#you ever wonder how she felt when she was the only apprentice that wasnt sent to kitty concentration camp

[marmotclaw]

Dawnflower

Name meaning: Pale colours, early riser, has potential, beautiful, friendly

Very pale grey molly (she/her)

Cause of death: Starvation and thirst at 5.67 years

Family and Education

Mothers: Mosspelt, Shadepelt

Sisters: Dapplenose, Willowshine

Brothers: Robinkit, Woodkit

Adopted Brother: Stormfur

Adopted Sister: Feathertail

Daughters: Minnowtail, Tumblekit

Son: Pebblefoot

Mentor: Heavystep

Apprentices: Icewing, Beetlewhisker

[justaghostingon]

Chapter 11: Butting Heads

Tori

Tori crouched on top of a roof, surveying the street below. There had been six attacks now since she’d last seen Simple and those strange purple people. She had submitted the license plate number to the police, but it would take them months to track it down, if it turned up anything at all. The strange star-shaped robots were still flying uninhibited in the city, and quite a few had even started following her around, requesting her assistance with monster attacks. At first, she had cut them down, but for everyone that she managed go catch a hundred rose in its place, and she gradually stopped trying.

They weren’t the real problem anyway. They tried to keep people out of danger zones. She’d never admit it, but it was helpful to have them quarentine off areas until the good doctor’s team could get there and clean up the area.

Not that it mattered if the police got there first. They seemed to think themselves immune, bursting in dangerous areas and trying to fight, spreading the toxins around as they did so. To make matters worse, they refused to believe the good doctor when he warned them again and again that it was not safe. They refused to believe without solid proof.

And the only one who could provide that solid proof, was nowhere to be found. Tori twitched on the roof at the very thought of Simple. The man who knew...something...more about the spread and how to contain it.

“It doesn’t do any good, it’s already spread,” Simple had said. And those words had haunted Tori ever since. She had turned them over and over inside her mind late at night. Had the toxicity really gotten to far to be stopped? Was there really no hope and they were all living on borrowed time? Why had he sounded so regretful like he had firsthand experience? And most of all, what did this mean for Mary?

Tori hadn’t been able to see her since the hospital took her away. The doctor had kept her informed of Mary’s condition, but it wasn’t the same as being able to see her, to hold her hand and promise her she’d find a solution. She had taken to hanging around the hospital when she wasnt hunting monsters, pacing the waiting room up and down.

It was almost a relief when the good doctor had stopped her, and told her to use her free time to hunt down Simple instead. She doubted she’d find him, she’d been tailing the robots but they didn’t seem to need to return to Simple’s base regularly enough for her to find it. Still, she had put on her white hazard suit armor and grabbed her knife and some hazard tape, and headed out.

Which led her to her current situation, sitting on a roof and wondering if she should try following the robots again. Something blue caught her eye. It couldn’t be, could it? She hurried across the roof to get a better view. There it was again, the glow of blue on the horizon. Simple.

She hurried down to the street where her car was parked. Briefly she wished she had a better, faster method of transportation, but it was only a passing fancy. This car had out run monsters, it could get there in enough time to catch Simple.

As she grew closer she found the scenery growing familiar. She pulled over on the street filled with empty warehouses, and tightened her jaw. It figures Simple would be out here, she thought as she batted away one of the robots who flew to close.

Noises filled the air, monsterous shrieks and a human scream. Tori felt her blood run cold as she bolted between the buildings, swords raised at the ready to aid the person in trouble. She rounded the corner to see Simple and another man facing off against a chimera. The smaller man was half pinned beneath the creature, while Simple looked on, an eyebrow raised.

“Come on Gyrus. We don’t have all day,” Simple called out.

The man pinned struggled to free himself. The monster raised its last remaining head in a snarl filled with many teeth. Tori raised her knife and dove forward to come to his aid, but at the last second the man pinned raised a strange glove and shot something bright out of it that hit the head. It exploded in a rain of green goo.

The man, now soaked in green goo, gave a loud groan. “Can we stop now Kodya?”

“Not yet,” Simple said as he crossed over to take the younger’s hand. “You need to be able to take on more than a two headed hydra.” The younger groaned again, but accepted Simple’s extended hand.

“What is going on?” Tori shrieked, and both men froze. The younger gave a shriek and let go of Simple’s hand, falling back into the goo. Simple reached out a hand to try to catch him, but was to slow. Goo splattered them all.

“Nothing! Absolutely nothing is going on at all!” The man on the ground waved his hands wildly in the air. “We were...I mean...this is just...a rescue attempt?” He finished half heartedly, peaking big eyes at here through his bangs.

Behind him Simple scowled at her, arms crossed. “What are you doing here Red?”

The man below glanced between Tori and Simple. He sighed, then jumped to his feet. “What Ko-Simple here means-“ he fixed Tori with a friendly smile, “-is that he thought you were patroling on the otherside of the city, so he decided to cover this side.”

Tori raised an eyebrow. “Simple can speak for himself.” The man blushed and looked down. If it was possible, Simple’s glower darkened.

“Have you run into the Numbers Gang again?” Simple snapped.

“The who?” Tori frowned.

“The purple people,” the other man offered. 

Tori shook her head. “Since you disappeared, I have not seen head nor tail of them.” 

“Then we have nothing to say to each other,” Simple snapped, turning away. “Come on Gyrus.”

The goo covered man hesitated, gazing back at Tori. He bit his lip, then turned to Simple. “Wait!” He reached out a hand to his retreating back. “Maybe she could help us.”

Simple stopped, but did not look back. “I don’t have time for someone who gets in the way and thinks goo is the problem.” 

“So you admit there is a problem!” Tori stepped forward. “If the goo is not the cause, then what is? Tell me! This could save lives!”

Simple’s shoulders’s slumped as he sighed. “It’s not that simple.”

“Then make it so! Explain!”Tori cut through the air with her hand.

“I can’t!” Simple whirled around, hands balled into fists. Tori growled as she stomped towards him, opening her mouth to speak.

A hand appeared on her shoulder, stopping her approach. She glanced down at it in shock, and then over to Simple, who wore a similar expression of surprise as he gazed at the hand on his own shoulder. “Stop it,” Simple’s companion said, green hair still dripping goo. He looked Tori right in the eye. “White Knight, we don’t know where it comes from. But we do know it’s connected to the Numbers Gang. Help us find them, and we can find a way to stop the problem in our city.”

Tori considered her options. The last thing she wanted was to have to work with someone as callous as Simple. But then again, what choice did she have? If there was any chance of saving Mary...the image of her lying in a hospital bed, only approached by professionals sent as shiver down her spine. She made her decision. “I will help you, If you behave.” She glared at Simple.

“Oh we will!” The man between them smiled. “Right Simple?” He gave the vigilante a sharp look. 

“Fine.” Simple crossed his arms. “The sooner we find them the better.” The man between them gave him a smile, and Tori realized something.

“I don’t believe we have been introduced,” she said to the man beside Simple. “I am called the White Knight.”

The man brightened. “I know, I’m a big fan!...”

“Kid,” Simple grumbled. The kid rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly in response.

“Call me...Astronaut,” he said, glancing to the side as if he had just come up with it on the spot. “I’m kinda like Simple’s tech support.”

“Apprentice,” Simple corrected. 

“You mean sidekick?” Tori corrected, remembering the superhero movies Mary had insisted they watch on movie nights. 

The one dubbed Astronaut grinned. “I think you and I are gonna get on just fine.”’

[orangememory]

Nirvana in Fire 2, Episode 6 Recap

First, A MERRY CHRISTMAS/ HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE!

With that short transmission, lets get back! Though the release has sped ahead to Episode 12, with subs I am confined to Episode 6. This episode brings us some more court politics, more sweet family moments, some open secrets, some secondhand embarrassment for Pingjing and the mention of an old LYB fave and the introduction of a new hottie!

Last Episode:

In Episode 5, Pingjing and Co. faced a betrayal, snuck their way out of an evil plot, and the wonderful Da Sao, Meng Qianxue blew us all away. The Minister behind all this evil was arrested, but there seem to be so many loose ends. It will be an interesting ride to see the hidden motivations of these people. Last Episode, we ended with Minister Song’s confession and a list of collaborators, with Grand Secretary Xun turning paler and paler at the thought.

Episode 6 Recap:

- The Emperor reads the list of people who have colluded with Song Fu and remarks derisively that Song Fu is just stalling for time, that he cannot trust the names on the list. He hands this task over to Grand Secretary Xun (Who I will be now abbreviating as Sec Xun for ease) as the Head Minister. You may miss if you dont look for it, but the reporting Minister of Justice looks ever so slightly alarmed and turns his head to Sec Xun. Hmmm.

- The Emperor also bids Cai Quan junior to interrogate PA Qin/Duan Tongzhou and report the results to his brother, because even if his brother doesnt show it outwardly, he is very curious about the case. Its nice how well the Emperor understands Tingsheng, but really bby, dont show it in front of this bunch of connivers? The Emperor definitely has a bit of the buffalo genes, both in good ways and bad ways - he cannot hide the favour of the people he cares for.

- Our two adorabros are now chatting over tea. (Let me just take a detour to mention how much I like the way they have done the tea with the elegant ladles and stuff, quite different from NIF where they had pretty jade teapots and MCS would pour it so delicately aah yes. It looks so normal but so cool at the same time?) Little Diving Dragon mentions that Song Fu, the ex-central secretary and main plotter of the supply line cut, has denied any involvement with General Ji of the Shanliu Army, while General Ji has just said the opposite. Like his uncle, Pingjing thinks one of them is lying. Pingzhang, however, smells a rat and says its possible they both speak the truth, because PA Qin/Firemaster Duan was the go-between for these deals, and he isnt an ordinary man - possibly has his own agenda. Pingzhang asks younger bro to report it to Justice Minister Wu.

- We then have a moment with our flawless Da Sao, who cannot get any prettier in blue and white. They have definitely retained a bit of Nihuang’s aesthetic there. Da Sao visits ice doctor extraordinaire Lin Xi, and thanks her and invites her to Changlin Manor for a follow-up. She also asks Lin Xi to call her jie-jie, looking at her very curiously like she is either interested in her or wants to totally ship Pingjing with her. I prefer the first! (Goddamnit now I want to write Da Sao/Lin Xi/Pingzhang fic YAAAAS)

- The Empress Xun receives her older brother, none other than Sec Xun (Phone please stop correcting this to Sex cunt like what even). From the tip-off last episode from Ancient Chinese Rasputin Pu, she knows something is up in court - and enquires of her brother’s involvement - who declines any role in it, considering he must protect the Empress and the Crown Prince’s place.

- In the meantime, Duan Tongzhou escapes from the Celestial prison. Not really difficult cause he can melt through shit- but it looks like a clean getaway, possibly some help on the inside? Hmm.

- An introduction of a new hottie! On their way back to Changlin Manor, Da Sao and Lin Xi’s carriage runs into Head Priest Pu’s, who comes out in all snakey glory and apologises. This exchange is interrupted by the second broad-chested and upright piece of deliciousness (with Xie Bi’s unfortunate centre part hairstyle) Xun Feizhan, the current Commander of the Imperial Guards (Jinjun). I don’t know who this actor is but wow, does he match our darling Meng-dage in bearing, who used to hold the same position in nIF. He request Da Sao to take another route, citing Duan Tongzhou was seen in this area. When Rasputin Pu also seeks to scurry away, Commander Xun asks him where he was planning to go. Now Feizhan has an ice face but it is clear to hell and back he disapproves of Pu, and thinks he is suspicious. And since Firemaster Duan has escaped in this very area….hmmm….

- Time for a little backstory! And we learn more about Meng Da-ge’s future life! (BAWLS LOUDLY) We already know Qianxue is his grandniece, and Xun Feizhan is her shi-xiong (senior apprentice brother), both having trained under Meng Zhi personally! Meng Zhi had reached the top of the Langya Charts, and Qianxue remembers him being biased, and teaching Feizhan a lot more than her. She thinks of Feizhan fondly, but they rarely see each other.

- I interrupt this recap to bawl a little about Meng Zhi. When Lin Xi called him ‘Lao Daren’ I felt so sad because our funny, goofy, loyal to a fault Meng Da-ge retired as a famous old minister. Meng Da-ge is gone, he isnt around. :’( I always had this headcanon that Meng Zhi adopted Fei Liu as a son. And it would have been so cool if others like Xia Dong were around, giving Meng Zhi a knock and teaching Qianxue how to be badass. There must be fic of this, there must.

- Sec Xun returns to his humble abode, where our escapee Duan Tongzhou makes an appearance. Sec Xun asks him to get lost, while Duan tells Sec Xun he is here to serve him - now that Song Fu has fallen, only Sec Xun understands their common goal. Sec Xun denies any involvement as before, but puh-leez, you’re letting a major criminal escape. You be far from innocent old man. Duan Tongzhou says he will return later to him, and doesn’t want to cause Sec Xun trouble - but then he does juuuuust that by leaving a burned handprint on the furniture which doesn’t help with the decor. Just as Duan leaves, our Commander Xun, Feizhan steps in. Ah, Sec Xun is his uncle! And the Empress is def his aunt then. In the middle of these horrid schemers, Feizhan looks like an upright soul. He does notice the odd handprint though, but he says nothing.

- Pingjing gets schooled by papa and big bro as he rants against the poor Justice Minister for losing Duan ‘deliberately.’ Papa Tingsheng is furious with him, reminding him he has no place to accuse a man like that - while big bro settles papa’s anger. I swear, this series is adorable where they teach Pingjing life lessons. He is unbridled, and needs to learn to be cautious.

- Sec Xun and Feizhan present their parts of the case to the Emperor, where Sec Xun has possibly exonerated some of his own people, saying many officials had been tricked, and implicating 5 officials. Feizhan looks a little askance, suspecting something - but the Emperor is furious that such treacherous subjects exist, and he bursts out coughing badly in his fury. Later, Snakey-man and his golden yo-yo make an appearance, trying to calm the Emperor’s cough - and the Empress entrusts her husband’s health to her head priest. The Emperor looks very unimpressed though - like he doesn’t care about this hocus-pocus.

- Lin Xi attends to her patient Pingzhang, who very casually asks her for her age/birthdate, saying how her bearing is steady unlike boys of the same age like Pingjing. Lin Xi betrays no reaction - but she does do something else that piques my interest. Da Sao talks to her for a bit, while she notices some beautiful boxes, possibly for jewelry or makeup, and again, smells something (literally I mean). While leaving, Lin Xi tells Da Sao how beautiful her hands are, feeling her wrist. I suspect she took a sneaky pulse. But why? We will be soon to find out! (Also Lin Xi completely reminds me of Consort Jing in these situations, sniffing out possible poisons, being generally badass. I love this girl)

- Da Sao asks Pingzhang about the birthdate business, where he mentions that the Old Master Li, Lin Xi’s shifu, had specifically mentioned her age - when it wasnt required or even casually stated during a conversation. Pingzhang also must have a clue about Lin Xi’s identity. 

- Next, Pingzhang and Pingjing head to the Palace to offer their Greetings to their uncle, the Emperor - whom Pingzhang could not report to because of his illness, and Pingjing is plain afraid of being scolded by his uncle. :D On the way, they meet Feizhan, who is on first name terms with the Changlin boys, they must be good friends. (Also, Feizhan and Pingzhang look so suited together as friends). Then follows a most adorable exchange, where it is clear how much the Emperor indulges his nephews. He quickly helps raise Pingzhang from his bow, offers him a seat even, and scolds Pingjing for being away from home. He also ribs Pingjing about the whole prisoner incident, and how he never expected TS to train his boys like that. Pingjing even talks back, saying the Emperor always favours his dad, and wont take his side. 

- WHY MUST THIS FAMILY BE SO HAPPY AND CUTE? As I have said in earlier episodes, it is a major credit to all the actors that they have this natural, easy bond. In NIF1, it was mostly that the Xiao family was fighting in an ugly manner, and most of the friendships were between found families (and sorry but MCS and Jingyan’s bond is a bit too outside familial boundaries for me if you know what I mean ;P). Here it is good to see all these loving uncles and nephews. 

- However, this adorableness is followed by what smells like a third birth secret in this show. (We’re counting Lin Xi and Papa Tingsheng, of course) Pingjing is sent off to visit the Crown Prince, and the Emperor now scolds Pingzhang - referring to that trip he took to Langya Hall and the secret answer he burned away. The Emperor doesn’t explicitly state anything, but that Pingzhang should have asked his father directly for the answers - and that he has a few truths to share with his nephew. 

- When Pingzhang was officially declared the Changlin heir, the Emperor was against it - but soon he accepted Tingsheng’s decision, because Pingzhang is smart as hell and the perfect child for the elders, whereas Pingjing is a free bird. Pingzhang still wishes for Pingjing to inherit, but the Emperor says that he loves Pingjing a lot - and would rather see him happily protected by his brother and dad rather than have responsibilities. Also, he cannot imagine leaving his son to anyone else other than Pingzhang. He then orders a litter chair brought for his nephew for him to travel to the Eastern Palace. Now this is a big, big deal, because only senior royals were allowed such liberties in the Palace. It just warms my heart how NICE this Emperor is. He also says that as long as he and Tingsheng are around, nothing will happen. That foreboding is so so bad.

- So we do not get any clarity about what Pingzhang asked, but suffice to say our boy is possibly adopted, and I think from some objectionable or strange origins, such as TS himself in NIF. My money is on him being some enemy foundling.

- In the meantime, our Toothy Little Dragon has already bumped into Head Priest Pu and rudely shaken him off in a bid to quickly go meet his cousin. Pingjing starts flying across the Palace rooftops because he has forgotten where the Eastern Palace is, when Pingzhang spots and severely reprimands his brother. This is going to become a theme, isn’t it - Pingjing’s lack of finesse and older bro teaching him how to operate? I think maybe this part is shown too often where Pingjing is scolded for his naivete and sometimes flagrant disregard for etiquette. We get it Hai Yan, he is supposed to be carefree and childish - dont drill it into us again and again please. It becomes repetitive after a point. 

 - The cute Crown Prince Yuanshi is every class’ nightmare or the kid who does Algebra on Christmas eve, he has been given a day off yet he insists on practicing calligraphy while Tiger mom looks on and snarks how late Changlin bros are. I swear the Empress is my mom, because my mom at least owns that amount of gold hair jewelry and she does the same snarking whenever I invite my friends over.

- Delinquent cousin (at least in the Empress’ eyes) Pingjing saunters along with a loud ‘Yuanshi!’ lifting his cousin up to make him fly. Both cousins are lost to the world, while Pingzhang looks on them with dawning horror and the Empress burns with barely controlled rage at having been outright ignored and her son just called by name. Pingzhang manages to break them up, bowing several times despite his injury, to apologise to the Empress and the Crown Prince on Pingjing’s behalf. 

-The Empress snarks a bit, and doesnt want to allow Yuanshi to run off from algebra, the secret of ruling an empire - but Pingjing counters it again by saying that Grandpa Jingyan used to ask the boys to train in the inside and outside, so Yuanshi should get some fresh air. The daggers in the Empress’ eyes are also reminiscent of my mum, but really, Pingjing should know how to comport himself better in front of his elders and the royal family. Just because his uncle gives him leeway he should not be running so wild, it gave me a lot of secondhand embarrassment for one. 

- We end with Da Sao and Lin Xi building their womance (yaaaaaas) where Lin Xi uses it to obtain Da Sao’s cosmetics box for a few days, which we learn is gifted from the Empress in Da Sao’s dowry. She’s still doing her sniffing thing - and I have watched too many Inner Palace dramas with tainted boxes so forgive me for being jaded when i realise exactly what intrigue is going on. But for that, we need to go to the next episode.

Thoughts:

Aaaaah why are my recaps getting so long? I think it’s mainly because in NIF, there were so many little things and details that I missed the first 2-3 times I watched, and only learnt to appreciate much, much later when I saw this. I am caught up till Episode 10 of the subs, but recapping makes me remember a lot of things that I tend to appreciate.

I think in this episode I was just looking at all the aesthetics everywhere - so much white and blue in everyone’s clothes, the interesting new uniforms of the Palace maids which are much more opulent. NIF2 seems to have the same care with little details as NIF1, the way things are arranged, the way people move and interact with each other is lovely. It definitely deserves praise for this.

I also really enjoyed the introduction of Xun Feizhan, and from the future episodes we know he will be a key player in our game, and he may have a few heartbreaking decisions to make.

The plot is again, a little sedate with the intrigue currently - but from what I have seen in the future - there are lots of new developments, new revelations and a few crisscrossing lines.Will be back with Episode 7 soon!