motherland

Pull Yourself Together, You're the Only One That's Left Getting Blood From Stone. Isola Aff. Marulu Val Vol Yelvori

[eidyllon]

Marulu Val Vol Yelvori (Jujutsu Kaisen: Modulo)

A warrior from Simuria and a member of the Rumel tribe

Takes his job as a warrior very seriously.

He seeks to protect all things that matter to him-- currently, it is only his people and his twin brother, Cross

A silly bean with three eyes and inconceivable depth of human emotion

Wears a band-aid over his third eye, so please don't immediately know he has three eyes (unless he shows/tells you)

Can become a black hole when his emotions run high

Also, unironically, can create a literal black hole.

Is labeled a refugee upon Earth, and still considers himself a refugee in Spirale

He is trying to reach co-existence with all living things

Struggles with seeking a balance between a hopeful future and fear of the past repeating itself

All and all, he just wants friends.

[moonsreply]

🌙 Oof, this guy was pretty stiff, wasn't he? Personality wise, just not physically... based on his shoddy camera work. "Uhh... Well, there's definitely one that's salvageable here!" She laughed it off. But seeing how troubled he had appeared to be by her request, maybe she wouldn't force him to take more.

"Has no one ever asked you to snap pics before by chance? Usually you hafta try and stay still, else they get all blurry like that! I can kind of relate though, 'cause when I first came to Earth I didn't really know how to do a lot of the things Earthlings did." She didn't suspect he wasn't one, that was just the only similar experience she could draw from.

[eidyllon]

The question bore deep into his heart, digging up unwanted shame with it. He smiled rigidly through the discomfort, and his head gently shook to answer her. The social nuances entwined with modern technology had only seemed to multiply by the day. Nearly every social expectation was misaligned, leaving him feeling transparent and malformed. He breathed carefully, silently giving himself grace, and in that moment of compassion, he allowed his mind and soul to clear in order to receive unexpected news.

Maru's eyelids slowly parted with surprise, and his mouth stretched wide in an upturned smile. He pointed at himself, "I'm not an Earthling!" he cheerfully blurted out. His identity once more solidified, he proudly (and carefully) removed the bandage from his forehead to reveal his third eye. "My home planet is Simuria," he spoke with full awareness that she would not know of his home planet, but with his excitement to be more of himself, he felt compelled to delve deeper, "of the Rumel Tribe. Where is your home?"

[eidyllon]

The flowers multiplied beyond Maru's initial comprehension. His body tingled with the overwhelming sensation that his skin split at every crack to create room for the fibrous stems. Maru wondered if he lacked the immunity to defend against these bulbous pests, and he scoured the city for the Okkotsu siblings, seeking their valuable insight on the possibility of a future vaccine.

Tsurugi was a radiant vision of hope, and he barreled towards him, a mad smile that feigned ignorance towards the vibrant blossoms pocked across his body.

"Tsurugi," Maru's voice warbled in pseudo-excitement. "Please tell me you don't have any flowers on you." He hid his desperation, but every flower indulged on the weeping sweat beads.

@splitsoulheir

[eidyllic]

Cross considered the scant information offered to him earnestly, wondering that, if Maru observed others in bloom, the flower signaled the presence of an endemic disease mutant to this realm. The thought turned his lips down in a deep scowl; his mind fixated upon the fact that he had not yet future-proofed his hopes for Rumel's settlement against their people's natural susceptibility to foreign diseases.

He rubbed the skin between his brows, recentering himself, then coaxed his mind back to Maru specifically. Reaching up, he gently pinched the stem and, just as cautiously, tugged it up to test its roots. It resisted him, remaining firmly planted in his brother's scalp.

「I don't know any more than you do,」 he reminded Maru as he withdrew his hand. Upon his fingers, a greenish-yellow coating of pollen dusted his skin, which he studied as he continued speaking.

「But it could be some kind of disease.」 Discomfort distantly shuddered his brain, warning him against appearing unsure and vulnerable to his brother by confessing his concern. But his ability to heed it felt deadened, his stability of self unreachable and dreaming in his thought-stream. 「I hadn't considered how illness might spread among our people here. Whatever this is, it could be a problem for us. If Rumel's children fall ill, we won't know how to treat them.」

[eidyllon]

It never occurred to Maru that there was a variable he never considered in his efforts to transplant his people into an entirely different ecosystem. The country of Japan seemed a suitable place to settle for its scenery, its culture, and above all, its unique attribution to Kalyan creation. For all the research he undertook, he failed to consider an epidemic could erase his people.

As these thoughts assailed his mind, several more flowers slowly bloomed from underneath his collar. His robes began to rumble from the flowers protruding rapidly upon his chest. His brows furrowed, and he gently pushed on the flowers, feeling the petals collapsed under his touch, and yet were resilient.

Without considering his brother's feelings, he took it upon himself to test the structural integrity of the first flower upon his crown. He ripped it off in a quick motion, stared at it, and suddenly felt the tingling sensation he recalled upon its first bloom. He dropped the flower.

"You are not infected. Perhaps, you have some agency to ward against this disease. If there are others like you, Cross, then we only have to worry about the rest of us," he spoke with golden trims of hope.

[daxned]

"Nothing," she starts with a light shrug. "However, when a stranger wanders through the woods, and relatively near my home, I have to get a feel for whoever the stranger was." Though if she is having a conversation with the twin, then perhaps she didn't fully mistrust?

"Do not intend on harming you or your brother."

[eidyllon]

Nothing dropped in his mind and cracked viciously before hanging with ill intent. The child inside of him understood this sentiment. The immense distrust of anyone who resembled the failures of adults who let their people and family die needlessly. Yet, the current man he is now could not accept that line of thinking.

"You've already done harm," he corrected her. "I find it one thing to be careful with who holds your trust, and an entirely other thing to place the burden of your fears on others." Maru slowly pushed himself to his feet and bowed politely to her.

"Thank you for your time. I will advise my brother not to wander relatively close to your home again."

[daxned]

A foreign name. Just like the rest of everyone else's names that she stumbled upon here in this world. It didn't matter though.

"Your brother traveled through mistwood. I dont trust strangers, so I stalked him."

That was why Soft Elk kept a watchful eye on Cross that day. Speaking of which, he's resting by Dam-bi's side.

[eidyllon]

A lightning cracked inside his head when he heard her response. He wanted to refuse his ears and believe he hallucinated those words, but he had to recognize what she said. Somewhere, he had a vague sense of understanding, yet the stranger was his brother, and he knew all of his people would never bring harm to another.

"What?" he questioned her instinctively, "if my brother had done you wrong to earn your mistrust, I want to hear of it. What wrong had my brother committed on his travels to warrant you to stalk him?"

[promcsis]

@eidyllon

"How do you find this? Is it done well enough?"

Promosis sat calmly in the grass as she held up a figure weaved from sticks. This was a craft that many children liked to participate in back on her own planet.

The stick figure was made from several layers of smaller sticks and twisted together to form a body. It was difficult to position the sticks in the right way, where they didn't snap.

The figure was in a position of dance.

"It's been some time since I've been able to ..do this. So I can't help but wonder."

[eidyllon]

Maru's dexterous hands tightly knotted long grass across wildflower stems to attach to a strip of flexible bark. His tongue protruded as he concentrated on affixxing the ornate flowers to the headpiece. He had completed a few seconds after his companion had finished hers, and he presented the head dress to her with great excitement.

"For you! If I may," he waited for her permission, and once received, he leaned forward to adorn his craft upon her head. He leaned back and smiled, appreciating not only his work but also how she complimented the flowers.

Then, his attention fell to her craft, and he grinned wildly, reaching over with a delicate touch to take the dancing, stick doll. He twirled the stick foot, letting the doll spin in the air, truly dancing as it was designed. "How did you get the sticks not to break?" he spoke with a breathless awe.

[eidyllic]

「What?」 He hadn't seen what Maru referred to at first, but upon turning to direct his gaze toward his brother's head, a paralysis of uneasiness stilled him. Although Cross knew Maru to be capable of immense feats, sowing sudden and unnatural springtides of flora included, he sensed no Rolloluca flowering from stem or intent.

「... No, I didn't,」 he answered stiffly, stepping closer to inspect the wobbling plant. 「What happened?」

[eidyllon]

Maru swayed his head and watched his shadow's flower bounce left and right. He barely registered his brother's question, but it merited his attention, and he looked at his brother. All his brother received was a simple, nonchalant shrug.

"I don't know. My head began to itch, and there it was already fully bloomed. I noticed some other people who were covered in flowers to varying degrees. I thought everyone got a flower."

Maru tilted his head, and his flower followed in suit, both questioning Cross.

"Why don't you have one?"

[tiamat99]

The did a PV Before Culling Games Part Two Lol

[thiefandlyre]

"If grown adults want to drink milk it's really none of my business," Octavo shrugs. While he wouldn't drink it in a bar, a glass of chilled milk with a piece of cake? Now that was a treat.

"Cheese though... Cheese is divine. Hard to imagine something so delicious could come from milk! And I can't even fathom how many types they have here. It might be the best part of living in this place."

[eidyllon]

Maru looked at the other with deep concern. What mental state would a grown adult have to be in to take milk from a baby? Maru could not understand the other's reasoning, and wondered to himself if he would be awarded with a moment to understand why adults consumed milk in this world.

The transition to another delicious design using milk as an ingredient tore Maru's mind from the silly scenario of a mean-looking man chugging a baby's milk. "Did you say types of cheese?" He had only known one, a soft goat cheese, often used on flat breads.

"Let's find all the cheeses."

[eidyllon]

The flower wobbled with every step Maru took in his approach. The unnatural position of the flower atop his head did not bother Maru; rather, he enjoyed the experience of becoming a pot for a plant. He beamed at his brother.

"Look at what I got," he grinned and posed, "pretty cool, huh?" He reached up to the spot where the stem protruded and scratched, "did you get one?"

@eidyllic

[galeriaderojo-blog-blog]

““It is possible to find a common ground, and to strengthen it by working together in mutual respect. We have something to share as human being by understanding our differences. War is not the solution.””

— Tetsu Nakamura

[splitsoulheir]

Isn't that right, Tsurugi?

All the things that clung to his mind as problems to be solved continued to haunt him as he stood here, feeling the weight of Maru's gaze on him. All he could think about was Yuuka's face before she left for the duel, the last time he set eyes on her.

They hadn't even spoken to each other. What did they even have left to say? They made their decisions and nothing would sway them in that moment. It felt like nothing would sway them ever again.

None of that mattered here though. It was like Maru said - a clean slate to start again.

So, almost reluctantly, that branch was taken, bloodied hand and all.

"Yeah - you're right. Fine, you can count me in with the people who'll help you with this. You have to help me with mine, though, got it?"

Maru already offered his sister a place in their peace too, so his request wasn't even off the table already.

"I'll help you and you help me. We're both looking to find a comfortable place to settle, right? I just want my sister to catch a break."

[eidyllon]

Maru's face softened with pity. Tsurugi's values, and maybe many Earthlings', shared striking similarities with the Deskunte. Power held more sway over protection, and power was a transaction like everything else. Maru sadly smiled, seeing where his people and the Earthlings frayed. Kalyans were a part of the Rumels, and therefore required respect, protection, and above all, love. Their appearance, their actions, and their natural course to exist did not sway them. They were creatures that they honored. Much like the Deskunte, the Earthlings saw Kalyans as an opposing power. The transaction between them was life and death.

Maru lowered his gaze, refusing to look Tsurugi in the eye as he replied. "I'll help you because I want to and because you're a part of our people. There will be no favors between us, Tsuguri. We help each other because it is our purpose."

Maru then looked up to Tsurugi, "That said, I'll do whatever I can to help you and your sister, Tsurugi. My brother seems to enjoy her presence as much as I do."

[thiefandlyre]

"...are you going to be ill?" Octavo stands over Maru, peering down at him. If the man was going to start vomiting he didn't want to see that. "To be honest I don't care much for it either... It's just too rich, you know."

[eidyllon]

"Ill? Who, me? Never." He failed at convincing anyone of his lies. He slowly stood up straight, his body shivering from the horrors he had learned from other worlds. As the other shared his opinion, Maru seemed rejuvenated.

"Yeah! Milk's for babies, after all!" Most people he knew weaned off milk before they entered the third year of their life and were introduced to other options like tea and fermented juice.

[splitsoulheir]

"Kaylans." He tested the word quietly, even if he didn't completely understand the differences between them still. The Simurians treated curses the same as these sacred creatures Maru talked about - it was the whole reason the problems were happening back home. A disagreement of ideals that he couldn't wrap his head around. "No Kaylans here. That's - probably good, yeah?"

This whole thing was so complicated. Peace felt like a rare, precious thing to be coddled to one's chest, hoping to avoid whatever would break it next. What if curses did appear? Would he and Maru become enemies over it again, even if that curse only meant to harm the people around it?

His attention was drawn from his thoughts to Maru's gentle release of their insectoid captive, its shiny shell disappearing into the foliage until the pair eventually left and it felt safe again. When the wind carried over them, Tsurugi raised a hand to run his fingers through the back of his hair, the strands sticking up haphazardly when he dropped it back to his side.

"I'm sure Yuuka will appreciate the offer. She was really excited with the cultural exchange."

His voice was flat, but not dismissive. Just a simple statement of fact in his eyes.

"So, that's the plan then, for you and Cross. Wonder what I'm going to do if they don't need sorcerers here."

[eidyllon]

Tsurugi's drive for autonomy over his life, over his power appeared to impede on Maru's offer. The branch in Maru's hand prodded his palms and pricked blood. He wondered how long he would hold on to the branch despite its rejection, despite its pain. He debated whether peace is perceivable by Tsurugi and the Earthlings. Then, he clung to Yuuka's image in his mind. She harbored the belief that coexistence was achievable.

And Maru wondered why the idea was so resistant to Tsurugi.

"You always have a place and purpose in our tribe," Maru repeated himself, "we do not abandon our own, even if we are denied by others for it." He wondered if sharing all this even mattered to Tsurugi. Then, he decided to lean into his perspective, "If you are unable to join us, for whatever reason you have, we will respect your decision. Your life is yours to protect, Tsurugi, as is my people's lives are mine to protect. That mutuality is what make us friends. Isn't that right, Tsurugi?"

He would try and try and try again until he was ultimately denied by Tsurugi. Only then would Maru give up peace.

[moonsreply]

🌙 "Hey, hey! You!" Kaguya shoved her phone, which was flipped to the camera app, into the hands of a stranger and then ran a few feet away. "I'm gonna soft launch my model career here, so I need some cute pics! All you have to do is hit the button a few times! As for poses, um..."

"What about this one!? It's classic cute, right?"

[eidyllon]

The ambush debilitated Maru's senses, and he struggled to maintain the overwhelming amount of information. Though he's quick to obey the woman's demands. After all, he was raised to respect and adhere to the women's requests of his tribe without question. Maru did his best to follow her instructions and tapped the button a few times without much consideration for framing or focus.

The initial photos obtained were blurred by his movement. "Uhm... let me try one more time." He took a step back, positioned her into frame, and took a decent photo of her.

"Do you have anything else I can do for you?"

[eidyllon]

"MARULU TRIPLE SPIN DIVE KICK!"

He launched off Cross' kitchen counter, revolved three times in the air and extended his foot to collide into Cross's couch seat, piercing through the fabric and spilling out the stuffing.

"Oh."

[eidyllic]

Stiff and unmoving, Cross watched the scene unfold, the time between Maru's boisterous declaration and the action to follow elapsing too quickly to be stopped. Side-eyeing the destruction wrought to the couch he shared with the others in the townhome, Cross remained silent for an elongated, tense moment, all the while flatly staring at Maru from the corner of his eye.

「... I'm going out,」 he announced plainly. He then left without another word.

[eidyllon]

The door closed behind Cross and left Maru at the scene of the crime. His foot lodged firmly into the couch, the cotton stuffing preventing him from relinquishing his consequence. He sat on the couch and stared into the vacant void of regret.

Maybe one of Cross' roommates would be kind enough to help him.

"Maybe."