#AE of Rakugo | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

havetheavengersdoneanythingwrong · 2 years

Text

The Final Act

...The plan needs no further action.

Sometimes, it's better to act now -- to end the story before it begins.

Narration, theatre be damned -- such rules never stopped the production before.

Why would they stop now?

Somewhere in Baltimore, a new Singularity forms.

Those who pull the strings -- within each timeline, they hold within themselves a plan.

Multiple concurrent worlds. Singularities occurring all at once, simultaneously one -- and not.

Each script ties into itself. Two plays viewed as one -- splitting body and mind of its Audience into two separate places, two separate worlds, with the promise of reconnecting one day.

To destroy the Viewer, the playwright must merely keep these halves separate.

'In order to create the best appeal,' the being wonders -- 'what is it that the Viewers wish for most?'

The [screams/devouring/sobs] of the populace beg for something only the immortal could give.

It's so easy--

--How could this be any other way?

The recording room is empty, but not for long.

Soundproofing lines the walls, even extending to the door leading into the booth itself -- the only exception, a glass window peering in.

On that end of the window lay a handful of people.

Someone with incredibly long black hair, tied in a loose ponytail that would perhaps have still fell to their hips, who made a point of never taking off their sunglasses, sat at the front -- tapping their finger idly against a control board. The microphone and audio quality was easy to control, especially here -- but it didn't stop them from keeping a close eye on it. The last thing they wanted was to handle those goddamned executives again -- their coworkers had to restrain them the last time.

To her left, a woman with hair like platinum, clad in a black-and-white suit -- writing something down on a clipboard she rested against her lower arm, her brow furrowed in focus. Budgeting, one could assume, was a pain in the ass -- but despite the lady's stoic exterior, she took a bit of happiness in such things. Someone needed to handle the business side, after all.

And to the black-haired lady's right, a woman with vivid dyed pink hair -- tapping a pen to a tablet screen, her gaze laced with venom as she stared down the wire frame figure of a symbol. Supposedly, this was a business symbol - but nothing seemed to fit quite right, yet. Breathing out a sigh, she switches tabs, focusing on a small graphic animation.

And at the back of the room, a woman with flowing black hair with a small braid tied just at the back of her head. Her green eyes flit from page to page -- scratching out parts of a script, filling it in with words she thought up at the very last minute. She did have a small karaoke outing to plan after this session was over -- but not one to be outdone, she'd already planned this yesterday. Having connections, after all, proved quite useful -- especially when editing this script last-minute proved so important.

On the other end -- the barren portion of this location, only holding the soundproofed walls and a microphone -- the door opened, as the green-eyed lady suddenly made a mad dash out of her side of the room.

After some muffled talk -- the other three picking up a 'I changed a few words,' a 'Do your best, dear~!' -- the green-eyed woman stepped back into the control booth, with someone entering the recording booth moments later.

Closing the door behind him, a blonde-haired man breathed a careful sigh out to settle his heartrate -- followed shortly thereafter by a subdued laugh.

"...Geez, you're sure this'll sell?"

"Of course it will," the sunglasses-donning one responded, "as long as you've nailed the delivery."

"...I'll do what I can."

The platinum-haired lady's gaze flicked up to the glass window as the blonde got settled -- checking and repositioning the microphone, his eyes settled on the script, trying to memorize his companion's additions to the page.

"You'll do well. Think of this as practice towards a different... Shall we say, 'style.' They're used to something calmer -- this will spark quite some attention for us, and attention pays for itself."

The woman spared him a momentary, gentle smile, before returning her gaze to the page.

"...Right. --Er, Kiyo, when are we..?"

"Whenever you're ready. Hold your hand up when you're set."

"And don't be afraid to improvise a little!"

...The blonde nodded, as the pink-haired lady leaned a little over to see the man in the booth.

"I'll kill you if you go too far off script, though. These designs are a pain, and if I've gotta redo these, you owe me some food."

"Isn't that a w-"

"--I realize now the error of that threat. I'll just kill you."

...Still, as she returned to her tablet, the blonde could note her covering her mouth to muffle a laugh.

Taking a few last deep breaths, the boy raised his hand -- and, giving him a nod in return, Kiyo raised up her hand, silently counting to three --

-- before a glowing red light from the microphone informed the blonde that he was now live.

With only one thing left to do, and one spare glance to his script, the man suppressed a stupid smile and forced himself into seriousness.

Channeling all the rage he could, he finally spoke up -- loud enough to leave an impression, while not loud enough to overwhelm the microphone.

"FUCK YOU, BALTIMORE!"

#cadenceloreposting #l o r e #cadence #AE of Rakugo #lindsey morgan #Kagekiyo #Gorgon #modern au..?#god

19 notes · View notes

filliteapot · 5 years

Text

...I was tagged by @thetravelerkureno (thank you!) to name ten favourite characters from ten different things (books, tv, film, etc.). (and I still remember that I owe this meme to @cilveloy %) I have a very good memory for things I meant to do and never did)

1. Kyoko Honda (Furuba)

The most difficult thing in such memes is not to make them 100% Furuba, as I could easily pick ten characters from Takaya’s works only :’)) So let it be Kyoko. I adore her, her words were so on point many times in my life.

2. Liselotte (Liselotte to majo no mori)

One of my fav heroines ever. Flawed, ignorant, strong, able to pull someone out of something dark and deep, at the same time having troubles with freeing herself from her past and certain limits, but fighting with it and constantly learning.

3. Takahiro Aramaki (7 seeds)

Sad animals-loving kind-hearted baseball player with self-sacrificial tendencies and oldschool-hair tm goals? Hell yes. I love him and how his story line evolves throughout the story in such a subtle way that you have to be very attentive to notice it. (saw many comments about how people were disappointed when the author finally led us to his peak development moment, but it’s not my case xDD)

4. Takumi Nomiya (Honey and clover)

THIS IS LOVE. PERIOD. I’d say many things about him, but somehow I’m at a loss of words and the only thought I have now is that HE IS COOL. Nomiya’s ability to open people’s eyes and teach them lessons is something incredible.

5. Hijikata Toshizo (Hakuouki and historical figure)

I should have written his name as Toshizo Hijikata, but such order sounds weird to me asdfgh. He inspires me since 2012, from when I had no idea that this character from Hakuouki is based on a real historical figure, but already felt a bit relatable about certain things. When I’m not so sure about what I’m doing in life, or feeling ‘fake’ or inferior, I like to remember his quotes from Haku, real history of the Shinsengumi, and I start feeling better and like putting some more efforts. (also he’s a definition of being 1869% done with everything, best hunk of the Bakumatsu period, and #hairgoals)

6. Sophie Hatter (Howl’s moving castle)

I love both movie and book, Sophie is great everywhere. She’s also a huge inspiration and a reminder for many things that have something to do with finding yourself and staying true to how you see the world.

7. Baron Humbert von Gikkingen (Whisper of the heart, The Cat returns)

You: but he is a cat!

Me: HE’S A COOL CAT.

The reason why I have high standards for people irl and male characters in fiction xDD Honestly, all I ever wanted was a collection of stories about Baron’s own story.

8. Ophélie and Thorn (La Passe-miroir series)

(shamelessly putting here my own art of them, yeah) I CANNOT not to include Thorn here even if it means cheating. Don’t care. It’s such a good book series and these two are such life ruiners that I’m still not over this story since last August.

9. Gilbert Bougainvillea (Violet Evergarden)

I guess at this point everyone got that I like kind-hearted characters who care TOO_MUCH and think about themselves way less than they should. :’))

10 Kikuhiko (Shouwa Geroku Rakugo Shinjuu)

Rakugo happened in my life when I started learning something I never had to deal with before and thus entered a period full of suffering and anxiety. Kiku with his own reflections on rakugo and his relationship with it was a big support and such a relatable character that helped me to settle down my chaotic emotions. I feel gratitude towards this story and constantly miss it. +he’s probably number one in the matter of aes. :’)

Not tagging anyone this time, I guess everyone already did this meme :’>

#memes #una sorta teapot #yes i guess you know now that i have a type #honorable mention of ageha from basara #kureno and hatori from furuba #and of course kyo #and chizuru from hakuouki #and i should stop #favourite character

16 notes · View notes

havetheavengersdoneanythingwrong · 2 years

Text

Interlude - One Last Respite

...There's a sliver of happiness to be found.

It's all too easy to not realize how your goals shifted, throughout the years.

Passion.

The blonde-haired Master always did consider it such an odd, odd thing.

And perhaps not without good reason. For every step the young man took, before, was laced with necessity.

Every step on a journey of 'heroism' -- a tale he was not meant to understand, and a tale not meant to be told with him as the epicenter -- was one born of need.

The need to protect himself? The need to protect the few he held dear?

'...Because the rest of the world is...'

...

Why was he doing any of this?

It was a question that rang through his mind hundreds of times, even just as he stood in front of an oven -- idly watching bread raise, as he had for the past near-hour.

'...What is it I owe the world to be doing this?'

'Hell, do I need to owe anything to the world to do this?'

...No, that wasn't it, was it?

It was because --

'...I have to.'

'I have no other choice. There's not going to be a home for me to return to if I fail this.'

...Though, the blonde boy began to laugh at himself, saying that.

'...A home. Bullshit, isn't it?'

That house was no home. In Toronto, it was a cage -- a cage of his own making, perhaps, but a cage nonetheless.

For the sake of his own sanity. For the sanity of his family, who had to watch a fuck-up like himself spiral downwards.

...So that couldn't be it.

He wasn't fighting to protect his home -- and he certainly wasn't fighting to go back.

'...Am I fighting for humanity, then?'

...

...The man laughed a little more, to himself.

Why the hell would he ever do that?

In recent memory, he couldn't recall a single time the collective 'humanity' had ever given him reason to save them. For as many innocent souls as there were, there would be equal parts the same brand of people who haunted him all throughout his hellish life.

The present state of humanity, he felt, wasn't worth saving.

...So why was he fighting?

...

...The oven timer beeped, as the baker opened his oven and gazed in. Met with a soft, familiar smell, he smiled -- though even at a glance, he could tell it wasn't done.

So, back in it went.

Setting the timer to wait just a little longer, the man was back to his own thoughts.

He wasn't unaware of the fact he was no hero.

Compared to Ritsuka, he was pretty far from the mold. Ritsuka wasn't a complicated person, after all -- they merely fought because they wanted to see others smile.

That was it. They merely liked 'seeing smiles.' There was no further gimmicks to that trend -- merely the ideal, with every further thought and action tying directly to that mere ideal of 'happiness.'

That was 'a hero.'

...So what was he?

...A few footsteps alerted him to another presence in the room.

"--Dear~."

...A voice like that -- soft in its tone, with a breathy pronunciation, could only ever truly belong to one person.

"...Tlazolteotl?"

"I keep telling you, dear, it's just Tlaz~! You're not going to offend me with the wrong name."

The 'seductive' tone faded into a gentle, earnest laugh -- the gentle sounds of clinking jewelry coming into earshot as the black-haired woman situated herself right next to the baker, leaning in to peep into the oven before leaning back once more.

"...Cade, dear, you... usually don't bake this late at night."

"Is it all that late?"

...Double checking his wristwatch, the Master furrowed his brow -- and let out an exasperated sigh.

'3:00 AM.'

...He knew he was having trouble - sleeping, and had been this way for some time.

It wasn't easy, sleeping, with so much pressure and stress. Nightmares came commonly -- of his loved ones dying. Himself dying. Being robbed blind and left in the dust, watching the happy life leave him behind --

-- hearing [whispers/screams/laughs] of something that [waited/bided/paces] for his arrival --

"...Is something wrong?"

"...Tlazotleotl, is --"

"--It's just Tlaz, y'know! --"

"-- Apologies... But -- is... is it alright if I asked you something?"

...The goddess furrowed her brow -- taking a moment to run her hand through her hair, fiddling with their pale green tips in thought.

"...Ask away."

...The boy breathed a sigh out far shakier than the last, his eyes first falling to the floor -- then, to the oven.

"...I've been -- doubting myself. Not about my own skills, but... Why I'm even here."

...He continued, slowly.

"...I don't have the same ties to humanity that Ritsuka does. I... don't have a reason to help the world. Aside from these few people that have actually been kind, I..."

...

"...I've been wondering if -- if I'm the right choice. If I've ever been the right choice."

...He would've kept going, if not for the hand that surprised him, resting on his shoulder - before the goddess stepped in front of him, and leaned in a little to make eye contact with the Master. (Being a deal above six feet made it a bit difficult to talk on 'even ground,' after all.)

"...Cadence, you've said it a few times -- that you dislike humanity. And yet you haven't tried to destroy it. Do you want my take as to why you're here, right now?"

"...I'm... curious. Could I hear it-?"

The goddess paused, thinking for a moment longer -- her eyes glancing behind her, to the oven, before she cupped the Master's face between her two hands.

"...Right now, humanity is a loaf of bread."

...

"...What?"

...The goddess' serious face faltered, into a silly grin, as she began to chuckle a bit -- but quickly snapped back into her poker face, trying (and only half-succeeding) at stifling the giggles.

"Bear with me, here. Baking takes a while, right? And humans are being baked right now. They're still... being made. Coming into their own as people."

...The goddess trailed off for a moment in thought, before she continued.

"They've made great progress now and then, and fell back some other times, too. But they're still growing, and becoming something better."

...The baker's eyes moved, just a moment, glancing down to the ground -- before returning to the goddess.

"...You're angry at the world. A lot of people are, and you have some damn good reason to be angry. You wouldn't be summoning Avengers if you weren't feeling like this."

"...But -- wouldn't that make me--?"

"...I don't think you've realized what's kept you here all this time, Cade. You're looking for a reason to believe in the world."

The goddess' tone eased, but grew more forceful -- as though trying to hammer her words home, with a hammer and a well-placed swing.

"Isn't there nothing left?! It's irredeemable, isn't it--?"

"Maybe you thought like that before. But things aren't like that anymore."

"You're looking for a reason for the world to improve. If you'd truly given up, your allies wouldn't be your allies -- and you certainly wouldn't be here."

The woman's face drew slightly closer to Cadence's -- the latter's eyes dropping to the ground.

"...Your allies all wish to change the world. Whether that means destroying it all, rebuilding it in a perfect way, or removing foul souls from the world, all of it involves change. To make the world better -- somehow."

"...Or to just destroy it."

"Because she was spited by that same world. And yet, even these Avengers listen to you -- despite that ever-burning urge to burn the world to cinders."

A flick to his forehead brought his gaze back up to meet her's.

"...So what do you believe, earnestly?"

...

"...I..."

...The man tried to think about it, as the goddess now moved slightly back -- to give him some much-needed room to do so.

...Surely, the world was irredeemable.

Surely, its thousands of horrible people weren't made up for by that slim percentage of decent people, yet --

'But they're still growing.'

Those words reverberated in the baker's mind.

Humanity, as it was, was horrible. Filled with irredeemable, loathsome people, who only hurt others.

Horrible thieves who stole just for kicks, and gravely injured all around them just for the hell of it.

'But they're getting better.'

...All of humanity, getting better, it surely sounded odd to him, yet --

...Every Servant he had met proposed their ideas of a perfect world.

Gorgon desired to merely burn it all down, and perhaps even start from scratch.

Tlazolteotl wished to garner vengeance from those very same gods who hurt her -- believing the best world was one where Gods were the role models they had to be.

Morgan wished to regain control of Britain and expand it to become a better, stronger kingdom.

Kagekiyo wished to eliminate those 'genji' that still harmed the people around.

All were, to put it lightly -- brutal, harsh means of change.

And yet... He found himself sympathizing with them.

They were possible. With their strength -- they could get it done.

Because the world still wasn't 'complete.' There was still progress and effort to be made. There was still a chance for the 'good' of Humanity to take back control in that hellish world.

There was ultimately still a chance.

Even if it took force, the world still had a chance of getting better.

'...And is that... why..?'

Because the chances of him living happily were far better in a world where humanity could change -- than in a world where humanity never got the chance to.

'...But...'

...Because the chances of his loved ones achieving their goals were far better in a world where humanity could change -- than one where humanity never got the chance.

Because the chances of someone else suffering as he did were better in a world where humanity could change -- than one where humanity never got the chance.

He didn't have the right to judge the entire world off of his own rage. Humans were 'human,' and could change with time. They could get better -- like a loaf of bread that rises in an oven.

'...Perhaps,' he mused, 'the fact I've come to that conclusion is proof of that.'

'...I have to wonder if I'd have an answer like this, if I were asked back in Fuyuki.'

...The goddess raised an eyebrow, as Cadence finally opened his mouth.

"...I believe in your abilities to make things better."

"The chances of my... No -- of our happiness are slim. Even when we do return to a normal Earth, the chances of things going well are slim."

...The goddess furrowed her brow, but Cadence didn't trail off this time.

"But they're better than they would be if I gave up."

"...The world's a shit place, and I don't want to return to it as it is. But it's not static, either -- and the smallest of changes can alter the course of everything."

The boy paused, stammering over his words.

"...The chances of a happy ending for all of us -- and the improvement of the world, so we don't need to be terrified... It gets... better, if we do this."

"I want the chance of living a better life. I want the chance of everyone here living happier lives, and - while it's almost impossible even when we are fighting, it's completely impossible if I give up."

...

"I don't have another choice. But --"

...The goddess silently listened, as her Master's gaze softened.

"...This is the choice I think I want to make, anyways."

...The oven timer went off, just as he spoke -- his concentration breaking as he rushed over, the goddess hopping to one side to let him check on it.

"...By the way," the goddess noted -- "I actually think I'm more of a muffin than a loaf of bread."

"Well, humanity's the bread, so of course you'd be a muffin," the baker responded. "You're sweeter like that."

"Don't make me blush, now, Cade~."

"It takes a lot of sweetness to lay things out for me, like that."

The Master stuck a thermometer into the loaf, double checking its internals to ensure it was solid -- and not still sticky or the like.

"...So, what's it at? Can we get it out? Let it cool?"

Tlazolteotl's curious questions caused a smile to dance across the baker's face, as he pulled the thermometer from the loaf -- noting some bits that stuck to the sharpened edge that had shivers forming down his spine.

"...N-No, not yet. It'll need a bit longer."

...

"...But it's almost there. Just a little longer, and -- I'm sure it'll be even better than last time."

"I'm sure of that much. Just like you were, Tlaz."

#cadenceloreposting #AE of Rakugo #tlazolteotl #l o r e #interlude

14 notes · View notes

havetheavengersdoneanythingwrong · 3 years

Text

Act 2 — Il Dottore pt. 1

'Home,' and 'leadership.' A cowardly Master finds himself in a situation far larger than he could expect -- with only a moment's rest.

A doctor would be perfect, to get his mind off it.

—

“…Who are you?”

The young woman’s eyes stared into mine for a moment, before she took one step — then another, until she were facing us all.

As Ritsuka tried helping up Caster, Mash stepped in front of them preemptively — even though the lady held no weapons, being certain was impossible with all we’d seen.

Cursing myself under my breath for not preparing more casual dress for my allies in advance, I found myself forming a tale off the top of my head — as I jumped up in a moment, stepping in front of the woman to mildly obscure the less human aspects of Gorgon and such — after all, hiding that wasn’t exactly easy, but she couldn’t just enter spirit form now that she was spotted.

“We’re… cosplayers. We came from a Renaissance Fair not far from here, but we got a bit lost and our ride ditched us.”

“…My, what a story.” The woman closed an eye, tapping a finger to her cheek in thought.

“And yet, there hasn’t been any recent Renaissance Fairs about these parts, friend.”

…

…Sh—

“—He calls it that to sound cool. He’s never actually been to a ren’ fair, so we let him off easy. It was a small thing between us and a few other online mutuals, but well. Things went south pretty quick.”

…Thank god for Ritsuka. The other Master came in strong, having seemingly adjusted their form slightly — though I couldn’t quite tell what. Regardless, the orange-haired Master stepped forward beside me, fully blocking off the line of sight for Gorgon’s tail and allowing her to stand with the others. While I could only hope she’d make her tail look artificial too, it was a bit difficult to see how she’d do that.

Even so, the lady laughed softly, and extended a hand.

“Aren’t you both a curious group? My name is… Tessie. Tessie Quin — I’m just an actor around these parts. And you?”

‘…Quin.’ Didn’t that name seem..?

Regardless, I shook her hand carefully — and Ritsuka followed suit, after sparing a glance my way to ensure I wasn’t poisoned or something, probably.

“Nice to meet ya! I’m Ritsuka, and my buddy here is Cadence.”

“And the rest of you?”

“…We’ll, uh, introduce ourselves a bit later. They’re a little hammered, so they’re a little too dedicated to their roles right now.”

A glance from Ritsuka back to our other teammates was all they needed to keep quiet and act the part — Tlazolteotl silently directing the four, alongside Mash, to seem a little bit dazed to keep Ritsuka’s story intact.

“…What an odd brigade indeed. And you said you all were lost, right? In this forest?”

Tessie curiously inquired, after gazing over our group as though double-checking our alibis — raising a finger to the forest’s edges around us, that grew more thick, and harder to see through, especially in the night. Even the moon’s soft light did little to actually illuminate the area.

‘…I’m finding myself counting us lucky for landing in the outskirts.’

As I tried to ignore the hassle of Mash trying to tell Caster not to act hammered as well, I placed my hands into my pockets — so they could ball up, and relieve a bit of stress — and spoke.

“Yeah. We tried to take a shortcut home, but that went pretty bad pretty quick. It turns out a bunch of hammered cosplayers and a baker don’t excel in navigation.”

The lady nodded, though furrowing her brow after a moment.

“…Did you all simultaneously trip or something? When I saw you, all of you were on the ground.”

…Shit.

“—Well, again. A bunch of drunkards aren’t going to excel in balance, either. There was a tree root nearby that set the lot of them off balance.”

“…You seem sober enough.”

…Shit. (Again.)

And yet again, my fellow Master steps in to save my ass. Ritsuka laughed a bit at Quin’s words, leaning back a bit.

“This dude? He’d trip over an ant, let alone an obvious tree root. He’s a baker, but he’s horribly clumsy in the vast outdoors.”

…Quin paused for a moment in thought, before laughing a little bit.

“He certainly seems the type. My… You all really are an interesting group, huh?”

'...Do I really seem like a klutz?' I had to ask myself before preparing to respond -- but then again, I didn't exactly look like the type that could walk a tightrope.

"Something like that."

I finally managed to speak up, as Ritsuka took that as their cue to take the step back.

"As of now, we're looking for a place to stay and catch our bearings. Maybe see some sights here while we're at it."

Doing my best to follow the 'background' Ritsuka laid out, I took each moment in between these sentences to breathe. 'In, and out.'

It was all I could do. As something reached out, as though intent on returning its grasp to my neck as I tried to match Ritsuka's tale, I needed to breathe carefully to scare it off.

"I was thinking, since the lot of us are already here, that we take some time to enjoy it before we head back. Would you know where a hotel or something is?"

Tessie only raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms in thought. Her eyes turned upwards, closer to the sky -- as though the stars would spell out where to go.

"On this short notice? That is a lot to ask for."

"That's true, but we do still need to go somewhere. Even if we can find a free room in a ramshackle inn, or something..."

'Ramshackle? What kind of old man am I?'

As I internally chided myself, Tessie's gaze snapped back to the two of us -- and she'd uncross her arms to snap her fingers together.

"I've got it. Come with me, all of you -- I know a place."

An hour-long walk placed us on the outskirts of the city. Looking back, I could faintly see the forest we'd come into this Singularity in -- from afar, it certainly had looked rather large, taking up the vast majority of the southern end of this place.

The faint sound of blowing wind moving through the grass of the outskirts proved to be one of the only things that kept this place from utter silence -- despite the light polluting the environment, lighting up the innards of the city even from where we were, not a single sound could be heard.

Even so, however -- no matter how quiet the city was, or how 'normal' its greyish buildings and lamps looked from afar, there was one little caveat that was alerting us to something wrong.

To our left sat a hotel, suspended by chains.

"Here we are! We call it the Float Apartments, but they only have a couple rooms filled. I think you can rent out some of the rooms as you would a hotel."

Tessie's bright voice drew my attention for a moment, watching her point to the 'apartment' as though all were perfectly normal.

True to her words, the place was 'floating.' Despite the flat environment surrounding the city, there seemed to be a chunk of rock hovering impressively high above the ground. Even trying to look for some sleight of hand, something holding that chunk of land above the ground, nothing seemed to show itself -- not even so much as well-placed fishing wire to partially explain what was happening.

The apartment itself didn't hold much answers either. If one ignored its floating qualities, it did only look like a mildly ramshackle, two-story complex, more wide than long -- with off white walls, a tan flat roof, and silver chains placed on its sides to hold it up. While its entrance was at least accessible thanks to a slight hill leading up to its front doors, it seemed just as much hovering as the rock -- though one could assume the rock were holding up this hotel, that seemed about the only thing that could be answered.

And even if it could, one question still remained.

"...Why?"

It took a solid few moments to note that Ritsuka was already preparing themselves to enter -- with Tlazolteotl taking a spare few moments to record something in her notebook, eyeing Tessie carefully, before clamping it shut and following suit.

As for Tessie herself, in response to my question, only smiled.

"The King allowed for a lot more aesthetic design, as of late. Before he vanished, he bestowed upon our Capital some interesting properties!"

'...The King.'

It's not a name I was unfamiliar with -- although Ritsuka froze in the middle of their trip to the entrance, looking back at Tessie with an expression best called 'shock.'

"The what?"

"The King, don't you know? My, I suppose they don't talk much of them outside the province after all. They rule over Canada, and maintain peace."

Ritsuka furrowed their brow, but nodded and kept moving -- gesturing to me, and the others, to follow suit.

Knowing what little I knew about the King, it did explain a small bit -- monarchs in general were subject to strange decisions now and then, and they were no exception. With the magic I'd thus far seen, it hardly seemed out of the question to make that rock float.

With that explanation in mind, I slipped into the Apartments -- followed shortly after by the others.

'...It's familiar to me.'

'As the resident Caster, it only makes sense I would know that the floating rock is magic.'

The Caster of Rakugo followed in the steps of Gorgon, passively whispering prayers and spells of 'alteration' to cast an illusion over her tail. To make it seem as though slightly jointed -- while hardly obvious, just the littlest of hinges would make the tail seem far less biological in nature.

Yet, his mind remained on the floating rock. Even a 'king,' surely, wouldn't waste their time empowering a specific rock to float.

...But at the same time, didn't that also make sense? Kings were foolish people -- they weren't dissimilar to lords of the land he knew, both in stories and in his own life. Acts of power, even beneficial ones, were often done just for the hell of it. To send a message.

...He couldn't shake the feeling the magic was familiar to him.

The inside of the hotel was remarkable in how unremarkable it was -- especially when it was all too easy to hear the creaking of the chains from the inside. Simple, if dated wooden flooring, with off-white walls and wooden baseboards stained to a slightly dark brown. As I took further steps in, weak wall-mounted lamps illuminated the shopkeep -- a golden-eyed, golden-haired man with a wide smile on his face, waving to us as we walked in.

"Why hello there! It's rare we see someone come in unless they have to, let alone... so many of you."

The receptionist's calm voice was almost enough to steady my nerves -- most likely, he was already well aware of the atmosphere the hotel set for itself, though his best attempts weren't quite enough to shake the awful feelings the literal chains creaking were putting in place.

A glance to my right saw Ritsuka shoot forward just as Morgan furrowed her brow and began to walk to the man -- taking over before the queen even had a chance to say anything.

"Well, times are a little rough. We got pretty lost on our way back from a friendly mini-Renaissance fair, and the fact a fair few of us aren't quite sober isn't helping. Me and my buddy are about the only ones who stayed above the table, but..."

As Morgan breathed out softly -- with Kagekiyo elbowing her gently -- the queen stepped back a bit.

The receptionist nodded after mulling over Ritsuka's tale for a moment, sliding to a small outdated computer monitor -- likely to start logging rooms for us to borrow.

"Well, don't worry too much about it. I'm just gonna assume you're dead broke, right?"

Ritsuka paused for a moment, but then relaxed their shoulders and continued.

"Yeah, just about. Unless you'd count a couple yen."

...Ritsuka sputtered, after a moment.

"--I'd forgot to exchange that for canadian money."

'Nice save, buddy.'

The receptionist didn't seem too bothered, laughing it off before making a few last clicks -- and, rummaging under the table, passed myself and Ritsuka a key, and attempted to hand a key to the others as well - before being met with a collective 'I'll pass.'

...Save Caster, who was for all intents and purposes a minor, and one could only assume the receptionist wasn't keen on having the little guy hold up a room.

"...Only two rooms? You have, what, eight people? Can you..?"

Ritsuka interrupted the receptionist with what could best be described as 'the cheekiest wink ever conceived by man,' before taking a step back. The receptionist, while briefly caught off guard, responded in tune with a wide grin - and, sending an equally cheeky wink my way, pointed down the left wing of the apartment.

"Your room should be that way, friend. It's got some extra room, comparatively."

...I could only whisper out a flustered 'thank you' before slipping off into the hallway, only catching the receptionist escorting Ritsuka into the rightmost wind before I came across my door.

'...Room 103.'

...I breathed out, and opened the door.

A car speeds down the Carcosan highways.

An ambulance, without its hazards on.

One could hear the equipment moving about, sliding about what one could presume to be closed cabinets, if they were to listen closely as it shot past them.

In its driver's seat --

A man, clad in black -- a large, flowing cape with a black exterior and purple interior. Remarkably poofy black sleeves, and a baggy black button-up shirt. Even their pants, boots, the feathered cap they wore -- all were completely black. Their hair, forced into the massive hat, wasn't visible at all.

And their mask -- black, covering the upper half of their face, a mustache attached to the bottom of the mask's 'nose.' The only highlights, of course, were rosy-red paint on its 'cheeks.'

A doctor by trade. A doctor they were -- on the case to find someone who they knew needed their help.

Their locket bounced on their chest, as they ran over a speed bump. Sparing a glance behind them, the doctor would smile -- looking over their tools of the trade.

Scalpel? Check.

Basic Medicine Cabinet? Check.

Tourniquet material? Check.

Wrench? Check.

Certainly -- they would help them now.

The room was, yet again, remarkably unremarkable.

The floorboards creaked as I stepped on them, the sound of the chains thankfully more distant than before.

In the moonlight, only a shoddy desk lamp and the worn room light could illuminate this temporary home -- a warm, yellow glow illuminating just enough to at least see what needed to be seen, even if the corners of the room still remained dark.

'...It's almost nostalgic.'

As 'edgy' as it sounded, it felt more homely than the Chaldea base. The poor lighting, the soft moonlight, and the creaking of the floorboards reminded me of my old home in Toronto.

A bit cheap, certainly -- but it was home.

Though, there was one major difference, now.

"...Husband."

A commandeering voice, coming from the door, but one that didn't wait for a response.

The door opened quickly, revealing a familiar white-haired woman in a black-and-blue dress. She made some haste in settling herself on the first of two beds -- the one closest to the window, of course -- sitting down and staring me down with those ever-chilling blue eyes.

"...Tlazolteotl has asked the others to do something for her."

After a moment passed, I nodded, taking a seat beside her on this bed -- though her gaze didn't move at all from me.

"Did you get out of it, or something?"

At that, Morgan chuckled slightly -- adjusting herself to better face me, closing her eyes for a moment as though in thought.

"A ruler needs her spare time, husband. If I am to rule England, the first mistake is overworking oneself."

...Biting my tongue as to not note that she hadn't done much in the singularity yet, I instead moved on.

"...And you're spending the time cooped up here?"

"Someone should stay with you, no? You hardly keep well when you're alone for too long."

'...Did she have to be so blunt?' Even with that, I laughed a bit to clear my nerves, my hands locking together, fidgeting with my thumbs.

"...I suppose so. Even so, isn't t-"

"--Silence. You wouldn't question the acts of a perfect ruler, would you?"

...I'd nod, breathing a sigh out. Those words of hers never ceased to be truly blunt -- rarely ever focused on anything apart from the inevitable rule of Britain.

Even so, to say that was the only motive was...

...

"...Morgan?"

"What do you need of me? Have you finally worked up the courage to allow me to call you 'H--"

"--Not quite!"

Cutting her off at speeds that shocked even myself, I'd forced myself to continue before she could think up anything else that I'd need to prepare my heart for.

"...How would I help you rule Britain?"

...I couldn't help but be curious -- to ask, with the two of us alone.

"...I ask genuinely, Morgan. I'm... not a hero, nor am I a ruler."

...The ruler raised an eyebrow -- but still, she paused. To give a decent answer.

...Even so, after a moment, she'd furrow her brow -- reaching an arm around me...

...And pulling me onto my side, before I could even react, my head falling into her lap. The Queen only smirked as I tried to process this momentary act -- her gaze remaining, down upon me like a laser beam piercing through my eyes, into somewhere deeper.

"...Don't think about those things, Husband."

...

"My actions are all for the rule of Britain. Such things come before all else. A hero, a ruler, cannot by themselves understand their subjects."

...I blinked, trying for a moment longer to try and figure out just what she was implying -- but she spoke up yet again, as though timed to derail my thoughts.

"...A ruler mustn't overwork themselves, and they cannot always be alone. I choose those who I prefer, to be near me, so I may rule more properly. It need not be more complex than that."

...I breathed a sigh out, once more. It only seemed ever clearer to me that a straight answer from a Berserker wouldn't be possible to begin with.

"...Rest, husband."

"Shouldn't you be the one resting, in that case?"

"...A ruler, even while taking a break, should not shirk what duties they have. It is relaxing enough to be here."

...The Berserker smiled, after a moment -- and, giving up the fight, I'd simply nod my thanks, and close my eyes, just for a moment.

'...How would I help you rule Britain?'

A curious question indeed. The Berserker furrowed her brow, running a hand through her Master's hair.

Certainly, on paper, a mere 'person' like Cadence would make for a very poor king. Cowardly, reserved, unwilling to take risks -- paranoid, and easy to get worried.

And yet...

"...Set aside your differences. Don't you dare cause any fights right now, and... Don't let him worry about the small stuff."

...The words of the Mesoamerican goddess troubled Morgan greatly. This man, one she was willing to rule with, was now being prevented from hearing what matters a ruler should know. She had to allow Cadence to forget the worries that should come with being a king -- she had to let him rest.

"If all goes well, we can discuss all of these things after the Singularity. But not before."

...She supposed the Carcosan Singularity was an obstacle to her rule, regardless. Reasoning with herself, the Madness that gripped her mind, she came to the 'natural' conclusion -- that this was a kingly duty, and one she had to aid.

...

...She kept her gaze on him -- not letting up, save only to blink.

As though he'd disappear if she looked away.

My eyes slowly opened to the sound of sirens -- as someone's hand gently shook my arm to awake me.

"Husband. Tlazolteotl is calling your name."

"...Huh?"

After a moment, I slowly lifted my head off of Morgan's lap, standing up and pinching my cheek momentarily to try and get myself ready.

"CADENCE! QUICKLY!"

The familiar voice of Tlaz, however, proved to be what spurred my mind to move -- as Morgan opened the door, glancing behind her as to not trip on anything, I ran out, and turned left--

--directly into a masked man clad in black, who quickly took hold of my hood, and began running, dropping some sort of mask on the way out.

"Who-- Who are you?!"

"A roaming doctor, child! And I had heard pray tell of an injured man this way! Falling in a forest is a prime indicator of a stressed mind!"

Footsteps could be heard behind me -- with a spare glance back, before the man forcibly pulled me, it seemed to be Morgan.

"--Come back here, you damned..!"

--Yet, the doctor forcibly held me up behind him, now running backwards, as they entered the lobby. Without the receptionist that was there prior --

--The doctor forced himself out the door, with Morgan hot on the trail, yet she found herself caught in a moment's time.

By a knife, suddenly before her -- that she only just managed to avoid.

"...Is that..?!"

With every step forward, another knife she only barely dodged -- setting her on her heels, backpedalling to regain her balance.

Despite her gaze being locked on the doctor, despite every step she took forward, it seemed -- just as suddenly -- like her body began to force itself to avoid that blade, that materialized in the air, and dematerialized just as quickly.

In my helpless state, stuck watching the ruler be caught in a loop of avoiding the same blade, I found the tunnel vision obscured the ambulance doors that now shut in front of me.

...

...The lights turned on.

Around me -- motor oil, gears, pistons. Motors connected to various power sources -- even weapons, attached to mechanical structures that hardly made sense even to me.

In a moment, before I could even comprehend what I was thrown onto, clasps on the ambulance's 'bed' locked me in -- and judging from the sudden speed increase I could feel, the ambulance was already well on its way.

As I blinked to try and get a hold of my surroundings, the masked man that took me finally came into view -- my peripherals returning, despite the adrenaline still running through me.

"Good, good! The hardest part is handled. Now, dear patient, you do understand that stress takes a toll on the mind, right?"

Even as he spoke, I tried to pull against the restraints -- but, of course, no dice.

"I'll take that resistance as a 'no.' You should know that if your brain is stationary too long, stress begins to build. That, truly, does not bode well for you."

...Another pull against the restraints -- but I froze, momentarily, as he spoke. 'What the hell is he talking about..?'

"Now, dear patient, I have to check for indicators of stress in the brain. I've done this before, rest assured!"

The man walked to my left -- his hands rummaging through what sounded like a duffle bag.

"All I had to do was go into my patient's skull and find the parts of the brain that were stressed -- and deal with them."

...The man turned around, holding two splintered wooden stakes, as though ripped straight from fresh lumber.

"Of course, the pros -- unwilling to accept the fact that you should 'rest your brain,' or cut off the stress in your life -- voided my medical license! But it hardly matters now, does it? After all, I did get a medical license, so who cares if I lost it?"

'What does he..?'

The man stepped to his right, and procured some sort of metal slab -- crafted into something akin to a cut sphere, as though a third of it had been cut out -- and wire had been placed at its end, running downwards.

"Now, rest assured, patient -- I'll be making sure you must only do this once. Because I have a permanent solution to stress, and it beats simply resting your mind and returning it after."

...Something gripped my throat, at that moment -- siphoning my breath from my lungs.

The man smiled, positioning a stake in each hand -- and stepping forward, leaning over me from the right.

"Keep your eyes open, dear patient. Hurts less that way."

The man laughed a moment, as though just preparing a filling, positioning the stakes --

I'm finding myself unable to breathe, all of a sudden. Those wooden things, suddenly above me -- their sharp, splintered edges lowering themselves down...

The cold, sharp hands tear at my spine, my lungs. I shudder, unable to move -- a clasp around my neck secures my head in place.

The man in the mask smiles.

"The brain is ultimately just a biological computer. A very fragile one, however - weak to age, disease, and stress alike. It needs breaks. But it is still a computer."

Another clamp. My eyelids are forced back. My breath quickens, but I'm getting no air.

The hold of the beast is tearing holes in my lungs. I breathe, and it isn't enough.

I can't even speak -- not enough to use the Command Spells. And as the knife had stopped even the Queen, surely...

"A computer can be replicated if you know enough about computers. A perfect computer, that isn't harmed by stress nor by misery. You can simply remove those feelings."

He takes a moment, glancing from the 'brain' to me.

"No matter what, if the data is copied properly, you will believe you are 'you' -- even if your brain is fake."

...He leans over me, smiling. In a moment, he stared deep into my pupils --

"Isn't technology amazing?"

--and the stakes suddenly fall.

#fgo #mastersona #gudasona #l o r e #cadenceloreposting #tw: medical shit #tw: eye trauma #columbina #il dottore #ae of rakugo #caster of rakugo

16 notes · View notes

havetheavengersdoneanythingwrong · 3 years

Text

Interlude — The Arrival of the Goddess

Times change, and with it, so do the gods.

“To try to make amends—“

It wasn’t ‘her’ that had done that. She understood that much.

But what ‘she’ did affected her as much as any other. Remembering the face of a man that wasn’t him, she overdid her job — and faced the cost for such foolishness.

There was something in the murky haze she spotted — something to support and grow.

She couldn’t walk back ‘her’ actions, but she could step forward and rebuild.

—

“I’m done with you! I never want to see you again!”

…

…Aah.

She found herself moving ‘home.’ Even if ‘home’ is more of a concept, to her.

She had ‘territory’ not far from here. Surely.

…

“…That was…”

‘Her.’

A ‘her’ that did something foolish. Repeatedly. Fear of family being hurt had undercut her ability to reason — had led to what appeared to now be her expulsion.

“…That’s what I’d get, being a minor goddess. Easier to kick me out.”

…Yet, that bitterness now felt hollowed. Certainly, there remained anger brewing — that she’d been tossed over the edge, despite doing it with good intentions.

“And more than that, these pantheons aren’t immune to cheating bastards. It’s more prevalent then ever.”

—

A man who wouldn’t stop wailing.

It was a horrible, cursed sound.

For his sins, she cursed his soul. She would not stop cursing him.

The wailing, she felt, was soulless. Irritated her. Enraged her.

She couldn’t forget that obnoxious cry.

—

Yet she couldn’t even blame that woman. Idealistic though Quetzacoatl was, she wasn’t the sort to be fooled so easily. More than that, she had failed many times over to understand where the pursuit should end.

…And yet, that wasn’t her.

That was ‘her.’ A copy, summoned and descended. A different ‘Tlazolteotl.’

…One tossed away all the same.

“…”

…Certainly, where she stood — at some ‘brink,’ a temple in a ‘somewhere’ no longer on Earth — she found herself remorseful.

Angry; enraged, even; but more than that, sorrowful.

…That was ‘her’ fault, ultimately. And that wouldn’t change.

“…And she’s too stubborn to go back on her word so easy.”

‘…As she should be.’

…Even with what had just happened, she had to commend Quetzalcoatl. The stubbornness she possessed made adultery impossible for her — nor forgiving those who tried.

…

“…Now what?”

…The sunset stop the ‘temple’ was beautiful. She took a seat, and gazed upon it, as steam began to rise.

Quetzalcoatl wasn’t unreasonable, but that was still ‘her.’ And Quetz was rarely one to exaggerate in her wording, even if angry.

She knew Quetzalcoatl well enough to know that. She was her sister.

…The rock that composed the temple… Despite all this time, it still scratched at her feet when she moved about. Her gaze moved from the sun to the ground she stood on — steam now surrounded it, but the basics now stayed the same.

…The people who made this temple, back then — piece, upon piece, to connect with the gods, to find forgiveness and partake in rituals to appease them.

‘Arrogant, the lot of them’ — those gods, who took the mantle of humanity’s saviours and protectors. Her sister felt as though she were the only one who hadn’t grown too used to their power — watching that god commit the very same sins she so furiously raged against only convinced her further, even as she levied curse after curse upon the wailing man.

—

“Please..! I didn’t..! I didn’t think, and..!”

…What was it with these Mayan gods and crying like fools?

That man — Chocl — was a fool.

He comes to her hoping for forgiveness for the most grave act of all.

A human was one thing. They were flawed; made mistakes; could recover.

But a god was above that. They had to be above that — they were the paragons Tlazolteotl was trying to help the people look up to.

To help the people become like them.

And the insult of approaching her now, failing the one task they were given, desperately wishing for her to bail him out for something he had no excuse for—

And the insult of approaching her now, a goddess of a pantheon that ran side-by-side with his, to beg for forgiveness that he had by no means earned. For the insult of a Mayan god approaching an Aztec goddess, for forgiveness she only offered humans.

“…You’re a damnable fool.”

The man looked upon her, his eyes widened with the sort of fear she almost loved to see. The fear of an adulterer facing their crimes — an adulterer she grew to respect, a higher-up, that she was now in charge of punishing.

He was better than this.

And he began to cry, yet again, in regret.

—Disgusting.

A disgusting man allowed himself into the pantheon, and made a fool of them all.

She raised her hand, forced it towards the weeping man — riddling his form, cursing him to weep, silently, as long as it would take to make up for such a foolish sin. As long as it would take to mend the heart of the brother whose wife he slept with, and loved.

…She would never allow the crying of a foolish adulterer to disgrace the pantheon ever again. Surely — she swore.

She would never place trust in these gods. Never again.

—

…And yet, here she was.

Viewing the people around her family so lowly, recalling that incident where even a god fell to those vices, she went overboard.

“…Damn you, me.”

…Another look down to the temple.

…People would repent here for their actions. She could even recall raising her curses on some she disavowed in similar locations.

The higher gods oversaw her actions, judged her every move, yet she still arrived to deliver that safety from the curse.

…

“…You appear to be in a pinch, Tlazolteotl.”

…

A familiar voice, behind her. The goddess of filth turned herself around slowly, facing another goddess.

A familiar, older woman. A blue band of woven fabric covered her chest, paired with a carefully-made silver and blue skirt, landing at her knees. Golden necklaces adorned her neck — golden cuffs on her lower arms.

“…Coatlicue.”

“My, you haven’t made an enemy again, have you?”

Coatlicue placed a hand to her cheek, her spare hand still at her side. Her icy blue eyes stared daggers into the opposing goddess; without hostility, only a kind curiosity.

“…It was a ‘me.’ After the previous incidents, I had been too cautious. Had gone overboard — harmed Quetzalcoatl, and her husband.”

“…Hmmm… A conundrum indeed, isn’t it?”

The woman sighed, and took a seat on the temple roof’s floor — steadying herself with a hand, resting the other on the ground.

“…Putting it lightly, yes. Damnit… I highly doubt I could even show my face around here for a while.”

“…Well… Moping about won’t help you.”

“I just got off the news. Forgive me for being a bit lost.”

…Tlazolteotl took a seat before Coatlicue, and breathed out a long sigh.

“…What do I do? That thickheaded sister of mine… I doubt she was exaggerating. Gods, she should at least know where I’m coming from, but…”

—

“Your intentions mean nothing when the result is hurting me!”

—

“…Damnit, couldn’t she have..?! Why did I..?!”

…The goddess of filth, perhaps from all the moisture in the air, didn’t notice she was crying — the goddess across from her only waited for a few seconds longer.

“…She prefers kindness, does she not? Kindness and heroics.”

…But Coatlicue’s words caused the woman’s eyes to shoot up.

“…You know as well as I do I can’t do that.”

“…I think you can, Tlazolteotl. There is more than just ‘her’ story — surely, you can find a different Master to help.”

The woman smiled, leaned back, as Tlazolteotl furrowed her brow.

“That’s impossible! Summoning a god is already next to impossible, and—“

“—It happened with Quetzalcoatl, one of the strongest of us. You are nowhere near her strength, no offence to you.”

…A period of silence befell the two, as the sun descended further. The darkness of night slowly overtook the atmosphere — the light atop the temple fading away.

“…How do I know I will find a Master the way she had? A Master as good as hers?”

…At this, the goddess only smiled.

“In time, you will find it. Time is far more subjective to us, my dear. I’m sure that you can redeem yourself before your sister’s return.”

“…”

“…Have some faith in humanity. Chocl may have broken the pedestal you placed those of us on — but not all have done as he has. I trust you have learned that the hard way.”

“…I’ll… try.”

The goddess faded, leaving Tlazolteotl alone.

“…That crying.”

…The woman furrowed her brow; and covered her ears.

It was raining again; wasn’t it?

“…Damn you, Chocl. In my foolishness to prevent another you… ‘I’ have landed myself here. Damn you.”

…And yet — a Master.

Someone she could try to help. Someone she could try to cooperate with to mend what she had broken.

…A possible…

…

“…What sort of Master would I want..?”

…The woman got to thinking. Surely, someone she could get to listen to her — but someone who wouldn’t indulge in vices. Someone who wouldn’t toss her in the field and kill her, and someone she did not have to curse.

…

“…Someone… normal.”

—

…In the Chaldea summoning room, a ruckus had commenced.

“—Y’know, that hurt like hell! Thank god I’m all gooey and all.”

At one end of the room, the haughty goddess of justice, Astraea — gazing at the other end of the room, containing a widely-grinning Ritsuka who had reformed into their orange-haired visage after being squished against a wall.

“You ought’a be careful with your tosses, Astraea! You might activate the summoning stuff.”

“Can it, Ritsuka. After thieving that cake from the Chaldea fridge, I won��t leave without justice being served!”

“—Really?! That’s what you took issue with?!”

The two went back and forth, as I slipped in — checking the camera feeds, I knocked on the Chaldea door before just walking in, just in time to see Astraea politely wave to me before running towards the other Master.

“I see it’s business as usual over here.”

“Yep—! Just your average throwing sessiOOHHOHOHO”—

—I had to quickly run backwards before Ritsuka crashed into me, as he instead crashed into something far worse in hindsight.

The summoning controls.

“…”

“Why did they make the ‘summon button’ this easy to accidentally press?”

“…Fucking mages.”

“Yeah, blame them. Not, uh, me.”

—And in a moment—

—

…Suddenly, the goddess felt a tug.

The tug originated from ‘somewhere.’ A ‘somewhere’ beyond her reach.

This was not what she knew — this was not what the Caster of her knew.

This was something else.

And yet, the odd still held curiosity to her — as the stone temple she stood on, illuminated by the morning sun, now suddenly became an all-encompassing vortex.

…Something this strange — surely, the way to regaining favour, restoring her sister’s faith in her, restoring her faith in others lay here.

If restoring the faith of her family required helping another — she would have to try.

She would most certainly be dead if she did not.

“…Here goes.”

—

In a moment, the summoning room was filled with steam.

Astraea, myself, and Ritsuka had to spend the first few second hacking our lungs out — coughing from the sudden increase of moisture, as the technology threatened to fizzle out under the less-than-amicable environment.

But among the haze, the figure of a beautiful woman, with piercing green eyes and a gaze that may even put Kiara to shame.

“…It appears I have been summoned, at last. I suppose this is my chance at setting things right.”

…The haze cleared, slightly. A woman clad in black and red, who approached Ritsuka — looked them up and down, and then moved to me.

Her eyes looked through me, as though dissecting me with her mind — taking in every feature, before leaning in with a mischievous grin.

“…Hm… Perhaps I may like this more than I thought. I am Tlazolteotl, the goddess of steam baths, among other things. I’ll be in your care, Master~ ♡”

#fgo #mastersona #gudasona #interlude #AE of Rakugo #l o r e

10 notes · View notes

havetheavengersdoneanythingwrong · 3 years

Note

😭: How are you acclimating to life in Chaldea? There’s so many fragile little doodads all over the place, and none of them handle water well! Have you made many amigos with the other servants so far?

Hahaha~! Chaldea had to acclimate to me, you know! Poor Da Vinci had to work double time to get all the techno stuff up to date, since I kinda produce steam all the time! I can tone it down, but it takes tons of effort — frankly, I’m very happy they have everything waterproofed now. Although I’m still not allowed in the summoning room. Apparently nothing in there can be waterproofed without messing with weird magic stuff I don’t really know much about.

Friends… Well, aside from the rest of Cadence’s ‘club,’ I have gotten along somewhat well with mi amiga Kiara. I’ve been having to tone down my Spanish for now since not too many others speak the language — but I’ve been teaching some of the younger ones how to speak it, with some help! It’s all the more reason why all the others who speak Spanish are a welcome joy to my life here — most of the pirates, actually~! I suppose it comes with the trade, travelling that much.

Kiara is a little offputting, however — something simply makes me feel as though she’s due to do something awful if I look away! At least my other friends, like Shakespeare and Kama, aren’t so dangerous.

#mastersona #gudasona #tlazolteotl #ask #AE of Rakugo

9 notes · View notes

havetheavengersdoneanythingwrong · 3 years

Text

Act 2 -- The Two Suns Rise

The coffins raise;

the people fall;

into a land beyond what the People understand.

A magnificent kingdom where the two suns set;

A magnificent kingdom of peace, of glory, of [].

This, is [̴̴̄ͤ̓̊̅̓ͬ̓̾̋͋ͦͮ̍̊̒ͬ͏̢̫̙̼̤̼̥̗̟̀ͅQ͚̥̩̖̣̮̭̣͉͚̓̉ͫ̾̈́̍̅̽̏ͭͩ̍ͬ͗̎ͭ̀2͍̞̻̲͇́̅͋͗ͥ̾̓͐ͭ̓ͭͨͩ̚͢͞F̸̨̈́ͬ̾͗͑̒͊̆ͬ̆̓̑͗̽͊͋ͬ́̀҉̪̬̬̙͚̜͎̱̼̻̦ỹ̧̧̥̦̖̹̝̯̫̥̰͕͙̳̝̺̞̻̦͓̾͐͐ͭ̽͢͢Y̶̌ͮ̉̌̔͆̅́̔̃͗ͪ̒̍̚̚̚͏̡̡̠̯̟͉͚͙̺̞͓͓̝͢2̘͇̱̬̘̭̗̺̺̟̭̪͓̿̃ͯ͒̈̎̑̔̒̎̄ͧ͗̇ͨͯ̀͜9̶̅ͭ̿ͫͤ͋ͭ̋͐ͧͧ͐̍̊ͩͣ̾҉̤̠̳̬̩͓̫͈̣̳̬͟z̴̷̸̼͕̞͕̫̻͕̦͎͈͎̣̞͎̖̪̞ͥͨ͌͗͑͂ͯ͗̈ͪ̈́͑̎ͬ̈́̚ͅY̴̶̐͊͛̃ͦ̈́͒ͥ̊͒̂̿͐̆͏̸̢̙̺̰̤̖̘͉̼̰̱̣S̫̜̫̦̗̈́͊͌̃͝͡4̱̘̤̦̩̦̩̹ͣ̊ͬ̐͂͛͆͋̏ͨ̂ͯ͊̒͢͜=̷͙͙̟̞̯̙͙͍̹̞̪̞̪̘͓͊̋̈ͬ͋̃̀̚̕]̵̮̜̭͍͚͍̮͓̩̪̟͇͓̙̬͍̻̾̾͂ͪ̍̋ͣ̚͜͠

They take their seats.

The seats of the Audience creak as they [sit/lay back/laze/choke].

Laughter fills, overflows the room.

The foolishness of man.

The folly of man.

The cowardice, the stupidity of man.

They witness it all. The actor who was given a broken script, tied together with wire that shatters at a passing wind.

It will begin. The performer knows. They have been waiting all their life.

[Prepare yourselves. A grand adventure begins now. Of the folly/foolishness/demise of man.]

The Audience [cheers/screams/vomits] their applause.

They trust the one who arranges a cast before them -- of masked beings, and of the mask on the table, unused. They pick up their folding fan, the cloth, and smile.

[Let us begin our show.]

"...Good morning, Cadence."

...There's a knock at the door.

The process to waking up were always the same. Ritsuka would always pop up around now, anyways -- calling for me, rapping their knuckles against my door carefully.

The heat, however, would do the rest of the work in awaking me. That same warmth that tended to lull me to sleep...

"...My lord."

...It's suffocating.

"...My lord, you appear to be having some trouble breathing."

...My eyes slowly blinked open, to the sight of a smiling -- if mildly worried- Ushiwakamaru before me. Her mask lay off to the side, as it were the night before, though with the tight vice on us inflicted by Gorgon's tail -- it wouldn't be likely that she could use it anyways.

"...A bit. Nothing I can't recover from."

...Easier said than done, however -- the grip of, well, Gorgon was hard to overstate. Like King Kong grasping hold of their victim atop a tower, though perhaps a bit more comfortable.

"...That said... Gorgon, are you awake?"

...The sleep in my eyes slowly gave way to the darkened quarters I had by now called my home. A decently-sized kotatsu, what was effectively the replacement for a bed at this point, lay in the middle -- about all I could see in the dark, save for the faint outline of Gorgon rolling about a bit past Ushi's head.

"...Yes. As much as I would prefer to have continued resting, your movements have..."

"...Go figure."

...In a moment, the vice grip lessened -- and, perhaps not unlike a bat fresh out of hell, I desperately crawled out, pulling the collar of my shirt to let in some much-needed cooler air.

It seemed Ushi was not too far off, either, making a beeline for her mask, and letting it 'disintegrate' into her Spirit Origin once more, as Gorgon slowly stood up and stretched herself out.

Allowing myself to stumble over to the light switch, finally giving the lot of us some much-needed illumination, my eyes shifted to the lady resting on the bed. 'Presumably, the heat was a bit much.'

Even so -- despite her position being at ease, the woman's blue eyes shot directly over towards me.

"...You're awake, Cadence. I would hope you're prepared to be furthering our rule today, as well."

"I think we have slightly bigger concerns, don't we?"

At my response, the lady only smirked -- sitting up on the bed, she'd rest her head on her closed fist, and raise an eyebrow towards me.

"This Singularity, too, is an obstacle to ruling. You would do well to remove it."

"I wonder how the lot of us would even rule to begin with."

The lady sighed out, as though aware of something I were not.

"You would not be the first king to hold with you a concubine."

"--I'm sorry?!"

"Why, as long as we may share in those honours, I see no reason why it could not work."

Though, she'd stop talking at the glare of Gorgon -- and the snakes, too. At that, she'd stand, walking to the door, though waiting for me to open it.

"Your anger need not be directed at me -- not when you'd be better set serving the King."

"--You damned..."

"I'm sure there will be plenty of cronies to spend your anger on, wherever we are to be headed. Destroy them in my place."

...Despite the cold delivery of her words, the joking jabs certainly worked as intended. Taking care not to say a word until the tensions cooled slightly, I slipped the door open -- in time for Morgan to march through the door, and in time for Gorgon to 'calmly' leave after her. Once the two had set out, Ushiwaka stepped out -- and as did I, just after.

"...My lord, those two always seem to be on the verge of fighting. I would hope not over..."

"I'd sincerely hope the title of 'bad harem anime protagonist' isn't one added to my record. I already have enough titles as is."

"Courtesy of Ritsuka?"

"Who else?"

...The warrior beside me laughed, gently, and began to up her pace -- seemingly intent on catching up to Gorgon and Morgan, who seemed to already be a ways ahead on the path to the Command Room.

"My lord -- you should come a bit faster, you know. Wouldn't want to miss out on Ritsuka's prime explanations, would you?"

'...Are those really so looked forward to?'

...The Command Room was a full place that day.

The Coffins meant for each of the many Masters remained lined up, ready for use -- though it rarely saw a time where more than a few would be closed, and utilized.

At the midpoint between each one, Ritsuka stood -- their smile far weaker than before, at a glance, only to perk up as they felt the gaze of their colleagues.

To their right stood a familiar face -- the goddess summoned not long earlier, Tlazolteotl. Adjusting the headdress upon her head, her gaze settled on me with a borderline bone-chilling smirk before returning to the others.

'...She just keeps doing that.'

After a moment spent waiting for each individual to line up -- myself, Ushiwakamaru, Gorgon, Morgan, Tlazolteotl, and the Caster of Rakugo -- Ritsuka clapped their hands together.

"...Alright! Da Vinci's a little busy today, so I've been put in charge of debriefing this stuff. Olga's never liked the weird stuff this Singularity's got, so she's sitting this one out too, the coward."

'...Da Vinci, did you curse us?'

"Long story short, we've found us a Singularity in the midst of Canada. I... can't really confirm much about what's going on in there, and neither can the others."

...Ritsuka's hand moved up to their cheek, scratching it lightly.

"What I do know is, so far as I'm aware, it's in a city called 'Carcosa' in Manitoba. There's a whole new thing there -- a monarchy -- and whatever it's doing is causing this mess."

'...Carcosa... The capital of Canada.' Simple enough information -- truthfully, what bothered me was what the King were doing down there. 'During my youth, he was far kinder, wasn't he? What changed so much that a Singularity would come about?'

...Though, Ritsuka gave little time for me to process that.

"That's the gist of it. We've been watching it over the past few weeks, and it's just now gotten to the point where we can head to it. The crew we've gathered here should be able to take care of things just fine. We've got a few minutes 'til everything's ready, so do what you need to now."

Calling the meeting off just as quickly as they started it, the uniformity of the Command Room was just as quickly split off -- while Ushiwaka and Morgan turned to examine their coffins, Tlazolteotl pulled both them and Gorgon together -- most likely, whispering some nonsense to them -- before breaking off again.

'...Though, whatever she said, the three of them...'

Surely, I were just making it up -- seeing those three suddenly so serious seemed ridiculous. 'Maybe a bit of fresh air could fix my head, before I jump in.'

So, that in mind, I slipped out of the command room to find the closest equivalent to fresh air -- an empty Chaldean hallway with an A/C unit blowing into it.

...

'Silence.'

Even the commotion of chatter and footsteps in the Command Room was blocked out by the noisy, yet calming sound of an out-of-date air conditioner blowing both air and noise through the vents. Such a thing could easily have you wondering how a unit could be so loud -- and surely, I were, up until I felt a 'friendly' slap to my back.

"--Arash?!"

"Not quite."

My gaze moved behind me -- met with an uncharacteristically calm grin, from a Rider who almost immediately had me frozen still.

"--Please get away from me, Columbus."

...A thief. A horrible thief, of the worst order -- but for once in his life, he heeded instructions, and stepped back.

"...Hm, just as they stated. Go figure you wouldn't trust me even when I'm acting so pleasant."

"--Couldn't you just go die..?!"

"Not yet. Master, there's still money to gain from this place, and I'm not leaving 'til my coffers are filled to bursting and then some. But that's why you've ought to succeed."

...

'...What?'

"--You know as well as I do you're being unsummoned after this!"

"Maybe so, but you'd better believe I'm taking some of that sweet Canadian syrup with me to the Throne. Bring some back when you roast that place to the ground, you hear?"

'...Right, there was a black market of the stuff.'

At any normal occasion, I would likely have called Columbus on his bluff -- that, surely, he'd be all too happy to take the Singularity's residents too, for whatever end he desired.

...But he just turned around, and moved away from the route to the Command Room.

"I own the people here as well as anything else, Master. I may as well gain some stacks off that little Quebecois trade just to spite that place."

'...Go figure. That wasn't encouragement, just a command.'

Briefly, perhaps I would have considered an almost-polite thing coming from a man like that to be an attempt at raising morale -- but, of course, a man like him would have too much trouble not showing his true colours.

'...No wonder I don't trust that thief.'

...Allowing my heart to settle, I turned back to the Command Room -- or at least, the route to it that surely only took me a few hallways.

...Perhaps out of a mixture of spite for that cocky bastard, and from the fact his raw rudeness distracted me from my worries, I took my steps back to the final part of my journey.

...The coffins were never comfortable. Certainly, it only made sense -- they were called coffins.

Beside me, in adjacent coffins, lay Kagekiyo and Gorgon -- hard to miss the latter, as the coffin would usually have to be adjusted for her mildly larger size. Morgan had situated herself somewhere nearby, perhaps adjacent to Gorgon just to mess with her a bit, and Tlaz was... somewhere.

As the Chaldea staff looked over each coffin, fussed over Ritsuka's messily-worn Mystic Code, doted on the Caster right next to them, and listened to Olga barking orders in a terrified-yet-certain demeanour, Ritsuka's eyes settled on me from across the room.

[...You ready for this one?] They mouthed out the words to me, giving a wink at the end of it.

[...Ready as I can be.]

...The coffin doors closed--

--Those words uttered by the machine, the spiritron unsummoning, all of it --

--It had grown the same as always. Even the coffins, mechanical as they seemed, uncomfortable as they were, were familiar -- comforting, almost. Part of 'home.'

'...Part of home, huh?'

...Even thinking of 'home,' only that kotatsu would come to mind.

Perhaps it was due to the time that passed, but that empty, dark room in Toronto felt like little more than a passing dream. The loneliness that felt so stifling back then, now seemed so far away, as though it could never reach me.

'...This is my last mission. And... Afterwards, I'll go home.'

'...After this mission, I'll find a home, and... Everything will be okay.'

...Even when my soul left my form, perhaps to send itself to the final Singularity, there were no worries left. Not even the fear of the transfer failing.

Wherever I opened my eyes next, this would be my final fight.

"...Girls, would it be too harsh to bring you three in for a little talk~? It's about your hubby."

The mischievous voice of Tlazolteotl had captured the ears of the three women -- Ushiwakamaru, who turned on her heel with a curious gaze, answered first, as Gorgon gazed behind her with a long, long sigh out.

"What's the problem? If you're due to take the high ground about his circumstances..."

"Not quite, Ushi. I'd be in no place to talk, you know -- certainly, you aren't the only ones he has acting unwise."

While Gorgon opened her mouth to respond -- likely with a large amount of swears -- Tlaz placed a finger to the being's mouth, and shushed her.

"...Sort out your problems now. Figure out what your relationship looks like -- something I must do as well -- before this Singularity is over."

...At that, Morgan finally found herself bothered to turn around and listen.

"...And why is that?"

"...Ritsuka. They told me something."

...Cold ground awakened me.

Dirt surely stuck to my cheek as I sat up, holding my forehead in the palm of my spare hand to dissuade the headache that tended to come of these rayshifts.

My gaze slowly sharpened, my eyes now settling on the few people before me.

Caster, who had landed sitting down, glancing directly up at the sky.

Gorgon, who was only now standing up, her brow furrowed, faintly cursing.

Kagekiyo -- who was standing still in the dark soil beneath, as though they had been there the entire time.

Morgan, who was dusting off the dirt from her dress -- making use of the gentle moonlight to figure out where it all was.

Tlazolteotl, fixing her poncho as to show some modesty, warming her hands with some steam.

Ritsuka, face down in the dirt.

The large, faintly yellow moon, shining down upon us, and a sky completely blackened -- lacking even the hint of a star.

A forest surrounding us, of evergreen trees, grown as though each intended to touch the sky.

And a woman with red hair, a crow at her side, whose blue eyes suddenly pierced through the lenses of her glasses, through the air -- directly towards us.

"...Who are all of you?"

#fgo #mastersona #gudasona #l o r e #cadenceloreposting #columbina #AE of Rakugo #caster of rakugo

9 notes · View notes