#Noor (Ciconia)

[connan-l]

bittersweet

Fandom: Ciconia: When They Cry Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationship: Mariana/Noor Summary: While Cairo Squad is on a trip to Lubango, Mariana invites Noor to eat cakes with her. [Femslash February 2024 Day 3: Cake] Words: 3,118 Link: AO3 | Fanfiction.net

Notes: Late annual Ciconia FemFeb fic delivery. It’s meant to be for Day 3: Cake, from those prompts.

I feel like the Cairo Squad girls could be a fun OT3 in and of itself, but admittedly Gannet is like Naima to me in which she feels too… young and childish compared to the others to really ship her with them? I know we don’t have canon ages for the Ciconia kids, but in my head Gannet and Naima are more 12-13 years old, whereas the others are 15-17 years old. (Though I admit I’m a bit of a hypocrite here as I do enjoy Naima/Rukhi as a pairing, if only for the pink/black aesthetic.) So that’s why I actually settled for Noor/Mariana as a ship, even though admittedly Mariana really don’t seem to appreciate Noor whatsoever so that was a bit tricky to do. As a result the fic feel more like an unrequited crush-fic than an actual pairing-fic, but I hope that’s still satisfying.

In Mariana’s profile, it is mentioned that she went to the “Lubango Toddler Brainpower Research Center” as a child, so that’s why I decided that Lubango was her hometown — though obviously I don’t know if it’s actually the case in canon. Noor’s profile also mentions her “ancestors,” so although it could mean anything I interpreted it has her having an actual biological family instead of being born through a factory.

Also I never went to Lubango or even Angola before and I know very little about the culture/country, so I hope I was able to be mostly-accurate from the tidbits about it I put in there. If I wasn’t you’re free to yell at me about it!

On the other hand, I still haven’t replayed Ciconia since. Well, 2019 now. And truthfully we don’t know much about Cairo Squad girls, so, not sure how… accurate to their game-self they feel. But it was still fun to try writing them.

No spoilers here except for the start of Phase 1, or content warnings except for the inevitable vague mentions of war/child soldiers.

* * *

The trip to Angola hadn’t been planned.

They were still in Cairo this morning when suddenly their superior let them know that because of some political complications their squad was needed in Lubango. Nothing serious, he’d assured them — and truthfully they were only needed to make act of presence more than anything — but they couldn’t just ignore it, either. So here they were, a few hours later, in Lubango. They’d taken part to the needed boring reunion, during which they hadn’t even been allowed to say a single thing. They should be used to it by now; as soldiers, the only thing expected of them was to listen to orders, but it was still frustrating to be treated that way sometimes. And once that had been over, their superior gave them permission to have a break and to do whatever they wanted. They’ll go back to Egypt tonight, but for now they had the whole afternoon entirely free.

Noor didn’t know Lubango. Since she’d become a Gauntlet Knight, she’d visited a lot of cities throughout the whole continent and even outside of the continent. She might not be as familiar with ACR’s countries as Princess Rethabile, but she still went multiples times to Lagos, Abidjan, Alger, Lubumbashi, Douala or Gqeberha. However, it was the first time she’d ever set foot in Angola; she’d never even been to Luanda before. The only thing she knew about it besides some surface-level history was the fact it was where the famous Lubango Toddler Brainpower Research Center was, and that it was Mariana’s hometown.

Which, despite how interesting the city might be otherwise, was actually what interested Noor the most. She tried to appears as her usual, composed self, but inside she actually felt herself fidgeting as soon as they landed to Lubango Mukanka Airport. As they strolled through the streets, she couldn’t help but look around left and right, trying to imagine a little Mariana running around here and how cute she must have been all while her ears kept catching bits of Portuguese and occasionally Umbundu conversations. Noor had decided to not use her Kizuna translator here, as she thought it would be good practice for her — she’d decided last year to start learning Portuguese and Umbundu not only because it could be useful even in their era, but also because she hoped Mariana would be more open to her if she were to communicate in her native languages; but so far, as usual with Mariana, her efforts had been in vain.

Even though they’ve been teammates for a while, Noor didn’t know much about Mariana. She’d heard about her being born in Lubango; about how she was the only one of the children who received mental training at the Lubango Toddler Brainpower Research Center to achieve the highest P3 levels of her country, and that the ACR Royal Brainpower Research Center has set up a research team just to raise her Aerial Augmented Infantry aptitude. But all of these were information anyone could know about her. When it came to more personal things, like how she grew up, whether she had a family or was born through a factory, if she had any friends or siblings… There was nothing. And whenever she tried to make conversation to know more, Mariana always shot her down right away. Gannet had no idea how lucky she was, to be able to gain her affection like that with no effort whatsoever — and yet she always rejected it. That was how their squad’s relationship had been since the beginning, but it was not any less so frustrating.

“Wow…! That looks so cute! Hey, hey, big sis Noor, have you seen this? Do you think it’d look cute on me?”

The smallest girl of their trio excitedly tugged at Noor’s skirt with a wide smile spread on her face and her blue eyes sparkling, but Noor only groaned. At the start of their break, Mariana had been kind enough to accept to take them on a tour to show them around — although it had only been at Gannet’s insistence that she’d accepted — and yet that damn puppy had not stopped being overexcited for one second, stopping and pointing at every little thing; and, of course, specifically soliciting Noor’s attention. It was always like that, so Noor should be used to it by now. She wasn’t.

“I told you to not pull on my clothes. And no, I don’t think it would.”

“How shameful to say something like that. You truly have no heart,” Mariana suddenly argued back with her usual blank face, although Noor could tell she was annoyed at her comment. “Don’t worry, Gannet. Of course this looks cute on you. You look adorable in everything. Come here.”

Mariana tried to pet Gannet, but the girl avoided her with a pout. “Stop petting me! You know I hate that. I only want to be petted by big sis Noor!”

And then she yet again tugged on her skirt, and Noor sighed, making it clear that no, she would not pet her, stop asking. She would never ever understand what Mariana found so endearing about that idiotic child. She was so immature and noisy and irresponsible; just the sight of her managed to give Noor headache.

And yet, Mariana spent all of her time fawning over her. Noor knew that it was silly of her, to be jealous of Gannet like that — but she couldn’t help it. No matter what she could try or not try, Mariana always favored Gannet over everything, and she always refused any attempt from Noor’s part to get closer to her.

That was, until today. Allah may have finally answered her prayers then, because right after that Gannet actually got lost.

Or, well, it would be more accurate to say she vanished on them. It wasn’t something unusual exactly, as Gannet was never able to stay in a same place for too long and always ended up wandering about — but that didn’t mean it was any less annoying when it happened. Still, in general Gannet would use her Kizuna to contact them right away, asking for help — but this time, there was nothing but silence from her. Mariana got worried of course, and admittedly, so did Noor; she might not be fond of Gannet even at the best of time, but she was still her teammate and she certainly never wished any real harm upon her. Thankfully, they finally managed to reach out to Gannet half an hour later, after they’d run around Lubango’s streets while screaming her name.

“Sorry,” the girl said, having at least the modesty to sound a little ashamed. “I needed to go to the bathroom and then I got lost. So I asked to find my way and realized we were close to the military base, so I went back there.”

“Why did you not contact us then? Couldn’t you hear us calling you?”

“I just forgot! Sorry!”

Noor tried not to get too mad at her in Mariana’s presence, but it was hard when Gannet had made them run around the city for no reason — and she suddenly felt angry she’d ever let herself get even slightly worried for her sake. Mariana was only relieved to know Gannet was fine, and they promised her they’ll find her back to the base once their tour was over.

And then, just like that, it was just the two of them; just Noor and Mariana. An embarrassing silence spread between them, and suddenly Noor — the top scorer of the ACR Egypt Aerial Knight Corps, one of the most talented teenagers in the world who received perfect training — simply didn’t know what to do with herself anymore. She kept steeling glances at the pretty girl next to her, wondering what she should say or do; and weirdly enough, she now actually thought that she missed Gannet. At least when she was here, there never was such awkwardness between them.

Mariana, as always, appeared completely unperturbed. She let out a small sigh, looked to her right and left — and then said the last thing Noor would ever expect to hear from her:

“Do you want to go eat cake with me?”

* * *

Of course Noor loved cakes.

She loved sweets in general — like most Gauntlet Knights. She didn’t think there was a single one of them who didn’t. Noor’s father was a big sweets lover himself, and when she was little he would bake her the best basbousa and qatayef that she’d ever eaten.

So, Noor loved cakes, absolutely. She’d just never thought she ever would have the opportunity to eat some alone with Mariana in a shop in Angola. It wasn’t even the first time she’d eaten cakes with Mariana, exactly, as their squad ate together most of the time; but it was the first time she’d ever ate with her alone — especially when it was something Mariana herself had initiated — so the situation was so strange and unusual to Noor that she honestly didn’t know how to handle it.

“Have you chosen yet?”

Mariana asked her in her perfectly controlled, monotonous voice, but Noor knew her well enough that she could detect the slight movement of her eyebrow, signaling her annoyance at her indecision. That hint of a scowl was a shame, as she otherwise looked quite cute sitting here in the middle of the shop. The place Mariana brought her to was a cozy, colorful little place decorated with curtains and garlands and traditional trinkets Noor couldn’t identify, with joyful Ovimbundu music resonating around them. It was small, with very few people, but it felt nice and familiar. Mariana told her she found this shop by coincidence once when she was a child, and she’d loved it ever since — it had become a bit like a secret base of hers. And Noor would’ve felt honored that Mariana opened up enough to her to show her such a place from her childhood if it wasn’t for her adding afterwards that she wished she could’ve shown it to Gannet as well.

“I-I’m still… trying to decide. I just don’t know any of these cakes, so…”

Mariana sighed, then looked the menu. “… Bolo de ginguba is very popular around here.”

“I can’t. I’m allergic to peanuts.”

“…Well, their bolo de fubá is quite good.”

“I… don’t like corn…”

“…I guess you can try their cocada amarela then.”

“…That’s not a cake, though, is it?”

Mariana stared straight into Noor’s eyes, and then, bewilderingly, threw at her an actual, expressive exasperated look, before putting down the menu. “See,” she declared. “That’s why I can never stand you. You never make any effort to be likable whatsoever.”

Noor felt herself flushing. “I-It’s not that I’m not making any efforts, it’s just… I haven’t decided on anything yet, that’s all.”

Mariana, of course, didn’t seem convinced by her excuse at all; she just sighed, then looked away at the street by the window.

And Noor… Noor just didn’t know what to do. Mariana was never satisfied with her, no matter what she did. She could try anything, and Mariana’s image of her never seemed to budge in the slightest. Noor never let this kind of things get to her usually, but today, she just couldn’t ignore the weight in her stomach.

“Did you bring me here just to be cruel?”

Her voice was soft, a murmur, a drop of water falling in a sea of strangers’ conversations and background music — and Noor hated how fragile she sounded right now. That wasn’t like her at all. Noor was a confident person, proud of who she was, of her heritage and ancestors and accomplishments, and she never spoke so shamefully. But somehow Mariana did always have that ability to makes her feel that way.

The other girl looked at her, and for once, there actually seemed to be a slight… surprise, in her pretty amber eyes.

“I know you don’t like me,” Noor continued, unable to look at her teammate and instead staring down at the table. “I’m not an idiot. Of course I’m aware — you don’t like me as much as I don’t like Gannet. But you know— I’m still trying, most of the time. And I just thought…”

She trailed, and couldn’t even finish her sentence. Honestly, she didn’t even really know what she was saying. The air between them felt so thick now, and Noor might hate herself a little bit. It was such a rare opportunity, to have just the two of them without Gannet around and for Mariana to propose on her own that they do something together… and here she’d messed everything up, again, somehow.

Why couldn’t she do anything right when it came to Mariana?

“…I don’t dislike you.”

Noor felt her breath get caught up in her throat. She swallowed, and with an insurmountable effort, stared at Mariana. Her teammate was staring straight ahead, her shoulders steady, her chin up; almost as if she was trying to challenge her.

“—What?” Noor blurted out, because surely she must have not heard that correctly; in what world had Mariana ever showed anything other than contempt towards her? Had ever extended any kindness to her?

And that was fine; Noor was used to that. She could wait and continue to make efforts for as long as it was needed, until Mariana finally realized Noor was someone worth investing in. It might be frustrating and hurt a little sometimes, but Noor was strong, and patient, and Mariana honestly just meant that much to her. But that was the thing — for now she still hadn’t showed any signs of progress, so what was she—

“I don’t really like you either,” Mariana continued. “But… I don’t dislike you.”

“But you… I mean, you always shot me down. No matter what I do or say.”

“Yes, because you annoys me. If you tried to be less coldhearted, or to actually be nice to Gannet, then…”

Noor almost snorted at this, because of course everything came back to Gannet in the end — but the way Mariana slightly vacillated at the end of her sentence here caught her attention. Her heart skipped a beat, and she stared at Mariana expectantly.

“…Wait. Are you saying that… that if I was nicer to Gannet, then… then what?”

“…Nothing. Just, it would be better.”

“Do you mean that you’d give me a chance then?”

“I have not said that.”

She pretty much had, but Noor knew now wasn’t the time to push her on the issue. Mariana sighed, then looked down, as if she’d suddenly noticed a very interesting thing on the ground.

“I wouldn’t have invited you here if I disliked you,” she added, her voice a lot softer than usual. “You’re still my teammate. You just could be cuter sometimes, that’s all. …Sorry about being mean about the cakes earlier, though.”

Noor should probably feel a little embarrassed about it, but she couldn’t hide the wide smile spreading on her face even if she tried. And she knew Mariana noticed it, too, as she could almost sees her rolling her eyes.

“…So. Have you chosen yet?” She repeated, and Noor could tell she was trying to not be as curt as before.

“Hmm, well…” She looked up at Mariana, then smiled. “What about you?”

“Me?” Mariana briefly glanced at the menu, as if hesitating. “My favorite is the bolo de cenoura.”

“Cenoura… Carrots?!” Noor exclaimed after a moment of doubt, unsure of the word’s meaning at first; without Kizuna, the translation didn’t instantly came to her mind as she almost never used that word. “Carrots in a cake?”

“Yes. You’ve never eaten one?”

“No…”

Somehow, the idea seemed a little ludicrous to her. Carrots weren’t common in Arab cooking in general, but as a dessert?

But Mariana had said it was her favorite.

“…In that case, I’ll take one too.”

Mariana blinked at her. “What?”

“You said it was your favorite, right? Of course I need to know all of your favorite things too. Maybe I could try cooking one for you, too. I’m a pretty good cook, as my father taught me when I was young.”

Mariana stared at her for a moment in silence. Her face was just as blank as usual, but there seemed to be something, in her eyes. Something more , that Noor couldn’t entirely figure out. It disappeared just as quickly as it appeared — but Noor wondered, then, if it would be possible to get her to have that something in her eyes while looking at her once again. To get her to smile, just because of Noor.

The thought made her feel dizzy, and she couldn’t wipe out her smile even after they left the shop. After tasting it, Noor decided that she didn’t like bolo de cenoura in the end — but that didn’t really matter much. She still would do her best to cook it for Mariana once they’ll be back.

“In Cairo,” Noor said as they walked slowly in the street, a bit shyly. “There’s, um. A cake shop I like quite a bit. They make great basbousa there. Not as good as my father’s, but… still good.” She took a quick glance at Mariana next to her, who seemed fairly determined to stare at the road and not at Noor. “I’ll… take you there, when we have time.” And then because it sounded a bit too commanding, she added: “I-If you want to. Of course.”

Mariana stopped walking for a moment, a slight frown on her face, as if thoughtful. Then she finally glanced up at Noor, very slowly.

“Is that a date?”

“…Wh-What? No! Just, erm…”

“All right.”

And then she started walking straight ahead again.

Damn. Maybe I should’ve said it is a date, after all.

She caught up with her teammate, and then suddenly felt a hand slip into hers, pulling her in the right direction. Mariana claimed it was because the streets were starting to get quite crowded, so she didn’t want to lose Noor and have to run after her like they did for Gannet earlier — but her grip still tightened firmly on her hand, their fingers intertwining, and Noor made no comment on it, simply enjoying the moment for as long as it could last.

When they finally got back to the military base, Gannet got jealous about their hand-holding; but Mariana reassured her it was nothing and only petted her, much to the girl’s dismay. Even so, to Noor’s surprise, she didn’t say a word about what they had done during the afternoon.

A brief, quiet encounter in a cake shop that would stay only between the two of them.

[arab-character-of-the-day]

Arab character of the day is Noor from the "Ciconia When They Cry" videogame and she is Egyptian.

[turisiancom]

TURISIAN.com – Kalau Sobat Turisian berkesempatan berkunjung ke Kabupaten Tanah Laut, Kalimantan Selatan, wajib coba naik ke Gunung Birah. Para pehobi mendaki gunung pasti senang datang ke sini. Dari atas puncaknya, kalian bisa berkemah sambil menanti momen sunset dan menikmati panorama alam yang memukau. Gunung tersebut terletak di Desa Kandangan Lama, Kecamatan Panyipatan, Kabupaten Tanah Laut, Kalimantan Selatan (Kalsel). Luas kawasannya mencapai 1.589,02 ha dengan puncak tertingginya berada di ketinggian 275 mdpl. Kontur Gunung Birah memiliki bentuk lahan bermacam-macam. Mulai dari lereng yang curam dan area perbukitan dengan pola-pola bekas abrasi air dan angin. Objek wisata pegunungan ini populer sebagai tempat camping atau untuk sekadar berkunjung melihat momen matahari terbenam. Cocok juga buat spot healing melepas rasa penat dari rutinitas. Jamin pikiran Sobat Turisian akan fresh kembali. Tak hanya itu, Gunung Birah pun kerap menjadi tempat kegiatan kirab bendera pada peringatan Hari Kemerdekaan Indonesia dan Festival Bukit Birah. Juga pernah menjadi lokasi dari kegiatan World Clean Day pada 2020 silam. Acara tersebut menghasilkan 1,1 ton sampah yang berhasil peserta bersihkan. Baca juga: Gunung Kayangan Tanah Laut Sajikan Pemandangan yang Memanjakan Mata Selain sebagai destinasi wisata alam, gunung ini pun menjadi saksi bisu peristiwa sejarah yang berkaitan dengan perjuangan penduduk melawan penjajah. Di mana tempat ini menjadi lokasi keluar masuk warga. Keragaman Flora dan Fauna di Gunung Birah Ketika berkunjung ke sini Sobat Turisian akan menemukan keragaman flora dan fauna di sekitar area gunung dengan dominasi Sengon dan Birik. Ada pula Bunga Bangkai Amorphophallus titanum, Aren Arenga pinnata, Bambu Tamiang Schizotachyum blunei Ness. Kamudian ada Bulan Nanduk Diosphycos marcophylura, Gamal Gliricidia sepium, Gungkuang Pachyrhizus erosus, Halaban Vitex pinnata, Jelutung Dyera costulata, Jengkol Archidendron pauciflorum. Ketapang Terminalia catappa, Kujajing Ficus fistulosa Reinw, Loa Ficus racemosa, Mampan bini Cratoxylon arborescen. Serta Nangka Arthocarpus integra, Rotan Ampar Tikar Calamus finlaysonia, dan Singkuang Dracontomelon dao. Sementara untuk aneka fauna yang terdapat di Gunung Birah, yaitu satwa liar seperti Burung Binti Ciconia stormi, Burung Bubut Centropus sinensis. Ada juga Burung Cuit Dicaeum throchiluem, Burung Elang Accipitridae, Burung Hantu Strigiformes, Burung Kutau-kutau Maeronus gularis. Burung Punai Treron vernans, Burung Walet Apodidae, Hirangan Trachypithecus, Rusa Carvidae, Tupai Tupaia javanica, dan Warik Macaca sp. Akses ke Gunung Birah Jarak Gunung Birah dari Bandara Syamsudin Noor, Banjarbaru sekira 88 km dan dapat Sobat Turisian tempuh dengan mobil atau motor selama 2 jam perjalanan. Kondisi jalan sudah beraspal mulus dan area parkirnya cukup memadai plus loket tiket masuk. Baca juga: Hamparan Hijau Savana Bukit Rimpi Tanah Laut yang Memukau, Serasa di Daratan Eropa Setelah melewati gerbang selamat datang, Sobat Turisian mesti melanjutkan perjalanan naik traktor tangan selama 10 menit. Lalu teruskan dengan berjalan kaki selama 1,5 jam menuju puncak.*

[kstnt]

noor commission

[connandoods]

Femslash February 2021 Day 23: Violet

From those prompts!

[chuunijianghuyuri]

I'll elaborate on these in a different post when it's not past midnight on a monday but

Ciconia characters that are probably trans: Miyao or Meow, Gunhild, Lingji, Naomi, Marianne (probably spelled that wrong), Valentina, Sesshat, Vier, Jestress, Toujirou

Ciconia characters that are probably gay or bi: Miyao and Meow, Jayden, Lilja, Koshka, Lingji, Rukshana (probably spelled that wrong too), Andry, polish dude who's name I just forgot, Naomi, at least one of the nun idols, at least one of Rethabil's body guards (can't remember their names), Noor, Marianne, Garnet, Maricarm, Sesshat, Vier, Jestress, Toujirou

Ciconia characters that probably have a trauma induced disability: Look, I could put damn near the entire cast in here.

[connandoods]

Noor

[chuunijianghuyuri]

I should probably make this a different post instead of a reblog but remembering which chatacters I put would be a massive pain in the ass so here it goes.

Miyao and Meow are the most obvious in terms of at least one of them being trans by virtue of their two personalities being two different genders with one body with one sex. Personally I'm leaning towards Miyao being the one that's trans due to a theory of mine that Miyao was transplanted into the mind of Meow with the mind of her previous brother but I won't get deep into it here. I think that at least Miyao is bi because he seems like he might potentially be close to Lingji in some way perhaps without realizing it by the end, and with his interactions with Jayden he may have feelings about him that make him uncomfortable because he hasn't come to terms with them.

Jayden practically feels self explanatory but it seems obvious that he's bi in that he has feelings not only for Meow but Miyao as well without realizing it. He thinks he only loves Meow and while he does mix them up it's clear that he loves aspects of Miyao ad well.

Gunhild being trans comes from something I heard in a Ciconia theory youtube video about her heart, possibly in one of the comments. To put it briefly she struggles a lot and may have not only needed to struggle to become a Gauntlet Knight from her poor area with C rankings but also to become a girl as well. She already wanted to become a girl of course, being a girl making a Gauntlet Knight become easier (don't remember how) is just a convenient bonus.

I have so many fucking theories on Lingji I think she literally has some of the most potential based on Ep 1 alone. I definitely think she's bi and trans and maybe a robot or droid of some sort based on her reactions to conversations about identity and whatnot. People REALLY don't pay enough attention to her. Some of her sprites also give me an idea that we may have already seen more than one of her personalities, particularly when she makes a certain "soft" and perhaps affectionate face that can be seen in multiple scenes but notably when they're talking about sex and gender and such.

Andry was at least one of the ones to bring up the difficulties of LGBTQ identities in other countries so he could be gay or bi and talking from experience.

Rukshana from Saudi Arabia literally flirts with the Indian Gauntlet Knight who's name I can't remember when she's in her "excitable" personality. Can't be a more obvious lesbian than that.

Stanslaw, the polish guy, is definitely gay or bi based on his brief reaction to something the yuri nuns say that you might miss if you're not paying attention. He literally closes his eyes and blushes at the mention of gay stuff.

I don't have much evidence for Naomi being trans and bi, she just gives me vibes tbh.

At least one of them yaoi yuri barrier troop nuns is gay. Too much gay love talk for them not to be and I won't take "they're all fujoshi" for an answer.

At least one of Rethabil's body guards might be gay or bi for the same reason I brought up Andry. Not much to say here.

Marianne reminds me too fucking much of Beatrice and Clair from her bio description and "personality" (3 personalities fighting in a body in a stalemate causing delayed and little emotional responses) for her not to be trans. Her and her comrades Noor and Garnet seem self explanatory especially when you include things like Marianne's Rena like treatment of Garnet. I just know she'll be important later.

Valentina comes off as trans to me and Maricarm comes off as gay for her in my mind. No particular evidence why, just a theory.

Sesshat is an avatar of both Valentina and Maricarm according to my theory based on story and bio stuff lining up. By extension she'd be trans and bi.

I think Vier is a trans woman that gave birth with an artificial womb to Miyao. Based on everything about her including her desire and ideology around overcoming or ascending the corporeal form and society going into a digital world to not have to deal with bodily issues in general, she gives off STRONG trans vibes. If she knew Toujiro for a long time, possibly before he potentially transitioned and knew his gender, she might be bi as well.

Jestress is a clone of Vier according to my theory and would logically be trans and bi as well.

Toujiro could be bi for the same reason Vier might be bi. He also may have an artificial penis as a trans person to give birth to Miyao and Meow cause the future is just more fun isn't it? He could however also have a womb or even an artificial womb to birth Miyao and Meow and Vier has the penis so who knows. I think that Miyao and Meow could also be a clone of him so depending on which theory turns out to be correct he could be all sorts of things.

As for who has mental illnesses induced by trauma, 27 of the main cast of Ciconia are child soldiers so that's damn near the whole cast having that baggage. Then there's the whole CPP thing which again, would account for maybe 26 of the main cast. I believe it's based off being plural in general which does NOT have to be trauma related. But again, given their circumstances, what Ryukishi07 has written and written about in the past, and the fact that symptoms of if not outright DID is literally mentioned in the text, they're probably mostly trauma related at least to some degree. It doesn't have to be related to those things either, it could be PTSD among other things.

But yeah, that's my jumbled up thoughts on all that.

I'll elaborate on these in a different post when it's not past midnight on a monday but

Ciconia characters that are probably trans: Miyao or Meow, Gunhild, Lingji, Naomi, Marianne (probably spelled that wrong), Valentina, Sesshat, Vier, Jestress, Toujirou

Ciconia characters that are probably gay or bi: Miyao and Meow, Jayden, Lilja, Koshka, Lingji, Rukshana (probably spelled that wrong too), Andry, polish dude who's name I just forgot, Naomi, at least one of the nun idols, at least one of Rethabil's body guards (can't remember their names), Noor, Marianne, Garnet, Maricarm, Sesshat, Vier, Jestress, Toujirou

Ciconia characters that probably have a trauma induced disability: Look, I could put damn near the entire cast in here.