#i like to this this is what barok is picturing in his mind when they actually have sex ahahahaha

[lemon-wedges]

Art trade with theee lovely @marudyne who wanted baroryuu as that one theseus and minotaur statue 👀

#barok van zieks #ryunosuke naruhodo #baroryuu #the art of a lemon wedge #obsessed obsessed #with the idea of barok seeing himself as something to be conquered #by his own savior #i like to this this is what barok is picturing in his mind when they actually have sex ahahahaha #anyways #funniest thing about drawing people upside down is that u kinda have to fuck up the features to make it look right when turned #and one of those things is that drawing a frown on him actually makes it read like hes smiling when u turn it #so i have to draw him smiling so u get a frown

[youngbounty]

Fate in One Being

This one’s an even shorter one, because I literally was so out of ideas that I had to use an AI to give me inspiration. Thankfully, this one was short and sweet. I hope you enjoy. @asobaroweek

Kazuma had heard stories of the "red string of fate." The story goes that a red string is tied around your ankle, connecting you to your destined soulmate. As a realist, he dismissed it as just a folktale. To be pulled towards someone? Kazuma understood not what it meant. After his father's death, his focus shifted to proving his father's innocence in London. He had forgotten about the stories, except for one that struck a chord with him.

The story was about a boy who came across an elderly man that could see the red string of fate. The elderly man witnessed the red string around the boy's ankle. After showing the boy the picture of his future wife, the boy threw a rock at a picture of his future wife out of hatred for falling in love. Years later, when the boy noticed a scar on his betrothed's brow, she admitted it was from a boy who threw a rock at her. This story taught a lesson to trust in fate and not fight against it, for it always finds a way to come true.

Kazuma never pondered on it, even after losing his memories. However, he felt an inexplicable pull towards going to London. Initially, he believed it was to prove his father's innocence, but as an amnesiac, he was more convinced it was determination. This pull led him to sneak into a cargo ship illegally to London, where he believed his heart led him to.

Despite regaining his memories and the conclusion of Barok's trial, Kazuma still felt a strong pull toward his mentor. Initially, he believed it was his determination to avenge his father, but now his feelings had changed. He no longer felt vengeful and his emotions towards Barok had become more positive. Kazuma found it difficult to describe this feeling and was reluctant to leave his mentor.

One day at the office, Barok told Kazuma he was visiting Hellsgate Cemetery after work, assuming he knew his way back to the van Zieks manor where Kazuma had been staying since his amnesia.

“If you do not mind, would you like me to accompany you on your visit?” Kazuma asked, feeling the need to stay by his mentor.

“I will be visiting my brother,” Barok further mentioned. Kazuma's gaze dropped with a tinge of disappointment as he inferred Barok's response as a lack of interest in his company. “If you are alright with it, your company is appreciated.”

Kazuma quickly skimmed up, then choked out a “thank you.”

Barok and Kazuma traveled by carriage to Hellsgate Cemetery, a labyrinth of tombs and mausoleums reserved for the elite. Kazuma was uncertain why Barok had chosen this particular day for their visit but felt obliged to accompany his mentor in his time of sorrow. Kazuma empathized with the pain of visiting a loved one's grave and wanted to offer comfort to Barok in any way he could. Kazuma found some solace in the fact that Klint's name was on his gravestone, unlike Kazuma's father who had a more impersonal marker.

With a heavy heart, Barok approached the final resting place of Klint van Zieks and his wife Eleanor Baskerville van Zieks, where he retrieved his watering can to tend to the flowers growing atop their grave. Overwhelmed by emotion, Kazuma stood by and watched as Barok meticulously watered each flower until the can was empty.

“How many times do you water these flowers?” Kazuma asked in a small still voice.

"In London, rains frequently, so such circumstances are usually rare. However, there hasn't been much rain recently," Barok replied, eyes closed while keeping the watering can to his chest.

Kazuma gently touched Barok's hands, which were holding the watering can. Barok's heart was touched by the warmth of Kazuma's hands. They both experienced the same pull that had drawn them to one another before they even met.

Barok had known about a mythical concept that humans were originally created as a whole, with four arms and legs and a head with two faces. Although he didn't exactly believe in it, he couldn't ignore the feeling of completeness he experienced when he was with Kazuma.

Despite the strong urge, Barok felt to have Kazuma by his side and the feeling that their hands fit perfectly, he struggled to express his emotions out loud.

“Have you finished watering the flowers?” Kazuma asked, his voice trembling.

“Y-Yes... I have,” Barok replied almost hesitantly.

Kazuma beamed, saying, “I wish to be home with you.”

Barok nodded at Kazuma and held onto the watering can handle with one hand while the other brushed against Kazuma's while they walked away from the cemetery. As if drawn together, their hands intertwined, and by the time they took their seats in the carriage, they were leaning against one another with arms around each other's backs.

Kazuma felt a sense of wholeness that he had never experienced before. He thought about the tales of finding one's soulmate and being tied together by the red string of fate. Looking up at Barok, Kazuma asked, “Do you believe in soulmates and fate?”

Barok smiled down at Kazuma, who had his arm around Barok's back. As Barok presumed the concept of soulmates from Greek mythology, he admitted, “I never paid much thought to it.”

Kazuma chortled, stating, “me neither.”

"Regardless... I suppose I can't say those stories are entirely unfounded."

As Kazuma and Barok stood together, their embrace was tight, each holding onto the other with all their might. Kazuma looked down at the slender, yet strong, red string that bound them together, his eyes taking in every detail. Barok's one arm was wrapped tightly around Kazuma's back, while with his other hand, he gently held Kazuma's hand. As the warmth of their joined hands spread through them, Barok became acutely aware of the shared heartbeat within their chests - one half in each of them - now united as a single, beating entity.

#Ace Attorney #the great ace attorney #Kazuma Asogi #Barok van Zieks #klint van zieks #genshin asogi #BaroAso #AsoBaro #asobaroweek2023 #day 4 #grave #soulmates #Kinda combined soulmates from Eastern and Western Mythologies XD

[bailey-reaper]

Hi! I love this blog soo much, reading each post is such a treat!! If you don't mind, could I get Barok having his portrait painted by his s/o? i'd imagine it would've taken a lot of pestering to convince him ... cheers!!

Picture Perfect

Notes: 🥺 Aaaaaa thank you so much, anon, I'm delighted that you love the blog and enjoy reading the things!

S/O is gender neutral (they/them pronouns). Barok refers to them using petnames.

Content Warnings: paint him like one of your.... French... reapers? fluff

"C'mon, let me!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I told you," Barok said with a sigh, "I don't need my portrait painted..." and he didn't, it was hardly a necessity or a matter of importance as far as he was concerned. While the rest of his family had a desire to be immortalised in oil on canvas, he held no such sentiment for himself.

Klint's portrait was more than enough in his opinion.

"Barok... no one needs their portrait painted," his beloved pointed out, "It's not a necessity, it's a luxury and it's a way of preserving your legacy..."

"I have a waxwork," he murmured, as he took to reorganising the barrels of wine in his office. Again. "Surely that's enough?"

"Well... that can't help me gaze lovingly at my husband while I paint him, can it?" his beloved said with a small pout.

He arched an eyebrow, "Is this your way of saying you'd like to spend time with me?"

"You're really bad at reading the signs aren't you?" they said with a fond smile; they liked that about him, it was endearing.

"... I suppose I am rather rusty when it comes to subtle social cues..." once the final barrel had been slotted in place, he sighed and folded his arms, "Very well... you may paint me if you so wish..."

"Really?!"

"Yes... I wouldn't be so churlish as to refuse my darling the chance to spend time with with me if that is their wish," in truth, it sounded rather nice and in some ways he was touched that they wanted to paint his portrait. As far as he was concerned he made for a wanting portrait subject for he lacked the majesty of Klint or the imposing presence of his father.

Plus, after so many months of cajoling, he decided that perhaps he ought to let them have what they wanted -- especially as they seemed so keen...

──────≪⊰✥⊱≫───────

"Right!" They were set up with their canvas and easel, looking thoughtfully at the blank space, "What sort of portrait shall we go for? A full body, like the one in your office? Or something more in keeping with the rows of portraits of your ancestors?"

Barok had no opinion on the matter, really, save for one thing: "Which one is going to be less of a hassle?" he could recall Klint being an incredibly difficult subject for the artist to capture on account of constantly wanting to move around or be doing other things. It became so bad that they took a photograph of him and largely worked from that.

"Well... I suppose a sitting portrait of your head and shoulders would be most comfortable for you?" they suggested.

"Very well, that sounds fine to me..."

"Okay!" They set to work sketching out his features in rough; just mapping the dimensions of his face, "Your features really are beautiful, you know," they remarked while focusing on his eyes.

He blushed, "..... Thank you," it wasn't something he would say about himself, but if his beloved thought so then that was a good thing and he would accept their words.

They outlined the handsome lines of his jaw and cheekbones, before turning their attention to his full (and very kissable) lips, "Getting to study you like this really is a treat. It just reminds me all over again how handsome you are...."

"Ahem..." his cheeks felt even hotter; he'd become very aware of the way they looked at him with such intense focus, and those words were no less flustering, "... I'm... well, I'm glad you think so," it was surprisingly hard to cope with so many complements about an aspect of himself that he largely ignored.

"And you have the cutest blush."

"Oh shush!" he huffed, "Now you're just teasing me!"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist~!"

#barok van zieks #Barok x Ors #request #fluff

[mistytpednaem]

okay, so i’ve finished the great ace attorney! some overall spoiler-free thoughts before i move on to case-by-case remarks:

it waaaaas a good experience overall, but unless i’m mistaken, this game has the weirdest, if not actually the worst pacing out of the entire series? like, i was warned about plot threads not reaching a conclusion since this game was made with a sequel in mind from the get-go; that’s not what i’m talking about. i’m talking about redundancies in the writing and just... bold decisions in how long certain parts of certain cases go on for, i suppose you could say?

still, as long as you’re prepared for that and are ok with it, it’s still absolutely a worthwhile experience. i mean i love ace attorney so of course i’d say that but still. this game has a really strong cast and i can’t wait for the sequel to get a thorough fan translation as well, so great job and thanks to studio scarlet (EDIT: wait no. it’s scarlet study) for helping people enjoy this game!

OKAY. more specific and spoilery observations under the cut:

case 1: I’m gonna be honest I played a lot of the early bits of this game in bed right before going to sleep so my judgement may not be the best because i was only half-conscious at times w-whoops. this one’s a fine intro case, even if it starts to run a bit long towards the end. great intro to our anxiety boy, hosonaga did not disappoint. obviously, now that i’ve played the game, i can no longer say he was the first de killer... ... he’s just OBVIOUSLY shelly’s actual blood ancestor. like, hello?? the gumption? the dedication to his job??? please do not die of tuberculosis, hosonaga. also asougi’s hair is dumb but his theme is really good and oh no he shares his VA with bruno bucciarati oh no

case 2: i cannot in good conscience dislike this case, which is honestly kind of impressive considering it’s All Investigation. :V but maaaan, it really started dragging towards the end. :( the climax just felt... drawn out and unsatisfying, unfortunately, and i feel like that’s a symptom of this game’s format being so different from all the rest - there’s a much larger focus on telling a long, overarching story. and that’s not necessarily wrong, and i appreciate them trying out something new,  but... if it’s not broke... i’m honestly surprised by how much i liked sherlock, haha. i mean susato is also great but i was just not expecting to be so amused by holmes?? what a great take on the character. also the Deduction bits may not be particularly challenging - and, yes, suffer a bit from the game’s overall weird pacing - but honestly i love them. love holmes being a ham,  love naruhodou joining him

case 3: this fucking case shook me to my core. i happened to examine the omnibus close to the end of the first part of the trial, and then close to the start of the second part, which meant the details were still fresh on my mind AND the alarm signs started going way the fuck off in my head from early on. it’s a fun play on the old ace attorney gambit of “oh no our defendant looks shady but surely he must be good” - it adds the conclusion of “oh FUCK NO oh my GOD eat the RICH.” i’m still sad barok’s name wasn’t ultimately romanized as baroque, but alas, that doesn’t detract from my big awful crush on him. i may or may not still blush when i think of him stretching his leggy out and i’m glad his rampant xenophobia seems to be something that might get character development’d out. ALSO the new juror thing is fun too! i really like all (... or most) of the new mechanics in this game. shame most of the jurors don’t get names, though, especially since so many of them are so much fun - capcom ripped off my oc and didn’t even give him a proper name?? no dignity OH YEAH SPEAKING OF ROMANIZED NAMES: i still think HURT VORTEX is superior but i’ll take hart vortex too

case 4: welp, there’s usually ONE downer in these games and this one’s mine. i’m not even saying it’s objectively bad, but between the fat jokes and the spousal abuse jokes, by the time the truth was becoming clear, i’d reached 2-3 levels of “NO SHUT UP THIS IS STUPID”. shame, because I actually quite like the garridebs’ character designs, and souseki is great fun - you all know i’m a fan of taking real dudes and having fun with them in fiction. it... didn’t help that i got very drowsy during chunks of the whole thing ultimately, i think one of my favourite parts of this case was one that wasn’t connected to the case itself, and that’s not great praise, haha :V;; (”what’s the big deal with the grim reaper anyway we won that trial just fine” “yeah but is megundal alive” “wh-” “IS HE ALIVE, BOY”) ALSO another symptom of the weird, bbbbbold pacing and writing decisions in this game: this one... shakespearean dude who just showed up for two minutes and then fucked off for the rest of the game?? hello??  sir???? what????? WAIT DOUBLE ALSO was this the case where barok just flung his bottle behind his back for the first time because the first time i saw that animation i had to stop and laugh for a second and i love it when these games do that to me

case 5: this case is extremely good because a) the pacing is super fucked (it takes like an hour for a crime to even happen and it gets up to INVESTIGATION 4 before the trial starts, jesus) and i still had fun and b) chekov’s cat flap gun is objectively dumb and i don’t even mind. it bothers me way less than Knife Drop actually so. disclaimer. i’ve thought “egg benedict” was incredibly handsome from the moment i first saw a screenshot of him, so obviously i’m biased, but to no surprise he’s my favourite culprit in this game w-whoops. the ones i wasn’t expecting to ALSO love were the tinpillars, holy shit, what a power trio. i was in fact a little disappointed that rupert (... robert? i’ve seen a couple of different romanizations of his name) was not the long lost third tinpillar brother, but then the credits had them pose together and i felt so much joy in my heart (also, extremely unusual for the true culprit of a case to be in the credits, but i’ll take it??? especially for the GROUP POSING i seriously can’t overstate how happy i was)

anyway, these thoughts are a little disjointed, i know, but i always have a little trouble getting my shit together when i’m talking about a game like this, haha ;v; feel free to ask me stuff or just casually hit me up if you wanna chat, though!

“wait, naem! you said you liked ALMOST all of the mechanics in this game! what’s the exception?”

........ well

it’s not so much a matter of not LIKING it, i just

i cannot, for the life of me, get magic eye pictures to work

yes i know how to cross my eyes. yes i have read how to do it multiple times. at this point i’m convinced my eyes are just fucked in some particular way that doesn’t let me Get It

i will never, ever know the unabated joy that case 5′s juror 3 experienced...........

#dgs spoilers // #dai gyakuten saiban spoilers // #wait i need a tag for this game uhhh #the olde age of the law #there

[vulcanlsj]

The Psychic Saiyan’s Revenge Chapter 2 (Alternate Timeline DBZ Fanfic)

Nappa stumbles out of the bar, and begins his slow and shameful walk towards the castle. But before he gets past the alley, he finds himself walking into it. Confused, Nappa tries to walk the other way, but he can't.  It's as if some external force is making him walk into the alley.  Nappa walks up to some Saiyan that is wearing very old armor, and tattered Saiyan pants.  Thinking to himself, he says, 'Why the hell is there some Saiyan from ancient times here?  Even low class Saiyans have updated armor, as per the decree of Frieza'

“I've been off planet for some time Nappa,” says Duke, “that would be why my armor appears to be so old.”

“Wha- how did you know what I was thinking, and how do you know my name?  Who are you, and what the hell am I doing here?”  Nappa looks dumbfounded at Duke, trying to figure out his new situation.

“I know your name because I heard it in the bar a few minutes ago, as for what you were thinking, let's just say your face told me everything I needed to know.” Duke smirks at his comment.  “Now, what I have brought you into this alley for is some information, some information I would like you to tell me, so that I don't have to rip it out of your skull. I'm sure we both would like me to stay out of your head. Probably to much information inside.  Some information that I would really rather you keep to yourself.”  Duke looks at Nappa, and gives him his stern face.

“What kind of information are you looking for?”  Nappa asks.

“Information. Another thing, if you try to lie to me, I will know, and I will punish you accordingly.  First question, what do you know about the Royal Family?”

“The Royal Family, well, I'm their adviser, and personal assistant to the prince.”

“To the prince eh?  Keep going.  Who is the Royal family?”

“Uh, well, there's the King, the prince, both of which are named Vegeta, and then there's Queen Tensai.”

“Okay, that's the immediate Royal Family, who else?”  Duke begins to seep into Nappa's mind, trying to find out if he is lying about any information he has just given him.

“There's no one else, just the family.”

“Oh really, then who would take over as King if they all died?”

“Uh,” Nappa starts, “Well, um, I dunno.”

“That's a lie Nappa, now you get punished.”  Duke clenches his face, and Nappa suddenly falls to the ground.  Nappa screams out in pain, and holds his head.  Duke says in a pained voice, “Now tell me who else is in the Royal Family.”

“Okay, okay, I'll tell you.  Just stop this pain in my head.”  Nappa pleads with Duke.

“Tell me, and then I'll make it stop.”

“Okay, let's see, there's Toral, and Barok, *grunt* they're sister and half brother to the King.”

“And who are they?  Just some Saiyans that have been thrown out of the picture by the almighty king?”

“No, they still have power, just nowhere near as much as King Vegeta *grunt* please, make this stop, I've told you what I know, and I'll tell you more if you stop the pain.”  Nappa's nose begins to bleed.  He looks at Duke, and hopes he sees that Nappa is going to tell him the truth.

“Alright, fine, I'll stop it.”  Duke unclenches his face, and the strain on both of their minds stops.  Nappa stumbles forwards, and falls on the ground face first.

Nappa breaths a sigh of relief, and looks up at Duke.  “Okay, thanks, now is there anything else you want to know?”

“Yes, since we all know that King Vegeta has a son, wouldn't it make sense if Barok and Toral had some kids of their own?  Who are they?”  Duke sits down, and stares at Nappa, prepared in case he lies again.

“Well, uh since Barok is only half, he isn't as important as Toral.  Toral has three kids as far as I can remember.  Two of them are identical, something I've never seen in Saiyans before.  Vulcan is one of them, and Golar is the other.”

“And you fought with Vulcan just now in the bar, is that correct?”

“Yes, he's actually stronger than his brother, and he controls his own elite team.  How he got one is beyond me, I could take any planet he could with half his men.”

“Yeah, you proved that in the bar just now.  Vulcan did a number on you, and you're twice his size.”  Duke smiles at this, and wonders to himself what it would be like to face Vulcan.

“He got the best of me.  But anyway, Tolan is the other kid, and she has her own team, though it isn't elite.  I guess that Vulcan was just a fluke in the family.” “And what power and connections does Toral's family have?”

“Not much, they can order some of the lower class Saiyans around, and refuse some missions that Frieza hands out.  But I doubt that either of those would happen.  They are too, what's it called?  Different, I guess is the best I can think of.  They don't order any Saiyans around, and they never refuse any missions Frieza gives them.  I'm surprised the family is still around.”

“So then I'm guessing they aren't as heartless as King Vegeta right?”

“If you say so.”

“What about Barok's family?”

“Well, he's mated with Maryl, and has three kids of his own.  Shade, the oldest, Shadow, and Flinx, the youngest.”

“And their powers and connections?”

“None really. Shade is on Vulcan's elite team, along with Shadow.  They're nowhere near as strong as Vulcan is, at least as my scouter reads of them.” Nappa thinks really hard before his next comment.  “Oh, yeah, almost forgot, Barok lost his arm a few years back when he had a scuffle with the King.  So all he does now is sit in low class bars, and drink til he passes out.”

“I'm sure he doesn't pass out, just leaves before you realize he's gone.”  Duke scowls at Nappa for degrading any Saiyan that has been wronged by the King.

“Is there anything else you need to know, or can I go now?”  Nappa begins to stand up, but is held down by some unknown force.  Tarah nods to Duke from behind Nappa.

“Yes, tell me who all is on Vulcan's team, and how to get into the castle.”

“Uh, let's see. There's who I've already told you, then there's their mates, Lenora and Malena.  There is also Asper, he's kind of a loner, but definitely he's elite quality.  Don't know how he ended up on Vulcan's team instead of mine.”  Nappa pauses for a second before he continues.  “As far as getting into the castles, there are three ways in.  One is obviously through the front door, another is through the dungeons, which is located on the east side.”

There is a long pause from Nappa.

“And the third?”

“The third, well, that one is a bit risky.”

“How so?”

“You really shouldn't know, I wouldn't try it if I were you.” “And why is that?”  Duke stares down Nappa, and starts to walk towards him.

“Because, Frieza's top men use that entrance to get into the castle, without King Vegeta knowing about it.  If you try it, you'd be taken down before you got thirty feet from it.” “Oh really?  Do you think they'd know about my special abilities?”

Nappa stutters, “Uh, well, um, I dunno, I've never tried it myself.  But I do know this, they are Frieza's strongest men on the planet. Stronger even than King Vegeta himself.”

“That's not saying much, seeing as I plan on killing him for what he brought my family into.”

Nappa stares at Duke for a second.  “You plan on doing what?”

“You heard me,” Duke nods to Tarah, and she moves into a closer position to Nappa. “I plan on killing the King.”

“Ha, like you could do that.  You only have your special tricks, and that won't last against the strongest Saiyan.”

“How would you know, you're already dead,” Duke says coldly.

“Wha-” Nappa is barely able to finish his sentence, as Tarah uncloaks herself, and leaps upon Nappa's back.  With a sudden and swift move, Tarah grabs Nappa's neck, and swings her whole body to his front.  With a snap, Nappa's spine is severed from his head, and he ceases to live.  Tarah loosens her grip on Nappa's neck, and she spins all the way around him, repositioning herself on his back again.  As Nappa falls forward, she kicks off his back, and lands in front of  Duke.

“Damn, he's a big son of a-” Tara starts.

“Yeah, I know. Surprising how such a large Saiyan has such little power, and even less brain function.”

“Well, it appears that you might be an exception to these Saiyans.  Only a few are as smart, or as cunning as yourself.  Too bad they are going to have their lives cut short.”  Tarah smiles.  “I kinda found that Vulcan to be attractive from what I saw of him in that bar against Nappa.”

“Well, from what Nappa told us, I don't think we'll have too much to deal with as far as Vulcan goes, or his team for that matter.”

“Oh, and why is that?”

“Because, they would probably think it a good idea to take down the king.  He's not the same as Vulcan and the Saiyans he hangs out with.  Not heartless. Not evil.  But revenge must be taken, and if they do get in my way, we must prepare for such a possibility.”  Duke concentrates for a moment, then turns to Tarah.  “Follow me to get some armor, then head back to the ship, and supply everyone with the new armor.  Then tell S'kur to locate Vulcan's Asper, and watch him closely.  If you have to, go with him to keep him cloaked.”

“Okay, understood.”

“Good, now lets go.”

“Right behind ya Duke.”

#DBZ #Dragon Ball Z #Duke Kortez #Vulcan Syris #tarah #vortex #Shade #Nappa #S'kur #Psychic Saiyan #Flinx

[bailey-reaper]

How do you think Barok would cope with the way the society views his relationship with his SO? He's got that cold Mr Reaper reputation so I'm sure there would be rumours about his SO being either stuck in a loveless marriage or neglected/abused by a cold, domineering husband. I love your writing and this blog btw, it's *chef's kiss* mwah 👌🏻 delicious

Headcanons (Betrothed of the Reaper)

Notes: Hmmm! Interesting question, anon! If there's one thing the Victorians loved to do it was gossip and be scandalised by whatever topic they gossiped about! Things like married life and love lives were a popular topic (especially 'broken' homes or troubled relationships).

And thank you ever so much, I'm very humbled that you enjoy my writing / the blog!

S/O is gender neutral (they/them pronouns). Barok refers to them using petnames.

Content Warnings: gossips; tall tales; accusations of abuse; brief roleplay / foreplay mention

Barok has a strange relationship with public opinions of him: on the one hand, he doesn't care what inconsequential gossips and dullards think of him, but on the other it can be draining to constantly be the villain of the piece when you're not one.

When it comes to the ranks of the aristocracy, he knows full well that they gossip behind their hands and fans about the relationship he has with his beloved. Some surmise that it's a kind of awful contract that he roped them into, likening it to being married to the Devil (or the Grim Reaper in this case); a sacrifice.

Others think there's something even more nefarious at play, perhaps blackmail or some other shady dealing.

Either way, they're all agreed that no matter how the relationship started it must be awful to be married to the Reaper of the Old Bailey. He's so dour and cold-looking; surely he must be a terrible person for anyone to call their spouse?

At best he must be dismissive and neglectful of his partner, at worst perhaps he's harmful. The aristocrats delight in painting a rather vivid picture in their minds of a truly terrible and chilling work of Gothic fiction where the Reaper is a cold and terrible husband; a true demon through and through!

Yet, Barok couldn't care less what they think -- if his darling one loves him, that's all he cares about. The only time such talk might bother him is when it upsets his love -- then he may well see fit to correct whomever is within earshot, but frankly the best way he has found to deal with gossips is to leave them to their fanciful narratives and focus on the people who really matter.

That's not to say he won't correct them, he will, but only when it is necessary to do so or they overstep a boundary. He's quite happy to present as a cold and unapproachable figure to them, they need not know his private affairs; in fact, it's become something of an amusement between him and his love -- like a little secret they share. The cold, terrible reaper is actually warm and loving but no one else has even the faintest clue (well, none of the gossips anyway)...

Sometimes they might even take those roles into the bedroom, just for a little extra fun when they’re feeling playful...

#barok van zieks #Barok x Ors #request

[renegadewangs]

Van Zieks - the Examination, part 5

Warnings: SPOILERS for The Great Ace Attorney: Chronicles. Additional warning for racist sentiments uttered by fictional characters (and screencaps to show these sentiments).

Disclaimer: (see Part 1 for the more detailed disclaimer.) - These posts are not meant to be taken as fact. Everything I’m outlining stems from my own views and experiences. If you believe that I’ve missed or misinterpreted something, please let me know so I can edit the post accordingly. -The purpose of these posts is an analysis, nothing more. Please do not come into these posts expecting me to either defend Barok van Zieks from haters, nor expecting me to encourage the hatred. - I’m using the Western release of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles for these posts, but may refer to the original Japanese dialogue of Dai Gyakuten Saiban if needed to compare what’s said. This also means I’m using the localized names and localized romanization of the names to stay consistent. -It doesn’t matter one bit to me whether you like Barok van Zieks or dislike him. However, I will ask that everyone who comments refrains from attacking real, actual people.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

It’s time to return to the first game for case 5, The Unspeakable Story!

Episode 5: The Unspeakable Story – Part 1

Prepare yourselves, this is a big one! So big, even, that I'm going to have to split it into two parts. Fortunately, we can skip over the entire Investigation segment, because virtually none of it is relevant to Van Zieks. In fact, we don't even learn Van Zieks is the prosecutor until we enter the courtroom and see him standing there. Somehow, no one thought to ask who Ryu would be facing. What we do learn during the Investigation is confirmation that McGilded was indeed a lying scumbag who murdered Thrice-fired Mason. He asked Gina to lie for him in a court of law, too. So indeed, Ryu backed the wrong horse in The Runaway Room and Van Zieks was right to suspect the defense of deceit. He was wrong in how he worded half his arguments, though.

An extra thing worth noting is that after the conversation in which the blood is found on Gina's coat and the truth of McGilded comes out, it's revealed that Gregson was hiding nearby in the shadows. He insists he didn't eavesdrop and only just walked in, but it's implied much later in the trial that he knew about the blood on the coat. This means that Gregson is, from this point on, holding the full knowledge that McGilded was McGuilty in the omnibus murder.

So into the courtroom we go, where it is shown we're facing Van Zieks. (And nobody is surprised, because who else would it have been? Auchi?) It is now two months after the Runaway Room and the two Clouded Kokoro cases, so immediately upon starting the trial, the judge basically asks Van Zieks whether he's gone insane- in his own words, that is. First he asks how many years it's been since Van Zieks retired, to which Van Zieks replies that it's been five. The judge notes that Van Zieks resurfaced rather suddenly two months ago, (then basically handled three cases in a single week,) and showed up again today.

HAH. I love how on the nose this judge is when it comes to dissing the prosecution. He goes on to state that Van Zieks used to deal exclusively in matters concerned with 'the highest echelons of society and government', yet today he's trying 'a simple case of burglary and murder'. We already learned this from Gregson in case 1-4, but it's nice to have it repeated again.

Van Zieks replies that there's two things he cannot abide: “Wealthy scoundrels who hide behind a mask of philanthropy-” (hi McGilded!) and... “Secondly- even more loathsome... Those wily scoundrels who masquerade as allies only to effect total betrayal in the final hour.”

So that settles it then. He's specifically taken on his three most recent cases because there were Japanese people involved. He's also outright admitting that which Ryu had already guessed: Van Zieks hates Japanese people and going by his wording (“betrayal”, etc.) he has some bad experiences. Ryu wonders whether that 'torrid look of hatred' in Van Zieks's eyes is directed at him or at all Japanese people. Frankly, I think that in a subconscious sense, it's neither. The way I see it, that torrid look of hatred is directed at a man who died ten years ago. But I'll get back to this when it's time to address the backstory. The judge finds that an “alarmingly scathing explanation”, but welcomes the Reaper of the Bailey back to court all the same.

I love the implication that Van Zieks can apparently just come and go as he pleases in terms of prosecuting. Retirement can just be upturned on a whim and he's allowed to choose any case he wants. Who even is keeping him informed on which cases are happening and who the defense is? Is there a Chief Prosecutor in play we don't know about or is Stronghart slipping notes into his letterbox? Or has Van Zieks been entering the prosecutor's office every day for the past two months, demanding to hear news of 'that Nipponese attorney'?

So anyway, Van Zieks lays out the opening statement, pours himself a glass of wine, accuses Ryu of jumping to conclusions and reveals that he has witnesses. Remember when he threw aside his cloak halfway into 1-3 and it was seen as a big deal? … Yeah. It's not much anymore, now. He gets rid of it before the first witnesses have even taken the stand. The guys called forth are literal criminals who happened to break into the scene of the crime and, according to Van Zieks, “will face trial in the very near future” for their “various trespasses”. Alright, so he's acknowledging he's called forth some sketchy witnesses, but considers the murder itself far more sinister than their burglary.

Ryu manages to prove the taller Skulkin brother fired a gun at the crime scene and in doing so, struck poor innocent (S)Holmes. (Ryu presents a picture of a blood-stained calendar with a bullet in it to prove this, yet ten minutes later, he'll present the exact same picture and the entire court will act as if they'd never seen it before. Awkwaaard.) Van Zieks pours himself another glass of wine, toasts to Ryu's incompetence and later has another micro-aggression:

Scumbag points! And also possibly hilarious foreshadowing if he's referring to either Asogi Sr. or Mikotoba here. Though it's hard to say how well acquainted Van Zieks was with (S)Holmes and his partner roughly 16 to 10 years ago. Anyway, Van Zieks flings another chalice and basically admits that he already knew these two criminals gunned down (S)Holmes, but made a deal with them not to get into that. Though technically, Ryu was the one who got into it by proving it in court, so Van Zieks didn't break any unscrupulous deals. And maybe he was even expecting Ryu to do so? Maybe that's why he was pushing Ryu to present evidence? Either way, Van Zieks now owes 'his Nipponese friend' a word of gratitude, since he helpfully confirmed the two brothers couldn't possibly have shot the victim. Only one bullet was fired from their pistol, after all, and if it hit (S)Holmes it couldn't possibly have killed Windibank.

Van Zieks proceeds to “take a moment to consider the aforementioned Great Detective, Mr. Sholmes” (KEEP THIS LINE IN MIND), and brings up the security cameras (S)Holmes planted at the pawnshop so that he can present a picture of the defendant waving a pistol at the victim. Why didn't he present this evidence immediately instead of asking two shady burglars to testify? Who even knows, man. He's being erratic, just as the judge said. The jurors have seen enough and vote guilty, so it's time for a Summation Examination! Van Zieks poured himself another glass of wine before Ryu even asserted his right to that, because he knew it was coming. He has to stand in silence and so he will drink.

(Juror No 1, aka Mr. Garrideb, proceeds to piss me off by oggling the maid juror. I thought the whole point of this character was that his wife misunderstood and jumped to conclusions; that she's been punishing him wrongfully since he does indeed love her and will stand by her side no matter what, but apparently not.) Some tomfoolery later, we require the prosecution's help to prove stereoscopes are just as cool as wireless telegraphy.

I honestly think it's hilarious that he's meant to stay silent but has broken that rule several times, so now we're taunting him by asking him a direct question during the Examination. So after it's been proven the two criminals moved some stuff around inside the pawnshop, four jurors vote not-guilty and the trial continues. The two witnesses get called back to the stand and---

… Okay. So he definitely is against perjury. He seems to hate it, even. He apparently keeps giving them the evil eye as they testify, intimidating Ringo into telling the truth. But I just can't shake the memory of him feeding a lie to Shamspeare in Memoirs of the Clouded Kokoro. Also, the game very much caught me off guard during this testimony when I presented a piece of evidence which wasn't correct, but instead of leading to a penalty led me to a unique set of dialogue not found when presenting other wrong evidence. That is to say, I presented a picture of Gina holding the sole gun to disprove the testimony that both she and Windibank were wielding guns, which led to:

Isn't that what we often do in these games? Van Zieks clearly hasn't been paying attention. Anyway, the judge points out that so long as I couldn't prove that Gina was still holding the only gun some time later, when Windibank was shot, the evidence wasn't relevant. So I had to present the picture of Windibank's body (not holding a gun) instead. Ryu manages to point out through that picture that the Skulkin brothers were lying and-

OKAY OKAY. I GET IT. Van Zieks hates perjury with a burning passion and Memoirs of the Clouded Kokoro messed up. The trial continues on to the point where Ryu manages to suggest that the Skulkin brothers shot Windibank and Gina then locked the door to save herself. At first Van Zieks is shocked at the notion, but after Ryu details his logic, he just puts his hands down on the desk and chuckles.

This is the first time we see something close to laughter from him, and it's not even really laughter. It's just a malicious, bitter little noise. In fact, we've never seen him smile. He's not even smiling now, as he cackles. That's a stark contrast from other prosecutors, who all smile/smirk as they gloat. Barok's facial expression barely changes at all. Are they building up to something? Anyway, the judge wonders why Van Zieks finds this amusing, as he found the argument quite persuasive himself. Van Zieks pours himself another glass of wine and says:

“But such blatantly malicious conjuring tricks amount to nothing more than inexcusable pettifoggery here. Because you see, it contains a fatal flaw!”

Scumbag points! He then proceeds to imply all the members of the jury are too dimwitted to count (as he flings his chalice). Bullets, that is. There were two bullets found at the crime scene and there were two guns recovered, each having fired one bullet. So if the Skulkin brothers had shot (S)Holmes, they couldn't possibly have shot Windibank as well.

Bye wine bottle, rip person sitting behind him. Van Zieks proceeds to slander Gina for being “far from a law-abiding citizen” and having “a past riddled with criminal misconduct”. To further illustrate his point, he presents a piece of evidence that the defendant attempted to steal the day beforehand, not with the subtlety of a pickpocket but by brute force and brazen impudence. Gregson loses it at this point, shouting out a loud “Hold it!” before losing his nerve and stammering his way through his protest. He mentions that there was a meeting with the prosecution service where it was agreed that piece of evidence wouldn't be used. Ryu is baffled and thinks this:

And now I'm baffled as well, because thinking back on it... Yes, Gregson has talked about Van Zieks before in Investigation segments and has been called in to testify, but as far as I can recall, he hasn't ever addressed Van Zieks directly. Fascinating stuff. Van Zieks says he's unaware of this meeting- probably because he found out Ryu's defending later on and snatched this case up at the last second. Perhaps even took it from the originally-assigned prosecutor with brute force and brazen impudence. Gregson insists that 'the government bigwigs' were very insistent about not using the disc as evidence, to which Van Zieks says:

Good gracious, Van Zieks is a loose cannon! … Or wait, maybe he's a reckless renegade? Or is he perhaps a prosecutor on the edge with nothing to lose? (Alright, put on a pot of coffee- we're gonna get to the bottom of this!) ...Either way, the prosecution thinks it's sufficiently made its case by establishing motive, opportunity and baseness of character.

OY! I thought you don't read third-rate detective stories! But Iris specifically wrote that line into existence, so he must have. Me thinks we've got a closet Adventures of (S)Herlock (S)Holmes fan on our hands, here. The jury buys into his slander, votes guilty, Iris accuses him of being mean and Ryu enters Summation Examination mode a second time.

Oh he knows what he's in for. He knows. Several minutes of talking about bullets later, the topic of (S)Holmes's waist pouch is brought up and Iris wonders whether perhaps the bullet hit one of the glass vials with flammable content. Van Zieks suddenly speaks up with an “If I may...”, catching the startled attention of Ryu in particular.

“I should inform the defence that I have the pouch in question in the antechamber outside the courtroom. As I understand it, when the police arrived on the scene and found Mr Sholmes injured, they removed the pouch in order to assess the wound. Since then, it has been in my safekeeping along with all other evidence relating to the case. I can personally vouch for the fact that it has not been touched since the incident occurred.”

This whole plotline cracks me up with how little sense it makes, considering the position of this pouch on (S)Holmes's outfit. But I'm not here to criticize plot-convenience of evidence, so let's move on and look at what's actually happening here. The defense is discussing possibilities with the jurors in hopes of changing their minds towards a not-guilty and instead of keeping silent, as he's supposed to during this moment, Van Zieks actively speaks up to admit he has a piece of evidence which may be of assistance. It's entirely possible that the pouch would have all three vials intact and thereby dismiss the theory that the bullet hit one of them, but... Regardless of whether he remembers seeing a broken vial with his own eyes, he's taking a risk by showing the pouch. He could've played by the Summation Examination rules, kept his mouth shut and then later when it comes out he had the pouch all along, just remind everyone he wasn't allowed to speak. That's what most prosecutors would've done. Naturally, it's revealed there was indeed a broken vial and some scorched leather, and even closer examination reveals a third bullet we can present to the jurors.

Scumbag point! So with all the confusion on the third bullet and the implication of there being a third gun, the judge does something pretty extraordinary. He doesn't wait for the jurors to change their leaning and instead actually suspends the Summation Examination until the matter is cleared up. This implies any judge has the power to overrule juror leanings, at the very least during Summation Examination, when they feel the case presented by the counsels is lacking important details. Anyway, closing argument on hold for now and the Skulkins return to the stand. Barok looks them straight in the eyes with his usual evil eye and asks them whether the third gun is one of theirs. When that's denied, he asks whether they had an accomplice, which is also denied. And it's kind of funny, because only a few minutes later when Ryu implies they had an accomplice, we get this line:

“Yet in all that time, there has been not a murmur of a third man. If this apparently wraithlike being exists...” pause for chalice crush... “The court must be shown hard evidence!”

But Van Zieks was the one who questioned the Skulkins about an accomplice earlier, so... Indeed, we don't have evidence, but the murmur was definitely already there. So now the prosecution wants two things: evidence there was a third person on the scene and their identity. The game prompts two options: Either present an answer to the prosecution's demands or, y'know, don't. Naturally I chose the latter option to see what happens and it goes about as well as you'd expect. Ryu stutters and trails off, Van Zieks notes the defense is unable to complete a sentence, let alone provide credible answers... Iris takes the place of Susato in telling Ryu off for faltering, so Ryu desperately tries to catch himself and push his argument. Van Zieks says: “So, my Nipponese friend, despite the swimming eyes you seem to think you have something to say...”

PENALTY FROM THE PROSECUTION, oh how I've missed you. Loading up the savegame and choosing the first option actually also leads to the exact same line of “so, my Nipponese friend, despite the swimming eyes you seem to think you have something to say...”, just with a slightly different posture and followed up with the words “this promises to be interesting.” Ryu presents the blood sample on the calendar once more and as I said before, the court acts as if they've never seen this picture before. Hilarious. Van Zieks asks why the blood is depicted as green and Ryu explains it's because of a new chemical (S)Holmes invented. The green blood is then linked to Eggert Benedict through the music disc. The court gets very excited, but much like the skin prints in case 2-2, this isn't admissible evidence. Van Zieks says “this has gone on long enough now. This flagrant ignorance of the mechanics of law.”

“The protagonist in a series of short stories for the vulgar classes. A god of detection or some such. And now you employ chemical substances devised by this fantastical persona in the highest court in the land? Do you expect us to take you seriously? The samples made by this plaything are not fit to be called evidence.”

These lines! I had a quick look at both Scarlet Study's and Taisa's scripts, and there Van Zieks outright accuses (S)Holmes of being a fictional character. He doesn't actually diss the stories themselves though, nor is there anything similar to that plaything line. He only says the chemical itself is 'rubbish'. What ultimately kills me is the “Yes, I’ve heard the name” as if this is the first time it’s being uttered in the courtroom. Let's be merciful here and take case 2-2 out of the equation. Yes, (S)Holmes is mentioned several times there, they establish the two have some sort of history and he even enters the courtroom at one point to address Van Zieks directly, but that case was developed after this one so accidental retcon is bound to happen. No, let's look solely at the cases in the first game. (S)Holmes has been mentioned several times throughout the course of this trial, even by Van Zieks himself. Even better, Van Zieks was the one to present photographs taken by one of (S)Holmes's playthings earlier on. OOPS.

Ryu enters despair mode because there really is no way to prove that the color green is unique to Eggert Benedict, nor would it be accepted as evidence to begin with. But that's okay, because much like the skin prints in 2-2, it was never about having it filed as official evidence. It was about influencing the jury and as Iris so smartly points out, the Summation Examination was suspended earlier. This means that technically, it's still going on. It doesn't matter what the prosecution or the judge thinks of (S)Holmes's invention, it only matters what the jurors think, as they now have the power to force the trial to continue. Naturally, the majority votes not-guilty. Van Zieks objects rather ferociously. “My lord, with all due respect, this is an outrage! The prosecution refuses to accept this decision!” (heehee, I really enjoy these lines. With all due respect, indeed.) The judge asks on what grounds the prosecution is objecting, and Van Zieks says:

“Then they are too ignorant to be trusted with the judgement of anyone's guilt!”

Gosh, he really doesn't enjoy how 'gullible' the jurors are, does he? Or rather, he gets frustrated when the jurors begin to think for themselves instead of taking the prosecution's word for it. The judge sets Van Zieks straight by basically reminding him that this is how the court works.

It is so satisfying to watch him squirm. Van Zieks wants us to play by the court's rules, so we're playing by the court's rules and now he's got no more comebacks. This is it folks, we're subpoena-ing Egg Benedict! He does indeed show up to court after a brief intermission and reveals his true name to be Ashley Graydon. Graydon expresses haughty dismay that the highest court of the land was swayed by some self-professed detective's homemade tincture. Van Zieks tells him it was the will of the jury, and their great British justice system demands that the jury's will is upheld. Graydon calls the jury members inept, as Van Zieks has done many times before, but agrees to testify. Ryu attempts to needle this guy several times by asserting he was definitely at the crime scene, but indeed, the blood sample doesn't count as evidence and Ryu doesn't really have anything else to back him up. Van Zieks oh-so-kindly reminds him that the obligation to prove the defense's assertion lies with, well, the defense. Eventually we do get there and Graydon starts making up some bullshit story about how he met McGilded in a gentlemen's club and bonded with him over unique music box music, so that's what that disc was. Van Zieks points out that Yard have indeed been gathering items believed to have been McGilded's property, presumably to aid their investigations. Gregson once again loses his composure here and tries to shut the conversation down.

Gregson and Van Zieks continue to banter back and forth about how Gregson is definitely not allowed to talk about these things and Van Zieks should also know better than to pry. Even Ryu thinks it's strange the two of them are bickering like that. Anyway, we're not allowed to discuss the McGilded stuff, so back to Graydon and his breaking and entering! Van Zieks asserts that if the police confiscated the disc beforehand and Graydon saw this happen, there was no reason for him to break into the pawnshop anymore.

Oooh, that's some tasty triumph over Van Zieks's ignorance! Ryu brings up the second item pawned by McGilded, a 'small box'. Van Zieks insists that no such thing was stolen from the pawnshop and he can prove it, since he has a picture of the shelves from before the break-in and one from after the break-in. You know, the pictures taken by that idiot detective's silly little plaything! Through the magic of stereoscopes (or the 3D Slider in the 3DS version), Ryu can see that a small box was moved.

It's absolutely hilarious that most of the court has to go cross-eyed to do the stereoscope thing and then there's Van Zieks, with a fancy stereoscope device that he just happened to have with him in a trial he couldn't possibly predict would require a stereoscope. He's so extra! Ryu asserts that if the box was moved, they have to raise the question of what was inside it and send the Yard to retrieve that thing at once. Van Zieks objects, saying that “some little box belonging to a man who died two months ago can't possibly be relevant to this trial.” The judge doesn't see it his way, though, and overrules his objection. Nice! So officers are dispatched to Baker Street to fetch the box and Van Zieks grumbles to himself about being hoodwinked by a farce.

The judge once again doesn't take kindly to Van Zieks's attitude problems and I love this. I can't wait for the prosecution to be penalized, because it feels like it's right around the corner here. Van Zieks elaborates that this whole thing is nothing but a smoke screen; a Nipponese specialty. Scumbag points for this one! I can't entirely connect this to Professor foreshadowing, I think it's just him being petty. Either way, he's going to jump through hoops now. Mere minutes ago he established that the Yard is still investigating McGilded's stuff and the 'aftermath' of his activities, but he's flipping it all over now. He begins to talk about how McGilded died two months ago, immediately after the trial in which he was found not-guilty.

“So I propose a toast. To my learned friend, and his most... insightful defense.”

So the logic being used here now is that McGilded was a fine, upstanding citizen and anything he pawned was truly innocent/ordinary, so why would someone want to steal it? The only way to prove that there's more to these items than might be apparent would be for Ryu to reveal that the acquittal was a mistake and the defense's argument was based on false information. They all suspected this two months ago, though. It was made abundantly clear that the only reason McGilded walked free was because nobody could say for certain whether the evidence was tampered with. Either way, Ryu's cornered now and wondering to himself whether Van Zieks knows the items in question are related to the omnibus murder. He probably does. He has access to the evidence, which means he has access to to the pawn tickets which hold some very specific dates on them.

The game gives Ryu an option whether or not to have Gina testify about what happened two months ago, but this option isn't real. If you choose 'leave it', Ryu still decides within two lines of dialogue that they have to uncover the truth. There's no penalty for stalling. So Ryu calls for Gina to testify and Van Zieks definitely knows what's up.

“In particular, the impact it will have on the accused's standing... And indeed your own.”

So this is a warning, clear and simple. Van Zieks knows shit will hit the fan. Or, as he later phrases it, it will bring the court down around Ryu's ears. But Ryu insists upon the testimony, the prosecution agrees and Gina is put on the stand. The judge tells Graydon he can step down, Graydon promptly sees this as an excuse to leave and bids them all a good day, but Van Zieks tells him to wait.

Oh, this... I like this. By now, Van Zieks has caught on to Ryu's little trick of watching the reactions from other witnesses during testimonies. He's purposely making Graydon stand there and listen to Gina's testimony just in case he reacts in such an overdramatic way, Ryu can pursue it. Iiinteresting! Now it seems as if he's on our side, but we're not quite there yet. Before Gina can begin her testimony, Van Zieks reminds her that if it turns out she willfully withheld information two months ago, she'll be prosecuted for perjury. That's just an intimidation technique to get her not to reveal what she withheld. … Which is weird, because you'd think Van Zieks would want her to spill those beans. Either way, with some encouragement from Ryu and Iris, Gina begins to talk about the lies she told. Aaand we're ending the essay here for now, because we're only about halfway into this disaster of a trial and the plot will only thicken from here on out. Stay tuned for part 2 of The Unspeakable Story!

#dgs #dgs spoilers #tgaa #tgaa spoilers #barok van zieks #thank goodness #the consistency is back #BLESS

[bailey-reaper]

The Lord of the Manor (4)

Summary: Barok refuses to let anything get in his way this time: today he will go to visit his brother and pay his respects...

Content Warnings: suicide references (specifically suicidal thoughts), angst + me taking artistic liberties re: the van Zieks family

Other parts:  (1)  |  (2)  |  (3)  |

At some point he'd fallen asleep in Klint's room, though he couldn't remember the precise moment. He was propped up against the footboard with his legs tucked up close to his stomach. The first thing he noticed when he moved was a stiffness in his shoulders and neck. Hardly the most sensible way of sleeping...

Suddenly a loud rumble of thunder echoed overhead, causing the windows of the ancestral home to rattle. Clearly a storm had rolled in overnight.

After stretching until his bones cracked pleasingly, Barok drew back the curtains that covered the large bow windows of the master bedroom and looked out at the landscape. Rain pelted the earth in torrential sheets and lightning lanced across the sky as if momentarily tearing it. This was a most severe storm.

If he were the superstitious or god-fearing sort, then he might have considered that some form of divine force was trying to keep him away from his brother’s grave. Thankfully he was not so limited in his thoughts. Instead, Barok was incredibly stubborn and he had resolved to visit Klint’s grave that day – so that was what he would do.

Of course, taking Black Gale out in such hideous conditions was out of the question. He’d have to go for a ride on a more pleasant summer’s day, perhaps to the orchard or along the coast...

For now, he went to his room to dress in simple clothes and sturdy knee-high leather boots. The path to Klint’s grave would be muddy, so practical footwear was essential. He knew full well his clothes would become drenched quickly, so he donned a shirt and jacket of reasonable hardy material and breeches of similar quality. Once he was dressed, he made his way downstairs to the Grand Vestibule.

“M-My lord!” Harvey hurried over looking deeply concerned, “Surely you do not intend to go out in middle of this storm?”

“I’m going to visit Klint,” Barok replied as he took his cloak from the row of hangers by the door.

“Begging your pardon, my lord, but, surely it could wait until tomorrow? I’ve heard tell that this storm is merely passing on its way to Spain...”

“I appreciate your concern, Harvey, but you need not worry about me. I have to do this... I postponed my visit yesterday on account of factors outside of my control, I’ll be damned if I do that a second time...” an odious noble was one thing, a torrential storm was another. He had no qualms about leaving himself at the mercy of the elements.

“... If you’re sure, my lord...” the old butler had handled enough van Zieks’ lords during his tenure as a servant of the house to know that they were all of a similar stubbornness and driven by their sense of principles. If the young Lord had decided he must visit Klint’s grave then that is what he would do by hell or high water, “... Just do be careful out there and take shelter if the storm worsens....”

“Yes, I will promise you that much,” Barok said as he donned his cloak and opened the door. A sharp gust of wind violently tousled his hair as it howled through the air like a frenzied ghost. He lowered his head and stepped out into the squall, pulling the door shut despite the insistent push of the wind against him. Rain pelted down, taking but a few moments to soak his hair until it was clinging to his face. He ignored the hostile elements and pressed on in the direction of Klint’s grave.

By horse the journey was some 10 minutes away, on foot it was closer to 20 and his progress was slowed by the wind in his face and the unsteady earth beneath his feet. Despite that, he was able to navigate the familiar banks and pathways of the forest that had been a favoured haunt of his since he was a boy. Even with the gloom of the storm clouds over head, he knew the way like the back of his hand.

“Blast! Of all the times for a storm to hit!” he could hear Klint’s voice as his mind reflected on a time they’d been hunting and a similarly fierce squall had rolled in, “Come little wolf, we’ll need to find shelter!”

He nodded and followed behind as Klint led the way to a large bank that over hung like a roof, they crouched down and looked out from their semi-sheltered vantage point at the chaos, “It doesn’t look as though it’ll pass any time soon,” Barok observed.

“Mmmm, I think you’re right, so we might as well amuse ourselves in the meantime.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Well, I heard that someone came home late last night in quite an intoxicated state,” Klint was grinning impishly, “Care to tell me about your debauched night of revelry?”

“. . . .” Barok coughed, “I discovered that I’m not much for mixing drinks...”

“Ah... and what did my little brother mix?”

“.... Well, I might have tried to see what all the fuss with beer is about, before switching back to wine,” Barok massaged his temples as he recalled just how rotten he’d felt first thing that morning, “...I’m firmly of the view that beers, ales and stouts are not for me.”

“That was a fatal error of judgement on your part, have you never heard ‘grape or grain, but never the twain‘?”

“Apparently I missed that particular sermon on the subject of drinking...��� Barok replied dryly, which only seemed to amuse Klint further as he laughed harder, “I doubt I’ll forget it in a hurry, however...”

“Sometimes the best lessons are the practical ones, Barok.”

“... Yes, perhaps they are...”

A bright flash of lightning and sharp crack of thunder roused him from his daydreams and reminded him that his focus ought to be on the journey ahead rather than a trip down memory lane. It wasn’t far to the family burial grounds; a small mercy at least. He covered the rest of the distance briskly, passing through the cast iron gates and along the path of cobblestones and dirt to the mausoleum where his brother slept. He opened the door and stepped inside, dripping water all over the stone floor as he went; his first act was to light the candles that were dotted around the room, which he did by taking the box of matches that were stored in an alcove by the door and striking one.

Soft candlelight twinkled around him, casting shadows across the walls that danced and swayed deliriously; their movements slowed once he closed the door to the tomb over enough to block out the wind.

Finally he was here, with Klint once more.

“... I’m sorry for my tardiness brother,” he said softly as he knelt down before the stone where his brother’s name was engraved, “... I found myself in the talons of Lady Darlington yesterday, and you nowhere in sight to distract her...” he snorted to himself at the thought, “I dare say you’d have found my performance quite amusing.”

His gaze lifted to the ceiling of the crypt, “... No doubt you’d scold me for coming here in such a bedraggled state, well, not so much that as willingly walking out into a storm. You’ll have to forgive me for that...”

For a while, he knelt in silence; his voice stilled in his throat as he wondered what had compelled him to come out in such hostile conditions. Eventually he found his voice, “I... no doubt I sound quite mad to you, but, I wonder if you’re still here with me... You know, there are rumours abound in the Capital that your ghost follows me wherever I go and exacts revenge upon those who escape my prosecuting them through some dint in the law.“

“It’s nonsense, isn’t it?” he looked down at the gravestone once more, as if holding out for some sort of sign, “... It has to be, surely, because I’d like to think if you truly were still here then you might show me by some means other than violence... And yet, I’m desperate enough that I’ll take it. I just can’t bear the thought that you’re gone.”

Klint had always been a symbol of what was right and just in his mind, so it did not sit well with him to picture his brother as a vengeful apparition whose sole purpose was to dispatch of the criminals who managed to worm their way out of the noose. Yet, when he first heard those wild tales whispered on the lips of the common folk and the nobility alike, how he wanted to believe it. No matter how much it cut against the grain of what his brother had embodied for him; it was better than accepting that he was dead.

Anything was better than that, surely.

“... Of course, the world goes on and the sun and the moon wheel through the sky as they always have, and those who once held you in such high regard slowly begin to forget you... but for me it’s as if time stopped five years ago. I... still cannot come to terms with the thought that you’re no longer here. So, if you are the Reaper, I hope you will stay by my side until my time comes...”

He’d contemplated joining his brother. Sometimes it felt like the only logical thing to do. The world seemed so cold and devoid of vibrancy without Klint in it. Like someone had stolen the sun. Of course, he couldn’t go through with it – at first he had to bring his brother’s killer to justice, it had consumed his every waking moment. He’d read the case file until he could recite it with his eyes closed; until he dreamt of the autopsy report.

Then, once he’d gotten some semblance of justice for Klint, his thoughts had started to wander to the notion that his purpose was now fulfilled and there was nothing left to keep him here; but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. It wasn’t what Klint would have wanted. If there were an afterlife, what kind of expression would his older brother wear when he arrived there prematurely? He could practically hear the disappointed words whenever he thought about it.

“Oh little wolf.... how could you?”

And it was that which stayed his hand.

Instead, he’d thrown himself into being a prosecutor; to following in Klint’s footsteps and maintaining his legacy. His brother had believed so deeply in justice and integrity, and he would honour that memory by doing his damnedest to hold the corrupt and evil to account for their crimes. It was all he could do.

And yet, he’d even failed at that. He ran away from the Old Bailey, too overwhelmed by the Reaper mythos and the gravity it put upon his shoulders...

“I hope you will forgive me, brother,” Barok murmured, voice strained as he tried to swallow back the desperate sadness in his core, “I’ve been a poor substitute for you... I was unable to save you from the Professor... and now I’m not even capable of continuing your legacy as a Prosecutor... Truth be told, I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m at such a loss.”

“I’m so tired, Klint...”

#drabble #barok van zieks #angst #klint van zieks #cw: suicidal thoughts