The Wishing Hunt 𝕏𝕏 Ch 27 𝕏𝕏

Gifts, Surprises, and Arguments (A new Chapter 27 because I deleted Chapter 26, which turned the previous Chapter 27 into Chapter 26)

This chapter: Gon worries about a new distance between him and Killua. He asks about Killua's relationship with Marigold.

A short time later, a loud rap on the door broke the silence that had fallen between them.

“Oh good, you’re both here.” Lyra smiled as she peered into the chamber. “Gon, I’ve brought you a gift.” She entered, bearing a long metal platter laden with a large haunch of bloody meat. “Venison! I caught and skinned a deer. In fact, I hunted a couple—although this fortress is awful, the surrounding forest has abundant prey. I stored the rest until you want it, then I came as fast as I could.”

Gon aimed an alarmed grimace at Killua, who didn’t appear to notice. Read on

Rating: E (mostly M) Hunter x Hunter fic, Fae Au Killugon, where your votes help direct the story.

About: The fae realm of Aiai is full of romantic dangers as fae seek to lure humans. As they travel on their own quests, ex-assassin fae Killua and Prince Gon embark on a fake relationship to help keep them safe from fae advances. Neither are looking for love, but the biggest romantic challenge for them both turns out to be each other and the terrain of their own past. Chapter 1 on Ao3

During the shinju scene,meleoron mentions theres something killua cant tell him, what is it that killua couldnt tell him?

from what i seen,shinjuu isnt always romantic,was it he couldnt tell meleoron he was going to die w gon because of his romantic feelings

The line

meleoron:‘if you joking,whyd u have that incredibly sad look on ur face(talking about when he was observing killua with gon)’ ‘you cant tell me,so i wont ask’ or in different translations its ‘cant you tell me?’ But in the original japanese its about being unable to tell somebody something

Hello!

So, I decided to just post (most of) these two pages because I think seeing the art and layout of the actual pages helps with understanding exactly what's going on and also analyzing it. I also went and looked at the pages in Japanese just to see if anything stood out. Aside from the famous shinjuu line, the translation seems fine.

Just to summarize and be clear before I launch into further analysis: In this scene, Killua says (with a rather dark expression) that the worst case scenario is he and Gon die together in a lovers suicide. Killua sees that Meleoron is rather vexed/taken aback/discouraged by this response and doesn't know what to say, so then Killua immediately claims he's just kidding and that they'll be okay after all, and he knows how to snap Gon out of it.

Meleoron then internally doubts that Killua is kidding about this, because he was there when Gon said the "It has nothing to do with you," (essentially) line that pushed Killua away, and he saw how heartbroken Killua looked by that. He then decides it's not worth asking because Killua clearly doesn't want to be honest about his feelings, he can't or won't express what he's going through, so he backs off.

I'm glad you brought this up because it's a piece of the whole shinjuu scene that people don't talk about as much, but this whole exchange and Togashi bothering to show Meleoron's reaction to it in the first place says a lot about the importance of the scene. If Meleoron didn't pause and connect this to Killua's earlier heartbroken moment (and notice how it takes up literally half of the page--it's important!), it would be easy to read on past it without thinking about it more deeply.

In other words, this further exchange with Meleoron is emphasis. It's there so the readers don't simply gloss over what Killua said about the shinjuu, and so the readers understand that he means it, that no matter what he says to the contrary, Killua is in fact serious about this possibility. It's there to slow things down enough so the readers can reflect on and ask their own questions about the situation.

I'm sure this is why Togashi bothered to put Meleoron in the scene with Gon pushing Killua away in the first place--there was no other reason for him to be there, other than being an observer of this moment and standing in to ask these questions.

Meleoron--an outside observer without as much context for Gon and Killua's relationship as the rest of us--wonders what's going on here, why Killua looked utterly destroyed by a few simple words. But because he saw Killua's immediate urge to lie and say it's a joke when he hesitated, he knows Killua won't open up to him about exactly what's going on, why Killua was so devastated by what Gon said to him and why Killua intends to do a teen lovers suicide with his best friend if all goes badly. Meleoron is definitely pointing out (in his view, anyway) that there are feelings behind this that Killua is unable and unwilling to talk about. Is he implying they're romantic feelings? I mean...

This happens so much in Chimera Ant arc around Killua's feelings. Togashi leaves it open-ended, doesn't spell it out blatantly, but it seems like the question is being asked over and over again--what exactly are the nature of Killua's feelings for Gon, anyway? And there keep being these moments where the concept of romantic love is conjured in some form in connection with or around this unspoken question being asked, like multiple instances in the Palm subplot I've talked about a bunch of times now. (Linking to that post in particular because it links to a lot of other Palm subplot related posts.)

Even the way Killua asks if Gon considers him a friend or a comrade, asking What are we? basically is essentially a shoujo trope--and especially how it was presented, very dramatic with a lot of focus and emphasis on Killua's internal turmoil around asking the question.

There are just so many times in this arc where emphasis gets placed on a question of, What are your feelings for Gon anyway, Killua? in an indirect way, including this moment with Meleoron. It's repeated so many times and there are so many instances where there's some subtext around or even direct mention of romantic love hovering around these questions, it's basically daring the audience to answer.

It's true that shinjuu can be non-romantic in some cases, however the word choice is meaningful. Togashi knows what the implications of it are, especially in a literary sense. He could have chosen other ways to phrase this, he could have opted not to use this word in particular. If it was presented completely in isolation from any other romantic subtext, there would be more of an argument to be had for it just being included in a platonic sense, but with how much repeated romantic subtext there is with Gon and Killua's relationship to begin with...I think the word choice is very intentional.

I hope that answers your question!

Fruit-Shaped Bus Stops (1990) Location: Nagasaki, Japan

He wants to stay at the beach!

(Source)

The Wishing Hunt 𝕏𝕏 Ch 27 𝕏𝕏

Gifts, Surprises, and Arguments (A new Chapter 27 because I deleted Chapter 26, which turned the previous Chapter 27 into Chapter 26)

This chapter: Gon worries about a new distance between him and Killua. He asks about Killua's relationship with Marigold.

A short time later, a loud rap on the door broke the silence that had fallen between them.

“Oh good, you’re both here.” Lyra smiled as she peered into the chamber. “Gon, I’ve brought you a gift.” She entered, bearing a long metal platter laden with a large haunch of bloody meat. “Venison! I caught and skinned a deer. In fact, I hunted a couple—although this fortress is awful, the surrounding forest has abundant prey. I stored the rest until you want it, then I came as fast as I could.”

Gon aimed an alarmed grimace at Killua, who didn’t appear to notice. Read on

Rating: E (mostly M) Hunter x Hunter fic, Fae Au Killugon, where your votes help direct the story.

About: The fae realm of Aiai is full of romantic dangers as fae seek to lure humans. As they travel on their own quests, ex-assassin fae Killua and Prince Gon embark on a fake relationship to help keep them safe from fae advances. Neither are looking for love, but the biggest romantic challenge for them both turns out to be each other and the terrain of their own past. Chapter 1 on Ao3

"Don't use Libby because it costs libraries too much, pirate instead" is such a weird, anti-patron, anti-author take that somehow manages to also be anti-library, in my professional librarian-ass opinion.

It's well documented that pirating books negatively affects authors directly* in a way that pirating movies or TV shows doesn't affect actors or writers, so I will likely always be anti-book piracy unless there's absolutely, positively no other option (i.e. the book simply doesn't exist outside of online archives at all, or in a particular language).

Also, yeah, Libby and Hoopla licenses are really expensive, but libraries buy them SO THAT PATRONS CAN USE THEM. If you're gonna be pissed at anybody about this shitty state of affairs, be pissed at publishing companies and continue to use Libby or Hoopla at your library so we can continue to justify having it to our funding bodies.

One of the best ways to support your library having services you like is to USE THOSE SERVICES. Yes, even if they are expensive.

*Yes, this is a blog post, but it's a blog post filled with links to news articles. If you can click one link, you can click another.

Out of curiosity and also guilt over my own coffee intake. I wanna ask:

Now I'm not talking about when you're studying and so you drink 3x the usual amount or something like that. This isn't me asking what your record is. I'm talking about the most basic, average day, how many coffees you drink?

The Wishing Hunt 𝕏𝕏 Ch 27 𝕏𝕏

Gifts, Surprises, and Arguments (A new Chapter 27 because I deleted Chapter 26, which turned the previous Chapter 27 into Chapter 26)

This chapter: Gon worries about a new distance between him and Killua. He asks about Killua's relationship with Marigold.

A short time later, a loud rap on the door broke the silence that had fallen between them.

“Oh good, you’re both here.” Lyra smiled as she peered into the chamber. “Gon, I’ve brought you a gift.” She entered, bearing a long metal platter laden with a large haunch of bloody meat. “Venison! I caught and skinned a deer. In fact, I hunted a couple—although this fortress is awful, the surrounding forest has abundant prey. I stored the rest until you want it, then I came as fast as I could.”

Gon aimed an alarmed grimace at Killua, who didn’t appear to notice. Read on

Rating: E (mostly M) Hunter x Hunter fic, Fae Au Killugon, where your votes help direct the story.

About: The fae realm of Aiai is full of romantic dangers as fae seek to lure humans. As they travel on their own quests, ex-assassin fae Killua and Prince Gon embark on a fake relationship to help keep them safe from fae advances. Neither are looking for love, but the biggest romantic challenge for them both turns out to be each other and the terrain of their own past. Chapter 1 on Ao3

Always love how much folklore especially creature folklore emphasizes that there is a way for you to win. These are the steps to ensure the dead don't rise: take them out through a hole in the wall and give them iron shoes. Vampires cannot abide sunlight. If you hear a dog howl on a churchyard path turn around and get home as fast as you can. Iron and salt and the colour red. None of this doomed idea, the world is incomprehensible but if you're a bit clever you'll survive it just fine, there's always ways out.

Poor Killua, he didn't expect that xD

More stories from hell (retail) today I was ringing up this lady and she goes oh I want to do part of this on a gift card and the rest on normal card and I go ok and then she hands me a folded piece of paper. I think oh OK it must be folded around the gift card, right? Wrong. It is a folded sheet of 8×11 printer paper with "$40" written on the inside in ballpoint pen. I go what is this. She says a gift card. I say this is not a gift card. She says yes it is. I say this is a piece of paper with "$40" written on it. She says "well it's a gift card." I say it absolutely is not. I am grinding my teeth. She says well I want to use it. I say you physically cannot do that bc it is a piece of paper. I cannot scan or swipe it. I apologize, as if this is my fault, and not because she is completely insane. I hate it here

who are these people writing reviews of middle grade / young adult stuff on goodreads like "UM EXCUSEZ-MOI, THIS BOOK HAS UNPLEASANT ISSUES THAT MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL MIDDLE SCHOOLERS" and the list of issues is like. the existence of 9/11. eldercare. other extraordinarily anodyne shit

like (1) kids have a basic fucking ability to process grief and bad things happening. like why on earth should a middle schooler find The Fact That Sometimes People Get Old And Need Care "inappropriate." i'm pretty sure you can explain that shit to, like, a six year old, and they will not break down or get traumatized or anything

and (2) did these people not grow up in houses with books. like when i was bored as a kid i'd go raid my dad's study for random lurid medical texts or i'd steal whatever the hell my mom was reading for her book club that month or i'd raid grandma's attic for some REALLY spin-the-roulette-wheel stuff. plenty of sex & violence & whatever else in all these books and you know what it was fucking fine. some stuff went over my head (in which case who cares no harm done), and sometimes i learned a new thing (which is fine??? if i was too distressed i could just close the fucking book???) ((which ok i did have to stop reading twenty pages from the end of All Quiet On The Western Front at age 10, because i simply could not bear to watch yet another poor fuckin sweet little german teenage boy die in some horrible way for no fucking reason, and you know what, that's called The Book Was Working & i regret the experience exactly zero)). and when We Need To Talk About Kevin dropped, e.g. the book about a creepy school shooter dude, mom simply could not finish reading the book in time for book club, because me & my brother kept stealing it from her & we had like multiple lengthy dinner conversations about it. which is a cool and fun way to think about a text. like did these people just not absorb any real media with any real themes until age 22 or something i legit don't get it

A brief moment of rationality from the bird place.

I try to answer other people’s call lights if I’m not busy, because if my work is done and I’ve helped out with other people’s work, I can fully commit to slacking off guilt free. And usually what people want is bathroom, snacks, and/or pain meds, all of which are pretty easy to address and if there’s anything too complicated, I can always call the nurse. Anyway, I go answer this call light, and it’s for a patient I don’t know and have never spoken to before. I pop in like “hi can I help you?” as I feel so quietly smug about how Helpful I am being, and the patient goes, “do you know if I’m dying tonight? If I am, I should call my family.”

To be so clear. I was expecting like. a request for a ginger ale. I was not prepared emotionally for a very sick stranger grappling with the angst of potentially imminent death. So I go, “UMMM. I DON’T KNOW. LEMME CHECK WITH YOUR NURSE AND SEE IF SHE KNOWS.” This seemed heinously inadequate in the face of their obvious despair, so I added, “probably not in the next ten minutes if you’re able to sit up and ask, but I can’t make any promises.”

Don’t think that was the ideal follow up sentence. But it didn’t seem to make the patient any sadder than they already were. I used to really live in fear of being the nurse in someone’s anecdote about a wildly inappropriate thing said to them by their nurse. It’s not so much as I’ve gotten over that fear as I’ve accepted that my job thrusts me into a lot of situations where I have to talk about extremely intense topics to the people most intimately affected by those topics, often with no time, no prep, and no information. At this point, I just try my best to ground my inarticulate fumblings in as much genuine care as I can express, and thank God I don’t fuck up worse and more often.