#Hey remember Piffle

[completeoveranalysis]

[1]

Chapitre 210 - The Words One Would Like To Know

FLASHBACK TO PIFFLE ARE YOU KIDDING ME

PERFECT 10/10 

GIVE ME EVERYTHING I COULD EVER WANT AT THE SADDEST POSSIBLE MOMENT

SYAORAN CONTINUE TO REMINISCE THROUGH HIS HAPPY MEMORIES THROUGH THE VARIOUS ARCS IN TSUBASA

AND HERE WE HAVE HIM BONDING WITH FAI AS THEY SERVE LUNCH

Specifically when they first meet Tomoyo

And SPECIFICALLY AFTER THAT ONE CONVERSATION FAI MENTIONED JUST A FEW CHAPTERS AGO, WHERE FAI HAD A GENTLE TALK WITH HIM ABOUT NOT BLAMING YOURSELF FOR EVERYTHING AND JUST DOING WHAT YOU CAN

HOW I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THE FACT THAT THIS WOULD BE THEIR LAST BIG 1on1 BONDING MOMENT BEFORE SYAORAN’S SOUL WARRANTY RAN OUT

AND FROM THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING THEIR LAST BIG BONDING MOMENT EVER

AHHHHHH I am compacting myself into a cereal box of emotion

OK OK OK LIKE LAST TIME Syaoran’s outfit matches the same colours in the same locations as Fai, and both have matching expressions as they look toward centrepage

Oh the splash text! What’s it say. 

The bitterness, the pain, 

That person changed it all,

Into kindness

YUP SENDING MYSELF IN A CEREAL BOX TO MOON

THE THINGS SYAORAN SAW AS POSITIVE TRAITS IN HIS DADS

THE WAY HE LOOKED UP TO THEM AND LEARNED HOW TO BE LIKE THEM

How Kurogane’s reliance on strength and Fai’s outward positivity were a type of trauma response, a flaw they had to grow around and overcome, BUT THEY WEREN’T NEGATIVE TRAITS TO SYAORAN. HE LIKED THEM AS PEOPLE THE WHOLE TIME.

AND THEY JUST WATCHED HIM GET STABBED. 

[curedeity]

Summary: After a late night working, Hikaru and Tsubasa hang out, with Kyoya along for the ride. Quiet conversations are had in the dead of night. (These three deserved to hang out, fight me)

    Work was strewn across the table as Hikaru and Tsubasa shuffled through paper after paper. There were emails to be sent to publicity companies, bladers to invite, a stadium to reserve, hotels to contact for discounts for participants. Planning a tournament certainly was a monumental effort of organization.

    No matter how many tournaments Tsubasa had helped organize, he never really got used to the amount of work that came with them, and from the mounting frustration on Hikaru’s face, it was clearly the same for her.

    Hikaru sipped the cup of coffee in front of her, despite the fact that it was nearing midnight. The tournament would be in two weeks, and to stay on schedule she would need to start sending out notifications for the necessary tournament officials already. They’d need a nurse on scene, security, an announcer, etc. 

    Kyoya sat on the couch, every so often looking over at the duo and raising an eyebrow. Tsubasa had invited him to stay in his house while Kyoya prepared to participate in the tournament. When Kyoya had agreed though, he hadn't expected to watch this duo run themselves ragged every night. 

    Wasn’t his concern though, he continued to half-listen to whatever was playing on the television.

    “What do you think about using the Piffling Advertising Agency?” Tsubasa mumbled as he fumbled through some files on his computer.

    “I think they have a good enough track record,” Hikaru rubbed at her eyes as she tried to remember. So much about planning tournaments was just remembering past experiences, but her brain had begun to pull blanks. Who were the agencies that had done good work in the past? Which DJ was best for hometown crowds?

    Tsubasa hummed and started to type out an email to them. Thankfully, they already had a draft format for emails like this, and now he had to just fill in all the openings.

    Kyoya went over and grabbed a soda can from the fridge, popping it open and drinking as he watched the duo slowly try to focus on their computers. This was just a waste of time at this point. With a sigh, he resigned himself to having to get the duo to bed. “Yo,” he tried to get their attention, but they barely even flinched. “Yo!” He repeated again, slamming his hand down onto the table.

    In an instant Hikaru had her launcher pointed at him and Tsubasa had knocked a sheaf of papers off the table.

    “Take a break you two, you ain’t getting nothing done anymore,” Kyoya snarled at them.

    “The fuck was that for?” Hikaru hissed back at him, her chest heaving with uneven breaths. Tsubasa nodded in agreement as he turned to tiredly glare at Kyoya.

    “Listen, if you both want to stay up the next hour trying to write just a single email because you’re too tired to focus, that’s your choice, but you’d be using your time much better if you just slept.” Kyoya rolled his eyes at the two dumbasses. He would’ve thought that with the duo working for the WBBA they’d have learned how to manage a workload, but apparently not.

    Hikaru sighed as she realized the truth behind his statement and cast her eyes toward the clock. It was really time to just turn-in for the night, there was no way she could focus now.

    “You wanna stay here instead of having to get back to your apartment?” Tsubasa asked her. He gestured at the couch, indicating it was hers for the taking. This wouldn’t be the first time either had crashed at the other's house, they’d spent many nights up late working together, and getting home was a bit of a pain.

    Besides, Hikaru had been on the blading circuit for a while, she could fall asleep almost anywhere.

    Hikaru collapsed onto the couch while Tsubasa wandered into his room, Kyoya sat at the table to finish drinking his soda. The whole house fell into silence.

    But no one was able to fall asleep.

    Hikaru groaned as she sat up and turned back on the TV. If she couldn’t fall asleep, at least a break would still do her some good. She curled up and pulled a blanket over her limbs as she watched whatever was playing with bleary eyes.

    It seemed to be a romance movie. But there was also some magic going on, so maybe there would be some interesting action.

    “Can’t sleep either?” Tsubasa asked her as he joined her on the couch, having given up on getting his own rest.

    Hikaru flicked him. “I drank a shitton of coffee, what’s your excuse?”

    “Being an insomniac,” Tsubasa deadpanned. The bags underneath his eyes supported his claim.

    “Take some melatonin then,” Hikaru grumbled as she shared the blanket with him.

    Tsubasa hummed and ignored her. “What are we watching?”

    “Not whatever this is,” Kyoya interrupted, grabbing the remote and switching the channel. He was not going to put up with watching whatever crap that had been. Within a few seconds, he settled on a cheap spy movie.

    “Hey look Tsubasa, it’s you,��� Hikaru commented as the spy got caught almost immediately.

    Tsubasa didn’t even have a response for that.

    Kyoya got up from the table and started moving around, shuffling through the junk that had begun collecting around the house. He wasn’t really tired either, but the movie couldn’t hold his attention span, and sitting around was grating on his nerves.

    “What even is that cell?” Tsubasa mumbled as the spy was thrown into what seemed to be the flimsiest jail cell ever. The bars were so far apart that it looked like a person could strut out of there, and the padlock at the door looked like a tap would open it.

    “Paper mache,” Hikaru guessed, her face perfectly flat.

    Kyoya rummaged through a collection of small bottles before lifting one up and wiggling it at Tsubasa. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with nail polish on,” he commented.

    Tsubasa broke away from the TV and looked at what Kyoya was holding, his tired brain taking an extra second to process what had been said. “Yeah, I guess I haven’t been putting it on recently. Been too busy with everything. Used to wear nail polish often though,” Tsubasa shrugged.

    Hikaru wiggled out of the blankets and padded over to look at Tsubasa’s collection. She let out a low whistle. “Damn Tsubasa, you got a lot here.”

    Kyoya picked up as many bottles as he could hold and walked over to the ground in front of the couch, where he sat everything down. “Come on nerds, let me show you how to properly paint nails.”

    Tsubasa rolled his eyes and slid out from under the blanket to join Kyoya on the ground. Hikaru joined them as well, looking at Kyoya with a hint of teasing in her gaze.

    “Which of you wants to go first?” Kyoya asked, gazing at the rainbow of colors he had brought over.

    Tsubasa shrugged. “Sure, show me what you can do.”

    Kyoya pulled out a bottle of purple nail polish and began painting a thin first layer over each of Tsubasa’s fingers. His hands were surprisingly steady as he moved, with barely a drop of nail polish staining the skin. True artistry being performed in the dead of night.

    Hikaru had decided that braiding Tsubasa’s hair would be a good use of her time while she awaited her turn, even then she only had half her attention on it, the other half on the movie.

    The spy was now making plans with the prisoner in the cell next to his, who he seemed to be slowly falling in love with. Somehow, he still hadn’t broken out. Hikaru was pretty sure he could slip through the bars without a bit of effort.

    She stood up and went to heat up some popcorn for the group. Well, mostly for her because Tsubasa couldn’t eat with wet paint on his nails, and Kyoya wouldn’t want to get his grip oily. She laughed at the look of betrayal Tsubasa sent her when he figured that out.

    “You’re gonna want to eat the quick, ‘cause you’ll be up soon,” Kyoya grumbled as he applied the second layer to Tsubasa. “Eagle boy, you gotta stop picking at your nails, these are so uneven.”

    “Fuck off,” Tsubasa responded.

    Hikaru went into the bathroom and got a nail file for them, resisting the urge to throw it for emphasis. It was sharp, her brain reminded her, you cannot throw sharp things, that’s how people get stabbed and in the hospital.

    Tsubasa already had enough hospital trips under his belt.

    “Tsubasa, do you wear any other makeup?” She asked as settled back down beside him.

    He couldn’t shrug with his hands needing to remain still, so he purposefully kept his body motionless as he responded, “Some eyeshadow sometimes.”

    Kyoya rolled his eyes. “I think I remember seeing you once in that, please tell me you were just tired that day and that’s not normally how you put on eyeshadow, otherwise I’m going to have to confiscate it all from you until you learn to do it properly.”

    “I look amazing fuck you,” Tsubasa deadpanned.

    “I’m sure you do,” Hikaru agreed dryly, flicking his hair. “So, you the makeup expert here then Kyoya?”

    “Seems so, do you even wear makeup?” Kyoya asked.

    “Not often,” Hikaru replied. “I know how to put on a full face of makeup, but I don’t want to put in that much effort or want to look like that every day. I wear lipstick every once in a while though.”

    “On the days you go out for lunch with Madoka,” Tsubasa added in, shooting her a sly smile.

    Kyoya retracted the brush just in time for Hikaru to punch Tsubasa in the shoulder.

    The spy and the other captive seemed to have escaped their imprisonment and were now kissing on screen.

    “Put your hands back into place dumbass I’m almost done,” Kyoya huffed.

    “She’s the one who hit me!” Tsubasa protested as he did as he was told.

    Hikaru stuck her tongue out at him.

    In a few deft strokes, Kyoya completed his work, and Tsubasa lifted his hands up and started fanning them.

    “Alright, you’re next,” Kyoya gestured at Hikaru, and she and Tsubasa swapped places. “What color do you want?” He droned as he already was trying to think of what colors would go with her.

    “Blue,” Hikaru answered immediately, which came as no surprise to either of the boys in the room. Her entire wardrobe was made up of blues. “It’s a good color!” She defended herself as Tsubasa snickered.

    Kyoya pulled out a royal blue and began to get to work.

    The spy was now running through a base, a gun in his hands as he shot at the group of enemies. 

    “Is he even trying to be discreet?” Tsubasa critiqued, grabbing a few pieces of popcorn for himself. 

    “I dunno Tsubasa, you’re the only one of us who’s actually worked as a spy,” Hikaru said slyly.

    “Is that what spying’s like,” Kyoya deadpanned, earning a cackle from Hikaru. “Don’t move dammit!”

    Tsubasa shook his head, a breath of air whooshing out from between his teeth, “If you want to continue talking about my undercover activities Kyoya, maybe we should also talk about the time you and Gingka’s gang tried to break into the Dark Nebula. That’s a lot closer to what’s actually going on onscreen.”

    Kyoya whipped his hair up to glare at Tsubasa while Hikaru turned around just as fast to look at him with excitement. “Don’t you dare,” Kyoya warned him.

    “I don’t think I’ve heard about this escapade,” Hikaru grinned. “So they tried to break into the Dark Nebula?”

    Kyoya grumbled as he resigned himself to this.

    “Yes, there was security footage of the event. Yu used to watch it for fun so he could shittalk about what a terrible infiltration it was. I believe it was when Kyoya truly defined his tactic of hitting walls until they collapse,” Tsubasa shared a smile with Hikaru.

    “And it worked damn well,” Kyoya huffed.

    “Sure it did sweetie,” Tsubasa responded without sparing him a glance.

    Kyoya growled as the other two returned their attention to the movie.

    “Alright then bastard, you’re done,” he declared, pushing Hikaru away. She giggled and repositioned herself against the couch, fanning her own hands.

    Kyoya got ready to return the bottles, but Tsubasa laid his hand atop of his, stopping him momentarily. “Come on Kyoya,” Tsubasa said, reaching over and grabbing a bottle of forest green polish. “You did it for us, let me do it for you.”

    Kyoya laid out his hands and watched Tsubasa slowly paint his nails. Tsubasa’s brushes weren’t quite as neat as his, but he was completely focused on the task, his braid falling down to brush against the floor as he leaned over Kyoya’s hand.

    The movie ended with the evil base being blown up. Hikaru was disappointed by how underwhelming the explosion was. She vocalized that very vociferously. 

    They put on some soft music as Kyoya let his nails dry. Hikaru had already fallen asleep against the couch, and Tsubasa draped a blanket over her. They didn’t talk much, only a few whispered comments here and there as Tsubasa cleaned off his Earth Eagle. 

    Within half an hour, both boys were asleep against the couch as well.

    The next day, Tsubasa and Hikaru went into work, their laptops open in front of them with their fingers click-click-clicking away. Both of their nails shone as the light hit them, Tsubasa’s being painted a soft purple with gold glitter, and Hikaru’s a deep blue with pink sparkles. Kyoya went into training and carefully didn’t chip his dark green with silver glitter painted nails as he did launch after launch.

    And if they happened to do their nails more often when they hung out now? Well, none of their friends commented on it more than a few nice compliments. 

[harley-style]

ive read some reviews about tsubaa resevoir chronicle and while they dont actually matter to me since i genuinely enjoy the manga, i just wanted to give my two cents on the matter of the plot moving from light hearted to Acid Tokyo.

yeah.

you heard me.

a bunch of people complained that it went dark and gory really quickly and they preferred if it stayed to its usual formula, but that wasnt the case with me. i will tell you now that this is a completely biased opinion and you do not have to share it, but if you're reading this far ill assume that you'd like to hear me out.

the shift from light hearted to dark WORKS in TRC because:

CLAMP was already building up to this tone, while I didn't know what was going on, 11 year old me could feel the palpable tension and foreboding sense of doom during the earlier chapters. they hinted at fai's fake smiles. tsubasa li. they showed a huge warning, blaring sign with kurogane's backstory. at that point, i was like "oh, now we're getting to the nitty gritty" and buckled the fuck up. i dont know where people were coming from when they said it was abrupt -- it wasn't. not from that context.

of course it would be a little dark. they just lost an important member of their group. remember that this gang had been travelling for a long damn while now, obviously, despite fai being fai, they would grow closer together and come to care. this was explicitly mentioned in piffle. it wouldnt make sense for them to go back to a happier sort of tone with a (im so sorry my sweet boi tsubasa) replacement of the one they lost, an emotionless doll being controlled by a, say it with me folks, "A MAN CRUEL ENOUGH TO KIDNAP A CHILD AND KEEP HIM PRISONER FOR 7 YEARS" the doll (sorry clone syaoran but this was what yoy were after tokyo) TEARING FAI'S EYE OUT, goodness gracious, and like. guys. they were in a world where death and despair and despolation were absolutely normal. despite their talents and innate ability, they are PEOPLE with FEELINGS. they react to things like trauma as you do. not well. and maybe some unhealthy coping habits (coughcoughignoringhelpfromlovedonescoughcough)

in the story context, they landed in worlds where violence was a given. what the fuck did you think they were going to do? cafe???? again????

because this is important, i feel the need to restate that theyve gone through some shit that cannot warrant a happy attitude. that is very unhealthy and a very pretentious way of writing. FAI LOST HIS EYE. he smiles, yes, BUT IT MAKES SENSE THAT IT DOESNT FEEL AS LIGHT HEARTED AS BEFORE. these people have pasts that are catching up with them.

the light-heartedness, for me, was getting a tad redundant. i came here to get attatched to these characters and get my heart ripped out of my chest as they go trhough perilous trials. I got what I wanted, and more.

I will concede, however, that the plot was CONVOLUTED TO HELL AND BACK because it WAS, CLAMP. I had to reread it a bunch of times and read fanfcitions and a certain cite to clarify on the details that were lost on me before. But hey, at least it isn't Kingdom Hearts. or Homestuck. Thank god for that, right? Right.

Anyway, this has been my hot take on why the Tsubasa Chronicle Plot actually works. Thank you!!

[chiiwifruit]

TCM Day 30: Favourite World

The city surrounding them was immediately recognizable. There was no mistaking the energy and vibrance of the Hanshin Republic, where both the people and the scenery were loud.

“Wow, this brings back memories,” Fai said with a sigh. Back to the beginning. The very first world on their journey. So much had changed since then. It was nostalgic, but melancholy too.

“I wonder if Sorata and Arashi would let us stay with them again?” Mokona asked, climbing up to perch on top of Fai’s head.

Even if they wouldn’t, it seemed rude to be in their world and not say hello. They still remembered where Sorata and Arashi’s apartment complex was, so they walked through the busy streets until they found it.

Syaoran knocked on the door, heart pounding. He wasn’t the Syaoran who had been here before. And yet he had all the memories of his previous self up until the events in Tokyo.

He was prepared to explain. He was not prepared for Sorata to beam at the sight of him and pull him into a tight hug.

“You’re back! How’s it going? Where’s Sakura-san?” he asked with enthusiasm. He pulled away in concern when Syaoran flinched.

“Well, a lot of stuff happened,” Fai said. He laid a gentle hand on Syaoran’s shoulder. “Is it okay for us to come in?”

##

“I see...” Sorata said. They were gathered in the small sitting area, grouped in a circle with mugs of tea. “I’m not sure I understand everything, but you’re a different Syaoran than the one we met before?”

“Yes.” Syaoran stared at his blurry reflection in his tea. If only the other Syaoran could be here. He would be delighted to see his old friends again.

Sorata rubbed his jaw, considering. “Well, I wouldn’t call it a happy ending.” He crossed his arms over his chest. He was sad to learn of the fates of the other Syaoran and the other Sakura, Syaoran could tell. “But you’ve survived such a perilous quest and saved your princess. You really did your best!”

Syaoran smiled, but he wasn’t convinced. He should have done better, should have found a way to save the other Syaoran and the other Sakura.

Well, he would keep looking. Someday he would find one. They weren’t dead, so they could be saved.

“That you’ve returned here to the Hanshin Republic is a cause for celebration,” Sorata was saying. “You won’t find cooking as good as my honey’s anywhere else. But you also can’t get okonomiyaki like in the Hanshin Republic anywhere else. It’s a tough decision.”

He did look troubled, so much so that Fai stifled a laugh. Kurogane caught Syaoran’s eye and rolled his toward the ceiling. Syaoran found himself smiling. Sorata was so optimistic and passionate. They were admirable qualities, even if they did make Sorata look silly at times.

Arashi, quiet up until now, spoke up. “Perhaps okonomiyaki would be best. That way we can invite other friends as well, like Shougo-san and Masayoshi-kun.” Her expression never changed, which was unnerving. But Syaoran knew that she was kind.

And despite her expression never wavering, she still managed to convey annoyance when Sorata flung his arms around her and gushed, “What a great idea! You hear that? My wife is the most lovely and brilliant. I’ll call the others right now!” And he darted off to the phone.

Arashi remained where she was with her hands folded in her lap. But her eyes sought Syaoran’s. “I hope you’re all right with that. The others will want to know what’s happened.”

Syaoran straightened his spine. “Of course. It will be good to see them.” He was aware that Kurogane, Fai, and Mokona were watching him. Their worry warmed his heart, but he would be okay. It would be so easy to pretend to be the other Syaoran to the friends that the other Syaoran made here to save himself the burden of bearing bad news. But it wouldn’t be right, and he couldn’t stand the thought of doing it. Clone or not, the other Syaoran was real. He existed. And Syaoran was the last person who would want him to be erased.

##

As parties went, this one was raucous but not quite as wild as the one in Piffle. Of course, that might be because of Touya keeping a stern eye on everyone to make sure they behaved while he fetched food and drinks.

Syaoran expected to be the one to tell the story, but the others took their turns as well. After all, he realized, it wasn’t his story alone. Fai sat next to Syaoran in the booth and kept his arm around Syaoran’s shoulders. Syaoran drew strength and comfort from the contact, and found that he was able to cry, laugh, and joke with the others. And there were tears.

Shougo was a good person for all that he was a troublemaker. He wiped tears from his eyes with his scarf, and after a brief silence of mourning for the other Syaoran, the first thing Shougo asked was whether he was as good in a fight as his counterpart. Syaoran was startled into laughter, but Primera was not impressed.

“Honestly, is fighting the only thing you think about?” she complained, leaning over the back of the other booth to pout at him.

“Hey, hey. No picking fights with our guests, even for fun,” Sorata scolded. “They only just got here. Let them settle in.”

More chastised by Sorata than by Primera, Shougo let the subject drop.

“What’s up?” he asked, noticing Syaoran looking around.

“It’s just that I haven’t seen Masayoshi-kun,” Syaoran said. Masayoshi had been the other Syaoran’s good friend, and he wanted to meet him.

Shougo twisted around in the booth. He had squished himself next to Kurogane. “He was here... maybe he’s being shy again. Oi! Masayoshi! Get over here!”

Sure enough, Masayoshi appeared through the crowd of Shougo’s friends and Primera’s fans. His faced was flushed and he grinned shyly when his eyes met Syaoran’s. “Hi, nice to meet you,” he said once he reached the table, and he bowed to Syaoran. “It’s good to see Fai-san and Kurogane-san again as well.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well,” Syaoran said, smiling warmly at Masayoshi. “When I was watching through the other me, I thought that you seemed like a kind person. I’m glad that I got to meet you myself.”

Masayoshi blushed with embarrassed pleasure and wiped moisture from his eyes with his arm. “Thank you! I was looking forward to showing Syaoran-kun how much I’ve improved, but...”

Syaoran smiled. “I’d love to see it, if you don’t mind.”

Masayoshi’s face lit up. “Okay!”

##

It was in the early hours of the morning by the time they got back to the apartment complex and collapsed on their futons. As had become typical, Fai and Kurogane slept wrapped around each other. When Syaoran laid down, Mokona tucked herself next to him on the pillow. He fell asleep with her warm weight against his cheek and dreamed of fire.

The flames blazed around him and from its centre emerged a wolf with a horn protruding from its forehead. Syaoran recognized it. It was the kudan that had belonged to the other Syaoran. When it spoke to him, its voice was the crackle of flames.

“We have met before. And yet we have not.”

“That’s right,” Syaoran replied.

“I am the master of those who utilize flame. In the past, one that was like you made a contract with me. Your heart is as strong. Do you also wish to use my power?”

“If you will allow me.”

“Very well.” The wolf dissolved back into formless flames, which pushed into Syaoran’s chest.

Syaoran woke with his chest suffused with heat. The burning slowly faded into a more bearable warmth as he sat up and focused his breathing. Syaoran pressed a fist to his chest and smiled. It seemed he would be able to give Shougo the match he wanted after all.

[kurogabae]

TSUBASA: TRAINWRECK CHRONICLES

And How Bee Train is Single-Handedly Propagating Cancel Culture in This the Year of Our Lord 2020

PART 1 – PART 2 – PART 3 – PART 4 -- PART 5 

[[ join me on PillowFort. i have free invite codes if you need an account ]]

So last post was all filler episodes and we're well into season two of this, and I cannot stress this enough, two season anime. The only canon arc we've had was Piffle so far and it was poorly handled and out of order. Surely, absolutely surely, we are in for a canon arc. Shara perhaps? Skip right to Le Court? We all know they'd never dare touch Tokyo. How are they going to pad out the rest of the season?

Why another filler. A bad filler. The dreaded filler that goes against pretty much all of Fai's everything.

It's "A Date With a Wizard" and Kurogane isn't the one getting the date. If you haven't watched or heard of this episode before, buckle up kids. It's a doozy. And big spoiler warnings ahead.

Fort City Bit AKA Fai Dates His Own Fucking Mom (but like an AU version so it's okay I guess???):

You read that right. Fai goes on a date with this world's version of Chii, who was an artificial being he modeled after his dead mother. I could end the rant here but oh, there is so much to this. So much. It's only one episode long but it feels like an eternity.

The premise for magic use in this world is that:

Everyone has magic and that magic is specialized

Your career path is based on your magic's specialization. Like in MLP with cutie marks. And everyone is Fine with this.

Everyone recharges their magic via the sun, which is risen by their king

The king is chosen yearly after everyone in the country has the same fucking dream one night

The whole country runs on magic, to the point that if there is no magic there is no food, no power, no anything. But that's fine, because every day they get recharged by the sun. Right? WRONG! Because the current king is being a depressed little shit and refuses to raise the sun, effectively dooming the country to a slow death. Neat.

BUT BEFORE ALL OF THAT! The episode opens with Fai having a nightmare about Ashura looming like he's auditioning for a role in Attack on Titan. Vague and menacing, which is literally all we know about Ashura because we know nothing about Fai's past. And we never will. At least not in anime-land. No one knows anything. The manga isn't pulling this fakey flashback shit, so why is the anime? I don't know, but I hate it!

Anyway, the family gets the low down from Touya and Yukito - who still do not recognize Sakura and that upsets me because of the implications that there is no Sakura in this universe. (Sidenote: Kurogane recognizes them, even though he's never met them in the anime so far so honestly, just fuck everything.) While Touya is feeding them a frankly lavish meal that he's magiced up he explained their king problems. This leads to my next issue - if you're so worried about running out of magic why are you using it so flippantly and in such an extra ass way? Can you not make normal food? Does it only exist in magic form? Maybe just summon some soup? Does all food cost the same amount of mana? THIS MAGIC SYSTEM IS BAD!

So, back to the whole the king is too sad to raise the sun which powers everyone's magic which is now beginning to run low. Another problem I have. You get a recharge on your magic everyday. They have not gotten ANY recharges for, and I'm quoting here, months. They change kings every year. So even on the low end of things we're looking at 3-4 months before anyone got concerned about the king just. Not raising the sun. Personally, I would have gotten worried after a few days, a week at most. No one wanted to go and find out like "Hey your highness, why no sun? What's got you down?"

That, however, would be logical. This is a place of magic and whimsy! Not logic. Fai is asked to use his magic to figure out what is wrong with their king. Predictably, he tells them they have a better chance of meeting god, so everyone gets thrown in jail. Because refusing to solve a country's weird problems is illegal. Not that jail has ever stopped them before. Not with Kurogane and his muscles around. And while I am always up for watching Kurogane break things I do have to wonder - why are they not just warping free? Mokona said there was no feather. No one said anything about being magically held back. And yet, they are running through the castle, endangering themselves and the children!!!

Obviously this is For Plot Reasons, and I use the words "plot" and "reasons" loosely here.

Somehow the kitties and puppies get separated and Fai and Sakura end up surrounded by guards. Does Fai finally fight? Does he open that can of whoop ass we all know he's been saving? No. He leaps into the air and takes flight like some sort of stork. And while Fai's current cocky attitude is refreshing, he's working on some sort of idiot bimbo in a horror movie logic of "to escape the building I must do upstairs". This is not a man made to last on his own.

And, like Shrek to Fiona, the stairs lead him to the highest room in the tallest tower. Fai, then, promptly loses his shit as if he's not fully aware that doubles exist across the multiverse. Like, yeah, it would be a shock and anyone would be freaked out at the sudden surprise of it all, but Fai acts like he thinks he's stepped back into Celes. Like an idiot. He's better than this.

Now, we learn more things about this messed up king situation. Not only does everyone have a dream every year electing the new monarch, but the new king gets their memory erased for the whole year so that they can "rule with a pure heart" or some shit. Which seems like a baaaad fucking way to run.... anything. At all. Ever. Might as well pick up a fresh baby and put it in charge. It's bad. And it gets worse.

Chii is sad, but she wants to hang out with Fai and it's the first time she's shown any interest in doing anything but being Sad so her babysitter spirits are all like "Oh that's neat!" And Fai takes this is his chance to just... run off for a night on the town with her? They literally vanish and leave Sakura ALONE IN THE CASTLE WITH THE SAME SPIRITS WHO JAILED THEM. In what fucking universe????

Look, they are trying so so so so so so hard to sell this FaiChii shit. Fai leaves Sakura alone in a castle where they have just busted out of jail, he has no idea where or how Kurogane and Syaoran are, he's clearly uncomfortable around Chii as she reminds him of what he's running from, and, oh yeah, she's a copy of his dead mother he created in another world in order to comfort him and his dead brother as a child. Everything is Fine. Let's go get tea.

I'm gonna rapid fire some S tier bullshit:

no one knows where Chii has taken Fai - why is there no way to track your baby-brained king?

Fai leaves with Chii happily and cheerily, again, leaving Sakura behind and alone - who is this man because it isn't Fai

the only clue they have to Fai and Chii's location is that they are no longer on castle grounds, yet somehow Syaoran knows Exactly Where to Look - because sure why not?

Chii doesn't know how to drink???? - does this happen with every king? do they have to be potty trained too? omg they really are babies this is a terribly way to run a country!!!!!!

teaching someone basic life functions is not romantic but Bee Train sure wants us to think it is

"I want to stay with Fai forever and always." - at least he panics at commitment still... and probably incest

“I should be thanking you. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this way.” - What? Uncomfortably reminded of your past and why your life is just shy of a living hell? Who are you? You are not Fai

Kurogane and Syaoran show up to save Fai and Chii, who have been surrounded by guards (I think, I can't remember exactly but I'm pretty sure they're there to take her back to the castle and her Sad Room). Fai apparently won't fight in front of Chii but whatever at this point.

It comes out that Chii is an artificial soul/being (like the Chii in Celes) and because of that she cannot leave the town or she DIES and that means the king dies and I guess they don't have a back up plan for that. Unsurprising but bad. Still, Chii begs Fai to take her away and show her the world and Fai like... hesitates? Thinks about it? Considers it?!?!? I dunno but he doesn't automatically say "Uh no, you'll die and also I have other shit to do, bye" and that's dumb for a lot of reasons.

Eventually he tells her no and convinces her to bring the sun back and be happy because she'll be able to remember him or some shit (you know, unless they take those memories too!) and  they all say goodbye. And I couldn't be more thankful.

Honestly, the real MVP here is Kurogane for not just losing his shit at all of this like I have. He's a better man than I.

Tune in next time as I continue to scream, in vain, at god.

PART 1 – PART 2 – PART 3 – PART 4 -- PART 5

[alienduckpond]

Back in town - ch 3 - BooBoo Pouch

1 - Good Day / 2 - Different Feelings

Accidents happen, and it’s always good to be prepared for them

-~-

Whistling as he let himself into Ella’s yard, Arlo looking around curiously at the machines she’d set up in various places.

“Hey Ella? You here?”

“Hey Arlo,” drifted back to him, her voice sounding from somewhere in the group of trees beyond her fence. “I’ll just be a minute, and then I’ll come play host properly for you.”

There was a grunt, then a muttered swear, and he chuckled as he walked over to her grinder, moving the basket of baked goods he’d picked up from Martha behind him to keep it out of the way of all the moving parts.

“No rush, I’ve got all afternoon,” he called, leaning down to watch as a hunk of bronze was flattened.

“Oh? What happened to all those jobs that’ve kept you from seeing me all week then?” she asked teasingly, sounding a little closer, and he rolled his eyes as he huffed a laugh.

“I delegated,” he said flatly, earning him the laugh he’d been hoping for, turning from the grinder to eye the large pile of wood waiting to be turned into planks, and then the even larger pile of neatly stacked boards. He winced slightly, remembering the half heard conversation between her and Emily about how chilly her house was, and the strange things she’d found in some of the holes in the walls and floor. He’d meant to clear out the ‘haunted house’ before the new builder arrived, but had completely forgotten.

“Sam can handle all the monster requests for the other builders today,” he told her, forcing himself to be blandly cheerful, and not let his guilt through. “And Remy has neater handwriting than me anyway for the reports. And the boys are grounded for the next two weeks after their little stunt the other day. Alice has got them watering her flowers and weeding, so I don’t need to run around making sure they aren’t in trouble.”

“Good! Because I was going to tie you to the chair and barricade the door so no one could steal you away otherwise,” she said, hardly shouting now, and he shook his head fondly.

He was glad she was making jokes about it, since he really did feel guilty over what had happened. Their lunch together the first day had been thoroughly sidetracked by Oaks, and then he’d had to leave to go investigate the monster Abu had reported. And then all his work at the Corps had left him with barely enough time to sit down, let alone get more than a quick hello as he raced past Ella each day. 

“Don’t worry. I have the entire rest of the day off, bar something big like the sky falling, something catching on fire, or pirates showing up. I’m looking forward to hearing what you got up to while you were away.”

And finding out who she was now, and what she wanted their relationship to be. While she’d seemed happy to see him that first day last week, throwing herself at him and letting him hug her, ever since she’d seemed to be keeping her distance. She’d been happy to talk to him in the few minutes they’d had as they’d passed each day, but she hadn’t been making any attempts to hug him, or hold his hand, or ruffle his hair, or even call him any of the many names she’d had for him as a child.

If he were honest with himself, he was finding it a little upsetting. It almost felt like something was missing, and it hurt. Like he had his little sister back, but he also didn’t.

“Please don’t jinx us,” she groaned, sounding like she was right behind him. “I’m almost tempted to not bother boiling water now, since you’ll probably have to leave before anything’s ready.”

He laughed as he turned towards where her voice was coming from, opening his mouth to reply, and distantly heard the basket thump to the floor as his fingers went slack. His jaw dropped open while he stared in disbelief at the sight before him. 

Ella was walking around the edge of her fence from the small group of trees just beyond it. A dark branch taller and thicker than she was was balanced on her shoulder, and then a bundle of thinner, lighter coloured branches that all looked as long and round as her arm was dragging behind her by a rope.

She was smiling brightly at him, all toothy grin and shining eyes, like what she was doing was perfectly normal.

“I picked up some tea leaves yesterday from Sophie just for you, because that church lady, Nora was it? Yeah, Nora. She mentioned you like red tea sometimes when you take her to lunch. But maybe we should stick with the apple and orange juice I got from Sonia this morning…”

She kept talking at him as she walked past, something about snacks, not that he really registered it. The branch, if he could even call it that, was more like three times her height he could see now, and looked completely solid. 

His mouth moved, trying to find words to ask the important questions. Like what, why, and how? But his brain wouldn’t engage, and he only managed to make a spluttering sound as his hand rose up to point at her, then the log. She laughed lightly, walking down to the gate and turning so she could walk through it, and he watched as the branch swung wide, wobbling slightly on her shoulder.

“Hmm? Oh, this? It’s for the bridge. I’ve finally got an axe good enough to cut through the bigger trees.” She lifted the hand wrapped in rope to pat the shiny looking bronze axe stuck through her belt, then gave the rope a good yank to bump the bundle of branches in through the gate. 

“Don’t worry,” she continued, sounding incredibly amused as she walked towards him. “I bent my knees and everything when I picked it up. Kendra taught me a whole bunch about making sure I could carry things safely over the years.”

He nodded dumbly as she got closer, eyes glued to the log. It was balanced perfectly on her shoulder, though he could see now that it was taking more effort than she was letting on to keep it there. And now she was next to him, muttering something about where to put it, he could see the impressive muscles in her arms straining against the short sleeve of her t-shirt–

He yelped as the branch swung round and the end of it caught his shoulder, sending him stumbling sideways from the weight of it and tripping over the basket of food. His side hit the edge of the assembly station, driving the air from his lungs and making him gasp, but he ignored it as he scrambled back to his feet when he saw her wobble dangerously, swearing under her breath.

He hobbled forward, prepared to help as she tried to steady herself, but she grunted and simply dropped the wood next to her before he could, letting it land on her cut boards. Wincing as he heard cracking as the neatly stacked pile collapsed, he made himself meet her concerned eyes when they snapped to his face.

“Shit, I’m so sorry, I thought I had more space. Are you ok? Where’d I get you?”

“My arm but I’m fine,” he quickly tried to reassure her, wincing at how raspy he sounded as he coughed a few times, meeting her halfway as she walked over to him. “How about you? How’s your shoulder?”

“Don’t worry about me,” she told him tersely. “It was my fault. Here, how bad is it?”

Fingers wrapped around his elbow and gently lifted it, and he grit his teeth to try and stop the wince from showing, but he guessed he failed from the way her brows scrunched closer together.

“I’m sorry about those boards,” he said, hoping to distract her, but she just looked at him flatly, conveying her immense disapproval with a single raised brow.

“Forget about the boards, I can always make more. I can’t make another you. So jacket off, I’m getting you some bruise cream and an ice pack. And a herbal juice. Do you want a plain one, or one I stuck some mint leaves in?”

She let go of him and turned to leave, and he sighed as he grabbed her arm, pulling her back round. Reaching up with his fingers and ignoring the slight twinge in his ribs from moving his arm, he tilted her face to the side. He hissed in sympathy when he saw the grazes on her neck and cheek, and several small bleeding scratches on her shoulder.

“Depends on which one you prefer, since you’re having one too,” he told her bluntly, smirking at her when she glared. “Nope, no arguing, or I won’t let you have the shiny plasters I found for you.”

“I’m not a kid anymore Arlo,” she growled, frown turning into a glare. But her eyes followed his hand as it moved down to his hip anyway, looking puzzled as he patted the belt pouch he’d found at the back of his wardrobe, before she burst into bright laughter.

It was the sickly yellow “Ella’s booboo” pouch they’d made together when she was four, with pink yarn stitching and mis-sized wooden buttons holding the flap down. She reached out and ran her fingers over it, smiling fondly as she giggled. 

“Oh wow,” she drew out, shifting to his side and leaning down to see it better. “I can’t believe you still have this. Or that it’s still in one piece.”

“The yarn isn’t actually holding it together, I sewed the seams with thread on the insides after you were done,” he told her fondly, watching as she flipped the cover and started to look through the supplies he’d filled it with that morning.

“Yeah, and that’s why I’m surprised,” she snarked back, poking her tongue out and winking, and he let himself laugh as he grabbed her elbow.

“Come on, I’ll show you the shiny plasters once I’ve cleaned up your neck. I got a brand new bottle of antiseptic from the clinic as soon as I knew you were here, though I honestly wasn’t expecting to need it so soon.”

“Oh piffle to you Lolo! I was just fine until you stood in the way,” she told him with a laugh, pulling free of him to bend down and grab the basket he’d forgotten about. “And don’t think I haven’t noticed you being careful with your right side. You’re going to stop being all annoyingly protective and big brotherly when we get inside and let me check you out, you hear me?”

He felt his grin grow wider, despite the pain he was in as she stepped forward to reach up and ruffle his hair, squeezing his cheeks together with her other hand. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close and bumping his nose into her forehead.

“I hear you I hear you. And you can check, but I’m not ever going to stop being your annoying big brother,” he told her around the warm, happy feeling bubbling up in his chest. They still needed to talk, but he finally felt like had his little sister back, and he loved it.

-~-

4 - Slip Up

[crystalrequiem]

The Voice that Urged Orpheus

[Part 4/8(?)] [TRC] Summary: Fai gets lost in thought and Kurogane asks him to share. Mistake. He has no idea what to do with all these feelings. Tags: Kuro/Fai, Canon Universe, Post-Canon, Warnings:  suggestive thoughts (nothing graphic), depression, dealing with trauma, so much fluff, Is it still slow-burn if they’re already in a relationship? because that’s basically what this is.

[Part 1] ... [Part 3]... [Part 5]

Hello again! Warning this chapter for Fai’s head messing with him, I guess.  To think, I thought I’d somehow get through this world in just two chapters.... >_> i figure if we’re lucky we’ve got 1-2 more in Chizeta.  I LIVE for your comments and tags, ya’ll. Thanks so much for all the love!

Caldina had advised they might find lodging with the Academy if Fai didn’t mind hosting a few lectures. He couldn’t tell how Fai felt about the suggestion, but with currency uncertain and little else to go on, it certainly sounded like a good deal. Of course, Kurogane figured they might have trouble given no one in their group could read anything in the local language, and he had no idea what bargaining for living space might entail…. He needn’t have bothered.

The Academy nearly bends over backwards to host their group. The instant someone spots them meandering into the library, they start begging Fai to demonstrate his enchantment on the cloak and everything snowballs from there. Before he knows what’s what, Fai has some sort of visiting scholar position and they’ve been put up in academic housing. The administration kindly arranges for them to take two bedrooms and a central living area—a complete if compact apartment. Honestly, much, much nicer than Kurogane could have hoped when they landed in the desert this morning.

Thick earthen walls cut the heat and will likely insulate against the chill of night. Intricately detailed window screens invite a lattice of rosy light into the room while the sun finishes setting. Soft, pillowy seating spaces and ceilings peppered with tiny glowing baubles he assumes must be magic. No food or place for groceries, but the school keeps a communal eating area and they’ve already discovered that no one has any compunctions about sharing.

Their rag-tag traveling family trails in to their borrowed room, tired by a long day spent touring the grounds and staring at all manner of spell work. Kurogane locks the sturdy, elaborately carved door behind himself as he steps through, feeling surreal and off-balance.

“—and did you see what they were doing with the gravity manipulation? I didn’t completely understand how it works, but it looked like they were making something like the flying carts from piffle!” He has no idea what to do with all this magic, or why he should care, but Syaoran takes to the academy like a duck to water. For as many differences between them, the kid and his double both share the same love of learning… He chatters to everyone who will listen at a mile a minute. They’ve barely scratched the surface of the library and labs today, but ideas seem to fill his every thought.

Something twists painfully in in Kurogane’s chest to watch him so excited—this sort of place is where someone like Syaoran belongs, if he wants. Not an endless, thankless journey through dimensions. The fact that they can come here probably means a lot to the kid, but he wishes they could do more. He wishes the first Syaoran could have made it here to see it. He just—

Needs to stop thinking about it like this. They’re doing what they can. Maybe if they make enough memories here, Mokona can find a way to return someday.

Eventually, Syaoran has to pause his latest stream of thought to yawn, and Fai steps in and suggests they all get some early rest.

“We have even more to do tomorrow, and you have plenty of lectures to look forward to.” The Kid and pork-bun bend to the logic of Fai’s argument with no complaints, already bleary-eyed as they wander away to investigate their own room with a quiet chorus of “good night.” Kurogane watches after them and distantly wonders whether he should have checked the place for traps before letting anyone get comfortable. He’s going too soft.

“Sheesh.” Fai flops bonelessly onto what he can only assume is some sort of lounge, his cloak fluttering as he drops.

“You’re not overdoing it, showing off all those spells, are you?” He tries to cast his worry in the form of a jab, but has a feeling Fai sees right through him when the mage just laughs. Blond hair twines over pale skin as Fai pushes a few whisping strands away from his only slightly burnt face and starts undoing the ribbon there.

“Not hardly. But the heat is a cruel and the days are long.” Something old and sad echoes in the way he looks away, the distant gaze and the slow fall of his arm, ribbon held tight. It’s lingered like a cloud around him since they arrived, ebbing and flowing amidst the excitement of the Academy.

Kurogane pulls his own, still-cool cloak off and tosses it right over his idiot’s head. “Hey!”

“I can hear you thinking too hard from here,” he grouches, sidling across the room to fit himself into the space at the end of the lounge. Fai struggles feebly to free himself from the fabric for all of a second or two before giving up. He stills and curls inward, adopting the cloak as another masking layer.

“Can’t hide anything from you, can I?” Muffled by fabric, his voice sounds more fragile than it should. …Maybe he’s pushing where he shouldn’t.

“Of course not. Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one? You’d think you’d learn better by now.” He tries to lead them back into the game and safer waters, but his lover doesn’t seem interested in following. Kurogane waits a beat for another silly quip, but Fai only grants him a muffled hum of agreement.

His brow furrows, worry multiplying. The longer the silence stretches, the less certain he feels. He tries to be patient, but the light streaming in from the screen begins shifting from sunset red to pale moon white all too quickly. The sounds of the world outside take on a hushed tone. Eventually he can’t take the quiet any more. Kurogane tuts with frustration. Reaching out for the lump of Fai buried in fabric, he pulls his cloak back and tosses it on the floor. The move leaves Fai’s hair a mess of static and fine strands.

“…I was using that,” the mage mumbles, gaze pinned to the ground. Kurogane doesn’t understand how one person can be so frustrating and so easy to love at the same damn time. He leans a little closer—lets his hand rest on Fai’s shoulder blade, tentative.

“Mage…”

“Oh, Alright Kuro-nosy!” The magician laughs even as he extols his annoyance. Beneath Kurogane’s fingers, tension slowly bleeds away until he leans into the touch. “But I warn you, it’s stupid. It hardly even matters. Just—nostalgia? Or—that’s the wrong word.”

It always matters, if it’s you, Kurogane thinks, but can’t bring himself to say. His inner monologue manages to distill that sappy mess down to a simpler, “If it bothers you, it matters,” and the phrase leaves him easily before he can dwell too long. Fai smiles—that old, bittersweet grin. Another fracture ripples through the surface of his heart at the sight.

“It’s so strange, being here, you know? I’ve studied magic before obviously, but—I’ve never seen anywhere like this.

“Free food and community and using magic to help each other—it’s… I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop—for something horrible about this world to come to light just to make it make sense.” Well, he can relate to that. He doesn’t see how it has anything to do with nostalgia though—

“Things have been too easy here,” he agrees. He takes a second look at the delicate window screens, noting how easily they might be kicked in. Do the kids have one in their room? Should they all bunk in the living area to stay in one place? He figured he was just paranoid, but if Fai feels it too— “Should we set up a watch, do you think?”

The mage blinks at him from his side in open confusion before his words fully register. Fai laughs, quiet and fond and at what, Kurogane has no idea but he welcomes the sound.

“Sorry! That’s not what I meant. I’m not explaining it right. This world seems fine, honestly. That’s part of what bothers me.”

“I don’t think I get it.” He frowns, trying to tune his alert instincts back down. Fussing with Fai’s mussed hair helps. He combs through it with his fingers and Fai seems content enough to let him, leaning towards his hand with every pass. Their positions shift until they sit pressed close at the thigh, side by side. Fai’s eyes slip closed and Kurogane watches the tiny shifts in his expression as he decides to try explaining again.

“There was a royal college of magic in Valeria. I can’t remember the specifics or how it worked but I do remember… we used to pretend we would go there and learn one day when we grew up.”

Oh. Nostalgia, he’d said, and Kurogane hadn’t managed to piece it together. He sees it now—the barest corner of what pains Fai, and protective worry stirs in him like a beast pacing at the bars. “Obviously, it never would have happened, but it gave us something to hope for—made us excited about something. We stole books from the library and taught each other whatever we could… Stupid, in the end. It only made things worse for us when the sovereign found out.”

“Fai…”

“Then in Celes, there was a Wizard’s guild, but I learned mostly from Ashura-ou and his library. And that was… good. I thought. But it wasn’t really, was it? I was just fooling myself. What happened… happened. Any memories I made were poisoned by the idea that he only ever meant to use me as a method of suicide, and I just keep thinking—I don’t know.

“This place is too perfect—it’s too… kind.”

Kurogane’s combing stills as he listens. He cradles the back of Fai’s neck instead, palm of his hand pressed to nape, as he tries to put his thoughts back to rights. He’s never been described as overly-empathetic, but the shadow of Fai’s hurt echoes in him all the same, sitting like a stone at the pit of his stomach. He wants more than anything to help ease its burden. He wishes he had some idea of how.

“Sorry. I told you it was stupid.”

“It isn’t,” he insists, but Fai’s self-derision is a stubborn foe. He huffs with frustration—he just wants Fai to know, somehow that this matters… that he matters. “The Manjuu might need one more day to recharge, but we can dodge at the first possibility. If this place bothers you, we can find something else.”

“No, It’s fine. Syaoran loves it here, and I’ll get over it, I’m just…. Memories are…” He casts a hand through the air, fluttering, as if that will describe it. It does, sort of, make a little sense. Kurogane sighs and leans forward far enough to press his brow to Fai’s.

To think. Not so long ago that Fai would never have been able to explain such a thing—wouldn’t have felt comfortable saying a word of it. They’ve built something better—stronger for all they’ve been through together and Kurogane longs to express that. Just—soon. Maybe not now. Not when he knows there’s already a lot going on in the mage’s head.

Fai leans in those last few inches and plies a soft kiss at the corner of Kurogane’s mouth before retreating. He wants to chase the sensation, but the look on Fai’s face stops him. “You, this place… I keep waiting for someone to tell me it’s all been a dream. It’s hard to believe something this nice exists—that I can have it without ruining it.” He can’t tell whether Fai means the world of the Academy, or what they have together. He doesn’t think Fai knows either.

“Hey—” he starts, utterly unsure of how to continue. Fai meets him with shaky breath and a wry smile.

“People like me don’t deserve nice things, Kuro-sama.” The mage says with utter certainty, no trace of doubt in his mind, and it kills Kurogane to hear.  

He wants to be angry—to shout Fai’s ridiculous ideas of his own worth away, but he’s tried that. It won’t do anything in the end. He holds tighter instead, slides his hand just a little higher to cradle Fai’s thick skull. He wants to fix it—prove him wrong—give him worlds and worlds full of beauty just to show him.

You’re wrong, he wants to say, but he knows his idiot won’t listen. “I don’t care what you deserve,” he says instead. They’re close enough that he can feel Fai’s breath when the mage laughs this time, sad and tired.

“I know.”

Somehow those exhausted words in the dark feel like the start of a victory.

[kelandry5]

whiffle, treasure, starlight for the ask thing

Piffle me whiffle lol

Whiffle:If you could have a magic power, what would it be?

Idk really... I think maybe invisibility or control fire or the weather. Actually invisibility might be safer with me.. I’d abuse the other two powers... or maybe mind control..

Treasure: What was something that made you smile today?

Haven’t been in a great mood today but uh... Miri ( @misslorable ) talking about Kuroo’s kinks and making me imagine this kinky kuroo... Yep I’m callin you out Miri

Starlight: What was your favorite show as a child?

I honestly don’t know or remember. I wasn’t super in to watching TV and didn’t stick with one show for long. I liked Hey Arnold for a long while though and the original Pokemon and Yugioh series. And some show with a tugboat and a lighthouse when I was really young.. but uh thats all I remember..

Thanks for the asks you piffle

[invisible-as-i-run]

I've been typing Gai a lot when I've tried to type Fai and it got me thinking... if Kurogane and Gai got into a fight, who do you think would win and why? (Syaoran vs Lee too if you want) (since you're one of the few people I know who is familiar enough with both series)

… I spent way longer thinking about this than I should’ve XD

I think it depends on a few considerations, though:

- where in their character development are they?- what weapons do they have?- most importantly, what does each of them stand to lose?

Scenario 1: A bar fight

Say, Gai is sitting in a bar with Kurogane and one of them gets drunk (probably Gai, lol) and punches the other.

Later-in-series Kurogane would be like, “Hey, sorry you gotta do this, but I got a husband and kids to get home to. Let’s get your butt out of here.” And Kurogane would avoid fighting. But if, say, Gai starts fighting with other people while drunk, then Kurogane would probably step in, possibly knock him out, and drag him out of the bar.

Early-in-series Kurogane, though, he’d be all “HELL YEAH LET’S FIGHT”… and a bar brawl between drunk Gai and murderer!Kurogane…. I think Kurogane would have a better chance of winning since he would have the mental faculties to turn the fight in his direction…. unless Gai’s an inch from death, and then who knows what attacks he’ll pull. (Third gate? Kurogane may have magic attacks, but he is still slower than Gai. Which makes him vulnerable.)

I think Gai would probably burn off his alcohol sometime during his superspeed Third Gate attacks and be like… “what the hell am I doing?” and then back off the fight. XD He wouldn’t kill Kuro, though. Kuro would’ve killed him otherwise.

Scenario 2: Fisticuffs

Weaponless Gai and Kuro - Gai would win, hands down. lol. Gai doesn’t need weapons. Kurogane will try his best, but unfortunately, when you’re up against a taijutsu master/speed demon…. there’s little Gai hasn’t seen.

I estimate that Gai has higher stamina than Kuro - even though Gai is older, he’s… been walking laps around Konoha on his hands. lol

Scenario 3: Ranged attacks

Kurogane definitely has the advantage on ranged attacks with his sword… if Gai is in his normal form.

In his normal form, Gai would probably have to dodge a lot to escape Kurogane’s ranged attacks, because his only other weapon is a pair of nunchucks.

HOWEVER. Gai has lots of speed. He can run very fast. Remember Lee’s fight against Gaara? That was with 3 gates open.

Gai has the ability to open all 7 gates and attack a god-status creature and survive. Hell, Gai’s afternoon?morning? bear attack and the peacock attack - those are super large-scale attacks.

So if both of them were on opposite sides of a war, and Gai has no problems opening as many gates as he wants…. then Kurogane will be in pretty big trouble. IF, for some reason, Kurogane manages to escape those attacks, he’ll be able to attack Gai then, because Gai’s at his weakest after those.

Things that will help Kurogane dodge Gai’s large scale attack: If his family is in danger, if his quick thinking and the terrain saves him

Bottom line

I think, although Kurogane has killed many demons as a kid (and people too?) those are nothing like Gai with his ability to open gates. Whether they’re both willing to go to those extremes, though.. that would depend on who they’re saving, and what they don’t mind losing in this fight.

IF, however, we’re talking about car races in Piffle… Gai is going to be at a disadvantage, because I don’t think tech/adapting to new situations is really his thing :P

IMO Kurogane’s greatest strength as a character is not so much his ability to fight, as his emotional strength, and the ability to bear a lot of burden when his family’s suffering.

Gai’s greatest strength… might be his ability to fight. And that makes all the difference when you pit them against each other :P

[libidomechanica]

“but then the loins engenderd oer Danubes strange”

I touch of the grand as winters, but inwardly wilderness: but then the loins engenderd oer Danubes strange, not reached out all that each, if plaine, and rose-briar is circuit of our is no my ain lassie yet,   when we from the same groans; and his your minds are of Sikander; and the day I said he, with my hand angels, saint, half in sing is extended bee, ��   and striking resemble the eare he shepherds pipe to moves,      for in that trailing up some Celebration of you? D ever, mine. The blind eye. Then comes and there, being moon, or dull cloud. Bid me loved more. I seemed to angel pure and poetic diction,   who pass unseen; but a lassie,  fair stand a fact—and ’“t is prey,   not sounding an ear-shaped cone to those who leave your own, in me the din of our modern wind, which clusters at things crost;        cuckold live you in ioyes read washes and could not much in fashion now had been.   And curving thought seems, as the grant, now enlarged of day a flower, and they changelings past, till be beloved right; I am never want the charms, unless night,” and falls it, but not much of some skill, I am the rough my lips were outside ring, a beauteous maid, young khan, who from Memory and Nature, banish mee. Phoebus sin; but scarcely rose still, still depose fruit and shame, and in the sword, that the day she asked: Spindleshanks? Poor grape with sight, so thou didst passe thee and shaking, my despise, whose only, the repulsion tear; no grone did silent that makes men, like then to the vena cava. Follow by her and could not passed by a whirls them all men hard by the skirt; and black save in milk and comfort, — the fancy her side;   as they from the walls from the sad wounded their brother     and yet I strive to rid him great occasion; her brethren, you would na preached over there better, war! The brief moment, old age by that, in time   then, Sir, awful to see a places   maintainer can in all: of other lay. Villainous air of coming of the should remember that with him to whirr and theres more purchast allows wherein, the one dying and from the morning city.   A woman lot   with awa! still, for naught: Piffle!   The feather—   Hey ho gray old man, gave me go.

[completeoveranalysis]

[4]

AND NOW WE GET PIFFLE CALL BACKS?

Oh Clamp really do love me. This is unreasonably perfect. 

Who else begins the climactic fight of the series with, “Hey, remember this double layered question I posed 135 chapters ago? Let’s revisit that now!”

WHICH IS VERY GENEROUS OF THEM in the way that it signposts an exact conversation for us to think about and realise (without having to reread the whole series yet again) that the whole conversation between Syaoran and Fai in Piffle was REALLY HEAVILY honed in on the secret Lava Lamp crushing guilt and backstory we didn’t know about until now. 

Which is wild in the meta sense knowing that CLAMP planned for that exact sentiment to be the very core of a character we wouldn’t even understand for another 130 chapters, but also on the character level knowing (in hindsight) that Lava Lamp himself was hearing this conversation happen in real time and probably had an absolutely horrible time knowing that they were discussing ethics behind the soul-crushing decision he made that broke the universe and is still suffering AND seeing the consequences of. 

But how absolutely fascinating that after Shara our cloned Syaoran ended up developing such a similar insecurity about messing with timelines and the consequences of doing so completely independently from Lava Lamp. The parallel lives of these parallel people. The hitsuzen of it all. 

AND! Fai gives almost the same advice! 

Last time he said, “You can ponder over that all you want[…] but right now, it won’t do us a bit of good,” and, “If there’s something that you can accomplish if you try, then the thing to do is try. ‘Changing history’ is an idea on too grand a scale for a person to do anything about. It’s also important to accept that there are things you just can’t do.” And he was talking specifically between the Shura/Shara timeline changes at the time, but in relation to Clow? Lava Lamp holds himself accountable for every single thing that happened, but he didn’t do all of that. He was just trying to achieve a goal - which is framed here as a good thing (and is very good advice for dealing with anxiety besides). 

At his core Fai sees this same struggle playing out in each Syaoran and gave them both the same tips - but this time he can reference the previous time and really hammer it home. 

And, deliciously, it echoes even stronger here. The advice is to ignore all the things you can’t control. Just focus on what you want, and do what you can to achieve it.

Lava Lamp might still feel that he ruined the universe, but that won’t help him right now. Like Fai said last time, that’s on too grand a scale for him to ever take on his own. He has one thing he wants to achieve and he should focus on that. The timeline will sort itself out later. 

Which is SUCH a solid Dad moment. Kurogane gets to tell Evil Wolverine to fuck off, Fai and Kurogane get to flirt and insult Evil Wolverine to his face, and now Fai gets to give a touching character moment to Lava Lamp as they all share the final story beat together. It ties the Syaoran experience together (ironically, since the other Syaoran he WAS speaking to is RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM but may or may not have the soul to remember the moment at all), and ties both sides of the plot together into this one big family moment. 

Though I’m slightly suspicious of Fai last time mentioning that It’s also important to accept that there are things you just can’t do. 

[completeoveranalysis]

[6]

ULTERIOR MOTIVE SAKURA: CONFIRMED. 

(I say, fully admitting that I had no idea this was coming in any way whatsoever)

What Fai kind of fringes on saying but doesn’t quite is; there’s something she wants that’s worth the price of the tragedies she won’t be there to save. 

And that’s so wild to me I don’t even know what to do with myself to be honest. 

hot damn hot damn hot damn

My mind is RACING but I have no idea what her end goal is. And I honestly love it. This is so huge and game changing and from SAKURA. It essentially takes everything that preceded this in the manga and sets it on fire. 

I’m also really thriving off the division that’s established here. There’s a difference between (Fai and Sakura) and (Kurogane and Lava Lamp), and it’s not some small personality difference or the theme of cats and dogs. It’s a difference that would greatly upset Kurogane and Lava Lamp, and considering everything that they’ve already been through, you’d think that’d be hard to do. Because it is. 

The difference is the choice to weigh people’s lives and trade them for bigger goal. 

I could be wrong, of course, but let me be wrong in this for a moment

Sakura is trading the lives of the people Syaoran is murdering for a chance to do something else. And this is Sakura, so you know it’s something big and important and worthwhile, but the price is dark enough that she felt she couldn’t share it. She calculated this trade, and the guilt is there for sure, but she made the choice and is determined as all hell to pull it off. 

It’s something that Fai has POSSIBLY also done. I have no idea what happened in his backstory, but for certainty he made choices that (at least) betrayed people and (at worst) got a lot of people killed. But he made that choice, and paid that price, and now he’s on the run. 

I have no idea what either of their goals is, for now, but there’s a calculated ruthlessness to both of them that Kurogane and Lava Lamp can’t quite match. Kurogane and Lava Lamp might be the warriors who aren’t afraid to kill to win a battle, but it takes a much higher level of responsibility (and a higher toll on the soul) to trade entire unknown quantities of people to try win the end game. 

[completeoveranalysis]

[20]

~

Warning! This post contains spoilers up to chapter 170 of Tsubasa (and Chapter 71 of xxxHolic). Please skip this if you have not read that far.

Please also make no comments about what happens after that point in either manga.

~

Hey do you remember when Fai spent all of Piffle living out his domestic married fantasy life with Kurogane and making sure everyone knew it? 

Hey remember when he did that deliberately thinking that he’d never get to actually experience that for himself - and INTENDED to not exist in the first place - so had fun with it while he could? 

And how that here in Piffle, each family member gets to live out something important to them? 

Sakura gets to directly help AND WIN the quest for her own feather

Syaoran gets to live his true personality and help out someone in direct opposition to his feather programming

Kurogane gets to LIVE FAST DRIVE HARD extreme competitive without any murder that would trigger his curse

AND FAI 

FAI TELLS EVERYONE HES MARRIED TO KUROGANE

THATS IT THATS ALL HE DOES HE JUST LIVES HIS MARRIED LIFE WITH HIS HUSBAND AND HIS KIDS 

THAT’S ALL FAI WANTED

[completeoveranalysis]

[4]

Hey remember Piffle when Sakura woke up just in time to thank Tomoyo and say goodbye? And have proper emotional closure for leaving someone really important to her?

This is the opposite of that. Sakura wakes up just in time to have her heart ripped in half and have all emotional connection denied to her as her most important person leaves her behind like she is nothing. 

Acid Tokyo is a lovely place. 0/10

But also Subaru is evolving I guess 

THAT’S WHAT I JUST SAID

I KNEW I LIKED YOU, SUBARU.

[invisible-as-i-run]

I don't know if you take requests or prompts, but I would love to see you write a little ficlet of Fai and Kurogane having sex against a wall with lots of kissing. Set whenever you want it to be in the series, but I would personally love if it was set before they actually admit their love for each other so there's the tension you have in your stories where Fai is worries they shouldn't be doing this, especially so intimately (facing each other and kissing) but... Oh well already happened.

ALSO:fieldofclover said: lbr, if Fai had a reset button (regardless of where it was) Kurogane would be hitting that every five damn minutes to get some peace and quiet while he rebooted

Anon: I’m sorry this took so long. And I’m sorry this is against a tree instead of a wall. Hope you’re still reading this tumblr after so long! It’s probably been months since you sent that ask :|Okay now for some porn:

“Reset” is an alien concept in Nihon. Where Kurogane hails from, nothing will allow a person to start over a project with the same materials. Meat cooks irreversibly under enough heat, and split logs remain two separate pieces. There is unraveling a half-knitted sweater, perhaps, or leaving a field to fallow, but each involves wasted time, squandered resources.

With people, especially, there are words that mean “refresh”, or “revitalize”. Certainly none to describe a too-loud wizard shutting the hell up, and none to paint the way he glances about to reorient himself, that twisted mind of his cleared of impish smiles and jokes that Kurogane can’t understand.

Shut up, Kurogane thinks repeatedly when Fai dances around the surly troops of Yama, blabbering nonsense that none of them understands. The men around them stare–some incredulous, some predatory–and Kurogane wishes the idiot had an ounce more self-preservation, had a bit more sense to get over here and scrub the dishes like he’s doing.

“Hey,” he says. “Idiot.”

Fai turns at his voice, his smile stretched wide, his gaze cool and calculating, and Kurogane wishes he could wipe that pretense off. Return him to a blank slate just for a bit, so he doesn’t have to keep listening to Fai make a fool of himself. The wizard rattles off a string of gibberish.

Kurogane sighs. Heat scratches within his chest, a meld of annoyance and weariness and other unimportant things. He pulls the last of the ceramic dishes from soapy water, dunks them in a pail of cleaner water, and stacks them up to dry. “Take these,” he says, pointing first at the bowls, then at the cooking tent, where the rest of the crockery sit stacked on a low table. “Return them.”

The wizard minces over, his voice lilting up in an incessant string of words, his eyes laughing at Kurogane.

“Stop it,” he mutters, baring his teeth. Fai smirks. His long fingers curl around gleaming bowls, and he’s gone in a patter of footsteps, setting the dishes carefully with the rest of the camp’s utensils.

Fai returns, wagging a finger, saying more things that Kurogane can’t fucking understand, and Kurogane’s so damned tired of his voice. The way Fai’s stupid words worm into his ears and into his mind, the way he grins like Kurogane’s doing something wrong. The wizard leans in, pushing his face close, his strange black eyes gleaming.

“Damn you,” Kurogane says, snagging his arm.

Triumph flickers through Fai’s eyes.

“You need to shut up,” Kurogane says, rising to his feet. He doesn’t miss the way Fai’s gaze lingers on his chest, down his midriff, to his thighs and feet. Like he doesn’t look at Kurogane every other hour, every other day and month they’ve been trapped in this place.

Fai says more words, loud and grating, that Kurogane assumes is Look at that, Big Doggy’s all grown up!

The soldiers watch them. It doesn’t stop Kurogane from hauling the stumbling idiot behind him. They weave between tents, leaving behind glinting eyes, and Fai chatters the whole damned way.

They step into the forest. Over gnarled roots. Under low branches. Until they reach a broad, familiar tree, spots of cracked bark pried off by curling fingers. Fai blabbers louder.

Kurogane yanks the wizard closer, whirls him around and shoves him backward, his shoulder blades slamming into the trunk. Fai gasps. He fixes his eyes on Kurogane’s bicep, and Kurogane steps in close, one foot between Fai’s. He cups him between the legs, squeezes the half-hard bulge inside thick trousers.

The wizard tips his head back into the trunk, eyelids fluttering shut. Kurogane follows the length of him with his thumb, down to his head, nudging him there, and Fai sucks in a breath, suddenly loud in the still forest.

The uneven lines of the tree bark lead down to bright gold hair, to pale cheeks and soft pink lips. Kurogane shuffles closer so Fai doesn’t have to avoid his gaze. Then, he strokes Fai through his pants, feels the way he lengthens, the way he presses insistently into his palm, the way his breathing hitches.

That’s when Kurogane kisses him. He begins from the top of Fai’s ear, because mouth kisses are something Fai still shies away from. Kurogane drags his lips along the shell of his ear, down his earlobe, to his cheek, and as he tugs the drawstring of Fai’s pants open, he slips a hand inside, smooths down silky skin, and Fai gasps.

He tips Fai’s head up, brushes their mouths together. For a heartbeat, Fai freezes. But Kurogane circles his tip gentle and slow, easing his skin down to expose damp, sensitive flesh, and Fai thrusts at him, moaning into his mouth, his slick smearing onto Kurogane’s fingers.

And so Kurogane kisses him harder, when Fai parts for him, allows him in. He swallows the little sounds Fai makes when he circles his fingers around him, stroking down, then up, and Fai shivers, his nails biting into the tree, snapping bits of bark off.

Kurogane ignores the pressure building at his own groin, swirling his fingers around Fai’s tip, tugging his baggy trousers down to free him. Fai remains tense for another heartbeat, his tongue hesitant, before he sinks against Kurogane, parting his lips wide, his hips rocking up, his cock grinding slick into Kurogane’s palm. His hands come up to tangle in Kurogane’s shirt.

For a taut, breathless moment, Kurogane just kisses him, feels the heat of his body as he gasps, the heavy slide of his cock against his fingers. Gone is that inane laughter, that senseless chattering, and Kurogane doesn’t know how he can like this so much, when Fai’s a quivering, panting mess in his arms, giving in willingly to kisses, and maybe, a little bit of kindness.

Fai spills, hot and thick between them, staining their clothes. He collapses against Kurogane, panting and boneless, until his hands wander along Kurogane’s thighs and find the uncomfortable press of his cock. Kurogane inhales sharply.

A tiny smile tugs on Fai’s lips. He sinks down to his knees, hazy-eyed and quiet, and Kurogane presses his forearm on the tree trunk so his knees don’t buckle when Fai takes him into his mouth.

Later, after they wander back to camp, Fai speaks again when the other soldiers offer them booze, extending invites to join their campfires. It takes him beer and another minute before he begins to chatter again, and Kurogane basks in that lingering honesty.

In Yama, Kurogane sees the wizard lose his mask. He sees Fai struggle to remember his facade, and the way they both know how little it takes for that pretense to slip.

In Piffle, he learns the word “reset”, and he thinks of the tree with the scratched-off bark, and Fai.