#It's super platonic because otherwise would be creepy lol | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

magioftheseas · 6 years ago

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Summary: Nanami Chiaki has been revived and reborn, but she is not the same Nanami Chiaki as those that came before. That makes her wrong, right? Everyone else seems to think so.

Rating: T+

Warnings: Disturbing themes of identity issues and some questionable science. Relationships are gonna dubious and messy but giving specifics is difficult, sorry. I guess it could be considered, uh, creepily clinical at points.

Notes: I just wanted to write a fic where Nanami wasn’t perfectly revived and I ended up with this. It was fun to write but I feel like I could’ve gone harder considering the circumstances? Well, I completed it for her birthday, so maybe it’s for the better. This sure was experimental. Um. Please be kind.

***Alternate Ao3 Link***

Commission? Donate?

Gently the waves lapped at the shore. A girl named Nanami Chiaki already had her shoes and socks set aside and hiked up her skirt as she waded further into the water. Supposedly, it was cold. Supposedly, particles of salt would cling to her skin and skirt. Distantly, she’s aware that Hinata Hajime is going to scold her for going into the water.

He’s always going to be annoyed, I think.

With that in mind, Nanami Chiaki dove her arms into the ocean, taking clumps of sand and rock. Squeezing. Searching. She does that for a while, moving around her feet to try and help the search. Sand gets between her toes, and she bumps against either a rock or a shell. There’s a bit of a sting, but it’s easy to ignore. She doesn’t really care.

But he will. And he’ll be even more annoyed. I think.

She keeps looking, lips twisting as she does. And then, finally—

“Nanami-chan. What are you doing?”

She flinches, straightening her posture but still slouching as she turns to stare at Komaeda Nagito standing at the shore, just shy of the rolling waves. Dressed in his green coat as always, hair tied back, Komaeda’s head tilts. Curiously. Questioning.

“I... Um...” Nanami hesitated, turning back to the ripping water. Looking at her soaked hands and picking out salt from her nails. The way Komaeda Nagito would usually do for her. “Mmm...”

“Did you lose something?” Komaeda’s tone was light, though still a little loud so that she could hear them over the waves. She glanced back over, and he, too was removing his shoes. He also lovingly hung up his coat on one of the droopy palm trees. Hiking up his pants, he began to wade into the water. “What was it? What happened?”

“...my game...” Nanami rubs awkwardly at her arm. “I... It’s probably broken.”

“Then Souda-kun can fix it,” Komaeda said cheerily. “But—Saionji-san really needs to apologize to you, so I’ll also talk to Koizumi-san, okay?”

Nanami perked up.

“I could tell from the footprints,” Komaeda added. “It’s a bit nostalgic, but you shouldn’t have to listen to me ramble, aha.”

And then, Komaeda reached down, metal hand whirling as its shoved into the water. He fumbled around, humming before letting out a soft sound.

“There we are,” he says, pulling out a soaked device. Nanami’s eyes went wide as he waved it in front of her. “Come on, Nanami-chan. We should go rinse off. I’ll drop this off with Souda-kun and...” He holds a finger in front of his lips. “I’m not going to tell Hinata-kun. Okay?”

“Is that...okay?” Nanami frowned. “He’s...really perceptive, I think. So he might...be able to tell.”

“He’s used to me keeping secrets,” Komaeda chirped and he offers his hand. “Don’t worry.”

She takes that hand tentatively. Compared to the sturdy metal arm, Komaeda’s actual flesh and bone is really frail. Despite that, Komaeda squeezes her hand as he leads her out of the ocean.

“Your hand is really cold, Nanami-chan,” he remarks.

“Is it?” she asks. “Well—I can’t tell what temperature yours is, I don’t think. Um. But he usually says it’s pretty cold.”

Komaeda scoffs.

“Hinata-kun’s built like a furnace, that’s why.” A pause. “You know, Nanami-chan, you can refer to him normally when around me.”

Nanami puffed her cheeks.

“You say that, but it still makes him mad.”

“He’s being childish,” Komaeda gripes. “Seriously—and he’s supposed to be a symbol of hope. So disappointing.”

Nanami hums noncommittally, and she doesn’t really understand but she does know how Komaeda Nagito feels. He feels strongly. She’s a little envious. Maybe.

“I... Oh.” When the two of them finally breached shore, it was then that Komaeda looked down. He cursed under his breath, but when Nanami looked at him, he hurriedly smiled. Said smile was tense at the edges. “Nanami-chan... You cut your foot.”

She looks down and sure enough, she’s bleeding. Even the sand is dyed. It stings. She supposes.

“Hinata-kun will notice that, unfortunately,” Komaeda sighs. “I’m sorry, Nanami-chan.”

“It’s not Nagito’s fault,” she says, parroting the words that she’s used to Hinata Hajime saying. “Honestly, it’s not a big deal, I don’t think.” She shrugs. “He’s never happy with me, is he?”

Komaeda is quiet, but he pats her head.

“Hinata-kun’s a stubborn jerk. It’s not Nanami-chan’s fault.”

“Nagito,” she says. “You’re the only one who actually likes me, I think.”

“...”

He squeezes her hand.

“Sonia-san likes you,” he replied serenely. “And the others are warming up to you. And if they’re stubborn like Hinata-kun or Saionji-san or anyone else, then that’s on them, not on you.”

You’re always saying that, but... The others are a bit happier when I act correctly. It’s only when they remember that I’m wrong that the mood fizzles. At least, I think so. Still...

“Nagito’s nice,” she murmurs. “You’re actually...really nice...even though everyone keeps saying you’re difficult.”

Komaeda laughs.

“Come on,” he says, tugging at her hand. “I’ll carry you to the showers. Even if you can’t really feel the pain, I’m sure walking would be uncomfortable, Nanami-chan.”

“Is that really okay, Nagito?” she asked.

“I’m a lot stronger than I look,” Komaeda said, beaming. “I’ve been exercising, too. I’ll only wheeze a little, I promise!”

“Mm...”

Nagito really is...nice.

He’s nice and he’s diligent, too, rinsing off her feet thoroughly, drying it with one of the towels and bandaging up her foot. Because of how accidents often happen around him, he carries those kinds of things around. He’s really careful, and could be just a little paranoid sometimes.

He pulls up her sock, slipping her foot into her shoe. He allows himself to be steadied on as she does the same with the other sock and other foot. She stumbles a bit, and he reacts quickly, laughing easily as he does.

“Don’t push yourself, alright?” he tells her. “I’ll get Souda-kun to fix your Gamer Girl in the meantime.”

“It’s okay,” she says. “It’s not that important. Um. I have...other game systems that I can play...”

Even though Gala Omega is on that one... I’ve been playing more and more of it, but...

Komaeda is quiet, likely in response to the expression that has twisted her face. She meets his gaze, and pushes up the corners of her mouth so that she can at least smile.

“Even if you’re not in the mood for it, it might be nice to have it as an option, later,” Komaeda says pleasantly.

“I guess...” Nanami shrugged. “Well, even if Souda doesn’t fix it, he would. But I cause him enough trouble.” She wiggles her injured foot. “Would Souda feel troubled, too?”

“Not at all.” Komaeda waves it off with such ease. “He enjoys having projects to work on, regardless of who it’s for. Because. It is his talent.”

“Talent... Okay.” She still doesn’t really understand but with how firm Komaeda is, she doesn’t want to argue anymore. “Thank you, Nagito. And tell Souda that I thank him, too.”

“Of course, Nanami-chan.”

That was that. Komaeda Nagito really was nice. Her smile, however, faded when she thought of the other person closest to her.

He’s going to be upset with me again.

It’s not something she’s unused to, at this point, but it’s saddening all the same.

Hinata Hajime is taking a rare break, slumped over a desk with a mug of coffee. Sonia brought him that mug—and it has his name on it. From the stains, Nanami can tell it’s seen its fair share of use today. He seems to be busying himself with an absurd amount of puzzle sheets. Even on break, Hinata busies himself.

She understands why, so she instinctively steps forward to act. She takes a blanket and places it over him. He stirs a little at that, and his smile, then, is soft and genuine. But his eyes are glazed over, unseeing.

She figures she needs to get it over with quickly.

“I went to the beach today,” she says. Hinata’s smile drops into a grimace. “I took off my shoes and socks and ended up stepping on something. It doesn’t hurt, Nagito bandaged it up, so it’s nothing to worry about, but um... I think you’d want to know... Hinata-kun.”

It tastes and feels wrong to call him that, but it’s the correct thing to do.

Even though Hinata doesn’t look terribly happy about it. Of course he wouldn’t.

“Nanami,” he says, sighing. “What were you doing at the beach?”

“Walking.”

His eyes narrow sharply, this time seeing right through her. Her shoulders hunch a little, but her expression remains neutral as it always does.

“Nanami.” His tone is just a little scornful. “I can tell there’s more that happened.”

“Mm...” She shuffles uncomfortably. “Well... I don’t want to tell you, I think...”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t like worrying you,” she mumbled, head lowering. “Because then you’d get more upset...”

“Ah. Did someone else do something?” There was a gleam, then, in that crimson eye. Nanami stiffened, and she could see it bore into her. “Saionji’s been shooting you dirty looks for a while.”

“It’s...” Because she’s not terribly good at lying, she thinks, she just swallows. “It’s no big deal. Nagito’s going to talk to Koizumi. You don’t need to get involved.”

Hinata still stands up.

“It’s not okay, Nanami. If there’s anyone that Saionji should be pissed at...”

Nanami is silent. Quiet. She remembers before.

“It’s so gross it makes me what to puke. It’s disgusting, absolutely disgusting, what Hinata did. You’re such an eyesore. Do you think all this is funny?”

A scowl. A sneer. She keeps her gaze on her game, until it’s snatched from her hands.

“At least acknowledge that I’m talking to you, you fucking freak!”

“She’s not happy with you either, I think.” She shakes her head. “Actually, she’s not happy with you at all. No one is.”

Hinata cursed under his breath, running his fingers through his hair. He looks so exhausted and the blanket she wrapped around him has already fluttered to the floor. She should pick it up, she should reassure him and smile the way he wants her to. The way she used to, apparently.

But instead, the question bursts out.

“Hey, um, why—did you create me, Hinata-kun?”

Hinata doesn’t answer at first. She keeps on talking.

“Why did you make me like this? I don’t think I understand. I’ve tried, I think, but I just...”

He still doesn’t answer. So.

“Do you resent me for being wrong? What am I still doing wrong? Or is it just my very existence?”

Because—even though Nagito is so nice to me, I know he doesn’t like that I exist, either.

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I’ll do better. I promise. I just want to make you happy, Fa—”

Hinata’s hand slammed down onto the table at the time she realized her mistake.

“Don’t...call me that.” Hinata’s not even looking at her now, so she shrinks in on himself. “Nanami, how many times have I told you?”

“Many times.” She hangs her head. “Many, many times, I think. Um. I think... I’ll go to my cottage. Later, Hinata-kun.”

“Nanami...” Hinata sighs, looking so troubled. It just makes her sadder, so she doesn’t hesitate when he nods. “Sure, just don’t—push yourself.”

She’s well-aware of her status and purpose. She’s just not terribly keen on the details. Supposedly, there had been—complications in her birth, as Komaeda had put it with a facetious grin. She doesn’t know the details of that, either, except that the first expression she had seen on Hinata Hajime’s face was that of euphoric relief. He had cradled her and squeezed her, whispering her name over and over again.

The issue, then, was that she came out wrong. That she didn’t immediately step into the identity of Nanami Chiaki, and that she was initially quite confused on who that was supposed to be.

Hinata had been so patient at first. So kind, so gentle, doting on her and diligent on taking care of her. He even brushed her hair and fashioned a cute little pin into it. It was a strange pin, but seeing it on her seemed to make Hinata so happy.

She didn’t really understand a lot of things at first, but she knew that she liked seeing that smile on her creator’s face. So much so that she smiled in return, and that made him happier.

He really was happy—until she let that word slip from her lips.

“Father.”

Just like that, all warmth and light was sucked away, and Hinata looked deeply, deeply disturbed.

“I’m not...your father, Nanami.”

No? She didn’t understand. “But you are my creator, right? So wouldn’t that make you my father? Or, would you prefer I call you Master, instead?”

“No!” Hinata had shouted, then, so loudly it was deafening. “I... I-I’m... Do you really not remember anything?”

“What am I supposed to remember?”

She didn’t understand. She had just been born. She had built-in knowledge, however, but no memory of learning these things that she knows. All she remembers is Hinata Hajime, her creator, and how happy he had been until this moment.

Did I do something wrong?

“Maybe it’s latent,” Hinata murmurs, more to himself than to her. “But—given the complications, they may not have carried over. Shit... Fuck...”

“Fuck?”

“D-Don’t repeat that!” he yelped, so she shut her mouth obediently. Flustered, Hinata rambled on. “Dammit, dammit, dammit...! I really messed up, but...! But...!” He fizzles, just as easily as he got worked up. “But... At least you’re here, now, even if you’re not perfect.”

Not perfect.

“Um.” She holds up her fist. “I’ll try my best, I think. So please, um... Don’t get so down, um...?” She frowns deeply. “Mm...?”

“Hinata-kun. That’s what you usually called—should call me.” Hinata offers a weak, lop-sided smile. “Your personality is about the same, though. That’s a relief.”

You don’t look terribly relieved.

“Mm...” She fidgets. “Hinata-kun.”

“Yeah.” His smile widens, but his eyes remain largely unchanged. “Just like that, Nanami.”

Just like that?

“Hinata-kun, then.”

Well, if it makes you happy, then—

“Hinata-kun...”

“Hinata-kun is difficult.”

Irritated, she pulled the cheeks of her rabbit plush. For whatever reason, she imagined this making the rabbit cry, so she does stop, patting and petting it as if that’d reassure it.

“Father...is really difficult.” Nanami’s cheeks puffed out further. “I don’t like calling him Hinata-kun.”

“Father?” She remembers the amused smile Komaeda gave, and that it was twisted with something else she didn’t quite understand. “Well, I suppose it wouldn’t be inaccurate to refer to him as such. But I imagine he isn’t very happy to hear it.”

“He really isn’t.”

“Mm. That’s a personal problem, Nanami-chan. You’re not doing anything wrong.”

“...do you really think so?”

Nanami held the rabbit close, squeezing it hard.

The reason why he doesn’t like it when I call him ‘Father’ is because that wasn’t the relationship he had with the Nanami Chiaki before me. But truth be told, I don’t actually know what that relationship is. All I do know is that I make for a poor replacement, I think.

She has an idea of how Nanami Chiaki acts and how she should act in return. But she still fumbles in ways that aggravate those around her.

I make a poor replacement. For their sakes, I have to do better.

Frowning, Nanami sets the bunny aside and makes her way over to flick on a console. In times like these, games calm her down. They bring her to calmer times, where her creator was just happy to see her.

That game that Saionji threw into the ocean was the first one Hinata Hajime ever gave her.

Her fingers on the controller tighten as she selects start.

At some point, she falls asleep and only wakes up due to knocking on her door. There’s an ache in her neck and her eyes are dry and crusty. She groans as she pushes herself up, wobbling and yawning as she does.

“Iiiii’ll get it,” she slurs and shambles to the door, somehow managing to not topple over as she opens it. “Yes?”

“Ah...” Koizumi freezes up, smile stiff and fist still in the air, knuckles noticeably tense. She hurriedly brings her hand down and forces that smile wider. “Sorry, Chiaki-chan, did I disturb you?”

Nanami, still picking at her eyes, dutifully shakes her head and tries to straighten her posture. She ends up slouching anyway.

“Koizumi,” she says, swallowing. “Um.” She waves awkwardly. “Good...afternoon?”

“It’s almost evening,” Koizumi says, not unkindly. “But I’m here to bring you this.”

She holds up the handheld and Nanami immediately jerks more to attention. Koizumi is careful as she places it in Nanami’s hands, and she says nothing as Nanami holds it close.

“Hiyoko-chan...is still being really stubborn, so, I’m here to apologize for her.” Koizumi bows. “I’m so, so sorry she did that. It won’t happen again.”

“It’s...okay, I think...” She’s still clutching the device as though it were a lifeline. “Um. Is Saionji...still upset?”

Koizumi hesitates, picking at her cuticles.

“She’ll get over it,” she sighs. “Don’t worry about it, Chiaki-chan. I’ll keep talking to her, alright? Also...” Frown deepening, Koizumi fiddles with her hair. “Souda said, er, don’t hesitate in coming to him for help in the future. He wouldn’t mind building a wholly new gaming system or something... I guess? But he worked pretty diligently on your game so I guess he’s gotten a lot more reliable.”

“I see...” Nanami nods to that. “That’s really nice, I guess.”

But... I can’t help but wonder...

“Did he do that for her, too?”

Koizumi flinched. She likely hadn’t expected this turn in the conversation. Koizumi is always so considerate—she’s always the one who stops others from even mentioning the previous Nanami Chiaki in her presence. But under her expectant stare, Koizumi does shrug.

“Yeah, I think so. I do remember him doing that in...the simulation. But that wasn’t real.”

The simulation—sometimes they talk about the simulation. She was there, too. She wasn’t a perfect recreation either, right? But everyone still regards her so fondly. Actually, I was likely meant to carry on that one’s wishes, too.

How frustrating.

“Koizumi,” she says. “Is it alright...if I ask you what both of them were like?”

Koizumi jumps a little, but somehow, upon seeing the look on her face, Koizumi’s soft smile strains.

“Sure thing, Chiaki-chan.”

She’s not really sure what she’s getting herself into. If anything, this feels like a really bad idea. Maybe. But she’s avoided asking anyone except Hinata for the longest time, and that’s unproductive, isn’t it? Though he created her, Hinata couldn’t possibly know everything about her. Either her.

Koizumi is patient and considerate. She’s easy to talk to, similar to Komaeda. If she asked Komaeda, she might make him upset, and she doesn’t want that. She doesn’t want to upset Koizumi either, at least she thinks so, but—

Koizumi has pictures that she’s carefully stacked, fiddling with them as she does and looking weirdly sheepish.

“I was able to retrieve the photos I took in the simulation, surprisingly. I think this was around when Hinata was really testing what he could do with the NWP’s data...” She trails off, visibly uncomfortable. “I...have the ones I took while in HPA, too. It’s...kinda freaky, huh...”

Nanami sits there, silent and observing. Koizumi lays out the photos, giving her space as she looks through them.

The original Nanami Chiaki and the AI Nanami Chiaki are in different uniforms, but their expressions are largely the same. Nanami touches her own face, and notes that she’s definitely seen these two faces in the mirror. At least, she’s pretty sure.

For whatever reason, she doesn’t have it in her to ask Koizumi if she has a pocket mirror. And she doesn’t exactly want to get up and check in the bathroom right this moment.

But, she’s pretty sure she at least looks the same.

I just don’t know if I make these same expressions.

Regardless of the variant, Nanami Chiaki is smiling softly in most of them. She has a gentle demeanor, she supposes. Nanami Chiaki looks happy, and everyone else looks happy around her, too. When she sees Hinata, he especially—looks really happy.

Almost as happy as when she saw him for the first time.

“Chiaki-chan, well, that Chiaki-chan,” Koizumi says, plucking up one particular photo taken at what seemed to be New Years. “She could be a bit spacey but she really cared about her class, and she was really accepting of everyone’s quirks.”

Nanami takes notice of the wistful expression on Koizumi’s face.

“She often seemed exhausted, but she was always trying hard to get along with others. She loved games as much as you do, of course.”

“Why?” she asked, on impulse.

Koizumi shrugged.

“Ah, I—she just talked about how fun they were. The first thing that got her eyes lighting up was always video games. I think that’s—what she and Hinata bonded over, too. At least, in HPA, from what I remember. A lot of that stuff is...murky. You’d have better luck asking Hinata, probably.”

“Probably,” she echoed. “Na—Komaeda likes video games, too.”

“Oh, did he?” Koizumi perked up. “Oh... Right... He might’ve mentioned that...”

She had noticed Komaeda Nagito wasn’t in a lot of the HPA pictures. Or the pictures from the simulation. He was barely present at all, but always wore that same, serene smile.

Nagito has the same expression around me that he had around the two that came before.

“You’re a nice girl, too, Chiaki-chan.” Koizumi speaks up, suddenly. “You just have your own personality and quirks. There’s nothing wrong with being different.”

“So what’s the difference?” she asked.

Koizumi’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. She shuts it, chews her lower lip, and her head ducks, eyes hidden from Nanami’s inquisitive stare.

“...it’s... Well obviously you wouldn’t be the same person...” Koizumi seems to be speaking more to herself. “Chiaki-chan was human... And the AI recreation was based on all our memories... Hinata just...made you on his own... And things went wrong...”

Such as the fact that she lacked any of the memories, Nanami couldn’t help but think.

“I’m sorry, Chiaki-chan.” Even when addressing her directly, Koizumi seemed distant. “I think I should leave. Do you want to keep looking at the pictures?”

“Yes, please,” she answered. “Thank you, Koizumi.”

Koizumi does nod, upturned corners twisting as she stands. She shuts the door behind him. Nanami sits and stares. And then, her gaze flickers down to the pictures.

In each and every one, Nanami Chiaki wears the same hairclip that Hinata had given her. The same one that she always wore—and was in fact wearing right now. In several photos, Nanami Chiaki has the same handheld that Hinata had given her. The same one sitting innocently on her bed. Fixed. Good as new.

The appearances are all the same. Except that they’re smiling.

Nanami Chiaki pushes up at the corners of her mouth so that she’s smiling, too.

Saionji does apologize to her, but she’s not looking at her the entire time, and before Nanami can even respond, Saionji hurriedly turns away and leaves. Without another word. It’s a half-assed apology, but Nanami supposes she’ll take what she can get.

She’s not terribly interested in talking to anyone that day, so perhaps this is a good thing.

She doesn’t really play games, either, except to check her handheld to see if it worked. Hers.

It could’ve been someone else’s first, she thinks, touching her hairclip. Or a perfect recreation. Unlike me.

She pushes at the corners of her mouth again, but this time, they remain stiff and unyielding.

Some time ago, she overheard Komaeda and Hinata arguing.

“—so what are you going to do, then?”

“I... I don’t...”

“She’s practically a blank slate. Are you going to take advantage of that?” That high pitch of Komaeda’s upbeat question immediately drops to a low drone. “Pathetic.”

“S-Shut up! Of all people, I should not be hearing that from you!”

“Aha. Haha.”

His laughter is light. So light that it’s barely even perceptible.

“You didn’t answer the question,” Komaeda still speaks lightly. “What are you going to do? You brought her into this world. And she’s not the same. What are you going to do, Hinata Hajime?”

“I... She might... She might remember...”

“And if that’s impossible? Are you going to throw her out like trash and start again?”

“...”

“You went through all the trouble of making her human, too.”

“...I-I know...”

Hinata’s choked response was quiet enough that she had to strain to hear it.

“So.” In contrast, Komaeda’s tone was level. “What are you going to do?”

She thought about peering over the corner to see Hinata’s face. What expression he might be making since he didn’t seem to have anything to say. Instead, she ends up slipping away before she can be noticed.

It’s reasonable, she thinks. She’s curious about Hinata’s expression, but not so curious that she’d risk seeing whatever face he’ll make when he realizes that she’s listening in.

She still doesn’t want to see that face.

She wants to see him smile. Smile like he does in the photographs.

But... I don’t know if that’s possible. Because...

“You’re not the same as her,” Komaeda had said. “You shouldn’t try to be.”

She wondered if he said that because she was so bad at it. She doesn’t want to see what expression he’d make if she asked such a thing, either.

I just want everyone to smile at me. Perhaps that is impertinent. But they smiled at her and because of her so easily.

So, what was wrong with her?

...

The answer was obvious.

“She doesn’t remember anything? So, is she still the same, then?”

“But she has the same face! And the same voice! Everything else is the same!”

“But she doesn’t remember.”

“Look at that blank stare—isn’t it disgusting?”

“S-She’s human... She’s human...and her mental states... I-It’s...”

“Well, she will remember, right?”

“I-I don’t know...”

“What do you mean ya don’t KNOW?!”

“We should still try to treat her the same...”

“But...she is not the same.”

“Let’s treat her fairly anyway... She deserves that much...”

“She’s still human.”

“An abomination.”

“Dammit, Hinata, what the actual fuck were you thinking?”

“I just... I just wanted to see her again...”

“...we all did.”

“But...”

“That’s not Nanami Chiaki. Not the girl who died, not even the AI.”

“Nanami-chan, was it?” Komaeda laughs, clapping his hands. “It’s nice to meet you! My, you really are something else, aren’t you?”

Hinata is sleeping at the desk. Sometimes, that happens. He overworks, overstresses, overthinks, and then, he just passes out. This is when he should be ushered to his cottage for proper rest, she can’t help but think.

It’s bad timing. Horrendously bad.

But if she wakes Hinata up, there’s a chance. And so, she shakes his shoulders.

“Hinata-kun, Hinata-kun, Hinata-kun.” No response. She clears her throat and then, “Kamukura Izuru, maybe?”

A crimson eye flutters open. The glow of the iris causes the shadow beneath to look darker and heavier. The hazel eye is kept shut, but Hinata Hajime’s head raises, lips downturned.

“You are troubled.” It’s Hinata Hajime’s voice, but lower and colder. Nanami shives a little. “I can tell what plagues you. How boring.”

Nanami swallowed.

“You’re much more honest than Fa—Hinata-kun.” Even though you’re cagier, too. “So the best person to talk to about something like this is you... I think.”

“Boring.” The intonation doesn’t change. Nor does the expression. The gaze. That bores through her as it always does even when Hinata Hajime is in control. “I had predicted this. You truly are a pitiful creation, Nanami Chiaki III.”

“Mm...” Her frown deepens. “You truly are...a jerk, as Nagito says.”

Kamukura pushes himself up from the desk. With a creepily graceful motion, he brushes back his hair.

“You are hesitating, even though you have gotten this far.” That crimson eye is now piercing. “How truly dull. But very well. I suppose I should indulge you for a bit.”

She doesn’t respond to that, merely shuffling her feet awkwardly.

This is...my best bet.

“You really are desperate,” Kamukura sneers at her. “Pitiful. Pathetic. But very well. That said, I suppose I should give you a moment of pause so that you can reflect and reevaluate.”

He turns on his heel.

“Hinata Hajime does not truly understand his needs nor his desires. He really is such a wretched being. However, Komaeda Nagito is much more certain in his assertions, and he believes with abandon. Also so wretched. As for the others—boring. All of them. Their feeble minds could not hope to comprehend you in the first place. They still have not grasped my own presence.”

Nanami keeps her head ducked.

“...mm...”

“You are different from them, but also from myself. You are an anomaly. A true abomination. For that reason, I suppose there is a spark of intrigue in facilitating the routes you wish to take,” Kamukura goes on drearily. “Thus, if you truly wish to seek my perfect assistance, you may meet me in the labs. I will wait ten minutes. No more, no less.”

Just like that, Kamukura strides away, and when Nanami’s gaze finally rose, he was already gone.

Her shoulders slump.

I just...

The atmosphere was still cold, still heavy, still so unpleasant and bitter.

I want Father to be happy with me. This might...make him a little unhappy...

She can already see him reddening with anger, shouting at her for her recklessness. Hinata Hajime—didn’t like Kamukura Izuru. Even though they were one and the same body. Others felt the same. Unnerved and unsettled by Kamukura Izuru, who lurked in the shadows.

Who she knows had been utilized to bring her to life. Who she knows could fix her, as he would know what went wrong the first time.

The only person truly capable of returning that Nanami Chiaki they all lost and desired...

Nanami’s legs were shaking. She beat them a few times so that she could stumble forward. Once she was able, she broke into a sprint.

I want to give them what they truly want.

The labs are dark, and they’ve been collecting dust for a while. As everyone has woken up, there is not much use for the technology there anymore. Hinata sometimes tinkered with the machinery, as did Souda, but everyone else...tended to avoid this place.

Nanami had heard it compared to a tomb before. She never really understood why—she just knew this is the place where they woke. This was where she was born.

It really was gloomy and cold, and it got darker the deeper she delved. Eventually, she stood in the solemn room where she had been created, a little at a time. It had been cleaned up of the fluids, but there was still a rather pungent stench in the air.

Kamukura Izuru perks up, and he is accessing the monitor. The computers whirl to life, and several lines of data scroll past on the screen. Nanami turns her gaze from those codes to the pod that laid in the middle. There were many cables to step over, but when she opened it, the inside was clean save for that same scent.

She’s still trembling a little, but manages to still her hands with a squeeze of her fists.

“...will it work?” she asks, and her voice is soft enough to be swallowed by the cobwebs. “Can I really wake up as her?”

“It will be slightly more complicated,” Kamukura says airily. “I will have to strip you down of what behaviors and personality you have developed up until this point first to avoid psychological turmoil from splitting consciousness. It will be the same procedure from the Kamukura Izuru project, thus I am familiar with its workings, and even its faults which I have remedied. It will work.”

Nanami nods.

“...okay. I guess... That’s that, I think.”

She squeezes her fists again, but discards her hoodie first. She thinks idly that perhaps she should have undressed before she got here. But she likely would not have made it in ten minutes if she stopped by the medical faculty to grab one of the hospital gowns.

It doesn’t matter. She can strip here. And so she does, undoing the buttons of her blouse and letting it slip down her shoulders.

Her heart is pounding. She cannot will it to steady itself.

“You will be mourned, Nanami Chiaki III.”

She pauses. Kamukura’s voice remains cold, but clear.

“Even if her return is assured, there are those who will be dismayed at your sacrifice. Funny, I suppose, how bound to sacrifice Nanami Chiaki is. But, at least this time it is your own will.”

She blinks a couple of times. She steps out of her skirt.

“...I wasn’t supposed to exist like this in the first place,” she found herself saying, wrapping her arms around herself. There’s a cool breeze that stings her skin. Just a little. “Father didn’t want me. He—Hinata-kun wanted her. So, I think...”

Another whirl. She jumped.

“The system is ready,” Kamukura cut in, clipped. “You may now step into the pod. Once it has been closed, the procedure may proceed.”

“Understood.”

She lays down in the pod. It’s even colder there, with chilly metal and stiff cushioning. She shuts it, and hears it latch. She flinches but lies there, listening to whirling, beeping, and then a low, deafening hum. The hairs on her arms and nape are on end, and she hears her heart pounding, blood rushing in her ears. For a moment, her sight blurs and focuses. She tries to breathe and her chest nearly seizes up with the attempt.

“System start.”

Kamukura’s voice was so close that it was as if he were right behind her. She shivers even more, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to think of Hinata Hajime.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s going to be okay.” Hinata squeezing her shoulders. Hinata smiling. Her Father, patting her back, gentle and reassuring. “Nanami... Nanami...”

“I just wanted to see her again.”

The pod begins to fill with fluid. Cables latch onto her, metal closing around her limps, her head, digging into her skin. She barely feels the prick. She thinks, idly, of how Hinata Hajime had also subjected himself to this willingly.

It doesn’t hurt. But it’s uncomfortable. For Hinata Hajime, it must have hurt.

She can still breathe, but she feels herself fading. Is she getting sleepy? Or is that how it’s supposed to be?

Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

“Nanami-chan, was it?” A bright smile. “Nice to meet you!”

“System booting,” Kamukura drones, dull as ever. “12%... 15%...”

Nanami tried to focus more on the machine’s drones, its whirls, its hums. Somehow, those sounds weren’t as cold nor as dull. But they still weren’t terribly welcoming. Probably.

Terribly welcoming. Sometimes—the others could be that way.

Souda had been unnerved by her. Tanaka hissed in apprehension. Tsumiki flinched at her presence, and sometimes she would cry.

Sonia would smile, Koizumi would smile, Mioda would smile, but for one reason or another, those smiles inevitably strained if not dropped completely. Just like Hinata once he realized that she wasn’t quite right.

She twitched.

“Just what the hell were you thinking, Hinata?” Kuzuryuu had demanded harshly, making him flinch. “Did you really foresee this going well?”

“I... I don’t know why it didn’t!”

She kept her eyes shut. But her body still spasmed. Still twitched, heart still jumping.

“Nanami...” Drawn into his embrace, Hinata Hajime squeezed her so tightly. “Nanami, Nanami...”

It was clear that it wasn’t her he was speaking to, that he was seeing, that he wanted to hold. Despite liking him, that situation had been—so—unbearably—uncomfortable.

“O-Oi Nagit...!”

As if the name had suddenly died in his throat, Hinata Hajime froze when Komaeda’s gaze flickered from her to him. She perked up, blinking as that easy smile shifted into a cold line.

“Nagito?” she asks, and just like that, Komaeda’s smile returns as if it never left.

“Let’s talk some more later, okay, Nanami-chan? After all, your father is calling you.”

She doesn’t have to look to know Hinata had recoiled then, too. But that word—father—hung so heavily and certainly in the air that she couldn’t help but want to cling to it.

And wasn’t that another reason Hinata Hajime was unhappy with her?

That’s right—I wanted things to be that way. But he—Hinata-kun didn’t.

That’s why—he’ll never be happy with someone like me. Someone like me...who isn’t like her in the ways that truly matter...

Ba-dump.

Ah.

Aha.

Haha.

It hurts.

Hinata-kun... Father... It hurts...

I don’t—

I don’t I don’t I don’t I don’t I don’t

Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

I’m sorry I don’t—

I don’t I don’t I don’t I don’t I don’t

It hurts.

So.

So bad.

Because of the fluid, her screams were muffled. She begins to thrash and this causes blood to be drawn. The fluid causes those wounds to sting, and she tries to scream louder.

She sees Hinata Hajime turning away from her, and she sobs. She sees Komaeda Nagito crumbling, and she cries. Her hands slam against the top of the pod when others follow suit. One after another, she wails and is silenced.

Stop! Please! I, I, I, I, I—

I don’t want to die!!

Someone...anyone...please...

Her breathing hitches sharply as it all goes completely dark.

Her eyes fly open abruptly. The pod has been opened. Something is draped over her. For a second, she can’t get her body to move, so all she can do is tremble. One. Two. Three.

Nanami jerks upright, seizing the fabric and yanking it close to cover herself. It’s just her hoodie, with the rest of her clothes neatly folded on her lap.

“So that is the state of matters.”

She blinks once, twice, and slowly turns to where Kamukura Izuru, still with the hazel eye tightly shut, is looking over the screen.

“How boring,” he says and tosses her an indifferent glance. “Well. I had expected this. From the breakdown to the damage sustained.”

“Oh...” Now that she can breathe, it feels alien and strange. “I’m still sorry. In the end, I couldn’t... Sorry.”

“So boring.”

With still quivering legs, Nanami scrambles out of the pod. She’s still shaking. She rakes her fingers through her hair, yanking at the strands until something clatters to the floor.

It’s her hairpin, slick with tainted residue. She retrieves it, and squeezes, feeling the edges bite into her palm. It stings not just there—but in several places. Her arms. Her knees. Her scalp. Her eyes.

She wipes at them, but that just makes it worse.

“That will be all,” Kamukura says coolly, shutting off the device. “You may reconsider for now, Nanami Chiaki III, but I have no interest in further musings on the matter. Approach me once more when you are certain.”

Just like that, he strides past and leaves without another word. Leaving her there alone, clinging to her clothes, her hairclip, with a shuddering body threatening to curl in on itself. Shoulders hunching, Nanami breathed once more.

Still strange. Still alien.

Still stinging, especially with how it hitched irregularly.

How irritating.

She manages to dress, but keeps the hairclip in her hand. When she finally leaves, she stands by the doorway for several seconds longer than necessary before stumbling forward with no particular destination in mind.

Somehow, she finds herself at the beach again. The sun is low in the air, ducked behind the clouds, yet still dyeing the sky with vibrant shades of violet and vermilion. There’s a light breeze. The air is warm, gentle, even, as it ruffles her hair further.

Nanami stares and stares. She remembers earlier, the last time she was on the beach, and then, she wonders what else she remembers.

Was there anything I forgot? Anything at all?

Her eyes squeeze shut as she tries to think.

She remembers her creator’s face—and the faces of everyone else. She even remembers the faces they made at the original Nanami Chiaki.

“Ah. Hah.” Nanami sucks in her breath. “I don’t think I’ve forgotten anything. That’s...”

Her grip on the hairclip is tightening, to the point it might just make her bleed again.

“That’s good...isn’t it? It’s good, I think. I remember... I remember...”

Ba-dump.

With a sudden, sharp, violent lurch, Nanami flung the hairclip forward. She doesn’t see it hit the surface of the water, and she doesn’t hear it make a splash, but she knows almost instinctively that it flew far.

Nanami was left there panting, trembling from before, still stinging all over from everything. Inside. Outside. It hurt all over. Her palms dug into her eyes.

“...fuck,” she sobbed as she crumbled to her knees. “Fuck...!”

The waves roll and recede, the ocean unchanging, unmoved by the display. Nanami wipes off her eyes, over and over with her sleeves. And it just gets worse.

...father...

She pushes herself back to her feet.

Father...

She stumbles forward, into the water.

I...!

She tumbles, and this time, it definitely makes a splash she can register.

Once again, Nanami Chiaki III wakes up after a most disgraceful display. This time however, she is being cradled in someone’s arms.

“Nanami-chan...?! Hey, can you hear me?!”

She blinks once. Twice. Her eyes feel dry and crusted. And they still sting.

“Na...gito...” The syllables tumble out like mush. It hurts. Even craning her head hurts. “Nagito...”

Komaeda lets out a sigh of relief.

“Aha... How lucky... I really was scared that you drowned, Nanami-chan. Let’s get you to Tsumiki-san now. Right away.”

He helps her to her feet. Her legs tremble so he steadies her, but he clearly struggles with it.

“Aha, sorry, sorry,” he murmurs. “I guess I shouldn’t skip the morning workouts with Nidai-kun and Owari-san.”

“...mm...” Thoughtlessly, Nanami still clings to him a little more. “Nagito...”

“Can you walk on your own?”

She nods dully.

“Yeah... I think so.”

“Don’t hesitate to use me as a crutch if you need to. Meager as I am, I think I can do this much.” Komaeda’s smiling reassuringly. As always. As usual. “Alright, Nanami-chan?”

Nanami combs her fingers through her hair. When she realizes, she freezes up. She pats her hair down, shivering a little, taking a sharp intake of breath.

“Oh. Right.”

And just like that, Komaeda rustles into his pocket and pulls out the hairclip. He pins it into her hair, allowing her to relax.

“There we are,” Komaeda says lightly, like it’s no big deal. Nanami blinks up at him, and then, her head hangs. “Mm? Nanami-chan?”

“...he’s going to be angry at me.” She sighs, and can’t help but laugh mirthlessly. “He’s definitely going to be angry, isn’t he?”

“Hah.” Komaeda sighs too, shaking his head. “Goodness, Hinata-kun really is bad about fixing his messes, isn’t he? He causes so much trouble. No wonder we didn’t work out, aha.”

There was nothing to say to that.

“Nanami-chan.”

Komaeda pats her head.

“I can go with you, if you’d like? Would that help?”

She does perk, at that.

“Is that...really okay? It’s been a while since you two spoke, right, Nagito...?” Her frown deepened. “Hinata-kun’s face—is going to be really twisted. Really sad. Because... Kamukura Izuru...”

“Kamukura-kun?”

“...”

Her mouth shuts. Komaeda’s head tilts, but he quickly smiles. Without a worry.

“Nanami-chan.” He offers his hand. “Let’s go together, alright?”

“All...right...”

Tentatively, she takes his hand. She squeezes it tight. Her eyes sting.

“Nagito,” she says, almost whispers. “Am I okay?”

“You’re fine, Nanami-chan.”

He squeezes her hand in return.

“Just fine. Except we really should get you checked by Tsumiki-san. Just in case.”

“M...Mm...” She nods shakily. “R-Right...”

Afterwards, Hinata Hajime squeezed her so tightly it was suffocating.

“Nanami...! Oh, Nanami...” He was trembling. “I’m sorry...! I’m so...so sorry...! I’m sorry...”

She didn’t really know what he was apologizing for, but she could probably make an educated guess, she supposed. Tentatively, she embraces him in return.

“...father...”

This time, Hinata Hajime doesn’t retort. He just keeps holding her, and he just keeps shaking. She can feel Komaeda’s cool gaze on both of them, but for now, she buries her face into Hinata’s shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, Nanami.”

If you’re apologizing for Kamukura Izuru, don’t bother, she thinks. Really, I should be thanking him.

“Father.”

Hinata Hajime pets her hair and for once, she feels content.

#chiaki nanami #nanami chiaki #nagito komaeda #hajime hinata #izuru kamukura #mahiru koizumi #Magi fics #sdr2 spoilers #dr3 spoilers #KomaHinaNami #I guess???#It's super platonic because otherwise would be creepy lol #this is so indulgent why are my fics so indulgent #(it's because they're fics magi)

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sylvanas-girlkisser · 3 years ago

Note

I'm not into LoL but I've been watching Arcane and found your posts. Could you please explain why the cymbal monkey imagery from the “Get Jinxed” video is offensive? I'm interested to know how they managed to change that into something positive but don't have the necessary context... Thank you!

There's a reason I chose the phrasing "borderline" offensive; because I don't think its like a cut and dry: "oh wow that was super ableist" situation, but I can also understand why some people would react negatively to it.

Basically, in the Get Jinxed video, while Jinx is blowing up Piltover and fighting robots and whatever, the video keeps cutting to this image of a cymbal monkey toy with an evil face drawn on it. You used to see these things a lot in cartoons and such to imply a lack of intelligence, e.g. in the simpsons they would sometimes do a look inside homer's brain to show him being too busy imagining one of these things and giggling to pay attention to his surroundings.

The notion was essentially that it's a very simple toy, it just looks funny and makes noises, and therefore would appeal to the "simple minded" (yikes).

Circling back to Jinx, the implication with the monkey, taken in context with her very flat characterization at the time; is then that wanton destruction is her version of a cymbal monkey. She's not capable of recognizing the damage and trauma she is inflicting other, she's an overgrown child entertained by loud noises and funny sights. (Again big yikes.)

Original Jinx was very clearly designed to appeal to a very specific type of men, the kind who didn't understand who the villain in Lolita was. Original Jinx acted and looked simultaneously childlike and overly sexualized; with a teeny tiny bra drawing attention to her lack of boobs (not small boobs like in Arcane, absolutely flat as a board). She also had a clear, and often emphasized need for paternal affection, and suffered from unspecified mental illnesses that would make it hard for her to function in everyday society without a caretaker.

Basically, she was all but encouraging the presumed straight male player to groom her.

It's also very clear to me that with Arcane, Riot and Fortiche were very mindful of wanting to change that previous image of her. Hence why they changed her design to give her boobs (showing that she had gone through puberty), but also put her in a crop top that actively de-emphasizes them. And why they made her grow up with Silco, who despite his faults as a father, clearly loved Jinx deeply, in an entirely platonic way. (And would probably have Sevika carve your face off for even implying otherwise.)

The cymbal monkey gets a similar, but more explicit treatment for Arcane. Whereas before in League it was just kinda meant to signify "look at her she's craaaazy, here's a creepy noisy monkey toy". In Arcane, the cymbal monkey was the first device Jinx got working, but it's also the moment to Jinx where Powder died, and she became Jinx. It recalls both the trauma of losing her family, and her empowerment through becoming Silco's hitman.

Meaning that retroactively, it changes the meaning of a lot of things in "Get Jinxed". The cymbal monkey doesn't imply some vague "insanity" it references her inner struggle between the innocent girl she was, and the monster the world made her.

And the line "Let's burn this city to ashes, and see what papa thinks." No longer means "She has daddy issues and like blowing things up", it means she's thinking about Silco, and wondering if she's making him proud.

EDIT: I have been informed the line is actually “let’s see what pow-pow thinks” (i.e. her minigun). Still I maintain that the double entendre was deliberate, it’s literally the only time in the song she references anything League related, and the singer (possibly Agnete Kjølsrud?) barely pronounces the W.

#valk replies #this got really long i guess i had a lot of thoughts on the matter #arcane #arcane spoilers #league of legends #jinx

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ts-unsolved · 5 years ago

Text

Final Wrap-up for Chapter One

((since chapter one will be coming to a close shortly and there is still an assortment of questions left over, here is a masterpost of responses to queries that couldn’t be addressed during the story!

[reminder: the ask box will be left open, however the characters are not available. please keep in mind that non-plot related questions will not be answered by the characters after this post.]

Anonymous said: ((Just wanted to tell you your drawings are so pretty and I love ur blog. That is all I have no braincells to ask questions))

Anonymous said: OKAY MOD I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW I LOVE THIS AU SO MUCH AND ITS SO COOL AND GOOD AND YOUR ART IS TOO!! sorry for caps I’m just excited

Thank you! Sorry I didn’t always get around to answering asks like this, but for every one that was sent in, I appreciated it with all my heart. You guys are angels 💖

Anonymous said: What is one haunted location you guys would really like to visit someday?

Poveglia is definitely the highest on the list for the notoriety alone, although they would likely never get the permission to go (the history in general is almost excessively horrible and tragic, so nothing good would come out of doing an episode there. Maybe it’d be good as a final-chapter type location? 🤔).

@anxious-fander-bean said: Hey Logan, have you ever tried swing dancing? It's really fun and good excersize! There's also a lot of bouncing and upbeat music, so Patton might enjoy it as well! ((I'm doing it. I need the qpp boys to be happy and have fun, bc they deserve it.))

(LOGAN: I’ll...consider it.)

You did it, you got them to go on some good ol’ platonic dates! B)

Anonymous said: I feel bad that I don't have any deep question or something along those lines, but what's your favorite thing to bake, Pat? - 💐

That’s alright! Questions don’t have to be deep to be fun/interesting.

(PATTON: Cupcakes! You can make so many different flavors, and there are tons of fun ways to decorate them!)

@why-should-i-tell-youu2 said: Why cant anyone else see the seal?

You need to have The Sight to be able to see demon sigils. Patton has this ability naturally, and Dee has it because Elliott taught it to him. Otherwise, Virgil and Roman would be the closest in terms of gaining this ability, but a scared/skeptical part of them is holding them back.

Anonymous said: My good dorks, is there a way to, I don’t know, get a better/more effective charm for your office? One that costs more than $10? -🍁

Anonymous said: Hey, Logan, potential naturalistic explanation for ya: depending on what the charm was made of, shifts in ambient room temperature could have caused minuscule expansions and contractions in the material that would eventually crack the charm. Do I believe my own explanation? Absolutely not. Am I grasping at straws for a non-supernatural explanation? Absolutely. And ambient room temperature doesn’t even begin to explain the red symbol around the charm

(LOGAN: Our budgeting is already a mess as it is, the last thing we need is to waste more funds on decorations. And that theory seems much more reasonable than the contrary explanation.)

Anonymous said: Is the demon that Pavreen summoned the same demon that possessed Elliott?

Anonymous said: Welp Virge SUMMONED A DEMON- (Why do I have a feeling Remy was the demon that possessed Elliot-)

Nope, they’re all different demons! The demon that Parveen summoned is notoriously difficult to contact, so a bunch of teenagers wouldn’t have been able to do it. Likewise for Remy; you can only summon him once you have his True Name, and he’s already destroyed most references to that (sorry Patton).

Anonymous said: omg omg omg what part of mythology is remy part of???

He’s not from any particular mythology, but he is partly based off of Alps from German folklore and the general mythology around sleep paralysis!

Anonymous said: Can Patton see supernatural beings like ghosts and demons and stuff? I just think it would be interesting if his scars make him able to see them :3c

Anonymous said: If both Dee and Patton can see the sigil, and Dee can see ghosts, does that mean Pat can see ghosts too? With the whole red glowing thing (forgot what its called) it seems to be connected.

Yes he can see ghosts/demons, and you’re right that the scars (or rather the deal with the demon which gave him his powers and scars) are what lead to him being able to do it. The red is just a general indicator of something supernatural/not of our Realm.

Anonymous said: Wait so if Patton and his family all have that mark could that mean Patton is not completely human 👀 -🌈

I supposed you could say that Patton’s not entirely human because he’s a witch who was born without a soul, but he’d find that pretty offensive tbh.

Anonymous said: Are Elliott and Patton maybe related, even distantly? Also, roman needs to suck it up and have Feelings for the Snake Man

There’s no relation between Elliott and Patton. Elliott is the child of a seer and a psychic, Patton is the son of witches. They’re similar, but different. (Also you’re assuming that Roman hasn’t liked the Snake Man since high school, but considered him off-limits because he’s his brother’s best friend).

Anonymous said: Does Patton know that Dee can see spirits and does Dee know that Patton is protecting them all?

Anonymous said: Dee, pat, do you know that each other can see the sigil?

Anonymous said: is ... is patton a witch and dee a dee-mon and that's why they don't like each other.....?

Anonymous said: Pat what do you think about making deals with demons?

They’re both aware of each other’s secrets! Technically they’re both doing their best to protect everyone, but that doesn’t mean they agree with each other’s methods or bond over the shared responsibility.

Patton is indeed a witch, and Dee is a regular human who happened to summon a demon one time. Patton thinks Dee is the occult equivalent of a satanist, which he disagrees with because dark magic is unnatural/dangerous in his eyes (making deals with demons only leads to trouble!), and would prefer Dee not endanger his friends. Dee doesn’t like Patton because of his perceived moral superiority, and finds the way he can be so secretive and two-faced creepy

Regardless, they’re both sitting in glass houses and have more in common than they think.

Anonymous said: Patton Should Hug Dee *

Maybe. But he won’t. 8′D

Anonymous said: Since Dee has been able to see ghosts for a long time, was he an open believer in ghosts before Elliot died? Since it was mentioned that the reason he lies about his belief is because he knows that they're dangerous, he wouldn't have had a reason to hide it in the past. And if he did are any of the others aware of the belief change? Well, besides Remus. I'm guessing that one is pretty obvious.

He may have been more involved as a believer in the past, though that doesn’t mean he was ever super open about it. He was aware of how it would look like to outsiders (being genuinely skeptical at one point himself), so he wasn’t going to paint a target on his back by talking about ghosts and demons and things most people can’t see.

Of course, that didn’t stop people from stereotyping and making those sorts of assumptions about their friend group anyway, but no one besides them really knew about their secret-- not even Virgil.

Anonymous asked: What would happen if one time, the gang ended up getting something supernatural on camera?

The result of that would depend on the being. Ghosts can kinda appear on camera, although it’s very rare for them to appear as a full bodied apparition, which is why they usually only manifest in spirit orbs or light/shadows. Poltergeists are better since they’re able to interact with objects, but likewise since they can’t manifest into a physical form they can easily be brushed off. Demons and other miscellaneous creatures will straight up not appear if captured directly on film; you’ll simply get video glitches and distortions.

So essentially, they may technically have found something already, but capturing evidence that’s also compelling is a lot more difficult than you’d think. I imagine there’s a good chance that anything legitimate wouldn’t get taken too seriously because of how easy it is to fake evidence nowadays.

Anonymous said: Okay so a little bit of a rant but not really ig but imagine the ladylike and unsolved crossover for this AU like I can see it as like Thomas' friends dressing up Roman and Dee in style and seeing a blushing mess and maybe flirting going on because of how good the clothing complements each other but this is kinda a weak idea lol

It’s not a weak idea at it, it’s really cute! (though I may just have a soft spot for the Ladylike cast and crossovers).

The only thing to note is that I’ve chosen not to include Thomas’ friends in this AU because I personally weird about writing fiction about real people? (I was on the fence about including character!Thomas for a while too, tbh). So, apologies to anyone who’s sent similar asks or wanted to see any of Thomas’ friends; they wont be around!

Anonymous said: Did Dee and Remus ever have that talk Dee said he would try to have a while back????

They might have gotten the opportunity to chat back when Remus came back to help shoot the Room 1046 video. It wouldn’t have been a complete reconciliation by any means (dealing with years of baggage in one sitting is Hard), but now Remus is aware that Dee is open to discuss things again at some point in the future, so progress!

Anonymous said: wait wHAT?! When did he (Emile Picani) die?? Give us the deets oh wise one

Anonymous said: emile is... dead? what happened?

I see y’all, but unfortunately you’re not getting any answers from me just yet! You’ll have to wait until the next chapter~.

Anonymous said: Shit is about to go down and I am worried about the next ghost "adventure"

:) Don’t Worry About It.))

#OOC #((that should be all the big questions!#i'll update this later if anything comes up))

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daring-elm · 5 years ago

Text

Dear Roman

Letters left Unsent

Setting: Canonverse

Genre: Angst

Ships: Platonic Royality; Platonic (D)LAMP

Words: 703

—

Dear Princey,

I was super happy to see you in the video today!! You and Logic are so fun; we should really hang out more!! Let's make dinner together! Do you like pasta? I have a great recipe!!!

See you soon!!!

Love,

Morality

—

Dear Roman,

Congratulations on telling Thomas your name!! You're doing great, kiddo, proud of you!! I had a lot of fun in the video today; always nice to bust out daydream mode, LOL :)

Until the next video!!

Lots of love,

Morality ♡

—

Dear Roman,

You handled stuff with Virgil well today. I know it hasn't been easy for either of you, but you're giving him a chance and I appreciate that so much (and I'm sure he does too). Don't worry, you'll always be my hero.

I love you!

Patton ♡

—

Dear Roman,

Things have been hard. The breakup was hard for all of us (except Logan, maybe) but you're moving us forward and I can't thank you enough. I love you for the wonderful prince you are, and I hope you know that you're never alone.

Sorry I can't say this out loud, I guess. I get my words all jumbled up when I try to say things and then I end up not saying things at all. The letters are easier.

Also sorry for not sending this one, or any of the others. I guess some letters don't deserve to be sent.

Love,

Patton

—

Dear Roman,

Gosh, Deceit sure is something, isn't he? :)

Sorry I couldn't be there, hope he didn't spook you all too much, the creepy cookie. Thank goodness we have such a strong prince to fend him off, huh?

Proud of you :)

Love,

Patton

—

Dear Roman,

I love you! I love you so much and I'm sorry you can't always see it. I'm so worried all the time; I'm worried about Logan because he won't talk to me; I'm worried about Virgil and I feel like I haven't really talked to you in ages. It's all so much and I'm trying so hard, but I guess some effort isn't rewarded. That's okay, though, I have all of you and I'll do my best to keep our famILY close together!!

I love you and I'm sorry you feel bad and you're amazing, Roman, and I hope that you can see it one day.

Love,

Patton

—

Dear Roman,

I feel like I'm breaking in half. I don't know what to do because Deceit was wrong, right? Thomas is a good person. He has to be, because otherwise I don't know what to do.

You were so good today. I'm sorry if I was too harsh; I really really didn't mean it. I was just so scared and I needed some control and

Wow, that sounds really bad, huh? :) I think you believe in me more than you should, kiddo. I'm not sure I'm in the right anymore.

I love you,

Patton

—

Dear Roman,

Remus is scarier than I remembered

I don't know what I'm doing wrong

I try so hard but I always fail you all

I miss seeing you happy

—

Dear Roman,

I'm sorry I don't have the answers you thought I did. I'm sorry I tried too hard not to let De Janus take over. I'm sorry I told you he's bad; I didn't know and I still don't know and I don't think I ever will.

I'm sorry you don't believe me when I say I love you. I'm sorry I try to keep things hidden from you and from Thomas and from everything else. I'm sorry it doesn't work.

You used to smile so wide, remember? You used to laugh and get excited when we'd do videos. You used to look forward to talking to us.

Remember when you wrote Logan's Christmas present? You told me about it while you worked, and you hoped so much that he would like it and I know he still does. Your mind is amazing, kiddo, it just goes to the wrong to places I can't follow and I'm worried you get hurt in there.

I love you, Roman.

(You don't have to say it back.)

Sincerely,

Patton

#patton sanders #roman sanders #sanders sides #fics #angst #patton angst #roman angst #casey's oneshots #casey's writing #behold: my stuff #casey's notes #i barely edited this and wrote it as vent art in the middle of a breakdown so if this is garbage i'm sorry #have fun i guess #long post

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mukamibabe · 6 years ago

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How would the SM boys and the mothers react to Karl getting a new wife because he wants a daughter...And she is actually a KIND woman?

feel like i’ve done something like this before but honestly? i would write this over and over- these types of requests are super fun and interesting. so thank you, anon!!

putting it under a cut because it ended up being pretty long

Sakamaki’s:

Shu:

• …well, he’s surprised because he thought that he was all done getting married but.. at the same time he’s not

• i mean, it’s karlheinz you’re talking about here. that man is full of surprises

• he doesn’t even know the woman yet but he already feels bad for her

• like even if he doesn’t know why karl married her. he knows it won’t be anything good, though

• if she’s kind to him, he’ll be polite back, but don’t expect him to instantly become friends with her. that takes too much energy

Reiji:

• doesn’t care. at all. not one bit

• she’s nice? okay. does she plan on being nice to him because…?? why??

• he’d rather be left alone.

• that doesn’t mean he’ll be rude to her though, but if she’s going to try to be nice to him, he’ll be confused

• he just.. doesn’t trust it. not her, but it, as in the whole situation

Ayato:

• oh well sucks for you!! haha

• sksksk she’s nice? cool. he’ll make use of that whenever karl’s not around

• otherwise, he doesn’t make any effort to talk to her, because he assumes she’s just going to be.. cruel? he doesn’t know, but he doesn’t trust her.

• why would he trust anyone who marries him?? that’s stupid lol

• so basically: if karl’s gone, his wife will be gone. with ayato. ayato will waste all of her time with his interests such as basketball, and he’ll show off his trophies and stuff. he’ll kinda just try his best to convince her that he, ayato sakamaki, is the coolest dude she’ll ever meet

Kanato:

• at first, he’s pretty quiet and observant. like he just wants to get to know her before he even tries to interact with her. what type of look appears on her face once she sees him? is she freaked out? does she think he’s adorable? creepy?

• then he pays attention to her tone. how does her voice sound, and how does she talk? is it formal? does she at least sound sweet? gentle?

• he’ll approach her, as long as he doesn’t think she’s going to be rude or hurtful. and then after that, it’s like he is always demanding her attention

• he’s not sure what the feeling is, but he likes it a lot

• hopefully he doesn’t find out about the plan to have a daughter because he Will kill someone, whether it be his father, or the wife. he’s not going to allow that, especially after growing so attached to her

Laito:

• well.. um. i think out of all of his brothers, he’s the most surprised. he.. didn’t even think the old man still had it in him-

• but ok.. if that’s what he wants, laito doesn’t care. yeah, he does want to come up to her and to just start flirting a lil but.. he doesn’t

• he really won’t make an effort to be around her, simply because he thinks he has better things people to do

• so i mean if they cross paths, sure, he’ll say hi and be nice and ‘catch up on things’ but,, it wont be long

• he just really doesn’t want to talk to her; he’s not even going to try and ‘ruin’ her, and he doesn’t really believe in friendships so.. :/

Subaru:

• why..??? why?? why the hell does he have to bring another innocent woman into this shithole?

• he feels bad for the woman, whether she wants to be with karl or not. especially when he finds out that he married her because he wants a daughter

• honestly it’s so hard for him to even look at the poor wife; even just thinking about her brings back really bad memories for him. so i imagine after meeting the new wife, he’d be a lot more aggressive than usual

• only because he doesn’t know how to cope with his feelings, and he feels disgusting just knowing that she’s with his father. no one deserves that, and he wants to do something, but.. he doesn’t feel like there is anything he can do

• he really wont interact with the wife, he’ll only pity her, and try to convince her to leave or something, and he’ll tell her how much of a bad man he is, and what he most likely plans on doing to her, and their future child

Mukami’s:

Ruki:

• well.. it’s really none of his business so he’s pretty … open minded about it

• he does know that karl has 3 other wives, and the fact that he has another one just for the sake of having children…? it’s.. different, in his eyes, but who is he to judge?

• he’ll remain respectful to both karlheinz and his wife, and possibly their future children/child

• he doesn’t feel a need to get close to the wife, and if she is nice to him, perfect! he’ll be nice back, but he doesn’t really want to steal all of the attention

• after all,, she did marry karl, not him. or his brothers,,, so .. keep it that way, even if it’s platonic

Kou:

• wow!! that’s so cute,, whens the wedding??

• ..unless they already had a wedding. which in that case, whens the baby coming?

• ksksk he doesn’t say that though,, gotta remain respectful y’know

• ok but once he finds out about karl’s plan to have a daughter,, he gets so excited!! and he tells him that he’s willing to help babysit when they’re older (kou is anti-infant ksdjfkdskfjds)

• anyways congrats!! now he’s going to be the wives personal servant as well!! i’m joking ,,, the mukami’s aren’t karl’s servants but .. you know what i mean

Yuma:

• lol awkward. he kinda just nods and is like ‘nice.’

• i mean.. what is he supposed to say?? to do? ? he’s pretty chill with her but ..like?? ?what do you wanna be my mom or somethin??

• because no ty i’ll pass but here’s some strawberries… that helps with having a baby girl right?? no yuma i think that’s only in the sims

• he guesses that he’s happy for karl but???? does he really need another kid

• eh whatever- like kou, he’d also be willing to babysit

Azusa:

• aw.. that’s so cute..

• i mean.. is it azusa?? he honestly doesn’t think so, but he’s feeling pretty awkward like big bro yuma

• he can’t help but feel a little insecure, though. i mean,, karlheinz is the vampire king and just being in his presence is very anxiety producing for azusa, so to be in the presence of his new wife? whew.

• also he wants her attention very badly,, he’s just too scared to even try anything

• he’s happy for karlheinz and hopes he has a good future with his new wife, as long as the new wife is happy as well

Diamom’s:

Cordelia:

• um??? ?who allowed this ?? ?who does he think he is? to just marry another woman like that

• cordelia,, he’s the king. he does what he wants kskdkds and she knows this too, but she’s in denial

• was i not good enough for him?!? pfft, yeah right. i’m the best wife karl could ever have

• at the same time though she’s just laughing at her because haha bitch you’re only getting used for children

• …dkskdsk at least it’s not herself, is what she thinks. she’s not going through that again, and children?? um bye losers

Beatrix:

• …ok

• isn’t that like.. the same reason he married her?? to have children?? granted, no she didn’t give him a daughter but.. she gave him sons

• idk she really doesn’t care. it’s none of her business, whether he’s her husband or not. she doesn’t want to mess with karl, and would rather not get involved with the new wife

• so yeah.. unless the new wife tries to become friends with her, beatrix won’t speak to her

• even if she does try to become friends with her,, i doubt they’d actually be friends. beatrix just doesn’t want to be involved with anything

Christa:

• wh... what??? who?? that’s ... that’s not true.. you’re lying! he didn’t marry you!

• :(

• she’s in complete denial. she doesn’t believe the wife, or karl, and won’t believe it, ever.

• it’s not that she doesn’t want to get to know the wife, but she just can’t. every time she sees her, she flips out, and things wont end well

• hopefully the baby part isn’t mentioned either because... ouch. to both christa, the wife, and karl because all hell breaks loose.

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clean-bands-dirty-stories · 4 years ago

Note

Yay!!! Super excited for your new series because I just finished shadow and bones and I love everyone in that cast!!!! Can I ask what going to be happening in your series?

Okay so no spoilers or any of the very clever things I’m most dying to share because I want to see your guys’ reaction when it happens in real time BUT: some small details that you can look forward to in this series

1. Book shop keeper Belle, renamed Dalia so it’s not QUITE as obvious, even though I basically gave her all of Belle’s features and personality lol. She acts like a mom figure to reader and encourages his thirst for adventure (as she should tbh)

2. Mal/Alina OBVIOUSLY

3. All of our favorite Grisha will be popping in as animated objects for the Cogsworth, Lumiere, etc parts

4. Because the Darkling wasn’t there to stand up for Grisha, it’s still a death sentence to be one

5. Mortal Darkling

6. Alina is still the Sun Summoner

7. Reader is also a Grisha

8. The King is actually in this as the Darkling’s “father” character and I have hun a horrible death because it’s what he deserves actually :)

9. There IS a Gaston character, but he’s really just there to be creepy and make problems. He is still the main villain but it’s in a new way

10. Dresser!Genya, Piano!David, Cogsworth!Ivan, Lumiere!Fedor, Babette!Marie, and Mrs. Potts!Baghra. I debated a LONG TIME on these character specifically and love the outcome.

11. There’s actually mostly a friendship between Darkling and reader for MOST of this series that leans slow burn style romantic, and doesn’t really beat up until he becomes human, so there’s gonna be quite a bit after-Beast writing in this series. It made me feel UNCOMFY otherwise.

12. Mal, Alina And reader make them a trio

13. Mal, Alina, reader, Mikhael, And Dubrov but make them a friend group

14. SO MUCH flirting between reader and Jasper except it’s purely platonic because reader is asexual because I’m asexual haha <3 (playing at the idea of aromantic Jesper because I don’t know if he gets a love interest and I LOVE aro rep, but also I have a huge crush on Jesper so probably not)

15. OH UM SPEAKING OF: s u p e r jealous Darkling with Jesper around haha

Side note: if you guys have any suggestions about how to fit Jesper and the other Crows into this without it feeling forced, PLEASE feel free to share. I know I want them involved but I’m not quite sure how to pull it off? If you guys just want to leave it up to me that’s cool, suggestions would just be appreciated :)

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leightaylorwrites · 7 years ago

Text

Leigh Dissects YA fiction: Fallen Kingdoms (Chapter Seven- Chapter Ten)

Chapter Seven - Auranos

Sigh… I thought we’d at least get a break from Cleo by heading back to Magnus but I guess that was foolish of me to hope.

No one knew why, but Cleo guessed her sister had fallen in love with someone else.

The gender-neutral “someone” makes me hope for a single lesbian in this story. It’s another foolish hope.

Emilia had never so much as cast a flirtatious glance at any of the men in the palace [...]

LET EMILIA BE GAY 2K18

His parents didn’t approve of smoking inside the house. Aron might be arrogant and confident, but he was still seventeen and had to abide by his parents' rules until his next birthday-unless he wanted to move out ahead of schedule. And Cleo knew without a doubt that he didn’t want that sort of responsibility, financial or otherwise.

I’m sorry when did I leave this YA high fantasy and enter a teen drama on the CW? This entire part is a mess of modern-ness and should have been cut.

Aron: [I’m not sorry for killing him lol I kind of liked it too]

Cleo: How can you sound so calm about this?

Aron: Would you rather I lie and say I have nightmares too? Would that ease your own guilt?

Cleo: I want the truth.

Aron: And that’s what I’ve given you.

I get that Aron is a horrible creepy killer, but he has a point. He IS honest. When the villain makes more sense than your heroine, there’s an issue.

When he smiled, the look was equally menacing and enticing. “I will find you.”

YA authors stop writing scary love interests challenge.

Chapter Eight - Limeros

“Naughty girl.”

She ignored the flush that immediately heated her cheeks.She wasn’t being naughty; she was being inquisitive.

And I’m being disgusted. So not only does Magnus have the hots for his adoptive sister, Lucia blushes when he calls her “naughty.” Clace are BOTH unemployed.

“Cleiona’s also the name of the youngest Auranian princess,” Magnus mused. “Never really thought about it before. Same age as you are, right? Nearly to the day?”

I have… questions. First, how does he know Cleo’s exact birthday? Two, it’s likely going to come into play later that they are at most a few days apart but how does that work with Lucia? How does Magnus know her day of birth? We find out later Sabina (the lady from the prologue) brought Lucia to the palace as an infant but it wasn’t the day she was born so how would Sabina know her birthday? Even if she had a vision on the baby’s day of birth or something like that, how did Lucia survive without being breastfed? I need answers.

Magnus: One of grace and beauty, my sister, with a multitude of suitors at her beck and call. Forced to be siblings with a scarred monster like me.

Lucia: As if that scar makes you a monster. You can’t be blind to how girls look at you-I even see maids here in the castle wistfully watch you pass, even if you never notice them. They all think you’re devastatingly handsome. And your scar only makes you more… intriguing.

If you think plain hetero splooging is bad, just wait until you see plain hetero incest splooging!

“[Tomas] was cut down as a spoiled lord tried to show off in front of a princess - Princess Cleiona [...] The two watched Tomas Agallon’s young life bleed from him in front of his own family.They didn’t feel sorry for the pain they caused that family and all Paelsia.”

I mean… it’s true. Too bad the evil king is saying this and therefore the reader is supposed to disagree with him and know that Cleo the Super Special White Girl can’t do anything wrong ever but still. He’s right.

The words were acid on his tongue as jealousy flashed through him like a bolt of lightning. “But [Lucia] isn’t interested in walks around the palace grounds. Not with, well… not with you.”

The boy’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

Magnus forced a tense look on his face as if he’d said too much and now felt guilty. “It’s really none of my business.”

[...]

“It’s just that she’s mentioned you to me [...] And she made it clear that if you ever stopped by, you should not be encouraged any further. She means no offense, of course. But… her interests in a potential suitor lie elsewhere.”

In case incest splooging wasn’t enough to make me hate this character, he’s entered Rowboat’s, well, boat. Territorial pricks are not cute @ YA authors.

Magnus had no patience for anyone who would be manipulated so easily. If the boy was truly interested in Lucia, he should be able to stand up to any adversity, including an overprotective older brother.

But you literally just told this kid Lucia SAID she doesn’t want him. If he’s taking your word as truth, that’s not him being manipulated, it’s him believing you because why would a prince lie to him about this? He’s not doing anything wrong by respecting what he believes are Lucia’s wishes??? He has more respect for her than you do?? Why do people like Magnus??

“I wouldn’t hesitate to say you were lying.” He took her arm in his and squeezed it until she flinched. A flicker of fear went through her pale eyes. “Who do you think the king would believe? His son and heir? Or a kitchen maid?”

Amia swallowed hard. “I apologize, my prince. I would never say such a thing.”

“Smart girl.”

So… Magnus is literally physically abusing and threatening his casual hookup and people stan??

There was no Limerian law that stated that pure royal blood was necessary for the position. Even the son of a whore could become king.

Magnus is being all emo over the fact that Tobias could be king someday, a problem which is easily solved by Magnus killing Tobias. This doesn’t happen, but I think I’ve found the problem with all these series that try so hard to be the YA version of Game of Thrones/ASOIAF: nobody has the balls to write how these conflicts would actually play out in a real political setting. YA does have to be toned down in comparison to adult fiction but when you tone things down so much that they make no sense, it doesn’t work at all.

Blood sacrifice? How deeply savage.

Can’t tell if I’m tired of the word savage being used in this book (it’s used at least 20 times in reference to Paelsia) or if I’m tired of it in general (thanks stan twitter).

The king swiftly moved behind the boy, pulled his head back, and slashed the blade across his throat. Tobias’s eyes went wide and his hands came up automatically to his neck. Blood squirted out from between his fingers. He collapsed to the ground.

I’m DONE. We got half a page about Tobias being a threat to the throne for Magnus and instead of seeing them battle it out, or Tobias team up with an enemy later on, or anything that might give some payoff to the fact that Magnus has a secret half-brother, he’s sacrificed a few pages after his main introduction. Do you see what I mean now about YA fantasy writers holding back?

Chapter Nine - Auranos

I DON’T CARE, WHERE IS JONAS

“It’s unfortunate about Princess Emilia, though. So, so sad she isn’t well enough to attend.”

We get it. She’s dying. You’ve reminded us like four times already.

[...] Emilia’s most recently finished painting, a study of the night sky.

Subtle foreshadowing isn’t subtle enough for me.

That [her marriage] was solely a political choice sounded so cold, so analytical.

Does Cleo… not know what politics are? Does she not understand that royal arranged marriages happen all the time? Does she not realize she’s a princess? Why is she so dumb??

“You do know [Nic] is madly in love with you, right?”

Dammit. We came so close to having that platonic relationship but we can’t have a young man in this series not want to splooge over Cleo. It’s the first book and Cleo already has three love interests for this series. Alien Trashryver is worried.

Emilia: “I fell in love with someone else [...] I’ve never felt such love as I felt for him.”

DOUBLE DAMMIT.

Despite being named for the goddess, Cleo wasn’t invested in religion [.]

Isn’t being named after a religious deity frowned upon? I know in some religions you can be named after a minor figure - such as Christians with the archangels. But you can’t name your child God. Cleo being named after the primary person in the religion seems wrong.

But how else would we know she’s a Super Special Magical White Girl if she didn’t have a name far beyond what she deserves?

Her sister had been in love with a guard who’d died two months ago. “It was Theon’s father, wasn’t it?”

Isn’t he like… old??

Her sister had been in love with the king’s bodyguard who’d been thrown from his horse to his death. A tragedy.

That is verbatim from the book and I can’t stop laughing. This bitch said “a tragedy,” I’m CRYING.

Emilia was always the rock - comforting Cleo when she was upset over [some petty stuff] or the loss of her innocence to Aron.

“You’re the same as you were yesterday and the day before,” she’d soothed. “Nothing has changed. Not really. Forget what troubles you. Regret nothing, but learn from any mistakes you make. Tomorrow will be a brighter day, I promise.”

If you think things are cool because HEY we’ve got a YA heroine who isn’t a virgin, we later find out Cleo was drunk when this happened and therefore is an assault victim. The book never acknowledges the later, but instead has Emilia tell Cleo to learn from her mistakes and that nothing has changed. Feminist YA at its peak, y’all.

“You can’t. You’re to be the queen one day. If you die, that means it’ll be me. Trust me, Emilia, that would be a very bad thing. I would make a terrible queen.”

I mean, yeah I agree that Cleo would be a shitty queen but I’m more annoyed at how these five sentences are written.

Emilia: “There’s no one out there spying on us through the eyes of birds, hoping for clues of where to find the Kindred.”

Cleo: “I’ve never believed in such nonsense.”

Btw, Cleo said earlier she thought the birds were watching her. Consistency is hard, I guess.

[Theon] shook his head. “I knew my father cared about someone, but he wouldn’t say who it was. I figured he was involved with a married woman. Now I know.”

So Cleo’s boyfriend is her sister’s dead husband’s son… Cleo’s love interest is her nephew. He’s her step-nephew, but her nephew nonetheless.

Chapter Ten - Limeros (this time with the bird dude)

[...] to see his bird friend, Phaedra, perched on the branch next to him.

Now, I could give this book points if the whole point was that the western world was meant to be Greece, while Mystica is a mix of Italy and Spain. But the existence of Paelsia with its North African/Asian/Roman setting messes it all up.

All [Lucia] would see when she looked at him was a golden hawk. For some reason, this realization pained him.

So we can’t have lgbt+ romances or poc romances but Cleo the Super Special Magical White Girl can get three+ love interests and Lucia can get two love interests - her adoptive brother and a dude who can turn into a bird. White authors, man. White authors…

One thing I do like about this Ioannes dude is that his chapters are short, leaving little room for bullshit. However, they make me go back to Magnus and Cleo sooner than I want.

#leigh reads it #leigh dissects ya #falling kingdoms review

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