#hes been using an attack expressively intended to protect him from attacks to reference his memories with her

[monards]

everyday i get sick remembering albedo's flower is just like the one on the domain floors. He is carrying a memory of his mother with him at all times. Does this matter to you

[joetastic2739]

Statement Regarding False Claims Made Against Joetastic by Dylan/ @anyamusumesonlywife

Author: Concerned members of the Mouthwashing community, friends of Joe, and Joe himself

Introduction

This post is a joint statement written in defense of Joetastic (hereafter referred to as Joe), a creator in the Mouthwashing community, who has recently been the target of misinformation, mischaracterization, and public defamation. The accusations originate from a former collaborator, anyamusumesonlywife (hereafter referred to as Dylan), and have been circulated via a written document on Google Docs, two TikTok videos, one Tumblr post, and several word-of-mouth messages in community servers on discord.

While Joe has remained silent publicly until now, the scale and intensity of the false claims, combined with the reputational damage they have caused, make it necessary to issue a detailed and factual response. This statement reflects not only Joe's perspective, but also that of peers, colleagues, and neutral parties who have reviewed the evidence and feel compelled to clarify what truly occurred.

This document is not intended to cause harm, incite harassment, or encourage retaliation against Dylan in any form. Its sole purpose is to clarify the facts, present context, and refute the false claims that have been made about Joe. While emotions are understandably high, we ask that readers approach this with maturity and respect. This is about defending someone’s character, not attacking another’s. Any form of harassment directed toward Dylan or anyone involved is strongly discouraged and not condoned by Joe or anyone contributing to this statement.

Context & Timeline

December 26, 2024: 

Joe contacts Dylan on Discord asking permission to use their OC in a fan animation. Dylan responds enthusiastically, stating: “YOU CAN 100000% USE MY OC IN ANYTHING!! ID BE SO HONORED.”

Over the following weeks, Dylan provides detailed reference material, lore, and expresses gratitude. They never object to any creative decisions made during this period.

Joe maintains professional, transparent communication throughout. Even clarifying their pronouns so as to not misgender their OC accidentally. There is no indication of discomfort or distress from Dylan.

January 11, 2025:

Joe starts becoming increasingly uncomfortable using someone else’s OC for public-facing content. This is influenced by private feedback and the growing popularity of his work. Joe begins planning an original character, Eira, as a way to tell WLW stories while keeping personal and professional lines clearer. 

January 12, 2025: 

Dylan noticeably starts to change attitude and starts pressuring Joe

"Yeah if I paid for something I'd want it to be posted D: I don't mean to argue at all /gen I was just super looking forward to finally being seen with my Oc and thought that maybe you posting about them would get selfshipping a bit of a better representation" 

Joe talks about making the OC video for free to make it up to Dylan and labeling it as a commission in order to protect both of them over harassment regarding favoritism which Dylan agreed with and voiced no complaints.

Keep in mind that at this point, despite Joe quoting Dylan $40 for a casual model of Dylan’s OC, the transaction has not been made yet and Dylan has not paid for anything.

Dylan later tells Joe that they are in a hospital before proceeding to mention Joe abandoning Dylan’s OC again

Joe pays the $40 out of his own pocket for Dylan’s Casual OC model on Dylan’s behalf first and offers Dylan to pay him any amount for it as he feels bad and wants to make it up to them.

Dylan mentions how the model has a bigger chest which was a misunderstanding by the modeler that was cleared up quickly.

January 15, 2025: 

Dylan tells Joe that people are sending cruel messages to them because he was going to use their OC

Joe suggests to Dylan to turn off anonymous inboxes in order to stop the harassment. Dylan states that they chose not to turn it off on their other RP account and continues showing Joe the harassment Dylan has received.

Joe once again sympathizes with Dylan and makes a post telling people not to harass them on his Tumblr profile.

February 27, 2025: 

Joe debuts Eira publicly. The character receives instant fan praise, with followers eager to see more interactions between her and Anya.

March 2, 2025: 

Dylan voices being upset that their OC did not get the chance to be used by Joe.

Joe points out it’s for the best incase they mischaracterize Dylan and end up hurting Dylan’s feelings.

Joe tries to reassure Dylan again.

March 4, 2025: 

March 8, 2025: 

Dylan starts blaming Joe for harassment and taking the spotlight from sapphic people like them. Joe states that those harassing Dylan do not represent him and that he does not condone them harassing anybody. Joe once again reassures Dylan it isn’t his intent to steal attention away from anybody’s OC.

At this point, Joe began to feel that Dylan was manipulating him. Blaming him for things beyond his control and growing increasingly hostile. Though he agreed to make another Tumblr post at Dylan’s request, he hesitated, wanting first to confirm whether his suspicions about Dylan’s intentions and feelings toward him were valid.

Joe once again made it clear that it was never his intention to make anyone uncomfortable. He expressed this repeatedly, hoping to de-escalate the situation and reassure Dylan of his good faith. However, the constant accusations, shifting expectations, and increasingly tense tone from Dylan left Joe feeling emotionally drained and deeply uncomfortable continuing the conversation. Despite his efforts to resolve things respectfully, it became clear that nothing he said was enough to satisfy Dylan. After enduring repeated blame and pressure, Joe ultimately decided, for his own well-being, to stop engaging with Dylan after March 9th.

March 12, 2025: 

Despite their agreement to part ways after the free video Joe made for them, Dylan begins circulating a document on a private server framing Joe as manipulative, inconsiderate, and abusive. 

The document was then intentionally sent to the developers of Mouthwashing.

March 13, 2025: 

When Joe learned that Dylan had created a document filled with false claims and had shared it with the moderators of the Mouthwashing server, knowing it would reach the developers, he felt that a clear line had been crossed. This wasn’t just a personal dispute anymore. Iit was an attempt to damage his professional relationships and potentially jeopardize his future opportunities within a community he had contributed to. It was deeply hurtful to see someone he had once collaborated with try to turn trusted colleagues against him. 

In light of this, Joe made the decision to formally request that Dylan no longer use the free work he had created for them. He asked that all related posts be removed from Dylan’s social media, as continuing to showcase the work felt exploitative and disingenuous given the circumstances.

March 15, 2025: 

Although Dylan initially respected Joe’s request and removed the content he had worked on, they soon chose to go public with their version of events. Dylan published a Tumblr post detailing their side of the situation, painting Joe in a negative light and reigniting the narrative despite previously agreeing to take a step back. When Joe became aware of the post, he was disappointed but chose to remain silent. At the time, the post wasn’t gaining much traction, and Joe hoped that by not engaging further, the situation would deescalate. His priority was to move on quietly and avoid fueling more drama, even if it meant allowing false or misleading narratives to go unchallenged, for a while.

March 21, 2025:

Joe publicly releases a new animation featuring his characters Eira and Anya. The video shared a few thematic similarities with the earlier animation he had created for Dylan, but it was completely re-animated from the ground up.

Shortly after its release, Dylan sent Joe a direct message accusing him of stealing their animation idea. This was despite the fact that Dylan had never contributed to the production of the video in question. Not in writing, animation, direction, or execution. Furthermore, the themes Dylan claimed ownership over were not unique: they were common story beats that had appeared in Joe’s videos months before he and Dylan had ever interacted.

What made the accusation more troubling was the emotional pressure that followed. Dylan told Joe that because of this video, they had been unable to sleep, were throwing up, and feeling physically ill. The blame was placed entirely on Joe for Dylan’s emotional distress, adding yet another layer of guilt and responsibility to a situation already fraught with manipulation and false claims.

While Joe acknowledges that there are surface-level similarities between the new video featuring his OC and the animation he previously made for Dylan, it’s important to clarify that both videos were conceptualized, animated, and completed entirely by Joe himself. As the sole creator, he has every right to revisit themes, scenes, or stylistic choices from his own body of work.

March 28, 2025: 

Joe begins experiencing increased hostility, especially in the Wrong Organ server. 

Rumors originating from Dylan began circulating within the Wrong Organ Discord server. Some concerned members of the community reached out to Joe directly to inform him about what was being said.

One of these individuals, growing increasingly concerned, chose to inform Joe about what was happening. It was revealed that Dylan had also been privately messaging random members of the Wrong Organ Discord server out of the blue to talk about Joe.

According to this individual, Dylan not only reached out to people to talk about Joe, but also frequently used these conversations to vent their personal problems and frustrations. When the topic shifted away from their issues, Dylan would quickly lose interest and disengage.

March 30, 2025: 

Dylan decides to be bolder and creates 2 TikTok videos claiming Joe has been stalking and harassing them. Dylan also lies to everybody about Joe’s age and sexuality in order to make him seem more creepy, and accuses him of fetishzing lesbians. Dylan also claimed Joe purposefully shared suggestive content to minors on discord when what he did was simply share the videos he made to the Wrong Organ discord server. The Developers and Moderators have stated those videos were not suggestive and are okay to post.

Wrong Organ Discord Mod statement after Dylan started saying the Video Joe posted there was suggestive, confirming that the video would remain up and would not be removed, as it did not violate any server rules:

Confirmation from Wrong Organ themselves:

Dylan’s accusations that Joe is being creepy and fetishizing lesbians are based on out-of-context screenshots. In this example, Joe was not referring to lesbians in general, but specifically to Dylan, who is not a lesbian. The comments were a direct response to Dylan’s repeated criticisms, not a dismissal of the broader sapphic community. The framing of this exchange to suggest Joe was targeting all lesbians is intentionally misleading.

These TikToks that Dylan posted were quickly gaining traction and starting to snowball out of control. When Joe woke up to these videos, he saw that it had already gotten 20k views, 3k likes, 270 comments and 500 bookmarks with these numbers quickly increasing each minute.

In the comments of both TikTok posts, Dylan continued to spread false information and actively engaged with, and at times endorsed cruel, demeaning remarks directed at Joe.

Fearing for the safety of his reputation and watching the false rumors gain increasing traction, Joe realized that remaining silent was no longer an option. After weeks of trying to avoid conflict, it became clear that Dylan had no intention of stopping. The only way to set the record straight was to speak up. Shortly after, Joe made a public Twitter post addressing the situation:

[Tumblr only allows 30 images per post. This post will continue in a follow up]

[fivelasanctum]

Tragic Misunderstanding?

Now tell me if this is a stretch or not. I think the whole 'dumping' during the fight with Bennifer was more of a misunderstanding than Lila just ending things with Five right then and there. Prior to her yelling "it's over five!" He and Diego had been fist fighting intensely for a good amount of the fight. All Five's resentment toward Diego being a possible obstacle to his happiness with lila rushing out. He had to restrain himself when they returned to the house (for the most part) We remember how protective and defensive Five was for Dolores when she would be touched or referred to rudely. Lila was real and had become his partner and lover in all ways. So feelings would be more volatile towards Diego. What with kissing and touching on her. That and Diego ordering him to "Stay away from my wife!" That set Five off since I believe he has seen lila as his wife in a manner of speaking from all the years spent together. Serving the roles that a husband would for a wife. Protector, provider and a source of love and comfort. Five also was present when lila told Diego she wanted a break. Which let's be honest, is often the kiss of death for relationships. Surprised it took them so long to let the walls down and finally be together ^^

When five and diego were fighting, lila jumped in front of them to scold them both for fighting at a time like that. Five said "He wanted to kill him." A bit of old, rage filled five from the previous seasons creeped out. Think Lila was frustrated and losing her temper over all the testosterone with their brawling. That and Allison almost dying, the tentacles whipping around causing many of their family members to almost lose their life or at the very least be seriously injured. Why she locked eyes with him for a long moment since he was murderous. Saying how it was over. Think she meant the fighting over her. Time and place for all that. Not in such a dire situation like the one they were presently in.

Understandable that Five would assume the worse with her harsh words. His heart broke in the Greenhouse when she used her sharp tongue to diminish their relationship (for a moment anyway). Five is extremely perceptive and well tuned to her tells and every nuance with her. Being together constantly for 7 years would do that. Far more than The Handler when she mentioned she knew everything about lila essentially when she tried to deny feeling anything for Diego in season 2. So I hope he read between the lines. Still didn't prevent his heart from hurting...his greatest fear is loneliness. Think due to the kids, thought he would be forsaken in favor of returning to the 'broken marriage'. So when she says those words, he looked between her and Diego and assumed the worse. That he truly lost her and she made her decision. Quickly blinking away. Now what gave life to this theory was Lila's wide-eyed expression and uttering "shit." Right after he did what five usually does, blinked away when it did suit his fancy. Someone who meant to break up with the other party wouldn't look stunned with the 'Oh shit' face when the person gets the hell out of there to lick the emotional wounds. That looks like a clear, 'what have I done?' Expression. Then to add insult to injury, she couldn't very well leave since everyone was in the midst of being attacked by the world destroying bennifer monster. Even if she did choose to go after him, he blinked away first so her opening to borrow and mimic his blink ability left with him. Since five and his power are the only ways to reach that waypoint alternate timeline subway station.

He does return. Mentioning how he didn't intend to come back. That focus on Diego's face possibly meant he had hoped he stayed gone since Lila loves him and all. Anyway, when Five does come back it's pure relief in seeing him return. Having thought she probably wouldn't have laid eyes on him again with everything that transpired and her inability to follow him.

[saturdays--sun]

no word tender enough (to be your name)

↳ ship: dancing in the dark (inigo) ↳ content: ~3.5k words. very minor spoilers for awakening and fates if you squint. two references to gaius. set sometime during fates, but the specific route is irrelevant. intentionally lowercase. i read the inigo/owain A support in fates and became irreversibly unwell, so i wrote this (and became even more unwell)

"it's dangerous to be out here on your own, you know."

blinking at the sound — at the sudden, familiar voice that reached her ears in the otherwise quiet darkness — koda pulled her gaze from its spot on the distant horizon, her head turning just enough to look over her shoulder. a smile — soft and gentle; the kind that almost made her heart skip a beat — was pointed down at her, its owner stepping easily around the spot she had found in the grass to take a seat beside her.

"...maybe." she wouldn't have been out here, at the furthest edge of the army's camp, if she had truly worried about being attacked — but she was sure he knew that. a tiny breath — somewhere between a short huff and a half scoff — escaped the back of her throat, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she looked at the figure next to her. "...is this going to segue into some line about how you can be my knight in shining armor or something?"

inigo let out a soft laugh, the sound sending an uncomfortable pang through her chest. "i hadn't planned on it." hints of sheepishness slipped into his features; the smile he wore turned the slightest bit apprehensive. "i can't imagine you'd like me implying you need to be protected."

protected.

the word echoed off the walls of her skull; shook loose a memory she had locked away — buried in the depths of her heart where it couldn't reach her; where it couldn't haunt her. now, it filled her mind against her will — a dark alley; undead monsters trapping her against cold brick; the realization that she was going to die; a flash of steel in the dim moonlight; a lollipop being nudged into her still-shaking hands.

"you okay?"

a voice — his voice.

koda forced the memory away before it could take root too deeply.

before it could conjure his face behind her eyelids next.

unconsciously, as if by habit, koda's knees pulled themselves up to her chest, her arms wrapping around her legs and her chin leaning down to rest on them. "...i wouldn't mind." the words came out mumbled; muffled by the way her mouth was pressing into the fabric of her sleeve. "...being protected, i mean."

"oh? well, then, in that case—"

in an instant, green eyes shot sideways in a glare, the look in them silencing whatever asinine line he had started to say before her voice even had a chance to cut it off. "don't start with me, laslow."

whatever reaction she had been expecting — some flippant, unbothered laugh; some line about how you didn't even let me finish, buttercup; some compliment she always tried to take with a grain of salt; something normal — never came. instead, inigo's face fell, previously content features shifting in a way that was just short of a grimace — like she had said something particularly hurtful to him; like it had struck him so deeply that his expression faltered before he could mask the emotions hidden beneath it.

...huh?

an uncharacteristic stab of guilt shot through koda's heart and down into the pit of her stomach; filled her body with a nauseating anxiety that she had somehow upset him; that her usual response — the one she had long since thought he was used to — had hit some nerve she hadn't intended to hit. "...hey, what's wrong?" the bite that had been in her voice had vanished, leaving behind only hesitation and soft undertones of concern. slowly, her arms uncoiled from around her legs, spine straightening itself back out and her hands pressing softly into the grass beneath her. "i'm... sorry, i didn't mean to make you upset or—"

"huh?" as if her voice had brought him back to reality, inigo blinked at her — once, then twice, something almost like confusion flickering through his eyes — before giving her another smile and a gentle, dismissive wave of his hand. "oh, it's fine, darling. you didn't upset me."

she would have believed him had his smile reached his eyes.

you're lying.

koda's eyes narrowed slightly as the thought — the realization — flashed through her mind, her eyebrows furrowing together in a sickening mixture of frustration and worry. teeth bit gently at her lip; and when they let go, her mouth opened only to close again as inigo looked away from her — down into the small space between them; down to where his hand had fallen, just inches away from her own. the fragile mask he had put on had fallen again — faded just as quickly as it had come; slipped into a strange in-between melancholy that didn't suit him.

"it just surprised me, is all." his voice sounded distant when he spoke again — as if his thoughts were somewhere else; somewhere far beyond her and the small patch of grass they were sitting on — and when he lifted his head back up to meet her eyes once more, the smile he wore was less convincing than the last. "i'm not used to hearing you call me by that name."

"really?" the question came out before koda had a chance to think about it, her features softening into an expression laced with subtle hints of confusion. even if she hadn't called him it directly before — and she was sure she had; at the very least, she'd referred to him by it in conversation — he had been in this world — gone by that name — far longer than she had. surely the strangeness had worn off by now, right?

and yet, when inigo laughed — breathy and light; little more than an airy chuckle — it came out sheepish, his eyebrows pulling together and raising up, disappearing partly beneath his bangs. "it's not strange for you?" her question was met with a question; an answer, and not one at all. "being called by a name that's not your own?"

koda's head tilted slightly, a momentary pause following his voice before she gave a small shrug and turned her gaze back to the treeline she had been staring at before. "...not really." maybe at first, there had been a period of time where the alias she had adopted sounded foreign to her, but there had been no deeper meaning behind it than it simply being different — all things considered, a new name was one of the easier things she'd had to adjust to. "i don't really care."

"not at all?"

"nah." from the darkened trees in the distance, her eyes shifted up — to the night sky; to the thousands of stars that littered it; to the moon that shone steadily down on them. "it's just a name, y'know? regardless of what someone calls me, it doesn't change anything about me."

the word lioncub floated up from some distant corner of her mind.

she buried it alongside the memory from before.

in an effort to keep them both at bay — to keep them from allowing more memories she wasn't prepared to face overtake her thoughts; to plunge her heart into depths she had just barely managed to pull it out of before — koda glanced sideways again, her eyes landing on the side of inigo's face while his were fixed downward. hints of concern floated around her irises again; that same concern slipped into her voice when her mouth opened again.

"...why? does it bother you?"

from where she sat, partially leaned over to get whatever glimpse of his face that she could, she watched his eyes blink again — like he'd been startled by the sound of her voice; like he had gotten lost in his thoughts again. another uncomfortable laugh left his lips — and when he lifted his head up, his gaze avoided hers; darted back and forth between her and some other spot in the distance. "no, it doesn't." another wave of his hand; instead of going back to the ground, it wound up in his hair, fingers toying with the strands that hung in front of his face. "i just wanted to make sure i wasn't calling you something you didn't like. i'd hate to upset you, buttercup."

the smile he offered her never reached his eyes.

when she noticed it this time, something in the back of koda's mind clicked into place.

ah. that's what it is.

"...you're still a terrible liar, inigo."

all at once, his expression shifted — the distant melancholy that had once lined his features suddenly gave way to stunned surprise, brown eyes growing wide and his mouth falling open as he stared at her. in the darkness, she just barely caught the way his shoulders grew rigid; the way the fingers in his hair stopped abruptly and the hand on the ground next to hers tensed against the grass.

the change was so immediate — so violent — she almost laughed at it; in a different circumstance, she probably would have.

"w-what did you just...?"

but in this one, all she did was smile.

"you wanted to hear your real name again, didn't you, inigo?"

saying it again — saying his name — made the surprise on his face melt into embarrassment; painted his cheeks a shade of red so dark it was visible even in the dim lighting of the moon. his eyelids fluttered rapidly; and before his gaze darted quickly away from hers, koda caught a glimpse of the overwhelmingly flustered look that had flooded the color of his eyes.

...cute.

"i-i—" as if his tongue had tied itself in knots, inigo's voice came out in a stutter; little more than sounds attempting to become words in his mouth. "how..." he looked at her again, but only for a moment — the moment their eyes met, his pointed themselves elsewhere. "how did you...?"

koda let out a soft breath — a huff of air that was meant to sound amused but came out sounding far more endeared instead. "like i said, you're a shitty liar." the small smile playing on her lips grew — just a fraction; just enough that she could feel it — the amusement she felt finally flickering through her irises. "plus, we've known each other forever at this point. you're not that hard for me to read."

the soft sigh inigo let out ended in a faint chuckle, his fingers running fully through his bangs before dropping back down onto the grass. "you always did have a talent for that," he breathed out, his voice soft, as if he were talking more to himself than to her; as if he were reliving some distant memory. his eyes finally drifted over to hers again — and this time, they lingered on her face despite the embarrassment still shining in them. another sheepish breath escaped him; a shy smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. "sometimes i feel like you can see right through me, buttercup."

would it be so bad if i could?

koda's mouth opened, but the question never made it much further than the forefront of her mind — some invisible force held her tongue in place; kept her from voicing something almost serious; something that would push them closer to a line they were already dangerously toeing; closer to a line she wasn't sure she was brave enough to cross.

closer to a line that would force her to admit that she—

her heart thumped roughly against her chest.

—didn't want to think about that right now.

before she had a chance to get out of her own head — before her silence became too apparent and she was forced to think of something to say back — inigo continued, his gaze leaving hers to drift down to his lap. "...you're right, though." his free hand — the one that wasn't still firmly planted on the ground beside her own — toyed aimlessly with a blade of grass. "i... was starting to miss hearing it."

he paused.

in the soft lighting, koda saw the tips of his ears turn pink.

"...especially from you."

this time, her heart stopped entirely.

an uncomfortable wave of heat crept rapidly up the back of koda's neck until it reached her face, pooling so heavily in her cheeks that she wouldn't have been surprised to find that her head had suddenly caught fire. green eyes grew wide; stared at the side of his head until they suddenly couldn't stand to look at him anymore — until they blinked rapidly and darted off somewhere else; somewhere that wasn't him; somewhere that wasn't his face or the way the pink on his ears had spread to his cheeks or the curve of his lips...

her stomach lurched so roughly it very nearly made her sick.

"...you mean that?"

her voice was soft when it slipped out of her — quiet; hardly above a whisper.

"i do."

his was even softer when he replied — as if he didn't want her to hear it; as if he were afraid she might.

the silence that followed his words was heavier than before — and when koda swallowed against the way her heart had taken to wedging itself in the back of her throat, her tongue felt thick. teeth bit softly at the inside of her cheek; her lips parted slightly and then closed once more, words lingering just inside her mouth — words she wanted to say and words she wanted to bite back; words and sentiments and feelings that were steadily tearing her heart in two, the incessant pulling causing a dull ache to form in her chest.

if she hadn't suddenly become rooted to the spot she was sitting in, she might have run away from it.

slowly — hesitantly; as if she were suddenly too scared, too nervous, to look at him anymore — koda pulled her eyes off of whatever nondescript spot on the darkened horizon they had landed, letting them flicker sideways before dropping down to her legs. the breath she sucked in was shallow; little more than a futile attempt to ease her now-unsteady heartbeat.

"...i'll call you it if you want." the words spilled off her tongue before she had a chance to think about them; and as they filled the space between them, she felt inigo's gaze drift back over to her; felt her skin prickle and grow warm under the weight of it. as much as she could manage, she turned her head back to him, her heart fluttering in her chest when their eyes met. "your real name, i mean."

i was starting to miss calling you it, too.

despite the shade of pink that still lingered on his skin, a faint smile formed on his lips, his expression softening down so much koda could almost mistake it as loving. "i'd like that." the hand pressed into the ground next to her twitched; his fingertips just barely touched hers. a soft laugh left his lips — lighter than before; more shy than before. "...but only if you let me call you yours, too."

if it could, her heart would have beat straight out of her chest.

koda's eyes flickered away again — back and forth; between his face and the distant darkness, a flustered feeling slowly engulfing her heart and filling the inside of her chest. "i..." her words stalled in her mouth; caught against her teeth before trying desperately to crawl back down her throat. like a weight, the sentiment she wanted to admit — that she had begun to miss hearing her real name, too; that she'd begun to miss hearing it in his voice — sat heavily on her tongue; made it feel like lead as she forced it to keep moving.

"i'd... like that, too." barely more than a murmur, her voice filled the space between them; and as it trailed off in a small breeze that rustled the distant trees, her gaze shyly made its way back to his. "...you... calling me that, i mean."

i miss hearing it from you, too.

the thought slipping through whatever remained of her brain's filter sent another flustered swirl to her heart and a swarm of butterflies to the pit of her stomach. suddenly unable to look at him again, koda huffed sharply and snapped her head to the side, forcing out a fumbled sentence to blanket the sincerity — the softness; the longing — of her previous one.

"b-but only when we're alone. it'd be a pain to deal with if someone overheard us."

the soft chuckle that hit her ears did little to quell the uncomfortable tension that had settled into her nerves — but it did make her heart jump. "i know." softer still, his voice dropped; and when the tone pulled koda's eyes back to him in spite of herself, that same softness was reflected in the features of his face. when her gaze met his in the darkness, the corners of inigo's mouth turned upward in a small smile and his head tilted slightly. "it'll be our little secret."

our little secret.

over and over, her brain repeated the words — over and over, until they'd all but been etched onto the inside of her skull; until her heart had skipped far more beats than she could count; until her chest had grown so warm she feared she was glowing.

until she had convinced herself that it meant as much to him as it did to her.

"...yeah," she breathed out, her cheeks growing warm and her knees habitually pulling themselves back up to her chest. wrapping her arms around them, she buried her nose into her sleeves, eyes drifting down to the toes of her shoes as a faint smile pulled at her lips. "...our little secret."

she liked the sound of it.

the silence that fell over them again was lighter this time — the heaviness that had once permeated it was replaced with something far easier to bear; something far less suffocating. a weight koda hadn't realized she'd been burdening slid off her shoulders; and as that weight faded into the night, swept away by the gentle breeze that blew between them and rustled her hair, another weight settled itself into her eyelids.

"are you getting tired?"

blinking her eyes back open — when had they fallen shut? — koda looked sideways at inigo again, eyebrows momentarily furrowing when their gazes met.

maybe she wasn't so hard for him to read, either.

the first response she gave was a hum; the second was a proper answer, the tiredness she would normally mask slipping easily into her voice. "...a little." stifling a yawn, she slowly lifted her head up from the comfortable spot it had found against her arms, half-lidded irises flickering from the dark horizon to the pair of eyes lingering on the side of her face. "...it's getting pretty late."

a look of affection flickered through inigo's face — flashed in the brown of his eyes before dissipating into something more muted. "it is," he agreed, using the hand still rooted to the space between them to push himself up straight; as he looked at her, he let out an airy chuckle. "we should head back before we're falling asleep tomorrow."

before she could respond, he had risen to his feet, one of his hands holding itself out to her.

a moment passed before the meaning behind the gesture clicked itself into place within the sleepy confines of koda's head, her eyes moving from his hand to his face and back again. in any normal situation, she would brush off the offer — tell him that she didn't need his act of chivalry; that it was better saved for some village girl that would actually fall for his charms; that they wouldn't work on her.

but in this situation, where the walls around her heart had been momentarily knocked down by the smile he was giving her, she let them.

and let her hand carefully find its way into his.

inigo pulled her up to her feet, his hand lingering on hers a moment longer than necessary — just long enough to let the warmth of his palm seep through the leather of his glove and onto her skin; just long enough for her to get used to the way their hands fit together and how his fingers felt as they wrapped around hers.

just long enough for her to wish he wouldn't let go.

but inevitably, he did; and when he did, koda awkwardly glanced away from him, her arm dropping back down to her side. "...yeah," she said after a lapse of silence, only distantly realizing that her response had come unnaturally delayed. another beat of silence; inside her chest, that same swirl of emotion had begun to engulf her heart again — in an effort to mitigate it, she turned her body from him, pointing herself in the direction of the quiet army camp.

"...i'll see you tomorrow, then."

one of her feet moved, but she never took a step — a hand wrapping gently around her wrist stopped her before she ever could.

"wait. koda."

the sound of her name — the sound of his voice saying her name — made her heart jump; made the back of her neck grow warm as she shyly turned back toward him.

he was smiling again.

this time, it reached his eyes.

"thank you."

and when she smiled back, hers did, too.

"you're welcome, inigo."

[peakynate]

a bathing ape 1

in attempts to express how me and my brother understand the world i failed constantly but this should do it and there came a time that the sea separated the bathing ape from the other. the ape colony was always at war survival for the fittest was the game.The mother apes had to fight all day to protect their children.This included kaigo a 3 0 season ape the son of wakaigo at least the only living one.ants were their staple food fruits were scarce and were only available for Rujamini the eldest and most violent ape who was mostly a loner.Rujamini was not a sight for sore eyes but a sight that would sore your eyes,a scar ran down his left eye down to the lip making it look like a cleft.On his head what looked like a bald spot was actually a healing scar this was earned during the exodus from the other nation of apes. How this migration came along was not really a peaceful event but a dawning of terror.'the bathing ape' as refered to the other species that were members of the jungle had become a menace.this began 15 moons before the present day well at least it came to light then. the bathing ape had used a rather schemy and cunning plan to take over but was soon found out and severely attacked by all jungle families after the accusations of hoarding both food and water and poisoning of fierce warriors from other jungle families .in trial the clan leaders of the bathing apes tried to be cunning and schemy but the scent of their spike in adrenalin and heartbeats were visible to the canine family and several others. the bathing apes clan was attacked and massively murdered while others escaped to neighbouring unexplored lands and hid in caves.most of them hadnt reunited with their families and many barely survived the crossing since the crocodiles and hippos still wanted a slice of the traitor. Rujamini had fallen off a twig and crashed head on on a rock just by the river.all the hoarded belongins had been reclaimed by the jungle family and scatered around so that all the members would fight for it and them with best equipped systems survived just as nature had intended .Order had been restored back in Orijinasis. a population of 125 apes who were 154 seasons old had made it across the buganita sea.and young apes well not very lucky is what we would call them.12 of them made it while 4 were severely wounded.the caninas had targeted the young ones since that was the easiest way to make sure they weakened generations to come of the bathing ape.this would sound like homicide only if jumbo a fellow mammalian hadnt died from the bigo poison .Jumbo had been the protector of the jumbo clan for 642 seasons and its because of him that they had remained safe and thrived getting themselves their own waterwhole in orijinasis.Orijinasis works on the system of survival for the fittest and every member uses the specs that their systems were equipped with to survive.The caninas are the fiercest the jumbos the largest among many others.every member is allowed to take food only for a day and only mothers are allowed to carry food. storing food and water is considered a crime as this would ascertain the starvation of another.the food chain is respected and the game is constantly played.death is never a tragedy in this place . kaigo had only been a character in the lands for 72 seasons he had learnt fighting and gathering from his elder brother Thutani.He had taught his brother all this mechanisms of originasis till he succumbed to the paw of a caninas and ended up as a days meal.Kaigo had learnt that emotions are for the weak and survival for the swift. Caves were not actually the cocoon habitats they were used to in the tropical lands of originasis.This was a different land one with grass full of serpents and poisonous breeds other outcasts of originasis.Dangerous is too feeble,a word, to describe the situation.3 moons ago Rujaminis last son had been knocked off a cliff by a vulture.if anyone thought originasis was hard by now they had gone mad.

[mariacallous]

When Bill Lee donned a cheerleader uniform, fake pearls and a wig as part of high school senior year antics, he probably didn’t think the goofy costume would come back to bite him. But, more than 40 years later, the now governor of Tennessee is at the forefront of efforts to ban the innocent costumes he and his friends once wore, waging a battle that strikes at the heart of our first amendment freedoms.

Since the beginning of this year, at least 32 bills have been filed in Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia targeting drag performances, with more on the way.

Tennessee was the first to pass its bill into law last week, barring “adult cabaret performances” on public property or in places where they might be within view of children. The bill bans, among other things, “male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest, or similar entertainers”. Violators may face misdemeanor or even felony charges.

In Texas, at least four different bills would put venues that host drag performances in the same category as adult movie theaters and strip clubs.

Driving support for these bills is discomfort and distaste for expression that defies conventional gender norms. The growth of library Drag Queen Story Hours – programs that feature drag performers as a way to provide “unabashedly queer role models” for kids – have led some to question whether young children should be exposed to those who defy traditional gender patterns.

Participation in Drag Queen Story Hours is voluntary – libraries decide whether to program these events and families choose whether to attend them – but some critics seem to regard their very existence as deviant or dangerous. This reaction is part of a wider backlash against the increased visibility of transgender and non-binary identities. States and communities have banned books featuring transgender characters and prohibited teaching about transgender identities in school.

Though the history and cultural role of drag goes well beyond current tensions over transgender issues, this form of performance and display has now come into the crosshairs. Drag performances have been targeted with violence and are now the subject of state laws to limit or even outlaw them.

Anti-drag legislation varies from state to state, but tends to share some common provisions. Most bills define a drag performer as someone performing while using dress, makeup and mannerisms associated with a gender other than the one assigned to them at birth. A number of bills include lip-syncing within their definitions and many specify that the person must be performing for an audience.

Some bills would designate any establishment that hosts drag performances as an “adult” or sexually oriented business, often making it illegal for such businesses to be located within a certain distance of schools or residential areas.

While the details of the legislation may change from state to state, most of these bills represent a broad and dangerous chilling of Americans�� right to free speech. The US supreme court has repeatedly found that clothing choices are a constitutionally protected form of expression under the first amendment.

The Tennessee law’s reference to “prurience” – defined as something intended to arouse sexual interest – should limit the sweep of the law so it doesn’t affect things like children’s story hours. But, inevitably, concerns over the intent and enforcement of the law will cast a chill over shows, jokes or comedy bits that might be anywhere close to the line. That chilling is intentional: by targeting drag performances, lawmakers intend to intimidate transgender and non-binary performers and shows into hiding.

The breadth of the bills is staggering, and many would risk chilling expression that goes well beyond the drafters’ purported goals of protecting children or limiting displays that may border on the obscene.

Productions of Shakespeare plays like As You Like It or Twelfth Night – both of which feature cross-dressing characters – could run afoul of some of these bills, as might a singer performing the musical version of Mrs Doubtfire. Sandy Duncan’s performance as Peter Pan would be banned under several of these bills. Movies like White Christmas, Tootsie, Some Like It Hot, Bridge on the River Kwai and South Pacific – all of which feature comic performances by men wearing women’s clothes – could be off-limits for screenings in schools or libraries.

Even Governor Bill Lee’s decades-old dress-up could lead to serious legal repercussions under the law he just signed, if it were to be interpreted and enforced broadly. If students wore similar costumes today on the grounds of a public high school, and then went on to make a sexual joke in front of a small group, their behavior might be criminalized.

The legislation has even broader impacts for transgender people. Under some draft laws a string quartet with a transgender violinist might not be able to perform chamber music. A trans chef talking about their new cookbook could be restricted to venues designated as “adult businesses”.

It’s perfectly fair for parents to want to decide how and when their young children engage with questions of gender identity. But the drive to protect children from witnessing people whose dress defies traditional gender binaries must not become the basis for draconian restrictions impinging upon the free expression rights of children and adults alike.

Whether it’s youthful pranks, beloved plays, historical costumes or adult performances, the ability to dress up and play characters unlike yourself is core to artistic expression. In the name of curbing drag, legislatures across the country are dragging down first amendment freedoms for all.

[stxleslyds]

What do you think about the theories that Jason was sexually abused as a child? Or even possibly while he was comatose after his resurrection?

Implications of this theory include his conversation with Mia (Speedy) and Bruce's message (Battle for the Cowl). In addition, when he was Robin he expressed what was then considered uncharacteristic rage towards the perpetrators of sex crimes.

Garzonas - unrepentant rapist who got no consequences

When a woman killed her sister's rapist and murderer (because Batman's evidence was not admissible in court), Batman said that she went too far with murder. Jason's disagreed with "Good riddance". Good for you, Jason.

His recklessness when dealing with a child sex trafficking ring.

I highly doubt that DC would ever confirm this theory. I would rather they leave it ambiguous because I don't trust them to not botch Jason... much less respectfully address the subject matter.

I have read so many thoughts on Jason that they're starting to blend together. So I apologize if you've already answered this before.

Hello friend! Aside from the fact that I took way too much time to answer your ask, this was also a hard question to come up with an answer to, I wanted to remain respectful of the subjects at hand even though I don’t second this headcanon. But before we keep going, let me put some trigger warnings in this post.

trigger warning: mentions of sexual abuse, child abuse, rape.

First, I would like to bring up these two concepts because I oftentimes mix them up when talking about these “ideas”.

Theory: a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something; an idea used to account for a situation or justify a course of action.

Headcanon: Headcanon generally refers to ideas held by fans of series that are not explicitly supported by sanctioned text or other media. Fans maintain the ideas in their heads, outside of the accepted canon.

I think the idea of Jason having been sexually abused at any point in his lifetime is a mix between a theory and a headcanon. Why I am saying this? Because as you have put in the ask, there has been instances where fandom has found pieces of information that they have considered the base of this idea.

So, if we say that there is a piece of text that might support that idea and they build from that to justify a course of action we would be looking at a theory. In this case Jason having been abused would the reason as to why he acts in that strong and violent way towards cases of sexual abuse/harassment.

In the other hand those pieces of text might not support that idea so fandom headcanons that idea in order to build another layer to a character, in this case Jason having been abused would also justify his actions towards certain criminals.

The “text” (panels, issues, mentions) are most of the time ambiguous, which makes readers have different perspectives in what is being written and what then is made into a theory or headcanon.

Personally, I don’t like this theory or headcanon for various reasons (which I will explain later in the post), and I have read and understood those moments mentioned as Jason just having survived Crime Alley as something general, I don’t think he suffered that kind of abuse but I think he was made aware of that type of behaviour every day that he spent alone in the streets and that why we saw Jason in Batman #408 saying that he had “graduated a long time ago from the streets of crime alley”.

Having said that, I do understand that some of the moments mentioned can be seen as ambiguous and that’s what leads people to theorize/headcanon that idea, because of that I would like to show the panels mentioned in your ask so everyone can read them and make up their own conclusions and then I will talk about the reasons why I don’t like this particular theory/headcanon.

As Robin:

Batman (1940) #422

In these panels we can see Jason as Robin jumping in to defend a woman that was being attacked by a man. There I only see Jason acting like a vigilante would, maybe he was hitting too hard or whatever but Batman has hit people as much as Jason was doing it this time around, plus I, personally, don’t see any kind of problem with Jason beating a man that was harassing and threatening a woman with death.

Right beside we have Jason being on the side of the woman that killed her sister’s attacker. He didn’t see any problem with that woman seeking justice for her sister on her own when the police, Batman and himself couldn’t get the job done.

Here I see Jason having a big problem with authorities and justice system, which is not something new, in Batman #408, Jason says very clearly that he doesn’t trust the system in Gotham (the police, social workers and such), and he was also shown in that comic talking very fondly about his mother and about how much he cared for her when she was at her worst. Let’s remember that Jason loved his mother, he took care of her and resented his father for being abusive towards her and even introducing her to drugs.

Instead understanding these panels as Jason having been abused himself, I see it more as Jason having a humongous understanding of how much women and others suffer in Gotham due to the justice system’s lack of action. I also see Jason as the kind of boy that respected all women and could not sit and do nothing when people were hitting and abusing women just like his father did to his mother.

Batman (1940) #424

This issue starts by saying that Jason jumps into action as soon as he hears someone scream but that he wasn’t going to be prepared to see what was happening. This is the issue where all of us meet Felipe Garzonas, the abuser and rapist of many women. At first Jason doesn’t know what Felipe was doing but after he and Batman “defeat” Felipe, he goes to the room where he finds Gloria in a bed badly hurt and scared. Jason is shocked when he first finds her and after hearing her story in the police station, he becomes more and more happy about the fact that by having caught Felipe, he and Batman would be able to offer some peace and justice to Gloria after he goes to jail, but that doesn’t happen.

They had all the evidence to put Felipe in jail and the police could easily see that Gloria was the victim but because Felipe had someone to back his made-up story up, he was able to not be arrested and jailed.

Jason once again is baffled at the lack of action by the police or simply justice not being able to be made in favour of the true victim. Batman even says that he has noticed that Jason “had become to emotionally invested with the case” which could favour either idea (Jason having suffered sexual abuse or not), in my case I see this once again as Jason not being able to remain calm after doing everything to keep that woman safe and the justice system not being able to do it themselves in a more permanent way (jail time, or whatever).

But that’s not all because Jason being too emotional with that case was brought up as a way to show that Jason couldn’t see that Felipe had been under the influence of drugs, which is something that Jason can see in people very well (do to experience with his mother and his training with Batman). So, Felipe is now a rapist, an abuser, he does drugs and he also has a market for it.

Because Felipe was allowed to go back to his “normal” life he had Gloria be killed, and he kept abusing drugs and women, when Jason finds Gloria’s dead body and that Batman still seems to abide the justice system he snaps. He goes alone to see Felipe and that’s were this iconic panel comes from. The moments before Jason made his first kill and felt no remorse about it. I know this is kinda soft topic because Jason was a teenager, but good for him, kill that bitch. Gotham doesn’t need more people like him.

Batman (1940) #226

This is the issue where Jason attacks the men that were involved with some very nasty stuff involving children. Batman narrates and says that him and Jason had been working on this case for three weeks. Jason jumps into action suddenly and “recklessly” even though Batman considered their investigation wasn’t over, he also says that he thinks that Jason had been “acting oddly” and that he was very “moody, resentful and reckless” and that that attitude could “get him killed”.

This could be used as to add more proof of the abuse idea but I actually see it as build up to Jason’s death, that happened two issues later. Let’s remember that Jason found out of his birth mother and was desperate to find and save her from Joker, because he was a good son but also because he didn’t feel like Bruce loved, cared or appreciated him anymore. Ever since Jason made it clear that he didn’t see the world and justice in the same way that Batman did back in issue #422, Jason and Bruce’s relationship suffered, they just couldn’t see eye to eye on some subjects and Bruce’s neglect or lack of care for what Jason believed in drove Jason to act the way he did in the case involving his mother and the Joker.

Jason obviously has major issues with kids being abused and put in dangerous situations, he as the Red Hood (Winick’s Red Hood) is the same, he really wants kids to be taken far away from drugs so they cannot be manipulated, used and abused by Gotham’s Drug Lords. Here I can see some of the same thing, Jason being protective of those kids and getting fed up with how much time he and Batman had to wait to do anything about the subject, along side it I bet Jason wasn’t seeing the police or the justice system doing anything about the whole thing so that could have probably fuelled his desperate attack of those horrible people.

As Batman/Red Hood:

Batman: Battle for the Cowl #3

Battle for the Cowl… yeah I am going to be brutally honest about this, if anyone thinks that this is someway or somehow proof that Jason had been abused in the past then I think we have very different ways of thinking how survivors must be treated or written in comics and other media.

This to me is pure bad writing, this is some of the worst things I have seen being written in comics. Whether or not this implies Jason being abused or not, Bruce’s message is absolutely disgusting and not at all helpful, it is even worse when you realise that Dick, a canon sexual assault survivor, is the one playing the message to Jason even though Jason explicitly said that he didn’t want to hear it again. That Book, issue, page and panel are extremely badly written and is one of the most terrible Jason and Dick characterizations ever.

So, I don’t really care if this panel is supposed to offer support to that theory or headcanon, I really dislike that speech and if it is actually referencing Jason as being a survivor of child abuse, then Tony S. Daniel needs to make an apology from today to the day he dies.

“Of all my failures, you have been my biggest” “You were broken and I thought I could put the pieces back together. I thought I could do for you what could never be done for me. Make you whole” “What happened to you as a child… the terror, the pain, the horrors” “You needed repair and instead I gave you an outlet to act out on”

Absolute garbage writing. Me, as Bruce is number one hater, know that that speech is even out of character for Bruce. Listen, if Jason had been a victim of sexual assault or just being a kid living alone in Crime Alley, no one should leave a message like that, telling a victim that they were broken and needed fixing, what the hell? No, thank you, this issue proves nothing except that Battle for the Cowl was a mistake as a whole.

Green Arrow (2001) #72

Judd Winick is clever I will always say that, and while I do see why people think that Jason is making the “child abuse idea” canon I still think that the way that he talks is still fairly ambiguous if not just him playing mind games with Mia.

I know it sounds wrong, but hear me out, Winick, in this arc makes Batman say that Jason distracted him and Oliver just to take Mia as a “hostage” because that was Jason’s way to mess with him. This arc happens right after UtRH and Jason is a bit more unhinged than ever. But he doesn’t harm Mia, he just talks to her, he tries to make her see why he acts the way he does and to do that he talks about how much he sees of himself in her. Do I believe that Jason suffered the same things Mia did? No. Do I think that their past is similar? Yes.

But Jason doesn’t only use the fact that they have similar pasts to make Mia rebel against her “no killing ways” and Oliver like he did with Bruce, but he also brings up the fact that their past is incredibly different to the lives of Bruce and Oliver, and that those differences are of importance.

Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t see Jason bringing Mia’s past for anything other than manipulating her and kinda make her see Oliver in a negative light the way that he does Batman and Bruce. Jason was at a point in his life where all he wanted to do was deliver the same pain that he had gone through but he didn’t do it by physically harming anyone (Mia was left unscratched), he was just out there trying to play mind games so he could break more havoc in Batman’s name.

Mia’s past is just way too different to whatever we have seen in canon from Jason’s past. Maybe I am wrong, after all, I only read about Mia in that arc.

-

With all that having been said I think it’s pretty obvious that I just don’t think that Jason’ having been sexually abused as a child actually happened, and I also don’t like to think about his past in that way. His canon suffering could have made him act that violently against criminals involved with sexual attacks and drug-related crimes, but I also think that’s just how Jason was, he really disliked the justice system in Gotham and saw how much it failed to protect victims, so now that he had the training to help those who couldn’t do it for themselves, he tried his best to bring criminals to justice.

And when that didn’t work, he grew more and more frustrated with Batman’s methods which led him to be more unforgiving and violent.

I also don’t like the theory/headcanon as a whole because I think its one of those things that Fandom comes up with just for that extra angst factor in their favourite character’s story so they can make him suffer more and because of that no other Robin or character as a whole can ever understand his pain or whatever. In this fandom there is a lot of “competitive trauma” going on and I honestly dislike it a lot.

About Jason having been assaulted while he was in a coma, I don't really know, he was at a hospital for what I believe were six moths, maybe that idea comes from real life happenings but I have never thought of that happening in Jason's life and I would rather not give it much more thought.

Also, I believe that DC just like fandom would have never been able to handle the subject of Jason having been a sexual assault survivor with the respect and care that it actually needs. We have seen DC treat sexual harassment and abuse as nothing but a side plot or bringing it up in an extremely disturbing way. In Fandom some (very few) people end up glamorising or romanticising these subjects so, I don’t believe the comic world was or is ready to treat a backstory like this with the respect it needs.

Maybe I haven’t even treated the subject with the respect and care that it needs and if that’s the case then I am truly sorry.

I had never answered a question regarding this subject before and I really appreciate all the questions you send my way; they do make my brain happy. I am really sorry it took me this long to write an answer to you but I hope the post is good enough for all the time I made you wait!

I hope you have an amazing week!

[askthewvba]

Hippo Island Culture 101 (Crash Course)

Everything you’d never think to ask! 🤪

First off! Hippo Island actually refers to multiple smaller islands surrounding a larger landmass. The King Hippo has one of these smaller islands all for islands all for himself while the larger island is occupied by his people and the other smaller islands are each used for their own special occasions.

🍍Characteristics

Hippoans are human beings. Despite their intimidating and foreign appearance (and lack of noses) they are just as human as the rest of the Punch Out cast with their own language, culture, history and struggles. Just to get that out of the way immediately! While it is commonly believed that King Hippo is kind of a kind, that's simply not the case!

The Hippoans do all just be Built Different! All Hippoans are heavy naturally, and the heavier you are the more healthy and desirable you’re seen in their society. Having especially chubby children or a chubby spouse signals to other Hippoans that you’re a generous person and they know whose hut to visit at dinner time! There are rare exceptions to this rule but big is the bar set and big is beautiful.

This weight does come at a price however. Hippoans are so heavy with all of their heft and dense bones that they are completely incapable of swimming. Hippoans will sink like a rock!!! This has lead to most of them being absolutely petrified of the sea. Traveling from island to island is fine because the water between the smaller islands is typically not enough to drown in and otherwise is only a short ride by boat away. Traveling any farther than the lands governed by King Hippo is out of the question, and King Hippo is seen as indisputably courageous for traveling to the Mainland regularly. If a Hippoan falls from the boat they must be rescued and pulled back aboard immediately or face certain death by drowning. There’s no recovering a sunken Hippoan. They will simply never be seen again.

The dark part of a Hippoan’s face actually isn’t a mask or facial marking, but rather a natural indent on their face! This indentation and their thick fleshy eyebrows are protection against the harsh sun on Hippo Island.

The skin of a Hippoan is thicker and more resilient than that of a non-Hippoan. It’ll bruise like any other and Hippoans will bleed like anyone else, though it tends to be just a bit harder to take them down with the usual means like sharp objects. They are built different and are built to take a ton of damage. That being said, their tummies are always a weakness without exception. Why this is as of yet unclear, but a blow to the stomach is so potent of an attack that when struck there a Hippoan is absolutely thrown for a loop. It’s like a complete system reset, going unconscious and often waking up disoriented and confused.

We also haven’t discovered why they evolved to not have noses, but it is suspected their sense of smell works like snakes. Rather than flicking out their tongues however it may be that they are smelling when breathing through their teeth.

🥥Names

Names don’t exist in the traditional sense on Hippo Island. Your name is typically your job, but even then there’s a bit more to it than that.

King Hippo was born Hippo Heir IV, as he was a potential heir to his father's throne along with at least five other siblings. When he dethroned his Father, who was then called King Hippo, his son took the title of King Hippo from him for himself.

Toddy is a nickname bestowed on him by King Hippo’s friend and personal translator, as it’s a name for Coconut Wine. This is a reference to the fact that his mother, King Hippo’s wife, was a brewer before she became Queen Hippo. Toddy would be known to his mother as “son” or “Coconut Son”, and had a collection of other names and titles over the years before he became generally known and accepted as Prince Hippo, most prominently “Coconut Servant”. Coconut in this case is used as an identifier to separate him from the other servants King Hippo used to have alongside Toddy. It was originally due to his haircut resembling a halved coconut.

Queen Hippo still prefers her ‘maiden title’ Coconut Brewer. To King Hippo she is Wife, to her he is Husband. Despite her elevated status she still goes to work as a Brewer every day, and it’s in being a Brewer that she’s nicknamed her children after her favorites fruits to ferment. Her son is Coconut Son, meanwhile…

Her daughters are Pineapple Daughters, Pineapple Princesses, and before King Hippo and Coconut Brewer got married they were known to the villagers as Shell Collectors. They are nicknamed Tepache and Neerah by King Hippo’s translator for convenience. The translator tried to nickname every Hippoan she’d ever met.

Other examples include the Ferryman, who simply goes by Ferryman along with a few other nicks, the Weavers (Elder Weaver, Loving Weaver, and Mischievous Weaver/also known as “Silkie”; three generations of Weavers), Lone Builder who is married to Loving Weaver, Boar Herder (“Tusk”), and Chicken Herder (“Drumstick”).

There are also unfavorable monikers for the less reputable villagers. Hippo Island is generally a peaceful, crime-free community, however there are a few outliers at any given time who serve as exceptions to this. The only noteworthy one who you may come to know is a hunter, formerly Ferocious Hunter, who is now widely known as “Bonehead”.

After losing his title of King Hippo, his father would go on to be known as “The Loathsome One”.

Related to names, “One” serves as a replacement pronoun for “I” and “me”.

King Hippo: Needs no introduction. He is simply This One. Used to refer to himself as ‘this hopeful one’ and ‘this victorious one’.

Toddy: This dutiful one.

Brewer: This hardy one. She too now has the credence to call herself This One.

🍌Jobs

Jobs are normally determined by the work already in the family, but there’s normally no shame in changing career paths. A Weaver Daughter could decide to be a Warrior. A Builder Son could decide to become a Craftsman or a Child Caregiver.

Brewer was originally a warrior in training during her youth, before deciding she wanted less to do with the battles and more to do with the merrymaking and celebration that comes afterwards. Toddy was a fire dancer for the better part of his teen years, but due to circumstances in his life decided he wanted to be a warrior.

Staying within your family’s line of work is a safe way to live since you’re surrounded by seasoned veterans of that skill set, but by no means are you limited to work within your bloodline. While everyone’s personality is different, most Hippoans are happy to teach.

Children of Hippo Island are usually given menial tasks, like collecting shells, to both prepare them for adult life and to educate them on the barter and trade system that Hippoans operate under by having them trade their trinkets with other children.

🌋Faith

The elements are Gods and Goddesses, plain and simple. The Volcano Gods must be appeased regularly and the Gods of the Deep must be respected and feared at all cost.

While all of their Gods command respect, each family tends to put higher value on different Gods in accordance to their job, and these families are at the forefront of all celebrations relating to these deities. The Ferryman, King Hippo and Toddy stand alone when celebrating the Gods of the Deep.

🏝Customs

This is a bit of a Work in Progress, but we do know their romantic customs. 🥰

Interest in one another is expressed through flower crowns and chains. There’s an entire color language when offering flowers with some signifying friendship, gratitude, or condolences. For simplicity’s sake we’ll focus on three such cases however.

Pink flowers are used when first pursuing another Hippoan that they fancy. It is the general color of a new love or infatuation.

Red flowers are a more passionate form of love and serve as making a much bolder statement. Typically you want to avoid these when you’re merely confessing your interest in another person, as red flowers are most commonly used in marriage proposals.

For extra points one may want to include their intended’s favorite flowers or flower of their favorite color to show consideration and a more genuine interest in who they are.

When offering the Infatuation Flowers, there’s not much fanfare involved. Simply get your loved one alone and ask if they’ll accept it. If yes, they’ll wear it on their head or around their neck. If you’re showing your feelings to a Hippoan and they reject you, they might just eat the flowers. A rude rejection will involve stomping on the flowers to snuff out the affections entirely.

Offering Proposal Flowers has a lot more symbolism, especially if, say, you’re King Hippo. When King Hippo proposed to his wife, he knelt before her and held his flowers for her up over his head. Slowly he lowered his head to bow to her until the crown fell from his head and rolled over towards her feet. Bowing is apart of every Hippoan proposal, but the Hippoan royalty exemplify it’s importance. Your intended is someone who you place above yourself, you humble yourself before them, and you sacrifice the symbol of your pride by allowing your crown to fall off. For commoners the practice is still meaningful, as it means you see your significant other as someone worthy of being royalty, as they are the only person other than your actual King/Queen who you would bow to.

Arranged Marriages used to be somewhat commonplace until some short time ago, when it was realized that matchmaking was a largely imperfect practice. It has always been preferred that either marriage occurred out of love, or when the arranged marriage elevated the family by means of having a relative become betrothed to Hippo Royalty. Nowadays marriages outside of love are met with scrutiny and discomfort and harems are completely out of the question. (Though that’s not to say our King Hippo hasn’t laid with a few Hippoan ladies before tying the knot with his wife… that just wasn’t their status in the hierarchy and wasn’t apart of their naming scheme.)

When Hippoans pass away, they are given a funeral similar to that of the Vikings, though without the fire. Hippoans don’t have the land and therefore the luxury of burying their dead, nor would they consider cremating them. Instead the dead are placed inside specially made boats, sealed inside with flowers and trinkets from the deceased’s family, and after a small service full of mournfully singing Hippoans, they are pushed out to sea to appease their ocean deities. Unlike the boats that serve the living on their journeys, these boats are designed to eventually capsize and sink.

Hippoans… don’t really have the capacity to speak in other foreign tongues. Not very clearly at least. King Hippo actually does speak some English if you listen closely, but even then it’s very difficult to fully understand.

Hippoans are called such for a reason. Their growls and deep bellows are reminiscent of a hippo, though their language and variants of it cover a wide range of other animals as well.

Child Hippoans typically sound like bear cubs whereas infants sound almost froglike. Some Hippoans have even been known to sound like elephants. Hippoan singing, as mentioned in a previous post, sounds like a mix of throat singing and a chorus of bull frogs.

There are words formed under all of these animalistic noises and these words can be learned, but few take the time. Until our King Hippo, the Hippoans were widely forgotten about by the rest of the world. Even now tourism to Hippo Island is very carefully limited by the King himself.

👑Becoming King

There’s a ton of Hippoan history being omitted here to spare time. What you need to know is that due to a change for the worse over time, in order to become King or Queen (or Sovereign depending on your identity) you would need to defeat the ruler of that time in a fight, one that strongly resembles boxing. Normally to postpone that from happening, the ruler would sire a multitude of children via a harem (or their spouse should they have one; our last King Hippo did not), and then those children would be trained to eventually do battle with one another for the right to take on their parent.

Upon meeting defeat the siblings would depart from the islands by boat, presumably to never be seen again. Same was the fate of The Loathsome One when his son dethroned him. As the new King he could have done away with the banishment tradition if he desired, but due to the damage callously caused by Loathsome (and the assumed loss of his family) it was decided he deserved no mercy. King Hippo would have executed him, but he wanted to herald in a new age for the Hippoan people that saw an end to violence and needless bloodshed.

[doreamu-san]

An analysis of SolKy

Hello! Thank you so much for clicking on this. A while ago, I was asked to do an essay explaining why people ship SolKy other than the whole rivals/opposites attract reason, and I got a lot of feedback stating it was useful for newcomers to the ship! As a result I’ve decided to post this on tumblr, but just on the ship’s tag as to not bother uninterested people.

A couple of disclaimers before I begin. This is firstly just my own opinion, so whilst it makes sense for me, other shippers may disagree with my points. I’m also not claiming they are canon because they are not. But I do hope it’ll give some insight into why some people like me enjoy them together.

Even once you’ve read this essay, you can still dislike SolKy. This isn’t an essay stating you have to ship them.

This will be extremely long as I basically cover every single interaction they’ve ever had with each other since I know some people sort of gloss over their dialogue, so grab yourself a drink, get comfy, and I hope you enjoy reading!

(Last edited: 09/05/2021. This will be updated again when Strive releases!)

How this all began

If we’re starting right at the beginning, it’s common knowledge that Ky and Sol weren’t exactly on great terms and often clashed most of the time due to their conflicting beliefs. Ky saw the world in terms of black and white, and had very strict rules on what constituted as right and wrong. Sol seemed to think differently and went against that, which was a stark contrast compared to the other Order members at the time.

Considering that they were in fact, in the middle of a war, you would think that generally people would be willing to put their differences aside and work together.

But Sol wasn’t like everyone else, going off and doing his own thing instead of actually listening to orders, so it’s understandable why Ky found him rather irritating.

However, Ky did grow curious of Sol. Obviously curiosity does not equate to love, but it is the basis of Ky wanting to become more friendly with and know more about Sol. There seemed to be something that Sol knew but Ky didn’t, but how was that possible..? As a result, despite how infuriating he could be, Ky sought to seek out the truth and so fought him for answers.

In regards to why exactly they fight (aside from the fact that this is a fighting game), Ishiwatari wrote something called ‘Hostility is Akin to Love’ right above a picture of them fighting:

Hostility is akin to love Thinking of your opponent’s actions to fight, Reading your opponent’s inner thoughts to fight, Planning attacks that will hit your opponent to fight, And then transmitting your thoughts with those attacks, The more you think of your own advantage, at the same time you think of your opponent, In the instant you mix with your opponent, a passionate feeling arises, and blood boils, Reality is hurt, and you wound your opponent, Hostility is akin to love. — Guilty Gear Isuka Mook

It states how fighting someone can be close to feelings of love because you have to think about what your opponent is doing, as well as how you’re going to respond to your opponent. Overtime, you start to memorise how your opponent thinks, and as a result you’ll know them on a deeper level.

So considering the above, this explains how even though they weren’t on friendly terms, they still formed a bond with one another.

Now we’ve established how exactly their relationship started, and why Ky was curious about Sol in the first place, let’s look at things from Sol’s perspective.

Sol’s attitude towards Ky

We know that Sol was also pretty annoyed by Ky, which was totally justifiable given the extreme way in which Ky thought the world worked. But Sol didn’t exactly dislike Ky.

In order to provide some evidence that Sol cares about Ky, let’s cover that infamous scene everyone likes to reference which shows Sol crying over Ky’s dead body:

Sol:     "I came to pick you up." Ky:      "Always coming late... you never could fix that..." Sol:     "You..." Ky:      "As to be expected... until the very end... I could never beat you..." Sol:     "Don't say anything!" Ky:      "I have... a request..." Sol:     "I said shut up!" Ky:      "After Commander Kliff... carry on... the Holy Order..." Sol:     "Stop it... that's your job!" Ky:      "Please... promise me..." Sol:     "Dammit..." Ky:      "If it's you... you can do..." Sol:     "Hey.... what's wrong. Hey! KYYYYYY!" — Guilty Gear XX Drama CD Side Red, Battle of Rome — Deathmatch

A lot of people bring this quote up when discussing SolKy and yes, it does show Sol cares about Ky considering how Sol never really cares about anyone in general, but the fact that Ky’s death managed to make him emotional shows what an impact Ky had on him. There are however more quotes that show Sol’s feelings.

There’s this scene in the GG Xtra manga, Ky and Sol get attacked by a mountain-sized gear. In order to save them, Sol rips off his limiter and Dragon Installs. This scene is very poignant when you take into consideration what Sol said in After Story A:

Sol:     "Back during the Crusades, before we met... Kliff told me this rumour about a prodigy swordsman." Sol:     "If you couldn't guess, that was you. I didn't give a shit at the time..." Sol:     "But then I saw you on the battlefield." Sol:     "I saw someone out there who surpassed all of my expectations. Or perhaps I should say 'something.'" Sol:     "No openings, no wasted movements, no carelessness, no hesitation, no embarrassment, not even any honor. No chivalry or mercy. A being unaffected by emotion." Sol:     "You were a killing machine. Taking down gears with brutal efficiency." Ky:      "...That was a long time ago." Sol:     "I'm not done talking. I've seen the face of the 'serious' Ky." Sol:     "Then one day, you challenged me." Sol:     "You wanna know what I thought right then?" Ky:      "..." Sol:     "I was afraid. Hell, I was scared shitless." Sol:     "'He figured out that I'm a Gear, and he's come to kill me.' That's what I thought." — Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-, After Story A

Sol admits that he knows just how scary Ky can be. Since Ky was extremely against Gears, if Ky found out that Sol was a Gear, then Ky would have most likely attempted to kill him. But Sol knew this and was willing to die for Ky’s sake, and transformed anyway:

Ky:      "Sol..." Ky:      (Really... that's really..) Ky:      (That's really you!?) Ky:      "SOL!" Sol:     "Shut it..." Sol:     "I didn't do it..." Sol:     "To help you out—...." — Guilty Gear Xtra, Chapter 5: Unspeakable Thoughts

Going off on a bit of a tangent from Sol’s feelings, but I just want to point out Ky’s state of mind at this point. Ky in this time period was still very anti-Gear, as it was only through this moment and his encounters with Solaria and Dizzy later that made him change his way of thinking. It took a long time for Ky to accept Gears, and he still had the remains of that mindset in him when he had Sin, as he refused to make eye contact with him because Ky was ashamed of having a Gear child. So the fact that Ky knew Sol was a Gear, believed all Gears were evil, but still decided to accept Sol into his life and wanted to support him regardless of that, is interesting.

Back to Sol, another small quote that manages to show Sol’s feelings towards Ky is this:

Sol:     (Maybe I'll finish them off while I'm at it...) Sol:     (But that would mean breaking my promise to Ky...) — Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R, Sol Badguy Path 2

Now, Sol doesn’t care about 99% of what other people do as long as they don’t get in his way. The fact that he intends to keep his promise with Ky suggests that he holds Ky in somewhat ‘high’ regards compared to others.

There’s also this quote that shows Sol is thinking about Ky in Overture:

The frustrations of the man wielding a giant sword were piling day by day, and a familiar face appeared in his head. What’s he up to right now? “Hmph, whatever…” With a feeling of self-contempt, Sol Badguy shook his head. What am I getting sentimental for? — Guilty Gear 2: Overture, #0 “Noise”

And when Sol encounters Raven later on after seeing Ky incapacitated, Raven points out how he can tell Sol is upset, meaning Sol’s not really doing a good job of pretending he’s still indifferent to Ky.

Raven: "You're as ruthless as ever, huh, monster?" Sol:      "Look who's talking." Raven: "Can you not put down your sword and talk? I understand you're upset with Ky Kiske defeated." Sol:      "I'll ask your corpse for answers." — Guilty Gear 2: Overture, #5 "Gaze of the Chronicle"

Sol’s thoughts about Ky become even clearer during his confrontation with Sin when he’s under the influence of Valentine, where Sol defends Ky’s actions and tries to make Sin understand Ky is not 100% at fault:

Sin:     "Can you see it? Can you feel it? This is my real power. This is my mother's strength." Sol:     "But it's light. It must be from your father." Sin:     "Shut up! Don't ever mention him!" Sin:     "He abandoned my mother and me using justice as an excuse!" Sin:     "Who cares about the King!? Who cares about the people!? That man, and that Kingdom, not one of them can protect a damn thing!" Sol:     "I don't give a damn about your family." Sol:     "But you know what, Ky may be a stubborn idiot, but at least he's true to his beliefs." Sol:     "A punk like you is still alive thanks to his justice." — Guilty Gear 2: Overture, #15 "Roaring Compass"

Okay, that’s the pre-Xrd era for Sol done, now to focus on Ky’s pre-Xrd’s emotions.

Ky’s attitude towards Sol

We’ve established earlier that Ky was annoyed by Sol and disliked him in the Crusades. However, afterwards it seems as if Ky saw himself as friends with Sol:

Ofc1:   "All of them seem to have been destroyed by... fire?" Ofc2:  "Yeah... why could that be?" Ky:      "........" Ky:      "Change our course!" Ky:      "Head towards the Eastern United States!" Ofc1:   "May I ask why, Chief Ky?" Ky:      "To meet an old friend." — Guilty Gear Xtra, Chapter 4: Former Friends

We know that Ky outwardly expressed his first signs of liking Sol when Sol stole the Fuuenken and Ky chased after him, only for Sol to win in their duel, and Ky says this:

Ky:      "Promise me one thing..." Sol:     "..What?" Ky:      "We'll meet again." Sol:     "Hmph... Well, if fate brings us together..." Ky:      "..That's fine." — Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R, Sol Badguy Path 1

It’s pretty interesting that Ky wanted to see Sol again despite how Sol never used to listen to his orders, and how Sol never even tried to act like what the Order expected their men to act like (chivalrous, putting the people first, etc). It at least shows us that Ky saw possibly the potential of becoming friends with Sol. And Sol didn’t even say straight up ‘no’ or ‘in your dreams’ or whatever Badguy-esque notion he usually would’ve done, so we can assume he doesn’t mind seeing Ky again either.

Then they don’t speak to each other properly for 5 years until the tournament that Testament holds, though they have probably ran into each other a few times within those years.

A common misconception people have is that during those 5 years, Ky was obsessed with Sol and would constantly try to find him. Obviously, this is not true. Ky was busy with IPF stuff and Sol was hunting Gears down.

However, it’s not as if Ky completely forgot about Sol — he was just probably at the back of his mind, and Ky does admit that he has been chasing after Sol the most more than anyone else:

Ky:      (Waiting outside for me when I left the ship... burning red flames. Soon, they seem to take the shape of a man... and he appears before me. Yes... it's him. The one I've been after the most... it's him.) — Guilty Gear X Drama CD, Vol. 1: Track Seven — Crater

There’s also these two other quotes:

Ky:      (Sol...) Ky:      (Why are you so stubborn about doing things alone?) — Guilty Gear Xtra, Chapter 5: Unspeakable Thoughts

You can interpret this in two ways: either Ky wants to help Sol out and/or he’s curious as to why Sol always does stuff alone.

And then there’s this:

Ky:      "Maintaining peace, law, and order. That is my duty." Sol:     "Whatever..." Ky:      "You and I, we are cut from the same cloth." Ky:      "How long are you going to keep that facade?" Sol:     "..." Ky:      "Answer me Sol!" — Guilty Gear Judgment, Sol and Ky Ending

Being ‘cut from the same cloth’ is quite a strong statement. The phrase means that Ky thought he and Sol were similar somehow, and that he shared something with Sol. Regardless, the ‘how long are you going to keep that facade’ at least shows that Ky knows Sol is intentionally acting distant/rough/etc. and that its not actually who he is.

Jumping to pre-Overture, just before Ky gives Sin to Sol, Ky is in a really depressive state due to all of the stress he’s been going through. This leads Dizzy to contact Sol. The fact that Sol is called means that Dizzy knows that Sol is possibly the only person who can help Ky at that point, which puts some emphasis on just how much Sol means to Ky or at least affects him.

Before I move onto Xrd, there’s this part where Ky gives his son to Sol. This proves he trusts Sol so much considering he was asking him to take care of Sin for a long period of time.

Ky:      “Sol....I want to request something...” Sol:     “...hnn?” Ky:      “My son....Sin..can you take care of him for a while?” Sol:     “...what did you say?” Ky:      “I know it’s unreasonable but...I still want to ask...” — GG2: Overture Story, Sol's Story

The Xrd era (because it is so long, it needs its own section)

The Xrd era is extremely interesting to me, because Sol and Ky have some more in-depth conversations, and boy, do they have a lot of conversations.

Focusing on Sol first, theres a scene in REV where Sol asks Ky why he isn’t interested in his past:

Sol:     "Why don't you ask me already?" Ky:      "Ask you what?" Sol:     "About my past." Ky:      "I can ask you?" Sol:     "I guarantee, it won't be interesting." Sol:     "Every other word that came out of your mouth was 'Duel me,' or 'I challenge you!' You were so eager to fight and..." Ky:      "........" — Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-, Story Mode: Chapter 03, Sense A

Given that Ky was constantly pestering Sol about his background in the past, it makes sense why Sol is suddenly a bit confused about Ky’s sudden change in behaviour. But it also shows that Sol wants Ky to know about his past. After ~170+ years of being alive, Sol wants to finally open up to someone again, and he specifically chose Ky for this. It shows in the very least Sol trusts Ky and knows him well enough to decide to let him know about who he used to be.

And then Ky says this, which is basically him just showing Sol how much he cares and understands him:

Ky:      "Sol. Of course I have an interest in your past." Ky:      "But wanting to understand someone and trying to understand everything is completely different." Ky:      "Right now, Sol Badguy's future matters much more to me, than Frederick's past." — Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-, Story Mode: Chapter 03, Sense A

There’s also this scene in SIGN:

Ky:      "I don't know your history." Ky:      "I don't know if you had friends once, or if you fell in love, or why you burn with such hatred for That Man and the Gears..." Ky:      "I don't even know your real name." Sol:     "..." Ky:      "But I do know a great deal about a man named Sol Badguy." Ky:      "Blinded by vengeance, he lost sight of himself, and now he runs from the truth that frightens him." Sol:     "...Say that again." Ky:      "Tomorrow always comes, Sol." Sol:     "..!" Ky:      "If tomorrow promises to be cold and dark, I cannot stand idly by... even if I know my efforts will come to nothing." Sol:     "... The self-righteous apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Ky:      "I don't expect the world to change tomorrow, but I do hope that, today, perhaps my words will reach you." Ky:      "Sol..." Ky:      "I'll be waiting for you. We'll all be waiting for you. Sin, Dizzy..." Ky:      "Once all this is over... come home." — Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, Story Mode: Chapter 04, Kaleidoscope B

Three things to take away from this:

Ky admits that he doesn’t know anything about Sol’s background, but that he knows a lot about the current Sol, and then goes on to explain how Sol acts. Which to expand on, means that although Ky used to care about Sol’s past, he doesn’t really mind about it anymore because Sol’s past won’t really change much who Sol is to Ky now. Also, the part where Ky explains how Sol was ‘blinded by vengeance,’etc. shows that Ky knows Sol’s current personality well enough in order to be able to distinguish his behaviours. Which is interesting because nobody has been around Sol long enough to be able to know him really well unlike Ky (Aria and Asuka count too, but they were around Sol when he was Frederick, and Sol seems pretty adamant on the idea that he’s a separate person from Frederick.)

‘Come home’ is pretty significant, as it implies that it’s almost like Ky is saying home is with Sin, Dizzy and the Valentines, and so when Sol is done getting revenge on That Man, instead of letting Sol just wander off alone, Ky wants Sol to be a family with them.

The fact that says Ky says ‘I’ll be waiting for you’ separate from ‘we’ll all be waiting for you’ implies that either Ky’s want to wait for Sol is somehow different from everyone else’s or it’s just for the sake of being dramatic. I interpreted this in both ways, as it seems like Ky knows that Sol treats him differently compared to others. So in a sense, by Ky emphasising that he’ll be waiting for Sol, it might make Sol more likely to ‘come home’.

There’s also a scene that shows Ky knows Sol’s personality well:

Ky:      "When I look at you, Sol, I see a man who is afraid." Sol:     "... What?" Ky:      "It became clear when I watched you caring for Sin." Ky:      "You work very hard to keep everyone at arm's length." Sol:     "..." Sol:     "I got Gear blood in my veins, and it ain't friendly. It's always there in the back of my head, whispering that I oughta just destroy all of this." Sol:     "The only way I'm gonna get some closure is tracking down That Man and beating some answers out of him." Sol:     "And if he doesn't have 'em..." Sol:     "Then maybe there really isn't a good way to live." Ky:      "That's why you close your heart off." — Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, Story Mode: Chapter 08, Hope A

There’s also this:

Ky:      "Not all people have the strength to stand on their own." Sol:     "..." Ky:      "If only life were simple, and the right path was laid out before each of us..." Ky:      "But even then some would leave it, and some would struggle with walking it. Such is human nature..." Ky:      "The truth is that no path will ever be 'right' for all people. Each of us must find the one we are meant to walk--and sometimes that is where none exists." Ky:      "That is what I learned from you." — Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, Story Mode: Chapter 08, Hope A

This just shows that Ky actually learnt something from Sol. Which I think is important because Ky is someone who always used to be very strict to his ideals. The fact that he learnt something from Sol that had an impact on his mindset means that Sol actually managed to have a great impact on Ky.

There’s this scene where Sol finds out that Aria isn’t dead when he confronts That Man, and he has somewhat of a mini mental breakdown. So Ky excuses them from the room, and goes outside to talk with Sol:

Ky:      "Sol. The grudge you hold is certainly not something that can be taken lightly. And, whatever answer you think you've found, I doubt any of us will be able to stop you from seeing it through..." Ky:      "But we have very little time left. Right now, we need the Gear Maker's help." Ky:      "So, I'm begging you... Just for now. Why don't you stay outside with me." — Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-, Story Mode: Chapter 06, Cause A

The last line that Ky says is interesting because it’s obvious that he’s just trying to calm Sol down, and Ky thinks that if he stays with Sol outside for a bit, he’ll be able to help him calm down. Furthermore, Ky thought it was more necessary to pause everything and help Sol out rather than keep listening to the plans of what their next course of action would be.

Ky does have the habit of comforting Sol. One of the more significant moments is whenever Sol refers to himself as a monster:

Ky:      "Yes, he took away some of what makes you human, but that doesn't mean he altered your mind or your soul." Sol:     "So what?" Ky:      "I want to believe that you'll fight for the people of this world." Sol:     "Are we seriously having this conversation?" Sol:     "Look, kid. I'm a monster. I'm here to do two things: Destroy That Man, and kill all the other Gears." — Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, Story Mode: Chapter 04, Kaleidoscope B

To expand a little on Sol’s mindset, it’s common knowledge that Gears were generally in the past regarded as akin to monsters. Now we don’t have any solid proof Sol is referring to himself as a monster because he’s a Gear, or because he feels guilt about the whole Gear Project, etc. But we do know it’s something he’s affected by given that he constantly refers to himself as one.

So the fact that Ky constantly reassures him that he’s not one, and that Ky didn’t treat him differently after finding out he was a Gear, must be comforting to know.

Then at the end of REV, there’s the scene where Daryl is about to shoot Sol, because he (quite rightly) doesn’t trust the fate of the world to be left to Sol. And so, the kids get beamed up, but Ky asks to be left behind:

Ky:      "But, if you plan on targeting Sol, then you must leave me behind, as well." Daryl: "What!?" Zappa:"60 seconds until impact..!" Sol:     "What the hell are you doing?! Stay with Sin!" Ky:      "I am well aware that this is a one in a million chance..." Ky:      "But, if I survive at the expense of my dear friend, then there is little reason left for my ruling this world as king." — Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-, Story Mode: Final Chapter, Fireworks

This was a really odd moment because Ky’s life was never in danger at that moment. If he had been sent on board Daryl’s ship as originally planned, he would have been safe. But Ky intentionally chose to risk his life, and its kind of startling because Ky has always put his people above everything. There were times when he put the people above his own family, like when he kept his family a secret instead of coming out with the truth about them in order to remain as King to protect his people.

So Ky suddenly going ‘I would rather die with Sol than take care of my people’ is really extreme. Also Ky was willing to leave his family behind, which is even more extreme. So this just really proves how highly Ky regards Sol considering how he would rather die with him than live without him.

Some concluding notes

I think Sol and Ky’s personalities do work really well. Perhaps not in the Crusade era, but if we take a look at the Xrd era, they have shown to get along and have deep conversations with one another that they both enjoy. They know each other extremely well; they know how to support one another when life gets a bit too much and they’re also capable of telling one another when the other is wrong.

Sol teaches Ky that life isn’t as simple as it seems, and that (figuratively speaking) he shouldn’t stick exactly to the textbook. He’s able to see under that perfect image Ky puts up about him being able to cope with everything, acting as a source of stability when you consider how Sol has been the only person who’s been around Ky since the very beginning.

Throughout all of Ky’s life, he’s been under so much pressure. From being Commander in the Crusades, to becoming the Head of the International Police Force, to becoming King. In every situation, people are constantly relying on him, and his environment is changing rapidly. But despite everything, Sol has always remained the same. He looks the same, acts the same, etc. Ky can rely on Sol and trust Sol. He’s like a source of stability for Ky in those hectic times.

And Ky provides something similar to Sol too, given how often he ran into Sol time and time again. When you’ve been alive for so long, it’d feel reassuring in the very least to see a familiar face. And Sol does seem to get less annoyed each time they meet each other again, considering like how in Overture he voluntarily went to go see Ky after seeing himself on a wanted poster.

Ky also gives Sol the chance to open up to people again and form connections with them, something that Sol has been reluctant to do. Sol needs someone to care about him, and Ky proves that by constantly reassuring him and never giving up on trying to help Sol, even though he kept getting pushed away.

They may not be canon but I really do love how they work together. Yes it’s true some people may like them because they are ‘rivals’and seeing rivals get together and bicker is great, but actually I think when people focus more on how much they support and rely on each other, as well as the fact that they do get along, them being in a relationship is more convincing.

Whilst this essay focused on their canon interactions, there’s plenty of other great material out there. For instance, the Guilty Gear 4KomaKINGS manga provides plenty of great SolKy interactions (like the time Ky wanted to have a friendship diary with Sol, only to get rejected and start crying about it. Of course, take these interactions with a pinch of skepticism considering the frivolity of the source material.)

And that, was my very long SolKy essay. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading! Though you may not have agreed with everything I have said, you still continued reading, and I am grateful for that. Thank you for showing such enthusiasm and loving this franchise.

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

The Voyage So Far: Dressrosa (Part Two)

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

wild how this is upwards of 750 chapters in and yet i still get a big dumb smile whenever luffy declares he’s going to be king of the pirates. one piece is a series very much driven by its main characters and their goals and dreams- i don’t think it would be nearly as good if the main character was anyone but monkey d. luffy. 

personally, i always just feel kind of proud whenever he says this, because- yeah!! he is!! that’s luffy, he’s going to be king of the pirates, and we’ve known that since day fucking one. 

i really think there’s something to be said about usopp never taking credit for saving luffy and law from sugar. it’s arguably his greatest feat in the entire series thus far- an impossible, perfect shot across an entire country, with an angry mob inches from his back- and he never even tells anybody he did it. he’s come a long way from someone who tells tall tales about heroic acts he never did to someone who doesn’t even feel the need to take credit for ones he really did, so long as his friends are safe.

i really like how corazon’s introduction and characterization throughout the flashback is handled. at the start of law’s flashback, we know a few things about him already: that he’s someone law loved very much, and that he was killed by doflamingo. we know how this ends. 

but then cora is introduced as a clumsy mute weirdo who nearly kills law as one of the very first things he does, and we as the audience aren’t really sure how to reconcile that- and then the rest of the flashback is us, along with law, slowly discovering what a complicated and contradictory but ultimately good person he is. something very similar happens with the asl flashback- we know the endpoint of luffy and ace’s relationship, but the flashback is all about how they got there, from attempted murder to willing self-sacrifice. 

i think it’s really cool the way law and doflamingo’s backstories are layered together. they’re characters who exist with a lot of parallels and similarities between them already, which is something they’re both clearly aware of- i’ve mentioned before i think the only real difference between them is that law got corazon where doflamingo got the executives- and presenting their backstories simultaneously only makes that more obvious. 

i’ve always found it so interesting that we get what’s pretty much our only substantial exposition about the will of d direct from a former celestial dragon. it makes sense- cora’s basically the only character we’ve met who both has this information and is willing to share it-  but i don’t know, there’s something that feels very poetic to me about him having this information that’s clearly been suppressed and hidden by the dragons and willingly choosing to share it in order to help protect law, a D, who should technically be the very enemy he was once taught to hate and fear. 

i really like corazon. 

it fucks me up that we can tell the exact moment cora dies from the moment law starts making noise again. 

this might be a controversial take? i’m not sure. but i like baby five. i think her and sai’s relationship is really sweet, and people might complain about her getting off easy or whatever but i’m honestly glad she gets a happy ending after being thoroughly emotionally abused and broken her entire life. and on a lighter note, she’s also just a fun character to watch through the whole arc- the running gag with her crying whenever law glares at her is still one of my favorites in the whole series. 

the shot of robin’s bloody back is a favorite of mine, because it’s a reveal that doesn’t get lingered on at all, and yet at once it gives the entire proceeding scene a lot more weight when we understand just how much pain she must’ve been in the entire time. and yet she never even flinched or faltered while protecting rebecca. nico robin is very, very strong. 

there’s something so deliciously fitting about diamante’s final fall ending with him cracking his head on scarlett’s grave, and something so lovely about kyros and rebecca finally getting their proper reunion there, when neither of them ever really got a chance to mourn.

law’s line about the strawhats trailing nothing but miracles in their wake is one of the first ones i always think of when i think about the strawhats in general and luffy in particular, mostly because it’s so true. from the very beginning, the strawhats have been doing the impossible, from sailing to the sky to breaking in and out of the world’s greatest prison, and law saw that and staked all his hopes on it and they did not let him down. 

also i think it’s very cool of law to, when held at gunpoint and down an arm, grin, flip doflamingo off, and tell him to eat shit and that luffy is going to kick his ass. love that for him.

i think dressrosa does a very good job of making the victory against doflamingo equally law’s and luffy’s. they cooperate and trade off fighting him throughout the arc to great effect, and i think it’s pretty clear that neither of them could have tackled the massive challenge of dressrosa alone. 

while the final fight is luffy’s, it’s made clear that that’s only after law’s done absolutely everything he could and spent the majority of the arc distracting doflamingo, keeping him occupied, and even fucking shredding his insides with pure radiation before finally needing to tap out. i think it’s a good balance, given that luffy is the protagonist but law’s grudge against doflamingo is the driving force behind the entire arc. 

conqueror’s haki clashes are always very cool, pretty much regardless of who or where or why, but the one between luffy and doflamingo is a favorite. 

one of the things that’s always impressed me about one piece in comparison to other shounen series is how it handles its powerscaling- in that it does it well with a gradual increase and villains who vary widely in strength instead of every arc necessarily needing to be bigger and better than the last- and i think the way it handles powering up the main characters is a big part of that. 

through the entirety of one piece thus far, i’d say luffy has had three major power-ups- second and third gear in enies lobby, haki at the timeskip, and gear four here in dressrosa (an argument could also be made for ryuuou in wano, but i think that’s less major than these others). this helps prevent runaway powerscaling and also makes new power-ups feel like a genuine event, which i really like. 

i once referred to luffy as ‘hopebringer’ in a conversation with friends, and it’s a descriptor for him i think sums up really well how he manages to save so many people while insistently not being a hero. luffy inspires people, inspires whole countries, starting all the way back with coby in romance dawn. it’s one of the reasons i think it’s fitting how thoroughly he’s associated with the dawn. 

doflamingo is very, very scary. which is interesting, because he’s indisputably less powerful someone like kaidou, but at the same time i find him a much scarier villain, and i think it comes down to doflamingo’s gleeful, wanton cruelty. not that kaidou is in any way shape or form a nice person, but our first introduction to doflamingo is him forcing marines to attack each other just because he’s a little bored. he hurts people just because he can, and finds it funny. 

relating to my earlier comment about hope, i really like how the whole country comes together at the end to cheer luffy on and count down to his return. it makes it feel all the more triumphant when it does, especially for the citizens of dressrosa who’ve been suffocating under doflamingo’s rule for years and can finally, finally see freedom.

other people have put a lot more thought of the symbolism of doflamingo’s eyes and glasses than i intend to, but i’ll settle for saying that it’s the breaking of the glasses, before anything else, before the birdcage even vanishes from the sky and everyone is safe, that shows us that, at long last, doflamingo is well and truly defeated. his glasses break, and so does his power. 

i’ve written a longer post about it before (here) but it’s a recurring motif that one piece’s worst villains are those that steal people’s freedom, including, in the cruelest cases, the freedom to express their emotions openly. we see it with koala and the celestial dragons, with the failed smile fruits in wano, and here, too, with kyros. and, much like koala, triumph for him means finally being able to cry. 

i mentioned it back in the first post, but i’m so, so happy rebecca and kyros get the happy ending they deserve. they’ve both been fighting a war that they never should have had to for years and years, and they both deserve to get to just live, now, peaceful and quiet and together and surrounded by flowers. 

i really dig the note dressrosa ends on. it’s happy, of course, obviously, with the liberation of the country, kyros and rebecca’s happy ending, the creation of the grand fleet, even law getting some degree of closure through his talk with sengoku, but it also leaves this massive, gaping question- what now? 

in a way, doflamingo’s speech here follows up on law’s new era speech from punk hazard. luffy and law have just thrown a major wrench into the delicate power equilibrium of the entire new world, and we have all these characters out there who might be affected, who might want to take advantage, who might try to seize the throne. 

[ayuuria]

Inuyasha Translation: Animage Magazine February 2010 Issue

Please do not repost this translation without my consent! This includes screenshots of any type and amount. If you wish to share this translation, simply link to this post.

For more information regarding the use of my translations, click here.

This was a translation request from @officialinuyasha. This article was published back when “Inuyasha the Final Act” was still airing.

Proof of the Successor

Tenseiga was a sword that was cut off from Tessaiga along with Meidōzangetsuha. Then is Inuyasha worthy of wielding the Tessaiga? Sesshōmaru has finally gone into serious mode. The unprecedented brother showdown is about to begin!

Sesshōmaru in “Inuyasha The Final Act” gave off the impression that he developed a compassionate heart in comparison to before. Not only did he have a soft gaze when he attended Kagura’s death but he also put himself at risk to save Rin who fell into the underworld.

However, on the one hand, he continued to hold a heart that stoically yearned for insatiable power. The one offensive technique that Tenseiga, “The sword of healing”, obtained: “Meidōzangetsuha”. At first, it could only open a small meidō in the shape of a crescent moon, but after several ordeals, it matures to the point that it can open a gigantic meidō close to the shape of a circle. All of this came about from Sesshōmaru’s ability.

However, no matter how much of a powerful sword Tenseiga becomes, Sesshōmaru was unable to throw away his obsession with Tessaiga. It was then that he learned through his battle with Shishinki that Tenseiga was a sword that was cut off from Tessaiga. Did his father give him Tessaiga’s unneeded aspect? Sesshōmaru, whose pride has been hurt, purposely goes along with Naraku’s trap.

Inuyasha vs Sesshōmaru. The not so long-ago clash between the brothers over Tessaiga is about to begin. Who is the rightful successor!?

Brothers with the Same Father

A full-fledged demon and half-demon but the two resemble each other somehow.

While they both have the same father, there’s a big difference in ability and thought process towards humans between Sesshōmaru, a full-fledged demon, and Inuyasha, a half-demon with a human mother. Inuyasha previously loved Kikyō and desperately protects Kagome. Sesshōmaru on the other hand, had no interest in humans. However, Rin’s existence has brought about change within his heart. Just as his mother said, did Sesshōmaru perhaps inherit his attachment to humans from his father?

A Strengthened Tessaiga

From numerous past battles, Tessaiga has become the most powerful weapon.

Tessaiga was originally a fang of Inuyasha’s greater demon father. Tōtōsai forged it into a sword and it became Inuyasha’s weapon. Afterwards, Inuyasha mastered various techniques such as the Wind Scar, Backlash Wave, and Adamant Barrage. In addition, Tessaiga has the ability to transform itself as well as becoming the barrier breaking red Tessaiga and the demon vortex cutting dragon-scaled Tessaiga. Furthermore, from the clash with Sesshōmaru, Tessaiga will climb to new heights.

Tessaiga and Tenseiga

The powerful weapon Tessaiga and the dead reviving Tenseiga

Inuyasha’s father entrusted him with Tessaiga. Meanwhile, Sesshōmaru was entrusted with “Tenseiga”, a sword that can revive the dead. Sesshōmaru exasperates dissatisfaction with Tenseiga as it cannot be used in battle. However, from obtaining Meidōzangetsuha, Tenseiga has become a powerful weapon. Sesshōmaru raised Tensaiga from only being able to open a small, crescent moon shaped meidō at the beginning, to being able to open a gigantic meidō in the shape of a near circle. However…

The Truth Behind Meidōzangetsuha

In order to strengthen Tessiaga, father used Sesshōmaru and Tenseiga?

Meidōzangetsuha was technique that their father stole from Shishinki. According to Shishinki, their father did not know what to do with Meidōzangetsuha and thus had Tenseiga created in order to cast it off of Tessaiga. Perhaps their father entrusted Sesshōmaru with Tenseiga in order to complete Meidōzangetsuha which a half-demon like Inuyasha couldn’t handle and then have (the technique) entrusted to Inuyasha someday? This gave birth to doubt within Sesshōmaru.

Naraku’s Trap

While realizing it is a trap set up by Naraku, Sesshōmaru purposely goes along with it.

Through Shishinki’s words, Sesshōmaru’s attachment to Tessaiga strengthened. There was no way Naraku would overlook the movement in his heart. The mirror fragment that Kanna (who died) left behind. While it was only a small piece, it did not lose the ability to take and duplicate an enemy’s technique. Sesshōmaru, who receives the fragment from Byakuya of the Mirage, puts it on Tenseiga while knowing it’s one of Naraku’s traps and challenges Inuyasha to a battle.

The Role of Sesshōmaru, Narita Ken

— Episode 15 “The Rightful Successor” depicts a fierce battle with Inuyasha. What were your thoughts when you enacted (that episode)?

Narita: I felt very tense through the whole thing and it was as though the content was reminding me of the movie. (translator’s note: He’s referring to the 3rd Inuyasha movie, Swords of the Honorable Ruler)

— Sesshōmaru says to Inuyasha “Show me Inuyasha. Proof that you are Tessaiga’s successor and not I.” and commences battle with him. Narita-san, how do you comprehend his feelings towards his father regarding Tenseiga and his anger towards Inuyasha?

Narita: I believe all of it is hatred. Only one with power should have a perfect sword. I think that natural thought is the sole source of his anger towards Inuyasha.

— In episode 15, do you think Sesshōmaru was truly trying to kill Inuyasha? Or was he merely testing him?

Narita: I believe it was both. Those without power die. There is no love or sympathy in that.

— In a previous conversation with Yamaguchi-san, he stated that Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru are jealous of each other. Having acted in “The Final Act” up to the midway point, how do you once again perceive Sesshōmaru’s relationship to Inuyasha?

Narita: I think there was jealousy at the beginning. However now, it’s not something that petty but rather, who’s stronger.  I think it’s this single point.

— Sesshōmaru relinquishes Meidōzangetsuha. What do you think this will bring about for him?

Narita: Growth. More strength.

— I would like to ask regarding the two in Sesshōmaru’s team. What sort of feelings do you think Sesshōmaru has for Rin?

Narita: A part within his heart. Like a nostalgic part that he lacks.

— In episode 9, Sesshōmaru saved Rin who had fallen into the underworld. In that episode, which scene left an impression on you?

Narita: The last scene where Sesshōmaru says, “You’re alright now”

— In addition, in episode 9, Sesshōmaru’s mother appears. What is your impression of her? What do you think mother and son have in common and what in way are they different?

Narita: That coldness. Indifference. She also had a comical aspect which I did not expect.

— Regarding the fussy Jaken, what do you think is the reason Sesshōmaru moves with him despite everything?

Narita: I think it’s because it can’t be helped. Like someday he might be useful for something.

— Jaken has a lot of funny lines. If there is a line that left a lasting impression on you, please tell us.

Narita: There’s so many that I can’t say just one.

— The amount of people that Sesshōmaru has connections with is gradually increasing. What sort of growth do you think he will achieve going foward?

Narita: I wish that Sesshōmaru himself never changes. I want him to maintain his sublime aloofness.

— In addition to giving the fans a message, please tell us how you will prepare to act Sesshōmaru in the second half of the series.

Narita: Thank you for always supporting me. In my mind, he has not changed. Any sort of love or kindness has nothing to do with his solitary world. Even if he becomes able to understand the hearts of humans, his heart will never be like the others. Please continue to watch over us.

Our Beloved Lord Sesshōmaru!?

From the point of view of Inuyasha’s party, Sesshōmaru is unsociable and completely does his own thing. But to Jaken and Rin, his existence is precious. Here we have a special feature regarding the two’s “love” for Lord Sesshōmaru!

The very powerful Lord Sesshōmaru. Why someone like him who has lived his life without relying on anyone, purposely moving together with Jaken and Rin? If you were to say it, I think it’s because the two of them are very cute. At first glance, Jaken is a middle-aged small demon with an underhanded personality that makes unnecessary comments and lies. However, you truly cannot hate that sense of restlessness. Rin, on the other hand, is a genuinely cute girl. Sesshōmaru listens to their arguments without the slightest change of expression but in reality, could he perhaps be biting down that amusement in his heart?

Finally, the best part about the two of them is their overflowing “love” for Lord Sesshōmaru. Sesshōmaru is of the strongest class within the “Inuyasha” world but when you see the two of them getting close to him, you can’t help but think the 3 of them are having fun in spite of it all.

Character Bios

Sesshōmaru As an aloof existence, Sesshōmaru has lived his life as he pleases. However, the existence of Tessaiga and Tensaiga leads his heart astray. And now to the brother’s showdown!

Jaken A small demon who serves as Sesshōmaru’s servant. While he makes blatant lies, he’s an existence that one can’t hate. He does not intend to lose to anyone when it comes to loyalty to Lord Sesshōmaru.

Rin A girl who lost her life after being attacked by man-eating wolves but was revived by Sesshōmaru’s “Healing Tenseiga”. Innocent and cheerful, she bares a carefree personality. Her special trait is her severe jabs at Jaken’s remarks.

The One in Charge of Reactions

The extremely cool Sesshōmaru does not break his facial expression easily, no matter what kind of enemy appears or what the enemy says to him. It is there that Jaken fulfills that important role. It is when Jaken is surprised and talks back to the enemy that the (conversational) exchange between Sesshōmaru’s party and the enemy begins to proceed. In other words, Jaken is in charge of reactions within Sesshōmaru’s party. There are times where he unintentionally goes overboard though…

The Life That Was Saved Twice

In episode 9, Rin is kidnapped and taken into the underworld. Sesshōmaru struggles hard to save Rin but Tenseiga can only revive a person once. Without the aid of Sesshōmaru’s mother, Rin would have remained dead. Sesshōmaru looks at Rin softly as she slowly opens her eyes. It was a scene that made you wonder what Sesshōmaru would do when Rin grows up.

You See, the Greatest Combination Within “Inuyasha” is the Silliness and Jabs of Jaken x Rin.

Jaken makes exaggerated and underhanded remarks and Rin jabs at them. There are some periodic gags that are sharp within “Inuyasha the Final Act” but the combination of these two is superb. For example, in episode 3

Jaken “Lord Sesshōmaru’s heart is perfect!”

Rin “He’s strong and kind~”

Jaken *teary eyed* “I don’t know anything about kindness.”

After that, there’s episode 14 that made the voice actor for Jaken, Chō-san, roar with laughter.

Jaken “I’m included with the small people?”

Rin “Master Jaken, you’re small in a lot of ways. Your height, heart, and personality.”

I wonder which dialogue between Jaken x Rin made all of you laugh the most?

The Role of Jaken, Chō

— Episode 15 “The Rightful Successor” depicts a fierce battle between Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru. How was the recording?

Chō: It was terrific. Especially Inuyasha’s yelling as there was a high amount of enthusiasm.

— Jaken appears to be the spokesperson for Sesshōmaru’s emotions (sometimes he gets it wrong though). What sort of feelings do you think he has towards Sesshōmaru?

Chō: Love itself. There’s something there that’s not just a master-servant relationship.

— Jaken has many humorous lines but having acted up to episode 15, which scene left an impression on you?

Chō: I love his reaction when Rin told him “Master Jaken, your personality and heart are small”

— There is silliness and jabs with Rin and they make a good combo. What is your impression of the dialogues with Noto-san? What is the fun part about acting?

Chō: Rin makes some pretty sadistic jabs. Jaken, who’s a masochist, is surprisingly happy with them.

— Jaken sometimes makes obvious lies. It is a refreshing level of falsehood but why does he do that?

Chō: He’s childish.

— What do you think is Jaken’s happiness?

Chō: Lord Sesshōmaru’s happiness.

— In addition to giving the fans a message, please tell us how you will prepare to act Jaken in the second half of the series.

Chō: I will play around while focusing!

The Role of Rin, Noto Mamiko

— Episode 15 “The Rightful Successor” depicts a fierce battle between Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru. How was the recording?

Noto: It had quite a tense feeling, and it pulled me deeper into the story.

— In episode 9, Rin fell into the underworld and was saved by Sesshōmaru. How did you feel seeing Sesshōmaru doing his utmost at the time?

Noto: I once again felt that Rin was truly precious to Sesshōmaru.

— Among the Rin scenes up to episode 15, which one left an impression on you?

Noto: I like the scene in episode 9 where after she’s saved by Sesshōmaru and opens her eyes, she says “Lord Sesshōmaru……” with a feeling of relief. There are a lot of other impressionable scenes so it’s hard to narrow it down (laughs).

— There is silliness and jabs with Jaken and they make a good combo. What is your impression of the dialogues with Chō-san? What is the fun part about acting?

Noto: Chō-san’s Jaken is the best!! Just the fact that I can dialogue with him makes me happy! Rin is quite harsh so acting that part is fun (laughs).

— What sort of feelings do you think Rin has for Sesshōmaru? Also, if Rin becomes an adult as is, how do you think those feelings will change?

Noto: It might be a little different from family, but I think she considers him as someone who is irreplaceably precious. When she becomes an adult…… I can’t really imagine it (laughs). It would be wonderful if she comes to (romantically) love him (laughs). However, I have a feeling (her feelings) won’t change. With Rin as she is now.

— What do you think is Rin’s happiness?

Noto: I think it’s being together with Sesshōmaru and Jaken.

— In addition to giving the fans a message, please tell us how you will prepare to act Rin in the second half of the series.

Noto: “Inuyasha the Final Act” is a truly passionate drama!!!! I plan to act with everything I’ve got alongside everyone until the end so please treat me well!!

[abbysfrenchbraid]

Hello! I’d like to request an imagine with Abby and a female reader, I was thinking something like they’re both on a mission and lose (not death) eachother because of how hectic everything is

(image reference by @cloudyreality​)

What a great idea for my first time writing angst! Thank you for your request  💌

This is a 3.7k fic in which the reader and other members of the Salt Lake Crew are called out on a rescue mission and things get chaotic.

Warnings: language, violence (against reader and others), mention of attempted sexual assault, death (no major character)

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A Close Call

You were ripped from your sleep by a firm hand shaking your shoulder. When you opened your eyes, Manny’s bearded face was inches from yours. It was still dark outside, the only light in the room creeping inside through the cracked door to the hallway.

“Get up, Y/N, we need you.”

You rose with a start, swinging your legs over the side of the bed and grabbing some clothes to put on.

“A mission? Right now? What’s going on?”

Manny filled up your water bottle and brought you another few supplies while you packed your bag.

“Scar attack during a patrol run. Owen just came back alone, Jordan and Leah are still out there. Jordan got hit, I don’t know how bad it is but we gotta get them out of there immediately.”

Quickly slipping on your boots and grabbing your jacket, you followed Manny out the door and to the garage.

Nora and Abby came in at the same time, carrying a metal box with medical supplies. Abby’s face was still pale from sleep but her eyes were alert and focused. Owen was standing at the back of a truck and marking the way to the others on a map of the city center. When he turned around, you flinched. He looked awful. His eyes were sunken in and there was no color in his face except for a dark purple bruise on his cheekbone. Yet, as he spoke, he sounded calm and collected, ready to get this mission done and bring everyone back safely.

“Alright, I left them at this bank here. The rain these last days has made the rivers downtown much more dangerous, I just tried to map out the best way with the Jeep but be prepared to continue on foot if needed. Jordan took an arrow to the hip and it somehow paralyzed his leg, we couldn’t get him out of there alone.

I need us to always stay together in a tight group, watch all possible hiding spaces for Scars, and get in the bank as fast as possible. Then, Nora has to try and patch him up as much as possible so we can take him back to the truck. Manny and I will carry him. I need you” - he looked at Abby and you - “and Leah to protect us and Nora on the way. Be as quiet as possible. Understood?”

You all agreed and Owen jumped in the driver’s seat while Manny sat next to him with the map to navigate. Abby lifted the metal trunk in the back of the truck and helped Nora up.

“You okay, Y/N? I can hear your teeth rattling from here.”

You tried a smile. “Thanks, Abby, I’m alright. Just cold and tired, I hope this works out as planned.”

She helped you up as well, then she jumped on and closed the tailgate, sitting down next to you and putting an arm around you to keep you warm. No one spoke, but as you leaned closer into Abby, Nora gave you a slight smile and a nod. You were going to be okay.

As expected, the flooding in the city was worse than usual, but at least the rain had stopped and the moon guided your way. You could already see the building Jordan and Leah were hopefully safe in at the moment when Owen suddenly stopped the car.

You stood up to see what was going on and swallowed hard as you saw the scene in front of you: rapids had formed in the river and were brutally ripping down plants and taking other objects with them. You had to get to the other side and, even more difficult, get back with the injured Jordan.

Everyone began moving silently down the stream, weapons drawn and forming a circle around Nora and her medical kit. When you finally found a more or less safe spot to cross, Owen and Manny went first, testing out the rocks and debris that had been wedged into each other to form a momentarily stable bridge over the rapids. Nora went next, silently jumping from step to step and keeping an impressive balance and smoothness to her movements. Abby covered you as you quickly crossed the stream and quickly followed your steps, placing her hand on the small of your back reassuringly as your team rebuilt its tight formation and started moving through the shadows towards the abandoned bank.

Owen led you to a side entrance he had covered with some wooden planks and the five of you quickly slipped inside. You were all on the lookout for infected but the place seemed clear, the rings of your flashlights illuminating the counters and smashed glass fronts, rotting bills of old money on the floor and finally the door to the back room where you could hear quiet voices.

Leah jumped up and drew her gun as Owen entered. A wave of relief washed over her face when she recognized Owen and Nora, the medic rushing to the injured man on the floor beside the dark-haired soldier.

“Oh thank god you’re here! I was so scared you didn’t make it to the base.”

Jordan was conscious but badly hit. An arrow was protruding from the top of his right leg right at the hip joint and a small pool of blood had formed on the floor underneath. Manny sat down next to Nora and helped her sort out her supplies. He loosened the makeshift bandage Leah had made out of some old fabric and tied around Jordan’s leg and hips. Nora was Isaac‘s best medic and she proved her reputation now. Completely calm and collected, she clipped off the arrow and started to strategically fasten bandages around Jordan‘s torso.

„I can’t take the arrowhead out here, it’s probably damaged some nerves, and pulling it out could make it worse. You need surgery back at the base. Can someone get me more fabric and something to make a splint?“

Leah quickly got some towels from a cupboard and started cutting it into stripes while Owen took his axe to some shelves and brought back a few long, slim pieces of wood.

You knelt down and helped stabilize the wounded wolf as Nora began fastening the wooden splints to Jordan‘s leg and hip, forcing him to stay completely straightened out so he wouldn’t fall or bend over and increase the damage to his hip.

Jordan would be carried upright, supported by Owen and Manny and using his healthy leg to move with them. A stretcher would make a bigger target and immobilize those who carried it; you were still in a war zone.

You helped Nora pack her things while the men got into position and Leah and Abby discussed the best defensive formation for the way back. Abby was going to go first and keep an eye out for any movements, then the three men, then Nora and Leah in case Jordan needed help, and finally you to watch your backs.

At the front door, you took a final breath and braced yourselves, then Abby gave the signal to move. The first steps went better than expected. You were moving fast, the only sound being Jordan’s quiet panting as he gave his last bit of strength to get back to the truck.

When you were almost at the crossover, you noticed something in a first-story window across the river. The woman clad in beige and brown saw you at the same moment. She pulled out an arrow from behind her head in one swift motion and cocked her crossbow just as you screamed „Get down!!! Ambush!“

Suddenly there was movement. You ducked and the arrow intended for your head soared over your shoulder so closely you could hear the feathers on it whispering in your ear.

Hooded figures emerged behind pillars and burned-out cars just as you pulled your gun and shot at the woman in the window. Her mouth opened as if she wanted to say something, then her head tipped back and she vanished from sight.

There was no time for shock, you had to protect yourself and your team. Abby was fighting a large man with a giant hammer, but you could tell she would be fine. Jordan had slung his arms over Owen‘s shoulders from the back and held on so he would stay standing up while Owen had his hands free. He was shooting at Scars further away while Manny was dealing deadly blows to a younger man‘s head with a metal pipe. Leah was covering Nora with a shotgun and blasting away through the empty car windows. You stepped out from the shelter of the house front and scanned the other buildings for more archers, ignoring the screams of anger and pain around you. Protect the squad. Watch your backs.

The man Abby had fought was lying in a puddle of his own blood. She was further away from you now and fighting two younger scars at once. One of them slashed her arm with a knife and she howled out in rage. Your first instinct was to scream out her name but you stopped yourself. It would distract her and allow the scar couple to catch her off guard. She was furious, pulling two knives and lunging forward at her attackers. They stood no chance, red hot blood spilling from both their throats as they looked at each other with an expression that seemed surprised, but not scared. They staggered towards each other and fell to the ground, choking and wheezing before finally laying still.

Abby had already moved on to help Owen fight a man with an axe that had come dangerously close while he had to take a second to reload.

Suddenly a rush of panic made you whirl around and look up. An older man with a bow almost as tall as him was standing on a first-floor balcony, aiming directly at you. You pointed and shot exactly at the same time he let go of the arrow.

Too slow. You watched the arrow come towards you in slow motion, undeviating from its owner's last target. Your attempt to dodge the sharp silver dart came too late. The tip sank into your shoulder as you watched the man fall forward and hit the ground with a dull thump.

The others hadn’t noticed what had happened. Leah was fighting back to back with Manny, Nora was crouching behind her trunk and shooting at a woman running towards her, Owen was holding up Jordan behind a pillar and shooting at several scars still behind the cars and Abby was in another bloody fight with two men with a hammer and a knife.

Your shoulder didn’t hurt at all. It just felt like someone was pushing you back, trying to tip you over. Stumbling backward, you scanned the buildings trying to find other scars on higher ground before they could hurt your friends. A sense of calm waved over you. You had done your job, there were no other Seraphites hidden to attack from behind. The gun in your hand dropped to the ground, the metal clank strangely loud in front of the fighting noise.

As you fell backward, you could hear the rushing of water underneath you. The rapids were screaming at you, daring you to take up a fight with them and lose as so many others had before. The surface felt like a brick wall when you hit it, then the current pulled you under. The water was ice cold, thousands of needles pricking you at once and suddenly there it was. Agonizing pain. Your shoulder felt like a fire had been lit inside of it and it was burning your lungs from the inside, eating you up and leaving no room for anything else. You let out a terrified scream that was swallowed by the water around you.

You needed to get to the surface. Breathe in air before your lungs could fill with water. You kicked and thrashed about, trying to find your way back up without moving your wounded arm. Finally, you burst through and gasped for air, your functioning hand desperately grabbing on to plants and scraps of metal at the water’s edge. How far had the water carried you already? Were the others ever going to find you?

You managed to hold on to a branch and pull yourself onto the riverbank, the water relentlessly continuing to pull and tear at your feet. Your teeth were chattering and you couldn’t feel your hands and feet, breathing becoming the hardest task this day had given you.

„It’s okay, it’s okay, you’re just going into shock, it’s okay, they’ll find you, just breathe,“ you kept whispering to yourself as you lay on your back and closed your eyes.

You could hear shots echoing from the walls of the buildings and screaming; they couldn’t be far. After a last, deafening shot, there was silence. Owen was talking, he sounded exhausted but okay. Apparently, no one had gotten badly hurt. Suddenly you could hear Abby screaming.

„Y/N?! Y/N!!! Where are you?!“

You had never heard her this distraught before. Her voice was cracking and her yelling was high-pitched and panicked. Now everyone was screaming your name and running around. You tried to take a deep breath and answer but only produced a gurgling sound.

„Y/N?! Fuck, check if she was pulled behind one of the cars or into the building. Did these pendejos take her?“ That was Manny. He was close.

„Abby, come here! Her gun!“

Someone was running. Metal scraping over concrete. „Y/N!!! Are you down there? Fuck, you think she fell in? The rapids, oh god-“

It sounded like Abby was close to crying now, screaming and pleading your name as she ran along the river.

„She’s not in here, I checked.“ That was Leah. „Shit, did she fall in the stream?“

„I don’t know, her gun was next to it. Fuck, fuck, fuck, please let her be okay. Do you guys see anything in the water?“ The usually so collected and strong soldier sounded absolutely terrified.

You tried to answer again. It was only a whisper, but you kept going.

„Abby, I’m here. Please come. Abby.“

Your whisper became a mumble, your raspy voice refusing to work with you, but you concentrated and tried again.

The steps were close. You took a deep breath. „Abby.“

„Y/N?!“

A blonde-haired head peeked over the broken off concrete over your head. Abby looked horrible, tears leaving white streaks in a mixture of blood and dirt on her pale skin, her lip cut open and bleeding and strands of hair sticking to the drying blood on her face and neck. When she saw you however, her face lit up and she screamed out „She’s here! Come quick!“

With a single jump she was next to you, pulling your upper body onto her knees and lifting your head so you could breathe better. Manny and Nora were there in a heartbeat. The dark-skinned woman pressed a hand to your shoulder and raised her eyebrows.

„Another arrow? Jesus Christ. Y/N, listen to me, you’re gonna be fine. I’m going to get that thing out of you as soon as we’re back at the stadium. I'll patch you up a bit now, but we really need to get moving."

„That’s okay,“ you whispered. „I’m just so cold.“

Abby immediately took off her jacket. Nora stopped her.

„Wait, let’s get that wet jacket off first. We’re gonna have to cut her out of her clothes anyway.“

She grabbed a knife and quickly freed you from your soaked, ice-cold army jacket, then she cut off the long arrow a few inches from the entrance wound. The medic was quick to press some bandages around the wound and form a sling out of strips of fabric to fixate your arm to your chest. When she was done, Manny helped prop you up and wrap you into Abby‘s jacket. It was coated in blood, but still warm and most importantly, it was dry.

„Everything okay down there? How long until we can move?“ Owen yelled.

Nora closed her metal case. „We’re done for now. You can start moving Jordan to the crossover, we’ll be right with you!“

Abby gently pushed her arms under your body and pulled you towards her. You wrapped your healthy arm around her neck and she followed Manny and Nora back up to the others.

„I thought I’d lost you.“ Her voice was quiet, her eyes still alarmed and scanning the perimeter. You sank your head against her chest and found comfort in her warmth.

„I know, me too. I thought I’d drown.“

The blonde inhaled sharply and held you tighter, not able to look you in the eye.

„I should have paid more attention to you and protected you. I'm so sorry.“

Before you could reply, you had reached the stepping stones through the water. Leah, Owen and Manny were helping each other carry Jordan over to the other side, deeply focused but still on edge for any possible attackers. Nora was next, pressing her medical kit to her chest and hopping from one safe step to another in concentration. You and Abby went last. She carried you like it was nothing, never losing her balance in the slightest while Manny and Leah were watching the area attentively with their guns drawn.

When you finally got to the Jeep, the others made a bed of blankets in the back for Jordan and you. Leah sat cross-legged with her boyfriend's head in her lap and Abby lifted you up on the platform next to him. She climbed up and pulled you close to her again while the others got on, still on guard. Owen and Manny jumped in the front and Owen hit the gas.

He was driving as fast as possible without throwing you two around in the back. Nora was already preparing Jordan for surgery, he would be the first in the operating room. Manny tried to radio the stadium entrance so they would get everything ready for your arrival but had had no luck so far.

Abby was rocking back and forth slightly, softly caressing your hair and face with her rough, bloody fingers. The terror in her eyes still hadn’t subsided, she was staring through you and chewing on her bottom lip.

„Abby.“ It took all your strength to form the words that were fighting to get out. „This wasn’t your fault. We all did the best we could. It’ll be okay.“

She flinched and looked up, letting her eyes wander over the buildings around you.

„I should have watched your back. I didn’t even see you fall.“

Her eyes were glinting, tears dangerously close to following the paths that had been carved out for them earlier. You put your healthy hand over the soldier's and were surprised to find she was shaking.

„Listen to me, Abigail. I don’t blame you for any of this. If you need my forgiveness, you have it. I know you did all you could. Will you please forgive yourself, too?“

Her mouth became a harsh line as she wiped away the tears with the wrist of her free hand. She turned her head and raised a hand, probably to greet the wolves at the entrance to the base. You knew you wouldn’t get anything else out of her.

Abby had this habit of making everything her problem, her responsibility, or, in the worst case, her fault. It had been that way when those men from the outpost had followed you one night after drinking too much a year ago. You had watched a movie with Abby and Manny in their room and walked back to yours when the hunters emerged from the cafeteria. They had come on to you from the back and tried to hold you down but they didn’t know you and weren’t expecting you to be a trained fighter. You brought them up to speed in less than a minute and they were out cold long enough for you to get Isaac, Abby, and a few other soldiers to be there when they woke up. Isaac had them thrown in his prison wing and you hadn’t seen them since. He probably tested out some tactical ideas on them and you didn’t mind one bit.

Abby however had been inconsolable. She didn’t speak for a week after, infuriated with herself and convinced the attack was her fault as she should have walked you back to your room and watched your back. You had tried to get her to calm down and let it go for weeks, telling her over and over that nothing had happened and you could take care of yourself. She had probably never really gotten over it, even though she had slowly become her normal self again.

This had to be a hundred times worse. You had actually gotten hurt today, and none of it was Abby’s fault but you knew there was nothing you could say. So you just held her hand and pressed yourself closer to her body, closing your eyes and waiting to arrive at the medical tract.

Luckily people were already waiting for you, instantly carrying Jordan inside on a stretcher and offering you one, too. Abby just told them to get out of her way as she carried you in the second operating room and laid you down on the cold table.

“I’ll stay right here all the way through, I’m not leaving. You just keep breathing.”

The pain and disappointment in her flat voice were heartbreaking. You squeezed her hand and nodded. “Thank you, Abby. I’ll give my best.”

When the medics came in to get you prepped for surgery and put you under a light anesthetic, you were almost asleep anyway. Abby cleared the space for them but stayed in the corner of the room like a statue, grinding her teeth in thought as she stared at the table beneath you.

You knew you had to make this right somehow, you couldn’t let Abby beat herself up over this forever. As you drifted into a sedated sleep, you promised yourself to spend every day at Abby’s side until she was laughing again. This woman was everything to you and you would show her. You would love her so much she had to finally forgive herself and let go of all the regret to make way for better things.

[stylesberries]

Egocentric

Summary: Memories of a fight with Harry overflow you, as you wander around the house and end up playing Fine Line on vinyl.

Genre(s): angst

Word Count: 2.0k

Warning(s): mentions of overthinking, if those are a warning (I overthink for a living, so I would appreciate if there was a warning).

It’s been six months since Fine Line was released. Harry was taking a nap upstairs, as I roamed around the house looking for things to do. Coming up to our vinyl record player, I knew I had to play some music to get myself in the mood to do something.

I moved the stylus over to the platter and let it down. As Fine Line started playing, I understood that I probably won’t be motivated to do anything.

Harry and I started dating when his album was almost done and he was going off to promote it.

I waited until the album was released to listen to it and made sure to avoid being spoiled with any snippets that I could’ve heard in my daily visit to the studio.

I knew that Harry’s previous relationship left him devastated and heartbroken. I could feel him being cautious and protective over himself with me, and I never judged him for it. I would keep proving my love to him as often as he needed me to.

Whenever I was in the studio with Harry, Mitch would always tell me stories about him while he played the guitar. Collecting all of those stories in my head and building an image of Harry out of them, I understood that he’s more caring, gentle and loving than he lets himself show me.

Although, I never showed him how insecure I’ve become because of his cautiousness, I would be constantly doubting myself and his feelings for me.

When I first got to hear the album, I thanked the Universe for asking Harry to leave me alone to listen to the full album.

I originally intended to let the music flow through me but after having heard eleven songs of the album, some of which caused me a certain amount of anxiety, I just wanted to shield myself from the melodies and harmonies flying in the room around me.

As the first few seconds of the song echoed through the room, I found myself being dragged into a different atmosphere. The one my mental state wouldn’t let me go in without crying.

All of the insecurities and doubts, that I have been overflown with, came over me and dragged me down with them.

I felt unworthy of Harry’s love because he turned out to be such a loving person. Just not to me, and that’s what hurt the most. Despite me giving him my all, every drop of love I had, I gave it all to him, he still couldn’t love me as much as her. Harry wrote such beautiful songs about the person that broke his heart, while he could never tell me that he loved me first.

Sitting on my bed, I tried to push the negative thoughts away. However, no matter how many times I push them away, they keep coming back.

Harry doesn’t love me like her.

I kept rocking myself from side to side trying to keep it together. But what for?

Harry doesn’t want me like her.

The album was filled to the brim with adoration and sorrow. He seems to had really adored her.

Harry has never adored me.

What adoration? He probably doesn’t even love me. How would I know when he keeps pushing me away all the time?

If I was good enough, he would’ve opened up to me already.

The song progressed, and I got so lost in the emotions I was feeling, that I didn’t notice it coming to an end.

I sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. Staring down at my hands, I didn’t notice as time went by. The only thing that kept me aware of my surroundings and let me keep in touch with reality was the ticking that came from the clock Harry hung up on the wall.

I didn’t notice as the curly-haired man peeked through the slit in the door. As he opened the door, my gaze rose from my lap to his worried face.

When I realized that he must have seen the tears running down my cheeks, I hurried to try to inconspicuously wipe them away.

“I didn’t hear any music playing, so I thought y’were done.” He kept looking at me, probably trying to figure out what I thought of his creation.

“It’s that bad?” He asked jokingly referring to my puffy eyes.

I looked down and felt new tears getting my eyelashes wet. I couldn’t look at Harry now. When I looked at him, the only thing I saw was her face.

“Are y’crying because y’think that my career has come to an end?” Harry made another joke, looking down at me nervously.

“Will you ever love me like her?” I asked him slightly looking up. I have surprised myself with the bluntness of the question.

As my gaze connected with his, I saw the shock written all over his face.

“What?” He asked, having heard the question clearly.

“I asked if you would ever love me like her.” I repeated, knowing that there’s no turning back.

His shoulders sunk, as he understood that his mind wasn’t playing games with his feelings and what he heard was actually the question that left my mouth.

“Why would y’ask that, Y/N? Don’t y’know yourself?” He knitted his brows at me trying to get me to explain the reason behind my question.

“No. I don’t know it myself. You’ve never shown it for me to know.”

All of the frustration that had been accumulating in me was ready to blow up any second and I knew if I let it all out, he would beat himself up for it later. It would be the last thing I wanted.

“Don’t be silly, Y/N. I do show it. You’re just too egocentric to see it.” Harry has now opened an attack. However, realizing the nature of his words right after they left his mouth, Harry’s facial expression drops and he looks like he has already regretted saying that to me.

Never before did I think that words could hurt this much. To a point when it physically hurts. Knowing that the person you love thinks of you so lowly hurts the most.

I wasn’t going to keep silent. If he’s being honest, I’m being honest, too.

“This whole relationship, all I’ve been doing was making sure that you’re comfortable with me. Comfortable enough to open up to me. It was all I ever wanted from you. Trust. Because I gave you everything I had in me, Harry. Every last drop of love - I gave to you. And what did you do with it? You can’t even tell me that you love me first. I don’t deserve that, Harry. I understand that you’re hurt and that you’re recovering from a heartbreak but I didn’t deserve to be your rebound. I am actually in love with you. If you weren’t ready for a serious relationship yet, you should’ve just told me.”

At this point tears were running down your chin and landing on the skin of your wrists. My mind was blurry and my surroundings became a mystery to me once again. Collecting myself I slowly moved to the edge of the bed and pushed my legs off of the bed on the carpeted flood. I hears muffled steps being followed by sniffing sounds. When I realized that I wasn’t the one making those sounds, I looked up to meet Harry’s wet eyes.

“Of course I love you. And no you are not a rebound and could never be. You’re perfect in every way. I have never met anyone quite like you. Ever.” He slowly kneeled down in front of me and reached for my hands.

“May I touch you?” Harry looked up at me with pleading eyes and waited for my response.

“Yes.” I answered, awaiting for him to continue his speech.

“Thank you.” He slowly took my hands in his and caressed my skin with his thumb.

“I know I haven’t been opening up to you as I should have but I promise you - if you let me, I will make sure that you never have to doubt my love again. There is nothing I value more than your love.” He paused to wipe his tears away and carried on.

“After the broke up I was a mess, but I never saw our relationship as a rebound. Before you I’d never thought that I would love anyone like her again.” Harry was crawled closer to me and looked up at me with his bloodshot eyes.

I didn’t know what he was about to say and it scared me. Not just the unknown but also the idea of it being said just to calm me down. I would never want him to say these beautiful things without them being completely raw.

Harry seemed to notice my doubtful look. In seconds he understood that the insecurities are so deep inside of my head that the words he is about to say will probably leave me even more worried than before.

He takes his hands out of mine and brings them up to my face to cup my cheeks. My eyes found their way back to my lap even with my face in his hands.

“Look at me.” He ordered, looking at me worryingly once again.

I looked up at the man, as my eyes begged for him to say something to help my pain and insecurities go away.

“When I met you I understood that I have never been in love before. I felt so much for you - it scared me. I was afraid that you’d leave me like everyone before you did. I thought that if I keep myself closed off, it would hurt less when you left. I am so sorry, my love. I have never felt anything close to what I feel for you for anyone else. I never meant for it to cause you to have doubts. I was just afraid to get hurt again.” Harry’s gaze left me and landed on a random spot in the room as the guilt came over him.

“So I hurt you instead.”

I saw him start to drown in realization of how much his actions hurt me - the person he cared for the most. I let my hand touch the hair at the back of his head. As I let my fingers go through his curls, his eyes closed and tears left the comfort of his emerald eyes.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay. It’s okay. We’ll be alright, yeah?” I pushed his face into my shoulder and wrapped my arms around him, swaying us from side to side.

“I’m so sorry. So fucking sorry. I love you so much.”

His muffled cries echoed through the room as I kissed the top of his head.

“I love you so much, Harry.”

Looking back, I can never stop tears from spilling out of my eyes.

As I stood in front of the record player, unaware of Harry’s present, I stared into the void with a small smile on my face.

As Harry took steps towards me, the song came to an end.

“Are y’okay?” My boyfriend asked, carefully wrapping his arms around my waist, and positioned his head in the crook of my neck.

“I’m wonderful.”

I genuinely felt that way. After six months our relationship was in an amazing place.

“I hope that’s not sarcasm.” Harry said laying a kiss on my neck.

“Not with you.”

I turned my head slightly to reach his lips with mine. As he ended the kiss, he looked into my eyes.

“I’m sorry for calling you egocentric.”

“It’s okay, bunny. You made up for that a long time ago.”

He kept his promise.

I never doubted his love again.

© all right belong to stylesberries. do not repost or modify.

[shihalyfie]

Daisuke’s characterization in V-Tamer is actually out of character

This is a post rather different from the usual content I do for this blog, and to be honest, I’m a bit hesitant about it, since it’s hard not to make it sound like some kind of scathingly critical negativity about the relevant chapter. It’s not intended that way -- V-Tamer’s crossover chapter with 02 lies firmly in “Bandai-commissioned spinoff” territory with what was most likely very little input from the anime staff, and with these kinds of things, right hand very rarely talks to left hand, and you see it in things like Tag Tamers having major contradictions with the anime despite how ostensibly important it is to 02′s story. Izawa and Yabuno were busy with V-Tamer production, and it’s very likely Toei and Bandai only provided them with very scant details of 02′s base premise (especially since the chapter itself doesn’t refer to any major 02 plot details besides XV-mon’s and Magnamon’s existence). I really do not blame them for not necessarily having thorough awareness of Daisuke and his character arc (especially since he himself is a rather deceptive character), and having to make a lot of assumptions while writing.

In the end, I decided to write this due to personal request from an acquaintance, who pointed out that there are a lot of people out there who like to claim things like "Daisuke got more character development in this single chapter than he did in 02 itself” (which is another manifestation of the constantly repeated fanbase mantra that Daisuke was lacking in that department when he really wasn’t). The thing is, this chapter’s interpretation of Daisuke is so far removed from the character he was even at the start of 02 that this “development” only works by artificially engineering a conflict that shouldn’t have even happened with Daisuke in the first place.

Again: This is not something meant to criticize this chapter as something bad (personally, I do think it’s rather entertaining in its own way) as much as, simply, out of character is still out of character, and I'm mainly just writing this in the hopes of making a case that this version of Daisuke should not be reflected back on the original series.

(Screenshots below are from the DH translation of V-Tamer, and PositronCannon’s 02 subs.)

The issue here is that the whole plot of the chapter itself is based on the idea that Daisuke is the kind of person who likes fighting for the sake of fighting, and has an impulsive urge to charge in aggressively to the point of even looking down on his friends for denying him. Certainly, on the surface, it does seem to match up with Daisuke still having difficulties adjusting to these new kids being his friends at the beginning of the series, and generally having an abrasive, rough-around-the-edges personality, but...

Ah.

The above screenshots are from 02 episode 7, which is a very early episode -- one that clearly takes place before Magnamon’s appearances in Hurricane Touchdown and 02 episode 20-21, and XV-mon’s appearance in 02 episode 22 -- and one that’s still part of Daisuke’s early bout of “shallow” episodes, in which he’s still instinctively lashing out at Takeru due to his perception of having something going on with Hikari. And while he does initially lash out at them for wanting to turn back, the moment everyone else makes a good case for them turning back (especially when their own Digimon run out of energy), he -- rather easily -- grits his teeth and actually calls the retreat himself.

On top of the fact that Daisuke is very capable of pulling back when he practically understands it’s necessary (even if he hates it), some important points need to be made about his behavior here: Daisuke does not push forward on fighting because he likes fighting and attacking things, but because he practically wants to see the Dark Tower destroyed (and the Dark Tower is causing problems for everyone everywhere right now). He hates the Kaiser, and wants to fight everyone under him, because he’s hurting others. Only one episode later, Daisuke vocalizes that he’s even okay with losing a soccer game as long as he gets to play someone who’s inspired kids all over the country and enjoy the match.

The other problem is that it actually implies that Daisuke would be able to do anything without his friends’ approval. Despite Daisuke’s ostensibly rough surface demeanor, he gets strung along easily. It is absurdly easy to shut him down or override his opinions just by being assertive enough. There’s a very good reason why he’s been described as “prevented from doing much in the first half”. Daisuke spends the first half of the series largely unable to make his own decisions because his friends keep making them for him, and part of his character development involves him becoming able to actually put his foot down and do what he wants when it’s something he cares about, which is something that very much does not set in until the second half.

In addition, the implication that Daisuke would be actively belligerent to the point of having the priority of “destroying enemies” instead of “helping others” is very contrary to the whole point of his character arc:

In 02 episode 20, the first time Daisuke does truly put his foot down against the wishes of the others in the group, it’s because seeing Chimeramon destroy so many things hurt him that badly that he hates sitting around and doing nothing. Again: Daisuke is a person who does things because he cares about and wants to protect others, not because he necessarily likes fighting. It’s also important that he makes this statement that he’ll go in “even alone” -- he does not look down on the others or show distaste for them for choosing to recuse, because they’re understandably exhausted, but simply says that he’s frustrated at the idea of giving up this one chance, and doesn’t want to squander it. (It’s also consistent with the way he treats the mortified Ken in 02 episode 48 -- he reminds him that Jogress won’t work if Ken’s not feeling up to it, and says that he’ll do it alone if he has to because something has to be done.)

And speaking of Ken, this trait of Daisuke’s is why that whole character arc of him reaching out to Ken works in the first place! Because, again, Daisuke hated the Kaiser because he was doing horrible things. The moment the Kaiser stopped doing horrible things, Daisuke didn’t feel up to kicking him while he was down, actually urged him to do the first thing he could do to make amends -- “go home” -- and ultimately chose to reach out to him because he thinks in terms of moving on and creating positive things, not for destruction for the sake of destruction. Because Ken seemed to not be hurting anyone anymore, and he’s actually doing something to help, so why not believe in him and let him help?

Again: with the exception of episode 48 (which is just reinforcing something from before), all of these episodes are before XV-mon’s first appearance in 02 episode 22. Daisuke had always been this kind of positive and supportive person from day one; those traits had just not been very easily visible because he was still trying to deal with his initial awkwardness and being rather rough around the edges, but they’re still traits he’d always fundamentally had.

The chapter continues with Daisuke actually looking down on his other friends and protesting angrily against them trying to pull him back. Beyond the fact that (as stated above) the anime’s portrayal of Daisuke would make him very unwilling to fight back against opposition at this point of the series, the idea he’d actually be condescending about his friends is a little...hmm. Because, again, in 02 episode 7:

Daisuke does momentarily lash out at Iori and Takeru in a moment of emotional compromise when he’s stressed over Hikari getting trapped in the Digital World, but he actually takes it back. Incredibly quickly. He apologizes to Iori, and decides to not let Takeru put the blame on himself, even though his emotionally-compromised moment had initially gotten him to instinctively try to pin it on him. (Which is important because, yes, even when Daisuke’s inclined to lash out at Takeru for his perceived existing relationship with Hikari and be jealous of him, he still cares about Takeru himself to the point he doesn’t want him to load himself with the guilt.)

Daisuke’s brashness is portrayed during this early part of 02 as him very, very badly needing validation. This means that going out of his way to push aside the people he calls friends would be the last thing he wants to do, because he actually wants their approval, and for them to like him, and therefore he’s willing to apologize quickly and try to make amends because he plays badly with actual confrontation.

While this line isn’t quite off, it does rather clash with the way Daisuke actually portrays himself, which is that he doesn’t really have this much of an ego. The literal translation of this line is that he calls himself “your cute little junior”, but even the more liberal translation used here doesn’t quite work with Daisuke’s character, since it’s not implied at any point that Daisuke thinks Taichi actually cares about him back the way he adores Taichi.

Again, Daisuke is an extremely deferential person who craves validation, and this is especially in the case of Taichi, who arguably is the one who creates the easiest mood shift in Daisuke for the early parts of the series. Whenever Taichi is nearby, Daisuke immediately becomes deferential and respects literally everything he does.

Observe Daisuke’s very resigned and very deferential facial expressions and attitude in 02 episodes 8 and 10, whenever it comes to Taichi (and note that the third screenshot here also comes from a situation where Daisuke wanted to advocate for pushing forward instead of retreating; it was that easy for Taichi to shut him down). For all it’s worth, Daisuke’s never really shown to have a lot of pride in himself (beyond the occasional joke), and it’s heavily implied that he sees Taichi as so amazing that he’s not even remotely in his league. That’s why it’s such a big deal that Daisuke puts his foot down and protests against what Taichi wants them to do in 02 episode 39, and it’s not even rudely or aggressively (he still uses polite Japanese!) as much as just firmly “I have a friend and I need to help him, I’m sorry.”

During the chapter, Daisuke claims that he doesn’t want to go back and meet his friends, because he doesn’t think they care about him, but, well, again: Daisuke is someone who craves approval. It’s somewhat understandable that he’d maybe have some degree of insecurity that they don’t like him as much as he wants them to, but the series by this point (remember, we’re talking episode 22, given XV-mon’s appearance) makes it very clear that Daisuke is well aware that his friends like him this much, and he has no real grudges against them.

This is one of the reasons it’s so important that 02 had so many scenes of the kids just...bantering in the computer room, or having tons of “free time off hours” that had nothing to do with Digimon fights, because although Daisuke is brash and rough around the edges, otherwise, the group of friends here get along perfectly fine. Once the stress of fighting is removed, these kids are part of each others’ social circle and love hanging out for the sake of hanging out, and even someone as dense as Daisuke should know very well that they do at least like him this much.

And, more importantly, whatever Daisuke might think about what his friends think of him, he himself likes them a lot. He cares about them a lot. Even all the way back in 02 episode 10 and 11, with Miyako and Takeru (whom he ostensibly banters and gets touchy with a lot), he still makes it clear he likes what Miyako’s doing and wants to check on her (without prompting), and later, when he gets in a fight with Takeru, he blames himself for not understanding Takeru’s feelings instead of feeling inclined to blame it on him. (In fact, this so-called hostility with Takeru is really overblown here, because there’s no reason Daisuke should think everyone takes Takeru’s side; when they did get in a fight in 02 episode 11, everyone was more concerned about getting them to calm down than they were about taking sides, because both of them did have a very reasonable position.)

And while Daisuke getting set off by the Takeru and Hikari issue might have been in-character at one point, it’s not for him at this point in the series, because 02 episode 22, the very episode that introduces XV-mon, has him take a completely different view of the situation:

Daisuke had already gotten over a lot of it by this point. The last time he shows any indication of Takeru and Hikari having ~something going on~ to the point he suspects Takeru of being an obstacle is all the way back in episode 17, which oh-so-coincidentally happens to be the same episode where he later learns about the truth of his seniors’ great adventure in 1999, and therefore receives the full context of why Takeru and Hikari knew each other beforehand (which they had been absolutely terrible at elucidating for 17 episodes). By the time we get to this epsode, Daisuke does not hold anything against Takeru himself, and he doesn’t even accuse them of having a thing, just moping that they “get along so well”. He’s not angry about it, he’s sad about it, and it’s heavily implied that he’s really just sad about being third-wheeled more than anything.

It’s also important to realize that this is long past the point where Daisuke would have shown any outright hostility towards Takeru at all. At worst, he maybe scoffs “do whatever you want!”, or ends up a little sad that they’re leaving him out, but he ends up putting this on himself more than he ever lashes out at others about it anymore. The grudge against Takeru had already gone long under the bridge, by this point Takeru is just a friend that he likes reasonably well and is sad to be third wheeled by, and it’s only 13 more episodes before he’ll stop bringing his crush on Hikari into the issue for the rest of the series.

And, remember, Daisuke has always been someone who does things “because other people are being hurt”. He’s not actually that selfish! Whenever people are really in trouble, he goes in to help them -- remember, back in 02 episode 8, he was crushed because Ken turned out to be the Kaiser, and someone indirectly trampling on the dreams of all the soccer-playing kids in the country. Had this been Daisuke from the anime, he probably would have immediately wanted to go back the moment he realized there are people in need and hurt left behind, regardless of his own feelings on his relationship with his friends.

The rest of the chapter is fairly on-the-nose, with Daisuke managing to create a “miracle” through the power of his feelings by remembering what it meant for Taichi to give him his goggles, and for managing to connect to his friends despite them being trapped, with Daisuke and Taichi eventually parting on good terms and Daisuke even getting the honor of doing the victory dance with him. This is why I want to emphasize (I’ll say this in bold) that I do not think this is a “bad” chapter just because it’s not compliant with Daisuke’s anime characterization. Given what the chapter sets out to accomplish, setting up a story of someone who feels neglected by his friends and eventually decides to reach out to them with his own feelings, it’s thematically solid and well-plotted out as a story, and the crossover and thought experiment of how Daisuke would react to an alternate version of Taichi is very entertaining. Plus, Izawa’s writing and Yabuno’s art is charming, and it’s lovely to see the 02 kids in this style.

It’s just, well, the entire premise of this chapter relies on a conflict generated by Daisuke being a character he is very much not. And, again, it’s not something that I can really criticize Izawa and Yabuno for; Daisuke’s quite the deceptive character, and it really doesn’t seem like Toei and Bandai gave them a lot to work with, especially since this chapter only works within a very narrow range of 02′s timeline, between 02 episodes 22 and 25, when V-mon can evolve to Adult but Ken hasn’t formally joined the team yet. (And in fact, I’d generally apply this sort of caveat to things relevant to Daisuke that come from the Bandai side instead of Toei side; too many things out there seem to only really be working with the base details of “Taichi’s junior who has a crush on Hikari” with no regard to the actual nuances of his character.) Personally, it seems that Izawa and Yabuno did their best with what they had to work with, and they even made it a fun chapter while they were at it! -- so I would simply say that it’s probably best to enjoy this chapter without thinking about the lack of canon compliance too hard, but also not to judge the actual anime version of Daisuke too much by this portrayal.

[the-melting-world]

Strength | Side A: "Sol"

art by @ ligiawrites

~ In which a secretive barhand tames many beasts at once...

The Trio Appearances: Kipling | Khleo | Ozy

Arcana LI appearances: Asra | Nadia | Lucio | Valdemar

Track Origins: “Sol” by Blanco White

Not sure if this is the right track? The full album can be found here: Strength

Khleo is Non-binary and uses she/they pronouns interchangeably

cw: descriptions of monsters

~ 2.8k words

****

Ozy and Kip waited anxiously on a grated walkway in the framework. Just below them was the chamber of Rooms that they had created to hold the monsters who brought darkness with them wherever they went.

“Do you think that maybe we should go down there and check up on her?” Kip asked, holding Taro tightly enough that the lemur had started to squirm. She looked down at where Ozy was sitting with one of his legs dangling over the side of the bridge.

Ozy turned to Abaco, who was perched comfortably on his shoulder. The bird gave a little hop and ruffled his feathers. Finally, Ozy glanced down at the Room and said, “I think we should wait for Khleo to let us know when it’s okay to come inside.”

Kip nodded in agreement, but her eyes were distant. Ozy turned his gaze back to her and shifted a little. He held out his arm and beckoned her over.

“Kipling. Come here.”

Soon Kip was sitting beside Ozy, under his arm. She let her legs dangle over the edge too as she leaned into him. It wasn’t often that they shared this sort of affection, but Kip had always found Ozy’s bright citrus scent and the sound of his chirping beads quite comforting.

“I have faith in Khleo mostly because of you, Kip. I’m sorry if my anxiety kept me from expressing my gratitude, but… thank you for talking to them. For helping them rest.”

Kip reached up to scratch the five o’clock shadow clinging to Ozy’s jaw. “You did most of the talking, coz. You told Khleo everything they needed to hear exactly when they needed to hear it. You showed them the moments from our past that I was too scared to show them myself.”

Ozy sighed and chuckled against Kip’s ticklish fingernails. “I worried myself silly trying to get the timing right. Confrontation only works when the time and the place is appropriate. You know I’ve always struggled with that in the past.”

Now Kip was tugging on Ozy’s ghost lock. “You’ve gotten so much better at it though.”

Before Ozy could respond, a voice called out to both of them. Ozy and Kip got to their feet and looked around. It wasn’t long before they realized that the voice was coming from inside the Room.

“They’re asking us to open the Doors,” Kip whispered.

Because there were eight of them total and they were all very heavy, Ozy and Kip had to work together to create an opening into the chamber. Once they could both look down inside the Room, the umbras were taken aback by all of the darkness that had been replaced with an usual sort of light. Soft, multicolor beads of brightness moved about the room languidly, as if alive.

It took them a moment to realize that the lights made up the anatomies of the individual monsters. Many were drakelike, but there were also furrier, multi-headed beasts and cloven, multi-eyed creatures.

Khleo walked into view, holding a juvenile in her arms. This one had the head of a foal, the body of an eel, and a large, cyclopic eye. Khleo cradled them in one arm and stroked their head with the other. She looked up at her friends and smiled.

“It’s safe. You can come down.”

The barhand let the strange chimera slither out of her arms and undulate away on the absent breeze. Even though Khleo seemed completely in control, Kip and Ozy still looked about warily at the slow-moving, bioluminescent creatures patrolling the space.

Khleo escorted the two of them around, explaining the nature of the monsters and how they all answered to one queen. The queen selected Rooms to lay her eggs in the walls and shut them off in darkness so that she can protect her nest in relative peace.

Inevitably, Ozy started up with his questions. “Did the queen try to attack you?”

Khleo nodded calmly. Without elaborating, she brought them over to the largest of the beasts. When they were close enough, she held out her hand to signal Ozy and Kip to keep their distance. Only after Khleo knelt to where the queen was resting, did she explain, “They’ve all got a sensitive spot somewhere on their bodies.”

Khleo snuck her hand under what Ozy and Kip presumed was the head of the queen and scratched until the great thing lifted her horned skull and yawned.

“See?”

It was hard to pay attention to what Khleo was referring to, what with the unraveling of the queen’s three crooked rows of nested jaws and green, pimpled tongue. But below her maw of shards and behind her fluffy goatee was a layer of veined, membranous meat. It pulsed fleshy blends of red and pink light.

As soon as Ozy and Kip got a good look, Khleo closed the goatee curtain and stroked the queen back to sleep.

“If you can reset the leader’s buttons, the others will follow. It’s just a matter of finding the weak spot and getting close enough to apply the right sort of pressure.” Khleo stood up. “But I also think that snapping them out of that state helps them recognize my scent better.”

Ozy crossed his arms and nodded. “The beasts must think you’re one of them. It’s the only explanation for why they aren't attacking Kip and me right now.”

Khleo’s face was one of acceptance, but they still shrugged and asked, “Why, though?”

Kip spoke up. “Your patron’s blessing. It has to be. It must not be something that you can see or touch, but the creatures living in the walls can feel it.”

Khleo considered this as they approached the two of them. They looked at Kip first and then up at Ozy.

“So now what?”

The excitement was back in Ozy’s murky hazel eyes. He drew up Khleo’s wrist and studied her knuckles, which were bruised from driving them into the queen’s weak spot.

“We’ll need to get you some gauntlets later, but this means that now… we can make shortcuts.”

****

~ The Palace ~

After releasing the subdued monsters into the framework, Ozy carved a pathway back to the Palace for the three of them. Khleo wasn’t all that surprised to find Asra and Nadia waiting for them in the reception hall with Hefe’s head resting in the Countess’ lap. What did catch them off guard was the sight of Basil, who they hadn’t seen since he helped them escape their blood curse.

Kip went to greet Asra and Ozy was preoccupied with Nadia. Hefe approached Khleo first, gently encouraging her to speak candidly with Basil.

When Basil hugged Khleo, she was relieved to sense no bitterness or anger in his touch.

“I’m sorry I kept so many things from you,” Khleo rasped. “It was the last way I could… protect what little I had–”

Basil shook them. “Gah! Khlee, stop. I know.” He pulled back, trying to blink the shine out of his clear blue eyes. “You don’t need to explain. Just… read this. It’s for you.”

The mixologist retrieved an envelope from his pocket. He opened it for Khleo before handing them the contents. Khleo held the documents up and read them slowly. Then they reread them. Again. And again.

Ozy and Kip didn’t notice that Khleo had taken off running through the Palace until Nadia brought it to their attention.

By the time Ozy caught up to Khleo, they were already hurdling themself over the Palace gates. He only managed to keep up with the help of the Doors, phasing him in and out of Khleo’s reality.

When Ozy asked if Khleo intended to run all the way to the Chandrian by foot, the barhand panted, “How the hell else am I supposed to get there? I still can’t open Doors!”

A new presence appeared in between the two umbras.

< Get on my back, cub. >

Ozy grinned before opening a Door and disappearing altogether. Khleo didn’t stop running, but they shot Hefe a suspicious look. The lion blew a puff of frustrated air.

< You’ve done it before. How else would you have reached your own gate in the past? >

Still uncertain, but curious to see what would happen, Khleo reached over and grabbed the scruff of Hefe’s neck without breaking their stride. Then in one swift maneuver, they mounted their familiar’s back and tucked their legs neatly against Hefe’s sides.

The lioness picked up speed, bounding faster over the cobblestones of the Heart District until a Door exploded into existence before them. Khleo’s heart leaped as Hefe carried them through the Door and into a tunnel of rotating seawater. Ozy was on the other side, closing the Door behind them as the barhand and their lion sailed away.

~ Hefe… you’re glowing! ~

Even in her mind, Khleo didn’t have the words to describe all that she was seeing. Hefe crossed the astral planes as if she had been born there. Her pale creamy coat shimmered and kicked up a snowy dust-storm all around them.

As they traveled the framework, their presence drew in any nearby beasts. Creatures that would have otherwise camouflaged themselves were now flanking Hefe’s heels and undulating languidly past Khleo’s shoulders.

Kipling came into view shortly thereafter, holding open a Door that dropped Khleo off directly in front of the Chandrian. As soon as Hefe landed on solid ground and slid to a stop, Khleo took off again, not bothering to wait for her friends.

The barhand had so many questions as she shoved open the doors to the tavern – her tavern. The other barhands were there to greet her, including Basil. They congratulated her, poured her two – three hefeweizens and shoved one mug after the other against her chest.

There was so much excitement, it was clear that questions had no place here. Not now. When things had settled somewhat, Kip came to wrap her arms around Khleo from behind. The gardener balanced her chin on Khleo’s shoulder and kissed them on the cheek.

“It’s not your beer garden, but it’s a step.”

Khleo swallowed the words she didn’t have with the help of the beer in her hand. She took a breath and looked around at the rejoicing still going on in her tavern hall. The fiddles were out, people were on the tables moving and twirling. The only stillness in sight were a couple of patrons calmly dining at a booth towards the back of the hall.

“Those two women over there have been waiting this whole time,” Kip whispered. “I think one of them wants to talk to you.”

Khleo shot Kip a perplexed look as she kissed them fondly on the cheek one final time and lifted the mug out of their hands. Kipling’s hand then came to the small of their back and gave them an encouraging push.

Khleo didn’t know what to expect as they wandered over to the booth. They were sure that they had never met the first woman. However, they recognized her deep brown skin and warm garnet eyes. Because the second woman who finally turned around in her seat happened to have them too.

Khleo froze.

“Mir?”

Her old coworker smiled radiantly as she got to her feet. There was something she was holding in her arms. Wrapped up in blankets and so small, Khleo could hardly believe the obvious.

There were words of deep gratitude exchanged, as well as warm affection, but all Khleo could focus on was the round, slumbering face. The tiny fingers and tinier fingernails.

“She’s so small.”

Samira laughed because for a moment, Khleo truly looked as if she feared the blanket would swallow the infant whole. Giving her strong arms a playful nudge, Samira asked, “Wanna hold her?”

Khleo had never held anything or anyone so awkwardly in her whole life. Just minutes ago she was rocking chimeras to sleep, but now her arms felt damn near useless when it came to deciding how best to snuggle Samira’s baby against her.

“What’s her name?”

Samira, who was close enough to save Khleo should she need it, whispered, “Lily... It means: she’s gonna grow.”

She lifted her eyes to meet Khleo’s. The two shared a smile before shining their happiness back on the little one.

****

~ Not Long After ~

Khleo was at her gate, standing in a field of wildflowers at the bottom of a hill. She had tried to run to the top of that hill so many times before.

She tried again.

Like before, the muscles in her legs burned as her heels dug into the earth, kicking up enchanted daisies on the way. Her arms fought air resistance as they pumped harder and harder.

Drive. Drive!

Khleo zig-zagged to sidestep the pressure of gravity trying to hold her back. The top of the hill came into view faster than it ever had before. But Khleo was not stopping or slowing down. Her breath came out energized rather than labored.

And she leaped...

Khleo’s feet never did make contact with the peak of that hill. Instead, her momentum took over the mound.

Beyond.

.

.

.

Khleo found Kipling resting in the flowers, scratching lines of new poetry into her journal. The barhand gently interrupted the gardener and encouraged her to rise to her feet.

“C’mere. I wanna show you something.”

When Khleo had led Kipling a good distance from the rest of their friends that had joined them in the realm, they called forth something from the framework. Something from their past.

Kipling gasped at the sight of a shimmering ocean drake coasting like a sentient ribbon down from the clouds.

“Remember?” Khleo asked with a smile, waving the drake over in their direction. “From when we used to ride our bikes to and from the market?”

Khleo directed the sea drake from their childhood to revolve around themself and Kip in an infinite loop. The creature fanned out their webbed frill and tail, sweeping up more of the glistening flowers. It flew in a tight circle around Khleo and Kip, giving them no choice but to come together chest to chest.

Khleo tilted Kip’s face up by her chin and kissed her.

“So that day, in the caves… the day the Door took me…”

Kip’s breath hitched. “I remember.”

Khleo dismissed the lumps in her throat. “Well there was something I wanted to tell you.” She glanced down at Kip’s necklace. “It was too hard for me to say back then. And it’s still hard, but…”

The sea drake passed in the background, twisting once in midair, the rest of its body snaking into the rotation like a wave passing through a column of seawater.

“Some things never change, I guess. Still, I wanted to say this.” Khleo breathed in deeply. “I loved you so much back then, Kip.” They placed a kiss on her forehead. “Just as I love you now. As I always will. As it should be.”

Kip found that even as Khleo kissed her through her tears, she could not speak. Even though she had screamed her feelings for Khleo inside those very same caves, she could barely whisper them now.

This was strange for someone like her, for whom words flowed like water and blossomed out like flowers. But Khleo understood what that was like, so they kissed Kip through her tearful wordlessness.

They closed their eyes and purred knowingly and in plain happiness when Kip hugged Khleo for all she was worth, buried her face along the side of their neck and worked her lips into a soundless confession.

Khleo’s body was sensitive enough to feel the truth. They soaked up the love — the years and years of love — enough to make them wish they could open their throat and roar.

And then… the moment came when it was time for Khleo to be alone in their realm with their lion and their patron.

Their friends, Kipling, Ozy, Nadia, Asra – and their familiars, all left.

Khleo stood in the place where they were reborn, listening to the wind blowing over the fields. They had never done this before, but the next move came so naturally to them.

Strength watched from the top of one of the hills, her red headscarf drawn down by her shoulders and her rough curls catching wind and daisies.She watched Khleo walk over to their golden throne and take a seat there. She watched Hefe softly approach and curl up by Khleo’s ankles.

Khleo got comfortable and snug before closing their eyes and breathing in long and deep. She had a thought, which yielded a glass mug to materialize in her hand. Beer collected and bubbled up to the top until foam was spilling out onto her knuckles. But the barhand didn’t break her relaxation to lick up the mess. She would see to it later.

For now she was calm. Not like the tall woman in the background watching over her. Not even like the great, pale lioness resting at her feet.

All of Khleo’s calmness and control came from within.

[dwellordream]

“Eleanor and Louis arrived at Antioch’s port ten miles from the city on 19 March 1148, eight months after leaving France—considerably later than they had expected to reach the Holy Land. They were welcomed warmly by the prince of Antioch, Raymond, younger brother of Eleanor’s father. He led the royal entourage to Antioch “with great pomp,” where the clergy and people were waiting to greet them. On Eleanor’s arrival in the city after the ordeal of the harrowing crossing of Anatolia, she anticipated relaxing and recovering from her hardships, swathed in luxury at Raymond’s palace. 

During a ten-day sojourn as her uncle’s guest, Eleanor enjoyed the company of a number of other Poitevins who had followed Raymond to Antioch, among them his palace chaplain and some of his knights whose families she knew, as well as the patriarch of Antioch who came from Limoges. Eleanor took great delight in the company of Prince Raymond, only nine years her senior, and his sophisticated court at Antioch charmed her. The city and its palatial residences with marble columns, intricate mosaics, and rich silks called to mind the magnificence of Constantinople. 

The “Franks,” as western Christians settled in the crusader states were called, had adopted Syrian manners and customs that were suitable for the local climate. They took baths and used soap, wore eastern-style clothing, ate the local dishes, including sweets flavored with sugar, and built their houses on the Syrian model with courtyards and fountains. Louis and his men recoiled from the luxurious and self-indulgent way of life they observed at Antioch, regarding it with the same scorn felt earlier for the Greeks at Constantinople. They were shocked and scandalized by Frankish settlers who “went native,” making friends with Muslim notables and occasionally even allying with them. 

…In his attempt to convince Louis VII to join him in recovering Edessa, Raymond of Antioch “counted greatly on the interest of the queen with the lord king.” Raymond probably sensed Eleanor’s admiration for him, aware that she saw in him a father-figure, a reminder of her father, Duke William X. He knew how to play on his niece’s divided loyalties, appealing to her sense of family solidarity; he was her closest living male relative and a reminder of her pampered childhood at Poitiers. In addition, his entourage included a number of Poitevins, so he could arouse her concern for her kin and countrymen dwelling in this endangered Christian outpost.

He would have observed that Eleanor was a strong-minded woman. Certainly her interest in political matters had been evident from the first years of her marriage, and then Louis’s hopeless love for his bride had won him over easily to her point of view. Yet now Eleanor felt herself capable of openly disputing her husband’s policy decisions on the basis of her own judgment. Impressed by Prince Raymond’s knowledge gained from a decade’s residence in the crusader principality, she quickly grasped the wisdom of his strategy. Despite Raymond’s success in recruiting his niece to his cause, neither she nor he had any luck in shaking Louis’s determination to proceed directly to Jerusalem. 

Louis VII now expected his queen to be a docile wife, submitting to him and not questioning his initiatives in public policy. Yet his indecisiveness during the difficult crossing of Anatolia already had shaken Eleanor’s confidence in his judgment, and no doubt her impatience with his austere way of living had deepened during her exhausting and frightening journey across Anatolia. She could no longer deny her unhappiness with her marriage, and she quite possibly confided this to her uncle. Her refusal to be forced into a constraining mold of wifely submissiveness became clear at Raymond’s court, and this was her actual crime at Antioch in the eyes of Louis and his entourage. 

Eleanor’s impassioned and forthright support of Raymond’s plan only provoked her husband’s jealousy. When neither Raymond’s private approaches nor a council attended by both rulers’ entourages could win Louis’s support for his plan of attack, the prince’s attitude changed, and he began plotting against the French king. Eleanor announced to Louis that he could go on to Jerusalem, but she would stay in Antioch and initiate proceedings for the annulment of their marriage. The earliest source for this shocking episode, the infamous incident at Antioch that colored all succeeding assessments of Eleanor, is John of Salisbury.

…Because John’s recounting is so significant for Eleanor’s later reputation, it must be quoted: Whilst the king and queen remained [at Antioch] to console, heal and revive the survivors from the wreck of the army, the attentions paid by the prince to the queen, and his constant, indeed almost continuous, conversation with her, aroused the king’s suspicions. These were greatly strengthened when the queen wished to remain behind although the king was preparing to leave, and the prince made every effort to keep her, if the king would give her consent. And when the king made haste to tear her away, she mentioned their kinship, saying that it was not lawful for them to remain together as man and wife, since they were related in the fourth and fifth degrees.

The queen was correct about their kinship within the prohibited degrees, for it was an open secret that she and Louis shared a common ancestor. Yet it was a daring declaration for her to make, and she would not have spoken so boldly without her uncle’s support, or perhaps his urging. Raymond, angered by Louis’s contrariness, saw his niece as an instrument for revenge. No doubt during their many conversations the prince had assured his niece that as senior male of the Aquitanian ducal line he would take her under his protection should she become single again. 

He knew that the choice of another spouse for her would fall to him, and her marriage could prove useful in cementing some new alliance. John of Salisbury continued, telling of the advice given to Louis VII by Thierry Galeran, a eunuch who was a trusted counselor of the king. Thierry warned Louis against allowing Eleanor to remain behind in Antioch because, quoting Ovid, “guilt under the guise of kinship could lie concealed.” The quotation can be read as a veiled reference to Eleanor’s incestuous relations with Raymond, but may be no more than a rhetorical flourish added by John, a scholar proud of his classical learning. 

Thierry further warned the king that should the crusade result in the loss of his wife, by her desertion or her theft by another, it would bring lasting shame on the French kingdom. John of Salisbury took care to make no overt accusation of adultery, seeming to suggest no more than the queen’s immoderate familial affection. If he intended to hint at Eleanor’s unfaithfulness at Antioch, it is significant that he chose Thierry Galeran, as a eunuch an object of derision, whom he described as “a eunuch whom the queen had always hated and mocked.” 

John comments that Thierry expressed his view “either because he hated the queen or because he really believed it, moved perchance by widespread rumour,” leaving readers free to reject his testimony as unreliable. John of Salisbury says little about Raymond’s role in this matter, other than that as the king prepared to leave Antioch “the prince made every effort to keep [Eleanor].” It is quite clear, however, that John held Raymond guilty for using the queen to pressure her husband into agreeing to his plan for battling the Turks, and for encouraging his niece’s decision to seek a separation from her husband once he had failed to influence Louis through her. 

…What is important about the Antioch incident is not so much what actually happened between Eleanor and her uncle, but what her contemporaries believed or wished to believe had occurred. For John of Salisbury and his clerical contemporaries, Eleanor’s violation of the laws of marriage was not adultery with Raymond, nor her demand for an annulment of her marriage so much as her refusal to adopt the subservient role expected of a wife. She had gone against the submissiveness demanded of wives by a male-dominated Church and secular society. 

Her lack of discretion and obstinate behavior in pressing for her uncle’s plan and disputing her husband’s decision-making in military matters constituted infidelity by compromising her husband’s royal dignity. It was already clear that Louis VII’s queen had achieved a place among his chief counselors and had exercised influence over him before leaving France. Clerical authors of the twelfth century could not condone such behavior in a woman: only men were considered capable of acting rationally, and when they encountered women wielding power, they attributed their actions to irrational, passionate motives, not to practical political considerations. 

In their view, Eleanor was engaging in a pattern of misconduct, “a form of deliberate provocation . . . a will to manifest her independence” that they interpreted as infidelity, whether or not it amounted to outright adultery. For the queen’s clerical critics, her conduct failed to conform with the Church’s standard for the proper self-effacing role of a wife or a queen, and she acted as “a man . . . even as a king.” Equally shocking to John was Louis VII’s excessive love for Eleanor that drove him to surrender to her wishes and to agree to the separation that she desired. 

This made manifest the French king’s ineffectual control over his strong-minded queen. For most medieval males, Louis’s inability to resist his wife seemed to threaten a moral and political order that defined female activity in diplomacy and politics as “unwomanly” and a husband unable to master his wife as “unmanly.” John, steeped in the Stoic philosophy revived in the twelfth-century Renaissance, held that a man must use his superior rational faculties to control his passions and attain an ideal life of moderation. He concluded that Louis’s love for his wife “almost beyond reason” showed the king’s dangerous lack of moderation in marital love, allowing passionate jealousy to overwhelm his masculine reason.

Although John of Salisbury’s condemnation of Eleanor does not imply actual adultery, rumors about the royal couple’s troubled marriage soon spread in the camps of French soldiers bitter at the crusade’s inglorious end. In the retelling of the queen’s indiscreet behavior in Raymond’s presence, “Gossiping courtiers apparently misconstrued and magnified her lively enjoyment of the visit.” Soon rumor magnified her deed from an impudent challenge to her husband’s authority, disobeying the Church’s teaching on wives’ submission to their husbands, to outright adultery with her uncle.”

- Ralph V. Turner,  “Adventures and Misadventures on the Second Crusade, 1145–1149.” in Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France, Queen of England