paintedinlight

[paintedinlight]

He is so proud of his son and what he’s accomplished

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doomed greatest expedition

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Who would turn down an Esquie hug?

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Another Esquie but with Verso this time! I bet Esquie is out comfortable to sleep on.

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Yagami wanted to tease him further, but concentrating on things felt a bit more appropriate. This was his first "big" case back, and he was out of practice, so he'd need to really keep an eye out. With Higashi's suggestion, Yagami nodded his head in understanding. That being said...

He did look at Higashi and furrowed his brows slightly.

"You're sounding more and more suspicious the more you say, Higashi." Okay, just one more. He knew he had nothing to do with this, but man he had a lot more information than he would've expected out him. Then again, he guessed he really didn't know anything about Higashi's life now.

It'd been months. And he guessed that even before then, he hadn't really known much about Higashi's life outside of the yakuza, and his devotion to Kaito.

"...but, lead the way, I guess."

"--Like I have time to go around killing my guys. What you think I am, some kinda asshole?" With another cigarette lit - this time the packet offered to his company, too - Higashi begins his walk in a particular direction, mindful of others passing by. "-- you know I wouldn't do that. Fuck. He's a good guy, just a bit short on brain cells. If he's got himself caught up in somethin', then I'm just not surprised, is all."

A corner turned, another familiar street and Higashi silently wonders for but a moment whether the fella' might actually be dead, or in some dire trouble somewhere. He'd rather it not turn into one huge thing, especially after the last one but he remained positive for the moment. If it even gave a hint of being more than simply finding the guy, then he'd have to let Kaito know what was going on. He'd kill him, but Higashi would let him know, regardless.

"We'll start with his home, I guess--- y' might find somethin' worth sniffin' there." He vaguely remembered a mention of the guy collecting some kinda anime figures, but he'd not mention that for now. Whatever floats ones boat, he guessed. "he's got one of them key-code locks. It's probably the same passcode as his phone." Which Higashi, usefully, knew.

[paintedinlight]

"Well, they do often have weapons on them. Which I, clearly, do not." Not that he thought he'd be able to put much of a dent in a giant this large. Even with his magic, he wasn't exactly adept at fighting. Again, wasn't really his area.

It seemed like the giant seemed to realize the truth of the matter rather quickly. Good. He really didn't want there to be any issue. Portaling away from imminent danger was novice work, but he really would like to avoid setting off a giant and potentially endangering others if he could manage it.

"I can," Istredd called up to him. "I can assure you, though, I'm only in the business of using my magic to defend myself and aid me." Bringing his hand down, the barrier would drop.

"If you intend to cause no harm to me, I will, in turn, cause no harm to you. I presume these are agreeable terms?"

Ingvar's gaze flickered from the man's hand to his face, the barrier, then dropped at last back down to the hand, uncertain of itself.

"I do not know," he admitted, defeated. His sulky eyes somehow seeming to droop even more than usual. "Slayers.... are not having... look to them."

He glanced to the man's bag, and then, seeing nothing amiss, with some reluctance looked back to his face, statue-still and stone-stiff.

"I... Oh..." he mumbled, stopped speaking mid-thought, and, feeling as though fear had crammed something down his throat and made it impossible to speak, swallowed. Perhaps fear was not the right term in this current case. No; he'd said he wasn't here to kill him, and Ingvar had no reason to disbelieve the little fellow. The more he looked, in fact, the less threatening he became. There was not a weapon upon him. But it would be suicide to underestimate the power of a frightened human who felt in any way threatened. "I was... meaning no offending to you, Sir, but... I have not been having pleasant encounters with humans, as—as s-surely you canst... understand."

[paintedinlight]

"Especially not while my back is having to get used to the new one." That'd been another point of debate from their much younger friend. Something about a better couch, or at least newer, being better for Yagami's back, but it'd really only started up issues in his sleeping, really. It would likely take some time before he'd be able to break this one in and be able to sleep comfortably again.

"Dunno why he even cared that much. Not like he's the one who sits on it half the day."

Sure, it was a kind enough gesture for him to pay for the thing (not like Yagami would've been able to), but that didn't exactly make it a welcome change.

"I hope it doesn't take too long for it to wear down. The change is already messing up my spine," Yagami whined pathetically.

❝ didn't think he hated the old couch that much. ❞ a grunt befitting his age aids him in getting adjusted on the new cushions. They feel a bit too new. there wasn't much of a give like the old one. the stuffing hadn't disintegrated yet. the stitching in the fabric hadn't frayed either. he didn't like it. there was no personality, but this was reality. the couch had been tossed in exchange for this-- sorry replacement. ❝ that couch was like part of the team, y'know ? it rounded us out nicely, and was there for us throughout every case, every legal scare, and every attempt to thwart our progress. ❞ as his obituary ramped up, the ex-yakuza became a bit more dramatic and exaggerated. ❝ it was there for us when no one else would... and it will never be forgotten. ❞

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Fair enough, he supposed. Even then, he couldn't help that weird nagging feeling of worry. Not like he should give much of a shit, given the circumstances, but he really wasn't great at ignoring his conscience.

Yamai had the doctor, at least, so it's not like he couldn't get checked out if he needed it... He was sure the hostesses made him take his injuries seriously, too. Last thing Yamai really needed was his errand boy to start acting like he gave too much of a shit.

"Uh-- yeah, I guess it was. I'm... um, sorry for bothering you, boss." Now may've been a good time for his grand escape.

his gaze is slow, only rising to meet the other's after a long, drawn-out moment. it's only after he recognizes the sincerity in tomizawa's face that he breaks out a light chuckle. ❝ i've had worse. a few bad hits aren't enough to slow me down. if they haven't put me out yet, then there's no chance in hell they will now. ❞ as he fully turns to face him, the dark shadow of a bruise crests his pronounced cheekbone. the bastard had really gotten a good one in. ❝ is that all you wanted, tomizawa ? ❞

[paintedinlight]

"Oh, just curious. That's just... kinda the only giant I've been told about that lived in Daventry. ...Kind of in Daventry, I guess," Alexander hummed, a little unsure himself. Even Rosella hadn't made mention of a giant in the forest. Surely they had to have known, right? It wasn't like anyone as big as Oflie and Pillare could really hide that well.

But... if neither of his parents or sister had mentioned them, then clearly they couldn't be a threat. Guess the pacifist claim probably had some weight to it.

"I'm-- uh, Alexander, by the way. Sorry. Probably should have introduced myself before."

King Graham. This name rings like a bell in his mind, yet no matter how he searches for its source, he cannot currently recall why it is to him familiar.

"Me?" Ingvar asked, as though there could have possibly been any other giant about whom the prince could have been addressing. "... Nay. I come not from the clouds," he confirmed, a crease between his furrowed brows. "Wherefore... are you asking this of me?"

[paintedinlight]

Since Achaka came from a desert village, he didn’t see a big body of water until he was at least 20 years old. He can handle rivers. He knew rivers, streams. The first time he saw an ocean, though, Achaka was genuinely terrified. He seized up, and felt the most amount of fear he’d ever felt since he was a boy. He hates oceans and lakes to this day, and has never confessed to anyone that he can’t swim.

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Cynthia Cruz, from “Fragment: Verwüstung,” Hotel Oblivion.

[paintedinlight]

So, yeah, I took a break from my personal work (soon~) to draw some more fan art. This time Achaka without his armor (I was thinking of doing Whisper or Acorn next).

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Safia Elhillo, from Home Is Not a Country; “Boys”

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so... zhao is the real love interest right?

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zhao isn't an insecure man.

not usually.

not innately.

he hates to admit that this has changed since a bit before he relinquished control of the liu/mang to seo/nh/ee.

after seeing the extent of what mab/uchi and his cohorts did to him, he wasn't that eager to let anyone else get a peek. it was one of the biggest things that made him nervous about sharing a space with everyone in survive.

he didn't need the pitying stares. the commiserating words. it was his hurt to bear, and no one but that friend of ichiban's that saved him to see it.

he was relieved when no one really asked about the swimming shirt when he joined in on the group vacation to hawaii. he could feel their prying gaze, however, when he refused to take it off even to wash off the salt water, though. not even adjusting it to let the outside shower's water drip down it. he assured he'd take a real shower once they got back to the hotel.

by that point in 2023, he's finally considering telling someone.

he trusts seo/nh/ee, jo/on-/gi, and especially ich/ib/an.

he's still just not sure if he could handle their stares on him if they ever saw it.

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Monoco had secluded himself away from the group following the discussion of the Axons. As exciting as it was to be able to once again attempt to defeat them, his grief engulfed everything in its path. The quiet was welcome, as would be the comfort that would come with Verso turning in for the night. For the time being, he sat alone with Noco's jar cradled in his arms.

He'd been hopeful that it'd been Verso's steps approaching his relatively gloomy spot in the dark open area beside the cliff. As he lifted his head up, however, he would be disappointed by the sight of The New One.

Incorrect in multiple ways, but Monoco couldn't have cared less within his own mind. The New One's words were going in one non-existent ear and out the other. Attention was only finally put on him when he heard Noco's name, to which he tried to take in just whatever this human was saying to him.

... That did sound like Noco. Saving another poor fool from death. They had that in common, then, he supposed. Monoco stayed silent until it was determined that the human was finished. With his final question, Monoco shook his head.

"There's no... definite to it," he answered slowly, turning his head back out to look past the cliff. "He could remember numerous things, he could remember next to nothing. The same can be said about his personality. There's not much of a rhyme or reason to it." He was still mourning the gestral Noco had been before, and now he would have to mourn the child he couldn't protect.

“ I'm ... sorry I came at such a bad time. ” he's sought out the Gestral of his own volition, finally, and in this case it's hard to tell whether he's grateful or not for the lack of eyes to stare into. Gustave worries his hands, most notably his restored left, focusing for a moment on its characteristic quiet creak even as the joints move with complete fluidity. [ He's overthinking, he knows he is, but there's no way he can sleep knowing there are things to say that shouldn't wait to be said. Nobody would blame him for his timing, but fate in the continent is nothing if not cruel. ]

“ He helped save my life. At the village, he ... Noco helped with my arm and my recovery; I was hoping to thank him again, ” he tells @paintedinlight, eyes once again drifting down to the wooden limb just as a pang of phantom pain strikes his chest, almost as if on cue. “ Could Is there really no way for Gestrals to recover their memories? Their their personality? ”

canon dialogue starter call.

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@riiese sent: ❛   I have no scar to show for happiness. we learn so little from peace.  ❜  (Ingvar to Alexander?)

That could be said for a lot of people, Alexander concluded in his head. Even still, he wondered the source. They were large enough, surely they could defend themself. Walk away far easier than any other creature could from their attackers. It left him with more questions than answers, but supposed he would keep them to himself. He didn't take kindly to people wondering about his scars, so he wondered if it bothered them as well.

"You aren't the giant King Graham defeated, are you? The giant from the clouds?" The one from his story. How much of it was the truth, though, he wondered. The only person who had witnessed those times had long since passed, so he had little reference as to what he may've been exaggerating and what may've been truthful.