starshower | 🌠 escordvi inbox.

[A text from Joshua!? A pleasant surprise!!!]

You know, I don't think I read that one. It's sitting on my shelf, though. What about the protagonist did you not like?

[Hey girl!!]

He is... how shall I put it? Predictable. Bereft of mystery, and with little in him to stir the imagination. I daresay the leading lady would grow weary of his company ere a moon had passed.

What I seek is a tale of substance. Heart-wrenching. Profound. Have you anything to recommend?

Now I'm not so sure I wanna give it a read... Might trust your word on it and take it back to the shop. Exchange it for something else.

Though, can't say what I've been reading has any more substance than that. The book I've got right now is about a knight who's been stuck in a sword for centuries, made to guard the person who wields it. Who just happens to be the main female character. It's got a more "fun adventure" vibe than anything else with a bit of romance. Pretty cute, though!

Edited 2025-07-14 03:20 (UTC)

If our tastes truly are as alike as I suspect they are, then yes that would be a good choice. Which means, of course, we'll have to find something else entirely.

Still... a tale of a man trapped within a sword? Protecting a lady love? That does sound rather intriguing.

It's a lot of fun! More adventure and romance than anything else. It's a nice change from all the intense stories that I've been reading lately. I've been finding a lot of them to be that way, and it's wearing me out a little. Think it might be time to find something else, but the writers here all seem to like writing about seafaring adventures. Wonder why. :P

[Not telling him about the wolf-man romance that she has hiding under her pillow, of course...]

[She's withholding the wolf-man romance smut novel??????]

I do wonder why. It is like we are lost at sea, or something along those lines.

[He chuckles.]

Perhaps branching out is something I should do as well. Lately, I've felt the urge to read more. So much so that I spent the entire night lost in the pages I had at hand.

[She sure is!!!]

I feel the same. Especially lately. No harm in trying something else, though? I hear there are some good mysteries out there, and thrillers if you're into being kept up at night. ;)

[It's the only way that she can escape everything else right now...

There's a break in between that one and her next message.]

Hey, Joshua? Can I ask you something?

[Oh? Joshua senses the shift in conversation and he replies immediately.]

Of course, Tifa. What do you need?

When your friend left...

[The one that they spoke of before, and hopefully he can pick up what she's putting down here.]

What did you do?

[Oh... There is only one person that Tifa could mean. Because the way it makes his stomach drop has Joshua frowning.]

What did I do...? I.

I buried myself in my hobbies, mostly. Tried to tend to the things I'd long neglected. Anything to keep busy.

Letting myself miss him... that wasn't something I wanted to do.

Tifa. Are you alright?

[It's so strange having someone ask that.]

Yeah. I'll be fine.

[And really, she knows that in the end she will be. She has to be. If Joshua could do it, then so can she!]

It's just hard right now. You don't really think about it that much until it happens to you... losing someone important. With everyone here, I guess I just forgot, thinking that I'd see them again in my world. But I haven't really lost anyone who I wouldn't.

And I don't really know what to do about that. I was angry at first, but now I don't really know what I should feel.

[Another message comes soon after that.]

Sorry. Didn't mean to dump all that on you so suddenly.

[He's just the only other person that she knows who's lost someone that close.]

You have nothing to apologize for, least of all how you feel.

[This must mean that Tifa's little romance has returned home. If there is anyone who can relate to how that painful ache feels, it is Joshua.]

I won't claim it gets easier... or harder. Losing someone dear leaves a hollow that no words or time can truly fill. But even if it never heals completely... we learn to carry it.

Learning to carry it. I like the sound of that. I know that hurt will never really go away, but I hope that one day I'll be able to do that, too. It's hard not to just be angry about it. About this place and how it can be.

Permit yourself to feel what you must. To suppress such emotion is to deny your own healing. Be angry. The pain will linger, yes... but with time, you will smile again. That I know.

And if it brings you ease... venting a bit of that frustration may well hasten that journey.

Would you care to come with me on a small one?

On a journey? Where are we going?

That would depend on what kind of journey you might enjoy.

I've heard whispers of distant isles, said to be home to naught but cats. Entire islands, if you can believe it.

Or, should you wish to work out your frustrations with your fists, I could use a second hand in hunting down... a basilisk.

[Either way, he hopes to spend time with her. And hopefully get her mind off some things for a time.]

Well. Why not both? I could use the practice, my fists have been getting a little rusty lately, but I wouldn't say no to an island of cats either. That is, if you are up to it.

[Anything to get her off this ship for a while.]

Of course. I'd not have brought it up were I unprepared to see it through. Both it is.

[He's happy to hear it.]

Then we will make some plans and have a little journey of our own.

I'd like that a lot. Just say the word and I'll be ready to go!

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