#tried some new techniques with the rendering and it went so well! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

purple-squigly-kip · 1 year ago

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Some background on this render: It's mainly a result of 3 things. 1. Trying out a new compositing technique 2. Wanting to make something with a cinematic feel 3. Needing to give these two some catharsis after all the terrible things I put them through (mostly in my head)

These two are Emmerich (Emm for short) and Lyle! The one with the split dye is Emmerich, and the one with the scar is Lyle. Not particularly relevant to what we're going to be talking about, but there's your introduction! Onward to the technical stuff...

The vision I had in my head before beginning to project pretty much amounted to: I wanted these two in this pose on the bed, while light pours in from the window behind them. The first order of business was setting up the camera angle. Which was pretty easy to get a feel for roughly speaking, though I did end up having to go back and adjust it slightly later on.

Though I've messed around with volume scatter in the world shader settings, and creating lightrays with volume objects, none of those really had the particular look I wanted for this as I wanted something a bit more stylized. In past projects I had tried making something with the effect I wanted but kept failing to get it right. That is-- Until I stumbled upon this godsend of a tutorial by Lane Wallace that teaches you how to mimic volumetric fog with a compositing technique.

The downside to this is that you can't see it in the viewport while you're working (as far as I can tell) but it might be better for performance if you're working on a lower end PC. But above all that, the reason I went with this was of course the look!

After getting the camera angle set up, the first thing I did was actually prepare the scene for the lightray technique.

If you're interested in how it works or what the node set-up is I highly recommend you watch the video so you can try it for yourself, but in case you were curious here's what the lightrays look like by themselves in the compositor:

After setting those up, I finally went back to the layout tab to import the character models and start on posing.

I started working on this pretty late at night, so at first I was only really able to get a rough idea of the pose before I had to go to sleep. But I ended up with this:

Yeah... Pretty funny looking. But I'm forgetful! So If I hadn't gotten the idea down in some form, it was likely to run away from me, never to be seen again... All of the WIP pics I'm showing have the lightrays present since I wanted to have an idea of how they looked in the render as I was working on it, but aside from that there's no compositing yet.

Adding some more refinements including adding some gravity to Lyle's hair... Between draft 2 and 3 I adjusted the material on his blouse slightly as well. The shader I used has a rimlight feature that doesn't play too nicely with it sometimes... LMAO.

While I'm at it let me just mention... As someone with not enough space for 2 monitors, having one viewport with the render view for a preview of the final image, plus another viewport in material preview/solid view to move around in is the ideal workflow! For me at least...

Refined the pose a bit more! I added some gravity to Emm's hair and it's looking much better now... Still some clipping, but we'll worry about it later! Comparing this one with the previous version, I remember that I wasn't quite sure what to do with Lyle's hand for a while...

Originally I was going to have him put his free hand on Emm's shoulder, but it looked a bit awkward visually. So I ended up placing it on Emm's forehead. And I'm glad I did! These two have a pretty intimate relationship and have been through hell and back together, so it feels fitting as well.

I may have also dislocated Lyle's arm slightly to assist the pose, but sshhh! Don't tell anybody... ;)

It was at this point I was pretty much done with the pose for the most part, so I moved on to deforming the meshes with shapekey edits. I like doing this so I can correct certain shapes or exaggerate them in a non-permanent way. If I decide I don't like it, I can just delete the shapekey, or I can turn down the value if I think it's too much. This is how I can get away with breaking Lyle's arm scott free... heheh. >:)

But yeah, I corrected that and fixed any clipping that I noticed along the way. It was at this point I realized that I never subdivided Emmerich's pants so I decided to do that. Typically I subdivide character models in a sort of separate base file that I can append to a project whenever I want to use it, but I had run into an issue with the pants that I put off fixing until that moment.

If I have one gripe with how the render turned out, it's probably Emm's pants. Subdivision sometimes gets rid of fine details in models, so you need to account for that whenever you subdivide. If I lose detail when subdividing I usually try to re-add the detail afterwards to compensate. Which I DID do here, but not nearly enough as I should have. So his pants look a little boring in the final render when compared to the WIP pics. Alas, C'est la Vie...

And here we have some more shapekey edits, and LOTS of sculpting edits. There are certain cases where I think using proportional editing on a mesh is most effective, but overall I find a lot of the sculpting tools much easier to use. They give a more appealing look imo and they can also be set to shapekeys! It really just depends on what you're doing though, and I find that sculpting works best when your mesh has a lot of geometry to work with.

A huge improvement here. Mostly just adding additional gravity to the hair and Lyle's sleeves, as well as fixing the bit of Emmerich's hair that was clipping through Lyle's leg.

Aaaaannnddd it was at this point I realized. I forgor. 💀 When setting up the scene for this render I somehow forgot that I needed to set a cinematic aspect ratio for this even though that was one of my MAIN GOALS with this project. (Sigh).

I ended up deciding on 1.85 (3996 x 2160 pixels). The render I posted to Tumblr and Bluesky (follow me @ squigly_kip, wink wink) is about half that size though. I won't give up my full res renders just yet... Maybe one day if I open a Patreon though... Argh. Getting sidetracked. Anyway--

It was at this point I also realized the camera angle wasn't quite doing it for me, so I adjusted it slightly. I also decided to bake the lighting, which is what caused the change in color temperature.

Some more sculpting edits as well as adjusting the materials slightly. Mostly changed the rimlight on Lyle's hair to match the scene better.

And because my ass CANNOT leave well enough alone, I adjusted the pose after I had already called it done. Emm's torso just looked a bit boring to me and I thought it would be more dynamic if I bent him a little more.

And here I'm just adjusting Lyle's hand to match the last edits I made as well as fixing some new clipping. Also adjusted the material on Emmerich's pants while I was at it.

From this point, I was pretty much done in Blender! I did some additional stuff in the compositor there, but I won't go over that since this post is already UNGODLY long and that could be it's own thing. But after I was done with that I exported the foreground and background layers separately and put them into GIMP.

Yeah yeeeahhh go on. Laugh it up. I use GIMP. Yes I know I could sail the seven seas for Photoshop, YES I know Photopea is a great free alternative. But GIMP is what I started using as a little kid who had no money and was terrified of getting viruses from sketchy downloads, so GIMP is just what I'm used to.

To help sell the size of the room a bit more, I did a focus blur effect on the background. it kind of puts emphasis on them both too, which is nice. I also used the normal pass to adjust the lighting a bit.

At some point while I was doing adjustments to the colors in GIMP, the details on Lyle's blouse kind of got lost, so I masked it out and adjusted the levels to bring them back.

I also finally caught a HUGE OVERSIGHT that maybe you noticed while reading. Emm's shoulder that he's laying on is suuuuper fucked up. I am no anatomy expert, but I'm pretty sure the human shoulder Does Not Work Like That. Now. I COULD have gone back to Blender and corrected this with some sort of mesh edit, but that would require redoing the several hours worth of work I did in GIMP all over again. Fuck. that.

So what I ended up doing was color picking the skin of the surrounding area, drawing a shape with the free select tool, filling it with that color, and blending it with the surrounding skin. I'm all for getting things right the first time, but sometimes these things just happen... I also liquified certain parts of the image to correct some tiny things and make them smoother.

While doing the finishing touches, I also drew some circles and gaussian blurred them to create dust particles near the lightrays!

And with that...

We have the final render!

Here's a timelapse of every stage in order.

But yeah, that's pretty much it! I wanted the vibes of the render to be pretty calm and cozy, but while I was making this I spent hours listening to Tool and A Perfect Circle albums, so it was... pretty dissonant. But I had a fun time working on this and felt like I learned a lot! Learned to use a new compositing technique and how to automatically export layers using the file output node.

If you read this far, thank you! You deserve a cookie. I'm not going to make you any though, my oven is broken! What was I talking about again?

"..." "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you..."

#render rambling

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sillybub · 3 years ago

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what do you think about cats movie 2019? did you enjoy it?

So the movie was my introduction to Cats, and I went to go see it ironically with my siblings since we all heard how mortifying it was.

And like, yeah I didn't like it very much? I thought it was weird and I didn't understand it, and humans are so scared of what they don't understand. Granted, I had no clue about what I was going into, and my initial reaction was mostly in part to being taken way off-guard. I remember liking Skimbleshanks and thinking that, the fur itself looked really nice even if the designs were ugly. But mostly I thought it was a bad weird movie.

Now that I've had three years to reflect on it?

It's still a bad movie, but for different reasons than I initially disliked it.

1) The character designs are just bad and uncomfortable. They all have fully human faces, hands and feet, and it does not look good. This was an initial takeaway but I still stand by it. The fur itself was rendered well, but it doesn't save the designs.

2) They just made some straight up upsetting decisions regarding Jennyanydots and Bustopher Jones. I don't care that they're different, they're just actively unlikable and uncomfortable (I don't want inaccuracy to the stage show to be a factor in my opinion; I'm trying to judge it as a standalone entity). You can tell that Rebel Wilson and James Cordon just kind of thought of their characters as a joke and had no respect for them, which is simply not a good look. I'd never cast an actor who didn't have respect for their role. And if the character isn't deserving of any respect, then it's a badly written character.

3) I'm sure we've all seen the Sideways video about what a trainwreck the music was. The way it was recorded was not flattering for the vocals OR the orchestra; rhe style of recording lends itself to realism, which just does not work with the kind of story Cats is.

Which leads me to qthe most complicated one:

4) They tried to force Cats into a traditional narrative, which...just did work. They tried to have a focal protagonist (who I feel like wasn't effective foil for Grizabella), they padded the movie with dialogue in an attempt to flesh out the Jellicle Ball and Jellicle Choice, which just made things MORE confusing tbh, and trying to make Macavity more of a present threat was a noble move, but ultimately failed.

This open up a conversation about what a good film adaptation of Cats would look like.

Good news,, we already got one in 1998.

It's not just a proshot; it's also a film. They used cinematic techniques that are specific to the medium when they recorded it; use of CGI, use of editing techniques such as slow-motion, performing multiple takes, pre-recording the vocals and lip-syncing during shooting, etc.

They even modified the makeup designs to better suit close-ups. And to replicate the audience interaction, they chose to have the cats look into the camera. These are adaptational choices that WORK.

But like, okay, suppose that 1998 doesn't count. You want a "proper" film.

In my professional Film Major opinion, Cats is one of the worst musicals to adapt to film. Too much of its appeal lies in the strengths of theater and the weaknesses of film.

We want films to be realistic, in a visual sense. In theater, you can get away with standing on an empty stage and miming washing dishes, and the audience will believe that the character is literally performing that task, not pretending to do so. That does not fly in film. We need to see a sink and plates and forks and water. There's little room for abstraction, is what I'm trying to say.

And Cats is so abstract. This works GREAT on stage, but not much so for live-action film.

Abstract meaning "exists as an idea, but not having a concrete existence".

We understand that the cats we see on stage are literally cats; but they're representing by the suggestion of cats. Bold makeup, fluffy wigs, and painted unitards combined with certain movements suggest cats to us without trying to literally look like a real cat.

In film? You need to look like a cat. If a lady walked onto the big screen with a rope tail and painted on whiskers, you'd say "that's a lady in a cat costume, not a cat." You want to see furry ears and a tail that actually twitch and move. Probably retractable claws and slit pupils, too.

And then you'd have to figure out how to adapt the rest of the plot. Do they stay in the junkyard, keeping it confined to one location as per the stage musical? Do you lean into the abstraction, or try to make it more realistic? That, of course, was the failure of 2019; trying to make an abstract and whimsical musical into something realistic. If you want to aim for realism, I truly think you'd have to change the source material beyond recognition.

I used to talk about adapting Cats as an animated anthology, showcasing each song in a different style of animation. And I still think that would be sick, but my thought process there was that animation lends itself well to abstraction; you would lose out on the magic of live dance, but could perhaps make up for it with stunning, stylized animation. It's what I personally would enjoy most.

TLDR; it wasn't a good movie OR a good adaptation, but to be fair, Cats is fucking hard to adapt.

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nightyswolf · 4 years ago

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I know it's been 84 years since I posted something with Leon and Claire (well, nearly 5 but let's not be nitpicky). I'm still playing with concepts, techniques and ideas at the moment, since I'm adjusting materials and other things. I hope I'll get there though.

While I know that the files in RE3 say that Claire went off to search for Chris literally right after they escaped Raccoon, I like to think that she stayed at least one or two nights to rest up. Maybe they found a cheap hotel where no questions are asked and could lick their numerous wounds.

The second render follows the idea of Leon and Claire 15 years after Raccoon.

Yes, I use that concept of timeskips a lot but it just jumps at you because the franchise is literally giving you these characters at various stages of their lives and you can so easily roll with it. I also tried some new things on that render and so far they look promising.

Posing and rendering in Blender Cycles, edits in Photoshop. All Models and logos © by their respective owner’s! Fanart only! No copyright infringement intended! I am not making any profit with this picture! Don’t edit, repost or claim as your own!

#Leon Scott Kennedy #Claire Redfield #Leon Kennedy #Cleon #Resident Evil 2 #Resident Evil 2 Remake #RE2 #RE6

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shenglingyuan · 4 years ago

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title: seize the day and after hours(ao3) pairing: gojo satoru/geto suguru A jujutsu sorcerer’s life is always busy, especially those of the strongest ones, so when a window of opportunity opens itself up just to relax and be with someone you care most about, one can only give in to it. Notes for this AU: In-demand jujutsu sorcerer Gojo x Teacher Geto! In this setting, Toji failed in his mission and still got k-worded, Riko successfully merged with Tengen, so Geto didn't spiral down the "I hate monkeys" hole and Gojo didn't think of becoming a teacher. \o/

“It’s of vital importance that you do not forget to put up a Curtain before you start a mission, even if you cannot see the curse at first glance,” Suguru then carefully dismantles the Curtain before five pairs of inquisitive eyes, “Can anyone tell me why?”

A hesitant hand rises up in the air.

“Yes, Nanako?”

“Uhm, because non-sorcerers might get to see if ever the exorcism becomes a big event and it’s important that we keep the matters of the jujutsu world hidden from them to keep the status quo?”

“Yes, exactly,” Suguru smiles at her. Then, upon noticing the nearby presence, he makes his voice a little bit louder, “So don’t ever forget to set up a Curtain unless you want to be like a certain someone whose magnificent accomplishment of exploding a house got featured in the news.”

“Hey Suguru, stop slandering my renowned name in front of the kids.” The ‘renowned’ Gojo Satoru saunters over to their group, distributing the several bags on his hands. “Got you all souvenirs!”

“Did I lie?”

“Nope. Totally happened.” Satoru grins cheekily, standing next to Suguru and hooking an arm around his shoulder. “Missed me?”

“We’re still having a lesson here.” Suguru flicks at Satoru’s forehead, but he doesn’t pry away from his hold. It’s been over a week since they last saw each other after all. He did miss the man. “Any contribution to make up for your disturbance?”

“Hmm, let me think…ah! If you want to exorcise curses, you’ve got to be crazier than them.”

“That’s not particularly helpful.”

“It’s because you’re unimaginative.”

In front of five unwilling audiences, Satoru clings to his side like a leech. Suguru tries with all his might to deliver the last few important points of the day’s lesson, with one of his hands keeping Satoru’s face at bay from smothering his own.

“And that’s all for today’s session. Tomorrow, we’ll discuss some preparations before your next field assignment.”

“Yay! Suguru’s mine now!” Satoru almost didn’t let him finish his final remarks, squeezing by his side even tighter.

“Gah,” Nobara is the first one to openly show her complaint about the public display of attention in front of them, “Can you please have some consideration for us single students, Gojo-san?”

“Aren’t you too young to be thinking of romance?” Satoru answers back as if he’s talking to someone of his own age. “No dating until you’ve graduated!”

“Weren’t the two of you already dating during your second year in high school?” Megumi points out without missing a beat.

“What?!” Yuji’s jaw dropped, “They’re that long already?”

“Because it’s true love, dear students,” Satoru answers confidently, providing Suguru much embarrassment.

“Anyway,” Suguru finally cuts them off, “This has been a very fruitful conversation. You can go spar now, maybe the second years are looking for sparring partners as well.”

Teacher and students finally part ways, with the teacher dragging a long clingy blindfolded man with him. Satoru recounts to him every detail of his trip the past two weeks, even those that are not related to the mission at all, and Suguru is all ears. Ever since they reached Special Grade level as sorcerers, they’ve been given fewer missions together. Sorcerers are very few, after all, and they need to maximize their numbers efficiently. Sometimes, Suguru would find himself wishing there’s some especially dangerous situation that would require both of their presence, but he’d take back the thought as soon as it’s out, still preferring this kind of stability. So for now, he can only live through Satoru’s lively retelling.

Right as they arrived at their shared room, Satoru finally ends his narration.

“Seems like it’s another breeze of a mission, huh,” Suguru pulls off the blindfold over Satoru’s eyes and smooths down his hair.

“Mhm,” Satoru wraps his arms tightly around Suguru’s waist, burying his face on the crook of his neck. “Would have been faster if you were there.”

“Do you even need me?”

“Of course! What are you talking about?” Satoru lifts his head and stares directly at Suguru’s eyes, “Individually, we are strong enough to take down the most powerful curses. But together, I bet we could take all over the world.”

“And your point being?”

“Since we’re not onto world domination yet, we can’t help but not be together all the time.”

“Idiot.” Suguru presses a finger on Satoru’s forehead, earning him a pout. “No world domination. Keeping the peace is enough.”

“Mmmm…yeah but I still want to do something about those idiotic higher-ups.”

“You’re too chaotic for your own good. How about settling here and teaching with me instead?”

“Suguru.” Satoru’s tone is suddenly serious. His hands grabbed at Suguru’s waist, pulling him close. “Is that a marriage proposal? You know I’m gonna say yes.”

“Still thinking about it.”

“What a tease.” Satoru’s fingers find their way through Suguru’s hair, undoing his bun to let his hair loose. He then leans forward, uttering lazily against his mouth, “If you don’t propose first, I might just do it ahead of you.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Maybe.” With a smile, Satoru closes the distance with a kiss.

Suguru sighs into it, letting Satoru lazily nibble on his lips. Some days, it’s more than enough to just lay down and let time pass, no rush, no urgency, just the two of them entangled in each other’s arms. A jujutsu sorcerer’s life is always busy, especially those of the strongest ones, so when a window of opportunity opens itself up just to relax and be with someone you care most about, one can only give into it.

_ _

A familiar ringtone wakes Suguru from his sleep, his eyes opening to the darkness. The analog clock by the wall shows 07:21 PM…he has been out for a few hours. A weight is draped over him, rendering him unable to move for a moment.

“Satoru.”

“Hm?”

“Phone.”

Satoru doesn’t budge. “That’s yours.”

“Well, how can I move with you wrapped around me?”

After a slight pause, Satoru reaches for the phone himself and answers the call. “Hello? Oh, Auntie, you called! Yeah, he’s right here. Nah, you didn’t bother us at all. I’ll give the phone to him now.”

Suguru takes the call, stifling a yawn as he answers, “Hello Mom, it’s been a while.”

He watches as Satoru lazily walks to the cabinet and pulls out a set of comfortable clothes, simultaneously gracing him with an unhindered view of his naked back.

“Yeah, it’s good here, just a bit busy with the students’ upcoming field assignment…Hm? Wait let me ask,” he covers the mouthpiece and sits up, “Satoru, Mom’s asking when we can visit.”

“As soon as you’re free,” his head comes out of the shirt, hair all messy, giving him a youthful and unrestrained look, “I have all the privilege to request a leave anytime I want. I’ll go get us dinner, okay?”

“Sure, go ahead.” Suguru waves him away, returning to the phone call with his mother, “I think we can visit during the break if there’s nothing urgent. Is there something up?”

The door outside shuts close. Satoru turns to his side, his gaze landing on the frames displayed on the bedside table. The largest among them is a group picture from last winter vacation — him, his parents, Satoru, and the four kids. For some reason, it felt like a family picture, so he had it especially framed, taking center spot among the others.

“Well, the girls are always on their phones in their free time, of course, they’d be easier to contact than me. It’s a bit busy handling a class of five, they said it’s already a big batch. Yes, yes, I’ll tell them that.”

Ten years ago, after Suguru has successfully rescued Mimiko and Nanako from that one village, he immediately went to his parent's house to ask for their help. After all, what does a seventeen-year-old know about taking care of kids? His parents were initially shocked, but upon hearing the situation, they immediately took pity on the girls and gladly took them in. You’re always in Tokyo anyway, the house feels a bit empty without a kid, they said. But the girls wanted otherwise. After a bit of coaxing, Suguru managed to convince them to stay in his family’s house until at least he graduates from Jujutsu Tech, then he will take them back to Tokyo to live with him.

Little did he know, Satoru would also pick up two kids to take care of, and this was after he declared he would not babysit anymore after they completed their task with Riko two years prior. They’re not simple kids either; though they go by the surname Fushiguro, the boy — Megumi — has an inherited technique of the Zen’ins, and yet Satoru fought tooth and nail to be their guardian. Since he didn’t want them to be involved with the jujutsu world yet, he decided to let the kids stay in Sendai until Megumi has to attend Jujutsu Tech.

The twins and the Fushiguros occasionally met when Suguru would come to Sendai with Satoru, but last year’s winter, they decided to spend it in Suguru’s home much to his parents’ delight, and they were one complete family.

Suguru smiles at the memory, just as his mother finishes her long list of reminders for the kids on the other side of the phone.

“Okay, okay, you take care, too. I won’t forget. Love you. Tell Dad I love him, too. Bye.”

After stretching a bit, Suguru finally gets up from the bed and picks up his scattered clothes on the floor, dressing himself up. Just as he is about to wear his shirt, he catches sight of the marks on his body, most especially the bruising spot on the nook of his neck.

“Goddamnit, Satoru,” he mutters, coming closer to the mirror to check how badly Satoru left evidence. “Gonna make you pay next time.”

“Dinner’s here!” Just then, Satoru’s head pops from the doorway, his blue eyes peeking right above the rim of his sunglasses. He sees Suguru standing in front of the mirror, then chuckles audibly.

“Shut it.”

“What?” A sly smile grows on Satoru’s lips as he strides closer to Suguru. He caresses the bruising mark on the nook of Suguru’s neck, then bends down to lightly kiss it, murmuring, “Any complaints about my service earlier?”

“Magnificent as always,” Suguru sighs defeatedly, “The marks you leave though…”

“I made sure your uniform will hide this,” Satoru winks at him in the mirror. “Come on, I got food.”

He drags them to the dinner table where two bowls of meatballs and steaming rice are waiting for them, “Here, eat up.”

“You bought this?”

“No, the kids made that. Yuji was teaching them earlier when I dropped by. Mimiko and Nanako especially made these meatballs for you.”

“And how about the meatballs in the bowl you’re eating?”

“Megumi made this for me.”

“…”

“He made this for his friends, but I took it.”

Suguru flashes him a smile, “I love it when you’re being honest.”

“Shut up.”

“Did you really make that much of a bad first impression on that kid? I can’t believe it’s been nine years, but he still hasn’t warmed up to you.”

“I dunno,” Satoru pouts, trying to recall the memory of their first meeting together. “I wish he could rely on me more, you know, like how the girls rely on you.”

“I do think they rely too much on me, I’m still wondering if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Well, I guess it’s because they see me as a parental figure, too. Does Megumi see you like one?”

“…”

“Figured as much. He doesn’t know about the real deal from your negotiations with the Zen’in clan, doesn’t he?”

“No need to tell him that. I don’t want him to feel indebted either way.”

“Mm-mh,” Suguru smiles. Satoru can be such an insensitive prick sometimes, but when about the most important matters, his compassion pulls through. “Megumi’s such a spoiled child with you.”

“As if you’re not spoiling the twins yourself? Why is Mimiko’s phone new again?”

“Ah…her previous one got destroyed while on a mission with Nanako last week. Of course, I had to buy a new one immediately.” Suguru reaches into Satoru’s plate and grabs one of the meatballs, quickly eating it before Satoru can complain. “Unlike you, buying stuff for Megumi and Tsumiki even though they don’t need it yet. A good thing those two kids have a sound head above their shoulders. You’re such a bad influence — huh, these meatballs sure have so much ginger.”

In revenge, Satoru steals one of Suguru’s meatballs as well, munching on it with much gusto, “Gonna have to use my money somewhere, you know, since you still don’t want to marry and all.”

“Can we get married here in Japan?”

“Mmm, I don’t think so. Not yet. Flying to another country to make it happen is no big problem though, just say the word.”

“Since when have you been a fan of formalities?” Suguru raises an eyebrow at him, “Don’t use me as an excuse to squander your fortune.”

“Come on! Think of it: when we get married, you’ll be officially under the Gojo clan. We’ll have two Special Grades in one family, the higher-ups would be so pissed!”

“You!” Suguru gives him a light kick underneath the table, “And here I thought you’re being serious. Turns out you just want to get under those old men’s nerves.”

“Of course, I’m serious! Just noting out the fact that there’s that bonus,” Satoru grins, wiggling his eyebrows, “What do you think?”

So many years have passed, it can be said that they’ve also developed in different aspects. But in simple moments like this, Suguru is reminded that though the two of them have grown together, many things never really change through the passing of time. Just like when Satoru once suggested the idea of going against Master Tengen and he readily agreed to it, this newer plan doesn’t seem less achievable. What’re a few higher-ups with the two strongest jujutsu sorcerers in Japan?

Finally, Suguru grins back, “Sounds like a great deal to me.”

#satosugu #goge #jujukai #i write sometimes #just some domestic fluff #i tried to fluff #some talks of marriage

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eleventhdoctorsangel · 4 years ago

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Where is the real me

Summary: Ever since quirks became the new normal the US decided to try to recreate some powers from the movies such as Marvel and DC. I happen to be one of those people that they recreated powers on. I was the lucky or unlucky one depending on how you look at it that got scarlet witch powers. I've was recently got accepted into UA college.

A/n: This is an aged up fic. The UA students will be college age. Since I decided to make this story a love triangle between the reader, bakugou and Dabi and since bakugou and the reader would be a early age teen in the original story I didn't want the FBI to be breaking down my door so aging them up was the way to go.

“What’s the matter you two? You guys look scared. You dodged the attack so you can still fight can’t you? Come and get me.” Bakugou said. I started to walk slowly over to him. “You need to stop this right now. You acting childish.” I said. “Oh I’m the childish one. Here you are helping the team. Didn’t you tell me that we were a team?” Bakugou said. “I’m making sure that the damage you are trying to cause doesn’t affect the weapon. Because if this was real and we were guarding a real weapon with would have gone off by now.” I said. “Come in what’s the situation.” Midoriya said. “Are you ignoring me again? I’ll get your attention.” Bakugou said. “Bakugou. Use that stored-up power again and I’ll stop this fight. Your team will lose. ” All Might said through the loud speakers. “Huh?” Bakugou asked. “To employ such a strong attack indoors is inviting the destruction of the stronghold you should be protecting. That’s a poor strategy whether you’re a hero or a villain. The penalty would be a massive loss of points.” All might said. Bakugou let out a frustrated yell. “The pillar by the window. Get there now!” Midoriya said. “Fine. We’ll fight hand to hand.” Bakugou yelled and used his quirk to launched himself towards Midoriya and I. But before I could do anything to stop him he out stretched a hand at me shooting a blast at me. Just like before I caught it within my energy and kept it contained. “Come on you got to be kidding me.” Bakugou said. But this time the blast seemed a bit stronger than the last one I stopped. It had caused me to fall down on one knee. By the time I stopped that blast I heard two more go off. Son of bitch he distracted me. “Here it comes nerd! The famous right hook you were whining about!” Bakugou yelled. Bakugou slammed his right hand against Midoriya side as he grabbed his arm using his quirk to turn himself around. “Stop!” I yelled. “Deuk! Don’t you ever forget what you are! You’re a weakling!” Bakugou yelled as he flipped Midoriya over his shoulder slamming him on the ground. Midoriya was quick to get up and started to run away standing on the other side of the room. “Why won’t you use your damn quirk against me? Still think you can stop me without it?” Bakugou asked. “That’s not it.” Midoriya said. “You’ve been hiding your true power for years. What’s the deal Deku? Did you think you were better than me this entire time?” Bakugou asked. “That’s what you think? You idiot. You’ve always been stronger Kacchan. I know that you’re better than me. Can’t you see? That’s why I wanna beat you. Because you’re amazing!” Midoriya said with tears in his eyes. “You’re even more of an idiot than I realized. Come at me!” Bakugou yelled. Then the two of them started to run full force at each other. Bakugou got ready to throw another blast while I saw Midoriya’s arm start to glow. “I said stop!” I yelled. I watched as my red energy start to make its way over to the two of them. “Both of you stop!” All Might yelled. “Uraraka now!” Midoriya yelled. Right as my red energy reached the two of them Midoryia got the full force of Bakugou’s attack while his went up into the ceiling. I started to stop Midoriya’s attack but I was struggling. It broke through the ceiling causing debris to start raining down. I kept the debris in its place. I started to hear the windows start to break. I let out a scream as the ceiling start to fix itself and I could hear the glass start to fix itself too. I started to feel lightheaded I dropped my arms to my side as my legs gave out from under me sending me to the ground.

“This was your big plan. From the very beginning wasn’t it? You were playing me this entire time you bastard.” Bakugou said. “I wasn’t going to use it. Because I can’t control it. My body just can’t handle the backlash of my power yet. Mr. Aizawa said I’d be useless. But this was all that I could think of. This is the only was I had a chance at winning.” Midoriya said. “The hero team wins!” All Might yelled. I heard the sound of something falling to the ground. I looked up to see that Midoriya was now on the ground.

I wanted to go over to see if Midoriya was okay but every time I tried to get up my legs gave out from under me. “Your indoor combat training is over.” All Might said. A few minutes later All might came into the building. He went to check on Midoriya first. He ordered some medical robots from the nurse to come and get Midoriya. Then he came over to me. “Are you okay young Y/n?” All Might asked as he kneeled down. “I’m fine. I just never used that much of my power before. I just need a minute. But you might want to go check on Bakugou looks like he having some sort of panic attack.” I said. “You seem to be right young Y/n.” All Might said as he got up and went over to Bakugou who by then had started to breathe heavily. Bakugou seemed to be lost in his thoughts to notice All Might come up to him putting a hand on his shoulder. “Young Bakugou cool your jets. Let’s go review your work. Whether you win or lose you can always take something away from an experience like this. As long as you’re open to learning.” All might said. I tried to get up my legs were still a bit wobbly but other than I could walk just fine.

Bakugou, Tenya, Ochako and I followed All might back to the watch room where the other students were watching the fights. “Well despite the results. The MVPs of this exercise is Young Iida and Young Y/l/n!” All might said. Wait a damn minute. Wait a damn minute. “Huh?” Tenya asked confused and I was right there with him. “Shouldn’t it be one of the heroes instead since they’re the winners?” Tsu asked. “Mm! Valid question. Why didn’t I choose one of those two? Who has a guess?” All might said. “Sir! I can tell you why! Iida embraced this challenge. He was the only one who truly adapted to his assigned role. I’ll explain. Bakugou’s judgement was clouded by a personal grudge against Midoriya. As you pointed out earlier launching a large scale attack indoors was a foolish move. It could have been disastrous. Similarly Midoriya’s plan was also poorly thought out considering the amount of damage that he received. He rendered himself helpless. Not smart. As for Uraraka… She let her guard down mid battle and her final attack was far too reckless given the hypothetical stakes. If she’d treated the fake weapon as though it were real she never would’ve risked using such an imprecise move. As for Y/n she managed to keep any damage that Bakugou and Midoriya would have caused to a bear minimal. She tried to make Bakugou stop but when he didn’t she didn’t force it on him but made sure that the weapon wouldn’t have gone off if it was real. “Iida was fully prepared for his opponent’s arrival he had a strategy and never lost sight of his mission to protect the dummy weapon even if he was foiled in the end. Technically the hero team won yes but they took advantage of the fact that this was training. They didn’t respect the spirit of the trial.” A girl with long black hair explained. “Yes well you over looked a few things. Young Iida could have relaxed a little bit in the exercise but otherwise you nailed it!” All might said giving a thumbs up. I laughed a little as I shook my head. “One should always start with the basics and devote themselves wholeheartedly to learning. That’s the only real way to become a top hero.” She said. Everyone looked at her in shock. “Now then. Time to blow this joint. Let’s move on to the next match! Think about everything was saw and discussed as you tackle this training for yourself.” All might said. “Yes sir!” All the other students said. All might drew the next to team which was B for the heroes and I for the villains. I started to get a little dizzy again. I decided not to say anything as I watched the fight.

I watched as one of the boys on Team B walked out of the building while the other who was the boy I sit front of stay inside. Then the whole building was covered in ice. The room also got cold fast. I looked around to see almost everyone shivering. But Tsu was asleep. Which seem a bit odd. “He incapacitated them without compromising the weapon of his teammate. Take close note of his technique students.” All might said. “Woah he’s so strong!” A male voice said. I watched as he place a hand on the fake weapon. “The hero team wins!” All might yelled. Just like that all the ice melted away. “Holy crap.” Another male voice said. “That guy’s kind of intimidating.” Another said. “He got in on a recommendation so he must be good.” Tsu said. “I say if there’s enough time that he and Y/n should got against each other now that would be an interesting fight.” One of the guys said. “Moving on! Time to gather round for a review of the second match. After that we’ll jet on over to our next battle.” All might said. “Yes sir.” Everyone said.

Soon all the matches were over and they were pretty interesting to watching. Expect maybe with the kid that was with the black hair girl. He acted like a pervert so I will have to be careful around that one. The last battle ended just a few minutes before class was about to end which made almost everyone groan since they really wanted me to go against the guy on team B. We walked back to the entrance of the training area. There were a few students talking which made All might blew his whistle. “That’s a wrap! Super work. You really stepped up to the plate and we didn’t have any major injuries expect for Midoriya. You should be proud. Excellent first day of training all around!” All might said giving us a thumbs up. “it’s nice to hear some encouraging words after our homeroom class. Mr. Aizawa was kind of a buzzkill.” Tsu said. What have I missed? Whatever it was is probably a good thing. “I’m happy to bring such staggering positivity to my alma mater! That’s all for now folks. I should go and check on Young Midoriya’s progress! Now watch how a pro exits. Like he’s got somewhere to be!” All might said then ran off leaving a cloud of smoke behind him. “Okay you guys that is a hero.” One of the boys said. “Aw I’ll never be able to run that fast.” Another boy said. “Super awesome!” Another one said while putting a hand to his mouth and that one was the pervert.

All of the girls started to walk out and I followed them. “So Y/n is it?” One of the boys asked. I stopped in my tracks and turn back around. “Yes?” I asked. “Is it true that you were experimented on when you were younger?” A boy with red hair asked. “Sorry Y/n I didn’t mean to tell everyone.” Tsu said. “It’s fine Tsu I don’t mind. Yes I was experimented on when I was younger.” I said. “She also mentioned that your quirk was recreated from the superhero movies and it looked really familiar but couldn’t remember who’s was it?” A boy with blonde hair with a black lightning bolt streak in it. “It was the scarlet witch.” I said. “A real babe come to life.” The perverted boy said. “Yeah I have problem ending you.” I said pointing at the boy who looked scared to death. “Yes ma’ma.” He said. “That also goes for the other girls. If you make a perverted comment about any of them I will make you go through your worse fear.” I said. “Yes ma’ma.” He said. “Good.” I said turning back around to follow the other girls back to the locker room.

Once we walked into the locker room a girl with pink skin pulled me into a hug. “Girl thank you. He’s been making so many comments since yesterday.�� She said. “Yeah no problem.” I said hugging her back. “Yeah thanks a lot.” The girl with black hair said. I nodded. “You’re pretty strong too.” A girl with purple hair said. “So are you guys.” I said. “Yeah but none of us could go up against Bakugou like you did.” Ochako said. I guess what Ochako said was kinda right. “What are your names?” I asked. “I’m Mina Ashido.” The girl with the pink skin said. “I’m Momo Yaoyorozu.” The girl with black hair said. “I’m Kyouka Jirou.” The girl with purple hair said. “I’m Toru Hagakure.” The girl was completely invisible said. “Well it’s nice to meet you all.” I said. “We should all get changed we wouldn’t want to be late don’t want to make Mr. Aizawa mad.” Momo said. We all got changed out of our hero costumes and back into our uniforms. This is something I will have to get use to.

A/N: I will be taking possible super hero names at this time

Taglist: @flowersgirl02 @jazzylove

#dabi imagine #dabi x reader #bakugou imagine #bakugou x reader #my hero academia imagine #kelsee's works #Do not reblog unless it's from me

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george5259999 · 4 years ago

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Week 8 - Digital Iteration

This week's tutorial was really interesting and entertaining. One of my personal hobbies is digital rendering (mainly in Blender), but it was really nice to go out of my comfort zone to a program I have only ever used once before. When I opened 3ds Max for the first time, I noticed how similar the interface looked to Maya. Being Autodesk programs natively, it made sense, but it was nice to have some element of familiarity.

During my year 10 and 11 high school holidays I completed a Cert IV in digital design for games and film. That coursed used Maya and Unreal Engine 4, so I had a bit of experience with the interface and principles of polygon modelling. However, 3ds max was probably one of the popular programs which I had the least experience with; so it was still a hugely informative and insightful process trying to adapt my knowledge between programs.

I started with the primitives menu, and imported a sphere into the workspace. I initially found myself struggling with the interface. There are a lot of options and features which are not necessary when learning the basics of a program. When starting to learn any 3d program, I often find myself spoiled for choice, and perhaps even too overwhelmed. I was very glad when the tutorial suggested hiding some superfluous menus from view, as I felt that it really cleared up the screen. After aligning the views (Image 1), I experimented with the modifiers tab.

The modifiers in 3ds max were really interesting to play around with. Working with meshes can sometimes be a tedious and particular process, but it was really enjoyable creating something with no end goal in mind. I liked how using a squeeze modifier (Image 2) could generate an egg shape with the sphere primitive, and how the melt, twist and wave modifiers (Images 3, 4 and 5) could be pushed to the mesh extremes. When working with a mesh, the topology is important to the quality of the final form. As the entire object is constructed of tris and quads, the way they are situated on the model, and their resolution play an important role in what you see. For example, the more I increased the twist modifier, the more I could see the vertices sticking out of the shape. It goes to show that unless the resolution is increased, there are limitations to the modifiers usage, as they can 'break' your model.

The modifiers in 3ds Max are very different to the ones in blender, I definitely feel like in any 3D program, anything you can create in one is attainable in the other; however 3ds max has a lot of mesh deformation modifiers out of the box. Although I thought these created really interesting and abstract shapes which I certainly enjoyed, I realised that I couldn't think of many instances where I would use some of the modifiers on a real project, but I think they are really valuable for niche tasks.

My favourite part about the exercise was learning poly modelling in 3ds Max. Poly modelling is a core part of most 3d modelling programs; and the skills are usually transferrable between. There are some really fantastic modelling tools in 3ds max which make the process of modelling enjoyable. I had a look around my desk for some quick and interesting forms I could make, and started with a really simple apple using the sphere I had in the viewport. I utilised the 'soft select' (Image 6) feature to move many verts at once, to create the top and bottom crease in the apple where the stem travels. To create the stem, I used the cylinder primitive and used the taper/bend modifier to create a curved and natural form (Image 7).

Next, I used the cylinder primitive and used the scale and extrusion feature to get the barrel of a pen. To create the tip of the pen I target welded the vertices together to get the point. I created a new cube primitive to create the clip on the pen, and extruded it (Image 8); also creating a bevelled edge to round it out slightly. Using the same techniques, I also made a stool from my room (Image 9). I really wanted to experiment with as many features as I could in these exercises, so with each 'sketch' I tried to focus on a tool I hadn't used before - as it felt like the best way to improve (Image 10). Still getting comfortable with the Poly Modelling in 3ds max, I also made a cupcake (Image 11) from the basic cylinder primitive to try and improve my modelling quality and speed; making simple extrusions, scaling the rings in, rotating them to get the icing layers. I played around with NURMS subdivision on the mesh to smooth it out, and was really happy with the results.

Finally, I wanted to use all the skills in conjunction, as well as using a tool which really sped up the workflow. I knew from Blender and Maya that loop cuts sped up the process, but I could not find them in 3ds max. After researching the issue on different forums, I found that it went under a different name; Swift loop Though it was very basic problem solving, it goes to show that these skills and programs have transferrable knowledge; and doing a simple search of your problem can lead to new ways of solving them. Swift loop was really useful in creating a loop cut between two parallel edges; adding more geometry for manipulation. When creating the tape dispenser, I noticed that the subdivision was rounding the model out too much, to the point where it no longer registered as a tape dispenser. So I used the swift loop feature to create loop cuts close to the bordering edges to reduce the interpolation between the curve (Images 12 and 13). This taught me that the subdivision modifiers aren't just something that can be added to a model to instantly make it look better; they require some manipulation and editing to get the desired effect.

I found 3ds max challenging but really interesting and insightful. As I am familiar with other programs of similar nature, it took me a while to get out of my own head; using shortcuts and hotkeys from the other programs and wondering why it wouldn't work. Overall, I think that its really rewarding to pick up another program, as it expands my skills and approach to modelling. If I were to redo this activity, I think I would try and make some more complex forms now that I have gotten more comfortable with 3ds Max; perhaps moving onto a product or more complex object. I am really looking forward to creating the bottle concepts in 3ds max next week, as I believe it will be another chance to improve my skills.

Thoughts on the Pre-Class activity - Andrew Simpson case Study

I believe that digital modelling and physical models have a closer relationship than people think. Form and Materials are an important part of perception, but there are qualities of both physical and digital modelling provide when compared to one another. Digital models allow for material iteration, simulation and rendering. Physical models allow for the physical contact, and interaction with the end user. When Andrew discusses the importance of materiality, it drives home the necessity of experimentation and versatility in design. The idea of new materials informed new processes in his decision making process, and it lead to different material types being explored.

I found Andrew's discussion on model fidelity really insightful. I perceive high and low fidelity models to represent how close the model is to a refined product. Whilst a high fidelity model would be fantastic to show clients or to use in renders, low fidelity models are required to quickly iterate on concepts and ideas to test the boundaries of the product e.g. material, form, colour. High fidelity models are more refined, and have more time put into them, to explore how the end product will feel for the user. High fidelity and low fidelity models are both important, and when Andrew talks about the non-uniform relationship of the two in his process, it shows that design is not a linear process; rather a circular one driven by prototyping and feedback. If a high fidelity model still doesn't feel right, faster, low fidelity models can be made testing a range of new ideas; to be taken through the process of design once again.

#ides1262 2021 week 8

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9worldstales · 4 years ago

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MCU Loki Ep 3 “Lamentis 1” intensive analysis

Before we start I’ll warn you. As far as I’m involved this episode, compared to the others, is pretty weak in terms of plot and dialogues. It has some good moments but it has also other moments that… are not so good. So consider yourself warned.

We start a new episode and, after the usual summary of what happened previously we notice that… the opening music has changed again. This time it’s “Demons” by Hayley Kiyoko. The Marvel studios writing is still green and gold and the change of musici s good because this is the music that’s also being played at the beginning of the episode which shows two girls in a local, drinks in front of them, checking a menu.

The scene is so ordinary at first one might not immediately realize they’re actually Hunter C-20 and the Loki Variant we’ve met in the past episode.

They’re chatting as two friends would do, at least on the surface.

Actually the Loki Variant is trying to get C-20 to tell her how many people are guarding the Time-Keepers.

As C-20 realizes the question is out of place, the scenery changes and the Loki Variant distracts her to just asks her the same question. C-20 is about to reply when she realizes she knows the place where they’re in but not the Loki Variant, who however reassures her telling her it’s just she’s tired.

The scene switches and we see the truth.

C-20 is actually unconscious and the Loki Variant is pressing her fingers against her temple. The place they were in was all a dream, an illusion created by the Loki Variant who now asks C-20 how do she find the elevators… which either means she decided to change question or that they’ve skipped part of the interrogation because C-20 never replied to the question about how many people are guarding the Time-Keepers.

Whatever, we learn the elevators leading to them are gold.

The Loki Variant moves away her hand, smiling, as if this was all she wanted to know then moves her gaze to the monitors and spot Loki among the other TVA agents.

Maybe it’s just me but although Loki looks pretty different from her it seems almost as if she has recognized him.

The question if the Loki Variant was really a Loki or someone who, after meeting him, pretended to be him is still in the air… even though, of course, there’s the possibility that Loki Variant had met other Loki Variants who looked like our Loki. We’ll see.

We get the theme with the Loki logo and then we switch back to the TVA. In case you’ve forgotten the TVA is going through mobilization due to the sacred timeline having been attacked in the past episode.

The Loki Variant appears in the TVA and ties her hair before walking in search of the elevators. I really hope C-20 gave her other hints beyond they’re golden or she would have to go through all the TVA to find them.

The Timedoor remains open behind her.

Now… from the way she acts it doesn’t seem like she wanted Loki to follow her… and she’s clearly familiar with the working of the tempad and timedoor… so it feels weird how she didn’t worry Loki might have indeed followed her through the timedoor.

It was fine if this was exactly her plan but like this… it’s just weird.

Anyway, back to the Loki Variant she tries to enchant a hunter but her magic doesn’t work because, remember? Magic doesn’t work in the TVA but evidently the Loki Variant had no idea which tells us she never been at the TVA or when she went there she didn’t try to use magic and clearly she hadn’t asked about it at C-20.

The Loki Variant ends up fighting him. She steals his baton and uses it to reset him. 3 more hunters come and she disposes of them and okay, the show is trying to portray her as a cool fighter.

I’ve mixed feelings on this because I approve she’s a cool fighter but I remember Loki didn’t have an easy time fighting B-15. So sure, maybe B-15 is better than those 3 hunters but it wasn’t said anywhere, therefore the whole thing gets a little messy.

I mean, we saw Loki fighting in the past. Although he wasn’t the strongest Asgardian fighter he could hold his ground against Frost Giants, Dark Elves, and Hela’s dead army.

So okay, he was weaponless but still, if Loki has troubles dealing with B-15 who saw the movies come to the conclusion that B-15 alone is stronger than some Frost Giants, some Dark Elves, and some men from Hela’s dead army.

Then the Loki Variant gets into the TVA and she can fight 3 TVA Hunters at the same time with no problem. So either they’re pretty weak or the idea is that she’s pretty amazing… but still this makes our Loki comparatively very weak compared to her and it gets worse if people hadn’t seen the movies and don’t know he can fight.

It’s true later we’ll learn the Loki Variant likes to use pure strength wherein Loki prefers other techniques so she might have affined her fighting techniques but Loki still was from a warrior culture and forced to fight since he had to go to battle with his brother.

If they’re both Loki they should have the same potential. On the other side it might be it’s just I don’t get how they get these Variants. The TVA jumped on Loki as soon as he did something he wasn’t supposed to. How did the other Variants instead managed to get so different?

Whatever, it’s rumoured the next episode will deal with this Loki Variant backstory so we might learn it there.

Anyway as the Loki Variant dispose of the Hunters Loki, who in Ep 2 also went through the door just before it disappeared after him, reaches the TVA. He somehow knows which way the Loki Variant went but, before walking after her, he gets the knives Mobius wanted to give him and B-15 put in a wardrobe.

Was that wardrobe left open? Does Loki know how to pick a lock? Or did he broke it? No idea.

Anyway the Loki Variant walks quickly and reaches the golden elevator where she disposes of two more hunters.

Loki pants but arrives right behind her while walking (not sure why he’s panting then, did he too fought Hunters?).

Loki and the Loki Variants face each other, weapons in hand, the Loki Variant having grabbed her sword she didn’t use before because… she was too cool for it?

Loki wants to question her, wants to make sure she’s a Loki.

The Loki Variant rudely tells him if he has nothing else to do.

They decide they’re each other in the other way and start fighting.

The Loki Variant seems slightly better though she’s clearly not aiming to kill him as she did with the Hunters. I’m not sure if Loki is holding back as well. Loki admits considering to work with her but deciding against it because she lacks vision so he wants her to come with him, willingly or not, and use her to get at the Time-Keepers. Loki manages a couple of good moves and then they end up in a stalemate interrupted by Renlayer and two more hunters.

The Loki Variant manages to use Loki’s distraction to get behind him, using him as a shield and pointing her sword at him, telling Renslayer if she’ll come closer she’ll kill Loki.

It’s not Renslayer cares (she probably thinks it would be better to get rid of Loki as he’s a negative influence to her favourite analyst) as she tells her to go for it.

Loki uses the Loki Variant’s distraction to steal the tempad from her and open a timedoor below them, causing them to fall through it as Renslayer attempts to hit them.

From the way she looks Loki I get the feeling she wasn’t targeting just the Variant but him as well.

Anyway Loki and the Variant are lucky and end up on a bed.

This time the Timedoor should have closed immediately because neither Renslayer nor another hunter try to jump through it to give them chase.

Loki and the Variant fight for the fallen Tempad. The Variant slams Loki’s head against a table, managing to get the Tempad only to discover the battery needs to be recharged and so it doesn’t work.

After remaining on the ground for some moments Loki stands again. She tries using her sword against him and he uses his magic to come behind her and toss her on the ground before grabbing the Tempad as… the Variant tries to grab him and fail. Her attempt seems weak though.

Overall… I think they should have planned all those fighting scenes better since there’s so much of it in those first 7 minutes.

The Variant demands it back as she claims he doesn’t know how to recharge it… and while this will turn out to be true, how would she know?

Loki claims he does know how to recharge it as she’s not the only tech savvy Loki… which could be true since Loki showed he could learn very fast how to use the Time Twister and and no problems to previously use the Tempad to open a time door, never mentioning they showed him video of how the TVA worked and he learnt about the working of the Time charges.

The Variants complain he shouldn’t call her like that which confuses Loki as he sees no problem with being called ‘tech savvy’. The Variant clarifies she doesn’t want to be called ‘Loki’.

As she tries to grab the Tempad, this time without trying to hit him (no idea why as sending him on the ground might have helped), Loki causes it to disappear.

She comments that he’s ‘fully a magician’ which is better than Thor in “Thor: Ragnarok” saying he was a witch. Loki is still not impressed and grabs back his knives claiming he’ll make her disappear now.

They’re about to fight again when something hits the place they’re in.

Loki asks her if that was one of her powers while she worries about where did he sent them.

She realizes he sent them on Lamentis-1 in 2077 and she calls him an idiot as this is the worse apocalypse they could end in since the moon is about to crash and destroy the planet and no one will survive it.

On a sidenote… the moon about to fall… isn’t well rendered.

Anyway Loki correctly points out he didn’t have the time to chose but again, I get the feeling they’re trying to paint the Loki Variant as better than him. In truth Loki did good as well, using his magic to steal and hid the Tempad… and it makes sense she’s more knowledgeable about apocalypses as that’s her Tempad and she might have been there previously but still it feels as she’s above him.

The Variant saves Loki from blowing up although she claims she did it solely to save the Tempad as it’s her only way out of Lamentis-1. Loki helps her as well only to be told she doesn’t need it.

I think the idea is that the Variant, like Loki, tries to protect an image of self confidence.

They hid in small… cabin? To catch their breath and the Variant gets close to Loki enough she can rest her hand on his neck, him letting her do it without protesting. However, when she tries to enchant him, she claims it didn’t work and asks him if it’s because he’s a magician. Loki says it’s actually because his mind is too strong.

Now it would be an interesting twist if actually she did manage to enchant him and all we see after that scene is an illusion to get Loki to do something… but I genuinely doubt it.

Overall the scene feels weird with Loki allowing her to get so close and yet resisting to her enchantment totally with her dropping the idea of enchanting him immediately… as if they were trying to suggest something romantic.

And okay, selfcest is a thing in fanfictions and I’ve nothing against it but… it feels out of place in such situation. I’m all for Loki learning to love himself, but when I say so I mean HIMSELF, not another version of himself.

They consider fighting again then Loki tries to propose a truce as fighting there in such a situation would be pointless, since they’re short of time and neither of them can leave until they can turn on the Tempad.

Honestly… the Loki Variant is so fighting prone she makes me think more of a Thor Variant than of a Loki Variant. For all she defends her plan, she doesn’t really seem someone who plans things and acts rationally… and she somehow seems to have a terrible opinion of Loki, even if supposedly she has just met him, as she thinks the only reason he had to save her was because he needed her to recharge the Tempad, refuses to be called Loki and insists on her need to kill him.

Of course this might be her own way to not show weakness but still…

Anyway the Loki Variant agrees to cooperate by pointing out that there should be power on that moon so if they could get enough to make the Tempad work they would be fine.

Anyway they leave to search for the power source and the rocks falling on them become magically a lot less.

The Loki Variant continues to be rude with Loki:

“And can you shut up? Just because I have to work with you doesn't mean I wanna hear your voice.”

She’s also annoyed Loki doesn’t seem so worried from the ‘imminent death’ they’re about to risk and doesn’t want him to call her “Variant”, she wants to be called Sylvie even though she used to be called “Loki” but, apparently, she has dropped that identity.

Since our Loki criticizes how she’s going by that alias (it’s not very Loki-like) they’ve a discussion on what makes a Loki a Loki.

According to our Loki it’s ‘independence, authority, style.

At this point the show acknowledges the TVA isn’t good by having Sylvie saying:

Sylvie: So, naturally you went to work for the boring, oppressive time police.

To be honest, it’s not much because being boring isn’t really a crime but well, at least they have acknowledged they’re oppressive.

Loki counters he’s not working for them, he’s a consultant… which means nothing because he’s a consultant working for them. But whatever, I get he might not feel like telling her they had threatened to reset him if he didn’t cooperate.

Sylvie accuses him of not knowing what he wants… and I’ll be honest, maybe it’s right but since they’ve hardly spent any time together at this point so, unless she is assuming he works exactly like her and therefore she too doesn’t know what she wants, she doesn’t feel reliable.

I really hope she’s not playing the role of the self insert for the author in this bit.

Anyway Loki made clear previously he aimed to get at the Time-Keepers I’ll say the overall idea is HE KNOWS he wants to get at the Time-Keepers and thinks playing consultant will get him close to them. He might not know what he’ll do afterward should he get close to them and he might have other goals in addition to that but still… he seems to know a bit of what he wants.

Not that I find Loki’s plan a particular bright one as I’ll say it’s clear the TVA isn’t planning to let him meet the Time-Keepers not even if he were to save the Sacred Timeline 10 times in a single day because he is and remains a Variant and this makes them look down on him, never mention he’s considered insubordinate, stubborn, unpredictable and an evil, lying scourge and that they would probably consider him meeting the Time-Keepers only after they had brainwashed him into compliance.

Anyway the following discussion is interesting.

Loki: Oh, yeah? What about you? Your years-in-the-making plan was to tear the place down, create the ultimate power vacuum, and then just walk away. I'd never have done that.

Sylvie: Yeah? Well, I'm not you. Can we get on with this now?

I like to think that Loki would never do that because he knows a power vacuum isn’t a good thing. He was part of a ruling house, so he would probably know this would only result in chaos and, possibly, war until a new leader would rise to power.

This also might tie in with his mindset in “The Avengers” in which he believed that if humans were to be united under his rule they would cease fighting among them. To Loki used to Odin’s absolutist monarchy the various governments of Earth bitching among them might look like there’s an ultimate power vacuum that’s causing wars among states.

Sylvie instead seems to be moved just by her idea of destroying the TVA and who cares about what happens afterward.

While wanting to be the one who would fill the power vacuum resulting by getting rid of the Time Keepers might seem to be moved by ambitions, not worrying about the consequences of getting rid of them is not clever.

Anyway Loki sighs. He… is trying to get along with Sylvie more than she’s trying to get along with him, apparently. Does he feel sympathy for her? Hard to say.

They reach an empty city and, on Loki’s prompting Sylvie explain they’ve around 12 hours as things will only get worse.

I’m not an expert in moon crashing but, at the moment, they don’t have anymore asteroids falling on their heads so things seem to be going better… but I actually find weird they are. But maybe it’s just because I’m not an expert in moon crashing.

Loki wonders if a night light could recharge the Tempad, Sylvie pretends it could and asks him for the Tempad but he recognizes it as an attempt to get the Tempad and refuses at which she informs him they need a massive power source to recharge it… and okay, I’m confused again.

They had Loki study how the TVA works. They let him know how the Time charge works and he paid enough attention to it to remember it and… is it they didn’t tell him how the Tempad works or that he didn’t pay attention? I’m not sure which of the two I would find more weird.

Whatever, maybe they just didn’t mention how to recharge it.

Honestly I would just prefer if Loki asked it knowing a night light couldn’t recharge it, just to test her.

They reach a small house with someone living it.

In a very Thor-like fashion Sylvie plans to get inside using brute force to get what she wants which is… surely not energy for the Tempad as it’s clear the place doesn’t have a massive power source.

Loki points out how:

Loki: Brute force is no substitute for diplomacy and guile.

He’s right and as to prove the point Sylvie only ends up being blasted away as the old lady living in the place has quite a powerful weapon. Loki mocks her before starting a nice chat with the lady and I approve how he handles the whole thing until… he turns himself into the Lady’s husband and try to pretend he’s him without even knowing his character.

In fact he’s too nice with the Lady and gets blasted as well.

And now I roll my eyes because it turns out all they wanted from the lady were answers to some questions.

Sylvie in fact asks her “Where is everyone?” which is a question at which I think the Lady would have replied without need to use violence or disguise as her husband but that honestly feels silly. Sylvie should have known they all left in attempt to escape with the Ark, as she knew about the Ark because, not only she knows it would have enough juice to repower the TemPad but she knew it would get destroyed. So really, she should have expected people to go there.

Loki asks “How do we get there?” which is the only question that makes sense but really, if he wanted to pose the same question as Sylvie which need there was to disguise himself?

The Lady says to go to the train station, though she’ll warn they’ll never get a ticket.

And I go back a little to look at some things.

First thing first. The Lady looks like a human so apparently either we colonized Lamentis 1 or there’s another race of human looking aliens. It’s not a crime but it feels kind of boring.

The bit with first Sylvie then Loki being blasted away present some funny dynamics between the two.

The idea the old Lady calls them devils is… not so good unless she’s again, a human who believes in demon, and even then it feels weird. What’s more she tells them they’re demons yet she gives them the info they’re asking for remarking they didn’t need to use strength or illusions to get that info.

Whatever, we jump at the train station where some sort of guards refuses to let the poor people go on the train.

Loki observes they can’t fight their way on the train, which is something he expects her to want to do because all her plans involve fighting.

I’ll say he doesn’t know her from a long time but yes, so far fighting was part of all the Sylvie’s plans, even when she didn’t need it.

Sylvie says her plan is just to enchant the guard… because yeah, if it’s not fighting for Sylvie, then it’s enchantment. However she mentions possible troubles occurring and at this Loki asks if she plans to make him start shooting and then kill every guard and hijack the train. Sylvie doesn’t deny it… which is kind of dumb as she could have said she would just swap and posses who were to attempt to give them troubles as she had done when she and Loki met.

At this Loki decides they would do things his way and disguises himself as a guard… with Sylvie as his prisoner. Why not disguising Sylvie as a guard as well? No idea.

I mean, it’s unnatural that with a moon about to collapse on them they would worry to have a prisoner board the train to salvation. Much better to let her die there.

Anyway Sylvie complains it’s a shit plan but plays along.

And yeah, all the people there are human looking. Space is not really that diverse, especially since they’re allowing only rich people to board. It reminds me how on the Titanic only the rich people was allowed to go on the lifeboats.

Anyway Loki’s plan seems to work when a guard decides to stop them.

I’m not sure why but Loki seems to talk in an unnatural way as he says he’s taking Sylvie to Shuuro. The guard still wants them to have the tickets and is about to call someone else when Sylvie enchants him.

We could call it teamwork, but since it seems to work smoothly only thanks to Sylvie it feels more like she did all the job.

I’ve mixed feelings for Loki not managing to trick a guard and sounding so unnatural.

I mean, Loki should supposedly be good at this, although yes, in the previous movies, starting with “Thor” he wasn’t always good at this, but here he seems just bad at this.

Whatever.

On the train he claims he can't go backwards on a train and would like for Sylvie to hand him her place. She doesn’t.

Now, who can't go backwards on a train normally suffer of motion sickness… but Loki will give no signs of suffering of it so… why tossing these lines in?

Sylvie though comes out as generally nasty as she claims she can’t switch because she never sit with her back to a door but, as Loki points out, there are doors on both sides.

Once Loki sits down Sylvie starts complaining Loki’s plan wasn’t a plan as plans should have multiple steps, which isn’t necessarily true and anyway her own didn’t have multiple steps either.

Loki doesn’t counter anything, as if trying to be nice and then notices her yawning and suggests her to rest.

She refuses.

Sylvie: I can't sleep in a place like this.

Loki: You can't sleep on a train?

Sylvie: No. I can't sleep around untrustworthy people.

It’s the second time they used this type of dialogue in which Loki seems to misunderstand why Sylvie said.

Loki: Of course I do. You're not the only tech savvy Loki.

Sylvie: Don't ever call me that.

Loki: Tech savvy?

Sylvie: No, a Loki. You're just fully a magician then?

Anyway as Loki is the untrustworthy person I really can’t see what she fears from him. She saw herself how the Tempad doesn’t work so it’s not like he can use it to escape alone.

She encourages Loki to sleep which he refuses and she points out she can’t steal the Tempad form him due to him knowing magic. This prompt Loki to explain his mother taught him magic.

Sylvie asks what she was like and he describes Frigga as ‘A Queen of Asgard. She was good. Purely decent.’

As it will turn out Sylvie doesn’t remember her mother this might be the reason for her question… though she might also try to find some ground to enchant Loki as well.

Anyway she rudely asks him if he’s sure she was his mother. He cheerfully counters he was adopted and asks her if this is a spoiler for her.

I don’t really like this because this discovery was pretty painful for Loki so it makes it look like as, by saying so, he might aim to emotionally hurt Sylvie… which might not even be the case because for all he know she could have been lovely raised by her real parents.

Instead Sylvie points out she knew she was adopted. Is that why the TVA arrested her? Because she knew she was adopted differently from Loki? Or because she presented as a girl? Was she born this way? If that’s the case shouldn’t the TVA go catch her because that wasn’t how she was supposed to look? Or it was Odin’s spell? Anyway again, the TVA shouldn’t have appeared?

Whatever, Loki admits his parents didn’t tell him, then corrects himself saying they eventually told him which is a gross oversimplification because he had to force the truth out of Odin but we aren’t going to talk about this because Loki wants to know about Sylvie’s mother… who is… who?

Sylvie doesn’t remember her, was she Frigga or not?

Whatever, Loki tells her how Frigga used to do magic for him and encourages him, assuring him he could do it as well.

Loki: You know, when I was young, she'd do these little bits of magic for me. Like turn a flower into a frog or cast fireworks over the water. It all seemed impossible. She told me that I'd be able to do it too because... Because I could do anything.

Okay, so this memory from Loki’s past is very nice and confirms the canon Loki was taught magic by Frigga (the scene saying so in “Thor: The Dark World” was cut). Loki shows Sylvie how to make magical firework. Nobody notices Loki using magic which is weird. Sylvie is touched and doesn’t see his display of magic as something that could cause them troubles at all.

Loki goes on saying about Frigga:

Loki: She was the kinda person you'd want to believe in you.

It’s overall a nice chat but then Loki asks Sylvie:

Loki: So, where'd you learn to do the... You know, the... Whatever it is?

It’s enchantment! Loki himself called it so in episode 2! Why this ‘whatever it is’? Is he looking down on her for it?

Sylvie explains she taught herself and Loki asks how it works… because evidently she scene at the end of “Thor” in which he enchanted/possessed Selvig was scrapped by canon.

No, I’m not criticising the series here, it can very well be they scrapped it from canon as in all “The Avengers” there’s no mention of Loki previously controlling Selvig and when he does it in the movie he does so by using the mind stone in the sceptre.

To Loki asking how it works Sylvie would like to show him by enchanting him, which Loki refuses fearing she’s trying to get the Tempad… because really, it’s not like it failed spectacularly at the start of the episode.

Loki starts drinking champagne which Sylvie instead refuses.

They end up talking of the old woman they met, Loki saying it’s a pity she chose to die.

I wish they had talked here of how he chose to die when Odin rejected him but they prefer to talk about LOVE instead.

Sylvie claims she was in love and Loki points out that she hated the man.

Now the idea the lady remained behind because Patrice died is an assumption. Correctly she assumed they wouldn’t let her board the train so it’s possible she merely wanted to spend her last moment at home instead than waiting for a train she wouldn’t be allowed to take.

As if to either deliberately go against Loki or refuse to lose an argument with him Sylvie suggests that ‘love is hate’. So does she love the Time-Keepers and that’s why she wants to blast them away? Or does she love Renslayer?

Loki mocks her slightly, attempting to write down what she said but what he did seems to amuse her. He then asks her if she has a beau.

Sylvie replies she’s in a relationship with a postman, which seems her own attempt at a joke… though since she adds it was only ever just to keep her going she might have had someone.

She feels pretty sad as she says so.

She then turns the conversation on Loki, pointing out how he’s a prince and asking him if he had a would-be-princesses or perhaps, another prince.

So… isn’t Sylvie a princess? Who knows?

As Loki says he had a bit of both, supposedly same as Sylvie he and Sylvie agree those relations vnever felt real.

Loki says he had a bit of both and suspect she also had both as well but none of his relations even felt real.

Sylvie concludes this should mean love is mischief and I get their point but I wish they didn’t generalize. Loki says that’s not it but, to define love, he’ll need another drink.

Somehow between the two Sylvie in that moment seems to be more dismissive of love than Loki.

She then lectures him on how they’re about to try and hijack the power source to a civilization's only hope and since it's not gonna be easy they should rest… which is what Loki suggested her to do but she claimed she couldn’t do around him.

Loki agrees but tells her she should relax her way and he would relax his own.

The scene switches and we see that Sylvie has fallen asleep and is now awaken by Loki singing some Norvegian/Asgardian song, with the other passengers. Loki is back in his own TVA clothes, which worries Sylvie.

A passenger observes him and then decides that’s the right moment to go report his actions to… someone. And it’s the right moment to do it solely because now Sylvie is awake and sees him doing it so she can worry.

Since people there is playing the song Loki is singing and even singing along with him, Loki should have been going at it for a while but, of course, if the guy had done it sooner and Sylvie hadn’t noticed him it wouldn’t have worked well.

Back to Loki he seems to be singing his song to Sylvie and, in fact, when he ends it, he dedicates it to her before swallowing his drink and demanding another, breaking the glass on the floor.

Sylvie goes to scold him for being drunk to which he complains he’s not drunk, he’s full. Only someone said to say full and drunk in Norvegian you use the same word so it can be some sort of wordplay. Or not.

Loki would like her to try some food, Sylvie asks him about his uniform, reminding him how they were supposed to lay low.

Loki insists nobody cares because it’s the end of the world. He’s clearly drunk, he even drops a plate. As she insists something should be up he asks her why she’s so paranoid and she replies:

Sylvie: It must have started when I spent my entire life running from the omniscient fascists you work for.

Okay, it’s nice to learn this small info about Sylvie and to have the TVA referred as omniscient fascists. Just in case someone missed the TVA is a bad organization.

It doesn’t get any deeper than that as Loki switches topic by claiming he has an answer to what love is.

Loki: Love is a dagger. It's a weapon to be wielded far away or up close. You can see yourself in it. It's beautiful. Until it makes you bleed. But ultimately, when you reach for it...

Sylvie: It isn't real.

Loki: Yeah.

Sylvie: Love is an imaginary dagger.

WARNING: THE PREVIOUS BIT WAS WRITTEN WITHOUT ME HAVING SEEN EPISODE 4 AS WELL. THE FOLLOWING ONE WAS INSTEAD WRITTEN AFTER I SAW IT. BEWARE FOR SPOILERS ON EP 4.

So that point of all this is…

“I wrote that really, really quick,” Waldron explains. “I remember I was revising Episode 3 in the two weeks leading up to my wedding. It’s interesting because that's probably the most romantic episode. At that point, Loki is a little bit drunk. That freed me up, where it was just like, ‘Don't think too hard about it,’ which is sort of my first thought that Loki would think here.”

Doesn’t exactly make sense? For Loki, it doesn’t need to make sense for him to be convincing with it, and Waldron relied on that. “I just ran with it, ‘Love is a dagger,’” shares Waldron. “And fortunately, like many of Loki's metaphors, it almost works.” [‘Loki’: The Meaning Behind ‘Love Is A Dagger’]

In short it’s only a drunk Loki’s babbling for Waldron, something that doesn’t need to make sense.

Great, we could talk of the TVA being a fascist organization but no, let’s have Loki say something that doesn’t make sense.

Tom Hiddleston too doesn’t find it anything profound but, at least, he ties it to Loki’s experience with love, which always hurt him.

But in fairness to Loki, this “imaginary dagger” has honestly been his experience in his relationships so far, with Hiddleston continuing that, up until this point, this “is Loki's experience of love, I suppose. He certainly feels like it's not been something he's been close to. It has been some sort of illusion that he has trusted and been let down by.”

Now, since this is a damn episode about love and Loki and Sylvie being bisexual, instead than getting Loki drunk and coming up with this sort of statements they could have showed up glimpses of his past love relations with men and women. But no, let’s let Loki babble about love because, sorry for the SPOILER but by now I expect everyone and their moms to know and anyway it’s fairly obvious from the setting, the whole episode is about to lead him to the way in which he’ll have a moment with Sylvie in Ep 4.

Anyway the man comes back with 4 or more guards that want… to check Loki’s ticket.

I don’t know how public transportation works on Lamentis 1 but the idea that a man would suspect Loki to not have his ticket because he was drunk and singing with the rest of the passengers and so 4 guards come to check on him just in case he’s actually dangerous is pretty weird.

I’m bad at recognizing people but Loki saying ‘you again’ makes me think that guy is the one who they met at the start of their travel. Anyway, Sylvie doesn’t get in between and possess the buy but let Loki handle matters… only Loki is drunk and instead of conjuring tickets up with magic he conjures up fireworks. So, instead than giving him a fine or telling him ‘no jokes, the tickets now’, they try to restrain him. Note they don’t care about restraining Sylvie and… they let one of Loki’s hands free because why restrain both?

A fight ensues and evidently people in Lamentis 1 are extraordinarily strong because, although fighting wasn’t Loki’s strongest suit COMPARED TO ASGARDIANS, he was still strong enough alone he could hold his ground against Frost Giants and Dark Elves.

Whatever, we’re supposed to believe he’s drunk so that he can’t even throw well his knives and I guess being drunk made him weak but what about Sylvie?

I mean, Sylvie, who had been killing TVA men, despite getting involved in the fight, doesn’t try to kill the guards, nor does Loki. They evidently didn’t even hit them that hard as the guards keep on getting up and two of them manage to toss off the train Loki. Note that when Sylvie tries to toss herself out of the train realizing Loki has the TemPad… THEY TRY TO STOP HER! WHY?!?

It’s so damn convenient for them if both Loki and Sylvie end out of the train!

Once out of the train Loki discharges his jacket for… no reason we can know of. Maybe it got ruined. Whatever.

He walks after the running train for a while before giving up five steps after where Sylvie fell because evidently he realized only then he couldn’t get back on it. At this point Sylvie point her sword at him, demanding the Tempad back and he… decides to give it to her, which he had refused before, but who care because although the TemPad was in a dimensional pocket it somehow got broken during Loki’s fall.

My guess is, since Loki put his hand behind his back, the TemPad wasn’t in a dimensional pocket but Loki merely made it invisible and when he retrieved it and made it visible again it turned out it was broken.

Whatever, he clearly didn’t have the Tesseract or the Casket of Ancient Winters in his back pocket so I don’t see why he couldn’t just use the same dimensional pocket he used back then for the Tempad but had to turn it invisible… except for the fact that they wanted him to break it.

Sylvie starts yelling at him ‘You asshole. You killed us. You're not a serious man. You're a clown. You got drunk on the train.’ Yadda, yadda.

She’s right but the problem I see with all this is WHY LOKI GOT DRUNK?

I mean, the Loki of the myth would get drunk and lose control of himself, all right, but our Loki wouldn’t. When Tony Stark offered him a drink in “The Avengers” Loki didn’t accept it and then another and another and got plastered, nor he drank in Asgard in “Thor”, not even to drown his sorrow and even in “Thor: Ragnarok” when he watches the show he’s not drunk.

He has a cup of what I assume is mead, okay, but he’s not drunk.

So all of sudden he decided it was a moment to get drunk, because the story demanded him to sing a song to Sylvie, getting discovered, not fighting as well as he should and ending up out of the train to break the tempad.

This is a huge plot contrivance in an episode that’s filled with them.

So Loki and Sylvie get into a discussion on how Loki did it because he’s hedonistic with Sylvie saying me too but never at the expense of the mission, which was how Loki was before being in this series.

Loki shoots down Sylvie’s mission.

Loki: Oh, the mission? The mission? What, your glorious purpose? Give me a break. You can't beat them.

I wish they would just stop shooting around the words ‘glorious purpose’. A statement Loki said in “The Avengers” once is becoming the series verbal tick.

Even the sentence ‘the mission’ feels a bit weird because normally people don’t refer to their own goal as ‘a mission’. A mission is more often than not something that’s given to you by others but, so far, we were never told someone was moving Sylvie from behind the lines.

Whatever, Loki tells her she can’t beat the Time-Keepers because… no idea. Just because the Infinity Stones don’t work at the TVA it doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t be stabbed and die.

Sylvie has a nervous breakdown and screams releasing her power which, I guess, is meant to parallel what Loki did when Frigga died. Which was partially cut as we never saw Loki screaming.

Whatever, it just doesn’t have the same emotional intensity because in that scene Loki was broken by Frigga’s death while here Sylvie just seems angry.

Loki goes to sit next to her the way he used to do with Thor in “Thor” which again make me think that Sylvie, more than a Loki, is a Thor.

Anyway they have a chat about their future and the one of the planet in which it turns out Sylvie knew about the Ark and how it never left because it got destroyed. So really, there was no need to ask that old lady where everyone went when she knew they were all trying to reach it.

Loki suggests to hijack the ark and make sure it gets off this moon at which Sylvie agreed because… well, I guess she can’t come up with a better option, without even realizing this would mean create a Nexus event and get the TVA come running.

As they walk toward the way Loki complains:

Loki: You know, I don't think I've ever walked this much in my life.

Differently from many people in the net I can buy it, because in Asgard they were shown to use horses or Skifts to cover great distances and that one seems to be a great distance.

Sylvie equates not having to walk that much to having a pretty good life. News flash, people can have a miserable life even if they don’t have to walk long distances. People enslaved, for example, didn’t necessarily have to run from a side to the other of the world, but yeah, the whole is just to remark how Loki lived a princely life.

Scott, Peter, might not have had to walk but definitely didn’t live royalty lives.

Loki kind of jokes about letting Sylvie enchant him so that he could sleep through the way, and he’s told that’s not how enchantment work. So… he doesn’t know?

In episode 2 he could recognize what Sylvie did as enchantment, in Ep 3 first he believes enchantment won’t work on him, then he has no idea what it was…

Loki: So, where'd you learn to do the... You know, the... Whatever it is?

…then he doesn’t know how it work? What is it, Loki is starting to suffer of amnesia?

Whatever. Loki compains he told her much about him but doesn’t know anything about her. So, for an episode that wants to set up them as a couple what Loki wants to know about her are… her powers. And he needs to know them so that he could know if he can trust her. Because if she has enchanted him already it’s not going to make a difference and if she couldn’t like the previous scene in which she seemed to fail to do so… it doesn’t make a difference either.

Really, this is just for:

A) talk about how enchantment works

B) to reveal to the audience and Loki how the people in the TVA are all Variants of regular people on Earth (again, why doesn’t the TVA takes… Krees, for example) who ends up being brainwashed by the Time-Keepers.

So yeah, another hint that the TVA is a terrible organization. Too bad it’s inserted in a terrible dialogue.

On another note… why all of sudden Sylvie finds Loki worth being trusted with such an explanation? Because enchantment doesn’t work on him? If that’s the case she could have told him sooner.

Anyway Loki is impressed she could learn that by herself, to the point he seems to view it as superior as what he can do.

Loki: And you call me a magician.

I’m impressed as well but for different reasons. I mean, she said she taught herself. But how in the world is that possible? She should have seen someone doing it and she should have been told how to do it, otherwise you don’t go and assume if you touch someone you can control them, or that you’ve to check their memories and present a fantasy and besides… if she could check C-20 memories couldn’t she just take those information she wanted from there?

Also… does the TVA take people all from a present time? Because C-20 memories were clearly in a modern setting and Mobius’ fixation with jet ski might come from the fact he lived at the same time in which they existed.

Now… they’re kilometres away from the city but they can hear the announcer in the city saying there are only 10 minutes to the launch. I mean… how loudly they’re transmitting that info, who’s close would have turned deaf!?!

So they reach the city in 5 MINUTES because they run as fast as that and decide they trust each other because… reasons.

Sylvie: Do we trust each other?

Loki: We do and you can.

Loki shows empathy by commenting on how ‘They're gonna let these people die.’ Which really won’t work so well with how they’ll try to pass him for a narcissist in the next episode.

Loki and Sylvie try to run to the Ark as meteorites start to fall more.

In the general panic, with the city starting to crash down, some guards feel like stopping them for… reasons.

Loki stops a falling building with his magic but doesn’t use it to send all the guards flying away but when they were still too far to make it to the Ark the latter is hit and, of course, rendered unable to leave.

Okay, so I really had a hard time to write all this because this episode is bad plot wise and dialogue wise and when you look at it in deep it only gets worse.

Not only it has plenty of plot contrivances that cascade also on the previous episodes so that things that happened that we could assume were due to Sylvie’s plan revealed to be for no reason at all but, when you watch episode 4 you realize the whole episode is just an excuse to keep Loki and Sylvie together for long enough they supposedly start having feelings for each other (Had they closed them in a room it would have been the same!) while using poor dialogues and a characterization of both that’s honestly not so impressive for two characters that are supposed to be extremely smart.

Sylvie tends to act with force more than with brain, Loki tries to use his brain but it either don’t work or he dumbs himself down by getting drunk for no reason.

Overall, it had been a disappointing episode.

#mcu loki #loki odinson #loki laufeyson #sylvie #frigga #9 worlds study #9 worlds study mcu loki

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noteofnaught · 4 years ago

Text

Dante's memory of his mother

Fiddled with what I had written earlier.

The translation was done for me by deepl (translator).

Please let me know if you think it's strange or if there are any mistakes.

The above is purely a personal opinion

Feel free to discuss and exchange.

Dante's memory of his mother

Dante's memory of his mother, or rather that night, seems to have been formally depicted once in DMC5 since DMC1.

So let's start with the DMC1.

In the DMC1 novel, there is a scene depicting Dante recalling the events of his mother's death.

「母さん、母さん……ねぇ、母さん！」

幼子が、地に倒れ伏した母親の身体を揺さぶり続けている。母親の息がすでに絶えていることは、誰の目にも明らかだ。

だが幼子は──すでに自分でもそうとわかっているのだろうが──無

駄な努力を止める気配はない。

「兄さんもいなくなっちゃったんだ！母さん！ねぇ、母さん！」

亡骸からは未だ、温かな血が地面へと広がり続けている。

幼子は半狂乱だった。

We can see in the description that Dante tries to wake his mother up next to her dead body, even though he realises that she is dead but he is still trying to wake her up. This is a reluctance to accept his mother's death, a normal emotion and attitude for a small child to have.

And the second half of his sentence [兄さんもいなくなっちゃったんだ!] It is as if he had searched for his brother, but his tone is one of powerlessness, of helplessness, of feeling negative about the outcome. So here I want to convey not so much that he has searched for his brother to no avail, but a sense of powerlessness about the situation. He tries to wake up his mother in this way.

It's close to one: Mom, wake up. My brother is not here/is gone and I don't know what to do/I'm scared, please get up Come on.

And then in the scene of Neal's death, Dante recalls this as Neal's sacrifice to protect him, just as his mother did that day.

After that he heard the voice of his father's sword, and out of fear and insecurity he was completely drawn to it, thus obeying its words and changing his name until he gained the power to fight against it.

Then, in the battle with Gilvi, when Gilvi stabbed Dante and was covered by the necklace, Dante's internal activity was as follows.

He credits his mother with protecting him (again) as a child.

Where the mother sacrifices herself to save/protect Dante this is consistent with the DMC1 in-game scene. In DMC1 Dante has a similar line after Trish sacrifices herself to save him. This is the diagram from Precious Tears, with Japanese and English, but both Japanese and English convey that Trish sacrificed herself to save him, as did her own (Dante's) mother.

This is in line with the content of the DMC3 comic.

In the DMC3 comic, Dante has a nightmare at the office after his encounter with Vergil, a dream that is not in fully recreated form but like a fragmentary form.

Here the mother has more dialogue than in DMC1, and it is obvious from the comic's footage that there are huge hands behind her that are about to crush her, and Dante reaches towards her as if to retain his mother, who is feeling very scared, while her mother shouts for him to hurry up and hide/hide and not come out no matter what happens. She is then crushed by the huge hand. In the next panel we can see that the demon looks like a bird and says the terrible words "all die". like it is glowing, and on the next page you can also see the huge three foot shadow on the ground, which also looks like the claws of a bird, and the door behind it is the image of burning, while a long shadow is drawn under his feet.

Of course, we know from the comic that Arkham says there was a fire that day, and Vergil's fearful recollection of the house being on fire makes DMC5 even more certain that it was indeed on fire. The glowing eyes, the long, thin shadows and the subsequent bloodstained house in the comic give the impression that something ominous, unsettling and alien is about to happen.

The cartoon after that also shows us Dante waking up with a jolt, his face covered in water, looking at his hand but with only a drop on his end finger, giving the illusion that he has pulled a hook with someone. There is no sweat on his body, however, and of course there are problems of expression in the painting, so it is not painted.

But it is also true that these same fragmentary memories and dreams give Dante unease and fear.

Well, the memory, the feeling of his mother in Dante's vision so far is the following: his mother told himself to hide and not come out, and sacrificed himself to save himself. It is the great selfless motherly love that belongs to Dante.

Although it was a great mother's love, the memory of that day still makes Dante feel uneasy and afraid. The last memory his mother leaves Dante with is the one that tells Dante to hide, and implicitly the will to let him live. If we add the DMC1 novel to the mix here, it is at this very moment that he is drawn to his father's sword.

Again within these memories and fragments, the mother is rendered unknowable to Vergil, meaning that we do not or cannot see in Dante's recollections that the mother ever went looking for Vergil, if not for the presence of the phrase [兄さんもいなくなっちゃったんだ!] we would not even know in this recollection of Dante that he knew that he had a brother. What we can see or what Dante perceives in his vision is that his mother loved him so much that she died in the process of protecting/saving him.

However, it is also a writing device that can be lifted off as suspense.

But again, this doesn't do any damage to the image of Eva as a great mother, because based on what happened that day, the great mother had to choose to save/protect (potentially the closest to her or that she could find) one child and had to give up the other in the face of force majeure. Dante also never said before DMC5 whether his mother loved Vergil or not, whether she ever sought him out or whether she cared for his brother as well.

What we see in Dante's vision is basically what Dante can know, but it doesn't mean all of it. After all, comics or game scenes have an obligation to show us the scenes, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the characters actually see all the textures. We, as players/readers, are a kind of God's eye and we can notice things that are not right or different (also a storytelling technique) but as protagonists we are not necessarily fully aware or in the same position as us.

I think if you have seen suspense films, you will also often see that kind of bridge, we all know that this bomb is going to explode this person to kill that person, although there is that kind of explicitly shown in the footage, but the protagonist is still unaware of the appearance, many viewers are in order to pinch a cold sweat, for this reason anxious hope that the protagonist quickly realize.

And DMC5 gives us a formal depiction of that day, not through snippets like a nightmare, you can see in the game's overstory description that it says Dante dreamed of what happened before, which means this time you are shown real memories.

After all, a nightmare is not necessarily a real memory, it is a condensation of a certain memory. Sometimes we have a nightmare like dreaming of a giant cockroach because we are afraid, so we reproduce and amplify this fear in our nightmares, so that a small cockroach we see in the house becomes enormous in our nightmares, the giant cockroach is not necessarily real but the fear is real. Of course, we are not talking about the formation of nightmares here, but only about the fact that nightmares and some fragments of our memories with fear and anxiety may be a recreation of what we felt and what existed at the time, but not necessarily a completely real recreation.

In the DMC5 Eva process screen.

There is a slight difference between Japanese subtitles and English subtitles, or even Japanese dubbing.

The overall meaning is actually similar to the DMC3 manga, Eva is all over Dante not moving and telling him to hide/hide, the only difference is that she says more words to make Dante forget his past and forget his name and start a new life from scratch/not being Dante but another person to start over. All also contain the mother's wish for him to live well.

The difference is that in the Japanese subtitles, Eva clearly expresses the possibility that she may not return and so tells Dante to listen well to what she says next, whereas in English it is expressed as I promise you will return.

In the English context, although the mother says she will come back, she immediately reverses the 'come back' in the next sentence, saying that she knows it will be difficult, but you're old enough so you'll have to do this if I don't come back. They both mean the same thing, a mother who knows she might not come back and tells her child what she will do if she doesn't come back, as if making a pact with her child: we agreed that if I don't come back, you will remember to do this, I know you can do it.

If you look closely at the animation of the process, you can even see Dante's hand trembling on the cupboard door, he is very scared.

And the BGM here also happens to be called: More Fear

And of course it is here that we first see Eva looking for Vergil, and it turns out that Eva has looked for Vergil! This doesn't exactly match the information we got on Dante's side earlier.

But are you saying that the DMC1 message contradicts the current message? The DMC1 novel only mentions that he cried next to his mother's body, not that she said anything to him before she died, after which he became obsessed with his father's sword out of fear and terror. And his father's sword statement is the same as his mother's deathbed statement but in a very different series.

The meaning of the mother's words is very clear, the words are all about the desire for her child to live well and to stay away from these things that will hurt him, a good expectation and blessing for her child and the expectation and belief that her child will be able to do so.

「今はその名を隠し、目を眩ませ、逃げ延びよ」

“Now go incognito, confuse the enemy and flee far away!”

The overall meaning of the phrase is that it is dangerous to hide the name, confuse the enemy and run away, and the phrase even takes the form of a command that the child must do what he says.

It's a phrase you'd put in the context of a superior to a subordinate, a captain to his teammates, and in the context of a tense battlefield man telling you to run fast is perfectly fine and appropriate. But Eva's words could only be said by a mother to her child.

When all the memories are linked together, our facts about Eva become a little more complete, and at the same time what effect does it have on Dante?

If his mother only died saving him and he hated his father for her revenge which is quite reasonable, this has to be a blowback from his father's enemies. What is necessary to mention here is what Dante's mindset was regarding DMC1 killing the Black Angel.

In the official publication of the 3124 collection, Dante is said to have killed the Black Angel with "no thought", a word synonymous with "remnant", which is generally translated into Chinese as: regret.

And the DMC1 how-to book has a direct description of his ideas.

Dante is talking here about Mundus killing his mother and brother.

This is not the same as what we generally think of as objective perception. In the game we see over the course of the game, the Black Angel looks as if he still has a heart, so naturally we think there is still salvation, after all, he is still alive.

But here Dante does not think that it was his own hand that killed the Black Angel, but that Mundus killed Vergil.

Of course we can parse this to mean that killing the man who was Vergil means, but even so within this passage of Dante he is not one of the reasons for Vergil's death, he has no responsibility in Vergil's death and is not responsible for any act occurring in the process, but rather Mundus should need to take full responsibility.

In other words, it means that even if it was he who killed the Black Angel in the course of the battle, then he is not responsible for it, but Mundus is responsible for it, because it was Mundus who arranged it, and how could he have killed it if he had not arranged it there, it was not his problem, it was Mundus' problem.

than what we generally think of as objective factual rational logic going into the judgement: although Mundus turned Vergil into a black angel like that, he himself didn't recognise the killing, more or less he was responsible for it or felt particularly guilty that he didn't recognise it.

Dante's logic leans more towards total emotional logic: It's all Mundus' fault!

And in DMC5 just as Vergil used to think it was a matter of not having enough power, now it's a matter of having too much power, and now that Mundus is gone, not recognizing Vergil (V) for killing Vergil can only be his active choice, not a passive one, and it can only be that his responsibility has nothing to do with Mundus.

Returning to the mother, what arises is in fact the same question. If before it was his mother's great love for him, which was selfless and exclusive to him, now, at this moment, her love is equal, not just his but also his brother's. The "he" whose mother sacrificed herself to save him in the flashback (DMC5) is not really a "he". His mother's did not hesitate to rush out to save her brother, knowing the danger.

Of course we must also mention nell, arguably the designer of Dante's double shot.

In the novel, Thor wants Neal to commission and pay a deposit for a double gun for himself, one of which is a secret-made gun he stole from a robbery, and the other is the same type of medieval gun that Neal himself received.

nell is so good to Tony, as is clearly described in the DMC1 novel, because Tony looks so much like her child, and her love for her child is projected onto Tony, and she holds on to her job before she eventually dies, not only because of her love for Tony but also her love for her own child, and more so for the work ethic she has taken on this job and should complete.

But all the same, the person she missed most on her deathbed was her own child, something Tony could never replace, nor could he if he wanted to, which of course didn't mean that nell's love for Tony was false, nell's love for Tony was also real, indeed it was love, it was precisely because of the person of her own child that nell loved so deeply that Tony was loved by her.

Whether it is nell or the mother Eva, their love for their child is not solely Dante's alone and only his, or why they love Dante/Tony, it is because they both love their child, and if they were not such, then Dante would naturally not be loved by them.

His mother's protection and sacrifice is something he feels and desires, something that is personal and emotional for him. It also explains Dante's statement to Trish in DMC1 that "his mother died to protect herself", because Trish, like his mother in his feelings and understanding, has what he calls a "heart".

Of course, because DMC1 is entirely Dante's vision of storytelling (DMC1 is Dante's story), his mother is human in Dante's eyes, and Trish acts like his mother to protect him, or even Dante's ideal mother, so Trish is also a person with a "heart", as to how Trish feels or if that is the case. We will not discuss this issue here.

Surely the mother did not save Dante? This is necessarily a negative, but was it to save him that his mother died, or to hold back the demon who tried to kill him so that he could escape? Again, that is a negative. Wouldn't his mother have done that in that situation? That too is a negative. Wouldn't Dante have wanted his mother? No. Must Dante have never been afraid of not wanting his mother to stay by his side to give him security and protection? Did Dante only want to protect his mother and never wanted her to stay by his side to protect him? All the information above seems to be in the negative.

DMC5 is simply a reinterpretation and addition of information from the past, the only thing overturned is Dante's belief that his mother died to save himself.

This message provides us with an explanation of the origin of Dante's hatred for his brother, as is often the case in many films and novels, in which he blames the child for the death of his beloved wife, even though it was not the child's fault, and believes that if it had not been for him, his wife would not have died. He stubbornly believes that his mother died to save him, not to save his brother, and not because of this he is unable to love his brother; he acts as if he wishes he could have the mother's love all to himself.

For if we are to acknowledge the fact that his mother died to save his brother, we also have to acknowledge something else, and that is that he equally did not want to be left/abandoned by his mother.

Of course, this is not a contradiction or a conflict; it is only natural that a child should be afraid and want to protect his mother, and it is equally natural that he should want to protect her.

The above is purely a personal opinion

#devil may cry

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sazzafraz · 4 years ago

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i’m probably truly never get back to crashing tide

Taijutsu sucks. I want to die. Everything can eat my ass.

Moving from the Land of Song’s Sun Crane Style into the far more frenetic Moon-Walking Water one favoured by Lightning proved that I was a goddamn hack who should have kept up her yoga classes. Yes, the sharingan had made learning it easy but fuck if it wasn’t hard on the joints. The recall and fluidity of the motions was only as good as my personal understanding and flexibility. I was about 50-50 on both and positively dying.

Not that the kid cared. “When can I learn those?”

“Thirteen.” I dropped low to stretch out my hip and then returned to practicing forcing chakra the opposite direction of my movements. It was sticky and sluggish but there was no way to get better other than to just keep going. “You can learn the lighter forms the hard way but until you start puberty the muscle mass necessary won’t be there.”

“I thought you didn’t fight.”

I did fight. Very close range or very long. I was a sitting duck otherwise. Dropping into a slightly messy Pigeon Pose I waved him forward. “You’re never going to have as much muscle mass as the Inuzuka or the Hyuuga. It may not seem like it but they build ‘em big. Just be glad you won’t have to fist fight a Senju.” Oh wait. He might have to fist fight a Senju. “And if you do, play dirty because they’re all muscle.”

“The Senju are dead.”

“The Senju have taken a long sabbatical from being decent contributing members of society. Follow me.” I stretched. Welcomed the sun. Threw in some warriors. Then went into the opening moves of Fire Over Air. In the manga learning the Great Fireball technique conveyed adulthood. In this splinter reality I learned that the Uchiha had spent six centuries or so developing specific fighting styles to fight every alignment. Mastering the opening sequences of those made you an adult. It made sense given what out bloodline could do and if it was complete it would go some way to explaining Itachi’s complete OP-ness. Fire Over Air I did every day because it forced me to use an element I was great at to control one I was abysmal with.

Sasuke followed my physical position to a t. Legs in Warrior pose, hands switching between Bird and Tiger. The trick was to feel the moment where one nature became another and to force the power down smothering the emerging chakra. This was stop one of oh, about a thousand.

I could feel the switch-dampen-switch happen between my hands. The tiny release of it was easy to control and not uncomfortable. Sasuke followed. I could almost feel his frustration with it.

“Fire Over Air is one of the harder forms. We’ll try Fire Over Water in a second.”

“Fire Over what?”

“This form. It’s one of the Four Pillars of Suppression. Fire Over Air. Fire Over Water. Fire Over Earth. Fire Over Lightning. You start here with the basic release signs so you can learn how fire affects every release and over time you add steps. At the end you’re supposed to be like Uchiha Masaru, able to stop any technique with his will and a hand.” It also made using acquired jutsu easier.

“Why are we standing like this.”

“Stand up straight and try again.”

He did. The second he went from Bird to Tiger a gust of air spun up and blasted his hands apart. “Why?”

“Grounding.” I changed my feet and dropped weight into them. “This position is used a lot in Earth and Air techniques -the really old school kind that’s more like dancing than brawling. The part of you that is Earth aligned automatically grounds the rest of you and disperses volatile energy.”

He frowned at his stinging hands. “I don’t have an Earth alignment.”

“Yeah you do.” I peacefully moved to Half Moon to do the fourth sequence of Fire Over Lightning. “Chakra exists as the physical manifestation of our spirit in space. It doesn’t follow logic very well. Hashirama, unhelpful genius that he sometimes was, invented a universal hand sign language that we use in Konoha. It gets rid of a lot of the hassle in remembering foot positions.” Move to Fire Over Earth in Crescent pose. “Before that there were variations in how each Clan and people performed any given jutsu. Our ancestors probably started this style to try and understand it.” Fire Over Water was a pain to transition to. All of it’s lower body movements were fierce and space consuming. I flowed down into one of it’s ending poses, a simple cross legged seat.

“I don’t know any of this.”

He wouldn’t. “I got stationed with older kin a lot during the war. We traded secrets.” My mother taught me Fire over Lightning but it was the only one she ever learnt all the way through. I had the basic sets of all of them but like her I only learnt Fire Over Water all the way to the end.

“So you’re going to teach me.”

“The basics. Most everyone only learnt the one.”

“I need to know all of them.”

I backtracked over the conversation, found the flaw and chastised myself. “It isn’t exactly like Great Uncle Masaru’s technique. For one he had Fuu Dog summons and god knows that scroll has been lost for awhile. It’s not a one shot.”

“Teach me.” He screwed up his little hand. “I need to know.”

Well. This is on me, then. “Fine. I can teach you the first five sequences of all of them and twenty four of Fire Over Lightning. I know all forty four of Fire Over Water but I will not show you more than the twenty ninth without the sharingan.”

He blanched.

“Kid,” I said laughing. “We’ve had six hundred years to obsess. Cousin Sho needed about twenty days to let his thing for a Akimichi girl get all of us banned for life.”

A slash of white. A small grin. “That was funny.”

That was last year, I recalled. “Yeah. It was. If you’re betting on your brother knowing it, yeah, he probably does. It’s useful and we’re obsessive. If you think-”

“I just wanna know.” He replied in a much shyer, smaller voice.

I replayed the conversation again.

“Okay.” Considering it through the prism of six hundred unbroken years of family. “Okay. But if I decide not to show you something it’s a medical decision. We’ve defanged a lot of these but they’re primarily analysis positions for fully trained shinobi with the sharingan. They’re combative, like you saw with the first move. You only work with higher levels of less stable energy as we go.”

Not that he’d ever know it but one of the main reasons, after the police and the eye stealing and the whole blood feud, that the Uchiha hated Tobirama was that he’d rendered large parts of the Pillar style obsolete by just mashing together new techniques faster than we could account for them. And then there was the Uzumaki clan throwing in some seals to just really fuck it all up. Certain strains of the sharingan -Madara’s, Itachi’s, Sasuke’s- had a hard on for sealing jutsu. Other’s -me, everyone else- got a horrible sense of vertigo if we tried to copy Uzumaki seals.

#truly sad mariko never gets to knife itachi #snippet #she would have taken his eyes #WE WERE TECHNICALLY ENGAGED

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malfoysdarkprincess · 5 years ago

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Power of the Darkness ⇝ i.

Summary: Before the galactic domination of the First Order, we follow a young Y/N and Ben Solo through their creation as the new found Lord and Lady of the Galactic Empire under the reign of Supreme Leader Snoke. Both are Jedi’s gone dark, making you both extremely powerful and feared by every civilization in the galaxy. Will the first order come out on top or will the new found hero Rey and the resistance destroy and last remainder of the dark side? Pairing: Kylo Ren/Ben Solo x Reader Word Count: 1.6k A/n: Hey guys! I’ve been working on this for a week now and i finally decided today that i would share it with you all and drop some peeks at the new fic. I’m also gonna make Y/N, Kylo, Rey, Finn etc. close in age, it will still all flow and make sense :) Anyway, enjoy and if you lie it Like and Re post so I know that this series is worth continuing <3

I don’t remember much of my parents. I was always told they sold me to Maz Kanata to help out in Takodana but I knew it was something more than that. Either way, I always resented them for leaving me there. As I got older, it became clear I was a force-sensitive and was increasingly getting stronger. Maz had sent me away to train with Master Luke Skywalker and several other children as well. That’s where I met him, Ben Solo.

“Benjamin, I swear to the stars, if you don’t get up right now to train- I will suffocate you with your own pillow,” Y/N had threatened the young boy with Raven Hair. She received a grunt in response from him which caused to frown. She picked up the pillow that was on the floor and nearly hit him in the head with it but, he caught her wrist and pinned her on the bed.

“You are easily, the most annoying person I know,” his groggy voice filled her ears. She sent a big, toothy grin his way. He dipped his head, their lips catching on one another’s. Y/N started to giggle, and Ben looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

“Morning Breath,” Y/N stuck her tongue out, eyes scrunched close. Ben grabbed the pillow that Y/N let go of and thumped her right in the face.

They were too in sync. They knew each other’s moves, even before they were to do them. Luke Skywalker had been watching them, he knew they were connected in ways more than one. He knew of their secret relationship; he knew the force connected them as one. It was a power that frightened him because he sensed the bubbling darkness in both his pupils.

“If I say anything, I might cause bigger problems than what we already have R2,” Luke quietly explained to the droid. R2D2 began to whir back and shake slightly. Luke sighed and continued to stare at his pupils, “You’re right, I need to talk to Leia.”

The two pupils continued to fight, oblivious to their master’s gaze. They stopped sparring and practiced moves together. Y/N could not get the sand twister which resulting in Ben nicking her arms every time. The pain was searing, but she knew the pain was a reminder that she was failing. Ben apologized every time he got her, and Y/N would just shake her head.

She finally got it after being burnt at least twenty times, her arm already began to swelter with blisters. “Maybe if you were better you wouldn’t have been burnt that many times,” Ben joked, stuffing his saber into this holder.

“Maybe if you weren’t such an asshole you could’ve missed my arm instead of getting it” Y/N retorted, kicking the dirt as she spoke. “I’m going to go to the infirmary, my arm kinda-”

“I’ll come with you Y/-”

“-It’s okay Ben, you go clean up, I’ll meet you at your hut after, I promise,” Y/N had smiled at him and whiskfully spun on her heel and headed toward the infirmary. She felt Ben stare at her up until the doors shut behind her in one of the temples. Her head suddenly began to hurt, as if something was prying her mind apart. That’s when she heard the voice.

Hello Child.

She froze, no one was in sight and it was a voice unfamiliar to her. Her confusion was amusing to the mysterious voice.

Oh child, I am no where in sight for you. I sense your strong power. Power that shouldn’t abide to such harsh laws that the Jedi Order enforces.

“Who are you? What do you want?” she whispered, her voice shaking as she spoke. The voice didn’t respond straight away but when it did, it sent shivers down her spine.

You will know soon enough. You’ll make the right decision.

She froze. Her breathing picked up the pace. Who the hell was that?

Ben laid in his hut shirtless as he cleaned his saber of dirt and grime. He was in a conflict, Supreme Leader Snoke of the first order has been enticing him of large promises within the first order. He promised great power to Ben, but he knew that would not suffice to lure him to the dark side. Snoke wanted Y/N too but he wouldn’t tell Ben why, all he would say is they both hold great power. Of course, Snoke seduced him with that thought that Ben and Y/N would be fine to openly love another if they joined the first order. Ben didn’t know what to do.

Thump. Ben jumped at the noise and heard a groan of pain. He went over to his hut door and opened it to reveal Y/N holding her head and her right arm covered in bandages. “Sorry love, my door was locked” he informed.

“Really? Didn’t realise,” Y/N grunted and pushed past him. Something was up with her and he could tell. She sat down on his bed and took in the site of the shirtless boy. He caught her staring and she only just winked back; heat creeped its way up to his cheeks. “My cuts are fine by the way. Nurse Meera just said I need to clean them, and they’ll heal fine. You only got me 12 times though,” She smiled. Ben notice her fingers fidgeting.

“What’s wrong? You’re fidgeting...” Ben trailed off, his eyes watching her every move. She went to open her mouth to say something, but they heard Master Luke announce outside the huts than supper was served. Y/N hopped off the bed and opened that door.

“Nothing’s wrong, I’m fine Ben,” and she walked out heading toward the hall. Ben stood still then chose to catch up with her. “I really am fine. I think I’m just tired and hungry.” Ben hummed in acknowledgment. He knew something was up but he wouldn’t push it out of her. Dinner went by in a blur, Y/N and Ben kept to themselves and didn’t like most of the kids there as majority of them came form wealthy upbringings. Once dinner was done, nightly training would commence. Luke would pair the training jedi’s up to see their improvements and how the adapt to a different fighter each time.

Y/N was picked to fight against Yasmina and as they battled, the voice reappeared.

Yes. You possess a great technique which renders you merely impossible to beat. Yet, you fight like a Jedi. Fight how your blood wants to fight

Y/N shook her head and was almost sliced on the leg. Yasmina smirked and spun and went to slice, but Y/N smacked her saber that hard it flew out of Yasmina’s hand and into her own. Y/N than began to attack Yasmina has she was defenseless.

Yes, my child, destroy her. Complete the Blazing Supernova.

Y/N’s mind didn’t understand what the voice meant but her body did. She felt her body twist and the sabers began to swirl. She almost sliced Yasmina up, but Master Luke had jumped in and had turned off the sabers whilst using the force and pulled them out of her hands and straight into his own. Y/N blinked a few times, slowly realizing what she just did.

You have done well my child.

“What the hell were you thinking. That wasn’t how a Jedi fights you almost killed a fellow pupil doing that. What was that Y/N,” Master Luke had bellowed at her, but in his eyes wasn’t anger… it was fear? Y/N stood still and tried to speak but she couldn’t find the words. “You have lost you supper privileges for two days. You are restricted to your hut, now go!” he continued to bellow. All eyes were on her, all were stifling laughs at her embarrassment from Master Luke, but Ben stared at her in sorrow.

“Who are you… please just tell me who you are” Y/N whimpered her head was being split into two.

I am Supreme Leader Snoke of the First Order. You have proven yourself worthy girl.

Her eyebrows furrowed. The first order? What could they want from a nobody like me?

You aren’t a nobody. Close your eyes and I’ll let your Master Luke Skywalker show you.

Luke was there, talking to Leia through a holographic communication device. They were both worried and fearful. Y/N was confused she was right next to Luke, but no one noticed her.

Focus and Listen.

And that’s what Y/N did.

“Luke, I think you’re overthinking this. She might not have been thinking. She always trains with Ben and we both know they’re the best you’re training. Maybe she thought-”

“No Leia, we both know Snoke has seduced them. They both are losing sight of the light within the force and are spiralling towards the dark side.”

“Luke, they’re only teenagers. We can’t make assumptions on what they’ve done and who they are”

Y/N’s ears perked. Who they are? Her heart hammered in her chest as Luke began to speak.

“Leia, he has Skywalker blood. The same blood that flowed through you, me and our father. He is powerful and he knows it. So does Snoke.”

Y/N realised that the reason why Ben had begun to lock his door was the same reason as she nearly killed Yasmina. Snoke had been talking to him too.

Yes, my girl, Ben has already made up his mind. I will promise you both great power and the freedom to love one another. No time to be restricted to the Jedi Code.

Leia sighed, yet Luke continued, “And its clear as to why Snoke would now want Y/N”.

Y/N was confused. Then Luke said it and her blood ran cold.

“He would only want her because she’s a Palpatine.”

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queenjunoking · 4 years ago

Text

Wolf Taming Pt 33

CW: Noncon - Shock Collar - Pain - Petplay - Drugs - Kidnapping - Manipulation - Abuse - Spiders

Rayne’s home couldn’t be more stereotypical. It was a huge gothic eyesore. I knew that Rayne and Flora were one of the more powerful, and rich, couples in the region. I couldn’t imagine they used most of the space inside. It was a flex. Only by the Society’s influence could a place like this remain hidden.

It took a minute to finish the trip up their driveway and park by their front door. It took a lot to unsettle me. This house was one of the things that did. I knew all about the things that happened here. I was under no illusion about what I was to Rayne. She looked at new members that she saw as having some kind of potential and tried to push them. I was vaguely aware of some of the other people she attempted to take under her wing.

Mercy, an ironic name if I had ever heard one. I had seen her work, she worked mostly as a private breaker that just pushed her victims little by little until they broke. I had seen some videos, the childish glee she had as she told her victims they could “take just a little more” over and over. A few more inches. A few more hits. One more notch up on the shock collar. Of course if they could take that Mercy was sure they could take one more. She was to take the phrase “it’s too big” as a challenge. She wanted her victim to say something wasn’t possible.

Melinoë was one of the few people who climbed the ranks from the bottom. She broke people using their phobias. She kept rooms of snakes, spiders, rats and other common phobias and introduced them to people she had rendered immobile. I had seen one of her victims covered head to toe in webs from a swarm of spiders she let into the cell. The light in their eyes had died quickly. Unfortunately not everyone's phobias are so easy to manifest. She was more than happy to keep people in cycles of suffocation or waterboard those that had those fears. She had a technique for almost everything.

Her newest was some newly inducted girl. Apparently she was some serial killer that had killed dozens of low ranked members over the last year. Rayne’s intervention probably saved her a long torturous life at the bottom of one of the Society’s special prisons. I remember Eos making a fuss that the girl had left Rayne’s mansion gone underground a few weeks ago and no one had tracked her down yet. Eos had been on the council deciding the girls fate and had been very vocal about having her imprisoned for life.

I hated them all, none of them had the respect that I had for the people I worked on. I avoided being on that list of people taken under Rayne’s wing by virtue of Eos interacting with me as often as she did. She still left her mark on me though, something I was unable to get rid of, her epithet.

I composed myself as the doors to the limo opened. The driver bowed and helped the both of us out of the car. Once she shut the doors behind us the went up to the front door and rang the doorbell. She waited to the side, her head bowed lest she incur Rayne’s wrath when the door opened.

Rayne

Everything was going… well perfect was a lie. Things never went perfectly. But with a minimum amount of punishments. I only had three other maids taken away while I waited for Z’s arrival. They’d make passable canvases.

I was growing irritated as the minutes slowly passed by. She was supposed to be here at four. It was now ten after four. Good driver’s were hard to come by, but I’d have to find a new one regardless. Perhaps she would make a good lawn ornament. If she wanted to go slow on the roads she may as well be stationary. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about winter for quite awhile.

Finally the doorbell rang, followed by some scattered screams throughout the mansion. The doorbell was wired to some random slaves. It gave them quite the nasty shock when it was pressed, it made sure we would always hear it ring. Our guests were here. Only fifteen minutes late. The two slaves I had left stationed by the front door saw me walk towards them and slowly opened the door.

The sight was… as to be expected. Z was dressed in what I was sure was the most expensive thing she owned. I was a bit upset to see Briar there. I hadn’t given Z a plus one. I’d have to figure out something for her to do, she was just going to make all my plans harder. I wanted Z, alone, without anyone to consult. Having Briar to talk to just made my goal harder.

"Good afternoon Z. I'm glad you could make it to this celebration." I gave her a smile. I tried to play the good host.

"Unfortunately, due to the last minute invitation, I was unable to bring Lady Flora a gift." She looked bored and it pissed me off. Its like she didn't care she didn't bring my darling Flora anything.

"That's alright Z, you're the gift. I'm sure Flora will enjoy meeting you. Follow me." We made our way through the mansion, heading towards the art room I knew my lovely lilac was busy in.

Maids stop and curtsied as we passed by. Flora and I would really have to converge on a design for them. She was in the midst of designing new outfits for them and had them wearing different prototypes. Some were clad in latex, others were dressed in what could only be generously called an outfit. Still others were in floor length outfits that only left their hands and faces uncovered. Different styles from English to French to Japanese. I didn't care much about which style she ultimately chose, I just wanted them to match.

We passed by many of Flora's projects on out walk. All stunningly beautiful. All works of genius. Yet Z looked bored and Briar looked away.

It pissed me off.

I stopped at the top of a staircase in front of a special wall Flora had installed. The renovations had cost a fortune but nothing was too expensive for my beloved buttercup.

"Perhaps you recognize this one, Z?"

The walk through the mansion was what I expected. Battered maids, tortured slaves, and all kinds of horrible art created by Flora.

I looked up at the newest exhibit. It was a resin block that was placed into the wall. There was a woman inside, immobile. Naked and on display. It took a bit for me to see the tubes connected to her inside. Most likely to give her air, water and Ambrosia to keep her alive. She stared out blankly at the room, I doubt she was mentally there anymore.

"I'm afraid I don't." I didn't really care about whatever Rayne was trying to show me. I respected the situation in a certain way. I'm sure the inability to move with no space to take anything more than shallow breaths would break anyone fairly quickly.

It was the same principle I took with Bridget.

"Flora was devastated when you closed up shop. She bought up many of those you broke for her own projects. They're quite magnificent for many purposes. Sometimes its fun to listen to them scream while you work, but you created slaves that simply don't react anymore." She smiled at me as she talked. I hated every word coming out of her mouth. I did this to stop their suffering, not make it worse.

"And the significance of this piece?" I tried pushing the annoyance out of my voice.

"This was the last person you broke. She was sold as a sex slave and was used like that for awhile. But Flora wanted to preserve your last piece. It's been injected with a concoction that should help preserve its beauty. The side effects are quite painful and debilitating, but its encased in resin so it doesn't matter if its debilitating. We believe she'll live another decade in the-"

"I believe you wanted us to meet with Lady Flora?" Briar cut Rayne off. I wasn't sure if it was for my benefit or hers, but I'm glad she did.

Rayne’s fave slipped for just a moment. From a warm and welcoming one to one of sheer annoyance. It only took a moment for her to slip back though. "Yes, we're almost there." She turned and began walking down the hall. I had long lost track of where we were. The house seemed alive with activity no matter where we went. Slaves where everywhere, I couldn't begin to fathom how many she must have.

Rayne opened a door and we could hear someone inside talking. She motioned for us to wait as she slipped inside.

Rayne

"If I heard one more sob out of you I'll give you something to actually be sad about." I heard my gorgeous gardenia tell her canvas as she worked.

Flora's back was to me so I could see her canvas facing me. It was some small thing. It had short black hair, surprising as Flora preferred to claim slaves with long hair.

The canvas was covered in tattoos, new ones. Surprising designs. Flora loved to cover a few maids in tattoos, having some walking art around the mansions. Usually she didn't design tattoos so demonic though.

"What are you working on?" I asked her, giving her a bit of a start as I broke her concentration.

"Oh, raindrop. How many times do I have to tell you not to startle me when I'm working on a piece! I could have gotten a line out of place." She chided me playfully. If she had messed up she'd probably just dispose of it and get a new canvas, it was no big deal.

"My apologies, my sweet… saguaro." I stumbled, my mind was in other places.

She crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks, looking a bit cross. "A cactus?"

I walked over to her and tip her head up, giving her a kiss. "I apologize, I was taken in by your art."

She smiled, her pout already forgotten. "This canvas was some poor church girl that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I bought her with the intent of reselling her to The Pandemonium Club."

"Don't they give full body recoloring to all their imps? Won't that cover up your lovely art?" Servers at the club were modified to resemble imps. Horn mods were what their servers were known for. The size of their horns indicated their purpose. But they also underwent full body recoloring. Many were purple, blue, red or pink.

"Not at all. That guttersnipe that you brought in gave me one nice thing, a chemical added to this ink will make it glow under the body repainting. So she'll be purple with nice gold tattoos showing." She gave me a toothy grin.

I gave her another kiss. Longer. More passion. "You know I don't like you talking about her like that, she'll be giving us tons of fun to watch. But I'm glad she's helped you."

"Whatever you say. So, may I ask why you've come in? Just wanted to see my art?" Flora was beginning to catch on.

"Your birthday present finally arrived, Love." I smiled, knowing this would make her day.

"Oh?" She feigned an innocent look. "I had completely forgot. What did you get me?"

"I didn't find you a something to give you this year unfortunately." Her look turned sour and she stuck out her bottom lip. "But, I brought in someone you might enjoy meeting."

Nothing happened for a few seconds. I figured that had been an obvious enough of a clue.

"I brought in someone you might enjoy meeting!" I called a bit louder. This time Z and Briar entered the room.

"Z!" Her face lit up and she practically glided over the floor to her. She ignored Briar much as I had. "Its so lovely to have you visit. I am such a fan of your methods. Perhaps we can talk over dinner." I watched her look Z up and down. "And let's get you some nice clothes. Consider it my treat."

Z didn't get a moment to say anything before Flora pulled her out of the room. My present had gone over well so far. If things went my way I'd get rid of Z and make this the best birthday Flora's ever had.

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jorjathomas · 4 years ago

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Process of rendering physical work

This post involves some screengrabs of the process of samples I have currently made.

As you can see above, I have began to edit the original image of the paint. Threshold has been used to segment the image into sections. As I wanted the image to be binary, I did this process twice but at different levels. On the left I set the threshold level to 122 however the other image I placed it at 124. This brings out different shaded areas. Before I began the duotone process I had to flatten the image using grayscale so I am able to see the threshold better.

I then used duotone with the two layers I had made with the threshold and set them to the original colours of the picture I took. This was because I wanted to see the difference between the two. Above are the results. This was the most enjoyable process by far as the fact that the paint gave a marble effect so I was able to create to outcomes with the duotone and threshold combination.

This was a screenshot of the art which I had created on the opposite side of the print sample. This was a font which I had downloaded of adobe fonts as I wanted to find the best block like text. This enabled me to liquify it better using the smudge and expand tool. I had done this process already however I loved this outcome more as I began to become more familiar with the technique and the result I wanted.

Here is another outcome of the process above. Again, I went through the combined techniques twice to get different colours within the duotone image. My final outcome is pink and orange however this was originally created with different shaded of pink because I thought it would be beneficial to use in my zine.

Moving away from the digital comparison samples, I began to look at my aesthetic post where I looked at artists work which had inspired me. I had yet to make many physical samples so I began to look through magazines for any imagery I liked and could cut out. I knew I wanted to make some ‘abnormal’ collages. This means combining multiple objects which aren't normally combined to create this new sense of reality. I wanted this kind of escapism in my work ,with the help of landscapes, to portray the abnormality of stressing over tiny problems. I want the readers to remind themselves of who they are and where they are which I hope eases their worries because its easy to get lost in your own world without acknowledging your the world your living in with others.

Above was the process of working into the collage once I had scanned it in. I removed its white background, which is formed after scanning, using ‘colour range’ then, I used one of my mixed media art pieces to create its background. I made this using acrylic paint and my fingers. I would normally use a brush to be precise but I didn't want this outcome. I then began to adjust the image using the ‘saturation tool’ to make it appear brighter almost like the collage was spiralling into the page. My previous samples have been looking flat against the backgrounds which is why I created another layer of the background and erased certain areas of the brushstrokes. I then layered this on top of the collage to make the two blend together. I liked this outcome because not only does the collage reflect the common saying ‘ It’s raining cats and dogs outside’, but the outcome doesn't look flat against the page. Keeping the binding of the book I painted on helped bring in the personal elements of the samples aswell. Overall I hope the sample has reflected the meaning behind the saying in visual form to highlight the silliness of life's problems sometimes. This sample is humorous and uplifts me so I am interested in including this style in my work to create the same emotion for the readers.

This was the process of another collage sample. This time I wanted to add more personal imagery alongside the magazine cutouts to help portray my story. At first, this collage only had the road in the centre of the pencils, and I was going to edit out the man walking along it as I didn't need it however not only was this difficult to do, but I thought the sample looks empty so it was harmless to leave him in. Luckily, I didn't throw away my cut outs so I found the head of the model to attach back to the body. This didn't look right either. I tried to create a new layer with the man selected and adjusted the image to make it look smooth however this didn't work very well. I think this was because of the angle I scanned in the second cut out. The first collage was scanned in on my printer at home however the second was scanned in through my phone instead. Nevertheless, I worked around this dilemma by adding loads of flowers on the models head. This helps the abnormality become present in the centre of the sample. I also believe this helps portray my message of growth. For example, the pencils in the back symbolises a playground and all aspects of what the noun is associated with which is why I am playing on it as a child with my mom (image on the near left). The road coming out the the pencil mountain portrays the aging of life and abandonment of childhood as you have to grow up. The man in the centre also helps this interpretation with him walking on the road with flower blossoms on his head symbolising the growth of the mind and soul within a person. Aka character development. This is also one of my favourite samples as it holds its message well and feels more personal with my childhood images. It has helped me understand the exact message I want to give to my audience visually.

This final screengrab is of the process of the poster sample I had made digitally. Although the collage was made digitally, the background wasn't. The image above is actually a picture of one of the screen prints I made using a stripped generic screen. Originally, it was purple but as you can see above, I changed it’s saturation and hue to create new colours. I loved this outcome because you can see the different textures of the screen print especially since its on paper. When screen printing, the paper obviously got wet so it caused the paper to crimple which is why there are different tons in this adjusted image. This process was before I liquified it and I think I were to do it again, I might have left it like the image before to make the outcome look more authentic.(scrapbook/journal)

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tact-and-impulse · 4 years ago

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At Arm’s Length Chapter 15

Happy Lunar New Year, everyone! Let’s kick off the year of the ox with an appropriately obstinate Kamiya dad.

At last, Koshijiro arrives in Kyoto, where reunions and revelations await! The whole gang’s here! Now that I’ve reworked the plot, we’re actually at the halfway point of the story. I’ll be taking a final exam today too, so I’d appreciate knowing what you think! FF.net / AO3

Chapter 15: Reunion

The train’s steady rocking caused him to nod off once or twice, but the sun, cresting over the horizon, kept him awake for good. The sky changed colors, from light purple to intense orange to gentle blue. As he watched, he massaged the back of his neck. It had taken a while to settle in his futon last night, and his muscles were somewhat sore.

Takani had been lightly dozing, and she stirred when the light poured in through the window. She yawned, covering her mouth with one hand. “Did you not sleep, Kamiya-san?”

“On and off. We still have some time before we arrive.”

“Oh, I can’t anymore. I should be ready to work once we disembark.”

“I did hear Sagara-san might have done something that will upset you.”

She clicked her tongue. “Typical!” After a moment, she asked. “Did you hear anything else?”

Mixed feelings. “Nothing medical.”

Her lips pursed in suspicion. “Anything that would upset you?”

“I have no reason to be upset.”

“Hmm. Your arm’s length rule is funny.” She remarked. “But otherwise, I’ve noticed Kaoru has a lot of freedom in her life.”

“I’m her father but she is her own person. Above all, I trust her and she knows if I don’t like something, I will be honest.”

She gave a bittersweet smile. “You and my father would have gotten along. He was very progressive, like the rest of our clan. Men and women alike were encouraged to study medicine. My father was direct too, he always believed patients deserved the truth. I forgot that, over the years.”

“I think your father would be happy that you’re in a better place now, doing good work.”

She did not reply to that, turning her face slightly away. “I’ve been thinking of going back to Aizu.” She slowly said. “Not right now, it hasn’t been finalized, but I am looking for a job there.”

“Do you miss your home?”

“A little, yes.” She hesitated. “I want to search for my mother and brothers. I know it’s probably unlikely they survived, it’s been a decade. However, Dr. Gensai told me about what happened to you and how you turned out to be alive. So…”

“I understand. Would you like me to help? I can send a message to the department there and see if they have any information.”

“Would you?!” Her eyes widened before she forced herself to be composed. She interlaced her trembling fingers. “I…I would be very grateful.”

“It’s no problem. I should have done so earlier. Although I must warn you, it might not be good news.”

Her expression was wry. “I’m a doctor. I’m used to bad news and I’d rather know for certain.”

He nodded. “Yes, that’s true. Can you give me any information?”

She opened one of her books, flipping to a blank section and writing in earnest. “My mother. My oldest brother, and my second older brother. I can give you their dates of birth, and here is our former address. They disappeared, during a fire at Wakamatsu Castle. Do you need anything else?”

“It should be enough to start with. Don’t tear out the pages now, I’ll investigate when we return to Tokyo. Just in case I forget, please remind me.”

“I will. Thank you, Kamiya-san.” Her hair fell forward as she bowed at the waist. When she was upright again, she discreetly wiped at her eyes and Koshijiro pretended not to notice. Outside, the landscape blurred past in shades of green.

When their last train slowed to a hissing halt, it was already mid-morning. Asking for directions, they made their way to the Aoiya. The streets slowly revealed destruction, fallen debris littered about and scorch marks upon walls. Then, there were wooden support beams propping up buildings, and round pits in the streets. Koshijiro stopped. What was supposed to be their destination was half destroyed.

“Hey! You got here fast!” Yahiko approached them, rigidly waving. Bandages wound around his head and disappeared down his neck. He was keeping his torso straight; he must have suffered an injury.

“It’s good to see you.” Koshijiro reached out to steady his shoulder. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He grinned. “The Aoiya is worse off.”

“That’s certainly true. Where is everyone else?”

“At the Shirobeko. Uh…” His expression became serious. “Sano’s okay but Kenshin was hurt really bad. Some doctors were brought in last night, but they haven’t left yet.”

That caught Takani’s attention and they followed him to the restaurant. “I thought Kaoru said you were all safe! And you should be resting!” She said indignantly.

“Well, we are safe, we’re not getting attacked. And um, I wrote the telegram. Kaoru hasn’t left Kenshin’s bedside, so she told me to send a message. We figured you both would be here soon, no matter what I’d say, so I just tried to keep it short. Those things are expensive! By the way, how did you make it in one day? Last time, it took three to get to Kyoto.”

Koshijiro provided the explanation. “There was a fight between two gangs, and I was compensated for additional interrogations and paperwork in the aftermath. I was able to pay for the extra expense to take the new railroad route from Yokohama to Kobe. It was luck that we met at the Aoiya.”

“Yeah, I was tired of lying around. I volunteered to get some info, so they can start rebuilding.”

Takani wasn’t pleased. “I’ll examine you later, and I’ll have a word with whoever let you go.”

Fortunately, the Shirobeko was no worse for the wear and after greeting Sae, they walked to the second floor. One room was bustling with activity; Takani rolled up her sleeves and joined the fray, introducing herself as Himura’s doctor from Tokyo. The door closed behind her, and although Koshijiro strained to look, he was unable to see past the huddled group to find any trace of his daughter or Himura. He considered going in but couldn’t think of how he could help. It was best to leave the professionals to their work and Yahiko led him back down the stairs, to find a quiet spot in the yard.

“Do you wanna know what happened?” The boy was eager to divulge the battle in Kyoto. It was a long one, full of action and daring feats. “I took down this guy with wings!”

Some parts were difficult to swallow at first, but he trusted Yahiko. He tended to exaggerate, but he was honest. After his initial fight with Shishio’s second, Kenshin had received a new sakabato from the son of the original swordsmith. This was technically crafted with the first, and it had been the version given to the gods. Now, it would do well in Himura’s hands. Shishio’s naval attack had been thwarted by Himura, Saito, and Sagara; the city was defended by the others, along with the numerous policemen. Yahiko had picked up one of Himura’s moves and used it to claim victory over his opponent.

“You figured it out from watching him?”

“Yeah, but I had to practice in secret, since it’s not Kamiya Kasshin. Kaoru knows now, though.”

“I’m impressed. You’ve become an excellent student, just within this year.”

“Thanks. I want to get stronger, to fight with everyone.” He gave a toothy smile. He had matured a little since Koshijiro had last seen him. “Kaoru also took down one of Shishio’s gang. Her shinai broke, but she kept fighting and won!”

“Did she? I’d like to tell her she did a good job.” He glanced up at the building. He hoped she was alright, as was Himura.

“She wasn’t hurt too bad, and Kenshin will make it. They’ll be okay, Kamiya-san.” Yahiko was very certain of this, or perhaps, he was trying to convince himself too. “And then, Kenshin and Sano-”

“Someone say my name?” At the familiar voice, they turned. Sagara was in even worse shape than Yahiko, with twice as many bandages and his face badly bruised. His right hand was rendered immobile in a sling, and his left fingers were wrapped up as they lifted in greeting. If this was ‘okay’ in Yahiko’s mind, what condition was Himura in? “Hey, old man.”

“Sagara-san, how are you?”

“Still kicking.” He grinned. “Fox is here too?”

“She’s upstairs with the other doctors.”

“Right.” His good humor evaporated, and he trudged over, exhaling loudly as he sat on the back steps. “Kenshin’ll be fine, he definitely will. Now that the fox is helping out, he’s in better hands. Anyway, what were you talking about?”

“I was telling him about our fights!” Yahiko supplied. “But I didn’t mention your new punching technique yet.”

“Leave that to me.” He spun a tale of wandering in the forest, which led to a fateful instructive meeting with a monk. The new technique was essentially a double punch, resulting in increased destructive force. Unbeknownst to Sagara at the time, his teacher was one of Shishio’s comrades. It made for a bittersweet duel in the final battle, and the monk, Anji, had willingly turned himself in.

One by one, the rest of the Ten Swords fell, either in Kyoto or defending their leader, and Shinomori had settled his grudge with Himura in their own match. The story reached its climax with a four-way fight against Shishio. It had been vicious, with Himura using the succession technique of Hiten Mitsurugi, and ended with the other man succumbing to his burns in the prolonged battle. Even after sacrificing his lover, Shishio had died laughing in an inferno.

By the time the story reached its end, it was lunchtime. Sae urged them inside, and as they sat down, Koshijiro realized that there was someone he hadn’t seen yet. He glanced around, craning his head. No sign of him at all, not even a hint of cigarette smoke.

“Where is the assistant chief inspector?”

Neither of them responded at first, exchanging glances. Yahiko stalled. “Uh…”

“We don’t know.” Sagara said. “Last time I saw him, it was after Shishio went up in flames. Saito just walked back in, but I don’t think he died!”

Koshijiro didn’t believe so either, but he wondered what he was going to tell Tokio. “It’s possible he had some work to finish, for whatever the Minister wanted him to accomplish. If he hasn’t returned by tomorrow, we can try to look for him.”

“Yeah, I’ll lead the way. Sounds like a plan, old man.”

The atmosphere remained tense, and Koshijiro was unable to savor much of his meal, though he encouraged the boys to eat and recover their strength. After the dishes were cleared away, he intended for a short stroll outside.

The strong aroma of sake was the first thing he noticed. Leaning against the restaurant’s wall, a tall man was drinking out of a jug. His coat was draped over his shoulders, his long hair in disarray. He wiped his mouth, and his dark gaze landed on Koshijiro.

“So, my idiot apprentice has more people from Tokyo to visit?”

Koshijiro politely ignored the modifier. “Your apprentice?”

“Yes, the idiot who hasn’t woken up yet.” He briefly jerked his head towards the building.

“I’m afraid Himura-san is still unconscious.”

“Hm.” He took another pull, the liquid sloshing. “How do you know him?”

“Himura-san has been living with us. I’m Kamiya Koshijiro.”

“Ah. You’re the tanuki girl’s father.”

“...tanuki girl?”

“The kenjutsu master, who my idiot apprentice is besotted with.” He lifted his hand to his chin, with a smug smile. “Her face reminds me of a tanuki.”

Koshijiro was at a loss to interpret any of that.

“Anyway,” The stranger continued. “I am Hiko Seijuro, the Thirteenth Master of Hiten Mitsurugi. And as it seems, most likely the last.”

“He isn’t dead.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

Kaoru’s letters had not described him in great detail, but Himura’s teacher really was an strange person. Assuming he’d only obtain more questions than answers, Koshijiro opted for another subject. “I heard that you helped protect the city. Thank you for your effort.”

“I only came since it was a request.” His eyes darted to the upper floor again. “I had to get supplies anyway, they still haven’t been delivered yet. Speaking of which…” Abruptly, he straightened and corked his jug.

“Do you need any help?”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle on my own. How’d you lose the arm?”

What a blunt question! Even Hayashi’s son was more tactful, and at least, he had the excuse of childhood innocence. “…Satsuma.” He left it ambiguous to whether it was last year or during the Bakumatsu.

“Hm. This is why I stay out of politics.” Before Koshijiro could respond, he was already stepping out of the alley. Hand lifting in farewell, Hiko walked into the main street without even swaying. The entire encounter had left Koshijiro feeling off-balance, not helped by the overt smell of liquor, and he made his way in the opposite direction.

The other swordsman was still gone when he returned, though something was clearly different within the Shirobeko. Sagara had dozed off and Yahiko had acquired an inkbrush, which was paused in midair between them.

“This…this isn’t what it looks like!” He protested.

Koshijiro suppressed a sigh. “Is it a message you can’t put down on paper?”

“Well, he has ‘evil’ on his back, so I thought he’d like it on his sling too.”

“Let’s ask him when he wakes up. For now, you can practice.”

They must have been too loud, because Sagara snorted and lifted his head. “What’s going on?” Upon Yahiko’s admission, he readily agreed to the addition. “Hell yeah, you can. Thanks!”

“Sure, I’ll start right now!” He aimed for the white cloth.

“Wait a second. Do you know how to write the character?”

“I’ve seen it so many times.”

“Seeing is not the same as practicing.” Koshijiro added. “It’s the same with kenjutsu.”

“You’re right, old man.” Sagara took his side. “Come on, Yahiko, get some paper.”

Grudgingly, the younger boy began to draft his rendition of ‘evil’. Sae approached with a fresh pot of tea and rice crackers, inquiring about her sister and the Tokyo branch. The conversation was a good distraction for a number of minutes.

At last, footsteps echoed from upstairs; the doctors were leaving. Their expressions were not grim, but not totally satisfied either. After they filed out, he heard her voice first.

“Thank you again, Megumi.”

“We’re far from finished. It’ll be a long road of recovery ahead, and he has a very high risk of infection. If it weren’t for the full hospital beds, I would have transferred him to the closest one. The next few days will be critical.” Takani warned, as she descended to the lower floor.

And then, there was Kaoru, following behind her. “I know. I just wish there was more I could do.”

“You’ve done well until now, and unless I call you again, your presence is enough.” The doctor briskly nodded, and then in the direction of Koshijiro. “I’m sure your father will agree.”

Immediately, her face lit up. “Otou-san!” She rushed over to embrace him, and he held her tight. It felt like it had been years since he had last seen her. “I’m happy you’re here!”

“So am I. You look tired, Kaoru.”

“I’m fine.” She argued. There were dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep, and her hair was mussed. He laid the back of his hand against her forehead. She wasn’t feverish but she obviously needed rest. Grumbling, she did her best to glare at him. “Geez, I said I was fine.”

“I heard you, I only wanted to be certain. It’s been six weeks.”

She smiled. “Otou-san, you were lonely, weren’t you?”

He deliberately cleared his throat. “We’ve just finished lunch, but I can order anything you’d like.” She had supposedly eaten a late breakfast and claimed not to be hungry, but she sat down with relief. When Koshijiro pushed the rice crackers toward her, she did grab a handful.

“Ken-san has been stabilized, and two of the Oniwabanshuu are watching him in the meantime. I don’t know when he’ll wake up.” Takani informed them as she took a seat. “I will not lie, his condition is serious and we’re treating it as such. We’ll keep a close eye.”

“Thanks for letting us know. Drink up, you deserve it.” Sagara nodded at the teapot.

“Oh? I won’t refuse-what?” Her gaze had followed his sling and she gave a cry of horror upon noticing his right hand. “What did you do?!”

“Sorry.” He said without a trace of regret. “I learned something new.”

“Being foolish isn’t exactly new for you, rooster head.”

“Hey!”

As they sniped back and forth, Kaoru exclaimed. “I almost forgot! Misao should be finished soon with her recon, and she wanted an update. She said she’ll be going through the back.” With that, she stood and hurried through the dining area.

Koshijiro followed suit, and by the time he caught up, his daughter was greeting another girl around her age. She was shorter, her hair in a long braid, and her garb was designed for maximum mobility. She had a familiar face…recognition struck him.

“Otou-san, this is Makimachi Misao.”

“Nice to meet you!” She bowed in greeting, and he certainly remembered that cheeky voice.

“Thank you for hosting my daughter and her friends. But I believe we’ve met before, in Tokyo.” He said meaningfully.

A beat followed, as the girl scrutinized him. Then, her jaw dropped. “Oh. Ohhh. I did, uh, borrow your wallet.”

“Misao!” Kaoru was appalled. “You were the girl who stole from Otou-san?”

“I didn’t know, and I was running low on cash! Sorry!” She held up her hands, palm to palm in apology.

“It’s alright. I believe you’ve fully repaid with your hospitality. Although, it would be wise to refrain from stealing again.”

“For sure, I don’t need to anymore. I’m home again, and so is Aoshi-sama.” At this, her smile dropped. “Physically at least.”

“Are you speaking of Shinomori-san?” The last time Koshijiro had seen that man in person, he had broken into the dojo. He had followed a meandering path since then, but he must have changed for the better.

“Yeah…he’s been hurt too, but he doesn’t talk at all. It’s the emotional pain, I think.”

“That takes time, even longer than the physical.”

“I guess.” She gave a heavy sigh disproportionate to her petite frame.

Kaoru clasped her shoulder. “Misao, why don’t we get Megumi and my father settled in?”

“True, that’s something we can do. It’ll keep our minds off worrying about the men we love.” With renewed purpose, she bounded into the restaurant.

He gave his daughter a very pointed look. “And what exactly did she mean by that?”

Kaoru furiously blushed. “Otou-san, let’s talk later, okay?” And then, she rushed after Makimachi.

So far, people here had been hinting at something, but now this! This response was entirely unfamiliar, and he felt like his feet had been kicked out from under him. What on earth had happened while they were in Kyoto…?!

Somehow, he processed that he was assigned to the same room as Sagara and Yahiko, while Takani would join the girls. Space was cramped, but they had to make do. While his futon was set up, Kaoru had slipped into Himura’s room again, to his frustration. Later, indeed.

Makimachi introduced him to the rest of the Oniwabanshuu, four young men and women with variable injuries but equally bright smiles. They referred to her as their leader, which caused her to turn crimson. “That’s me, the Okashira. Haha!”

Her reaction was odd, and Koshijiro inquired. “Did you not want the position?”

“No, I do. That’s why I took it, when Aoshi-sama…well, he wasn’t in his right mind and I stepped in. But I’m still not used to it yet. But don’t think I’ll quit! I’ll embrace this responsibility, and lead the Oniwabanshuu into a new era!”

A new voice entered the conversation. “Well said, Misao!” Walking up to them, an older man stroked his gray beard. His bandaged shoulder concealed wounds of his own; this must have been Okina. “That determination is exactly what we need. And is this another of Himura-san’s friends?” After the usual pleasantries, he added. “Himura-san mentioned you.”

“Did he?”

“He said you were our trusted ally for the second line of defense in Tokyo, if we happened to fail here.”

Koshijiro glanced back at the too-quiet room. “I’m glad it didn’t have to come to that.”

“I feel the same way.” He smiled kindly. “Have faith in him, Kamiya-san. I was also on the precipice and I pulled through, even at my age. Himura-san will wake when he’s ready.”

Okina then spoke to Makimachi, of what seemed to be innocent errands but the deliberate phrasing made Koshijiro suspect it was code for internal matters. It was clear that he was nudging her into her role, presenting the decisions suitable for a leader to resolve; she was initially nervous but stood her ground. At the end, he was satisfied with her choices and she seemed bolstered. Saying that he’d see them around, the spy left to fulfill his duties.

Makimachi gave another heavy sigh. “Now, what to do, about Aoshi-sama. Oh! Maybe, he’d talk to you. Could you try?”

“I only met him briefly, and you know him best. At the moment, I believe he needs space.” Koshijiro then suggested. “You could write notes to him. My wife and daughter did so, when I was struggling in the past.”

“Notes, huh. That’s a pretty great idea, I can slide them into his room.” She beamed. “Thanks, Kamiya-san! I think I saw the ink and paper downstairs.”

As she grabbed the materials and ran, he remained in the dining area. Sagara and Yahiko were passing the time, playing a game of Go.

“How is he?” Sagara spoke out of the corner of his mouth, as he moved to capture a few white stones.

“Nothing new, as of yet.”

“But Kenshin is the strongest in Japan.” Yahiko insisted. “And he got some of Megumi’s medicine we brought, so that should help.”

“Did Kaoru give it to him?”

“Yeah, while they were talking on the rooftop.”

“Talking on the rooftop?” Koshijiro repeated, and the boy immediately clamped a hand over his mouth. “Why were they there?”

“Er…um…” His eyes were roving about. “They were sitting next to each other and talking really quietly, so it seemed serious. Like, they were gonna kiss or something…”

What?

“Come to think of it,” Sagara mused as he rolled a black stone between his left fingers. “Kenshin said something weird while we were in Shishio’s base. He thought he heard Jou-chan’s voice, and he felt better even if he only imagined it.”

What??

“And she was crying a lot when we came back, saying ‘please don’t die, Kenshin, stay with me’.” His voice hit a terribly executed falsetto. “She wouldn’t let go of his hand until the doctors came. Ah, oops. Sorry, old man, maybe you shouldn’t have-”

But he was already walking away. Before dinner began, he intended to have that conversation with Kaoru. She wasn’t in the girls’ room, only Takani was. She was in the middle of combing her hair and anticipated what he would ask.

“Are you looking for Kaoru? She’s still in his room.” She coolly said.

“Thank you, Takani-san.” He paused. “And thank you for your work today.”

“That’s what I can do for him. Apparently, Kaoru really helped overnight as well.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a fairly new practice in Japan. When someone loses blood, they can receive more from another person, but there are limitations and it can be dangerous. We’re still figuring it out. However, some people can give blood without fear of hurting someone. Kaoru is one of those people, she said she found out last year. With how much he’d already lost, there was no time to test Ken-san, so it was good to know that about her. Ken-san couldn’t have been stabilized so quickly if she wasn’t here.”

He considered this new information. “I didn’t know. Did you give him any blood as well?”

“I’m not in the same category as Kaoru. So, my expertise is all I can do for him.” Recognizing the double meaning of her own words, her rouged mouth twisted and she resumed pulling the comb through. It was best to leave her alone.

The door was slightly ajar, and he peered inside. Himura was covered up to his chin by blankets. Kaoru knelt at his side, and there was a severely torn gi in her lap, the needle jutting out of the fabric. Her expression was brimming with concern as she looked over him.

“Kaoru?”

She jerked her head towards him. “Otou-san? You can come in.”

He did, properly closing the door behind. He sat next to her, watching Himura’s slow, even breathing. “Any change?”

“No, he hasn’t woken up yet.” She undid a stitch, creating a tighter one in its place. “It’s hard to wait.”

“I know, Kaoru. It’s difficult, but he’s healthy and resilient.”

She didn’t respond at first, her throat working. “When they came back, the moon was rising. Behind them, there was a trail of blood. His blood. He couldn’t walk on his own, or raise his head. He was cold. And when the doctors were closing his wounds, he didn’t even react. Shishio bit into his shoulder, close to where the vessels were. I’m so scared for him.”

“However, you should take care of yourself as well. Overly worrying will not do you or him any good.” He gently reminded her.

“Yeah, but I can’t help it. Okaa-san died in her sleep too…” Her voice diminished as she rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hand.

At the memory, Koshijiro’s chest tightened. Without speaking, he lifted the blanket enough to find Himura’s hand. A few scrapes were already scabbed over, and his nails had been cut and cleaned. He placed two fingertips upon the sleeping man’s pulse. Rapid, but not abnormally so, given that his body was working hard to heal. “At the moment, he’s not in immediate danger. I heard he received some of your blood?”

She clasped the inner part of her left elbow, where it must have been taken from. “I did. While you were gone, the hospital was paying people for samples, that it could help in emergencies. It was after the students left, so I signed up. I was told that I have good blood, I can restore almost anyone.”

“Well, I expect nothing less from my daughter. You’ve done excellent work, from fighting off Kyoto’s attackers to giving your own life force to Himura-san. I’m very proud of you.”

Her smile was strained. “But he’s still fighting. Otou-san, I don’t want to lose him. We have to return to Tokyo together.” She was on the verge of tears, and he held her shoulder.

Waiting until she was calmer, he quietly broached the question. “Do you love him?”

“I…” She took a deep breath. “Misao’s been in love with Shinomori-san since she was very young. I only met Kenshin at the beginning of the year, but…I really care about him. After we were finished here, all I could wonder about was whether he was safe. I want him to be happy, and even though he carries his past regrets, I want to help him. I may not understand all of it, but if I can make him smile, that's enough for me.” She looked at Himura with an emotion Koshijiro had seen before but not from her. It had been in Kyoko’s face, when he read aloud to her while she was ill. It was longing, tenderness, a deep and unwavering love.

Oh. She really did love him. Not that he was completely surprised, but her confession made it definitive.

However, Himura had not declared his intentions at all. Towards Kaoru, what did he feel? Was it equal to her own for him? He had said goodbye only to her, but what if that had no deeper meaning? And what were the mixed feelings he had spoken of, when they reunited? There was still room for doubt, and thus, still a possibility for Kaoru to be hurt. Right now, Himura’s health was the priority, but after he recovered, there had to be a conversation. Until then, if she wasn’t directly assisting him, keeping the two of them apart at arm’s length was the best course of action. If Himura really did care for his daughter, he would be respectful, and at the very least, begin a courtship. If not…the distance would protect her. Even if she was an adult, Kaoru would always be his little girl. She deserved to be loved in return for what she gave, and anyone who treated her badly would earn his eternal resentment.

“Kaoru, when-” A rustle of movement interrupted him, as very slowly, Himura opened his eyes.

She set aside her sewing, drawing close to him. “Kenshin?”

He lifted his gaze, and his mouth formed a small smile in recognition. Almost too quietly to hear, he murmured. “Kaoru…dono.”

“I’m here, Kenshin. You’re safe at the Shirobeko. I’m glad you’re awake. Thank goodness…” She wiped away her tears of relief.

Urgently, Koshijiro stepped out, calling for Takani, who immediately rushed over. Unfortunately, he was already drifting back to sleep by the time she arrived, but she seemed reassured by the development. Sagara and Yahiko, panting from running upstairs, were disappointed that they hadn’t witnessed the moment. From below, someone complained of scattered Go pieces on the floor.

During the night, they took turns watching him, settled by a tournament of janken. With a win and a loss, Koshijiro was dealt one of the middle shifts. Through his two hours, Himura didn’t stir at all. If he was dreaming, it was hopefully good.

***

At dawn, he went with Sagara to look for their missing ally. They searched the shoreline, where the ship had sunk, and followed the trail to the rebels’ base, which Shishio’s remaining lackeys had fled. He spoke to the Kyoto police, who were making arrests, but no one had spotted the man nor his katana. It was altogether strange.

“Well, there hasn’t been a corpse.” Sagara pointed out. “But what was he thinking? There’s gotta be a reason that he went off alone.” He continued down the path, grumbling to himself.

Aloud, Koshijiro said. “Even wolves hunt better in packs. Isn’t that why I was given responsibilities in Tokyo?” The whistling wind was his only response.

When they returned, Yahiko shared that Himura was able to stay awake long enough for breakfast. Sagara barged in first, cheering to the point where Takani admonished him for being disruptive. She dragged him out by the ear, remarking that his dressings needed to be changed.

Koshijiro saw Himura uncovered for the first time. In the daylight, Himura was startlingly frail. He must have pushed his body beyond its limits, to defeat Shishio. Both of his shoulders were wrapped, the fabric crossing his abdomen. Another wound was at his right flank. Propped up on pillows, he was being spooned broth. By Kaoru.

He felt a twitch in his forehead. “Hello, Himura-san. I see that you are looking better.”

“Hello…Kamiya-dono.” His voice was slightly uneven.

Kaoru fed him another mouthful. “Let me know if you want your tea.”

Himura gave the barest nod, and even that required visible effort.

“The last time we met, it was before you left for Kioisaka.” Koshijiro said, sitting by the door. “I know you did not want to initially leave, but thank you for preserving this country’s peace. I am very glad that you survived, and that you did not have to break your vow.”

“So is this one.” He breathed out. “But this one came close, only once.”

Kaoru had evidently not heard this, because she lowered the bowl. “Kenshin?”

He spoke slowly, hesitantly. “It was after the first sakabato broke, and this one went to find the original smith. He had passed away, and his son was no longer crafting swords, to live quietly with his family. Then, one of the Ten Swords took their infant hostage. This one was given the only katana remaining, in order to save the child.”

Koshijiro frowned. Balancing the vow not to kill against the life of a baby? What kind of person would impose this choice upon Himura? “What did you decide?”

“This one used the scabbard to strike the enemy, and as he went down, this one saw that the sword was a sakabato after all.”

“So, that’s what happened.” Kaoru softly said.

“However, for a moment, this one considered drawing anyway.” His tone was serious; the memory weighed heavily on him. “In that second, it didn’t matter what kind of sword it was. But this one remembered something. The night when Jin-e kidnapped Kaoru-dono. The answer she gave this one, when her life was in danger. To not give in, even when it is tempting. To remember that life should be protected. So this one changed tactics. This one’s first thought was suited for Hiten Mitsurugi, but the issue was settled by Kamiya Kasshin.”

Himura had saved the child, while the principle of ‘the sword that protects life’ had saved him in turn. Since the beginning, he had taken the school’s message seriously, yet this was the first time he explicitly had it in mind during a fight. He was not only wielding a reverse-bladed sword, but the foremost lesson of Kamiya Kasshin as well. It was a subtle change, and Koshijiro approved, with an upwelling of pride and satisfaction.

Kaoru had recognized the significance as well, eyes wide and unconsciously leaning towards Himura. Her voice was hopeful. “Kenshin, you were thinking of Kamiya Kasshin?”

“This one did say that he preferred your vision.” And he smiled at her, a true one that reached his gaze.

Koshijiro realized that this was probably what Yahiko had seen on the rooftop. This closeness, like a magnetic draw to each other, even if they weren’t touching. Before he could remind them of his presence, another voice floated overhead.

“Finally, my idiot apprentice is awake.” Hiko was standing at the threshold, expression impassive.

Himura blinked. “You were here, Shishou?”

“Of course. It took me far too long, because you didn’t tell me the location of a place called the Aoiya.”

To Koshijiro’s surprise, Himura seemed annoyed. “This one believed you would ask.”

“Did you think any of these people would stop and provide directions, while the city was under attack?”

“If you did not know where it was, you could have said that, when this one first told you.”

“Both of you, stop it!” Kaoru interjected, lifting the spoon to Himura’s mouth. “Hiko-san, don’t pester him. Kenshin, you should take it easy. Everyone’s okay, so no more arguing. Understood?”

Reluctantly, they both nodded. A tentative stalemate. The silence was only disrupted by Himura’s sips.

She gave him the last of the broth, then half his tea to wash it down. She was about to stand, but Himura’s free fingers pinched her sleeve, keeping her close. “Thank you, Kaoru-dono.”

“You’re welcome, Kenshin.” She smiled down at him. There was no sign she was resuming her previous action.

“Arm’s length.” Koshijiro said, out of habit, only to remember that Hiko was standing right there.

The man erupted into loud, malicious laughter. “Is that how you’re living, baka deshi? At arm’s length?”

Himura actually scowled. “Shishou…”

“I’ve heard of horrific mothers-in-law, but you? You have a strict father-in-law.”

“Father-in-law?!” Koshijiro and Kaoru exclaimed simultaneously.

“W-what?” She stammered. “That’s not how it is! Otou-san doesn’t act like a…that would mean…”

Himura’s face was a shade close to his loose hair, and his jaw clenched. “Remind this one why you are still here, and not at the mountain.”

“My supplies are taking too long.”

“Yes, they are. Your demands must have been overwhelming.”

This was a different side of Himura, more like the young man he really was. Koshijiro thought it was refreshing, and honestly, his master was insufferable. Tired after finishing his meal, Himura’s eyelids started to fall. Kaoru ushered the men out to leave him be, though she didn’t linger either, stepping out moments later and taking his tray to the kitchen.

With nothing else to do, Hiko leisurely headed downstairs. “Will he be going to Tokyo with you?”

Koshijiro replied. “That is the plan, unless he expresses otherwise.”

“I doubt he will. I’d never seen my idiot apprentice at a loss for words, until your daughter walked into my house.”

“Didn’t he say he had mixed feelings?”

“Ah, so you’ve heard. Half anger and half relief, that’s what he said.”

Anger, presumably that she had followed him when he had willingly gone on this mission. But relief…he had been relieved to see her face. Neither of those emotions, however, were indicative of romantic love.

“But while he’s here,” Hiko continued. “I’ll make up for lost time. It’s entertaining to watch you put him in check. To think, after all these years, the idiot would actually listen to someone and it’s an overbearing tanuki father who just lost his arm.”

“I did not tell you when that happened.”

“No, but it’s in your bearing. You’re awkward, you haven’t entirely adjusted. You still believe you’re inadequate, and that burden is heavier than this coat. Well? What have you done to correct that?”

He really didn’t like this man. He retorted. “At the very least, I wasn’t drinking myself into a stupor out of worry.”

Hiko whipped around, coat flaring and eyes narrowed. Koshijiro refused to flinch.

Then, the so-called Thirteenth Master showed his gritted teeth. “It wasn’t out of worry. Sake is good at any time of the day, as long as there’s nothing wrong with you.”

“And I am content enough to be alive, with or without my left arm.”

“So, if neither of us have complaints, then we have nothing more to speak of. Tell my idiot apprentice I haven’t finished my supply run.” Abruptly, he marched on, striding out of the Shirobeko.

With his frustration boiling over, Koshijiro took the opportunity to begin repacking. He could handle his belongings perfectly fine. And he hated that Hiko’s observation had genuinely disturbed him. When the boys had described the battles, he had been thinking as well, of strategy and how he would have acted. But he had to rework every move, to account for his current state. The one-handed variant of Kamiya Kasshin was in development, and even though he had tested it, his opponent had been unskilled. With how he was now, he wouldn’t have been able to protect anyone in Kyoto, and his own responsibilities had their importance. But seeing everyone’s injuries had stung the swordsman in him. Once he was in the dojo, he’d have to continue his progress.

Kaoru must have heard the noise, because she knocked. Looking around the room, she asked. “You’re going home today?”

“I am. I have work tomorrow.” He turned to her. “Do you want to return with me?”

Immediately, she shook her head. “Kenshin can’t travel yet, and I don’t want to leave him. Or everyone else.”

Sagara and Yahiko were not ready either; Takani intended to continue her care of all of them during the week. On a positive note, Kaoru also enjoyed Makimachi’s company. The younger girl was boisterous and trained in martial arts, so it was no wonder they had become fast friends. “It’s alright if you stay.”

“Really?”

“Yes. After all, I’ll be back next weekend.”

She blinked. “Huh?! I mean, Otou-san, you don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do. Who else will enforce the arm’s length rule?”

“Geez, Otou-san! It’s still in place, even when Kenshin’s hurt?”

“Helping him is an exception. If nothing inappropriate will happen, then there is no issue.”

“I shouldn’t have told you anything.” She grumbled.

He gave a leveling stare. “Kaoru. You don’t mean that.”

“No.” With an exhale, she crossed her arms. “You’re just being really picky about this.”

He sensed that if he unveiled his full reasoning, particularly the possibility that Himura did not care for her in the way she most desired, she would be incredibly upset. Instead, he said. “As a young man and woman, this ensures that you’ll be mindful of how you act around each other. It seems that’s slipped in the past weeks.”

“So we should talk behind folding screens?” As if she hadn’t poked holes through rice paper when she was younger.

He ignored the sarcasm. “If your feelings are true, they will endure. Unless you become formally engaged, the rule will remain.” Wait. Damn it. Damn Hiko for mentioning the word ‘father-in-law’.

Kaoru was bright red. “…Alright.”

“I’m not saying that I expect an engagement or that if there was such a thing, you would be free to do whatever you like.” He hastily added. “It was a hypothetical example.”

“Uh-huh.”

Acutely aware he was digging a deeper hole, he excused himself to say goodbye to the others. Makimachi was in the hallway, lightly humming and glancing up from her ink-covered sheet of parchment.

“Are you leaving already, Kamiya-san? The rest of the Oniwabanshuu are out on tasks, so that’s too bad.”

“Give them my regards, although I’ll be here again in six days.”

“Oh, great! I followed your advice, by the way. Would you like to say anything to Aoshi-sama?”

“Only that I wish he recovers and despite a rough start, I appreciated his aid in this.”

“You got it!” She finished her note with a flourish and turned to the nearest door, cracking it open. She pushed the paper inside, and it fluttered to the tatami. A glimpse showed that Shinomori was in a meditating position, his rigid back towards them. She closed the door with forced cheer; she definitely had an uphill battle, but kindness always won out in the end.

Takani was mixing medicine, though she asked him to let Dr. Gensai know she would be staying. “And here are the pages.” She carefully tore them out of her book.

“It may take time, but I will do the best I can from my end.”

“Thank you, Kamiya-san.” She returned to her work, still melancholy but a little less than before.

Yahiko was next, and he handed off a folded square of paper. “It’s for Tsubame, I said I’d write to her after we won. Don’t read it!”

“I have no intention of doing so.” He gravely answered. Sae also approached with her own message to her twin, which he promised he would deliver. He reiterated his gratitude to her and the staff, and that he was sorry to impose upon them again. It was no trouble, they insisted, and it was fun to have the Shirobeko so lively. Throughout the city, many others had been left with damaged homes, and as it had been with disasters in history, it was the time to come together.

Sagara was attempting to use chopsticks with his left hand, clacking them together. “See you, old man. I’ll be as good as you with one hand, next time we meet.”

“I’m far from an expert.” He humbly said. “Please don’t overexert yourself.”

He did enter Himura’s room one last time, but he was still sleeping. These initial days of recovery would be vital, and Koshijiro hoped he would never receive a telegram bearing bad news.

He took the afternoon train, and his daughter saw him off. “I’ll see you soon.” He intently looked at her.

“Bye.” She huffed but gave him a quick hug before he boarded. And with that, he was alone once more.

***

Despite the late hour, his first stop was the home of the assistant chief inspector, and Tokio greeted him. Her gaze briefly searched behind him, though she maintained a neutral, polite face. He delivered the facts, that her husband was unaccounted for.

“Have you received any correspondence from him?” He asked.

“No, not since he asked if we could take in Eiji.”

Silence fell over them, the worst possibility left unspoken.

“Did he have any contacts I can reach out to?”

“My husband’s work is highly classified, and I don’t think we are at that point yet. I’m more concerned with why he hasn’t notified me. Nothing can tame a wolf of Mibu, but he comes home if he’s told to. And I told him to come home.” Tokio emphasized. Her gaze was tracked on the horizon, and only the slight trembling of her hands gave away that she was in turmoil.

“You will be the first to know if I hear anything from Kyoto.”

“Thank you, Kamiya-san.” From within the house, Tsutomu whined, and Eiji called out hesitantly to her. She gave a quick bow before hurrying to the children, the door closing behind her.

If…no, when he saw Fujita again, he would have to give him a piece of his mind. Worrying his allies and his own family was too much.

The following morning, he kept his promise to Takani. He sent the information she had provided to the police department in her hometown, requesting for anyone who met the descriptions and to write back to him. In the meantime, he would continue to work, with his lunch break at the Akabeko so he could deliver the letters. Tae thanked him, and Tsubame had turned pink upon reading her paper.

According to recent reports, there was a scavenger in the vicinity of Chinshu Forest, and the station was told to keep an eye out. The younger officers also said there were rumors of a ghost, which Koshijiro ignored. When one of the rookies, Ikehira, went to investigate and confessed he had just missed whoever this scavenger was, but they could set up a perimeter. Koshijiro detoured there on his way home, to see if he could uncover more.

He heard the noises first. Dull scraping, heavy breathing. He kept his hand on his baton, as he drew closer. Near a small shrine, there was a young boy, scrambling in the dirt. He was around Yahiko’s age and he was singularly focused on rearranging the ground. Grass bits and clumps of earth were scattered around him.

“Hello?” Koshijiro called out. “Are you lost?”

The boy turned, and Koshijiro saw that he was a filthy child, as if he had been living in the wilderness. Like an animal, he bared his teeth and ran off. Koshijiro made to follow, but the boy was faster and smaller, disappearing into the brush. Within a few minutes, he could only hear his own footsteps. Unable to pursue any further without venturing into unknown territory, he resorted to finding his way out of the forest, back into town. He had not heard news of a missing boy, so who was that?

#rurouni kenshin #fanfic #kamiya koshijiro #kenkao #which our narrator is forced to address again #i have a much better idea of this story from now on #so i hope you'll cry a lot and laugh a lot too #<3

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