow.

After the study session, Seiya and Minato watched Ryouhei leave until they could no longer see him.

“Minato, I’m going to go shampoo Kuma. Wanna come?” Seiya said.

“Of course!”

Minato went to Seiya’s house. He rolled up his sleeves, took off his socks, and Kuma, who realized what was going to happen, ran around excitedly. When Kuma was still a puppy, just getting him to soak his paws in the bathtub full of hot water was a difficult task, but now it was one of his favorite times. They wetted his fur in the shower and lathered up the dog shampoo.

“Kuma, doesn’t that feel good? Do you feel itchy anywhere?”

Kuma tilted his head left as though to say, “Here,” so they focused on that area. As they were rinsing off the later with the shower, Kuma shook his whole body.

“Kuma, don’t shake!”

“Kuma seems to be in high spirits,” Seiya said.

While they were shampooing Kuma, they saw a gecko on the windowpane of the bath. It had a light pink belly and the base of its tail was heart-shaped. The edges of its five tiny fingers were transparent and beautiful. It didn’t so much as twitch even when Minato touched it through the glass. He once saw one in his own house, and he had captured it and let it go outside. The gecko was still clinging to the window even after they finished shampooing Kuma.

Seiya’s brows lowered when he saw Kuma leaning against Minato as he wiped his wet body.

 “Kuma, you sure are making a nice face. Even though I’m your master.”

“Kuma likes people.”

The two and Kuma went out for a walk. As they walked toward the red sun, the indigo sunset approached from behind. The first star of the evening shined in the evening sky, and it matched the speed of the two boys and dog. When they stopped, the star also stopped. The large yellow moon shined on the horizon.

On the roadside, bees gathered by the fleabanes, and butterflies gathered by the milk thistles. A loud chorus of frogs could be heard from the rice fields that had just been filled with water. There were also baby praying mantises in the purple thistles, shortawn foxtails, and ixeris flowers. Though their bodies were only one centimeter long, they were vibrating them like adults. They seemed to be imitating the appearance of swaying leaves, but it was said that only two percent of two hundred eggs could grow into adults. Minato sent thoughts of encouragement for everyone to survive safely.

Minato patted Kuma on the head.

“It seems that there is a family of wild rabbits living in Shuu’s garden. At first, when we saw each other, they would run away like rabbits do, but lately, they are the ones who have been approaching me.”

“With that house, I’m not surprised about anything that lives there.”

“To tell you the truth, I once asked your dad a question. I asked him, aren’t you worried about Seiya quitting Kirisaki? Is there anything I can do?”

“…No way, really?”

“He told me, ‘There’s nothing to worry about. Worrying would mean that I don’t believe in Seiya’s strength. Both Seiya and his brother are people who don’t see hardships as hardships and can blaze a trail forward.’”

“Dad said something like that? I didn’t know.”

“You have a great dad. He’s really cool.”

“Yeah, he is, thanks. My brother’s a weirdo, though.”

“Kuma’s cute too.”

“My brother isn’t cute, and I don’t listen to what he says.”

“Brothers, huh. I’m a bit jealous.”

Minato looked up at the sky. The full moon was changing from yellow to silver.

“The moon is beautiful tonight.”

“…Yeah, it really is. Minato, do you know the anecdote about Soseki Natsume?”

“The one where he had a habit of pulling out his nose hairs when he got writer’s block and line them up on his manuscript paper?”

“That’s what came to your mind? It’s the one where he said that when Japanese people convey their love, they don’t say ‘I love you,’ but use another way to express it.”

“Sorry, I don’t know that one.”

“You and Kaito really don’t waver, huh.”

“What will Nanao do? Kaito was clearly shaken.”

“The two of them are probably discussing things right now. It might be something that’s hard to talk about in front of us.”

“You’re right. Oh, I saw two dormice in that tree hollow ahead. You wanna go see them?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

The two boys and dog went to the woods. When they went into the woods, Kuma took the vanguard position, probably with the determination to protect his masters.

When the wind shook the leaves, white-tailed skimmers spread their wings.

The wind blew through the blue yamichi of Kazemai High School’s kyudojo.

After the prefectural tournament qualifiers, the club members headed toward the targets as they pleased. Not thinking about unnecessary things and simply releasing arrows with all your strength was also a pleasant feeling. They surrendered themselves and rode the updraft.

When they generally finished shooting their arrows, the signal to gather was given.

“Today, we’ll be having a special class today. Let’s warm up before inviting our speaker. First question, what day is September tenth?”

Ryouhei immediately raised his hand.

“It’s Kyudo Day!”

“Correct. Now, the second question. Does anyone what day is August tenth, a month before that?”

“Yep, yep, it’s Masa-san’s birthday!”

Kaito turned to Minato and grinned triumphantly. Masa-san smiled in embarrassment.

Tommy-sensei continued. “Third question. What day is September first?”

“The questions suddenly got harder. Seiya, do you know?” Minato said.

“Hmm, is it famous?”

“Oh? Takehaya-kun not knowing something is surprising. Let’s get into the main topic. Self-possession is necessary for kyudo. Learn the best techniques to stay calm in any situation. That’s right, it’s all about words, it’s about how you perceive events positively through words. Here comes the specialists. Come on, everybody!”

The ones who appeared at Tommy-sensei’s signal were two elderly men. Question marks popped up over everyone’s heads.

“These two are acquaintances of mine. They are alumni of the ‘Kazemai High School Bad Puns Association.’”

Seiya’s glasses flashed. Kaito had a bad feeling.

The class began.

“Bad puns are things that have ‘creativity and impact,’ and enriches communication between people. We take advantage of the infinite ‘attraction’ of puns, and our wish that bad puns will bring color and richness to life and delivers salvation to the world is embedded in September first.”*

“…I can already sense that this is going to be a disaster.”

Kaito was in agony, but Seiya straightened up even more and listened attentively.

“A barrage of dad jokes that follow up on each other. This is indeed ‘jab-jab’ humor, Kacchan.”*

“Na-na-o, not you too!”

As the cousins’ comedy routine unfolded, practical training began. First, they were asked to tell the bad puns they already knew.

Keyaki went first. “The principal’s in good form!”*

Kanbayashi went second. “The dog’s so nervous that it’s wetting itself.”*

Himuro went third. “Suki kuu mushi mo tadetade.”*

Everyone’s eyes widened at the fact that Himuro spoke, but only Seiya sighed by himself.

“It’s no good, first-years. You can’t just say such excellent bad puns.”

Keyaki shrank back.

“What exactly is an excellent bad pun…? It’s too difficult for amateurs. I feel like successfully pulling off a bad pun is more difficult than the path of the bow for me.”

“First, we must learn the classics. I’ll give you some examples. ‘6:30 is the best time on a clock, hands down.’ ‘Thanks for being so grape!’ ‘Camping: like many of the best things in life, it’s tree.’”*

The two teachers applauded.

“Wonderful! As expected of the club president, you have a very good understanding of this. Oh, you over there, you say a pun too.”

“Me too?” Masa-san said.

“Of course. To us, you’re also a Kazemai kid, Coach Takigawa.”

“Then if I may be so presumptuous, I will contribute one pun. ‘My back is kaino at kai.’”*

Seiya inadvertently laughed, but then made his face serious in an effort to hide that he laughed.

“Recreation is a form of communication and relaxation that’s also used in free schools, and it is also a way to train people to think in a way that softens their stiffened heads. Now, we pros will show you how it’s done.”

“What kind of sport is kyudo? The kind of sport that makes your chest squeeze tightly and impresses the people around.” “If you draw a bow in Yamagata, your arrows will bend.” “Ah, I hit the inside of the curtain.” “Hakama wa hakanma.” “What are yuu going to the kyudojo for?” “I get angry when I don’t do the uchiokoshi well.” “When I do uchiokoshi, you go to the front.” “Let’s have a third party look at our daisan.” “Ya o hanatsu to yugaeru kero.” “Zan, shin!!”*

Kaito quickly stood up.

“They’re cold, they’re too cold! Are we in Siberia or Alaska or something!?”

Unable to endure it any longer, he left.

Tommy-sensei chuckled. “…Good reaction, Onogi-kun.”

Before they went home, they received a large amount of broad beans from the teachers, who had grown them in their home gardens.

“Hey, hey, what are you going to do about Seiya’s brother, Gaku-san’s offer?” Ryouhei asked Nanao.

“Oh, I think I’m going to turn him down on that day.”

Kaito’s face relaxed.

“You’re giving your answer too early. You might regret it later that you should have accepted it.”

“I won’t regret it, and even if I do in the future, so be it. I’ll consider it again at that time. The current me has decided not to do it. My dream has already been fulfilled. I wanted to become a normal high school student.”

“A normal high school student?”

“Don’t you think it’s amazing? Frogs and birds risk their lives to get food every day, but we normally eat our lunches in our classrooms, normally make side trips on our way home from school, and normally groan about bad test scores.”

“Is Nanao really a high school boy? You have a pretty philosophical view of things,” Seiya murmured.*

The second-year girl, Hanazawa, writhed in agony. “Takehaya-kun, don’t just smoothly insert an old man joke here.”

“The only old man we need is Takigawa=san,” Shiragiku said.

“Putting aside the fact that our club has a high concentration of old men, I don’t know how a guy with a fan club could be called normal,” Seo continued.

“That isn’t something I wanted, but I’ll properly fulfill the role given to me. I don’t want to disappoint the girls who love me.”

“Wow, you’re like a real prince.”

When Ryouhei looked at him with eyes full of respect, Nanao gently lowered his eyes. If the fan club girls were here, they might have fainted on the spot.

When he opened his eyes, a strong gaze appeared there.

“I want to become a carpenter. I want to start with design. Kacchan, let me build your house.”

Kaito’s eyes widened.

“This is the first time I’m hearing of it.”

“Of course it is. Because it’s the first time I told someone. Before I came here, I asked the teacher to let me switch from the humanities to the sciences.”

“That was fast! I didn’t know you could change it.”

“First, I want to build a round wooden frog house in a green forest. The eyes will be the windows, where you can see the starry sky through them at night. The Summer Triangle of summer and Orion of winter. It’ll be amazing to gaze at them while lying down on the floor with everyone. Right now, I’m researching the costs.”

“You’re really moving too fast. Where are us students gonna get that money from?”

“It’s not about whether you can or can’t do it, it’s about envisioning it first. I don’t think it’s that difficult.”

The first-years applauded.

“As expected of Kisaragi-senpai’s super positive thinking. He has a dream!” Kanbayashi said.

“I will try thinking about what I really want to do,” Keyaki said.

“I want to continue doing kyudo even after I graduate. Have you decided on what you’re going to do, Narumiya-senpai? Are you going to go to a university with a strong kyudo club?”

Minato looked indifferent.

“All I thought was that I should probably go to university. On the career preference questionnaire, I thought about my family finances and wrote down the names of several universities I was interested in, including a local public university, a department where I could study Japanese culture, a university with a Shinto course, and an agriculture department.”

Seiya pinched the corner of his eyes. “Our teacher is probably very confused, thinking that Narumiya-kun is supposed to be in the sciences.”

“I’m interested in what Shinto priests do, but I don’t know if I want to do it as a job… To be honest, I’m at a loss.”

Tommy-sensei, who had been silently listening to them, laughed out loud. Masa-san was also next to him.

“Ah, the worries of vibrant youth. Try talking to yourself, not others. It might be a good idea to try drawing a mandala chart. By the way, the goals I set when I was fifty were to walk eight-thousand steps every day, learn the names of flowers and plants, and take pictures of clouds. Please look at my work.”

Tommy-sensei showed them pictures of clouds in the shape of soft-served ice cream, candy, and dried squid. He told them that they weren’t edited images, but actually floating in the sky.

Ryouhei’s eyes sparkled.

“What’s that, it looks tasty!”

“Ho ho, there’s Pucky here too. And even a Koala’s Dash.”*

“Whoa, I wanna try searching too! Nee-chan, Shuu-kun, and Sae-chan would definitely love it if I show this to them.”

It seemed that Tommy-sensei taught them a simple game once again. Minato thought that the people who could laugh at bad puns and were curious no matter how old they were might be the masters of life.

When Seiya returned home, he told his parents this.

“I’m going to be a doctor. But right now, kyudo is my top priority, so I might become a ronin.* Mom, Dad, will you still support me?”

“Yes, of course we will.”

“Do your best, Seiya-kun.”

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