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twstarchives · 3 years

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Happy Birthday・Jade

Card: Birthday Attire - SSR Characters: Jade & Yuu. Mentioned: Floyd

Chapter 1

—OCTAVINELLE DORM - BIRTHDAY PARTY VENUE—

NRC Campus News Interview with the Birthday Student ~Jade ver.~

Yuu: Happy birthday!

Jade: Thank you very much.

How are you feeling with everyone celebrating for you?

Jade: I’m deeply honored that everyone has come to celebrate for Floyd and me.

However, while this might be unusual for me, I’m rather embarrassed with so many people wishing me a happy birthday.

Have your parents sent you anything?

Jade: Yes, we received a birthday message from our mother.

“Jade-san and Floyd-san, are you eating enough everyday?”

“It’s wonderful that you’re enjoying life on land, but remember to come let us see your faces at home every once in a while.”

...She seems to be concerned about how we’re faring.

Although, messages from her are not a rare occurrence; she contacts us nearly everyday.

Our mother has always been one to worry.

Could you tell us a memory you have about your birthday?

Jade: A memory... Oh, yes. I’ll share a story from my childhood.

It wasn’t just our relatives that would come over for our birthday every year—but associates from our father’s work as well.

And they gave us mountains of presents.

What kinds of things did you get?

Jade: All sorts of things: sweets, seaweed eye masks, and strange toys that one could only acquire on land.

However, among those were also luxury substances that clearly no child would need.

It seems those presents were from desperate people trying to gain our father’s favor... er, rather, his trust.

Our father always made sure anyone who sent us those deeply meaningful gifts also left their signatures...

On a document which read, “This gift was given to you out of good faith, and we will not request anything in return for it.”

Even our father had a tendency to worry at times, just like our mother.

Well, they do say that married couples take after each other... It’s good that they get along well.

...Just what kind of household do you two come from...?

Jade: Heheh, this is simply a family-run line of work. We do all sorts of meaningless business with all kinds of people... It’s very normal.

Chapter 2

—OCTAVINELLE DORM - BIRTHDAY PARTY VENUE—

What kind of things do you like?

Jade: Terrariums.

I nurture wildlife from land in transparent cases such as glass containers and fish tanks. It’s quite profound.

Could you tell us what made you start doing terrariums?

Jade: I started because of the Sea Witch from the Great Seven.

There’s a tale where she kept little creatures inside bottles.

I wanted to have a little more understanding of an eminent figure I admired, so that is how it began.

When I was still at home, I had already grown various things inside bottles.

What do you like about terrariums?

Jade: Hm... Perhaps the fact that I’m in control of them.

It takes the skill of a supervisor to keep harmony in the worlds inside each bottle.

Whether they live or die is also up to me...

Managing terrariums almost feels like I’m the ruler of a little garden, so to speak.¹

But above all else, I can grow them at my own pace, so it’s very relaxing.

Although, it doesn’t always go exactly how I wish for it to.

Plants I picked myself will wither out of nowhere, unexpected plants will sprout from soil I gathered along the mountains...

Surprise occurrences like those are simply another one of its charms.

Are surprises fun for you?

Jade: Yes. It would just be boring if everything went the way I wanted it to.

My knowledge of wildlife on land is still rather minimal, so oftentimes I’m not sure how I should take care of one...

That is why I have such a strong interest in terrariums.

Chapter 3

—OCTAVINELLE DORM - BIRTHDAY PARTY VENUE—

Could you tell us a memory about your earring, if any?

Jade: Oh my, are you curious about this on my left ear?

Heheh, very well. I’ll talk about it. Although, this story is from a little while ago...

Before we were in middle school, a sturgeon once challenged Floyd and me to a fight.

That sturgeon had the most beautiful scales on him.

We were very intrigued, and asked if we could please have its scales if we won.

I’m sure you can guess what happened.

Yes. We were able to successfully win against him, and he gave us his beautiful scales.

We fixed them up, and now they are the earrings Floyd and I wear.

It’s very beautiful.

Jade: Thank you. I’m happy to have something I’m fond of complimented.

The sturgeon appears as a powerful figure in a verse of one of the spells the Sea Witch left behind...²

So it’s very popular to use sturgeon scales as amulets in the Coral Sea.

What else is popular in the Coral Sea?

Jade: Hm... Ah, yes. Fireworks are extremely popular.

Whenever fireworks are happening on land, many merfolk swim up to the surface to admire them.

Floyd and I have gone near beaches on nights with fireworks as well.

Everyone is preoccupied looking at the sky, so those on land usually don’t notice us.

Did you know that long ago, merfolk used to think fireworks were jellyfish flying in the sky?

I would think they’re much too extravagant to be jellyfish, but... heheh. It’s an amusing misconception.

Thank you for sharing all of this with us. Once again, happy birthday!

1. Like I’m the ruler of a little garden

The topic of terrariums & their correlation to Ursula most likely come from this line of hers in The Little Mermaid:

EN: King Triton’s headstrong, lovesick girl would make a charming addition to my little garden. JP: That lovesick girl will soon become but a flower to decorate my little garden.

2. A sturgeon ... in the spells the Sea Witch left behind

References Ursula’s incantation in Poor Unfortunate Souls.

EN: Beluga Sevruga, come winds of the Caspian Sea JP: Beluga Sevruga, sturgeon of the Caspian Sea

#twisted wonderland #jade leech #personal story #birthday attire

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noirlevity · 3 years

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Scent Chapter 5

Pairing: TadaAi

Fandom: Sk8 the Infinity

Synopsis: Ainosuke once loved Tadashi, but ever since he broke his heart, he decided to never have anything to do with him. But what happens if he meets him again after so many years and finds out a secret that will change both of their lives forever?

Chapter summary: Ainosuke finds out Tadashi has someone he goes home to.

Tags: Omegaverse, forced bonding, forced marriage, sorta angst, slow burn

A/N: Coming up with names is hard. :|

Read: AO3 || 1 2 3 4 4.5 4.6 4.7

Laughter and chatter fill the meeting room in a crescendo as members walked to the exit. The meeting had just adjourned so some of the members expected to have early dinner. Others were engaged in conversation with colleagues.

As he walks with Tadashi to the exit, Ainosuke is stopped by Representative Takanagi. He signals with his eyes for Tadashi to go first. Tadashi nods. He greets Takanagi and the others and excused himself. It is while he conversed with Takanagi that he felt someone cup his shoulder. He turns to check who it was and is greeted by Representative Yamada's wide grin. Yamada was one of his Father's close associates in their party. He is a chubby middle-aged man in his early 50s who sometimes visited their house to meet with his father. While Yamada appeared to be the approachable and down-to-earth kind, his Father was stoic and strict. Their friendship was to Ainosuke one of the mysteries of the world.

Ainosuke bows and offers his hand for a handshake. Pleased, Yamada pats him on the shoulder as he guffaws. They continued to talk as they exited the building.

The topics ranged from a variety of topics like Ainosuke's preparation to be formally initiated as a member of the party to the various events organized by his Aunts to boost his visibility and reputation. With the help of Tadashi, everything went smoothly. Ever since he met with the other members, he would only hear praises about his affable demeanor and magnetism that the senior party members and his cohorts rambled on. As early as it was, there was already a huge expectation on Ainosuke's shoulders. The Senior members who were his dad's acquaintances were eager and interested in knowing more about him and his advocacies for the party.

After they got out of the building, rather than go straight to their private cars, they talked for a bit.

“If he were alive, Aichirou would be proud of how far you’ve reached Ainosuke-san. This is just the start for you.”

“Your track record in the US, joining international student groups, and your advocacy for equality and human rights is outstanding and commendable.” Representative Takanagi added to Yamada’s praise.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Thank you very much. I’m just glad I could use my privilege as a member of the Shindo family to help others.”

Yamada shifts his eyes to another direction; a huge smile plastered on his face. Ainosuke follows his gaze and notices Tadashi standing under the bower of the cherry blossom tree.

“I see that Kikuchi-san has been appointed as your secretary. That’s good. Your Father was lucky to have him. The kid is very talented. If someone told me he was some kind of genius I would believe them!

“I remember Aichirou was very fond of him. I guess it comes as a consequence of having such a competent employee. If he were an alpha, I would have offered to let him marry my daughter.” Representative Yamada laughed heartily, body bent in a question mark. His eyes were like crescent moons on his chubby face.

Playing with his chin he continued, “He’s a handsome young man. I’m glad he’s finally recovered his youthful glow. Before, he was too skinny and unhealthily pale. I’m glad he’s doing well.

“That Aichirou was always prone to overdoing it.” The others laughed at the remark. There was an edge to his voice that made Ainosuke uncomfortable.

“Treat him well Ainosuke-san.” Representative Yamada pats Ainosuke on the shoulder.

Ainosuke didn’t like it when Tadashi was the topic of conversation. All he can do when this happens is to force himself to smile. As he turns to look at Tadashi once more, their eyes meet. Tadashi looked away first. As always, he doesn’t hesitate to avoid Ainosuke’s eyes if he can help it. And yet, just as often as Tadashi runs away from meeting his eyes, Ainosuke couldn’t help but feel a twinge in his heart every time he looks at Tadashi. He pays it no mind. He massages the place where his heart was supposed to be.

He doesn’t need to be told to treat him well.

He continues to gaze at Tadashi. Ainosuke thinks about his talks with his Father’s colleagues. It gave him an idea about how Tadashi was doing when he was in the states. It seems that he was useful to his father and to the party. With how they saw Tadashi, it was not a surprise that his Aunts liked him. Ainosuke furrows his brows. Well, it’s not like they appreciate him for who he was. They just like him for his devotion to his work. This was what Ainosuke told himself. He didn't even know why he was trying to rationalize their interest in him as if he were jealous.

Chatter continues to fill the air. Ainosuke tries listening to the conversation but he is still distracted. With how futile it was to engage in the conversation, he allows himself to steal another glance at his secretary.

Tadashi was looking in the distance. The sakura blossoms in the background made a perfect picture of spring. Tadashi always had a gorgeous profile with his high nose bridge and his slender nose. His raven hair fluttering in the wind made Ainosuke's heart stop. He remembers Yuki. Oddly, he’s already forgotten how he looked. His thoughts settle on Nico and how he tried so hard to search for pictures of Ainosuke’s father hoping to get a glimpse of adult Tadashi. He remembers how interested Nico was when he saw the picture with Tadashi; claiming that somehow he understood him better when he saw it.

“He looks like your childhood friend in profile?”

“Yes.”

“Are you blind? They don’t look the same.”

When Nico told him that he was somewhat offended.

“Maybe you just really miss him? You separated badly, didn’t you? And every time it's November 22, you just act weird all of a sudden. Ai. I hope things will be better for you. Even though it’s hard, walking away from something that hurts us is always the right choice. I was glad that you finally decided to date someone. Maybe that already made a difference.”

Too bad. Ainosuke realized that he still hasn’t taken a single step forward since the day they parted. Too bad that he is still stuck somewhere, caged by his unresolved feelings towards Tadashi. And even if it was requited, a Shindo can never marry a beta.

Representative Yamada was right. Tadashi was handsome and competent. He deserves someone who is on his level. He deserves more than being someone’s secretary.

A faint sweet smell from Tadashi hovers in the air and makes his dejection worse.

“Do you smell something sweet?” Ainosuke asked Representative Takanagi who was beside him. Even though he knows that he is the only one who can smell it he still wants to make sure it is still true. Representative Takanagi sniffed.

“No. I smell nothing. Ainosuke-san, what sensitive nose you have.”

"Something sweet? Maybe your fated person is here?" Representative Yamada jokes. Everyone laughed again.

Ainosuke glances at Tadashi. He stares until he finds himself looking into the older man’s jade eyes that beckoned him.

The afternoon sun peeks behind the thick clouds that hover in the sky. Orange and red rays spill across its expanse painting it with a warm gradient. The streets are bathed in sephia as day starts to fade into night. Ainosuke watches the changing scenery as he waits to be home.

He wakes up from his reverie when Tadashi stated that they had already arrived. Since Ainosuke didn’t bring important documents with him, there was nothing to bring into the office. Tadashi doesn’t follow Ainosuke inside the mansion. He stops at the entrance and instructs the other butlers to prepare Ainosuke’s bath for him.

Ainosuke has accepted the fact that he was going to be with Tadashi 24/7 but on that point, it seems that he was mistaken. When he arrived in Japan, it was Tadashi who prepared his bath for him.

The butlers nodded and went to prepare the bath.

Glancing at his watch, Tadashi gives Natsuno a signal.

“Ainosuke-sama, please feel free to wait in your room. The butlers will inform you when the bath is ready. Natsuno will take care of your needs. Good night. I’ll come in the morning. I’ll wake you up like usual.”

Tadashi took out his organizer to check Ainosuke's schedule.

“Tomorrow at 10 am we are going to meet with Mr. Honda for a meeting about a charity the party is hosting.”

Surprised at the turn of events, Ainosuke couldn’t catch what Tadashi said. His thoughts were in haywire with disappointment and frustration. It was like the feeling you get when something you have been expecting doesn’t come true. Ainosuke was at a loss what to do. His thoughts were filled with Tadashi not living in the mansion. It’s weird, particularly because as a secretary and member of the household staff, it would be easier for him to just lodge in the mansion. Without any further explanation, Tadashi bowed. He also said his goodbyes to the Senior butler and Natsuno. Natsuno nods in response, cheeks reddening. His eyes looked like he was looking forward to something but after a realization came to him, the light in his eyes became dejected.

“Ainosuke-sama, I’ll accompany you to your room,” Natsuno said with a faint hint of disappointment in his voice. He guided Ainosuke to his room.

Footsteps fall heavy on the floor. The mansion was quiet so it was the only sound that reverberated in the hallways. Ainosuke clears his throat as curiosity gets the better of him.

“Natsuno, Tadashi didn’t lodge here when he was working with my Father?”

It was the first time Ainosuke talked casually with Natsuno. Somewhat surprised, Natsuno stops walking and gapes at him. After collecting himself, Natsuno smiles.

“He stayed here, but it was because the master insisted. Initially, Kikuchi-san went home every day. At that time, the master advised that he should since it would cut his travel expenses that way.”

Ainosuke swallows a lump in his throat. “Ah, I see.”

“Ever since the master passed away Kikuchi-san started going home.”

Ainosuke arrives in front of his room. Natsuno takes his suit. He excuses himself and tells him the butlers will call him if the bath is ready. Ainosuke sits on the bed, stiff like a machine. He still couldn’t put his mind into what happened. The only thing that is clear to him is he wanted to see Tadashi again. He went to the room that will allow him to see him leave. He wasn’t sure if he was still there but there was no harm in trying.

When he took a peek at the balcony, he saw a car come in and park in front of the entrance. A tall guy with dark cropped hair got out of the car. They talked for a bit. Ainosuke is surprised to see Tadashi sit next to the driver's seat.

As he gazed at them, Ainosuke didn’t feel anything at first. After a while, he felt a pinprick sensation where his heart was supposed to be. As he breathes the sensation becomes a stab as if tiny needles were being inserted in it. Suddenly, he felt dizzy. His throat felt unbearably dry. Before he knew it, he was already running towards the entrance with everything he got. He didn’t know why, his body just moved on its own. The maids and butler who saw him rush widened their eyes in surprise.

“Bocchan, what’s wrong?” Takahisa gasps, worried.

“Who was that?” Ainosuke heaves.

“Oh, you mean Sato-san? I don’t know how to put it, but everyone assumes he is Kikuchi-san’s partner.”

Partner? He almost choked as he repeated the word in his head. He feels a sting at his temples and winces at the pain.

“Bocchan, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

After a short silence. The Senior butler offers,

“Ever since the master passed away, about a year or so since he asked for a leave, sometimes, he would pick Kikuchi-san up.”

Ainosuke furrows his brow. Feeling somewhat defeated, he went back to his room and prepared to sleep. As he lay down to sleep, he couldn’t relax. He kept tossing and turning. Thoughts about Tadashi, about that guy he was with, and most of all the weird feeling of abandonment he felt when he looked at the two of them being close like that filled him with dread. He grabs his phone and dials Tadashi’s number. The ringing sound on the line made him feel pathetic so he hung up immediately.

Before Ainosuke knew it, it was already morning. To him, it felt like he just took a nap. He notices the sweet smell permeating inside the room and sits up. The sound of the curtains being parted and tied was the only thing that filled his ears. Now there was a rustling sound and then finally footsteps walked towards where he was. The sweet scent is stronger than ever, even if it was neutralized by some other unknown scent.

“Ainosuke-sama?”

When Ainosuke didn’t respond, Tadashi asked what was wrong. His voice sounded worried. His worried voice made Ainosuke feel even worse.

“Excuse me,” Tadashi touches his forehead to check his temperature. Ainosuke feels static electricity as Tadashi's finger grazes his temples. Tadashi flinches. Relentless, Tadashi touches him again. The warmth from Tadashi’s touch, his nearness, and his smell made Ainosuke feel something. Beads of sweat clung to his forehead. Despite the bitterness that clogged his throat, he couldn't help but want to be near him, to be close to him. This is the most frustrating part. It's as if he was bound to him.

Ainosuke looks up at Tadashi. He saw that the other's face is impassive yet he could see the clear blush on the older man's cheeks. What was this? What was happening? What was this weird feeling?

“You don’t look so good, Ainosuke-sama. Shall we cancel your appointment? I’ll call Mr. Honda.”

Tadashi runs his fingers through Ainosuke’s hair gently just like how he’d always done once upon a time. Ainosuke's throat constricts at the gesture. He finds it foolish. Childish to even feel his stomach churn just from a small gesture. He isn’t sure whether this is because of anger or something entirely different, but the feeling of softness and relief in his chest betrayed his true feelings. It was a hard pill to swallow.

He bites his lip and succumbs to the desire that clouds his mind. As if in a trance, Ainosuke takes Tadashi’s hand and buries his face on the other’s wrist. He doesn't care anymore although every time he does something like this he remembers the painful words he said to him. But even then, he still could not resist. It's almost like he was hypnotized.

A sweet familiar scent fills Ainosuke’s nose. Tadashi was sweet, so sweet to the point that he wants to take a bite off of him as if he was a fruit. He feels the older man tremble at the touch. Was this because of Tadashi’s instinctive fear of being eaten? The thought turns Ainosuke on. His heart rammed violently in his chest, so violent like it never had before. He heaves and feels his gums throb.

“You must be in a rut. I’ll get your medicine.”

Before he was able to figure out what was happening, Tadashi injected him with his suppressant. As he ingests the serum, he feels a little better.

Ainosuke groaned as he lay down. He didn't like the feeling of ingesting his suppressant. It always made him feel weak. Opening his eyes, he watched Tadashi over languid eyelids. He expected he would inquire about his rut but he didn’t. It was weird, surely Tadashi was mistaken. How could an alpha go into a rut outside of his rut cycle without an omega around? Ainosuke covered his eyes using his arm. He remembered Representative Yamada's joke about his fated pair. Is it possible? But Tadashi is a beta. How could that be? Fated pairs are only a myth. It's not proven by science.

“You’ve been busy lately, haven’t you? You haven’t gotten any proper rest since you came back from the states. I’ll call them.” Tadashi touches Ainosuke’s arm gently to reassure him. Ainosuke gazes at his hand and tightens his lip in a line. He shakes it off.

“No need. Tomorrow I will be free. So it’s fine.”

Ainosuke’s meeting with Mr. Honda for the charity event went smoothly. The man was taken with him.

“You better be careful, Shindo-san. I heard alpha attacks are becoming frequent nowadays. Even for us alphas, it would be hard to break a bond so everyone is on the lookout. The strain between sexes has risen again.” Mr. Honda wiped his sweat, clearly distraught.

“These terrorists like to target public officials. It’s a pain.”

“Yes, we’ve had reports coming in about this matter and have strengthened our security. You take care too.”

Ainosuke enters the car thinking about the alpha attacks. This was not the first of its kind. When he was in the US, sometimes he would hear news about them. Warehouses have been raided full of illegal drugs particularly used for these attacks. Japan was relatively peaceful but this was a rising problem in the country as well.

Tadashi is cautious. He carries Ainosuke’s suppressants inside his suit all the time.

“Mr. Honda is right sir, we must be careful. No one knows when danger will strike so it's better to be prepared.”

Ainosuke is silent. He fiddles with his fingers as he debates with himself to finally ask what he's been thinking about all day. Summoning the courage to ask, he finally cleared his throat.

“Are you going home today?”

He tries his best not to reveal what he wants to say.

“Yes, I'll go home.”

Ainosuke feels his heart sink but he trods on.

“Hmmm~ Isn’t it dangerous to be traveling back and forth? You are at risk of being attacked as well since you work for me."

Ainosuke paused to study Tadashi's face.

“Some betas have also been affected by the attacks, right? The drug is too strong even for you. You should be cautious too.”

Tadashi remains quiet. Ainosuke tries to read his facial expressions over the front view mirror.

“Actually someone also advised the same thing to me.”

Ainosuke feels his heart throb. He knows the person who did.

“Maybe I should stay at the mansion for a while. But I need to go home first to get my things.”

The prospect of Ainosuke going to Tadashi’s house made him excited.

“We can stop there first before going home.” He offers. He tries so hard to hide the anticipation in his voice.

Tadashi looks over at the front view mirror with a surprised look on his face.

“Is it really okay? I can just get them later.”

“You heard me right? Don't dawdle.” Ainosuke pouts.

----

Tadashi’s apartment was surprisingly near their mansion. It was a 32 story condominium that looked as if it was just built three years ago. Ainosuke wasn’t expecting Tadashi to live in such a place. He looked like someone who preferred a humble apartment rather than an extravagant one. As they enter the vicinity, Ainosuke notices a swimming pool.

Ainosuke roams his eyes. The complex looked so much like a high-class hotel. The lobby had a marble counter at the center, on its side, there were couches where people could sit back and relax. Apart from the pool, there was a mini-park outside and a gym. Shrubs and plants were decorated all around the place.

Tadashi didn’t say anything as they rode the elevator. They finally reached his door. Ainosuke could not help but stare. As opposed to how lavish the complex was, Tadashi’s apartment was minimal. Ainosuke notices that there were sets of shoes on the shoe rack. Tadashi notices Ainosuke staring at it.

“I have a housemate.”

Ainosuke raises his eyebrows unconsciously.

“He has work so he isn’t here.”

“Please come in.”

Ainsouke takes off his shoes and follows Tadashi inside. This was the first time Ainosuke ever visited Tadashi’s home. It gave him such a weird feeling. The faint sweetness he forgot earlier was now as obvious as before. Ainosuke drove unnecessary thoughts away. He sat down at the dining table and waited. Tadashi was checking out the refrigerator. He took out something and heated it in the microwave.

"What would you like, water, coffee, or tea?"

"Tea."

The faint sound of mugs colliding and the ticking clock filled the silence. Tadashi handed Ainosuke a cup and poured him his tea.

While waiting for the food, Tadashi sat down in front of Ainosuke and drank his drink quietly. Ainosuke was stealing glances at him. If Tadashi realized this, there was no way to know. The ticking of the clock seemed eerie as the seconds dragged on. The microwave dinged. Tadashi took out the food and placed it on the placemat. He took two additional mats and placed them on the table and prepared the plates and cutlery and chopsticks.

Hesitant, Tadashi looked stiff and uncomfortable being alone together with his boss. It might be because they don't interact much outside of work so Ainosuke being here in his personal space was something he wasn't expecting or even dreamt of. But after what seemed like an eternity he finally spoke.

“I’m sorry if the dish doesn't fit your palate. But rest assured my housemate is a good cook. But it’s fine too if you don’t want to eat it.”

Ainosuke took the serving spoon and took a portion of the food. He couldn’t decline Tadashi’s offer. It’s the only personal offer he ever told him ever since he was back in Japan.

They both ate quietly. Ainosuke was bothered by a lot of thoughts. The information about Tadashi’s life outside of the mansion overwhelmed him. Why was he still so affected? It's been years since they both separated. He was convinced that there was nothing left of his feelings. There was not even hatred there. Sure there was bitterness but it wasn't enough for pain and disappointment to sprout from. But as he ate the food that was prepared by Tadashi’s special someone he feels defeated somehow. It was true, the cooking was good. The Sato guy can actually go pro with this level of skill.

“How long have you been rooming together?” Ainosuke can't help but ask. His tone is the softest he has spoken to Tadashi since being back.

Tadashi doesn’t seem to be surprised at the question, as if he was used to the question being asked multiple times. Fiddling with the handle of his mug, it was clear that he didn't want to answer the question. Ainosuke just studied him. The silence that loomed over them wrapped its tentacles around his throat threatening to choke him to death.

“It’s been quite a while.” Tadashi finally answers. It feels as if the tentacles of silence loosened their grip on his throat a little bit. Ainosuke didn’t press the matter anymore but it still felt like his throat was still being crushed by the silence.

"My roommate made dessert. Do you want to try?" Tadashi took out the desert. Ainosuke was surprised it's petit gateau. Rather than be pleased he was somewhat offended.

"I don't like sweets much but sometimes I crave this." Tadashi flashes a faint smile.

Ainosuke's heart softened at the sight. When he was younger he always told Tadashi how much he liked petit gateau. He couldn't help but get flustered at what Tadashi said.

"You don't need to ask him to make it for you. I can just bring you to my favorite patisserie if you crave it again." Ainosuke said as he tried the gateau. For someone who was just baking for fun, the taste was acceptable.

Tadashi took a slice and ate.

"I probably won't crave it anymore," Tadashi whispers. Ainosuke wasn't able to catch what he said.

----

Tadashi didn’t bring much with him. When they arrived at the mansion, the one that greeted them at the entrance was Natsuno, who was usually prim and proper and quite stiff around Ainosuke. He softened when he saw Tadashi carrying bags with him. Natsuno greeted Ainosuke first, then he turned to Tadashi.

“Ainosuke-sama is Kikuchi-san staying the night?”

“He’s going to stay here for a while. Guide him to his room.”

“Certainly.”

Ainosuke finds it odd that it seems Natsuno was prepared for this to happen.

“It's a sudden request so the room must take time to prepare.”

Ainosuke notices Tadashi looking down.

“A room is always prepared for Kikuchi-san. The senior butler makes it so…”

“Natsuno,” Tadashi interrupts him.

Ainosuke raises his eyebrows but thought nothing of it. Accompanied by another butler, he heads to his room, leaving Natsuno and Tadashi to have their conversation. When he turns to steal a glance, he saw that Tadashi looked uncomfortable as Natusno happily talks. Ainosuke is curious why it seems Tadashi hated staying at the mansion.

Tired, Ainosuke decides to take a bath first. Like before, the butlers were the ones who prepared his bath. It seemed that Tadashi won’t be accompanying him anymore like before.

Bathing made him ponder about some things. The botanical garden given to Tadashi’s dad, Tadashi’s obvious dislike of staying in the mansion. The room that’s always ready just in case Tadashi decides to stay. Why does it seem as if Tadashi was important in the household? Like he was a part of the family. He was just his dad’s assistant. Even his aunts treat him well. In Ainosuke’s observation, Tadashi was reserved and distanced himself from people but somehow people are drawn to him, whether they realize this or not was no consequence. He was well respected. Ainosuke soaks thinking about this. He decides to keep a close eye on Tadashi. He was curious about his life while he was studying in the United States.

When he is done bathing, he dries his hair. He saunters towards the bed to check his phone. He browsed his gallery and noticed that some of the pictures that were sent to him included Tadashi. He didn't take a lot of space but he was there. Ainosuke felt something well up in his chest. He put down his phone and sat on the bed. He really should sleep. The exhaustion and the grogginess he felt earlier when he had his rut still made him feel not unwell. He wore pajamas that were placed neatly on his bed. Then he tucked himself in. Ainosuke closed his eyes to try to sleep. After half an hour, he still could not. His thoughts drifted to the fact that Tadashi was staying in the mansion. The mansion was quite large, so he wouldn’t meet Tadashi by chance if he just nonchalantly wandered the house. Ainosuke remembered the times when they used to sleep together and felt a prickling sensation at his heart. He hates times like this when he feels powerless over his emotions. Closing his eyes a second time, Ainosuke finally fell asleep.

#tadaai #shindo ainosuke #tadashi kikuchi #sk8 the infinity #fics

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rutilation · 6 years

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there isn’t a new chapter but i feel like I should still...write things

Fool that I am, I thought that since there wouldn’t be a chapter this month, I could just quickly type up a post about some hnk things that have been on my mind, but haven’t been immediately relevant to the new chapters. Easy Peasy.

Now it’s 5,000 words later, I’ve started ranting about geology instead of my usual literary bullshit, a couple cookie recipes have snuck their way onto this word document, and the Euclase section has ballooned far beyond its original scope.

Anyway, click the read more if you want to see the following topics:

Hot takes about Euclase

I attempt to psychoanalyze Cairngorm’s fashion choices

Visual symbolism from the cover of the artbook

What type of microcrystalline diamond aggregate is Bort anyway? ft. the etymology of Bort’s name

Crazy snail theory

Since Euclase is a bit of a hot topic at the moment, I figured that I might as well expand a bit on my thoughts towards them. Somehow, I ended up writing a big ‘ol essay. Then I erased most of that essay. But there were some good bits in there, so here’s what I thought was worth salvaging. First though, I should lay my cards on the table, and explain why I’m not on team Euclase Did Nothing Wrong.

In the days following the release of chapter 71, I’ve heard a couple people say that this line:

was not translated with the appropriate nuance, and that Euclase wasn’t blatantly saying “lol, I’ve found their weakness.” However, the fact that Padparadscha regards Euclase’s words as emotional manipulation in the very next scene indicates to me that that’s still a probable reading of Euclase’s actions, even if they’re not being as unsubtle about it as the translation implies. I don’t know much Japanese though, so I can’t really comment on any translation issues that may or may not have occurred.

I think my sticking point with Euclase is that I have trouble buying that they’re acting in good faith or that they’re really committed to the ideals they’re espousing. Granted, most of what they’ve been saying and doing seems reasonable, especially compared Phos’s short-sighted flailing. They haven’t displayed any malice, and they’ve at least paid lip service to wanting positive change and demonstrating pro-social behavior.

But here’s the thing: if they truly value change, and they simply want to go about effecting positive change in a way that’s more sensible than Phos’s bull-in-a-china-shop strategy, then why are they so consistently reactionary? (I mean this in the most neutral sense of the term, btw.) They didn’t value an equitable relationship with Kongou until Phos made it impossible for the Kongou-centric monarchy to continue. They felt no urgency towards Cinnabar’s plight until they became useful in warding off the moon gems. They showed no concern for Phos’s crippling lack of self-esteem until they could use it to try and persuade Phos to defect to their side. Even though they have reputation among the other gems for being kindhearted, from what I’ve seen, they’re only ever as kind as is absolutely necessary to maintain group cohesion. The only time they’ve been considerate of someone else’s feelings in a proactive manner is with Dia, specifically regarding their issues with Bort. And since those two are the gems’ strongest non-comatose defenders, it’s prudent for Euclase to concern themselves with their issues.

Like, compare Euclase and their partner’s respective reactions to Phos in chapters 21 and 22. The story goes out of its way to show that Jade doesn’t mob Phos like the other gems, and they express concern over Phos’s insomnia. Euclase meanwhile, has no compunctions about ganging up on Phos with the others, and only apologizes when they need to ask a favor of them. I kind of expect a bit of tactlessness from the other gems, because most of them, on top of being single-minded, are implied to be pretty childlike on account of the highly static society they live in. And even those who aren’t very childlike kind of don’t have their shit together. But since Euclase has positioned themselves as wise and compassionate authority figure, that sort of thing stands out. And when they’ve cultivated a reputation among the other gems for being kind, it’s really off-putting when the narrative drops hints that that kindness isn’t sincere.

Couple all that with Padparadscha’s wariness towards them and that creepy face they made in chapter 60 and my predominant emotion towards them is

Which isn’t to say that I hate them or anything. To the contrary, I think that it’s valuable that their perspective--that of someone who is stalwartly on the ‘society’ side of the whole ‘individual vs society’ theme that the manga has going on—is a valuable one to acknowledge in the story. Furthermore, I find them to be quite the interesting character at this point. They’ve come a long way from their initial role as “that one minor character who follows Jade around.” I also find characters who are in some way secretive or two-faced to be a lot of fun because I get a kick out of trying to wade through the miasma of subtext and half-truths to try and get to the core of a character (looking at you, Craig-Greg.) Anyway, in Euclase’s case, I don’t even think they have bad intentions; but at the moment, the impression I’m getting is that they only value other people insofar as they can contribute to the maintenance of society, whatever form that society takes, rather than seeing society as something that should exist for the sake of enriching the lives of inherently valuable people. Despite the fact that Euclase is a staunch team player, I’m gonna go on record and say that I don’t think they care all that much about other people, they’ve just come to the conclusion that being cooperative and not rocking the boat as a general principle is the most rational way for them to go about their life.

If at some point in the future Euclase demonstrates that this isn’t their mindset, then I’m prepared to eat humble pie and admit that I was interpreting all their actions in the most cynical light possible and jumping to conclusions from there. But for now, I am Mr. Krabs.

Getting away from “It’s about ethics in gem society” for a moment, I suspect that, unlike a lot of the other gems, Euclase isn’t really coming from a place of willful ignorance. They’re not incurious and their words and actions have been quite deliberate. I think that they know—or have at least inferred—some truths about their world that a lot of the other gems look away from. Their oft remarked fondness for statistics might have given them insight into some discrepancies in the narratives they’ve been fed by Kongou. For example:

They’re probably well aware of the fact that no one on the moon has ever come back, and that if they themselves are captured, they’re gone for good. (According to Aechmea this wasn’t always the case; but it’s quite possible that the gems who were returned to earth and promptly recaptured lived before the gems started keeping written records as well as before any of the current characters were born.)

If we compare the number of old gems to the number of young gems to the number of middle-aged gems, it’s clear that the old group is the smallest in number, and that most of the gems who make it to old age don’t patrol often for one reason or another. Even though the gems go about their lives under the assumption that if they’re careful, they’ll never be caught by the Lunarians, that assumption is clearly not based in reality. And Euclase, who apparently knows how old each gem is down to the day, is probably well aware of how illusory their immortality really is.

What I’m getting at is this: they’re likely one of the few gems who have wrapped their head around the concept of death, and like all the other gems who’ve come to understand that they’re not as immortal as they’ve been lead to believe, this knowledge has informed their outlook on life and their actions. But while someone like Phos has taken a carpe diem approach to dealing with the fleeting nature of life, it seems to me that Euclase responded by maneuvering themselves into a position where they never have to take risks and, thus, never need to die. As one of the little character intros mentioned, Euclase is skilled enough for any job, but the job they’ve chosen is one that apparently allows them to avoid patrolling and stay out of danger.

Something I find interesting which I expect to be brought up in the story later is Euclase’s insecurity about their brittleness, which was briefly mentioned in chapter 8. To expand on this, Euclase has three planes of cleavage, one perfect and two distinct. This aspect is actually something they share in common with Phos. Euclase, like phosphophyllite, is considered among gemology nerds mineral collectors to be a beautiful mineral that would make for great jewelry...if it wasn’t so rare and brittle. Both of them also have names that reference their brittleness--euclase means “easily broken” and the -phyll part of phosphophyllite references its perfect cleavage.

Since many of the gems have one or more aspects of their characterizations based on the physical properties and/or cultural associations of their minerals, and since breakage is a major motif of the work, I think there’s probably significance to the fact that Ichikawa decided to make a gem so thoroughly associated with brittleness into a major character. That’s how it is with Phos anyway. To paraphrase a bit, Ichikawa said in this interview that phosphophyllite’s much lauded beauty and rarity juxtaposed against its unsuitability as jewelry was the inspiration behind Phos as a character being bold yet perpetually ineffectual (and of course very, very breakable, both literally and figuratively.)

So, this character, who is shaping up to be an antagonistic(?) force has a similar—and thematically relevant—existential condition to our protagonist, and they deal with it in a strikingly different way. It’s a bit early to say where this element of the story is going to lead, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.

As I’m typing this, I’m starting to wonder if the reason why Euclase misinterpreted Phos’s words in chapter 70 as insecurity about their hardness is because Euclase themselves is insecure about their brittleness. In fact, that might also be the reason why they didn’t show themselves in chapter 70 until everyone was down and out, and why their overall plan involved shooting first and asking questions later. The chance of breaking and showing weakness—either literally or figuratively—isn’t one they want to take, even at the cost of a lot of casualties/toxic mercury spills. Additionally, when the Lunarians reported that they observed no changes in the earth gems’ behavior, Padparadscha comments that it seems like something Euclase would do, and doesn’t elaborate any further. I think this aspect of their character is what Padparadscha was getting at, that Euclase is loath to show weakness, and goes to great pains to never be the first one to blink.

Going back to chapter 8, they also talk about how the gems’ immortality predisposes them to be ignorant of danger, and how they somewhat envy the bugs and plants that can react promptly to changing stimuli. At that point in the story, it just seemed like one wistful observation on immortality among many, but looking back on it, it may have been just as much a window into Euclase’s anxieties as that line about their brittleness right after. For someone who wants to organize the world around them and dislikes uncertainty, it must be frustrating for them to imagine that some inherent aspect of their nature predisposes them towards ignorance.

To pull back a bit, I imagine that the point of making statistics Euclase’s beloved hobby is to help set them up as a foil to Phos. It’s a way to allow them insight into the flawed and tenuous nature of their society and their own existence without having them actually go out into the wide world to experience those answers for themselves like Phos does, since they’re not the type who’s willing to take risks. So unlike say, Melon or Hemi, they’re not wallowing in their comfortable yet stagnant existence because they’re willfully ignorant and simply don’t want to inconvenience themselves. Instead, they’ve spent their life running cost-benefit analyses and have come to the conclusion that they should maintain the status-quo to the best of their ability and avoid putting themselves out there. It may seem like a distinction without a difference, but I think that’s what Ichikawa is going for. Not to mention, it’d be kind of lame if everyone who decided to go against Phos and stay on earth was doing so out of incurious stubbornness or simple concern about the logistics of Phos’s plan. For one of the gems to oppose Phos due to irreconcilable differences in worldview seems a bit more meaningful to me.

So, the core of the conflict between Phos and Euclase is that Phos finds value in risking failure as a means to finding something better, while Euclase believes that if they can simply play the system forever, they’ll never have to reap the negative consequences said system doles out. This kind of goes without saying, but I don’t think the narrative is going to side with them in the end; looking at the story as a whole, I doubt that “If you keep your head down and play your cards right, you’ll be able to avoid suffering,” is a conclusion it wants to reach.

But much like the rest of the cast, Phos has forced Euclase to change. See, as much as they like to control the environment around them, they don’t like to let on that they’re doing so. To me, their blurb on this page indicates that the reason they stick to Jade and subtly direct their actions is because it allows them to micromanage everything to their heart’s content while letting someone else take on the nominal position of authority and all the attention and responsibility that comes with it.

But now that Kongou has ceded power, Euclase doesn’t have the luxury of pretending to be middle management anymore. Since no one else was willing to step up to the plate, they had no choice but to do so. And now that the gems are split in two, Euclase has been forced to publicly stand for something. Even if they’re trying to mitigate possible risks, they’re still operating well outside their comfort zone, and given that this manga is a veritable meat-grinder, it’s only going to get harder for Euclase to keep their world in order.

To sum it all up: yes, Euclase is a snake. But they’re, like, a complicated snake. A snake whose character flaws spring forth from very real insecurities. A snake who just wants to spend their days lounging on a comfy heating pad without having to worry about Actual Chaos Elemental Phosphophyllite mucking everything up.

(Ichikawa please validate my interpretation or else I’ll become Boo-boo the Fool.)

Anyway, Euclase isn’t the only character insecure about their brittleness…

Naturally, I continue to have thoughts regarding The Artist Formerly Known as Craigory. There are times where I wish I had gotten attached to a more respectable character, but honestly where’s the fun in that? I stan disasters!

I mentioned in my last write-up that the glove Cairngorm is now wearing over their left arm pretty blatantly displays their desire to cover up the part of themselves that’s prone to breaking, both metaphorically and literally. But after some thought, I’ve realized that their entire wardrobe is full of AnxietyTM. Here’s a few of my observations.

They started off their foray with avant-garde moon lingerie with a small transparent shawl which has, a month later, become a full-body veil. It seems to me, on a purely visually symbolic level, reminiscent of their situation with Ghost. Like, if I were Ichikawa, and I were looking for a way to symbolize their existential plight in clothing form, that’s how I’d do it. If I were to try to decode the meaning behind the evocative imagery, it’d be this: they’ve become trapped again, and are still being blocked from the freedom and the engagement with the world that they desire—symbolically in the sense that they’re interacting with the world through a veil, and literally in the sense that Aechmea seems to be, uh…strongly discouraging them from leaving their room, or doing things in general.

Cairn, please love yourself and get as far away from this creep as possible; I’ve got a sinking feeling that he’s going to cash in all those red flags he’s been setting off sooner rather than later.

Then there’s the matter of Cairngorm’s ongoing quest to find the Worst pair of shoes. See, Cairn started their love affair with terrible shoes long before chapter 68.

They’re not as ostentatious as say, the banana-peel crocs but…I mean look at them. These may as well be pointe shoes. Anyway, comparing these with their more recent…shoe decisions, I can’t help but think they might be a bit insecure about their height? (And in case any of you guys didn’t see it, this omake explicitly spells out that they’re shorter than the other gems.)

Even though they’re at most a couple centimeters shorter than the others, they seriously overcompensate for it. I think that for them, the slight difference in height is a painful reminder that they’re not fully formed like the others are, which has lead them down the path of…dreamfoam platform high-tops.

Getting back to the glove, chapter 44 contained a lot of subtext that indicated that they’re insecure about their finicky arm, and possibly about their finicky inclusions in general. The whole buildup to Phos’s head being stolen is full of dumbass decisions from both of these clowns, but on Cairn’s side, they contributed to the whole fiasco by hiding the fact that their arm had been strained past its limit, and insisting on taking down the vessel alone in spite of that fact. I’ve talked a bit before about how embracing or rejecting one’s weakness and impermanence is a major motif of this series, so the fact that Cairngorm consistently tries to hide the part of themselves that keeps breaking is…noteworthy, as is the fact that their most obvious attempt to do so in chapter 44 ended very badly.

Which got me thinking, what if that’s also why they started wearing long sleeves? It might be possible that the long sleeves on their winter uniform served the same purpose the glove does now--to cover up their left arm. We saw their bare arms in chapters 68 and 69 and it looked fine then, but what if, say, fractures appear on their left arm on a regular basis, and they wore long sleeves in order to cover it up?

To sum it all up, the aspects of themselves that set them apart from the other gems are all things that they subtly act like they’re ashamed of, and their choice of clothing reflects this.

I’ve already made a couple of posts about the cover of Pseudomorph of Love, but I felt like staring at it again and reporting my additional findings.

Something I noticed is that while the other characters’ broken pieces are placed right next to themselves, Phos’s pieces are scattered over the entire cover, usually lying on top of one or more of the other gems. I have circled them here, with my peerless image editing skills.

If I were to take a guess at what this visual symbolism is trying to say, I’d say it’s that by changing and breaking, Phos leaves an impact on others. At their very best, I think Phos breaks other people out of their bad habits and learned helplessness. As Phos rushes forward, they also drag others out of their personal hells, sometimes intentionally, sometimes inadvertently. Needless to say, they don’t always live up to these ideals, but that’s the general direction they’re headed in.

(Hey guys, do you think the fact that Phos’s hand is caressing their own face is foreshadowing that one day they will let go of their self loathing and learn to love themselves? Because I want that to be the case.)

Oh, and Cairn is indeed missing The Left Arm of Conspicuous Foreshadowing here too. The break is even at the same angle. If it turns out that nothing else happens to that arm for the rest of the story then I’m going to be so embarrassed because I have gone full pepe silvia over it.

Pictured here is Ichikawa making me cry by sneaking the foot Antarc left behind into the illustration.

The only other gem whose parts have managed to travel across the cover is Dia, whose hand is next to Bort. And I’m sure that it’s Dia’s because it’s a right hand and Euclase’s right half is blue in this illustration, and it can’t be Antarc’s either because all of Anatarc’s pieces are overlayed with a shimmery, watery reflection. Make of it what you will.

At this point, I’m going to take off my literary hat and put on my middle school geology phase hat. Bort, how can I possibly bless your marriage to Cinnabar if I’m not sure what arbitrary classification of diamond you fall into?

So, bort is a rather ambiguous term, and can refer to basically any diamond that isn’t fit to be used as jewelry. But Bort the character is not so non-specific. They’re supposed to be an aggregate of microcrystalline diamonds, and the thing is, microcrystalline diamond aggregates are considered notable enough that they get their own names. So while the term ‘bort’ does encompass these specimens, it’s a bit imprecise.

Microcrystalline diamond aggregates can be roughly grouped into four different varieties: framesite/stewartite, ballas, carbonado, and yakutite.

Ballas, also known as shot bort, are microcrystalline diamonds with a radiating, fibrous habit that form spheres of various sizes. Despite being opaque, it sometimes displays a pearly luster depending on how heavily included a given specimen is. It ranges in color from white to gray to black.

Framesite is the name applied to most granular-to-microcrystalline diamond aggregates. It's usually black but I couldn’t find an exhaustive list of colors. Stewartite is the term for framesite that’s been magnetized as a result of magnetite intergrowths and inclusions.

Carbonado is the toughest and most mysterious form of diamond. No one knows how the hell it forms, and theories about its formation range from the transformation of irradiated hydrocarbons to supernova-genesis. These rocks are a hodgepodge of diamonds, graphite, and amorphous carbon. Carbonado is very porous and its component crystals are of a much smaller grain than either ballas or framesite. It is also further distinguished from its fellow diamond aggregates by a melt-like glassy patina that coats its surface. While most are just black, they come in a wider range of colors than other microcrystalline diamonds, including grey, red, brown or even some weirder colors like green, purple, and pink. There’s also some evidence that suggests it’s slightly harder than normal diamonds—at the very least, many a diamond-tipped sawblade has been ruined trying to cut into carbonado.

Yakutite is named for the location in Russia where it is found. It is characterized by its numerous lonsdaleite inclusions, and since it’s found in rocks that have undergone shock metamorphism, it is thought that yakutite forms via meteor impacts. So, this is pretty much the only variety of microcrystalline diamond we can rule out since I’m not seeing any meteor craters on the island.

At first I was thinking that since the inside of their hair is brownish red, and carbonado is the only one that comes in that color, they must be carbonado; problem solved!

But then I realized that the inside of Bort’s hair has never been colored that way in the manga, only the anime. In colored illustrations, the inside of their hair is iridescent like Dia’s, but with much more muted colors, so that it looks more like an oil slick or something and less like a rainbow. That could be an artistic representation of the glassy patina of carbonado, but it might also be the pearly layers of ballas. Framesite on the other hand is more likely to have a completely dull luster than either ballas or carbonado, so…one point against framesite I guess

One thing that indicates they might be ballas is how their mineral is represented in both the episode 10 eyecatch and in one of Ichikawa’s illustrations. The bort represented in these images has the spherical shape of ballas.

The most compelling argument for Bort being made of framesite is the fact that out of all the options here, framesite is the most likely to be referred to as simply ‘bort.’ Several sources I’ve looked at listed framesite and stewartite as being obsolete names for what is normally just called bort these days. This comes with a big caveat though.

While the scientific names of minerals are widely agreed upon and are consistent cross-linguistically, unofficial trade names are...not. For example, our Padparadscha probably wouldn’t meet the GIA’s standard for padparadscha sapphire on account of the fact that they’re pinkish-red with a bit of orange and a somewhat dark shade, rather than the GIA’s narrowly defined pastel salmon coloration. But despite the GIA’s current standard on what counts as padparadscha, they’d still meet the criteria for padparadscha found in historical literature on account of being a hunk of corundum that’s vaguely orange-looking. There are other gems in this series who exist in this gray area, but this post is getting pretty damn long so I’ll spare you poor readers the details.

What I’m getting at here is that if you look at the Japanese Wikipedia page for carbonado, bort is listed as a synonym. So even though they’re not typically used interchangeably in English, it looks like that’s not the case in Japanese. In fact, last spring this geology museum did an hnk themed event, and the rock they used to represent Bort was a hunk of carbonado, and this tweet they put out treats bort and carbonado as synonyms.

In carbonado’s corner, there’s Bort’s fight with Ventricosus. During said fight, chunks of their hair melted off from Ventri’s acid. But here’s the thing though: diamonds can’t be dissolved by acid, no matter how strong that acid is. If we generously assume that Bort losing some of their hair isn’t just a plot hole, then it may point to them being carbonado, since the graphite and amorphous carbon packed into carbonado is readily soluble in acid.

In conclusion, there is no answer and I’m slowly going insane. My mind is all out of Bort license plates. I’m leaning towards carbonado because of Bort’s galling lack of acid resistance and also because I think carbonado is a pretty cool rock.

Putting on my literary hat once again, I can’t help but wonder if the reason why Ichikawa went with the ambiguous bort over the other possible names was because of its etymology, which comes from the Anglo-Saxon gebrot, meaning fragment which is in turn derived from breótan, ‘to break.’ (A related cognate from Middle English is brotel, which became brittle in modern English.) Its cognates in other Germanic languages all seem to have meanings along the lines of ‘a break,’ ‘a rupture,’ or ‘a fracture.’ Another possible source of bort is the Old Norse brotna, meaning break. -Brot also shows up in a few other Old Norse words like Skipsbrot—shipwreck, Haugebrot—the destruction of a grave, and ísabrot, meaning oh-god-someone-please-take-my-dictionary-away-from-my-sinful-hands.

Ahem,

Out of all the possible names Bort could have had, they got one that references brokenness. I realize that this probably isn’t intentional symbolism, and I’m just shoving my interest in linguistics where it doesn’t belong, but I do think it’s a nice bit of serendipity nonetheless.

Okay, I promised you guys a galaxy-brained snail crack theory, so here goes: I’ve mentioned before that Variegatus seems to share a lot of parallels with baby!Phos, and that her name, which means multi-colored, could be said to describe Phos’s current state of being. It seems pretty clear that, on a metaphorical level, she’s connected to Phos. Well, what if that metaphor was literal, and ~somehow~ the inclusions from Phos’s arms and legs which were lost at sea ended up reborn as Variegatus, and that’s why she’s so Phos-like. The idea seems pretty absurd, but it wouldn’t be the first time Ichikawa has used someone’s body parts becoming their own sentient person as a plot device.

#houseki no kuni #land of the lustrous #*slams my face into an anglo saxon dictionary* will this help me understand hnk?

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kylecrane · 7 years

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Dying Light: So many questions!

-and a few answers.

Hi Taff!

I’ve been interested in your blog for a while and I’d like to pose some questions, because thinking and theorising is fun, and I’ve not got anyone to do either of those things with.

Hi! Oh dear, look at all 'dem questions! Thank you! @target-on-my-redshirt.

First of, thanks for the interest to begin with. I love chatting about Dying Light, especially things away from game mechanics, since I'm a fan of the concept and characters first, the gameplay second. Even if the gameplay is an absolute blast and a very high bar to reach for other games. But I digress.

I'll be answering them on here, since this is my main Dying Light blog, and I hope you don't mind me answering them in public. Let's see if we get a discussion going, hm?

Do you think that beyond the obvious potential for DLC, techland will release any concept art, any ideas that were dropped in the cutting floor or initial ideas for the story?

There's already some concept art out, and you can find it in my /concept art tag on here. Though I admit, it doesn't show anything much of the cut content, though we do see different types of costumes that aren't found in the finished product. What we do know about though is that originally we were meant to be following four characters (much like Dead Island), from which I believe Jade and Zere were meant to be playable characters? Maybe even Spike or Brecken, it's been a while since I've read up on that.

Though they eventually settled on focusing on Crane.

I think we can still see some remnants of cut story content though, as well as gameplay mechanics that ended up dropped. The most glaring one being the extra vial of Antizin that Crane pockets as he is ordered to destroy the stash, right along with the hint on a side quest to collect spent vials to stop people from filling them with potentially poisonous shit and passing it off for the good stuff. And then there's a bugged overlay message you get when a Boomer Bomber explodes under you as you crawl through a duct in the Oh Brother Where Art Thou quest. You get a message along the lines of "You've been infected, etc..." which leads me to believe that originally you were expected to keep yourself dosed with Antizin. Much like the malaria infection in Farcry (2?) and the necessity for Zombrex in Dead Rising 2. Another leftover from the original is a reference from a survivor to recognizing Crane from the *posters*, which'd indicate maybe at least one of the original playable characters was famous for something or the other. Unless, of course, there was a bounty system in which Rais put up badly drawn Crane posters.

I wonder if they always planned on having a classic generic tyrannical villain, or if sights were initially set higher.

Are we ever going to hear about the other characters backstory? I loved the addition of the random encounter explaining Spike, and we've heard a bit about Jade - what about the others? Will we see the addition of any new characters? Will we know anything new about the witch woman who brews you the potions?

I'd love a little more background reveal, to be fair, but I don't see it happening. Not in the original Dying Light anyway, even with their planned content drops that will include story expansions. Mostly because that content is free, and anything that'd involve dialogue would require them to either ditch Crane as the main character (plausible, but unlikely), or look for a less prolific voice actor to step in.

Will there ever be the inclusion of tie-ins to the new novel that recently released? Will they consider releasing a small playable story prequel of their own?

The novel, Nightmare Row, was not recently released. It was only recently translated though, if I remember right. Either way, Nightmare Row read more like what we originally saw the game being advertised as, with quite literally the shift of night and day making all the infected more dangerous, rather than focusing on a new mutation and the occasional hyped Biter/Viral. Which I'm fond of, since it gives the virus some time to mutate and start producing the range of variations we see in the game.

Do I think we get a tie-in mission? No. Much as I'd love to play a game that takes place at the cusps of an outbreak like this, I don't think that'll be part of the Content Drops. Again, I think of the cost of assets to get this done.

And is there any new concept ideas for DLC in terms of playable story beyond extra skin packs? Do you think there’s any whackier ideas for weapons or side missions? Will there be any additions that will be definitively linked to the story? The following was an absolutely incredible addition, but I feel that many players were let down by the ending - especially as it directly contradicts Jades wishes (she wanted to keep fighting, and wanted to die for her friends, but Crane accepts a nuclear detonation in the end? Alternatively, we learn that everyone will die in vain anyway or turn into nasty Zambies?

Zera has been working on a cure with Camden for the entire story - does this bear fruit? What is the global backlash against the GRE?

As of writing this, the new content drop #1 was announced (though they deleted the Tweet- sneaky!), so here's your answer on the special weapons. And the story? Ahm, well, I have my very own set of bones to pick with it, in particular the implications of leaving the cure with a single scientist in a run down lab without supplies, and how we are expected to believe that the world turned its back to Harran entirely. That and, yes, Crane's sudden inability to think as he detonates a nuclear warhead that would do absolutely jackshit to clear the infection, but likely only make it worse. I am however quite interested in anyone turning into a sentient volatile once they've inhaled the experimental gas, since that is a scary thought and would make for an interesting extra level of challenges in Dying Light 2. If Techland chooses to go down that route, of course. Then again, it also does a good job explaining the Night Hunter, so there is that.

If there is extra content or a sequel, where techland take it? What new challenges will be bought to Harran?

I'd think that Dying Light 2 will not be taking place in Harran, but take us somewhere else for a scenery change. And considering I am leaning towards Volakyle being the canon ending, we're likely going to see a much larger spread of the virus than in the original.

When we left off, Crane had the GRE's 'secret document' - will they try and retrieve it?

He did not any more. In fact, Rais transmitted the document to the public, which caused the GRE to get into quite a bit of trouble.

Did any of Rise's (yes I butchered the spelling of his name) men survive? We killed his right hand man but what about men who may have defected? Will they be a threat to the Tower? Do the survivors of the tower ever get saved? What if the document is stolen and released to the world? Will there be other isolated incidents? Or might it become a world wide spread as seen in the Resident Evil cinematic universe? Will the GRE redeem themselves and try to re-recruit Crane into helping them on another mission?

I have so many opinions about this. Enough to have written a 210k word story on the matter, which isn't even halfway done, and deals with pretty much all of the above. Including the "What now?" and a few tweaks here and there, in particular to the Following expansion.

But since I am not going to expect you to read it:

After Rais fell (hehe, literally), I'd have expected someone new to take charge, but have you seen the amount of men suddenly turned? How did he do that? Did he weaponize the virus at his workbench in a day? According to the game, pretty much all of his men are dead or turned, which I suppose was really just done for gameplay purposes, rather than having any real story meaning. So, far as I am concerned, his garrison lived on after his death, though I'd hope that the Tower would have taken advantage of the initial confusion to at least get a bit of the Antizin from them. Aside of that? I'd wager there are still enough scared assholes in the Zone to cause the Tower problems and to compete for food and medicine.

The GRE redeeming itself has already fallen flat in the Following, as they stopped the Antizin drops. That's a death sentence for everyone inside the Zone. I find that unlikely, but that's what the Following led us to believe. Camden creating a cure is unlikely too, since he doesn't have the staff or resources for it. But it does lend itself to the question on what they'll do without the cure, and what will happen when the the virus *does* get out, because really. It will. It *did,* with quarantines existing outside of Harran already where they evacuated other infected to.

Anyway, those are some questions I have thought about!

...and I tried to keep my answers short, and if you'd like to talk more, I'll happily pop into private messages on Tumblr.

#Dying Light #Lore #Research #Answers

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