#At least in regards to ''sitting next to each other'' motif | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

waitmyturtles · 11 months

Text

HYPERBOLIC SPOILERS FOR THE PHENOMENAL SECOND EPISODE OF OS2 x BBS x ATOTS

Can I feel so much in just one sitting?! Besides the UTTER giddiness of yesterday’s episode, at least for today, I think I have some actual, sensible, legible analysis to offer. I’m really moved, almost to tears.

I mean, as I blogged just a few minutes ago, part 4/4 of this second episode WILL go down in history in my heart as OBVIOUSLY some of the BEST, most STUNNING content in the HISTORY of anatomical and muscular analysis filmmaking. Yes.

I’m seeing on Twitter some grumpiness for the comedy of this all (the girlies want more woop woop?! I mean?!), but I seriously think this whole crossover set up and the way it’s been written is brilliant. And I don’t think this is just for fun.

But first, regarding the comedy and some other one-off points -- I mean, I knew that all four of these guys would be great, but their comedic TIMING, with the writing, is spectacular. They clearly had a FANTASTIC time filming this, and you can see it -- while they didn’t have much time to actually film it, it’s so well done.

I really want to call it, I really want to see it, I wanna see more subverting of the ships, and I wanna see these guys do more with each other separately -- I’m excited to see the implications of OhmEarth and NanonMix next week, and I think that Aof might be making a huge point by separating these guys, pairing them up together with others, and mixing shit up, because that’s what he does (especially while I have He’s Coming to Me on the mind soon on my OGMMTVC watchlist).

Another one-off point: like I wrote yesterday, we’re getting a double-dose of nostalgia, and I also wrote that I haven’t had to wait NEARLY as long as most of y’all for the return of BBS and ATOTS. But that being said, even though I only watched ATOTS last fall, I actually literally nearly cried when I saw the ATOTS flashbacks and heard the music. Because the way that show was designed in 2021 (I got so much OGMMTVC on my mind) -- those motifs WERE designed to imprint themselves in our memories as remarkable for a kind of cinematic, bildungsroman BL that we weren’t used to seeing back then. That show was nostalgic not JUST for the damn ship, but for Pha Pun Dao, for Chiang Mai, for the Thailand that Aof celebrates vis à vis EarthMix in ATOTS and Moonlight Chicken.

It’s gorgeous, and he knows what he’s doing by putting PatPran in that mix -- another couple at a different stage of their relationship, with a background and shared struggles that are different than TianPhupha’s, but that still offer both freshness AND nostalgia to the backbone story of ATOTS.

What’s moving me about these first two episodes reflects on what I just wrote -- this is no longer a story about Bad Buddy or ATOTS. This is a story about two couples going through their shit. Pat and Pran have ALWAYS been about going through their shit. We went through a A LOT of SHIT with them, including forward flashes after they graduated and seeing how they were faring in their long-distance relationship.

Remember: we haven’t spent ANY time with Tian and Phupha in their relationship yet, ABSOLUTELY NONE. They smooched once on the hill, we saw them cuddle, and Oishii sent us off. So we’re JUST finding out, NOW, how they’re faring, and we get thrown in a fight.

A fight that’s similar to the kinds of struggles that Pat and Pran have already shown us and are showing us now. Tian wants Phupha to see a slice of HIS life in Bangkok. Tian wants Phupha to yield a little, to stop being so stubborn.

Pat wants Pran to open up more. Pat KNOWS why Pran keeps everything so close to the chest. Pat is SO USED to being the balancing effect of their relationship, to push forward, to pull back, but to ALWAYS HOLD PRAN DOWN AND REMAIN AS PRAN’S ROCK, because Pran has not had the same kind of large family structure as Pat could rely on in his childhood and doesn’t know how to take emotional risks. Pat knows this and works hard on balancing it out.

But Pat can go overboard, right, and that’s partly why Pran drove away to Pha Pun Dao -- to prove to himself that he could complete this project on his own, but also, flirtingly, knowing that Pat would ultimately be by his side, and to play the competitive games that these guys always play with each other, because they’re still college dudes with bones to pick.

What we’re seeing is BOTH COUPLES FINDING THEMSELVES IN THEIR MATURING GROWTH STAGES OF THEIR RELATIONSHIPS.

Hello, mic check, there’s something happening here in Our Skyy 2. WHAT HAPPENED IN THE ECLIPSE EPISODES?

Same damn thing, the same damn thing that pissed the girlies off before. WE’RE SEEING AWLLLLLL THESE GUYS IN THE GROWTH STAGES OF THEIR RELATIONSHIPS. Akk was frustrated by all the expressions of care that Ayan is overabundant with. Ayan WANTS Akk to RECEIVE the care, because the RECEPTION OF CARE IS the signal, the trigger, the MEANING of the relationship for Ayan -- it tells Ayan, when I care for you, Akk, I AM SHOWING YOU MY LOVE FOR YOU, and that’s how *I* DEMONSTRATE IT.

Tian: Phupha, come with me to Bangkok.

Pran: Pat, let me do this by myself.

Akk: Ayan, I don’t need as much care as you’re giving me, it’s too much.

Phupha: You’re making only about me being madly in love with you.

Pat: I want to help you, my boyfriend.

Ayan: This is how I show my love for you, Akk.

Y’all. Aof, Golf, these filmmakers. QUEER RELATIONSHIPS ARE RELATIONSHIPS THAT DESERVE THE INVESTMENT AND RESPECT OF EMOTION AND GROWTH IN ART. Not all queer art/BLs need to be about the thrills and frills of the first kiss, of the first sex, of the first whatever. We’re expecting these guys to live together forever in fiction, right? Aof and Golf and the other homies are saying -- kk, girlies, we’ll give you the fan service, alright, but we’re going to show you HOW WE, AS THE QUEER COMMUNITY, DURING PRIDE, GET THERE IN OUR OWN RELATIONSHIPS, TOO, messy details and all. Shit.

Here’s something from reality. I’m the youngest girl of my Indian family -- I was not equal to my older siblings at all, expected to fail, treated as if I didn’t know how to function in society. Y’all can predict what happened. Your gal got a great career, a great family, a husband, the whole thing.

So when I first met my husband, I’m riding my life on my own -- paying my own rent, my own bills, everything. I had already proved I didn’t need my birth family for anything.

But what I didn’t consider during those first years of the relationship was the following: my future husband’s love language was dependence. He was certainly IMPRESSED by dating a woman who had her shit together. BUT. He WANTED me to DEPEND on him, AT LEAST emotionally, if not for other things. I wasn’t going to like, quit my job for a relationship, but -- I was ALSO having REAL trouble DEPENDING on him emotionally.

Like Pran, maybe. I didn’t trust trusting anyone emotionally, because that was a paradigm already created by my family in my upbringing. I had TRAINED myself to NOT need emotional feedback from ANYONE romantically, because I learned to survive in other ways.

Of course, with great communication AND TIME (TIME), I came around and learned to lean on him and trust him.

Aof and Golf are giving their couples the benefits of growth and time to make the relationships better, and stronger, and working, and functioning, and I can’t emphasize enough how REAL THIS IS.

That’s what these episodes are giving me. I WANT TO SEE MORE BLs with established relationships (@bengiyo, @lurkingshan, @wen-kexing-apologist: WHAT DID YOU EAT YESTERDAY FTW). I want to see contextual heartache. I want to see fights. I want to see tears. I want to see snottiness and shittiness and passive aggression, because all of that is worth examining in human emotional art.

That’s real, that’s worth reflecting in art, and I see Aof and Golf doing this on purpose to give RESPECT to the emotional structures that they’ve created in their work.

I’m having so much fucking fun with these episodes, but I should have expected this, I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN, that Aof would already render me an emotional mess as well. It always happens. That it’s happening to our BELOVED COUPLES, AT THE START OF PRIDE, I’m just like. We’re just so blessed to have this art to enjoy.

134 notes · View notes

gallpall · 3 years

Text

canaan bubble redux as a womb for story/character arcs

I’m sure most of this has been posted about before but: ever since my initial read I’ve been obsessed with the gross bodily/gorey stuff in the Canaan redux and I wanted to organize some of my constant+chaotic thoughts!!

TM has said that a lot of the motifs/events in the bubbles are actually “Silent Hill stand-ins” for story elements and she hopes we pick up on stuff, so here’s my Attempt!

At the same time that Harrow’s mind is being made a tomb for Gideon Nav Wake’s subconscious is pulled in to act as a womb for certain plot elements right alongside it. The chronology/time period of HtN mimics a full nine-month gestation. There’s a lot of very literal imagery here (which is below the cut), but I also think we’re meant to see it as metaphorical: we’re able to glean some things about character arcs based on how everything in the bubble goes down.

I’m particularly interested right now in those ‘side’ characters in the bubble who aren’t actually dead, who barely appear in the bubble at all except to get summarily offed, all in very distinctive ways. Judith, Camilla, Palamedes, and Coronabeth.

(cw below cut for some pregnancy/insemination imagery, canonical body horror and gruesome bubble deaths rehashed)

First of all just some quotes showing some of the imagery that I’ve attributed to being Wake manifesting pregnancy trauma stuff (there’s possibly some of Harrow’s conception trauma here, too) seeping through, for the purposes of this line of speculation.

This isn’t nearly all of it, but some things that stood out to me as possibly comparing Canaan House 2.0 to a functioning reproductive system:

(ch. 21) a “collection of large, rusted pipette needles” -- turkey basters?

(ch. 35) “great, slithering, pulsing tubes” which contain “whitish-pearl bubbled globules”-- this perhaps recalls ovaries/fallopian tubes, with the ‘globules’ being follicles produced by superovulation for insemination, or corpus luteum that supply progesterone to maintain a pregnancy.

(ch. 45) “stretched webs of organ [...] like nets of sticky venous spiderweb” --uterine walls, maybe; it’s all over the windows, totally encasing them in Canaan’s rooms, and arguably even contracting like a uterus would: “every so often they would tremble uncertainly and erupt in floods of bloody, foamy water.”

in the next pgh we get some more of the tools Wake would have used to conceive/upkeep the pregnancy: “pipettes, broken glass-fronted containers filled with dark fluid,” skeletons sitting atop piles of “capsules or pills” perhaps hormones/supplements. (also holding Drearburh tools, the way Wake’s skelly would have been doomed to do)

(ch. 43) “from that hole emerged a clattering pile of plex scope slides, the type you would preserve a cell sample between“ -- Wake would’ve had to carry out the IVF process for implantation, this also seems like apparatus for that

(ch. 47) there’s the “libation” Abigail uses to summon Wake which is... well. It’s a “thin, milky, whitish liquid pooled at the base, sluggish in the cold,” and the summoning involves a bunch of ‘come’ commands, which I think might be Muir making a very elaborate jizz-adjacent “silly buggers with the emissions” joke.

Just a note, cause I’m hopeless about Pyrrwake: the Seconds’ quarters are almost completely preserved from the leaky body horror (though it’s still cold in there)--as if they represented a sanctuary in Wake’s subconscious. There are also letters in the nonagonal coffin room which spell out an anagram of “PYRRHA” (ch. 47).

So with all that in mind, I’d posit that the fake-ghost deaths are all metaphorical “rebirths” of various characters arcs for ATN. I haven’t delved into what this imagery might mean for Harrow or Gideon specifically because I know there’s a LOT and it’s probably above my theoretical paygrade (I would love for someone to tack on with that though!!) but I can talk about ‘side’ chars on a very big-picture level.

Judith’s simulacrum gets knocked off first (ch. 18); shot through the heart (both atria) while she and Marta’s ghost are trying to complete the winnowing trial. The Sleeper shoots her 7 more times after that, I guess partly just ‘cause she can, but Ortus notes that it seems like there was an element of "Anger” to it. It’s possible Wake wasn’t pleased to have someone messing around with Pyrrha’s lyctoral trial, infuriated that anyone would be attempting to replicate G1d/Pyr’s original downfall. She then ignores Marta entirely and climbs back in the coffin (now with the sword) once Judith’s out of the way.

[Marta’s] scarlet necktie looked redder too—by the time they’d gotten hold of Judith Deuteros the blood had dried hers nearly black.

Cohort red-and-whites being stained black with blood, like a certain high-collared BOE uniform... could be another little clue to Judith’s "heart” for the Emperor (and for Marta, and pretty much everything else she knew) being lost and her realigning--though not willingly, at least at first--with the other side.

Cam and Pal’s simulacrums are plainly executed (ch. 21), they have their “faces obliterated” each by a single gunshot, and it’s as if they just stood there and let it happen. In the bubble, “Harrow had never seen Sextus or Hect except from afar.” These simulacrums totally avoid having their features revealed to Harrow. I’m willing to bet their faces being obscured and then exploded is one of the clues we get to their eyes being swapped around the next time we see them in the epilogue and in ATN.

Regarding the twins: They are essentially non-extant in the bubble. Ianthe never appears because she’s still kicking and, in her own words, “doesn’t live alternate histories” (GtN ch. 15).

Coronabeth’s simulacrum scene (ch. 37) is SO vivid and cryptic. It fascinates me because it definitely is, in part, trying to tell us something poignant about the initiation of Corona’s “worse twin” arc in ATN.

[Corona] was turned away from Harrow, and her riot of hair—half-caught in a fillet, half-escaping—was soaking wet, a dark and crinkling amber in the rain. She was not fighting or arguing. She was still as a statue, and ready and waiting as a dog.

Sounds like the fake ghost preparing for that major shift in allegiance. Silas is the one to ‘dismiss’ her, with his “may the blood of your blood suffer,” which perhaps is a really Templar-y way of saying ‘now go wreck ianthe’s SHIT.’ When Harrow accuses him of sending Corona to her death, Silas asks “Death?”--as if he sees that what’s really just happened, at least metaphorically, is (re)Birth.

[Harrow] thought she saw, absurdly, a sudden gush of watery blood, as though the fog itself had been knifed; but it was gone almost as soon as she had seen it.

Sounds a bit like amniotic fluid/water breaking? Coronabeth doesn’t ever seem to hit the ocean (bodies of water=necromancy and that’s not her deal), she instead just kinda poofs, and Silas says she would have ended up “on her feet.” Coronabeth is ditching her family ties and is out for blood, and I think her charisma, willpower, and sheer desire for revenge will move her a long way in the ranks of Eden--probably even to the point of echoing Commander Wake’s ambitions and actions. I could delve into that damn portrait mirroring Ianthe’s obsession w/ Cyrus’ paintings on the Mithraeum... but that is a whole other post!

So all of these are fairly baseline observations and I think there’s a LOT more to be expounded on, if y’all wanna reply/reblog/DM with additions I would freaking love that, every time I open a page of this book I find something I missed before and it’s such a delight. Thanks for reading if you got this far!!

#the locked tomb trilogy #gideon the ninth #harrow the ninth #htn spoilers #shoutout to kallistoi and rusty-k for bouncing ideas around w me

333 notes · View notes

windup-dragoon · 4 years

Text

【Ｇｏｄｄｅｓｓ】

Word Count: 5033

Hien x Kiri

[[ Water Goddess AU ]]

Waterlilies

Drifting. Silence. Shadows.

She hates it here. It feels empty yet her stomach churns and her heart aches.

Helpless. Lost. Alone.

She yearns for the days of color. The sounds of daily life to fill her ears. A sweet song she wasn’t aware existed ‘til now.

This world, so bleak and abysmal. It would swallow her one day but she prays that it will not be so soon. She begs the powers that be to listen to her silent plea. To rescue her from the darkness that stretches so eagerly towards her. Reaching, always searching.

And then there is light. Strings that glitter and ripple; a web of fractured light and curtains falling across her face in swaths of warmth and life. She recognizes the patterns and is filled with relief.

Drifting. Silence. Light. Hope.

She exists beneath the waves, the womb of all life. It is here that she feels safe and yet her heart yearns for more. The ocean is vast and full of life... yet she is alone. Beneath the tides, between worlds of light and darkness, life and death... she mourns her loss.

It was beginning to feel as if the young prince may never see his goddess again. Hours gave way to full night and day rotations, so many that he dare not ask again for a count or suffer more ache in his chest than he could bear. Soroban, the Kojin who haunted the sunken library was his only form of company and even then the grand old tortoise mused at how impatient men could be. And while he did make an effort to speak with Leviathan, the great beast only spoke in a melody he was unable to comprehend and the occasional unsatisfied hiss.

“It is bewildering,” Remarked the prince one afternoon (or perhaps morning?) while thumbing through pages of century old books, taking pause to admire drawings or squinting at passages his eyes could not make heads nor tails of. “Why would a goddess have need for such a collection?”

Soroban, nose buried in a book of his own choosing, chuckled. “Collection?”

“Aye,” He nods in affirmation, his jaw set while re-shelving the old leather bound tome where he had found it. “While most, or at least a grand majority, belong to this forgotten civilization; written in a language I do not recognize, there are still few that I can discern. Children’s books of fairy tales and ship logs. Are these all belongings she has plundered?”

Upon his first evening spent in the library, when Soroban ushered him to a bedroom to rest, he had made his first of many discoveries about the sea goddess. The bedroom, perhaps once a study room for scholars to read in peace, had been decorated with tattered but fine silk curtains; the bedding salvaged pelts most certainly crafted from creatures on land and not of the sea. Even the garments he was gifted to replace his water logged garb seemed out of place. A collection of lost treasure.

Night after night he returned to rest among the familiarity of land culture, comforted by the portraits of long since gone people, staring up at a ceiling which had been decorated with jewels that mimicked a night sky when the candles burned low. And when he roused from slumber, the anxious feeling in his stomach waking him with concern for the goddess, he found ways to distract himself, namely picking through a personal shelf of assorted books and regarding their contents.

He had half expected the written text to be in a language he did not know, as all the other tomes that filled the library, but to his surprise, the prince was greeted with characters he could recognize at a mere glance! Small books, the leather soft from usage, were often ship logs or other such documents. Occasionally he stumbled across books with only beautiful ink drawings on each gilded page. All spanning from depictions of a ships mechanism to more fanciful things like pixies dancing, painted in the most vivid colors he had ever seen.

But only one book in particular caught his attention. After discovering it, tucked away beneath the bedding he had slept upon, he could only laugh. A book on how to dance. He found it humorous that it had taken several nights and several days to realize just who the bedroom belonged to.

“As a prince, ya’ have’ta attend parties, yea?” She had inquired one evening after swearing an oath to him. He remembered it so well, the night sky caught in her eyes as the ship cut silently through the still tide.

The question had taken him by surprise but he answered with a grin. “Aye. Lavish parties with horribly uncomfortable attires and even worse company. It’s all formality and severely unappealing. Why do you ask?”

“Parties are suppose’ta be fun. Ya’ must be doin’ it wrong.” The goddess laughed but not her typical bark of laughter. This was soft, amused and interested.

Hien leaned further on the banister and tilted his head in hopes of catching a glimpse of her smile. “Oh? And what part do you believe should be fun? Sure, the wine and food are not always bad but beyond that, I am afraid I do not see what fun there is to be had.”

It was then that she turned to him, stars aglow in her eyes and moonlight tangled in her hair. All at once he had forgotten that the woman standing before him was a Goddess; she almost seemed childlike as she graced him with a smile. “What ‘bout dancin’? And the music!”

If only he had been wiser, he thought now with a chuckle. He might have noticed sooner her deep seeded curiosity for the world outside her own.

Soroban, setting aside his book at long last, lifted darkened eyes to the young prince. Beside him sat a heap of untouched books, taken from various nooks and levels of the library; Hien had witnessed it himself as Soroban climbed creaky wooden ladders to pluck books at random from their shelves and bring them here to add to his growing collection. It was from this very pile that the Kojin now sifted through.

Hien curiously turned to watch, abandoning whatever spine of a tome he had been trying to pronounce for the last couple minutes. A soft hum and a nod later Soroban offers the prince a plain looking book. The cover had been lost or removed, now bound only with corded leather, the pages soft from wear.

“I pray I can read this,” Hien mused with a chuckle as he graciously accepted the book. It was small in size and only a couple dozen pages long.

“Perhaps if you try hard enough?” Soroban returned with a laugh of his own. Hien couldn’t help but to feel this was a ruse to keep the prince busy so the Kojin could continue his studies in peace. “Take a candle with you, there’s an alcove on the first floor with another book for you to reference there.”

The prince smiled and thanked Soroban with a bow before doing as he was directed. He was most certainly being gotten rid of.

For all the days spent wandering the library with Soroban, Hien could still only scarcely manage the vast layout of the building. Several floors high it rose, a literal tower on the ocean floor. Each tier circled around the entrance, overlooking the fountain and the glittering jeweled motifs of Leviathan. Every floor had its own small pocket chambers; some filled with long since withered plants, perhaps a garden for scholars to read within? Others, Hien had discovered out of pure curiosity, had been repurposed for various reasons; more hidden treasures like scavenged ballgowns and small ornate chests filled with romantic jewelry for high class citizens; another a storage for spices plundered from trading ships. But none had been the alcove Soroban made mention of. But then again...

Hien leaned on the marble banister, unafraid of the dust that now caked the front pocket of his borrowed clothing; he was still three floors too high. His legs ached from trudging down staircase after staircase, in some cases having to shimmy across broken ledges where wooden stairs had rotted away from the moisture. Giving himself a moment of peace, the prince looked once more to the foyer of the library, sunken as it was.

He often found himself staring at the fountain from which ever floor he currently resided on. Water still babbled from the statues vase, casting ripples across the water at her feet. No matter how he stared, no matter the angle or the distance between the fountain and himself, he still had yet to see the goddess sleeping beneath the surface, blanketed in lily pads and an array of colorful blossoming lilies. Some days he would count the hours sitting at the ledge, humming songs to comfort himself and the slumbering goddess. But his only audience, who did enjoy listening, was Leviathan.

Even now, Hien glancing from the fountain to observe the snake like beast, Leviathan rested its massive head upon the broken stonework of the library floor. An eel peering out of its cavern. Beast or no, the prince couldn’t help but notice the almost melancholy air that it held as it stared unflinchingly at the fountain.

“Your loyalty to her is admirable, my friend.”

He could admit he felt the same. While Soroban was hopeful that she would awaken at any time, his own patience was wearing thin. He wanted to see her again. To hear her. Even if she was making demands of him or rolling with laughter; anything to fill this deafening silence.

His heart ached in his chest, hollow and cold at rising thoughts of what might yet come. She may never wake. And if that were to happen, what next? Would the crowned prince of Garlemald be announced as victorious? Or his female companion? Ah, the world has he knew it would be in trouble if Garlemald had some how possessed her powers over the sea.

Ice shot through his veins. His country, his people, without their prince, what would become of them? Trapped in this library beneath the sea until his dying hours; forsaking the very thing he sought to protect with the blessing of the goddess. His throat tightened, mouth dry. So much to worry about, yet here he was, following orders from a tortoise.

“...A good read should clear my head....”

- - -

Once upon a time, there was a city on the cliffs by the sea. The people of this city, so fond of the sea, swore loyalty to the tide mother; she who controlled the oceans with a sigh. To the goddess they prayed for safe voyages, for loved ones to return home safely, and for a bountiful catch that would sustain throughout their days. Together the goddess and her people lived in harmony.

But one day a man arrived to the small town. He spoke of inventions and curious things! Metal shaped by fire! Ships that sailed among the clouds and birds! The town folk were enchanted by such curiosities. While they still cherished their goddess, the man began to spill poison in their ears.

‘What of this unseen goddess? Has none seen her? Do any commune with her? If she exists, would she not want to smile upon her loyal followers?’

It took time and careful wording, but the poison the man brought with him began to spread.

‘You pray that ships return safely, yet not all come home! Your goddess is no more than a fickle witch toying with you!’

In time her statues were torn down and cast into the sea. Saddened by her peoples distrust, the goddess wept. A full year passed with naught but storms and angry currents, true to the goddess’ pain.

The poisonous man angry at the goddess for slowing his products arriving to town with her tantrum, spoke up once more.

‘This is no more than curse upon your city. How could a loving goddess hurt you all so?’

The towns folk murmured, once again shunning their goddess. How could she have forsaken them?

Angry, the goddess did as the poisonous snake suggested. With her powers she gave the town a curse. Second born daughters would be born in her image, as she was the second goddess given form. The city would look upon their daughters and see her in them.

She would not be forgotten.

- - -

Water arched around her as she broke the surface, shimmering diamonds falling against torchlight. She parted her lips, sucking in stale but familiar air, filling her senses with the scent of the library. It was as if returning home at long last, warmth filling her chest to near bursting. Beads of water caught in her eyelashes, cascading down the crest of her cheekbones. Eyes of scarlet and sapphire opened at long last, greeted by a rainbow of lilies.

She was alive.

A delighted sound echoed around her in the cavernous library entrance. The sound mimicked that of whales singing in the depths, low pitched to high in a single breath. It was a melody she would recognize anywhere and had her eyes shooting up from the fountain’s water in a heartbeat.

“Levi, did’ja miss me?” She called in return while leaning on the lip of the stonework fountain. Yalms separated them, but it was hard to miss the tilt in Leviathan’s head or the glossy admiration that filled his massive scarlet eyes. Another song graced the foyer, echoing softly off the stone walls and rising all the way to the top tier of the library. Still singing, Leviathan sunk beneath the water and out of sight of the goddess, no doubt eager to stretch now that his master was sorted out.

She gave a lazy wave goodbye, regardless of the fact that Levi had already departed, then laid her cheek to the cold stone that returned her life.

“Missed you too, ya’ overgrown noodle.”

- - -

“Soroban? Where in the hells are ya’?” Her voice filled the corridors as she barked the Kojin’s name again and again. It had been a trial in of itself to rise from her watery bed, her body aching in places that shouldn’t even exist. And then there was the added weight that slowed her down.

It came as a distinct slapping of something wet against stone. Kiri, Goddess of the Ocean, had emerged from her pool reborn. With her ruined and bloody attire abandoned at the fountain she strode forth, her goddess form nearly luminescent in the unlit spots of the library. Her flesh shimmered with an opalescence unlike any time before, a faint shimmering of scales that traced her curved outline. If one did not look closely, it could easily have been mistaken for powder worn by prosperous women looking to catch eyes. Her hair tumbled down beyond her shoulders, spilling to the floor in a curtain of moonlight silver. Like a slug she left behind a trail of water, not only still pouring off from such long locks, but from a tail too long and heavy for her to hold up off the floor while out of water.

“Soroban???” She called again, a slight growl rising in her tone.

Many questions had begun to bubble in her mind now that she was awake and conscious enough to consider them. How many days had passed? Had anything else happened while she was away? And what of the prince? Or those goons who hunted her like prey? But oh... the thought of a certain young man had caused her questions to halt abruptly.

She recalled the pained look on his face as she laughed her injury off as if it were merely a scratch. That golden ichor hadn’t poured from beneath her rib and stained her coat. It felt like only moments had truly passed since then; his voice still rough in her ear as he begged her to stay awake. The drumming of his heart pounding against her temple....

Kiri blinked when she realized she had completely stopped walking, too absorbed in such a brief but intense memory. Her own heart was a flutter beneath her breast, oddly nervous and hesitant to continue on.

What of the prince? Did he return to the surface? To his countrymen?

Surely he must have. Only an idiot would stay when you had a kingdom waiting for you.

... So why did it hurt? Who now would she ask about the world on land? Who should tell her the way a garden smells after a spring rain? Or how birds sing in choirs in the forest when the air is gently sweeping the boughs. Her chest tightened and eyes began to sting.

“Soroban!!”

“Kiri?”

A voice echoed from the corridor she had yet to traverse. Her eyes wide and hands trembling, she spied a flicker of light and chased it. She needed reality more than ever now. She needed Soroban’s guidance and wisdom to remind her that the thing beating in her chest wasn’t to be trusted. That as a goddess, such treasured feelings should be discarded. A grim reminder that the ocean floor is desolate and lonely; and it was her kingdom.

Light began to flood the corridor, her own radiance growing as she ran.

The alcove with a candlelight flicker came into view and she came to a sudden stop, narrowly avoiding slipping on her own two feet.

Miscolored eyes searched the alcove, narrowing at the sight that greeted her. “Soroban, the hells-”

There was a clatter in the alcove; a book falling to the floor with a definite thump against the stone.

Soroban chuckled, sitting at a small desk inside the carved out nook and paging through a time worn journal. “Oh dear,”

But it wasn’t Soroban that had the goddess cursing.

An awestruck prince, not even aware that he had dropped his book, gaped at the goddess with a slack jaw and warm eyes wide.

Her heart swelled and sang and thundered in her chest all at once, only visible by a small twitch at the corner of her lips. Yet she managed to compose herself, completely disregarding her lack of attire at the given moment. “What’s he doin’ here?” She demanded with a cocked brow.

Soroban hummed as he shrugged. “It would seem he is gawking.”

“I-I am most certainly not gawking!” Hien stammered with averted eyes, kneeling now to fetch his discarded book.

“Catfish got’cha tongue, pretty boy?” Kiri mused and crossed her arms with a definitely-not-on-purpose sway of her hips.

“T-Tch! I thought you dead yet you rise to mock me.”

The goddess flashed a grin, proud to recognize the color blossoming along his cheekbones.

“And with added accessories, I should note.” Allowing himself a moments glance, Hien gestured vaguely to the goddess and her current form.

Her tail, mostly hidden beneath a waterfall of silvery hair, slapped the stone with a wet smack. The small fins along her hips and ears fanned out, stretching and collapsing against her skin. Having such attachments had often been a burden to her in the past; she resembled no ancestry that walked the land, making it difficult to hide on the very rare occasions she met with sailors before they washed ashore from a shipwreck. But seeing the prince have such a reaction, his failed attempt not to look, made her grin a cheshire’s grin.

“Part of the job. I get submerged in sea water, this is the end result.” As if to punctuate this fact, she lifted her tail once more to slap the floor at her feet.

“Mayhap the boy is frightened.” Soroban chimed in without looking up from his book.

“Frightened? Of such beauty? Hardly.” There was confidence in his as he addressed Soroban.

Kiri felt her heart skip a beat. A wave of heat touched her cheeks. Hien offered her a smile and her heart ruptured with butterflies. What a feeling of elation! To hear he did not fear her in this form but found her stunning? But the goddess struggled to find a proper reaction for this foreign feeling welling in her.

“S-Stop starin’!”

- - -

“Can ya’ help me...?”

Hien found himself fidgeting ever since the goddess had awaken. He had expected some grand show, a spectacle or miracle when she would finally rise up from her watery confinement. Yet instead with unceremonious grace, he was greeted by a naked woman with aquatic appendages decorating her body. While her scales were a thing of beauty, he had never seen such colors, there was little magic in the moment as she scolded him.

Even now, standing with his face buried against a pillow in her bedchamber, he felt as if he had missed some wondrous display of revival magic. What it must have been like to see her emerge from a bed of waterlilies! Unable to tell where her long hair stopped and water began. To have been able to say ‘good morning’ when she first woke up....

“Oi, Prince! I ask’cha ta’ help!”

“You said I wasn’t allowed to look.” He returned, albeit muffled by the pillow against his lips.

“I’m decent now, look all ya’ want.” She blew out a sigh.

Pillow aside, the prince looked up to view the goddess as directed. He half expected a return of her usual clothing; a stolen coat and trousers with thick boots. But his jaw slacked at the sight before him.

Her human form had yet to return, thus her choice in clothing had been limited. Instead of sailors clothing fabric hung from sparkling gold chains at her throat and around her waist; maroon colored silk draped her chest just enough to be considered decent, a cut of the same fabric a loincloth starting at the flat of her stomach and pooling on the floor at her feet. Bangles and more golden chains glittered from her wrists and even strung on the quills of her fins like jewelry.

“...Yer starin’ again.”

Hien coughed, sheepishly clearing his throat as he rose from the bed to stand beside her. “Your sense of fashion is astonishing is all.”

“Oi,”

Yet before she could continue, he smiled. “What did you need help with?”

Her hand extended to offer him an item. He reached out in return to accept, until he caught a spark of light dancing on the blades edge.

“A knife?” Dumbfounded again, he raised a brow. “Please do not ask me to descale-”

“No! Wait, what?? No!!!” Her cheeks puffed. Kiri reached for her hair, bundling it and draping it across her shoulder. It was still slick and dripping; a trail of water a new track of hers. “Cut it for me?”

He couldn’t help the tilt of his head as she asked so softly such a harmless request. “But you at last have hair longer than mine. Surely you don’t wish to cut all of it?”

“I do, actually. Hate havin’ it long like this.”

Without further argument and the knife now in his hands, Kiri twirled on her heel, her hair once again falling down the curve of her back.

Such long, silken hair. She could have easily worn it to cover herself. Dragging his fingertips through it, Hien leaned a bit closer to the Goddess. He could smell the ocean on her; the sea during a storm with rain and salty winds.

“Kirishimi....?” His voice dropped, his eyes tracing the outline of her shoulders and recognizing touches of scarred flesh peppering her skin just as much as dark and light freckles dusted her shoulders.

He was reminded in that moment of her beauty. Of her power and strength. So what then, had caused her scars?

Kiri shivered, his breath hot at the nape of her neck. “Yes...?”

The prince held the knife tightly just above his other hand still knotted in her hair. The blade’s edge skimmed her flesh which drew a subtle inhale from the goddess.

“What happened to the town you cursed?”

- - -

Silence filled the room. She felt him, so near that she felt the heat radiating from him. His breath a near whisper in her ear, his voice level as he delivered such a heavy question.

“So that’s what’cha were readin’...” Although the accent still came through, she did her best to imitate music. A siren could lure men into a false sense of comfort, why couldn’t she?

His hand tangled in her hair tightened its grip, pulling her slightly closer. “No games, Kiri. I want the truth. You’re still bound to me, are you not?”

Although armed with a weapon as he was, he had yet to directly threaten her with it. It did little to stop the rabbit like heartbeat in her chest, a mixture of hurt, annoyance, and a touch of panic. But yet his hand relaxed and soon she heard the blade gliding through her hair.

“Bound ta’ ya’ doesn’t mean I gotta spill all my secrets.” She replied in earnest. Her contract with the prince had plainly showed a lack of interest of either parties history. But when he inhaled sharply, the goddess sighed.

- - -

“First, I want’cha ta’ know, ya’ should’ve finished the book before accusin’ me of anythin’.”

Hien didn’t respond. Instead his mind replayed the moment; the book he had been engaged with falling from his hands at the sight of her. Heat returned to his cheeks but full glad was he that her back was to him.

“As for the curse.... I didn’t curse anyone. That was the original Tide Mother. The first Sea Goddess. Her grief and pain swelled into a mighty storm in her heart and clouded her eyes. Girls were born to look like her with and without her scales and tails. They were blessed by the Goddess but it frightened the towns folk.”

There was a sorrow to her voice that made the prince loosen his grip on her hair, even halting his cutting of her hair as he listened. Part of him had believed the story was a fairy tale written by mortals. A retelling of something the Goddess had done, good or bad.

“Scared people are easy to trick... And a man knew just how to talk to a crowd. He convinced them, every single one of them, that their daughters were to be sacrificed to the Goddess. Ta’ show her, ta’ put her in her place. Ta’ defy the very goddess whom they had loved so dearly before.”

Even though he couldn’t confirm it himself, Hien knew the goddess before him was struggling not to burst into tears. And who wouldn’t? The idea of it... His stomach churned as cogs began turning in his mind.

“You said she was the first,” He started slowly, “does that make you...the second...?”

“Aye.”

“Kiri....”

“She was disgusted by mortals. How could they? How could they be so cruel?!” Her shoulders shook. Hien couldn’t tell if it was because she was crying or shaking with fury. Or maybe it was a mixture of both. “Those mothers and fathers looked at us and smiled, convinced it was the right thing to do! The only option they had! Bloody cowards is what they were!”

With a twist of his wrist the remainder of her hair was cut through, the floor length locks shifting to salt water and landing on the stone with a splash at his feet. The knife clattered to the floor alongside the puddle, discarded so he could take her into his arms and hold her against his chest.

The goddess, so powerful and courageous, trembled in his arms; tears stained the front of his tunic when she curled into him.

“... When she tried ta’ stop them,” Kiri began again, a hiccup interrupting her, “the man attacked her with strange weapons. She was severely injured and in her rage and sorrow... She sunk the city. Brought the whole cliffs down and buried it beneath the ocean.”

“I’m sorry,” Hien found himself whispering it over and over again, a mantra that was some how supposed to help her feel better. At least her trembling had subsided.

“... I was the only one that survived. The Tide Mother was dying inside and out... but she saved me from drownin’ like the others... and passed it all ta’ me.”

More cogs began to stir. “That must be why Zenos and that Octavia woman were after you. The man in the story must have been Garlean. Perhaps someone survived and lived to tell the tale....” But when Kiri gave no answer, Hien dropped the subject. She was in no mood or condition to talk about her own death. Instead he drew her closer still, the scent of the ocean still stormy on her.

“The book you were readin’... Soroban found it in his travels before meetin’ me.”

“Speaking of which... Why the library? This whole sunken city, this library... It is the one she buried, right?”

Kiri gave a nod against his chest and sniffled. “The library was the only place they were allowed to worship her in secrecy. A few folk tried to expose it, so they destroyed the goddess’ face on the fountain. Anyone who questioned the library was then lead to believe that Leviathan was the one they prayed to.”

“...So why sink it at all?”

The goddess lifted herself from his chest, her eyes rimmed red with tears and mismatched eyes like jewels. “So no one would ever remember her... or me.”

Clearly the original Goddess hadn’t expected survivors of the tragedy. How else had he known the legend of the Ocean Goddess? Or the prince of Garlemald that seemed so determined to capture her?

Hien scrunched his nose and bid the thoughts leave him; at least for the moment. With all his heart, all he wanted to do now was hold her. A kingdom all her own, built upon the jealousy and hatred of a goddess and a single man. One she had to endure alone at the bottom of the sea...

#|| Untold Stories #|| Tide Mother (( au ))#Hien x Kiri #Hien x wol #Hien Rijin #Kirishimi #Water Goddess #Sea Goddess #/slaps this on the dash at 5 am #HERE WE GO #I STAYED UP ALL NIGHT WRITING IT #YEEHAW #if it doesn't make sense man idk I'm not responsible for that

74 notes · View notes

aveyna · 4 years

Text

Digging Your Own Grave

SUMMARY: This job should have been easy. All he had to do was steal a totem from a short alchemist and a pyromaniac. It certainly was easy, until Yong had become convinced his actual name was 'Hugo the Human.'

AO3 LINK

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

Hugo does not know how this happened. His heart is ready to burst out of his chest. Inwardly, he is screaming, but on the outside, he is cool, composed, sophisticated, and most certainly not panicking because he made himself look like a complete fool in-front of the boy he definitely does not think is attractive.

It was supposed to be an easy job, Donella said. All he had to do was infiltrate the group, trick them all into believing he was an ally, and steal the totems and Ulla’s journal.

But this is not what he signed up for. How was he supposed to know the short alchemist with the blue hair stripe was this cute?

Don’t worry, he told himself. I can work with this.

“Well, well, well, who might you two be?”

The short alchemist looks up, and he can see that his eyes are a light shade of blue. He is glaring at him, and…right. No wonder why he’d look so mad considering the totem clutched in his hand.

“I’m Varian the alchemist and—”

“I’m Yong!” A boy holding an alarming number of explosives and fireworks exclaims. There is a mischievous glint in his eyes that under most circumstances, Hugo can respect. But here…not so much.

“That totem belongs to us,” Varian says. If Hugo were a decent person, he’d hand it over, but nah. There’s nothing about this rusty old thing that particularly strikes his fancy, but a job’s a job. And, it would be hilarious to rile them up for the sake of it. Who cares about common decency when he can be petty as all hell?

Though, this can still work out in his favor. He will complete the job and endear himself to the alchemist. It’s a win-win situation either way. “I like your magic wand. S’ pretty.”

S’ pretty….!!? What is he even saying!!?

The shorter alchemist huffs in annoyance, but this can still work. He has done more with less.

Which is what he would say, but……

Nope, he is done.

Upon parting ways [under less than ideal circumstances], he had divulged his name to fireworks boy and hair stripe. The other alchemist, Varian, he had asked for his name, to which he had of course obliged. He could do this, all he had to do was give a name. A damn name; nothing about that particular question would hamper his capabilities to impress the dark-haired boy.

Confidently, stance straight, and voice loud and clear, he knew there was possibly no way he could mess up such an innocent and mundane question.

“I’m Hugo the human.”

Dumbfounded, Yong and Varian stare in silence before turning to each other. The fireworks obsessed maniac looks up at the elder of the two for confirmation on how to respond. They had never doubted he was human, but if he had to go out of his way to proclaim his humanity, then, there was nothing to be said or done.

Chuckling nervously, Yong smiles up at Hugo. “Of course we know you’re human.”

Varian facepalms. He was happy to let that proclamation fade away into the awkward silence, but now that it has been addressed, he…just, what should he even do? Nothing in his life had prepared him for the sheer uncomfortable nature of holding conversations with an enemy, especially not one so…bizarre.

At this point, Hugo cannot even attempt to salvage the remnants of his suave persona. They are now mangled, destroyed, dismantled, all due to his stupidity and a cute alchemist.

Oh well.

He can just kill him and forget this whole incident ever happened. The alchemist would surely be missed by someone else out there, but that is a sacrifice he is willing to make.

Donella had always told him emotions were a weakness. If he ever came across someone he fancied, he should just stab them on the spot and move on. Apparently she’s had…prior experiences on the matter.

But, if only it were that simple.

“Yeah, I’m definitely a person and not anything else. A normal human person.” Smooth, Hugo. As if that wasn’t obvious enough.

The silence is distressingly palpable, so, Hugo shoots them a smirk. At least, he hopes it conveys the persona he had held so dearly. “Well, you two are adorable. But, I’m on a schedule, so……

He reaches for a glowing circular glass vial and hurls it towards the ground, pouring as much frustration and irritation as he can into this effort. The effects are immediate. As the glass vial breaks upon impact, the stuffy, crimson-red cavernous dwelling of the first collected totem is enveloped in a bright blue flash of light. While it is certainly pretty, it does not quite match up with the raven-haired alchemist.

I definitely need to kill him, Hugo mutters to himself as he makes his escape.

---

Hugo sighs. He knew he should have murdered Varian when he had the chance. The last few weeks were a blur, but somehow, he had integrated himself into Varian’s haphazard band of misfits. Friends, is what he called them, but Hugo sincerely doubts that statement. Enemies, sure. But how the fuck could these idiots possibly stand each other’s company without some type of ulterior motive?

His plan would have been a success. It would have gone off without a hitch, were it not for one small problem.

One small, little, annoying problem with an affinity for fireworks and explosions.

Since he had joined the group, Yong was apparently convinced that he was not a human. Or maybe that his middle name is ‘The’ and last name is ‘Human’. Frankly, he does not want to know which could possibly be the reason. He isn’t sure if it’s a step up from when the kid would just stare at him from a distance or cling onto Varian whenever he’d try to hold a conversation with the other alchemist. At least the admittedly trigger happy child had finally taken a liking to him, but he is this close to murdering their entire group.

Donella might kill him for not collecting all of the totems, but that is a risk he is more than happy to take.

“This is Hugo the Human,” Yong says, as he introduces him to yet another passerby that had the misfortune of encountering their ragtag group of misfits. “He looks mean, but he’s not so bad when you get to know him!”

With a stupidly compassionate alchemist with a remarkably bizarre streak of blue hair, a boy carrying firecrackers taller than himself, a regal-looking princess with a lunar motif, the world’s most deadpan raccoon, a donkey on the verge of death, and him—

The only decent looking bloke in their group, he is certain they have been placed on the most wanted list in some town. Someplace, somewhere. Or maybe a hit list. Both of these scenarios are plausible, if he were to be honest with himself.

And if not, he is sure he’d hire a hitman [or woman] on himself at the end of this adventure.

He keeps up the cool, sophisticated persona he has crafted for himself as he gently nudges Yong away.

No, no, he tells yet another random face. I am definitely human and not anything else.

“If you’re human, then what’s your last name?” Yong, blessed, sweet summer child as he was, Hugo knew he had to maintain some semblance of patience. It would have been easy enough, were it not for the fact he could clearly see Varian laughing at his misfortune. Sure, he was stifling a smile behind his hand, but it definitely did not count.

Shoot, did he even have a last name?

“Okay, fine. My last name is human,” Hugo deadpans. They had long since scared off any passerby or potential axe wielding murderers. What a bummer.

“I knew it!” he exclaims, stars shining in his eyes as he sets their last remaining map on fire.

“Yeah, yeah, good for you—

Wait. Since when did that little gremlin get their map!?

“Yong, not again!!” the younger alchemist screams as he rushes over towards Yong, concern and exhaustion clearly visible in his features. “You can’t keep setting our equipment on fire!”

“I’m sorry!!!” Yong exclaims tearfully. He’s pouting at Varian, but he can detect the slight manic glee in his voice. “I had nothing else to conduct experiments on. What else was I supposed to set on fire?”

“Why don’t you try to not set any fires?” Nuru deadpans.

“Impossible.” Somehow, Yong has the audacity to look offended. He shoots Nuru a withering gaze, as if she had somehow suggested they should rip up a book for fun.

That little shit. He’s not sorry at all, is he?

“That still doesn’t give you an excuse to destroy our only map!!” Varian’s eyes comically widen to the size of saucers as he wrestles the map out of Yong’s hands. The sight would be humorous, were it not for the mere fact that he was in the danger zone. Nuru is holding the explosion obsessed maniac away from the currently burning, flammable, dangerous sheet of paper while Varian frantically stomps on it.

“Aren’t you going to help us?” Nuru asks, disdain laced in her voice as she regards him. Out of their whole group, she was the only one who did not trust him at first glance. Truly, those other two boys would be dead without her.

Nuru was the only one with an iota of common sense. If it didn’t go against his plans, he would have begrudgingly respected her.

“Nah, I think I’m good here. The view’s better,” he scoffs, carefully eyeing the now darkened, crisp piece of paper on the ground. Less chance of getting set on fire, he notes, as he glances at a still panicked Varian and slightly guilty Yong.

“Sure, that’s it. The view,” Nuru pointedly responds. She had since then let go of Yong and has decided to sit down next to him underneath the tree he had just then decided to be his grave. Personally, he doesn’t think it’s a smart decision considering Yong has gotten his hands on even more explosives.

Nuru smirks at him, ignoring Yong’s maniacal laughter and Varian’s screams of frustration at being unable to catch him. “And certainly, it’s not because you’re scared?”

Should he help Varian? Then again, anyway, why should he care? He almost feels tempted to assist Varian in reeling in the pyromaniac…almost, but not quite.

“Why are you here?” Hugo drawls, irritation evident in his voice.

The celestial princess brightly laughs at him, but there is an inherent darkness in her voice. He is certain he had never stolen anything from her…besides the totem, but that shouldn’t count considering she wasn’t even in their party at the time—

“Maybe I’m just curious about you,” Nuru admits.

Once again, Princess Nuru is the only logical one out of this entire lot.

Well, after yours truly, of course. “I’m flattered, princess, but—”

He can almost gauge the time it had taken for realization to flicker across her face. It’s hilarious enough that he can’t help but chuckle.

“Wait, no, that’s not what I meant.” The princess is seething and moments away from chucking a large book at his head. “What exactly made you go from a rogue thief…to this?”

She gestures towards Hugo, enough for him to feel affronted.

“You’re gesturing to all of me,” he sardonically mutters. Somehow, Yong still hasn’t run out of energy, but Varian—

He had decided to give up and instead joined them underneath the shade of a very comfortable, but very flammable tree.

“Exactly,” Nuru responds. She locks eyes with Varian, and halfheartedly questions, “What made you trust this guy?”

“Everyone deserves second chances,” Varian says. His eyes are directed somewhere far away. Something flickers beneath his gaze, and for a moment, he seems tired and world-weary. But, just as quickly as it appeared, this unexplainable side of the alchemist vanishes.

This misplaced trust, goggles, will be your undoing.

Varian looks toward Hugo, and smiles warmly at him. “How about you, Hugo? Why did you decide to join us?”

There are many things he could have said.

Maybe, he was bored. Perhaps he felt a tiny shred of guilt at stealing the totem. Their group looked fun or maybe, he did not want to travel alone in unknown territory.

Anything, really, would have been better than this.

“Ooh, maybe it was love?”

Dang it, Yong.

“Excuse me!!?” He and Nuru exclaim at the same time. They both shoot each other bewildered gazes. Varian had somehow frozen on the spot, staring at Yong in sheer horror.

“I mean, you know! Rapunzel and Eugene fell in love and got married!” he exclaims cheerfully. Yong, too, had decided to invade the sanctity of the tree and had nestled himself between him and Varian. “Maybe you need true love’s kiss to become human, just like in the frog prince!”

“Are you calling me a frog?” Hugo is tempted to end this misery, but no, he needs to show restraint. This job is unfinished, and he wants to maintain his one hundred percent perfect record.

“I don’t think he looks like a frog,” Varian says, eyes downcast.

Somehow, goggles of all people had agreed with him, but he’s not going to overlook this. “Thank you!!!”

Yong gazes up at him, eyes wide with concern. “But…don’t you want to become a human?”

“I am human—you know what, nevermind. I’m done,” Hugo tiredly replies.

“Then why did you join us?” Varian asks in curiosity.

“Well, it’s certainly not because I think you look pretty,” he automatically responds. The color drains from his face as he realizes that no, he did not keep those thoughts in his head.

“What,” Varian and Hugo say in unison.

“Did you just say he’s—”

“No, I said he looks shitty. Goodbye.”

With a huff, Hugo gets up from the sanctuary of their tree. He’s tempted to reach for his dagger, but even a shovel would do.

He hopes he can find one in time to bury himself.

Hopefully, Varian will cry at his funeral. And…get Yong to keep the firecrackers at home.

You know what…nevermind. Only Nuru will be invited.

#Tangled #Tangled the Series #Varian and the Seven Kingdoms #Varigo #varian #varian tangled #Hugo the Human #Fanfic

54 notes · View notes

currentlyreadingmanga · 4 years

Text

Toilet-bound Hanako-kun Chapter 11: The 4pm Bookstacks (Part 1)

Previously: we had quite a heavy chapter last time. Teru and Hanako faced off. It was a very one-sided confrontation and simply put: Teru is not someone to mess with. Not only was one of the most action heavy scenes we’ve had so far, but it was also very emotionally heavy. It provided a good amount of character development for the three boys, and specially for Hanako and Kou (and helped solidify the foundation fir their friendship to grow). One very crucial point was how Hanako feels about the crime he commited and his need to atone. Overall, I had a lot of feelings and seeing my two children cry broke my heart. Then we finish the chapter with Yashiro finally meeting the suspicious green haired girl in the school’s library and boy I’m sure nothing bad or dramatic will happen hahaha...haha......ha

Now onto the next chapter!

Ohhhhh that’s right, this is the start of the new volume!

Well, this is an interesting cover right here. We have an almost apathetic looking Hanako facing the white haired dude that I think it’s gonna be the next apparition/mystery. There’s something about his expression that makes quite the contrast with the rest of the element of the picture. Like, there’s a pair of hands that are trying to grab him from behind and he’s also bound by what seems to be a red rope. Maybe it’s just me, but it directs my focus to his face because it makes me wonder why he looks so indifferent but also kinda defeated?? idk maybe I’m reaching again ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ we’ll see

Okay, yes it definitely looks like the white haired dude will be our next mystery, and that at least Kou and Yashiro are gonna run into him. Hanako seems to be doing soemthing else and it looks like he’s not on the same scene as the other two. He’s sitting on what looks like a school desk, with Yako on his head and holding various gem stones? There’s a lot to unpack here that will probably make sense after I read some more

Next is the chapter index and it looks like the this next arc is called “The 4pm Bookstacks” and it will be a four parter. Going by the usual formula, these bookstacks will be the next mystery

Also

I’m so incredibly curious like.......what could this even imply, why is there a chapter dedicated to donuts

Anyway, I’ll stop rambling because we haven’t even started the chapter yet

Our suspicious green haired girl is asking Yashiro if she’s interested in the seven mysteries and it seems like she knows about Hanako? and that according to her, he’s “the one that’s like a cat” and I have......so many questions.......

Oh, okay, I was thinking about the comparison in a more cute light but the description “capricious, selfish and childish” really makes it seem like she doesn’t hold him in high regard.

.....................excuse me, what? “is yours like that too?” That’s very specific wording. Hanako mentioned before that not many people can or do summon him, right? Could that mean that she’s one of the people who summoned him? And that like, he adapts his personality according to whoever calls upon him? Or could it be that there’s multiple Hanakos going around? Like different versions of the same apparition that can exist at the same time? Or maybe there’s different spirits that take on the same title? Because we know Hanako is not his real name, since it’s the name of a common urban legend.............I now have even more questions

So Yashiro is also wondering if this girl knows Hanako personally and that her description of him doesn’t really match the boy Yashiro has come to know so far.

Bless your very active imagination, Yashiro. As entertaining as that mental image is, I really doubt that’s the case.

Green haired girl is telling Yashiro that she should check out the fifth mystery if she wants to learn more about Hanako. Yashiro will probably find information, but still, this is a very convinient piece of information drop without expecting anything in return and I don’t trust this girl clarifying in case me calling her suspicious at almost every chance I get didn’t get the message across

Hey! There he is! The white haired dude has finally arrived. What an entrance

Also I see you back there you suspicious pretty boy, don’t think you can escape my eye

Oof, Yashiro crashed into him so hard that they ended up on the floor. Poor guy. Also, I remember that I saw this guy in one of the first episodes (in the background) walking around, so I’m guessing this dude is a teacher of some sort, or maybe the librarian. If that’s the case, I wonder how the hell did an apparition ended up working at the school. Also why would he want to do that, just why (then again, maybe that’s just because I don’t particularly like the idea of teaching and it’s one of the possible work options I’ll have once I graduate so.....yeah, maybe he likes teaching and I can’t relate)

Wow the suspicious duo really moves fast, the practically vanished into thin air

Ohhhh the cover page is really pretty! It seems like butterflies are a really strong motif during this arc. Also the little bubbles with their names are really cute to me for some reason. Is HanaNeneKou their three way ship name? I bet it is. And if it isn’t, it should be

It’s the next day and Yashiro decides to ask Aoi about the fifth mystery and of course Aoi knows since she’s our designated exposition fairy.

Okay so, according to the rumor, in the school library there’s a special room you can only enter at 4pm (hence the name). The room is full of books with people’s names and each of them has a record of that peron’s life at the school. And what’s really interesting is that these books show not only the past but also the present and the future.

That sounds like it could bring a lot trouble for a lot of people. But if it’s true, then it makes sense why the suspicious girl told Yashiro to check it out, since all she would have to do is check for a book with Hanako’s nam-wait..........Yashiro doesn’t know Hanako’s real name, so would she even be able to find anything? Because not only we would have to count on the bookstacks containing records of people who are already dead, but also that they somehow would know of his “new identity” and changed the name in the cover. So I feel like the chances of finding his book are pretty slim. Well, I guess she could look into her own book to see if she would learn his name in the future?? Would that create a paradox? .......possibly, idk, I should keep reading

Ah, and now we have the downside of going to the 4pm bookstacks. Aoi says that there are three kinds of books there: white (records of living people), black (records of dead people) and red (books that you should never ever read, because you’ll probably get killed or something, that seems like something the new rumors would say). Okay, that answers one of my questions: yes, Hanako’s book could be there since there are records of dead people. Still, I would think his book would have his real name and that will make it harder (if not impossible to find it). Also, Yashiro will probably end up reading one of the red books because of course things are not gonna be easy here.

Yashiro would like to go see if she can find Hanako’s book but she (thankfully) thinks that going there alone would not be the smartest idea. And (again, thanfully) she also thinks there was something suspicious about the suspicious girl and that she maybe probably most definitely should talk with Hanako about it. Though, if she goes with Hanako, she (and I) feels like he wouldn’t let her read his book. I mean, if he hasn’t told her anything about the details of his past already, that would indicate that he’s not ready to share yet. In the end (an judging by one of the color pages), she’ll probably go with Kou without telling Hanako.

And speaking of the devil, there he is. And he’s talking to the white haired dude! What a coinkydink.

Ohhhh he’s Kou’s homeroom teacher and Kou says he’s being mean. But sensei (I’ll call him that until we learn his name, okay? okay) says he only wants to ask him for a favour.

.............pfffft. Yeah, that, that probably looks hella suspicous,huh? Like, he’s not doing anything bad, but the others don’t know that.

Oh! It seems like Hanako is not here right now. Apparently he’s at a meeting??? Interesting.

Well, if the art of this guy in the anime opening and in the color page hadn’t already told me he’s a supernatural, then this would really bring it to light. What would be the odds of him having a meeting at the same time Hanako’s gone for a meeting and have it not be the same meeting? Like, that could be the case, but I doubt it. I wonder if they’re meeting to discuss about the recent events and changes that have been happening with the school’s apparitions. I mean, probably, but we shall see

And yep, Yashiro’s taking Kou with her.

Precious boy, bless him.

He adds that he agreed to come because he also wants to read Hanako’s book. And it makes sense, since it could possibly help him find more evidence to prove to Teru that Hanako is not a bad guy. And he’s telling Yashiro about his change of heart, too! That’s great! They need to know where they all stand, and even if he doesn’t tell her all the details of the fight, it’s good that Yashiro now knows that he doesn’t really want to exorcise Hanako without a good reason.

This is a nice parallel to the realization Yashiro had during chapter 8. Again, good foundation for their friendship to grow! I love it!

Precious baby, bless her heart. Why are the main trio so cute omfg I shouldn’t be so attached already

Arrow straight to the heart. Man down, man down, Yashiro’s cuteness has reach critical levels, Kou’s heart can’t handle it

Ohhhh a butterfly appears and it leads them to the door to the bookstacks. Okay, so that’s why we had such a strong butterfly motif

Wow, indeed. It’s both pretty and creepy at the same time. Also there’s the lamps and the gem stones that appeared in the colour pages.

And there’s water! So this is indeed another boundary (in case there was any doubt left) like when we were in Yako’s territory.

Yashiro is thinking back to Aoi’s warning about not reading the red books. But Yashiro, dear, I need you to do more than thinking. Please tell Kou about it if you haven’t done so already. Please. I beg of you.

Okay she’s telling him about the white and black books, but she’s only thinking about the red ones and Yashiro p l e a s e I’m dying over here ／(￣ロ￣;)＼

Ahhhhh anyway there seems to be a lot of white ones, only a couple of black ones and no red ones. That’s suspicious and we’ll probably end up finding one by accident while looking around and ahhhhh ple a se just tell me if Kou knows

They spent hours looking but they didn’t found anything. And I’m not surprised, since I think that his book would have his real name on it

Kou’s poor heart can’t catch a break, Yashiro is just too cute

But it seems like our butterfly friend(?) might know where we could find a clue.

Ohhhhh it’s Yashiro book! And it’s very possible we could find information about Hanako there if the records really have their entire time at the school. According to the index, it does have everything up until her graduation and it all seems very detailed.

OH MY GOD

THAT’S SO PRECIOUS oh my god!!!

Yashiro, sweetie, you’re writing poems about this boy. You can be in denial only for so long, come on. You have to admit you like him, even if it’s just a little bit.

Kou seems to have the same idea I had earlier: if they can’t find Hanako’s book, they might as well check the future section of their own books and see if they can learn something from there.

Omfg t h a n k y o u!! Now I feel a bit better

Oh........the page that reads “the future” is red.............and Yashiro says that it could be a place marker but knowing that we shouldn’t read the red books, reading a red page doesn’t sound safe to me. But Yashiro is gonna read it, because she’s braver than me and her sense of self-preservation is almost non-existent

..................yeah, this looks fantastic, nothing bad will happen by reading this, no sir

Yashiro, baby, you need to find better people. Because most of the guys you like seem like trash. Like, honestly, who tf says things like this when turning down someone??? It’s just rude

Anyway! She finds a page that talks about Hanako’s “true identity”! But she hears a scream in the distance and she’s not sure if it was Kou..........nothing bad will happen, no si-

OH.............that’s. that’s not good. Does this mean that the whole book is turning red now? Why? Do the books turn red if one looks into the future section, is that how this works? Either way, girl, you need to close it right now because this smells like trouble

But of course she doesn’t because she’s so close to finding out about who Hanako is and

......................well, hello there. That’s nice and terrifying. Is she(?) made out butterflies? Is this the thing that comes for you if you read a red book? Does it just....eat you?? Also what about the sensei? Thanks to the colour page I’m pretty sure he’s part of this boundary, so is he not here because he’s at the meeting right now? Is this butterfly thing something he controls, like Yako did with her dolls?

Anyway, It would really be a great time for Kou or Hanako to show up right now ple a se

Ahhh and there’s our cute boy, thank god.

....................holy shit it does look like her. It has her hairstyle and her skull brooch, I didn’t even notice. That’s so creepy. Does that mean that the apparition’s appearance would change depending on who had reads the red books? (EDIT: now I realize that Kou was the one saying that since later on the apparition that does look like him appears behind Tsuchigomori, so.....yeah, that answered my question)

Oh noooo they’re trapped inside! Kou tries to use his staff but it doesn’t work because of the seal that Hanako put on it ahhhh this is. not good. And speaking of the boy himself, there he is, just at the right moment before our children could be eaten.

And just like that, he’s got it under control. Like, I know he said it’s his job to keep the rest of the supernaturals in check, but still, I wonder why he’s so powerful. I’m sure we’ll learn in the future, but it’s still an interesting mystery

He really isn’t subtle about it and I love it. You jealous baby pfffft

Aaaand there’s sensei. And this overall confirms that he and Hanako were at the same meeting since they arrived at the same time. He’s not happy about the state the books were left in.

(；☉_☉) oh no

He’s grabbing them with his creepy extra arms and he’s confirming what I said before: yes, the books turn red when you read entries from the future, and boy he’s really not happy about it

Annnnnd there’s his face from the intro and from last chapter’s preview.

He’s kinda hot ngl

The situation looks pretty bad, but Hanako (with an adorable smile on his face) tells him “no bullying” and sensei lets them go.

Huh. Interesting. “Honorable number 7″ and “the boss’s guests” imply that Hanako is in charge. Like, it was implied in the fact that he’s the one that has to maintain balance between the supernaturals and the humans, so I guess this is more of a confirmation? Also, I wonder if that means he’s just overall more powerful than the other mysteries and that’s why they consider him “the boss” or if there’s another reason.

Other than that: we finally got a name! Tsuchigomori. That’s a mouthful. I’ll try my best to remember it. But this is the barely the beginning of this this arc, so I’m sure I’ll remember it soon enough. (EDIT: I just noticed that Yako is there, too! Did they all come here together? Or maybe she’s just there as imagery because she’s also a school mystery? Either way, we’ll see next chapter)

#toilet bound hanako kun #jibaku shounen hanako kun #jshk spoilers #jshk #tbhk #live blogging

17 notes · View notes

magnoliasinbloom · 5 years

Text

Lullaby

AO3 :: Previously

Chapter 18

June rolled around, and with it, summer hols. I was set on sticking to my plan, regardless of how big I was getting, so I could be accepted into nursing school, build a career, and take better care of my baby girl. I knew Mum and Dad would be glad to help, but I couldn’t depend on them forever.

Despite all the sleeping in class, I passed my exams with flying colors. Jamie, of course, played a huge part in my success. I couldn’t have done it without his help and encouragement. Dad had started driving me to school in the mornings; my joints ached and I had a strange shooting pain in my hips. Dr. Raymond had mentioned this was due to my pelvis widening, to prepare for childbirth. I cringed at the thought; if all went well, and there was no reason to think otherwise, it would be a natural birth. In case of complications, we could resort to a cesarean section. I began to walk with a distinct waddle as my center of gravity completely shifted.

We were stuck in the middle of a strange heat wave—strange for Glasgow, anyway. The constant humidity made me moody, and often, just downright pissed for no reason. Jamie was another issue entirely. Whenever I was in one of my pissy moods, sometimes I would take it out on him. It wasn’t his fault—it was just that he was constantly with me, the one who was there to catch the fallout. He would then walk on eggshells around me, which would make me feel terribly guilty. I apologized, he would say there was nothing to forgive, and back to normal.

Sometimes, I felt strange around him. I would glance up from whatever I was doing and catch a look in his blue eyes, which made me blush hotly and I couldn’t meet his gaze. I couldn’t quite pinpoint why.

Jamie was very attached to the baby, for reasons I couldn’t fathom. He spent time talking to her, taking care of me almost as much as Mum. He was on break from uni too, and had loads of free time; he wouldn’t resume classes until September, like me. That would be after the baby was born. In between helping his da on the farm, he had nothing but time on his hands.

I’d go out for coffee (well, tea) with my girlfriends sometimes. But mostly, Jamie and I spent afternoons in the living room, at my house or Lallybroch. Jamie would read to my belly, claiming babies could hear everything inside the womb. He would sit next to me and sing—horribly off-key I must say—Queen and Beatles’ songs.

I secretly loved when he did this. He was so good at many things, but singing wasn’t one of them. It never ceased to amaze me how many things Jamie had going for him: sweet, handsome, intelligent, caring, sensitive… like I told him playfully, the girl who got him would be lucky indeed.

But then, thinking about this random, hypothetical lucky girl gave me a slight twinge in the chest that I couldn’t explain away.

~ ~ ~

June ended, and with it came July—the beginning of my eighth month of pregnancy. I paced about my room, between the tiny closet and dresser, picking clothes to pack my hospital bag. There was still a month to go, but it was better to be prepared. I folded t-shirts and loose-fitting pants inside, wondering how soon I could fit into my regular clothes. I included a set of baby clothes Mum and Ellen had bought for the baby for when I brought her home.

I was killing time before Jamie picked me up for a late lunch at Lallybroch. My mum and dad were out for the day. I zipped up the bag and sat on my bed. Our mothers had done a great job fixing up my room for the baby’s arrival. In no time at all, they had repainted the walls a soft sage color, added a tiny bassinette with soft blankets, a set of drawers for the baby’s clothes and things (which doubled as a changing table), and only had to remove my old desk to make everything fit. It was a little cramped, but I didn’t mind at all; everything looked beautiful.

I heard my mobile ping with a text. Jamie was here. I grabbed my purse and slowly made my way downstairs, gripping the banister tightly. Jamie was patient, aware that I was moving a lot slower these days.

As we walked to the car, he looked sideways at me. “Ye look nice.”

I smiled in thanks. I was wearing a dress Mum had picked out for me. It was maternity of course, and I had only agreed to wear it because it kept me cool in the humid heat. I preferred the maternity pants with the scary elastic waistband, hidden under flowy blouses.

Jamie drove within the speed limit, cranking up the AC and the music, chatting all the while. He seemed slightly wound up, distracting me with questions. There was little traffic on the motorway, and we made record time to Lallybroch.

“Claire,” Jamie said uncertainly. He took my hand and pressed it between his. “Please dinna hate me for this.”

“For what?” I asked, bewildered. I turned my head and suddenly noticed that there were quite a few cars parked around us.

“Keep in mind, this wasna my idea.” Jamie let go of my hand, and got out of the car. He came around to open my door and help me out.

“James Alexander etcetera, etcetera Fraser, what’s going on?”

He just smiled, shaking his head. He walked me up the steps and I could hear voices and laughter inside. I stopped at the door and refused to budge.

“Sassenach, come on. Be nice.”

“You be nice. Tell me what’s behind this door or I swear I’m walking home.” To Inverness to catch a train, at least.

“Alright, alright… but ye do realize I could just carry ye—” He stopped at the murderous look on my face. “Fine. Our mums, Jenny, and yer friends might have organized something for ye. Like a party.”

Oh. I considered; I didn’t particularly enjoy being the center of attention, but there was nothing I could do to avoid it. Jamie was still regarding me warily, expecting one of my recent temper explosions. I smiled at him instead, and he looked relieved.

He opened the door for me, and I saw Lallybroch was filled with people. Mum was there, standing by a table filled with food. Ellen was with her, arranging plates. Louise and Mary were chatting on a sofa. Jenny, Jamie’s sister, came to me, enveloping me in a fierce hug.

“Claire! How’ve ye been, love?” She seemed the exact opposite of Jamie—dark-haired, much shorter, but with the same slant to her blue eyes that marked them both as Frasers.

“I’ve been well! Tired, but okay.” I let her lead me into the living room. There were some of my schoolmates, all women. A baby shower—I took in the decorations, all delicate pastel colors. Balloons and stuffed animals and baby shoes were strewn about.

“If ye need anything at all, ye ken Ian and I are here for ye,” Jenny said. She and her husband lived in Glasgow too, but were busy with three children of their own. I knew Jamie enjoyed being uncle to them too.

Everyone turned to me excitedly, rising at once to kiss me hello and touch my huge belly. Jamie lingered by the door, until he caught my eye. He gestured outside and waved; I understood he would be leaving us girls to our party.

Ellen and Mum each hugged me as I thanked them for the surprise. “Everything is absolutely beautiful!” Even the napkins fit with the baby motif. I looked at the refreshment table—the food looked simply superb.

My mum leaned in and stage-whispered, “This was mostly her idea,” nodding towards Ellen. “She took care of pretty much everything. Isn’t it wonderful?”

“It really is, Ellen. Thank you so much.”

“I’m so glad you like it, dear.” Ellen put her arm around my shoulders and directed me to a sofa. I plopped down heavily; I was glad to be off my feet.

There were games and cake and gifts—lots of gifts. There were adorable pink and yellow sundresses, tiny onesies, and soft plush blankets. Ellen and Jenny had found a secondhand stroller and a high chair, for when the baby was older.

Better than all the presents, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by the love and support they gave me. I couldn’t help but cry a little as I thanked them all for coming, and for the beautiful things they had given me.

Mum, Jenny, and I stayed to help Ellen clean up after everyone left, despite her protests. Brian came home around half past seven, and gave himself the job of piling the gifts I had received into the trunk of Mum’s car. I only stopped to wonder why Jamie wasn’t back yet, but I imagined he must have other things to do. Jenny hugged me goodbye with a reminder to call her anytime.

When we got home, the silver Peugeot was parked outside the house. Mum urged me inside, saying that Dad would help her carry it all in. Jamie was actually watching TV with my father. Dad rose to help Mum.

“Did ye have fun?” Jamie asked as I approached.

“I did, actually. Thank you. Did you have trouble, keeping the secret?” I grinned.

“A little. Especially since I know how much you hate being the center of attention.” He knew me well. “Besides, yer mother and Jenny would have killed me if I had so much as hinted.”

I nodded. “You’re probably right.”

My parents walked in, loaded with boxes and bags. Jamie went to help them. We all trooped up to my room, and they laid the gifts on my bed. Mum helped me sort through them and put them away in the dresser.

After she’d left, Jamie took on a shy expression. “There’s still something missing here.”

“What?” I shifted the gift bags heaped on my bed, thinking I had missed one.

“It’s downstairs. Let me get it.” He darted out of my room before I could ask more.

I heard him call out to my dad. I wondered why he would need his help. Then I heard them both grunting with effort. Their steps clambered awkwardly up to my room. Suddenly Dad’s back came into view. He and Jamie were lugging a rocking chair between them.

I gasped with delight. There was a huge white satin bow tied around it. They set the chair in the last unoccupied corner of the room, next to the crib. Dad shook his head, and clapped Jamie on the back.

I covered my mouth with one of my hands, afraid I was going to start bawling. I had always admired this particular rocking chair. It had sat in the Lallybroch guest room; it was an antique, the wood worn, weathered, and restored to perfection by Ellen herself.

“Just what the room was missing.” Jamie shrugged and smiled. He took in my expression and seemed even more pleased with himself.

“Jamie, it’s too much. I can’t accept this.” I knew she had rocked both her children in it. Despite my words, I couldn’t’ resist stepping closer, reaching out to touch the smooth wooden armrests.

“Mam wanted ye to have it,” he said simply. “She’s not takin’ it back, Sassenach, and I really dinna want to carry it down again. It’s too heavy.” I laughed.

“Thank you.” I moved towards him. Jamie looked slightly taken aback as I reached up and hugged him. My arms only came around the top of his ribcage. He hesitated for a second before putting his arms around me too.

As he held me, I felt strange. I rested my forehead on the center of his chest for a moment. Breathing deeply, I caught a hint of Jamie’s scent, warm and clean. For a moment, I forgot about my worries: how in less than a month I would be taking care of a newborn, what I would do if she wouldn’t stop crying, if I’d be a terrible mother. Everything faded into the background.

It was just us, Claire and Jamie. He would help me through this, as would all my family. I felt brave, in his arms.

I felt perfect.

#outlander #outlander fanfic #outlander au #jamie and claire #lullaby 18 #perfect jamie is perfect

208 notes · View notes

venus-says · 4 years

Text

Kamen Rider Zero-One Episodes 01-09

The biggest gag of this whole thing is that I don’t have a punchline to talk about a show with a comedian as the main character.

⚠ ⚠ Warning! Very long post ahead, be prepared. ⚠ ⚠

Yes, I’m bringing something weird, kinda unrelated, and very random again to the blog, but seeing that precure is taking a break this week and that I had some free time I thought, why not?

Kamen Rider was something I always wanted to get into but I never did just because of the huge amount of things in this franchise (much like what keeps me away from Idolm@ster, and pushed me from Doctor Who for so many years). But I was babysitting in the weekend and I had to sit down through 5 hours of power rangers on netflix, and that kinda revived this flame on me. And seeing that he newest season of Kamen Rider is still in its early days I thought it was a good time to start.

I’ll go back and watch the older seasons (at least the ones from the Heisei Era) because *spoilers* I enjoyed Zero-One quite a lot, and it also would fit with a project I’m planning for next year, but I won’t give much detail on that just yet. For now, let’s just focus on the task at hand and talk about Kamen Rider Zero-One.

Since this is a review/first impressions post instead of talking specifically about each episode I’ll talk about some specific topics. Starting by the plot.

This setting is very entertaining, I don’t know if it’s the future, or if this is some kind of alternate reality where humanity has progressed faster than our reality or whatever, but I like the futuristic vibe. The concept of Humagears isn’t anything new, it’s what you expect from a futuristic show, but it is somewhat decent. I don’t know if talking about machines getting conscience is a concept that’s easily palatable to kids, and I have a feeling that the show will lack in this discussion, but I’m okay with it.

I’m okay because this show does an amazing job when it comes to being emotional. In every episode, they make us sympathetic to at least one character and when this character gets caught between fire or is turned in the MOTW we feel for them. I was especially touched by Mamoru in Episode 2, the kid from episode 4, the seiyuu Humagear played by Karen Miyama and her father in episodes 5 and 6, and especially the coach and the basketball team from episode 7. In a very short amount of time, they made me feel attached to these characters and I was really invested in their stories and that’s a huge plus for me.

The plot regarding the company is probably the least interesting and the less believable IMO. Maybe it’s just me being dumb, after all this is a show where dudes transform in mecha armors with animal motifs using belts, but I find hard to believe that in any parallel world a successful and respected businessman would hand their very important company in the hands of someone unprepared for the business. Yes, the protagonist being the head of the company gives him an interesting plot point in episodes 8 and 9, but that was really the only time I saw it as being used in an interesting way in all of these episodes.

A.I.M.S. is a thing I have mixed feelings. First they seem to be the police, then they seem to be like a third (shadier) private organization, still they seem to use things as if they’re the government, they seem like they can play a very interesting role but this beginning is just so confusing I don’t know what to think of them. Though I have a major problem being that they seem to be huge, very important, smarter than the other, above everyone else, Still on episode 8 they let themselves be invaded without offering that much resistance resulting in loss of equipment and valuable data, and after all shit is done, they didn't run any kind of scan in their giant robots to see if nothing happened to them. That was really dumb.

The part I like the least is the villains' plot, they are boring as hell and I can’t care enough about them. The reveal on episode 8 that they’re also humagears is very rushed and very dumb because it shows that the protagonist has been wrong all of this time. I genuinely would like more if this was a revolution created by a maniac with a god complex rather than another story of machines rebelling against humans.

I can’t talk about Plot without talking about Characters. While this is a show that does one-off characters wonderfully, the majority of the main cast I have issues with, at least for now.

Aruto is the regular protagonist of any sentai show, I feel, so I don’t have strong feelings about him so far. Though, the characteristic that is supposed to differentiate him from the others makes me not like him as much. I don’t know if it’s because his jokes are lost in translation or if it is the style of comedy that doesn’t resonate with me personally, but to me he’s not funny he’s just very cringe. I also don’t like how this is overused and more often than not it ruins beautiful, touching or emotional moments. Though Aruto has something great in his favor that is his companion Izu. Izu is a delight and she makes Aruto be way more bearable as a character. Yes, her gag when she has to explain Aruto’s jokes is overused and after nine episodes I don’t think it’s very funny anymore, but I still enjoy her a lot and episodes 8 and 9 showed a lot of potential for her.

A.I.M.S flagship characters once again show my mixed feelings about the organization. While I love Yua (she’s probably my favorite character), I hate Fuwa to death. Yua is very interesting, she shows signs of humanity but she’s not afraid of using the resources she has at hand to fulfill her missions, she’s the gray character in the sea of blacks and whites and I love this, it’s still very shallow but it gave her character some level of complexity that put her above the other to me. Fuwa on the other hand… I may be wrong about him, he may pull a Bakugou on me and make me sympathetic towards him later on, but for now his hot-blooded, hard-headed, stubborn personality gets under my skin and seeing him loosing in Episode 8 was probably my favorite moment of him so far. (PS.: I know Fuwa’s first name is Isamu but I don’t think he was ever referred by his first name so far so I’ll stick to calling him Fuwa)

Like I mentioned before, I don’t care for anyone in MetsubouJinrai.net. Jin had something going on for him in episode 6, but instead of using that to build him as a character the show just threw that away by revealing that he’s not actually Horobi’s son, he’s just a Humagear he made and they took away all the things that made him interesting. Horobi seemed like just the generic villain, then he raised his status with the whole “I made you Jin” thing, but once again they lost any kinda of dept to his character when they made him another Humagear instead of a human going against society.

Tied in with the characters talk there’s the Rider aspect of the thing. I can’t judge them in level of efficiency or anything since I don’t really have some reference point to compare them to, but I can talk about designs!

Zero-One has a pretty efficient design, when you look at it you can immediately recognize that this is from Kamen Rider yet it’s still unique enough to differentiate from its predecessors. His power-up forms are also very decent, though I wish in some of them we had less of the grasshopper design and more of the animal the power-up is evoking. My favorite forms are Flaming Tiger and Freezing Bear since these are the forms that keep less from the original design. I don’t know if he giant mammoth mecha is considered a power-up but I’ll mention it here, that thing is very goofy I can’t take it seriously.

Vulcan and Valkyrie are pretty similar and bland in their basic forms, though I enjoy the touch of half of them being more mechanized and the other half share more similarities to their animals. In terms of power-ups, Vulcan’s Punching Kong isn’t very imaginative and there are not enough changes for me to like it. Valkyrie’s Lightning Hornet, however, is my favorite form of all of them, I love how it feels like a completely different design from the original and the colors work pretty well together.

I don’t know if they’re also considered Riders but I’ll talk about them anyway. I love Jin’s Flying Falcon, the shade of pink is very pretty and to me it has a better design than Zero-One’s form. Horobi is basically just a recolor of Jin, but it works I feel, maybe it’s just my love for purple and the fascination for scorpions and poison-related powers but I enjoy it. Talking about the Magias I feel that their designs are very hit or miss, more misses in my case, but I can’t deny that some of them are very funny.

The transformation devices all look kinda silly, if I was a kid I wouldn’t see myself interested in any of them. Though I’m all here for the progrise keys designs, it’s simple, it’s colorful, it’s fun, they look like cassette tapes and I love them. The briefcase weapons I also dislike, they seem like a very fun design for a toy in scale of a figure, but in the show hey seem way too big and don’t work as well for me, though I like Horobi’s arrow version. Zero-One has a very cool looking bike, but I gotta admit when it falls down from sky looking like a cellphone I can’t help but crack at it because it just looks way too goofy.

The last thing I have to comment on is production. Though I don’t have the knowledge to give a proper analysis I gotta say the show looks very well produced.

The locations are very pretty, the action, for the most part, is very impressive, the soundtrack is decent, and sometimes they take some styling decisions that are very impressive – like the “attacks animations” and when they’ve put these comic borders during a portion of the fight in Episode 5 to seem like it was part of a manga. The characterization is also pretty spot-on, we have the futuristic elements yet there are this similar present days vibe that makes things more relatable and easy to connect with this world, I especially love the earphone thing the Humagears have, is such a nice touch.

The actors are all pretty good as well. Yes, there are some moments where they go way overboard IMO, but overall they do very well with what they’re given to work with. Props to Noa Tsurushima for being able to pull out an amazing Izu that is very robotic but still has this very human aura to her. I also checked them out in their social media and it seems that the cast get along very well and they always seem to be having a blast in the backstage pictures. Also, did you know Fuwa’s actor has a youtube channel and he apparently does lives every single day? I was very shocked when I found out about that.

And the biggest thing that deserves praise is the special effects and CGI that, aside from a few moments like the giant mechas fighting in Episode 9, are amazing and a delight to the eyes. It’s very rare for me to find a show that is heavily dependant on CGI that doesn’t tickle me off and this one managed to pull it off wonderfully and I can’t wait to see more of it.

And these are my thoughts on the first nine episodes of Kamen Rider Zero-One, I really enjoyed the show and this is now part of my fixed weekly schedule of shows to watch. Have any of you seen it, what are your thoughts about it? One of the things I liked the most during the symphogear season was interacting in the comments and discussing the episode and I haven’t seen much of that recently so please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts as well. In any case, thank you so so much for sitting through this very long post, and I’ll see you a next time. (guess is finally time for me to aikatsu again after an entire month)

#Kamen Rider Zero One #kamen rider

7 notes · View notes

idolizenews · 5 years

Photo

FEBRUARY SCHEDULE

Each schedule post provides a snapshot into the way the company is marketing your group as a whole, the expectations they have for your involvement in the industry, and so forth. They’ll range from fun things like CF deals to run of the mill events like fan parties, concerts, or rest time. We’ll be varying things across the board and using this as a way to tease upcoming plot lines for groups. Schedules illuminate the often difficult realities of being an idol, and because of that we award +5 exp / + 5 sp to those who complete a 350+ 4/4 thread or a 500 word solo. Solos must be completed during the three week run of the schedule, but threads may be finished after the end of the prompt provided they were started well in excess of the end point (e.g. finishing up a reply or two after is fine, but posting the starter right before the next prompt goes up is not). These needn’t be taken extremely literally when threading and are open to tangential preparation threads and other flexibility.

OLYMPUS

As promotions for Universe wrap up and goodbye stages are recorded, the boys are sitting pretty at the top of the charts fairly consistently, with the song truly outperforming expectations. Perhaps as a result, to continue building momentum, the boys will begin a one day filming for an upcoming short v-live series, Olympus Arcade. They’ll play a variety of games over the course of the day to be rewarded with snacks and penalties for the losing team. The episodes will be divided over 5 15 minute increments.

JINX

The girls of JiNX are guesting on A Real Man, in a brief one episode appearance. They’ll be doing a special concert for the soldiers as a thank you for their service and dedication. THey’ll have the chance to perform with some civilian soldiers, as well as performing a few of their hit songs from throughout their career. It’s certain to give the soldiers something to talk about happily for weeks to come, as well as keep the girls in the spotlight between promotions. The reference for this episode can be found here.

TITANIUM

The boys of Titanium will be appearing on Kiss the Radio for a New Year’s special greeting. They’ll be given the chance to engage with viewers in q&a sessions and advice giving across the hours they’ll be guesting on the show, as well as an opportunity to sing a few of their songs completely live. It’s sure to showcase a new and special side of the boys, given they’re known for such thematic performances- this will give fans a chance to see a more pared back rendition!

AURORA

Aurora will be doing a special cover stage for the new year, performing the classic Girl’s Generation Into the New World, a fitting message of uplifting hope for the new year and, frankly, something of a right of passage for all girl groups. They’ll be performing it on a special episode of Music Premiere and will be given a short opportunity to film a special New Year greeting for fans thereafter. For reference, a fancam can be found here.

HEAVEN

With a much anticipated comeback on the horizon, the girls of Heaven are expected to be hard at work. They’ll be filming promotional material this month, alongside the music video for the upcoming track Windflower. Expectations are high as this will be the first time the girls really and truly demonstrate they’re making a hard break from the summer promotional aesthetic, instead of toeing the line of the edge of summer as they have with some of their more recent promotions. It also leads to rumors that the new co-ed group’s debut aims to take over the summer market, perhaps causing some pressure on Heaven to solidify their new role.

POIZN

After a stellar year and with Imperial sidelined by scandal, POIZN is back on top in 99 in terms of CEO favoritism, and on a related note will spend the month of February preparing for an Asia tour, canvassing China, Korea, Japan, and some stops in Southeast Asia as well. They’ll be tasked with selecting solo song performances, preparing their choreography for all songs involved,and going through the rigorous process of styling and preparation that will come with the upcoming grueling schedules. Promotional materials will begin shooting right after Seollal, starting with concert VCRs and promotional images for merchandise and advertisements. Get yourself in shape boys, it’s not going to be easy!

IMPERIAL

As a special track for the popular Reply 1997 drama, the boys of Imperial will be doing a cover of the Sechs Kies song Dear Love, updated for the present day! It’s sure to cause a bit of a buzz given the involvement between a member of Imperial and the lead actress of the show. It’s definitely a noise marketing attempt, and one that will likely pay off in a big way, at least in terms of general attention brought to the show and the group in turn, as well as bringing alongside it a healthy dose of criticism. Such is the price of media play! The song reference is here.

CHERRY BOMB!

CHERRY BOMB! is ramping up for the future, picking up a brand deal with Etude House. This is a good step forward for the girls, as they need to be establishing themselves firmly so that the rookie girl group of MSG can grow in their own right. They’ll be spending a packed two days of filming on the commercial series as well as the various promotional photographs to be displayed in advertisements and stores across the country. It’s a more moody aesthetic than Etude House often goes for, to reflect the season and the girl’s aesthetic. They’ll each have a fun color named after them in the new lip lacquer line. Reference for the cf and aesthetic is here.

INDIGO

With a comeback in the first half of February, the boys are hard at work preparing. Last minute finalizations on song and stage choreography are in order, alongside reviewing the final product in terms of video, styling choices, and more. It’s a sprint to the comeback stages at this point, as well as a month of hard work on music shows nad promotional activities alike. Notably the boys will be featured on Idol Master where they will have a chance to greet fans, show off their charms, and provide a signed album copy to be auctioned off to a member of the audience, whom they’ll have a chance to communicate with via video call, where they can turn the tables and ask the fans questions, too! Reference can be found here.

1NFERNO & MAYDAY

Following the steps of Atlas in the past, 1nferno and MayDay will be joining the new season of Birth of a Family! This time the series will follow two groups and two sets of dogs, taken care of by 1nferno and MayDay in what is clearly a bit of a two for the price of one deal that certainly appealed to producers. They’ll be taking care of two dogs per group for the next month, and will be tasked with caring for them, training them, and promoting the importance of adopting, not shopping, and raising awareness of animal abandonment in South Korea! Feel free to take some creative license with your members regarding breed and names of the dogs!

ATLAS

With a comeback in the second half of the month, Atlas is hard at work on filming and preparation. Last minute choreography adjustments are always a given with Atlas, so the boys will be working through that, as well as recording a New Year greeting for their fans, complete with hanbok! There’s a rumor, o f course, that the hanbok motif and the fun traditional music backing the greeting are a secret teaser in and of themselves, but even the boys won’t confirm it publicly. They’re at the end of filming for the music video and teasers and will be recording the dance practice version soon as well. It’ll be a packed schedule leading up into promotions.

JAWBREAKER

With some successful work for KJH under their belt, Jawbreaker will be filming GO! season two for their Vlive series, continuing to follow in the footsteps of Atlas Run! They’ll be playing a “find the criminal” style game at Jobworld, taking on the roles of flower shop owner (main dance), bakery owner (lead/lead), mart owner (main rap), and policewoman (main vocal)! They’ll be following the general goal and format of BTS RUN episodes 47 and 48, which can also have been assumed to have taken place in character with Atlas in the past, furthering a brother/sister narrative to the groups, despite the atypical story of Jawbreaker’s genesis.

NITRO

Taking a leaf out of KJH’s book, Nitro will be following in the footsteps of other artists and starting a VLive show. However, it will be mostly in a self-produced and self-filmed format that KTM hopes will further their relatable and approachable imagery, continuing a close connection with the fans. The show will be named NITROus, as both a play on their chemical referencing fan name combination (NITRO+gen = nitrogen) and as a message that they will always be close to the fans. For the first episode they’ll be eating and talking together at a meat restaurant, demonstrating their natural affection and friendliness and boyish attitudes. The reference link can be found here. It can be assumed they’ll continue filming with the second episode and third in this month as well, though their releases may be staggered.

XLNC

WIth a comeback in the second half of the month, XLNC are hard at work finishing the polishing notes of their b-sides, as well as preparing for their various guerilla and busking promotional activities. As usual, promotion for XLNC is somewhat lacking as it is not typical “idol” fare. However, the boys have recently been enrolled in intensive and mandatory Japanese lessons, which gives rise to the question of what might be in store for them in a few months. They’ll be expected to study simultaneously with their music show promotional schedule this month, so they’re sure to be quite tired.

NIGHTMARE

With a debut from the Dawn subunit on the horizon, the girls are in a flurry. Everyone seems to be working on something different. Dusk’s promotions will follow shortly after Dawn’s wrap up, so they’re already hard at work finishing the filming for their videos, even as Dawn begin promoting on music shows. Eve on the other hand are in the song and image selection portion of things, as Dawn has been assigned a bright and fresh image more prone to ballads, with Dusk taking on a quirky creepy and electropop image, it seems that Eve will be left with a more girl-crush tonality, bolstered by the fact the two rappers of the group have been assigned that unit. This gives Nightmare muns a lot of room to explore reactions to subunit styling.

#id.schedule

6 notes · View notes

hoodoo12 · 6 years

Text

Patience head canons

A few things came to me regarding my favorite of @dorklyevil‘s Virtue Ricks: Patience. I combined them with my favorite writing challenge, which is a list of random words you need to use in a sentence. I’m tagging @porkchop-ao3 too because she is stellar at brainstorming.

Be forewarned that these aren’t worth much. Some do have further explanations, and need further exploration. Some are dumb. Some are nothing. But character building is like that . . .

SFW. Patience Rick/reader. Snippets of thoughts, which means not everything is explicitly explained (although if you’re curious, please ask!).

⁂

Veganism “A double cheeseburger, please.”

You did a double-take, which he took in stride.

“You eat meat?”

“Yes. Is that a problem? Are you a vegan?”

“No, no--I thought you were!”

Patience shook his head. “No. I like steak and char sui bao and cedar-grilled salmon. I’m not a vegan. Never have been.”

You filed that away under things that surprised you about him.

Stuttering “Most Ricks,” he explained quietly, “allow their minds to shatter with thought, speeding in a hundred different directions all at the same time. I, however, try to focus and be more deliberate, which is why I rarely stutter or trip over my words. Not that it can’t happen, to be sure, in the heat of a moment . . .”

What does he wear under those robes? You laughed in surprised delight one night, early in your relationship, when you discovered Patience wearing nothing under his yukata. You made a joke about him “being ready for action!” and didn’t think anything more about it because other, more physical things demanded your attention.

It wasn’t until the next time, and the time after that, and again, that you realized he routinely didn’t wear undergarments.

He laughed at your shocked reaction to this revelation.

Scar “Are you ever going to tell me what happened? How you got that scar?”

Patience smiled down at you. “Maybe someday . . .” he teased.

“Come on!” you needled and he laughed, then said,

“You should’ve seen the other guy.”

Your insistent teasing faltered as the meaning of his answer seeped into your comprehension. He sounded like he was joking, what he said was what guys typically said, but you couldn’t help but ask, “You . . . you got it fighting?”

“Finishing a fight,” he corrected.

You tried to wrap your head around this information. This was Patience. He was calm and composed and more likely to wait until the oceans dried up before resorting to physical violence--

He lifted an eyebrow at the expression on your face. “That surprises you.”

“Yeah. Yeah, it does!”

“Just because I strive to live life slowly doesn’t mean that everyone else is kind and gentle with me, or that I am incapable of defending myself. Or . . .”

He paused and his brow furrowed. His hand went to the very scar you were talking about; the one that when it happened must have split open his forehead and left him blinded by the blood that poured from it. More quietly, more ruefully, he added,

“It doesn’t mean I haven’t made mistakes or gone against my nature. Or that I’ve always been as you see me now.”

It was still difficult for you to fit this information into the puzzle of his life. He saw your continued confusion and gave you a smile. “Is it so odd that occasionally we aren’t ourselves? Wrath’s volatile nature has been tempered somewhat, when he is accompanied by Kindness. No one thinks that is a bad thing. My only fault is that my lapse . . . ended like this.”

He briefly touched his scar again. His smile was melancholy, you realized, because what he called his ‘misstep’ would be considered a grievous mistake, while Wrath’s would be lauded.

Tea “I drink all flavors tea. Black, green, oolong, white, pu-erh. I like kombucha as well. There is a delightful milk oolong that I purchase sometimes, and a cream Earl Grey that is a special treat. I will also occasionally imbibe with what they call herbal teas--”

Boring “--which are not technically teas at all! They should more correctly be called tisanes. Only one plant, Camelia sinesis, produces all the aforementioned flavors of tea; what differs and creates the varying flavors is the processing after the tea leaf is harvested. Black is the most heavily oxidized. White teas are the least, and everything else is in between. To get the highly prized bright green color and intense flavor of matcha, the leaves are shaded so their chorophyll is concentrated, and once collected and dried, they are ground to a powder. Gyokuro are those same leaves, unground, and they are delicious to eat, after the tea they’ve made has been consumed.

“Regarding the herbal tisanes, most any plant can be used, but depending on which part of the plant--leaves versus roots, for example--perhaps an infusion would be a better descriptor for the process. I am partial to a chamomile tisane sweetened with lavender honey before I retire for the evening. Herbals don’t have the caffeine like tea does, and yerba mate is an excellent choice if you wish to avoid the stimulant.

“I have several books on the subject and have taken classes with fellow tea aficionados. I also have a wide variety of loose leaf teas; would you like to try them? I can set up a tasting and explain each one, including the process by which it is made, the correct temperature at which the water should be to brew it correctly . . . I could even set up different types of the same tea--green, for example, and we could explore Japanese versus Chinese, single estate versus something more commercially produced.

“And did you know that some teas are better after their second or third brewing? There is a specific oolong that is best brewed five or six times! There is so much to explore regarding teas and tisanes and I could go on for a very long time about it--”

Feet Patience’s feet weren’t ticklish. He rarely wore shoes, and his soles were calloused and less sensitive than someone who did. Even through the streets of the Citadel, he went barefoot.

“I would rather walk,” he replied with a shrug, when you suggested a portal gun would get the two of you to your destination more quickly. “Portalling is convenient, but then we miss out on so much along the way.”

Fog It made you nervous, so you clutched at his hand and tried to match his long strides. He, sensing your unease, slowed his steps for you. He also shook his hand out of your grip and slipped his arm around your waist. You’d have a hard time explaining your fear, walking in this fog--you’d be loathe to admit it was because you had played too many survival horror video games!--but luckily, he simply understood and didn’t question it or mock you.

Believe “Believe me, he would put my vow to the test ,” Patience chuckled quietly, with a nod to the Wrath, who was simultaneously ranting about something and brushing Kindness’s locks. “‘Ness has some special power, I think.”

Tradition “I may prefer to wear a yukata or kimono, and it may be tradition, but I am not wearing a fundoshi!”

Snow “Look at the snow! It’s really coming down out there.”

“It’s up to your knees out there . . .”

“I guess I should start getting home.”

“Baby, it’s cold outside . . .”

“ . . . you do know those aren’t the lyrics to that song, right?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Maybe just a half a drink more?”

You snorted your laughter at him as you nodded your head.

Adorable He had several thousand hair ties. On very rare occasions he wore one with a tiny bell attached to it, which you found ridiculously adorable.

Pattern “Walk with me?” he asked, so you did.

It was a winding path, with sharp cut backs and turns. It looped around and around on itself; if you closed your eyes and let him lead you by holding your hand, you grew dizzy. Sometimes he made an observation, sometimes you did. At one point it felt right to go up on your tiptoes and walk with your arms stretched outward, like you were balancing on a tightrope.

There were no walls on this path. It was marked by bricks in the ground, and at the very center of it was a small bench. Anyone who didn’t know the path was there would have thought you looked like fools traipsing back and forth, instead of just walking to the bench and sitting down.

But labyrinths were made with twists and turns in a very specific pattern, Patience explained as he sat next to you. They lead into a center, and then back out again. They were a mediation tool, and he hoped you liked it.

Sun You’d walked a labyrinth with him, and let the sun warm you gently while he continued to explain, “Mazes are for getting lost. Labyrinths are for finding.”

Red Patience had several, and of course he had some that he preferred over others, but your favorite yukata that he owned was monochromatic in red, with a very subtle dragon and phoenix motif woven into it.

White His robes may have been different colors, but his belt was always white.

Watch “You never wear a watch.”

“And you always do,” he countered.

Walk Your paces were different—yours brisk and businesslike, his deliberate by habit—but eventually walking together felt natural.

Run “—go! Put your head down and just go!” The deadly serious tone in Patience’s voice scared you more than anything yet tonight, until you looked in his face and saw the same severe, alarming expression there too. It was a look more at home on Wrath’s face, not Patience’s. He grabbed your upper arms in a grip that was so tight it pinched and gave you a push. “Run! Don’t stop, don’t look back—just run!”

Formal The fact that Patience kept a formal, neatly attended miniature Zen garden in his room did not surprise you.

Short Patience was tall and you were short, but the height difference never seemed to be a concern or a hindrance.

Horizon Habitually he was up before the dawn, and habitually you wanted to sleep late. But occasionally, Patience would gather you up—swaddled in blankets and all—and carry you out to the porch steps so you could watch the sun creep above the horizon together.

War Those who knew him bought him books on feudal Japan and war; those who really knew him bought him books on Japanese art.

Sarcasm He didn’t use it often—he thought it was rude and he should be above it—but when Patience resorted to sarcasm, it was worth it.

Speed “Nope, never tried anything—not pot or speed or coke.”

Coffee You never saw him drink it, although it didn’t surprise you he had the talent for making some of the best French press coffee you’d ever had.

Oil A sharp, astringent odor assaulted your nose. It took a second, but when you untangled your fingers from his and raised your hand to your face, the smell wafted more strongly to you.

Patience saw the disgusted and perplexed expression on your face and he immediately got up and left the room to go to the kitchen. Over the sounds of running of water in the sink and hands being scrubbed he called out an apology.

“I’m sorry, dearest. I neglected to wash my hands of the gun oil.”

You had gotten up to follow him, to wash your hands too, but stopped short at his explanation. Gun oil? Gun oil? You knew what it was, but couldn’t make it stick anywhere with anything; those two words and Patience didn’t match. Your heart was suddenly in your throat, and you were chilled out of the blue by a cold spike of fear.

Hands His fingers were long. He kept his nails neatly trimmed, and his fingertips were very lightly calloused. He had a faded scar at the base of the third finger on his left hand. The mark was very small, running perpendicular to his digit. He never told you what it was from, but your suspicion was it made by a ring that had cut him when it had been pushed too far back on his finger. He didn’t wear a ring now, and you weren’t sure how to ask about it. So you didn’t, but you wondered a lot.

Laugh Patience’s laugh was full and deep, and unlike some men, he wasn’t shy about it.

#fanfic #head canon #Patience Rick #Virtue Rick #fic based on awesome art

32 notes · View notes

leggylegs · 7 years

Text

I wrote this for @vampirebillionaire from a prompt. Set in a loose, canon compliant sequel to her fic about a nygmobblepot future. -- Ivy sets down each photograph carefully, gauging Oswald's reaction every time she reveals a new piece of evidence. “He put one on the back side of the lounge,” she says lightly, watching the vein over Oswald's temple twitch, “and there's one over on the street where your first club used to be.” “The Gigglebox,” Oswald says. “That's what my first club has become, a comedy club.” He scoffs under his breath. “Don't treat it like some big to do when it's just how business works sometimes.” “Right,” she says. “And he put three more here, here, and here.” She sets down the next three fast, showing Oswald the large metal question marks the Riddler's attached to the wall of some warehouses. “He's been pretty busy.” “He certainly has been busy for someone rumored to be laying low to avoid capture.” Oswald regards each photo carefully, lifting them up and scowling at the slightly blurry images. “He's put five of these garish nightmares out, all on my property. What exactly is his goal with all of this? And what happened to the prototype he tried to put on the roof of the Lounge?” “It was a prototype,” Victor says as he stands behind Oswald, looking over his shoulder to look at the photos. “It’s gone now. That's kind of the idea.” “Yes thank you, Victor,” Oswald sighs loudly. “And neither of you know his motive? Of course not,” he answers himself before they can even try. He taps his pen angrily against the table a few times, then he pushes his chair back, standing and turning towards Ivy and Victor. “I think it's high time I go deal with this little irritation myself.” He leaves the room with Ivy and Victor trailing after, Ivy with a nervous energy about her and Victor as calm and collected as ever, seemingly unaffected by his leader's sudden declarations. Oswald opens up one of the cabinets of his personal armory and selects his favorite shotgun; a modified number he got from Zsasz as a gift when he first opened the Iceberg Lounge. “What are you doing?” “What does it look like I'm doing? I'm arming myself to go deal with our little Riddler problem.” He loads the shotgun and pockets at least two boxes of ammo. Ivy boggles at him. “I can't imagine what you're finding so hard to believe.” “Aren't you going to call in an army?” “He hardly has one of his own to send our way.” He examines the outside of the shotgun barrels. “Does this look scuffed? Has someone been using my guns?” “At least let us come as backup,” she shouts. He continues to dismiss her concerns with a wave of his hand. “Pengy-” “Don't. You are making this a much bigger problem than it needs to be.” He smiles at her. “This doesn't have to turn into some fantastic firefight. He just needs put in his place.” “Victor!” She gestures to Oswald, silently demanding he side with her, and Victor shrugs. “Oh come on!” He sighs. “I could always refreeze him,” Victor offers, half-assed and underwhelmed by the exchange. “I'm aware that you could refreeze him, and if I wanted that I would ask.” “At least take more than one gun,” Ivy insists. “Fine,” Oswald says. He looks to Victor and holds out a hand. “If you'd be so kind,” he says, and Victor gently lobs a grenade off his suit over to Oswald, which he catches in his hand and slips into his pocket. “There. I'm bringing more than just one gun. Now if you'll please excuse me, I have some work to do.” Ivy frets after Oswald after he leaves the room, but Victor calls out to her. “Don't follow him.” She turns back and pouts. “I didn't say I was going to.” “You were,” he says. “Don't do it.” She scowls up at him and storms off in the other direction, and Victor shakes his head. - Oswald dismisses his driver and rests his shotgun against his shoulder, getting a feel for the night as he looks at the small, unassuming doors leading to the surprisingly spacious Riddler hideout inside. It's relatively quiet, with only a single siren in the distance. Oswald raps on the door three times with the head of his cane, and when he gets no answer he tries the door, groaning with irritation when it's locked. He glances left and right, and after checking the area he produces a single key from his pocket with a bright green loop on the end. Oswald jams the key into the lock and smirks when he can hear the satisfying snick of the bolt sliding free of the mechanism. Several paintings are hung up on the wall to the left of the door, and in the opposite wall sits a few less artistic items; a few stolen batarangs, one of Joker’s canisters of laughing gas, and several odds and ends, mostly scrap and tools littering two large worktables underneath the only light currently on in the large room. There's a hiss and crackle as a PA system comes to life, and a voice telling Oswald, “I am a nuisance and a trespasser, what am I? The answer is you,” he snaps, and Oswald rolls his eyes. “In this room, there are a series of puzzles-” “Ed, it's me,” Oswald calls out, and the PA goes silent, “and I'm alone.” There's another beat of silence before Ed says, “I'll be right down.” A door hidden behind one of the large paintings swings open, and out steps Ed, clad in a pair of loose fitting pajama pants and a tee shirt and no shoes. He's furiously combing his hair and sending a sheepish look Oswald’s way. “Apologies for the lack of dress. I didn't expect company.” “You didn't even bother to gel your hair for me,” Oswald quips. “I thought I was worth the effort.” “It's nearly midnight,” he says, with a hint of fondness that covers up any irritation he's trying to convey with his expression. “I think most reasonable people are already asleep.” “I didn't know you were considering yourself reasonable,” Oswald says. He sets his shotgun down near the door and places both hands on his cane, leaning ever so slightly towards Ed. “Considering the fuss you created over at the art gallery.” “I don't often get the opportunity to steal a few antique puzzle boxes,” he says, mouth split with a Cheshire grin. “I may have gotten a bit overzealous. It happens to everyone now and again.” “I'm going to assume you're trying to be glib,” Oswald says. He tilts his chin up to look Ed right in the eyes. “We have a few things we need to talk about, namely your liberal use of the outside walls of my properties.” “Later,” Ed whispers, husky and smooth, and Oswald swoons in a bit closer. “We have all night. No sense skipping to pillow talk when we haven't even reached the bed.” - “I guess I should be grateful it isn't giant anymore, but the design certainly leaves something to be desired.” “They aren't meant to be pieces of art,” Ed explains from his half of the large, lavish bed in his inner sanctuary. “Although they certainly are masterpieces.” “They're an eyesore,” Oswald corrects. “And I don't remember giving you permission to set them up in my territory, and what exactly is their purpose?” He rolls onto his side and sends a half-hearted glare at Ed. His eyes are closed and he's half asleep with his face buried in his pillow, clearly not invested in the argument Oswald is trying to start. “Ed, I am not asking rhetorical questions. I expect an answer.” “They’re mostly for fun. No harm intended.” He opens one eye and peeks up at Oswald. “Getting the light to switch off requires dexterity and critical thinking. I thought the Batman could use a bit of a mental exercise.” “They light up.” “The earlier model did too.” “Am I supposed to expect my electricity bills to skyrocket?” Ed doesn't respond and Oswald shoves at his shoulder, causing him to lift his head with a groan. “Ed.” “They turn off during the day to conserve the bulbs and I'm working on integrating solar power.” Ed sighs as his head hits the pillow again. “And you don't even pay your electricity bills.” “I pay someone to make those bills go away.” “Why not just pay the bills then?” Oswald scoffs. “I'm not giving this horrid city one cent of my money. It's a principle, not a cost cutting measure.” He rolls onto his back and waits, staring up at the ceiling of Ed's bedroom, fidgeting his fingers with anticipation. “What? The man whose entire motif revolves around riddles isn't going to try to tell me I'm being foolish?” He turns back onto his side and his expression softens. Ed's gone past being half asleep to being out cold, arms still splayed where he left them and his face half buried in soft, goose down pillows. Oswald leans over and gently smooths some of Ed's hair back off his forehead so he can leave a ghost of a kiss against his temple, and he scoots down onto his side to settle in for some proper sleep.

#long post #my fic #gotham #canon compliant #nygmobblepot

34 notes · View notes

kirukirice · 7 years

Text

Among the Crows: Chapter 48 - The Mage and the Hound

Are you ready folks for the devilish duo

because i’m on FIRE

–> Full text here on Ao3!

Just a few days into the week, and trouble was already beginning to brew.

“Alright, who’s been stealing the food?” Ukai demanded loudly while brandishing his trusty old duster. He had lined up all the usual feathered suspects plus the three boys in front of the kitchen, and was circling them with the aura of an enraged beast. You could probably steam your face just by going near him.

“Just the other day, I bought some jam rolls. After a few hours, they were all gone.”

No one dared to move or make a sound each time he walked past them.

“And then yesterday, I had a whole new package of meats from the butcher. Now, it’s disappeared to the high heavens.”

Ukai turned around and suddenly rapped the duster with a loud – thunk! – onto the countertop, making everyone flinch and the birds’ feathers fluff up.

“Unless one of you is having a hundred babies all at once, you’d better fess up now.”

The birds all began to squawk and clamour to claim that it wasn’t them, including Debu who was usually prime culprit number one. Kageyama slid his suspicious gaze towards his brother, who was very obviously sweating in his pants. Daichi noticed that and asked quietly, “Hinata… are you hiding something?”

“N-no.” the crow stammered with his hands fast behind his back. But there was no hiding from the ol’ keen-eyed Kara. Ukai strode up to the frightened boy with slow, ominous steps while tapping the duster on his palm. Hinata looked up and swallowed dryly as the man’s half-lidded eyes and heavy-set brows pressurized him into a confession.

“Hinata. Shouyou. You got something to say?”

“I… er... I’ve been very hungry?” the boy tried, with a sheepish smile.

Ukai took a long, hard breath before sighing and dropping the pretence. Rubbing his temples, he muttered, “Look, I’m not going to beat you. Just tell me where it’s been going.”

The boy heaved a sigh of relief. “I’ve, um, been feeding the dog.”

They all turned to look at him in confusion at once.

“The dog? I don’t own a dog. There aren’t any stray dogs around here.” Ukai said and scratched his head with the wooden end of the duster.

“There is one! It’s really big and fluffy, and it hides out in the woods right outside the house.” Hinata exclaimed with sparkling eyes, pointing in the direction he spoke of. Ukai took another deep breath and closed his eyes.

“So all this time you’ve been sneaking out there to feed it? And going into the woods?” The man was just one sentence away from saying ‘you’re grounded’.

“Not into, just nearby. Want me to show you?”

The three of them followed Hinata out of house, across the short plain, and right to the edge of the woods. Nothing seemed out of place to the men, for there were no tell-tale signs of a large creature having been around the area.

“You sure this is the place?” Daichi asked, dusting his palms of dirt.

The little Kara nodded with surety, and began calling out for his big buddy in a sweet voice.

“Here, Snowball!”

“Snowball?” Kageyama remarked incredulously. “Really?”

“Duh, ‘cause he’s white. You’ll know when you see him.” Hinata shot back, then continued to shout. “Snowball, come meet my friends! I’ll give you more food, okay?”

“Oi, who said anything about food?” interjected Ukai, not about to let him misuse any more of his stock.

And when they saw what appeared after a rustling in the bushes, there was no goddamned way it was a ‘Snowball’.

Larger than a grown man, the creature’s hulking shoulders and sleek form closely resembled a wolf. White fur covered its body from head to toe, and its wing-shaped ears, tail, limbs, and a pair of leathery wings on its back were black with some kind of armour. Two short fangs hung down from its mouth like a sabertooth’s, and bony spikes protruded from its elbows and ran down his forelegs, culminating in huge claws that better suited a bear. What disturbed them the most among all these features, however, was its glowing red pupils which stared unwaveringly into theirs.

This was no dog.

“Snowb—“ Hinata moved forward, but was immediately pulled back by Daichi. Kageyama hid behind the man, but didn’t take his eyes off the hound.

“What the hell kind of dog did you find?” The hunter exclaimed and took out his dagger, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. Snowball, however, sat down quietly on its hind legs and kept its gaze on the blade, its ears straight up at attention. Despite having such a fearsome appearance, it moved with a mild, reserved air and was rather still.

“He’s not dangerous, I swear! Snowball’s a good dog.” Hinata protested, and slipped away from Daichi. He walked up to the dog without fear and, to everyone else’s teeming anxiety, petted its fluffy back. To Hinata’s delight it didn’t try to move away like last time, and its tail began to wag a tiny bit.

“You’re a good dog, aren’t you? See? He’s fine.”

The rest gulped, simultaneously amazed at how daring the crow was and how tame the dog was behaving. “Come on, Kageyama!” Hinata beckoned with a grin.

Kageyama inched cautiously towards Snowball, and it turned its muzzle to regard the boy. It wouldn’t stop staring at him like how a predator does to its prey, which made Kageyama feel very unwelcome. “I don’t think it likes me,” he said, and decided he would pet a less deadly dog another day.

Ukai stepped around the creature and scratched his head even more, threatening the lifespan of his luscious locks. “I’ve never seen this breed before. What’s with the armour plating? The spikes? And those wings… I mean, I’ve heard of chimeras, like griffins, but this…?”

“Beats me.” Daichi replied, and approached Snowball with his hand outstretched. The dog emitted a low growl, however, and he backed away. “Seems like it doesn’t like me, either.”

“If you feed him, he’ll warm up to you.” Hinata said while petting its head.

“Okay, enough about feeding. He probably belongs to someone, right? That coat of his looks well groomed, and he’s pretty well behaved.” Ukai said.

The boy rifled through the layers of thick fur around Snowball’s neck, and it got annoyed and tried to paw his meddling little hands away. He uncovered what looked and felt like a black metal collar, which was smooth except for two triangular extrusions along the edge - one facing up, and the other facing down. The entire collar was stuck fast in a seamless loop around the dog’s neck, and it didn’t have a name on it.

“Aw, he’s taken. And I thought we could keep him…” The boy pouted, sad at their inevitable parting.

A collective sigh of relief rose from the two men.

“Hinata, if you want a dog, at least pick a norrmal one.” Daichi said.

“But Snowball’s so cool. We’ll never see another one like him.” Hinata moped.

And then, on a beast’s whim, Snowball got up to leave for the forest. It had had its fun being around these curious people. The child said a final goodbye, and after warning him not to wander off again by himself, they all thought they had seen the last of the strange hound.

“Mama, can we keep a pet?” Hinata later asked Suga.

“What kind of pet?”

“A big, fluffy one. One that you can hug, and comes over when you call for him.” He mumbled into the bed sheets and traced the folds absentmindedly. He already missed the big fella.

Just then, Daichi walked in and Suga waved him over. He asked the man to bend down for a bit, and then began smoothing his hand through his hair.

“We have one right here,” he grinned, much to Daichi’s confusion and Hinata’s amusement.

The next morning, Ukai received some bad news from town.

“One of the townsfolk was attacked by a Carcama last night. She’s alright, thankfully. Got away with some gashes.”

Kageyama raised his hand and Ukai nodded at him. “What’s a Carcama?” he asked.

“They’re vicious felines with the eyes and claws of a reptile. They’ve been coming and going sporadically for over a month now, and their attacks are getting bolder and further into the town. They almost always attack at night, too.” He replied. Hinata raised his hand next. “Will they attack us?”

Ukai ruffled his hair out of stress. “I don’t think they’ll pass up the buffet of birds over here, once they catch wind of it. I’ve been taking precautions and asking the hunter-birds to keep an eye out, but if the pack comes all at once, we’re done for.”

“Just you and I won’t be enough to get rid of them,” Daichi said, “There’s bound to be ten or more in one pack.”

Ukai nodded in agreement. “The town hasn’t gathered enough fighting power, but once we do, we’ll have to chase them off before they get to us. In the meantime, no one should be out after dark, even if you have to go pee really bad. Just use the bucket. Understood?”

Everyone responded with a loud ‘yes’.

But no one expected Snowball to show up later in the afternoon, sitting right at their doorstep with a vigilant eye. Only Hinata was thrilled to see him again, of course.

“Snowball! Why’d you come back? Did you miss me?” he squealed ecstatically and gave the dog a big hug. It didn’t react, however, and stared in the direction of the road to town with its ears upright. No one could move it from the entryway, either, for it was as stoic and heavy as a boulder.

“This is why you don’t feed stray dogs, Hinata. Remember that.” Ukai grumbled and stepped around Snowball to get out of the house. Life had to go on, dog or no dog.

As he walked out onto the field, he noticed a figure approaching from the road. He thought it might be a customer. As the person got closer, however, it didn’t seem like that would be the case.

He was a tall, lanky man with windswept brown hair, the longer strands tied in a simple ponytail at the base of his head. Dressed in a rather outlandish coat-and-pants outfit with a black collar around his neck, anyone could see that he was undoubtedly foreign. On his sleeve-gloves were motifs of the sun and the moon, and his boots were white and clean of any dirt. He carried only a whip and a pouch of gold on his belt.

The moment he recognized Ukai, he waved at him with a keen smile.

“Hello! You must be the doctor?” he asked cheerfully and shook the man’s hand.

“Yes, I am. What brings you all the way out here?” Ukai replied genially.

“My name is Oikawa Tooru, and I am here to offer my help. I have heard about the Carcamas that are terrorizing the village,” he smiled, and smoothed back his long fringe. He had the sparkling air of a handsome, proper, and well-to-do man, which irked Ukai a little at the onset. Those types were usually the insufferable sort, but he was interested in what the stranger had to say.

“I see you’ve spoken to the villagers. I was worried they might target my clinic next, given all the birds that live here.” Ukai said, and led them towards the clinic.

“I was thinking the same thing, too, so I had to come over and have a discussion with you. In fact, I’ve had a very reliable source tell me that there’s been Carcama activity in the forests around your area.”

“Really? That’s not good.” The Kara grimaced.

Oikawa nodded. “Definitely not.” Then, a sly smile crept across his face. “My source also told me that there are a few… winged individuals living at your house.”

“Excuse me?”

The young man patted his shoulder and chuckled lightly. “Oh, please don’t try to feign ignorance. I’m not going to harm them or anything.”

“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about. If you realize, there are tons of ‘winged individuals’ at my house.” Ukai said, and kept a straight face.

Oikawa gave a flippant shrug. “That’s alright. I’m here to solve your problem, so that can wait. Now come, you’ve already met my companion.”

“I—what?”

But Ukai had no time to react, for they had already reached the front door. Even though the crows had their wings hidden under their capes – as they always did when customers came over – that wasn’t fooling the mage. He took a quick glance at them and noticed in particular the more friendly-looking orange-haired one which was touching the dog.

Then, he greeted everyone at the door with a bright smile and a cutesy pose—with one hand on his hips and the other flashing a victory sign.

“Hello, everyone! I’m Oikawa Tooru, a beast tamer from the Guild of Mages, and this puppy here is my familiar, Iwa-chan~!”

Ukai’s ear twitched upon hearing the Guild being mentioned. Stunned and out of suitable reactions other than dead silence, everyone ‘ohh’-ed in response to the knowledge that Snowball was in fact this man’s ‘Iwa-chan’.

“So you’re Snowball’s owner?” Hinata exclaimed - and it took a poignant second before Oikawa’s grand entrance crumbled and he burst out laughing.

“You call him Snowball? That’s so cute, Iwa-chan! Let’s call you that from now on!” he joked. The dog huffed through its nostrils and got up, leaving the crow behind to stand beside his true master. Together, they looked right in each other’s company; a beast master and his beast.

And then, to everyone’s horror of horrors, the hound opened its mouth.

“Keep laughing and I’ll burn your hair off.”

It was a deep voice that reverberated within its big chest, completely unlike anything they’d ever imagined. To be fair, no one imagined that it would talk in the first place.

“He talks?!” They cried out together at this unholy event. This always happened wherever the two went, but to Oikawa, it never got old.

“Yes, of course he does. Want to see what else he can do?”

He didn’t wait for a reply – it might as well have been a rhetorical question. He snapped his fingers and a bright red spark zapped into the air and into Iwa-chan’s collar.

The next thing they knew, the fluffy dog burst into billowing, fiery plumes of smoke, and a scowling human-like creature with rippling muscles took its place. He looked exceedingly similar to his beast form, having kept the ears, tail, and armoured limbs. His black, spiky hair and sharp tattoos on his face and collarbone gave off a less than friendly look, and he wore nothing but a pair of black leather shorts. Hinata couldn’t believe that the docile puppy he just cuddled was this scary human-dog hybrid, and he felt like his dreams had been dashed against several rocks.

“I… Snowball is…” he gasped in disbelief, and his bewildered look tickled the mage so. Crouching down, Oikawa patted Hinata’s head and smiled sympathetically, as one does to a disappointed child.

“Sorry, but Snowball isn’t an ordinary dog, and we’re not here to play, either.”

“We’re here to exterminate the Carcamas.”

#among the crows #haikyuu #haikyuu!!#haikyuu au #haikyuu fanfiction #fantasy au #daisuga #oiiwa #oikawa tooru #iwa-chan

20 notes · View notes