#but Sumire still hating herself would think she's just saying it out of pity or even making fun of her

[smolstarthief]

So this is incredibly random as a HC but... Sumire having freckles as she got older but covered them up to further emulate Kasumi anyone??? Just something to contrast Kasumi having a beauty mark and thought she would look adorable too!

[2n2n]

Favorite line in JSHK?

mmmmmm... such a good question.

Surprisingly, not one from my ship trio ... who I feel aren't quite "there yet" with their thesis. Still waiting on them to say what needs to be said...!

Sumire and Hakubo really are the most direct and written out we've gotten so many things that are themes in the manga... and, I remember when I first read these lines, I was very shocked that the manga would so openly state something, in this context.... I'll have to really break it down a bit. But this line alone makes me unbelievably excited for the entire manga, every romance in it...

a caretaker, earnestly pitying and lovingly looking after something helpless. The action itself appears selfless, and kind. And in terms of only its actions ... it is. Healing something broken, helping something that would otherwise be lost without you. Nobody else will do this.... others would think it a waste. So much effort... so much of your time, and energy, and for something so needy, so reliant on you....

juxtaposing the injured rabbit Sumire caretakes with the bloodied Hakubo behind her... Hakubo is the poor, pitiable injured animal, mistreated in his life, needing love and care.

I really like that this manga could confront such a concept, and I'm not reading through the lines to see all of this ... it's maintext. Sumire loves Hakubo ... she does. She pities him, too. She can see the pain and emptiness in his life... his inability to care for himself, his inability to do anything other than what he's told. She sees him as 'broken'. He is. Through her love, she can control his life ... improve it. But also, 'have' it, for herself.

Such a direct way of confronting the 'caretaking you gives me control of your life' vibes we see in spades in the possessive, controlling, manipulative Hanako, who has incredible big brother vibes not only towards Tsukasa, but of course, Nene-chan, as well. Hanako is protective.... to a troubling degree. He is adoring, to a troubling degree. He is insecure ... he wants to exert influence, he'll do that by looking after Nene-chan. It works.... well, it works on Hakubo and Nene-chan both-- they are both resistant at the start to the relationship being pressed upon them, but are worked over by the persistent caretaking of the other. It's very effective.

For Hanako ... saving Yashiro's life, is partially out of the need to control her life itself. To have influence over her very existence ... it's of course, an act of love, and, an act of ownership, claim, possessiveness. These things are all not mutually exclusive... all threaded together very well, in Sumire and Hakubo's scenes.

So! When this happened I was like "oh, so we can just say it? We'll really take the caretaker yandere thing to the bank??? and we'll let them win, totally succeed, wear down their target in this way????" it's beautiful and scary, haha!! It's so SWEET Sumire can look at Hakubo and see an injured little rabbit! It's sweet that Hanako naturally expresses his adoration by caretaking .... ! And always has ... I wonder, if Tsukasa was unwell or acting out towards the end of their lives, how Amane saw that Tsukasa? A poor animal, biting and scratching him, unable to be hated or blamed? Something to pity, something to love persistently? Much to think about. This line makes me think so so so much!

[sumire-bride]

sumire route dark protologue part two

sumire- argh....! (how did i trip...?)

.... hm...? ah...! *sumire jumps of off the person* .... (i... tripped over a man with... blonde hair...? his hair is so bright... i have never seen anyone who has that colour on there... head before...)

(... his eyes are still closed... is he dead....)

*sumire pokes him*

(...he is dead... or maybe...)

*she pokes him again*

???- oi... what are you doing..? do you just have fun poking people who are sleeping?

sumire- ....! (he is not dead...! so cold) you... are not dead...

???- well i'm talking aren't i?

sumire- .....the cold man is not dead... goodness...

???- .... your weird.... hold on... your the women that guy told me he'd be sending over.. hm..

*he gets up*

sumire- ....! (it can walk...!)

???- ...bet you'll die pretty fast if you stay like that, whatever it's not like it's my problem.. haah but jeez are you ever loud..

*he leaves*

sumire- .... (....huh... die...? i will die soon...? i am very confused...)

(will i die from staying.... in this home.. will these vampire's.... kill me...?)

(...the presence here just got more unsettling....)

*sumire gets up and walks to find her room*

sumire- .... (these hallways... i think i may have lost my way to my room....)

???- fufu hey a cute human girl got in the house..

sumire- ....! (....someone has spoke...!) *she turns her head*

....hello i am sumire.... (....i did that right...?)

???- hmm..? haha.. nice to meet you to bitch-chan~ i'm laito..

sumire- ... (red... his hair is also red.... does everyone here have strange colours on there head....)

*laito licks sumire's hand*

sumire- ....ah...! *she pulls her away* (....it licked me...!)

laito- ufu what a cute reaction..! makes me want to do it again

sumire- why... did you lick my... hand... is that a way to say hello...?

laito- .. it can, or we can make it to be our way of saying hello..

*kanato appears*

*kanato licks sumire's cheek*

kanato- ne teddy this girls skin tastes sweet

sumire- ....! (...that... boy licked me... this is a very weird way to say hello....that boy also has a strange hair colour....)

laito- glad were on the same page kanato-kun~!

sumire- ...do.. i have to do that now...? to say hello....?

laito- hm..?

kanato- ....?

laito- haha..! my my bitch-chan your funny..! i can't believe you took me seriously.. hey kanato-kun do you think she'll think we taste good too?

kanto- fufu... what a idiot..

sumire- ... thank you for calling me a idiot...

kanato- ..er...?

laito- how cute we got a clueless girl in the house now!

sumire- ...i am not clueless.. i am sumire....

kanato- teddy don't you think this girl is a idiot... she can't even understand half of what we mean.. what a idiot

sumire- .... (...how nice... i am happy they think of me as a idiot... nii- san calls me that all the time...)

laito- well we can still have fun with that right kanato?

*he gets closer to sumire and grabs her*

sumire- ....! (the red haired man grabbed me....)

kanato- .. well i suppose so.. *kanato gets closer behind sumire*

sumire- ...uh... (what... this is.. i am not sure how to respond to this...! but i feel a bit uncomfortable)

laito- what a cute expression bitch-chan, make that face more kay~

sumire- ...i do not understand.... if this pleases you then i shall make that face...

(...i am uneasy... i do not like this...)

kanato- ... how annoying.. it's no fun if she acts obedient.. ne teddy this girl very annoying right?

i knew you would agree with me.. fufu..

sumire- .... (..I can not move... i want to go.. back to my room but i can not move... what on earth is this unpleasant feelings)

*kanato and laito continue scaring sumire trying to get a better reaction out of her*

sumire- ...st... (...stop... please.. father help.. help.. i am.. i don't know.. they will not get off... there.. licking me...)

laito- poor bitch-chan she can't even speak go on say what you want were listening, you don't have to hold back..

i can smell the intense fear all over you~ there's no need to hide it.. come on show us

kanato- stubborn much...

sumire- ... (fear is bad... fear is bad... stop... do not show it on your face... stop it...)

*kanato and laito seem like there both about to bite her*

sumire- ....! (no.. no.. no more... father... help these creatures are scaring me....! father helpp....!!!!)

???- oi.. do you guys really need to do this in the hallway?

sumire- ...huh....?

???- tch how lame..

laito- hmm..? oh hey subaru care to join us?

subaru- as if!

laito- "do you guys really need to do this in the hallway" ufufu your starting to sound like reiji, are you trying to take after your older brothers? how cute~

sumire- AH no fucking way! why on earth would i do that?! much copy that four eyed bastard!

kanato- then stop wasting our time and tell us what you want..

subaru- tch.. shuu asked me to gather everyone to talk about that girl..

laito- hmm..? what a bad lie subaru, as if he'd call us over, come on you couldn't have thought of a better lie to save this cute girl

kanato- ... i hate liars..

subaru- i'm not lying! and as i i'd try and save that girl when all she did was stand there and not do anything! i'm not kidding he even called me over to talk about it.. i'm not lying

laito- really? well then that's something never thought shuu would call for us, well might as well go come on kanato

kanato- hm.. i was hungry though tch i hate when people ruin my meal

*they leave*

*sumire falls to the fall she seems to be holding her breath to stop herself from breathing heavy while trying to keep her usual face*

sumire- ....hah... (... i never want to experience that ever again...! what a awful experience....)

(...hm... uh.. this man has.. white hair... like that stuff in... books... how pretty...)

subaru- that guy wanted you too so get up and come on

sumire- .....

subaru- oi didn' you hear me get up

sumire- ..... (....i'm still a bit shaken from before... i don't even want to speak...... his hair.. is so pretty... the colour calmed me down a bit...)

subaru- ahh..! hurry and get up and stop staring at me like some creep! *subaru grabs sumire's forearm and picks her up and lets go*

there happy? now get going this is already annoying as hell

sumire- .....forgive me....

subaru- tch..

*scene is now in the stair way area*

ayato- yo hey why'd you call us over shuu? i was doing something!

reiji- what a surprise that you would take the time to even call us here this must be important then..

laito- subaru came to tell us that it was about that girl

sumire- .....does that refer to me...?

ayato- well no shit little melons

sumire- .....oh... is that a good thing or a bad thing... i do hope it is now a bad thing....

reiji- does it really matter? well shuu get on with it

shuu- ....yeah it's about the girl.. that guy spoke to me a few weeks ago telling me she would come here then i told reiji and he told all of you...

kanato- okay and? then tell us why you want us here.. i hate when people waste my time

shuu- well he told me other things about the girl, he said were not supposed to kill her.. and treat her "nicely" and repeated to me again "don't kill her" and that's pretty much what he said..

ayato- ah? we can't kill her? what a buzz

kanato- such a pity.. right teddy it really is a pity we have to keep such a annoying girl with us

laito- "don't kill her"? well than that means your gonna be staying with us for a loong time then bitch-chan fufu

sumire- ....but... you said i would "die" if i acted the way i did earlier..... i believe that would imply one of you would kill me.... if you can not kill me then why would you say that....?

shuu- heh.. he also did say she know we vampire's due to her family's little... hobby.. guess she can pick up on somethings..

i was kidding, but you'll end up getting yourself killed anywhere you go based on how you are

sumire- ...mm... kidding...? i did not find that kidding to be funny...

shuu- why should i care if it was funny or not?

sumire- ...joking means "telling someone something for amusement of laughter' and other meanings... i did not find that joke to be amusing....

shuu- whatever

sumire- but if i will die here because the way i am then... i would to ask something...

reiji- hm..? what could you possibly need from what he said?

sumire- ...i would like to have you all watch me... whether it's one or two... i do not care... i do not know i am ready to die yet... much less from a vampire or any demon....

reiji- hoh.. look at that you do have some sort of boldness in you, your treating yourself as if your some sort of high class women.. and if we refuse this offer?

sumire- ....i do not see the issue with you all seeing a issue in my offer.... and i see you all having no reason to not accept my offer.... i do not like making these things called choices on my own.... so if i find there is no reason for you to refuse then i will ask you and tell you my thing called a "choice"

reiji- getting bolder

subaru- tch this is pointless i'm out!

shuu- haah.. same

ayato- that doesn't seem like a bad idea! haha we already have some quitters!

laito- seems fun i'll join this little "choice" or more your offer you've given us bitch-chan~!

reiji- i'm maybe a bit interested but i think this women is far to much of a handful so i think i'll have to pass the offer

kanato- ....ne teddy should we watch this women for her.. do you think she will play with us..? if she doesn't... well i would like to make her into a doll.. you think she would be a pretty doll don't you think teddy?

ayato- course you'll come round the great ore-sama right?! course you will!

laito- come on bitch-chan you should come be with me laito-kun will make sure your safe and sound under his watch!

reiji- this is annoying.. i don't know if she'll be any good

sumire- .... (...as long as someone watches me... i do not care.. i just wish to see father again... i won't be able to if i die in this cruel world....)

monolog

the world is spinning,

father... father...

fathers words stopped the world from spinning

everything he does make it stop

or so i thought

because this is his doing this will also stop my world

from spinning

_______________________________________

part one- dark 1

((so were finally done part two of the first game "haunted dark bridal" for sumire's route, she be getting bold haha, so were gonna do shuu'd route first since i'll be doing this by the age of the brothers, that will be out at some point this week! this already took me a bit to write since i'm trying to stick to the way the game is while also adding my own twists to it for sumire's character and there reaction to her doing things and saying things, i really hope people are interested in these!

[justanotherdumpingground]

Chapter Reviews: May 28-June 1, 2019

Wishful Thinking Chapter 8:

Emus! I'm so glad they finally appear! And the entire scene with them is simply funny and worth it. Pete's an uttee nutcase, though an entertaining one as well. The premium scene with Emi is so adorable that I want to see the emus again in future chapters.

Glad I get to show Alec who's boss. This guy should just stop treating his employees like crap. If only I could have him replaced by someone better (not Ellen, though), that would be better.

I'm glad I finally get to hang out with Anna outside of work. Most of her appearances have her and the MC doing their jobs, so a casual chat about the emu incident feels refreshing. And Charlie's office getting trashed means something fishy is going on, probably someone opposed to him like Ellen, though I could be wrong. Since the summary for Chapter 10 sounds like Anna has some secrets to share, it seems that something is up with Charlie. He's really fishy.

A Courtesan of Rome Chapter 19:

Another exciting chapter that kept me hooked like the previous one. I was worried what Cingerix might do to the MC, so I picked the premium option to talk him out of serving Caesar. I think doing so results in the MC and Victus having a positive opinion on Cingerix, who helped his sister escape as a result.

It was fun to watch MC train under her dad and Euthymios in preparation for the gladiator match, and Cingerix developing feelings for Euthymios. If only I can get my hands on Flavius for killing Locusta and poisoning the MC, my life would've been complete. At least there was Delphinia to pray for her daughter's safety, though the MC should really be more defiant towards Flavius.

Anyway, with my anger gone from me, it was satisfying to watch my MC deliver a speech gearing public opinion against Caesar. Even more so with Sabina chanting with the crows.

Man, I can't wait for the final chapters. Especially now that the MC has told the news about Cingerix's change of heart to Delphinia.

Passport to Romance Chapter 12:

I'm just sick of Elliot and William bickering that I want to shove them inside a room to sort out their own messes. On to the regatta.

As expected, the folks there are so snotty that I can just roll my eyes. I get that Sumire has to develop as an artist, and taking criticism is an important part of it (hence me telling her that it's a learning experience), but the impression Bronwyn gave did nothing to endear me to her. Same goes to Carlisle, whom I dislike more for talking like money's the only thing that matters. Either way, who cares about these two? I didn't spend diamonds to steal Carlisle's champagne, though. :P

So Elliot just got his entire friends in trouble by placing a huge bet on a losing boat? Well, thanks a lot, loser! I swear, Elliot keeps blowing his chances to make meaningful contributions to the group that it pisses me off to no end. The only times he did that were to provide the group a place to stay in Lucerne and a private plane to fly them to Monaco. However, their stay in Lucerne doesn't make sense when they could directly go to Germany from France, and Elliot just waited until they missed the second flight to reveal that his family owns the airline of the missed flights. I seriously question his usefulness. As for Marisa, she better not lose all that money from betting Carlisle.

Nightbound Chapter 7:

Why are there options to be mean to Vera for no reason while ignoring the fact that she saved MC from a zombie? I get that her power is deadly, but she used it for good, and had no intention to harm others. Let's hope others will warm up to her.

Heh, no surprise Lady Smoke is Vera's mom. I stumbled upon a theory @a-whore-of-rome came up with, though much of the information involves Vera's first premium scene, followed by the mention of Lady Smoke as a mobster. And wow! Vera and her mom are complete opposites. I think Lady Smoke kinda has a point that they shouldn't live in fear because of their powers. After all, their power to kill others with their bare hands isn't necessarily a curse, but can come in handy depending on the user and their intents. I think Lady Smoke lets this power get in her head that she largely uses it for her benefit. A pity I didn't get her monster tear, but I certainly have plans to get it.

A premium scene to talk to Priya Lacroix. Pass, at least for now. I make no secret why I hate Priya, even though spending time with a love interest sounds like something I'd do once I know who my LI will be. For the time being, none of the love interests capture my attention.

Platinum Chapters 1-2:

First impressions-wise, the story seems OK. I don't like the clichéd bits (small town girl gets picked up by a star), but there's still hope for something else. Super glad that my MC gets to wear glasses as a regular accessory, rather than as part of another outfit. After all, I also wear glasses. And not to mention that the fanbase meter and that certain actions can cause the MC to lose fans looks like a good mechanism that prevents an immediate rise to fame cliché.

Interesting that both Avery and Raleigh can be either male or female, depending on player choices. For Avery, I picked the female one because she's so pretty. The male one's eyes look dopey, but that's just personal impression. Raleigh's harder because both choices look good, though I ended up picking the female one. It's probably not final, though.

Heh, I know Ryder from AME would make a cameo appearance in this story, and it seems that he's in his element. Also, Shane is a good friend to have so far. It's a blessing.

What is it with PB and its affinity with the rival girl cliché? I get that Jaylen isn't a saint, but this cliché discourages players to view characters with proper nuance and understand their roles in the story. After all, an important part of evaluating characters is to not let biases on certain "types" hinder one's thinking.

Anyway, let's see how this story developes.

Open Heart Chapter 16:

Honestly, I really don't like the fact that the MC acts friendly towards Landry even though the way he sabotaged the MC involved disrupting patient care. Because of this, I continued picking options that don't give him credit. Not once did he feel remorse over sabotaging the MC and putting patients at risk. It's like the situation with Sebastian in The Sophomore all over again. Forced to forgive someone who not only expressed no remorse for their wrongdoing but also forgetting that what he did are illegal, dangerous, and degrading. It doesn't help that his sabotage of the boiler is enough to erase sympathy for him.

That aside, I finally get to work with Ethan on Naveen, and it seems that Ethan is more open on his respect for MC. That seems reassuring, especially since I giggled at him saying that his middle name's Jonah after the MC saying Ethan "Freaking" Ramsey.

Seeing Aurora wish the MC luck was nice and calming. I'm proud of her taking the initiative of being nice towards the person who consoled her. It doesn't erase her flaws, such as her overconfidence when she downplayed a case as "not interesting", but I'm ready to see her slowly warming up to others and learn that all patients are interesting in their own way.

Man, I can't believe the next chapter is the finale. I won't be surprised the MC will win and keep their medical license, followed by a little celebration that involves premium options to spend time with a love interest.

Bloodbound Chapter 3:

Too bad that it costs diamonds to actually have fun in Vegas in order to blow off some steam in preparation for meeting with Landgon. Well, I'm not super tempted to buy them because my LI is neither Adrian nor Lily, though I like them both.

Anyway, on to meeting Langdon. I knew this guy's shady, but to see him keeping various supernatural beings alive sickens me. Even more so when he planned to keep MC and co. as part of his collection.

So the cameo comes from Cal. Well, not surprising, and I'm just scared at what might happen to him.

And Lily saying "to defeat the Huns" is what I need to cheer me up and lighten my mood. Despite being a vampire, she always stays true to herself and helps in any way she can. I have great confidence she'll be a great assistant to Jax.

Regarding the second flashback, I feel bad at Adrian killing the Confederate soldiers, though I wonder if that scene has changes depending on his appearance. And Gaius just reminds me how ruthless and creepy he is despite having another side to him in the previous chapter. He's shaping up to be a villain I like.

[disadsfam]

FFXIV Fic: tSHNCB

Title: The Steppe Has No Cherry Blossoms Author: Reily96/reinbowcat96 Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV Rating: T for some minor recollections of violence Pairings: None (unless you squint real hard and MAYBE see some WoL/Zenos) Summary: Sumire Iga recalls the cherry blossoms that changed her life. Since this is being posted to this blog, this is largely informational for my own notations on the character.

The Doman Enclave’s cherry blossoms were in full bloom. In her focus on her donations, Sumire hadn’t noticed until Kozakura had brought it to her attention and insisted she walk through the Enclave. Left to her own devices, she slowly walked through the streets of the Enclave, the sights, smells, and sounds all around her bringing forth a wave of nostalgia she wasn’t sure she was capable of.

The children ran from the Ten Thousand Stalls, eagerly chatting away about their plans for a hanami party after their lessons; in the One Garden she could see Alianne watching her grandfather and Homei chat about the beauty of the flowers… It was different, yet… not so different. And as a cool breeze wafted its way through the Enclave, flittering the flowers of the trees, soft pink petals began to rain down all around.

The Au Ra stared blankly up at the sky and its floral shower, as if she had been seeing them for the first time in her life. With hands held out, she caught a few of the tiny petals in her hands. Gazing at the little pink flower bits in her palms, memories came to the forefront of her mind. Of years and years past, of a different Doma altogether, when she was a small and carefree…

Mitarashi dango, she had demanded of her parents. Lots and lots of mitarashi dango for when they sat down under the trees for hanami. It was one of the things that the Garleans had decided to assimilate into their own customs, and so the businesses of food vendors and basket sales weren’t hindered at all during flower viewing season. Her nameday had just passed, she was eleven springs now and ever so delighted to have a belated celebration of her birth while the flowers bloomed en-masse. The Auri child was bouncing on her heels, excitedly awaiting her parents to be done with their preparations. Excited enough to have her attention easily drawn away by a morpho, its colorful wings an intoxicating sight to the child.

It flittered away, and she felt the great and powerful need to catch it. Young Sumire ran off, not even registering the words of her mother to not wander off. The morpho demanded all of her attention, and she chased it through the streets, clapping her hands in the air when she thought it was near enough to catch. She missed the shouts behind her, her eyes focused wholly on the creature before her (prey?). Just one bounce and she could finally grab the pretty insect! She leapt as far as she could, hands outstretched ready to cage the butterfly between her fingers. But she simply flopped onto the ground, her jump premature and allowing the butterfly to escape upwards and away. Which was fine, since she had a new distraction.

The new distraction being that she had belly flopped right into someone’s picnic, splattering all manner of treats on her kimono while two people, a man and a woman, looked at her in abject horror. They were dressed differently than most people she had seen, and had shiny pearl-like things embedded in their foreheads. Garlean, she reminded herself. But not like any Garleans she had seen; their clothes looked so different, so out of place. The man huffed, “How did this Doman brat get into the park? I thought we had the whole thing reserved?”

Sumire blinked, looking about her and seeing that she was, in fact, in a park. A park filled with this fullest, brightest, and pinkest cherry blossom trees she had seen yet. The child jumped up quickly, red-brown eyes sparkling in delight at the sight. “They’re soooooo pretty!”

But just as the words had come from her mouth, she felt someone scruff her by the collar of her kimono. Immediately she began to snark like a little beast and kick the air before her, trying to get herself loose from whoever had caught her. “Terribly sorry Lord Belenus; this Auri child was faster than I had thought.”

“Ugh, well it is far too late now, she has ruined our spread!” The woman had spat.

The guard went to make his apology to the woman, who the young Sumire had gathered was likely some high ranking Garlean with her husband. She continued her struggle as the man went and spouted off meaningless apologies as the child in his grasp festered with her thoughts. They reserved a whole park! Hogging the flowers for themselves alone! And all because they think they’re better than me? Better than everyone else? Something flared up inside of her, angry and monstrous – it wanted to hurt someone. And who better than the one who thought himself free of her wild kicking.

She swung herself forward, her knee raising up into the man’s crotch with a crushing force that no eleven-year-old child should have. The guard immediately dropped her, the lord and lady behind her yelped, and she dropped down, landing on her feet. The smart move would have been to run away. But any smarts she had were replaced by a feral animal that wanted to see blood. The man who had staggered down in pain had no time to gather his wits enough to attempt to dodge or block the knee slammed upward into his chin and sent him spiraling to the ground.

The Auri child went to pounce, but was yanked backwards and thrown to the ground herself. As she attempted to pick herself up, a metal boot smashed into her stomach, another crushing her back. But even so she continued to get up and strike, screeching and hollering just as the Belenus couple were backing away in terror and demanding the “feral beast be put down.” Her vision was turning red, and even though she felt every bit of her body screaming out in pain and her strength fading, she continued to struggle. She snapped and snarled, and saw a kick coming straight for her face. I’ll rip his foot off!

But the kick never came, and while her teeth were bared, she could not bite. Her father shielded her, taking the kick easily but making no attempt to fight back as he huddled over his daughter. She heard the voice of her mother, pleading. The fire still swelled within her, demanding to rip the man to shreds, but in her father’s protective embrace, they flickers began to die down. She caught a glimpse of her mother, forehead to the grass, teeth clenched and face contorted into something she’d never seen before. She peered up at her father, seeing an expression that would forever be etched in her memories.

Fear. Worry. Concern.

As Sumire came back to the present, she let the petals of the cherry blossom fall from her palms. She supposed that was a defining moment in her life. It wasn’t long after that her parents had stolen her away into the night and they had left Doma all together for her father’s homeland, the Azim Steppe. Forests and mountains had been traded for rolling hills and endless stretches of grassland. The Noykin horse masters had looked upon their wayward brother with pity, and welcomed him back along with the Raen women that were his bride and his daughter.

At the time, her child self hadn’t been aware she was the cause of this drastic lifestyle change. Her mother had hated it, she knew, but did her best to pretend like she was okay. The young Sumire had been ecstatic, adoring the horses and taking to the customs of her father’s Xaela tribe like a fish to water. Her cousin Temujin had been there to prove to the other Xaela children that her horns may have been those of Azim, but heart was that of one of Nhaama’s children. She had fond memories of her time in the Steppe… sparring Temujin under the cherry blossoms…

Except there were no cherry blossoms in the Steppe.

Yet she could remember them so vividly, those pink blooms that had sealed her fate.

Looking at the trees lining the streets of the Enclave, Sumire found her feelings on them suddenly mixed. Older and wiser, she knew now why her parents had run away to the Azim Steppe. Why her father had looked at her with fear… Fear for what their Garlean overseers would do to her, just as much as it was fear of what she could do to them. The Karash was in her blood, passed down from her Xaela father, instilling the Xaela love of war within the Raen girl. Had they stayed in Doma, her fate would be… uncertain. To her parents, anyways. Sumire knew what she would become.

She could have been like Fordola, loyal to Garelemald, desperate to be recognized as an equal. Fighting tooth and nail to be seen as a person, not a savage, to captors who refused to see her as anything but a lesser being. She would do things her own people would hate her for, all because she felt she had no choice for the greater good. Sumire could have been a Fordola. Desperately, she wanted believe she would’ve been like her. But the very truth of it she knew in the darkest recesses of her mind. She knew what she would have really been.

She could see the hints of it in someone else…

“Man should fight for the joy of it. To live, to eat, to breed - lesser beasts snap and howl at one another for this. Only man has the wisdom - and the clarity - to embrace violence for its own sake.”

The memory of him sent shudders down her spine, an array of conflicting emotions toiling within her. Just like him.

She would’ve been just like him.

Another breeze blew through the Enclave. A full bloom came free from a branch and landed before the Auri woman’s feet. She knelt down and took it in her hand… the little bloom, she had concluded, that had saved her life. Not this specific flower, of course, but she could say that now she could think that the flowers had looked after her. Flowers that had foreseen the monster within the little girl that attacked a Garlean and how it would be groomed should she remain within Doma.  

There were no cherry blossoms on the Azim Steppe… but they had led her there. To a life where the Karash would be tempered, where she would learn to point her knives in the right direction. A life that would lead her to meeting new friends, experiencing a new world, and seeing Doma reborn. A muddled mess of memories comprised her life, but she would have it no other way.