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nelithic · 5 months

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　𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚 ,　𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 　/　drabble ₊

"if imitation is required, then so be it. nil's safety is all that concerns me."

we would never be human, my brother and i. we could never hope to pass. even as i said these words to the divine dragon, i recognized that it was concession only. we needed somewhere to stay, a place to rest our weary forms, and regain our strength to continue on. i would make any placations and reassurances necessary to ensure this, so long as we needed it, and leave them behind when it was no longer of use. such simple falsehoods were common, a quotidian tool to dull the fangs of the prowling and jealous until another day. they would still come, of course. just as we would still depart.

　　　　——— ⟢　

we would never come close to human, my twin and i. their faces made this clear. the divine dragon was hopeful and naive, and believed baselessly in our ability to make ourselves at home because, they assured us, they had been able to do the same.

on many occasions, i said to them: "that success is owed in part to your nature as a divine dragon. you underestimate the strength of a systematic distrust."

always, they would reply that my ' systematic distrust ' could only be dismantled by time and visibility, that given enough show of good intent, the others would have no choice but to accept us. i expressed that nil and i were not here to give shows of our intent, nor was it vital to us to earn the humans' trust. we had no interest in becoming the ' good ' fell dragons for others to praise.

always, they frowned. and i was unable to tell if my words had disappointed or saddened them.

　　　　——— ⟢　

"so, why the lance?"

a curious voice broke through the haze of sweat, exertion, and the punishing summer heat. i looked down to my bruised hands, to chastened palms rough and raw from the abrasion of wood, and planted the training weapon point-down in the ground between us to rest. it was as much an acknowledgement of their question as it was a wordless statement to come no closer, and in this single gesture simultaneously provided answer.

"i thought you said you wouldn't fit in."

"i have not."

and this was not untrue. seasons had passed, and nil and i had still not found a more remote, more willing sanctuary. and the faces had not changed. still we undertook tasks together and together only, at times with the divine one for company and otherwise a solemn and happy pair. for though there were those in the army who may stomach us one or the other, both at a time set them ill at ease. i did not fault them, for it did likewise for me. and i would not let nil alone, whose blood was too gentle still to wield steel against soft humanity should they strike first.

"my brother has made some progress with his axe. with a spear, i possess another means with which to protect him."

"ah," the divine one said, as though this was expected, though there appeared to me a distinct hope that there was more to be revealed. i sensed a certain expectation — that it had been a natural decision to complement the preferences of those around me: my brother's hatchets; the divine dragon's sword.

but i would disappoint. the consideration had never occurred to me; only that, of the options available, the spear proved most versatile. to slash, to pierce, to strike bluntly, close or at distance; to be thrown, and lighter weight than an axe.

and above all, to keep the enemy at bay, and nil behind me.

i turned the human weapon on the divine one now to demonstrate this. their startled blue eyes shone wide beneath the sun. "facing your sword will assist me in improving quickly. three seconds and i will attack."

　　　　——— ⟢　

we could never have been human, my other half and i. after all, the humans had all taken their leave, what few remained of them, splintered and swept away like shards of glass.

and now it was quieter than it had ever been — in gradlon or amid the army camps.

regardless of what we intended, we had become the ' good ' fell dragons in the end. some of their faces had eventually changed because of this; others had not. i wondered whether seeing this had satisfied the divine one, had made them believe we had indeed managed to fit in with time and visibility; i had never had the chance to ask. regarding the fresh grave now, the spotless stone, the clean engraving, i felt that so long as this may have perhaps been true, my own intentions ceased to matter. and the praise and judgment of others ceased to matter.

my hands were once again bruised, raw from battle though the old callouses had long faded, and i tried to summon the memory of them again through vision too clear to be appropriate. i willed my eyes to weep, and it did not come. i gave that to nil instead, asked him to weep for both of us.

the spear drove point-down in the grass between the two of us once more, beside the pedestal's simple tomb, as though the iron sought the one who rested beneath it like a compass needle.

i could not reach. my hands could not reach. my tears could not reach.

yet with this lance, i may . . .

. . .

　【　nel has mastered halberdier　】

　┃┃┃　

▀▀ 　BOTANICAL HEADCANONS　₊　|　abatina : is there anything in life your muse has changed their mind about over time ( due to becoming more educated on the topic , certain experiences , etc .) , or that they would change their mind about under certain circumstances ?　|　asked by @heriteur

#——— ⟢　𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐃𝐎𝐌𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒅 】₊　writing.#wc 900 #had this concept for my halberdier drabble for a while now and was staring at the hcs left in my inbox #and was like well why not combine them...........#i still need one (1) thread so im not actually claiming mastery yet but will be soon #title - aside from obviously coming from the hc prompt #is a reference to apparently some research has said abatina isn't Technically scientifically classified as a flower?? idk i rolled w it

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cynicwrites · 6 years

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Title: The One Hundred Million Yen Idea Series: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable Character(s): Okuyasu, Josuke, Koichi, Yukako, & Tomoe Pairing(s): Josuke/Oku, Koichi/Yukako Notes: A very late posting of my contribution to Rejoice, the Okuyasu fanzine put out by my friend @transaizawa last year.

As per my MO, trans hcs abound Word Count: 2802

Relax and do nothing after beating the big villain. There was nothing more to do after that other than hang out with friends and goof off with her boyfriend. Or that was what Okuyasu thought.

She scowled down at an unassuming piece of paper, the kanji across the top reading “Future Aspirations”, boxes filling the middle with things like “Desired Job” and “College Choice #2”. Choice number two? She hadn’t even given a thought to number one!

Okuyasu was already halfway through her second year of high school and never had she thought she’d really have to, well, think about her future. At least not one that didn’t involve the immediacy of fights with other stand users, fighting serial killers, and worrying if she was going to die on the spot.

Sighing, Okuyasu got up from her bed and walked over to her dresser. She placed the sheet of paper next to a few crayon drawings and tiny clay sculptures. The paper wasn’t even due in for a week. She’d put it aside for now and worry about it later.

A week passed. And Okuyasu was left staring down at the still empty “future aspirations” sheet. They were due today and she wasn’t able to turn hers in. Of course she got called in after school by her home room teacher and was scolded for not taking the assignment seriously, for being lazy, for not wanting to go anywhere in life.

Okuyasu shuddered. Being scolded by that teacher always reminded her way too much of very similar past situations. A hand nearly slamming itself down on her shoulder brought her out of her head.

“Oi, Okuyasu! Did you not hear me calling you?” Josuke’s voice boomed in her ear.

Okuyasu turned her scowling face towards Josuke. “I might not anyomore with the way you’re screaming in my ear.” She stuck a finger in her right ear and winced for emphasis.

Josuke burst into laughter. “Is that anyway to speak to your boyfriend,” he teased, bumping his hip into hers. “Hey, what’s that?” Before Okuyasu could react, he reached over and grabbed the paper out of her grasp. “Oh, is this that future life stuff sheet?”

“Yeah,” Okuyasu replied, picking imaginary lint off her jacket. “Have you…filled yours out yet?”

Josuke grinned at her. “Of course! Mom and I pretty much had stuff planned out since I was in middle school.” He winked. “I guess there’s at least one draw to having a teacher as a mom.”

Okuyasu took the paper back and frowned. “I don’t really know what to put down. The homeroom teacher already chewed me out about it…”

“Don’t worry about it!” Josuke threw an arm around Okuyasu’s shoulders. “We’re still second years anyways. You’ve got time!”

“Nijimura-saaaaaaan!” A voice called out from behind them. Okuyasu and Josuke turned around to see a young girl wearing a familiar kindergarten cap and uniform running towards them.

A big grin split Okuyasu’s face. “Oh, Miki-chan!” She knelt down just in time to catch the sprinting girl in her arms. “How have you been!”

This prompted a long string of excited sentences from Miki as she told Okuyasu about everything from her classmates to her mom being pregnant. After a while even Josuke got pulled into the conversation, less reluctantly after the girl complimented his hairstyle.

A few moments later had Miki sprinting back down the sidewalk to meet up with some of her friends, waving and shouting back over her shoulder. Josuke stood up and exhaled. “That kid sure can talk a while. How do you even know her?”

“Ah right, I forgot to tell you but after Tomoko-san put in a good word for me around town, a few parents started asking me to look after their kids sometimes.” Okuyasu turned and grinned at Josuke. “It’s pretty nice money.”

Josuke laughed. “Careful! Morioh Day Care might come after you for stealing their business!”

A few days later found Okuyasu occupying Josuke’s bed instead of her own. She still hadn’t turned in the sheet, as evidenced by the now severely crumpled paper sitting in front of her, almost as if it were mocking her. Okuyasu collapsed backwards onto the bed, brushing one of Josuke’s stray binders out of her face before letting out a loud huff.

Ringing out from the hallway, a voice snapped her out of her thoughts. “Okuyasu-chan? Are you here?”

Popping up, Okuyasu turned to see Tomoko smiling softly at her from the doorway. Okuyasu couldn’t help but return the smile, even if she wasn’t really feeling up to it. “Ah, Tomoko-san! I didn’t know you were going to be here so soon.”

Tomoko displayed the bag she was holding higher on her shoulder. “School got out a bit earlier than expected. I decided to take the opportunity to come home and get some grading done.” She walked into Josuke’s room. “Where is that boy of mine? What’s he thinking, leaving his cute girlfriend all by herself?”

Face growing hot, Okuyasu coughed. “Josuke went out to the convenience store. Said he’ll be back soon.” Taking a deep breath, she showed Tomoko the aspirations sheet. “I was hoping you could help me out with this?” Tomoko was not only a teacher, but she’d been around Okuyasu a lot for nearly the past two years. Surely, she’d have some idea of what Okuyasu would be good at.

Tomoko peered at the paper. “Ahh, how nostalgic.” She gently took the offered paper and smoothed out the wrinkles in the sheet.

Okuyasu felt her heart jump up into her throat. She couldn’t even explain why she felt so nervous, but it froze her solid. “W-what,” Okuyasu cleared her throat. “What did you write down when you were in school?”

Tomoko hummed. “I don’t think I ever actually wrote anything.” She placed the sheet down in front of Okuyasu. “Most of my friends just wrote down some nonsense.”

Frowing, Okuyasu picked the paper back up. “I don’t want to write down just anything, though. I want to write down something I mean.” She looked up at Tomoko, eyes pleading. “Do you have any ideas of something I could be good at?”

Tomoko leaned down and patted Okuyasu on the hand. “This isn’t really something I can help out with, dear. It’s not like a math homework assignment. There’s no way to tutor for this. I think you’ll just have to take a look at things you love to do, subjects you’re good at, and see if you can go from there.”

Just as Okuyasu opened her mouth to reply, a rattling noise came from the entryway. “I’m ba~ck.” Josuke’s voice echoed a bit down the hallway.

Tomoko gave Okuyasu a smaller smile than before. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be much help this time, Okuyasu-chan. I really do think you’ll figure things out.” She grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “I’ve gotta get started on work, but feel free to come and talk to me anytime!.”

As she left, Okuyasu glared down at the sheet, sure it was mocking her now.

A loud huff was her only warning before Josuke reached across the table to snatch the ever familiar paper from her hands. “Stop worrying so much about it, Okuyasu! Just write down anything! It’s not going to really matter anyways.”

Koichi sipped his drink and gave an absent nod. “I have to agree with Josuke on this one, Okuyasu. It’s just a piece of paper.”

Okuyasu clenched her jaw. Like usual, she was hanging out with Josuke and Koichi at a nearby cafe after school. Yukako had seen them and of course latched herself onto Koichi, inviting herself along. Okuyasu was trying desperately to just enjoy herself like normal but wasn’t succeeding.

“It’s not just about the damn sheet,” Okuyasu mumbled, chewing on her straw.

Josuke turned to look at her. “Huh? You say something?”

Okuyasu glanced up to see everyone looking at her. Gulping the rest of her drink, she shook her head. “No, I didn’t say nothin’.” She started to look back down and made eye contact with Yukako.

Yukako gave a slight nod and quickly rose to her feet. “Nijimura-san, it’s time to go.”

Koichi blinked up at her. One of Josuke’s eyebrows shot nearly into his hairline. “Huh?” Josuke looked back and forth between Okuyasu and Yukako before settling on Okuyasu. “You got plans with Yukako?” Okuyasu looked up at Yukako, slightly stunned. She rolled her eyes and huffed. “You remember we had to talk, right?” Yukako just barely nodded to the side, her eyes darting in the same direction.

“A-ah, right!” Okuyasu grabbed her bag and stood up. “We had to talk about that thing.” Yukako pursed her lips and Okuyasu fought the urge to wince. “We’ll see you boys later!”

Koichi and Josuke both gave stiff waves. Not even a kiss on the forehead from Yukako broke Koichi out of his stunned state. Okuyasu in turn patted Josuke on the shoulder as she moved away from the table. She hoped the wave and smile she gave was convincing enough.

Okuyasu and Yukako weren’t even a foot away from the table when the boys’ loud whispers started.

Yukako cleared her throat. Okuyasu jolted and looked over only to find Yukako nearly glaring at her. ‘What do you want!’ Okuyasu wanted to scream at her. Instead, she mumbled a “thank you,” hoping that was what Yukako was looking for.

Another huff. “I don’t want your thanks. You really ought to speak up more.”

They continued in silence for a while longer when Yukako spoke. “You obviously taking the aspirations sheet more seriously than the boys, hm?” She held up a hand as Okuyasu started to speak. “And you have every right to.”

Okuyasu felt some of her nerves drain. “It’s just that I never really thought much about the future. I figured I wasn’t good enough for college and I guess I always knew I’d have to work but… I just never gave it much thought. An entire year of fighting for our lives sorta distracted me, I guess.” She sighed. “I’m realizing a regular, normal life isn’t just something that’s possible but something I’ll have to actually prepare for.”

Yukako nodded. “While I can’t say I completely understand your situation, Nijimura-san, I can sympathize. Being under such extreme pressure without much of a support system at home. It’s all very daunting. You’re forced to grow up much faster than your peers.”

Yukako blinked and refocused her gaze on Okuyasu. “Which is why it’s that much more important that you rely on yourself to figure this out.” She gave Okuyasu a warm smile. “You’re a brave woman, Nijimura-san, more than I think you know.”

Okuyasu had never been more grateful for a sunset before now since it helped to hide her bright red face. “T-thanks.”

They walked in companionable silence a little longer, stopping at an intersection. A group of women stopped beside them, chatting loudly.

“Oh my! Is that Nijimura Okuyasu-san?”

Okuyasu turned to face the women and her face brightened. “Ah, Kanda-san. It’s been a while!”

Kanda turned to her companions. “This is the person that I was telling you ladies about. Tomoko-chan suggested I talk to Okuyasu-san to look after little Miki.” Kanda turned back to Okuyasu, a warm smile on her face. “Miki always asks when she’s next going to see ‘Oku-nee’. Thank you for always taking such good care of her.” Kanda gave a small bow.

Okuyasu rushed to return the bow. “It’s no problem at all! Miki-chan’s such a good kid!”

One of Kanda’s companions gave a small bow in acknowledgement. “Kanda-san speaks nothing but good about you, Nijimura-san! I was wondering if you would be able to take care of my Kenta-kun as well. I live close to Kanda-san and Kenta-kun and Miki-chan are good friends.”

Kanda’s other companion gave a soft giggle. “I believe you’ve looked after most of the children in my neighborhood as well. You may as well open your own day care, Nijimura-san.”

The polite chatter continued on for a few more moments. Okuyasu exchanged contact information with Kanda’s companions and they all parted ways at the next intersection. Before Yukako turned down her street, she touched Okuyasu’s arm and gave her a soft smile. “Take care of yourself, Nijimura-san.”

Okuyasu went through the rest of her day on automatic. She made food for her father, helped him feed Stray Cat, ate dinner herself and cleaned up. It wasn’t until she was getting ready for bed that she took another look back at the drawings and figurines on her desk.

They were all things she had received from children in the short time she had spent looking after most of them. She had received so many that she might even have to think about making book for them soon. Her favorite depicted her in a bright yellow apron surrounded by children and smiling, a rainbow behind them and the sun in the corner grinning down on them.

Okuyasu glanced back at her school bag. It was about time she filled out that aspirations sheet.

Okuyasu stepped out of the teacher’s room after school. She gave a small bow and called out “excuse me” before shutting the door. There was a notable bounce in her step and her face felt like it could split in half with how big of a grin she had on her face.

As she rushed towards the school entrance, she passed by Yukako. Okuyasu threw a thumbs up as she passed her. Yukako responded with a small smile.

Josuke was leaning against one of the shoe lockers when she got there. She rushed to change out her shoes and walked over to him. “Thanks for waiting! Sorry it took so long.”

He grinned at her and ruffled her hair. “No problem at all. You get everything figured out?”

“Yup!” Okuyasu felt her grin grow impossibly larger. “I know what schools I’m gonna apply to and everything. Even got some other study materials and information.”

“Really? Guess that homeroom teacher is good for something, eh?” Josuke chuckled.

Okuyasu hurried a few steps ahead of Josuke. “C’mon, let’s hurry up! I wanna tell Tomoko-san all about it!”

Shaking his head, Josuke matched his pace with Okuyasu’s. “So does this mean that we’re gonna have a huge family when you become a kindergarten teacher? I mean, those kids might as well be yours, right? ”

Okuyasu stumbled and nearly fell to the ground. “Oi, Josuke!”

“Oku-mama and Josuke-papa! Has a nice ring to it!”

“Josuke, shut up, I mean it.”

“I mean we can still have our own kids if ya want but I like the idea of kids we don’t have to always take care of ya know?”

#josuyasu #nijimura okuyasu #okuyasu nijimura #reading through this again i'm really fond of it?#kindergarten teacher oku would b so cute...

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