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one-leaf-grimoire · 3 years

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“triad”

Chapter 22: the child of the devil

AAAAAAAAAAA THINGS ARE ESCALATING STRAP IN JFSDKL

There is a major reveal this chapter... I would love to know if anyone predicted it.

AO3 LINK

Two minutes remain

I sit there, for what feels like an hour. I know it’s not, but at this point, time doesn’t even exist. At least, it shouldn’t, for all intents and purposes.

Time…

What is it? Supposedly, the nature of my magic. No… not magic. I didn’t make this magic my own… I assimilated it. I forced it inside myself and appropriated something beautiful, something that belonged to someone beautiful.

I’m out of time…

I feel like a vase, filled with enough water to crest over my top lip. The only thing keeping it together is surface tension, stretched farther and farther as more and more pressure mounts upon me. At any moment, it will snap, and my life will bleed out of me and be lost in the winds of time itself.

But time is useless.

I couldn’t use it to win.

I couldn’t use it to save them.

All it did was act as a fertilizer for the Tree of Qliphoth, accelerating its growth until it passed the point of no return.

This isn’t how it was supposed to be…

What was my purpose here?

I am a Simulcian. The enemy of the Devil.

But in the end… I couldn’t do what Simulcia managed to do. And now, I’m not so sure she even existed.

That’s right… there is no God. There is no Simulcia. There is only Hell, and now I’ve brought that Hell to our own Earth.

There are footsteps drawing closer. My hands lay limp by my sides, unable to even twitch to defend myself.

Maybe… now…

Part of me wants to jump to my feet, to turn around and take out my anger on those approaching me. Then, I want to fly right home, and defend Adeline, Marx, and Joy for as long as I can from the horrors that have been unleashed.

… but it’s all useless.

I already know in my heart.

The footsteps stop. Slowly, I finally move, twisting only slightly to stare back at the man behind me.

No… not a man.

It’s Dante Zogratis, but he isn’t alone. His body is almost limp, zombie-like, and his shadow raises behind him like a horrible black wave. Four horns grow from the shadow’s head, with two red eyes, and a grinning, dagger-filled mouth. It’s…

A devil… with the gates all open, it must be able to manifest now.

With every passing second, it becomes more and more solid, its body huge and thick. It gives off the most oppressive magic I’ve ever felt, something grotesque and unearthly the likes of which no one on this earth has ever encountered. This Devil… In any other situation, I would have been shocked, but there isn’t enough energy left in my body to bring myself to blink. … it’s the King of Devils, the one Nacht mentioned before…

Lucifero…

For a moment, an image of Nacht passes through my head. How cruel he seemed back at the meeting. He knew something about me, he knew that I was a monster. He knew that I was dying. Did he learn that from Spade? What more do they know about me, then?

Not that it matters… they have me cornered.

“I see that you’ve given up.”

His voice is low. It holds no malice that I can tell, despite the fact that it oozed from Dante’s.

“And rightfully so… you’ve lost. At this moment, Devils are making their way into this world. In mere minutes, they will overrun your Kingdom. All those not strong enough to escape will die.”

… Adeline and Joy… Marx-

At the thought, emotion sparks in my heart.

No… it’s too late. I can’t save them… I can’t save anyone.

“But… you shouldn’t be so sad.”

Lucifero’s next words pull me out of that thought and back to the present. I look back up at him, not sure when I had lowered my gaze back to the ground.

Not… sad?

In what world would I not be sad?

His grin widens, bloodlust finally leaking through his expression.

“I’m surprised… the pieces were all there for you. Didn’t you look back through the Simulcian consciousness?”

I blink slowly, only hearing him slightly.

Simulcian consciousness? How does he know about that? What do Simulcians have to do with this?

His chuckle grows louder.

“I thought you would have seen the truth… but perhaps not. Your so-called Goddess, Simulcia… do you know what her Will really was?”

I don’t do him the pleasure of answering, but my heart starts to pound.

Her Will?

Lucifero’s eyes narrow at my lack of reaction, but he finally goes on.

“Her will… was to control this world.”

Control?

Recognition flickers in my mind.

Mikael… my uncle Mikael wanted to control the world through our species. But… that was just him, right? Does that have something to do with Simulcia’s will?

“Through you and your species… Simulcians are nothing but a vessel, meant to unite and carry her rotten soul forward into the future, so she may one day rule this world. But… she failed. She would have been much better off following the original plan.”

…

What? What original plan?

For the first time, I react. My eyes widen as a horrible conclusion blossoms in my mind.

… no… there’s no way-

“Simulcia came to this Earth when the Qliphoth was opened for the first time, thousands of years ago. But she destroyed it, locking us all back in the underworld so she could enjoy it all herself.”

No… NO- Please, God, not this-

“She was a Devil who wanted to destroy the world… and Simulcians are her children.”

My blood freezes, and suddenly everything makes sense.

My pain, my loathing, my wrath for this world, Mikael’s actions, the existence of Simulcians, our shared consciousness… it’s nothing but a vessel for a Devil.

That’s right… that��s why it was so hard for me to think that a human could truly be evil.

Because… Simulcians are evil. We are nothing but a failed plan to unite the world under Simulcia’s rule.

For some strange reason, that truth settles within me easier than I thought. Lucifero’s brow furrows as I turn away again, my shoulders slumping as my body relaxes.

I… I can’t feel… anything right now.

Sitting here, with the world caving in, with the bodies of my best friends before me, and with the knowledge that I am a child of the devil, I can’t even bring myself to feel sad.

In the end… it doesn’t matter what my identity truly is. Because it’s something I lost long ago.

Lucifero sighs, then takes a step forward. “I see we have nothing left to say to each other… so I’ll put you out of your-”

His words cease as I suddenly move. Slowly, painfully, I stand up.

Nothing matters… absolutely nothing.

I’ve ruined everything. Yet I’m the only one who can fix it.

Everyone… please forgive me.

“Sealing Magic… release.”

Maybe I’m lucky. Lucifero and I are alone. There’s no one to back him up. And I just lost anything that I had to lose.

Power flows through me, like a flood finally free of a dam that contained it for centuries. But along with it, my very life is torn apart. And not just my life; whatever I had left of my humanity is extinguished. My mark glows black, and suddenly, two sharp tracks of black streak down my cheeks, as if my face itself were cracking. Two spots on my head start to heat up, and there’s something thin and fibrous growing from them.

I guess that makes sense… Simulcians who use forbidden magic will be marked with the same horns as their origin.

I finally turn around to look at Lucifero, my face and mind still blank. I know that my life could end at any minute, but not before I am done with him and the rest of this god forsaken world.

“Lucifero… thank you.”

He sees the markings on my face and the two antennae on my head, and recognition flashes through his eyes. Maybe long ago, he faced Simulcia as she fought the other Devils, locking them away in Hell once again. I am not Simulcia, but her Will courses through my veins. Her Will to destroy the world now controls my every move.

“Thank you for giving me a reason to be selfish.”

I spread my arms as Gravity crashes down on me from all sides.

Shit! She’s going to try something- Lucifero took a step back as he activated his spell, hoping to crush me under the weight. But it doesn’t matter! Her time magic will never reach me! Because time is slowed by gravity-

However, it’s not time that I send towards him.

Time may be slowed… but the speed of Light is constant, no matter what the gravity is.

Spears of light appear everywhere around the Devil, and pierce him from all sides. Lucifero lets out an angry roar, caught completely off guard in that moment. What? She surprised me there, sure, but-

In an instant, the light clears, but he’s still stunned from the brightness.

No matter- next time, I’ll finish her-

It’s too late. In the moment that he released his spell, I lunged at him.

Neither of us react. My face is devoid of all emotion; just two, empty black eyes set in a sunken face, inches from death.

I reach towards Dante, to which Lucifero is attacked, my hands dragging my face up to his.

One minute remains

Blinding light emanated from the room, right as none other than Zenon is running back to it. Unlike Dante and Vanica, for whatever reason his Devil did not take full control of his body. He wasn’t surprised; he was smarter about his contract than the two of them. But that’s not the issue right now; the problem was that something big was happening. Without a second thought, he bursts into the cavern, and freezes in place.

Lucifero’s growing body is gone, once again completely contained within Dante. The poor man twitches but mostly hangs limp as my hands clench his head, harder than a human skull should probably withstand. But I have him… my mark is emblazoned on his forehead, shining bright in the darkness. Lucifero’s mark burns on my chest as I stand there, slowly but surely sucking away his power and assimilating it into my own.

Zenon stands there, shocked, as he looks upon the newly formed Triad. Both my power and Julius’s tugs and tugs at Lucifero’s magic. Dante’s horns are slowly growing on my own head, and my antennae wrap around the black material and glow even brighter.

I look over at the man, my eyes glowing.

“... You’re too late.”

I clench my hand tighter, drawing out more energy.

This is what I was made for… to steal. To assimilate. All for Simulcia.

But now, I’m doing this for myself. To finally create the world I longed for. A perfect world…

“Lucifero’s power is mine.”

The mighty devil was no match for the power of his oldest foe.

“I now contain a magic formed from both Gravity and Time… with this, I will create a singularity that consumes the fabric of spacetime. Through brute force, I will destroy time up until a point that I see fit. I will destroy any chance that you had to win, Zenon.”

There’s no joy on my face as I tell him this.

“You’ve lost.”

Zenon stands there, still, for just a few more moments. Then, his face hardens.

“No… I haven’t given up. You haven’t won!”

His bones are forming around him, in a last ditch effort to defeat me. With a desperate yell, he sends them flying at me.

I simply raise my hand, and it all comes crashing down on him. Zenon gasps in pain, flying back to the ground as gravity pins him there.

My skull throbs.

I don’t have much time.

“Goodbye… Zenon.”

The transfer is complete. Lucifero is trapped, his magic in my grasp.

DON’T YOU DARE!

I hear his voice echoing in our heads.

Shut up, Devil.

I close my eyes, and prepare to use my new spell.

…

But…

…

A moment passes. Then another.

They drag on and on.

...n-no…

…

Is this… really how it is?

My hands are shaking as I grasp Dante’s head, but he’s slipping away. My control over Lucifero is slipping away.

All of this… was for nothing, because in the end…

I can’t do it.

The strength to destroy the world… it’s something I never had within me.

I can’t do it.

Next time: the Joy of Death. Sometimes you just have to know when to give up. Will Lisa go through with her time travel plan? Or is she not strong enough to abandon an entire world? We’ll see tomorrow...

#triad #fic #oc: lisa

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ecoamerica · 1 month

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im-the-king-of-the-ocean · 3 years

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Rose Puppetry Ch5: Caught in the Web of Mr. Spider

Summary:

A century ago or so, Atlas set out to conquer the world. Penny was built to be a spy, an infiltrator meant to find weaknesses in Vale’s defenses before the invasion.

She did. Then she fell in love. And rebelled against the kingdom that had created her.

Ch1. Ch2. Ch3. Ch4.

Chapter Content Notes: graphic imagery of spiders, violence, character death, attempted murder, stabbing, references to actual character murder, mind control/possession, comas

I would like to take a moment and remind everyone that this fic is roughly inspired by the Mechanism’s album Once Upon A Time (In Space) and that that narrative’s climax is rather gruesome. Additionally, this chapter especially was influenced by the Magnus Archives, which is a horror podcast.

Please take those facts into consideration prior to reading.

I would also like to remind you all that there is one more chapter after this one, and thus the fic does not conclude here.

“Ruby?”

Penny speaks her beloved’s name over and over again. Her voice, a cracking repetition of a broken, almost hopeless recording caught on a looping tape. The mechanical girl who had come and fought so hard can do nothing but stare. She hopes the sight before her isn’t real, that she’s mistaken, that this isn’t how their story ends.

Some history books will say it is. They will narrate the story of a miserable failure of a military project. One who rebelled against her creators, her masters, and cost not only herself, but the one she loved her life. These history books will be produced in the harsh, cold printing presses that remain loyal to the faltering Atlesian throne. A desperate attempt to rewrite history in their favor, but not much more than that really.

Other books, ones with a bit more accuracy, will know better. For even if there is a ‘happily ever after’ or a ‘the end’ to a story, there’s always a moment after that. Something that happens next. Right up until the final end of death comes for the characters.

And neither Penny nor Ruby are quite dead yet.

So it really would be a sad, sorry tale that reaches its conclusion here, wouldn’t it?

The rebels infiltrate the menacing fortress to save the innocent girl and are felled by her hand, now corrupted by the darkness that had ensnared her. No hope of a happy tomorrow. Simply a brutal, violent end and a laboratory awash in blood.

For that’s what happens when you wander into a spider’s web. You tend to get caught by the spider. And, you know, eaten.

The thing, the crucial detail, that must be taken into account about this tale, though. The one thing those Atlesian history books will try to wipe away and conceal and keep the public from knowing. The little detail that keeps this ending from being the true ending of the story.

It’s simply that Ruby Rose is not the spider.

Of course, she is something, and historians (and, after them, archivists) will have quite a wondrous time debating amongst themselves what exactly she is. But, what she is not, is the spider. The hungry arachnid who waits so long for its prey to come, who binds its meal tightly in silky thread for later consumption.

Some, and they will have fairly strong evidence for their cause, will argue Ruby was simply the first caught in the spider’s web. Those ones have a valid, if not entirely understanding of the circumstances as a whole, point.

A spider’s web is a sticky, tricky thing. When you’re all alone in it, you may see little hope of escape, of anything but the spider’s looming, menacing legs, its snapping jaws, or its eight dark, beady eyes. But that’s only if and when the spider chooses to focus on you. They are, after all, creatures that can be distracted. Ones that can decide to eat something—someone—else. So, maybe Ruby was the spider’s first chosen meal, but she was one left unfinished due to the arrival of an enticing, delectable follow up.

A spider’s web also happens to be a delicate thing and, if put under too much weight, may potentially collapse.

Let us now return to the scene and become observers, ceaseless watchers, to what happens when this particular web takes on quite a bit of weight.

Are you scared yet? You’re probably wondering if you should be. It’s natural, of course. Debating whether or not you should trust the words you read. Should you stop here? What if it gets worse? But, it’s pretty bad here. Do you really want this ending to be the ending?

What happens when you don’t stop, though? When you continue reading the words, bringing them into the reality of being Known? Didn’t expect to be trapped reading a tale without recourse on how to know if the true end is horrible or not without going along with it until it reaches it’s natural conclusion, did you?

Have you considered that, perhaps, it is you who is trapped in the spider’s web?

So, tell me, how much do you really want to know? You’re curious, aren’t you? Driven. Eager to witness all that happens here. Why would you remain otherwise?

Let’s see how it goes, shall we?

Our story, our statement, resumes.

Ever so slowly, Ruby turns her head and looks at Penny. There is no recognition, no emotion of any kind on her face. Ruby blinks, or, rather, she closes her eyelids and opens them again in a movement that could be perceived as a blink. A movement that makes her a stranger to Penny.

“Ruby,” Penny repeats, as if the simple utterance of the name will break the spell. No such enchantment that can be so easily undone exists. Not here. Not now.

“Remarkable, isn’t it?”

New footsteps echo through the laboratory. Penny spins around. Dr. Watts makes his way over from the door. Each step he takes is measured and calculated. His past projects, those horrible menaces whispered about in fear, file into the room behind him.

Cinder looks at the scene laid out before her and smirks. Tyrian laughs. Hazel blocks the doorway with his bulk.

“For a super weapon, I expected you to be smarter than to simply walk into what was so obvious a trap.” Dr. Watts chuckles at Penny. “Foolish of me to underestimate the weakness of love, I suppose.”

“Let. Ruby. Go.” Penny clenches her fists. She raises her daggers. She doesn’t have the advantage here, but that won’t stop her.

“If you insist.” Watts waves a dismissive hand. With his other, he takes a remote out from his pocket and clicks a button on it. The clasps around Ruby’s wrists and ankles snap open. He turns to walk away, but pauses before he exits the laboratory. “Do try to leave at least some of them intact,” he tells Cinder, Tyrian, and Hazel. “It would be a pity for so many good bodies to go to waste.” He exits.

Penny turns to Ruby one last time. “Ruby…” This time it’s a begging sob that escapes her lips. “Please, no.”

Ruby stands. She reaches around herself, to the sheath attached to her belt. Her fingers wrap around the hilt of the blade there. Ruby withdraws the weapon. There’s no sign she recognizes the desperate plea in Penny’s eyes.

The sword slashes through the air.

Penny dodges. She retreats away from Ruby’s attack. Her daggers hover around her. She can’t bring herself to command them to retaliate.

“Ruby, please, it’s me, it’s Penny! You have to recognize me!”

Ruby draws back. For a brief, hopeful second, Penny thinks she’s gotten through to her love. A small smile appears on Penny’s lips. It almost immediately falls away.

Ruby lifts her hand not holding the sword. Around it, thick, black sludge forms. It branches out into a limb all of its own. Bleached white claws emerge at its tips, like grotesque fingers. There’s a second where the Grimm arm moves and shifts, as if adjusting to its own weight. A twisted smirk appears on Ruby’s face. She looks between her new appendage and Penny.

Penny’s daggers come to bear a defensive position in front of her without her telling them to. The Grimm arm tries to dart around them, but the daggers cut through it like butter. It disintegrates into dust. Ruby screams. Her voice is loud, hoarse, and pained. Penny hesitates, doesn’t take the opening. She can’t… she doesn’t…she needs to…but it’s Ruby! RUBY!

She can’t just kill her. Penny glances behind her, at where she knows her team is, but there is no aid to be found there. Cinder, Tyrian, and Hazel are on the attack. The less said about that carnage, the better. Penny is on her own. She turns back to Ruby and, with every fiber of her being protesting, she prepares to fight.

I’ll make it quick, Penny tells Ruby in her head. You don’t deserve this suffering. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.

Penny ducks Ruby’s sword, and feigns to the left.

I’m sorry that this is how it ends.

Penny commands her daggers to cut through the Grimm limbs Ruby keeps painfully forming and sending at her. She refuses to allow herself to wince at the agonizing screams.

I’m sorry you didn’t get to live a long and happy life.

Penny sees her opening. Ruby has faltered. Penny allows herself a second to take a breath, and then she lunges. Her daggers all are pointed forward, ready to complete the death blow.

I’m sorry you ever had the misfortune of knowing me.

Penny’s killing blow doesn’t make its target. Ruby faked her out. Midway into Penny’s attack, she dodges. Penny has no time to change course. Her eyes widen. Ruby’s Grimm limbs surround Penny, grab her, hold her.

Horror takes over Penny’s face. She knows what’s going to happen right before the final Grimm arm makes the plunge into her chest. Her mind goes blank with the pain. Whether or not she’s screaming, Penny has no idea.

Ruby’s darkness, her corruption, seeps into Penny, worming its way to the mechanical girl’s heart, her core. For Penny can only be destroyed if it is. The Annihilation reaches its target. It circles its prey, completely surrounding it. It surges in for the kill.

In that dreadful moment, Death doesn’t come. It was never going to. It has, shall we say, a feel, for these things. It knew, all throughout this battle, how it would end. Death knew it would not be necessary to send its Reaper here.

The Silver Eye, which had protecting Ruby’s soul and had waited and waited and watched for its opportunity finally found its chance. When the Grimm entombing it reached out to destroy the one its guardian loved, the Silver Eye, for the first time in its existence, felt something.

Remember, the Eye, on its own, had never been a whole. It was forged, by the King of Vale, out of the remaining half of the Staff of Creation. Though it could exist on its own, it never truly stopped longing to find its missing, stolen part. And, when its prison made that final, almost deadly attack, through those dark tendrils ensnaring it, the Silver Eye finally felt that echo, that reverberation, that it had ached for for so very long.

In that moment, it wakes up and reaches.

Blinding silver light shines out through the laboratory. Every vestige of Annihilation’s power, every bit of Grimm, inside a person or out, is disintegrated. For those who have long since opened their arms to Destruction and allowed its influence into themselves, this means Death finally comes for its dues. For Ruby, who the Silver Eye loves and cherishes, this means purification from her corruption. For Penny, this means her life is spared and, from within her, the Silver Eye is answered.

Once upon a time, the General King of Atlas found the blueprints for an old inventor’s creation. He saw it as a grand opportunity to build a great weapon for the glory of his kingdom. To fuel it, he saw no better resource than his kingdom’s relic itself. He split the Staff of Creation in half, stored one part away for later use and fashioned the other into a core for the new automaton.

Unbeknownst to him, in doing this, the General King created a mirror to the Silver Eye; the Winter Soul. A new entity all of its own, it was. One curious, fascinated about the world around it, and ever so willing to learn.

Is it such a shock then, that was built to be a weapon of immeasurable power turned its back to this objective and instead chose to attempt to understand and love the world it found itself in? Is it such a shock that it came to love one who would be later chosen to preserve life itself?

Much has been written and recorded about the Fall of Atlas. There are numerous accounts of the sudden surge of blinding light that shone across the kingdom. Many theorize, but they do not know the truth of its source. What they do know is that it wiped out the city’s mainframe and, for the first time in history, Atlas was left vulnerable. It didn’t take long for the Rebellion’s ships to rise from Mantle and begin that final, gruesome attack after that.

Later, the Rebellion’s charge into Atlas Academy, of their slaughter of the robotic forces of the Atlesian Military, will be dramatized into something far more glorious and far less bloody than it was. The retellings will focus on the storming of the throne room, of the General King being forced to his knees in surrender, the capture of the notorious Dr. Watts. They will applaud the victories of the day, and blatantly ignore the executions of the weeks to follow.

And so, Atlas’s web of power collapses, crumpling into a thousand twisting, tangled threads. The spider, the warmonger, who sat at its center, weaving and warping the world into something that suited him and only him, and growing fat off the results, is squashed.

Those two who were responsible, who gave the world the chance it needed to rid itself of the boot pressing down upon its throat, they were never known.

For Ruby, now saved from the Grimm but forever scarred by it, looks down upon the sleeping form of her fallen beloved, sees the full extent of Penny’s injuries, gathers her up in her arms, and steals her away to where she can be repaired.

In peace.

#rwby #nuts and dolts #ruby rose #penny polendina #grimm!ruby #rose puppetry #whirls writing #if you're thinking the title is a reference #you'd be right #😏#im gonna regret posting this in the middle of the night #but it also feels like the right time too #so here we are

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sea-side-scribbles · 3 years

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Fanfiction: Sympathy For A Downer

Link:https://archiveofourown.org/works/22737214/chapters/77806700

Chapter 62

The next morning, Nick was still clingy. “Good morning, my King. Did you sleep well in your new home?”, he whispered while hugging him. He was also rubbing his cheek against Arthur's shoulder, tickling the other man a bit. “Fantastic”, Arthur approved. “Just fantastic. And the morning sun”, he gestured towards the window, “I missed that too.” “It's much more comfy than a tunnel, right?” Nick's voice was soft as silk and he kept hugging. Arthur kissed his forehead, then he gently attempted to shove him away. “Nicky...why don't we try out your kitchen today? I wanna see if you have another coffee monster lurking in there that needs to be tamed.” “Hmmm...”, Nick said, “The monster is me.” “Then we better go feed you.” Nick slowly let go of Arthur, who noticed his lover was trying his best to look happy but his expression was rather bittersweet. It didn't take long until Nick put an arm around him again.

Side by side, they went all the way to the kitchen. They passed by the manager who gave them a surprised look. Arthur was almost blushing, but they quickly said good morning and went their ways. The kitchen was cleaner than it had been the first time Arthur had seen it. No dirty dishes in the sink and someone had dusted the place up. Nick pointed at the coffee machine. “There it is. Try your luck, my King.” Arthur figured this was easier. However, when the liquid ran out, he realized he had forgotten to put a cup underneath it and backed away from the hot splash. “Ouch! Goddamnit! No, no, no...!” The drink ran down the counter and created a puddle on the floor tiles. “Sorry...” Arthur turned around and was surprised to find his lover laughing out loud. Looking back at the mess, he couldn't help but to laugh with him. It was the first time this morning that Nick looked happy, and his laughter was enchanting.

When they started wiping up the puddle together, the door opened and Brad came in. “You having fun in here?” He eyed the scene. “Oh, hi Arthur.” “Good morning”, Arthur said shyly. “Busy reporting the news, huh?” Brad sounded rather bitter. “What news?” Then Matt came in. “Hi Arthur.” He looked from Arthur to Nick and Nick saw him draw the conclusion. “Nick”, Matt asked afterwards, “Can I have a word with you?” “Uh”. Nick glanced at Arthur who made a puzzled nod. “Sure.” He got up and followed Matt outside, bracing himself for a storm. In the living room, he leaned against the wall and eyed his friend who seemed to search for words. “Do you have any shame?”, he brought out. “What? Can't I have guests anymore?” “Guests?”, his friend snapped. “You're lying into my face! Arthur was the one you betrayed Morrie with! You spent days with him and we were joking about it! How long did you betray him?” “Sssh, quiet,” Nick hissed. “He doesn't know about Morrie.” “Oh, great! You better go and tell him then!”, Matt shouted. “Sssh, Matt, please, leave this to me!”, Nick whispered begging. “I can't believe it! You...” Matt made a fist. Nick braced himself for a punch. But Matt lowered his hand again – and his voice. “He's just another poor soul you're playing with!” “No, listen, I'm not playing, I love him!” Matt gave an upset gasp. “And Morrie? You used him because it was convenient? You heartless piece of...!” “No, I love him too!” Matt grimaced.

“Listen, I know it sounds funny, but...” “Funny?”, his friend spat. “It sounds fucked up! And it look awful! You spend the night with Morrie, he dies, you come back full of blood and instead of mourning like a true lover you bring the next playmate home!” “Matt, he's not a playmate and I do mourn!” “Really?” Matt lifted his brow. “Sounded more like laughter to me. You have a weird way of crying.” “I had one pleasant moment after a horrible day and you...” “Oh, you poor thing! One 'horrible' day of mourning for a year long friend! Are you sure one playmate is enough to repair your broken heart?” Now Nick raised his fist. “Say that one more time...” “Oh, now you're protective!”, Matt teased him. “If only Morrie had received your protective instinct! He'd still be alive!” That was too much for Nick. He jumped at Matt and threw him on the ground. Matt punched back, and soon they were rolling on the floor. The noise alerted Chris who ran in and stepped between the two. “Are you crazy? This won't bring him back!” Because neither of them wanted to hurt Chris, they stopped. Nick kneeled on the floor and started sobbing while Matt got up, his expression sour. “I'm done with you!”, he yelled at Nick and went out. Chris watched him leave and then pulled Nick up. “Come, let's get out of here...”, he said. “Great timing, really. Making that fuss while the reporter is here...” “He's a friend...”, Nick sobbed. “Sure...but he'd suck at his job if he wouldn't turn that into a story.” “Let me talk to him.” “Like that? No way, man!” But Nick escaped him and went back into the kitchen. Both Brad and Arthur sat at the table and gave him a startled look.

“Arthur”, Nick said wiping his eyes dry, “do you have a minute?” Both men exchanged glances, then Arthur went with Nick. Nick insisted to flee into his bedroom and then he clung to Arthur again. “I'm sorry about Morrie Memento. I had no idea...”, Arthur whispered. “I found him in the morning when I went back home.” “Oh god, I'm sorry...” “Now they think it was me...I touched Morrie, because in my panic I tried to shake him awake and then I was all bloody when they brought me home...” Arthur shook his head. “When I saw what they did to Kitty, I wondered if they were even human.” Nick cried as an answer. “Nicky, that'd be another reason to leave...” “But Arthur, I can't just abandon them...as long as they don't hate me, I'll stay.” Arthur sighed. “Were you talking about me? I think I heard you say my name.” Nick began to pat his hair. “They thought you were here to...put salt into the wounds, I guess. Create a big story about Morrie's...holiday.” “Is that why you were fighting?” “We're upset, all of us...”, Nick said quietly. “I should apologize to Matt.” “Later”, Arthur said and kissed Nick's cheek.

“Arthur?”, Nick whispered. “Yes, Nick?” “Could you do me a...big favour?” “Huh...perhaps? What is it?” “You're still a reporter, right?” “Yeah?” “And you were at the party?” “Oh, I forgot about that. I recall we had our own party.” Arthur was happy to see Nick smile at least faintly. “Could you...write a piece about it? Say that it all went smashing and no one was hurt?” “Uh...I guess...” “Please.” “It's actually about time I get something done...” Arthur crawled out of the bed. Nick busied himself gathering papers and pencils for his lover and put them all on the desk. “There you go. You need something else? A drink maybe?” “Uh...water would do, thanks.” Nick grimaced. “Water? You're not in jail.” “But everything you gave me so far made me lose my mind.” “Are you sure it was the drink?”, Nick purred and massaged Arthur's shoulders. “If not, there's no hope for me...”, Arthur sighed and stretched himself. “Water, please.” “Alright.” Nick shrugged and made his way to the bar to get the mineral water.

On the way, he met Virgil. Nick only muttered a greeting and then went to the counter. Virgil followed him and lay a hand on his shoulder. “Let me see”, he said. Nick turned around and showed him the bottle of soda he had in his hands. Virgil however inspected Nick's face. “Any bruises?” “No...”, Nick said. “You know Matt, he doesn't hit very hard...I'm fine.” Virgil relaxed and leaned against the counter. “So...Arthur's the one, huh?” Nick put the bottle down. “Yes...and I've been with him all night, so at least he knows that I'm not a killer.” A pause ensued. “How long do you know him?” “You too?”, Nick protested. “You never cared about my relationships and that made you very pleasant to talk to!” Virgil made a face. “I was more interested in how good you know that reporter.” “I know him good enough.” “Was he really with you all the time?” “Yeah...I guess so...I had him like that...” He held up his arms the way he had held Arthur and tried a smile. Virgil remained pondering. “What do you mean? Are you suspecting Arthur now?” Nick was shocked. “I'm trying to make sense out of things. And he wouldn't be the first bad egg you trusted. I feel that there's something off about him.” “Don't call him that!”, Nick blurted out. “He's just shy, that's all! And if you all make him feel like he's off, it's no wonder he's acting weird!” Virgil crossed his arms. “So, I'm not the only one who suspects him? Interesting.” Nick turned away and rolled his eyes. “Morrie was doubting him. The others like him.” “Morrie, huh?” Virgil took a deep meaningful breath. “Did you ask him what he thought in detail?” Nick noticed this conversation was going the wrong way. He should've bitten his tongue. “No”, he said coolly. “I think he was jealous.” “Well, he wasn't wrong, wasn't he?” Nick span back to his manager. “For Christ's sake, Virgil! That doesn't make Arthur a killer! I'm sure it's not one of us, I've probably never seen the guy! Or the girl! I have a lot of jealous fans, they're all suspicious! It's too easy to suspect Arthur instead! You should be smarter than this!” Virgil didn't answer. He quietly walked away, deep in thoughts. Nick could only hope that he drew the right conclusions. He came back to Arthur with the bottle in his hands.

“I'm sorry it took me so long, my King. Virgil held me back”, he said while serving his lover the drink. “There you go.” He patted Arthur's shoulder and looked at the paper that was filled with small handwriting. “Thank you. I'm almost done”, Arthur explained and took a sip from the soda. “A few statements from you should spice it up, if you don't mind.” “No, not at all!” Nick pulled over a chair and sat down next to him. They worked on the text and Nick was very happy that his lover was such a talented writer. “Alright, that should do it”, Arthur finally concluded. “Together with the photos I took it should be enough to make this look like the most smashing happening ever.” “Oh, Arthur!” Nick fell into his arms. “You're a life saviour, literally!” He ruffled and kissed the pretty black hair. Arthur answered with pulling him down for a deeper kiss. After that, Arthur collected the sheets. “I have to hand this in now.” Nick followed him to the door and blew kisses when he walked away. Arthur shyly waved. He was both embarrassed and flattered. Nick seemed to fully accept him now and didn't hide his affection.

Nick watched Arthur until he disappeared behind a block of houses. Then he stood in the corridor, not knowing what to do with himself when suddenly he heard a noise in the kitchen. He hesitated, not eager to have another fight with one of his friends. On the other hand, he wanted to know what they thought about Arthur and if they were okay with him moving in. If not, he had to convince them. So he went into the kitchen and was surprised by finding a woman in a black and white dress. “Sally?” Sally was huffing and puffing as if she ran all the way to here. “Hey, how're you doing? I haven't heard from you since...” He stopped. Oh... “Hi, Nick. I'm sorry for not coming by sooner. I really forgot the time while I was working on some... new specials. How are you doing?” “Great! Actually, I should tell you something...uh...it's nothing personal...” Sally's heart sunk. Fantastic! Now he'd tell her that he didn't want her around anymore and if she wanted help she better asked her other special friends... “I stopped taking party favors.” Sally needed a moment to process this. “Really?”, she then blurted out, relieved. “Yeah, I'm sorry....I really loved your stuff, but hey, the band is here, perhaps they'd like something...” He left the kitchen and Sally hurried after him. “Wait, Nick, I'm not here for party favors.” “No?” Nick eyed her. Then he came closer. “What else would you want from the Lightbearer?” Sally ran a finger along his arm. “I miss a song...It was so special to me but I can't find it anymore...It's the Unicorn Song. It's not on the market anymore but I thought you might still have a record.” Nick smiled. “Baby, who needs a record?” He began to sing the song to her and started to dance with her around the room. She joined his singing and danced with him until both broke out in laughter. Sally applauded him and he made an elegant bow. “This is even better than the original! What do you think? Fancy joining the band?” “Oh, no, rather not, I sound like a dying cat.” “But a cute dying cat.” She laughed and gasped. “Please, do you have a record of this? I really need this song.” “No problem. I think it's in my lair.”

They went into the dressing room that gave Nick a rather weird feeling in the stomach. Only a day and a few ours ago, everything had been still okay. With a fake smile, he opened the entrance to his lair. “Ladie's first.” They wandered along, passing by the massive statues of himself. He tried not to look at the spot where he had sat and cried. He found the record amongst other old records from his past. “There it is.” Suddenly, it was very precious to him, too. Morrie was on it. That was why he hesitated to hand it over. “Thank you so much, Nick! You don't know how much this means to me!” Sally looked at the record as if it was the most precious thing in the world. It comforted Nick. At least Morrie was in good hands. They way she looked made him ask: “If you need anything else...” She fumbled with her dress, as if she didn't know what to say, thinking. “You don't happen to have cod liver oil somewhere?” “Cod liver oil?” Nick had forgotten that stuff existed. “What do you need that for?” “It's for...a new formula...It's the last ingredient I need...and it looks like it's sold out in every store...” Her eyes rested on him. “Well, I don't remember having it but I don't mind looking. After all, I have all sorts of substances.” He winked and she brightened up. Sally didn't believe he had cod liver oil, but by now, she was clutching at every straw she could find. First, they examined the bar in the lair but there was no oil. Next, they turned his kitchen upside down. Despite the gravity of the situation, Sally couldn't help but joke around with Nick during their search. Nick's kitchen was full of clobber that didn't belong there...or in any decent household in general. It was during another laughing fit that suddenly Arthur Hastings entered the scene, looking at her and Nick in disbelief.

“Arthur”, both Nick and Sally said at the same time and they made an effort to enlarge the distance between each other. “Look who's here”, Nick added brightly. “I see...”, Arthur replied less happily. “Hi, Sally.” “Hi, Arthur...Nick is helping me to get...uh...an ingredient...” “Yeah, she needs cod liver oil. You don't happen to have some in your stash?” “Cod liver oil? No, I don't think anybody has...” Sally's face fell. “What are you up to?” Arthur eyed her. Sally crossed her arms behind her back. “I...would you believe me if I told you that this is very important to me?” “Perhaps”, Arthur shrugged. “I don't know.” Sally then leaned against the counter, eyeing the floor tiles. “I actually know who has cod liver oil”, she confessed.” “Great, Let's go there then!” “It's in the Haworth Labs...and I'm like...persona non grata there...” “Everyone is”, Arthur protested. “It's insane to even go near there without permission!” “You could go in disguise....but I can't show my face around there, they'll recognise me anyway...” “Well, that's...bad for you...”, Arthur said, not liking this conversation one bit.

“You think one could get in with a press pass?”, Nick continued to make it worse for Arthur. “Yeah..., that would work.” Sally lightened up. “And you'd need someone who's good with words.” She darted a glance at Arthur. “Hey! Hey, stop, everyone calm down!” Arthur held up his hands. “I know what you're implying, but no one of us will set foot into Haworth Labs! It's fucking suicide!” “Arthur”, Nick stepped forward. “We're her friends.” “You're also her...friend?” He turned to Sally. “Who's not your friend? Don't you know someone who's fitting better for this kind of mission? A soldier maybe, or a martial arts professional?” “Well, Arthur, you're quite the good fighter”, Nick countered. “You really want to send me there?” “Not alone, dummy! I'll come with you.” “You? Nick, you can't hurt a fly! And anyway, what would be your disguise? You're not a reporter!” “But I have a press pass!” “What? Why?” “I...well, borrowed it from one of your colleagues I guess. I figured it's useful to have one.” Arthur stared at Nick. “You'd still have to defend yourself.” “Don't you remember the headboy? I can help myself just fine.” “That was mere luck!” “That and my strong arms! Anyway, do you think there are actual fighters in the lab? They're only scientists! We sneak in, grab the oil and get out without anyone noticing us! It's gonna be fun!” Also Sally began to look surprised, but she beamed at Nick and then turned back to Arthur, who's level of despair increased.

“You watched too many movies! In reality, nothing works out the way you think!” “That's why you'll figure out the plan, because you have all the experience and I'll do what you say.” Arthur looked at him helplessly. “Please, Arthur”, Sally stepped in. “I'll pay you back. I can get you that letter of transit.” “I already have that.” “Really?” Sally eyed the floor again. Arthur now felt sorry for her. Nick seemed to feel so, too. “Why can't we do this for her? We are her friends.” “We're not her only friends, trust me.” “But she asked us!” “No, you! I came here by accident.” “Right, and I even owe her one, for everything she did for me. If you don't want to come with me, I'll go alone!” Nick crossed his arms. “If you want to kill yourself, go on.” “Arthur, please!” Nick made puppy eyes. Also Sally. Arthur felt cornered. “Fine!”, he blurted out. “But if anything goes wrong, we'll escape, cod liver oil or not!” “Thank you”, Sally said and her fingers touched his arm. Arthur's gloomy look rested at her and she let go.

When Nick went out of the kitchen later, he ran into Virgil again, who wanted to talk to him. Nick wasn't very keen on hearing more accusations, but he went along. In his room, Virgil shut the door and then turned to Nick. “Could you...give me one of your Joy pills?” “What do you need it for?” Nick didn't like the idea of giving even one of them away. Virgil scratched his neck. “Well...I don't...feel alright...Your Joy seems to make you happier then the regular Joy, so I thought...I could borrow one just this once...” Promptly, seeing Virgil sad made him feel sorry and it won against his suspicion. “Hey, no problem”, he said and held out a handful of pills to him. “There you go. I want my dear manager to be happy again.” Virgil opened his hand and Nick let the black pills fall into it. “I forgot you miss Morrie too...I'm so selfish.” “Sssh”, Virgil held a finger close to Nick's lips. “You're upset too. Don't beat yourself up about it.” Nick cracked him a thankful smile. “Get well, Virgil...if you need more, just ask me...” Virgil returned the smile and opened his arms. Nick didn't hesitate to dash into them.

#wehappyfew #we happy few #whf #nick lightbearer #whf nick #nicklightbearer #nick x arthur #arthur hastings we happy few #whfarthurhastings #nickxarthur #whf arthur #whfarthur

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slothcritic · 5 years

Text

Dragon Ball Z Abridged - Episode 9 Review

Consistently funny. The weak points do not drag this episode down.

The Set Up begins with a great cold open. Piccolo is drop-dead unconscious on the ground, Gohan is desperately trying to wake him up, and Krillin is anxiously awaiting for Goku to show up. After all, he’s their friend who would never let them down right? Meanwhile... Goku is busy eating at Jadoshin's palace. Even as a departure from the original series, I like the idea that the two of them made up and are friends now. Jadoshin, however, has to remind Goku about the Saiyans. Goku then runs out in a panic.

[Title Sequence]

Piccolo isn't getting up and Nappa needs a new toy. He chooses Gohan seemingly at random from the two remaining, and floors him in one kick.

"Wooo! Not me!"

When Krillin isn't being the resident Milhouse, he's the rimshot comedian. The joy doesn't last for much longer though, as Gohan stays down.

Nappa is about to tear Krillin a new one, when the bald monk suddenly screams out that it's his turn. And for some glorious reason, this actually works on Nappa. This is some straight up Looney Tunes, "Duck Season, Fire!" type tomfoolery.

Vegeta does not handle Nappa's stupidity very well, and in his anger does a fourth wall break where he references a timestamp in the video. This is kind of clever and a bit of a break from the other fourth wall jokes that they've done so far, but I feel like it could lose its charm if it's done more than once. As for the timestamp itself, which is at 9:18 in the video... we'll get to that later.

Krillin decides to use the Destructo-Kienzan, and Vegeta shouts a warning to Nappa that it's a trick.

"But Vegeta... tricks are for kids."

The tense background music just completely stops here, but you can still hear the vibrations of the kienzan in the background. Great sound design. The long pause afterwards is also well timed, and Vegeta takes up the "fuck it, you wanna die, then die." mentality with Nappa. This skit is succinct, well paced and well editied.

Nappa receives a deep cut to the face for his troubles, as it just nearly takes his head off. Nappa laments his modeling career, and the scene cuts to a photoshopped rendition of Nappa on Vogue magazine. The bald, beautiful Saiyan, and his 10 tips on being a better lover!

This might have been a joke before its time, or perhaps the intention was different while writing this in 2009, but Nappa shows us all what a "nice guy" he was trying to be during all of this, and now decides "okay, full ultra-violence it is!" and fades Krillin with a white sparkly angel dust attack. I'm sure it has an actual cool sounding name (Like "Galaxy Breaker" or something) but I'm going to keep calling it the white sparkly angel dust attack. The owned counter ticks up to 8 here, but it doesn't feel deserved.

Piccolo jumps up with an "I'm back" and shoots Nappa... in the back. He sees what you did there. Just as Piccolo and Nappa are about to throw down, Gohan appears out of nowhere and roundhouse kicks him through a boulder. More indication that Gohan has some incredible hidden power inside of him. This surprises Piccolo, and Gohan is initially apologetic, but Piccolo begs for him to stay angry before Nappa just as quickly hops back to his feet.

It turns out Gohan hit Nappa so hard that he turned Italian. Seems a little out of left field, but why not. The "I'm a firing my laser" reference is perhaps the most dated thing I've seen since Episode 1. Would this even count as a meme? Wasn't "Firin Mah Laser" something that came out before the word meme even became popular as a way of describing internet fads, jokes, templates and trends? Back when Demotivational Posters and I Can Haz Cheeseburger ruled the internet? Truthfully, I loved this joke when it came out, but now all it does is remind me of the proto-internet days. And part of me feels weird for being nostalgic about that, because I just know someone in their 30's is going to read this and roll their eyes saying "Oh God, I'm getting old", in much the same way I'll feel horrified when people start to become nostalgic for Fortnite in the next 10 or 20 years.

Back to the episode, Piccolo's sacrifice happens right about here, and the scene does a good job of pointing out a plot contrivance in the source material. Piccolo could have just grabbed Gohan and moved out of the way. Though the scene plays up the amount of time Piccolo had to work with, there was still nothing stopping him from just grabbing him and chucking him like a bag of potatoes out of the way, even in the original. However, if Piccolo doesn't die, there's no real reason to go to Namek. What I think might be a more practical reason is that, this is a turning point for Piccolo as a character where he starts thinking emotionally. It's no real secret across both the canon and the abridged material that Piccolo is actually a pretty decent parent. So this right here is the idea of Piccolo more or less abandoning rational thought and considered only protecting Gohan. That contrasts a little with the ruthless, methodical, cunning, intelligent character he's been shown to be, just to throw that all away to save him, but the contrivance definitely becomes less egregious when you consider these factors.

However you want to address it, then end result is that Piccolo sacrifices himself to protect Gohan. In the original this is capped off with Piccolo comparing Gohan to his son, which is what Gohan begins to explain before Piccolo calls him a nerd. In this series however, Piccolo laments one final time:

"Why... didn't you... DODGE!!!"

Bleh. And with Piccolo's death, Kami is soon to follow. He explains the Namekian Dragon Balls to Mr Popo, and the long (very long) journey that must be undertook in order to revive everyone, but Mr Popo outright refuses and simply reminds Kami of the pecking order. Kami dies, and thus the Dragon Balls become inert.

Back at the battlefield, Vegeta was busy reading an issue of that very same Vogue magazine with Nappa on the cover and thus didn't see him kill Piccolo, like a mother three sangria's deep at her kid's soccer practice.

I've never much cared for Gohan's exasperated expletives in this or any scene in DBZA. This one in particular doesn't sit well with me simply because they went to the effort of being purposefully verbose but then still chose to use the word "condom" over "contraceptive" - A condom is made of latex, whereas a contraceptive is any kind of device at all that prevents pregnancy. As an example, some of the first contraceptives in history were made from linen and animal intestines, while the condom itself wasn't invented until 1855. Gohan specifically saying he's going to use Nappa's intestines as a condom serves the same purpose either way, but “contraceptive” would’ve been more technically accurate, in a bit of dialogue that is purposefully trying to be technically accurate. I wouldn't be picking on the semantics so much if that weren't the express purpose of this entire scene. Also it has more syllables and therefore sounds more smarterer.

Nappa gives this scene the backhand and the "bitch please" it deserves and we're done with that.

"Everyone important to you is dead." "Hey I'm still alive--" "EVERYONE important." "...Damn it."

See, this is where the Krillin Owned count should have gone up.

After Nappa doesn't smash, Goku appears on the battlefield. His reaction to showing up too late and everyone being dead is uncharacteristically deadpan, and it's hilarious. He asks where Chiaotzu is, and Krillin gives him the Achmed the Dead Terrorist explanation. Over there, over there, and up there. I'm not actually sure if this episode predates Jeff Dunham or not, but I enjoy both, both used the same joke at least once, and both make me laugh so I'm drawing the comparison anyways.

Goku asks why everyone is dead and Nappa immediately and without hesitation calls dibs. This leads into one of most famous and iconic scenes, if only for meme reasons, in all of DBZ.

"Vegeta, what does the scouter say about his power level?" "It's... 1006." "Wha-- Really?" "Yeah. Kick his ass, Nappa!"

Not gonna lie, this genuinely made me burst into laughter the first time I saw it. I don't know if it was just shock value or what, but it doesn't have the same effect now that I know it's coming every time I rewatch this episode. I just love the idea of the scouter being upside-down and Vegeta not questioning it. An even better headcanon is that the scouter was never upside-down, Vegeta was just getting tired of Nappa's bullshit and just decided to send him into an ass-kicking anyways.

We're treated to a solid 15 seconds of Nappa getting completely curbstomped while the various characters look on in shock and awe, until Nappa gets dumped at Vegeta's feet.

It's also here that Vegeta finally learns that Piccolo's life is directly intertwined with the Dragon Balls. I believe this was already established in the original series, but no such conversation ever occurred here. Vegeta has quite simply lost his chance at immortality and it’s all because of Nappa.

I actually wonder how an immortal Saiyan would work. They receive a Zenkai boost, which makes them stronger when they almost die, but if you can't ever die, you can't ever “almost” die either, so you wouldn't get the Zenkai boost and your power wouldn't increase that way. Then again, most expectations of logic or consistency within Dragon Ball are pretty much always doomed.

Speaking of doomed, remember that timestamp at 9:18 that Vegeta referenced earlier? Because Vegeta certainly does, and with both the camel’s and Nappa's back having officially been broken, Nappa is sent to the shadow realm in a blinding flash of light and a massive explosion.

Vegeta's smirk is all we needed to close out this episode. There is no stinger.

Conclusion

Really good episode, actually. I wouldn't consider it as strong as Episode 7, but it definitely holds the same energy throughout. There are more high quality comedic moments in this episode than I could count on both hands. At worst some of the dialogue was uninteresting, pointless or overproduced, but the average pace of this episode rests rather highly compared to its valleys.

Microphone quality and sound mixing on some pieces of dialogue is still meh. Krillin's first line in this episode peaks the audio or something similar, because it takes me out for a hot second just because it's so sudden and emphatic.

We also see a slight evolution in the dynamic between Vegeta and Nappa which keeps things fresh. This is becoming less of a deadpan snarker and over the top clown, treads more into the ticking time bomb territory which is great for slowly building tension, and not unjustly as it has a satisfying payoff.

Plot holes in the original are addressed and lampooned here, creative jokes such as the Vogue Nappa and “1006″ are present and accounted for, and on the whole there's a lot of very on the mark humor, and only some of it is overdone. The story for this episode also holds significant weight and momentum, and it all blends together quite well with an above-average script and some great visual and audio edits.

Score: 77

Passing Thoughts

"Riiiiiicola!" - Oh hey, it's this again.

"Oh and I totally killed that guy. Oh well, at least we still had fun getting here, right Vegeta? Vegeta? Remember the bug planet? Vegeta? Vegeta? Vegeta? Vegeta? Vegeta? Vegeta? Vege-- AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!"

#slothcritic #DBZ #Dragon Ball Z Abridged #TFS #teamfourstar

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nobodysuspectsthebutterfly · 6 years

Note

Hi sweet butterfly! What do you have to say about the apparent Sansa & Alysanne parallels in Fire& Blood? Do you think its really wise to draw conclusions about Sansa's endgame from Alysanne? because that's what a lot of people seem to be doing now.

I really don’t think there’s a lot of Sansa and Alysanne parallels? And I say this as someone who has hoped for years that Sansa could become one day a great lady or queen in the feminine-power model of Good Queen Alysanne. But those are all hopes as to what Sansa could do in the future, not what she is now. As of right now…

Alysanne was the fifth child and second daughter of King Aenys Targaryen and Queen Alyssa Velaryon

Alysanne was kept under house arrest by Visenya when her uncle Maegor seized the throne after her father Aenys’s death, but escaped with her mother and brother Jaehaerys during the chaos after Visenya’s death

(Jaehaerys, the fourth child and third son, eventually became king after Maegor’s downfall and suicide)

Alysanne then married her two-years-older brother/king, who she loved dearly since childhood, at 13 (and a second wedding at 15, after which the marriage was consummated)

Alysanne was “a bright but unremarkable girl; small but never sickly, courteous, biddable, with a sweet smile and a pleasing voice.” The “bright” is a bit of an understatement – Septon Barth, himself a genius, considered her a genius and said she could have been a maester, and she herself spoke of a wish to be a maester had she not been a girl.

That’s… not really Sansa. I mean, I think my darling girl is much smarter than she’s made out to be (see @turtle-paced’s post), but I don’t think she’s a genius. She certainly has potential, and she learns by experience, which should greatly aid her in the future, but it’s not the same thing. And besides that… other than really basic connections (house arrest, escape during the death of a royal)… there’s not much else. Sansa, besides not being part of the royal family (betrothed is not the same) has also suffered far more greatly in her imprisonment and current status than Alysanne did. (Visenya never treated her captives badly, whereas Sansa was beaten and abused etc.) Frankly IMO at this point Sansa bears a touch more resemblance to Alysanne’s unfortunate older sister Rhaena (eldest daughter, betrothed/married the heir, forced marriage, hiding in disguise and all). But most importantly, a huge thing missing in any sense of parallels is the lack of a Svengali-like character in the Sons of the Dragon era – there’s no Littlefinger-parallel, with an obsession with Queen Alyssa, who manipulates her daughter to his own ends.

Furthermore, I think it’s ridiculous to assume that because of the small parallels that do exist that Sansa’s future will thus follow Alysanne’s entirely. GRRM doesn’t work that way, whether with real-world historical parallels or in-world historical parallels. It would be boring and uncreative if everything matched entirely and history repeated exactly. Further furthermore, *ship-snarking under the cut*

I find it fucking hilarious that this current promotion of Sansa=Alysanne comes from jonsas who want her to be Queen of Westeros to Jon’s Jaehaerys-parallel – but at the same time:

hate Targaryens and call them incestuous Aryan barbies who illegally enslaved Westeros

but Jon is Aegon Targaryen and thus Lawful Ruler of Westeros, that’s fine

(related: dragons are bad! nuclear weapons! nuclear winter! gosh we can’t wait for Jon to get the dragon he deserves far more than the bitch who was just given them)

also Jaehaerys and Alysanne were great Targaryens, so beloved, isn’t it wonderful how Jon and Sansa are just like them!

incest is bad mmkay? ugh how could Jon fuck his aunt ugh he must be manipulating her in secret

but yeah incest is fine when they’re really first cousins, that’s not even incest at all actually – oh, Jaehaerys and Alysanne were brother and sister? oh they were fine, sure, and Jon and Sansa are brother and sister, look at that perfect parallel!

it just makes me laugh and laugh and roll my eyes so hard at the incredible hypocrisy oh my god

Anyway. Ship-shaming aside (and I throw it with great force), IMO if there is any Alysanne parallel that will be developed more strongly in Sansa’s story… I think it’s possible that she will encounter the actual Aegon Targaryen… that is, the faked Aegon Targaryen, lol, and may be tempted to become his queen, to be a good queen like Alysanne. But I also think something will happen to mess up that plan (just like how there was no winner or final QoLaB of the Ashford Tourney) – whether Sansa figuring out that there’s something off about Aegon and the Golden Company, or someone else messing it up like Dunk messed up Ashford, or who knows what. And if Sansa does want to be another Alysanne, she’ll do it in the North – maybe starting by changing their resistance to ruling ladies, whether as a regent for her younger brother or ruler in name as well as deed – like Alysanne’s Laws improved the rights of women throughout Westeros. And everything else she may do thereafter.

Or, more likely, if there is any potential Jaehaerys and Alysanne parallels in Westeros as rulers (that is, not parallel in backstory, but in how they act as rulers and change Westeros for the better), it will be Jon and Dany. If they survive the War for the Dawn, that is my greatest wish for them, with Tyrion as their Septon Barth-parallel Hand.

I hope that helps!

#asoiaf #asoiaf speculation #asoiaf theories #sansa stark #alysanne targaryen #jon snow #jaehaerys i targaryen #daenerys targaryen #aegon vi targaryen #asoiaf parallels #fire and blood #fire and blood spoilers #anti jonsa #anonymous asks #sansa meta #i wish people would stop tainting characters and ideas i love with stupid shit #but no butterfly tell us what you really think

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ecoamerica · 2 months

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eternalsshipsandfics · 5 years

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In Cold Blood: Chapter 3

Summary: The illustrious Kuran family is thrown into disarray when the crown princess disappears under suspicious circumstances. Will she ever be found?

"Shouldn't we have heard from Yuuki by now?" Kaname asked his harried looking father. It had been a fair few days more than the family had expected to hear about Yuuki's safe arrival at the Shizuka estate. Haruka had cited a number of reasons as to why Yuuki may not have arrived yet, or why the letter had not made its way back to the Kuran estate, but even he had a worried edge in his expression.

"I'm sure she's fine, Kaname. She's a capable girl." He had every faith in Yuuki's ability to handle herself. Whilst she was still a young noble, she had proven herself many times, pulling herself out of any number of dangers when she was a child. However, she was even more of a target for rebel factions now that she was older and had more influence.

"She might be capable, father, but she's not invincible." Kaname retorted, addressing his father's internal worries. "Shouldn't we send someone out to check? It's been too long, and it's not like her to forget something like this."

"You're right." Yuuki could put across the image of an airheaded girl when it benefited her, but she was smarter than many gave her credit for. She knew that her family would worry if they didn't hear from her.

"There have been more hunter attacks lately." Rido's calm voice reached their ears. "And as you are aware, our young princess Yuuki is a prime target if they wish to strike at us."

"That's not the only answer." Haruka replied.

"If she was simply injured, we would have heard by now. If not from Yuuki herself, then from one of the servants." He could see the logic of his words sinking in for both Haruka and Kaname, despite the slightly doubtful look he was getting from the younger male. "I think the only conclusion we can reach is that the hunters have taken her."

"How can you be so calm about this, uncle?" Kaname challenged. There wasn't a hint of worry in Rido's voice, and it rubbed him the wrong way. They were supposed to be family.

"Believe me, I'm far from calm. However, I don't believe they will harm her. She's too valuable of a bargaining tool."

"Rido has a point. If she is in captivity. We can't be sure until we have confirmation."

"We need to get confirmation. Send someone out to find her!" Kaname demanded, a dangerous aura surrounding him. He resented his importance in the Kuran estate. If his presence wasn't necessary to the smooth running of the kingdom, he would have left to find Yuuki himself. No matter the potential danger.

"I'll have someone out tonight."

"Tonight? This is your daughter!" His anger and worry were building.

"Please, Kaname. If Rido is correct, she is not in danger yet. I don't think we'll need to worry until we hear something from her abductors." Haruka ran a harassed hand through messy hair. "This is as quickly as I can act, I'm afraid."

"And as you two have said, she is capable. I'm sure she can defend herself for a little while." Rido added, a hand coming up to cover his mouth in an almost thoughtful manner. "The hunters will certainly be punished for their crime."

"We should prepare ourselves for any outcome. Not just a hunter abduction."

"Oh, excuse me. You're quite right."

Kaname took in a deep breath, using a technique he had taught to Yuuki when she was small. He would send out his own men alongside those he was certain his father would send, for extra insurance.

As he left the elder Kuran's in the reception room, he barely registered the worried looking Yori who had overheard the whole exchange.

~Z~

Yuuki shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. The room had been silent for a couple of minutes as both men in front of her silently appraised her. She couldn't read anything in the leader's expressionless eyes, and it was leaving her feeling rather nervous. Just what would he do to her? Was he as savage as she had heard? Did she really have something to fear here?

She sucked in a breath as he finally spoke. His voice was calm and strong, eliciting the feeling of a tranquil lake in her.

"You're looking better."

"Uh…yes." That hadn't been what she expected. What did he want her to say to that?

"How are they treating you?" These were odd questions from a man who was supposed to be her enemy. She could handle the open hostility she had experienced at the hands of the hunter man who had brought her here, but she really didn't know how to respond to this subtle kindness. He was the hunter leader, so he couldn't really care about her wellbeing as a pureblood. Was he feeling her out?

"As well as can be expected." She responded in a guarded tone. The man standing menacingly by Kiryuu's side spoke frostily to his colleague.

"So what are we going to do with her?"

"We'll need to keep her here."

"If we can't give her back, why don't we just get rid of her?"

"And how do you propose we do that? If we harm her, we'll draw even harder retaliation from the vampires."

"This is a lose/ lose situation either way. Why use resources to keep her when we can just kill her?"

"Stop talking about her like she isn't even here!" Yuuki cut in. "I don't care how many hunters you send at me, I won't just let you kill me!"

"We're not going to hurt you." Kiryuu calmly stated. His companion scoffed.

"Yet."

"At all." Kiryuu gave the auburn haired male a stern look. "However, you must understand our situation."

"I won't tell them anything." Yuuki knew that this line was less than meaningless to the two hunters.

"Oh, that's fine then. I guess we should just let you go." She gave the second male a cold glare at his sarcastic response.

"Kaito. Control yourself. We'll discuss this in further detail later." He got another warning look from Kiryuu, before his leader turned to Yuuki. "You know that I can't trust your word. A lot of lives are at stake here."

Yuuki's mind flashed to Yui. As much as she didn't want to remain here, she understood his plight. She got the sense that he'd rather she wasn't here either, but she didn't feel a sense of danger from him like she sensed from the other older hunters.

He stood elegantly, exuding the strength of a tiger on the hunt. Her senses were suddenly on high alert as he approached her. Her sight fixed firmly on the untrustworthy brunet while she honed her focus on Kiryuu.

"You'll only need to worry about him if you try my patience." Yuuki was suddenly reminded that as courteous as this man appeared to be, he was still her enemy. He only needed a reason to put a bullet in her if he wanted to. "Come. I'll take you to your room."

"You make it sound like it'll be pleasant." She finally removed her gaze from the hunter named Kaito, reassured that he wouldn't attack her. At least not while the quietly threatening Kiryuu was around.

He was apparently done talking, just giving her a silent look as he held the door for her. She looked into his eyes for a second, taking in the strong and determined gaze. He had a neutral expression, but there was a cold fire shimmering beneath the calm exterior. She wondered what it would take to set that fire ablaze.

She obediently followed along behind him as they passed through a densely populated area of the colony. She could almost feel the distrust radiating off of the residents, the silence an unnatural accompaniment to the crowd. She was astonished by the variety of people around her. She had assumed that a hunter colony would be primarily made up of capable, strong hunters, but there were men and women of all ages. Some were clearly normal humans, their impartial aura separating them from the hunters.

"There are so many people here…" She muttered to herself. Yui's presence should have alerted her to the possibility. Hell, the fact that she had clearly woken up in a medical bay fit to hold many sick and injured bodies should have told her that.

"Where else would you vampires expect them to go?" His tone was accusatory. She started slightly.

"Are you saying that they're escaped slaves?"

"Not all, but plenty are." He cast her a cold glance over his shoulder. "You see why I can't just let you go?"

She did. A group of hunters was one thing, but slaves who even attempted an escape were treated cruelly before they were, perhaps, executed. The very public torture of these slaves was permitted as a message to others who may attempt the same thing. If she proved herself untrustworthy and brought an army of vampires down on these people, she would be subjecting them to a fate worse than death.

But then, what was he going to do with her? He couldn't just keep her locked up, as the one called Kaito had said.

She couldn't help but feel relieved as the angry glares fell from her body. Her mind kept telling her that she was now alone with quite possibly the most powerful hunter in the world, but she quelled the uneasy feelings that arose with the thought.

"Here we are." She was pulled from her thoughts by his quiet statement. At least there was a door, she thought. It'd feel a lot less like she was in a cell than if she had bars, as the Kuran dungeon had. Stepping around Kiryuu's firm body, she looked around the room that was to be her temporary home. It was small and held the bare minimum, but it didn't feel totally empty. There was a warmth to this room that she couldn't identify.

"Make yourself comfortable."

"Right." And then she was left alone, a soft click letting her know that she was locked in. She sat down on the bed, her thoughts wandering in a million directions at once. So, she was officially a prisoner now. Her captors had no idea what to do with her now that she was conscious and moving. And in that vein, were her companions also conscious and moving? Were they being afforded the same protection that she was? Were they in danger because they weren't important to the vampire sphere?

She didn't think so. While Kiryuu definitely didn't like vampires, he didn't come across as cruel. His first concern had been how she was, despite her very existence being an affront to him. She had seen minor slips in his mask as his ire shone through, however he also didn't appear to be the type to kill without reason. In short, he was the logical type.

Having sufficiently reassured herself of her companions' immediate safety, she let her mind shift to her family. Did they know that she hadn't reached her destination? Were they frantically looking for her? She could imagine Kaname losing his mind with worry. She wished she could let him know that she was alright. He had always been overprotective of his baby sister, often to his own detriment.

Another soft click reached her ears. The door slowly swung open, a small figure emerging from the doorway.

"Yui!" She stated in astonishment as the boy quickly shut the door behind him. He put a finger to his lips in the classic 'shh' motion.

"I'm not allowed to be in here." He whispered, coming closer to Yuuki.

"You shouldn't come if you'll be punished!" She admonished. "They're concerned for your safety, you know!"

Yui waved a hand dismissively. "You're not going to hurt me."

"That's not the point." She smiled softly. "But I am glad you came to see me."

"Yeah. It's hard work being surrounded by angry guys."

"You're not wrong." She giggled. She leant back, gazing at the ceiling. Yui hopped up beside her. A rhythmic rocking motion told her that he was kicking his legs merrily.

"Don't worry about Zero. He'll do the right thing!" He suddenly stated confidently.

"You seem certain of that."

"Yup. Zero seems scary, but he's really nice."

"I wouldn't go that far."

"You'll see!" He grinned a boyish grin at her. She hoped that he was right. A thought struck her, now that she was stuck here indefinitely…

"I want to hear what happened to you after I let you go."

Yui studied her face for a minute, before he settled himself flat on his stomach. Yuuki adjusted herself according to his position.

"Well, what happened was…"

~Z~

As Yui hurried into the woods, he was struck by just how dark it was, despite the searing sun up above. Everything seemed ten times larger now that he wasn't with the kind vampire anymore. Each tree glared down at him, branches blocking out the heat from the sun and reaching for him as he ran for freedom. Every screech in the abnormal darkness sent his heart pounding into his mouth; every scampering footstep leaving him convinced that the vampires had discovered that he was missing.

The feeling of anxiousness only rose as the trees thinned out, and the ominous trees were replaced by ominous buildings. He tightly gripped the pendant around his neck, hoping that what the female vampire had told him was the truth. He kept himself out of sight, his skills at thievery coming in handy. He didn't want anyone here giving information on his whereabouts to the vampires who would be set the task of returning him.

He could feel his heart rate calming. While most of those actively walking around the town were human, there were a few brave vampires who had also ventured outside. They would have noticed his obviously panicked aura by now. Keeping to the shadows, he searched out a secluded spot to rest for a while. His legs were beginning to burn and he was having to focus far too much on bringing his noisy breathing to an acceptable level.

He travelled through a few vampire towns over the following days, stealing just enough to survive and remain beyond the realm of discovery. He was feeling safer and safer as each day passed without incident. Maybe he had gotten away scot free?

With the growing sense of triumph, his confidence grew beyond his means. He was getting bolder in his actions, the risks that he'd be seen growing greater and greater. Finally, a few towns away from the one he had started in, his luck ran out.

As the sun reached its zenith in the sky, Yui decided to make a bold grab off of an apple cart that had trundled into town for the day. He had noticed that some particularly business oriented vampires would bring themselves out to work throughout the day to appeal to the humans wondering about carrying out arbitrary tasks for their masters.

The business vampire's attention apparently taken by an interested customer, Yui made his move. He darted forward and made a wide sweep to take as many apples as he could carry. He was quickly stopped by a powerful grip on his arm.

"I do hope you're intending to pay for that." The vampire glared down at him as he tried to free himself from his grip. His heart stopped as the vampire's glare changed into a cruel smirk. "Oh, you're a street urchin. No one will miss you then."

The humans milling around were nervously ignoring the struggling child in the vampires grasp, lest they brought punishment down upon themselves. Casting a warning glare to any other humans with the bright idea to take from his cart while he was gone, he began to drag the youngster away. Yui began to beg for help, knowing that he wouldn't receive any.

"That necklace can fetch a pretty penny." The vampire taunted. "This is my lucky day."

Having taken Yui to an isolated area where he would be left to his business, he yanked the boys head to the side, exposing his creamy white neck. He let out a panicked scream before the weight of the vampire was suddenly yanked away from him.

He scrambled back against the wall before he opened his eyes. He saw a second male he had not seen before pinning the vampire to the ground. He was holding something to his head.

"You like to prey on children, hmm?" The second male's grip tightened on the vampire's hair. "Unfortunately for you, that's something I can't forgive."

"Who are you? This is none of your business!" The vampire spat angrily as he squirmed.

"You were about to murder a child. This is my business. Don't worry, I'll make sure you never harm a child again."

"What are you-" The vampire's response was cut off by the sharp retort of the gun in his hand. The man's body slumped as the support under him crumbled to dust. He wiped his weapon before getting to his feet and turning to the prone Yui.

He flinched as the man approached, causing him to pause and bring himself down to the child's level. Yui was struck by how angelic the man looked, a soft expression on his face and the vibrant silver hair glinting like gunmetal in the light.

"It's alright. You're safe now."

Yui whimpered softly. He was struggling to hold back the frightened tears that had been threatening to spill since the start of the whole encounter.

"You can cry if you need to. I won't let anything scary happen to you." His voice was soothing, almost like a father talking to his child. Yui threw himself forward at his saviour, burying his face in his chest and letting the tears spill. He felt the safest he had in days as the man's arms enclosed him in a comforting embrace.

As he slowly began to calm down, he felt the man pull away from him. He tightened one little fists grip on the older male's shirt, keeping him close for a bit longer. He watched curiously as the other reached into his pocket, and then extended his hand towards him.

"You must be hungry. Here."

Yui carefully checked over the small packet that he had been handed. It wasn't like anything he had seen before, not that the vampires had had any obligation to feed him more than the necessary amount. He looked up to see a small smile playing across the other's features.

"It's not much, but it should keep you going." Realising that the younger didn't know what to do with the small packet, he gently took it back to prise it open for him.

"Thank you!" The boy sniffed inquisitively at the new food item in his hand, before he took a cautious bite. The new flavour took over his senses, almost drowning him in sugary sweetness. As he took another excited bite, he heard a soft laugh in front of him.

"You like that, huh?" The man took advantage of his newly secured freedom to stand. "I guess you parents aren't around here?"

"I don't have any…"

"I thought so. It's not safe for a human child to be wondering around a vampire town." Yui grabbed at the soft fabric of the man's coat as he turned, fearful that he would leave. After a quick sweep around the area, the man turned back to Yui, mindful of his small hand. "I have somewhere safe we can go, until you get back on your feet."

"Yes please!" Another small smile. An open hand was extended to the child, who eagerly took it.

"My name's Zero. What's yours?"

"Yui."

"It's good to meet you, Yui."

~Z~

"And I've been here ever since. He still sneaks me food if I didn't get enough to eat!"

Yuuki let go of her knees, which she had pulled up to her chin as she had listened to Yui's tale. She couldn't quite believe that the cold and calculating man she had visited was the same kind man who had dropped in to save a scared child. But then, she reminded herself, Yui is a human child.

"I'm sorry… I wish I could have done more to protect you."

"I get it. You would have been punished if you weren't around that night." He beamed up at her. "It's fine, because Zero was there when I needed him!"

She smiled. His affection for his saviour was simply adorable. Both jumped when the cell door was roughly thrown open. Yuuki had been so engrossed in Yui's story telling that she hadn't sensed anyone approaching.

"Yui! Get away from that vampire at once!" The tall male hunter roared.

"She's not as bad as you think she is!" He yelled back before obeying the older man's orders. He gave Yuuki a tentative wave, a gesture she appreciated a lot more than the hostile glare the hunter gave her before he locked her back in.

She sighed softly. They'd probably keep a closer eye on Yui now. She prepared herself to be alone for a while.

~Z~

The next few days all merged together in a tangled mess of boredom and frank idleness. Yuuki wished that there was at least a window for her to look out of, instead of being trapped with only the same four walls to fill her vision. She tried pacing in an effort to stave off her growing anxiety, but it didn't take long for her to feel ridiculous and stop.

She allowed her mind to wander once again to thoughts of her family. How were they doing? Were they looking for her right now? Did they still have hope of her return? She wasn't sure how long she had been left alone in this little room, but she was almost certain a decent amount of time had passed. Her thirst was awakening.

She focused her senses in order to determine how many humans were outside the door, considering knocking the door down and making an effort to escape, as inevitable as her death would be. It would at least be stimulating. She decided against it. Her brother would never forgive her if she put herself in danger.

~Z~

Yuuki traced the crevasses in the ceiling above her for what had to be the thousandth time. She was more and more willing to just fade away as the inactivity slowly drove her mad. She blinked as she heard an angry sounding voice approaching the door. Was someone actually coming to see her?

"I don't care what she is, we are not savages! Honestly, I'm away for five minutes and you forget to take basic care of her?"

There was a mumbled response before the door was flung open.

"No more excuses! Kuran, up, now!" She glanced up at the livid silver-haired man above her. His nose was wrinkled in response to the smell she was certain to be emitting by now. She slowly twisted herself around to stand.

She was surprised when a strong hand helped her to her feet. His grip didn't remain on her for long.

"Is this how you treat all your 'guests'?" She questioned, her voice cracked and strained from her lack of use. Kiryuu threw a glare at the guard standing in the doorway, who visibly shrank away from him.

"I thought they had more manners than this." He looked into her red tinged eyes, the disgust evident in his features. "She's starving. Fetch a blood pack."

The guard was thankful for the excuse to leave his angry leader. Yuuki returned his angry glare with one of her own.

"Come. I'll take you to get clean." He turned his back to her, expecting her to follow. She eagerly did, finally presented with a reason to leave the small room she had been confined to.

"Were you hoping I'd just turn to dust in there?" Yuuki heatedly bit out, keeping close to his powerful strides. She heard him sigh.

"As much as one less vampire in the world would be a good thing, it's not really in our interests to turn you to dust."

"So you would if I wasn't the princess?"

"You certainly wouldn't be here."

"You don't have to talk around it. Just say you'd have killed me!" Her frustration and hunger were boiling over. Kiryuu didn't answer her, instead bringing her to a stop in a secluded area in which a small stream flowed from a medium depth pond throughout the cavern. The water poured down from a small opening in the ceiling, cascading through the small cracks in a pretty pattern.

"Here?" She looked at him nervously. "But it's so open…"

"It's nothing I haven't seen before." Was he boasting to her?

"Well, you haven't seen anything on my body before! So uh… could you at least turn around?" She would have much preferred to bathe on her own, but she couldn't blame him for wanting to keep an eye on her after she had been abandoned in his absence.

"You sound confident of that."

"What?" Yuuki squeaked, before attempting to regain her composure. Losing her cool in front of this man probably wasn't a good idea. Especially while she was beginning to eye his rather delicious looking neck. Where was the man he had sent away to get blood? Did he know to come here? She assumed that he would know where Kiryuu would take her, but she didn't know how well she could trust such an assumption.

"I won't let him see you." He said, as if he had read her mind. He had a warning look on his face despite his seemingly friendly banter with her as her eyes wandered once again.

"So only you can see? Perv."

"There's nothing to see." He finally complied with her request, turning his back to her. He had apparently had enough of her nervously playing with the top of her dress. "This area is more isolated than it looks."

"That's good."

"Be a good girl and wash up. Then you can have…dinner."

Yuuki finally began to unbutton her dress, satisfied that Kiryuu wouldn't look. She chose to ignore the repulsed pause in his statement. "Will I be the only one who gets dinner?"

"Your friends are fine. Shinmei only forgot about you."

"I'm not that forgettable…" She muttered, slipping into the surprisingly warm pool. She sighed a little as the cleansing water enveloped her.

"I wouldn't risk forgetting you. Even a young pureblood is a dangerous pureblood."

"Well, aren't you quite the flatterer?" She replied bluntly. He refused to comment, instead casting his lilac gaze around the area like a loyal guard dog protecting its master. She let herself sink lower into the water, allowing it to cover half of her face. After the long days building up an awful layer of dirt, the water felt simply heavenly. Not even the continued presence of the watchful hunter could ruin this moment.

Though she didn't particularly know the man accompanying her, she could trust his survival instinct. She allowed her eyes to slide shut and her head to tilt back a little before she ducked her whole body under for a minute. When she had finished happily cleaning herself up, she was astonished to see a fresh set of clothes lying next to the pond.

"Where did you get these from? And when?" Yuuki was certain he hadn't been holding them when he had brought her here. They were actually quite nice. She had thought there would be the most basic, hideous clothes to change into, just behind the expectation of having no clothes to change into at all.

"That's a secret." He replied unhelpfully.

"Well, thank you."

He glanced over his shoulder into her garnet eyes. "You're ready to go?"

She merely nodded in response, now eager to get the blood that had been promised. Yuuki almost led the way back. Kiryuu spoke, apparently in response to her desperate thirst.

"I'll make sure you're properly taken care of in future."

"That's fine. If you forget me again, you'll just have to give me your blood."

"Don't push your luck."

~Z~

After the hunter's apparent mishap, Yuuki was being personally taken care of by Kiryuu himself. He would come by each day, taking her to bathe and providing her with more stimulating conversations than a one woman room could provide. Whilst she was aware that he was probing her as much as keeping an eye on her, she was grateful for the company.

Yui had either disappeared, or he was being deliberately kept away from her. She restrained herself from asking about him in case it put him in further trouble with his elders.

Eventually, Kiryuu decided that she had earnt herself some extra stimuli. He began to provide her with books and games to keep her quiet, as she had begun to not-so-subtly hint that her enclosure was mind numbingly dull.

When she switched her complaints to the games, and how they were no fun alone, she even got him to play with her once or twice. He never went too far in the friendliness factor, but she had begun to enjoy his company anyway.

She wondered if this was part of his duty. To find out as much as he could from her in order to effectively decipher what was to be done with her. Or whether he could attack. She frequently pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind. There was no use worrying about it. Her father and the others could handle any incoming threats.

"And with that, I am once again the victor!" Yuuki placed her piece triumphantly on the board. Kiryuu scoffed.

"I won't let you win again."

"You're losing to vampire girls now? You've gone soft." A new voice made Yuuki glare lightly. The hunter he had called Kaito was standing in the doorway.

"You have to give them a victory now and then."

"I beat you fair and square!" She caught an irritated look from the newcomer, as though he had expected her to stay quiet. She returned it confidently.

"You have to beat their confidence down, not build it up."

"Vampires or girls?"

"At least Zero can get a girl with confidence." She clapped her hand over her mouth. What was she doing, bantering with these hunters as though they were friends? Kaito apparently agreed with her thought, giving her an icy look.

"On a first name basis, are you? You really have gotten soft." Yuuki silently chided herself. She hadn't even realised that she had called Kiryuu by his first name.

"Stop it, Kaito." Kiryuu stood, casting Yuuki into shadow as his body blocked the flickering flame behind him. She was surprised that he hadn't rebuffed her for her casual use of his name. He spoke to her next.

"You'd better prepare yourself for some hard labour tomorrow. Earn your keep."

Earn her keep? She wasn't here for fun, despite his efforts to make her stay more enjoyable. The look she gave Kiryuu told him everything he needed to know.

"Don't you want to leave this room?"

"I do." She considered the odds of being able to come back into contact with Yui. The child had put all his faith into her, and she had felt a little better when he had come to reassure her in her first few hours. She decided that it was worth it to see him again. "Alright, I'll do whatever you want me to."

#vampire knight #zeki #eternal zeki #radiant zeki #fanfiction #archive #repost

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ayafoxheart · 5 years

Text

The Close of Merchant Marine

An old RP Post that has never made it to Tumblr. This was my concluding RP post at the end of Verad's ( @dubiousduskwight ) Merchant Marine storyline. (Original Post)

Background: 'Ace', is a Limsan Information Broker and Underworld figure, who aided Aya during the Merchant, Marine plot. He's a childhood friend of Aya's during her brief time in Limsa Lominsa as a refugee. (here and here) This post is he and Aya discussing the events of the plot, and their conclusion.

"Ah, good, you made it."

Aya smiled to her old friend, 'Ace' as he's now known. She'd approached him from the right, his good side. The recognizable smile put her at ease.

For him, the hooded woman was still a welcome sight. Though, ostensibly, she obscured herself behind a cloak, she had a manner of revealing nearly everything else in her effort to avoid recognition. The short skirt, the thigh-high, sharply heeled boots that emphasized shapely legs. The open bodice that invited and tempted, rather than deflected attention. For those who knew her it was impossible to not recognize her - and maybe that was the point.

"Of course," she answered with a breathy softness. The Ishgardian accent upon her tongue still struck him with strangeness. When they had been friends in childhood it was an altogether different accent that graced her voice. It still took some getting used to.

"I couldn't disappoint an old friend could I?"

He let out an amused breath of his own, a smile curling upon the good half of his face despite his best efforts to restrain his emotion. "I didn't imagine you would."

She stepped up to the railing, stopping beside him before turning her eyes toward the inky blackness of the sea. Gentle swells lapped against the pillars of white stone that stood firm against the battering sea.

She casually dipped slender fingers fingers into her open bodice. Nowhere could provide surer keeping for a valuable gift: out she drew a small, thin rectangular tin several ilms across and in one smooth gesture offered it to him.

He furrowed his brow, his one good eye focused on the unexpected, though familiar item as she held it his way. "Go on." She added, a pleased smirk drawing across her carmined lips.

With a moment’s more hesitation he reached for the proffered gift, handling it for examination. It took a moment, but the smile of recognition that he offered was exactly what she'd hoped to see.

"Well, this is certainly a fine 'thank you', isn't it?" He grinned admiringly, clicking the tin open with his fingers. Deft fingers he drew out the paper-wrapped cylinder and quickly flicked it below his nostrils, breathing in deeply the fragrance of the smokeweed.

"The finest available. And your favorite - if I am right." She tossed her hair, and turned her brilliant grin out to sea as if to obscure her self-satisfaction.

"The Emperor himself has no finer smoke." Purred the Miqo'te with delight. With the cigarette squeezed between two fingers he offered the smoke back to Aya, "I'll share, you know."

She demurred with a gentle rise of her hand, "I have my own vices, mon ami. This one's for you."

He laughed, sliding the tin into a coat pocket before fishing out his auto-lighter. "Where'd you get ‘em?" He asked, with his lips pressed together.

"Escrow and Sons. I thought to save them for just such an occasion." Her grin, still directed out to the sea, grew ever brighter.

"Mighty fine, mighty fine." He replied with some admiration, before lighting the smoke and drawing in. "One hell of a 'thank you'," he repeated himself with immense gratification.

She chuckled lightly, keeping her enigmatic gaze upon the sea. She had a way of projecting contemplation - an expression that belied the shallow and careless persona she normally adopted.

He took in another breath, letting it out with a sigh of fulfillment.

"What do you think?" She finally asked in a soft tone.

"Think?" He eschewed, glancing her way before lowering himself down, elbows resting on the railing against which they stood. "Think about what?"

"All of this." She answered softly, he had known exactly what she meant, but her lack of specificity still irked him. "All that's happened these past few weeks. Everything since Leeds."

He nodded, idly flicking the ashes off the end of the precious cigarette -- the amber glow disappearing into the brine below. "Ah. That."

There was a pause while he enjoyed a few more draws upon the cigarette. No sound intruded upon them except the lulling sea and the muted preparations of a Maelstrom vessel docked nearby.

"Not much." He finally answered, lips wrapped around the smoke. "Not much at all, I think. The entire thing could have been scripted."

"Scripted?" She turned her gaze toward him. His good eye met hers as he offered an almost imperceptible nod. "Aye. You know pirates: short-sighted, only after their next share of loot, and hatin' to let anyone else tell ‘em what to do. They don’t like authority, never have. The Maelstrom's only pirates in better uniforms." He pulled the smoke away from his lips, turning his eyes out toward the readying ship.

"Those mutineers are no different than the rest, really. Don't like being told what to do, and filled with nostalgia for sea’s full of pillage."

"Nostalgia?" She asked with a hint of confusion - though she'd recognized the sentiment in her very first contact with the Gloam-bound privateers, she'd never heard it upon another's lips.

"Aye. They remember how they thought it was when they were young. Or have been told." He waved his free hand out toward the ocean, "Before all of this. When the sea seemed free, at least to them who didn't know better."

He grimaced, a bit, "O' course it was ne'er like that. They just don't know any better. Thought they could ha'e it all again. That they could find somewhere they'd never have to listen to anyone else’s orders again."

She nodded, "I suppose you're right... They'd rather face their problems their own way. On one hand, they want to escape those who feel they can tell them what to do, on the other hand they're running from responsibilities to anyone other than themselves. They're just looking for a place to call their own, to live life as they wish. But that's never as easy as it sounds."

He offered her a side-long glance, "O' course, you know, 'venturers are the same as pirates, right? They tend to chase a different booty, that's all. They also don't see the day after tomorrow, and can't stand it when someone tell's 'em what they've got to do."

She listened. She knew better than to disagree.

"So, you put all these sorts together. Pirates seekin' booty or freedom. Adventure's all the same. And a’ hungry Empire with its own to gain. And what do you get?" He gestured with his hand, "Lots o' mates tellin' each other how they got to do it. And naught of 'em listenin'. The strongest and cleverest win, at least temporarily. And 'ere we are again. Its the Limsan way, ever been so." He nodded with some satisfaction. "Like one of those show-plays I hear you did, aye?"

He turned that good eye back upon her as she listened, "So you don't think it could have gone any other way?"

"Oh, it could have gone many ways. But it'd only have been a difference o' degrees. Nothin's really changed. All a bunch of noise and ruckus makin' for no end. Maybe it'd have been worse to have a Garlean island out there, but it'd be a problem for the Maelstrom more than us."

"About the Maelstrom, what about all the trouble they had? The riots, the court martials and all? You don't think any of that's going to matter?" She asked, eyes fixed on the preparing ship.

"Well. The Maelstrom: they were just a bunch of pirates. They're still just a bunch of pirates. All that's different is they're smarter than they used to be: they decide things by figurin' out who'd win the fight, rather than actually killin' each other. Saves a lot of wasted effort and ships and makes the Admiral look like a genius."

He waved his hand, "And, yeah, tension with the Foreign Levy, right? But here's the thing: they never really did trust the Foreign Levy. Always a thorn in their side, just a necessary thorn. I don't think that's changin'. They're willin' to shame one of their own to keep the Levy happy, but that's about as far as they'll go."

"What about Captain Hellfist and the other Privateers?"

"I don't know, really. She's just another dead pirate. I mean, what do you want? You tell someone pirate's get into trouble, and the Syndicate's wicked, and they're already gonna know exactly what you mean. One kill’s the other and how's this been any different?" He let out a dark laugh, "Hell, if the Captain had known what was going to happen she'd probably have done the same damn thing. Pirates are proud like that. And as long as the Maelstrom can keep them in line, nothin' changes. So far, so good. Probably all the better for Limsa, in the end. We've got more than enough problems as is."

"How did you know about the Syndicate’s involvement?" She asked with surprise.

He laughed, "You don't give me much credit, do you? Not like its hard to figure out. Just think about the circumstance, its obvious whose interest it was in. That pirate boy S'imba had nothin' to gain by killin’ ‘er, really. And as we seen, he's no ally of the Maelstrom. If anythin' I wager he was on Hellfist's side. I'd have liked to seen the looks on his eyes when they accused 'im of killin' her!"

She focused on him with narrowed eyes. He'd peeled the onion with surprising deftness. She thought about delving further, but instead shifted the question again, "And what about Gloam?" she asked.

"What about it?" He repeated. "Its a pirate haven. There been dozens of them before. The Maelstrom put an end to most, turned 'em into bases for their own operations when they brought the pirates to heel. This one's just a place out of time. And it'll end jes' the same."

"Yeah? How's that?" She asked, unsure of exactly what he meant.

"They'll draw attention. Bringing in even more pirates who don't like bein' told what to do. But, in the end, there's only one way to settle things: the strongest get their way. They'll fight, with each other, with others. Power will shift one way then another. Finally, they'll piss someone off too much, be it Maelstrom or Garlemald, and they'll be snuffed out 'afore anyone even knows what's happenin'."

"You think they're doomed?" She asked; he felt a pang of sympathy in her blue-eyed gaze.

"What can I say? They don't have many options do they? Survive raidin' eastern independents? Even then the Empire will get tired of it eventually. Can't raid Eorzean vessels, can't raid Garlean without invitin' another expedition. The Empire, o'course, learns its lessons well. This time there won't be any question o' the result."

She nodded, letting out a breath, perhaps he was right. "Even if they don't, I wonder what we've really gained in Gloam..."

"Good question. Places like that aren't really as nice as they sound at first. They're only as nice as the strongest gun-arm lets them be. That's the way with pirates, always been. All those idealistic paeans you 'eard were just that. They can't survive in reality. They talk about 'freedom' as if they could find any such thing out there. Squeezed between the Maelstrom and the Empire, with no one but the biggest guns to decide what's right. That's no freedom, not really."

She sighed with sad admission, "I know you're right about that... " She'd never really liked pirates. She could respect many of their desires, their valor, and bravery. But at the end of the day, they were people who survived through pure violence. Violence against each other, and violence to prey upon those weaker than them. Its why she'd chosen not to live among them.

"The damned thing is that they've already forgotten the lessons Limsa Lominsa learned the hard way." He added with the flick of the diminishing cigarette, "The Maelstrom didn't come out of nowhere. Its an adaption to changing times. The old ways are dead for a reason, and there ain't no revivin' 'em. A bunch of besotted pirates can't fight against reality, can't fight and win, at least."

She sighed, hanging her head momentarily. "I know... I'd always wondered what their end game was. I was sure they'd never give up their Garlean protection, where can they go now? It is hopeless isn't it..."

He nodded. Its obvious she'd cared about the cause - or, perhaps, not so much the cause, as those who had fought for it. "That's just the damned thing isn't it. To 'ave any real sense of freedom, they'd have had to give it all up. Lose-lose. Better to die trying, which I guess is what ol' Slaeglac did in the end. Just went better than he'd expected." He bit his good lip for a moment while looking for a way to change her depressed tone, "Still, it was somethin' at least to beat a Garlean squadron. They'll be lickin' their wounds for a while."

"Of course..." She nodded very slightly, lowering her gaze. "The trouble is that it means the Empire won't underestimate the Maelstrom next time."

"O' course," he nodded in agreement. "That's truth, and I'm sure you know what it means." She nodded in agreement before he continued, "We've given away the element of surprise in exchange for respite, for a near-worthless little island. Not perhaps the best play for the Maelstrom"

"Its not worthless to those there, at least..." she countered, thinking of the Osric, Leanne, and others who'd rallied to the cause of those on the island. "And in the end, they did stand up to the Empire."

"Truth again. And in full honesty, it ain't exactly worthless, except when lookin' at it from the Admiral's perspective. Someone out there's makin' a pretty penny off it, no doubt. Its gonna be a growin' concern for some time. And whoever's makin' the pennies is a clever one, I'd wager. He's not puttin' many back into it."

He nodded to himself, "There's your real winner, if you were lookin' for one."

She just watched the sea. "No doubt..." she stated in a distant, soft voice, while her mind wandered to Edda and her father.

"O' course there are other winners. In Limsa, no one's goin' to remember a riot a week later. But, reputations 'ave a way of stickin'. And more than a few 'ave been made and lost 'ere. Slaeglac's name is near legend, can't say how long that will last, but that's a man who won't have to pay for his own rum for a while. Seems there are a few other Officers who've earned themselves promotion too. That Holkstymm, for example. Word is he's gonna found some new Maelstrom judicial branch, or somethin'. I don't know if I care for that, pirates is still pirates in the end."

"And, a few others have lost theirs, I doubt its necessary for me ta mention the names, but they're out there on the streets."

She knew just who he meant. Her thoughts wandered to Anstarra, Yheli, and others. For some it wasn't so much that they'd lose their standing with the Maelstrom, as the Maelstrom had lost its standing with them. Zanzan, Khunbish - and no doubt more who would never look upon their membership in the Levy quite the same way, if they did not resign it completely.

"Those are the sorts of things that stick with us - effect the future in ways no one can know yet. That'll wind up mattering more than Gloam, I'm sure."

She looked at him, curious, if unconvinced.

"And, o' course..." he turned to her, a direct gaze she couldn't help but return, "There are a couple of sailors alive who wouldn't have been otherwise. That's somethin', aye?"

A smile played over her lips, she could see the old friend she remembered - in there somewhere beneath that cynical crust of an exterior.

"It is..." she readily agreed, thankful to think of something more positive.

"Savin' those that didn't have to die. That's something to take home with you and put in your pipe for a good smoke." He turned back to the sea, nodding. "Maybe it'll mean even more someday. Depends what the lads do now, I wager."

"We can hope."

"Aye... if hope's worth having'." He seemed unconvinced, and paused for a moment as he enjoyed the quickly dwindling cigarette.

"That reminds me, there's also a certain Miqo'te privateer that made fool of himself several times over. He and that mate of his, 'Troublemaker', 'Problemsolver', whatever it is." He flicked his eyes toward her with a hint of accusation, as if he knew of her friendship with S'imba and Osric, and her time on the Sultana's Revenge.

She turned her eyes back toward him. "That's somethin' likely to stick for a while too. More bad, than good, for him I'd wager."

"Speakin' o' the 'Revenge'," he started, "I heard a strange rumor. The crew's sayin' they had some sort of blonde goddess aboard out at Gloam." He offered a brief glance her way, as he knocked the ash off his nearly finished smoke. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

She turned to him, lips slightly parted as she avoided a straight answer. He flicked the bud of his cigarette into the briny deep.

"That's what I thought." He stated with a laugh while pushing back from the railing. Turning to walk away he waved an empty hand back to her, "I'd stay far away from Gloam if I were you. There aren't enough real goddesses to go around, as is."

She sighed. That was that then...

#Aya #Aya Foxheart #Writing #rp #merchant marine #ffxiv #balmung

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a-pitifulchild · 5 years

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Thirty years ago

A/n: so it's just a little. Thing explaining how did professor Hidgens got to the conclusion that the world will become a musical. I made him have a twin because i wanted too. Enjoy.

~1988~

Professor Hidgens sat in his office. As he sat there, he stared at the wall, thinking of this new theory he had. That the world would become a musical. He wanted to share this with someone, but he knew no one would believe him. He kept trying to think of a way this would happen - crazy actor inventing the technology such a think would take? dead musical starts rising from their graves? Demons? Aliens invading minds? So many ways, yet so little sense. After a week of debating on the subject, he came to the conclusion this would happen in 30 years from that exact day. He wrote in his journal the reminder. According to his calculations, he'll need 27 years to stock up on all the bear assencials - food, water, music records, booz.

A knock on the door cut off his train of thoughts. “Henry!” A 25 year old girl smiled at him. She had the same blue eyes he had, and same black hair as well. “Hope” he noded at her. He loved his twin, he really did, but sometimes she showed up at the worst moments. “I got you something!” She smiled at him, ignoring his cold tone. “And that'll be…” he asked, getting up. “These!” She said, exited, waving with two pices of paper in her hands. “it's two tickets to “Into The Woods”! The touring production is coming to the Starlight theater! I would love to come with you, but if want to give the second ticket to someone else--” the excitement in her voice seemed to annoyed her twin brother, as he cut her off. “Hope, please. My musical theater days are over. You should go with, uh, what’s-her-face, that friend of yours? Carrie? Marry?-” “Henry!” she called, and he stopped talking. “What?” he asked. “I want to go with you. The fact you are a professor doesn't mean you can't like musicals. It's your true passion, Henry, and i'm not going to sit and watch you force yourself out of this. So you're coming with me, okay?” She said, annoyed. Her twin was a stubborn, but he had common sense, he knew that she is not going to give up until he said yes, and he wanted her out of hia office so he can keep theorising the world becoming a musical. “Fine, i'll go with you” he sighed, and she smiled, satisfied. “Now can you please leave?” He asked.

She looked at him, kind of hurt and mostly shocked. “Henry Hidgens! I don't understand you. I'm your twin, who just got you tickets to what used to be your favorite musical, up until last week! You haven't touched your piano, you haven't sang-” she said, stopping herself once she realised she just raised her voice on him over what seemed to bother no one else but her. He looked at her, clearly upset. “I'm fine, Hope. Ok? Just trying to be series and get my shit together instead of chasing an unreachable goal-” “is that even a word, Henry?” “It is” he replied, “i'm not you, and you're not me, so stop pretending being my twin means you can understand me”. His words stung her worse then a bee. “Look, Henry, i’m not forcing you to do anything. It's just that… recently you've been… distant. I’m just wondering if everything’s okay” she said. He gave her a small smile. “It's ok-” “no it's not, Henry. I can tell. Please tell me what's going on” she begged him, and he sighed. He knew she might believe him, she is the only person who will.

“Ok, fine, if you insist” he said, and grabbed the pages from his desk. He flipped through them as he spoke, trying to find a blank one. “Well, last week i had a thought. What if the world will become a musical?” He said. She looked at him strangely. “I know, I sound crazy but let me explain. You see, everyone thinks the apocalypse will be scary, but it makes so much more sense for it to be something we won't find scary, that way it can infect us all much quicker and no one will suspect it! You see, the universe is smarter than killing us all using what we already saw in movies”. He finally noticed a blank page and grabbed a pen. “See, this is our world” he said, drawing a circle. “Ok..” she said, confused. “Now, the end of the world is going to come, eventually” he said, “i think it's not going to explode. A zombie apocalypse is more likely! The universe needs planet earth, it's a part of it's balance” he added as he drew more and more circles Hope assumed were the other planets. He poked a hole on the middle, where the “earth” was, and ripped the paper easily. “You understand?” He asked, looking at Hope as he made the ripped paper into a ball and threw it behind his shoulder. She nodded slowly, even more concerned for her brother. “Well, we won't be surprised by a Zombie apocalypse. People are more prepared to that, which means it won't destroy the human race. If the end will come with something unpleasant, we will fight it. So it has to be something who no one sees as evil, as a threat to the human kind! No one will suspect something innocent. So i say - a musical. No one hates musicals, therefore no one will be scared by the sudden singing and dancing, in fact they will want to join in! Heck, i would want to join in!” he said. “I don't understand what is so bad about it? Don't you remember that song you wrote, 'if my life was a musical’? It sounds like a dreamy situation!” Hope said, confused, trying to go along with the craziness of her beloved twin. “Think about the implications, Hope! Think!” He screamed, grabbing her shoulders.she stared at him, kind of scared. “Henry, love, are you sure you are okay?” She asked. “Yes, yes. Sorry, i got carried away” he mumbled, giving her a tap on the shoulder and went back to his chair. “Well, Henry, i'll see you tonight at the Starlight theater. Eight o'clock, be there!” She smiled. “Eight o'clock can't come soon enough” she added on her way out. His eyes wandered to his computer. “Working boys: a new musical”. Well, he had a musical to write, tests to check and an apocalypse to prepare to, so he better get going.

Masterlist

#tgwdlm #the guy who didn't like musicals #professor Hidgens #henry hidgens #robert manion

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thereallyrealironman · 6 years

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On the three selves and worth of flow.

Ok, first of, imma DUMB teenager with a lean towards pseudoscientific Babel and general edginess so don't take all that follows as fact. it is probably wrong and I will probably revise my beliefs many times before I'm really happy with it. anyways, if y'all REALLY wanna read this shit then here it is

Ok first question, what makes someone a person. From my experience we can divide personhood/the self into two obvious and quantitatively different parts, the thinking self and the bodily self.

The thinking self is what produces thoughts and feelings, basically everything that can't directly interact with the physical world is part of the thinking self. Now, let's show the qualities of the thinking self and draw some conclusions:

1. The thinking self is inherently isolating.

This is because your thoughts can NEVER interact with the material world or other people without a medium. It can't interact with anything but itself.

2. The thinking self is omnipotent.

If you don't count Interacting with the material world then the thinking self can do whatever it likes however it likes, this power is the source of all joy in a persons Life (disclaimer: don't confuse joy with other things like meaning and exstasy, all good feelings are not joy and all joy is not always s good feeling). There is one exception I will talk of later.

Conclusion: The thinking self feels meaningless and inherently joyous.

Because the thinking self works with absolute power, absolute freedom of consequences and has no way of interacting with the bodily self all action of the thinking self often feel and always are worthless. (Note this is the fatal flaw of nihilists, they come to the conclusion that no meaning can exist because they can't find any logical meaning, the thing they ignore is that they look for meaning through an inherently meaningless and one sided lens i.e the thinking self totally ignoring the bodily self). I have already explained how it is inherently joyous under point 2.

Now let's do the same for the bodily self:

1. The bodily self is in essence constantly oppressed.

The bodily self contrary to the thinking self works under a strict set of rules that limit it, for example gravity, age, muscle and the fact that we can't change our bodies and surroundings easily and even if we do it is a shallow difference and hard to do. This leads to most of the sadness in life(disclaimer: sadness is not the only negative emotion and not all bas emotions are sad).

2. The bodily self is inherently social.

The bodily self is in a world where it always is in contact with things that are not it, everything from walls to air to clothes to other people, even if the bodily self was interacting with nothing then that nothing would be something other than your body. This lets us look at our bodies in relation to other things instead of just on it's own (phenomenology). This leads to us always having a way better knowledge of our bodies than our minds.

3. The bodily self can interact with the mind.

How the bodily self does this I will talk about later.

Conclusion: the bodily self is inherently meaningful and inherently sad.

Because the body has things to interact with other than itself, real effects and real winnings(like food or a good strength) the body has to have true meaning behind everything it does. Because everything it does is an effort and everything it does has an effect the bodily self won't do things it doesn't need to do. I have already explained why the bodily self is inherently sad in point one.

Now what I have (maybe its probably wrong) proven here is that

a: the body and mind are quantitatively different.

b: both are inherently bad and good in different ways.

C: you need both in life to be happy and complete

D: as they are quantitatively different and can't interact it is inefective and impossible to REALLY have both if we don't find something more that connects these two.

Now, can we find something else? If you are really smart(smarter than me) then you already have noticed that we can, how? Well by looking at the flaws, for example if the tho selves are quantitatively different then why do they have a similarity namely flow? There are two logical explanations,

a: the theory is absolutely wrong and I'm dumb or

b: there is a third hidden self I have not talked of yet.

I choose to go with option b. Now you are probably wondering what flow is, my definition of flow is pretty hard to put into words so I will just describe it, flow is the feeling you get when you are writing a paper on something you are REALLY exited about and know alot of, flow is the feeling you get when you've been doing a repetitive Physicsl activity for a long while and start to feel like it's not even you for example running, flow is when you feel like someone or something else is working through you, hopefully everyone that reads this can relate.

This third self we will call the ecstatic self.

Its first strange property is that it is a link between the two selves, the second strange property is that it is the only force that can control the thinking self in its own turf. Let's give an example to illustrate these two things, if you are told a very convincing argument then that argument exists only in the material world however, the ecstatic self picks it up and influences the thinking self into believing it, after the thinking self has been influenced (in this case very severely) it is impossible to go back to how it was before as it feels pathologicaly false(this is also why it is so hard to change opinions, changing your opinion is basically the ecstatic self opressing the thinking self which leads to sadnesse).

I guess the ecstatic self can be seen as the subconscious part of you, you can barely perceive it and it works on input from the bodily self and material world and then executes this input over the thinking self when you think. Now, how to come closer to the other two selves is pretty obvious (thinking to come closer to the thinking self and interacting with the world and your body for the bodily self) but to come closer to the ecstatic self or flow is much harder, if you ask me then the three best ways to come closer to the ecstatic self/reach ecstasy is through 1. Sex and 2. Dancing or moshing on drugs(ecstasy works best in my experience). This is because these two circumstances are when we are the furthest removed from the two other selves and it is then we feel the subconscious work through us the most.

Well why would we want to do this? I think we would want this for two reasons, the first one is to simply know oneself through separating your third self, if you know yourself then you will be more able to utilize that to better yourself. The second reason is to look at the world around you, as the ecstatic self is made up of the subconscious and the subconscious is made up of what we perceive in the material world, the ecstatic self will represent a mirroring of how our own world works and Nd the otherwise hidden systems in it .

Ok that s all, I'm not done with the theory so it's a work in progress. If you have anything to add or critique the please do. Thanks for listening to my insomnia fueled crackpot theory written at four am in the morning.

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snkpolls · 6 years

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SnK Chapter 100 Poll Results

The chapter 100 poll closed with 1,915 responses. When we compiled the write in comments, they filled a 65 page word document. Since we can only share a fraction of those, we are linking to the document so it can be viewed in entirety.

Thank you to everyone who participated.

RATE THE CHAPTER 1,869 Responses

Close to 60% of the fandom gave this chapter the highest mark possible while those disapproving were negligible. Still, those selecting “5” on this highly anticipated chapter were down more than 10% from last month.

Can I have my white-and-black morality back, Isayama? Please?

this manga has successfully crushed my moral beliefs into rubble and I don't know how to feel about it

I hadn't felt dead inside like this after reading a chapter since chapter 84.

I really like the interaction with Eren and Reiner. Reiner’s breakdown felt so real and honest and Isayama really conveyed that he was suffering .

I'm disappointed, I expected great things of this chapter. Isayama really tends to unnecessarily lenghten scenes that don't need to be. You'd think he would've learned about pacing by now. I guess the real shit will go down next chapter... hopefully.

If feels as though we're finally getting somewhere but I'm not sure I like where we're getting

It definitely lives up to the large expectations from being the 100th chapter

It is clear to me that this chapter was meant to tease us with the very beginning of the fight that is to come and it's quite sad that a part of the fandom fails to see that. We were purposefully given too few information or images to make conclusions of. Any possibility (almost everything included in this poll) seems likely at this point.

It was so close for another Marcel Flashback but mystery still endures. Dissapointent!

One hell of a milestone chapter. Isayama truly delivered.

the anime better knock this one out of the park in 2000 years lmao

January pls

WHAT WAS THE MOST POWERFUL PART OF THE CHAPTER? 1,880 Responses

For the most powerful moment, “Eren’s titan transformation” takes a quarter of the vote, followed by “All of the above.” Reiner begging for Eren to kill him and “Attack on Willy“ round out the top four.

"Did I say that? Please, forget I said that."

after watching the same scenarios over and over, i'd say to finally see someone taking responsibilities of their actions: magath and will being conscious of the fact they are getting their hands dirty

Eren and his Freakish Toes

Eren's glare just before he transformed. And his flowing hair, are you sure he's not modelling for L'Oreal right now?!

For me, it was Eren's expressions throughout the chapter. Especially when he reacted to Willy's words.

Reiner. GET IT TOGETHER. Not the time, not the place, not the person you should be begging. But if you kept Falco alive and will fight for your fellow Eldians in the ghetto next chapter we're good.

ok but is there sour cream in marley?

WHAT WAS THE MOST INTERESTING NEW INFORMATION 1,866 Responses

The walls being named for Ymir Fritz’s daughters and Willy knowingly being set up as a martyr were nearly tied for “most interesting new information”. And you people are honestly freaks because Duck Shaped Potties came in third.

ISAYAMA DELIVERED ON THE BODY HORROR THIS CHAPTER. WHAT PART GROSSED YOU OUT THE MOST? 1,870 Responses

Carrot toes win by a landslide--and also made for the best write-in comments!

Dem Toes Be FREAKY

Don't regrow limbs anymore, please

Eren's foot regenerating is more gross than all the deaths in Attack on Titan I've ever seen. I hope he never does that again tbh.

Thank you for mentioning my "little baby carrots"

Everyone's complaining about the body horror, but I'm upset that Isayama held back on having Eren regenerate his left eyeball. Might've looked similar to Reiner when his head blew off, except with beautiful, long flowing hair.

the foot flower just (shudders).

as I try to gather my overwhelming amount of thoughts on this boy, and despite those gnarly baby toe sprouts close to ready for harvest, I will glorify those chiseled calves of a god.

THANKS MOM I CAN'T EAT BABY CARROTS EVER AGAIN

ON A SCALE OF “YOU CAN STAY RIGHT THERE CRYING ON THE FLOOR” TO “I WILL HOLD YOU AND NEVER EVER LET YOU GO,” HOW BADLY DO YOU WANT TO HUG REINER AFTER THIS CHAPTER? 1,880 Responses

When I compare this to the chapter 93 poll where 21% had little to no sympathy for Reiner, 18% were non-committal, and the remaining 60% felt strongly about him, it appears that seven months later those numbers have remained constant. People either like Reiner or they don’t, and no amount of effort on Isayama’s (or the poll co-creator's) part is going to change that.

I would steal all the stars in the sky so that Reiner can be happy I sWeAr

Never flipped opinion on a character faster than when we started seeing Reiner in Marley

Still finding it hard to care what happens to any of these characters. Apart from Reiner. He needs a hug, a strong drink and a long vacation.

I feel sorry for Reiner but I kinda got desensitized after watching him suffer so many times. He almost beats Levi in the worst life ever competition. I feel exhausted just thinking his life and suffering will continue... I can barely feel any sadness for him anymore, I think he should probably get his final rest soon.

A lot of Reiner's flaws get overlooked lately because readers pity him. His selfishness led a lot of people to their deaths and even though he regrets it now it is too late and he deserves that suffering as karma. Other characters had it much worse and they didn't deserve that suffering (ie Eren) while Reiner brought it upon himself with his own choices. He should have listened to Bertholdt and Annie and stopped the mission after Marcel's death but he even threatened them to continue multiple times.

Reiner baby deserves all the good in this world. Isayama please give the boy a little bit of peace!!

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU CRIED ABOUT REINER’S HORRIBLE LIFE IN THIS ARC? 1,881 Responses

While the majority have not metaphorically or otherwise shed tears for Reiner, 55.2% of the fandom have been touched by his story and for almost 30%, it’s been extreme.

I'm crying all day thinking about my sad Reiner ;-; he just want to disappear from the world. I want to hug him.

I have never loved a character quite like I love Reiner. Watching him break in front of Eren has been heart-wrenching. He wants judgement for his crimes, to help abate some of the guilt he feels so heavily… And Eren’s the only person that seems to understand him completely. I know Reiner isn’t long for this world anyway with the curse of Ymir, but I’m still holding out hope that before he dies he has a moment of peace and satisfaction.

HAS EREN MADE YOU CRY IN THIS ARC? 1,883 Responses

We felt like it was only fair to include this even though Eren hasn’t been presented as emotionally as Reiner in this arc. As a bonus, it allowed for us to acknowledge the two groups who were most vocal in the write-ins--the 18% who find Eren hot, and the 8% who are angry with him.

Eren has never been one of my favorites, but he's been breaking my heart almost as bad as Reiner in the past few chapters. He's come so far, and not really in a good way. If he's lost all hope, the relentless freedom chaser, we're heading for a truly dark end.

I'm sick of him. I'm sick of his anger, I'm sick of his angst, I'm sick of his selfishness, and I'm sick of watching teenagers struggle. Please bring my adult vets back.

I never thought that Eren would ever become close to sympathetic.

I cried my heart out when he told Reiner he understood him, his development just blew me away, I am so proud of this boy I want to cry again now. Let's wait till we understand his plan to pass any judgement over what he did.

Since this is the 100th chapter of SNK, let’s take a moment to appreciate the improvement that Isayama’s art has undergone, specifically his character art and expressions. The fandom at large has been quite vocal on the attractiveness of the characters after the timeskip ...so, in your opinion,

WHICH PICTURE OF REINER IS THE MOST HANDSOME (OR THAT YOU LIKE THE BEST)? 1,869 Responses

With so many handsome Reiners to choose from, I wish I could convey the agony my poll co-creator had in selecting these six images. The elimination process was intense and whether to include the booty pic probaby took years off her life.

As she’d predicted, Happy Daddy Reiner was declared most handsome! His full face was number two, and the last minute inclusion of the booty pic resulted in our number three.

Isayama will achieve perfection on drawing Reiner's asscrack showing through his clothes soon.

"Of course i’d pick the booty pic of Reiner. It’s not Erwin’s but with a little 👏🏼🌈Imaaaaagination👏🏼🌈 anything can be Erwin.

Roses are red, Reiner is handsome, SnK fanbase Is mostly awesome.

AND WHICH OF EREN? 1,851 Responses

There was no way Eren’s Loréal Paradis wasn’t going to win this. Eren’s soft smile after Willy’s declaration of war was second.

THAT FLOWING HAIR DAMNNNN SON

This homeless look is working for him

Eren has beautiful hair.

The panel where Eren is about to transform and Reiner looks at Falco in fear is the most badass panel in a long time. I could FEEL the YouSeeBigGirl sires just from looking at Eren's eyed in the panel

Eren, my ovaries are ready.

Eren's always been hot, I dunno why y'all think he's only been hot now, keep up! ;)

Damn we went from him being some courageous hot piece of ass to him being an older, smarter, and even hotter piece of ass even if he might be a bit emotionless

He's definitely Hobo Daddy™

EREN’S ATTACK ON WILLY AND HIS CONVERSATION WITH REINER HAVE THE FANDOM DIVIDED. HOW WOULD YOU RATE HIS MORALITY ON A SCALE FROM “GENOCIDAL KILLER” TO “TOTALLY JUSTIFIED” 1,881 Responses

Eren’s morality continues to be a point of contention in many discussions about the chapter, though a majority 83% find Eren’s actions morally neutral to justified. However, the write-ins in the following sections show a huge variation in opinions, with many being quite harsh on either end. Needless to say, everyone has something to say about Eren!

I don't think his actions are justified, but people calling him "genocidal killer" as he wanted to kill Falco and Reiner and all these people is quite idiot, i mean i didn't see any satisfaction on his eyes, while doing what he did. Just a " i need to do this, even if it is going to kill you"... This isn't a intent of kill... to me is his determination to get his freedom.

Someone, anyone, punch him for me, please.

I've seen how divided people are on Eren's behavior and his true motives, but I think we should all agree that Eren has grown out of the purely revenge-seeking hothead who constantly demonized his enemies. He now understands that they're all only human, but nonetheless he must do what needs to be done to save his people. I don't know at this point if Eren and Reiner will ever be on the same terms, but here's hoping they can all find forgiveness in the end.

Genocidal Bastard..still justified

He's a war criminal. Seriously, look it up.

Frankly, all this pearl clutching about how "evil" Eren is, is ridiculous, and just shows the willingness of certain part of the fandom to dunk on Eren at the drop of a hat. We don’t have the full contest of this scene yet, we don’t even know what Eren is trying to do, or why, we don’t even know with whom he is coordinating, but we know that he’s evil? Even when it’s been 2 chapters that Isayama is been hammering that Eren isn’t revenge obsessed anymore? But well, obviously that’s clearly Isayama’s intention, to toss out 24 vols. of character development for a cheap twist.

I think there's a reason behind what he's doing that is not even a little bit fueled by pure revenge.

I trust him. Something something greater good.

Still love him, he's my boi. Also this is a manga about war; there is no right or wrong. I think people forget that when pointing fingers at Eren for his actions. I highly doubt this was Eren's plan to begin with.

Eren did nothing wrong.

However justified Eren was or was not, innocent blood has been spilled due to his own actions, so whatever morale high ground Eren had is now gone.

He is a murder, plain and simple.

Feels like isayama's trying to make us believe that Eren is suddenly a bad guy. I ain't buying it.

I was rooting for you. WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU! HOW DARE U?! T_T

I'm so disapointed in him. I am forever the believier that things can be done diplomatically and he just fucked that up and killed a bunch of people. I get why he did it, doesn't mean I'm not super disappointed.

The chapter justifies my feelings towards Eren for months now. Glad some readers are starting to see him in a more realistic, less idealized light. He had civilians killed back in Stohess, remember.

WAS EREN BEING SINCERE WITH REINER WHEN HE SAID HE UNDERSTOOD HIM? 1,880 Responses

I do think that Eren meant the things he said in response and maybe even forgave him, but apparently regardless of his personal feelings, he's trying to do something very specific, granted the margin of whatever extra casualties there are.

It seems like he still has this good core, but this story is highlighting that 'good' is relative. I thought he was quite sincere talking to Reiner, and Reiner's sincerity in return made me change my opinion of him (and I've hated him for ages).

It was so gratifying to see him say he understands Reiner and the other warriors finally. I've needed this understanding for so long. I'm so happy! Maybe it wasn't wholly sincere, but Eren's finally made the connection that Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie were just kids too, that they were fed information and forced into doing something they didn't necessarily want to. He finally understands how similar they all are; how screwed they all were from the start. And I'm just really happy that he's finally reached that point.

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT EREN INTENDED FOR REINER AND FALCO TO DIE IN THE BASEMENT? 1,878 Responses

Pretty sure he's protecting Reiner and Falco. He made contact with Reiner before the transformation. I don't know why he'd shake his hand before transforming. That would make for a very odd titan transformation. Either that, or he purposely crushed him as he transformed. But I doubt it, this chapter was about Eren gauging Reiner's alignment, imo.

Eren better not have intended to kill Falco

I believe he probably used some hardening to save Falco and Reiner in the basement, or somehow made it so that Reiner was able to save Falco. I definitely believe they're alive and well. I'd like to draw attention to the last panel of the manga, where it shows Eren's titan hands LITERALLY covered in blood. Emphasized, I believe, because Isayama is a master in symbolism and meaning.

I actually really like his eerily-calm demeanour. But I'll be so upset if he killed Reiner and Falco.

I really can't wrap my head around Eren killing Falco and I don't believe he did, its so unlike him. The whole events leading up to the transformation was beyond peculiar with Reiner snatching his hand back and looking horrified at Falco just before Eren transforms. I swear for some moments I was getting Grisha vibes from Eren and his Titan form.

I really hope Reiner has protected Falco, because he has survived worse things.

My personal belief so far is that from the get go Eren intended on using his hardening abilities to shield Reiner and Falco...with the plethora of parallels to the Reiss cave already in place, I dont think its too far fetched (or Im just in denial lmao)

Well he's clearly not fucking around. FWIW, I still think he did something to prevent Reiner/Falco from being instakilled

IS EREN WORKING WITH THE PARADISIANS OR APART FROM THEM? 1,877 Responses

Despite not seeing any other member of the Survey Corps, the vast majority of respondents still believe Eren is not working independently.

DO YOU BELIEVE EREN’S LETTER WAS ADDRESSED TO ZEKE? 1,867 Responses

We first asked this question with chapter 98. At the time 86% believed Zeke was the recipient of Eren’s letter. That number is now down to 61%. I suspect the use of the word “comrade” has dissuaded some people. DO YOU BELIEVE ZEKE AND EREN ARE WORKING TOGETHER? 1,874 Responses

This question was also asked with chapter 98. the number of people who believe in an Eren/Zeke alliance have only fractionally changed.

I'm glad we finally got some clarity regarding who is on what side, even though Zeke is still a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. I feel like Zeke is playing both sides of the fence, but also has his own little plan going and might doublecross everyone in the end.

He had inside info. Had to be Zeke

So Trapdoor-kun told Zeke to go in the front door yet here we see him still walking around the streets. Very suspicious and makes me believe the theory that he's working with Eren/Paradis Crew

Anyone considered the possibility that it might be Colt who's in touch with Eren and not Zeke? After all, he's played baseball too, and he's related to a deceased Eldian Restorationist.

ANY OTHER THOUGHTS ON EREN THIS CHAPTER? 626 Responses

He is clearly in his grunge/alternative-rock phase and just want to show to the world that he is edgy af. We've all been there.

I try very hard not to think about Eren at all tbh.

HOT DAMN EREN. Not too sure what I love the most! His looks of his growth as a character. This new Eren is a blessing. For better of for worse, we can all agree that Eren's change is amazing. Can't wait to see more of him!

baby's all grown up and meeting DSM-5 criteria for like seven different psychiatric diagnoses

Never liked Eren. Am a fan now. Give me a problematic murder boi and I’m fucking in.

He's certainly matured, not prone to regular angry outbursts like when he was 15. Now Eren is extremely controlled, the master of making grown men cry and his angry outburst is busting through a building in Titan form!

I loved seeing how much Eren has grown up. He's a far cry from the angry young boy he was at the start of the series. But on a final note, I think this chapter may be the one that finally sold me on this arc. I'm really enjoying seeing the (sometimes vastly) different political and moral motivations for the various (new and old) characters!

Had no choice after Willy’s declaration of war.

The willingness to sacrifice the lives of innocents is nothing new for the sc (see: armin's comment during the uprising) regardless of your feelings on its morality. Eren appears to have grown enough to accept that sometimes its necessary for whatever greater plan he (and the sc?) have right now. But the idea that eren wants to kill these innocent people or is still just out for revenge goes against all the development of his perspective that we see in his conversation with Reiner (which I believe is genuine). And there's no indication that he sees all marleyans as the enemy that must be destroyed. So Eren''s actions sit right in the moral ambiguity zone that isa is so fond of, but we can't say he's just some angry murderous genocidal kid (especially since we don't know anything about Paradis's full plan)

I understand his hate towards the country that made hell of his life (and of his beloved ones' libes too), but continuing this cyrcle of violence isn't the right solution. This isn't what the Scouts had died for, so I'm really hoping he isn't working with them anymore because it'd be an insult to all their efforts.

I was hoping he wouldn't take this route, but I don't think I can blame him for choosing it.

Initially I was torn about his decision, I didn't see it coming and didn't think it matched what he had been saying the past few chapters. But, this is war, and he must protect his loved ones. So I've come around to accept it. Oh, and that panel with his hair going up before he transformed is EPIC.

Is Eren playing the game, or is he still a pawn? He still has anger issues but I hope he has just learned to use them productivity.

I will admit he has matured since we last saw him as a teenager, but I believe he has turned that rage on the outside into something awful and gut-wrenching on the inside. He manipulated Falco and basically mentally tortured Reiner. The man may have matured... But he is not sane.

I'm conflicted, I was hoping he had a more elaborate plan than "kill 'em" after his speech to Reiner.

I’m gonna be honest here and say that eren has been one of my least favorite characters since I joined this fandom. I just saw him as this annoying, stupid, revenge-fueled kid. but suddenly he’s kinda started growing on me. we’ll see where this goes...

I'm impressed with his maturity and hope we get to see more of the backstory to his growth.

I'm very disappointed. I loved Eren.

I'm yours, Eren. All yours.

I'm sad he can't grow a beard

Sad that he has to keep compromising his humanity in order to save his people but also kinda proud of how much he has grown up.

I find it sad, and yet a sign of maturity, that he carries out the Attack on Willy out of perceived need to do so rather than desire.

It wish things would've turned out different. You can tell Erem is hurting just as much as Reiner. None of them are villains in my opinion

Please after this attack let Eren cut his god damn hair I CAN'T take looking at that hobo hair anymore IT ONLY LOOKS GOOD IN CERTAIN ANGLES I WILL EVEN TAKE HIS EMO MULLET FROM CHAPTER 90 JUST GET RID OF THAT HAIR AND THAT FACIAL HAIR TOO IT DOESNT LOOK RIGHT!

Step on me, Eren? Does that count?

Eren over the past few chapters has been incredibly interesting to me. For a character I found annoying from the start, made peace with, and then utterly disliked after the serum bowl, it’s been wonderful to find something else to latch onto for his character. I love this cold fire he has. He’s become an emotionally broken man who has shaken morality, turned into something he hates. The parallels between him and Reiner are honestly genius, and I love Isayama for giving us such nuanced and complicated characters in Eren and Reiner.

We love and appreciate Eren in this house.

What an incredible progression for this young man who started out as an unbearable kid with anger-management issues. I'm loving the new Eren to be quite honest. Plus he's hot.

the old eren definitely can't come to the phone

You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villian.

ANY BETS ON WHETHER REINER AND FALCO SURVIVED THE BLAST FROM EREN’S TRANSFORMATION? 1,875 Responses

A majority vote think that both Reiner and Falco will survive to see 101 (and god I hope we’re right).

I honestly hope Reiner protected Falco from the blast of Wren's transformation, I truly feel while deep down inside he hates himself - he couldn't stand to see another person, let alone a kid, get killed. So I hope for the best for the Warriors and the Warrior Cadets.

Honestly, I think Reiner's plot armor is too thick for him to die, not sure about Falco tho.

I really hope Eren's and Reiner's handshake was some magic bamboozle shit to protect Reiner and Falco. Please be alive boys :'(

Set-up for Reiner holding Falco's broken body next chapter.

DO YOU THINK WILLY REALLY IS THE WARHAMMER TITAN? 1,874 Responses

I highly doubt that Willy is the Warhammer Titan tbh. It just- doesn’t seem right? The commander that was talking to Willy at the beginning of the chapter (forgot his name oops) probably is since he’s shown sympathy towards the Eldians and also laid out 99% of the strategy to Willy. So Willy may be a decoy with who truly owns the power.

Villi himself said he saw the memories of Warhammer Titan so this kinda confirms he is, but maybe he was used as a vait bc warhammer titan is too powerful to risk and he was a puppet. Who knows!

Tall Guard is Warhammer Titan

Kiyomi is the Warhammer Titan

Warhammer titan doesn't exist.

The real War Hammer Titan is the friends we made along the way

DO YOU THINK WILLY IS DEAD? 1,872 Responses

Willy is an interestingly captivating character. A man who is full of self hatred and doubt, who tries to make the best of his bad situation, who also ends up sacrificing his own life to be taken seriously. Wow. Not saying he's a good person, but he's mighty interesting. Or, "was". Thanks, ERIN.

Honestly, I feel angry about Willy's death. Well, not sure if he is dead but probably he is or will be. I feel he was not 100% bad person, he had a lot of feelings and emotions inside. When he was crying while saying he didn't want to die, I felt that he was telling it to Eren. Willy was one of the characters I liked and I wanted him to cooperate with SC. Seeing him killed pissed me off really a lot. Does Isayama really MUST kill all my fav characters? Maybe he feels pleasure of killing good-written chars and leaving the most plain ones and the ones I don't give a crap about.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST HOPEFUL FOR IN CHAPTER 101? 1,870 Responses

1,070 (57.2%) The Survey Corp. Finally!

1,038 (55.5%) What game is Zeke playing?

964 (51.6%) Finding out Eren’s ultimate goal

875 (46.8%) Trapdoor-kun’s identity is revealed

791 (42.3%) ANNIE

654 (35%) LEVI

581 (31.1%) More Grim reminder

424 (22.7%) More on Lady Kyomi

348 (18.6%) More Reiner suffering

327 (17.5%) Porco and Pieck use the potty

324 (17.3%) Reiner is saved from the purgatory that is his life

309 (16.5%) Armored Titan vs Attack Titan

267 (14.3%) Flashback of Marcel being eaten

243 (13%) Porco and Pieck are rescued

199 (10.6%) Karina dies

164 (8.8%) Willy survives

Everyone is still looking out for the survey corp to return, followed closely by working out allegiances and identities of several key players. Isayama keeps the mystery going for another chapter.

if 101 doesnt open with the grim reminder narration Im suing isayama

How will Porco and Pieck have any privacy while using the 'duck'? GUYS PLEASE, STOP WITH YOUR STUPID WAR THEORIES AND GET TO THIS IMPORTANT ISSUE

I honestly just want Ponytail Armin to happen by 105. That is all.

I just want Reiner to have survived, he could do so much good given the chance.

Honestly I'm dissapointed that we didn't get to see the Paradis cast in this chapter.

Flashback of marcel's death from the perspective of every atom present at the time

Kiyomi drinking wine with smirk in Cersei style watching the chaos in Liberio

Carla using the P A T H S to tell his son to fucking chill

Reiner to have some closure on Bert's death

Surprise! Ymir flashback.

HOW BADLY DO YOU WANT TO RETURN TO THE ORIGINAL CAST ON PARADIS? 1,871 Responses

With so much Eren in this chapter, there’s still a good amount of thirst to see the Paradis cast! Of those who chose option 5, we’re down from 38.1% last month to 35.9%, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that from the amount of write-ins we received begging for certain characters to return!

I really have a problem with the ask "How baldy do you want to return to the original cast on paradis?" because i highly suspect that the original cast is in marley but also want to return to their pov so badly! What should i answer?

Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts. Main casts.

WHICH CHARACTERS DO YOU GENERALLY ENJOY THE MOST 1,881 Responses

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES 1,848 Responses

ANY OTHER CHAPTER THOUGHTS YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE? 292 Responses

*insert the most epic of Sawano tracks*

Woke AF. Adopting other shifter personality traits (scratching his ear like Zeke) possibly because PATHS?

"I will just keep moving forward until my enemies are destroyed" I dread the meaning behind this line because if "destroying his enemies" is like what happened to Willy then Eren is going down a very dangerous road.

*breaths in* *exhales* BOI

SO GLAD THAT I WON BINGO ON GRIM REMINDER 2.0. Thank you Isayama for the craziest ride to chapter 100! It's been fun, frightening, saddening and honestly, the best thing that has ever happened in my life. It's thanks to Isayama that I met so many amazing friends and experienced so many emotions that only he could ever create. I've been reading since chapter 49, and I will continue until the end.

I really miss Levi and Erwin. Seeing them in the fake preview from the new volume brought tears to my eyes... it was so nice to see Erwin so peaceful and calm. Part of me is glad that he's not seeing this shitshow, but I get the feeling that he would have come up with a better plan for dealing with the Tyburs than EREN SMASH! EREN ANGRY >:E

Man. Chapter 100. SnK has come a loooong way

Marley arc and especially this chapter have been a blessing so far, loving every second of it. I hope this arc will continue as is, seeing how well written it seems to be already. May the suffering of Reigner continue

If Annie dies off screen (aka gets Ymir'd) I will be indescribably upset

If Annie is now a comrade of the Paradis people after Eren successing on freeing her, I'm going to eat my pants for breakfast.

Is it me or does the Attack Titan looks a bit different (bulkier/bigger?)

Isayama and his brilliant parallels

Isayama hear my call please show me Hange Zoe I just need her back I need to see her again

Kudos to Isayama for being able to keep this story so engaging.

Magath reminds me a lot of Keith Shadis. He knows that he has sent so many people to death, regrets lots of things, and has started to think differently. He could be an interesting "boss", since some of us always expected Keith to be "bad".

Porco and Pieck are going to be in that pit long enough they're gonna need that little training potty. D:

When Eren cited Marley indoctrination following the word "but" on pg. 26, it told me unambiguously Eren admitted RBA & Warriors are more justified than he since he made a note of that difference. Funny how much of the fandom believed Marley Warriors cannot be justified, forgiven, etc., at all until Eren says 'me, too.' Then suddenly, "Eren's justified! He's just doing an job now!" sans RBA's tremendous guilt, esp. Bert & Reiner's.

IMAGINE FALCO TRYING TO WAKE UP THE IMPALED REINER THEN RUNNING OFF TO SAEV GABI THEN REINER REMENISING AND THINKING ABOUT WHAT EREN'S GONNA DO TO THE PEOPLE HE LOVES AND GOING "I'LL EXTERMINATE THEM, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM" THEN TRANSFORM THEN PUNCH EREN IN THE FACE.

Really epic okay, still left me with a bit of bitterness because it showed how Eren isn't changed in better but only believes in violence. It is madness and cruelty with no end. How sad

Reiner being the main character is the best thing in this manga. Porco migh sacrifice himself to save Reiner from Eren during their titan fight after getting more of his memories back (Eren eats Porco). Enraged, Reiner finally manages to get the advantage over Eren and eats Eren. Thus, Reiner succeeds in having 4 of the shifter powers in his control. Eventually Reiner will seek his own path separate from Paradise and the World itself.

That duck shaped potty thing, what the actual heck??? Is that what that was??? Anywho, this chapter had an interesting moment after Reiner's explanations of his actions. That alongside Willy's desire to live were the most powerful points in the chapter.... The panel where he begins to transform, he has a look of enhanced determination as opposed to desire to snap the olive branch. That in context to the whole conversation, it just makes it seem unlikely. But then, this is SNK. We'll see what happens.

The Guy with the newspaper who is he ?

The illustration in those last few pages was AMAZING. Maybe the best panels I've seen in the manga.

The way Eren listened to Willy's speech and was reconsidering his actions because of the line "I was born in this world" but then closing his eyes and accepting what he had to do after the declaration was chilling.

The whole thing got complicated all of a sudden. I still can't believe Paradis elaborated complex navigation in 3 years. We don't kniw what happened there, but no way they're on par with Marley. Who the hell is this trapdoor guy?

This chapter is THE bomb. It made me cry and smile like crazy. Isayama sure knows what he's doing. Can't wait for 101.

Even though i love the chapter, my issue is still same. Pacing is so slow! I felt this even more at the end of the chapter. Villi screaming "They're only Eldians!" to Magath was totally sick. Also Eren's crazy smile when he shaked hands with reiner..... damn it. I know reiner is fine and well, but i am scared for falco and rest.....

This chapter was amazing from a thematic and character standpoint. I hope that now that the action is beginning we'll get to see trapdoor-kun's identity and the rest of the sc soon.

This chapter was amazing. The way the chapter ended left me (once again) shaking in my seat. Isayama knows how to write his manga, kudos to him!

This chapter was the climax of Reiner and Eren's latest developments, I can tell the story is gonna kick into overdrive soon, and I can't wait.

This is a story about war, there will be lines crossed and sacrifices made. I learned not to label characters and their actions so carelessly without trying to put myself in their shoes or at least try to decipher what caused/pushed them to act as such. So to see other readers so ready to condemn Eren (and the rest of the walldians) as evil is ridiculous - especially after reading the tribulations Eren and the rest has gone through. I do not and will condone or support his actions if he does cause collateral damage, but at this point I'm just going to be on the neutral and observe how this story will unravel. With how things are going, I think...in the end, no one will get a decent happy ending here...perhaps some fool's hope.

This is a long poll

(You’re telling me!!!!)

Since the third Bessatsu Shonen popularity poll was released along with this chapter, we thought we'd ask your opinion...

WHAT BEST MATCHES YOUR THOUGHTS ON ERWIN BEING THE WINNER? 1,786 Responses

32.3% of you are my people and an additional 42.2% are welcome to eat at my table. There was lots of love for Erwin here, but Kasch and I were both a little surprised at amount of salt. I read it. I’m not including it. (And some of ya'll trashed my guy and added your names 😱 )

Look at this smart person:

Lol i'm not trashing Erwin on fucking momtaku's poll I'm not dumb or a jackass

Thank you for not being dumb or a jackass 👍!

Happily, there were some really great, smart, funny and probably beautiful people who smell nice and have lots of friends who included comments about Erwin’s win:

Erwins a great character and a handsy boy. He totally deserves it haha xD Rip Commander Eyebrows

He deserved it and I love Levi's expression that both asks his fans why they let him down but is also so proud and happy for Erwin!

He deserves it but his massive lead over Levi is surprising. Season 2 still fresh in people's minds, I suppose.

his eyebrows should have been #1

While Erwin deserves it his top place was probably a last homage from the fans. I found it strange that the poll numbers were so low compared to the other polls tho!

I'm guessing he won because of how cool and what a great leader he was this season in the anime and also from the manga readers still being bitter and enraged by the serum bowl? Erwin is definitely in top 10 interesting characters for me.

And a few more comments worth including:

Actually, I'm not even mad, I'm amazed that 2 dead people have the first and last positions....

I loved that fans were rabid enough to vote for a dude who died last year. If nothing else, that's some mighty fine trolling.

ARE YOU GENERALLY HAPPY WITH THE TOP 10? 1,813 Responses

A poll with only 6000 votes is not considerable neither representative of the fandom reality

At least it wasn't Levi.

Hanji Zoe deserves 1st place smh

Bertholt and mikasa are tie fighters now?

I wish that Ymir or Historia at least made it into the Top 10.

ANNIE WASN'T ON THE TOP 10, WTF, THIS IS A TRAGEDY

AND LASTLY FOR MY POLL CO-CREATOR, BECAUSE SHE WON’T LET ME OUT OF THIS LOCKED BASEMENT ROOM UNLESS I INCLUDE THIS, HOW SAD ARE YOU THAT REINER IS 9TH? 1,766 Responses

Sincerely I think Reiner deserves the first place because his character has really shown emotional depth this chapters.

I'm upset! the guy is already dead. Reiner really deserve it this time

Suffering and begging for death in the manga, 9th in the popularity poll... it's okay, I still love you, Reiner ; _ ;

If you made it to the end of this, thank you! See you next month!

#snk polls #snk poll results #snk chapter 100 #snk 100 #snk poll

193 notes · View notes

lisatelramor · 6 years

Text

Not Left To Stand Alone Ch21

Takumi was sitting at the kitchen table with both Kudo daughters when Saguru went looking for him. Ran was elsewhere in the house and he had passed Kudo in the study on his way. Takumi looked up from watching the girls draw at the sound of Saguru’s borrowed cane. Saguru hadn’t stopped to think much about how the last twenty four hours were affecting Takumi before, but now that he was sure Kuroba wasn’t going to die at any moment, he could see signs of strain. Takumi looked like he had slept worse than Saguru, dark circles under his eyes, and there was a listlessness to how he had been watching the girls. It shifted to focus and worry as Saguru entered the room.

“Is Kid…?” Takumi asked vaguely.

“Better,” Saguru said. “He won’t be moving for a while, but for the moment he is stable and aware enough.”

“Good.” Takumi slumped. Midori elbowed him as he covered part of her paper and Takumi shifted away without complaint. “Before we go, can I see him? Just… The only time I saw him up close, he was bleeding out…”

“Of course.” Seeing Kid alive if not well might help ease Takumi’s mind.

“Kid’s the thief Tou-san’s always chasing right?” Midori asked. “The one in white?”

“Yes, Kid is a thief in white,” Saguru said.

“Oh. I like him. He left Kaa-san flowers once,” Midori said drawing a flower then, probably meant to be one of Kuroba’s roses if the red color was anything to go by. “It’s sad he got hurt.”

“He’ll get better,” Hanae said. She smacked down the green crayon she had been using to grab a brown one. Stripey brown lines branched out from the mass of green swirls. “He always gets away. Tou-san says.” Her sister nodded like this had to be the only conclusion since Kudo’s word was truth.

“I’m sure he will,” Saguru said hoping it would be the truth. He squished the part of his brain reciting facts about recovery times and infection rates, about how his own infected bullet wound had ruined his knee worse than it would have otherwise been. He was allowed to hope against the odds. Saguru looked to Takumi. “Did you want to see Kid now? I know we can’t stay here much longer. Aoko-san is worried and I still have to turn in my report on last night.”

Takumi nodded. He followed Saguru from the kitchen. “Hakuba-sensei,” Takumi murmured as they neared Kid’s room. “What are you going to put on the reports?”

“Kid escaped. He was shot down, but the site was clear when we arrived.” Saguru glanced sidelong at Takumi’s troubled expression. “That Kid is most likely injured but got away with the gem. Neither of us saw anything.”

The frown deepened. “…even to Kaa-san?”

“No, I’ll tell her the full truth.”

“…It feels wrong,” Takumi said so quietly Saguru almost didn’t hear him. “Kaa-san always told me it was important to tell the truth to the police.”

Saguru sighed. “Sometimes it’s more complicated than truth or lies. Sometimes truths can kill and lies save, and sometimes they make things worse. It’s something you’ll have to judge on your own. In this case it’s better not to say everything for both Kid and our sakes. We did help a criminal after all.”

“To save his life,” Takumi said. “And Kudo-san helped too.”

“Exactly.”

Takumi frowned at him, but he set the topic aside as they reached Kid’s room. Kuroba was asleep again, not peacefully though. A grimace of discomfort showed on the small part of his face not hidden by the mask. Takumi took one step into the room and stared like he was trying to decode something from Kuroba’s mass of bandages.

“I…somehow I didn’t think it was possible for Kid to get hurt badly,” Takumi admitted. “He’s practically a legend at this point.”

“It’s easy to forget there’s someone mortal behind the mask,” Saguru said, because he had almost forgotten as well over the years, more intent on Kid than remembering Kuroba existed behind him.

There was scuffling behind them and Midori and Hanae poked their heads into the room. They craned their necks at Kid in the bed.

“He’s not very big,” Hanae said, sounding disappointed.

“Are you supposed to be here?” Saguru asked.

“Kaa-san didn’t say we couldn’t,” Midori said. She tugged on Takumi’s arm and lifted her hands so she could be held up. Takumi did, though he looked at Saguru like he was trying to figure out if this was okay or not. Midori made a soft unhappy sound when she was high enough to see Kid clearly. “He looks sad.”

“He’s a thief. He should be sad because he’s in a detective’s house,” Hanae said. “Once he’s healthy he’ll probably get arrested.”

“I’m gonna draw him a picture.” Midori wiggled in Takumi’s arms until he set her down again and she pointed at Kid. “What does he like?”

“Er. Gems?” Takumi said.

“Birds,” Saguru suggested. “He keeps doves.”

Midori nodded and tugged her sister away. Hanae went complaining the whole way that, “He’s a bad guy, Midori, why are we cheering him up?”

Takumi looked after them, his face scrunched somewhere between bewildered and reluctantly amused. “I’m kind of glad I don’t have siblings after all,” he said.

Kuroba shifted in the bed, discomfort growing on his face. It made Saguru want to smooth it away but it was far far better than the blankness of unconsciousness. “Have you seen enough?” Saguru asked.

Takumi looked back at Kid. It was surprising that he didn’t cross the room and try to peek under Kid’s mask. At his age, Saguru wouldn’t have hesitated to satisfy his curiosity. “Yeah,” Takumi said. “I’ve seen enough.”

***

It was a quiet trip to Aoko’s. They both had thoughts on their mind, and the closer they got to Aoko in Ekoda, the more nervous Takumi became. Saguru didn’t blame him; he was also nervous to see Aoko face to face. An angry Aoko was more than a little intimidating. He shouldn’t have to worry about dodging mops these days at least.

Aoko was on them within seconds of Takumi opening the front door. Saguru didn’t think she’d slept at all last night from the looks of it, her eyes red rimmed and hands just a bit shaky the way limbs got after too much caffeine and adrenaline mixing badly together. Her hair was a mess of wild tangles that made her look larger and Saguru found himself taking a step back at her desperate expression. She crushed Takumi into an embrace the moment she was within arm’s reach.

“You absolute idiot,” she growled. “I raised you to be smarter than that. You could have died.”

Takumi tentatively hugged her back with the arm not trapped between their bodies. “I’m sorry, Kaa-san.”

“You’d better be you brat,” Aoko choked. There were tears in her eyes. Saguru looked away. There wasn’t anywhere to go to give them privacy. “You’re grounded. Indefinitely.”

Takumi nodded into her shoulder, clinging closer.

“You’re okay? You’re not hurt?”

And this time Takumi choked on tears. “I’m fine. I’m…I was so scared…” He shifted so he could hold her with both arms just as tight as she was holding him. “The building exploded and I didn’t know where you were. People were screaming and you were still in there. And then Kid got shot and there was so much blood.” He was crying in earnest now and Aoko held him close as he let go of all the fear and worry from the last twelve hours.

Aoko rocked back and forth on her heels as Takumi cried. There were tears in her eyes but she was glaring fiercely past his shoulder at nothing even as her voice was gentle. “It’s over now. I’m okay. You’re okay. It’s all over.” Saguru wasn’t sure how long they held each other as Saguru tried to blend into the wall. Eventually, Takumi’s tears slowed and Aoko’s rocking stopped and they pulled apart. Aoko wiped tears from Takumi’s face with her handkerchief. “Go to the kitchen and get yourself a cup of tea,” she said to her son. “It will help.”

Takumi nodded and slid his shoes off before walking toward the kitchen, still wiping at his face.

Aoko looked after him like she wanted to snatch him back into a hug again. As soon as he was out of sight though, she rounded on Saguru. Worry morphed back into rage. “You should have said the moment you realized he was on site.”

Saguru winced. “Aoko-san, it was only a few minutes before the heist began. I only glimpsed him on the security cameras; I had to go see that it really was him.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it.”

It was, but what would Aoko have done? Stopped coordinating the entire heist? She was the central driving force, everyone else pivoted around her and Saguru wasn’t really needed anywhere. “I found him and I tried to get him out before the heist,” Saguru said. “It was inevitable that we got caught up in the fallout.”

Aoko shook her head. It had been inevitable though, if not caught in the heist itself, then the crowds of panicking people instead. “Then you should have called as soon as you were out of danger. Or as soon as Kid was out of danger, dammit. You’re such a fucking hypocrite. Or did someone else make me promise I’d call if I knew anything about Kid so we could keep each other up to date?” She snorted at Saguru’s flinch. “I thought so. God I’m just so…Rrgh. Fuck Kid.” She ran her hands though her hair, tangling it further.

“I should have called,” Saguru said. “I forgot. I am sorry.”

“Fat lot of good sorry does anyone,” Aoko said tiredly. “How bad?”

“Expect months of recovery.”

“Damn it. I hate him. I hate him so much.”

You do but you don’t, Saguru thought as she wrapped her arms around herself.

“You’re not going to tell me where he is, are you?”

“It is probably best for everyone involved if you don’t know where he’s at for the moment.” It wasn’t that he thought Aoko would arrest Kuroba or actually try to kill him, but having Aoko show up right now would be the last thing Kuroba needed for his health.

“Fine.” Aoko closed her eyes. “Fine. Can you leave? Please.”

“I’ll leave immediately.” He did just that, backing away toward the door only to be stopped by Aoko’s voice when he touched the doorknob.

“Hakuba. I need your report on the heist within the next twenty four hours. Write an official one and one for my eyes only please.”

“Of course. …May I ask the casualty rate from last night?”

“No one died. I have two officers that are in critical condition and half a dozen others hospitalized. Five people in the crowds ended up in the hospital from the panic. Dozens more have minor injuries.”

“Thank you.” Kuroba would hate to hear this. “Goodbye, Aoko-san.”

She didn’t say anything else, so Saguru left. He wondered if there would only be animosity between them after this. Aoko was not a friend, but he hoped he had not forever lost the possibility of her becoming one.

***

Saguru stopped at his apartment before heading back to Kudo’s. He stood in his entryway for a good five minutes feeling the emptiness of the room pressing in on him. It struck him again that he’d almost lost Kuroba last night. There would have been no more evening conversations over tea or random gifts of food left on his kitchen counter or that specific double tap on his door that when Kuroba was using his manners instead of barging in. Just four short months and Kuroba had become a center point in his life.

There was something wrong with him because the thought of losing Kuroba felt almost on par with losing Mel had been, with only a fraction of the history to account for that feeling.

Saguru stood in the shadows of the entryway where the light from the afternoon sun didn’t reach and considered it rationally; love was love regardless of the time experiencing it. And he was in love with Kuroba. There wasn’t a point in deluding himself to that reality anymore. The emotions wouldn’t go anywhere. Saguru didn’t expect them to and friendship was enough between them, but he couldn’t deny the existence of his emotions anymore either.

The soft golden light of afternoon peeking through the window didn’t really fit the weight of this revelation. But then so rarely did nature choose to align with emotional turmoil outside of popular media.

Saguru loved Kuroba and had almost lost him; if it was in his power, he would not lose someone he loved like that again.

***

Saguru broke into Kuroba’s apartment to gather changes of clothes and other things Kuroba might need. Kuroba’s things joined Saguru’s own in a large cloth grocery bag repurposed into a makeshift suitcase. He wasn’t sure all what to bring; clothing and toiletries were obvious, but anything else was anyone’s guess what Kuroba would want. Saguru added the mp3 player he found on Kuroba’s bedside table. With a concussion he wouldn’t be able to do anything mentally taxing for a while, but music could straddle the line between entertaining and relaxing.

He took the time to update both his mother and Kuroba’s on the heist fallout, and then he was off again, headed back to Kudo’s home.

Kudo raised an eyebrow at Saguru’s bag but didn’t comment on it. It was rather rude for Saguru to invite himself to stay longer, but rudeness be damned, he’d sleep better within shouting distance of Kuroba.

After settling his things into a guest room offered by Ran and getting Kuroba’s things to him, Saguru sat down with Kudo and his wife in their study, children thankfully elsewhere for the moment.

“Takumi-kun got back to his mother in one piece?” Kudo asked lightly.

“More or less. I am afraid I’m in bad graces with her at the moment as well. I imagine this will make parent teacher interactions even more awkward in the future.” Saguru sighed. “Takumi-kun is my student,” he added when Kudo raised an eyebrow.

“An interesting bit of luck ending up the teacher to Kaitou Kid’s son.”

“You have no idea.” What sort of expression would Kudo make if Saguru revealed they were neighbors? That would be giving too much away though, and they were at least pretending that they couldn’t easily pick apart Kid’s identity like freeing a boiled egg from a fault-littered shell.

“…You know Kid pretty well, right?” Kudo asked.

“Well enough.” Not well enough; Kuroba kept himself a step away even as he had opened up around Saguru. There would always be depths to him that Saguru wouldn’t be allowed to see.

“How would you say his life is?”

Kudo didn’t look like he was prying to find clues. He looked contemplative, a crease between his brows and a quirk to his lips that spoke more of concern than a desire to tear away the last veils of Kid’s identity. How odd. But then, if Kuroba could become interested in Kudo’s wellbeing after years of interaction it wasn’t really that odd for it to go both ways. Saguru had felt that way even at the height of their rivalry. “It’s very busy,” Saguru said honestly. “He works, has a son, and is Kid. I sometimes wonder at how he functions with as little sleep as he seems to get. He’s a good father even if a bit misguided at times. He’s lonely. He seems to have many acquaintances and few close friends. I’m not sure he knows how to stop wearing masks anymore, or if he’s afraid of what he’d find if he put the roles away.” Kudo’s expression softened into something like sadness or perhaps compassion. If Saguru remembered right, Kudo was someone who caught his criminals, but didn’t let them throw their lives away. It was something that had tipped Saguru’s opinion a bit more toward favor. Even if he had once pointed a gun on Kid. “Why?”

“We’ve talked a few times. He’s come close to breaking before…I was wondering if it was still true or if life got better since we last talked.”

Ah. Between Aoko’s divorce and Jii’s death, he could see it straining Kuroba to near shattering. It was a miracle he hadn’t broken unlike Saguru’s own breakdown. “I’ve seen him smile and laugh and mean it. There are bad days, but good ones too.”

“I’m glad.” Kudo shared a smile with Ran then and Saguru again got the feeling that he was missing something vital in Kuroba’s history with the Kudo family. There were possibilities he could speculate on, but without proof he wouldn’t put weight into any of them.

But there was Kuroba now to think about. The past would keep its mysteries. “He’s going to be recovering for a long time,” Saguru said. “Can you keep him here until he can move on his own?”

A wealth of meaning shifted between Kudo and Ran before Ran shrugged slightly. “It isn’t a problem,” Kudo said. “He’s welcome here.”

“And so are you,” Ran added.

“Thank you.” It was more than generous for them to do this. “Kudo-san, about last night…the crash site; it’s been cleaned up?”

“I called in a few favors,” Kudo said. “There might still be traces of blood, but nothing usable to track back to him.”

Good. Saguru nodded. “That should buy some time then… The ones who set everything up are likely wondering if he lived or not.”

“No body means they’re going to play it toward him living,” Shinichi observed. “The gem?”

“Kid hid it.”

Kudo nodded. “I was surprised he went with the roof, but I guess he wasn’t given much choice in his escape route. The bombs pretty much ensured he could only flee up, and where the bomb damage wasn’t there were officers cutting off his route. The weather was too perfect for the glider too. It felt like an obvious setup.”

“He was flying a bit off the best direction of the wind. That might have been what saved him.” Saguru tried to recreate the trajectories of Kuroba’s entrance wounds. Gliding the direction he had been, with the angle of the wounds… “Kudo-san, do you happen to have a map? I’m curious what buildings the sniper might have been at. I know Ao—Nakamori-keibu had a watch at certain perimeter trying to keep the chance of a sniper down.” Saguru stumbled over Aoko’s name and pretended he hadn’t.

Kudo pulled out his phone, fiddling with it to bring up a map of the area. He set it on the coffee table between them. “This is the museum,” Kudo said. “And Kid left in this direction…” His finger scrolled the map forward.

“You found us about here, correct?” Saguru asked, pointing to what appeared to be the correct alley.

“Yes. Depending on Kid’s speed, he’d have to have been hit within this radius to crash there…” Kudo traced a circle above the phone.

“Meaning his shooter had to be within a certain radius to hit him.”

“Exactly.”

“Fifteen hundred meter radius?”

“Extend it a bit further to be on the safe side…” They bent forward over the phone, studying it intently. “The damage is worse on the right side.”

“Half from the crash, but I concede to your point; the bullet wounds come from that angle. It was a taller building. The entry wounds were almost even with his height.”

“Mm. Maybe a bit from below…too straight for his leg wound otherwise….” Kudo shifted the map around before they both agreed on a potential area. “I know this area. The tallest building around there is an office building.”

“It’s outside of Nakamori-keibu’s radius too.” Saguru felt the tingle of satisfaction that piecing pieces together always gave him. It was paired with the gut feeling that the sniper’s location had been important. He zoomed closer. Ambrosia Industries? It was foreign, and it also sounded vaguely familiar for some reason… He’d had a case that involved them at one point, he was pretty sure, but it had to have been a very long time ago.

“Something wrong?” Kudo asked. Saguru looked up into sharp-focused eyes. He also looked like he was on the edge of some sort of connection.

“I’ve heard of the company before.” When though? Not in Japan, in London, back, far back.

Kudo took the phone and looked the company up. “Ambrosia Industries…Not much on them.”

“They make cosmetics don’t they?” Ran asked, leaning in. Saguru had almost forgotten she was there. “Sonoko has a few things from their brand. She said they had the best anti-aging creams.”

A cosmetics company? That sparked something. Saguru took the phone from Shinichi. Yes, under the international subsidiaries was a different name. Elysium. “I had a case almost fifteen years ago looking into an employee from Elysium. My client thought that the employee had stolen her research data, but there hadn’t been any clear trail to link that they were using it in their formulas.” He frowned. “That was the case I got my knee shot out.” A bit further down on the list was another name he remembered. He gripped the phone tight. “And I was investigating a theft from Progenetics almost a year ago when…when my partner was killed.”

“That’s…” Kudo’s brow furrowed.

“It is entirely possible for that to be circumstantial and unrelated.” Saguru handed the phone back. The rest of the names didn’t spark any memories, though there was always the possibility that there were other connections. “It makes me wonder, though, as all three instances involved gunmen.”

“I have come across a few of these places,” Kudo said slowly. “Murder cases.”

Of course murders. Kudo worked almost exclusively with murders. “Thefts for me.”

“They were mostly crimes of passion though; the setting didn’t seem important to them. There was one that was one employee killing the other though. They never explained why, just turned themselves in.” Kudo tapped his chin.

“It would be a bit odd to use the roof of a place you were associated with to attempt a murder,” Saguru said.

“Or it could be the perfect cover because it would be unexpected.” Kudo shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Right. Kudo had taken out an international crime organization before he was twenty. He was probably something of an expert on shadowy dealings and large scale crime rings. “Kudo-san, how much do you know about what Kid is searching for?”

“Only that it is a large gemstone and that there is another interested party.”

“There was more than one Kid,” Ran added softly.

Kudo’s eyes flicked to her and he nodded. “The first Kid was active about seven years internationally before he vanished. The second Kid appeared eight years later and was much younger than the first. A protégé perhaps, since his methodology and skills are very similar to the first. With the sort of people that follow Kid, I can guess that the first Kid either died or was crippled.”

“He died,” Saguru said bluntly. “In what appeared to be an accident. A very public accident. His identity was found out by the organization chasing him and they ensured he wouldn’t be able to defy them again. How Kid has avoided something similar happening, I have no idea. Perhaps because he has made no effort to stand out in his civilian life.” It was too easy to picture ‘accidents’ happening to Aoko or Kuroba or Takumi, leaving nothing but blank eyed corpses behind. With Aoko it would not even be hard to arrange. Perhaps they had already tried, but with all the danger already present in Aoko’s day to day life, it had fallen into one more close call among many.

“The second Kid was a teenager when he first appeared,” Ran said. “Both Shinichi and I got close often enough to figure that much out.”

“He was sixteen when he first took Kid’s mantle.” All three of them winced at the implications. It was funny in a way; at the time it wouldn’t have felt odd. They had all been teenagers that ran into danger on a regular basis. The violent side of humanity and its dark possibilities were very real presences and dangers in their lives. And yet at sixteen they had felt adults already. At over thirty, looking back they had all been barely more than children dealing with things that they would have tried to protect their younger selves from now. “He’s spent the last decade and a half trying to take down a crime organization on his own.”

Kudo and Ran exchanged a look, Kudo’s questioning, Ran’s accepting. “I owe Kid,” Kudo said after a moment. “Not many people know this, but he helped several times in taking down the Black Organization. Not always willingly.” Kudo rubbed a hand through his hair. It stood up at the back, for a moment making him look much more like Kuroba. “I said I wouldn’t get involved in anything at that scale again if I could help it.” Kudo looked Saguru in the eyes, clearly struggling.

Oh. “He’s bad at accepting help,” Saguru said drily, “but at this point I don’t think he has much of a choice. Kudo-san, I don’t want to see Kid die. I’ve permanently lost the person I care for most in the last year, and then alienated the majority of my friends through my own actions; I don’t intend to lose anyone else. If that means coming out of retirement and going against a crime organization of an unknown size and reach, I will do it. I have far less to lose these days than I did before.” As he said the words, the resolution that had been building in him since he knew Kuroba had survived solidified. He had failed to save Mel or get him justice. His detective pursuits may very well have gotten Mel killed. But if there was any chance that his skills could help Kuroba, he would use them. Even with such a large chance of failing. “Would you be willing to help me in this?”

“I…” Kudo trailed off. He looked at the phone in his hands. “You’d be surprised how many detectives care about Kid. More than we should considering we try to catch him time after time. He causes chaos and dangerous people follow him, but Kid doesn’t use guns, does his best to not hurt anyone be it bystander or officer doing their job…” It was hard to be indifferent or remain angry at someone you interacted with for over a decade even if said interactions were anything but friendly. “I care. I’ll hide Kid here until he recovers completely if that’s what he needs. But…”

“I’m not asking for you to take an active role rooting out the shadows,” Saguru said. “I need your mind and your connections; those will be more than enough. I intend to do as much legwork as I can myself.” He was aware of the irony, a man with a cane doing the legwork, but for Kuroba he’d do it.

Ran touched Kudo’s elbow. Kudo swallowed thickly. “I can provide connections and help talk over whatever you find. I’d offer more, but I can’t be open about working on this, not with a family.”

“I understand.”

“I can make sure Kid is taken care of in the meantime,” Ran said.

Saguru nodded, grateful his mind spun plans, poked at connections as he closed his eyes. Fragmentary details stood out at him—snipers and connected companies and the multitude of wounds Kuroba has had since Saguru returned to Japan. Aoko’s angry face, Kuroba’s locked bedroom door and equally locked closet, accidents that were not accidents, Jii’s death, Kuroba Chikage’s absence from this heist, Kudo’s half smile when he talked about Kid and the years spent chasing him. Nothing clicked yet, but it was a start. “We will have to talk to Kid. Undoubtedly he has evidence we can work with.” He had almost two decades to throw himself at the problem; he had to have gotten somewhere with it. But Kuroba wasn’t a detective, and he didn’t have the connections he needed to take down a large scale organization. He was smart enough that he likely put most of the pieces together by now, but that didn’t mean he could do anything with it on his own.

“He’s probably asleep again,” Ran said. “Ai-san has him resting as much as possible so it might be a while before you can talk.”

“I understand. He has a lot of recovering to do.” And there were other things Saguru could do. Namely talk to his father; he wanted his perspective as well as Kudo’s on taking down a large scale criminal enterprise. And there was one other thing to take care of while he was at the manor. “I think,” he said slowly, “I have one more errand to do today after all.”

“Okay,” Kudo said. “Do what you need to do. I have a write up to do for the Kid task force, so I’ll be in my office if you need anything.”

“Ah.” Ran pulled out a slip of paper. “And our cell phone numbers if you need to get in touch.”

“Thank you.” He quickly entered the numbers into his phone and sent along his own contact info in a text. “Let me know if anything changes while I am gone?”

“Of course.” Ran smiled. Kudo was already lost looking up something on his phone again, the sharp thinking face firmly in place.

#detective conan #magic kaito #nltsa #fanfiction #not left to stand alone #My writing

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watchtheblog · 7 years

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invidious consumption

i was crippled with anxiety in the weeks leading up to my 21st birthday (just last year! wow, time sure does fly!) terrified that one of my earnest girlfriends, in an innocent but spectacularly misguided attempt to celebrate me, would surprise me by hiring a limo** - with a sunroof that i would be expected to stick my upper body out of - to drive us around times square because she had misinterpreted my denouncement of a limo full of rabble (one of whom - having witnessed my disdainful facial expression - had rolled down her window to look at me pityingly and emit with no irony the query, “jealous?”) as repressed curiosity… when in actuality it had been a manifestation of my vehement distaste for unfettered, garish exhibitions of joy.

(limo sidebar: my alter ego, reina, is *obsessed* with limos:

you can see more of her work here. HIRE ME TO RUN YOUR DATING APP ACCOUNT THAT YOU USE TO AMUSE YOURSELF AT THE EXPENSE OF DESPERATE MIDDLE AGED MEN IN YOUR AREA!)

while the last time i was flailing my body through a limo’s sunroof was never, i can say with the utmost confidence, i could go to my grave never having had 50-100% of my body in a limo and my life will have been full.

ditto drunkenly slurring “genie in a bottle” in a neon lighted basement in chinatown with strangers who smell like a chain hibachi restaurant. (i’m describing a karaoke bar. did it work?)

double ditto having a man in a thong swathe me in a sash and other bridal accoutrements and proceed to rub his muscles on me in the name of tradition at a bachelorette party (which is why i don’t allow anyone near me who owns a michael kors purse, whose favorite movie stars reese witherspoon, anyone who has seen magic mike in a theatre, or anyone who thinks instagramming a glass of wine with a caption about “relaxing” is an appropriate thing to instagram… also anyone who has ever posted a collage or that “year in review” on instagram. also anyone who wishes family members who don’t have instagram a happy birthday/father’s day/mother’s day etc. on instagram. #instagram #spon)

fear of having to refuse to partake in the activities someone has planned for me because they assault my sensibilities - and therefore having no celebration at all - has not stopped me from expecting to be surprised in some way on my birthday (september 26th. that is my birthday) every year since i turned 14 my first year at boarding school.

my parents are not “fun” people. they don’t “do” surprises. my mom is not “warm” and my dad is not “sneaky”.

despite this, i was absolutely convinced that my parents - who lived in new york and had acrimoniously divorced the summer before - would surprise me for my birthday and, i don’t know… take me to dinner and look at me, my mother contemplating why she’d crossed the atlantic ocean to do this when she could have just not and instead she could be in new york at like, the chobani store (this is a private joke for myself about my mom and her v specific, repellent personality). but no, instead, she’s in london with her ex husband… watching their daughter eat her weight in prosciutto and not even have the decency to have adopted a british accent yet.

honestly, the best possible outcome was no less grim than this… and yet!

when i woke up, assuming they’d taken a red eye, i calculated time for collecting their bags, getting lost and added two hours in case my recalcitrant mother had gotten detained for saying “bomb” on an airplane in a post 9/11 world - something she has literally done for sport; i have borne witness to it.

so, at lunch until the end of the school day, i stared out the window, waiting for them to arrive. when school ended and they hadn’t arrived, i expected them to surprise me in the dining hall at dinner. they didn’t. when my dad called me after study hall to wish me a happy birthday i thought, “oh maybe just my mom is coming…”

neither of them showed… nor did they the next three birthdays i had there, even though every year i woke up with the same eagerness of anticipation.

(that christmas, aged 14, i learned there was no santa.)

the perpetuation of this surprise fantasy allows me to excitedly anticipate a thoughtfully placid fete… and then inevitably gently fails to come to fruition, effectively allowing me to enjoy a day pleasantly marked by sangfroid, as i consider the calamity that “could have been” while at a dinner i have guilted one to three of my five friends into attending at the last minute!

and THAT is the cycle of my birthday and the 364 leading up to my birthday. (my birthday is a lifestyle, just like drake said.)

(an alternative explanation is that i continue to delude myself into thinking someone will plan a surprise party for me *in order* to be disappointed so that i may blame any potential melancholy on someone (everyone!) else instead of my hatin ass for being a human being who is impossible to please and whose inability to literally be “fun loving” and embrace gauche celebratory activities has barred her from ever experiencing the type of youthful excitement katy perry songs are about. this is a shitty but also v honest assessment. thank you for reading.)

ALL THAT BEING SAID … if you’ve been here before, you know my hatred of vulgar displays of birth nostalgia does not prevent me from loving being celebrated privately and has never stopped me from treating my birthday like it’s a wedding and creating a tacky but v self aware registry for the occasion.

so without further ado …

my birthday list! (which - because i refuse to leave my home unless it's to go to a lawyer's office to sign a contract and pick up a check for a series order for my pilot - is the only acceptable way in which you may celebrate me privately. so if you choose not to celebrate me financially, please consider yourself removed from the following list.)

thanks!

(if for some perverse reason you’d like to see my prior innocent but spectacularly misguided registries, please go here. it’s a doozy! however, please note i will only be accepting gifts from this year’s registry. so stay current!)

also, i’m not going to say whether or not anyone has ever purchased something for me off one of my lists, but i will quote william blake “If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise” as opposed to albert einstein and you may draw your own conclusions.

the list.

givenchy pandora purse

here are 1, 2, 3, 4 options

a casual throw for my bed

i just love something easy you know? i beg you to click that link and know that the description includes this: “perfect for cuddling in the cold”. literally lmao. correct. and unfortunately there’s zero other way for me to cuddle in the cold.

seriously though a casual throw

this one is on sale in the white, which is the only color i allow on my bed. isn’t that nice!

ditto this one

here’s one that isn’t

a pillow

i need a firm pillow. i didn’t know that. i thought i liked soft. but then i realized i like firm and my pillows are soft. you can see my dilemma. here or here or here

this bathrobe

it’s a bathrobe. you know how they go.

a juicero

i don’t know how many times i have to ask. i’m not even putting a link because i’m so furious. ditto: a range rover. smh.

a personalized clutch

do what you will. small or big

a vacation

you know... so i can chill from all the stress of waking up and realizing i have to figure out how to spend the next 10 hours… every. single. mother. fucking. day. here are some places i’d like to go. you’re more than welcome to book a trip for yourself, but i will not engage with you in any way. (i kept it domestic…ish to be polite)

arizona

this is a whole spa thing…

tulum

utah. also utah

montana

this is an all inclusive ranch experience… can you imagine the discreet fun i would have! and the joy you would get from witnessing that, second hand.

wyoming

erewhon gift card

somewhere in the range of $1000-5000 should take care of me for the fall. if you need to understand why, please read this

macarons

not shitty ones. please use bottega louie as a standard but you can find better i’m sure. go to france! i want like 45 of them. pistachio is my favorite; i also like rose, salted caramel, strawberry.

i want to go to a lakers game, but i must be courtside.

no link.

sunglasses chain thing

i am v embarrassed to put this here because i was directed to it from some bop’s instagram i never should have been on… but we all make mistakes and now you can literally pay for mine. (when i typed “sunglass chain”, it autocorrected sunglass to dumbass.) feel free to have a regular glasses chain custom made if you’d rather not support the local business of an instagram celebrity. i wear glasses now to look smarter but uglier.

a candle

this candle smells like the gramercy hotel in new york. i once stepped on john mcenroe’s foot “accidentally” at the bar inside this hotel in 2013. that is enough of an interesting story to make you buy me 5 of these candles, right? consider it preemptive retribution for the serena williams comment.

a yoga mat

it’s a long story… i saw a spider in my home and my neighbor called the police on me because i was yelling and crying so loudly she thought i was being murdered. but in actuality, i was heaving a yoga mat across the room to cover the intruder... and then i stomped it to smithereens, effectively rendering the yoga mat - which had previously never been in use - useless. i need another one. and this one is one of the most expensive ones i could find. it’s luxuriously dense, like my cerebrum.

really good headphones

i think this pair are really good but then again i am an idiot. i will accept any that someone deems “really good”.

megaphone

i’d like a megaphone for reasons i don’t feel comfortable getting into here. i have not googled but any top of the line megaphone should do.

in conclusion, i will settle for a job a dinner at olive garden or nobu malibu on my birthday - with uber suv roundtrip fee included - where no one sings happy birthday to me and no one asks “how my career is going”! my birthday is september 26th.

godspeed.

#my birthday #lists of things #lists of things i want #birthday lists #9/26; never forget #hello it's my birthday #Happy Birthday To Me #birthday gifts #things i want #invidious consumption #waste!

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