The power in the sword, the power in your lineage, the power of the little Priest, are all influencing you. You are you yourself, at the same time thatās not you, but itās still you.
Do you know? Back then, I felt that only the little Priest was pitiable, now-- I feel that you too have become pitiable...
today my dad dropped a cantaloupe while unlocking the door and it rolled away and my entire family is now currently outside looking for it
like how do you lose an entire melon
because white people have made sure that everything is about race
as proved by the fact that when you say explorer, you think of a bunch of white guys walking the world and discovering it ~exotic wonders~ even though Zheng He travelled through Asia, to the Middle East, and even East Africa. But youād likely never heard of him before.
Same reason you never heard of Ahmad Ibn Fadlan, an Arab traveller who, as early as the 10th century, went to the Volga area for diplomatic reasons. He wrote about it, much as Marco Polo would do later for his own travels, and is one of our sources on what viking were like (and by all accounts, he wrote about them more accurately than western scholars of the same period did)
Oh, or Ibn Battuta who travelled throughout Africa long before europeans did, and even went to Europe himself.
And thatās just some example of Muslim medieval travel writers
Everything is about race because white people keep telling everyone that their race is the only one who every got anything done.
Zhenghe went to over 40 countries in Asia and Africa and probably went even further, but I didnāt encounter that in history books before. He brought gifts from China to every country he went to and everyone loved him. It was just like āHey, Iām here with a water-helicarrier and a gift,ā and the kings of every country were lilke āholy shit son well here have a giraffe.ā There are paintings depicting him leading a giraffe as well. Check him out guys, heās really cool
Summary:Ā Itās Soushiās birthday and Kazuki is dragged into helping Mizoguchi and Reo with last minute preparations for the birthday party.
Takes place before Rushing to Save Him.
The sky looked like someone had stuck bunches of grey wool across the wide expanse when Kazuki stepped out of Rakuen.
The ex-pilot stared at the sky contemplatively for a while, then checked to make sure he had an umbrella with him, just in case the weather turned bad.
Honestly, though, it wasnāt as if they had experienced any bad weather on Tatsumiyajimaāat most it was just a heavy downpour or snowfall whenever appropriate for the season. Still, there was no harm in bringing one along. And if the weather turned out to be really badāwell, he could always stay over at Soushiās place until the weather abated slightly?
āKazuki-kun, come on! Weāll be late for the party if we donāt hurry!ā
Mayaās voice broke him out of his thoughts. He looked up, spotting his two co-workers standing slightly ahead of him in the streets.
The brunet looked slightly annoyed that Maya had turned her attention away from him, but he waited patiently for her to finish speaking to Kazuki. He might respect Kazuki as a chef and senpai, but when it came to his love interest, he wasnāt going to back down.
Not that Kazuki had any interest of that sort in Maya.
He was pretty sure that Akira was aware of that, just that the other boy probably didnāt know how to react to that. After all, it had only been, what, three months since he and Soushi had decided to make their relationship official?
And it had been partly due to Mayaās encouragement that had aided them to make that decision.
As for the orange-haired woman, she was staring at him with slight concern. She hadnāt forgotten about the fact that he had suffered from a series of severe relapses from the assimilation phenomenon a few months back. Even though it had been some time since heās suffered a relapse, she would worry incessantly about his health.
In a way, it was like she had taken upon the role of his mother, Kazuki thought in amusement.
āAh, sure!ā He called back as he pocketed the key to Rakuen and started down the path to where Maya and Akira were waiting for him.
āDid you bring the present that we prepared for Soushi?ā she asked as he approached them.
Kazuki nodded, gesturing to Akira with one hand. āAkira-kun took it before we left.ā
āOh.ā Maya blinked. Then, she smiled at their kouhai. āThanks, Akira-kun.ā
The younger boy coloured a little under her warm gaze, scowling when he caught sight of the other maleās amused smile.
āAh, whereās Mizoguchi-san?ā he asked loudly, attempting to redirect the attention away from him.
It was a good attempt, but it didnāt go unnoticed by any of his senpais, because the older man had mentioned that he was going to go over to Alvis earlier to help out with the decorations and had asked Kazuki to manage Rakuen for the afternoon. Furthermore, he had announced that a week ago and had even reminded them yesterday, so it was quite obvious that their junior was embarrassed by the limelight.
āHeāll be meeting us there.ā Maya decided to humour him. āDo you think Minashiro-kun would like the present that we chose for him?ā She turned to Kazuki for his opinion.
There was a few beats of silence before the black-haired male realised that she was waiting for his input.
āEh? Um, I think itās a good present. Soushi will definitely like it, I think?ā He regretted it the instant the half-hearted response slipped out of his mouth.
Chocolate-brown eyes glared at him reprovingly, then relented. āMaybe.ā
āDonāt worry, Toomi-senpai! Iām sure Soushi-senpai will like our gift! After all, I remember that he said he liked this colour!ā
Maya cast a dubious look at the intricate amber-coloured bag that he was holding. Kazuki could certainly second the unspoken thought in her mind: did Soushi really like that pattern? Heād never heard the brunet mention it to him in their past conversations, but perhaps it was precisely because they were speaking to different people that they would mention different things to others.
āHe did!ā Akira seemed to have caught onto the sceptic air surrounding his seniors. āHe talked about it the other day with Hiroto, I swear!ā
āUh-huhā¦ā
āSenpai!ā
Kazuki laughed softly at the protest from the younger boy. He tilted his head back, smiling up at the grey bleak sky.
Sure, the weather wasnāt looking good at all, but he thought that this was the best heād felt for a long time. He was going to celebrate his boyfriendās birthday. His health was getting betterāeven Toomi-sensei had been relieved to tell him that his condition was remaining at a status quo and was showing some signs of improving.
What could possibly go wrong?
āKazuki, come and help me in the back! Ojou-san, Iām going to borrow him for the evening!ā
āEh?ā
Kazuki was hardly given a chance to say anything to the other two before he was dragged off by the older man to the other room.
āMizoguchi-sanā¦? What happened?ā
Hadnāt they prepared most of the food the day before? Kazuki wondered. Why did he need him in the preparation room so urgently?
āSorry, I know you just came from Rakuen, but can you help out with the drinks? Reo accidentally added too much sugar, so we have to start from scratch.ā The older man told him apologetically.
āOh.ā Kazuki took in the sight of the preparation room. Most of the other staff helping out were busy dealing with the main courses, which was probably why Mizoguchi-san had come to find him for help.
āItād be a great help if you and Reo could work on it.ā Mizoguchi ran a hand through his hair.
āHey, Reo!ā
He called to the curly-haired boy who was frantically working to clean up several pieces of cutlery. There was another huge bowl of amber liquid beside him, which Kazuki assumed was the drink he had been working on initially.
āKazuki-senpai!ā Reo exclaimed, looking extremely relieved at the sight of his senpai.
āIs this what you were working on?ā the older boy asked as he picked up a spoon and tried a bit of the drink. Then he made a face. āItās too sweetā¦ā
āYeah, I accidentally dropped half a jar of sugar in.ā Reo mumbled, looking down at the floor. āIāll have to remake the whole thing.ā
āWhat were you making?ā Kazuki picked up a glass of water and drank half of it. āWe donāt have the time to make a new drink. We probably can work on salvaging what you have now.ā
āOhā¦ Youāre right.ā Reo acknowledged with a glance at the clock. āI was thinking of making lemon tea.ā
āAlright.ā Kazuki nodded to himself, thinking through the ingredients and recipe for lemon tea. āHereās what weāre going to doā¦ā
Reo listened carefully, taking down notes on a note pad. He clarified a few questions with Kazuki before he started on his own tasksānamely to prepare more tea so that they could dilute the overly-sweet drink.
Kazuki turned to the boxes of spare ingredients stacked in the corner of the space, pulling out a box of lemons that they needed.
Then, it happened.
For a few short seconds, there was a tingling in his fingertips that intensified gradually. He flexed his fingers, thinking that it was just a momentary thing. That perhaps it was because he had hit his arm against something just now and the nerve was just a little irritated.
But it didnāt get better.
It got even worseāso much so that Kazuki had to quickly set down the box as his whole right hand had gone numb.
A slight frown appeared on his face as he tried to move his hand, but to no avail. He was wondering if he could make a quick visit to Toomi-senseiās office when he saw it.
The image of small green crystalline structures emerging from his fingertips was one that he had never expected to see.
Kazuki froze.
Why? Why was this happening now?
His mind finally managed to process the situation. He swiftly withdrew his hand away from the box.
Then, almost as if he had imagined it, the crystals shattered and dissipated into dust particles.
āKazuki-senpai? Are you alright?ā
Reoās voice snapped him out of his daze. He shook his head, lowering his hands and forcing a smile at his underclassman.
āYeah. Letās continue.ā
He hoped that Reo would not pick out the tremor in his voice as he spoke. That no one would notice his shaking hands as he leaned down to take the box of lemons again.
As he started chopping slices of lemons for the drink preparation, he wondered, how was he going to tell Soushi about this?
āKazuki?ā
The soft hiss of the door opening alerted him to the newcomer before the person even spoke.
āSoushi.ā
He looked up at the star of the evening, raising his glass of lemon tea to the brunet. āHappy birthday,ā he told the other, then downed the remaining liquid in the glass.
āThank you.ā
Soushi walked over to take a seat beside him on the step before he took a small sip from his own cup. Kazukiās gaze drifted to the tablet that the other was holding in his hand. Typical of Soushi, he chuckled quietly to himself. He could never quite leave his work at home.
āWhat are you doing out here?ā Soushi finally asked, setting aside his tablet and glass in favour of studying Kazuki.
What is bothering you?
Kazukiās hand tightened briefly, knuckles turning white under the illumination from behind them. Nothing could escape him, could it? He thought to himself bitterly. Soushi always seemed to know when he was bothered by something.
If Soushi had asked this a few days ago, he would have been sure to share his troubles with him. But thisāonly this matterāKazuki didnāt want him to know of it.
He didnāt want Soushi to worry.
He didnāt want Soushi to feel a single ounce of the despair that was coursing through his heart.
Kazuki gently placed his glass beside him, turning to return Soushiās gaze evenly. āIt was getting a little rowdy in there,ā he replied, his heart pounding hard from the fear that Soushi would see through his lie.
The brunet raised an eyebrow, but he didnāt push the issue. āMayaās looking for you,ā he chose to say, āshe wanted to take a group photo.ā
Kazuki didnāt reply. Instead, he leaned back on his elbows and gazed up at the night starry sky. Soushi watched him, contemplating, then followed suit.
The silence stretched.
Kazuki had to admit that part of the reason he had come out here was because he didnāt think he could keep up this faƧade among his cheerful friends. He had thought that he had come to terms with the news of his impending end long ago.
The stars in the sky seemed to blur and blend with the dark blue of the night sky. He blinked, willing the tears back.
He couldnāt cry here.
Not now.
He thought back to the last Tanabata festival, where he had wished that he could continue living. His condition had seemed to take a turn for the better with less exacerbations of his condition. But it seemed that all good things had to end.
A flash across the sky caught his eyes.
āItās a shooting star!ā Kazuki pointed to the place where he had seen the streak of light.
He recalled how Shouko had told him to make a wish when he saw a shooting star. It was a custom from a culture of a place long laid waste to by the Festums.
He doubted that it could help him in his current state.
āTechnically, itās not a star,ā Soushi started to say, but Kazuki interrupted him. āThey say that if you make a wish on a shooting star, itāll come true.ā He looked at the other man, smiling in amusement at Soushi. āWhat did you wish for?ā
Soushi gave him a consideringā and almost exasperatedālook, then he turned back to face the sky.
āPeace for our island,ā he stated calmly. It was the same thing he had told Kazuki a few years ago. He seemed to hesitate, then added, āAnd hope for the future.ā
Hope for a cure.
Kazuki knew what he meant.
He reached out to grasp Soushiās hand. It was warm.
Soushi startled at the sensation of his fingers, looking almost startled by the coldness of his hands. Then he quickly entangled his fingers with Kazukiās fingers. Then, he reached over to pull Kazukiās other hand into his own, sharing the warmth from his hands.
Kazuki smiled gently, scooting closer to his boyfriend. He leaned into the warmth of his body, murmuring, āMe too. I want you to live a long life, Soushi. Without any of the war affecting your life. I want you to have a long, peaceful life.ā
Soushi glanced at his face, then returned his attention to warming his hands. āIf youāre with me, I can do that.ā
His admission was a whisper of breath between the two of them.
Kazuki laughed, pulling a hand away to cup Soushiās cheek fondly, then pressed his lips against Soushiās lips.
āCome on.ā He tugged at Soushiās hands as he rose to his feet. āLetās go back in and take that photo with Maya.ā
As he turned toward the door to the function room, Kazuki swore that he would do anything to protect that smile on Soushiās face.
Summery:Ā Soushi needed info from Kazuki, however there was an unexpected price for said information
Note: I had a bet, lost the bet, had to make this OTL. Iām not confident in my skills at writing anything sexual, let alone porn, but I tried, i tried really hard! This is based on an AU created by me and @kyrienne that isnāt yet published as its wellā¦.not in complete story form yet, but Kazuki is a crossdressing courtesan and Soushi is like an imperial investigator noble boyā¦thatās the jist of the storyā¦ anyway enjoy my attempt, at pwp.
guess who found a two years old post in their drafts and decided to clean i up a little and post it!
so uh, have someā¦ headcanon memeā¦ thingā¦ ft soukazu (because what else would it be)
A/N: Just a random drabble on Maya, Canon and baby chicks.
āTheyāre so cute!ā
Canon watched the other girl cuddle the small ball of fluff in her hands with a niggling sense of doubt. They were at Mizoguchiās place; his relatives had had a batch of young chicks just hatched a week ago and they were giving them away. It was their first time seeing such young animals, especially for Canonāthe conditions in the Human Army hardly allowed her any chance to see anything like this.
Still, she couldnāt help but feel skeptical when Maya announced to her: āLetās adopt these two!ā
It wasnāt that she had anything against the chicks. If anything, Canon was equally thrilled and delighted to have the chance to play with them. Butā¦ could they really take care of them? It wasnāt as if they could be home the whole day, what with Canonās duties at the berg and Maya with her piloting duties.
When she voiced her concern, Maya looked troubled for a moment before it resolved into an expression of determination.
āIāll ask around to see who can help us look after them when weāre busy!ā She told Canon confidently.
Was there someone who would willingly help them look after the chicks? It didnāt look as if it was going to be easy to look after them from the looks of the dropping filled crate. Who would want more trouble than it was worth? Canon cast another glance at the two chirping birds. A moment later, she caved in.
It seems it didnt take as long as I originally thought it would, but anywhoooo here are this yearās list! Be sure to tag your post āfafnerweek2016ā² so i can see it.
thank you both for such nice messages, Iām so glad you like my artā¦!! hopefully I can help at least a little bit!
anon 2) my brush settings can be found here!
anon 1) wrinkles can get pretty complex! it depends on the type, weight, thickness, and cut of the fabric, whether the character is in motion, etc; I wish I could get into everything, but itās a huge subject that I donāt think I could possibly coverā¦!! but I can at least give you some very very basic tips on building up a dress (and the lace underneath!)
here are some examples of dresses Iāve drawn recently. they might seem complex, but when broken down to their most basic form, theyāre actually very simple shapes that follow very similar rules!
are you seeing any patterns between them? while they do differ a bit, theyāre by and large made from the same long line that curves into itself and back out. learning where this line goes and how it changes under different circumstances is learned largely through practice and intuition, but there are some steps you can take to begin building a foundation to work from! (or at least to sort of break down the process!)
determine the shape/angle of the dress itself. in this example, Iām using a big poofy dress shown from slightly below!
use this as a guide when adding that curving line from before. think of how the fabric folds, and keep in mind that the direction of the curve (and how harsh it appears) depends on where it falls on the dress and the angle at which itās being viewed from. in this example, itās more pronounced on the edges, and is facing different directions on the left and the right sides.
wherever cloth folds, wrinkles appear! wrinkles will be more abundant where the cloth is more compact; in this case, thatās toward the waistline. on a dress line this, a fold will originate at the waistline and radiate downward; this means that on an uninterrupted fold, the line that you draw should (if you were to continue it all the way, which is not always necessary) reach cleanly back to the waist. I added one translucent line to help illustrate this idea!
want to add a lace layer? itās the same concept!! add your basic curving line underneath, keeping in mind that the cloth above will likely mirror whatever itās falling over. (not perfectly, but somewhat!) so try to keep it a little consistent!
details are easy now!! you can add any sort of lace pattern you want by just tracing over that first line! I used a basic scallop shape here
want even more lace? just repeat step four as many times as you want underneath your last layer of lace!
once you get the hang of this part, figuring out more complex stuff gets much easier! Iām not great at explaining things, but hopefully you were able to come away with some kind of new information, hahaā¦!!Ā Iām wishing you both the best with your art!!!
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