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braintapes · 1 year ago

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The Hotel Podcast Season 3 Analysis: Part 4 - The Hotel Herself

Today, we'll start to wrap up anything left to cover for the Owner's arc, then dig some more into the Hotel Herself, her character, and her relation to the Staff.

I have little in the way of fancy preamble this time, except for that I'll consider this my big treatise on the character of the Hotel Herself and I will be discussing more than just her presence in Season 3. I really can't talk about her without getting into...everywhen and where else.

This is also the longest post in the series, at 8 full pages long. Not that much longer than the other posts, I guess, but it feels long to me. Take breaks if ya gotta. Here's some links to Part I - The Manager, Part II - The Lobby Boy, and Part III - The Owner.

It is a joy for me to write this up and to share it with you. If you read even a little bit, I'm grateful. If you read all of it, I'll be over the moon. So I thank you very kindly for your time :-)

Let's get into it with 3.10 In Which We Burn. This episode is about both of them, all of them really. This is where we start to get into that whole, 'interconnectedness of the self within the Hotel' thing I put a pin in before. Strap in for the ride.

The Owner begins again in the void. There is nothingness all around him, yet he wanders forward to somewhere, something he can't quite perceive yet with only a vague idea of what he's going to do:

I would know if I was going the wrong way. Returning from somewhere to somewhere. I don't know where I'm going, but I know how to get there. I think there's someone there already. I think I'm going to kill them. No, that's not quite right. That's not it. But it's all I can think of as I walk thru endless endless nothing. "I'm going somewhere. Someone is there. Someone to kill." Over and over I repeat the words, trying to make them make sense. Trying to find the parts that stick out in sharp directions. Like a mountain crag that needs weathered down by time to dust.

...There's that mountain again. This is a version of the Owner reforming after his last death, one that strikes me as prototypal, almost. He exists in the void for what's implied to be a long time and seemingly has no memory yet of the previous episodes events? He has no memory of...anything. Just him and the endless darkness.

I think that the Hotel is forming him slowly here. Experiencing through him. The Owner doesn't fully exist yet, he's still baking in the metaphorical oven. Without any memory or experience besides the void, she seeps through into him as he fumbles for something.

"I'm going somewhere. Someone is there. Someone to kill."

Consider the creature versions of the Staff ala season 2 or 5, how they seem to have foggy memories that slip away until they settle into being whatever monster of the week they're going to be. This feels the same way to me. Compare the above line with the following from early on in 2.3 Mr Heavy Bones:

Something in me, not me, something separate, needs to kill them.

I also want to point out not just the similarity of those two lines, but how said lines could easily refer to the Hotel herself. Hear me out - If I wanted to describe how the Hotel operates in as succinct a way as possible, it'd be something like the above! Someone is there, somewhere. Someone to kill, someone needs to be killed...

He approaches, or perhaps the lobby approaches him as it comes into view. He's disoriented, the ceiling and the floors mixed up and everything is going by too fast, he's completely disconnected from the sense of time and space of the Hotel's shape. In a flash, he remembers and is immediately reset again. The Hotel instructs:

Watch it again. And pay attention this time.

On it boss!

The music has changed to The Hotel Herself's theme, Cosmic Heartbeat, and continues to play as the Owner goes through another run. The perspective is slowly starting to shift - although we're still seeing through the Owner's narrative eyes, understanding is on the horizon. The Owner goes again and looks at the Manager.

THE OWNER: She's already been killed. Is that what was sticking out? Is that what I needed to weather? I don't think so. I don't believe it, but I do as I'm told. Dying isn't easier the second time. THE HOTEL: (Yyyyyyyyou've) You've died much more than that. You've died again, and again, and again and again. Here comes another one, don't miss it or we'll have to start over.

She's responding not just to his words, but to his own internal narration. The line between them gets a tiny bit blurred, line by line ;)

So, then, if it's not the Manager he needs to see, maybe the Manager's murderer? He takes note of the gibbering creature, starts to remember more but the Hotel grows a bit frustrated with him. The Owner's not quite picking up on everything yet.

So we go back again for another round and the Owner grows more harried. With each death he sounds more and more ragged and I have to give huge props to Graham Rowat. Like I said last post, his performance as the Owner is always wonderful but this episode in particular has always stuck out to me as a high point. The Owner sounds so desperate here, so battered. He's lost and in pain and so afraid of dying yet still trying so hard...

He goes through again, makes it past the Manager and the gibbering creature and sees the Lobby Boy cowering in the corner. He's so overcome with disgust at the Lobby Boy he loses sight of what he's supposed to be understanding and the Hotel kills him again. He's getting lost in the details, not paying attention to the bigger picture. He needs to see beyond himself.

THE HOTEL: We have nothing but time here. (here here h e r e) Time (time time time) and pain(pain), if you want it. I already understand (everything)everything(everythgibber) WINGS FLAP THE OWNER: PLEASE! No more! THE HOTEL: But you don't understand yet. (don't don't don't understand yet ) Until you have an understanding you will receive only pain and time. AGAIN!

There's a bit of implication that this goes on for longer than just the exchanges we get in the episode. Now can see that the screams of his that echoed throughout the season, such as at the very very beginning and on the second floor, were the result of him witnessing these events again and again from his own jumbled perspective. I picture the Owner in my mind's eye falling, hurtling upside down through the Hotel, flying through time and space at Her direction.

I also want to talk a bit about the Hotel's part in these exchanges, and on her broader relationship with the Owner. To my understanding, official word on season 3 is that it's the Hotel experiencing her own origin like a memory, but because time, self, etc. aren't separate concepts for Her, it's experienced in this weird distorted kinda way. But nevertheless, she is here, experiencing all of this alongside the Staff and alongside the audience. She's watching and reliving these events and the Owner seems to be a sort of...Dante, almost? Sort of. He's there to watch with her.

What is the Owner's role through most of the series? His very title the Owner is superfluous because he very obviously doesn't own anything. He has no authority whatsoever, only the costume of it. He holds the threat of replacement over the heads of the Manager and Lobby Boy, but he can't actually do anything to them. The only time he tries to do something during season 4, he gets his ass handed to him just as much as he beats the Lobby Boy. He has no real authority over the guests – he certainly scares them, but he doesn't build the rooms or check them in.

What is he tasked with doing, then? He is to observe the proceedings of the Hotel, observe the guests and the Staff, and file reports to the Hotel. Again, he has no meaningful authority. His reports are meaningless in terms of running the Hotel. She can and does do whatever she wants regardless of what he has to say or think about the matter. So what purpose does he serve to her? This is what drives the Owner fucking bonkers in a 'constant accumulating dosage of radiation over time' type of way. It's the main reason he has such a hangup about not being insignificant, it fuels his hatred (read: JEALOUSY) of the Lobby Boy, it's why he makes it his business to shout at everybody else for not doing their jobs right, it's why he breaks down in season 4, I could go on.

For her, his reports may not have a purpose vis-a-vis hotel operations, but that's not the point. He's her confidant, her right hand. To him, that's an ideal he must constantly strive to live up to and fulfill. To her, she enjoys the company. Someone to watch it all with her. The Owner is so different from her in temperament that in his unique position, I think he gives her fresh perspective, a way of seeing things from different angles. I'd offer this excerpt from 4.8 AJ, Taylor, and Wayne:

I know he wants to understand though, the Owner, for me. He's such a sweetie. Always thinking of me. He wants to do a good job on his "reports". I like his reports, I like hearing about his day, and hearing about the staff, and how they like it, and how he likes it, and if I can do anything to make it better for everyone. I can, of course. Heh, I can do anything.

In 4.11 The Owner - V she tells him:

Now wait just a damn minute. I know you don't like my Lobby Boy, but you have got to get it together. The floor staff are absolutely necessary to running the day to day, but you and I are supposed to support them, drive them forward to new fantastic heights!

The Owner responds, then the Hotel responds:

They were! They are! But it's you and me, kid. I really thought you and I were gonna be able to work together more closely on this. And it's supposed to be fun! You may be like them, one of them but when you come here you're on my level. I elevate you to singular significance, even if it is just to chat.

I know those are long excerpts, but I feel they're necessary here. The Manager and the Lobby Boy have each other. They improve each other and work well together. I strongly feel that their interactions fuel their character growths. The Hotel sees the Owner as the Lobby Boy to her Manager. It's the two of them, working together! He's beneath her, of course, everyone is, that's just how it goes. But they're a team!

The Owner very much doesn't see it this way. He conceptualizes himself entirely from his place in the hierarchy, his title as The Owner. He is above the other Staff and exists to further Her will. He's so god damned worried about running everything that he cannot see past this through to what the Hotel actually wants - his company. The Owner ties himself up in knots partly due to his internally and externally imposed isolation from the Staff. I wouldn't say it made the Owner the way he is, he did just kinda come out of the box like that, but it absolutely exacerbates his issues in a feedback loop. It drives the Hotel mad because she can't understand this. For all she says she understands everything, she struggles to get why the Owner gets so wound up. Something something divorce core or what have you.

...That, um. Got away from me a little bit.

Anyway.

Aaaall of that is to say, if the Owner isn't there to actively affect things, then he must be there to watch. That's been his role, to me, from all of his season 1 episodes to now. His role here, in season 3 specifically, is to watch and learn. And She watches through him, watches him watch, and he is the vehicle through which she makes meaning of Herself all over again through new eyes. Ties it all together.

[More could be said on this about this being the Owner's on-boarding - the exact word he uses to describe this later on in 4.11. But if I start up again I don't know where I'll stop so I need to move on for now.]

The Owner's arc is pretty much done here anyhow. He goes around again and eventually he starts to understand. Starts to! He sees himself in the Manager's place, dead on the floor. He sees himself as the Lobby Boy, cowering in the corner. He sees himself as the gibbering creature.

You're so close to understanding.

THE OWNER: No. No! As the lobby passes I see my own reflection at my feet. The Hotel begins pulsing rhythmically. THE MANAGER (echoing): I see her standing here in the void, fear carved into her face. THE LOBBY BOY (echoing): I see him, and the fear turns into awful understanding. THE OWNER (echoing): Killer and killed. Predator and predated. Ashes to ashes.

The Owner becomes them all one by one, and they, in death, become each other. Cycle through being each other, it seems. Here is the moment of understanding. They are all one in the same. None of them are separate from or above death. They are not separate from the Hotel – they are the Hotel, split into distinct parts which are separate yes, but inextricable from Her. A long silence passes before:

THE HOTEL: The mountain has been weathered. Do you see? MANAGER/LOBBY BOY/OWNER: Yes. THE HOTEL: My will. My purpose. You kill for me. MANAGER/LOBBY BOY/OWNER: Yes. THE HOTEL: You die for me. MANAGER/LOBBY BOY/OWNER: Yes. THE HOTEL: Darkness is the universes natural state. MANAGER/LOBBY BOY/OWNER: We are the light, one and separate, existing briefly, extinguished and anguished. THE HOTEL: Now, at the end, our work can begin. Front desk bell DINGS.

AaaaaAAAAA!!!!! AAAAAH!!! THIS. THIS IS MY TOP FAVORITE SEQUENCE IN THE PODCAST EVER. This is what got me. I already liked the series since I'd made it up to this point, but this is what made it feel special to me. The timewarp end-beginning stuff, the interconnected self, the cosmic nature and presence of the Hotel Herself, all of it resonated somewhere deep in me. This contextualizes the entire thing for me in one line I think about Frequently:

Darkness is the universe's natural state.

That is why I honed in so hard on the light/dark fire/death imagery. The implication that darkness, void, nothingness, death - that all of that is a resting point. The light is an aberration, something new and anomalous which exists for a time before resetting back to default.

The way I picture the Hotel is as a cosmic entity of, well. Cosmic proportions. Too vast to comprehend on a meaningful level. She's not the representation of death in general, she's simply a part of the universe that embodies some of the void. The space between.

After all, a hotel is a place between where you started and where you want to go, isn't it? You go there, you stay there, you leave there. A candle is lit, it burns, it dies. Leaving only cold, empty darkness behind.

It's the inherent contradiction that makes the Hotel Herself in my mind. She exists as an entity, yet is as a void. Symbolically representative of death, yet she contains life and light within her in the form of the guests and the Staff. From her void, she Becomes in infinite fractalling, spiralling shapes. Hotels and lobbies and rooms and doors. Something from an underlying nothing.

Note, I don't mean the terms 'empty' 'void' and 'nothing' as derogatory. She is not hollow (though she does contain hollows). In terms of symbolism, 'nothing' is as much Something as 'something' is. It's like...In art, you have negative space. It's defined by being the absence of something. The interplay of negative and positive space creates the artwork. That's what I'm getting at with the light/dark stuff here.

Another food for thought: How about 'light' in terms of seeing, or perception? Not only does the Hotel take on infinitely many forms in shape, but she also influences and manipulates how she is perceived. The guests, Staff, and New Crew all perceive the Hotel differently - I made a post about this subject a while ago that you can read, even! [That post is outdated now re: the New Crew stuff at the end, but I thought it worth including anyway.]

Incidentally, I think the Hotel does have trouble seeing back at the Staff. She knows them inside and out, don't get me wrong, and she can twist them any way she chooses. But they have gotten out of her grasp before. Her tensions with the Manager and the Owner in season 4 come to mind, she has trouble seeing things from their perspective and vice versa. The Hotel is above them, and that is its own position with its own perspective. The limitless is, ironically, limited.

Now let's talk about the Mountain.

The mountain has been weathered. Do you see?

It's the most predominant recurring motif of the season alongside the fire. I consider it complementary and even entwined with the fire. Firstly, on its own, I consider it to represent structure. The mountain is at once something to be scaled and something to be weathered. In both (contradictory) cases, it is playing within space. The painting process, as opposed to the proverbial color palette.

It directly represents the structure of the Hotel as, like, a hotel - the Staff's roles each represent a floor. The Manager is the lobby, the entryway, the ground/first floor. This is why she has to be the one to search for the place the Hotel will be in the forest, why she has to introduce the season and the series (she opens season 1, too!) while the Lobby Boy is already just kinda...there when his turn comes up.

Second floor is the guest floor, a horizontally infinite maze of hotel rooms, hallways and doors. This is the midpoint, the journey from life to death. Of course, the deaths don't have to happen here, but many do. This floor is a role of its own. It exists dedicated to this purpose. Then, there's the third floor. A dark office that is at once a void yet also filled with paperwork, desks, computers, so on. As I write this, I realize I said all this in the last post so I won't drag this out.

Point is, as we ascend, we zoom out more. The lobby is only ever the lobby. It's a personal, one-on-one entryway. The second floor is broader – there are many rooms for many guests. Only one may check in on a given night, but since time works differently here, all the guests are already there and already dying and already dead etc etc. The third office overlooks the floors beneath it, overseeing not just the guests but the Staff, too. What's above the third floor? Darkness.

These correspond directly to the Staff's roles and we've had PLENTY going on across this season that makes those connections as well. The Manager in 3.2 Hammering Bones experiencing the building of the Hotel first-person style or the Lobby Boy's whole thing kind of tying him to the burning rooms, for example.

[Stray thought: If I wanted to get real artsy with it I could talk about the hierarchy here not just a physical building structure and corporate structure, but also as structure of the human body - Starting from the ground, standing firm as the Manager does, going up to the hands which build, to eyes that watch, to the brain that is. well. everything. But thaaaaaat's leaning a bit too into my own personal projections as I see barely any canon basis for this so. Take or leave at your discretion. I just adore symbolic trios.]

Form and light. Mass and shape. The Hotel as a tiered yet deeply interconnected structure containing fire and light that exists in service of snuffing out the fires that enter her. Do you see my vision here?

Weathering the mountain is grinding down 'something' into 'nothing.'

When the Staff have all been weathered, they are Her again.

There's a little bit more to the ending of this episode, echoes of the old Managers, Lobby Boys, Owners, ending with:

THE HOTEL: …We hope you enjoyed your stay with us. Your Hotel for the night. We hope you'll enjoy all your nights with us. THE MANAGER/LOBBY BOY/OWNER/HOTEL: WELCOME! The Hotel theme plays over credits.

This is a lovely ending to the season and I like it very much. I apologize that I don't have much to say about it beyond that, I just got so lost in the symbolism sauce back there.

I still have more to talk about, actually, while I'm still here. Before I spoil and rot in this text post. It's been 7 long pages now but there's still work to be done before the skin sloughs off my bones. Because in all my talking about the Hotel as she exists, her how and her form and all that, I never really talked about the Hotel Herself, did I?

Maybe I did a little, here and there, but that's just not enough for me. The Hotel Herself is such a character and while she's always been here in this season, yes, we don't get a lot of her directly. And there are still questions that might arise from the whole 'the Hotel is also the Staff and they are all each other' thing that need answering.

Namely, why would she do this in the first place?

[Well, aside from the whole 'well there wouldn't be a story at all otherwise' thing]

The Hotel exists as. ah. the Hotel. Like I said earlier, she chooses that form for Herself, that's who and what she is! A hotel is that positive space 'something' and it has a structure, a prescription just like the archetypes of the Owner, the Manager, and the Lobby Boy do. She has many variations, from a cabin to a rental home, to a dingy roadside motel to the fanciest most elaborate 5 star resort, but these are all her own kind of instancing as defined in my previous post. The only difference is that she, at the highest level, exists simultaneously as all of these instances at once and thus has an eternal awareness of Herself that the Staff do not.

I draw a distinction between the Hotel Herself and Madam Hotel because of this. To me they are NOT interchangeable. Madam Hotel is a specific instance, a specific form that is her, but not all of her. Not fully. She seems more...cloudy, I suppose, as Madam Hotel. Everything is all new to her. Existing in a human body is new to her, seeing things from this perspective is new to her, and she lacks the cosmic clarity of the Hotel Herself in her vast endless entirety.

Still, she retains the same personality. And I really, really want to talk about the Hotel's personality. She's so fun!

She is endlessly curious, always excited for novelty. She likes watching the lights inside her twinkle and interact just as much as she likes putting them out. ALL of it is wonderful fun to her. There's an infectious enthusiasm about her in her season 4 narrations, where we see her fully in her element as Herself. Some excerpts:

[Stretching noise] MMMMMMMM-MM! Sometimes you just have to stretch out and take up some space, am I right? And we have THREE guests tonight! THREE! They aren't getting a room though, so I thought it would be okay to to relax a little, let it all hang out. Well, let some of it hang out, anyway. Really explore the notion of unwinding. My lobby is still rooted firmly, I mean we do have to meet the guests halfway you know. But tonight I just let myself unspool up and up and up and up up up up [giggles] ohhh it's really almost just like doodling. Filling in the fiddly-bits with scrabbly brick and twisted metal and I'm even experimenting with the windows tonight. Kind of greasy and yellow, I don't know, stained with nicotine or some other poison. Just one of those little subtle touches that's more for me than the guests. They don't notice almost anything. Sillies. They just see me as a normal old building, red carpet under an awning.

[4.8 AJ, Taylor, and Wayne]

I lay down, lounging on the side of a very green and bushy highway by an airport. I'm the kinda place people go when they don't have anywhere else to go. Or don't want anyone to know where they went. I fill my dull yellow paint with cracks, for character. The staff barely even have uniforms here, and they look pretty rough themselves. Gotta look the part, right? I put the Lobby Boy's Supply Closet around back this time. The lobby is pretty small, but the fresh air will do him good.

[4.11 The Owner - V]

Look at how much FUN she's having being herself!!!!!! I love her so much!!!! Each instance is an experiment and exploration in self-creation. Okay, hang on, let me have one more. I know the bonus episodes aren't canon, but The Garden has stuck in my interpretation of the Hotel Herself since it aired, let me have this.

My hands shoved knuckle deep into the cool, dark soil of the universe. I flex my digits and churn it into a place something could grow. I plant seeds there and nurture them best I can with water and food and little lights. There are things that live down there that suck up mud and chew on slime and help it all flourish. It's an entire ecosystem. Carefully balanced and tended too. I don't know anything about plants or gardening so I have to make up the rules as I'm figuring them out.

I won't rehash the whole episode but the whole thing really gets across that she is at once the garden and the gardener, every single part. The metaphor of the garden, of growing plants and flowers and hoping for the best, figuring it out as you go, feels SO in-line with what we see of her in the main episodes.

Back to my point, the Staff are integral parts of the Hotel. How could you have a Hotel without Staff to run it? They are instruments whose tones and timbres affect the sound of the night's composition.

They are her, but they are also themselves, too. The reason they can individuate is to allow for new variations, new shapes and forms, a new angle to look from or new idea to explore. I realize this paragraph runs the risk of getting meta very very quickly but I don't know how else to explain my thoughts here. In-universe, the Hotel Herself made these constructs, but if they were all the same, they'd be only darkness!

It at once excites and frustrates her when their tensions come to a head. She tries to bond with the Manager and the two ABSOLUTELY DO NOT see eye to...eye...The Owner goes completely off the rails in his breakdown. Even the Lobby Boy sides with the Manager and is starting to show signs now of getting a backbone.

The Hotel takes on her own roles, then, in responding to them. Becomes at once the workplace and the workplace CEO who is so obscenely rich they are effectively disconnected from reality and consequently the people working at the company. She is the matriarch of the family, for all of the good and bad that entails in her dynamic with the Manager. [This is why I kinda took the punishment angle in the first post of this analysis series. I don't view it that way anymore, not fully, but I feel this is an important part of their relationship as it currently stands.]

Through it all, even then, the constant push and pull is part of the fun! The contradictions, the interplay of something and nothing...I feel like I'm starting to repeat myself. On the one hand, I feel like I have so, so much more to say that I didn't even scratch the surface of yet. On the other...I feel like I've said the same things three times over.

Fitting, sure. But I'll have to end this post at some point. I'm getting tired. My vision is blurring. And on the metaphorical side, something something turning into a pile of rotten flesh on the floor something something.

One last, laaaast thing for now: I've gone over the cycle, the endless loop, the endlessness, all that good stuff. But the Hotel Herself also has linearity of her own. She goes from an it, from the Powers That Be, distant and impossible to understand, to the Hotel Herself, present and full of verve and energy and personality. She revisits her origin, but from a perspective of herself in time in which she already understands everything.

She's always been here, and all that. I just find that really poignant and I wanted to get into it more but couldn't find alllll the words I wanted.

I'd love to keep writing more stuff like this, it's been an absolute blast for me. Reading the transcripts, listening to the episodes, getting my little snippets in the word doc and writing about them...I hope you've enjoyed reading my work just as much. Like I said at the top, it means a lot even if you just, like, skimmed through. Thank you so much for your time and have a good one :-)

#the hotel podcast #the hotel herself #hotelpod analysis #if theres some weird formatting stuff please try not to worry too much about it #if there are any errors i will fix them a little later but #i Just finished writing this and im going to bed now #i hope this all is cohesive and makes any kind of sense aaaah #wanted to touch on the new crew a bit but couldnt find a good place to squeeze that in #sad. oh well guess ill just have to start writing new crew meta

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lostalienchild · 11 months ago

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Debts Repaid (Miko x Ayaka)

Summary: "Now Ayato, don't you think I deserve a little reward for all my hard effort?"

Warnings: Dub-con, 69, spit play

not proof read

Ageless, men, and minors DNI

A quiet and tranquil evening graced the Kamisato abode. A rare but welcomed site. Rain pounded outside the renji-mado (window)of the office, the room dancing in the dim light of the oil lamps. The combination of the pitter-patter of fallen rain and soft sweeping was so relaxing, that the normally distressed Kamisato elder involuntarily let out a yawn. This did not go unnoticed by the aid nearby who offered a chuckle. The sound of sweeping stopped as the blond aide turned to his master.

"Finally feeling relaxed huh? You should take a break. Both of you have been going at it for a while." Ayato rubbed his eyes before squinting and looking outside the renji-mado. The world was light enough to see, however the heavy cloud cover made smaller details too dim to see with the eye. In the dark blue hue of the fading sun, a dark figure repeatedly raises a katana overhead before slamming it down vertically in front of itself. The smell of petrichor cut into his nose as a small smile spread across his face. If not for the knowledge that his sister was such a headstrong trainer, he would have assumed her a warrior. A strong conviction on a small frame, her cutthroat attitude surpassed even his own.

"I think we should leave her be." The oldest turned back towards his desk before adjusting his montsuki and standing. His sitting bones ached and it took a moment before the pain subsided enough for him to walk without pain. "It's only been a few days since she regained the courage to even leave her room. We're all trying to get back to normal now." It had in fact only been a few months since the near collapse of the clan. The once gleeful and cheerful atmosphere of the estate had fallen into a glum and dim downpour, mirroring the melancholic weather outside, and eventually so too did the smile that once graced his sister's face. Both siblings found themselves fighting for their family name, but after the storm had passed, they were left with only remnants of their childhood home, which now seemed more of a museum for memories rather than an actual home. Ayaka's reignited drive to train in kendo was one of the few things that gave him any motivation. If she could continue on, so too could he. Once comfortable enough he began to head towards the entrance to his office. Once at the threshold, he turned to address the aide. "For now... how ab-"

"Master Kamisato." Another servant came forward interrupting his thoughts. "I apologize for the intrusion, You have a visitor." The employee bowed. Ayato thought that the servant was unusually short with their words, but left the thought at that as they scurried off. The blond aide stepped out of the shoji frame to follow his master into the hall.

"A guest? It's a bit late isn't it," asked Thoma. "Well that depends, let's see who it is," Ayato replied cooly. Upon entering the main foyer there stood a tall and eccentric shrine maiden. A welcomed and not unusual site to see at the estate. Miko often came by to the estate for a myriad of different reasons, so much so that it was more unusual to not see her at least once in a fortnight. "Miko, what a plesant surprise. And impeccable timing might I add. I was just about to suggest to Thomas that we take a tea break. Would you like to join us?" The pink fox continued to brush herself off as she listened to the elder sibling, priming the damp sleeves of her kimono. "Ayato," she sang, "well I'm glad to see that the dreary weather has not affected your mood. As for the tea, dont mind if I do."

Thoma placed the yunomi in front of the maiden before pouring the tea into the reciprocal. Ayato and Miko sat across from one another on their own respective zabutans. Miko smiled as the steam mingled with the smell of rain and danced into her nose. A light scent mixed with a deep, earthy smell. "Well Miko, what brings you to the estate this particular evening? A new light novel need reviewing perhaps?" Miko hummed as she sipped her tea, cupping the bottom of the cup with precision manners, cultivated by years of practice. "Now now, do I always need a reason to see an old friend of mine? It's not like we're strangers after all. I was simply stopping by to check on my favorite siblings. I'm glad to see you're still in good spirits. How's the little one doing?" Ayato returned Miko's smile and looked outside. The sky had grown much darker since the start of their meeting and the figure that was once outside further in the courtyard was now outside the door. The shoji door slid open to reveal a silver-haired maiden. Her Keikogi and Hakama were soaked from the rain. A servant had come forward and offered her a towel. The girl came in dabbing her face before her gaze fell upon the scene of Miko and her brother in front of her. Miko looked her over. Her flushed expression was exacerbated by the fact that she had been training. Her hair clung to her face. Her silver eyes were wide and round with surprise. her clothes clung to her body. Her normally white fluffy hair dangled in silver strands. Quickly gathering the towel in both hands she leaned forward and bowed, water dripping from her bangs scattering on the wood floor. "Ni-san, Miko-san, I was not aware we had guests."

Miko raised her hand and waived it as if waiving away the formalities. "Now now Ayaka-kun, it's just me. No need for the formalities."

"Right, then please allow me to freshen up before joining you."

"Of course, take your time little one." With that, Ayaka bowed once again and hurried off down a hall out of sight. "We'll it's good to see shes getting on well," Miko hummed as she turned her attention back to the elder Kamisato. Thoma, who had sat at the end of the chabudai chimed in. "Shes been training harder than ever. Trying to convince her to take a break every now and then is like pulling teeth."

Ayato chuckled at Thoma's words. "Ayaka has struggled these past few months. She is just now starting to come back into herself. Thoma and I have been giving her some space to come back around. Honestly, seeing her work so hard puts my mind at ease. It feels like I'm getting my younger sibling back."

Miko listened to both of the men's words before responding. "That's wonderful news. I was worried about the poor thing after not seeing or hearing about the poor girl for months on end. Certainly, you wouldn't allow her to lock herself away in her room never to be seen again would you?" "Well of course not, but if Ayaka herself is not ready to make a public appearance I certainly cannot force her." Ayato replied. "We'll that brings me to my next question, how long has it been since the young lady has left the manor?" Thoma glanced at Ayato for confirmation before addressing Miko. "Hmm, maybe around five months?"

"Five months you say? now that just wont do. It's not good for such a young woman to keep herself locked away. She'll become a hikikomori in no time at all." Miko shook her head and crossed her arms. "My original intention was to check in on you two, but now that I'm here don't you think it would be a good idea to let her get dime fresh air? Why don't I bring her back to the shrine with me for a while?"

"The shrine?" Ayato repeated. "Yes. It's quiet, tranquil, and close enough to the estate. A prefect place to take a brief reprieve don't you agree?" "This isn't another one of your ways of getting out of your shrine maiden duties is it," asked thoma, tepid accusation coming off his tongue. "Thoma, surely you wouldn't think so lowly of me that I push my duties to a poor girl do you?"

"Hmm. Fair enough." Ayato stood. Miko's pink lips spread across her face. Those words sealed the deal. When Ayaka returned to the common area she saw the threesome standing as if they were about to see their vistor off. "Oh, Lady Miko. Are you leaving already?" The maiden's visits were brief, but not this brief."

"Don't worry little one, you'll be coming with me.""Oh?" Ayaka looked to her brother in confusion. Ayato responded to Ayaka's request for an explanation."The Head Priestess has offered to take you out for the evening. It has been a while since you left the manor. And Periodic outings may prove beneficial for maintaining a sense of normalcy and eventually a return to regular routines. Besides the shrine is quite close." An approving nod from Thoma followed. Miko took all of this in carefully before maneuvering herself behind the confused girl and placing her hands on her shoulders. She leaned in near the girl's face until their cheeks were touching. "I'll have her back by morning," Ayaka swears her teeth looked sharper than normal.____A fusha wagasa stood lone on the wet trail up to Mt Yogou. Violet fireflies danced in and out of the darkness. The sound of Miko's sing-song voice and sandals on wet stone disturbed some of the foxes on the trail. Despite working alongside Miko for years, it was still quite rare for them to be able to speak one one-on-one. They regularly met at different festivals and planning events, however, the conversations there were kept brief and professional. Miko was a busy woman after all. After all the formal jargon at their meetings together, Ayaka found Miko's more casual form of speech a bit dizzying to keep up with. She barraged her with questions and followed up with her own comments, making it difficult for Ayaka to ask her own questions. "How is that brother of yours? Has he managed to find a lover just yet? That brother of yours and what's his name? Oh right, Thoma. Those two seem awfully close. But you know what they say, you should marry your best friend." While Ayaka didn't particularly mind the casual banter, she felt a tinge of discomfort with the intimacy of the subject matter. Additionally, she found herself somewhat flustered, yearning for a more balanced conversation with Miko, one where she felt engaged rather than merely spoken at."And what about you?" Miko suddenly turned her attention to the young woman as they reached the landing of the shrine. Behind them, Tenshukaku stood proudly. The landscape beneath them dotted with violet atop green and surrounded by the indigo of the ocean. Little toy houses came alight as their residents returned. Truly despite everything, despite the near fall of her clan, she still felt love for her island. With all of this in mind it made her want to stay out longer, a stark contrast to how she'd been feeling as of late. However, she was sure she was not ready to face the public again.Using her adept social skills, Ayaka reacted quickly to change the subject. "Lady Miko, why don't we talk about somethi-""Miko.""Hmm?""Miko will do for tonight."The fox's words hinted at the notion that tonight there would be no need for formalities, that somehow tonight was a particularly special night. It was rather thoughtful of Miko to offer her a night out after all. It was normal to worry about your friends, perhaps that was the reason. That and Miko's natural easy-going nature. The two had entered one of Miko's abodes and The fox was shaking the excess rain of the wagasa before placing it into a nearby holder. "Come now. No need to get so shy. It's just girl talk." Miko put her hand on Ayaka's shoulder gently, but firmly enough to hint to the girl that she wanted her to guide her deeper within the abode.The two women set next to one another on their own respective wagases with a view that overlooked the ocean just behind the Sacred Sakura. The full moon illuminated the room. Miko's abode was simple yet elegant. The room smelled of cherry blossoms and there was even a bouquet of qingxins

that was gifted to her by an old friend from Liyue. Since she had missed out on the tea served at the previous gathering, Miko made her a fresh batch. The beverage warmed her belly. Something she was grateful for since the walk up to the shrine had been a chilly one due to the rain. She was even more grateful when the woman offered her a blanket. The soft fabric caressed her skin. Despite her cryo vision giving her a higher tolerance to cold, she still preferred to be warm. Miko leaned against her catching her attention, she had absent =midnedly noticed a laps in the conversation, but was caught up in her appreciation. "You feel rather chilly, dear. Poor thing." Miko cooed at Ayaka while running a hand through her bangs. They were still damp from her post-training shower that she had taken right after Miko's earlier arrival. "You know, you shouldn't train in the rain. You'll catch a cold." Miko leaned in. The hand that was originally running through white bangs rand down Ayaka's cheek to grip her chin. "Let me warm you up." Miko leaned forward and placed a passionate kiss on the young lady’s lips.

The fox’s lips were soft and warm. Nothing like Ayaka had felt before. She thought of the distant memories of her parents kissing after praying over her sleeping form as a child and found no correlation. The sensation on her lips along with the flood of heat pooling in between her legs were a foreign sensation entirely. Instinctively, Ayaka grasped that there was something deeper in this kiss—primal instinct. Ayaka understood it primally. However, Her role as a leader and the principles ingrained in her upbringing vehemently rejected the notion of engaging in a scandalous encounter, especially within the sacred confines of a shrine! “Lady Miko!” Ayaka pushed her hands against the towering figure, but Miko did not budge. Instead, she held the younger woman’s wrists and pulled her back into her. The fox wrapped her arms around the younger and looked into her eyes. “I told you to call me Miko” Her tone was harsher and demanding, as if correcting an underling’s misbehavior, but just as quickly, her tone softened. “What do you want right now Ayaka?” Her soft hands caressed the younger’s cheek again. “Listen to your body. It’ll do you no good to suffer alone.”

Ayaka weakly countered. Where had all her strength gone? “I-it’s indecent…” Gentle astonishment appeared on the heron’s face when she saw the fox laugh, her fangs sparkling in dim candlelight and cold moon gleam. “My dear,” Miko leaned in closer, Ayaka could see the pools of tears that had collected at the coroner of the fox's eyes from her previous laughing fit. “The shrine’s will encourages one to express their true selves. Besides, you're with me, the guuji, if it were that wrong do you think I would allow for it?” A small gasp of realization from the smaller prompted Miko to slide her hands down her arms, up to her shoulders, then down her sides before resting them on her waist. Ayaka shivered. Small sparks of electricity followed the fox’s palms. “Believe me, I can purge even the most hidden of vices, Miko chided.” And with that Ayaka was swallowed once again in a deep kiss that made her drop all of her inhibitions. It felt good. Warm and tingling. But too hot, suddenly the warm tea in her belly felt like it had come to a boil and despite her cryo nature, she could feel herself starting to sweat again. Her chest was pounding and her head felt light and heavy at the same time. Miko broke the kiss to look into the shorter’s eyes. Ayaka's breaths came out in heaves. Her cool cryo-breath mixed with the warmth of the room causing condensation to form as she huffed. Her cool skin was now tinted in a layer of red as blood rushed to the surface. Her eyelids droopy and her pupils dilated. Suddenly her hakama was pulled open by pink fingers. The cooler air came as a relief despite Ayaka’s now diminished reservations. Her nipples hardened under Miko’s gaze. “Oh my, well look at these. Aren't these just adorable. Miko trail kisses all the way down from her cheeks to the hardened buds, Ayaka squeaking with each spark from the fox; 's lips. A wet tongue swirled around taupe areolas then suddenly flicking across the very tip causing Ayaka to shake and squeal. Miko did not let the girl rest as she switch back and forth between each breast, nibbling and sucking, pinching between sharp teeth in quick succession. Ayaka's fingers tangled between pink locks, all the while the slick continued to gather between her legs.

Ayaka was pushed onto her back. She felt cold claws reach under fabric and yank at her fundoshi, exposing her pink puss to the warm air. Miko rubbed hard and slow circles over the woman’s clit as she continued her previous attack on her breasts. Miko savored the taste of each piece of flesh that entered her mouth. Small purple bite marks swelled around Ayaka’s areolas. She moaned in surprise when Miko continued to nip a trail of love bites down her tummy. Miko’s slender tongue wrapped around her sensitive pearl. She mewled at the sudden contact, electricity forcing her back to arch. The room became cloudy with condensation, steam coming in whisps and coating their bodies in a wet sheen. Miko’s warm, wet tongue continued to flick relentlessly before abruptly slowing down. Ayaka whined at the loss of contact. She bucked her hips forward, desperate to reclaim her high. “M-miko?”

“There it is.” Miko moaned out. “Beg for me.”

The inferno in her chilled body shot up exponentially. All decorum that had been trained into her fled at once. Shame left no trace in her body as she begged. “Miko, please. I need it. Need your mouth.” Miko was more than satisfied with this. She was not expecting the head commissioner to break so quickly. Poor thing must have been so deprived, thought Miko. Without another word, she dipped back in between Ayaka’s folds. Ayaka’s lower body was enveloped in a heat unlike any other. Each flick of Miko’s skilled tongue had her seeing stars, and just when she thinks she's about to reach her climax the next flick of Miko’s tongue only takes her higher. Amidst her moans and convulsions, she is just barely able to mutter out a brief and broken “faster”. Miko, not wanting to frustrate the girl too much since it seemed like she was not too experienced, immediately obliged. She did not want to give the woman a bad impression. She would have plenty of time to tease her later. Only a few flicks at the heightened pace sent Ayaka over the edge. She released in a beautiful broken sob. White knuckles held Miko’s head in place as the younger woman came down from her high. Ayaka collapsed in an exhausted heap, puffs of white condensation leaving with each exhalation. Once released, Miko sat up. Licking her lips post-meal, she crawled up face to face with her prey. Ayaka stared back at the priestess through hooded eyes as puffs of condensation still left her heaving lips. Miko pulled off her haiku, letting her full breasts spill out onto the cooler woman’s chest. Pink hardening to a deeper pink at the cooling temperature. “My turn little mouse. Now stick your tongue out.” Ayaka obliged sticking out her small tongue past her pink lips. Leaning down Miko sucked on the wet muscle, intertwining her tongue with hers. Their saliva intermingled and ran down Ayaka’s chin and pooled in the back of her throat, causing her to sputter.

Once satisfied with the mixture of saliva dripping from their mouths, Miko backed up and turned around so her pink snatch was right above Ayaka’s face. Pulling her fundoshi to the side she placed her clit on Ayakas cool tongue. The cool sensation caused Miko’s clit to pulsate, heightening the sensitivity. Miko wet two of her fingers and teased the outside of Ayaka’s slit, circling her fingers around her entrance. Ayaka moaned in anticipation, an itch that she could not scratch appeared in her center, and she knew Miko could reach it. Miko began to grind on Ayaka’s protruding tongue. She inserted both fingers, pumping them in time with her grinding. The primal satisfaction of being filled sent hot pleasure through the younger's womb. Moans spilled out only to be muffled between the fox's wet core. Miko hit her bundle of nerves so perfectly. The fox’s claws became more and more wet with slick. The air was impossibly thick with condensation. Miko let out a series of short, low-pitched moans amidst Ayaka’s longer and high-pitched ones. Suddenly Ayaka’s legs hitched as she reached her peak. A long moan escaped her lips. Miko continued to pump her fingers in and out from between the woman's trembling legs, liquid squirting out with each pump and coating the tatami mats. ”Oh yeah little mouse, get it all out, all of it,” she coaxed. Miko, having more endurance than her shorter counterpart, continued to grind down her slack-jawed mouth. She sat up and began to grind more quickly, grabbing her breast with one hand and using the other to steady herself. Ayaka’s cool tongue on her clit ignited the nerve endings in her clit. The wet sound of slick, skin slapping against skin, slippery arousal running down Ayaka’s chin mixed with saliva, Miko allowed herself to get lost in all of it. With a small groan, she came quickly, arching her back.

As both of them came down from their high, Miko moved off of Ayaka's face to kneel beside her. She gazed upon Ayaka’s reddened face. Her red mouth glistened with cum. She leaned down and kissed the heron on her swollen lips. “Don’t pass out on me now little one. We’re just getting started.”

#tumblr is not letting me add a cut #ill fix this later #alienwrites #genshin smut #miko smut #ayaka smut #genshin #genshin fanfic #genshin fanfiction #miko genshin #ayaka kamisato #genshin wlw #genshin wlw smut #this has been in my drafts since last year #i still have like 4 left #i have no motivation to finish any of them #finally stated tagging my work #no proof read #dub con

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