#muse: gorou

[devctiion]

@aniimxses:

A letter arrives addressed to the General. Its envelope is plain, save for the intricate pattern of a maple leaf stamped onto the seal. It reads as follows:

Gorou,

May this find you in good health and in even better spirits. I had hoped that this letter would arrive in a timely fashion. Although, I apologize if it has not. Though, I always have faith that the winds will bring this to you at just the right time. One must always believe, even in something that others may deem arbitrary. Without that hope, we are no more than that which has sunken into still waters.

I thank you for placing your unwavering trust in me. I promise I will return sooner than you think.

On a similar note, our Traveler friend has acquired an amazing Kamera. I'd never seen one of these that could create pictures in color. With their permission, I traveled all around Liyue with it in my possession. I had you in mind as I took these photos.

While they are stunning, I have the feeling that they do little to compare to experiencing such views for yourself.

One day, I believe that you will. And if I so happen to be by your side when that day comes, I might even consider myself one of the luckiest men in Teyvat.

You are in my kindest thoughts, always.

Take care, Kazuha

(Happy Birthday, Gorou!!!)

As the sun sets on the day of his birth, Gorou really isn’t expecting any more surprises this late into the evening. Everyone has given their congratulations, he surprisingly got to bake a cake with Kokomi (of all things!), and his ears and tail have survived relatively intact. He’s feeling tired but content as he turns in for the night for some well-deserved time to himself.

Hmm, maybe he’ll even take the time to indulge and use some of that fur grooming oil that Yae Miko sent him…

It’s as he’s preoccupied with these innocuous thoughts that he finds himself faced with a letter. Half of the envelope is sticking out, wedged into his door to keep the wind from blowing it away, and he carefully wiggles it out to get a look at the sender. There’s a maple leaf stamped onto the wax seal.

“Kazuha…!” The name escapes him in an elated gasp, eyes widening and ears perking up alertly. As eager as he is to read it, he still hurries inside first to open it. Inside, so that he can use his letter opener to carefully preserve the wax seal. Only once it’s carefully set off to the side does he spread out the contents of the envelope across his work table, his tail thumping excitedly against his cushion like a muffled metronome.

Saying that Kazuha sent him a letter and some photographs does not really do any justice for what an actual gift these things are to him. He reads the letter first, eyes glued to the familiar, shaky handwriting that makes his chest squeeze with tenderness just looking at it. The words are just so Kazuha that he can practically hear them in his head as he reads them, and oh, you would think they hadn’t seen each other for years, rather than just a month or so, with how fervently Gorou misses him right then.

Since there’s no one around to really judge, he brings the page up to his nose and sniffs it carefully. He may not have senses as keen as Kazuha, but his nose is still better than most humans. It smells like the ink they use in Liyue, like the salt spray of the wide ocean between here and there, like Kazuha’s weathered hand moving across the page to cross that distance between them with his lovely prose. He commits it to memory before putting it to the side as well carefully.

Then he begins sorting through the photos one by one, giving each one his diligent attention. He is an Earth Kitsune, after all. Witnessing history is an unspoken duty that they’ve always carried with them, and these photos are something precious that he wants to carry as well. The places Kazuha has been, the sights that he has seen, the experiences that he wants to share with him… they will all be remembered for eternity.

When Gorou takes out a clean page to write his response, he makes sure to begin his letter with,

‘Kazuha,

I’m already the luckiest in Teyvat, because I was able to meet you.’

[devctiion]

@aniimxses:

"Why, if it isn't my favorite general." A warm, rich voice coos as sweet as honey. The infamous Guuji Yae sits perfectly perched upon a bench settled beneath a sakura tree, her hair the same color as the petals that fall from its branches. "I imagine you've been keeping rather busy now that the war's over and done with. Hm?" (Yae to Gorou)

Yae Miko really is a lovely woman. Anyone who didn't know any better would think, upon seeing her priestess robes and relaxed expression, that she is calm, gentle and kind. That first one is true, for as much as Gorou has never really seen her flustered or upset before- but Miko's kindness has never been gentle.

("What did you do?"

"I just saved your life.")

There is a thrumming in Gorou's chest like a taiko oroshi. A slow and steady beat, that builds in intensity the longer he thinks about everything that has happened since the last time he saw her. No, even before that.

("What... what is this?"

"A disaster waiting to happen.")

"Guuji Yae." He tips his head respectfully, the smallest inclination of a bow before he straightens his posture once more, the line of his shoulders tense and rigid. "You're not wrong. There's still plenty for a general to do now that the fighting is done."

Politics has never really been his forte, but it did afford him the opportunity to come to Narukami Island to consult with the Trade Association. It's fortunate that he should run into her on the streets, rather than find some excuse to go visit the Grand Shrine directly.

That's why he can't waste this chance to speak with her, even if he has to spend it on small talk until they can find somewhere more private. "And yourself?"

[devctiion]

Reminder that this fluffy boy is an Earth Kitsune and fought during the Cataclysm five centuries ago.

[devctiion]

@shizenn: "There were nights when I was sure your love was all I had." Kazuha, to Gorou

Gorou's ears flick attentively when he speaks. Kazuha's voice has always been soft, but in the wake of yet another clash, beneath the muffled sounds of the Raiden Shogun's ire roaring down from the heavens outside, those words sound even softer. An ephemeral whisper, like wind blowing through the trees, like an old memory half-forgotten.

Gorou burrows into his chest further just to remind himself that he's here now.

"You need to start learning to carry actual supplies..." he chides him, muffling a snort against his robe. Then he sighs, fond and warm as he relaxes a little bit more. "But you're not wrong... We'll always have that, if nothing else..."

Because that shared certainty goes both ways; a tender truth that makes every long day apart seem shorter, somehow.

[devctiion]

@mcuntainbcrn

Yashiori is not the ideal place for the Resistance to recover their strength, but it's the only island left before the war reaches the shores of Watatsumi proper, so it is here they must stand and hold their ground. There's a fort to overtake at the very least, even if Fort Fujitou has definitely seen... better days. The workers they rescued from Tatarasuna help to make it livable enough and for the first days, Gorou is too preoccupied with overseeing the construction of a field hospital and makeshift training grounds to pay any heed to rumors not brought directly to his attention.

And then he finally gets a moment to breathe. Of course, that's when the report comes in. Strange lights like foxfire have been converging towards the hill above the Serpent's Head. Surely, his people think, it must be a sign that the Tatarigami has followed them from the furnace. That's the only natural assumption to make after everything they have seen and been through, and they aren't exactly wrong. The miasma of Orobashi's wrath is thick here as well- it's all he can do to make sure that the Fort itself remains untainted.

Gorou stands outside that very same night, peering out into the distance towards the grim visage of that fallen god's skull, outlined white against the storm clouds in flashes of lightning. It's not terribly far. He casts a glance over his shoulder towards the small cottage housing their ill and wounded. The lights in the windows are turned out for the night. Yasumoto must already be sleeping by now.

Assured that he won't be seen, the general of the Resistance takes a running leap for the gorge. On the other side, four paws touch the ground. Swiftly, the kitsune covers the distance in leaps and bounds, moving much faster than any mortal could hope to achieve. The ridges of that titanic spine are his guide as the terrain blurs into the rain, but above the sound of the wind rises a bone-chilling melody. He stops at the base of the hill, ears perked alertly. The words are indistinct and muddied- or perhaps they aren't in any language he can recognize at all.

What he does recognize? Those lights filing up the hill aren't foxfire. They're spirits. He watches them float by for a long moment, heaviness weighing down on his heart even more than the water soaking his fur. The cost of this war... How many more lives should be cut short for the sake of eternity? It's a question without an answer, but musing won't serve the living.

So on Gorou continues, moving much more slowly now with caution in every step, until he finally reaches the peak.

[devctiion]

@mcuntainbcrn

In the following days, despite adding some extra work onto his load, Gorou still manages to wrangle it all into some semblance of a rhythm. It certainly helps that the next skirmish hasn't happened just yet. There's still time to strategize, source supplies and train new recruits, and when he cuts out sleeping altogether there's ample hours left to dedicate to tracking down the abandoned battlefields and villages where so many lost their lives.

He marks each one on a map for his mysterious helper and brings it to her, and each night there forth they descend from the hilltop together; him in his natural bestial form, and her with her entourage of spirits trailing behind her like a glowing veil. Surely they'd be a sight to see if anyone were awake to see it, but these places are abandoned for a reason.

They comb these modern ruins diligently. It's a slow process, seeking out the attachments of the dead and offering them up for approval, but the sense of accomplishment for every successful match is enough to balance out his steadily building weariness when the dim light of the sun rises behind the eternal shroud of storm.

(It's enough, it has to be enough, because if he's not strong enough to protect these fragile lives then the least he can do is safeguard their eternities.)

Tonight, the rhythm has been disrupted. His helper isn't waiting for him at the hilltop, even though she's always the first one here. It's been a while since he's seen this place so dark and silent, without spirits or song. A skipped beat, a missing note... the discordance lingers in him uneasily. It would be easy to assume she had some other matters to attend to and to try another night.

But a lack of diligence is how these lands fell into disarray in the first place. Too many have turned a blind eye to the suffering of others, until the suffering infused the very land itself. He puts his snout down to that blighted earth. Any scent that could have lingered has long since been washed away by the rain, but her aura- a strange, unfamiliar thing even to him, untouched by the resentment of the slain god- stands out among the miasma, like oil floating on the surface of still waters.

Tonight, he combs the island diligently for one lost soul.

[devctiion]

@divinenereid

She remembered early mornings, running along Watatsumi's beaches, the edges of Kokomi's robes heavy with the water as she pushed ever onwards to keep up with the little fox boy that had helped her sneak away for once from childhood duties. Even with all that was expected of her, those times were simpler.

There was no blood seeping into the ocean of allies and enemies alike, as all of Inazuma drowned beneath the shogun's will.

A delicate hand comes to rest on her general's shoulder.

"A moment of your time, General Gorou?"

Away from the prying eyes of all remained unspoken. Her mouth a gentle, delicate smile, poised as always — but it was her eyes that told the full story. Brimming with tender adoration, as if to will into his understanding that this moment would not be one of work. Even a single droplet of time to simply exist would be more than enough.

There is no dawn on Yashiori Island. The sun and moon rise and fall unseen behind curtains of stormy clouds, thick enough that the light of day is only marginally brighter than the darkness of the night. The unceasing rain, the relentless thunder, the miasma of corruption that ebbs and flows all around them- these things too could be considered a type of eternity.

An eternal nightmare that the Raiden Shogun would will her people to never wake from.

The Sangonomiya's general is a creature of habit, however; like clockwork, he rises with the unseen sun and makes his rounds. There's always so much to do and so little time to do it all. Supplies for the troops need to be accounted for and rationed daily. A visit to the healing barracks, to make sure those in critical condition made it through the night, is also in order. It's only when there is people enough awake with able hands to pass work off to that Gorou finally finds some time for himself.

He goes through his stretches underneath an awning, working out the stiffness in his body muscle by muscle, even as he keeps half an eye on the comings and goings in the fort, everyone keeping busy in their own ways. So much to do, and yet Gorou finds his mind wandering, mulling over yesterday's battle in his mind.

Kazuha. Kokomi. Two people he's missed so dearly, finally within arms reach again, if only he would go to meet them. Perhaps, if time permitted...

The sound of a familiar, light-footed gait on the floorboards makes one ear swivel to attention. Even before that delicate touch graces to his shoulder, he's already turning his head to meet her, eyes wide and bright with the recognition that Kokomi has come to seek him first.

"Of course, Your Excellency." The rote words are delivered without hesitation, his tone respectful and diligent as any general's ought to be, but just as the tenderness in her gaze belies her true intentions, so does the way his tail swishes in delight at the thought of finally having a moment with her after so long.

As always, Kokomi leads the way and Gorou follows in her footsteps unquestioning.

[glitteringxchaos]

@mirroredworlds asked: Angerona / Antevorta / Bacchus / Carmenta / Cupid / Somnus / Talasius / Voluptas (Lucy / Natsu / Hawks / Gorou)

Angerona: What is the best way to relieve them of pain or sorrow? What do they do to help themselves?

Lucy - Lucy tends to close herself off in her interpersonal relationships while drowning out the world with work. Either taking as many solo missions as she can in a short period of time and working herself to the point of collapsing from exhaustion, or shutting herself away in her room and working on her novel, sometimes even going so far as to forget to eat or sleep while she shuts everything else out. If she is too busy/tired to think about it...it can't hurt.

Natsu - Natsu trains. Hard. Sometimes (usually) too hard. He pushes himself to the brink to get stronger, because if he's strong enough to protect everyone and everything he cares about, he can't get hurt again. So he trains and gets stronger so that next time, he'll be able to stop the hurt from happening.

Hawks - When Hawks is hurting, he pretends like he's not. On the outside, whenever he's in the public's eye, he acts like his usual self, hiding how he's really feeling behind the mask he's perfected over the years of pretending to be the Commission's perfect little poster boy hero. When he's alone, however, he goes for long flights across the city, shutting everything else out and just flying, or takes unscheduled, unauthorized patrols just to avoid his thoughts to keep himself from drowning in them. He's very good at avoiding his emotions and feelings, because it's easier to avoid them than let them eat him alive.

Gorou - Gorou finds a quiet place to be alone with his thoughts for a while, overthinking everything that happened that caused his pain or sadness in the first place and trying to figure out what he could have done differently to prevent it. Once he's completely analyzed the situation and figured out what happened, he comes up with a plan to keep it from ever happening again - whether that means a new training regimen, working harder on his own abilities, changing the way he does certain things...and he comes back more determined and focused than ever.

Antevorta: What do they want for their future?

Lucy - She doesn't think much about the future unless it's in a more abstract point of view. She tends to live more in the moment, and lives life the fullest that she can every day. Her 'future' revolves around those dear to her, though, so the answer is probably just that she wants those she cares about to live long, happy lives, and get to go on adventures with them and make memories with them.

Natsu - Natsu is happy as long as his family is happy, and that's really all he cares about. He doesn't have any grand plans for the future, just improving himself, getting stronger, and making sure he can protect those who need protecting so that they can go on living.

Hawks - Hawks doesn't usually allow himself to think about the future too much. Or at least he pretends he doesn't. He's expendable - he's known that for a very long time - and when the Commission has no more use for him or deems him a risk rather than an asset, they'll try to eliminate him and use it to further their own ends. But if push comes to shove, all he really wants is to be free. He's tired of being a puppet, pulled this way and that by the Commission's strings, and he's tired of being trapped in a cage. He just wants his freedom, and freedom for those trapped in a society that exalts some quirks while villain-izing others. Freedom from a society that creates child soldiers to fight - on both sides - in a war they didn't start, and shouldn't be dying in.

Gorou - Gorou is a simple man. He doesn't have his future all planned out or any major changes he wants to make. He just wants the day to come where they can all put their weapons down, set aside all the fighting, and just live. He wants Inazuma to find true peace, and for it's people to live in harmony now that the Vision Hunt Decree is lifted.

Bacchus: What are they like when drunk (are they a horny drunk, a chatty drunk, etc.)?

Lucy - Lucy is a very flirty drunk. Being friends with Cana means that she can hold her liquor to some extent, but when she gets drunk, she gets very flirty and handsy, and her normal inhibitions are all but non-existent.

Natsu - Natsu is an idiot drunk, and I say that in the most affectionate way possible. It's very hard for him to get drunk considering his fire usually burns it off before it can really affect him, but it can still happen. Once he burns off the energy it gives him, he becomes incredibly clingy and affectionate, and just wants to cuddle and be pet.

Hawks - Hawks is a lightweight. With his incredibly fast metabolism, he absorbs the alcohol much faster than normal people do, so alcohol hits him hard and fast. Depending on his mood and his reason for drinking, he either becomes very friendly and outgoing and more flirty than normal, or he withdraws entirely and shuts himself off from all contact by anyone, finding someplace outside and up high where he can just be alone and watch the city below.

Gorou - Gorou doesn't drink often, and he almost always drinks in moderation when he does, so the likelihood of him actually getting drunk is slim. On the off chance that it happens, however, he's a very quiet, shy drunk, and tends to people-watch more than anything.

Carmenta: Do they want children in the future?

Lucy - Absolutely. Lucy would love to have children. She's always wanted a family of her own, especially after her own childhood turned out so terribly. She wants to be able to raise her child/children with all of the love and affection she never received from her father after her mother's death, and to be able to share the wonderful life and family she's found with her guildmates. Family means everything to her.

Natsu - Natsu isn't entirely sure, to be honest. It's not that he doesn't want kids, he's just never really thought about it. He has Happy, and right now that's enough for him. Maybe someday with the right person, but he's content to let that happen if it happens, and if it doesn't? It doesn't.

Hawks - As his world is right now? Absolutely not. Not when he risks death every day and is trapped by his circumstances. After the war is over and things change, then it might be something he considers. If he's still alive by that point. But until then, definitely not. If circumstances end up throwing an adopted child into his lap, however, that's a whole different story, and he will devote his entire existence into making sure that his child has the best life he can possibly provide for them.

Gorou - He's not sure having children is in the cards for him. He has nothing against children, and in fact loves seeing reminders that the world is still a good place with a promising future. He's just not focused on any kind of relationship and as such doesn't really consider the possibility of his own children being a reality. But he certainly wouldn't be adverse to kids...eventually.

Cupid: How to they fall in love (quick, slow, often, rarely, etc.)?

Lucy - Lucy probably falls in love too easily and too quickly. That's not to say that it's always romantic love, but she loves so openly and with her whole heart when she loves, be it familial, friendship, or romantic love. As such, she gets her heart broken easily as well, but even that doesn't ever change how she loves.

Natsu - Natsu's main focus when it comes to love is familial love, so when it comes to falling in love, it's a very slow process. He doesn't really think about relationships, and when it happens, it's more of an 'oh shit' moment as the idea that he might actually LIKE someone (or love them) hits him in the face like a ton of bricks.

Hawks - Hawks doesn't even love himself, so falling in love with someone else is a long, slow, painful process, with plenty of setbacks. He's worn the mask the Commission crafted for him for so long that he hardly knows himself anymore, and that makes it hard to trust if what he's feeling for someone is really real. He's so afraid of opening up and letting the real him be known, which means that he tends to try and avoid admitting his feelings even to himself until he can't avoid them any longer...and of course causing himself to suffer in the process by trying to convince himself that he doesn't deserve them...that they could do so much better...that it doesn't matter because he might not even survive long enough to make a difference. He's a mess.

Gorou - Gorou's never been in love before. He's a general in the Watatsumi Army, and the Resistance was his entire focus until the Vision Hunt Decree was lifted. He didn't have time for relationships, because he was too busy training the men under his command and fighting on the battlefield against the shogunate. He doesn't know the first thing about being in a relationship or being in love with someone.

Somnus: How do they sleep (how well, how long for, what position, etc.)?

Lucy - Lucy loves her sleep....when she's not caught up writing her manuscript or reading, that is. If that's the case, then she can go for days on no sleep until her body gives out from sheer exhaustion and she ends up passing out basically wherever she is at that point. She's been known to fall asleep sitting at her desk, the newest pages of her book scattered around her, and her face tilted towards the window where she'd been looking up at the stars as she drifted off. If that's not the case however, she sleeps quite soundly and peacefully on her side facing the window. She doesn't wake up easily - coffee is her best friend and if she doesn't have any in the morning, she does not do well.

Natsu - Natsu sleeps when he needs to, in any position he finds comfortable at the time. He is not a deep sleeper, and sometimes can't sleep at all if his mind is too loud. When that happens, he usually gets up and goes to train or take a walk in the woods to clear his head. Sometimes it works and he returns home to crawl back into bed and sleep, and sometimes it doesn't...which means he'll sleep whenever he's tired enough to.

Hawks - Hawks doesn't sleep much. His mind is always going a million miles an hour even when he's physically exhausted, and sometimes it just doesn't slow down enough to allow him to sleep. On those nights, he gets up and goes for a night flight, finding someplace high to just sit and observe everything below him until his mind quiets down. When he does sleep, he's a very light sleeper and the slightest sound will wake him up. With his wings, it can be hard to get comfortable, so he's usually on his stomach to avoid putting pressure on his wing joints, but if he's on his back, he's sprawled out with his wings spread wide below him.

Gorou - Gorou is very responsible with his sleep - he tries to get a solid 8 hours every night so that he's well rested and able to handle every responsibility he has the following day. He's learned to put everything aside when it's time for bed instead of allowing it to swirl through his mind all night, and then pick it back up in the morning to work on it then. He sleeps on his side with his tail curled up over his hip.

Talasius: What’s their opinion of marriage?

Lucy - Lucy used to hate the idea of marriage, if only because her father was attempting to marry her off to his business partners to increase his own fortune and societal standing. It wasn't marriage itself that she was adverse to though...just the idea of being forced into a political one and turned into nothing more than a pretty doll meant to provide heirs and nothing more. Marriage for the sake of love and wanting to build a life together? That is what she wants from a marriage, not marrying someone because she was TOLD to with no love between them and the loss of all of her freedom.

Natsu - Natsu doesn't really have an opinion of marriage. He thinks it's great for those who want to, and if he finds someone he wants to get married to, then he's all for it and will probably go overboard with it. But it's not something he really thinks about often, and it's not something he thinks he needs in his life to be happy. If it happens, it happens. If not, then it doesn't.

Hawks - Hawks would love to get married one day...he just doesn't think it'll ever happen. With his intimacy issues and the fact that it's incredibly hard to open up enough to ever get that close to someone, it's more of a wistful daydream for him at this point. Too much has to be done before he can let himself think about it seriously, and he's not even sure he'll survive that long to see the changes he wants to happen, so what's the point in thinking about something that has such a low chance of ever coming true?

Gorou - Gorou thinks the idea of marriage is a wonderful concept for those who have the bond and relationship with someone to reach that point. He's just been so focused on leading the Resistance that the idea of marriage for himself has never come up. He had other things to worry about...and someone has to actually be in a relationship to get married, so the idea has never crossed his mind.

Voluptas: What brings them pleasure?

Lucy - Reading, writing (when she's not dealing with writer's block), the stars, spending time in nature, cooking, and her friends. For Lucy, it's really the simple things in life. Little things that a lot of people take for granted are what bring her the most joy and fulfillment in life. She cherishes those little moments when everything is calm and peaceful, when the world is safe and she can just relax and be, instead of fearing what's coming next.

Natsu - Spending time with his friends and family, fishing, and going on jobs. He finds pleasure in the simple act of living, whether it's the exhilaration of a good fight against a strong opponent, eating a good meal, catching a fish with Happy, or just traveling for his latest job. Being alive and getting to do things is what matters to him.

Hawks - The feeling of freedom he finds when he's soaring through the skies at top speed, doing little things to piss off or annoy his handlers that make their jobs that much harder without actually getting him in trouble, and helping people. He may hate the problems that Hero Society has created, but that doesn't mean he hates being a hero. He just hates what it stands for - if he could help people and/or save people without all of the publicity and corruption, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

Gorou - Gorou finds pleasure in a day off, mountaineering, a good meal, a sweet treat, and the feeling of a nice breeze brushing through the fur on his ears. For him it's all about the simplest joys that life can offer, moments where he can just be himself, and not have to worry about being General Gorou of the Watatsumi Army.