#and yeah the clover section is finished

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

Clover's personality/mbti pt.2

PLEASE REBLOG IF YOU CAN (THIS AND MY PREVIOUS TWO BLOGS ABOUT CLOVER'S PERSONALITY), I WOULD LOVE MORE PEOPLE TO SEE MY UTY MBTI SERIES (TYSM)

When I said Clover has a more of a subjective than an objective train of thought, I also meant this: stealing money and stealing food is not OK in general but it is OK to them. They sure listen to themselves ↓

They have more of a creative than a mechanical mind (but in order to deal with a lot of the situations they were in, they had to use their head to survive), look at these ↓

they literally linked this situation with a saying (this is so something an intuitive like myself would do)

Clover's thinking function was more prominent in the vengeance route; their thinking is activated to the maximum here instead of empathy, but it's still subjective since they still have that Fi paired up with Te (see my last post). The sad thing about genocide is how Clover loses absolutely everything that made them who they are in pacifist:

empathy gone

warmth gone (even Flowey feels their heart growing colder)

naivety gone

creativity gone

humor gone

Clover has always been kind, so I don't think their auxiliary is Fe. That isn't what needs to develop, or the weakest part about their way of thinking, the one that will shape them into who they were always meant to be.

Because they only felt kindness towards their own race, that's the problem. Clover was judgmental and thought they were doing the right thing, completely disregarding the monsters' side of the situation. Vengenace Clover is the other side of pacifist Clover's coin. This is what I mean ↓

this type of capable of so much kindness but at the same time, if unhealthy, the effect is the complete opposite

That means the Clover in genocide IS the same Clover, but who made difference subjective choices. Whose justice for the children they didn't even know (they, once again, subjectively decided that the children had been innocent, as Martlet pointed out too) was so strong that they refused to see the truth: how both species struggled in this war.

we can see Clover is still "idealistic" but tunnel visioned

"Normal" Clover is open minded, non judgemental and accepting of differences. They can put themselves in others shoes, but in genocide they're the opposite because they gave in to their "dark side" The reason I said they're the same Clover, is that, when I looked at the mbti people gave them, I saw this ↓

I knew right away it can't be right that the same character is a different type when they're at their best and worst. It had to mean that they're neither of the two types people thought

Clover had been introduced to a lot of different problems they had to constantly deal with and get out of the "comfort zone" that are the Ruins. Toriel undoubtedly told them about the kids, and then Clover decided to stay safe rather than jump into adventure. That's what got me thinking: "Their reason for being here has to do with morality: it is Clover who thinks how it's not right for no one to go look for the children." It's more their own values of what's right, than their own truth. They follow the heart more than the head (although the Te becomes developed as the adventure unfolds and they are faced with difficulties), even in geno (see the previous two posts for more about this point)

To learn to solve real world problems using logic, to step up and take charge, "defuse situations" and "mend relationships" by using both thinking and feeling, to become a leader and a hero, that's Clover's end goal.

Look at Clover from their first run (being protected all their life) and Clover from their 100th+ (faces challenges bravely and willingly dies a hero)

↓

↓

↓

From a scared kid to a deputy to a sheriff to a hero.

[bun-lapin]

Confessions

Summary: Trey confesses his love to you.

A/N: It took longer than I planned, but I finally finished the 8th one shot for this series! It's Trey Clover's turn this time! With this entry, I've finally written a one shot for every dorm~ <3

Confessions series: Rook, Kalim, Idia, Floyd, Vil, Silver, Leona, Trey / AO3

As you leisurely step down the garden path, you let out a comfortable sigh and take in a deep breath. The air on your skin is warm and pleasantly humid, perfumed with the scent of countless flowers and fresh soil. The light of sunset tints the glass windows of the botanical garden in glittering hues of dark gold and, as far as your eyes can see, you are surrounded by countless of shades of green.

Rounding a corner, you spy a softly textured shade of dark green that seems to stand out among the lightly colored vegetation in the distance. A playful smile blooms over your face and you let out a soft whistle from your lips. The dark green head of hair turns at the sudden sound and you see two warm hazel eyes, initially wide with questioning, soften into recognized affection at the sight of you.

You call out to the distant figure, “Trey!” As your pace quickens, you raise a hand in greeting. Before too long, your steps lead you to stand directly in front of him. “What are you doing in here? I thought you wanted to meet up outside.”

Trey gives you a soft and slightly bashful smile as he explains, “I got here a little early and thought I should check on my strawberry plants while I was in the area. Sorry about that. I hope I didn’t make you wait too long before you came looking for me.”

You smile warmly at him and say, “You’re fine. I just got here and came straight in when I didn’t see you.”

Trey lets out a small laugh of relief and says, “Well, that’s good to hear.” Pinching the side of his glasses, he studies your face with mild concern and asks, “Hey, are you feeling alright? You look pretty tired.”

You raise a hand in reassurance and breezily reply, “I’m fine, I’m fine! Don’t worry about me.” Trey crosses his arms over his chest and looks at you, thoroughly unconvinced. You let out a deep sigh, feeling the exhaustion of the day finally catch up to you, and you reluctantly admit to him, “Yeah, you’re right. I really am tired. I was running around all day doing errands for the teachers.”

Looking slightly self-satisfied, Trey nods his head and says, “Yeah, I called it.” Then, with a secretive smile on his face, he reaches out towards you and takes your hand in his. Taking a few steps back, he gently pulls you towards him and says, “Follow me. There’s something I want to show you.”

With you trailing after Trey, the two of you quietly walk hand in hand, making your way deeper into the garden. The plants in this section of the botanical garden are mostly of the kind used in magical potions and you silently marvel at the diverse range of magical flora that surrounds you. Before too long, the two of you come to a stop in front of a tall, flowering vine. Trey lets go of your hand and reaches out to the vine, carefully grasping it and pulling it closer to you. Pointing to one of the large golden blossoms that decorate the vine, Trey simply instructs, “Here. Smell this.”

You hesitate for a brief second, but after seeing the gently encouraging smile on Trey’s face, you step towards the flowering vine and take in a deep breath. The scent of the large bloom is fresh and almost electric. It somehow reminds you of tart citrus candy and you instantly feel all of your fatigue lift from your body. You quickly look to Trey in surprise, “I don’t feel tired anymore! How did you know that would work?”

Trey lets out a quiet laugh and lets the vine drop from his hand. “It’s a magical plant called ‘Astral Lightning’ that’s usually used for energy drinks and potions. I just learned about it in science club, it’s no big deal.” He grins at you and raises one eyebrow in a playful way, “Can’t have you fainting from exhaustion on me. Then I’d be forced to carry you all the way back to your room.”

You laugh and jokingly retort, “Ah yes, can’t have that. I wouldn’t want to be a burden to you.”

Trey’s teasing expression drops from his face at your words and he looks at you with a gently worried sincerity. “Hey, don’t ever call yourself a burden. Not even as a joke. You could never be a burden to me. No matter what you need or what you ask for, I'll always be there for you when you call for me.”

Feeling slightly taken aback but also appreciating Trey’s sudden honesty, you quickly look down with a small, shy smile. Trying to hide how flustered you feel, you lightly say, “Thanks, Trey. You’re such a nice guy. I really appreciate how you take such good care of everyone.”

Trey drops his gaze from your face and looks off to the side, mirroring your bashful posture. With a small shake of his head, he shrugs his shoulders and mumbles, “I'm really not as caring as you think I am. Looking after the underclassmen and dealing with issues as a Vice Housewarden is honestly just crisis management.” Closing his eyes with a weary sigh, he softly admits, “Sometimes I wish I could just tell everyone to stop making my life more difficult than it already is and leave me alone.”

You study Trey’s face in worried silence as his voice trails off in thought. You realize you’ve never seen him look so tired, so honest. You try to move to touch his shoulder and ask him if he’s alright, if there’s anything you can do to help. Sensing your movement, Trey’s eyes snap open and when he looks up to face you again, you can’t help but freeze at the intensity of his gaze.

With his brows furrowed from the strength of his resolve, Trey reaches out and takes your hand in his, holding it firmly but also with great care. In a low voice, weighed down with longing, Trey continues, “But it's different with you. I never wish that you would leave me alone. I don't think I can even imagine a life without you in it anymore. Looking after you, just being near you, brings me a joy I never thought possible before. Your presence soothes my heart completely.”

Trey silently holds your gaze for a few moments, and you watch several conflicting emotions rise up in his eyes as he seems to carefully consider his next words. Lightly biting his bottom lip in concentration, he seems to reach an internal consensus and then takes in a deep, calming breath.

With hesitation in his voice, as if he’s revealing a secret, Trey states, “I want to be honest with you. Before we met, all I wanted was an easy life. I didn't want to make any waves or cast a big shadow. I was content with just being comfortable.” He looks down at your hand in his and you see a warm smile bloom over his face as he affectionately swipes his thumb across the back of your hand a few times. Looking up once more, his eyes are soft with adoration and his voice seems to glow with warm gratitude.

“But then I met you. I saw how hard you work, how much care you put into every action and task. And I felt myself actually caring and working with a purpose where before I was just drifting. When I realized what an exceptional person you are, I realized that I also would have to try and be as exceptional as you. And you have inspired and moved me every day since then.”

Releasing your hand from his, Trey slowly reaches up and places both of his hands on either side of your face. As he purposefully leans his face closer towards yours, you feel your eyes widen at the thought that Trey is planning to kiss you.

Noticing your wide-eyed expression, Trey halts for a second and then lets out a soft, playful laugh. In a quick and gentle motion, he leans forward and rubs his nose against yours. Taking a step back to view your surprised reaction, Trey smiles affectionately and whispers, “I want to be next to you, to have you in my life, more than I've ever wanted anything before. I love you and I'll always be here for you. Nothing will ever change that.”

[spicyclover]

Where the bees make honey

Summary: A snowstorm can lead to a lot of things...

Hope you’ll enjoy it. Let me know in the comment section.

Thank you! :)

Lots of love, xxx Spicy Clover

Living in Finland comes with positive and negative sides. Wonderful summers but long winters. In your backyard, you have a bee hotel. We’re glad you have been cultivating honey for the past three years. Valterri built it for your birthday; since then, you haven’t stopped caring for it. You love that you can make batches of honey, and he gets to give them to some of his coworkers. 

It’s not much, but you love him for doing this with you. He always asks for the bees' health, even when away. But coming back from Abu Dhabi, a massive snowstorm completely covered the country with eternal white. You arrived home as best you could. But the hive was destroyed in the snowstorm. Usually, you put the hive in the greenhouse that way; it is protected, but you rush out of the house to go to the airport and forget. 

It breaks your heart when, the following day, you check on it, and most of the bees are dead on the snowy ground. You search for the rest of the colony; thankfully, the queen is intact. You pick up some still alive and take them to the greenhouse, where a small in-building bee hotel is in a corner. Valterri helps you and shovels the rest of the hive to search for more. 

It took you the day before settling down in the living room. You’re still upset by yourself. You knew a storm was coming, and yet you forgot. 

“Kultaseni, we did the best we could.” He says, giving you a beer. “Next summer, I’ll build you a new one and will start again.”

“Yeah...” Unconvinced, still bothered by your own mistake. It bothered you even more when it was a gift from him. 

“Rakkaus, look at me!” He takes your head in his hands. “It’s okay. Some of them are saved in the greenhouse, and next summer, we will make a better hotel, stronger this time.” 

You kissed him. You can’t believe how lucky you are to have him in your life. He hugs and sets the movie you’re planning to watch. You cuddle the rest of the night and eventually fall asleep in his arms. 

Winter has passed quickly. You have several activities together. Valterri even tried the fat bike, which allowed him to continue pedalling even during the winter. You also enjoyed good raclette and fondue in all sauces. You continue to watch the bees and are happy that they are acclimatizing to their environment while waiting for the warm season. Winter is coming to an end. The snow is melting, and life is back on track.

Valterri has started the new season again, and you are happy. Things are going wonderfully well between you. He shows you how much he loves you whenever he can, little attentions here and there, languid kisses and torrid nights. You’re happy, and that’s the most important thing. 

Summer is here. You saw several races this year, and the holidays have finally started. Valterri finished working on the hotel, and you were able to install it outside for the month of July. You even discovered it a few weeks ago, which was a little surprise.

Two months ago, Valterri surprised you. He built a real house for your little friends. A place that protects them from snow and bad weather. You obviously inaugurated it really well... A little too well because in a few months, a new family member is arriving. 

“Mehiläinen” Valterri says one time, when you’re in bed. 

“What?”  

“Let’s call her Mehiläinen.” He says, looking thoughtfully at you.

“You want to call your daughter after the bees?” 

“Well... After all, we make her where they make honey?” He winks at you before he kisses you tenderly. After all, he’s not wrong.

[meowsticmarvels]

Waving !!! Hi I saw zero escape in your intro and went :O I love those games . Im assuming u just finished 999 since u haven't played the next 2 so . Penny for your thoughts?

HIII YEAH ^__^ i finished 999 a few days ago and plan on playing vlr and ztd soon!!!!! (well ive. played like the opening scene of vlr and the First novel section but thats abt it... when i get the time though ill def play... she virtue on my last til i reward) I LOOOOOVED 999 THOUGH IT WAS CRAZY . akane kurashiki the fucked up girl of all time... im obsessed with the fucked up siblingisms of the kurashikis and field siblings like. most normal sibling relationships of all time (oh the fact that both light and clover end up Killing People out of revenge for the death (or supposed death) of the other is SO . INSANE .). and also akanes weird schrodingers cat isms. shes so real. i love the 999 cast so dearly....... im so excited to virtue my last reward because im obsessed with this series now . Heh :3

[wildflower-otome]

[Translation] Clover on Kuni no Alice ~White Calling~ - Chapter 5

ACT 5 - Accelerating blue heart beat

Just as Boris had said, once she had experienced one assembly, she now understood all too well what they were like.

Watching Nightmare's flustered chairmanship continue even past the second discussion, she thought to herself that his aide Gray must be having quite the hard time.

The speeches he gave were faltering, and there were many occasions where just when she had thought he was doing a little better, he would vomit blood and end up having to be taken to the hospital.

However, it appeared that the pact was effective, despite the longstanding bad blood between Heart Castle and Hatter Mansion, no one took out their guns, despite being under the same roof together. It did not seem as if either Blood or Vivaldi intended to openly break the rules.

Even so, that strained atmosphere wasn’t good for her health. It wouldn’t be wholly unexpected for someone to say something careless that could become the spark to set off an explosive situation.

Despite her mental exhaustion, Alice did not stop attending the assemblies. Blood and Elliot had said that if it tired her out that much, it wouldn’t bother them if she were to skip out, but for now Alice’s perfect attendance continued.

‘.....I wonder if Peter is alright.’

What was on her mind was the White Rabbit, sitting in the Heart Castle seating area.

About ten time periods had passed since the attack. As she gazed at him from the Hatter Family section, Alice was unable to tell the state of the injuries on his body, hidden as it was by a thick coat.

The time she had spent in this world was not of short duration. She already knew that dirt and injuries would return to normal on their own.

But, even if she knew that in her head, whether her emotions had caught up to that fact was another matter entirely.

Perhaps he had already fully healed. Or maybe he was still wounded, but suppressing the pain.

Attending the assembly as a member of Heart Castle, Peter was having his usual war of words with Ace and Vivaldi. If she judged just from that, he was the same as always.

‘.....Maybe it would be better if I were to go and see him….’

Luckily, the discussion had finished just at that moment. There was still some time until the next one.

Back then, Alice had been in shock, and hadn’t been able to even say thank you. Even though he had protected her twice, she must have seemed so ungrateful. She couldn’t help but sigh with self-loathing, again and again.

Just as she had made up her mind and stood up from the sofa that her room had been furnished with, opening the door in order to go outside-

‘Big sister, big sister-! Where are you going? If you’re going out, come play with us. We’ve just started our break.’

‘Yeah…..we were finally able to see Big Sis, Brother. Hey, come play with us.’

‘-!?’

Just as she had opened the door, two young men had tumbled in, with the same kind of momentum as if they had broken through it. Alice, who had instinctively retreated, ended up backtracking into her room once more.

‘.....? Who are you?’

The ones before Alice’s eyes were two men with similar looking gazes. Both had black hair but eyes of different colours. The black suits they wore were alike enough to be mirror images of each other.

 However, it did not appear that they had heard Alice’s question.

‘We’ve been doing nothing but work…..It’s about time we just start ignoring the rules. We’re fiiinally on our break. We’ve been working hard because we wanted to play with you, Sis. You’ll praise us, won’t you?’

The young man with straight hair tied behind him spoke enthusiastically.

The other youth standing next to him listening also nodded his head and continued. His hair was short, his bangs held back a little by some hair pins. Arranged in a cross shape, the pins stood out against the black hair.

The faces of the two young men looked very alike. If it weren’t for their hairstyles and the way they spoke, they were similar enough she wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart.

‘It’s not fair…..you gotta give us lots of special treatment, or we’ll have worked so hard all for nothing.’

And then, the moment they had finished saying what they had wanted to say, the two reached out their hands towards Alice.

‘Wh-.....wh-what are you doing!?’

The youth with the long hair wrapped his arms around the girl’s waist as the man with the short hair grabbed her hands as she tried to move around.

‘Hey-…..What are you doing?! Let me go!’

As the girl frantically twisted her body around trying to escape from the two pairs of arms that were touching her, the faces of the two men looked surprised. Though it was written on their faces that they didn’t understand why she was reacting this way, the whole situation was too much for Alice.

Two men she didn’t know had appeared out of nowhere all of a sudden and had clung onto her as if it were only very natural…..to fight back was an obvious decision. Considering the attack that had happened not so long ago, it was only a given she would have her guard up.

Nonetheless, it appeared they had taken her reaction in a different way.

‘Eh? Huh? Why are you struggling? Was I too forceful? Sorry, we became adults for the first time in a while, so I haven’t quite got the hang of my strength yet. If I hurt you, I’ll apologise, I’m sorry.’

As the long-haired one apologised, he slowly let go of her.

On the other hand, the youth standing next to him bent his head closer.

‘I’ll be gentle. I won’t hurt you at all. Alright? So don’t flail around so much.’

So speaking, unlike the young man from earlier, he embraced her gently. Although there was no feeling of pressure, it still didn’t change the fact she was being hugged.

‘-! Let me go-! …..Stop it!’

It didn’t appear that he understood the reason why she was trying to free herself. The two youths looked at each other, as if communicating through eye contact that they didn’t get what was happening. Alice couldn’t help but be more mystified by the fact that they were unable to comprehend why she was acting this way.

‘Huh-.....Does it still hurt, Big Sis? But I’m being so gentle…..’

‘I’m not struggling because it hurts-!’

She wondered if they thought she wouldn’t feel anything at all at being embraced by two men she didn’t know. The place she was living at was a mafia gang’s headquarters to be sure, but it couldn’t be anything but humiliating to have someone think her a woman so lacking in pride.

‘What is wrong with you two!? What are you playing at, coming into a person’s room and doing something like this!?’

The attack from that night was still very vivid in her mind. She would like to think that they wouldn’t point a gun at her since they were being all clingy like this, but in this world what Alice thought was common sense wasn’t always the case for everyone else.

She asked her question firmly, but at the exact same time, the two of them opened their eyes wide.

‘.....Big Sis, what are you saying?’

‘Don’t you know who we are?’

Hearing them speak as if she were the strange one, Alice at last snapped. She was exhausted from the assembly and now this unexpected situation and ended up shouting in a louder voice than usual.

‘I don’t know you, of course I don’t know who you are!’

When she yelled in a loud voice that was unbefitting of a lady, the two youths hung their heads, looking despondent.

Before she had realised it, the short-haired youth had let go of Alice as well. Still with sad looking expressions on their faces, they quietly looked down at Alice.

‘............Huh?’

Seeing their completely depressed looking faces, she at last stopped moving around.

Now that she thought about it, there was something familiar about their expressions.

They were faces she had seen any number of times. And when she had seen these faces, it was never just one of them. Always the two of them together, twins she thought of as little brothers—young boys.

In the past, Alice had scolded them whenever they had gone too far with the practical jokes. They were clever children, who could tell the difference between when she spoke to keep them in check, and when she was truly angry. And when they realized they had done something bad, they always had the same look on their faces as just now.

They apologized to her, with faces that looked sad, as if they’d had a shock.

‘Big sister is mad at me, brother…..was I really that rough? She’s mad at me because of that, isn’t she? Did it hurt, big sister?’

The youth with the hair tied up with a blue ribbon asked if worried.

At the same time, the shorthaired youth knelt down, lowering his gaze so that he was at eye level with Alice.

‘Big sister, are you alright? Where does it hurt? Tell me where and I’ll massage it for you.’

Timidly, not with the unrestraint of before…..the youth touched Alice’s body as if he were handling something broken.

‘Could it be…..are you two Dee and Dum..?’

It was impossible, she wondered if this was a good or bad thing in a Wonder World that didn’t follow ordinary common sense.

But, the red and blue eyes she gazed into belonged to the boys that she knew well.

Calling her “big sister” was also one of their habits.

As Alice nervously asked them, the youths again looked puzzled. It was obvious from their expressions that they were wondering why she would ask them such a thing.

‘? What are you talking about, big sister? Why would you ask that now?’

‘That’s right, big sister. Are you asking because you’re mad? Do you hate us now?’

Speaking one after another as they tilted their heads in confusion, they stared at Alice as if to guess the answer from her expression.

However, Alice also wanted to ask them a question in return.

‘…Why do you look like grown ups?’

She spoke so as to enquire the reason, and also to ask how they had done it, but those intentions half-heartedly ending up mixing together.

In Alice’s mind, they should have been shorter than her. With strength that didn’t suit their small bodies, they would innocently cling on to her, or get her mixed up in their dangerous games. A pair of twins who combined cuteness with the cruelty that only children had, that was Dee and Dum.

Seeing Alice’s surprise, the two blinked at the same time, again as if they had pre-planned it. The differently coloured eyes closed at the same time, and then opened again.

‘Why, I wonder why…..Big sister, don’t you know? Don’t you know without having to ask?’

Excitedly, as if enjoying himself, the long haired man opened his mouth, with a look on his face like that of a child planning a prank. From the fact that his tie was coloured blue, perhaps it was correct to see him as Dee.

And if that was the case, that would mean the other person, with the short hair and red tie, was Dum.

‘You see, we became adults so that you would like us, big sister. We thought if we became older, you’d fall in love with us.’

‘So that I’d like you…why?

Alice had already liked them to start with. Even when she got dragged into their dangerous games, she thought they were adorable, and even now she thought that she liked them well enough.

As important family members.

But she didn’t feel that way just towards them. Blood and Elliot, and even the servants who were the so-called faceless, all the people of Hatter Mansion were important existences to her.

‘But…..we heard you often go to the doors in the Forest recently. We were worried. That you might end up leaving…We don’t want you to go anywhere, big sister.’

‘Huh?’

‘If you come to like us more and more…..you won’t go to the doors anymore, will you? Right, big sister?’

Before she had realized it, the hand that had been rubbing her back was now holding Alice’s hand. It was a hand that was bigger than it had been before, and a sturdy looking one. It had once been about the same size as Alice’s, but now had grown large enough to envelop her’s.

‘We want you to like us, big sister, so we grew up. You like grown up guys like the Boss, right? So, what do you think? Do you like us more?’

‘If you like us big sister, we’ll stay as adults forever. Which do you prefer?’

To be asked to make such an important decision right here and now only put Alice at a loss. In any case, to suddenly be looked down on by gazes that up until now had always been at the same level of her own made her feel uncomfortable.

‘More importantly, how did you become adults? It must have been difficult right?’

As she changed the subject in a fluster, the twin gatekeepers answered as if it were no big deal.

‘”How” you ask…..We went forwards. We wanted to be adults, so we just went forward a little.’

‘”Just”…..you’re acting like it’s so easy…..’

As she tilted her head quizzically at Dee’s unconcerned answer, Dum, who had let go of her hand, continued to grin broadly.

‘It’s easy, you know? All we do is just go backwards and forwards. It’s not difficult at all. Should I go back?’

As quickly as he had spoken, he turned back into the form of a child. There were no flashes of light or smoke like there were in fairytales. Even though he had changed form in an instant, he didn’t act as if it were particularly anything special.

‘Simple, right? We can do stuff like this easily. So, we can always become whichever way you prefer.’

And then the blue military uniformed boy appeared. While at the same time Dum returned to adult form, he continued to grin.

‘It’s really easy, and something anyone can do. All of us role holders can. Whenever you wish it, we can change into whatever form you like. Hey, doesn’t that make you happy?’

And then once more the red military uniform wearer returned to boy form. The change was fast, like in a magic show or a slide of film, but without a trick or mechanism to it, just as they had said.

‘Which do you prefer, big sister? Adult form or child form, which is better? We can become either.’

‘…..…….’

‘We’ll become what you like, big sister. What’s most important is having you like us, after all.’

So spoke the twin boys wearing the different colours, as they swapped forms again. She somehow got the feeling that they enjoyed the changing itself.

‘Just as nonsensical as always…..’

Alice murmured her thoughts to herself, but they likely did not hear. They were amusing themselves by repeatedly changing, becoming adults, and then children, over and over.

Seeing that they were still the same whether in adult or child form, Alice’s shoulders at last relaxed.

‘…..But, they were worried for me.’

Even though she had never talked to them about the Forest doors before. She thought Blood had found out because of his good instincts, but she hadn’t thought that even they would have been able to see through her.

The twins were adorable and cruel…..but for all that, kind.

As she fondly watched over their playing, Dee in his adult form ran up to her as if he had remembered something.

‘Ah, and another thing, big sis. Thanks for the pudding you brought back for us the other day. It was really yummy! We ended up not being able to wait until our break and ate it straight away.’

‘Yeah…it was yummy. It tasted even better when I thought about the fact that it was from you. Thanks.’

When they received something, they properly gave their thanks. They likely remembered that Alice had previously said she liked well mannered children. She smiled happily back.

‘Really? I’m glad it made you happy.’

Even if they thought that they didn’t want her to go to the Forest’s doors, they wouldn’t stop her. They would let Alice do as she pleased.

But even so, so that she wouldn’t go away, to tie her here…..she hadn’t thought they would say that they wanted her to like them.

In this world Alice was a rare Outsider and therefore had the qualities to become easily liked.  It was because of that she was able to live in this world.

Unable to completely accompany the twins in their games, Alice was powerless and weak. But even so, the two of them had said they wanted her to like them. There was no way that wouldn’t make her happy.

‘Dee, Dum.’

‘Hm? What is it, big sis?’

‘Has something happened?’

Even though they were now bigger, the gazes that looked at her were exactly the same. They sometimes went a little too far with their pranks, but to Alice they were the kind twins that she treasured, and who couldn’t be replaced.

‘Thank you.’

‘? You’re being weird, sis. We’re the ones who received a gift, so why would you say thank you?’

‘Or could it be, we did something to you without realizing it?’

As the two of them tilted their heads as if puzzled, Alice repeated herself while continuing to smile.

‘I just thought to myself what good children you two are. That’s why I said thank you.’

As she reached out her hand to pat the heads of the youths who looked blankly confused, Alice quietly closed her eyes.

***

The assembly period continued on at a sluggish pace, even after that. The event holder was the sickly dream demon after all. And not just that, the gathering was made up of the fiercely individualistic role holders. Unifying them would already have been tough work, but since the man in charge was the kind of person to constantly be coughing up blood, things never seemed to get done.

To begin with, as Blood had said, it wasn’t as if the assemblies had any set topics of discussion. If the agenda was only going to be a hollow one anyway, Alice thought to herself they may as well not hold the event to begin with, but apparently that was something she could not say.

In this area, though the rules of this world might have a compelling force, and though she may want to do something about what couldn’t be changed, there was nothing to be done. The reason why was because the Hatter and Queen continued to attend, with seemingly no intention of breaking the rules, despite declaring that it was fine to do so sometimes.

But there was something else that was bothering Alice much more than that.

‘…..?’

All role holders stayed in Clover Town during the Assembly period. Of course, that meant it wasn’t out of the ordinary for her to meet with familiar faces while in town, but there was something different about this.

Alice felt a gaze on her different from the ones she had felt during the time she had spent walking around town with Boris before the Assembly. Whether it was a malicious one or not…..since it was a distant presence she wasn’t sure, but even so she knew that someone was following her.

It wasn’t the type of gaze she had grown familiar with due to being with the Hatter Mansion group which included Blood. Those gazes were ones of curiosity and fear towards the infamous Mafia. She never felt them when she was by herself.

However…..right now, although she was walking around the town alone, she knew that there was someone watching her.

It was likely she was being tailed.

‘…..…….’

There was no one who would feel comfortable being followed around by someone they couldn’t see. It was simply creepy.

It was likely that Blood and the others would take care of it immediately if she were to say something to them. However….she didn’t really want to think about what kind of result that would entail. If someone was following her with a clear malicious or antagonistic intent, Alice would act decisively, however if they were just sounding her out, she hesitated to be a tattletale.

Given the attack that had taken place not long before, it appeared there was something happening in the vicinity of Clover Tower. Apparently, it was not just a place for influential people to meet and hold discussions with no substance.

It wasn’t as if she had not thought of asking someone from the Mansion. However, Alice wasn’t sure whether it was something that it was alright for her to ask about.

Alice had never before pried deeply into the darker side of the Mafia. The things she knew were only inoffensive and surface-level, however she wondered if it was something that was really ok for her to deliberately involve herself with.

To begin with, she was just a free-loader. It hadn’t taken her long to realise even the fact that she had been welcomed as a guest at Hatter Mansion was in and of itself unprecedented.

Alice was happy that they had accepted her despite her powerlessness. She was grateful for Blood’s kindness in giving her a job, despite not being good with people in general. If she were to tell the man himself that he would likely look disgusted, but to Alice, the job he had given her was even now one of the things she could not lose.

She thought that she liked Hatter Mansion. She wanted to stay there forever.

Her place with them was where she had chosen to stay in this world, they were her family.

Even so—she was conscious of their world of shady dealings as a frightening one. She instinctively avoided it as something she didn’t want to see, and that she shouldn’t see. She was aware that this way of doing things was dishonest, but it was the only thing she could do since it was already too late for her to be able to put distance between them now.

‘If you don’t want to see it, there is no need to force yourself to. It is a normal reaction for a young lady like you. It isn’t necessary for you to feel down on yourself.’

She wondered how long it had been since she had been told that.

At that time, she was still in the Country of Hearts—having just returned from his “work”, Blood had had the usual lethargic looking smile on his face.

He had continued as he took off his coat, which was covered in sticky looking stains that were likely blood splatter from his opponents.

‘If you say that you don’t wish to know, you may stay unaware. For us, having you stay here is meaningful in and of itself.’

The words that the Hatter Mansion boss had quietly said even now whirled around and around inside Alice’s mind.

‘It’s been pretty dangerous recently….’

‘….Yeah. Apparently it’s a feud between rivals. According to rumours, two Mafia groups are fighting against each other…..and one of them is the Hatter Family.’

‘Huh?’

Perhaps because she had been lost in thought, she was slow to react. Hearing the familiar name, her whole body changed direction.

And before her as she turned around were the two women who had been whispering town gossip. They were normal people whose faces were difficult to see, those called the non-role holders.

As Alice drew nearer to them in a fluster, the two of them raised their voices saying, ‘Ah-’, as if surprised. She had walked around this area with Blood and the others before, so they likely knew who Alice was.

Alice did not plan on letting go of this opportunity.

‘Excuse me. Would I be able to ask you a few questions?’

‘Uh-…..um, that is-‘

‘We don’t really….’

Just because they had lowered their voices to a murmur, it did not erase their whispering from earlier.

To push her point, Alice smiled at the two of them and repeated herself again.

‘I’d like to ask you a bit more about what you were talking about just now.’

It appeared that in times like these being labelled as a member of the notorious Hatter Mansion came in handy. The two women looked around them warily before speaking in a wrung out tone.

���No, we only know the rumours…..not really anything concrete.'

‘I’m fine with that.’

If I was Elliot I might have started shooting a long time ago, you know?

With those dangerous thoughts in her mind, Alice irritably urged them to continue.

‘Please tell me the rest. What’s happening with the Hatter Family?’

‘Um…..’

‘…..That is-…..We don’t know the details but…’

The women looked at each other, then as if they had given up, spoke reluctantly.

‘This is just a rumour, you know? We’ve heard that another Mafia group has started a feud with the Hatter Family.’

‘…..A feud?’

Not only was he a territory leader that vied for land, Blood was also a man who led a Mafia Family as its head. And speaking of Mafia, it was likely not an unusual thing for there to be run-ins with other organizations over material goods and information.

Although Alice had not been directly involved, it was likely there had been many such disputes up until now.

Seeing Alice’s expression look doubtful, the woman lowered her voice and spoke further.

‘Did you know that there have been some bombing incidents in Clover Town recently?’

‘…..Bombings…!?’

Hearing the dangerous sounding words, Alice’s voice naturally lowered too.

As the woman nodded, she continued to speak in hushed tones.

***

‘…..…..’

That night, Alice went to the café that she and Blood had gone to before.

As she was by herself, she was given a seat at the counter, not at a table. However, a certain type of black tea in hand, Alice was thinking about something else entirely.

Ever since the Assembly had begun, she had definitely had a strange feeling that something was off.

Back then, the now grown-up twins had appeared in front of Alice for the first time, but before then, she had never seen them attending the Assembly. This was despite the fact that as role holders, they had a duty to attend.

She wondered where they had been going during that time.

Supposing they had been participating in the Assembly from a spot where Alice could not see them, why would they have done so?

‘…..…..’

They had become adults because they had wanted her to like them. While remembering the blue and red gazes that had looked at her as they had said that, Alice sighed.

Perhaps they had been in the middle of “work” during those times too, and were late in arriving to the venue. As could be seen from looking at the other participants, Alice knew that the purpose of the Assemblies were not the discussions, but the fact that they had participated.

The twin’s empty seats during the discussions. Even since they had become adults, they now occupied them, but what had they been doing before that?

“It’s because the Hatter Family members have made their appearance due to it being an Assembly period. The reason the bombings began…..and pretty frequent ones at that.”

What the gossip loving women had said echoed in her ears.

‘…..…..’

Right now, she was unable to tell even if the steaming tea she had just taken a sip of tasted the same as it had back then.

Though the warm tea should have warmed her body, right now it was the bitterness spreading throughout her mouth that was on her mind.

What Elliot and the Twins had said regarding the Assembly period. The meaning of it had at last sunk in. She wondered why she was always so slow to realise.

The capable number 2 had let slip that things would get busy.

Hadn’t the Gatekeepers also said that they wouldn’t be able to take breaks anymore?

‘I’m such an idiot.’

If she had listened more closely to the information circulating throughout town, she would have been able to realise much sooner that the women’s gossip was not simply something they had made up.

During the Assembly period, though Blood had made it seem he was spending his time in the room allotted to him as temporary accommodation with the same languidness as always, he had secretly been planning his dealings with other organisations. There was surely no man as talented as he when it came to moving dangerous business deals and negotiations in an extremely advantageous direction for himself. She suspected he must be busy in a different way than when he had been at the Mansion.

‘…..…..’

She was the only one for whom it was different.

When she was at the Mansion, she had been able to work amongst the maids, but here at the Tower, there was no work for her to do. There was nothing she could do.

She felt pathetic and frustrated at the same time.

‘..Haah.’

Though they lived in the same territory and went to the same places, it likely couldn’t be helped that she remained unable to do the same things they did.

She wondered if it was really alright for her to leave things at that.

As she took a quick look around her, perhaps because she had come right at a time when not many people came, Alice realized she was the only customer.

Gazing at the cakes in the showcase, she remembered Elliot’s reaction when she had passed out the gifts she had brought back.

‘Wow….is this carrot cake from that cafe!? I’d heard they didn’t make many, so they were pretty hard to get hold of…..so you bought some for me, Alice!  I’m so moved-‘

His brown ears standing straight up, he raised his voice, not hiding his happiness. Even so, at least from the fact that he hadn’t crushed the cake through over-enthusiasm, it appeared he still had some reason remaining.

‘What…..what a lucky guy I am…..Blood, look at it! Here, right here, this delicious looking cake! Alice picked it out just for me-!’

‘Uh…..strictly speaking, Blood was the one that paid for it….’

Alice interjected thinking that at this rate, she would be the one made to take all the credit, but it appeared she had made a blunder.

‘Blood…..What…..what a great guy you are!! That you’d give me the delicious cake you must have wanted to eat yourself! You’re the best boss there is-! Nightmare hasn’t got a thing on you.’

His eyes shining like a child’s, Elliot was clearly moved. The purity of his emotion was to a level where it was hard to believe he was part of the Mafia, even if you knew that he was.

‘…..Ugh-‘

It was enough to make even Blood, who had been in a bad mood ever since the gun fight groan despite himself. That was how strong an effect it had.

‘That’s it, instead I’ll give you my carrot cookies! Cake is nice too, but these are pretty good. Here, take them-!‘

‘No, Elliot…..your consideration is actually a real pain in the-….wait, that’s not what I-‘

The strained excuses of the Hatter trying somehow to avoid the heartfelt gift from his trusted confidant went on for quite a while, she thought.

That time too, Elliot had also just returned from work…..he had just finished up with some complicated looking documents. She had thought they were probably written reports, but they were in the middle of a feud. She was unable to think they were completely unrelated.

‘…..…..’

As she drank the remaining tea, Alice at last began to move.

Nothing would come of it no matter how much she worried. She stood up decisively, paid the bill and left the café.

Her surroundings were enveloped in a pale orange light. It would soon be evening. Before this it had been night, and before that evening as well.

If she remembered correctly, the next discussion was in three afternoons, so she likely still had a bit of time.

She moved slightly away from the café and began to walk.

‘…..Huh?’

It was like a repeat of what had happened before.

‘…..!’

Men she had not seen before stood there blocking Alice’s way. They stood there silently, unnoticed by her until just now.

As Alice panicked and turned away from them, it was the same in the other direction. Except for the wall, groups of them stood side by side in each direction.

‘…..…..’

She was surrounded.

As a horrible feeling rose within her, one man brandished a gun.

The end of the gun was pointed at the left side of her chest.

‘You’re the Outsider from Hatter Mansion, right?’

‘…..What a rude way to address a lady.’

‘You’re coming with us.’

The men did not speak more than necessary. Not reacting to Alice’s provocation, their dispassionate movements as they moved to accomplish their objective seemed almost mechanical.

 At the very least, it did not appear they planned on doing anything to her here, but if she were to go with them, she was unable to think it would end well. This world wasn’t the kind of place for such optimistic thinking.

She took a discreet glance at the clothing the men were wearing, but as she had thought, they weren’t the same as any she had seen anyone at the Castle or Tower wearing. The fact that they were black suits was the only thing they had in common with the Assembly participants, but the emblems on them were ones Alice did not know.

 ‘…..…..’

There was no guarantee she would be safe if she went with them, but if she resisted here, she would likely just be shot. As Alice had not yet answered, the man’s finger was already stretching out towards the trigger.

‘…..Alright. I just have to go with you, right?’

She would likely be causing Blood and the others trouble, but it would all be for nothing if she got shot here. It wouldn’t just be herself in danger, she didn’t want to imagine her carelessness causing the feud with the Hatter Family to worsen.

Bang!

At the moment Alice had reluctantly been about to follow them, a shot rang out.

‘Huh?’

Before her as she turned around in surprise, were several men and women wearing familiar hats and black suits. All of them held guns and were shooting in an offhand manner as they drew near to where Alice and the men were.

 Their suits were adorned with monochrome card suit symbols. Their golden hair was decorated with crimson roses, feathers and also…..a black hat.

‘This really won’t do~’

‘You’re right. We cannot allow you to lay hands on our young lady.’

Their attitudes were really just like their master’s. Even in a situation like this, they were shooting in a languid sort of way.

They were Blood’s subordinates, who had accompanied him from Hatter Mansion.

‘This way please, young lady.’

‘Eh…..Ah-‘

Having come close to her before she had even realized it, a single maid grabbed her arm and pulled her along. As she skillfully fended off the men with a gun in one hand, she guided Alice towards the rest of her comrades.

‘Tch-…..Shoot! Don’t let her get away-!’

Taking that as their signal, the men who’d had their encirclement broken before their eyes began shooting all at once.

‘…Kyah-!’

To think she’d be attacked in the exact same place, picking up where they had left off before…..as she ran, her head bent down, bullets grazed the area near her feet.

Perhaps out of fear, or on reflex. For a single instant Alice closed her eyes and stood stock still.

‘Young lady-…’

Noticing the hint of tension in the languid voice, Alice looked up. However, feeling something hard against the back of her head, she stopped moving yet again.

‘Don’t move, or I’ll shoot.’

‘…..…..’

‘Stay right where you are. All of you, drop your guns.’

It was likely an ambusher that had been lying in wait on a road that had been in a blind spot.

The maid turned around to look at Alice who could no longer move, a stiff expression on her face as she also stopped moving.

And then Alice’s bad premonition became reality. In response to his demands, the Hatter group had laid down their guns.

The clatter of the hard objects hitting the ground sounded like toys, but what would happen to them after this— it was plain as day.

Shaking herself out of it as her stiff body seemed about to start trembling, Alice raised her voice.

‘-! You musn’t! Hurry up and get out of here!’

‘If we did that, the Boss would kill us~’

‘That’s right. We couldn’t leave our young lady behind in a situation like this.'

The maid hadn’t been the only one to disarm. The subordinates had all thrown down their guns at once.

They were members of the Mafia. They had likely experienced similar situations before this. They had to know their lives would be forfeit if they were to give in to the man’s demand.

‘You guys!’

‘—Shut up. We want to take you with us, but keep making all that noise and we won’t mind hurting you a little.’

‘-‘

The hard feeling of the object pressed against her head went through her hair, reaching her skin. Biting her lip, Alice’s face twisted with a feeling of helplessness.

She knew that she was weak. And she knew the strength of the organization that she was part of.

However, to become a hindrance to them in this kind of way…..as she experienced bitter emotions, the man behind her instructed his comrades.

‘Hurry up and take the Outsider. The others are in our way. Take care of them here.’

‘Understood.’

And then another person pulled up Alice’s arm. Hard enough that it hurt.

But in this situation she couldn’t voice a complaint. As a small form of resistance, she glared hard at him but the men’s mouths twisted as if mocking her. They were likely thinking that even if she glared at them, there was nothing Alice, who lacked any special abilities, could do anyway. And they wouldn’t be wrong.

All the same—that single instant’s delay was fatal for them.

‘Alice. Please close your eyes.’

‘Eh-! …..-!’

Though Alice turned towards the cool sounding voice despite herself, this time her body listened to her.

As she obediently closed her eyes, a single shot rang out.

‘Bang-!’

‘Wha…..!?’

Despite hearing the sound of something heavy falling within her closed off field of vision, she didn’t open her eyes.

She didn’t even need to imagine what had just happened. There was no longer anyone restraining her arms.

Before her eyes, the dead body of that man was likely there, having collapsed bleeding to the ground.

‘Young lady!’

As if to say now was their chance, the maid closest to her pulled on her arm once more. In her other hand she gripped the gun she had at some point retrieved. Following in the direction she was drawn, Alice continued after her.

‘Looks like the shoe’s on the other foot now.’

‘Let’s hurry up and take care of them.’

The other servants all counterattacked at once.

On the other side, the men’s control of the situation had been disrupted from the suddenness of their attack. Just how much losing composure contributed to their slowed response….the end result told all.

***

‘It’s alright now~’

‘…..Ah.’

‘We’re all done here.’

Sorry for making you wait~, the familiar maids spoke in the same tone as always.

 As Alice came out from the nearby storage room she had been hiding in, just as they had said, it was all over. The people lying on the ground were mostly the wounded, and they had been tied up—she purposely decided not to think about the ones that were dead.

The redness of the blood spilt on the ground absorbed the red of the setting sun, gradually darkening in colour.

Doing her best to look away from it, Alice took a breath—and turned to face towards the sound of the footsteps behind her.

‘Ah…..’

‘Alice.’

The figure of the person who had quietly called her name did not belong to one of the Hatter Mansion servants. The golden clock he carried on his shoulder made a jangling noise.

‘Peter.’

The White Rabbit whom she had seen from far away at the meeting place where the Assembly was held was now right before her eyes.

And…..he did not seem to be in a good mood. It was rare for her to see him shaking his head at her as he sighed.

‘You really are-…..did Blood Dupre tell you nothing? It is too dangerous for you to walk around outside alone during the Assembly period.’

‘…..I’m sorry.’

Back then, in that moment when it seemed there was no escape, Alice had realised that the voice that had echoed out belonged to him.

She had been surprised, thinking that there was no way the Prime Minister of Heart Castle would appear when the Hatter Family were in a bind, but the fact he had saved them was the truth.

‘Thank you. Because of you…..we were saved.’

If Peter hadn’t showed up, her colleagues would likely have been in danger, and she wasn’t sure what demands the men would have made of Blood had she been made a hostage.

‘It was not you that was at fault…..it was those role-less cards.’

The glittering red gaze went towards the servants who stood behind Alice. It was the kind of intensely cold red that would never be directed towards Alice. The servants endured it in silence.

Hand on his pocket watch, the White Rabbit icily continued.

‘Really….. though you must have been sent out for her protection in preparation of a worst case scenario, I do not know for what purpose you are following her if you are not able to keep Alice out of danger. You’re all useless.’

‘…..Peter.’

‘No, it’s fine, young lady.’

‘It is as the Prime Minister says~’

‘But…..’

They had tried to protect her. It had gone wrong because she had stopped, it was her responsibility to bear. She could not agree that it was all only their fault.

However, they all shook their heads, as if to say, ‘Please don’t let it bother you.’ Continuing to argue would only be ignoring their feelings.

But Peter’s words of criticism were not yet over.

‘Having self-awareness is well enough, but ineffective guards are unnecessary. Ah, that’s it.’

With a faintly chilly smile…..the White Rabbit swung his pocket watch. The ringing sound of its chain echoed, the golden clock transforming instantaneously into a pink coloured gun.

Watching him, Alice had a bad feeling.

‘Wait, Peter…..what are you thinking!?’

‘Let us be rid of these good-for-nothings, Alice. Instead, I will stay by your side forever and protect you. I will never allow you to be in any danger. So, it's alright, isn't it?’

Seeing him point the gun towards the servants in a single flowing movement, Alice felt a real headache coming on. This man had no idea at all.

‘Of course it isn’t, stop this. Don’t do anything to my coworkers, please.’

‘Wha-! You would cover for these incompetents-?! I will protect you, so you don’t need them, do you-?’

It appeared the White Rabbit was confounded to see Alice step in between them. He hurriedly lowered the gun but did not yet return it to its clock form.

‘What happened this time wasn’t all their fault, it was mine as well. So, you mean to say you’ll get rid of me too, along with everyone else?’

‘Of course not-!’

She had asked the question while certain he would say no, but just as she had expected, he vigorously shook his head. The soft white hair swayed fluffily as if it were snow.

‘Then don’t shoot anyone from Hatter Mansion, please. If you say you’ll shoot even then, I won’t ever speak to you again.’

‘…..Alice…..’

Peter’s head hung despondently, and despite it being written on his face that he didn’t understand why she would say such a thing, at a time like this Alice could not compromise. This was Peter, if she lost focus for even a moment, it was likely he would carry out his plan before Alice could stop him.

‘—Your answer?’

‘Alright….I understand. I won’t shoot them.’

The words were reluctant.

He had not been convinced, but the fact that Alice was in earnest had likely gotten through to him. Once the White Rabbit let go of the gun, a golden clock took its place hanging from the end of the chain.

It appeared he had calmed down for the time being. Feeling relieved, this time Alice turned around towards the servants behind her.

‘By the way…..were you guys following me the whole time?’

Even though just a moment ago she had been backing them up, Alice’s voice now sounded a little severe.

The timing with which they had appeared was too convenient for them to have come across her by chance. Added to the fact she had also felt the presence of someone following her recently.

As she glared at them, while averting their gazes they muttered their answers.

‘…..Well…..During the Assembly period things are particularly unstable, you see.’

‘That’s right…..the Boss was worried too…..’

‘We wouldn’t normally do this kind of stalker-ish thing, you know?’

‘Yeah. Doing something so tiresome is a pain~’

It was a rare thing to see them mutter, without giving a clear answer.

However, Alice knew. To a certain extent, the servants of Hatter Mansion were all assigned a rank in proportion to their abilities. Those who protected the Mansion in its master’s absence, and those who protected him while he was out, they all had different roles.

These people were part of the top class of subordinates, who were allowed to travel together with Blood to the place where the Assembly took place. One or two of them acting on their own was one thing, but for so many of them to be on the move?

There was no way their master didn’t know of it, and no possibility they would act on their own without instructions.

‘…..…..Sheesh.’

They had likely been assigned to her in consideration of the recent attack, but if that was the case, he could at least have said a few words to her about it. The strange presence she had felt whenever she had gone out of late had likely been them. The fact that they didn’t deny it straight out was the proof.

‘Well, I guess it’s fine. I would have been in trouble if you guys hadn’t been there. It’s a bit late but thank you.’

Erasing her air of displeasure, she smiled at them, and they looked relieved.

‘Alice…..It’s not fair.’

‘Huh-…..Kyah-!’

Before she could guess at the intention of that low voice, arms had suddenly reached out from behind and wrapped themselves around Alice’s waist. Her body lost its balance, but whether luckily or unluckily, the arms around her supported her firmly, and she did not fall.

‘It’s unfair, Alice! You’re always so kind only to those role-less people…..why won’t you be even a little bit kind to me!?’

‘P-Peter…..-‘

When she looked down, perhaps because his head was hanging low, she couldn’t see his face, only the pure white hair close to her. Both his arms encircling Alice’s waist, the White Rabbit was clinging on as if stuck to her. The Mansion’s Twins were one thing, but for someone bigger than Alice, it was rather an odd posture to be in.

And not only that, since Peter was embracing her so as to envelop both of Alice’s arms, it did not look as if she could escape of her own power.

‘There you go, clinging on to me again regardless of where we are…..let me go please. I can’t move.’

‘Alice, why are you so cold to me? Ah, I see. You must be embarrassed! What a shy person you are!’

‘That’s not the issue here.’

The White Rabbit’s arms around her tightened to the point that it hurt— his hold was strong enough that it seemed she could almost forget about the injuries he had gotten from the attack from before.

‘Peter, now that I think about it…..how are your wounds? Are you alright?’

After all, his back had been wounded by shards of glass. It must have caused him a lot of pain.

However, separate from Alice’s worry, for some reason when the White Rabbit lifted his head upwards, he was smiling broadly. If Alice wasn’t mistaken, it was the kind of smile that could even be said to look happy.

‘To think that you would worry for me…..Ah, Alice! How kind you are…..You’ve been worried for me, your beloved, all this time! I’m so happy, Alice.’

‘…..Hey…..Listen to people when they’re talking.’

‘I am, I am listening, Alice. You were worried about my injuries, were you not? To have you worry for me…..Ah, how wonderful…..’

‘…..…..Seems like you’re fine already.’

Despite being exasperated by Peter’s tight hug, from the looks of things there really was no need to worry.

Even as she loosened a hand from Peter’s hold and stretched it out over his back to check, he just kept smiling even more, without seeming to be in pain even a little.

Although the amount of blood he had shed back then had been by no means a small amount.

‘You’re really all OK now?’

‘Yes. Injuries of that level are as nothing in the face of my love for you-!’

‘…..…..’

As she had thought, he didn’t listen to what people said at all.

Exasperation aside, it was true that she felt relieved. Blood had said there was no need to worry, but there was a big difference between hearing it from someone else and confirming it for herself.

‘It’s a bit late but…..Thank you, Peter. This time, and the time before that, you saved me.’

As she patted his back in a soothing sort of way, the White Rabbit looked even more pleased, his eyes narrowing. The gaze that had been so very cold and piercing just a moment ago had now softened completely.

‘I’m your White Rabbit, after all. I want to do anything I can for you.’

‘…..…..’

Hearing those words brought back to Alice’s mind the ones Peter had spoken previously in the Forest.

Badump, she had a feeling her heart had beat faster just like it had back then.

He had spoken the same sort of line. He said he would, and could, do anything for her.

But if that meant the price would be repeatedly suffering the same injuries as before…..Alice couldn’t simply agree with that.

‘Speaking of which, as thanks, why don’t we go out to eat together? I’ll treat you.’

‘Wh-…..What!?’

It appeared Peter was wholeheartedly surprised by Alice’s suggestion. The eyes that had been narrowed flew wide open to stare at her, the arms that had been so tightly wrapped around her loosening.

The over-the-top reaction was enough to make Alice smile wryly in response.

‘Alice and I having a meal, just the two of us-…..That is, a d-date!? To think you would invite me on a date, aah, I cannot believe it!’

‘It’s not such a big deal as a date though. What, do you hate the idea of going somewhere with me that much? If that’s the case, I won’t force you then…..’

Aware that he would deny it, Alice purposely questioned him teasingly, but he once again clung on to her and raised his voice.

‘I’ll go-! Of course, I shall accompany you-, there is no way I would not-! A date, just Alice and I…..Ahh-‘

‘…..Yeah, yeah.’

While exasperated at the White Rabbit getting worked up all by himself, Alice suddenly noticed there was a gaze on her, as if someone was wanting to say something, and turned around.

‘…..…..’

‘Young lady~’

‘Um…..’

The suit-wearing servants were standing there, looking as if they weren’t sure whether to laugh or leave.

‘Ah…..!’

As she realised they had been watching their entire conversation, Alice’s face all at once became a bright shade of red.

***

‘Here you are, thank you for waiting.’

A large plate with a steaming pie was placed onto the table.

‘Wah…..It looks delicious.’

As Alice’s eyes narrowed in appreciation as she took in the appetising fragrance, Peter briskly and efficiently placed a serving place in front of her. In his hands he already held a knife and fork.

‘I’ll cut the pieces right now, so please wait a moment.’

‘Huh? It’s fine, I can do it myself.’

Alice spoke in a fluster, but the White Rabbit did not listen. In a mild voice, he refused.

‘I want to do it. Alice…..This is a date after all, won’t you allow me to serve you?’

‘…..But this time, I want to be the one to show my thanks.’

‘Then all the more reason. You even showed me the way here, please allow me to do at least this much.’

The White Rabbit’s hands did not stop moving as he spoke. Skilfully dividing up the pie, he carried the food over to Alice’s plate.

This made Alice, who worked as a maid at Hatter Mansion, feel somehow embarrassed. It was as if she were being spoiled like a princess, or a woman being coaxed by her lover.

They had come to a restaurant close by to the one that Boris had guided her to before. Back then she had only passed by, but the delicious smell coming from it had remained in Alice’s memory.

Apparently, it was a restaurant that specialised in mushroom dishes, mushrooms of all different kinds were on display throughout the shop. The colours of some of them looked poisonous, but luckily the ones that had been taken to Alice’s table were the normal brown.

‘Here you are. Please get started.’

‘…..Thank you.’

‘Not at all.’

Fork in hand, Alice took a single bite—and her eyes involuntarily opened wide.

‘It’s good…-‘

The savoury smell and flakiness of the pie’s pastry, together with the smoothness of the mushroom were a perfect combination. As she chewed, soup oozed out of it, and that was delicious as well.

When she’d heard they served mushroom dishes she hadn’t been sure what to expect, but the menu had been more wonderful than she had thought. Alice continued eating with renewed interest, but suddenly noticing a gaze coming from beside her, she paused.

‘Aren’t you going to eat too, Peter?’

‘No, it’s just that seeing you enjoy what you’re eating so much makes me happy somehow…..I didn’t want to miss the opportunity.’

‘What are you talking about? You should eat too, no need to be considerate. My salary is good enough you don’t have to worry about my being able to pay.’

The master of Hatter Manson was a man who paid his subordinates a salary in keeping with the work they did. And Alice, who never wasted money on things she didn’t need, had a fair amount saved up. She hadn’t hesitated to use it for having a meal with a friend.

However, the White Rabbit quietly shook his head from left to right.

‘I cannot allow you to pay. I will treat you.’

‘…..All the more then.’

What kind of woman would she be, to be the only one eating, though she had asked for food enough for two, and to have him be the only one paying as well? At the very least, Alice did not want to have such a meal.

‘Ah…..could it be that you don’t like mushrooms, Peter? If so, I apologise…..’

‘No, it is not as if I particularly dislike mushrooms.’

‘Then, what do you like to eat? Maybe carrots since you’re a rabbit?’

He said that he didn’t dislike them, but for all that, the White Rabbit’s expression was not a joyful one. Even if he was also a rabbit, he was clearly different from the brown rabbit who lived at the Mansion.

‘I like anything. I can eat anything.’

‘Then you can have some of this mushroom dish, right? —Here.’

Using the serving fork, Alice placed some food on his plate. She was used to working as a maid in her everyday life, so waiting on someone like this was something Alice was more familiar with.

‘Ah, Alice. You don’t need to..-‘

‘It’s fine. Here, eat up, no need to hold back.’

‘…..Very well. It is food that you yourself have served me. I cannot be so rude as to not eat it.’

If he didn’t dislike the food, he would readily eat it. So thinking she had acted, but Alice soon had a feeling something was wrong.

Thank you for the meal, being especially polite, Peter carefully used the knife and fork to begin cutting. He carried one of the cut pieces towards his mouth.

It couldn’t be that he was acting the part of Prime Minister for show. Each one of his movements was refined, the very picture of correct table manners.

But there was something decisively different about the way he ate compared to Alice.

‘? Peter, are you sure you don’t dislike mushrooms after all?’

‘That is…..’

‘But, aren’t you forcing yourself?’

Alice knew well what a person’s face looked like when they were eating something they enjoyed.

It was certainly the case for the group at Hatter Mansion. Blood when he was drinking tea, Elliot when he was eating carrot dishes…..it was a normal thing for anyone with something they liked in front of them to enjoy the taste and be happy about it.

On the other hand, what would happen if they were given something that they disliked. It was something she knew from seeing her master trying to escape from eating orange coloured food. It wasn’t as obvious as Blood’s hatred for carrots, but there was a similar expression on Peter’s face.

‘You don’t need to force yourself if you don’t like it.’

‘It is not as if I dislike it…..’

The hand that been almost mechanically and dispassionately carrying food to his mouth stopped, and Peter looked troubled.

‘There is nothing in particular that I like.’

‘…..Huh?’

‘The truth is, I do not like anything…..after all, food does not particularly taste of anything, does it?’

‘…..…..’

Hearing him speak as if puzzled, Alice completely stopped moving.

Perhaps noticing her response, the White Rabbit let go of the knife and fork and tilted his head.

‘No matter what I eat, there is not much difference. All I need know is if there is poison in it or not.’

‘…..…..’

Hearing him talk, Alice felt as if the atmosphere around them had grown cold of a sudden. Even though it wasn’t as if someone was after her like before.

It was a wonder she hadn’t dropped her knife and fork. The taste of the mushroom in her mouth suddenly felt far away.

No, it wasn’t just the taste of the food. Even the noise inside the shop that had sounded normal until now felt somehow forced.

‘…..…..’

Gulp, she heard the sound of her throat swallowing, but even that…..felt distant.

A world without taste. A living being who, even though they ate, didn’t feel a thing.

There was no way all the rabbits who lived in this world were the same. There was Elliot, who truly loved carrot dishes beyond anything. It didn’t change the fact that he liked carrots the best, but it was not as if he didn’t understand the taste of food outside of carrots.

But—it was completely different for Peter.

‘…..…..’

No matter what he ate, it had no taste. It was simply something he did to take in the sufficient nutrients needed to keep his body moving.

It was probably for that reason his perfect way of eating and his reaction as he ate left an impression of disconnection.

She hadn’t noticed it at all up until now. If they hadn’t talked about taste just now, Alice might never have realised.

Even when he had prepared tea for her at Heart Castle, Peter had often accompanied Alice in drinking tea. He had been as happy as if it were himself when she had nodded saying it was delicious.

She had always thought his reaction was a bit much…..but at last she understood its meaning.

He had never provided her with anything that he himself felt tasted good. Just things that he thought Alice would like, it had been for no other purpose than to make Alice happy.

‘…..…..’

She took a sip from the cup of cold water on the table. It slid down her throat, which had become dry before she had realised it, with a cold and chilly sensation.

He had said things had no flavour, but that did not necessarily mean he had no sense of taste. If he didn’t, it would have been too difficult to judge whether or not something had poison in it.

However, Alice could not even imagine what his world, one where nothing had any flavour, was like. No matter what he drank, or ate, for it to simply slip down his throat into his body like the water she had just had…..she could not understand it all.

‘Alice, is something wrong? It can’t be, there was poison in the-…..’

‘N-no! That’s not it…..’

As she held back the White Rabbit who even now seemed about ready to brandish his gun and start shooting at the restaurant workers, inside of her chest was a jumble of questions.

—Is that not hard for you, Peter?—

Forcibly swallowing back down the questions rising towards her lips, she changed them into a sigh.

Eating was a necessary act for life to continue on. She thought that for it to just be a duty, something about which you didn’t feel anything at all, was just too sad.

She could understand it if he said that he disliked eating. But that he neither liked or disliked the action itself…..she thought that it must be a very lonely thing.

‘That’s not it. I was just…..a little surprised, that’s all.’

Restraining the White Rabbit from changing his golden watch into a gun, once Alice settled the bill and left the restaurant, the colours of the sky had changed yet again.

***

‘I think I put them in here, if I’m remembering right…..’

In her room at the Tower. Having returned to the room she had become completely used to living in, Alice was slowly digging around amongst the small amount of hand luggage.

And, having taken out a single case from the pile, she opened the lid.

‘…..…..’

Inside were the snacks the maids she was friendly with had wrapped for her when she had left the Mansion. Because they would last for a long time, it was mostly candy and chocolate that had been packed in.

She took into her hand a single small snack that had been wrapped in silver paper. Unwrapping it silently, she popped the small block of dark brown that appeared into her mouth.

Along with the snapping noise as she chewed, a familiar flavour spread throughout her mouth.

It was sweet. And also, bitter. It was chocolate. A person who had had chocolate before would know what it was immediately.

‘But….maybe Peter wouldn’t.’

As he had said himself, he was a clever Rabbit. He would definitely be able to identify that it was chocolate.

However—the taste alone was something he surely wouldn’t understand. If his basis for judgement was only whether or not something had poison in it, he would likely just decide that it was not poisonous and leave it at that.

And that….somehow felt lonely to her. She thought that perhaps one of the main reasons she felt that way was because Peter himself accepted it as a given.

‘….There’s something wrong with me.’

Their first meeting had been awful, no matter how often she recalled it, it should have been bad enough for her to wonder how they had even become friends.

But now….she was thinking about him so much.

Because she thought she was such a fool for not noticing in all the times they’d had tea together until now that nothing had flavour to him.

It had to be because she was worried for him as a friend. She would have liked for that to be the reason, but the emotions that were moving her now did not at all seem to be that of friendship.

Was it truly just that causing this stirring in her chest?

‘….Peter….’

I love you. You are the only one I love.

If you are happy, that is all that matters to me.

—Because I love you—

The White Rabbit’s love confessions were always one-sided. They did not desire an answer from Alice. Even if she were to answer, it wouldn’t be unusual for it not to reach those long ears. Only taking up what was convenient, in a certain sense, those ears were highly efficient.

‘You’re….so unfair….’

She had not planned on changing. Even when she had come to this world, she would always remain as she was….her cowardly, pessimistic, grey-coloured self, who was the furthest thing from pure white. Though she had planned on staying as the half-hearted Alice Liddell who was unable to become anything, right now she was wavering so much.

Over someone she couldn’t help but think about….Why did the man who did not understand what things tasted like say that he loved her?

Alice hadn’t done anything for him.

Even though she hadn’t done anything to make him fall in love with her. Even though she wasn’t the kind of person people fell in love with.

Why did you fall in love with me?

‘We’re friends, so that’s why it bothers me. It can’t be anything else….of course it isn’t.’

The more they come to know you, the more they will love you.

The words the dream demon had once said sprang back into Alice’s mind.

Their first meeting had been the absolute worst. A rockier beginning she could not imagine.

However, since their relationship had begun on the worst possible terms….she had been made to realise now that there was no way it would have become worse.

It would seem the relationship that should have begun from hostility had revised itself in a more positive direction before she had realised it.

‘It’s because….we’re friends. That’s the reason I can’t leave him alone….’

She was unable to hate him. On the contrary, there were aspects to him that she even found likeable.

His actions were one-sided, and many of the things he did were a bother. He would sometimes say stalker-ish things with no shame whatsoever.

She wondered how much he knew about her.

And, conversely, she wondered how much she knew about him.

She had lived at her place of residence for an amount of time that was no longer of short duration. But even there, the place she had decided was where she belonged, she remained unable to delve into the side of them that was Mafia.

The courage to draw near to the closest possible place to the White Rabbit….there was no way she had such a thing.

‘….-‘

Tightly.

She pressed her hands to her chest, to calm a heartbeat that seemed about to accelerate out of control.

—I hate this.

When it came to romance, Alice couldn’t help but become a foolish child again. Even while thinking she didn’t want to become conceited, another part of her thought that she didn’t want to be betrayed, and she became selfish.

‘No….that can’t be….why.’

Let it be something else.

The wrapper in her hand made a crinkling noise as she crumpled it into a ball.

She thought she had already had enough of love. Romance was a pain, and for all the effort it took, it was never guaranteed that things would go how you wished them to.

—You don’t necessarily want to be loved by everyone—

What came into her mind was the dream demon’s smile when he had appeared in her dreams in the country of red.

As if to say that he saw through her completely, there was a faint smile on his handsome face as he spoke.

—You just want to be loved by someone.—

Even now she could vividly recall Nightmare’s voice as he made that declaration as if it was only the obvious truth.

‘I won’t fall in love. Wanting to be by his side, is something I would never….’

As long as they could be friends, she was fine with that. She would not wish for anything more.

Peter had problematic aspects to him, but Alice had already let down her guard, and at this late stage, she would likely even feel sad if distance were to be put between them.

But….what if they ended up becoming even closer?

And when they did, what if he were to grow distant from her?

“Alice, I’m so sorry, I-….”

“I’m sorry, Alice, I’ve-….”

Phantom voices overlapped with the voices of the past that remained in her memory.

Just like back then.

He might grow distant, too.

‘….….’

Wordlessly, her mouth twisted faintly.

The bitterness that continued to remain as if stuck to the inside of her throat wasn’t just because of the chocolate.

Alice purposely pretended she hadn’t noticed it.

[tsuki-sennin]

Welcome to Kyoto! Following the reconciliation of father and son last episode, we take a page out of Fourze's screenplay and go on a class trip~! As Hotaro dreams for a future between humans and Chemies, for what reason does the Dark Sister Clotho become an uninvited guest?

Spoilers, I guess...

-Y'know, we surprisingly haven't seen all that much of Furasu High School itself.

-The time has come... for Kyoto!

-That seems to be the class trip location in shows like these. Kaguya-sama, Bloom Into You, Digimon Adventure 02, the sucky stealth minigame in Persona 3 that's somehow infinitely less terrible than any of the other hot spring sections... Think it was even in Cardcaptor Sakura too, incidentally.

-Big missed opportunity, by the way, to not have even a mild crossover between Fourze and Smile PreCure, which both had school trips to Kyoto at the same time.

-The furthest I've ever gone on a field trip was in 5th grade, when we went on a field trip to Tennessee to visit Ruby Falls. I've been there before with my mom, so it wasn't anything new, but it was still fun. Never had a full field trip again after that though.

-"I hope you make sure to STUDY!"

-Something that Hotaro's ill prepared for.

-Kudoh, you gotta help us out.

-No friends... but us~!

-Hello, Mr. Kannushi.

-ALIENS

-Kajiki and Hotaro! Hunting for aliens!

-Hi there, Spanner.

-There's your girlfriend, the Clover Torturer.

-Ohhhhhhhhhh

-I see Lachesis has a real green thumb.

-"Not impressed! I can do that too!"

-Ohhhhhhh, Triple Tuned.

-Oh, she's freaky, huh?

-"Are you done playing weird games with your weird boyfriend yet? :<"

-Oh, a Level 10~! Meeting our first one soon, huh?

-What the fuck is that.

-Don't you cut away from me, Lachesis, I wanna know what you just did.

-Hopper1.....

-Poor boy...

-YOU FORGOT HIM

-WHAT THE HELL, MAN

-"I fuckin' hate Kamen Rider. Which one of you assholes is gonna kill him for me."

-Oh, this guy's a jackoff!

-Hoppa~!

-He wants to meet Friend!

-Batta!

-Oh hello, miss.

-Special place?

-Himeno Hijiri....

-Whoa, she was in middle school seven years ago?

-And you were in 4th grade when this issue was published.

-...I think she's a little too old for you buddy, unless I misread it.

-He didn't see nothin', Rinne!

-Hot damn, Clotho's strong.

-Jungle Jan...

-Ohhhhhh, this hoodie guy seems nasty.

-Hotaro's seriously into this.

-"Weren't you nerds looking for UFOs?"

-"UFOS!? THERE'S A HOT OLDER LADY WHO LIKES THE OCCULT!"

-I think how awkward the acting is kinda adds to Gotchard's atmosphere rather than detracting from it.

-I hear this is kinda like how community theater goes.

-Haunted house...

-Rinne's having the time of her life today.

-Hello, Hijiwi-san

-

-YOU LEFT EVERYTHING THERE-

-Hiiiii, Smaphone.

-Golddash came out to play~!

-I sure hope you give Renge a tip for all her hard work.

-Hitodama...

-Oh shit, Clotho.

-Hello, Mr. Minato.

-I'm still suspicious of you, but I feel like you've at least got good intentions even if the rest of the Academy is shady af.

-Oh fuck, ninjas and aliens.

-This really is Fourze.

-We're doing her thing now, Ichinose.

-"Hang him from your vines if you want! I just want him dead!"

-Oh, you're just a classy guy aren't you.

-Oh at least Kudoh's on the ball.

-Oh fuck, giant robot time?

-LET'S GOOOOOO

-BatKingrobo!

-Far shot...

-Oh that's the hoodie guy

-Yeah, sorry buddy... it really wasn't gonna work out like that.

-Oh okay, this is just straight up Ultraman now.

-Finisher Beam!

-Very funny, Toei.

-Hiiiiii, Golddash~!

-Steamliner~!

-What next?

-Ohhhhhh, the guy's an arsonist.

-Those hitodama they saw... probably a Chemy if it forms the basis of his Malgam.

[forlorn-crows]

request from my sweet friend @enragedtiefling to give us a lil break from the smut

some cumulus/mountain fluff to warm the heart xx

“Hey ‘Lus,” Mountain says cheerily, spotting her across the common room. “Whatcha up to?”

Cumulus looks up from the kitchen table where her nail supplies are scattered. “Just finishing up my nails; wanna see?” She smiles, holding her completed right hand out to him and waggling her fingers.

“Sure,” he says smoothly, setting his book down on the couch before walking over to her. He cradles her small hand in his palm, careful to avoid the shiny lacquer on her claws. She’s manicured them to a short almond shape and coated them with glittery, dark blue polish. Her ring finger is painted in a pearlescent white, dotted with dark blue four-pointed stars.

“Very nice, ‘Lus. They suit you well,” Mountain compliments. Cumulus trills; her smile lights up her entire face, an expression the earth ghoul never gets tired of.

“Thanks Mounty!” The ghoulette takes her hand back, resuming the clear coat on her left. “You gonna be in here for a little bit?”

“Yeah, reading. Why?”

Cumulus holds up a bottle of forest green polish. “I could do your horns, if you want?”

Mountain’s heart warms at that. “Sure; but nothing too flashy this time, okay?”

She laughs, remembering the bubblegum pink she snuck on the tips last time. “Subtle. Got it.”

“Don’t rush yours.” Mountain tousles her curls affectionately and moves to the seating area. He grabs one of the larger pillows and plops onto the rug so Cumulus can sit comfortably behind him. He dives back into his book, barely registering the ghoulette when she floats over half a chapter later.

Cumulus lightly combs through his hair, arranging it into three sections. Admittedly, Mountain enjoys her playing with his hair more than the act of painting his horns. But he enjoys her company all the same, her soft hands caressing his scalp as she moved his head this way and that, braiding his hair into three plaits and joining them at the nape of his neck.

She gestures to the lacquer selection placed on the coffee table next to him. “Are those colors okay?” Mountain looks at the little glass bottles, a grouping of muted greens: forest, emerald, and a minty sea-foam. A perfect earthy trio.

“Perfect, ‘Lusy,” he says softly. He tips his head back into her lap, smiling as she leans down to place a small kiss on his forehead. “Do you want me to read to you?”

Cumulus chirps in interest, ears perking up. “Would you? Oh, but you’d have to start over, you’re so far already.” Her face falls slightly.

“I don’t mind.” Her face lights up again, completely radiant. Mountain can’t help but beam back. Cumulus sits in quiet concentration as she listens to Mountain’s smooth baritone describe some far-off fantasy world, painting his horns in swirls of green. Once she’s moved away from the base of his horns, the earth ghoul wills little four-leaf clovers to grow and encircle them, because he knows they’re her favorite.

[malibusmoke]

Perfume/Cologne headcanons

Bucci Gang + Trish

Honestly spent most of the time looking at these and going "Yeah. I want that. Oh shit no bc that one looks good too... "

Bruno-

Cardinal by Heeley. Fresh linen, Amber, black pepper and rose with amber, patchouli and an earthy veviter.

Occassionally uses Blue de chanel, has light citrus notes, pink pepper, bergamont, frankincense and ginger. Has a lot of middle range aftershaves and cologne, leaving the more expensive things for special events.

Giorno-

Acqua di Gio by Giorgio Armani, an aromatic and citrus smell; lemon and lime, jasmine, bergamont and orange with nutmeg and sea notes, cedar and oakmoss.

Gets a lot of his scents from "womens" sections. Genuinley doesn't care what anyone thinks about that either; having smells for genders is stupid and he's the Don of Passione, he can do what he likes.

Narancia-

If he was to buy one of the more up there colognes, it would be Artisan by john varvatos, smells like clementines, thyme, orange blossom and ginger with slight musk.

Usually opts for something much cheaper (not that it smells bad), grapefruit and orange and something soft and fruity. Sometimes uses Mista's deoderant on missions, but doesn't take showers with the stuff.

Abbacchio-

Aramis (by aramis). Myrrh, clover, bergamont with a woody, spicy, and leather base.

Spends as much time smelling and choosing different scents as he does makeup- expect him to take literal hours in shops browsing over everything. The kind of person to ask for your opinion on everything as well.

Fugo-

Probably uses a lot "womens" perfume too. ChicPetals by Moschino. Pretty fruity with pomegranate and wild strawberry, ginger, water lilly, italian iris and musk.

Uses them sparingly because otherwise theyre overpowering. He naturally smells clean so the finishing result is subtle but nice.

Mista-

Axe body spray showers Not one for using cologne or scents very often, so lynx or another spray on deoderant is his go to. He might get some of the nicer ones, like wasabi and fresh linen.

If he does use cologne, he might use Pour Homme- Pine, bergamont, patchouli, leather and sage, but it still mixes in with his natural musk.

Trish-

Spends a lot of money on perfumes. Uses Glossier You perfume on a day-to-day basis, nothing heavy but a natural clean scent. Miss Dior Eau De Parfum, with rose, honey and peppery notes for going out.

Uses a lot of Versace too- has a whole collection of scents for different purposes. One of those people who has some that are too nice to use- decorative perfume bottles.

[seeyounexttime]

As you may know, Black Clover is having an online exhibition. If you look at it here (has to be on mobile though) you see 0/20 and 0% in the corner. I saw the screenshots that some people shared also have zeroes and wondered... After some clicking around and struggling with Japanese, I’ve gotten a full score :D

So for those who want to know what to do, or can’t see the exhibition yourself for whatever reason, I’ve made a walkthrough that’s what it’s called right?

First, you’re asked to please turn on the sound and enjoy. There’s an ON and OFF option

Devil Possessed Work Is On Display. DEVILS AND ~THE DON’T GIVE UP MAGICAL EXHIBIT~ Black Clover 6th Year Anniversary Celebration

The Spade Kingdom’s evil devil hosts have set their hands on Black Clover’s online exhibition, the “Don’t Give Up Magical Exhibit”, from the 5th year anniversary celebration!? Only the “devil-possessed works” were shining a suspicious light in the transformed exhibition hall.

[yellow/gold box] To the Devils and Don’t Give Up Magical Exhibit >>

Asta has newly awakened devil power!? -- Together with the devil Liebe, get power to confront the invasion of the Spade Kingdom, including the Dark Triad!

[white/silver box] To the Don’t Give Up Magical Exhibit >>

Complete Revival of the “Won’t Give Up Magical Exhibit”!? -- Because of the Spade Kingdom’s invasion, the “Don’t Give Up Magical Exhibit” has ended up in miserable condition, but Nero’s sealing magic has succeeded in completely returning it to the way it used to be! Let’s dive into the work and explore Asta and friend’s “won’t give up magic”

I recommend starting with the previous year’s exhibit, so flip your phone to the side and click the white box with Nero on the corner..~

A little tutorial: you can click in the picture frames, swipe, and pinch the screen. Nero says “I’ll tell you if you get lost. Don’t worry.”

“Not giving up magic” isn’t only Asta’s magic.

Everyone who supported Black Clover will surely have the power of “not giving up magic.” Now, with your magic power, let’s dive into the world of Black Clover’s story.

PROMISE -- 約束 (yakusoku) -- The source of the power of Asta’s “not giving up magic” was a “promise” with his rival, who pursues the dream that they can never give up on, called “to become the Wizard King.”

Nero says “Tap the framed picture.”

This causes a little manga movie to play - about Asta and Yuno of course. Their promise, words exchanged at the dungeon, that time they saved Hage, and times they fought side by side in the Elf Arc are shown. When it comes to an end, it displays this manga spread:

Nero says “Tap the demon’s bones...”

This plays a manga movie about Licht’s and Lumiere’s tragic battle...

Nero says “Tap the icon on the upper left to return to the original world.”

You’ll be taken back the Promise screen and should now have 1/20 at the bottom corner

PRIDE -- 誇り (hokori) -- Magic Knight Squads that protect the world with magical power. The Wizard King with the magic knight captains whom he brings together. It is that “pride” built up due to their overwhelming achievements that is the source of power.

Again, tap the framed pictures. A slideshow of their most prominent moments (before the timeskip) play. At the end is a panel of their most impressive spell at least that’s what I think they were trying to do here?

Nero says “You want to know more about your comrades right”

Tap the yellow button next to her (it says “see details+”). This pops up:

At the top is their type of magic. Then a short description about them. The rest is mostly stats that were already in their manga profile’s + a little extra. In order it’s: {their name ☘, age, height, birthday, sign, blood type, favorite thing, birthplace, and rank}

Yami’s birthplace is the Land of the Sun; Dorothy’s is the Witch’s Forest; Jack’s is in the Common Realm; everyone else was born in the Noble Realm

COMPLEX -- 劣等感 (rettoukan) -- A person who can deal with their “inferiority complex” is also a blessed person who has the chance to become stronger than anyone else.

*note: the kanji specifically refers to “inferiority complex”

A manga movie about her struggles with magic plays, then switches to this:

Nero says “Pinch out and move forward.”

As you “zoom in” panels of Noelle’s development with spells, from Sea Dragon’s Lair to Valkyrie Dress, rotate around, ending with:

“I... won....!!”

FRIENDSHIP -- 絆 (kizuna) -- For their precious friends, sometimes a person can even go as far as surpassing their limits. A magic blow vested with the “bonds” of friends has defeated any despair.

*note: the kanji means “bonds (between people)”

Nero says “If you look at all the framed pictures of bonds…”

When you click on each framed picture, you get panels like in the Complex section but these one’s don’t rotate

It focuses on an important fight for each Black Bull, I think one that emphasizes their bonds with someone and/or teamwork. Magna & Luck share framed pictures; Gauche, Gordon, Grey and Henry share another. Usually at the end you see the kanji for their magic attribute (Charmy’s ends with “food magic”)

Like with the captains, there’s also a panel of them looking impressive. Again, Nero says “You want to learn more about your friends right.”

At the top is their name, description about them, then Profile ☘ and stats in the same order as the captain’s in the Pride section. I want to note that Charmy’s birthplace is literally “?”

But Before You Finish Looking At All The Frames-!! swipe left and take a look 👀

Try to tap this~  Nero says “If you look at all the framed pictures, there will be something good.”

After you watch the 8th one, you’ll find that the middle frame has lit up

“Tap the framed picture” Nero says. A manga movie about the Black Bulls plays, showing their good and awesome times, then ending in the group shot of when they busted in during Asta’s and Nero’s trial --but wait!! there��s more!!!

We’re moving left-?! Omg SECRE-!??

“Well done, you undid the seal.”

“I will undo the seal with my magic.”

Sealing Magic

Inverse Release

LOVE -- 愛 (ai) -- The magic of Black Clover has been sustained by the “love” of everyone who continuously supported all the characters, including Asta and Yuno, and this story. Thank you very much for so much “love.”

That’s right: you just unlocked Love :’)

Tapping it opens up a high-quality image that you can download for yourself.

Nero says “It’s a commemorative wallpaper. It’s yours.”

☘ Instant Posting Magic ☘ Let’s share with everyone that we came to play Black Clover’s 5th anniversary project “Never Giving Up Magic” 📖 Use Instant Posting Magic

Tapping that opens up twitter. Nero says “Post in celebration.”

--but wait! there’s even more!! swipe one more time 👀

Zenon, what are you doing here? staring at a framed picture of the Heart Kingdom... Tap it, Nero says

oh shit

a preview of volume 25 plays

Click Here For Part 2~! ☠ 

※✧※

*Disclaimer: The exhibit used 諦めない魔法 (akiramenai mahou). Akiramenai is the negative form of the verb akirameru "to give up" and mahou is "magic." It's definitely a reference to Asta's "my magic is never giving up" line, and I guess it could be translated as "magic that doesn't give up" but doesn't that make it sound like he has magic? This becomes more of an issue when they begin to apply it to others beside Asta... So yeah, sorry that sounds awkward. Also depending on context and because I got tired of repeating the same phrase I changed the form from "don't give up" to "not giving up" and others.

I was using google translate quite a bit, after I looked up kanji by parts because I couldn't copy-paste the pictures (it was decent practice; I think I can totally identify the word "not giving up" now). This isn't an official release, but I did try to clean things up to at least sound coherent and give you a better idea of what's going on.

[clover-fields-and-ghosts]

Hello.

Seems like you found the whole 'Tumblr' blog thing. Any questions will come directly through me, as I am the only working buster here in the New York Bubble District. There aren't a lot of us out there, bubble district-wise, but I'll tell you a little bit about what happened here. Please don't come into my Caller ID section to cry. Bring tissues, maybe?

Bubble districts are ~250-mile radius around, usually normal in most weather and Earth-like behaviors. I've been called many times around the world about the odd behavior of these conditions. Snow in the middle of summer, warm weather in winter, etc. It's been crazy, I've had to, like, speed to the abandoned library just to get language books to understand them. There are up to 2 bubble districts per country right now, and I hope to be getting this whole 'Vigo' situation cleared up... I have an Ad up right now for anyone who's willing to be a Ghostbuster since I've brought the name back up to try and finish what the original, capable, men started. Besides the point.

January 1st, 1990, 00:00:01, Vigo the Carpathian succeeded in transferring his soul into the child named Oscar. The original Ghostbusters(Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz, Peter Venkman, and Winston Zeddmore) all were KIA, Janine Melnitz not lasting the second blow beneath the firehouse collapsing and the Ecto-1? Weeeeeeelllll... yeah, no, it-- it got destroyed. Everyone was in mourning and terror, the entire Earth becoming a dangerous wasteland of super-charged spirits. When the wasteland appeared, so did these safe-havens, as we call 'bubble districts', to the living and physical plane of existence. Cue, me, being born in 1990, and scratching the surface to survive. I got married at 22 to a man named Jack, had a son, got a dog, they went missing when Kexton(my son) was 6. I've worked my ass off getting certain degrees(engineering, art/design, carpentry, architecture.), as well as some PhD's(parapsychology, psychology, general chem, electrical tech.), to try and understand more about what Dr. Venkman, Dr. Spengler, and Dr. Stantz were researching over. The mood slime has spread into most sewage systems but is oddly steering clear of surrounding sewage areas in a wider 1000 mile radius from the bubble districts.

With the firehouse rebuilt(since May 12, 2017), I've replaced most of the building with new wiring and load-bearing members, but I kept most of the original design the same. I was able to expand the basement to actually hold a stronger, bigger ecto-containment unit. I was able to trade my services for help, it's only fair since we have an insane magician trying to use us as slaves. Also, don't look at any of the pictures in the firehouse. I've heard from previous carpenters that 'they felt like they were being watched, even when there were no eyes in the paintings'. Such strange phenomena; I've taken many tests to see if they were, indeed, haunted, but nothing came up to any conclusions. I may not be as spectacular as Dr. Egon Spengler, but at this rate, I'm happy to have people who can help me out or simply help us fix this extremely sticky and vile situation.

(AN/EDIT: Forgive the late edit, I am still developing Clover as I go along! If anyone has any questions, please DM my main account: slenderkillsbonniemain.)

[lajulie24]

The girl in the pretty white picture

The Part 2 to “Let go of all the big deals,” from Han’s POV. Shoutout to all my writing sprint partners for helping me actually get this written! Title is another reference to a line in Abra Moore’s “Four Leaf Clover,” just like part 1.

Han was trying not to hover, to be close enough to be of help but avoid lingering outside the doorway. She’d been in there a long time, but that sap had caused a hell of a mess. And she had to have a lot of hair, given how much there was wrapped up in those braids, given the strands he’d seen on the floor of the Falcon’s shower after she’d been there. Worse than Chewie, clogging up the drain, but he’d never said anything, just marveled a little at them.

Hair was a big deal in Leia’s culture, he’d learned. He’d figured at first it was some high society fashion thing, all the different styles he’d seen her sporting in the first few weeks he knew her. The weird side bun things she’d worn running around the Death Star, the stacks of fancy braids during the medal ceremony, that braided twist she’d had for a hot second, then the crown braids she’d settled on for her everyday look. He’d made an offhand comment about it once, early on, and found himself on the receiving end of a cold stare from Tycho Celchu, who normally was one of the friendlier pilots on base. And importantly, an Alderaanian.

So, not a society thing. Han knew that now. Hells, he knew the entire cultural history of the side buns now. Which Leia never even wore anymore in real life, only in her many wanted holos and the kriff-the-Empire, avenger-of-Alderaan, revolution-girl-style-now graffiti art they’d inspired across the galaxy.

“Han?” he heard her call. “You still there?”

He grinned. Hanging around had been the right instinct, it seemed. “Yeah, you need something?”

“Do you have a scissors? I’m going to have to cut this bit out.”

“Sure,” he responded. Chewie wouldn’t mind if he borrowed the scissors used to trim his pelt; Han had used them himself a while back, when he’d sported a beard for a short while.

(How many years ago was that? Yeah, it had been a while, well before he’d met up with the Rebellion. Another of his many lives.)

He returned, and took care to hand the scissors through the doorway without opening it too far to look. Apparently hair was so important on Alderaan that you didn’t go to a special stylist or a barber or anything for a trim; you relied on your close family to do it.

Not that any of her close family was even alive. And it was a lot of hair. Maybe she would need a hand.

“Ah, you need any help with that?” Should he be asking? Was that stepping on something? Who the hell knew, though Leia would likely either give him hell or the cold shoulder if it were out of line, so he’d find out soon enough.

A beat, and then another, with no response. Shit.

“Ah, maybe?”

Han almost laughed, it was so tentative. Like she wasn’t sure how to answer that question. But he didn’t leave.

Another few beats. Had it always been so quiet back here? Weird, to be waiting—

“Uh, yeah, could you come help?” Leia asked.

“Sure.” Han slid the door open again, this time wide enough for him to actually come in. He could feel the grin he’d entered with giving way to surprise as he took in the full picture of her hair, which was in long waves all around her.

There was a lot of it, and it was so long. He’d never seen her like this.

Look at her eyes, he told himself. Nobody liked being treated like an oddity, a piece of meat, a sheath of luxurious long dark brown hair—

“What do you need?” he asked, shaking himself out of the little trance he’d put himself in.

She smiled and handed him the scissors, holding up a group of strands caught in a pretty impressive knot of hair and dried resin. She smoothed the section of hair she was holding and held it out to him to cut; the scissors made quick work of it.

That can’t be it. Was that it? She could have done that herself, easily. He waited for a moment.

She turned her face toward him again, not smiling, but not frowning either. “Would you trim the rest it for me? To match?” she asked. Still tentative, like she was about to blush—and Leia had never been what Han would call the blushing type.

“Uh, yeah,” he responded. “Sure.” Part of him was saying What are you making such a huge deal about? You help Chewie with his fur all the time. It’s just hair, it’s not like she asked you to marry her, or pleasure her, or something.

But that almost felt like it was what she’d asked him to do. If hair was private, this was like—baring herself to him. Something so intimate, it was only done by very close friends or family. Something cloaked in tradition, in ritual. In a culture that was being obliterated, that was hanging on by a thread.

He’d never actually touched her hair before. He’d seen it in various states of disarray, watched her restyle it after the garbage smasher, seen it in multiple styles and plaits. To be honest, he’d dreamed of touching it before, of her letting down her hair like some mythical goddess or sorceress, like the heroine in a fairy story, and him having it all around him.

But Leia didn’t need some creep with a hair fetish; she needed a friend. And even though Han didn’t think she was particularly traditional in general, this was obviously important to her. She was trusting him with something that was a big deal. And at the same time, the last thing she needed was him making it a big deal.

She handed him the comb, and he worked it carefully through her hair. It felt a little surreal, this experience, like he was just dreaming and any minute would wake up alone in his bunk.

He matched the strands he’d already cut to the hair surrounding it, and carefully trimmed off the ends. Then he moved to the next section, and the next, and the next, working carefully around her head.

“Look this way,” he instructed, and did the little trick he’d seen a stylist do before, where he took two strands on either side of her head and compared them. He evened them up slightly, then pulled back.

“All done,” he announced. “Ain’t perfect, but….” He trailed off.

Leia ran her fingers through the finished hair. “No, it’s great. Thanks.”

Then he got his reward: that smile, and that look she gave him sometimes, the one better than any medal.

“I knew I could trust you,” she said.

[17hansolah]

Temporary Boyfriend~Mingyu

Okay, so... this is a Mingyu scenario I made about 3 or 4 years ago and never posted ‘cause I didn’t think that anyone would like it. But hey, here it is. I ased ig off of the manga Perfect Boyfriend if anything seems familar that is why. Hope you like it!

You should be used to this by now. But, somehow you managed to still feel surprised. 

You had been stood up, again and you really thought that it could of worked out this time. But of course it didn’t.

The lonely table for two, nearly empty drink and sound of chatting couples around had now become somewhat familiar.

You waited at your table as you swirled your drink with as straw and took your last sip. Glancing down at your phone to check the time you realize that your date really isn’t coming.

Sighing ,you pick up your phone from the table and turn around to gather your jacket of the back of the chair. You take out the money to pay for your drink, when you see a small rectangular object on your table. 

You pick it up and graze your fingers over it confused. It was black with gold writing and a gold clover in the corner of the card. It seemed to be…a business card?

 “What is this you,” you mumble to yourself incoherently. You look around you to see if anyone was walking about but, everyone was seated and enjoying themselves. 

That’s when you felt a finger tap your shoulder, You gasped in shock gripping your heart and twisting around to face a guy smiling at you. He had blond hair and an interesting sense of style.

“I can see that you’ve found my business card?” he tells you smiling. You gave him a confused look then you remembered the card that you hand resting in your hand.

“Oh, this is your business card?,” you asked.

“Surely is. I’m Hoshi by the way. So, I can see that you are having issues with guys.” he said whispering the last part.

You looked at him slightly insulted. 

“No I am not!” you exclaimed a little too loud, which caused a few heads to turn in your direction. You quickly apologized and repeated yourself to, what was his name again. Oh yeah, Hoshi.

“Sure you aren’t,” he replied with a smirk. “Anyways that is my card and I believe that it will help you with all your boyfriend issues. There’s no need tp thankme,” he said with another big smile.

“But, there’s only a name on th-” you didn’t finish your sentence because when you looked he was already gone.

Once you reached home you quickly ran over to your laptop and pulled the business card out of your bag.

 “Time to see what this is all about,” you tell yourself as you type in the name on the card. 

            Seventeen Sweethearts

The website read and the clover from the card appeared at the top. With further searching you found out that this website was one in which you could, order a boyfriend!

You looked further into the site and realized that these were all what seemed to be dream boyfriends. They were supposed to be people that were gaurenteed to be your soulmate. You skimmed over something claiming they were good at everything, reading something a long the lines of much better than humans. Whatever thats supposed to mean.

There was the bad boy, vampire boyfriend, the laid back boyfriend, even the typical sweetheart and quite a few more.

“Well I have nothing to lose you,” you said to yourself as you skipped the terms and conditions and placed your order already half asleep. 

The next morning you woke up to the surprise of an extremely large package being delivered right to you. The people who delivered it seemed to be in quite a hurry to give you your package but, you signed the paper and brought your package inside.

You quickly open the package and the first thing you did was let out a scream when you saw a person inside. He looked..so..real!

You quickly examined his sleeping form and looked at the paper lying on his chest. You picked it up gently and it read:

          Hello customer,

I’m glad that you chose to shop with Seventeen Soulmates. Please enjoy your soulmate to the fullest. His name is Mingyu. We hope you love him, even though he’ll already love you! To set him up you must kiss him. Sometimes it takes more than one kiss. Enjoy your sweetheart!

                                                                                     Good Luck,

                                                                                                    Seventeen Soulmates

You look down at your boyfriend Mingyu confused and you began laughing to yourself. What have I gotten myself into.

You lean down and run your thumb against his cheek. His skin felt very soft and you were surprised that he was not human, or was he.

Disregarding this thought you leaned in towards his face, slowly placing your lips on his gently. Nothing.

You give him another short gentle kiss. Nothing.

“Why isn’t this working…” you ask yourself. 

You decided to lean down for the last time and give Mingyu a gentle kiss but long kiss on the lips.

Still nothing.

“Well, I give up. Why isn’t he turning on. I guess that I’ll just have to carry him ba-.” 

You heard a knock on the door of your apartment so you quickly rose to your feet. Leaving Mingyu behind and answering the door. You had not even opened the door fully before you were greeted my Hoshi stepping through the door.

“So how are you enjoying your boyfriend? Did you get him to wake up yet. Oh, it seems like you have.”

“No, I haven’t...” you turned around to see a yawning Mingyu, slowly getting up from his position. in the box. As soon as he saw you his eyes lit up and he jumped up running over to snuggle you in a warm hug. You slightly pushed Mingyu off of you and he motioned for him to sit down by the chair.

He obeyed and you sat beside.

“Um, Hoshi can you please explain to me. Um, well everything!”

“Hey, hey. Calm down. I said that I’d help you and I did.This is Mingyu, your perfect boyfriend. He is exactly how you chose him to be when you were describing what you wanted. He’s exactly what you think he is,” Hoshi said with a beaming smile. “He’s your temporary boyfriend!”

"Temporary boyfriend! What's that supposed to mean. I thought I was being set up for a date or something and this robot shows up to my door!" you wave your hands dramatically giving him an incredulous look.

It was his turn to look confused, "I thought you understood this when you signed up. You did read the contract and terms of agreement before you order right?"

You went silent. You were so quick to sign up last night that of course you didn't read the fine print.

"Back the look on your face it seems that you didn't. But don't worry I'll give you a recap of the most important information. According to Section 47.b of clause 76 "The customer who places the order must strictly adhere to the contract by choosing to keep their soulmate for the 1 month trial period in immaculate condition. This will allow for our compant to collect information on how succesful relationships can occur for people who were having trouble with love." As well as the most important part, Section 108.f of clause 52 "Any customer who fails to abide by this contract will have to pay $10 000 000 to the company for lost time and wages, wasted materials, labour." I could go on but you can read that yourself. That would be all you need to know. If you have any more questions or concerns please let us know. Here's a physical copy of the contract just in case you decide you cancel it." He beamed towards you as he pulled a stack of what has to foot thick stack of papers. Bowing politely he quickly exits through your front door.

"10 million dollars? How could I let this happen" You had to sit down to take in your new information. You looked over to Mingyu your temporary boyfriend and supposed soulmate. Placing a hand on his shoulder you look up at him with determined eyes. "Hi Mingyu, I guess we have a long 30 days ahead of us."

-

-

This was supposed to have numerous parts but I've written it so long ago and abandoned it :( But if y'all like it I might make a second part.

[spicyclover]

Paddock baby

Summary: It’s the Australian Grand Prix, and you and Daniel are about to become parents for the first time.

Hope you’ll enjoy this part. Let me know in the comments section! And to support me by tipping me!

Little information, I will, for now, only post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Thank you, and Enjoy! :)

Lots of love, xxx Spicy Clover

It’s the Australian Grand Prix. You’re comfortably seated for an eight-and-a-half-month pregnant woman on one of the Paddock chairs. Daniel’s mother at your side, you talk and laugh as you watch the race. 

Since one o'clock in the morning, slight contractions have begun to manifest.

First, you don’t pay much attention to it because you often get Braxton Hicks. However, the more the day goes by, the harder it is for you to ignore them.

Your stomach hardened during lunch, and you know that those are no longer false contractions. Yet you make no comment to anyone about your condition, not even Daniel, who saw that you were no longer well.

You decide to walk a little and walk out of the room to the garage. After so much time here, you don’t even have to present your badge to anyone, and we’ll let you in without any worries.

You settle down next to Zac, who smiles kindly at you by offering you a glass of water. You were about to catch the glass between your fingers when a lightning contraction hit you. 

You tense up by letting go of the glass and putting your hands on your stomach by holding your breath. “God, that hurts!”

“Are you okay?” Ask Zak.

“Yeah... yeah, I... AH!” you try to comfort him, but another pain hits you. 

“Oh my god, do you need to go to the hospital?”

“No, I...” You didn’t have time to finish your sentence that at the same time, Daniel was sent into the wall, making you stop breathing,

You can hear the call made by the team to try and get in contact with Daniel while a red flag is out. For probably a few minutes, your pain stops, and when you hear his voice on the radio set you took from Zak’s hands, they return.

“I am okay,” says Daniel through the radio, an immense frustration in his voice. “What happens?” he asks after a few minutes with a sigh.

However, he starts to wonder when he doesn’t have an answer from his team. 

“Guys? What happen?”

“Sorry, Daniel, hum, what’s the question?”

“What’s going on for you not to be focus?” Harshly questions Daniel through the radio.

“Your wife is in labour, mate!” He simply responds. 

In Daniel's mind, hundreds of thoughts go through. “What? Already? We’re not ready! Am not ready!” He starts running back to the pit lane, and fortunately for him, his crash was just a few meters away. The medical car arrived, but Daniel didn’t care and left the guys to run through the circuit to get to you quickly. At this point, he doesn’t care if he is dangerous or not.

You are at the back of the garage and are surrendered by most of Daniel's team. Cameras try to get a peak of what’s going on. You are trying to breathe through the contraction, as the nurses told you so many times, but it’s really hard when your husband just runs into a wall.

“Baby! Baby! Am here!”Scream Daniel while running toward you. 

“Did you just run through the track?” You ask as you see him coming all sweaty and out of breath. “Don’t tell me you run through the track!” Anger starts to kick in.

“Am not gonna say...” 

You don’t have the time to argue that the ambulance just arrived and you are rushed to the nearest hospital.

[leechtwinsfling]

Twisted Wonderland @ DISNEYLAND  [ Chapter 1 ]

✨ Twisted Wonderland FanFiction ❤

[ Disneyland Date Series - HEARTSLABYUL ]

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

“Seriously, [N/A], how popular can you be?” Ace asks grasping hold of my right wrist.

“You can’t blame [N/A[, he/she has been through a lot with us.” Deuce states holding my left wrist.

The two first year Heartslabyul saved me from the fighting crowd that surrounded me moments ago. I guess my plan of hanging at the park calmly with Grimm has been thrown out of the window as all the dorms seem to have me in their schedule.

“Hey! I also went through a lot!” Grimm adds running beside us.

“Guys, I love the small talk, but can we please focus ahead of us? I don’t want us to bump into children, okay?” I ask in worry as I find their concentration not in front as many kids fill the faculty.

In a silent agreement, they watch carefully for the parents and their children around us as we slip through gaps between them. Our surrounds full of beautifully designed pavement roads, structures, shops, cart stands, and nature change it’s theme. Instead of being a neutral theme, a path leading towards the Queen’s Garden has roses and Medieval-like surrounding it. In astonishment of this change, my eyes gleam in amazement. 

We rush through the path as I make a mental note to remember taking photos of this place once the situation has calm down. Nearing the end of the pathway, I spot a small tower ahead. A bridge-like pathway connects it as large figure card soldiers are on each side of it leading towards the tower.

Seeing as we’re heading over there, we finally arrive at the entrance of Heart Garden. Inside the tower, nearby, there is a shop selling Queen of Hearts merchandise which instantly has caught my eyes. But as of this moment, I need to catch my breathe as we finally stop running. 

“Okay, Vice-Prefect Trey told us to wait here until they come.” Deuce states.

“How do you guys run so fast without losing breath?” Grimm panting for air.

They both shrug innocently.

“Track and Field Club?”

“Basketball Club?”

Grimm groans getting me to chuckle at his dramatic reaction.

“Seeing how fast and reactive the six of you were when we were escaping, I’m going to assume you all planned this beforehand?” I ask taking a seat at a nearby bench.

Deuce nods, “Prefect Riddle guessed that you’d probably be in trouble as it seemed like we weren’t the only dorm that wanted to hang out with you here. So he devised a plan during the time you were with the other dorms. Then once everyone gathered, we took action.” 

“Our jobs were to get you out of there when Grimm was making a commotion. The seniors are as of this moment trying to escape, Upperclassman Cater is using his magic to confuse the other dorms so they can slip free.” Ace adds.

Suddenly, a familiar voice calls out to us getting our attention to look down the road to find our seniors. Arriving to our side, I seriously debate on trying to exercise as they all seem totally fine from running such a distance.

“We have 20 minutes to spare before the line for Queen’s Theater is open.” Riddle informs checking the time on his device. 

Without any warning, Grimm perks up as he sniffs the air, “I smell tuna!” 

“Are you serious? We ate before coming here, and you’re already hungry?” Ace asks in disbelief.

“There will be food at the Unbirthday Party and the Banquet Hall, so let’s save our stomach until them.” Trey suggests.

The group discusses what their next action shall be as my attention is far away from them. Instead, it’s on the nearby shop as my eyes can’t stop looking at the merchandise. Sneaking a peek at them, I decide to head over to the shop for a minute to possibly buy one of those popular headbands.

Arriving at the shop, my eyes gleam at the products as I know one minute won’t be enough to choose. Seeing how appealing they all look, I wreck my brain into thinking what to buy especially with my money budget (if there is one, usually you should have Sugar Daddy Crowley to pay for everything)

“[N/A]~ You’d look so cute in this!” Cater suddenly appears frightening me, “Here, try it!”

He places the headband onto my head before facing me across a nearby mirror. The headband has wire ears, beautiful white and red roses and a cute white bow and crown. Blushing at my appearance as I never assume that I’d wear something like this.

“I think it fits you more, Cater.” I smile before taking it off and placing it on his head.

Seeing how adorable he is, I giggle as he looks at the mirror.

“Let’s keeping trying some on~!” he persists as he picks up another headband.

“Cater! I found some phone cases!” Trey shouts across the shop getting the orange hair boy attention.

“Where?” Cater asks before rushing over to his friend.

Chuckling, I look around the shop before spotting Riddle. A plan comes into my mind as I look over the assortion of headbands in display before choosing one. Picking up one with two different color ears - black and red - it has a glimmering heart jewels on the golden crown.

Heading over to Riddle who’s looking through tea sets, I surprise him when I place the headband on his head. 

“Aw~ You look adorable, Riddle!” I coo at the view in front of me,

Riddle blushes before huffing, “I’m not adorable [N/A].”

Tell that to the millions of fans you have.

Pouting, I see him nearly taking it off.

“Please keep it on?” I ask using my puppy dog eyes.

He flinches staring at me as I can see him slowly giving in.

Sighing, he drops his hand, “Fine.”

Cheering at his reluctant approval, my eyes find something else that interests me. Rushing towards it, I grab it before heading back to Riddle.

“Try this too!” I open the lock of the choker. 

It’s design was simple yet elegant, it has red frills with a black leather collar. A rose dangles from the middle of it. (I changed the appearance a bit, but if someone finds a nice Queen of Hearts theme choker, message me please!!)

Leaning towards him, I wrap the choker around his neck before closing the lock. Not realizing how close the proximity of our faces are to each other, we both bloom a blush as I spring back away from him. Sucking in my lips, an awkward silence is in between us. 

To break the awkwardness, I always know I can count on one of my three stooges (Ace, Deuce, and Grimm).

“[N/A]! Look at what I found!” Ace shouts getting me head to swivel towards him.

In his hands, he hold these humongous heart-shape sunglasses that gets me to laugh. Knowing he’s going to buy those without a doubt, the expedition through the shop continues. 

Nearing the end, I have bought a few merchandises from the shop deciding to buy more later the day. Finding Trey nearby, I smile as he’s looking through the accessory section. Heading towards him, I halt for a second before picking up a flower crown that gets me to smile. It has a variety of white and red roses matching with the extra accessory of a hedgehog, tea cup, flamingo, and crowns. Sneaking up behind him, I place the flower crown on him before he looks back to me. Raising an eyebrow at my action, he takes it off before inspecting it.

He chuckles before placing it back on, “Well, does it look good on me?”

“Adorable.” I smirk getting him to laugh.

“Well, then, I’ll buy it.” he decides before looking back to the accessories in display and picking one out. 

It’s a beautiful pendant as it has a four leaf clover with different styles on the leaves. One is entirely silver, another has green and white jewels as the last two leaves are sparkling in green emerald. They all connect towards the center where a green jewel shines. A silver steam is behind it before it connects with the necklace chain. 

My eyes sparkle in the necklace’s glory as I’ve never seen something so beautiful.

“Turn around.” he orders.

“Why?” I ask.

“Just do.” he smiles getting me to blink in confusion before doing so. 

I hear a click before finding his arms around my face. Feeling his breathe near my ear, I feel myself stiffen with a slight blush. The necklace is in his hands as he wraps it around my neck before closing it. Turning me over to face him, he looks up to my face before down onto the necklace and smiles. 

“Beautiful.”

He then makes me turn around again before taking the necklace off me. In complete confusion, I look back to him as he closes the necklace again.

“Uh, are you buying that for someone?” I ask wondering if he has a lover that he never mentioned.

He chuckles at my expression before patting my head, “Yes. It’s you, silly.”

A frown appears on my face as he begins heading over to the cashier counter. Following him, I try to snatch the necklace away.

“You don’t have to buy me anything.” I argue trying to reach him despite being shorter than him.

“I’m your upperclassman.” he dodges my other attempt.

“But it doesn’t mean you have to buy me something!” 

Seeing how my tries are futile, I jump onto his back before trying to reach the necklace in his hand that he’s holding up high in the air. People give us looks as we pass through the store. Failing in my attempts to be able to grab the pendant as we have arrive to the cashier, I realize the flower crown on his head. Just when I was going to grab it, he beats me to it.

“Hey! If you’re going to buy the necklace, let me pay for the flower crown!” I huff seeing him handing it over to the cashier. 

“Now, now, it’s normal for the father to pay for their children.” he supports me as I slowly reach back onto the ground.

“Really? Now you use the family card?” I ask in disbelief knowing the smile on my face is betraying my seriousness. 

“Yup.” he winks at me before grabbing the paid products and handing me the necklace, “Just enjoy us spoiling you.”

I roll my eyes, “I’m not a kid.”

“You’re one of the youngest.” he argues as we head off away from the cashier counter.

“Yeah, but I’m mentally older than the other two.” I proudly smile.

He laughs patting my head, “Okay, then.”

“You know I’m going to repay you, no matter what.” I challenge.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Finishing out conversation, we find the others waiting at the outside of the shop. Smiling, I rush over to them before seeing them all holding bags of merchandises they bought a minute ago. I frown feeling something is very off within the group. It was...too quiet. Looking around, I can’t find a specific magical cat.

“Where’s Grimm?” I ask in worry for my only dorm mate. 

“Ah, he suddenly went off to find his tuna.” Ace sighs.

“He said he’ll meet us at the Unbirthday Party after getting his tuna.” Deuce mentions.

Seriously, that cat.

“[N/A]! Here!” he hands me the heart sunglasses he found in the shop, “I won another pair from the manager!”

“Won? How’d you win it and when did you meet the shop manager?” I raising an eyebrow.

He shrugs, “We had a bet, and I won.”

“What was the bet?”

“If he can win against in a card game.” he smirks with a hint of evilness.

“Ace.” I give him a disapproving look knowing how he can easily win card games from his expertise of cards.

He gives me a pathetic shrug with his tongue slightly sticking out.

“I also got you something [N/A]!” Deuce interjects.

“What’s with you guys getting me so many things?” I ask being slightly cautious and confused as I remember all the times I had to buy them lunch.

He takes out a folded shirt before handing it over to me with a huge adorable smile, “I also got one, but in red.”

Holding the sunglasses and shirt in hand, I smile at them, “Thanks, guys.”

“You’re welcome.” they both sync.

That’s when I realize our group of six has turn to four getting me to wonder where the other two seniors are.

“Where’s Upperclassman Cater and Prefect Riddle?” I ask.

“They went to change clothes that they bought, and I suggest we also do since I assume we all also bought some.” Trey states getting all of us to agree before heading over to the bathroom/changing room. 

Inside the stall, I unfold the shirt given to me by Deuce before giving it a scan and smiling. It was a sleeveless black top with a string design at the end of each arm holes. On the shirt, it was a monotone color of the Queen of Hearts with her famous quotes. 

Taking off my outfit I have on, I change into this shirt before matching it along with Queen of Hearts pants/skirt (or whatever outfit you want). Placing the necklace around the neck, I loosely let my finger touch it as a smile and blush is on my face. Taking out the Queen of Hearts back I bought, I place all my other merchandise inside.

When I finish fixing my appearance with the heart sunglasses on my face, I head out of the bathroom/changing room. Finding a familiar orange hair upperclassman waiting nearby on his phone, I head over to him. He wears a simple dark cardigan with a four of diamond card shirt underneath. His pants are like leggings as there are golden orange designs on the sides of them. On his head there is a headband similar to the one Riddle wears. Instead of round ears, they are heart shape with one red and one black. A huge bow in right smack in the middle with black and white chess board design, golden accent and a red heart jewel.

On his wrist is a black and red bow as it’s center piece with ribbons behind it with other designs. 

Noticing my presence, he smiles before gesturing me over, “[N/A]! Come over and take a picture with me!”

Abiding his wish, I stand beside him before looking up towards the camera and giving out a smile. 

“Oh! I found these and the shop and thought they’d look amazing on us!” Cater rummages inside his pocket.

On us?

Taking out a golden 3D diamond shape earring, he smiles, “Here, try it on!”

Doing so, I replace my right earring with the one given.

“Now we match~!” he cheers.

Confused with what he means, I look over to his left ear to find the same earring. The other pair of the earring. He then pulls me into a hug before taking another picture of us showing off the earrings.

“Gonna post this~!” he taps his phone, “#Disneyland #matching earrings #heart garden”

Allowing to continue typing, I twirl the earring between my fingers feeling the light material. Soon later, the rest of the group appears as we regather. 

Riddle wears a shirt similar to the original Queen of Hearts outfit, in the chest area with the heart design it has one of her famous quotes ‘Off With Their Head’. Black-grey pants match with the shirt as he continues to wear the headband and choker. 

Trey has a black t-shirt on with Queen of Hearts designs all over it - heart, roses, crown, axes - and dark sweat-like pants. The flower crown continues to sit on his head as he tries to adjust it to his comfort. 

Deuce wears the red version of the sleeveless shirt I am wearing with slightly torn up denim jeans. Under his sleeveless shirt is a tight turtleneck bicep length shirt showing his quite built body. On his head are two large round ears made out of black frills and three red roses on each ear. In the middle is a red, black and yellow bow with a white ribbon and crown holding it. 

Ace is wearing his a white hoodie with black Queen of Hearts designs and a red jacket on top. To match the top wear, he has denim-like sweatpants withe white bold ‘ACE’ words on the sides of it. The heart sunglasses is on his face as he has black dog-like ears for his headband as there is also a tea cup on his left ear that looks like it’s spilling. In one of his hand, he holds a wand similar to the Queen of Hearts sector. On the other... a huge crown full of popcorn.

“Acem why do you have popcorn?” Riddle asks frowning at the sight of the buttery popcorn.

“Over there!” Ace points towards a nearby food cart.

“How are you going to eat all that before the Unbirthday Party?” I ask in concern looking the amount. 

“There’s always room for popcorn! Especially with a movie!” Ace proudly exclaims. 

“Just don’t complain to us when you don’t have room during the Unbirthday Party, idiot.” Deuce huffs getting the usual duo to once again begin bickering.

Riddle sighs, “Let’s just head towards the theater so we can get good seats.”

Agreeing, we all begin heading towards the Queen’s Castle with small talk as we admire the surroundings. Seeing Riddle guiding us as he holds the map, I smile before rushing to walk beside him. 

“So what’s the whole schedule?” I ask curiously.

“Well, first we’re going to watch Queen of Heart’s History which will take half an hour. Then we’ll head over to the Meet & Greet and get signatures. After that, there’s an Unbirthday Party Event. We’ll have an hour of free time to ride attractions such as the Mad Tea Party and Queen of Heart’s Castle Tour. For lunch, we’ll be going to Queen of Heart’s Banquet Hall. When finished, we’ll have time to go on other attractions before the Queen of Heart’s Parade later the evening. Then there will also be a closing ceremony at night” Riddle informs.

He seriously thought this through.

“Sounds exciting!” I smile as my heart pumps in excitement.

He smiles back before looking up to the top of my head and staring.

“Is something wrong?” I ask tilting my head.

“Your head is empty.” he states before suddenly taking out an identical headband like his, “Here.”

“You got two of them?” I question wondering why he did.

“Well it seemed like you liked it, so I got one for you too.” he says turning his head slightly away hoping to hide his slight blush.

Smiling, I grab it before putting on top of my head, “Thank you, Riddle!”

He smiles, “You’re welcome.”

[ to be continued ]

[jacket-enjoyer-69]

I have two tales of Payday 2 to tell.

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No Mercy:

Me: *starts a No Mercy lobby* Alright, first round of the day, love me some No Mercy. Fantastic warm up, makes me focus on crowd control and enemy management. Fuck yeah! Oh hey!

Sydney: *loads in*

Me: Cool! I love Sydney players! They’re always really nice to me! :D

Sydney: *spawns in and immediately starts placing first aid kits* FIRST AID KIT HERE! HERE’S A FIRST AID KIT!

Me: A little overzealous but y’know, not like there’s much level to traverse so I get it. Oh hey! Another player!

Dallas: *loads and spawns* I NEED A MEDIC BAG! AUGH I’M DYING! CAN SOMEONE GET ME A MEDIC BAG!!???

Me: Oh yeah, y’know memes... Oh! A Jimmy player! I don’t see those too often. :)

Jimmy: *loads in and spawns quickly, takes one look at me and starts mashing F frantically* OI JACKET! FOLLOW ME! HEY JACKET!

Me: MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

They did quiet down eventually but it was only after I had to pick all three of them up because they all tried to fight a Dozer incorrectly.

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Panic Room:

Me: Alright, Panic Room. Fun area to work through, roof is tough but it can be done!

Joy: *loads in, immediately tries to grief and I kick them*

Me: Okay, rough start but alright.

A little Later...

Duke: *during first roof section gets downed and goes to cops*

Wick:  *right next to Duke when this happens and the same thing occurs*

Clover: *on the roof with me desperately attempting to take a hostage when a sniper downs her and she goes to cops*

Me: *has been downed twice already* Oh fuck, oh shit, oh fuck, oh shit. *takes three hostages but the wave needs to finish* AAAAAAH!!! *manages to clear wave with almost no ammo left, a nearly invisible sliver of health and 1 molotov for the whole fight then trades all three hostages*

I got no healing items that game, they ate like 28 first aid kits and 6 charges of medbag. I survived on headshots and sheer force of will. Every player was at least 4 Infamy ahead of me. I had to physically take a break because I was shaking from having to try hard so bad. I have not played Panic Room in about a week because of it. I don’t try to be a sweaty gamer anymore but that night I had to engage gamer mode.

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Additional Note: I have recently been avoiding Bank Heist because without fail I’ve had multiple swat turret spawns and it’s becoming a problem. I’m a little convinced I’m cursed. 

I need to finish going through every level and find more levels. My partner got me too into only playing certain ones and I have like 0 confidence in myself in new spaces. I also might do well post-warm up levels to crank the difficultly at least one notch. I get bored on Overkill sometimes.

[jadekitty777]

Qrow Ship Zine Previews

Wasn’t sure if I should post these into two separate posts or one @shipwreckedfanzine - because of laziness I went with one. 

I decided to do three pieces for the zine: one Taiqrow and two Fair Game ones. I’m really proud of them, so let’s show off a little bit of what I’ve been hiding for a few weeks now ;)

❀~❀~❀

Forget-Me-Not

Summary: Tai’s not surprised to discover Qrow’s forgotten their anniversary… again.

He surveyed his work with an appraising eye, before lifting the plate and carrying it over with care. “Your meal, sir.” He told him grandly, placing it down before him.

Qrow took one look at it, then his head shot up, eyes wide. “What occasion is it?”

He smiled as forgivingly as he could. “Anniversary.” Their third, in fact – which Qrow had systematically forgotten each year. Having grown up on the outskirts of nowhere, he’d always been terrible with dates. Before his husband could speak, the guilty look already telling him exactly what he was going to say, Tai placed two fingers on his lips. “No apologies. Just enjoy.”

☘~☘~☘

Snow Day

Summary: Qrow’s having a bad day. Clover and Ruby might just have the solution to cheer him up.

Qrow just waved him off with a flippant, “Yeah, Yeah.” Before he burst into feathers and a bird took flight.

He watched him go, pursing his lips some before glancing at the smaller girl beside him. “He’s in quite a mood today, isn’t he?”

Ruby just seemed sympathetic. “Yeah, he gets like that. Dad used to call them ‘Uncle Qrow’s Grumpy Days’.”

He snorted softly. Yeah, that about covered it alright. “What do you say we do something about it?”

Last piece isn’t something I can really give a preview of, but keep a lookout for a submission titled Love is Bold in the Fair Game section!

❀~☘~❀~☘

This was a blast and I couldn’t be prouder of everyone who worked so hard! This was my first zine ever, so I thank @doeqrow for the opportunity. Can’t wait to see the fully finished project!