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mopeytropey · 4 years ago

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a beer bud series: chapter 11

author’s note: times are tough. stay safe. read some fluffy fic. take care of each other.

Timeline: this is set just before Lincoln and Octavia's wedding, probably in the realm of chapters 11 and 12 of apu, after Clarke has given Lexa a key and asked her to move in (because they are both too gay to function)

Beer: La Ferme Urbaine FARMHOUSE ALE

Influenced by the Belgian saison style, La Ferme Urbaine features a complex blend of German hops, pilsner and pale malts, wheat, rye, oats, and spelt. The beer pours a hazy straw color and delivers a spicy, dry finish.

ABV 7.8%

Posted to AO3 here, or below the cut:

:::

“This is going to require some intense renovations.” Lexa stands with her hands in her front pockets, neck craned towards a dilapidated two-story house on a small corner lot. Its Victorian architecture is nearly eclipsed by peeling paint, broken windows, and a sagging porch, but the way Lincoln’s face beams, it’s as if the house shows no signs of disrepair. “You sure you’re up to task?”

“Hell, yeah.” Lincoln’s confidence is as strong as the late afternoon sun, glaring in a burning orange glow as it reflects off the windows of the historic city buildings surrounding them.

He then launches into an animated diatribe of improvements and restoration projects, pacing the perimeter of the property as he gestures to certain aspects of the house with broad hands. He and Octavia have likely discussed these visions of their future home endlessly as they await inspection reports and closing signatures to make everything final. Their initial offer had been accepted almost immediately, and Lexa has to believe it is thanks to, in part (if not entirely), the authenticity of her good friend’s charming demeanor.

“It’ll be a massive undertaking, but with the right help—”

“You planning to swing a sledge with me during the demo stage?” Lincoln grins.

“God, no.” Lexa nearly shudders. “Though I imagine Clarke might enjoy the destructive release of aggression after some of her more challenging bar shifts.”

Lincoln chuckles and returns to stand by Lexa’s side as they continue to gaze up at the house. “Yeah, Octavia too.”

“I’m so excited for you.” Lexa smiles up at him, nudging their shoulders together as Lincoln meets her eye with a grin of his own. “About everything.”

His upcoming nuptials (which have explicitly been banned from being referred to as a wedding) are less than two months away, and Lincoln hopes to have the keys to their new house in hand before the ceremony. He and Octavia seem happier than ever—real life exemplars of a healthy, supportive relationship between two friends in love. Lexa feels a kindred satisfaction at having found something similar with Clarke. Perhaps no one would have predicted these outcomes, but she and Lincoln have done rather well for a couple of kids who spent years feeling unwanted and unloved.

“What can I say: I’m living my best life.”

“Truly,” Lexa laughs, leaning into the nook of Lincoln’s armpit as he wraps an arm around her shoulders.

Even for early April, the weather has warmed, and the sun hangs in the sky for longer intervals. There’s no longer a bite in the air, even in the cooler, evening temperature. The breezes coming in off of the harbor have a fresh scent, like rejuvenation in the air that will soon breed blossoms on all the trees and fresh shoots of grass beneath their feet.

Lexa is perfectly comfortable in her jeans and a soft, grey henley layered with a pastel flannel that she has permanently borrowed from Clarke’s side of the closet. A closet that they now share in an official capacity. Lexa’s mouth slopes into a stupid grin at the thought of their now shared space. Her stomach swoops because of the new gold key in her pocket that she can feel between her fingers.

“I could say the same for you,” Lincoln tells her, somehow reading her thoughts. “You get all your stuff moved in yet?”

Her breath stutters at the mention of it, at the vision of scattered boxes and her random belongings that have slowly infiltrated Clarke’s space. “My lease isn’t up until the end of the month, so I’ve been moving things gradually.”

“Not ready to fully commit, huh?” Lincoln jabs with a teasing grin.

“I feel exceptionally confident about it, thank you very much.”

“What? Just like that?” Lincoln laughs. “Where is the torturous, internal Lexa struggle? Where are the mountains of anxiety about making the wrong call or moving too fast? Is this what four months as Clarke’s girlfriend has done to you?”

Lexa shrugs as if her chest hasn’t just snapped like a rubber band at being called Clarke’s girlfriend, a title that still sparks jittery excitement. Particularly when she is still grasping the house key that Clarke has recently given her. “Apparently.”

“Well, it’s a good look on you.”

“Thanks.”

They’ve stopped at the house Lincoln intends to buy with Octavia on their way to food and beer at Dockside, having fallen into the habit of visiting the girls during their longest shift of the week. With the mention of Clarke and the newest development in their relationship, Lexa feels a sudden wave of impatience to continue their walk to the bar where she knows Clarke and Octavia will be waiting to greet them.

Lincoln releases a long, contented sigh. “Should we head down to see the girls?”

Lexa exhales in turn and attempts to answer in a measured and completely unhurried manner: “Sure.”

:::

It’s just shy of six when Lincoln pulls open the front door of Dockside, allowing Lexa to walk through into the familiar establishment. Her eyes perform a practiced scan of the room, but Clarke isn’t immediately visible as she and Lincoln head straight for the half-empty bar counter.

Octavia is chatting with other customers as Lexa and Lincoln approach, but she winks at Lincoln, her mouth curving just so, mid-conversation, which has him beaming as he slides into a bar stool.

“That’s my future wife,” he stage whispers, and Lexa can’t help but smile at how ridiculous being in love with Octavia has made him.

They’d been more than halfway to the bar when Lexa had received an S.O.S from Clarke about caffeine and sudden fatigue and exaggerated pronouncements of loyalty, commitment, and sexual favors if Lexa would bring her coffee. Of course, it strictly goes against her better judgement to enable Clarke’s reliance on caffeine in unhealthy measurements.

Then again, Lexa has lost almost all ability to ever actually tell her no because being in love with Clarke has made her better judgements ridiculously feeble.

As such, she stands beside Lincoln with a small half-caf drip in a paper cup from Clarke’s favorite roaster, a generous concession without fully giving in to her girlfriend’s unredeemable habit.

“Clarke’s in the back if you want to bring that to her,” Octavia says as she approaches.

“Oh. Okay.” Lexa starts for the black swinging door of storage before Octavia calls out again.

“Sorry—not the stockroom. The other back.” She’s jutting her thumb over her shoulder when Lexa turns around, indicating the narrow corridor behind the bar counter that leads to Clarke’s office and the back entrance.

“Oh. Right. Thanks,” Lexa smiles. “I’ll be right back,” she says to Lincoln.

“I’m starting a timer on my phone,” he calls after her. “Just because I’m curious to see how long it takes you to deliver a cup of coffee.”

She just manages to stop herself from flipping him off before pushing through the door, leaving him with a meaningless scowl.

:::

Clarke looks up from whatever she’s been working on as Lexa steps into the open doorway with a smile she intends to curb by biting her lower lip.

“Hey.”

“Oh my god, I can't believe you actually brought me coffee. I love you.” Clarke says it offhand, a bit theatrically even, but Lexa’s stomach flip-flops all the same.

She enters the office with a slow stride and gently places the paper cup onto Clarke’s desk. “That’s half decaf, by the way.”

Clarke’s face falls as she eyes the beverage with sudden disdain. “Oh my god, I can’t believe we have to break up.”

“Ouch. It’s nice to see you, too.”

“Get over here.” Clarke has already snared her wrist with a widening smile, pulling at Lexa’s arm so that she is forced to lean across the desk and meet Clarke’s waiting grin. “Hi,” she almost whispers after their lips part.

“Is this how you typically break up with people? Because it’s actually pretty enjoyable,” Lexa murmurs into the space between their lips.

“Shut up,” Clarke laughs before they are kissing again, Lexa’s palms flat against the desktop while Clarke’s fingers thread into her hair.

It’s still a soft greeting and nothing obscene—two people happy to be in the same space again after a short time apart—but Lexa feels the quickening of her pulse all the same.

“Thank you for my fake coffee.”

“Clarke.”

“Lexa.”

Never before has she felt so unapologetically mocked by a single person yet utterly enamored in spite of it. Lexa pinches her lips together and looks away from Clarke’s teasing smile.

“I have to get back out there,” she announces, finally pulling back to stand at her full height. “Lincoln thinks he’s being clever by setting a timer for my return.”

Clarke stands with a laugh. “I’ll come with you. I need a break from these orders anyway.” She holds her fake coffee with one hand and finds Lexa’s fingers with the other. She kisses Lexa’s shoulder cap and regards her fondly. “I’m never getting this shirt back, am I?”

“Especially not now that we’ve broken up.”

The genuine hurt that immediately darkens Clarke’s eyes coupled with her protruding lower lip stops Lexa from moving towards the office doorway.

She stills her movements entirely as Clarke says, “I don’t want to joke about breaking up anymore.”

“It was your joke to begin with,” Lexa softly reminds her, nevertheless smoothing the pad of her thumb over Clarke’s lower lip.

“I know,” Clarke says, frowning still. “It was a stupid joke, and I don’t like to think about it.”

A soft press of her lips to Clarke’s forehead has her leaning into the touch, releasing Lexa’s fingers to curl an arm around Lexa’s waist.

“If you think you would be able to get rid of me that easily, Clarke, we might need to revisit some previous conversations about my intentions in being with you.”

“I seem to recall some very persuasive measures that we engaged in alongside those conversations,” Clarke says, her smile pressing into Lexa’s neck where she has tucked her head beneath Lexa’s chin.

Lexa hums through a smile of her own. If she didn’t know Clarke so well, it would be easy to mistake her perpetual, single-minded focus on sex as a complete lack of sentimentality.

But, Lexa isn’t fooled.

Clarke thrives on crass innuendo and well-meaning objectification (both of herself and Lexa), but she can also be openly sensitive and affectionate. Vulnerable in her need to be near Lexa—to feel safe and connected—as often as possible.

Lexa can’t say for sure if they will always be so desperate for each other’s company, if small fractions of time spent apart will continue to breed an urgency for reuniting. She has been in enough relationships to know that attachments usually fade and the needs of each person most often change over time.

Still, something tells her that when it comes to this relationship, Clarke will break the mold of every truth Lexa has previously known.

“The point is: I’m not going anywhere,” Lexa tells her, and Clarke looks up at her with a renewed smile. “Although, you’re still not getting this shirt back.”

Clarke kisses the underside of her jaw and tightens the hold she has around her waist. “You can keep all of my shirts as long as I get to keep you.”

“Deal,” Lexa answers, finally leading them out of the office.

Lincoln will roast her for having taken an exorbitant amount of time to deliver Clarke’s coffee, but having Clarke hugged against her side, Lexa finds she doesn’t exactly care.

:::

In an hour’s time Lexa has been fed no less than six times—small plates of food from the kitchen’s rotating menu like an assembly line in front of her and Lincoln—and an empty beer glass is no sooner bussed than another full one appears. As it turns out, dating a bar manager and sustaining a lifelong friendship with her business partner’s fiancé is a pretty good gig for libations and keeping well fed. By 8:00, she’s not necessarily sober, but the continuous parade of appetizers that Octavia and Clarke slide in front of Lexa and Lincoln keep her from tipping over the edge into properly drunk.

“This one is my favorite.”

“You’ve said that about the last three.”

Lincoln crunches into his charred nopales and street corn tostada as if to be sure. “Nope. This is the one.”

Lexa smiles around a second bite of her Korean short ribs and savors the balanced marinade—a perfect blend of smoky sweetness and tangy spice.

She is washing it down with a saison from Rhode Island as Octavia swings out of the kitchen and approaches their end of the bar.

“How good is that corn?”

“The whole thing is amazing,” Lincoln tells her.

Octavia swipes an avocado off his plate without hesitation. “What about the Kalbi?”

It sounds conversational, the way that Octavia, as a friend, is asking Lexa about her meal. But, in spending the past year of her life in proximal relation to her, Lexa has determined that, in some capacity, Octavia is actually always working.

“These are easily some of the best short ribs I’ve ever had.”

“Yeah,” Octavia grins. “I’m obsessed with them. Jane has been on staff for less than two months, and she’s already killing it back there.”

“Be sure to extend my compliments to the chef. Beer is incredible, too,” Lexa adds.

“What did Clarke bring you this time? The Foolproof?”

“Their farmhouse, yeah.” Lexa’s attention is drawn to the kitchen doorway again as Clarke exits carrying plates of food. She doesn’t glance in their direction as she drops the plates farther down the bar, but her smile is warm and bright, and Lexa can’t look away.

There’s a generous crowd strung along the bar counter, plus a few of the nearby tables that keep rotating with guests who stay for a drink or two before heading off into the night. Clarke is engaging with the three men who have just received their plates of food, and Lexa’s ears attune to the friendly pitch of her voice while Octavia and Lincoln momentarily hold their own conversation.

Lexa sips her saison and enjoys the way Clarke handles herself in conversation—confident, approachable, friendly, but with a distant professionalism. It’s not until she registers the distinct tone of patriarchal arrogance coming from a few of Clarke’s guests that Lexa realizes Octavia and Lincoln have also clued into the nearby exchange.

From what Lexa can gather, over the din of other surrounding patrons, the men are attempting to challenge the accuracy of Clarke’s knowledge on one of Dockside’s pours. Clearly first-time patrons, to these men, Clarke is easily mistaken as the beautiful bartender in a nice dress with a friendly demeanor who pours their pints and delivers their food. They would never suspect that she is also the unassuming curator of every beer offered within the establishment and a well-read expert in the field of craft brewing.

If she didn’t find misogynistic biases against women in male-dominated fields to be nauseatingly unforgivable, Lexa would almost feel bad for what these guys have coming to them.

“This should be good,” Lincoln mutters with a deviant smile, and Lexa flicks her gaze to find Octavia looking half-amused, half-poised for lethal intervention.

In short, Clarke absolutely eviscerates the men’s inflated egos by seamlessly rattling off a short history on the brewery in question, explaining their evolution of kettle sours and dry-hopped IPAs with thrilling precision, all while maintaining her hospitable smile. The cohort of sexist men are left silenced and stunned as Clarke moves on to tend to the rest of the bar, leaving their gaping jaws in her wake.

“What a bunch of fucking morons,” Octavia grumbles with an eye roll just before another table of guests catches her attention and she is pulled away.

“I love it when she does that,” Lexa says, smiling in Lincoln’s direction.

“It is really gratifying to watch someone’s fragile masculinity skillfully shattered,” he agrees with a satisfied smile. “I’ll never understand it, that intrinsic need to be an expert on everything, but it’s entertaining as hell to see O and Clarke flex on these random assholes who waltz in here and mistakenly try to out-beer them.”

Lexa's smile widens as she and Lincoln clink their beer glasses together. “It really is.”

:::

“One strand of lights.”

“No.”

“A single banner. A classy one.”

“No.”

“Candles. Come on, O, no one can say no to candles.”

“Watch me.” Octavia, who up until this point had been withholding eye contact, gives Clarke a pointed glare. “No.”

Lexa smiles at Clarke’s frustrated groan while sipping her glass of water. Three-and-a-half pints of beer and countless plates of food have left her feeling fully satisfied if not also ready for bed. Clarke won’t close the bar for another few hours, and though Lexa acknowledges this is the reality of their chosen professions, she also wishes to steal Clarke away and take her home for a cuddle.

“Think about Lincoln,” Clarke continues, beating her dead wedding horse, much to Octavia’s dismay. “You’re depriving him of this fanfare, this pizazz, this well-deserved—”

“Don’t drag him into this,” Octavia interjects.

Clarke’s jaw drops. “He’s literally one half of the reason we’re celebrating! And honestly, with how difficult you’re being about this whole thing, it might be more like 70/30.”

Octavia rolls her eyes and starts to walk away, busying herself with clearing empty glasses from a table whose guests have just vacated. “When you two leave, will you take her with you?”

Her voice carries across the now mostly empty bar, and Clarke scowls at Octavia from where Lexa and Lincoln sit at the far end of the counter. They often lay claim to this section of the bar during their Wednesday night visits, and it always feels like a sacred, little huddle.

“That’s a tempting offer,” Lexa answers as Octavia breezes past them to deposit the empty glasses into her bus tub behind the bar.

Her comment successfully erases the look on Clarke’s face as their eyes meet, and she watches Clarke’s frown melt into a dopey smile.

“I’m not leaving you to close by yourself. Stop being so dramatic,” Clarke admonishes, though she is still smiling as her eyes leave Lexa to look over her shoulder at Octavia.

“I’m not by myself,” Octavia grunts, hoisting her black bin of glassware and dirty plates off a low shelf. “Jane and Murph are in the back. Take the orders home and finish them there. You know the last two hours of the night are the slowest midweek. I’ll be fine.”

“Stop trying to get rid of me just because you’re throwing a fit about candles,” Clarke shouts after her even though Octavia has already pushed through into the kitchen.

Their small end of the bar counter temporarily swells with music blaring from the line cooks and back-of-house staff, a stark contrast to the lo-fi hip hop Clarke has playing on a lower volume in the main room.

“I should get home either way,” Lexa admits with a short stretch of her arms, pulling taut the muscles of her back. “You fed me too well, and now I’m sleepy.”

“You’re a grandma every night of the week—in bed before ten or cranky as hell the next day.”

Lexa furrows her brow at Clarke’s unnecessarily accurate depiction of her sleep routines, but Lincoln laughs openly while nudging her shoulder.

“This one’s never been able to burn the midnight oil. Needs that beauty rest to maintain her cheerful disposition.”

“I’m officially breaking up with both of you.”

“Hey.”

Clarke’s pout is back, the color of her eyes saturated in renewed hurt at Lexa’s bad joke. Three-and-a-half beers have also made her forgetful, apparently.

“Sorry, sorry.” She reaches for Clarke’s wrists across the glossed wood of the bar and is gently rubbing her thumbs across Clarke’s pulse points when Octavia reemerges. “Just Lincoln then.”

Lincoln offers a good-natured shrug. “That’s fair.”

“See?” Octavia eyes the affectionate gesture between Clarke and Lexa with a practiced look of exasperation. “You could be doing this loved up shit in the privacy of your own home.”

“Says the one who is about to profess her undying love and commitment publicly in front of all our closest friends,” Clarke argues.

“I feel like if you keep reminding her, she’s more likely to back out,” Lincoln muses, and Lexa wonders if he is only half kidding.

Octavia pins him with a look. “Never.”

It’s a charged moment just for them, despite the fact that Clarke and Lexa are caught in its crosshairs, Lincoln grinning as he catches Octavia’s crooked smirk.

“I really should go,” Lexa reiterates quietly, not wanting to interrupt. Her day will start early the following morning with a delivery just south of Boston, and traffic will be nauseating through Sumner Tunnel. “Are you sure you don’t—”

“Seriously, get her out of here,” Octavia interjects. “She overworks and stays late out of guilt and loyalty, and it’s entirely unnecessary.”

“Keep insisting, and I’m gonna say yes,” Clarke shoots back, almost threatening if not for her smile.

“Good. Then you can stop badgering me about fucking tea lights.” Octavia flicks the side of Clarke’s head and smacks her ass as she passes by to clear more tables, and somehow Clarke is charmed by the violent affection.

“I’ll stay and keep her company,” Lincoln offers. “You guys should take off. Enjoy the early night.” He then leans in closely to them both, his head bent in conspiracy. “And, I really do like those paper lanterns that you guys string up on the deck sometimes.”

The way Clarke’s entire countenance glows, eyes sparkling in victorious mischief, has Lexa’s smile growing in kind.

“I. Love you. You wonderful, wonderful human.” Clarke places her hands affectionately on either side of Lincoln’s face and looks as if she might actually plant a kiss between his eyebrows. “I will not let you down or betray your confidence.” Her tone is gravely solemn as if they are alluding to something far more serious than wedding decor.

“Give me a second to gather my things from the office?” she then says to Lexa, her voice shifting to that delicate timbre that turns Lexa’s beating heart to a useless puddle.

She tells her, “Take all the time you need.”

“I’ll be quick.” Clarke reaches for her fingers, giving them a quick squeeze, and disappears into the back hallway.

“Did I mention we did very well, ending up with these two?”

Lexa looks over to catch Lincoln’s giant grin and feels her own lips stretching into a smile. “I’m proud of us.”

Lincoln very nearly giggles. “Me too.”

A beat or two of amicable silence passes between them, in which time Octavia has returned behind the bar to tend to her few, straggling guests.

“What are the chances Clarke already has a shitload of decorations she’s been stockpiling for this party?” Lincoln contemplates aloud.

Lexa’s response comes without hesitation.

“Oh yeah, without question.”

:::

#a beer bud series #apu #a pleasant undoing #brewkru!

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dennou-translations · 5 years ago

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Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Chapter 6

Please feel free to message me about possible corrections. If you can, consider supporting the creators by purchasing the official releases here.

← Previous || Index || Afterword →

The Postal Company and the Auto-Memories Doll

The current times were labeled as the era of postal business flood.

Within a continent that congregated small countries, the people who operated in the mail industry competed ruthlessly against one another. Putting it very simply, the situation of postal companies throughout the continent was of stealing each other’s customers.

Clients chose their mail agency of use and requested deliveries on their own. The reasons for the choices would be fees, deliverable areas, and of course, even the postmen’s degree of courtesy was a subject of deliberation. Taking all of those into account, they would pick one postal company from somewhere.

At present, as the management structure of postal corporations was becoming devoted to carrying the side-business of amanuensis “Auto-Memories Dolls” rather than only delivering mailed items, others were unable to establish a position in the market if their work leaned towards the latter. The more the competition increased, the more obvious the differences in services would become, and, as the superior and inferior ones would grow evident, the losing side would inevitably close down their company.

Within such harsh rivalry, in a certain country named Leidenschaftlich, located in the continent’s southern coast, there was a postal agency so-called CH Postal Service had boomed its name throughout the industry. Although it was a newly introduced company that had but a few years since being founded, its reputation was exceptional. The degree of customer satisfaction was high, and there was abundance of re-users.

On a general view, there were two motives behind its good results.

The first one was that the CH Postal Service had no restrictions to its areas of delivery. Should a client desire, it would deliver to any part of the globe. Of course, fees were imposed for remote places, yet that was the first attempt in the industry of pulling such a feat. Even existing postal agencies disputing for a leading position in the industry had determined delivery areas. The CH Postal Service delivered even to regions of conflict, therefore being a great help for customers whose family members or lovers found themselves in battlegrounds. Its patrons increasing in numbers was something logical. However, succeeding in doing such a thing as though it were extremely natural was terribly difficult for ordinary companies. The CH Postal Service was in condition to go anywhere for a client’s sake, as it had assembled the personnel and system capable of making it possible – therefore, it had managed to do so.

The second reason was that there existed a top star in CH Postal Service, who had come into sight in the Auto-Memories Doll business like a comet. Seeing her walk around the city would cause people to do double takes at her looks, and hearing her voice would paint their cheeks red out of fascination. She was a perfect beauty that seemed to have come out of a mythological legend. As of late, a play that the famous dramatist Oscar had written using her image had been announced and gained popularity, making her renowned even outside of the industry as per synergy.

People probably envisioned just what type of woman she was. Mostly, their expectations were betrayed in good ways. She was a woman that surpassed the categorical components of imagination.

Her name was Violet Evergarden.

The largest trading place of the continent was a port that served as a gate from and to the sea. It was a national interest of Leidenschaftlich’s, as well as a trigger for wars. Countless other countries had attempted to invade it, seeking its abundant resources and a privileged location.

Although the city was at financial ease with the prosperity of its economy, scars of old battles remained in some places. The symbols of long military service from the past had not been etched solely in protection walls or stone-paved roads. It could be said that the fountain built in the capital Leiden during the celebration of Leidenschaftlich’s hundredth anniversary was its most well-known marking.

Consisting of a total of nine goddess statues holding water vases on their shoulders, it worked in a way that groundwater poured out them. Despite it being a gem made by a nationally employed artist, the goddesses had their necks chopped off. It remained unfixed, for the sake of not letting anyone forget Leidenschaftlich’s disgrace in authorizing the invasion of another country’s castle town.

In spite of being a major commercial nation, it was a military state. There were armed soldiers amidst the lively cityscapes even during times of peace.

The members of the CH Postal Company had such country as their home.

“Oh, what’cha doing?”

“My.”

“It has been a while.”

Under a beautiful autumn sky, a group that rarely gathered met in front of the headless goddesses’ fountain. They were two women and one man.

“If it isn’t Cattleya and V. Have you come out to welcome the great me, unable to wait for my return?”

Leaving his motorcycle parked by the roadside and heartily eating grilled chicken was a postman clad in a glass-green shirt. His slender boots of cross-shaped heels gave out a devious sex appeal. Hidden behind sandy-blond hair, his light blue eyes were provocative. His unmanly, soft facial features were not gentle. It was Benedict Blue, who worked at the CH Postal Company.

“What’re you saying? I’m gonna ask again: what’re you saying? T-There’s no way I’d come pick you up! I just went out shopping as an errand for my beloved President. Violet, say something too. To this platform shoes man. Nobody called for you.”

The one who spoke as if to smooth things over with a moody voice was a beautiful woman of gracefully wavy dark hair. She had amethyst eyes and an hourglass shape. Brimming with enough sensuality to enslave the opposite sex, her body was enveloped in a carmine dress-coat with a waist ribbon, yet was about to burst out of it. She was Cattleya Baudelaire, who also worked at the CH Postal Company.

“You two, you are being too loud out in the street.”

Reproaching the duo with a voice of silver bells was an elegantly beautiful girl dressed up like a porcelain doll. Said person had a hairband made of embroidery lace sitting on her hair as it spread out in waves and was wearing a one-piece with plenty of such lace sewn to it, along with a chiffon trench coat.

“V.”

“Violet.”

She was Violet Evergarden, the top Auto-Memories Doll of the CH Postal Company, whose blue eyes enthralled those who looked at them, as did the emerald-green brooch sitting on her chest.

Benedict and Cattleya turned toward Violet, changing the addressee of their impressions in unison.

“What’s up with you?”

“Really, Violet, you’re pretty fired-up. You’re letting your hair down? Are you on a date?”

Pressed on by the two, the Auto-Memories Doll that the CH Postal Company had pride in, Violet Evergarden, cast her gaze to the ground. “Lady Tiffany... someone from my home arranged everything, but is it that strange?” Her voice sounded slightly embarrassed.

Cattleya observed Violet with a gentle look. “It’s not strange. You’re cute enough not to lose to me. Are you going to see the major?”

“Yes. It is still early for the meeting time, so I was going to buy a book for me to bring along.”

“That’s great; you’re looking forward to it, huh! Hey, she doesn’t look weird, right, Benedict?” Cattleya rejoiced without restraint.

“Tch,” Benedict clicked his tongue.

It had truly been a long while since the three of them had last gathered. That was only natural. At the CH Postal Company, everyone worked industriously every day. There were sporadic occasions in which they would be grouped on duty, but that was only when they managed to miraculously coordinate their schedules. They were mates who had been hired by their president at about the same time, so to say.

Benedict threw away the bones of the meat he had just eaten onto the road, peeking at Violet’s face while licking off the oil remaining on his hand. “Hu~n, well, isn’t it fine? Nice work.”

Although their faces were close, Violet stared back at him with her huge orbs without bending backwards.

Benedict flatly thrust a fingertip at her forehead in-between one big eye and another. “But the one who gets to walk you around gotta be me. As your older brother part, I can’t accept my little sister part getting eaten down by an old man. I’m better. ‘Cause I’m young and cool.”

It could be said that someone who had the nerve to say such a thing so imposingly was quite a rare type even amongst humanity.

With an aspect of irritation, Cattleya interjected, “A third party is gonna be telling you this, but Mr. Gilbert is super wonderful, is an adult man and I know Violet’s head-over-heels for him, so you’re the one who’s uncalled-for here!”

“What does ‘head-over-heels’ mean?” Violet immediately reacted to the term she was unused to hearing.

“It’s like being obsessed. Didn’t you say that the major was the only one for you?”

“I did say that, indeed.” Her brows furrowed as if she were troubled, her blue eyes slightly moist. She was most likely “embarrassed”. Perhaps becoming unable to say anything else, Violet wound up turning her face away.

The feeling of affection for that awkward girl, the envy towards her happiness and the complicated emotions from having a friend taken away by a man traveled across Benedict and Cattleya’s minds. Therefore, in order to dismiss it all, the two silently decided to ball their fists, pushing and kicking Violet left and right.

“Shit. Don’t go acting cute. You’re just a battlefield maniac.��

“Really, it pisses me off. You’re as strong as a bear! But you’re adorable.”

Perhaps not feeling any pain, or perhaps trying to figure out how to deal with such a situation, she resigned quietly and accepted the unwarranted violence. As seen from the sidelines, it looked like something close to bullying, but Violet was actually the one with highest combat capacity amongst them. When the physical strength of the three was put together, that sort of thing was no more than playing around.

“Listen, don’t let him touch you carelessly, all right? This is amazing, though. You’re like a fluffy dog. Cattleya, you try touching too.”

“Hey, don’t you go carelessly touching her with those hands either! Even the insolence of getting meat juices on a maiden’s hair has a limit! Stop it!”

“It’s fine, ain’t it? It’s not like I just got outta the toilet.”

“Eh, does that mean... you never wash your hands!? Right? That’s what it is, right? No waaay! Violet, hey, come here. Benedict, don’t you get near us! It’s my turf from beyond this point! I’ll beat the hell out of you for territory violation if you come over!”

As Cattleya swung her legs, enveloped in Suède boots, to draw a line on the ground, Benedict opposed to it in a level as low as the next person, not losing to her. He picked a dead branch from the root of a roadside tree and did the same as she had. “Haah~? Then I’ll make everything beyond this point into my turf! Speaking of which, the way to your beloved president’s head office is behind me, so don’t you go back to it either!”

“Ah~, that’s unfair! It’s. Not. Fair!”

“It’s not unfair~! You’re the one who came up with it first~!”

It was a child-like action for members of society to take. Violet, the youngest one, regarded them with interest as if she were watching a dispute between animals of a new species.

That was a short-lived period of peace before an uproar occurred.

At the same moment, in the same country, within the same city, time flowed peacefully inside the head office of the CH Postal Company, nobody aware of the nightmare that would approach them a few minutes later.

The business firm was erected in an alley away from the main street, projecting itself in the very sense of the word over rows of small shops. It consisted of a spire with a light green, dome-shaped roof and a weathercock on display, a deep green roof that spread out as if to surround said spire, and outer walls made of red bricks that had been sunburned into a tasteful color. The iron plate on the arch-shaped front gate made known the name of the company with letters printed in gold.

Should one open the door, a cheerful-sounding bell would announce the arrival of a customer. Upon coming in, one would soon find the counter, which was the sector where the reception of postal items took place. The building had three floors, with the first being the reception desk, the second being the office and the spire in the third one being the president’s residence.

No matter how far it was from the main street, the building was quite expensive. Its owner – an individual referred by the members of the CH Postal Company as “President” and “Old Man” – was drinking black tea with brandy at a balcony that had an unbroken view of the city.

“I’m so brilliant that it’s scary.”

He was a lady-killer good-looking enough to display self-indulgent behavior. His age was around the thirties. He had droopy grayish blue eyes, red hair grown slightly long, a manly build, and although he was not young, he had soft facial traits that exuded sophisticated simplicity. His appearance seemed to earn the envy and jealousy from other men of the same generation as him. His leather boots shone lustrously without a single stain, polished perhaps out of obsession.

“President Hodgins!”

The one who had yelled into the room was a girl of innocent features. She was the possessor of velvety, evenly cut lavender-gray hair that stopped above her shoulders. She had large eyes, a small head and a petite body. It was still the physique of a young child, but the heterochromatic orbs from behind the glasses she wore bore a stunning suspiciousness that was mysterious even. She was a person who the word “lovely” fit perfectly.

“Please say so after you’ve finished work!”

However, her conduct had presence as the secretary of a self-centered chairman.

Hodgins retorted mildly, “Little Lux, what I need right now isn’t brutal working hours but relaxation time feeling the gentle autumn air and drinking tea.”

“Even if you say that with a nice voice, it sounds like nothing but running away from reality! Please; if you at least put the stamps, I’ll bring you as many cups of tea as you want! Tomorrow is the deadline! We have to clear up most papers today and submit to the concerned parties in lots of places tomorrow! It’s the Flying Letters all over again!”

“You’re already my Miss Secretary through and through. I’m so happy. You used to look like a scared little rabbit when you arrived here, but aren’t you a fine working lady now? This feeling that I was the one who raised you is exceptional, huh?”

“President Hodgins! Please! Take the stamp! If you hold it, I can move you to stamping it... I’ll also read out the documents to you...”

“Then, Little Lux, doesn’t it make no difference if you’re the one doing the stamping?”

“I’d do it if I could! All that’s left is the stuff that demands the president’s confirmation, so just get on with it!”

“That ordering tone with formal language coming from a teenage girl is giving me unbearable creeps... Hm, Little Lux, hey. You don’t look bad with a shirt-blouse and a long flared skirt, but why don’t you try changing your outfit? I think I’d recommend a black apron dress over a puffed sleeve shirt, black tights and red enamel shoes.”

“Please listen to what I say!” The figure that had once been worshiped as a demigoddess at the headquarters of a cultist organization was absent in Lux Sibyl – what was there instead was the figure of a half-crying subordinate attempting to convince her vain superior.

Lux had been working serious and untiringly ever since being brought over by Violet and hired into the CH Postal Company. Perhaps having incorporated a methodical personality, she was now entrusted with even the duty of president’s secretary, yet she always had a hard time with said easygoing president.

The competence that the man named Hodgins had for business was unquestionable, yet his self-amusement principles were extreme and he would not stop fooling around even when having piles of work to do. Keeping his day-by-day in check was Lux’s role. In worse times, she would have to search for him and pick him up at brothels in red-light districts.

“If you don’t put the stamps, the one who will die isn’t you, President, but myself.”

Lux was tired of it.

“No way. I’ll put the stamps. I’ll put them, I’ll put them. Don’t make such a depressed face. Little Lux, you’re too pessimistic. Also, you take everything too literally. I told you that eighty percent of the things I say are random, right? Poise yourself more at ease. Let’s enjoy everything. Even the troublesome stuff.”

“President... you seem like you’d say this even if you had a hole opened in your stomach... I’m jealous.”

“Thanks. I’m the type that grows through getting compliments.”

She had wanted to convey something that was no compliment, yet it did not turn into words as Lux wound up having her attention stolen by something else. Lux’s golden and reddish heterochromatic eyes caught a strange thing in the skies against the beautiful cityscape that was visible from the balcony.

“President Hodgins... Over there, something is...”

At the same time as she spoke, Hodgins forcefully dragged Lux’s body, held her up and jumped to the end of the room. Lux was squeezed tightly against Hodgins’s chest, not allowed to even scream or raise her voice in confusion.

A few seconds thereafter, the sound of an explosion ensued.

“Do you not hear some sort of noise?” Violet’s leveled voice eventually came between Benedict and Cattleya, who were having a scuffle fight. Her blue orbs were looking up at the sky, sighting a black object that passed by in a flash.

And it struck one of the classy buildings among the cityscape of Leiden.

“The head office is under attack!” No sooner than she said so, Violet bolted from the place. She slipped through people standing still with their mouths open, their attention taken away by the explosion sound that had reverberated through the idyllic early afternoon.

“No way, no way! Eeh?! What about the President!?”

“Get on, you idiot.”

Benedict had mounted on his bike before long. After whispering lowly, he swung a hand around Cattleya’s back, all too easily lifted her up, sat her on his knees and simultaneously turned on the engine, taking off.

“Wai—! Doing that all of a sudden is scary! It’s scaryyy!” Cattleya shouted, clinging to Benedict’s neck.

“Move! Move! Y’all are in the way!”

A young woman who was selling flower bouquets with a mobile catering fell on the spot, the horse of her carriage letting out a neigh. Ignoring the situation of the traffic in the street, Benedict rampantly chased after Violet. He gradually got closer to her figure, which had already become the size of a bean grain.

Benedict stretched out his hand. “V!”

Violet had been running at an astonishing speed, but upon hearing Benedict’s voice, she nimbly hopped onto his motorcycle. The two of them, who had a mutual understanding without the invitation of “get on”, exchanged words while paying no mind to the scandalized Cattleya.

“That sound was of Leidenschaftlich style artillery.”

“Did you see the cannonball’s firing position?”

“There is no mistake that it came flying from the west side of the city. Look, smoke is coming out of the head office’s third floor. If we suppose that it was shot from somewhere just as high, we can restrict the location, right?”

“It struck Old Man’s apartment, so there’s too many suspects.”

“How can you be so calm!? The President might’ve died!” Cattleya glared daggers at Benedict and Violet, yet the expressions that two had on were different from normal times. She quieted down without thinking.

“No way we wouldn’t be worried, right...!?” Benedict spoke even for Violet’s part.

The motorcycle that the three of them rode let out a roar while going up the slope.

Caught under a bookshelf, Hodgins was straddled over Lux with his hands so as not to squash her. Lux looked up at him, dumbfounded.

“Little Lux, you can... you can take it slow, but sneak off from under me.”

The glass of the windows had shattered and scattered all over the place. The president’s desk, which was an order-made one designed by a master craftsman, had been smashed to fragments. The carpet had turned into ember and the room was starting to envelope in flames.

“President Hodgins... I-I’m sorry!” Lux crawled out, attempting to somehow lift the shelf with her powerless arms. However, it did not even budge.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Man~, I’d been skipping push-ups lately so this is taking a toll on me... Heave-ho.”

The instant he put on strength and lifted the bookshelf all at once, he rolled away and escaped from being crushed. He was the bearer of a considerable muscle strength.

Hodgins stood up and looked around the room. The look in his eyes was no longer the earlier one of a slacker chairman.

“Sorry; you okay?” Only the gentleness in his voice was the same as always.

“Why are you apologizing, President?”

“‘Cause this was an attack aimed at me, no matter how you think of it. If anything happened to you, I wouldn’t have any excuse to give your parents.”

“I don’t have parents.”

“That’s right. Then, I wouldn’t have any excuse to give you. Now, we gotta check if the other employees are all right...”

“Anyhow, let’s go downstairs; we’ll both burn to death if we stay like this!” Making a snap decision, Lux ran to the stairs that led to the lower floor.

Planning to go down through the balcony’s emergency stairs, Hodgins desperately called out to her, “Little Lux! Wait up!”

However, before Lux flew out the door, it opened automatically. Hodgins saw a brusque arm stretching before his eyes and taking ahold of Lux. She was dragged into the darkness and her frame disappeared.

“Little Lux...?”

By the moment that Lux reappeared before Hodgins, whose lips twitched, there was as a muzzle aimed at her temple. The one who pushed her forward while holding onto her shoulder was a man clad in a completely black suit. Six other men dressed the same way revealed themselves in succession. Hodgins’s gaze gradually became grimmer.

“How do you do, Claudia Hodgins?” The man referred to Hodgins by the name that he made sure not to call himself by. It was the name his parents had come up with while convinced that he was going to be born a girl.

Breaking into a distorted smile, Hodgins replied, “You’re truly one refreshing shitface, Salvatore Ridaudo.”

Salvatore smiled sarcastically as well. His hair was fixed with balm to the point there was not a single disheveled thread. He was the possessor of wood-brown droopy eyes, thick lips and skin as pale as wax.

“So, what is it you wanna do by shooting a cannonball into my office and thrusting a gun at my secretary?”

“My, good job figuring out that it was our doing.”

“I have a rough idea of it, but can’t you tell me… Mr. President of the Salvatore Postal Company? All that comes to me is that my academic background in the Military School was below yours.”

“How modest... What are you, an up-and-coming entrepreneur whose name everyone knows in the mail business nowadays, talking about? It’s very obvious what I’m after, right? The Salvatore Postal Company and the CH Postal Company. Two agencies competing for deployment in Leidenschaftlich. The fact that the other party is a nuisance certainly applies to you too, but I’m the one who’s been in this industry for the longest time. I can’t contain my frustration. Your way of doing things is... Anyway, I want you to obediently come with us. I wish to have a talk at a quiet place. If you do that, we’ll go home without inflicting a single injury on this cute lady and the rest of the employees.”

For someone running a postal firm, he was a disturbing individual. Calling him an underground chief would be more frankly agreeable. The men in all-black under his control did not seem to be respectful individuals either.

“Think you’ll get to live in peace after doing something like this? The military police’s coming over soon.”

“Seems like you have contacts in the military, but I myself have strong connections too. The military police monitoring this area won’t move an inch. I had them promise that they’d pretend not to hear anything the whole day, no matter how much noise we make. Claudia... Excuse me; is it okay to call you by your first name?”

Hodgins gritted his teeth to the point they let out a creak. “Go ahead. It’s the name that my beloved parents gave me.”

“Then, Claudia. If we keep talking so leisurely, we’ll both scorch. I want you to come along with us on your own feet.”

“Got it, I’ll go over there. But leave my secretary here.”

At those words, Salvatore went blank. He cast his gaze at Lux, who – perhaps from too much fear – had tears naturally welling up in her eyes, and broke into a smile that was rather merciful for an enemy.

And then suddenly punched her on the cheek.

His eyes open wide, Hodgins’s expression visibly dyed itself in rage. “You...! You laid your hand on a woman!!”

A man from the back gave her support as she seemed about to fall to her knees.

Side-glancing Hodgins as he shouted angrily, Salvatore wiped off the blood on his fist onto the sleeve of one of his subordinates’ suit. “I loathe women who think things will somehow work out if they cry. Sorry.”

His voice sounded as though he had not an ounce of pangs of conscience.

By the time that the trio had arrived, the people of the neighboring shops were helping put the flames down together with the firefighters.

Seeing that, Violet whispered quietly, “It is almost as if they knew there would be fire, isn’t it?”

Indeed, just as she said, the fire department’s performance was too well-executed. Thanks to it, only the third floor of the CH Postal Company received damage.

“You three! Over here!”

As they turned around upon being called, they found uniform-clad office workers of the CH Postal Company standing outside with burns showing and in a horrible state. A middle-aged man, presumably the oldest of that group, was waving his hand.

“Anthony, everyone, you okay? What’s all this?”

Anthony, the section manager of the reception desk at the CH Postal Company, had genteel facial features. He spoke with a demeanor and manner of talking that matched said features, “Every employee who attended work as of today is fine. However... the President and his secretary Lux have been taken away.”

“No way!” Cattleya let out a cry similar to a scream.

Benedict looked at Violet. She blinked several times. Her long eyelashes swaying widely displayed “shock” amongst her scarce emotions.

Her hand reached out to her brooch and gripped it tightly. “Who... and where... is the culprit...?” she asked in a low voice, still gripping it and not letting go, “Who... and... where?”

Her tone was an absolute zero.

It was so low and cold it went to the point of making whoever listened to it hallucinate that their temperature had dropped for a second. The air about her was bizarre, further enhanced by her usual robotic aspect.

Only one person moved within that freezing atmosphere. “V,” echoed the affectionate nickname by which Benedict alone called her.

Violet turned her head to the side.

“It’s okay.” That was a tone so gentle it was unimaginable coming from Benedict. “I’ll do something about this no matter what.”

Those words were almost like the ones that a true older brother would tell his younger sister.

Violet’s eyelashes once again flapped flutteringly. “I will do it.”

“You can’t. If we’re doing something, we’ll do it all together. Your plans for later gonna be okay?”

“The plans... No problem; Major will understand. Besides, Major would probably order me to rescue President Hodgins and Lux.”

Perhaps unamused by Violet’s attitude in demonstrating unwavering trust, Benedict ruffled her hair roughly. “Ah, that so?”

Her feathery, wavy streaks expanded even more. Unlike earlier, Violet protested with a “please stop” using her normal voice. The instability that had given a glimpse of her former self as a girl soldier was concealed and everyone in the surroundings exhaled relieved sighs.

“Hey, enough; I’m gonna ask about the rest. Anthony’s troubled, ain’t he?”

Having her shin kicked, Violet finally nodded.

Anthony resumed speaking, “The perpetrator is the Salvatore Postal Company. Its president who has the looks of a vampire and his followers dressed in black did this to the office… I tried to notify the military police with a detailed report of the circumstances, but they would not listen. It seems Salvatore has enormous support. I can’t think of anything other than information manipulation.”

Meaning that Hodgins and Lux had been taken by Salvatore and their whereabouts were unknown. It would seem that the employees left behind were first and foremost concentrating themselves on digesting the situation.

“When departing, President Hodgins told us, ‘I leave the rest to you’.”

“I’m so glad! They’re okay for now, huh!” Cattleya patted her own chest and welled up with tears.

“Salvatore’s the place that dispatches those postmen with black uniforms? If I’m not wrong, their head office was in Leiden, yeah? Those guys once went claiming a boundary to delivering territories, so I beat them into a pulp. Could it be… this was my fault?”

“Eh, what? The name sounds like a tongue-twist so I can’t remember just by hearing it one time. Salva… Sal… Salfa…”

“'Salvatore’, Cattleya.”

Imitating Violet, who pronounced it slowly, Cattleya uttered it as well, “'Salvatore’, 'Salvatore’… okay. Gotta be able to say it right. They’re the ones we’re knocking off into hell, after all. Well, when does the blood festival start? Of course, we’ll settle the accounts, right? We’ll go save the president and Lux, right?”

It was a crude statement, yet the people present nodded at Cattleya’s suggestion with an aspect that bore no sense of displacement whatsoever.

“Please pummel them.”

Benedict broke into a villainous smile at Anthony’s request. “Oh. We’ll do that. Old Man will be fine even on his own but we gotta save the midget.” Benedict vigorously hit his own chest with his fist.

Anthony let out a breath of relief at that attitude. “You three, what should we do, then? Should we call over the other employees? The Salvatore Postal Company owns countless branch offices, even abroad. Is this all right?”

Violet said after raising her hand, “We shall seize them simultaneously. In the national offices, there should be a spot by the windows with nothing but the reception desk. The three of us will take it over… However, the priority is to strike the head office first. Let us suppose that the location the two were kidnapped to is where the leader is. Depending on whether the people at work recruited as combatants are available, please notify them that we are seizing our neighbor agency, the Salvatore Postal Company. Hold a transmission for the combatant employees to grasp the entirety of the situation. We will entrust the information convergence… to you, Anthony.”

“Understood, Violet.”

She was the expected of a former warrior. With that, the chain of command was made clear.

Looking at Violet, Benedict asked, “V, ain’t you kinda coming back to being a soldier?”

Violet had on the same composed expression as always, yet the things she said were uncouth.

“I am not. However, counterattack for justifiable motives is permitted even during travels. We are merely going to resolve a quarrel between fellow post offices. The third floor is the one burning, right?”

Violet had a reason for confirming that.

The trio stood in front of a thick iron door inserted unnaturally in the red brick wall at the back of the building. As Benedict squatted on the spot and dug up the ground, a small box covered in dirt appeared within not even a few minutes’ time. Inside it was a bronze key. Once he reverently brought it into the keyhole, the door greeted the visitors while ringing out a rusty sound. They took a built-in lantern and went down the stairs in the thin darkness. Soon, they arrived to their destination.

The basement illuminated by the faint light stored equipment that should not possibly be gathered in an ordinary company. They were firearms, swords, spears, axes, bows, shields and other fighting tools of all kinds. Even if that were the president’s hobby, such assortment of goods was not something an amateur could attain.

“He saw something like this coming and was getting himself ready, huh. He’s got actual self-awareness that people have a grudge against him,” Benedict said as if in admiration.

“Ah~! President got the tonfa that I said I wanted! The whip too!”

“One fist’s more than enough for you, ain’t it? Don’t go taking any more dangerous weapons other than that. V, what’cha picking? We got this opportunity so I’m gonna take the ones I’ve never used.”

“I...” Looking around the hidden weapons of the CH Postal Company, Violet reached a hand out to something wrapped in a tattered rag set against the farthest wall. “I have decided that this will be my weapon. Benedict, Cattleya.” Violet raised the object that was as tall as her with hand movements that did not allow one to perceive its weight. “Let’s go as discreetly as possible.”

The three stared at each other in silence for a moment.

“Impossible, ain’t it? I’m pissed.”

“Impossible, isn’t it? With this group, that is.”

“So that is really the case.”

As the result of a discussion, they arrived at the conclusion that leaving the enemies half-dead without killing anyone was passable.

Salvatore Rinaudo stared down at Claudia Hodgins. The person he detested was currently on an imported bear leather carpet of his personal choice, feeble and with wrists tied.

They were in a room encircled with black furnishings. The fact that said room was decorated with the personality of its owner was apparent one way or another. There were portraits of himself and bookshelves with double glass doors that did not seem to be opened often. There were also butterfly specimens and vases filled to the brim with fresh white flowers. Quiet violin music was playing from a gramophone, but it did not relieve the restless atmosphere in the slightest. Having her cheek punched and swelled, Lux Sibyl was seated on a chair, but one of Salvatore’s underlings had a gun thrust at her head.

Lux was constantly concerned about the outdoors. From the balcony, she could see Hodgins’s office at just the same height in the far distance. Black smoke rising from it, the structure of the CH Postal Company’s headquarters and of that building were awfully similar.

There was one more thing to note about the balcony. It was the artillery that seemed unlikely to have been placed there as an antique.

“Shall I tell you the reason why I despise you?” He stretched his arm as though to embrace Lux, caressing her, who had her right cheek swollen, almost as though soothing a pet cat.

As the cheek that had been hit still throbbed, Lux shuddered as if in pain upon the touch.

“Above all, it’s you yourself. You were born to a well-off merchant family, and used to belong to Leidenschaftlich’s army. Even though you were promoted up to the rank of major, you quit the military immediately after the Great War ended and founded a post office next, succeeding splendidly at it. People like that do exist, huh? The kind that can carry out anything just fine no matter what they do. In most cases, they stomp over others’ efforts with the sole of their shoes. And with a nonchalant face, to boot. I may have all this, but I’m one of the people who face hardships, so I detest those like you.”

“If me being superior is a sin, then go complain to God.”

“My second reason for hating you is that you rebel against the principles and rules that our predecessors established. ‘The CH Postal Company delivers to anywhere’? You make me sick.”

Hodgins shot Salvatore’s hand a blazing glare. “High quality at a low price for the costumers... That’s the basics of business, isn’t it?”

“Won’t you just crush those who can’t do the same if you turn this into a standard?”

“You get tripped up because you sit on your hands like that. Y’know, I just happened to think back when I was a soldier that a post office like this would be great and am simply making it into a reality. Letters that can be sent to any sort of battlefield. Postmen who can deliver them. Auto-Memories Dolls who can come to you if you so wish, even if you live at the heart of a sea of trees. What’s so bad about doing something I like with my own money?”

“There are still other bad things... What’s that building? Isn’t it almost like claiming that you’re going to replace the Salvatore Postal Company? The fact that only the weather face stands high up is also irritating.”

Salvatore’s hand moved from her cheek to her silver hair, which emitted a glossy luster.

“Don’t touch my secretary... Yeah, that’s right, I declared war on you. I’ve known you before getting into the industry. You’re all over the country I protected, doing stuff that doesn’t favor it.”

“What, for example?”

A bundle of hair picked by Salvatore’s fingers flowed in-between them, producing a smooth sound.

“The fact that you’ve been selling weapons behind the face of post office... You were selling national weaponry abroad, weren’t you?”

“We’re a postal company that has gentleness and courtesy as our selling points, so we do deliver anything that people request. However, I don’t recall delivering anything to the North.”

“That’s not the issue. Even if you didn’t sell anything to them when battles were going on, it takes just a bit of thinking to figure that this kind of stuff makes rounds, right? It was so unbearably weird... How come the enemy had weapons made in Leidenschaftlich? How come my comrades were getting shot by the enemy with them and dying...? I finally got to investigate that mystery after the war.”

Lux’s had her hair forcefully pulled and her neck bent backwards. Her scarf was taken off, her collarbone peeking from underneath her blouse.

Salvatore took the gun from his underling and pointed it at her chest. “If you know this much, you also know that part of my proceedings went to the military, don’t you? It’s not something that I alone wished for. Some people from your country, which you’d devoted your life to, merely wanted to increase their retirement pay a little. Isn’t that a commonplace story? Can’t you drop the moralist act? It disgusts me.”

“I’m no moralist—hey... how many times do I have to tell you not to touch...”

“Claudia, it’s not like you have a respectable life style either, is it? You wagered your whole fortune on war gambles and earned a large sum, wasn’t that it? Funds gathered from gambling are a hotbed for underground organizations and black market groups. With those funds, they sell off weapons, drugs and abused women and children. Even if you’re on the side that just milked it out, from the moment you placed a bet, you also made rounds and became someone’s assailant.”

“That’s why I said... I’m no moralist! I did all of it because I wanted to. You and I are both pitch-black at heart. But y’know, my secretary over there is a respectable girl. Didn’t you hear when I told you not to touch my secretary?! If you get anxious unless you’re touching something, just hit me or whatever!”

Perhaps because such statements rubbed him the wrong way, Salvatore did as Hodgins proposed, leaving Lux and kicking Hodgins’s face with his shin. Crimson hair swaying, Hodgins collapsed onto the floor.

Regardless, he grinned. “Thanks; should I take my clothes off while we’re at it? It’d get you excited, right?”

Salvatore grabbed Hodgins’s collar with rage. “How filthy. Your company is your human nature itself. I’m a victim. I want you to give me back the clients, routes and everything that you’ve stolen from me. I think being a soldier suited you better than being a businessman. Lying on the ground like this is fitting of you. Why... I’m just going to have you write your name on a document. Promise not to trespass my routes... It’s hard to do stuff with you loitering around. Lots of stuff, you see.” He let go abruptly, Hodgins’s face banging onto the floor.

“President!” Lux’s tear-mixed voice leaked.

Hodgins immediately raised his head and smiled at Lux. He went as far as winking at her.

Salvatore harshly told his underling to call over the official scrivener who would bear witness to their contract. He most likely intended to crush Hodgins’s post office through leaving behind a legal document with unequal contents.

“Tepid; you’re tepid.” Hodgins’s tongue licked off the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. “Compared to back in the battlefields, you really are dull...” As he coughed curt and subtly, his voice reached Salvatore. “My company isn’t just mine.” Hodgins looked out the window. He checked if something was coming and waited for it.

“Salvatore Postal Company identified ahead,” Violet whispered.

Benedict was driving his motorcycle, Cattleya behind him. Holding onto Cattleya’s shoulders, Violet was standing on the edge of the passenger seat. Running through the cityscape in the early afternoon, the motorcycle carried not only three people but also uncovered armament.

“Hey~, there’s a huge tacky cannon in the balcony~.”

“All~ right, I was thinking about forcing our way through the front gate but change of plans. V, go off on that balcony,” Benedict said with a lightheartedness that one would invite another to go shopping with.

“Understood. Cattleya, please give me support.” Violet took into her hands a thick, long cylindrical object that had been placed on the motorcycle’s luggage carrier. It was something that could be called both a rifle and a rocket launcher. She rested it on her shoulder atop the running vehicle and determined her target.

Once Cattleya clung to her legs as to secure her body, Violet shot without mercy. Explosion sounds echoed throughout the city of Leiden for the second time that day.

“Impact confirmed.”

Pigeons fled into the sky, the townspeople darting their eyes about in search for the source of the noise. Meanwhile, the motorcycle that the trio was riding on gradually drew closer to the Salvatore head office.

“Sca~ry! But ama~zing! I also wanna shoot tha~t!” Cattleya shouted in joy upon seeing the balcony destructed.

“Won’t let ya no matter what.”

“You cannot no matter what.”

Benedict and Violet shook their heads in sync. Both comprehended that it would be dangerous to let such a naïve woman hold onto firearm.

“What’s with that~?! I also wanna go wild big time~! Isn’t it okay?!”

“Then, let Cattleya be the first to charge in. Please be contented with that.”

“What’re you deciding on your own? The first at anything’s gotta be me.”

“You follow me from behind. ‘Cause the one who’ll save our captive princess of a president is going to be me. A~hn, wait for me, President! Where are you!?”

“You... As if such a huge dude could be a princess. What kinda princess is that?”

“If you were as tall as the President, you wouldn’t have to wear those heeled shoes, huh.”

“You’re wrong! That’s not why I wear them! It’s because they’re cool! You... Imma make you cry later! I’m dropping by your place today, so get ready for it!”

“Yo... Yo-Yo... You idiot! What’re you saying in front of Violet?!”

Silently listening to the exchange between the two, Violet slowly took from the luggage carrier the handle of the weapon jutting out of the tattered cloth. “Then, I shall take this opportunity and go.”

They had no idea what opportunity she was taking, yet Violet nimbly jumped midair after saying nothing but that. As she landed on the ground, the motorcycle also stopped right in front of the head office with good timing upon scoring an ostentatious drift.

“Here I go, Major.”

The one taken into Violet’s blue eyes was the Salvatore Postal Company – a building that looked exactly like the CH Postal Company. Although it was a weekday, a “closed” sign hung on the door and five postmen clad in black frock coats stood by the entrance smoking cigarettes.

The stunning woman, the man mounted on a motorcycle and the beauty behind him appeared before their eyes. Ashes fell down in lieu of their surprise at the mystery trio.

“Wh-Who’re you?!”

While the men froze on the spot at her exposed unpainted face and moonlight-colored hair, Violet swiftly tore off the tattered cloth wrapped around the weapon in her hands. A battle-axe of a size unfit for swinging around in a city road revealed itself.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am an Auto-Memories Doll from the CH Postal Company; my name is Violet Evergarden.”

The name of the battle-axe wielded by that woman as ominously beautiful as a witch was Witchcraft. It had a silver blade, and the red rain that it dyed itself in from the number of people it had killed was a manifestation of its ill-omened existence.

“Apologies for you are in the middle of work, but could you allow us upstairs? Ever since our company’s president and secretary disappeared into your agency, we have not known of their whereabouts.”

As she held onto it, illuminated by the afternoon sunlight, her frame gave off quite a sense of misplacement.

“If you will not listen to our request, we shall exercise brute force based on the guiding precepts of our company.”

But as she wielded it, her figure looked appropriate. Rather, it was the contrary.

Raising the gigantic battle-axe blithely, Violet pointed the blade at the men. Instead of opening their mouths, the men took pistols out of their coats and pants and aimed them at Violet.

“The guys from the CH Postal Company are here! Don’t let them pass no matter what!”

“Violet!” Cattleya’s scream reverberated through the city roads.

However, the beautiful Auto-Memories Doll moved at the same time as the opponents readied themselves, dealing a preemptive strike in the blink of an eye. “Negotiations broken.”

A single blow from the battle-axe brushed away the postmen. It was an attack that did not cut them and merely struck their vitals using blunt weapon essentials, yet it caused three of the men to hit their heads against the outer wall of their company and collapse.

The remaining two men, who had dodged the appearance and disappearance of the axe, frantically aimed at Violet and pulled the triggers. Without any change in her facial expression, Violet twisted the battle-axe around and repelled the bullets with its blade. Switching hands, she pointed the tip of the handle at the opponents. It produced a ringing noise.

“Please forgive my rudeness.”

The flower bud ornament decorating the tip of the handle flew out together with a long chain. It knocked the two men’s pistols off their hands. She did not give the men, who held their hands down due to the collision, any opening to straighten their postures. This time, Violet rammed the battle-axe’s arm against the surface of the building’s wall and anchored it. While extending the chain and spinning midair, she dealt a flying kick to the face of one of them, made his face into her stepping stone and roundhouse-kicked the man next to him. There was no hesitation or mercy in her series of actions.

“Bu-But I was supposed to be the first one!”

“That was me!”

Indignant, Cattleya took a sack fastened to the luggage carrier, which contained her weapons. After thorough indecision between the tonfa, whip and other armory, the one she had chosen were iron knuckles.

Before anyone noticed, Benedict’s hands were gripping two pistols. He disabled the safety catch with practiced hand movements. “V! Don’t get too serious! If you’re angry, I can get angry for you!”

As if the people inside the Salvatore Postal Company had foreseen that someone would come raid it, postmen peeked out from the windows of the floors above with rifles in position. Bullets from Benedict’s pistols pierced their arms as he spoke, creating a rain of blood splashes.

“If this is the emotion called wrath, I want to rid myself of it quickly. Cattleya.” Violet pointed with her finger at the rocket launcher that had no more remaining ammo to Cattleya, who had put on her iron knuckles.

Agilely grabbing its handle with one hand, Cattleya threw it with heightened rotation speed after drawing it back once with much vigor. “One, two, the~re!”

Together with her adorable shout, the rocket launcher struck the postmen who had turned up in the upstairs floor, breaking through the window glass. Its destructive power was the same as a bullet shell.

The one who had flung it jumped up and down on the spot as if delighted. “Kyah~! I hit them~!”

It was not a deed that an average person, let alone a young woman, could normally manage. She was the possessor of tremendously strong arms.

“As expected of the Stupid Woman – or more like the Stupidly Strong Woman.”

“Shut up, Platform Shoes Man.”

“Ah, you on?”

“What, are you?”

The ringing of the chain on Violet’s battle-axe Witchcraft drowned out the duo’s little quarrel. One of the men screamed and threw himself out the window, falling onto a flowerbed in front of the company.

“Benedict, Cattleya. By the looks of it, the President and Lux are unmistakably inside this building. President Hodgins told me that he imitated Salvatore’s agency when our company’s office was under construction. If that is the case, then the highest position is probably the uppermost floor – the third floor. I am counting on you to follow the procedures.”

The two nodded in reply to Violet’s words.

“Let’s kick their asses at once and go celebrate.”

“We’re bothering the neighbors, after all.”

Before anyone realized, the city had gone quiet.

The Salvatore Postal Company was located in a completely ordinary shopping street in the city of Leiden. However, the passersby had fled within a few minutes, and the shopkeepers of the nearby buildings, as well as the buildings next to those, had closed their shops’ windows – the so-called display windows – and pulled down the iron shutters.

The fast action stemmed from their understanding that the city had become involved in the maelstrom of a fight. It was a particularity of citizens from a country that had long been shutting off invaders ever since its foundation. The people were silently waiting for the conflict to end.

“Well, then, let’s go in.” Violet’s figure as she gave the command with a clear voice was different from usual.

Inside the chairman’s room at the top floor of the Salvatore Postal Company, the scenery visible from the balcony – an autumn sky where cirrocumulus clouds drifted high up and Leiden’s cityscape – had looked like it was inserted in a picture frame. Yet such beauty was something of a few seconds before, and now the artillery enshrined in it had received great damage from a sudden explosion attack, smoke rising from it.

Once ornamented with delicate sculptures, the rails were crumbling, and the balcony was in a state where one could fall straight to the ground if they put a foot on it. If the artillery were loaded with ammo, it was most likely not the only thing that would have been destroyed.

In that situation of settled chaos, Salvatore Rinaudo’s pale face went even paler and his mouth fell open as he spaced out, while Claudia Hodgins bit the inside of his cheeks to kill off his own laughter and trembled in opposition.

“What have they done?”

“Ahah—AHAHAHAHAH! Aah, I can’t anymore! Can’t hold back! This is the best!” Hodgins convulsed with laughter upon looking at Salvatore’s face. “What you so surprised about, Salvatore? Isn’t that what you did to us? Well, but... you wouldn’t think we’d do the exact same thing as you, huh! There’s no helping it! Ahahahah!”

Even Lux, who had all along been shaking with a darkened face, lit up with a sparkle of hope and laughed a little.

“Is this the work of you people from the CH Postal Company?”

“Who else is there? Our corporate philosophy is ‘an eye for an eye’.” Hodgins was in such a good mood that he seemed like he could break into song right then.

A few of Salvatore’s underlings went down to the floors below. Gunshots and screams soon echoed again. The fact that the screams had come from Salvatore’s subordinates increased his anxiety and impatience.

“They’re doing this even though you might be injured... What kind of training do you use on them?”

“Basically a principle of liberalism. Most of the personnel I gathered back when I was building my company happen to be guys with nowhere to go that I coaxed and took in... Don’t know if my preferences are biased, but it turned out that lots of them were absurdly strong fellows. The ones who’re here right now are definitely two of the Auto-Memories Dolls that were off-duty and... probably a postman that was scheduled to return to town today. They’re elite of the finest kind even among us. Salvatore, since it’s you, weren’t you supposed to investigate me through and through?”

“Your company’s employees are former soldiers and mercenaries, right? If that’s the case, so are our postmen...”

“They aren’t just former soldiers and mercenaries. Benedict is an ex-mercenary who had the nickname of ‘Battle-Hungry Freak’ in another continent. Cattleya was a boxer. She has arms so strong that no one can beat her by using force. And that beautiful girl whose name you can even say everyone knows in the Auto-Memories Doll business... my adorable Little Violet, used to be Leidenschaftlich’s most powerful female soldier. It’s in the past, though.” Hodgins smiled at Lux. “By the way, my secretary is a former demigoddess.”

“‘Leidenschaftlich’s most powerful female soldier’?”

“Didn’t your patrons tell you anything? Well, she was treated as a secret in a way, so it isn’t impossible for civilians not to know about her. The military went as far as creating a troop just for her and made her work for them, but they never gave her recognition or ranks. She didn’t have a surname back then and it seems people just called her ‘Violet’. My friend found and raised her... She was the leading figure of the Great War in the shadows.”

Salvatore reminisced to the photos of Hodgins’s employees whom he had made his underlings investigate. One that had been engraved in his mind remarkably vividly was a beautiful woman. She was a girl of exquisite, suave facial features. Even if one declared her to have been the strongest female soldier, nobody could believe it right away.

“How did you make a woman like that yours?!”

“She’s not mine.” Hodgins smirked defiantly. “And she doesn’t belong to the military anymore either. From the very start, she... Let’s stop here; telling this story to you is a waste.”

The battle’s tune gradually grew closer to the top floor. By the looks of it, the fuss was escalating to a direction where even angry yelling was ensuing. It seemed the owner of the voice was a young woman. Even amidst gunshots, the conversation between those two people did not cut short.

Hodgins’s smirk deepened, Salvatore’s face becoming grim.

“You guys, give polite greetings when coming in.”

Salvatore’s underlings readied their guns all at once. The tension reached its peak, everyone inside the room paying attention to the door. However, it was time.

“Lux, please cover your eyes,” a beautiful voice that did not match such a place, which had converted into a battlefield, could be heard from behind the staff members.

A black lump jumped from the balcony. It looked like a beast at first. A stunning and terrifying beast that moved its limbs gracefully and trampled over its enemies.

No matter how much the “hunters” who had taken notice of the beast’s existence made bullets rain on it, its feet did not halt by a single inch as it bared its fangs. It steadfastly ascertained the battlefield even as it danced in the air, wielding its weapon with astonishing precision, bringing everyone to the ground.

“A-Aaaah!!”

The arm released from the battle-axe pierced and gouged the shoulder of the man who had been thrusting a gun at Lux. The beast swung the battle-axe and stationed Hodgins and Lux to behind itself.

Salvatore took a few steps back, and exactly two factions stood in position separated at his right and left sides.

“Major Hodgins, we apologize for the wait.”

“I’m always telling you that it’s ‘President’, aren’t I, Little Violet?”

The beast – rather, the woman – shot a cold glance at the one that she perceived as the enemy.

“You—What are you?” Salvatore vented his confusion at the sudden intruder who held onto the completely red battle-axe.

She had white and smooth skin like that of porcelain dolls. Her blue eyes were as glass balls. Her hair of gold seemed to waft with a sweet fragrance. The girl was beautiful to a rare extent, but that was not the only thing that made one’s eyes widen at her.

A living legend that Salvatore did not know was standing there.

“Violet.”

The loveliness he had seen in the picture was concealed by a shadow, a turbulent atmosphere similar to madness surrounding her instead. An air of lethargic strategizing as to which of them would move first flowed by, but the stagnancy soon shattered.

“PRESIDENT———! LUX——!”

“OLD MAN!”

Callings could be heard in unison from outside the room. The massive door was then broken through as if it were as thin a paper sheet. The one who stepped onto the door as it collapsed with a tremor and entered the room while holding by the collar an enemy that she had defeated with her silver iron knuckles was Cattleya.

“Aa~hn! You two~! Found yoou!” She tossed the prey that she had nearly killed toward Salvatore and his group. Being able to fling a human being as if they were an object meant her arms were simply that great as blunt weapons.

Following her, a gun barrel appeared first, and after bullet sounds ensued, Benedict revealed himself. It was a shot meant for delivering the finishing blow to Cattleya’s offensive.

Shooting the legs of all the men in black except Salvatore, Benedict clicked his tongue at the gruesome scene inside the room. “What’s this? Hasn’t V eaten out most of them?” Together with a sigh, he threw away the gun he had been holding, taking out another one. “Old Man~, we’ve left only this important-looking old dude~.”

“Lux! Violet is protecting you, right? President! You’re tied up!” Cattleya ran towards Hodgins, who lay on the floor. Without cutting them with a knife, she ripped off the ropes that had been restricting him using the iron knuckles and embraced him boldly.

Hodgins patted her back with taps and hugged her lightly. “Sorry, Cattleya. Didn’t my adorable young lady get hurt?”

“I didn’t!”

“Atta girl.” Hodgins left a kiss on Cattleya’s forehead with a pop.

Cattleya’s cheeks flushed red and she turned her back to him looking embarrassed, stamping her feet onto her happiness on the spot.

Benedict tore Cattleya away from Hodgins and stood between them. Contrary to being angry, he aggressively hit Hodgins from face to torso, confirming that the latter was alive.

“Ouch, ouch, what’s this? A new way of expressing love?”

“You’re fine, huh, Captive Princess?”

“You were worried about me, Darling?” Hodgins merely replied with frivolous talk to Benedict’s cynicism, looking delighted.

Briefly biting his lip, Benedict faced the ground. Hodgins had a feeling that the eyes Benedict had directed at him before casting them downward were moist, and was inwardly surprised.

——Huh, could it be he really was worried?

“Hey, Darling. Benedict.”

His sandy-blond hair rubbed into a mess, Benedict finally resisted energetically as if to say, “Quit it”. Nothing that resembled tears could be seen in his eyes anymore.

“Who’s that ‘Darling’, Old Man...?!”

“Could it be you were pretty worried about me?”

He was fully convinced that Benedict would deny it.

“I was. Don’t make me.” Yet the latter directed his sky-blue eyes straight at him and said, “I was hella worried. Don’t ever make me worry again no matter what!”

As it was much too blunt, after Hodgins was taken aback, his face slowly turned red. He had anticipated they would come save him, but right now was his first time learning he was cherished to that extent.

“Ah... that so? S-Sorry, okay?”

“Damn... Don’t go getting kidnapped when you’ve got that huge body! Is Captive Princess #2 all good?”

“Fairly. Little Lux needs first-aid...!”

Violet undid Lux’s binding. The latter’s body, which had been trembling in fear, and the sound of her heartbeats, which had grown noisy, were regaining their calm.

“Thank you, Violet.” Enduring the pain in her cheek, Lux smiled at the friend who had come for her rescue. “I thought you were some noble prince.”

Violet furrowed her eyebrows as if troubled. She then resentfully held Lux’s hands and helped her up. “My apologies for not being able to protect you. But I will not let you go through terrifying times anymore.” Just like a knight, she made Lux retreat to behind her.

Albeit gripping his gun, Salvatore remained unable to fire a single shot at the mere three people who had taken control of his company. As he shifted his gaze to the side, he could see his underlings collapsed and moaning in the open corridor. “There was supposed to be... fifty of them,” once he opened his mouth, his voice shook.

“Ah? Your minions? Even if the numbers are big, it’s no use if the quality sucks. Actually, were there that many of them? I was counting, but... Stupid Woman, how many did you take down?”

“Stupid Benedict! Erm... ten. I probably beat up about ten people.”

“I got twenty. The rest was V, huh?”

“I simply came here by climbing the outer walls, so other than the beginning and now...”

“Didn’t anyone run away? The math ain’t adding up.”

They were chatting carefreely, yet the contents of the conversation were the number of people they had defeated. In addition, there was an overwhelming difference in combat power, for they were unharmed and not even their clothes had scratches. That was also a difference in corporation power.

Biting his lip as if in frustration, Salvatore barked at Hodgins, “They came late, and that’s why you’ve lost! I already had you write the contract! The official scrivener went to submit the contract we exchanged to the government office so that it’d serve as a demonstration of formal legitimacy. It’s probably already been accepted... Take your leave as you please. But I’m billing you for the internal damage caused by your subordinates and the injuries they inflicted on mine!”

Salvatore had intended to wreak both psychological and bodily pain on Hodgins for a while, instilling terror on him and making him lose the will to fight back, but now he had given up on it. What he desired most – the unequal contract – was in a state of legal effectiveness. As long as he had it, regardless of what anyone could say, the fact that Salvatore had the advantage would not change.

“Salvatore Rinaudo. What’re you on about?” However, Hodgins had a facial expression that denounced he was helplessly puzzled.

“As I said, your company can no longer enter our routes...”

“So?”

“No matter how much brute force we used, that’s nothing in the face of a validated official document!”

“Again... so what? The papers were indeed filed. Seems like they also were submitted before help came. What of it?” Claudia Hodgins, president of the CH Postal Company and former major from Leidenschaftlich’s army, generally had an easygoing personality, as well as a cheerful and frivolous attitude. However, he was now glaring at Salvatore without breaking into a smile, letting a glint shine sharply in his eyes. “Isn’t it a matter that’ll be solved if we crush down your company?” He rolled up his shirt’s sleeves and took off a wristwatch that one could tell was a high-grade product. Next, he squeezed the strap with his fingers so that the watch’s case would be on his knuckles.

Anybody who was used to fighting knew. If one was battling without a weapon, the object called wristwatch was an overly useful thing.

“Salvatore, if only you hadn’t hit Lux, I wouldn’t be this angry.”

Salvatore fired at Hodgins when the latter swung up his hand, yet it did not even graze him. Oddly enough, the bullet that had failed to kill a person shot through the middle of the forehead of Salvatore’s portrait sitting inside the room.

“S-Sto...” The word that Salvatore uttered were the end of it.

The fist swung by a 194cm-tall man who weighted 85kg struck into Salvatore’s face with a wind-cutting sound. As his nose was broken without mercy, Salvatore shed a large amount of blood. A few of his teeth tumbled onto the high-quality carpet as well. He had convulsions for a moment, but eventually became completely motionless.

“Did you kill him?”

At Benedict’s question, Hodgins put his ear against Salvatore’s chest, shaking his head after simply checking the other’s heartbeat. “He’s alive. Let’s leave him be.” By the instant he turned around, Hodgins had gone back to his usual self. “Everyone, you did well. I’m so happy; my employees sure are the best. And I’m also the best for having chosen you!” Hodgins sang praises gesturing exaggeratedly, embracing the employees who had come for his aid all at once. He then came closer to Lux’s side, planting a kiss on the cheek that had not been punched. “I’ve made you go through a lot, huh. I’m really sorry, Little Lux.”

“No, I’m the president’s secretary, after all.”

Seeing as she did not appear too bashful, that sort of kiss was likely not a rare action. As the thread of tension broke, Lux crumbled and shed large tears. Hodgins frantically apologized again.

“That’s not it... I’m frustrated... It’d be great if I were like everyone else, and also had strength to protect the president. If I hadn’t been taken hostage, things wouldn’t have turned out like...”

Cattleya gently caressed Lux’s arching back as she was unable to stop crying. “What’re you saying? Lux, you have it good exactly because you’re a normal fragile girl. Ah, but it’s not like I’m not normal either. I’m strong and pretty, but I’m a super normal girl...”

“Cattleya, what you say is inconsistent.” Violet handed Lux a silk handkerchief.

Perhaps due to their heights being about the same, despite their faces not resembling one another and their body types being different, the figure of the tree as they nestled close to each other strangely made them look like sisters.

“Seeing girls huddling together is kinda nice, right, Benedict?”

“Old Man, just hurry and do something about this place.”

“Should we huddle too? Shall we?”

“Don’t play around and give the instructions!”

As Benedict dealt him a strong lateral kick to the rear, Hodgins ceased joking. “Eeh~, then, all dismissed...! That’s what I’d like to do but I have a request. Anyone who doesn’t have any plans for later, please help me destroy Salvatore’s company!”

“He~y, Old Man.”

“What is it, Mr. Benedict?”

“You haven’t checked things out so you don’t know what’s been made of it, but we left the international offices to the rest of the fighter staff. The guys who stayed at the main office contacted them. Since it’s those fellows... they’ll take them out without worries.”

“Amazing! But we don’t have fighter staff! It’s not like I hired you with that intention! Well, since there have to be people who can go into battlefields, I didn’t not have that intention, but...”

“From the very start, that was our purpose, President Hodgins. So that there will not be such happenings after this, we believed that laying waste to everything and thoroughly annihilating them was a good plan.”

“Scary, scary. Your expression is getting scary too, Little Violet. Smile! It’s ruining your cute face!”

“President~! I want you to buy me a new choker after we’re done. Look~! The pearls on it got torn off... It was my favorite too.”

“Okay, Cattleya. Be it chokers, clothes or anything, this uncle will buy it for you!”

“Hum... President. What should I do?” the non-fighting staff member Lux tightly clutched her skirt, looking nervous.

“Little Lux, let’s go back to the head office. I’ll have you be treated there too. It’s all right; everyone in the head office contacted the other employees, so there should be people gathering there. It’s safer than you coming with us. Benedict, take Little Lux to the head office, and then regroup.”

“Roger; leave some for me to mess with too.”

“We aren’t sharing cake slices... Now, Little Violet and Cattleya are going with me to crush the branch offices just like this. Let’s decide on the rules for one. No hitting girls. Hitting bastards is fine.”

“Understood.”

“‘Ka~y.”

The members of the CH Postal Company continued their strategy meeting without paying mind to the people that they had defeated lying on the floor. When they were done at last, they exited the building while making so that those of Salvatore’s postmen who had stood up once again would be beyond recovery.

Lighting a cigarette, Hodgins started walking with it in his mouth, and everyone followed him as well.

On that day, within Leidenschaftlich, gunshots echoed throughout several areas of the capital Leiden, yet no one attempted to keep them under control. Additionally, the military police did not make a move regardless of how many reports it received.

The nocturnal darkness deepened late into the night.

The lights were brightly lit in a bar at the corner of a business district. “Fully booked for the day,” said the clumsy letters on a paper pinned to the menu board in front of the shop. The figure of a seductive female dancer was drawn on said board. By the looks of it, that was a place where people enjoyed shows along with their meals.

The voices of people laughing pleasantly and lively music could be heard leaking from inside the bar. It seemed to be the feast of some company. The men and women were at a one-one ratio. Their ages varied and all of them differed in skin, hair and eye colors.

Even amongst them, there was an attention-catching few.

A young man was displaying splendid steps on a table with heeled boots that looked like womenswear. The dancers swayed their bodies together with him and danced purely as they pleased.

On another table, a beautiful woman was smiling while arm-wrestling with a man of fiendish facial features and plentiful muscles. Seeing as she twisted his arm in a matter of seconds, it could be that he let her win on purpose. However, the man who had lost rubbed his seemingly hurt arm with a strangely believable face.

A silver-haired young girl with a big gauze on her cheek was playing a card game with a blonde person of terribly tattered appearance. It was most likely poker. She looked troubled for not being able to read the other’s expression. While everyone else was emptying bottles of alcohol, only the two of them were making cups of tea into their nighttime company. Each was fixated with their own victory, playing in earnest.

“Ah~! I won~! I won enough to buy a kinda nice pair of shoes! Ah, Lux, aren’t those winning cards?”

“Women who can dance sure are great. V, you suck at playing this, don’t you?”

Benedict, who had had enough of dancing, and Cattleya, who had grown tired of arm wresting, came to sit at the peaceful table as if to intrude on it.

Lux put the cards that she had been hiding up to her lips on the table. “Want to quit poker, Violet?”

“That is right. The cards in our hands have been busted by a third party, after all.”

They did not have the will to get angry. If anything, Lux was so happy for being able to return to that trifling daily life with her companions that she wound up laughing. Perhaps due to the spot where she had been hit aching when she laughed, she arched her back with an “ow, ow, ow”.

“Are you okay? Is it not better for you to rest already...?”

“Yu~p, but I think it’s safer to be with everyone for the day... President Hodgins is here too so I can’t go home.”

Cattleya quickly reacted and looked at Lux’s direction with momentum. “What do you mean?”

“We’ve decided that I’ll be with the President today. See, it’s because the President’s home was in the company’s top floor. We have nowhere to sleep tonight, right? I also had that experience with being kidnapped... He was worried and got me a room at a hotel in the city. It seems President Hodgins will also be staying in it for a while. Until this mess is over, I’ll also be working from there. We’re going together today, so I have to wait for him.”

While Violet replied agreeably with a, “That is reassuring”, Cattleya became beet-red. One could tell from her face what she was imagining. She grabbed Lux’s arm and shook her violently. “You! Do you get what you’re saying?”

“E-Eeh? Our rooms are separated, y’know?”

“Cattleya, Lux is injured.”

“Not a chance. Dunno how many years it’ll last, but not even he is that shameless.”

“Hey! Don’t meddle into a girls’ talk!”

“Ah, you’ve said it. Then don’t barge into when I’m talking with the Old Man no matter what.”

Since another fight had decidedly began, as an accustomed form of coping, Violet and Lux left the two and started their conversation afresh.

“Speaking of which... Violet, are you okay? You’re dressed pretty cutely today... Could it be you were going to meet up with that person... with Mr. Major?”

The moment she received such question was exactly when Violet’s gaze had fixed on the bar’s entrance. “I am fine.”

Someone was heading her way.

Perhaps due to having come in a hurry, said person was out of breath. His sweat-dampened forehead was a proof of the efforts he had been spending until arriving there. He was caught by Hodgins and came to a halt, but even so, he aimed at and went toward her as fast as possible.

That person had soon spotted Violet from the bar’s entrance, and Violet had frozen in place the instant he had arrived as well. It was almost as if there were gravity between them that drew one to the other.

Violet stood up naturally and rushed to him.

——Ah, Violet.

Lux could tell.

——I see, so that’s how it is.

Anyone who was close by would be able to tell.

——The two of you are already like that.

After all, it was as though the air about her had changed completely the moment he had appeared.

“Colonel.”

The one standing there was Colonel Gilbert Bougainvillea from Leidenschaftlich’s army. Perhaps because he was on an off day, he wore only a jacket of fine tailoring and a shirt. Inquisitive stares from the people making a ruckus in the bar fell upon him all at once.

“Violet.”

After all, he was a man rumored within the company for moving the army in order to protect Violet. His existence was made known during the hijacking incident of the Intercontinental train, after which a year had passed not too long before. Of course, that was a story only told internally and Hodgins was publicly regarded as the main leader of such strategy.

The members of the postal company who had gathered up to save her had seen in person the man who came running while carrying her princess style. Back then, they had also witnessed Benedict being entrusted with Violet, his mouth open as if he had grown senile.

“Colonel, my apologies... I ended up breaking our arrangement.”

Her cottony hair was ruined. The outfit chosen for her and that her body was clad in had become like ragged cloths. Everything she had prepared for him had been reduced to misery today.

Nevertheless, seeing her dressed-up caused Gilbert’s heart to beat louder.

“You...”

“You look beautiful” was what he had started to say, but upon noticing a stare of pressuring quality to a fierce extent from the side, he trailed off.

Benedict seemed extremely unamused. He clicked his tongue as their eyes met.

“Anything the matter...?”

“Not really. There any law that says I can’t look at the bastard who snoops into V’s general area every once in a blue moon ever since that incident like he’s a rare sight?”

“You helped me out holding onto Violet back then. I’m grateful... And, I don’t know about any such law, but if it’s about putting up a watchdog act, I’m the one on top.”

Something like an electric shockwave ran between the two of them. Benedict remained not toning down his distrust regarding Gilbert until now, peeved by that man who seemed like he could become a love rival for Benedict’s significant other had he been in the same workplace as them.

“This was the curtain rise of their muddled battle!” just as the two had opened their mouths again, Hodgins cut in with a foolish commentary.

Silence. The two simultaneously glared at Hodgins as if looking at something deplorable.

Hodgins himself broke Gilbert and Benedict apart, coming in between them, putting his arms around each and laughing stridently, “Don’t fight for me! Man~, I wanted to try saying this once.”

“Shut up, Old Man!”

“Stay away, Hodgins. You’re reeking of booze.”

It was a conversation with a magnificent explosive power. By the looks of it, Gilbert and Benedict did not seem like they would get along, but their attitude towards Hodgins was similar.

“Old Man, tomorrow will be terrible for you if you drink too much. You’re at that age, aren’t you?”

“Darling... you’re saying that because you’re worried about me, right?”

“Hey, stop. Stop. I’m not a woman.”

As Benedict stepped away from Hodgins, who was attempting to give him a kiss, Gilbert and Violet were at last able to lock eyes with each other again. Violet had a face that denounced she had gone through a hellish time.

“Any injuries?”

“Minor ones. The same level as scratching a knee.”

“That’s good...” He was truly saying so from the bottom of his heart. Seeing Cattleya and Lux anxiously observing the two of them, Gilbert spoke further, “You too, any injuries? Aah... you need a medic.”

“No, no, I’m okay.”

Lux had already received treatment, yet it seemed like her wound might open the next day.

Perhaps always carrying it in his person, Gilbert took a fountain pen and small notebook from his jacket’s inner pocket, handing her a paper sheet that contained a certain address within Leiden. “This is the clinic where my home doctor is. You don’t need to pay if you give my name, so go there another day. You’ll probably need painkillers for a while. Even in the hotel you’re staying at, please give my name to the hotelman if you need anything. We’re on friendly terms, so he’ll treat you well.”

Lux acted uncertain when accepting the paper. “Ah. Thank you very much. You’re very generous... Could it be... that the hotel reservation... Mr. Bougainvillea, erm... Colonel Bougainvillea, was made by you?”

After glancing at Hodgins, who was entangling himself with Benedict, Gilbert nodded. “That thing asked me for it. I can’t say this aloud but I’ve also disposed of... the documents submitted to the government office in the name of your company. When I use my influence in places outside of my jurisdiction... I end up losing one card that I could otherwise use in the event of an emergency, but...” Perhaps as if remembering something, he furrowed his brows a little and chuckled. “Hodgins took care of Violet. I also won’t spare any efforts for you all in case something happens. If there’s any worrisome matter, it can even be through Violet, but do tell me.”

“Y-Yes.”

Cattleya and Lux mutely let their cheeks dye pink. Was there any girl whose heart would not throb at Gilbert as he displayed adult-man-like reliance in a different way from Hodgins?

“Colonel, you’re so cool.”

“Colonel, you are wonderful.”

No, there was not.

For whatever reason, the two had their fingers interlaced in front of their chests and were striking the same pose.

Gilbert replied levelly, “You aren’t my subordinates so you don’t need to refer to me by my rank.”

Violet pulled the hem of Gilbert’s jacket ever so lightly. “Colonel, hum... would you like to sit down? You must be tired.”

“Aah, no. I’m sorry but I’m taking my leave. You too, Violet. The two are at the Bougainvillea house and we’re making them worry. I already contacted them to say I’d bring you back, so come along. It stopped by a place a little far away, but I have a carriage ready, so let’s walk there. Miss Lux. You... were together with Hodgins for today, right? Miss Cattleya, what about you? We can send you home if necessary.”

“Y-You know my name?! Mine?!”

“Of course; I heard it from Violet. So, what will you do?”

Perhaps due to extreme happiness at that, Cattleya slapped Violet’s back with quite strong vigor countless times, making merry. “I’m fine! I’ll be here with everyone until morning today!”

“It’s probably better if you’re in big numbers. Well, my apologies since we’re in the middle of a pleasant talk, but I’m taking her along. Thank you... for always being so close to Violet. Let’s meet again somewhere else. Please let me at least treat you to a meal.” Gilbert all too naturally took off his jacket and placed it over Violet’s shoulders. He began escorting her away just like that.

“Ah! Bastard! Hold on! V is my little sister part!”

“Everyone, good night. Benedict too.”

“Wait! V~! Hey—Old Man!”

Binding Benedict’s arms behind his back, Hodgins sent Violet a wink. It was true that he was drunk, but his tactic was probably to keep Benedict away from Gilbert. He might have been paying for the sin of making the two of them miss out on the time they had to spend with each other because of his kidnapping.

Hodgins and Gilbert merely exchanged short goodbyes such as, “I’ll call” and, “See you”.

“Benedict’s had an overwhelming defeat, huh.”

“Old Man!”

“Man, he’s rivaling you... but he’s also not.”

The two young women left behind spoke while still staring at the bar’s entrance.

“To be honest, the President told me a lot about Violet’s past after that incident, and I didn’t not wonder if someone like him was okay for her... but, when you meet him, y’know...”

“Yup, its different when you get to meet him, right?”

“It’s because he really did cherish her that he made many mistakes, did his best to take back a lot of things, and now they’re like this, huh,” Lux whispered, deep in thought.

Treading through an autumn night in which the nocturnal winds were gelid robbed the two a little of the body heat provided by the warm interior of the bar. Violet, who Gilbert had put his jacket over, looked at him with only his shirt on as if to question him.

He soon noticed her gaze and their eyes met. He then smiled at her. “Aren’t you cold?”

Just from him simply throwing those words at her, as Violet was still unused to it, her heart raced. “No; Major, what about you?”

The times that the two of them met up were still at a point where they could be counted with one hand, and during such instances, the restraint brought about by his long absence would manifest itself in the form of agitation. From the perspective of others, that could almost not be perceived. After all, her facial expressions were generally emotionless.

“I’m fine. I’ve run around and sweated a lot today, so I’m still warm.”

“My apologies, Colonel.”

“It’s nothing to apologize for. I did that because I wanted to. Violet. It was also for Hodgins’s sake.”

“All right, Colonel.”

“Let’s walk a little slower. Once we get on the carriage, the way home will last a blink of eye.”

“Is that bad...?”

The one who had made the request was Gilbert, and the words Violet was about to say wound up dying out before they could take form. That was because he sweetly added, “I don’t have enough time with you”.

“All right, Major.”

Her eyes spoke more eloquently than her expressionless self. Violet’s blue orbs were glued to Gilbert’s emerald ones.

“I want to chat a little too. Is everything okay with that young man called Benedict?”

“By that, you mean...?”

“He seems to favor you.”

“He has another woman that he fancies. It seems they are in a relationship, and they themselves are hiding it but everyone around them knows.”

“That so?”

“Yes, he is... in an older brother-like... position regarding... my person, he told me.”

“Told you? That man?”

Their eye and hair colors were certainly similar, and the man could be said to be an androgynous beauty, but his speech and conduct were much too different from Violet’s.

“He himself was saying so.”

“Aah, he indeed called you his ‘little sister part’... Should I interpret that as him showing affection for you...? But it doesn’t look like we will get along very well.”

“Is that so?”

“It will probably be difficult.”

As Violet had heard the story of Hodgins and Gilbert’s past, she estimated that such assumption would be disproved. Gilbert and Hodgins were also a duo that one would not think got along well.

“It seems he’ll get in the way when I’m with you.”

Since Gilbert made a face as if he had swallowed a bitter-tasting bug, Violet did not voice her opinion in the end. “Major.”

“What is it?” As Violet called him, the middle of his brows immediately softened.

“If you had managed to meet with me as planned today, where did you intend to go?”

“Aah, I had actually made an arrangement for us to go horse-riding.”

“Horses.”

“You can ride army horses, and I think long rides aren’t bad if it’s on fine autumn weather days... Did you not like it?”

“Colonel, there is nothing that I dislike if I am in your company.”

“That answer makes me happy, but I do believe I want to learn about your tastes little by little. Kukuh.”

As Gilbert suddenly laughed aloud, Violet tilted her neck. “Is something the matter?”

“You... probably haven’t noticed it, but you’ve been mixing up ‘Major’ and ‘Colonel’ when referring to me.”

As he had been promoted from major to lieutenant-colonel and from lieutenant-colonel to colonel, it could be said that referring to Gilbert with a lower rank was terribly inappropriate.

Violet corrected her posture and apologized again, “I... am sorry. My apologies, Colonel.”

“No, that’s not it. I’m not angry... Ever since you were little, you used to call me that. The first word I heard from you was this one, too. I’m saying that if you can’t get used to it, I don’t mind the ‘Major’.”

“‘Colonel’... Colonel, I will not mistake it anymore.”

Her figure as she attempted to memorize it, in order not to forget it, was lovably stubborn. Gilbert caught a glimpse of her past self from that immature aspect of hers.

At the beginning, the two of them had had an inept exchange. Almost like how children would do it, they had told each other their names.

“Ma... jor.”

“Can you understand what I’m saying, Violet?”

“Major.”

After learning words and coming to know discipline, she had become his weapon.

“If that is Major’s order...”

“It’s not an order...”

“If... it is your desire...”

He had wound up loving the girl-weapon.

“Major’s eyes are here.”

“I wonder... what this is called.”

It had been a one-sided love.

“I will become your ‘shield’ and ‘weapon’.”

“I shall protect you.”

“Please do not ever doubt this. I am your ‘asset’.”

Even so, he had loved her.

“I love you!”

“I don’t want to let you die! Violet!”

“I love you, Violet.”

The girl-weapon had wept that she did not understand what she had been bestowed with.

“What is... ‘love’?”

No one had taught her about it.

“What is... ‘love’? What is... ‘love’? What is ‘love’?”

“I do not understand, Major...”

She had also not understood why he had said such a thing to her.

“What is... ‘love’?”

She had searched for the meaning of those words and for him, who had disappeared, encountering them by chance at last.

And so, they had reached the present time.

“Violet.” Gilbert took her artificial fingertips as she stood still.

Her index finger made screeching sounds.

“Since we’re at it, won’t you call me by my name?” He pointed her finger at himself.

The fingertips that used to be soft and have body temperature in the past did not anymore. The same applied to one of Gilbert’s arms.

“I am Gilbert. Gilbert Bougainvillea.” He pointed at Violet next. “You are Violet. Violet Evergarden.” He moved the finger both ways, saying, “Gilbert, Violet... Gilbert, Violet.”

The two who had ended up with mechanical part had grown and changed. They were not parent and child originally. Not siblings, either. They had also ceased being superior and subordinate.

“Lord Gilbert.”

At Violet’s predictable response, Gilbert smiled bitterly. “The ‘lord’ part... isn’t necessary.”

He had supposedly spoken gently, yet Violet showed him an aspect of disconcertment. “My apologies... Have you... come to hate me...?”

“No. I don’t know how to feel anything but affection towards you... It appears that...” while thinking that it was also valid for himself, Gilbert stated, “hum... you become insecure about it every now and then, but I’ll never hate you.”

“How come?” Violet asked.

How great would it be if he were able to show the insides of his heart to her? Presenting with a form that “this is love” would be so simple. However, it was due to not being able to do such a thing that people uttered words to proffer their love.

“Because I love you most.”

Violet started searching for that term within the sea of words embedded inside her. “‘Love... most’...” As they rolled out of her tongue, what appalling yet passionate words those were.

There was no other sentence more fitting of Gilbert Bougainvillea.

“Love me... most?”

“I have eyes for nobody but you. You’re the only one I’m fond of.”

“That is... to love most?”

“I will hold you dear for eternity, and continue to love you.”

She did not ask “That is... to love most?” a second time. Violet’s cheeks were rose-dusted, her heart started palpitating to the point of aching, and her field of vision blurred. She was unable to look at Gilbert’s face. Unwittingly, she cast her head down, yet he wound up peering at it. The distance between their faces was just about enough for them to kiss.

It was currently nighttime and the two of them were alone in that place, so whatever they did, no one would be looking. Maybe they could manage to keep it a secret even from God.

“I had a phase of... liking you... then I fell in love with you, and now, it turns out I love you the most. Do you understand?”

“Does it never diminish?”

“The affection?”

“The love.”

“I wonder. But I don’t want that to happen and will probably reconfirm whether I do love you numerous times, so it’ll likely intensify, not decrease. You fill me up with it.”

“With love?”

“Yes. The reason why I believe I love you is because you granted me that feeling.”

Violet Evergarden, who had been learning and copying from him – from people –, was able to take in the meaning of those words.

“I do that to you, Major?”

Again, her manner of referring to him had changed. Gilbert thought it was fine either way.

“You do that to me.” Gilbert silently planted a kiss not on Violet’s cheek or lips but on the fingertips that he was holding onto.

Silence.

Those were artificial fingers. She was unable to feel anything from them. Her arms were gone, and would nevermore return.

Placing a kiss on such a spot could transmit nothing.

Even so, he had deliberately kissed it in an affectionate manner. For some reason, that action – Gilbert’s feelings – caused Violet’s eyes to grow hot as if burning and produce tears.

Violet attempted to stop them. Those were incomprehensible tears. Why were they flowing at that moment? They would definitely trouble the man in front of her.

Nevertheless, tears were already pooling in her moist eyes until, finally, a single drop spilled down. Sure enough, the round tear that had fallen from one of her eyes left Gilbert distraught.

“Violet.” Seeing her reaction, he promptly let go of her fingers. “I’m sorry.” He stepped back, raising both hands as if to have her understand that he would not do anything else. “I’m really sorry.”

Violet did not answer. She stared at Gilbert without even wiping off the tear as if spacing out. Her attitude was not of anger. Her aspect was not of sorrow, either. He had no idea what she was thinking. She had the gaze of someone who seemed to be having a dream.

The two of them had lived separately, and he had thought that her facial expressions had become richer ever since they had reunited, but once she clammed up, he could not read her. Her lack of expression and well-featured doll-like traits did not allow Gilbert to study her emotions. However, the one thing he could fathom was that his action just now had been foolish.

——What am I doing?

He had told her that he would wait however long it took. The kiss on her fingers might have been a violation to that promise. He should have been the best gentleman for her, but he may have lost that right.

When she was by his side, she was unbearably endearing. The love towards her that lit up within his chest wound up overflowing.

“I swear I won’t do it anymore...”

The army colonel of Leidenschaftlich was losing face in front of the girl he was enamored with.

“Violet...”

What face was he making now? What did she think of it?

“Major, I...” Violet called him with her wind chime voice. She grabbed onto Gilbert’s fingers and took one step forward. The distance between them had shrunk once again. And then she took another step.

She was close enough to be embraced by Gilbert.

“Violet...”

“Major... please.” Violet peeked into Gilbert’s eye.

The emerald-green orb that had unchangeably borne beauty, kindness and a little bit of loneliness ever since they had first met was right there. Violet was now reflected in it.

Violet was inside his world.

“Do not swear so.”

Gilbert’s eyelid blinked at her straightforward words.

“Please, do not swear... that you will not do it.”

Seeing tears well up in Violet’s eyes once again, Gilbert impulsively reached an arm out to her. He caressed her golden hair as if to soothe her, earnestly listening to what she was attempting to tell him.

“Major, you explained it to me, right? That to love is to think of wanting to... protect someone the most.”

He wiped her tears with his fingertips.

Violet entrusted her cheek to his hand and shed more tears. “This has... applied to me since forever.”

She was attempting to replenish her lacking life. Rather, the truth was that the two of them could have done that from the moment they had met, for it was almost as if they made up for each other’s unskillfulness, but they had missed one another countless times and had not intersected well.

Violet’s chest was now being filled up with a warm feeling that she was experiencing for the first time.

“It always, always has, since long ago. I merely... did not know it...”

——This loud throbbing in my chest, this ecstasy, the fact that I end up swayed by your every action...

“I...”

——...the reason why I cried that I wanted to be by your side and asked you not to leave me anymore...

“Major... I...”

——...the reason why I am crying now...

“I, as of now...”

——...is that, once the “like” and the “love” fell and piled up like snow, and I became unable to melt them down, I had wanted to let you know that I wished the same to be valid for you.

“...have a feeling that I...”

People would declare it as if offering a prayer.

“...understand it better than before.”

“I love you”, that is.

#violet evergarden #fyeahvioletevergarden #violet evergarden gaiden #kyoani #kyoto animation #gilbert bougainvillea #claudia hogdins #benedict blue #cattleya baudelaire #lux sibyl #akatsuki kana #takase akiko #novel #my translation

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piduai · 4 years ago

Note

How do you feel on the topic of reading unofficial scanlations vs waiting for official releases to support mangaka? Specifically in situations where the official release make take months or even not happen, so you have that big time gap (as opposed to releases in big publications like SJ)?

I've been trying to stick to official translations the past few years but in some cases it's hard to, like dungeon meshi's volume release schedule means going months

pirating is good and noble and i see nothing wrong with it whatsoever, 100% unproblematic, one of the best things about the internet, everyone should do it, there’s nothing wrong with it etc i did it before do it now will do it again, if i can get something for free instead of paying for it i will do it. we don’t have that much time left to do it consequence-free though.

HOWEVER there are conditions that apply:

1. if you don’t pay for a product you literally have no rights of entitlement towards it. yes i’m talking about westerners who won’t invest a dollar into manga but will run their mouths continuously about how it doesn’t cater to them. it doesn’t cater to you because you’re not the target audience and you don’t pay for it boo use your head.

2. manga/anime industry generate a lot of profit as an industry but individual mangaka are not that rich unless their stuff has been best-selling for years, the gap between say, oda and kui could fit an ocean. it’s not m*rvel nor d*sney but it is an INDUSTRY though; do not forget that it’s monetized art that is created and standardized to generate profit.

3. i think that if you can afford it you actually should support your favorite series. not talking about teens and broke students, buying manga with mom’s money is not a life priority, but adults with disposable income... why not buy a manga volume once every 3 months? especially if it’s a series that you’re invested in. i don’t see the problem of reading the unofficial scanlation as soon as it comes out and then buying the official release when it comes out x months or years later. it’s always nice to have a small collection of things that make you happy, i think. in my personal case i’m buying the golden kamuy chapters on the young jump app as soon as they come out and then i buy the volumes on release even though i can just wait for the scanlation. it’s simply a gesture of supporting the author because it’s a series i genuinely love and which makes me happy.

i only reserve this attitude for series i REALLY like though and want to personally contribute to. everything else i will keep pirating. but i see absolutely no point in waiting months and years for official versions of something that has been on the internet 3 minutes after local release. people who gatekeep and are like ‘if x wasn’t released in your country it means it’s not for you and you should give up on it’ are absolutely insane at best and am*rican at worst.

#anon #like please not everyone speaks speaks english lmao

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romanticatheart-posts · 5 years ago

Text

The Winds of Change

@cora-nova @allaboutchoices @ao719 @emichelle @kingliam2019 @bbrandy2002 @cordonianroyalty @dangerouseggseagleartisan @eadanga @texaskitten30 @janezillow @jared2612 @dcbbw

A message from the author -- The following is nothing more than my attempt to recreate a fictitious tale that has been written and re-written a million times and in a million different ways (by some very talented writers I might add) since Choices aired its first chapter of The Royal Romance in April 2017.

The short prologue below will hopefully give you some idea about how the story will unfold and just for reference, it’s part canon and part AU, but all of it centers around Riley and Liam. Thank you in advance for liking or commenting and just know that doing one or both is the sweetest form of flattery and also keeps me motivated. Though, if you truly enjoy this first chapter, a re-blog would just put the icing on the cake! --

Prologue After her fall from grace, Riley was forced to board a plane headed for New York City. Back to her origin of birth. She returned with little more than a broken spirit and a broken heart, but what she left behind was a trail of shattered hopes and dreams with no possibility of restoring all that was lost. As difficult as it was to believe that her name had been smeared because of false accusations against her, it was even harder to accept that the man she loved had rejected her because of it.

It had only been a few days since her arrival from Cordonia, but even so, it seemed like a lifetime ago. She realized the big city no longer held promise for her, nor did it feel like home anymore. And while earnestly seeking refuge in the concrete jungle once more, she encounters one obstacle after the other, forcing Riley to face a hard reality. With her resources shrinking as fast as her optimism, if she doesn’t catch a break soon, not only will she be standing in front of a breadline waiting for a handout, but by that point, she will already be homeless. However, as the winds began to shift in her direction yet again, this time they would blow in her favor bringing a welcome reprieve from the hardships that had befallen her recently. This much-needed relief and support would come swiftly, and from a very unexpected source.

Back in Cordonia, Liam had just been crowned as king when all hell broke loose. And the award for most fortunate that night goes to the culprit who rained all-out chaos on an otherwise civilized ceremony because their timing was impeccable. But not so lucky, was the one who’s plans for the future came to screeching halt when his closing speech was interrupted by a devastating news release. It just had to be that moment when photos of his beloved Riley surfaced that captured her in a compromising position with another man, deeming her unfit as the potential queen.

Liam knew immediately it had to be staged and most likely part of a conspiracy, but who would do such a thing? And why? Needless to say, he was shocked, confused and angry all at the same time, but as the mayhem tapered off and old fears began to emerge, he made a split-second decision to protect her the only way he could. Under the scrutiny of his peers, the people and the press, he unwillingly fulfilled his last obligation by becoming formally engaged just as Riley is being forcefully escorted from the ballroom. When he learns later that she is on a plane headed for New York, his despair is replaced with overwhelming desperation. And as the old saying goes, ‘desperate times call for desperate measures’… Well, in spite of the circumstances, Liam found the courage he needed to assert his first official command as reigning monarch. It was a decision that would shake Cordonian tradition to its core.

Without further ado, let the chaos... Ahem. I mean, let the story begin!

The Winds of Change is a term used to describe various instances in which our paths are altered by unseen forces. A metaphoric phenomenon that will touch the lives of every living, breathing soul on the face of the earth. It is believed that change is inevitable and oftentimes occurs without a noticeable impact. However, when this invisible dynamic begins to whip and thrash around its next victim, what’s left in its wake can either bring joy or it can bring misery. And no matter which way it blows, no one is immune.

That cliché holds a particular truth for one spirited young waitress who, because of one incredible night, decided to follow her heart in pursuit of true love. If anyone had told her even a year ago that she would live amongst royalty as a member of the elite, and perhaps win the heart of a prince, she would have declared them insane. Ironically, she had little to none of the typical childhood fantasies about knights in shining armor and happily ever after’s. Her approach to life has always been more... down-to-earth. Even if it seems extreme, be open to adventure and embrace every opportunity that presents itself. But in the process, keep your head out of the clouds and remain true to yourself. Everything else will just fall into place. And when fate decided to test that philosophy by throwing a handsome stranger and the chance of a lifetime into the mix, without hesitation, she accepted the challenge. Although unaware at the time, Riley Brooks came face to face with a real-life prince and his three unlikely cohorts on a not so typical Saturday night. This was just the beginning of what would set her on the course for an adventure of a lifetime. So, let’s go back to where it all began...

Living in New York City and working at a local bar gave Riley ample opportunity to meet people from all walks of life and most of the time, they’d come and go without ever leaving so much as a smidge of an impression on her. Though, when these four men walked in, she could tell right away they were... different, but in a good way. And maybe the word unique would be the best way to describe them.

It was clear that they were not native to New York, or even anywhere near, but there was a distinct brotherly bond between them that was rather endearing. Not only was their comradery entertaining to watch, but they would often draw her into their trivial disputes and discussions as she brought food and drinks to the table. And for once, working an extra shift didn’t seem so bad after all. These men were so completely different in terms of character that she wondered how they managed to become acquaintances, much less friends, to begin with. But even so, she sensed right away that they’d be fun to hang out with. Though, only one of them had awakened her other senses.

His name was Liam. The man whose eyes were like mystic blue orbs that seemed to flash more vibrant each time he looked at her and when combined with that radiant smile he wore, well... let’s just say she tingled from head to toe. Throughout the evening she did well in her attempts to keep from staring, but that didn’t stop her from tossing a few subtle glances his way when she thought he wasn’t looking. It was hard not to, especially since he was so unbelievably handsome. Each time though, she was met by his hypnotic gaze that almost made her go weak in the knees. Riley found that even though her motto was to never get personally involved with any of her customers, there was just something about him that made her want to forget that small detail. There was no denying the connection that existed between them and if given the opportunity for something more, she would gladly seize it. But, since the bar was about to close and neither had made a move in that direction, she resigned that this would just be another classic tale about the one that got away. However, fate had other plans.

While Riley was busy finishing her tasks for the night, as luck would have it, the bachelor party was wrapping up at the same time. It was then that Liam approached her with an apology for keeping her so late and offered to buy her a drink as a thank you. The look in his eyes told her he was sincere and trustworthy, so without hesitation, she followed her instincts and agreed to be their tour guide.

Instead of the usual club scene that had been suggested, Riley decided to charm them all with a visit to a place she called her secret spot. It was a cove just off the beaten path that she frequented for the peace and serenity that came from being near the water. That night though, it provided the perfect backdrop for her impromptu date with destiny. While the others cavorted in and around the shoreline, Riley led Liam on a short walk to climb a small cliff overlooking the ocean just to show him an amazing view. Although, the only view he was interested in at the moment was literally standing in front of him. Afterward, they wandered over by the bonfire Drake started upon their arrival, both thankful for the warmth of the crackling embers. They sat side by side and spent that time just getting to know one another better. This is when she learned Liam was a prince of some country in the Mediterranean. The Crown Prince of Cordonia to be exact and seeing that his mood had shifted as soon as he mentioned it, it was obvious the subject was a source of contention for him. Instead of focusing on the noticeable conflict that was written in his expression, Riley thought a change of scenery would be the perfect distraction and might do them both some good. So, after stating his desire to see the Statue of Liberty on his last night here, she cashed in a few favors and fulfilled a lifelong dream and in the process, brought the spark back to his eyes.

This was a pivotal moment for Liam when he recognized she wasn’t just some pretty face that used her wiles for personal gain. She showed him a side of human nature that was as sincere as it was unfamiliar, and yet something he craved all the same. It was simple really. His greatest desire was to be regarded as Liam the person, instead of a title that he was born to bear, and that is exactly who he was to her... just, Liam. The longer they talked, the more he realized that the feelings she’d stirred in him at the bar were multiplying by the second and once they shared their first kiss he immediately began dreading the moment they would have to say goodbye. Though the time did come, and it was much harder than either could have imagined.

At the point when they reached her apartment, Maxwell, Drake, and Tariq had all but crashed after their trip to the cove and were fast asleep as the limo rolled to a stop. Liam and Riley shared amused glances and then edged quietly out of the vehicle while stifling laughter at the sight before them. Though, once they both stood facing the apartment building, their expressions became more passive as neither was ready for the night to end. But after a few silent moments of contemplating the inevitable, Liam smiles ruefully as he gently takes her hand into his and they began the long trek down a short footpath that led to the front door. The entrance was not that far from where they were but wanting to hold onto these last precious moments together, they walked at a slower pace.

Upon reaching the threshold, the two stood looking at each other and for a brief moment, neither knew exactly what to say. Liam finally broke the silence, but not before lifting her hand to his lips for a sweet kiss and then held it tenderly to his chest, forcing her to take a half-step forward.

“Thank you for tonight, Riley. Believe me when I say that I thoroughly enjoyed every moment I’ve spent with you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Liam. I had fun too.”

“That’s... I’m glad.”

With emotions running high and hearts racing, their eyes were locked solely on each other. Knowing their paths would never cross again, Riley leans in and captures his lips in hers one last time. It was a long, deep kiss and without hesitation, Liam wrapped his arms tightly around her as though he’d never let her go. But then, it was over way too soon and both knew the time had come to part ways. He reluctantly let her go and took a small step back.

“I’m glad to have met you, Riley Brooks. I’ll never forget this night...”

“Neither will I.”

And with that, she turned to go inside as Liam waited until she was safely behind the glass entrance and then headed back to the limo. As he opened the door, he took one last moment to look back only to find that she was no longer there. It was a bittersweet moment, to say the least.

The next morning, only seconds after reaching the bar where she was just about to begin her shift, Maxwell, one of the four guys she’d met the night before, showed up with an off the wall proposition. It was an invitation to join a contest of sorts, where she would rub elbows with royalty, ski the Alps, and visit places she’d only ever imagined... but the best part of all was the fact that she would get to see Liam again. And if their connection the night before held true, it would definitely be worth the trip. And then there could possibly be a proposal at the end which seemed a little farfetched, but she was game. With Liam being from a sovereign nation, it was a tradition and expected that its Crown Prince would choose a wife from those that came from noble houses in and around the kingdom. Since Riley didn’t meet this small requirement to participate, Maxwell gladly offered to be her sponsor. Within an hour after receiving the invitation, she was on a plane headed to a place she’d never seen before. And before she met Liam, she’d never heard of it either.

From the moment she stepped foot inside the palace of Cordonia, until tonight, the time just seemed to fly by. And with good reason. Beginning with one ball and now ending with another, the social season had been a continuous string of parties and social gatherings where she sailed a boat, danced with royalty and even got to show off her skills on the slopes. As soon as one event ended another began, and each was more dynamic than the last. Aside from sleeping, not one minute was spent idly. Although her ability to hold stamina in this fast-pace environment was no different than growing up in the hustle and bustle of New York City, that is where familiarity ended.

It wasn’t a secret that she was an outsider with no formal education in navigating through this strange yet exciting world she willingly leaped into. And as such, it put her at a slight disadvantage over the born and bred noblewomen that came with their pedigrees primed and ready. But with guidance from a few close friends she’d made along the way, coupled with her God-given strength and determination, Riley was quickly thrust into the spotlight, becoming favored among the others. Not only did she find success in every event of the social season, but she also earned well-deserved respect in the process. Surprisingly, nothing about the methodology ever made her feel as though she was out of her element. In fact, it gave her cause to believe that this is where she was meant to be... the place where she belonged.

Though, her growing fondness of Cordonia was only secondary to the increasing affection toward its prince. And by the third or fourth event, there was no doubt that she had fallen deeply in love with Prince Liam, and as much as he tried to be fair to the others, it was evident from the way he looked at her that the feeling was mutual. Tonight marked the end of the social season and a hopeful beginning for the future. But, before she could seize her moment of triumph, she was literally carried away in a hell storm.

Sitting idly inside the Cordonian airport, Riley’s expression can’t hide the true depth of confusion and pain she feels at this moment. And how it runs all the way to her soul. How could one misunderstanding get distorted and be so far from the truth, that she was forced out like a common criminal? On second thought, at least a real criminal would have gotten to make a phone call before being exiled. There is no doubt she has a lot on her mind... and her heart. As she sifts through the scattered fragments of what brought her to this moment, a flashback of the not so distant past streams through her mind...

“Right now, I want to have this moment just with you. Not in front of the entire court. Not with nobles and servants watching. I want to remember this moment... before our lives change forever tonight. And when I remember it, I want it to be just for us. Riley, even if I didn’t need to choose a bride tonight, I’d still be proposing. Because I don’t need any more time to decide. I already know.”

“Liam... What are you saying?”

“Riley, I never expected to feel this way about anyone. I never expected to meet anyone like you. These past few weeks have been torture... wanting desperately to spend time with you but being held back by this damned process. Wanting so badly to hold you... to tell you that it was always you in my heart. You’re the brightest spot in my world. When I’m near you, I can’t help smiling, laughing... you’re the funniest, sweetest, most daring person that I know. And every time I see you I find myself thinking how lucky, how incredibly lucky I am that I’m the one you’re spending your time with. Ever since my brother abdicated, I was worried about finding a woman worthy of being the Queen of Cordonia. But since I’ve met you, I worry about being worthy of you. Riley Brooks, you’re incredible in every sense of the word. And I don’t want to spend another minute without you knowing exactly how I feel. I’ve never said this to anyone before, but I know it’s more true than my own name. Which is all to say... Riley, I love you.”

There was so much sincerity in the way he said those three little words, and as pure and unwavering as the look in his eyes when he said them. Leaving no doubt, that they were spoken from the heart. In vivid detail, Riley replays those tender moments she and Liam shared inside the garden maze tonight and can only be described as magical. At last, a spoken confession of deep and abiding love, one to the other. Then followed by the most beautiful display of affection that neither had ever known before... making love under the stars for the very first time. Their devotion to one another, sealed in that moment. No more hesitations... no more doubts. Just two hearts, two souls, converged as one... Even now, his intoxicating aroma is still fresh on her skin. Oh, God... I just can’t believe this is happening...

These were the sweet moments prior to her world being torn apart and there was nothing she could do to stop it. What began as a dream, suddenly turned into her worst nightmare and no words can describe the pain in her heart. Was it not enough to be falsely accused as unfaithful and then publicly chastened while guards practically dragged her from the Coronation Ball? Fate obviously thought not and had one last, cruel trick up her sleeve. Just as the doors to the ballroom were about to close, Liam’s voice echoes above the crowd, delivering the final blow...

“I choose... Lady Hana.”

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thefloatingstone · 6 years ago

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Would you please make me a list of your rcommended comics(books or web-series any genre original content or fanworks)

Oh that’s a god one! Thank you so very much 💙 Let me see what I have on my shelf and on my hard drive. (I don’t know if I’ve ever made a list of my favourite comics before or not here on tumblr?)

in no particular order;

1: Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai

I dunno if it ever really shows or not, but Japanese historical settings are something I’m really into! I think it’s one of those dormant interests that flares up every now and then. Anyway. Usagi Yojimbo has basically been tied for my favourite comic for over 10 years now. It’s a series of stories, both short and with longer arcs, following the character of Miyamoto Usagi (roughly based on Miyamoto Musashi) travelling around the country of Japan in the early 1600s as a Ronin after the lord he served was defeated and killed in battle. Usagi, being one of his samurai, is not killed in the same battle which, considering his lord was killed, is a massive disgrace in historical Japanese culture. Basically along the thought of “If your lord died and you didn’t you must not have fought hard enough to protect him.”

Anyway, the comic is both a history lesson on Edo period Japan, a travel diary, a slice of life comic, a Chanbara, an action comic, some times even a horror or ghost story, a tragedy involving unfulfilled love and lost families, a lesson on traditional Japanese Yokai and other mythology, and now and then high fantasy.

10/10. HIGHLY recommend. The author Stan Sakai is also a wonderful person I’ve had the pleasure to meet a few times at Comic Con. And considering he like... remembers who I AM despite being an extremely famous comic artist... I dunno. I have endless respect for the man and he’s shown me great kindness in the past.

Also you know... black and white comics. They’re my jam, yo!

2: Bone by Jeff Smith

I have no idea if I even have to say anything because Bone might just, without hyperbole, be the greatest comic ever drawn.

At 1300+ pages drawn over the course of 10 years, the story starts out as a cartoon, full of hijinks and fun adventures and jokes and very slowly, reality starts setting in, things get more dangerous, the stakes get higher, the bad guys much darker. And by the time you reach book 3 of the 9 book story, you’re suddenly in a story of the “epic” variety. Not in the internet slang term but in the actual definition of the word.

You have massive wars between men and monsters, you have clashing cultures and ideologies, conflicting motivations and goals, and of course saving the world.

And it manages to do so without you EVER feeling “Excuse me but this was a cartoon book about funny jokes. This shift in tone is really weird and doesn’t work with the cartoony characters.”

It just blends and grows beautifully. And has remained as my favourite comic for... *counts* lord... 14 years now.

The book was recently released in a new colour version in case you prefer hat, but I honestly recommend “The Brick” single volume black and white version. It’s cheaper, first of all, but also I cannot express how masterful the blacks and whites of Bone are. They’re essentially Watterson level.

(also Jeff Smith is ANOTHER comic artist who is just like... the nicest person. Like REALLY nice. He’s been kind to me on occasions in that “you really didn’t have to be that nice” kind of way)

3: The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck by Don Rosa

It’s published by Disney officially... but the Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck is essentially a fancomic. The only reason its not is because Don Rosa became SO GOOD at making duck comics Disney hired him to make them officially and he was SO GOOD at it became one of the most important Duck artists just after Carl Barks (the creator of Scrooge) himself.

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck is a comprehensive biography of Scrooge McDuck’s life, not just made up by Don Rosa, but pieced together from Carl Barks’ own comics where he would have Scrooge make passing mention to events in his past or people he met. Don Rosa essentially took all these passing remarks and mentions and drew out a timeline, starting with Scrooge age 13 leading all the way up to his reunion with his family when Donald as an adult met up with him again.

It starts with Scrooge, from a poor family in Glasgow in 1877, boarding a ship for America to seek his fortune. We follow him through the years as with each chapter, he comes close to being rich and successful, only for it to fail or fall apart at the last minute, until, eventually, we see him catch his break and become the obscenely rich and successful person he’s fought and worked and bled so hard to be.

...and then the comic continues. And we see him lose himself. Greed, the constant need for MORE money and MORE success keeps going. The need to show HOW rich and successful he is takes over, until we see him and his family fall apart. And the comic echoes Citizen Kane as Scrooge realises the best time of his life was when he was seeking riches, not after he finally succeeded.

And then Donald and his nephews appear, and Scrooge’s life gets a second wind. His lust for adventure flares up again, his need to seek fortunes and treasures burns as strong as ever. And he keeps going.

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck is a story about looking for your place in the world and fighting to create it with your own two hands, but it’s also about how you should think hard where you place your value in life, and it’s never too late to re-direct course and try again.

There is also “The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Companion” which is a collection of stories that didn’t fit in with the original comic and would have disrupted flow. Basically like how a fanfic will have oneshots related to a larger story

Also, the producer of the band “Nightwish” created a soundtrack to accompany the original comic as a sort of “What If” in what he imagined the story would sound like if it was made into a movie

youtube

4: Cucumber Quest by Gigi D.G. ( @ggdgart )

A newer comic I stumbled upon which has skyrocketed into being a fave and I can already tell, that’s not a position it’s gonna relinquish. Cucumber Quest is a more cartoony and comedic story than the previous comics on this list. But that by no means makes it of any less value or dulls the moments that this comic decides to punch you in the gut with emotions HARD.

The art and colours are glorious and something I hope to study so I can better my own art hopefully, and the writing and humour is of a calibre that I just know I could not replicate it if I even tried. Full of puns, absurdism, awkward jokes and a whole lot of FEELINGS, It manages to make me both laugh myself into a coughing fit as often as it makes me yell “OH NOOOO!!!” when something dramatic happens.

The story follows our main character Cucumber, a put-upon out-of-his-depth wizard-to-be who is tasked with saving the world from the evil Nightmare Knight who has been summoned from his thousand year slumber by an evil sorcerer who wants to take over the world (as you do). With him is his little sister, the sword wielding Almond, who is WAY more into this “being a hero” thing than he is (and probably better at it too) as the duo make friends and travel to the various kingdoms to defeat the Nightmare Knight’s lackeys, working their way up to fighting the Nightmare Knight himself and sealing him away once more!

That all sounds.... really straightforward, doesn’t it? Well... that’s what everybody else in the comic thinks too. ...Shame that real life is never easy and straightforward.

From evil henchmen that start crushing on cool “Good Guys” with cool swords, good guys who don’t REALLY want to hurt the bad guys because they don’t seem so bad? To cool good guys with cool swords suddenly learning that being in danger is not as much fun as it sounded when they started this. To big evil final boss bad guys who are just tired of all of this...

What’s also awesome is the entire comic... all OVER 800 PAGES OF IT... is completely free to read online! But you can also buy physical copies of the first 4 volumes in book form to support the author!

http://cucumber.gigidigi.com/cq/page-1/

I HIGHLY recommend this one too! It has canon LGBT characters! It has found family plots! It has scary bad guys that just need a hug! It has magical girl transformations! Literally anything you could want is in this comic. Including emotional wrecking angst! Did I mention FEELINGS???

(I couldn’t pick a single page so here are 3 random ones without context. Seriously almost EVERY page is so good I struggled very hard to choose)

5: The Property of Hate by @modmad

Hey. Do you like fantasy worlds made of imagination? How about protagonists with grey morality who act like super primand proper gentlemen when they’re actually huge nerds? How about reluctant “Well I guess I’ve ADOPTED you now you annoying gremlin” adult-kid relationships? How about puns? How about abstract and colourfull character designs? Or saving the world?

The Property of Hate is Modmad’s original comic that they’ve been working on a few years now. it follows our lead character, RGB or “Problematic Mary Poppins” as I like to think of him, as he asks a young child if she’d like to be a hero and help him save his world? When she agrees, he takes her to a fantasy land... completely NOT preparing her for what she’s signed up for. The story then follows the duo through the abstract and shifting world as RGB slowly divulges information on what exactly our Hero has to do to save the world. It turns out it’s a lot more complicated and messy than merely “beat the bad guy” or anything like that.

Not to mention it seems this fantasy world has its own rules of reality and dangers. Emotions and abstract thoughts have real physical form here, and something like an “idea” can quite literally run around and create havoc, while something like dreams can fuel or destroy, and emotions like grief can cause irreparable damage.

Our Hero also learns RGB himself is a lot more complex and messy than he first appears. Seeming to be a good person trying to do good things (despite being a little stand offish and rude at times) but seems to also be carrying a past and the weight of having done some very very bad things “for the greater good”. And our Hero, as well as we, the readers, start wondering how much we should trust him, even though, just like our Hero, deep deep down we just know we WANT to trust him. And maybe he needs saving just as much as the world itself does. Even when he’s at his scariest and... not quite himself.

The Property of Hate is also available online completely for free. Modmad does have books for sale but I believe it’s on-demand or something along those lines. Please feel free to message them here on tumblr and they are happy to chat to their readers and interact.

http://thepropertyofhate.com/TPoH/The%20Hook/1

I think I’ll leave it there despite meaning to do 10 at first because this is already EXTREMELY long.

Hopefully you found something that seems interesting! Let me know if you decide to check any of these out and whether you ended up liking them or not! I’d love to hear your opinions.

And thank you for indulging me <3

(I’m trying to remember to add my ko-fi link to all longer posts like this I make. Especially since I keep forgetting ☕️Buy me a Ko-fi ☕️ )

#lucymelonbun #C-Puff answers #Long post #image heavy #Comics #comic recommendations #comic recs #I added a read more to this post but tumblr ate it so whatever #thank you for letting me ramble about stuff I like #I feel better <3

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geeky-writes · 5 years ago

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Pieces of Echoes Final Chapter Preview

Behind? Catch up on AO3/ FFN 😊

********

“I’m sure Happy’s told you about the press conference already,” Natasha began. “It’ll be held in the Tower’s press room, and only journalists hand-picked by Pepper have been invited. Oh, and no questions will be allowed unless you say it’s okay. This is mainly just so you two can get your faces back out there and give our side as to what happened.”

“Which is, what, exactly?” Steve asked nervously, clinging tightly to Tony’s hand. Steve didn’t enjoy having to deal with the press at all, and usually allowed Tony to take care of it whenever it had been necessary in the past. Unfortunately, this time the President had asked for both Tony and Steve, and Steve hadn't felt like he’d been able to say no, especially when he’d promptly put his foot down when the President had initially asked for Peter’s presence as well.

Natasha gave Steve a wary look. “Our official statement is the same as its always been; that you two and Peter were taken hostage from the Tower, and that Killian, who’s since been ID’d as the Mandarin, then tried to extort ransom from the government for your release. Stane was a disgruntled former Stark Industries employee who was working with him, and they both were killed in the ensuing battle.”

“Okay, so then what’s the problem?” Tony asked. “I feel like there’s a pretty big ‘if’ or a ‘but’ in there somewhere that you're not mentioning.”

Glancing furtively at Peter, Natasha leaned forward, lowering her voice. “So far this is just a rumour, but word is that some new up-and-coming New York congressman is planning to introduce a bill once Congress comes back into session.”

“What kind of a bill?” asked Steve

“The details we have right now are a bit sketchy, but from what we’ve been able to find out, it’s supposedly some sort of anti-vigilante bill,” Natasha said.

“Anti-vigilante?” Steve said, confused. “Okay, but I still don't get—”

“Is this congressman trying to imply that the Avengers are vigilantes?” Tony cut in, a bit more sharply than he intended when Natasha frowned. “‘Cause that’s just a huge load of bullshit!”

“Yes, it is, Tony, and no, I don't think he’s trying to imply anything about the Avengers specifically,” retorted Natasha. “It’s not like people don't know who the Avengers are.”

Tony was already completely over the conversation. “Okay, so then what’s the problem?”

Again, Natasha’s eyes flicked over to Peter, completely engrossed in his beloved book. “You know that the video of Peter was sent to the press outlets as well, right?”

“Yes, Happy already told us about it,” answered Steve. “And he also told us that Pepper’s released multiple statements that it was faked, so—”

“Yeah, well, this congressman isn't buying it,” Natasha said. “Apparently his entire view is that by allowing the Avengers to operate as an independent, private organisation, we’re inviting copycat individuals and groups who believe that they’re above the law and can do whatever they want. Hence, an anti-vigilante bill.��

Tony was squeezing Steve’s hand so hard that his wedding ring was digging into his fingers. “Okay, I've heard enough. This is just goddamn ridiculous, and it’ll never even fly, so why are we even discussing it?”

“You're right, it probably won’t fly, or at least right away,” agreed Natasha. “Right now we have the court of public opinion on our side and the support of the sitting president. But next year just happens to be an election year, and like it or not, it doesn’t look good politically for a president to have had to rely on the Avengers to root out his domestic terrorists for him, so whoever his opponent ends up being, you can be sure that’ll be a huge part of their campaign. And as a part of that, there will be people who’ll start calling for the Avengers to be put under some other higher authority.”

“Which will never happen,” Tony said firmly. “Even Fury back in the beginning said that the Avengers were under Steve’s leadership and no one else’s.”

“Yes, but unfortunately Fury doesn’t have as much pull now as he used to,” Natasha pointed out. “I mean, we can’t even publicly acknowledge that SHIELD exists anymore, so—’

“That may be, but the Avengers’ mission is still the same,” Steve said in his Captain’s voice. “And it’ll remain the same until I say it’s not. We’ve never taken any endorsements or anything else from any outside sources, so there shouldn’t be anything that these politicians have on us.”

“Except for the video,” Natasha said grimly. “We can deny it’s authenticity all we want, but there are people out there who won’t believe it. And the more people who continue to talk about it, the more it’ll chip away at our integrity.”

“Oh, ‘cause integrity is such a big deal in D.C. and in the press,” Tony grumbled. He pressed his free hand to his chest, over the mass of scars where the arc reactor used to be. He still wasn't quite used to its absence.

“We’ll take care of this, Nat,” Steve said. “Somehow, we’ll take care of it. Right now I think the Avengers’ record can stand for itself, and we have the support of the current administration. That has to stand for something.”

“Yeah, and you can be damn sure that the president is going to milk that support for all it’s worth, babe,” Tony said. “And if it comes down to it, he’ll probably even ask for an official statement, especially if he feels like he might lose the upcoming election.”

Steve’s eyebrows knitted together in a deep frown. “Well, he’s not going to get it. We can’t start doing that, Tony, you know that. We can’t give anyone the idea that we’re supporting specific politicians, or that we’re receiving any special treatment from any of them. The Avengers as a group have to remain independent and neutral.”

The full chapter will post on Monday, August 19th 😊

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avengerscompound · 5 years ago

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Home - Chapter 10

Home: A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers

Word Count: 1964

Warnings: Angst, parenthood, sexual manipulation, action, injuries, underage drinking and drug-taking.

Synopsis: 16 Years after the death of Daisy, Steve and Bucky have successfully raised two teenage kids with telepathy. Teens are never easy to live with though. Sarah in particular likes to test boundaries. Now on top of all the usual challenges of parenting, they have to deal with troublemaking demigods, a daughter who just wants to be accepted for who she is and running the Avengers. That’s when the children of other super-powered individuals start going missing.

Chapter 10

Sarah and Loki stood outside the office door where Viper had locked herself after Hydra agents started dropping like flies. Sarah took the door handle in her hand and just as she went to twist it open Loki put his hand on hers.

“You don’t have to do this. This burden does not have to lie at your feet.” He said.

There was gunfire from inside, narrowly missing both Sarah and Loki. Sarah twisted the handle, shattering the lock and pushed the door open. “Yes, it does.” She snarled.

Viper raised her gun but Sarah stopped her gross motor functions. All Viper was able to do was stare straight ahead.

“Hello, Viper,” Sarah said, walking towards the woman. “How would you like me to kill you today? I could be kind. Let you use that cyanide pill you have stuck in your back tooth that you keep thinking about. Or I could just switch your brain off. That would be pretty painless. I did promise to tear your throat out with my teeth though. I don’t like breaking my promises.” She ran her fingers down Viper’s neck.

“I’m not scared of death, you foolish child.” Viper seethed.

“No, I can see that. I can see exactly what you’re scared of. Seeing as you love torturing little kids, maybe I’ll just trap you with that.” Sarah snapped. She closed her eyes and pushed. Viper fell to the ground trapped in a nightmare she couldn’t escape. She whimpered as she lay on the ground. Her body twitching.

“Sarah, stop this.” Loki soothed. “Let her go. Your fathers can arrest her.”

“Why should I?” Sarah yelled. “Do you know what she did to me? To the others? What she was was going to do to us?”

Loki ran his hand up and down Sarah’s arm. “I know. Trust me, I know better than anyone what it’s like to be consumed by the thoughts of vengeance.”

“You’re lecturing me?” Sarah snapped. She walked to where Viper lay whimpering on the ground and dragged her to her feet. Her fingernails bit into the skin on vipers throat. “You killed thousands of people. You were going to destroy Earth and you’re worried about her life?”

“I don’t care about her. She could die a thousand times over and I wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow.” Loki said, slowly approaching Sarah. “What I care about is you. Doing this. Killing a person in cold blood. It will change you.”

“Maybe I want to change. Maybe if I change people will start taking me seriously.”

“Sarah?”

The sound of Bucky’s voice made Sarah’s head snap around. “Daddy?”

“Let her go, honey.” Bucky soothed. “Let me take care of this.”

Sarah dropped Viper and ran to Bucky falling into his arms. Bucky held her tightly putting his chin on the top of her head.

Sarah’s mental hold on Viper released and she came to, stumbling to her feet. She lurched forward in an attempt to run but Loki caught her, sliding his blade effortlessly between her ribs. She screeched as Loki removed the blade and wiped it clean on her back. He let her go and she slithered to the ground.

“Loki! I said I’d take care of it.” Bucky snapped.

“And now you don’t have to. No need to thank me, soldier.” Loki said, waving his hand.

Jamie and Bucky supported Sarah as they left the facility. When they reached the exit, an icy blast of air hit them in the face. Sarah shivered. She was still only wearing the light white cotton Hydra dressed her in.

Steve spotted them and ran over embracing his daughter. “Oh god, Sare. I was so scared.” He breathed.

“So was I,” Sarah replied, breaking down in tears.

The Avengers got all the missing children situated on the jet and notified the authorities to the Hydra base and the incident that had occurred.

Bucky and Steve pulled Loki aside on the Quinjet.

“What happened in the base?” Steve asked.

“I found the children together. Sarah had already taken out three guards and opened their cells. Those people that had them had inserted something into their necks. Some kind of Midgardian technology to negated their gifts. Sarah was about to cut it out of that one there.” He pointed to Danielle.

“Oh god.” Bucky groaned.

“Then what happened?” Steve pressed.

“I removed the devices from each of the children. We fought our way out.” Loki explained. “I say we. It was mostly Sarah. That small blue child can phase into things and disrupt technology. He is the reason we were easily able to break through the doors. But Sarah just made everyone we came across fall asleep. It was quite boring in the end.”

“What about the dead woman?” Steve asked.

“That was me. I’d apologize but I am not sorry for that. She was in charge. She tortured those children. I wouldn’t normally concern myself with such petty trivialities, but I have grown fond of you mortals. Particularly your family.” Loki said.

Steve scowled but chose not to press it. Instead, he moved back to check on the children.

“I heard what you said to Sarah,” Bucky said when Steve was out of earshot. “I just – I wanted – Thank you. You’re right. It would have changed her. Killing. It puts a stain on you that is impossible to erase.”

“Why Barnes, are you getting all emotional on me?” Loki laughed. “The next thing I know I’ll be invited on the next Rogers’ family picnic.”

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up,” Bucky said. “Just thank you. And thank you for finding her.”

Epilogue

“Alright, Sare. I think that’s it.” Olive said, securing the last clasp on Sarah’s uniform.

A year had passed and a lot had changed.

Sarah was now homeschooled. Primarily taught by Vision. Her grades had evened out and she found that without all the noise she could actually learn. She wasn’t just leaching off what other people were thinking.

With Sarah away from school Olive had started to realize that her feelings for Sarah were real. She wasn’t confused. She didn’t just not like boys because the ones around her were all terrible. She liked girls and specifically, she liked Sarah. Her powers didn’t matter. Sarah had never given Olive a reason not to trust her. Sarah’s powers were scary but she’d never used them to hurt her. So Olive had called Sarah and said she’d missed her. They had started hanging out outside of school and had now been dating nine months.

The Avengers had started a program to help train enhanced children with their abilities. So they could both control them, but they could protect themselves if people came after them. It was called the Young Avengers Initiative and for the most part, just acted as a weekend or summer holiday style program. Depending on how far the children had to travel. For extreme cases, the children moved into the compound and were looked after like family. They also studied with Vision and were trained by ex Avengers such as Clint, Natasha, and Tony.

Today was the day the first graduate moved up to the rank of official, the government recognized Avenger.

Sarah had her uniform. She had her code name. Now she had to just show everyone what she could do.

“Thanks, Olive. Oh god. I’m so nervous.” Sarah said.

Olive smoothed her hands down the red, blue and white stripes of that ran down Sarah’s midriff. She leaned over and gently grazed her lips over Sarah’s. “You’re gonna do fine. You were born for this.”

Sarah and Olive walked down the hall and stepped outside into the sun. The training grounds looked like a crowd had assembled for a kids soccer game. Children and adults lined a rectangular pitched and all talked and played while they waited for the proceedings to start.

Olive kissed Sarah on the cheek and veered away from her, heading in the direction of the crowd. Sarah walked towards Steve who was standing in the middle of the field.

The crowd cheered when they saw her.

Steve smiled. “Today we are here to welcome the first graduate of the Young Avengers Initiative through the ranks to become an official Avenger,” Steve shouted. The crowd cheered again. “But first we have to see what she has to offer the team.” He turned to Sarah. “Liberty, let’s see what you can do without your powers.”

Steve lunged at Sarah but Sarah stopped his gross motor functions. “Sarah, I said no powers.” Steve scolded.

“No, you didn’t.” Sarah pushed.

“No, I didn’t,” Steve repeated back.

There was laughter from the crowd. An arrow suddenly flew in Sarah’s direction. She ducked out of the way of its trajectory and glared at Jamie. He stood on the sidelines with his bow raised.

“Stop cheating, Sarah.” He scolded.

“Ugh, fine,” Sarah said, letting her dad go.

Steve shook himself. “Cheeky.” He laughed and came at her again.

He and Sarah sparred. They were quite evenly matched. Steve had the experience and size but Sarah knew his moves before he made them and strength-wise she took after him.

He threw his shield at her and she swatted it out of the air. As it fell she jumped and used it as a launchpad to attack Steve from above. She caught him with her thighs and flipped him out of the field.

Carol came at her. Flying in from above and shooting energy blasts.

“No fair!” Sarah cried as she zigzagged across the field avoiding them. “How come you get to use your powers and I can’t use mine?”

“You’ve got this, Sare,” Carol replied.

Sarah scooped Steve’s shield up from the field and used it to deflect an energy blast straight back at Carol. Carol got knocked backward out of the field.

Sarah felt Scott coming towards her. “I know where you are, Uncle Scott.” She said.

“But what about if I do this?” Scott appeared out of nowhere, returning to his original size and launching himself at Sarah. Sarah feinted to the left and Scott went sprawling on the ground.

“Yes. I know where you are when you do that too.” Sarah smirked.

Ants started swarming onto the field. “Please don’t make me kill your ant friends, Uncle Scott.” She groaned.

“Okay, Liberty. You can now show us your powers.” Steve shouted over the crowd.

Sarah grinned and looked at Scott.

“Oh, shit…” Scott cursed, scrambling backward away from her.

Bucky approached Steve and hooked his arm around Steve’s waist. “She looks pretty good out there.” He said.

Sarah had taken control of Scott’s body and was using him to get rid of the ants.

“She’s going to be an asset to the team. I just wish I could have protected her from this life.” Steve agreed.

“It never ends. The fighting. There’s always something else to fight for. Better she can defend herself than just be a victim of the next thing that comes.” Bucky said. “Besides, it’s what she’s chosen for herself. Jamie chose to opt-out of being an Avenger. He’s happy living a normal life. It’s good for him. Sarah chose this. Just like you did. If there was anything I wanted for them it would be the ability to chose what they do. I didn’t really get that.”

Steve leaned over and kissed Bucky, pulling their bodies tightly together. “I love you. You know that right?”

“Yeah, I know. I love you too, ya punk.” Bucky grinned.

Steve ruffled his hair and pulled away. He stepped out into the field.

“I think you’ve proved yourself a worthy member of the team.” He shouted. “So with this new member of the group. Come welcome your new teammate. Avengers…”

~ END ~

#bucky barnes #steve rogers #captain america #the winter soldier #bucky barnes x steve rogers #captain america fanfic #the winter soldier fanfic #stucky #fanfic #fanfiction #finding home #home

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5am-raining · 6 years ago

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An interesting article about the Gloria films my classmate found! (in reference to the Gloria therapy films with Fritz Perls, just Google it if you’re interested in watching). All of this is taken from https://www.psychotherapy.net/blog/title/the-gloria-films-candid-answers-to-questions-therapists-ask-most.

“ When I penned an article and a book chapter on the classic Gloria Films some years ago I never dreamed these pieces would continue to bring me a seemingly endless string of correspondence. Indeed, this classic video influenced the psychotherapy training and subsequent practice strategies for thousands and thousands of helpers. To this day the battle rages on about whether this work of art was the savior of psychotherapy, or psychotherapy’s worst nightmare. Recently a graduate student contacted me with a string of seriously good questions. In this blog I shall share those questions with my answers to shed a tad more light on this major artifact of the 20th century counseling and psychotherapy movement. Okay, let’s do this! Question: Is the Gloria Film the actual name of the training video? I couldn't find an official reference for it? Answer: No, the actual title was Three Approaches to Psychotherapy I, II, and III, but folks dubbed it the Gloria Films.

Question: Is the work really as old as it looks? I mean it comes across as ancient. Answer: That’s because it is ancient. The actual filming took place in 1964 and the movie was released in 1965. In 1964 the Beatles made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show and in 1965, "The Sound of Music" was a big hit at the box office, and the mini-skirt was just released. Question: Who came up with the idea for the project? Answer: The mastermind (aka the producer and director) behind the flick was a California psychologist and psychotherapist of note, Everett.L. Shostrom. He created some self-actualization inventories and two years after the Gloria films he authored a successful book, Man the Manipulator. Question: Why do you think Dr. Shostrum got involved in this project? Answer: At that time a shroud of secrecy had permeated professional psychotherapeutic helping. The books gave mountains of information about theories, but there was very little literature about what therapists actually said to clients. In 1950 Shostrom recorded the late, great Carl Ransom Rogers with a client on a magnetic wire (yes, go ahead and laugh, this predated digital, cassettes, reel to reel, and eight-track recordings). But: It was not to be. The recording was lost forever when the head of the history department recorded his own presentation of Adam and Eve on the wire recorder! I mean seriously, could I make that up? Question: Why did Dr. Shostrom choose Albert Ellis, Carl Rogers, and Frederick (Fritz) Perls as the therapists? Answer: Well, quite frankly, it was an all-star line-up. A lot of folks in the field felt these three helpers were the dream team . . . the best in the world, if you will. Perls created gestalt therapy; Ellis pioneered RET or rational emotive therapy (abbreviated RT at the time of the filming); while Rogers was the father of nondirective counseling which in today’s world is often called person-centered counseling. Question: Why do my professors always call the approach by Ellis REBT? Is that the same thing as RET? Answer: Late in his career Ellis added the “B” to stand for behavior based on the longstanding recommendation of a well-known psychologist and psychotherapy book author Raymond J. Corsini. Question: Had Gloria met Perls, Rogers, and Ellis prior to the filming and what did she know about them? Answer: No. She just knew they were prominent therapists and would each have approximately 15 or 20 minutes to cure her of what ailed her. Question: Was Gloria a real client or merely an actress pretending to be a client? Answer: Oh definitely, a real client. In 1963 Shostrom put together a film titled "Introduction to Psychotherapy." The film featured an actress who was pretending to be a real client. Shostrom was not happy with the movie, nor the acting, hence a real client, Gloria, was cast for 1965 project. Question: I thought Perls acted like a jerk during his session. Do you have any evidence that Perls was aware of how he was coming across? I am totally sure my current internship supervisor would never allow me to treat a client in such a mean manner. Answer: I can say with great certainty that Perls was aware of his actions. At one point in the session he quips, "Well, Gloria, can you sense one thing? We had a good fight?" Question: So how do experts who practice gestalt therapy defend the practice of this theory? Answer: Well, generally speaking, they say something like, "You don't need to do therapy exactly like Perls to be a gestalt therapist." To be fair, I have heard top practitioners say precisely the same thing about Ellis, though to be sure they are not talking the way Ellis came across in this movie. If you ever witnessed a therapy session or workshop conducted by Ellis he was often prone to use a little off color language, and that's putting it mildly! Question: Okay, well here is my biggest question and the one I really want to know the answer to. In the movie, Rogers comes across in a very warm moving way. Ellis, is seemingly a tad less empathic, but not bad, while Perls is flat out mean to her. After Gloria experiences therapy sessions with all of them she is asked which therapist she would most like to continue therapy with and she chooses Dr. Perls. I was shocked. I mean, I just thought Rogers was the hands down winner. What in the world was going on here? Answer: You were surprised, I was surprised, my entire graduate class at the time we viewed the films was surprised, and seemingly countless others who viewed the sessions were in shock and awe. There was just something not quite right about her choice of Perls. I didn’t buy into it then and I sure don’t buy it now. In fact, it was her strange choice of Perls which piqued my interest in researching the movie. Personally, I thought it was the strangest response (from a client who was not psychotic) I had come across in the entire field of psychotherapy, and that's saying a lot! Question: Did you find it difficult to research this film? Answer: Do birds fly? Absolutely. Lots of people were trying to piece this puzzle together with very little success. Perhaps the most remarkable was a fellow I corresponded with in another country who was actually offering small rewards for information. Seemingly folks with connections to the film just were not talking. On one occasion a person who actually knew Shostrom told me he insisted I share anything I came up with him before I had it published! He wanted to approve or disapprove of what I was going to write. What? (Excuse me, but when did America stop being a free country? Just asking.) He also refused to give me any information and told me it wasn't relevant why Gloria chose Perls. This made me even more suspicious and made me want to research this even more! Question: Did Gloria ever see Perls after the interview and if so what transpired? I hope the transaction was more cordial than the therapy session. Answer: Yes they saw each other, but no it wasn't pleasant! According to Gloria, after the cameras stopped rolling and the experts and movie crew were preparing to depart, Perls used Gloria as a human ash tray (not a misprint). He motioned for her to hold her hands cupped with her palms facing up. He then flicked his cigarette ashes into her hand. Question: Geez, that's downright abusive, wouldn't you agree? Answer: Yeah! At the very, very least I could safely say it is behavior that was unbecoming of the father of a major psychotherapy modality. Question: Lots of folks on the web accuse Gloria of having an affair with Rogers or Ellis. Some even suggest she married one of them. Any truth to the rumors? Answer: Totally false. Junk science. Not a shred of evidence to support these claims. In fact, to the contrary, Gloria became very close to Rogers and his wife. Question: Okay, so I can't wait another moment. Why did Gloria pick Perls as her favorite? Rogers came across so empathic. Wasn't he surprised when Gloria did not choose him? I have heard therapists say that Perls was chosen because she realized she needed a tough helper and he would not allow her to remain disturbed. Answer: Rogers did admit he was baffled. In my mind Rogers gave a flawless performance. I'd give him five stars. Six if I could. As the session began to wind down Gloria says, "Gee, I'd like you for my father." Rogers replies, "You look to me like a pretty nice daughter." As you remarked earlier, it was very moving and Rogers came across as an ideal billboard advertisement for his own theory. Moments after the session with Rogers Gloria announced that, "All in all I feel good about this interview." Three years before he passed away, Ellis told me that Gloria hated Perls for the rest of her life. Ellis revealed that the movie was "a fake" in the sense that, prior to the filming Gloria had seen Shostrom for four years of psychotherapy. When the film was produced Rogers didn't know this either. At the time, Shostrom was a supporter of Perls. To quote Ellis, "He [Shostrom] got her to say it was Perls who helped her, when he actually didn't." Was Gloria experiencing positive transference toward Shostrom? Was it just that she didn't want to disappoint her therapist? Could it have been that she was petrified of Perls? I don't have the definitive answer, but I think all of the aforementioned issues most likely entered into this. Just for the record Ellis felt he tried to cover too much in his own session with Gloria, and thus while his intervention was not horrific, he was clearly not at the top of his own psychotherapeutic game. Question: So what is the take-away message you think counselors and therapists need to know? Answer: Well, first let me be 100% crystal clear that there are occasions when a helper must be direct and use confrontation. No argument about that. Not now, not ever. However, after watching the movie, countless generations of therapists came away with the false notion that a sarcastic, up in your face, card carrying mental judo therapist (in this instance Perls) will walk away with the grand prize. Over the years I routinely heard therapists, supervisors, and my own students brag, "I got right up in the client's face and came across like Perls in the movie," thinking that was the best approach. According to Gloria's daughter (referred to as Pammy, just a fifth-grader at the time of the film), who authored Living with the 'Gloria Films': A daughter's memory in 2013, these Perls wannabes got it oh so wrong. After perusing her book it is safe to say the brief session with Perls negatively impacted her for the rest of her life. Question: Is Gloria still alive? Answer: Sadly, Gloria passed away in her mid-forties after a battle with cancer. I believe Gloria said it best herself as she was fond of saying, "Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear." Every aspiring and practicing therapist who wants to complete the emerging gestalt should see this film. “

(Via https://www.psychotherapy.net/blog/title/the-gloria-films-candid-answers-to-questions-therapists-ask-most)

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silentprincess100 · 7 years ago

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SEKAIICHI HATSUKOI ONODERA RITSU NO BAAI Chapter 27 Preliminary Translation (for the impatient)!!!

**MAJOR SPOILERS**

If you’re like me, you see the new foreign language raws of Sekakoi and are dying to read them right away. For those people, I’ve drafted a preliminary translation of the long-awaited twenty-seventh chapter of The Case of Onodera Ritsu, which just came out on the 29th!!! My translations are from Chinese, so I can’t vouch for how closely they follow the original Japanese text. As a die-hard fan of Sekakoi, I tried to translate Takano and Onodera as I understand (and LOVE!!) them as people. Just a note, though, my translations air on the liberal interpretation side and hope to refit the text to sound natural (or as natural as possible) in English, so if you’re looking for a word-for-word translation, you won’t find it here. Additionally, I know that there is a group who is officially scanlating SIH, and I do not mean to step on anyone’s toes or offend anyone. This is not a full scanlation in the slightest – it’s just for those who want a quick translation. I would be MORE THAN ECSTATIC AND EXTREMELY HONORED if the scanlation group covering SIH wants to work off of any of my translations, but please contact me if you do. :D

Credits for the scans that I used to translate go to Tong Meng Hui同萌繪（ cute and clever name by the way – my inner Chinese history geek heartily approves） scanlation group. The link to their scanlation is here, and I take ABSOLUTELY NO CREDIT for it: https://weibo.com/u/1582384823?is_hot=1#_rnd1514689495071.

Lastly, Shungiku Nakamura’s works belong to her, of course. Please buy the originals to support her work!! (By the way, there is a special thirteenth volume coming out in May with an extra booklet and some sort of marriage related special??!!).

So!! Enjoy, and feel free to send suggestions. Any errors are mine alone!

*Edited for a read-more function and some small errors. Sorry everyone and thank you for your patience.

Title Page:

Surely, these minute details of everyday life will one day become precious memories.

[May 1st Release – Onodera Ritsu no Baai Volume 13 (special edition and extra booklet) Now in pre-sale!!

Also on sale are the extremely popular SIH volumes 1-12 and Junjou Romantica 1-22.

Ultra-capable Editor in Chief x Newbie editor’s sightly realistic publishing company world love story!

SIH will be released as an app-game for smart-phones!!!!

Page 2:

Every time I cross over

Those pink tracks…

Page 3:

clang clang clang

Page 4:

Ritsu: Eh? You’ve moved there?

Mutou Sensei: Oh, do you know the area?

Ritsu: Yes, that was the closest station to my high school! Mutou sensei: Ahhh... I see!

Ritsu: Ah yes, but that you have moved to Tokyo is really quite the surprise.

Mutou sensei: Ahaha. Because handing in the manuscripts on-time and securing assistants was never that convenient…. (I’d about reached my limits!) Ritsu: Ah.

Page 5:

Ritsu: Also, I know you must be very busy unpacking… but regarding the manuscript… Mutou sensei: It’s no problem at all. I’ve just finished it!

Ritsu: Really? Fantastic! Thank you for your hard work!!! Ah, so could I come pick it up now?

Ok, great, thank you so much, you’ve been a great help. Ok, I will see you soon.

RItsu (thoughts): it has been so long since I’ve been to XX station….

Looking out the windows of the train on my way to school, every year there would always be cherry blossoms lining the tracks…

Page 6:

[And

Day

After day

I would be secretly watching Sempai from behind on my way to school.

GAHH~!!!!! Stop thinking about that dark history!!!!!

page 7:

Takano: What the hell are you doing?

Ritsu: !?(startle!) Why are you here?

Takano: Um maybe because I work here…?

Here are the materials for the meeting. Remember to look them over before tomorrow.

Ritsu: Huh? Ah, okay!

Oh, I am headed over to Mutou Sensei’s house to pick up the manuscript.

Takano: Mutou sensei’s?

Ritsu: Yes, it seems she just moved to Tokyo yesterday.

Takano: No way.

page 8

Takano: Where does she live?

Ritsu: Um. Well …

At XX station on YY line.

Takano: XX station?

Ah!

That's –

[Don’t say it!!!] stands up abruptly Ah, well, then I’m headed off.

Takano: Hang on. I’ll be heading out to meet with an author as well, so why don’t we go together?

Ritsu: Ah… but… um…

Takano: What?

Ritsu: It’s nothing.

Ritsu (thinking): If I seem too flustered, he’ll think that I care about it too much!!

page 9:

Takano: Achoo

Ritsu: Have you caught a cold? Takano: Well, it’s not at full cold status yet, just the first signs.

Ritsu: (Hmph!) Takano-san, it seems that someone hasn’t been taking care of themselves.

Takano: Ah… maybe.

So, why don’t you come over to my house today to take care of me. I’ll make dinner for you. (Aren’t you done for today after picking up the manuscript?)

Ritsu: Blush I’m not going!!

Takano: Oh, right. Here, take this.

page 10

Ritsu: ?

Takano: It’s the key to my apartment.

Ritsu: Huh?

Takano: You can come over whenever you want. Also, as a thank you in return, give me the key to your apartment.

Ritsu: Wha?

Takano: Or why don’t we just move in together. Otherwise, you might die alone at your house and I might never know.

If we live together, the house would be super neat and there would always be hot food to eat, now doesn’t that sound nice?

Ritsu: Huh? Wait!!!

Takano: And then I wouldn’t have to worry about your friend anymore.

page 11:

RItsu: Wha – what are you talking about?

Takano: Anyway, come over today.

Ritsu: No thank you – please allow me to decline!

Takano: Why? Ritsu: Well because judging by past experiences… (t/n this could also be “well because common sense tells me…”)

[Ah. The key to Takano-san’s apartment. I remember.]

Takano: What?

Ritsu: … it’s nothing.

Takano: If you have something to say, just say it.

Ritsu: I don’t…

Takano: Onodera.

Ritsu: …

…

Well, that is,

That key to your apartment.. wasn’t it… that was Yokozawa’s before, right?

page 12:

Ritsu: ...I just suddenly thought of it, that’s all!

An-anyway I’ve got somewhere to be, so I’m heading off. I’ll see you later.

Takano: Onodera.

I’ve already had him return that key to me.

Ritsu: Huh? It’s not as if - I’m not –

Takano: I’m sorry.

page 13:

Takano: I should have told you properly. I’m sorry.

I had already asked for the key that I gave to Yokozawa back. The key I just gave you is a new one.

Ritsu: Huh? Ah! I already said that I’m not –

[No no – it can’t seem as if I care about this too much!!]

Ritsu: A-and anyways we rent our apartments, how could you give one to someone else? What will happen when you leave that place?

Takano: I talked it over with the building management before I made this one, so it’s not a problem.

Because, I wanted you to have it no matter what.

page 14:

Takano: So take it. clink

Ritsu: Wai-

Takano: Bye-bye. I’ll leave Mutou sensei to you then.

Ritsu: Takano-san!!!

Woman: Good work.

Takano: You too.

Ritsu’s thought: ……Heyyyy…., even if you give me that thing…

page 15:

slam

Ritsu (thoughts): I’m returning it to him. This is me returning it to him!

Ugh god, what is that person thinking?!

Kisa: Ricchan, you haven’t left yet?

Ritsu: Hahaha, ah, no, I forgot something…

Ritsu (thoughts): Just because he gave me a key, he tells me to give him my key and to live with him. I totally cannot understand what he is thinking!

[but]

Ritsu’s thoughts: this way…

[He took his key back (from Yokozawa)]

page 16:

ding

Nao: oh, hey! If it isn’t Ritsu!

Ritsu: Nao! You’re working at Marukawa today?

Nao: Yep. I’ve gotten another job here besides the photo collection book. And what are you up to?

Ritsu: I’m on my way to pick up a manuscript.

Nao: (?!) Oh? So you have to go door-to-door to pick up the manuscripts yourself?

Ritsu: No, not every time. This time the author had just happened to have recently moved here, so I thought I’d pay a visit.

Nao: Oh okay, is it nearby?

Ritsu: No, maybe 30-40 minutes by train. Seems to be near my old school – which caught me by surprise!

Page 17:

Nao: Huuuuh. Did you suggest that place to sensei?

Ritsu: No, it was just a coincidence!

Nao: Uh-huh…

Ritsu: Then, I’ll see you later!

Nao: I’ll go with you.

Ritsu: What?

Nao: Well, I was just getting ready to head back anyway.

Ritsu: Huh? Um… but I’m going for work…

Nao: It’s fine, it’s fine. I won’t go with you to the author’s house.

page 18:

Ritsu: Ummmm..but.. Nao: I just want to see what your old school was like! After I take a look, I’ll head back on my own – so there’s no issue, right?

Ritsu: That is….. Errrrr…. Um…

Page 19:

Announcement: XX station. XX station. Doors will open on your left.

(sound effect: clang clang clang)

page 20:

Nao: Ritsu? The gate finally went up (Ah. Sure took its time.)

Ritsu: Oh right, sorry! Um, it’s this way! The school is about five minutes walking distance from here.

Nao: OK. Nao: Hey, is it that building right over there? Ritsu: Ah, yes.

RItsu (thoughts): The uniforms haven’t changed at all.

Nao: Wowww, pretty impressive school you have here!!

page 21:

[Ahhhh…. Right. Takano-san and I have definitely walked this path before…]

Startle

Ritsu (thoughts): It seems I’ve started thinking of a lot of different things….

(muddle muddle)

That sort of sordid history can’t be summed up with simple “nostalgia….”

Nao: Has it changed?

page 22:

RItsu: Huh?

Nao: The school.

Ritsu: Oh, I’m not sure. From the outside, it looks like it hasn’t changed…

Nao: Well I’m sure they’ve renovated it since then.

Ritsu: Ah, that’s true…

Nao: …. Uh huh…. Ten years ago, you met Saga-sempai here huh….

Ritsu: What? (*heartbeat*) Ah, um…. Yeah.

Nao: Hmm….

page 23:

Nao: I clearly don’t know anything about the Ritsu of that time, and yet that person does. It really doesn’t sit well with me.

Ritsu: Huh? What are you talking abou-

Nao: Ritsu.

I really do love you.

Page 24:

Ritsu: …..

…. What?

Nao: At first it was just because I thought you were at risk and couldn’t stop worrying about you that I became your friend.

But after that, after spending each day with you, slowly but surely, I started to really understand you. And then, I fell in love with you.

Narration: [He did recently say, “I’m serious about this.” Could it be… that it was true?]

Page 25:

Ritsu: B-but, in all the time I’ve known you, you’ve never…

Nao: Well, that’s obviously because I didn’t want to let you find out.

It was, after all, under those circumstances, and I also thought maybe I was confusing feelings of empathy with romantic interest.

But later I realized that it was, in fact, interest.

And you never mentioned anything about Saga-sempai again. I even breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that you had finally given him up.

Because I had seen how depressed you were then, I thought that any confession that I would make might cause you even more pain.

So, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

page 26:

Nao: Rather than risk pushing you away with a confession, it would be better to continue to be friends… is what I thought. So I didn’t say anything.

… but… in the end, I couldn’t accept that.

After we parted I also had a lot of different experiences, but in the end, from then until now, it was always you that I loved

Ritsu: O-oh, is that so… I’m sorry. At the time, because I was so caught up in my own affairs, I never noticed.

Nao: Ahahaha. You really are thick-headed.

page 27:

Nao: Are you still in love with Saga-sempai?

Ritsu: Huh?

Nao: Ritsu, don’t let yourself get hurt like you did last time.

Ritsu: Hu-hurt? I was never-

Nao: So… it is just that you’ve been restrained by these feelings of “I liked him,” am I right?

page 28:

Nao: I don’t want to see you like that ever again.

Ritsu: Nao… Nao.

Nao: Even if he has changed his name, he is still that same guy that hurt you!

Since he is your boss, I can’t ask you not to see him again, but to be honest, just seeing him by your side - it pisses me off.

page 29:

Nao: I hope that you will take some time to think this over properly, so you don’t have to give me an answer right now.

But from now on I hope you can see me as a potential romantic partner.

Well, then, I’m heading off now. Bye bye!

Ritsu: Eh – Nao!

Nao: I’m satisfied by seeing the school; hurry up and pick up your manuscript!

Ah. Ritsu. I just want you to remember this.

page 30:

Nao: I definitely treasure you more. At least a lot more than any “Saga-sempai” or “Takano san” ever could.

page 31:

[… … … Nao.

He is serious about me. He truly is a good friend. When I had fallen so deeply into the pit of despair, he was always there to support me. It’s hard to even say just how much he helped me.]

Ritsu (thoughts): Because I had always seen him as a friend, I never even noticed… He said he didn’t need an answer right away, but I should have let him down right then.

Even if he says that he wants me to see him as a romantic partner, I still only see him as a friend.

[And what’s more…]

Memory: Nao: So… it is just that you’ve been restrained by these feelings of “I liked him,” am I right?

page 32:

[…. Could that be it?]

Ritsu (thoughts): No, that can’t be right. My past was always a dark patch of history devoid of any sort of happy memories.

And what’s even more, with the ten years intervening, it is hard to even glimpse a shadow of what it was like back then.

Yes, that’s it.

[Not only tyrannical, but also unyielding, his personality is the worst, and he is always doing all this inappropriate stuff to me].

……

[But.]

[He’s very capable when it comes to work, and every manga that he has a hand in creating is interesting. He does say things that are way over the line… but in the end, his advice is always on the mark.]

page 33:

[When I succeed, he praises me, and he also has always believed in me… moreover, he says that he has never stopped loving me over these past ten years.]

….

I should really clear things up with Nao.

[I’m not being restrained by old feelings. And I’m not being controlled by them either. I really need to tell him that it is not like that at all.]

page 34:

Ritsu: Huh?

Hatori: Welcome back. That took a while, huh.

Ritsu: Ah, I’m sorry about that. When I picked up the manuscript, we also chatted about content for next chapter.

Takano-san isn’t back yet?

Hatori: He said that he was headed straight home after his meeting with the author.

Ritsu: Huh?!

Hatori: Did something happen?

Ritsu: Eh? Ah, no! I see, so that’s what he said.

Oh, well, then I’ll be headed off as well.

Hatori: Okay, good work today.

page 35:

[Anyway – his key! What should I do with it?!]

Ritsu (thoughts): Since he went straight home, that means that he has to have another key, right? Then, it’s a non-issue. I’ll just leave the key here and go straight home, right?!

But what if some sort of accident happens if I leave it here – that’s scary to think about.

We-well, but, why does it have to be me who worries about this kind of stuff?

phone rings

Ritsu: Hello?!!

Takano: I don’t have a key, so I can’t get into my house.

Ritsu: What?

Why?

Takano: Didn’t I just give my key to you?

page 36:

Ritsu: Huh? But that’s a spare, right? Don’t you have another set?

Takano: I left them at home.

Ritsu: What?!

Takano: Aren’t you finished with work already anyways? Come back; I’ll make dinner for you.

Ritsu (thoughts): Okay, you DEFINITELY did that on purpose just because I didn’t agree to eat dinner with you. You KNEW your other key was at your house, and purposefully gave me your only key…

Takano: If you don’t come back, then I can’t make dinner, so get moving.

Ritsu: Please don’t be so difficult! Why couldn’t you have just not given me the key in the first place? Takano: ACHOO

page 37:

Takano: Achooo

Ritsu: Hey, wait a second, are you alright?

Takano: sniff What?

Ritsu: You have a cold, don’t you?

Takano: I don’t.

Achoo

Ritsu: Ahh, you do, though. Okay, okay, I get it, I get it.

[DAMNNIT!!] grabs

[Doing this sort of childish thing just to play around with people– it would clearly be best if I just let him deal with things by himself.]

Ritsu (thoughts): But, if his cold gets worse and he tries to pin this all on me, that’ll suck.

page 38:

[I really want to tell him that he is just getting what he deserves. Are you an idiot?! What the heck is going on in the brain of yours? This isn’t for Takano-san at all. It’s only because I have a lot that I want to say that I’m running…. And bringing Takano-san’s key…]

page 39:

Ritsu panting from running

Ah ha ah hah

Ritsu: WHAA?

Takano: I’m starving. (It’s hot out.)

Ritsu: And I just ran all the way here from the station!!

Takano: You’re kidding.

Ritsu: I’m not! Because if you died in the doorway, I’d have nightmares. (You just figured that out now, didn’t you?!)

Takano: ….

Ah….

page 40:

Takano: Thanks. pat pat Sorry, but I’m super happy right now.

Ritsu: Please! Please don’t do such childish things!

Takano: All I did was give you my key.

Ritsu: So, I’m saying, this sort of thing –

Takano: Here. Drink this.

Ritsu (thoughts): Huh…? Isn’t this already half empty? Which means…

Takano: Our relationship is past the point of being embarrassed over indirect kisses, no?

Ritsu: TAKANO-SAN!!!!! (blush blush blush!)

Takano: Alright, alright.

Were you able to collect the manuscript?

page 41:

Ritsu: Ah, yes. Sensei also sends her regards.

Takano: Where’s her house near?

RItsu: Oh, remember the bus station in front of the school? It’s that apartment that you can see right after you turn onto the side-road.

Takano: … Ah. It’s sort of coming back to me. Actually, I remember standing in front of the street-gate waiting for it to go up and getting pissed when it wouldn’t. (Ritsu – bdmp)

Is it still the same?

Ritsu: Eh, ah, yes. B-but I never thought I had to wait long there.

Takano: No way.

Ritsu: … Ah. B-but Nao also complained that it took forever.

page 42:

RItsu urk : Ah….

Takano: …

You. You went with Nao to pick up the manuscript?

Ritsu: … Um… about that… Please let me explain.

Takano: In the hallway?

Ritsu: Huh? Ah, ummm. Then I’ll just send you an email when I get home.

Takano: Didn’t I just tell you? I don’t have a key.

Page 43:

Takano: Open the door.

Ritsu: …

k-chak

Takano: Go on.

blocking the way

Ritsu: Ta-takano-san. Um. Nao was at the company for work, and I just happened to run into him in the lobby.

page 44:

Ritsu: I – after I said that Sensei’s house was close to my old school, he said he wanted to come see it. I turned him down, but in the end I wasn’t able to lose him.

Ah, but of course, I didn’t tell him Mutou Sensei’s address. We just walked together next to the school, and then split up.

Takano: What did you talk about?

Ritsu: Just some regular topics.

Takano: What do you mean by “regular?”

Ritsu: J-just. About school. About old times.

Takano: And you were confessed to as well, weren’t you?

page 45:

Ritsu: startle

Takano: …. So what did you say.

Ritsu: Please don’t use such leading questions to interrogate me!

Takano: But if I didn’t do that, you wouldn’t say anything, no?

Ritsu: O-okay yes, he confessed, but I said before that I only see Nao as a friend, so I was surprised.

Takano: And how did you respond?

Ritsu: I- I didn’t. Because he said that I didn’t need to respond right away.

Takano: …

Ritsu: And!

page 46:

Takano: And what?

Ritsu: ….

Ritsu: I’m heading back. Here is your key!!

Grab

Ritsu: Wha-

Takano: You still haven’t answered me.

Ritsu: Please let me go!

Push

Ritsu: Waa!!

Takano: So. After I find out that the person I like has been confessed to, you expect me to hold my composure?

page 47:

Takano: Even when it was just that the guy knew things about those ten years of yours that I didn’t, I was pissed. Why did it have to be at this time, another moment in which I wasn’t there, that you were confessed to?

[E-even if you say that]

Takano: …

Even though I’ve resolved myself to waiting for you, I can still get worried.

So. How many more times do I have to hold you for you to finally belong to me? (t/n also could be read as how many times do we have to sleep together for you to finally belong to me.)

page 48:

Takano: Ritsu. I love you.

So, hurry up and give your full self to me

page 49:

mouth mouth

RItsu: Haaa

Tremble

Ritsu: Ha

Ritsu: Wai-

Drop

RItsu: Ah, ha tremble

Takano: You’re so warm.

bite

page 50:

glub glub

Ritsu: hah hah

page 51:

Ritsu: Hah, hah hah

suckle suckle suckle, kiss kiss kiss

RItsu: Ta-takano san! (hahh)

Liiiick

Takano: What?

Ritsu: It’s – it’s already…

If you contin…ue…

Mouth

Jolt

page 52:

Ritsu: Ahh!!

Ritsu (thought): Ah. Because there is a layer of cloth between us, I feel like, somehow, it’s not enough.

Fondle fondle, grope, grope

Takano: Is it uncomfortable?

RItsu: (hahh) I-it…

Takano: Do you want to get off?

Ritsu: Didn’t I just tell you to stop these leading questions?

Takano: And didn’t I just tell you to give your full self to me?

Ritsu: Hah. Hah.

page 53:

RItsu: ……

…. It’s too embarrassing. Please don’t look.

page 54:

RItsu: Ah, ah. Ah ah.

Thrust thrust thrust

Takano’s thoughts: Ahhh…. Feels great.

page 55:

thrust hahh

[Right now, what I’m feeling in my heart, it isn’t just old emotions.]

Ritsu (thought): Ah, so deep.

RItsu (thought): Ah. Why does he always touch there….

What should I do… It feels so good.

[There is a sort of feeling that doesn’t solely belong to then, and yet also doesn’t solely belong to now, that is slowly blossoming within my chest.]

Lick

Memory: Are you in love with Saga-sempai?

page 56:

Takano: Ritsu.

[But to think that this feeling might be “love”?]

thrust

Ritsu: Ah!

turns over

Takano: Man, you’re a mess.

page 57:

[On the other hand, if this isn’t “love” then what else can it be called?]

Ritsu: Takano san. Hah hah.

[This feeling is slowly building up, and the more it builds up, the stronger it gets.]

[How much longer will it be until I finally escape his hold on me?]

page 58:

Takano and Onodera: ACHOOO.

Takano: Your greeting?

Ritsu: Good morning!!

Takano: Morning. What, do you have a cold?

Ritsu: NO!

page 59:

Ritsu (thoughts): It can’t be that I caught Takano-san’s cold. That would suck!!

Sniffle

Ritsu: Takano-san, you’re up early today.

Takano: I have a meeting first thing. (pain in the ass!)

But that means we can head to the office together.

clang clang

Takano: By the way, when I heard you talk about old school memories, I thought of something.

Ritsu: What?

Takano: On my way to school and on my way home from school, you were always following me, no?

page 60:

Ritsu: Wha-wha-wha- what are you saying? Hahahahahaha.

Takano: Ah, so it’s true.

Ritsu: Why would I do something like that? We went to the same school; of course we took the same route to and from school!

Takano: Well, whatever, it’s an indisputable fact that you were my stalker, though.

Ritsu: Th-that was your imagination. Takano-san, don’t you think that you’re flattering yourself?

Takano: Flattering myself shouldn’t be a problem though. Anyway, it is just around you that it happens.

page 61:

Ritsu: Huh?!!!

[We will soon be arriving at Fantian Bridge (t/n not sure what the Japanese is here) station.

[Every time I cross over those pink tracks…

Overtime, that street-gate became infamous, and everyone grew to hate it.

But, for me, that street-gate was always a place that I looked forward to.

Because it was there, day after day, that I could see the person I loved.

page 62:

RItsu: ….

Takano: I’m being watched again… (What the heck is he doing?)

[Days until Ritsu falls in love (completely): 36.]

[The end]

#sooooo worth it #omgomgomg #finally my Chinese comes in handy #sekaiichi hatsukoi spoilers

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emmaswanchoosesyou · 7 years ago

Text

CSBB: Part of the Narrative (17/17)

Emma Swan just wants to write the follow-up to her bestselling debut novel, that’s all. But when she gets off to a rough start with her new editor, Killian Jones, she knows it’s not going according to plan. Then, an unexpected figure from Emma’s past reappears and life begins to mirror the crime thriller she’s penning. Suspicion and secrets abound–but love might too. A writer/editor AU with a thriller twist.

Rated E. Includes sexual content, kidnapping, some gore, mild violence, and minor character death–not to mention salty language! On Ao3 here.

Chapter warnings: It’s mostly fluff, but then there might be a thing at the end?

IT IS FINISHED! BUT ALSO PLEASE SEE MY NOTE AT THE END! Thank you so much to all of you who have been reading and commenting and waiting patiently…I just love you all a lot, okay? And of course, thanks to all of you who helped me get here. Thank you to all the wonderful ladies at @captainswanbigbang for all you’ve done to make this possible, and all the support you’ve given. Sophie @shady-swan-jones made the delightful banner and another photoset that I adore. Kayla @bleebug did some incredible art for the first, sixth, and fifteenth chapters, which you can check out here and here and here. And all the love and thanks to Kris @sambethe for beta-ing this and whipping it into shape. You’re a rock star and make the words, like, astronomically better.

[Ch. 1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

Epilogue

Sometimes a conclusion is the beginning of something new...

Eight months later

It was late summer--that time of year where you didn’t know whether to expect scorching days or if you should start thinking about pulling out jackets and scarves.

Currently, Emma and Killian were sweltering. They had just finished grabbing the last of their boxes from Robin’s truck and carrying them up to their new apartment, and they were tired. Most of their things had already been moved over the last few days, but today was the last of it--the most important things.

Moving in together had been a no-brainer. They might have only been officially together for less than a year, but what a year it had been. They were confident in their feelings for each other, in their commitment to each other.

And Killian’s lease was up.

After briefly entertaining the idea of moving into Emma’s apartment, they had realized they needed a space that was theirs. Emma’s was great, and it would forever be the place she had lived when they had met and fallen in love, but they both wanted space to work, and to put their own distinctive spin on a place as a couple. Plus, Emma wanted Henry to have a room of his own when he stayed with them.

Truthfully, Killian was just waiting until they were together a while longer before looking for a house for them to buy. Emma approved, and would never tell Killian, but she had a couple real estate sites bookmarked.

They had used movers to haul the majority of their stuff. (“We’re not callow youths, Swan. None of our friends would accept beer and pizza as payments. Please, let’s just pay someone to move our things.”) A few trips with the Bug and one final one in Robin’s truck had sufficed for the rest of their things, but they had agreed to take a short break before meeting everyone for dinner.

“We should probably also do the showering thing,” Emma pointed out.

Killian agreed with a nod, but raised a eyebrow. “Are you propositioning me, love?”

“Noooo,” she said with a laugh, “I’m too tired right now. But can I defer the propositioning until later or tomorrow? Because then yes, absolutely.”

“We do need to break in the shower,” he replied seriously, his eyes twinkling.

Emma giggled. “Well, mark that in your calendar for tomorrow.”

He jokingly retrieved his phone, but then saw the number of texts waiting for him. “Christ, our friends are impatient. They know this isn’t a house-warming party, right? And that we’re exhausted?”

She leaned over to where he sat atop a sturdy box and kissed him. “Yes, but they’ve been great and very supportive. And they’re paying. So we’re going.”

With a deep sigh of mock annoyance, he stood and said, “Fine, then. We’ll just have to hope that they buy the good booze though.”

&&&

They met everyone a couple hours later at a restaurant Regina had been wanting to try since she and Henry had moved to Boston a few months before.

“I’m tired of commuting between Storybrooke and here, even if I telecommuted more before,” Regina had explained. “With you here and with what we worked out for Henry, it just makes more sense.”

Emma nodded, but smirked. “That makes sense. And I’m also sure it has absolutely nothing to do with Robin and Roland being here either.”

Regina blushed hotly but didn’t deny it. “I...I want to see where it goes. Robin seems wonderful, and Roland and Henry get along so well.”

That had been a little over three months ago, and they were now settled into the house Regina had purchased on Beacon Hill. It wasn’t large, but it was elegant and well-appointed, and both she and Henry seemed very happy there.

After they’d been in Boston a few weeks, Regina had confessed another motive in moving to Boston full-time: being in Maine was a painful reminder of everything that had happened with her mother. Henry still had the occasional nightmare. (Emma and Regina did too, but that revelation had come out even later, over two bottles of wine and a long night of oversharing.)

Cora had been tried and convicted of her crimes. Aside from the kidnapping charges, she’d also been up for conspiracy to commit murder and a slew of finance-related charges. She had hired a phenomenal lawyer, but in the end, it hadn’t mattered. She’d been sentenced to forty years, and had begun serving her time in a women’s prison. It wasn’t high-security, but it definitely wasn’t what she was used to. Regina would be an old woman before she would forget the flash of surprise and anger in Cora’s eyes when the jury foreman informed her of her sentence.

August, too, had been convicted of all his crimes. The judge had quickly issued his sentence, as he had confessed everything. He had gotten life in prison and was currently serving it out.

Emma shook her head as she walked into the restaurant. Her reminiscing could wait--their friends were already at a table, and they had a fun evening to look forward to.

Placing his hand at the small of her back, Killian walked in behind her, waving at everyone as soon as the mâitre d' ushered them inside. It was a full table--Ruby, Belle, Robin, Regina, Henry, Roland, Kathryn and Fred, her husband, Mulan, and Elsa, Emma’s new(ish) agent. His heart warmed at all the friendly faces and cheerful greetings.

The meal was an altogether pleasant celebration of Killian’s and Emma’s new apartment and cohabitation. It was kept from getting raucous by the presence of Henry and Roland, even if a couple of the party (in other words, Killian and Ruby) did insist on using innuendo that fortunately went over the boys’ heads.

Partway through the meal, Emma elbowed Killian. He was about to tease her about her pointy elbows when he saw what she was subtly gesturing to--Mulan and Elsa in close conversation at the end of the table, paying none of the rest of the party a lick of attention.

Now, that was interesting and definitely bore watching. “Don’t get any ideas, Swan,” he whispered to her.

“I don’t need to get ideas, they’re making the heart eyes all on their own,” she protested.

“Still.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Fine, I won’t, but I can hope and dream.”

Pulling her close, he brushed a kiss across her temple. “Love, are you actually turning into a romantic?” he teased her quietly.

“No!” Her response was louder than she had likely intended, and a few of the others looked over.

“Oy, hold off on the snuggling and the like until you get back to your brand new home,” Robin said, laughing. He then pulled Regina close and kissed her loudly, grinning as she turned bright red.

Emma just shook her head at their antics. “‘Do as I say and not as I do,’ huh, Robin? I see how it is.”

“I need to get in on this action,” Ruby muttered before kissing her wife. Belle leaned in for a minute, but then pulled back, rolling her eyes.

Henry buried his face in his hands, clearly mortified by the adults around him. “Someone save me from this nightmare.”

“You’ll understand someday,” said Elsa, even as she patted his arm sympathetically. “Probably, or so they tell me, but they are pretty embarrassing.”

&&&

A couple nights later, Emma and Killian headed down to the office. It was a party, even if it was a smaller one. Killian was relieved--as part owner of the publishing house, now Mills & Jones--a marketing consultant had pointed out that their branding might suffer more for being associated with a convicted murderer--he had begun attending a lot of parties on behalf of the company. Most of them were fancy affairs designed to bring investors together, and he was happy to have more low-key evening where he wasn’t required to network.

Tonight’s festivities were doubling as a celebration for a successful quarter--Emma’s book, Mistaken, had been released to great fanfare--and as a going-away party for Alex and Jamie. Eight months on, they were still trying to heal and put back together the pieces of their lives. Alex hailed from the west coast, so they decided to move closer to his family in Seattle for a new start.

The atmosphere was light, if a little subdued. Most of the attendees were Mills & Jones employees or authors and their plus ones, but many of those who had been there a while also knew Alex and Jamie.

Emma was mingling happily when she saw Mulan arrive. For a moment she paused and squealed internally, thinking that perhaps Elsa had invited her here as her date. Then she noted Mulan’s dark pantsuit, more appropriate for work than for an evening out. She frowned, then Mulan made eye contact and motioned for her to come over.

Murmuring her excuses, she extracted herself from her conversation and made her way over. Finding Killian on her way, she grabbed his arm and pulled him along. Once over there, she was surprised to see that Regina and Robin were standing there as well.

“So...what’s going on?” Regina asked, curiosity and a bit of impatience in her voice.

Mulan took a deep breath. “Apparently Cora wasn’t expecting the sentence she got. So she offered up some new information in exchange for a deal.”

“What’s on offer here?” Killian asked, brow furrowed with concern and distaste.

Mulan shrugged apologetically, then looked right at Emma. “She says she knows who your parents are, Emma.”

So, uh, now is the time to mention I'm writing a sequel, right? There's going to be a sequel. I really loved writing this all in one go, and it helped with the plotting, so it might be some time before it's ready, but I can't wait to show you all. I'll probably start posting snippets during the new year. Thanks again for accompanying me on this journey, and I hope you'll tune in for the next part!

#cs ff #csbb #captain swan #cs au #cs mc ff #captain swan fanfiction #it is done #or is it #i love all of you #(from the depths of my slightly evil heart)#part of the narrative #amber writes

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wirgins · 8 years ago

Photo

Golden Kamuy Question Box

Young Jump is accepting questions sent from fans for Noda Satoru to answer. They’ve been posting answers once a day on the official Golden Kamuy twitter. I’ve gathered and translated all the Q&As so far and will continuously update as new answers are posted.

All question numbers link to the original source. These usually contain screenshots pertaining to the manga scene in question and might be helpful in providing context to the questions.

Questions for Volumes 1 - 4

Q001. The greatest mystery in Golden Kamuy is the truth behind the missing gold. Has sensei already decided in his head what it is? Or is it only temporarily decided and something that might change depending on story developments?

Of course I’ve decided on it. If the story continues as planned, it’ll remain unchanged.

Q002. When did Sugimoto get the scars on his face? In the scene where he’s facing the battlefield in volume 4, he already has them…I really want to know!

I think it happened early in the war. The first division fought for 3 months at 203 Hill then went to Mukden in the winter. According to the clothes worn in the volume 4 flashback, they are heading to Mukden.

Q003. I’m currently enjoying the tankoubon releases. I work as a librarian and I’m always impressed with the abundance of references listed at the end of each volume. How do you search for and gather your literature and sources?

I learn from authentic Ainu sources. Even with famous fictional works featuring Ainu, professors will warn, “There are a lot of inaccurate details, so you must be careful”. Because of that, I try not to read creative works. I buy recommended materials and if those materials have references or works cited listed, I buy those too.

Q004. If Shiraishi were to grow his hair out, would it be straight or curly?

It would be lightly wavy.

Q005. Out of all the foods you ate for the sake of researching Golden Kamuy, which was the most delicious that you’d like to eat again?

Raw liver. It’s possible to catch hepatitis from it though, so I really shouldn’t eat it. Recently, hunter Kubo Toshiharu was on an NHK documentary where he cut out a deer’s liver and suddenly said, quite erotically, “You’re a delicious deer”, but I think the scene where the liver was eaten was cut. That kind of liver can only be eaten on the spot. If you’d like to eat it, then you’d have to become a hunter.

Q006. How does First Lt. Tsurumi protect his forehead while bathing? Does he use a bath bucket? Please explain.

I think that his brain isn’t really exposed. It’s covered with skin to some extent. But fluids leak when it’s rubbed or if he gets excited. He takes his head plate into the bath with him. The inside of it is probably caked with fluid. I wonder if he plays with it while it floats around.

Q007. I’m planning a trip to Hokkaido this summer. Can Noda sensei share with us a location that most strongly represents the time period Asirpa and Sugimoto lived? It doesn’t have to be a tourist spot. I want to experience the casual world of Golden Kamuy. Thank you.

The Historical Village of Hokkaido.

Q008. Is Kouhei or Youhei the oldest of the Nikaidou brothers?

Kouhei was born a bit earlier.

Q009. Are Shiraishi and Sugimoto’s socks that got mixed up in volume 1 still mixed up?

Even now they’re still mixed up.

Q010. Please tell me Tanigaki nispa’s chest measurement. I want to hug it and sleep on it.

It would be about the same as Jason Statham’s. [Note: Google says this is 48 inches.]

Q011. Is it true that you had sexual relations with Mr. Okuma Hakkou, your managing editor?

Where the hell did you hear a rumor like that? We didn’t.

Q012. I want to be a father like Nihei. I want to become a father who talks about boners properly. And I want to explain to my son the importance of boners. However my appearance and my voice are not rough enough. How can I become that kind of a brilliant man?

I too wished I could’ve been born a man as sexy as Murofushi Koji. But we have to work with the cards that life dealt us.

Q013. In volume 4, chapter 34, Hijikata goes to the bank to retrieve Izumi no Kami Kanesada [his sword], but why was it being kept at the Hokkaido bank? I’ve heard pretty often that it was sent to his brother-in-law in Hino during the Battle of Hakodate.

There are also theories that he had multiple Kanesada with small differences between them.

Q014. What is the difference when Shiraishi’s name is spelled out in kanji versus when it’s spelled out in katakana?

There’s no particular reason. When there’s already a lot of katakana in a word bubble, I’ll spell Shiraishi out in kanji. It just depends on my mood at the time.

Q015. Since it seems like you collect a lot of research, have you ever ran into any fans while visiting places for research, such as museums, etc.?

Not at all. It’s because I gather everything in secret. I’m thankful to the many museum curators I’ve interviewed who’ve read my works. I received a letter from Kushiro City Museum before going there to conduct research. It also seems like the people at Abashiri Prison wanted to provide support since my previous work, “Supindarama!”.

Questions for Volumes 5 - 8

Q016. When did Sugimoto get that scarf he wears? Is his scarf still okay after it was cut apart by that yakuza boss?

He got it when he went to Otaru. Since there were many foreigners in Otaru, I think it’d be easy to obtain foreign-made goods. After his scarf got cut, he kept it in his pocket then he’d have to sew it up later, right? Like how Kenshiro [from Fist of the North Star] would have to sew up his red shirt every time it got torn, too.

Q017. Shiraishi says [to Ienaga] that he’ll “keep her company, passionately and whole-heartedly”. Are there other women in the past that Shiraishi has kept company with?

There are not. It’s because he spent such a long part of his adolescence in prison. He’s a man who’s only had sex with sex workers. He’s had some favorites among prostitutes, though.

Q018. Why did Ogata grow his hair out after being hospitalized and become the most devastatingly sexy private first-class?

Because he felt liberated.

Q019. Why are peaches Ushiyama’s favorite food? Is it because he also likes butts?

Yes.

Q020. Is the “Kano” part of Ienaga Kano her real name? Or is it a pseudonym?

It’s a fake name, her real name is Chikanobu.

Q021. Cosplay is one of my hobbies, and I thought this time I’d like to cosplay Kiroranke. But I’m having trouble understanding something about his hair. How in the world can you achieve that kind of a haircut?

His hair is cropped short to around the ear or the whorl of his head. I referenced this hairstyle from old photos of Karafuto Ainu men of that time period.

Q022. Who shot Captain Wada? I’m so curious that I can’t sleep at night.

It was Tsukishima.

Q023. Why is Egodai not wearing any shoes on the volume 8 back cover illustration?

To foreshadow his death.

Q024. Does Edogai’s house not have a bath? Since Sgt. Tsukishima went to a public bathhouse, I’m guessing there’s no bathtub, but it’s hard to imagine Edogai also going to a public bathhouse. Back in those days, baths in residential homes didn’t seem to be popular yet, so this must be the case.

Edogai doesn’t have a bathtub. He’d be able to hide it with a towel, though, wouldn’t he? Yubari also had hot springs along with bathhouses. He’d go somewhere where there’s not a lot of people. A while back, I also went to bathhouses, but I’d go 30 minutes before closing. There weren’t any people around during that time. It’s not that I didn’t want people to see my dick, but it’s because seeing the dicks of random men I don’t even know makes me feel ill.

Q025. Please tell us the sex, age, and name of the cat with the center part fur pattern in Edogai’s house! I want to know more about that adorably ugly cat. Thank you.

He’s a male. Since he’s just a stray that wandered into Edogai’s house, his age is unknown. I think Edogai would’ve just called him “kitty”. When I was younger, we kept a cat at my parent’s house, and no one in our family could decide on a name, so we just called it “kitty”.

Q026. I have one question that’s been troubling me lately, it’s about my favorite, Sergeant Tsukishima, and I’d like to ask about it. Since I’ve learned that Tsukishima enjoys taking long baths, about how long are they? Maybe you could share with us any particular stories regarding Tsukishima’s long baths.

After leaving the 7th Division’s barracks in Asahikawa and mobilizing in Otaru with First Lieutenant Tsurumi’s group, bathing times were no longer tightly controlled, so it’s possible that Tsukishima just wound up taking longer baths as a result. It’s also possible that since Ogata doesn’t like soaking in hot water for a long time, that he finds the amount of time Tsukishima takes in the bath to be excessive.

Q027. Ogata’s hair grows so quickly. Why is this?

It’s because the author’s hair also grows fast. I don’t find the detail to be odd myself. Some things that seem ordinary to the author can seem strange to the readers, huh? In “Hana no Keiji”, Keiji scrubs his dick after he pees and I guess that’s just something normal to Hara sensei (the author).

Thus concludes all the questions so far! The official Twitter states their next Q&A Box will cover volumes 9 to the current issues.

#Golden Kamuy #Golden Kamui

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zhanxixis · 8 years ago

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ZHANYI HEADCANONS ♡

a lovely anon requested some fluffy zhanyi headcanons so here we go (´ ω `♡) [other headcanons].

a typical movie night together consists of zhan sitting on the couch with jian yi leaned against his side; if zhan is sitting with his legs up against the couch, jian yi will lay on top of him and watch the film with his head resting against zhan’s chest. if they’re watching a horror film, jian yi will have a pillow with him to bring up in case anything scares him and he can quickly cover his face [also he gets extremely paranoid over any sound at night after watching a scary film]. jian yi’s favorite film genre is comedy and zhan’s is a tie between mystery/science fiction but they both also enjoy action, thriller, horror, fantasy, and adventure films. whenever they watch a sad film or there is a scene in a film which is sad, jian yi gets teary eyed but he tries to hold it in; if he’s crying then he tries to turn his face away so zhan won’t notice.. zhan, however, does notice and hears his soft sniffling and often feels bad so he’ll wrap his arm around him and hand him a tissue, but doesn’t make too big a deal out of it so jian yi doesn’t feel embarrassed. while watching comedies, zhan is usually quite silent and poker faced throughout most of the film but if there is a scene that is funny enough to him, he will release a deep laugh which he attempts to suppress [and fails] — when this happens jian yi gets distracted because the rare sight of zhan laughing is too precious.

when it comes to terms of endearment, jian yi calls zhan ‘xi’ or ‘a-xi’. in chapter 114, jian yi actually does call zhan this [so technically this is half canon already], he would just do it a lot more often when they’re officially together; here, the significance of those terms of endearments are explained: that a “single letter name like ‘xi’ would be for really close relationships, often romantic. placing ‘a-’ like in ‘a-xi’ is for cute endearment”, hence why zhan and jian yi started blushing so hard.

sometimes zhan will braid jian yi’s hair as he plays with the soft strands of it between his fingers. he learned how to braid hair from doing it to his little sister so often when they were younger.

when zhan’s hair has grown out to its regular length, jian yi will help him cut the sides of it. zhan was hesitant to trust him with cutting his hair at first but figured if it really sucked then he’d just go to a barber shop. to his [and jian yi’s] surprise, he was good at it and from then on jian yi would be the one to cut his hair. the only thing is sometimes it will take longer than its supposed to because jian yi will keep staring at the nape of his neck and will get flustered/distracted. jian yi will finish it off with a kiss to the back of his neck.

when celebrating zhan’s birthday, jian yi will create a list of ideas of things to do for zhan. while zhan is the type to do things in a more romantic setting for jian yi, jian yi tries to do things more ‘cool’ that he thinks zhan would enjoy. one year he took him to a gaming convention and another year he took him to an autograph signing of his favorite manhua author; at the convention[s] jian yi will buy them dumb merchandise: ridiculous caps, t-shirts, posters, mugs, doormats of all of zhan’s favorite games/manhuas until eventually zhan has to stop him from going overboard. for gifts, of course, jian yi gets him the latest games and manhuas he’s been eyeing lately. the night comes and it ends with jian yi handing zhan a sappy ass card where he talks about how grateful he is for his birth and how glad he is to have him in his life.

later on in the future they decide to wear matching couple rings; they really wanted something to symbolize their love for each other and to have the meaning of ‘mine’. since gay marriage is illegal in china, they opted to do this instead — it has the same depth and meaning to them.

when they wake in the morning, zhan is usually the first person up, even though most of the time he goes to bed later than jian yi because he spends all night playing video games. he tends to spend a few minutes staring at jian yi’s sleeping face before he gets up. jian yi on the other hand could sleep for a full 24 hours and still feel exhausted, so he usually needs an alarm or zhan to wake him up. if zhan has to go out somewhere before he wakes, he’ll cook breakfast for jian yi, leave a note explaining his whereabouts, and lean down and give jian yi a kiss on the forehead — jian yi actually feels it in his semi-awake state and it takes every fiber of his being not to grin, but he refuses to move a muscle for fear that zhan will stop if he knows that he is awake. on the rare occasion that jian yi wakes up before zhan, he will admire zhan’s sleeping face as well, more often than not — he will kiss him in his sleep. when they wake together at about the same time, jian yi will eye zhan’s crazy bedhead because he thinks he looks adorable; he finds himself unable to look away from the strands sticking out everywhere and can’t resist ruffling his head. after a few minutes of morning cuddles and scrolling/messing about on their phones, zhan will be the first to move out of bed; jian yi - less energetic, will stay in bed for a few more minutes, too lazy to get up. when’s jian yi is finally ready to leave the bed, he will stretch out his arms and pout his lips for a kiss — zhan just shakes his head with a small smile, obliges and pulls him off the bed.

in the early days when they were first dating and jian yi was still in disbelief of it all [felt insecure, undeserving of it, that it was all too good to be true], zhan would grab his hand and hold it to his chest so that jian yi could feel his quickened heartbeat pounding heavily against the palm of his hand — to reassure him that it was all real and zhan ardently loved him too.

[mix of fluff/angst] at night when they are sleeping, every once in a while jian yi will have nightmares about his kidnapping[s]. zhan will shake him awake from behind and jian yi can feel his own face wet with tears; jian yi tries to wipe his face unnoticed and brush it off so that he doesn’t worry zhan, but zhan notices anyways and will hug him tightly from behind, so tightly that it’s hard for him to breathe. they stay like that for a little while until zhan twists jian yi around to face him so he can gently kiss his tears away; the sweetness of it only causes more tears to fall but zhan continues to cradle him and kiss his entire face until he falls back asleep. zhan, however, won’t fall back asleep at all.. instead he’ll keeping a watchful eye over jian yi to make sure it doesn’t happen again and that he’s okay.

I’ve said before that ‘zhan’s father is super cutely, completely supportive of their relationship and ships them hard’; as a continuation, I think he and jian yi would get along really well. when zhan is away in another room, his father and jian yi will talk about him; [they would have a conversation similar to the one in the movie ‘juno’: father: “look, in my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are: good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you… the right person is still going to think the sun shines out your ass. that’s the kind of person that’s worth sticking with.” jian yi: “yeah. and I think I’ve found that person.”]. after that, zhan would come back and his father would totally be the embarrassing type to tell jian yi ‘I give you permission to take my son, son’ while zhan just wants to crawl in a hole and die.

#19 days #zhan zheng xi #jian yi #zhanyi #text*#headcanons #zhanyi headcanons #ya'll know I just had to add a haircut hc after zhan blessed us in the last chapter #text #sorry it's long I know

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dennou-translations · 8 years ago

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Violet Evergarden: Chapter 7

Please feel free to message me about possible corrections. If you can, support the creators by buying the official releases here.

← Volume 1 || Index || Next →

I like flowers. I like poems. But what I enjoy writing about the most are battle depictions. I want to become strong. I took Violet’s name from a poem I love, “Roses are Red”. People’s names always have some sort of meaning.

—Akatsuki Kana

When had that feeling sprouted within him? He had no idea what the trigger had been. If he were ever asked what he was fond of about her, he would not be able to properly express it in words.

“Major.” Before he had realized it, he was happy whenever she called out to him. He believed he had to protect her as she followed him from behind. His chest pounded with immutable devotion.

——For whom and for what purpose is that devotion? Supposing hers is for my sake... her lips would automatically only speak words that sound pleasing to me. Since she seeks subservience and orders, having the approval of the Lord she submits to is her motivation. Then... what about my own life? What about my love? For whose sake are they?

The Major and His Everything

Emerald eyes opened. They belonged to a small child. The wide-open orbs of a young infant who had yet to complete six years of age and had just awoken from his slumber reflected the world around him.

As he hopped off the carriage he had been sleeping in along the course of the road, a summery scenery spread in front of him. The first thing that caught his attention was the beauty of the trees lined up on the way to a green forest. While nestled close to one another, from old ones to saplings, they stood dignified. The shadows formed by a soft, pure light cascading to the earth from the gaps between their leaves almost looked like dancers. Said leaves swayed in the wind, sounding like the giggles of little girls.

During such season, white flowers blown into a storm of petals were a remarkable trait of Leidenschaftlich. Almost as the blizzards of the northern countries, the flowers floated about in the air. Their vines were associated with heroes who had protected the nation against no trivial number of invasions, and could be found planted all over the country. Beautiful blossoms bloomed from them during the change from spring to summer.

“It’s our family flower.” His father whispered that one sentence, walking ahead of him.

His eyes, which had been moving about in many directions as he was led by his older brother’s hand, landed on his father’s back. Perhaps sensing his son’s thermal stare, the father turned around once, and though he could not tell, it could have been to confirm if he was properly following from behind. Same as his young self, his father’s irises were green, except of a slightly different shade, and bore a strict gaze.

Just from the fact his father had turned backwards, he was happy to the point of wanting to break into dance. Most likely, that was idolization. However, although his heart was pleased, his expression was stiff. All he was concerned about was whether he had done anything warrant being admonished during that instant.

“What’s that stuff... about ‘our family flower’?” His older brother poorly imitated their father’s words in a very low tone.

The parent and children followed down the green path. Beyond the scene created by the beauty of nature was what seemed to be an area for military training facilities. In it were several people who wore the same purplish black uniform as their father. The little one acted as though exploring something peculiar, and what lay before his pupils that twinkled with stars of curiosity was the figure of soldiers in a march that did not disarray for a single second.

The father took his sons to what seemed to be seats for authorized people in order to watch something that was about to start. Leaving them on chairs arranged outdoors, the father left their side.

In addition to those who wore the army’s uniform, there were also soldiers wearing the navy’s white high-collar one. Surrounding the fighter and reconnaissance planes, they chatted amongst one another, cleanly divided into two parties. Although both were defense forces, they appeared to be self-conscious of and unfriendly with each other. From the eyes of a child, it was a bizarre sight.

Perhaps becoming nervous due to not seeing his father anywhere, he flapped his arms and legs, aimlessly dropping his gaze to his feet. A petal of bougainvillea, which his father had called their “family flower”, fell down. As he stretched his hand out in a forceful attempt to take it into his palm while remaining seated, his older brother sitting next to him held his body back down.

“Gilbert, behave.” As his brother told him with a sullen tone, Gilbert tamely complied.

He was an obedient child. His home was Leidenschaftlich, and he was the descendant of a well-known southern military nation’s heroes.

For the Bougainvillea men, it was customary to enlist into the army. It was not the first time that his father, who had a high-ranking position in it, had brought his brother and himself to similar events.

His brother grasped his hand and held it tight. Even without him doing so, Gilbert was not the kind of boy to repeat an action after being scolded for it.

“If you disgrace the Bougainvillea name, I will be the one punished for neglecting my duty of supervising you.”

Since his brother receiving a lecture along with a reprimanding fist from their father was something often witnessed in their everyday routine, it was only the expected for him to show a well-attuned response, as to not spoil their father’s mood. Gilbert understood that much.

In the Bougainvillea household, where Gilbert and his older brother lived, each person had to act out their conduct with utmost care; otherwise, it felt as if the house’s walls, protruding with needles, nails, swords, and rose thorns, would pierce their bodies and draw blood. Rather than it being a comfortable place, it was as if it judged them constantly. Such was their home.

“So boring...” his brother said, half-pouting. His eyes were directed not at the army soldiers, but at the navy ones. “This kind of thing... seems boring, doesn’t it, Gil?”

Although Gilbert was asked for agreement, he was at loss for an answer. He could not consent.

——Why do you say that?

He believed feelings such as boredom had to be discarded in that situation. Regardless of how tedious it could be, they had to endure it. That was why he had ceased acting as a restless child who was easily influenced by others. His brother was supposed to be aware of that as well, so why did he go as far as orally seeking concordance?

Since Gilbert was still only an infant, he replied in a child-like manner, “You can’t say things like that.”

“It’s fine. It’s okay for you and me to talk about this in a low voice. As if I would let even my thoughts be controlled. Y’know, Gil... this is definitely... something that Dad and Dad’s father, and even Dad’s father’s father have done. It’s the worst, right?”

“Why is that bad?” Gilbert asked.

“Isn’t it as if they don’t have a will of their own? Listen, the reason Dad has brought us here today is to say, ‘you are going to become like me’.”

“Why is that bad?” Gilbert asked.

“It’s to make us understand that we can’t choose anything other than this.”

“Why is that bad?” Gilbert asked.

As he did not comprehend his brother’s feelings no matter what, the latter seemed frustrated and annoyed, lightly balling a fist and strongly hitting Gilbert’s shoulder with the hand that had been holding his. “I want to become a sailor. Not just any sailor. A captain. I’d lead my comrades and venture all around the world. I also want my own ship. Gil, you’re a good learner so you could become a voyager too. But... I... we will never be allowed to become what we want.”

“Isn’t that obvious?” Gilbert said, “Since we are from the Bougainvillea family.”

The household was neatly composed of a pyramidal hierarchy where the father stood at the top; beneath him was the mother, uncle and aunt, and beneath them was the oldest brother, Gilbert and their sisters. In the house Gilbert had been born into, it was natural for the lesser people to lower their heads to their elders, and opposing them was not tolerated. Gilbert and his brother were little gears meant to give continuity to the Bougainvillea family by protecting its heroic honor. Could gears proclaim what they wished to do? No, they could not.

“You’ve been... completely brainwashed, huh...” With a voice that hinted pity, his brother whispered in disdain.

——I wonder what... ‘brainwash’ is.

While he was lost in thought, the fighter planes took flight. In order to see the iron birds rendezvousing and drawing arcs in the sky, Gilbert looked up towards the heavens. The planes intersected with the Sun and disappeared for a moment. It was incredibly dazzling. However, his eyeballs ached as if burning, causing him to close his lids slowly.

Perhaps due to the stimulation from the sunlight, tears had formed.

Emerald eyes opened. They belonged to a wise young man. The orbs that bore sternness taken after not only his father but also perhaps his own personality, as well as kindness and loneliness, were staring at a doll. Rather, a girl that looked like a doll. In the corners of his field of vision was the figure of his older brother, who had grown up just as Gilbert himself.

The room was filled with refined decorations. They were expensive arrangements. However, the fact that the fine quality of the ornaments was the criteria to decide who could afford staying in the place was laughable.

Everything was a mess. The room had become the murder scene of five men at once. The girl, bloodstained, was the culprit. Even with her clothes and scent washed in blood, her beauty remained undamaged by it. She was the most beautiful assassin in the world.

“Hey, you’ll take it, right, Gilbert?” putting on an amicable smile, his older brother pushed the girl’s back.

She took a step towards Gilbert’s side. Automatically, Gilbert took a step back. His body had moved reflexively in refusal and fear. She was horrifying.

——Don’t look at me.

His brother had relentlessly insisted that the girl in front of him was a ‘tool’ and forcefully handed her over. Indeed, she was treated and acted as a tool. However, her breathing was still heavy.

While he wiped her hand, sticky with blood and fat, with his cufflink, she stared at him as though inquiring what the next command would be.

——Why are you looking at me?

He empathized with his older brother’s inhumane utterances to a certain extent. The pyramidal hierarchy existed not only in their home but also in society. In order for children, who were at the bottom of it, to ascend to its top, efforts were required. And not simply by one’s own power. So as to live, so as to be successful in life, it was necessary to make use of a variety of assets. It was not something to be praised for, yet it was something Gilbert desired. Undoubtedly, if he learned how to properly use her, she could become the best shield and sword.

——Why are you... looking at me?

The automated assassin doll desired Gilbert as well.

In the end, everything had gone as his brother had planned, and the young Gilbert, who still had features that could be considered that of a youth, stood in the middle of a street downtown. His two orbs of a mysterious hue stared at the one his arms. The doll, wrapped in his jacket, smelled of nothing remotely sweet, instead enveloped in the odor of the blood she had just bathed in. If she had monster-like features, he would have expected that much, yet her appearance was akin to that of a pixie from some fairytale.

“I am... scared of you.”

The girl did not react to the honest words that leaked from his lips. Her blue eyes simply watched him.

“I am... I am scared of... using you.” Gilbert continued while embracing her tightly. “You are terrifying. Right now, in fact... it’s possible that I’m actually supposed to kill you.” Muttering painfully, he never let go of the girl. He also did not attempt to drop and leave her on the road, shoot her head with the gun in his pocket, or squeeze her slender neck with his hands. “But... I want you to live.” He held onto her despite his fears. His words were frank. “I want you to live.”

It was a truth that shone faintly amidst a cruel world. The problem was whether they would be able to endure its harsh reality. Could he do it?

Uncertain, Gilbert closed his eyes. He prayed for the idealistic thought that it would be wonderful if everything were solved once he opened them again.

Emerald eyes opened. A situation far worse than when he had been praying unfolded before them. The girl proceeded to murder men who had become unable to move by spanking their heads with batons. She would hit them. Blood would fly. Screams would rise. She would hit them. The one who had ordered so was Gilbert himself.

Something other than life was being lost in that space. Violence was giving birth to something in place of reasoning, conscience and other values that had been given names by someone. It was...

——Suspicious. This is not for justice. For her, mine and this country’s sake... that’s what this was meant for.

A little bit of pleasure was born within Gilbert amidst enough guilt to make him want to vomit, along with a lust for conquest from getting his hands on an overwhelming power – which was a girl who would not listen to the orders of anyone but him –, and a sense of superiority as though he had taken over the world.

With the justification of escorting her to the spare room that she had been given, he temporarily excused himself and escaped from the circle of superior officers coming to ask questions regarding the girl. Stepping onto the pool of blood of the people she had slaughtered, he headed for her.

It was as if she would make blood come out of whatever she touched. The blood of her victims, that is. Never her own. Yet her current image seemed to be a copy of one Gilbert would probably see again someday, of her completely covered in blood. That was what he was attempting to do.

The feelings that had abruptly risen within him were gone, like a candle being extinguished. Her breathing was heavy once more.

——There’s no helping. There’s no helping it. Gilbert told himself.

Indeed, it was a decision that could not be helped. There was nothing that could be done, as it was only the expected of him to want to keep the frightening weapon he had acquired, which possessed awareness, within his view. He feared she would harm others. In such circumstances, it was best to use her while maintaining her at reach, and the tool herself wished for that as well.

——It can’t be helped... in order for us... to be together. For her to stay alive.

Even so, the insides of his eyes hurt exactly as the time he had stared directly into the Sun.

Gilbert took the girl to a deserted corridor.

She was a tool. Not his daughter or little sister. She was someone soon to become his underling. It would be troublesome if other people perceived their peculiar relationship. Unless they kept a distance, they would not be able to live side-by-side.

——Still...

He made her walk, walk and walk. Once no one else was on sight, he turned around and stretched his hand towards her.

“Come.”

He could not hold back. The fact that his uniform would be soiled with blood did not go through his head. He had to hold her at that very moment, moving automatically to embrace her. When they had first met and when he had taken her with him, he had ended up doing so as well.

The girl had the same reaction. She trembled agitatedly, but unlike the other times, her tiny fingers gripped onto his uniform – firmly, as though to say she would not let go.

She was a living being with temperature and weight. Back when his sisters were babies, he used to carry and soothe them often. The feeling of those days overlapped. She was soft, as if she could break, to the point of making Gilbert believe he had to protect her no matter what. She fit in his arms more perfectly than he had first thought.

His face, distorted with extreme sorrow, reflected in her blue eyes. Grievously, Gilbert whispered, “Do you really want... a Master like this?”

He could not directly face the excessively innocent glow of the girl’s eyes, and closed his own as if to run away.

Emerald eyes opened.

“I cannot comprehend... what you are saying.” Even though he was still at an age where one would be complimented for their youthfulness, his precocious orbs showed exasperation as he stared at a telecommunication equipment.

It was raining outside. The sound of droplets pouring onto the building interfered with the conversation. Everywhere was too noisy.

Gilbert, commanding the Special Offense Force of Leidenschaftlich’s Army, carried the duty of traveling around the country to terminate the various conflicts happening in it. Moreover, he had the role of raising the one who would become the strength of the Raid Unit in the upcoming final battle. In addition to that, he had suddenly received one more job.

“About the location, a driver has been arranged to take her there. Prepare her and order her to kill. Just that will suffice. Eliminate everyone living in that building. She’s not to worry about anything else and should come back as soon as she’s done.”

Having unexpectedly received a message from a superior officer during his stay at the army divisions’ base, he opposed to the contents of the operation. “But...!” although he had waited for his turn to talk, he closed his mouth after raising his voice. “If this is meant to put disturbing elements under control, my entire troop should participate. Why are you pushing this mission onto Violet alone...? It’s not something a single soldier could do.” He was unable to subdue the disapproval dripping from his tone.

“It’s because the least people who know about this, the better. The target is a national arms dealer who signed an exportation contract for an anti-government organization. This has been reported by a spy who infiltrated in it. We can’t leave the matter to be solved by itself. After all, they are quite aware of our blemishes. The moment is opportune. We must settle this. It’s regretful to call it an overthrow, but there are certainly many people who will take it that way. If we end up exposing to the world even the dubious ideals we embrace, this will be of importance.”

“If that is the case, then all the more reason to assemble personnel capable of accomplishing the mission.”

“Which is your doll. A killer weapon who desires only your orders without questioning them. There’s no one more capable than her, right? I haven’t forgotten that spectacle you presented to us. How many did she murder back then again? How old was she? With your guidance, the precision of her killings should have improved even further. I won’t let you say she can’t do it. Rather, if you had to pick between her doing it or not, which would it be?”

“That’s...”

“Could the most prominent symbol of national defense that is the Bougainvillea be a fake?”

Unable to speak properly, Gilbert clutched his clothes on the area next to his lungs. During the few seconds of silence, an image surfaced in his mind of himself commanding Violet to complete the aforementioned task. She surely would reply with an obsequious “yes”. There would be no hesitation. She was not one to falter. If it were something Gilbert ordered, if it were for the sake of the Lord who looked after her, she would do anything. And what distressed Gilbert the most was that Violet would probably execute her role without difficulties.

He then pictured the future he had predicted in his head. Within it, he could see himself unable to sleep in the barracks, simply awaiting her return.

“She can do it.” His voice finally came out. “She can do it, but Violet needs specific on-site directions. If you have witnessed the slaughter of back then, you understand that, right? She cannot function as a weapon unless I give instructions. Allow me to accompany her.”

It had finally come out, but not with what he had wanted to say.

“Violet, are you ready?” clad in his purplish black military uniform, Gilbert gazed down at the girl with his emerald green eyes. They seemed intense in the dark interior of the vehicle.

Besides his own, the only other pair of orbs that glistened blazingly was the girl’s. As to expand her field of vision, her golden hair, which complimented her beautiful eyes of a color lighter than the blue of the sea and deeper than the blue of the sky, was tied inside of a military hat identical to the one Gilbert wore.

“Yes.” Her curt response was dispassionate yet brimming with confidence. The girl who could not speak was no longer there.

Gilbert handed a knife and handgun to the female soldier of a rare beauty. “We are going there with the pretense of just talking, but that is not our intention. What we are about to do... will serve as example to all arms dealers involved with Leidenschaftlich.”

“I am aware.”

“The inside is not spacious enough for big fights. I want you to adapt to the conditions of this battleground as fast as possible. You can’t use Witchcraft. But I will go in as well. I will protect you. Think only of defeating the enemies.”

“Yes, Major.” As she nodded, no matter how one looked at her, she did not give off the slightest impression that she was about to kill people. Her slim shoulders and delicate physique indicated her to be in her mid-teens or somewhere below.

Gilbert glanced at her despondently and left the car. It was pitch-black outside. A night sky without stars created a serene atmosphere.

“It will take no more than thirty minutes. Wait here.”

After he informed the driver, the two of them stepped into the property that interposed two alleys. In front of the place that did not appear to have any irregularities was a hard-faced man guarding the gates, holding a rifle as though for display.

There were several houses nearby, but none of them had lights on. It seemed to be an abandoned residential area at the back of a housing district deep within a suburban town. There was a reason why no one lived in it anymore – no normal family would wish to be in a neighborhood reeking of blood and violence.

“I am an affiliate of Leidenschaftlich’s army, Major Gilbert Bougainvillea. I’ve come to see the arms dealer. I know he is here. Tell him I have something to discuss.”

The gatekeeper evidently showed a face of displeasure at the sudden visitors. “Aah...? What’s with you guys? Don’t fuck around. Who do you think you’re talking to?”

At the unbecoming attitude of spitting on his shoes, Gilbert remained expressionless while muttering, “You should watch your language as well.”

With a quick action, he held down the gatekeeper’s rifle in one hand, simultaneously sinking a fist into the other’s stomach. He then pointed the rifle to the top of the groaning gatekeeper’s head, hitting him with it. It did not end there; the instant the latter fell onto his knees, Gilbert landed a kick on the side of his face with his military shoes. A large amount of blood and a crowned tooth spilled from the gatekeeper’s mouth. Gilbert glared coldly as he shouted in agony with yelps and grunts. His ruthlessness had increased from thrashing the man’s profile.

“Disappear. I will use a gun next time.”

The order was for them to murder all of those in the building. They were not inside of it yet. He had let the other live due to mercy. However, a few seconds after the man fled, the girl accurately shot his head with her gun as he ran away. The hand of the man that had been shot held a hidden revolver.

“Violet.”

“Major, he was aiming a gun at you.”

A few minutes after the two entered the building, vicious gunshots and shrieks echoed like music pieces. Sounds of bursting flesh and breaking glass, cries of deathly agony. They were played in a timed harmony and went on repeatedly, until at last, the brutal pursue came to an end with a particularly lurid scream. The building that was the only source of light in the area eventually lost its gleam and its interior became completely quiet.

The world had finally regained its true form. It was a time of silence where living beings would fall into deep sleep.

“How dull.” Loading his pistol, which had gone out of bullets, Gilbert sighed and sat down on a sofa. The legs of the bodies lying on the floor were on his way, but he ignored them as there was nothing else he could do.

It was Violet that the superior officers had nominated to take care of the arms dealer. She was actually supposed to have come to that place on her own.

——She already handles enemy soldiers, but now she has to do even this kind of dirty work. The higher-ups are treating her as nothing but a murder tool.

If the disposal of troublesome elements was for their country’s sake, he could do it free of obscure thoughts. Had he been by himself, he would not have been thinking such things.

“Major, is something wrong? The mission has been cleared. There are no survivors.” Even in such a situation, the girl in question checked the corpses with a calm face.

Gilbert knew better than anyone that there was no need to accompany her.

“No.” As he let his gaze wander around the floor, the feet of a man he had killed came into view. Disturbed, he averted his eyes. “I am fine. You’re tired, right? Take a seat too.”

As he gestured to the sofa, she wavered slightly but obediently sat down. It was a strange scene – a man and a girl relaxingly taking their time in a room filled with dead bodies. The blissfully striking moonlight poured from the window and illuminated the two felons.

Violet observed her superior – rather, someone whom she considered far more than just her superior – as he refused to look at her. What was the owner of those blue eyes thinking? It was as if she saw nothing else but him; such was the kind of stare that she regarded him with.

“Is it all right to not leave immediately?”

“Just one more minute and we’re off. Once we are out of here, we will return to the barracks and to our traveling routine. We will exterminate the enemy units as the higher-ups tell us to, travel again, and exterminate.”

“Yes.”

“There’s... very little extra time for me to spend... just with you.”

“Yes.”

“Even though we’ve been together since you were small, lately, it’s only at times like these that...”

“Yes.”

He felt as if his throat would clog with sorrow. It was the product of feelings that did not match his cool-headed outline. They were all brought by the girl sitting next to him. That was because the one who raised and managed that cold-blooded female soldier was Gilbert himself. He who directly used her as an assassination tool was in no position to berate others.

“Hum, Violet... sorry, but could you open the window? The smell of blood is terrible.”

After sounds of her stepping onto the pools of blood on the ground ensued, the window was opened. Although it was a starless, dim night, the moon was now out. Exposed to the moonlight, her frame reflected hazily in Gilbert’s eyes. Her beautiful facial features were already fully developed, despite her still being so juvenile. Blood droplets had splattered on her white cheeks, tainting her pure appearance.

“Major?” Perhaps uncomfortable from being stared at so intently, Violet tilted her neck at Gilbert.

“Violet, you’ve become taller again.” His voice came out hoarse. He covered his head with his arms folded against his knees. Whenever he looked at her increasingly gorgeous figure, an indescribable pain would boil in his chest.

“Is that so? If Major says so, it might be true.”

“Do you have any injuries?” It was not easy for him to speak without stuttering.

“No. Major, are you all right?”

“Do you despise me?” As he spoke as if spewing blood, the girl blinked in surprise. She must have been truly shocked.

After a while of silence, she replied in a low voice, as though whispering, “I do not understand the question.”

To Gilbert, that had been a predictable response. A dry smile naturally came to him.

“Have I... failed at something?”

“No, that’s not it. There’s nothing you’re at fault for.”

“If there is anything wide of the mark, please tell me. I will fix it.”

Her figure as she took the posture of a tool no matter what was hard to bear for Gilbert.

——However, I have no right to think that this is sad or that she is pitiable.

It was hard, yet he had no means to escape from that suffering.

“Violet, there’s nothing you’re at fault for. It’s true. If there’s anything to be criticized, it’s the fact that you are by my side, killing people without hesitation for my sake. And the one to blame for all of this is me.”

Violet did not possess a sense of good and bad from the start. She did not ‘know’ what could be considered righteous or erroneous. She merely chased after the adult who gave her orders.

“Why is that? I am Major’s weapon. It is merely obvious that you would use me.”

It was because Violet’s words held no lies that each note of each one pierced Gilbert’s whole body. She was simply a tool for massacre, devoid of emotions.

“Anyhow... I’m the one to blame. I don’t want you to be doing this. Still, I make you do it.”

Regardless of how beautiful she was, regardless of how much the man by her side held her dear...

“To me, you are not a tool...”

...she was a doll devoid of feelings...

“Not a tool...”

...that wished only for orders.

Gilbert wanted to shout. He had probably wanted to do so ever since he was a child, had he been allowed to. Had he been permitted freedom, without having to care about being well-behaved, the truth was that he had always, always, always, always, always wanted to shout, “As if I could conform to something like this.”

——As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. As if I could conform to something like this. Aah, aah, as if I could conform to something like this!

When had that feeling sprouted within him?

——Why at such a time?

He had no idea what the trigger had been.

——Why her?

If he were ever asked what he was fond of about her, he would not be able to properly express it in words.

——Anyone else would have been fine.

“Major.” Before he had realized it, he was happy whenever she called out to him.

——Even so, my eyes chase after and search for you.

He believed he had to protect her as she followed him from behind.

——My lips...

His chest pounded with immutable devotion.

——...feel like they will blurt out “I love you”.

If he had known that he would fall in love with her, he would not have attempted to drag her into the war.

“I... You...”

——What about my own life?

“You...”

——For whose sake...

“You...”

——...is my love?

“Violet...”

——For whose sake... am I living now?

“What is ‘love’?”

“Violet, love is...”

At that moment, he understood everything.

——Aah.

Gilbert was not keen of that phrase.

——It was fate.

After all, it would wipe clean every effort he had spent so far. He could not conform to the fact that the experiences stacked from since his tender years, as a child aiming to rise to the pyramid’s apex, had been for the sake of fate. Everything should have been the result of sheer effort. Nevertheless, at death’s doorstep, Gilbert understood.

——It was fate.

The reason why he had been born into the Bougainvillea family...

——It was fate.

The reason why his brother had abandoned him and cut ties with their household...

——It was fate.

The reason why said brother had found her and brought her home with him...

——It was fate.

The reason why Gilbert wound up loving her...

——It was fate.

“Violet.”

——Just... teaching what love is... to this girl who doesn’t know it. That is my life’s purpose.

“I do not understand. I don’t understand love. I don’t understand... the things Major talks about. If this is how it is, for what reason have I been fighting? Why did you give me orders? I am... a tool. Nothing else. Your tool. I do not understand love... I just... want to save... you, Major. Please do not leave me on my own. Major, please do not leave me on my own. Please give me an order! Even if it costs my life... please order me to save you!”

——I love you, Violet. I should have... told you this... more properly in words. The many gestures you would show, the way your blue eyes would widen whenever you discovered something new... I enjoyed watching you like that. Flowers, rainbows, birds, insects, snow, fallen leaves and cities filled with shaking lanterns... I’d wanted to show them all to you in a more beautiful light. I’d wanted to bestow you with a moment to appreciate them freely, not with mine but your own thoughts. I don’t know... how you would have lived without me there. But, if I weren’t around, wouldn’t you have been able... to see the world in a slightly more beautiful manner, the same way as I saw it through you? Ever since you came to my side, I... my life... was pretty much destroyed, but... I’ve found a meaning for living other than aiming for the top of that pyramid. Violet. You have... become my everything. Everything. Unrelated to the Bougainvillea. Just... everything to the man named Gilbert. At first, I was afraid of you. Yet at the same time, I believed I wanted to protect you. Even though you had sinned without realizing, I still wished for you to live. After I decided to make use of you, a criminal, I became a criminal as well. Your wrongdoings were my wrongdoings. I loved that mutual sinning. That’s right, I should... have told you this. It’s something very rare. I have very few things that I like. There’s actually a much bigger number of things that I detest. I simply don’t say it, but I’m not fond of this world, or this lifestyle. I do protect my country, but in truth, I dislike this world. The things I like are... my best friend, my inevitably twisted family... and you. Violet, it’s only you. My life consisted of just that. Wanting to protect you... and trying to keep you alive... were the first things in my life that I had wanted to do no matter what out of my own will. Abjectly, I make this wish. Violet. I want... to protect... you... more, more and more.

An emerald eye opened. It was a world of darkness. The cries of insects could be heard from afar.

Was that the real world or not?

As he picked the smell of medicine, he immediately knew he was in a hospital. Gilbert confirmed his situation. He was lying on a bed.

His memory gradually returned. He was supposed to have died in the battlefield. However, perhaps because he had been praying so miserably, even though God had never granted any of his wishes until now, He had let him live.

Only one of his emerald eyes had opened. Regardless of how hard he tried, the eye from the side that was wrapped in bandages did not budge. He wanted to move his arms to touch it, as to check on whatever had happened to it. However, again, only one of the limbs moved.

He wondered who had done it. He now had a mechanical arm.

Gilbert turned his face to the side. He met with someone’s eyes in the dark. It was a redheaded man.

“You’re... pretty resilient.”

The only man in Gilbert’s life whom the latter called “best friend” was there. He looked exhausted. What had happened to his uniform? He was dressed in a shirt and pants.

“Same... for... you.” As he retorted huskily, his friend laughed.

He laughed, but it morphed into sobs right after. Gilbert thought it was a pity that he could not properly see his friend’s crying face with only one side of his vision.

“What about Violet?”

His friend definitely knew beforehand that such a question would be asked. He shifted the chair he was sitting on and showed the bed next to him. The girl Gilbert loved lay there.

“If... she is... dead... then please kill me too.”

With her eyes closed, she looked like a sculpture, making it impossible to discern if she was alive or not. His friend gently told him that she had survived, but her arm was no longer usable.

“Just... one... of them?”

“No, both. Both sides... now have artificial arms.”

Gilbert forcefully attempted to stand up. While his friend rushed to warn against doing so, Gilbert borrowed his hand, walking the insignificant distance to the girl’s bed with trembling legs. As he uncovered her thin blankets, her smooth porcelain-like arms existed no more. In their place were combat-specialized prosthetics, even though one could not say if she would fight again.

Who had put them on her?

Gilbert touched Violet’s prosthetic with his flesh hand. It was cold. What was supposed to be there was gone. More than with his own condition, he had to bear with that.

“Major. What should I do with this... now that I have it?”

The arms she had showed him the emerald brooch with were gone.

“Major.”

The hands that had grabbed onto Gilbert’s cufflink as to not be separated from him were gone. They would never return.

“I want... to listen... to Major’s orders. If I... have Major’s orders... I can go... anywhere.”

What she had lost would never come back to her.

Gilbert’s vision blurred with tears to the point he could not see his beloved girl anymore. “Hodgins, I have a favor to ask.”

Shedding a single teardrop, an emerald eye closed.

#violet evergarden #kyoani #kyoto animation #akatsuki kana #takase akiko #my translation #novel

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