#yea fr we’re balling | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

misomilk · 7 years

Text

To: Maddy ( @brokuro ) Fr: Lea ( misomilk ) for @oofurixmas 2017

Hello, Maddy! Merry Christmas to you! I hope your Christmas Eve has been filled with lots of food and love and cheer, and may your Christmas day be filled with those even more! I’ve got 10 drabbles for you here, each of them concentrating on a Nishiura member + bonus or two (It’s a surprise!). I hope you enjoy all of them, and I hope the boys will be as in-character to your liking. Please have lots of fun while reading these!

Again, Merry Christmas! :)

Rating: G Total Word Count: ~9000 WARNING: hint-y abe+mihashi, pre-relationship. not much shipping aside from them

10.

After the loss against Sakitama, Nishihiro had fallen sick. Though he had been substituted in as a game-changer by the 6th inning in place of Mizutani, and he had redeemed himself for getting on base, he could not convince himself he had been able to give it his all. Getting sick right after the game doesn’t help much either. With nothing to do, and all the time in the world in his hands, he cannot stop himself from sinking further into negative thoughts. Like, maybe it would be alright to just… leave the club, especially when he’s this useless. Useless against Sakitama, who they once managed to beat in a called game. Even more so against Bijou-dai Sayama months ago.

He shakes his head violently to chase those thoughts away, the memory of that last at-bat making him shake to the bone.

No, he tells himself. I can contribute better to this team.

With his head pounding, and his eyes falling closed on their own, he lets sleep claim him.

***

Nishihiro feels as if he’s being pulled away from his dreams, he hears murmurs of a bunch of people. Though they’re mere buzz to his ears, he can tell they all sound familiar, and they feel so close, like home. He feels himself floating to the surface of his dreams, rising to be awake but his eyes refusing to open. The light blares even beneath his eyelids.

“Sssh, Tajima. Where in the world have you been?” says that kind, but firm tone of their shortstop. Sakitama wouldn’t have won if Nishihiro had caught the ball Suyama so accurately threw towards him. But it slipped through Nishihiro’s grip.

“There was so much manga in that room down the hallway. I even saw some about baseball. That’s pretty cool, isn’t it?” Their fifth batter’s voice breaks from excitement.

“You shouldn’t walk around people’s houses so freely.”

Tajima laughs. “Suyama, you sound like Yuuto… But really, we’re talking manga here. Baseball manga!! It’s the coolest!”

Another pair of voices converse, muffled stomps of feet sounding against the floor of his room.

“O-O-O-Oki-kun, I g-got ice from Ni-Nishihiro-kun’s mom.”

“Thanks, Mihashi. Place them into the basin so we can change the towel on his head.”

Right as Nishihiro feels weight come off his forehead, he slowly opens his eyes. He hears a choir of gasps around the room. Silence passing them as he takes a look on each of his guests.

“Y-you guys…” Nishihiro speaks weakly, not so much because of how his body aches, but because of an energy that fills his bones and his chest. His eyes sting, heart feeling warm. He’s never been visited by friends while he was sick before. Before Nishihiro could ask them why they thought of coming, Suyama beats him to the punch.

“Sorry for waking you up.” Nishihiro watches Suyama walk closer to his bed and sits on floor upon his knees. “Everyone wanted to come check on you, but we were afraid of overcrowding your place, so it’s just us. How are you feeling?”

“Better than before I slept, I think.” Nishihiro manages to laugh weakly. He feels weight on his forehead. He looks up to see Oki has placed the cold towel there. They share a moment, smiling at each other like they do sometimes when they’re passing papers to the front in class after a test. A moment of shared relief. He looks sideways to see Mihashi, fidgeting like usua,l but with wide eyes filled with concern for him, and Tajima, looking at him with his wide, relaxed smile.

It feels good. His whole body suddenly feels good. Like he’s been given a power up because his teammates came to visit him. His whole team wanted to visit him.

“That’s good that you’re feeling better.” Suyama nods, dependable big brother smile on his face. “Rest well and drink lots of fluids so you get better faster.”

Nishihiro sees Tajima nudge Mihashi, turning his attention to them.

“Y-yea!” Mihashi chimes in, nodding his head. “Ni-Nishihiro-kun, p-please get better soon. We’re-- All-- We’re-- Everyone-- We’re waiting-- For you. So. Come back.” Mihashi swallows, then tries to catch his breath. “Quickly.”

“That’s right!” Tajima grins. “We’re not a complete team without you after all.”

Nishihiro widens his eyes, surprised at what their once cleanup has said. For Tajima of all people, of all their members to say that-- It weighs a lot in his heart, and further increases his happiness.

“Thank you, guys.” Nishihiro wipes his eye, preventing teardrops in their attempt to escape. “Thank you. After Sakitama’s game-- I-- I really thought...” I really thought you guys would never want me back.

“PLUS BEAM!” Oki shouts. The other four in the room look towards him, and see his arms in a plus sign. “You’re not allowed to say that, Nishihiro. P-PLUS BEAM!”

Nishihiro smiles, his heart beaming with renewed vigor. He feels like he can be 100% better tomorrow, even with the power of his mentality alone. He needs to go back to his team, after all. They’re all waiting for him. He puts his hands in a plus sign. “Plus!”

They’re all waiting for him.

******

It’s funny how quickly days have turned to weeks, to months, to years. Though it just seems like just yesterday when he was tricked by Abe into a Three At-Bat challenge against Mihashi, here they stand, all ten of them, taking in the sights, the smells, the feel.

Koushien’s soil is soft, yet firm beneath his spiked shoes. This is it.

Finally. This is it.

They had placed top above everyone else in their prefecture, beat champion high schools, and finally they earned the chance to stand here, among the best of the best.

“I know,” he starts his speech to his teammates, the original ten. His second family. He has to shout when the chatter of more than 60,000 people in the stands can challenge the buzz of a bee right beside one’s ear. He can see the excitement and fear in all their faces, standing built with power in their arms, legs and torsos. “I know how you’re all feeling. We’ve come so far.”

The crowd cheers wildly, announcements starting. The vibe is immense, but they won’t crumble to this pressure.

“We’re thinking ‘This is it! This is the first of the last few steps towards our goal!’ But let us remember…” He pauses, closing his eyes, preparing the voice in his chest to shout out their ale. He can feel how tightly they cling onto each other, for this first team circle they have against other top teams.

How far will they go? How many more matches are left for them to cheer in this circle until this last year together comes to a close?

He breathes, taken back to the baseball field at home, the cool misty mornings, teammates’ hands warm within his own. He opens his eyes, observes each of his teammates, pride swelling warmly in his chest. They’ve all changed since they were younger. They’re all much stronger now. They’ve come so far. So far.

Then he yells, their usual spell for a good game. “Don’t focus on last time!”

“OH!”

“Don’t focus on the future!”

“OH!”

“Don’t let your guard down!”

“OH!”

“We will play with?”

“PLUS THINKING!”

“NISHIURAAAAAA! FIGHT!”

“OOOOOOOH!!!!!!!!!!”

******

A slump. This has to be it. Like he’s sinking even though he can see with his two eyes that his feet are solidly planted onto the ground. This is definitely a slump.

It started with their first game for the summer competition of their second year, and continued on to their third game. The opponent teams have been on high guard for Nishiura’s lead-off hitter. He’s established the record of getting on base, and scoring runs far more often than any opponent would desire.

Then again, if it’s put that way, then it isn’t much of a slump at all, he realizes. The teams they play against--they’re all heavily guarded against him, meaning he’s that valuable of a player to his team. But-- But he shouldn’t let himself be caught by their trap, by their strategies, by their adjustments to limit where he can bat. He can’t keep losing to them. There’s got to be a loophole. There has to be. And he has to train his eyes harder to see it, and train his arms so he can swing the bat and take the ball farther than they can imagine.

It’s tough, being trusted to be good, yet not the best. It’s a comfortable space to be, that he has the freedom and flexibility to grow at the rate he wishes. But it’s tough. It’s tough. Seeing how the top two of their team are far from his own capabilities.

“Kou-chan!” Tajima grabs him, an arm hooking over both his shoulders as he pulls Izumi down. Izumi’s grown close to two inches the past year, Tajima’s height is pretty much the same as their first year.

“What?” Izumi asks, normally as he would. He closes his eyes when he sees Tajima’s finger going towards them, but instead of feeling the finger jab his eye, he feels it jab the in-between of his eyebrows.

“You’re thinking too much.” Tajima lets him go and slaps him hard on the butt. It makes Izumi yelp. “You’re losing your cool, Suke-kou~”

Izumi groans. He’s told him countless times to stop twisting his name that way. “Yuu, don’t you dare.”

“Suke-kou’s gonna stay Suke-kou until Suke-kou loosens up.”

“Yuu, I swear--” Izumi dashes off, his words lost to the speed of him running. His feet quickly go one in front of the other to chase Tajima who’s had a fraction of a second headstart. (It’s funny how scared Tajima looked before he started running.) They run, towards the right field, hearing Hanai call out after them but they don’t pay him any mind. Izumi feels this burning need pulsing in his veins to catch Tajima--number one skilled player, quickest feet, running effortlessly enough that he’s laughing while he’s running.

Izumi runs. He runs. He runs. He has to. He has to catch up, otherwise he feels like he’d stay in this slump forever. They run towards the center field, where Izumi manages to outrun him, aiming to trap Tajima rather than grab him, but Tajima manages to stop on his tracks. They reach a draw, Izumi blocking off Tajima’s path wherever he tries to move, but then Tajima manages to trick him with a sidestep, making him able to run towards the bases again.

“Hah, hah~ Can’t catch me, Suke-kou~” Tajima taunts as he runs away towards the third base now.

“You guys, come back here!” Izumi hears Sakaeguchi call out from the distance, but his focus stays on Tajima.

Then for a moment, Izumi feels like his feet feel lighter, and his legs feel smoother. Like he’s a tin man whose joints have been oiled. It’s easier to bring each foot forward, like he leaves fire in his wake at the speed he runs. He runs. He runs. He runs. And just before Tajima manages to step onto the home plate, Izumi grabs him by the back of his uniform, and pulls him back, preventing him from landing the base.

“No!! Let me go!”

“I will not. Just who are you calling Suke-kou, huh? HUH?” Izumi manages to grab the sides of Tajima’s head and noogie him the way Abe used to do to Mihashi.

“Ow, ow, ow, OW! OUCH!! Stop! Stop! Okay! I’ll stop!”

“Hey, you two. Stop horsing around.” Hanai walks over to them. “Tajima, I told you to stop running around so freely. You haven’t even properly warmed up yet.”

“But it was Kou-chan that threatened me. I was running for my dear life, you know! He’s got the intense aura of a monster when he’s angry.” Tajima walks off with Hanai, following him to the bench.

“Then why tick him off in the first place?”

Izumi stays in place, heaving with breath, internalizing what Tajima had just said. His aura? Does he mean his presence? A presence powerful enough that makes even the fearless Tajima cower and run away. It brings pleasing jitters across Izumi’s skin, and a smile on his face.

“Kou-chan,” Mihashi approaches him. Izumi looks to him to see he’s handing him a bottle of water, which he gratefully takes and drinks from. “You’re f-f-feeling better?”

“Ahhh,” Izumi heaves a deep, refreshed sigh as he finishes the contents of the bottle, topping it with a smile. “Yeah, Ren.” He chuckles as ruffles Mihashi’s hair. He walks to the bench where Hanai and Tajima are still (friendly) arguing to refill his bottle.

A presence immense enough to scare even Tajima. Izumi grins again as he refills his bottle with water (not knowing he’s made Tajima flinch, caught by surprise at the sudden intensity coming from him). Maybe he can work with that.

He’s not as tall and capable as Hanai, nor is he small and naturally-gifted with talent as Tajima, but he can have this. He can scare the fielders and pitcher alike with his presence, so they won’t even dare challenge him. Make them cower so that they’ll forget how to deal with him, and give him the loopholes in their defenses that Izumi had been so trained to do.

This could get very interesting.

******

Mizutani stands at the batter’s box, the score at a comfortable 2-0 at the bottom of the third inning. Comfortable--that is, for him, because he thinks his team can totally win against the opponent, but for Momokan who’s looking pretty aggressive as she’s signing at him from the dugout, she’s extremely hungry for more points.

It kind of scares Mizutani, the way she’s glaring, granted Oki had batted an almost clean grounder before him, just that the opponent team’s pitcher was way too good and was able to throw to first faster than Oki could run. (Oki has been putting a bit more of muscle lately. Which makes Mizutani himself realize he should really gear up and take his own efforts to the next level.)

He’s lost in his own thoughts however, that by the time he looks away from Momokan to look at the pitcher and assume the proper batting position he should, his mind goes black.

Uhm.

What did Momokan sign to him again? Was he supposed to bunt? Was he supposed to hit? A grounder? Or let the ball fly? Wait, he’s supposed to look at positions of the batters-- Oh, no! The pitcher threw!!!!

‘I gotta hit it!!’ Mizutani thinks as he swings, his mind full of panic. He misses, of course. He could feel the ball swoosh way over where he swung his bat.

“Strike!”

Mizutani tries to breathe as he adjusts his position, swinging his bat. What is he so nervous for? This is their third game of the season. He’s gotta summon ‘Nice batting’ Mizutani. Come on. Come on.

He looks over at Momokan, her face in a more relaxed vibe, though the glint in her eyes shows: What are you doing? That wasn’t what I told you to do.

Momokan is scary. She always is. She’s terrifying, and it makes him respect her so much. He reads her signs. To wait for this pitch, and watch where the ball goes. Okay. He can manage that.

He does as told, and holds his stance, though he was extremely tempted to swing his bat. Surely enough, the pitch is a “Ball!”, towards the outside.

Alright. Moment of glory coming up. He’ll definitely get on base. He looks over at Momokan, determined to do what she tells him to.

***

“Ahhh, that tired me out, man.” Mizutani sighs when he gets to the dugout. He’d gotten on base during his at-bat, ran to second during Mihashi’s, and now he had just ran home after Izumi hit a double. The score at 3-0 now.

“Nice run!” Sakaeguchi pats him on the back as he changes his glove. The others remain by the railing, shouting out cheers towards Abe.

“Thank you.” Mizutani sighs again.

“What’s wrong?”

Mizutani moves closer to whisper. “Doesn’t it bother you sometimes how detailed Momokan’s signs are?”

“Eh? Not really?” Sakaeguchi replies, his eyebrow raising. “It helps a lot that she’s so specific with her strategies.”

“I agree.” Suyama chimes in, getting ready to go into the next-batter’s box. Mizutani looks at him while he grabs himself a drink. “What she tells me to do really helps me focus on what my role is for that at-bat.“

“Really? Hmmm,” Mizutani crosses his arms, leaning against the railing. “Well, that is true. But don’t you forget sometimes which signs mean what?”

Sakaeguchi laughs softly. “Are you serious?”

“Super serious.”

“Oh.”

“Well, more like I’m mixing some signs from last year with this year. I guess? I don’t know!” Mizutani sobs a little, wiping his face onto his arms. “I’m sorry! It’s really hard!”

”Ahahaha. It’s alright, Fumi.” Sakaeguchi pats him on the back. “Do you want me to go over the signs again with you?”

The sound of a ball hitting the bat clanks. Abe gets to first base. The team cheers together, “NICE BATTING!”

Mizutani takes another gulp of water as he watches Momokan sign to Suyama. “Yes, please. Teach me, Yuuto.”

“Of course.”

Reference: The batting order I thought they went with in this game: Izumi - Abe - Suyama - Hanai - Tajima - Sakaeguchi - Oki - Mizutani - Mihashi. Just in case it got confusing. XD

******

6. (ref)

Before the start of classes on their second year, while the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, the Nishiura boys and Shinooka planned to get together to watch the cherry blossoms in full bloom. Suyama is on his way to their meeting place now, seated on the train, basket of food that he prepared on top of his lap. He hopes his teammates will really like all the food that he prepared. They’re on break from club activities that Saturday to give them rest until club activities start again the following Monday.

He watches the scenery on the other side of the train, barely changing as the train whips past farmlands and wide open areas. He closes his eyes, remembering how different it had been when they were on the train to Koushien, with buildings zooming by. Funny how long ago that already is. It’s been months since they went there as a team. Hopefully, this coming summer, they’ll get to go again. This time, as actual participants of the matches.

Suyama feels the train come to a stop. He doesn’t bother opening his eyes, knowing that his stop won’t be for another five stations.

A surprised “Hm? Suyama?” is what makes him opens his eyes. His eyes refocus for a moment, and after he blinks a few times, he realizes Nishihiro is standing in front of him.

“Nishihiro?”

His teammate nods his head in warm greeting. “May I sit beside you?”

“Of course!” Suyama pats the seat to his left, and lets Nishihiro sit down, watching him put his own basket--half the size Suyama carries--on his lap, too. A few moments pass in silence as the train starts to take up speed again. Suyama turns to Nishihiro to talk. “What a surprise to see you ride the train from there. You don’t live in that area, right? I don’t think we had to ride our bikes this far out when we came to visit you in November.”

“Ah, yeah.” Nishihiro laughs softly. “My mom had me drop off my little sister at our grandma’s.”

“Ooh,” Suyama nods his head. He snickers, teasing. “What a responsible older brother you are. Handling her alone all the way out here.”

“Tell me about it.” Nishihiro sighs, acting tired, but then a warm smile is on his face. “She kept going on and on about getting off at the park a few stations back.” “Right. The one with the big red slide you can see from the train.”

“Yeap. It was hard keeping her from crying. But I’m sure she’ll have fun with grandma. Grandma likes spoiling her.”

Suyama smiles. It’s nice getting to know about his teammates lives outside of baseball like this.

“But wow, Suyama. You sure have a big basket with you today.”

The shortstop smiles, toothy this time. “Sure do. I made a ton of dishes for you guys to eat, so I hope you’ve all got empty stomachs.”

“Whoa! What-- Wow. Really? You made all of that?” Nishihiro’s eyes widen, though when the light from the other side of the train flashes at his eyes he closes them for a moment, then shakes his head. “That’s amazing.”

“Well, my mom helped me out a lot once it was getting too late into the night.”

“But before that?”

Suyama laughs, a little embarrassed he has to admit how much effort he put into these dishes. “I made them by myself, since I got home from practice. That was around 9 o’clock, I guess. She didn’t help me until around 11:30.”

“WOW!” Nishihiro grins wide, like when he catches fly balls. Suyama appreciates the genuineness of it. “That’s seriously amazing. I definitely couldn’t handle cooking that late. And after practice, too!”

“It helps that I just really love cooking. I haven’t had much time to because of practice.”

“Yeah, I can tell from the food you sometimes bring to share with us that you really must love cooking.” Nishihiro nods his head, the compliment making Suyama feel really nice. Like a warm fluff in his chest. “I look forward to eating your food later, Suyama.”

“Good. You better stuff your face with ‘em.” “Of course!”

They laugh for a while, then Suyama points out the basket on Nishihiro’s lap. “Did you make this, too?”

“Oh! Oh, no. Actually, it’s from grandma. I picked it up when I dropped my sister off.”

“I see.”

“I’ll give you the biggest serving, Suyama. In return for always giving us such delicious food.” Nishihiro smiles at him.

“Oh, come on.”

The five stations seem to pass in just a few seconds, now that Suyama’s waiting with someone. When they get to Kawaracho station, where they all agreed to meet up at, most of the members were already there. Only Abe and Oki aren’t there yet. Tajima’s already being rowdy with Mihashi, laughing out loud, with Hanai trying to keep him quiet. It seems the brotherly duo had been driven there by Mihashi’s mom, and Tajima was talking about Mihashi’s funny antics then. Aside from Suyama and Nishihiro, Mihashi and Mizutani were carrying baskets, too. Though by the look of things, it seems that Mizutani’s only carrying the basket Shinooka had brought. The others have coolers, and Sakaeguchi had a huge shopping bag with the blue film they’ll be sitting on.

When the last two members arrive, they walk together towards the park. Though they decided to meet up as early as 8 o’clock, there were barely any spots left where they could sit near the station. They needed to walk a long way, perhaps more than three-quarters of the stretch of cherry blossom trees and rapeseed flowers--a long walk that none of them seemed to mind. They were all busy talking to each other on the way, filling the would-be silence with random stories, new things they learned, and asking for bat swinging tips. None of them could keep quiet, not even Mihashi--who talked excitedly between his stutters.

Once Tajima started running off to an area a few meters away, they realize he’s running to an empty area near the side of the road that should be big enough space for all of them. Half of them followed suit to hurriedly take claim of the area before anyone else could.

“It looks good!” The team says together once they’ve laid down the sheet, and set down the food. “Let’s eat!”

Suyama watches the pleasant smiles on his teammates’ faces as they eat the food he made. He told Nishihiro he was able to stick to cooking so late in the night before simply because he loved cooking, but maybe he had something pushing him a little more than that. Seeing his teammates’ faces--the sparkle in Mihashi’s eyes as he eats the bacon-wrapped vegetables, the loudness of Tajima’s “WOW” when he ate the eggplant stuffed with tomato, Izumi’s wide grin as he compliments Suyama’s take on teriyaki sauce. He could go on and on, noting every smile, every sparkle, and every seldom wince when they find something they don’t like eating in the food (and then the satisfaction that comes right after when they realize they like how Suyama seasoned that disliked food). Suyama’s cheeks dust a little pink when Shinooka tells him he’d make a great husband, knowing of course she doesn’t necessarily mean she wants him to be her husband. But it’s a great deal of a compliment.

With the cherry blossoms floating in the wind, their laughter riding the relaxing sounds of a nearby river, they spend a few hours there--simply enjoying each other’s company, sharing experiences besides baseball, and strengthening their bond to last them even way beyond their high school years.

******

“HANAI!” Tajima shouts out to him on their way up the stairs. The entire team is currently heading to the table tennis room, since they have already rested a bit after dinner. It’ll be a good, light workout for their bodies, said Shigapo.

“What?” Hanai shifts his body to look back once he’s at the top of the stairs. Tajima rushes past his other teammates. (Sakaeguchi calls after him, “Tajima, don’t be too reckless!”) “Whoa, hey, be careful!”

Tajima arrives at the top of the stairs beside Hanai with a grin that goes from cheek to cheek. He grabs Hanai’s arm. “Let’s play together.”

“What? But-- Hey, wait!”

There’s nothing Hanai could say to argue as he’s pulled quickly towards the table tennis room.

“Come on, come on!” Tajima pushes the doors open and rushes to the container where the paddles and balls are kept.

Hanai, who’d been left at the door, holds the door frame to balance himself. It takes up so much energy to be whipped around by a storm like Tajima.

“Here you go.” Tajima hands him a paddle, then rushes over to the farthest table.

Hanai walks after him, taking the opposite side of the table. He watches Tajima practically bounce as he waits for Hanai to take his stance. “You know, Shinooka told Mizutani and me we should be free after dinner. I think she’s going to--”

“It’ll be okay, okay~? She’s still eating with the moms. Which means we should compete for the highest score before she comes up. Come on!” Tajima bounces the ball onto the table, getting ready to serve.

“I really don’t think I should--”

Whoosh. The ball whips past Hanai’s right side. Tajima had served, and it bounced on Hanai’s side of the table before he

Tajima laughs out loud, and grins, his chest puffed out in pride. “Hah, one point for me.”

Hanai looks at the ball that bounced off the wall, now rolling towards the bottom of the table. He should feel cheated that he’d lost a point right when he wasn’t ready, when he hasn’t even summoned his game spirit. However, he finds that he isn’t irritated at all. But there is this certain fire burning in him, that call to compete with Tajima that he can rarely back down from pumping in his veins. “Alright. Fine. You asked for this.”

Tajima watches Hanai’s face shift to a competitive smile, and it makes him grins even wider. That’s right. That’s how Tajima likes Hanai most. When Hanai doesn’t back down, and gives his all--that’s when they can have the most fun together.

“Here it comes.”

They get the ball to go back and forth for quite a few minutes after Hanai serves, and it ends as Tajima’s first point. When they’re tied at 9-9, their rally goes over four minutes.

“Wow, those two have been at it for a while.” Izumi says from the other side of the room.

“Yeah, they’re still on that rally even though Suyama and I have been on, hmm,” Sakaeguchi counts with his fingers. “Three? Rallies?” Suyama laughs light. “Yeah.”

The other pairs stop their own playing to watch the two’s rally. Another minute passes, and they’re still going. “Stay sharp, Hanai!” Izumi teases.

“G-Go, Tajima-kun! Ha-Hanai-kun!” Mihashi cheers.

The rest of the boys start cheering and teasing, and the room grows noisier.

“Hanai-kun? Mizutani-kun?” Shinooka peeks her head into the room before she walks inside and calls for them. She’d just finished eating dinner.

“Oh, Shinooka!” Mizutani waves at her to come closer. They’re all huddled around the table where Hanai and Tajima are still playing. The ball still hasn’t fallen.

At least, not until she’s halfway through the room. That’s when the boys started shouting “OOOOHHH!!!!!!!!” Tajima had Hanai in a corner, relentlessly assaulting him with fast, sharp returns. Hanai can barely keep up, but he’s staying on his toes. It isn’t until Tajima swipes the ball towards the opposite corner where Hanai is, letting it bounce off almost at the edge of the table, that Hanai’s knee makes him tumble to the floor. He was unable to return it. The rally had ended. Point to Tajima.

The rest of the team applauds them for that amazing rally.

“Good game?” Tajima heaves for breath, smiling that ear-to-ear grin of his as he holds out a hand to Hanai. He’s so content. He always has so much fun competing with their captain. He doesn’t even care that he won 10-9. Just the thrill of it makes him so happy.

“Good game.” Hanai takes his hand and shakes it, the other boys dispersing as they talk about their favorite moments from that intense rally. “Next time, I’ll definitely wipe the floor with you.”

Tajima laughs. “Gotta see you try.”

“Hanai-kun!” Shinooka calls out to him. She’s standing by the wall with Mizutani beside her.

“Alright, I’m coming. Let me just get a drink.”

“Okay!”

Tajima watches Hanai walk away, smiling. Still completely content. His attention veers away from Hanai when Sakaeguchi stands opposite to him.

“Had fun?” Sakaeguchi asks him as he picks up the ball from the floor.

Tajima grins at him. Yes, he’s had fun. Yes, he’s still feeling super giddy from that rally. He hopes he can play like that with Hanai again. “Had loads of fun! I won’t back down from you either, Sakaeguchi!”

******

Amidst battling through small-time spring tournaments in their second year, his mother’s death anniversary passed without Sakaeguchi having time to visit her grave. That Friday, before they leave for their Golden Week training, Momokan announced they will end practice early on Saturday, supposedly to give them time for all the packing they need to do for the coming week. The corners of Sakaeguchi’s lips curve a bit upward, happy he can use the time to visit his dearest mother. He was supposed to go on the day they all arranged for a picnic together, but they ended up spending that whole day together, that he found it difficult to excuse himself.

This time, for sure. He’ll go to her.

***

Friday’s practice session ends, the stars shining high above them as they change clothes in the benches.

“Yuuto,” Suyama approaches him, already in his uniform.

Sakaeguchi is in the middle of buttoning up his shirt as he turns to Suyama. “Yeah?”

“Remember we were talking about shopping for new shoes? I was wondering if we could go do that tomorrow, since we’re ending practice early.”

“Ooh, new shoes?” Mizutani chimes in after he’d just pushed his head through his undershirt. He tucks it into his school slacks as he speaks. “I wanna come, too! Mine have been so worn out.”

Suyama smiles toward Mizutani. “It’ll be a nice start to the new year ahead of us. And the training camp will be a great chance to break it in.”

“That’s true. I’m in!!” Mizutani laughs.

“Alright.”

“Actually…” Sakaeguchi finally finds the right timing to cut between them. The two look towards him, a questioning look on their faces. “Sorry, guys. I’ll have to pass.”

A moment passes them. (A moment when Abe’s “Ren, have you eaten the extra onigiri I had Shinooka make? You need the energy to pedal home.” and Mihashi’s excited “Y-Yeah!” echoed loudly through the bench area.)

“Is something wrong?” Suyama asks, his voice laced with concern. “You look a little troubled.”

“Nothing’s wrong, Shouji.” Sakaeguchi smiles as he resumes changing. He places his arms through his school shirt and buttons it up. “I’m really happy you’re inviting me to shop, but tomorrow’s-- Well…” He pauses to breathe. “See, I’m going to visit my mom tomorrow.”

“Oh… Right.” Suyama nods his head, understanding immediately what he meant. Sakaeguchi had mentioned it to him in their first year, how he had lost his mom in spring of his 2nd year in middle school. How whenever the cherry blossoms bloom he remembers her warm smile, the echo of her ‘Welcome home, Yuuto’ no matter how late his practices got, and the delicious picnic food she used to make for them to watch its beautiful petals fall. Most of all, her unfaltering support for him and his love for baseball.

Mizutani looks from Suyama to Sakaeguchi, and back. “Is his mom not at home? Is she at the hospital?”

“No, Fumi. She’s--” He breathes, deep. Sometimes, it’s still hard for him to say it. Strange, when he’s gotten used to going home to just his siblings and his dad. How they’re already well accustomed to housework, taught well by their mother before she left. “She’s already passed away.”

“OH!” Mizutani shouts out loud, alarming the others in the bench. “Oh… S-Sorry. I--I didn’t mean to--”

“It’s alright.” Sakaeguchi smiles, finished dressing up. “It’s okay now. My family and I-- We’re all okay.”

She took care of them so well, they were able to adjust to her absence. It wasn’t easy. It still isn’t. But it’s nice to see that though she may be physically absent, she’s embedded in every chore, in every thought, in every conversation between the three of them. She’s still alive within them.

“But yeah, I wasn’t able to go visit her grave on her anniversary, so I thought I’d like to go tomorrow.”

“Why don’t we all go, then?” Suyama suggests, Mizutani smiles wide at him, then excitedly nods his head towards Sakaeguchi.

“Yeah! What do you say, guys?” Mizutani extends the invitation to the rest of the team, explaining to them when they reacted with “What?”s and “What’s happening?”s.

Sakaeguchi feels a pat on his shoulder, and when he looks over, he sees it’s Izumi. “Let’s meet at the gate after school, then we can all ride our bikes to the station, then ride the train from there. Right, Yuuto?”

“Eh? Eh? Really?” Sakaeguchi looks around his team, an overwhelming happiness coming over him. “Is it really alright with you guys? You don’t have to--”

“Of course, it’s alright.” Hanai nods his head. (Tajima yells to him teasingly, “What about your cram school, Azusa~?” “SHUT UP, TAJIMA!”) The captain clears his throat, calming himself from the sudden outburst at Tajima. “We’d all love to go with you and greet your mom. That is, of course, if it’s alright with you and your family.”

Sakaeguchi is left speechless, tears welling in his eyes. “Ye--Yeah. I’d be so honored. I’m sure she’d love to meet you all. Thank you, really. Thanks all of you.”

The team smile at each other, then disperse as they walk to their bikes, bags slung over their shoulders. Mihashi walks beside Sakaeguchi, asking about his mom.

“She must have b-b-been very kind.” Mihashi says, wide-eyed with wonder and his lips curved deep into a smile. “Because-- Yuuto-- You’re a-- a very nice person.”

Sakaeguchi laughs, warmth filling his heart as he ruffles Mihashi’s hair. “Thanks, Ren. That’s really sweet.”

“Uhehe.” Mihashi laughs, blushing deeply at being praised.

The following day, once they’re all at Sakaeguchi’s mother’s humble grave, they stack package over package of mochi before her, each of them having brought one to offer her. Sakaeguchi smiles at her, his hands and eyes closed in prayer.

Because you supported me playing baseball, I found these wonderful friends. Thank you, mom.

******

Clang.

The sound of his bat hitting the ball. It’s clear, loud, and rings in his ears--delicious as success. He watches, mouth agape, as the ball keeps going, going, going and going. For a moment, everything is silent. His breath still. All he can feel is a warmth spreading throughout his body, a certain high incoming.

He can’t hear the cheers of the stands. The cheers of his teammates. If only he would look towards the dugout, he would see his coach looking at him with much pride.

The ball goes, and goes, and goes.

It falls, hits the metal of the scoreboard that’s right above center field.

A homerun.

It’s a homerun.

He remains standing there, in disbelief. Had he been the one to bat that? Is all this for real? Is this a dream?

“KAZU!!!” yells Tajima, who had stood at second base when Oki hit that homerun.

He hit a homerun.

Tajima hugs him tight from when he’s run past third base and came back home, where Oki remains standing, struck with shock.

“KA!!! ZU!!!!” Tajima yells again, shaking him. He slaps his buttocks to snap Oki awake. Oki looks down towards their fifth batter, who’s grinning widely, ear to ear. “Go run and have the crowd cheer for you, damn it!!! That was so cool!”

Tajima slaps his buttocks one more time before he starts running.

Oki jogs to the first base, seeing the Nishiura crowd on the stands doing a huge wave. He jogs to the second base, finally hearing all the loud cheers, “GREAT JOB, OKI!” from the stands and the “NICE BATTING!” from the dugout. He jogs to the third base, seeing the despaired look on the opposite team’s faces. He quickly looks away from them. He looks forward, towards home--he glances left to his team, all wide smiles and loud cheering.

That’s when it hits him.

He hit a homerun.

He helped turn the game around on the bottom of the eighth.

Him. Shy and not as outspoken as the others as he is. He’s built strength in his arms, and swung the bat hundreds of times each day for this.

For this.

When he gets to their dugout, everyone ruffles his hair. Everyone is so happy. Everyone has been filled with renewed hope. Oki mentally pats himself on the back, knowing he did good today.

No.

He did great.

******

Too close.

Way too close.

Abe wonders how is it that the year previous, Mihashi and Kanou clearly knew each other but stayed at the distance of acquaintances, yet now they’re buddy-buddies? Look at Kanou, laughing with Mihashi, calling him “Ren” with his arm over his shoulder, laughing about things Abe is so damn curious to know, but he knows he can’t squeeze himself in and ask. Had those two been that close before things went down at Mihoshi? The mere thought makes Abe’s blood boil.

“Takaya,” Tajima calls out.

Abe immediately turns his head towards Tajima, fire in his eyes, unable to hide the embers of jealousy burning within. “WHAT.”

“You’ll scare Ren off.”

Abe tsks loudly to let off the steam, loud enough for Izumi and a few others a bench away from them to hear.

(“What’s with him?” Suyama asks.

“Ren problems.” Izumi replies.)

***

“100! Alright, that’s it. Nice pitching.” Abe says as he walks up to Mihashi from the bullpen. Mihashi giggles in that unique way of his whenever he gets praised, with his arms waving like jelly. He looks like a jellyfish about to float away, and though if Mihashi had done this in the past, Abe would’ve been irritated, now he finds it quite endearing. “Time to do your counter weight lifting.”

“O-okay!”

They make their way to the benches where they’d set up a similar weightlifting area to that at school. Mihashi positions himself to start lifting the weight with his left hand. ‘Slowly’ he seems to remind himself, as he starts a slow beat.

Abe watches him, making sure his body’s not awkwardly positioned anywhere. Once Mihashi’s around the 50 count, Abe’s thoughts start straying away. It’s quite unlike him to dare think of something else while observing Mihashi, but his mind cannot help wandering back to Mihashi and Kanou being so close. What makes Kanou so special? he wonders. He may have known Mihashi longer, but it’s Abe himself that helped bring out Mihashi’s potential.

The catcher’s eyes seem to burn with his rage, alerting Mihashi--who thought he must be doing something wrong to warrant himself that glare.

“It’s nothing! Don’t worry about it.” Abe says, harsher than he intended. “Keep going.”

“Oh! O-o-okay.” Mihashi nods, and continues on.

Abe groans. He tries to shift his focus back onto Mihashi lifting. 70. 71. 72. Kanou’s arm over Mihashi’s shoulders. 75. 76. 77. 7… How nice would it feel if Abe puts his arm over Mihashi’s shoulder?

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!” Abe shouts out loud, utterly embarrassed by the image he created in his head. How utterly warm his chest felt, and how his stomach tossed and turned pleasantly. Mihashi yelps at the sudden noise, incredibly alarmed.

“Ah, s--sorry. Sorry, Ren.” Abe apologizes to Mihashi, but he keeps his eyes away from him.

“I-I-It’s okay.” Mihashi says, though his eyes seem to still be spinning in circles. “A-a-are you okay?”

Not really. “Yeah.”

“Okay!” Mihashi nods his head again, and continues. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85.

“Hey, Ren.”

“Y-Yes?”

“You still haven’t called me by my name.”

Mihashi stops his weight lifting with a shudder. And then silence follows.

Abe shifts his weight onto his other leg, bringing his hand up to his hip. He waits, and waits, and waits. He watches Mihashi struggle, mumbling to himself, seeming like he’s wondering if he should say his name now or not. And if Mihashi is about to say his name, Mihashi surely looks like he’s having a difficult time with it.

Why? When it’s so easy for him to call Kanou by his name?

The catcher tsks loudly before sighing. “Never mind. You’re at 85 lifts. Keep going. Slowly, alright?”

“O-okay…” Mihashi continues lifting. 86. 87. 88. And his mouth keeps flapping open as if to say “Ta”.

Abe tries to keep his excitement to himself. When Mihashi finishes 100 lifts, he doesn’t bring up the name topic again.

***

“Takaya,” rings in his ears, sweeter than any candy that’s ever melted in his mouth.

They’re at dinner now, and they’re seated next to each other. The chatter of the rest of the team fills the room, yet he heard it so clearly, as if Mihashi said it directly into his ear.

Mihashi had said, “Ta-Ta-Takaya, can you-- passmethesoysauce?” The latter of which softened to a mumble Abe couldn’t even hear.

All that registered in Abe’s mind was “Takaya”, and how clear he said it, even though it was after Mihashi stuttered. He’d never thought he could be so moved by someone saying his name.

“Say it again.” He requests, not realizing it’s quite an awkward thing to ask.

“S-Say? Ag--again. Uhm, uh,” Mihashi fumbles with his chopsticks. A bad habit, but Abe adores it nevertheless. “Ta-Takaya, can you pass me-- pass me the soy sauce?” Mihashi wheezes from the sheer effort of saying that without blushing too hard. “P-p-please?”

Abe grins wide, and passes him the soy sauce as requested. “Here you go. Ren.”

Mihashi takes the bottle from him, their fingers brushing a tad bit, and at that moment they both shiver, having felt an electric current run through their veins at the small contact. They both turn their heads away, and don’t look at each other for the rest of dinner, eating their meals silently as the room gets louder. Tajima joking around with Mizutani.

Takaya looks so happy. thinks Sakaeguchi, who sits across them and saw the whole thing happen. He eats his meal watching them, happy his teammates are taking forward steps, no matter how small.

******

On the New Year of his first year in high school, Mihashi and his family drove to Gunma. It was a long drive, granted many other people were on their way home to their respective provinces, too. Mihashi had planned to be asleep for most of the time they were stuck in traffic, but he was greatly distracted by his phone, and the person on the other line, sending him replies quickly after he himself has responded.

His heart beats quickly with every vibration of his phone, a notification of yet another new message. Strange how he used to feel this quick heartbeat out of fear before, but now it is all good.

Sweet. Fuzzy. Ties his stomach in nice-feeling knots.

Very good.

He flips his phone open, clicking the right buttons to open the new mail that came in from “Abe Takaya”. He reads, not expecting his heart to sink.

/Sorry, Ren. Mom’s nagging me to help out. I’ll be back soon, I think. Let me know when you get to your relatives’. Ttyl./

Mihashi blinks at his phone, wondering if he should reply. He said talk to you later, which means… they’ll start the back and forth of messages again later. Later. Not now. If Mihashi sends a message now, will that mean Abe will assume he’s already at Gunma? If so, he shouldn’t send a text. But-- But Mihashi wants to reply. Mihashi wants Abe to know he’s read the message and he understands. Say “Okay. I got it. Talk to you later.”

He types that message in, and then his thumb hovers over the Send button as he mulls over it again. Should he send it? Not send it? He’s already typed the message, so he should send it. But what if he’s bothering Abe. No. No. He never bothers Abe. He knows Abe always has the best intentions for him--baseball or not. He knows Abe will understand his intention behind his reply, that he simply wants to clear up that he understood the message. But then again, Abe probably can’t read his reply because his hands are full.

But--

So many buts. Mihashi still feels anxious. He wants to reply. He needs to reply. He still wants to talk to Abe. More and more and more and more and more.

The phone vibrates again.

/Ren. Just in case you’re freaking out, Which I hope you’re not, but just in case. It’s fine if you just reply later. I’ll leave my phone for a while, so I can’t check it anyway. I’ll text you when I’m back. But whether I’m back or not, text me when you’re at Gunma. Take care. Talk to you later./

Mihashi slams himself, face-first onto the free backseat space to his left, surprising both his parents who sit in front.

“Ren? Are you okay?” Mihashi’s mother asks him, concerned. She looks over her shoulder, as she’s seated in the passenger seat. She had driven in the first half of their trip, so now his father is driving. “What’s gotten into you? Are you feeling dizzy?”

“I--I’m okay…” Mihashi replies weakly, almost out of breath. He’s glad he dug his face into the seat, otherwise his mother would see how red his face is (granted he can feel how his cheeks are so warm), and would bombard him with questions.

“Are you sure? Do you need water? There’re a few bottles in the cooler at the back. Should we stop to get them out of the--”

“It’s okay, mom. I just-- I think I’ll go sleep.”

“Alright.”

“Sleep well, Ren.” His father says with laughter strewn into his voice. “We still have around an hour and a half to go.”

Mihashi nods, though his father doesn’t see. He keeps his face buried against the seat, still feeling his cheeks are warm. His chest feels so full. He feels like he’s going to explode from how happy he is. Abe really does know him, and Abe really does understand him so well now. He’s so happy.

He’s so happy. He’s so happy. He’s so happy he can’t quite explain it well.

Months later, when the two of them talk over these feelings that have continuously grew within them, Mihashi will understand. But for now, for now, he hums to the tunes on the radio. New love songs he’s never heard of before, but the rhythm jives with the movement of his heart so he hums.

He hums until he does fall asleep, waking up to a few texts from Abe that make him feel the full warmth in his chest all over again.

******

Bonus:

Kanou and Ruri, who sit on either side of Mihashi over dinner, exchange glances as they see Mihashi pick up his phone and happily type for at least the twentieth time since the first plate of food had been placed on the table.

‘Girlfriend?’ Kanou mouths to Ruri with an eyebrow raised in question.

Ruri overly shrugs her shoulders and winces. An exaggerated ‘I don’t know’. She’s not allowing her favorite cousin to have a girl in his life to have priority over her. Not just yet.

“Ren-ren,” she calls to him. For the fifth time since dessert has been served. No response.

Kanou snickers at her failed attempt, making Ruri huff.

“Ren-ren,” she attempts again, this time bumping her shoulder on his. This makes Mihashi look up, surprised, looking left then right and both ways again before quickly typing on his phone then putting it away.

“Y-yes, Ruri?”

She pouts at him. “Who is it that you’re texting?”

“EH!?” Mihashi almost shouts, but manages to keep his volume down low. “W-wa-w-wa-was-was it obvious?”

Kanou laughs a little louder this time, but not enough to go over the chatter of the adults. He wiggles his eyebrows when Mihashi looks over at him. “Was it obvious that you were texting someone special? Pretty much.”

“Spe!!!!!!!!!” Mihashi straightens his back, sitting up right now, looking alert. “Spe--special?? N--no. A-are they? It w-was just--”

“Just?” Ruri and Kanou say together, leaning forward to gaze at Mihashi from the front.

He looks away, shying from their gaze, with added attempt to raise his arms and hide his face. “Ta-Takaya… kun.”

A moment of silence passes the two of them. A moment to ponder “Who in the world is that?”

“A classmate?” Kanou asks.

Mihashi shakes his head violently as if to defend himself. “N-no! He’s the-- the catcher.”

“Ooh, so Nishiura’s catcher’s name is Takaya-kun.” Ruri nods her head. She’s smiling now, relieved she’s still her cousin’s #1 girl. “Wow, Ren-ren. I didn’t know your team’s already on first-name basis. Must be nice.”

“Yeah, you got us beat.” Kanou leans onto Mihashi, putting an arm over his shoulder. “We’ve already been together for more than three years, yet we all still call each other by surnames.”

“B-but you’re Shuu-chan.”

Kanou chuckles, happy to hear him call him that again. “Yeah, but remember? You were calling me ‘Kanou-kun’ for a while, Ren.”

“O-oh! R-right.” Mihashi nods his head. “I’m sorry…” “Oh, come on. You’ve got no reason to be.” Kanou pats his back twice. His attention gets stolen by his mother for a while, telling him they should be going home soon. “Hey, Ren. Can you walk me out?”

“S-sure!” Mihashi stands up with him and starts heading out of the dining room.

“What about me?” Ruri whines, trying to stand up, too.

Kanou looks over his shoulder, letting Mihashi pass first. “You stay, there, we got baseball stuff to talk about.”

“I play softball, you know!”

They make their way out of the dining room and into the hall where it’s more silent.

“Sh-Shuu-chan,” Mihashi starts the conversation first as they make their way to the front door. “Th-thank you for coming.”

“Of course. Not like my mom’s gonna go without dragging me along with her.” Kanou laughs, making Mihashi laugh softly, too. They stop at the entrance, giving time for Kanou to change from house slippers to his sneakers. “It’s really nice seeing you, Ren. You...” He stops, trying to find the words to say, trying to soften them enough so he himself won’t cry. It had been months since it last bothered him, but it really hurts to see Mihashi, his once best friend, move on with another team. But it’s the best for Mihashi, so he gathers up energy for a huge, wide smile and looks up at him. “You seem much happier now.”

Mihashi smiles back at him, wide, toothy, just like he used to. Before Mihoshi. No, even better and much happier than then. “I--I am happy.”

Kanou grits his teeth. The tears still threaten to push through his eyes, but no longer out of bitterness. He’s so, so happy for his dear friend. So happy. He stands up, finished tying his shoelaces. He slams his hand onto Mihashi’s shoulder. “Let’s both do our best, okay!? We gotta see each other at Koushien.”

Mihashi nods his head, that bright smile never leaving his lips. “Yeah!”

“But before then, see you at Golden Week camp!”

******

Bonus 2: (One extra surprise!)

The Nishiura boys are out swimming at the school’s pool for added training, the lifeguard listening to sports updates on the radio. Hanai wasn’t particularly listening in, but when the crowd suddenly cheered so loud from the radio, he had to stop midlength of the pool to hear what was happening.

“An incredible save from Karasuno’s Ennoshita! Did you see that? Running far out of bounds and returning it for their setter to reach, and then that glorious save by the new ace, Tanaka. Got to hand it to that Ennoshita. He’s really holding his ground as the team’s new captain.” says the commentator.

Hanai waves his arms in the pool to keep himself afloat in the water. It’s not just him, or fellow baseball captains out there that are trying to support their team with all their might. Even captains of other sports do, too. Doing splendid plays like that, to boost the team’s morale. It’s amazing how the word ‘captain’ can unify different sports together.

Hanai nods his head with renewed fervor. He’s going to help his team keep their spirits up this upcoming tournament, too.

******

End Notes: I hope you don’t mind (and that it isn’t too cheesy) that I added an Ennoshita mention. While stalking your tumblr, I realized how much you love him. So I thought it would be a treat to sneak him in.

Thanks for reading this far! I hope you enjoyed all of these. :) Merry Christmas! ^^

#oofurixmas2017 #brokuro #myfics #oofuri #abemiha #abehashi #otp: i'll dedicate myself to you

9 notes · View notes

nozous · 6 years

Note

ALL TEXTS PLS :)

Send “✆” for a MORNING text.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] Good morning. Me and Adore are doing well. It’s currently 6:54AM, Day One and i think she’s having fun in that little tank of hers. I added some accessories last night.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] IMAGE ATTACHED.PNG

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] I'm going to be texting you about me and her and how we’re doing every hour. Put me on you mute if you wish but i’m going to be doing this until day 100.

Send “✉” for a text that WASN’T SENT.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] you’re so stupid. you’re such an ass. but I love you.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] even if i don’t show it.

Send “☎” for a RUSHED text.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] i am at the store right now and i’m not sure what kind of fish food to pick ? if im not ready for this then i cant be ready to become a mom ok just answer me quickly what type of food should i get ???! they all look so different but yet similar. answer me now !

Send “⁇” for a DRUNK text.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] waht the fuk does keke have that i dnt? like what do YOU c in her? fr real THO? how does sum1 go from a ferrari ( ME )) toa station wagon(KEKE)? lemme kno.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] ALSO . is it bc....shes />?? nice and doesnt get u piss ?! cus if it is then thats a bad mattch for u . comehome. jaehyun is borinhg me w his love life

Send “✿” for a SUGGESTIVE text.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] Did some shopping today and bought this cute little leather mini skirt. There’s a small problem though. See, it looks good on me, but I can’t tell if it’ll look just as good on the floor of your bedroom.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] probably not right ?? yeah i should just return it and call it a day.

Send “ø” for a LATE NIGHT text.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] how late does Taco Bell stay open?

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] Get extra hot sauce. and get those Doritos loco tacos or whatever theyre called - bring them asap. im not gonna take no for an answer.

Send “✘” for a HATEFUL text.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] i know you don’t like me or you don’t ever want to hear from me ever again but can you just read what i’m about to say instead of ignoring me. you could leave me on read but i just need to know that you saw this.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] i hate you for making me feel like this. i hate you for making me feel like i’m important. i hate you for making me these feelings which i don’t deserved. i hate you minjae

Send “#” for a RANDOM text.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] did you know that there have been situations where goldfish have been trained to do tricks like swim through mazes, through hoops, or even push a ball into a net?????????? did you ???????? is that why you got adore ???

Send “@” for a SCARED text.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] Hey, I know its the middle of the night and you have early morning opening, but do you think you could come and get me? Things didn’t go so great tonight and I’m too shaken up to drive.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] I just need to see you.

Send “%” for a CURIOUS text.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] So at first I was 100% sure your middle name wasn’t, in fact, ‘asshole’ but now I’m not as sure..

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] what the hell is it ???

Send “$” for an ACCIDENTAL text.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] The Devil has a British accent.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] oh. yea- that was meant for yeeun not you sorry.

Send “♀” for a HEARTBREAKING text.

[ ✉️ → CONNOR. ] i like you, connor. in fact, i love you. i said this earlier but you just need to get this into your head. yeah i was a dick to you but that doesn’t mean that i hated you. i just didn’t want to get close to you because in the end, i would be the one to end up ruining this. i don’t want that. we might never ever be a couple but it’s good that you know this. i don’t want to lose you connor. i don’t expect anything from you. or at least - i don’t expect too much from you. the only two things i could ever ask you for is to feel the same way as i do and to not be the one that ends up leaving me. it would be much less painful that way.

#thiS WAS MESSY ASF AND IM PRETTY SURE I MISSED SOME BUT YEAH FHDB #mnjxe

0 notes

flauntpage · 7 years

Text

“That’s Not Our Scheme!” How Concerning Are the Eagles’ Defensive Issues?

Tuesday morning, I watched a guy ride his bike the wrong way up Aramingo Avenue, cigarette in mouth, with a roll of scrap metal slung over his right shoulder.

“Hmm.. why make it so difficult on yourself?” was my first thought.

It’s the same thought I had on Sunday afternoon, when Eli Manning was slicing and dicing the Eagle defense for 434 yards.

Why make it so difficult? Why play soft coverage? Why allow the underneath garbage? Why not press these second stringers at the line of scrimmage and make them work?

There were reasons for the game plan in the first Giants matchup, namely the absence of Ronald Darby, Rodney McLeod, and Corey Graham. Rookie Rasul Douglas and Chris Maragos were forced into starts while Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall were still healthy and playing football.

Don’t get beat deep, keep ’em in front, make the tackle.

It made a lot of sense to do it in Week 3, but the scheme was really lacking on Sunday against Pro Bowlers like Roger Lewis and Tavarres King.

For this week’s breakdown, I’ll stay away from the video clips, since I hammered seven of them into Monday’s takeaways. Instead, there are a lot of decent quotes to take a look at, beginning with Rodney McLeod’s appearance on 94 WIP Monday afternoon.

Ex-Eagle Jon Ritchie asked McLeod a series of questions about Sunday’s defensive performance:

Ritchie: Is the Giants offense a bad matchup for your defense?

McLeod: “I wouldn’t say that. I wouldn’t say that. They just executed their offense a little better than they had previously this year. It was just one of those days. Just one of those days.”

Ritchie: What can be done to better defend the slant game?

McLeod: “One thing you can do as a (defensive) lineman, knowing you’re not going to get to the quarterback, is get your hands up. Linebackers can get in the passing lanes. Cornerbacks just have to read 3-step (drops) and keep their eyes on their work. At the end of the day, the quick game isn’t going to beat you. Explosive is going to beat you in this league. That’s one thing we have been good at all year. You have to eliminate the explosive plays.”

Ritchie: What’s the thought process behind the cornerbacks playing ‘off’ coverage so much, as opposed to pressing at the line?

McLeod: “That’s just how we play. You look at the film all year, our corners play off and do a good job at it. That’s what makes them a good group. Jalen Mills can break on the ball well. They all do a good job of reading the quarterback and playing off the receiver. All year, nothing’s changed. They’ve always played well and done a good job all the way and will continue to do a good job.”

Ritchie: With the physicality, is it an adjustment that works, playing bump coverage and disrupting routes?

McLeod: “Yea, it could, but that’s not our scheme. Corners have to be comfortable. You have to allow those guys to play and they have good instincts and they know when to play off and when to press based on situational football.”

“That’s not our scheme.”

That’s… concerning. I think McLeod makes a lot of good points otherwise, but to suggest that you can’t make an adjustment because of design purposes is the very last thing you want to hear.

All game long, this is what the coverage looked like:

3rd and 2, Jalen Mills seven-yard cushion, Patrick Robinson no contact within five yards.

New York just ran a dinky three-yard out route, untouched, for a first down:

Robinson doesn’t get a hand on Sterling Shepard when he makes his break and winds up two yards off the ball on a pitch and catch.

Going back to the quotes, McLeod is right about the linemen and linebackers playing a role in the slant game. Nigel Bradham dropped an interception on Sunday after jumping a passing route. I don’t recall any balls being batted down by Fletcher Cox, Tim Jernigan, Brandon Graham, or Vinny Curry. Jernigan and Curry have zero passes defended this year. Cox and Graham have two each, good for a tie for 281st place in the NFL.

For reference, Oakland’s Denico Autry leads all defensive ends with 7 passes defended. Jacksonville’s Abry Jones and Dallas’s David Irving are tops for tackles with 6 each. The Birds just don’t bat down a lot of balls at the line of scrimmage, and you’d think that number might be higher since they face more passing attempts than most NFL teams.

And the point about physicality is fair, too. The Eagles, up to this point, had been very good at closing the gap and making tackles in space, which was not the case on Sunday. Instead of “bend, but don’t break,” it was “bend, and then break anyway.”

During Week 3 they limited the Giants in those “explosive plays,” but this time around they gave up passing completions of 67, 57, 28, and 25. This all happened while the run defense performed at its typically high level, holding New York to just 75 yards on 23 carries. They made the other team one-dimensional again, but got gashed by the Giants’ only true offensive weapon.

The defensive coordinator

Jim Schwartz spoke on Tuesday afternoon during his weekly press conference.

The highlights:

Q. What was up with what some of the corners did on double moves? Is that just a thing because that’s what the Giants do a lot of? (Jeff McLane)

We were giving up plays up front early. When we tighten down to start being more aggressive, the down part of that is you become susceptible to double moves. We’ve got to play both. That’s part of the job description of a corner is you have to be able to defend short passes and deep passes. You have to be able to recognize some situations. We didn’t do the greatest job in the first three series of recognizing some situations where there was potential for them to throw a double move. Not all of them are identifiable, but some of them I think we could have been a little bit better there. When we have chances to play the ball and get the ball, we have to take advantage of those. We had three different times in that game that we had balls that hit our hands. If we make those plays, then we’re feeling a lot different. Even though the final score probably wouldn’t have been the same, or the result maybe wouldn’t have been the same, we still win the game, but we stop those drives a little bit earlier.

Okay, I lied, just one video, the double move that Ronald Darby bit on early:

McLeod is playing single-high safety there, so Darby doesn’t have cover-2 help over the top. Malcolm Jenkins is responsible for the tight end coming off the line.

Q. <question was about Darby’s issues> (Jeff McLane)

“I wouldn’t say they’re Ron Darby’s issues. I would say it’s secondary issues. Ron gave up some plays in this game, but I think everybody in our secondary other than Corey Graham gave up at least a play. It’s not a one man game. Ron can play better than he did and he knows that. He’s another one who had a chance to make an interception in the end zone. Those are the plays he can make. He made that interception (earlier) and that helped spark us. We were struggling. That interception had a lot to do with us getting back into the game. I give him credit for that also. But it wasn’t just a Ron Darby thing. all of our corners gave up plays.

Q. Is he in shape? (Jeff McLane)

“I don’t think its conditioning. We played a lot of snaps on defense and he played every single one of them. That goes for what we do in the NFL.”

Q. Is he still learning some of the scheme? (Dave Zangaro)

“I would categorize his stuff more as technique-wise in this game. When you get more experience you do get more comfortable and communication happens quick. We mentioned the no-huddle and that could play a part. But when you look at it from a coaching standpoint, you look at it from a technique standpoint. That’s where he can play a little bit better.”

Darby didn’t play well, but nobody really did. He’s bringing out the blocker on “half way” fans:

For the half way fans that sit around and wait for mistakes to talk trash will be getting blocked starting today . We nothing but human . http://pic.twitter.com/1YjZlLULEK

— Ronald Darby (@realronalddarby) December 19, 2017

To his credit, he did have the key interception to swing the game and get the Birds back in it.

On this play, he got enough of a jam on Lewis to throw off the slant route and force the incomplete pass:

Jenkins is assigned to the guy in the flat there. It’s a run/pass option, similar to what the Eagles do on offense, and the Giants are trying to rub one of the defenders on this play.

Q. You mentioned the quick passes. It seemed like the slant, at least early, was a problem. You’ve been really good with that for most of the season. What do you think happened there? (John McMullen)

Well, a lot of those were run plays and they were RPOs, and they were ripping them out of there.

I think we were just a little too back in coverage, but again, there’s a fine line. All of a sudden you come up, and you get double moves over your head. It’s a terrible cliché, but it took us three series of getting punched in the mouth before we responded and started playing more consistently. That’s something we can’t allow to happen. We have to come out early and say, ‘Hey, we’re on top. We played those RPOs before. We’ve played run game before.’

Again, every game’s going to be different challenges. We got to find a way to win the game. Fortunately we were able to do that in this game.

Q. The tackling has been good for most of this year, was that a problem here as you were playing off coverage? (Zach Berman)

“No, I don’t think.. you look at the first play of the game where Jalen Mills allowed a completion and that was an RPO, I think a 6 yard gain or something. He made a good, strong tackle but it was still 2nd and 4. There’s ways to be able to play off coverage to be able to still stop short passes. A lot of it has to do with underneath coverage stuff. There’s a great example, one of the same plays that got us early in the game, Nigel Bradham stepped in front of and had a chance to seal the game right there. We didn’t get it done. But there’s other ways to be able to help on those short passes and our linebackers and underneath covers have a lot to do with it. Defensive line can have a lot to do with it, too. A knocked down pass somewhere along the lines can go a long way. We’ve done that in the past as well.

Schwartz is saying the same thing as McLeod there. They need help from the front four and the linebackers as well.

Q. Do you consider changing things up based on what other teams do, or at this point in the season do you just do what you do? Can you change your identity if it’s necessary? (Geoff Mosher)

“Yea. Our scheme is big enough to play it however we want to. We went to some other coverages early in that game. We blitzed a little bit early in that game. What really got us out of it was nothing to do with any of those. What got us out of that was urgency and the feeling of giving up three touchdowns. It shouldn’t take that. It shouldn’t take giving up three touchdowns. We need to come out with more fire. If we’re disappointed in anything, let’s be disappointed in that.”

“Our scheme is big enough. We’ve had games this year where we blitzed. I’m sure you guys were like, ‘wow, they’re a blitz team this year.’ Then other games it’s, ‘well, you got burned with the blitz.’ Every one is a little bit different.”

That answer should make you feel a little bit better about what McLeod said on WIP… I think. It’s one thing for the scheme to be “big enough,” but can the proper adjustments within that umbrella be made?

The head ball coach

Doug Pederson was asked about the defensive issues Monday:

Q. Do you think that the problems that you’ve had on defense the last couple weeks could have something to do with maybe some certain players being tired? (Nick Fierro)

“I do know this: It’s been a rough three games. We’ve been on the road. There was a West Coast trip in there with Seattle and L.A., and then [we were] up in New York. I think back to when we played the Broncos. I believe the Broncos were on the road for three games in a row at the time we played them and you saw what happened there.

I think there’s something to say about that, being on the road, and traveling. All of that can affect coaches and players. I do my part during the week to limit the amount of reps that we’re taking and try to get the guys on and off the practice field and make sure that they are getting rest and all the proper hydration, nutrition, whatever it takes, this time of year, to stay as healthy as possible.

So it may appear that guys are fatigued at times, and I think it’s just a compounding interest of everything that’s sort of taken place in the last month of our season.”

Q. I know with DE Bryan Braman here someone had to be down. Why was CB Rasul Douglas the guy that was down? (Zach Berman)

“Well, when you look at the whole picture, again, special teams, you have to look at everything. And then you have to look at defensively who gives us the best value, if a safety goes down, if a corner goes down, if a nickel goes down and of course [S] Jaylen Watkins is kind of in that mix right there of being that guy. And we’ve juggled that back and forth from week-to-week. So that what was kind of reason.”

I think Douglas could have helped. He closes the gap and tackles well, and he’s a ball hawk. He picked off Eli Manning in the first game and has a ton of experience playing soft bullshit zone from his 3-3-5 days at WVU.

Q. What was your impression of how CB Ronald Darby played and how he’s played since he came back? Obviously he made some big plays. What was your overall impression of him? (Reuben Frank)

“Obviously the interception was huge, so a big play there. A couple PBUs during the game. I think he’s still sort of learning the scheme. I think there’s times where, do I think he can be more aggressive? I do. I think he can. I think he knows that.

But at the same time, he’s still fighting through a little bit of injury with the ankle but yet he’s out there practicing every single day, putting in the time and wanting to get better. We have a lot of confidence in him and what he’s done and what he’s brought to this football team, and we’ll just continue to work.

“Be more aggressive.”

That’s what you wanna hear.

Q. Is the Giants passing game a tough matchup for your pass defense and going forward, do you think teams are going to look at what they did and try to do it? (Zach Berman)

“The second part of the question, if we’re scouting the Raiders and a team goes hurry-up, yeah, we can say, ‘We want to go hurry-up.’ But if it’s not part of what you do, it’s really hard just to change during the season, to change your whole game plan. The Giants kind of go up-tempo. They have in their past. They did in their first game and obviously they did it yesterday.

And for them, too, I think with their injury situation on offense, it’s a great way for [Giants QB] Eli [Manning] to get the ball out of his hands. They still can be explosive. Some of it was RPOs. A ball was out fast on a little play-action RPO or a little run action.

They do a nice job on third down with some of their pick routes and different moving parts there, some of their mesh routes and mesh schemes. And that was their plan obviously, was to go tempo and get the ball out of his hand and use the run game when they needed to.”

Remember the Giants’ second touchdown?

This pick went uncalled:

Come on ref, you’re blowing the game! Get some glasses! You can’t see shit!

So on, and so forth.

Anyway..

Q. Do you think the defense is missing Jordan Hicks a little more than maybe we thought it would? (Les Bowen)

“It’s tough when you lose your starters. It’s hard and then, [LB] Joe Walker has missed some time and so there’s your one and two guys that have missed some time. Yeah, it can be a little disruptive defensively.

But listen, we don’t use those as excuses. We still figure it out and try to find ways to win and we’ve been able to do that.”

They miss Jordan Hicks the tackler and playmaker, but it doesn’t change a ton from a scheme standpoint. The Eagles don’t play a lot of their 4-3 base defense to begin with. They’re usually in nickel with five in the secondary.

My takeaway is a glass half-full kind of thing. I really think they were a bit ragged from playing three road games in a row. The routine was different with the week in Los Angeles. Some guys are dinged up. I think they can adjust and finish strong, but that McLeod quote is deeply concerning and puts the onus on Jim Schwartz to figure it out, or else Drew Brees might be dinking and dunking all day long at Lincoln Financial Field in January.

I’m not scared, and you shouldn’t be either, but the defense needs to make a statement on Christmas night and show everybody that the last three weeks were one continuous aberration.

“That’s Not Our Scheme!” How Concerning Are the Eagles’ Defensive Issues? published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

0 notes

gulescamisade · 8 years

Text

TEREZI: =She was still torn up over dying, cuz wtf was up with that? She had no choice over her life, no choice to fight for it, either. And many of her friends, her own matesprit had to watch her be brutalized while carrying wounds of their own. She had to watch Seakrait go through with each order The Expunger gave, and she hated to see how low her previous team had to bow to ensure she did not hurt them further. She should have killed the High Legislacerator when she had the chance. Instead, she left The Expunger's fate to chance and so many had to pay for that choice.=

TEREZI: =Her forest had returned to its former glory, but she knew it wasn't real, even as she felt the pink leaves fall and brush against her shoulders. This was a dream, and she was dead.=

FEFERI: -Pretty occupied with watching the leaves fall and jumping on whole piles of them like she was a wriggler. Her short giggles fill the air where Terezi had fallen quiet, retreating into her thoughts. Not that Feferi could blame her. It was a lot to take in and... an immeasurable amount of time to do it too.-

FEFERI: -after a while, she kicks up a whole wad of leaves. Letting them drift down in a flutter.- W)(at's on your mind, Glubrezi?

TEREZI: HOW COULD 1 NOT H4V3 KNOWN 1 D13D?

TEREZI: 1...

TEREZI: 1 DONT 3V3N KNOW WH3R3 TH3Y 4R3 R1GHT NOW

TEREZI: 1 DONT KNOW HOW TH3YR3 DO1NG, WH4T TH3Y'R3 GO1NG THROUGH

TEREZI: 1 W4NT TO TH1NK TH3YD B3 OK4Y BUT B3FOR3 1 D13D, TH3Y CL34RLY W3R3NT

TEREZI: W3 H4D OUR 4SS3S H4ND3D TO US, F3F3R1 >:'[

FEFERI: -The sympathetic look on her face is very real.- Yea)(...

FEFERI: Maybe t)(ey're not okay rig)(t now. But t)(ey will be.

FEFERI: It's only natural to )(ave wanted to seacure t)(e fact yourself! But...

FEFERI: Just like a lot of t)(ings, it wasn't in t)(e cards. -gently punts a small rock, satisfied when it skips over the roots of a tree. She looks into the distance, hands behind her back.- I reely t)(oug)(t we could save -Europa in time.

TEREZI: =her gaze fell down to the ground at her feet, and she brushed away the dirt to pick up a few seeds that had fallen from the canopy far above.=

TEREZI: 1 H4D HOP3D W3 COULD TOO

TEREZI: BUT N34R TH3 3ND, 1T...1T S33M3D L1K3 3UROP4S D3STRUCT1ON W4S 1N3V1T4BL3

FEFERI: -cracks a smile and bumps her shoulder.- It didn't F-E-EL like it at t)(e time.

FEFERI: I remember... being so determined to save t)(ose -Europans. Jo)(n was wit)( me!

FEFERI: And t)(en t)(e fig)(ter )(ulls came. -eyes widen as she recalls those last few moments.- One of t)(em cornered us and was going to OGILLT-ERAT-E us no matter w)(at we did so... I ran at it!

FEFERI: And )(urled my trident like t)(is! -launches herself forward and throws her imaginary trident with a big grin on her face.- And I )(eard t)(e glass crack and t)(e missles launc)(! I was s)(ore I got t)(em!

FEFERI: And t)(en...

FEFERI: -drops her hands at her sides.- T)(ere was not)(ing.

FEFERI: So yea)(. I guess it was inevitabubble.

TEREZI: =She's frowning, but it can only be described as a sympathetic one.=

TEREZI: YOU D1D SOM3TH1NG TH4T M4TT3R3D

TEREZI: 1T SOUNDS L1K3 JOHN WOULD H4V3 D13D TOO 1F 1T W4SNT FOR YOU

FEFERI: -peeps at her frown- It wasn't )(is time. FEFERI: W)(ale. It wasn't my time eit)(er in retrospect.

TEREZI: NO, 1T W4SNT

TEREZI: 4 LONG T1M3 4GO YOU TOLD M3 YOU W4NT3D TO H3LP 4LT3RN14 CH4NG3

TEREZI: 1 D1D TOO

TEREZI: 1 ST1LL DO

TEREZI: 1 WOULD H4V3 ST4Y3D B3S1D3 YOU UNT1L TH3 3ND OF TH1S UN1V3RS3 TO H3LP 4LT3RN14 B3 SOM3TH1NG OTH3R TH4N F34R3D 4ND H4T3D

FEFERI: )(ow do you know we won't still? -the smile spreads.-

FEFERI: I've figured out a lot about t)(ese dream bubbles! T)(ere are so many t)(ings to learn and people to meet...

FEFERI: You start to sea t)(ings on a BIGG-ER FIS)( SCAL-E and it's kind of incredible.

FEFERI: Did you know my friend )(oruss died on Beforus? )(e's out t)(ere rig)(t now! Kelping t)(e U.U. as we speak!

FEFERI: T)(ere's still a lot for us to look forward to... I can feel it in my bloodpus)(er. For now...

FEFERI: It's just up to us. )(ow we interpret our place in t)(e life cycle of t)(e universe and t)(e t)(ings t)(at )(ave )(appened to us.

FEFERI: -turns to face her, taking Terezi by the hands to squeeze them.- I t)(ink... we're a lot more t)(an our misfortunes. And )(ey!!!

FEFERI: Now t)(at we're dead, w)(o t)(e glub is around to tell us )(ow to live anymore? NO MOBY. 38)

FEFERI: From my experience, I was always so bogged down by fear and... some kind of R-ESIGNATION to my fate deep deep down t)(at I was never reely ALIV-E in t)(e moment to recognize it.

FEFERI: I t)(ink I am now and it's ---EXCITING. I'M SO -EXCIT-ED TO B-E FR-E-E!!! -bubbles enthusiastically, bouncing on the balls of her heels.- It kind of makes me wonder w)(at I'm actually capable of. And Terezi!

FEFERI: I want to s)(are t)(is feeling wit)( you!

TEREZI: =She looked a bit torn, still somewhat anchored to the people she'd left behind in the world of the living, and wishing she could join them. Maybe her death was as inevitable as Europa, but Feferi sounded like she was onto something here. Accepting this had happened to them and realizing potential without the restraints of the world...without fear? What could hurt them now?=

TEREZI: ...

TEREZI: C4N YOU H3LP M3?

FEFERI: -her smile softens along the corners, reflecting the steady warmth of affection for her friend.- As muc)( as you want me to.

FEFERI: It's not going to be easy. You just....

FEFERI: -closes her eyes and exhales, keeping Terezi's hands held in her own.- You )(ave to realize...

FEFERI: It was so important for to )(ave been alive. For as long or s)(ort as it was.

FEFERI: You were important.

TEREZI: =sniffles=

TEREZI: BUT 1 B4R3LY D1D 4NYTH1NG W1TH MY L1F3...

TEREZI: 1 B4R3LY L1V3D 4T 4LL

FEFERI: -guides her to keep walking, just holding her hand and talking.- From w)(o's perspective?

TEREZI: H1STORYS

TEREZI: ...M1N3

TEREZI: 1 DONT C4R3 1F MY N4M3 1S R3M3MB3R3D FOR3V3R - 1 DONT N33D TH4T

TEREZI: 1 JUST...

TEREZI: R3UN1T1NG W1TH P3OPL3 1 THOUGHT 1D LOST FOR 4 H4NDFUL OF Y34RS ONLY TO LOS3 TH3M 4G41N 1N 4 R34LLY B4CKW4RDS 4SS W4Y?

TEREZI: 1 COULD H4V3 LOV3D MOR3

TEREZI: 34T3N MOR3 - D1D YOU S33 TH3 SPR34D J4M3S M4K3S FOR TH3 CR3W 3V3RY D4Y? 1 SHOULD H4V3 GOTT3N ON3 OF 3V3RYTH1NG

TEREZI: 1 SHOULD H4V3 3NJOY3D MY L1F3 MOR3, 4ND NOW TH4T 1 DONT H4V3 TH4T, 1TS...

TEREZI: >:\

FEFERI: -She laughs, very clearly picturing the spread of food every day. That niggling feeling from before threatens to surge up. The ghost of attachments she felt once upon a time.- Glub...

FEFERI: It's funny. I don't t)(ink I was ever really as CLOS-E to being myself as I was w)(en I lived on t)(e s)(ip.

FEFERI: It was suc)( a s)(ort TIM-E comparitively. T)(is small )(andful of sweeps leading up from a lifetime of being... someone I probubbly wouldn't recognize anymore.

FEFERI: But I wouldn't c)(ange it eit)(er! I got to know SO MANY P-EOPL-E w)(o for t)(e first time actually loved me for M-E. It was SWIMCR-EDIBL-E!!!!!! I )(ad never experienced t)(at before!

FEFERI: And yea)(. I wanted to do more. I wanted... a lot of t)(ings.

FEFERI: But everyt)(ing good t)(at came out of t)(e )(eartac)(e? I t)(ink t)(at's w)(at's carrying me over.

FEFERI: T)(ey are, I mean. Our friends.

FEFERI: We wouldn't be ourselves wit)(out t)(em, rig)(t? W)(AL-E DU)(. T)(ey'd say t)(e same for you too. 38)

FEFERI: So good or bad... it's all coming to one place. )(ere. Rig)(t now.

FEFERI: T)(is is t)(e you t)(at you )(ave always wanted to be. T)(e you t)(at LOV-ED your friends even w)(en t)(ey weren't around for you to love anymore... and wanted to -EAT )(er weig)(t in good food!

FEFERI: T)(is is t)(e you t)(at you D-ES-ERV-ED to be and it's w)(o you strived to become, for better or worse. Nobody can take t)(at effort to LOV-E and B-E LOV-ED away from you, sweetfis)(.

FEFERI: Not even )(ig)( Legislacerators.

FEFERI: Isn't t)(at wort)( somet)(ing?

TEREZI: =She glanced down at the seeds, turning them over in her palm. Feferi had a point. They were all very good points, too. Oh why did she have to have a point? Though her form was of one she held before she died, Terezi could still feel the sharp pain of her horns being broken off before something much deeper took its place. It was easy to live in the past, to fuel oneself from events that happened there. It was easy to live forever in what was familiar rather than taking that step into the unknown.=

TEREZI: =Was she nothing more than what the High Legislacerator dictated she be? No, it was time to let that part of herself go. She'd been afraid up until the very moment of her death, and now that she could see things clearer, she realized a lot of what drove her forward was her fear of The Expunger's retribution. But the drive that had been created while on board the UU was another thing entirely. It was free of that fear, and though she had been in a precarious position there too, so many beautiful things had come from it. Feferi was right - Salsar could not touch those things. She could not poison them. She could not make Terezi turn from what she'd learned on the ship as she had made her turn from League. It still hurt, but letting it go made it hurt less.=

TEREZI: =She glanced up at Feferi, understanding reaching her eyes.=

TEREZI: 1TS WORTH MOR3 TH4N 1 THOUGHT

FEFERI: -braids her hair while she allows Terezi to chew over her words. Not in any kind of particular hurry. Fins flutter again when she answers.- )(e)(e.

FEFERI: Water you t)(ink it'll be like for you w)(en you make it back?

TEREZI: F1RST, 1M GONN4 34T 3V3RYTH1NG =she's joking, but she's smiling at her own joke=

TEREZI: 1 DONT KNOW

TEREZI: 1 GU3SS 1M HOP1NG 1LL B3 TH3 S4M3 B3FOR3 3V3RYTH1NG BUT 1 KNOW 1 WONT

TEREZI: 4ND 1 H4V3 4 F33L1NG 1 WONT KNOW WH4T P4RTS OF M3 H4V3 CH4NG3D UNT1L 1 DO

TEREZI: WH4T 4BOUT YOU? H4V3 YOU CONS1D3R3D...COM1NG B4CK?

FEFERI: I've CONC)(SID-ER-ED but... -twines her braid and then untwines it again. Making a fishtail this time.-

FEFERI: I'm not s)(ore it'll work for me exactly. I don't )(ave attachments to the living, you sea!

FEFERI: I t)(ink I'm waiting for somet)(ing. Or someone.

TEREZI: F3F3R1, YOUR3 M1SS3D V3RY MUCH

FEFERI: I know. -for the first time, she feels like her smile might turn a whole degree sadder.-

FEFERI: But my SOUL, t)(e t)(ing t)(at would )(ave anc)(ored me to my body... is too okay wit)( being dead. I couldn't go back even if I tried!

FEFERI: So...

FEFERI: I'm just waiting.

TEREZI: =she returned a soft smile and placed a hand on Feferi's shoulder=

TEREZI: WHO KNOWS, M4YB3 YOU WONT H4V3 TO W41T FOR LONG

TEREZI: 4N OPPORTUN1TY M1GHT PR3S3NT 1TS3LF!

FEFERI: MAYB-E. 380

FEFERI: I'm all about opportunaties!

FEFERI: But I t)(ink I s)(ould enjoy myself in t)(e meantime. T)(ere's a w)(ole mess of -EV-ERYT)(ING waiting for me out t)(ere. FEFERI: W)(y not just )(ave fun?

TEREZI: W41T...YOU M34N TH3R3 4R3 OTH3R TH1NGS B3YOND TH1S? =gestures around at her forest=

FEFERI: -the grin spreads wide.- Of course! Do you know )(ow many people )(ave DI-------ED since I kelped make t)(ese bubbles?

FEFERI: T)(e answer is... a lot. 38)

FEFERI: And t)(ey all )(ave memories and places to visit!

TEREZI: SO TH1S 1S M3MORY?

TEREZI: TH4T M4K3S 4 TON OF S3NS3 4CTU4LLY

FEFERI: It's a place MAD-E from your memories, yes! But you could make it a memory if you wanted!

FEFERI: It's not t)(at )(ard to do.

TEREZI: >:O

TEREZI: HOW DO3S TH4T WORK? DO3S 1T ST3M FROM 1M4G1N4T1ON?

#in which feferi tries to be reassuring #coaxialcoralition

0 notes