Rules for your Copy and Paste: Free form a blurb or drawing based on the weekly lyrics prompt. It doesn't have to include the prompt just whatever you're inspired to write, write it! Then tag some friends so they can play as well. It doesn't have to be finished on Thursday just post it whenever you can (you have a whole week between Thursdays).
Such a strange situation (Oh)
A bloodless confrontation
A peaceful war for two
And the casualties are me and you
I Don't Wanna Move On by TopHouse
I was tagged by @arcaneschemes and this came to me, in [Fake Codex Entries] format, so that's how you're getting it lmao
I made references to one of @draco-illius-noctis' letters, one of my own [Fake Codex Entries], and my first Emmrich fic, Fool's Gold (which I keep thinking I should go back to since I know I could do it better now lmao)
Under a cut, because it's long.
Also, I'll tag, uh...
@chubritza @paramortality @yappacadaver @sofiemystique @bossuary @redheadsramblings @draco-illius-noctis and YOU 🫵
Jovus' first; Emmrich's second
**********
Counting Down the Days
A series of short journal entries chronicling Jovus' time on Tearstone Island
Day 1
Probably going to be here a while. Assan seems to be fine, but I'm hardly an expert on griffon physiology. Can't smell any blight on him, at least. That'll have to be enough.
Davrin still unresponsive. His breathing seems to be better, but... I don't know. Don't want to risk moving him in this state.
He's alive. That's a start.
[A sketch of the Tearstone Island crater takes up the rest of the page]
Day 2
Scouted a bit, if only to see if I can find food. Anything that might have been edible has been burnt to cinders. Call me fussy, but I'm not keen on the taste of ash. Still got a few days' worth of rations left, but Assan needs them more than I do.
I wish I knew where Bellara was taken. At least going to look for her would give me something to do. She's not on the island, I know that much, so looking for her at all is pointless.
I tried.
Cold comfort, but at least I can say I tried.
Day 3
Can't sleep.
That's a lie. I'm exhausted.
I don't want to sleep.
I dreamed about him last night (did that count as night? I can't even tell anymore). It might have been a wonderful dream if we were still together. As it is, it's like the universe is mocking me.
I miss him. Foolish.
I could really do with some of Lucanis' coffee right about now.
I need to do something. I need to go somewhere. I need to finish the job. I always finish the job.
But, gods, is it tempting to just leave.
And go where? The world is fucked.
One thing at a time.
Day 4
Assan flew off. Can't exactly stop him. More rations for me.
He came back with some fish. They smelled alright to eat, and I'm not going to question it.
If Davrin doesn't wake up soon, I'm going to feed him to Assan.
[A sketch of Assan curled up sleeping takes up the rest of the page]
Day 5
I think I found a boat? Or part of one, at least. Might be able to fix it up, if I'm lucky, but luck seems to have abandoned me completely, so I won't bet on that.
Gods, I sound like Neve.
[Various doodles of a boat held together with different materials take up the rest of the page]
Day 6
Haven't eaten in two days. Down to my last few rations. Davrin still hasn't woken up. I don't want to move him, but I might have to.
I'll give it one more day.
Get up, you bastard. Assan needs you.
[A few musical phrases are dotted around the page, some crossed out]
Day 7
Davrin's alive. He's awake. We can finally get moving.
Well, still need to get the boat into at least a functional state, but one thing at a time.
He asked if I wanted to talk. Of course not, what good would that do?
Assan is chirpier than he has been, which isn't a huge surprise. It's nice to see. To hear?
A couple more hours, and we can finally head home.
This will be... interesting.
**********
Day by Day
A series of journal entries chronicling Emmrich's time after Tearstone Island
Day 1
Davrin is dead. Poor Assan may share his fate. Rook has vanished. Dear Bellara was taken. And Jovus? He tried to pull her free of Elgar'nan's grasp, but ultimately failed.
I watched him fall. I heard him cry out. I don't know if he's still alive. I don't know if any of them are still alive. I can only live in hope, and pray for a miracle.
I pushed him away to protect us both, but he may now be lost to me forever. What cowardice. It's all I can do to put to these pages what I lacked the courage to say to his face: I love him. I only wish I had the chance to tell him. If he'd even accept that now.
I know you're angry with me, my darling; no more so than I am with myself, I assure you. But I beg of you: come back to me.
Please. Come back.
I love you.
I will attempt to scry for them in the morning. With the Fade in such an uproar, I have my doubts that it will work, but I must try.
Day 2
There may be a glimmer of hope for us, yet. A second lyrium dagger; a replacement for the one Solas too back for himself when Rook disappeared.
I hypothesise that he and Rook exchanged places, which at least gives us a "how," if not yet a "where." His magical connection to Rook throughout our journey may be what gave him the means to escape his prison. Ghastly, but I cannot fault its effectiveness.
I had Neve accompany me to Bellara's room. While I am certain she would not mind me poking through her blueprints and diagrams if they would be of any help, doing so without her here... I keep expecting to hear her asking her countless questions, or clanking away at some impenetrable contraption or another with a wrench. Instead, we were greeted with naught but silence.
Bellara's blueprints will be most helpful in replicating the dagger, even if some of her notes are practically indecipherable. Fortunately, Neve seems to be able to make sense of most of it, and assures me that she will translate where necessary, if possible.
I believe I saw some books on lyrium crafting in the library, which may also be of use. I shall read over them when I have a moment to spare. A project this delicate is far beyond the scope of even most Circle enchanters, so any relevant information may be critical in the creation of the replacement dagger, and should not be overlooked.
Day 3
Neve suggested searching Jovus' room. His notes would likely be of help; he also has a diagram or two in amongst his many, many journals. I told her that I hadn't thought to do so, but would gladly accept her company in the search for anything helpful.
A lie, of course; my thoughts wander to Jovus and the music room with alarming regularity. I would be surprised if Neve believed me, when I do not even believe myself, but she at least showed the courtesy to make no further comment.
His room is far too quiet without him. No music, no songs, no absurd comments and shared laughter, no joy.
We found his latest entry, dated the day we departed for Tearstone Island, after our... discussion. I almost wish we hadn't found it; the last shredded remnants of the mask I've been struggling to keep up finally fell, and I can only say that I broke down upon reading it.
He blames himself for what happened. Oh, my darling, it was never your fault. You were right: I was afraid. But now I fear only never seeing you again.
Don't leave. Please. Don't leave me.
At least I learned one important thing from the entry, something more than I dared hope:
He loves me.
He loves me.
It's far more than I deserve.
And I will never tire of hearing it.
Day 4
Progress on the replica dagger is slow, and Johanna's cutting remarks are not helping the situation. Not that I will give her the satisfaction of telling her such; she would only grow to be even more insufferable.
I believe I came close with the last attempt; it shattered before it could finally solidify into its required shape, but it felt almost perfect before then.
I only hope I can make this work before we finally run out of resources; with so much of Thedas in chaos at the present, the required purity of lyrium is proving to be more and more difficult to acquire.
Day 5
Where am I going wrong? The measurements are perfect! To be so close to success with so little to show for it! Infuriating.
The others say I need to rest. How can I, when I am so close?
I may not be able to find Bellara or Jovus, but I can at least do this small thing to spring Rook from their captivity. I must.
Day 6
I keep reaching for his hand.
I keep expecting to find his arms around my waist, his breath in my ear, while he complains that my collar is too high for him to kiss my neck. He settles for my cheek instead.
I keep thinking I'll hear him sing, or whistle, or hum, that song from his homeland, or any from his Dock Town repertoire.
I see him in my dreams, in the moments sleep claims me. It might be a blessing, were it not such a restless nightmare. All the dreams end with him blighted somehow. I wish to not sleep at all, if only to spare myself such grim visions.
I wake expecting to find him dozing with my cheek on his chest, or his surprisingly heavy wolf head on my own chest, so that neither of us will move until he decides the time for curling up together is over.
I keep reaching for his hand.
Foolish.
Day 7
Davrin's alive. Assan as well.
Jovus has returned; he all but carried Davrin back to us, mostly intact.
The fact he survived Ghilan'nain's onslaught is nothing short of miraculous. Jovus healed what he could -- a "patch job," as he called it -- but he could only do so much. Now, Davrin needs to rest, or he may never fully recover, and we still need him for the battles to come.
Jovus has gone to his room to bathe, and to rest; I'm using that as an excuse to put off talking to him.
Such cowardice.
I have thought at length what I wish to say to him this past week, should I ever see him again. But now that he's actually here? Now that I have the chance I so desperately craved? The wellspring of my words has dried to a mere trickle.
Perhaps I ought to have taken a page from his book, and wrote myself a script?
I will see him soon. If nothing else, Taash is correct; it will tear us both up if we don't clear the air.
I don't expect he will want more than that, if he'll even speak to me at all. I wouldn't blame him if he doesn't. But one can hope.
At the very least, I must tell him; I've been given another opportunity, and I don't want to waste it.
I have a handful of WIP doodles but 😅 I’m pretty sure it’d be against Tumblr rules to post em. I’ll probs post anything I do end up finishing to my OW Twitter and/or my nsfw twitter
this is the only one that’s close-ish to being a done piece… but I’m putting it under the cut because haha 😖
Yugiri's smile is everything. She has so many of them and they all mean different things. When she's relaxed, when she's excited, when she's confused, when she has no clue what's going on but everyone else is happy so she's happy, when she's relieved, when she's proud... She has so many different smiles and if Tumblr didn't have the 10 image rules, I would absolutely gush about every single one of them in detail. Unfortunately, if I do that, all of those posts will probably be eaten out of the tag, so instead, here are my top 10 favorite Yugiri smiles so far, images included. (Pre-Revenge episode 9)
10. Season One, Episode 2: The First Smile/ 9. Season One, Episode 10: The Sentimental Smile
Episode 2 is the first time we ever see Yugiri smile. Before this, she seemed relatively nonplussed or generally disinterested in pretty much everything going on. Even though she was in a different time period with complete strangers and a madman demanding her to be something she has no knowledge of, she was fairly calm. Then the first time we see her smile, it's when she sees something completely familiar. Her own face. Not only that, but she directs that smile toward the character that is going to become basically her little sister. The first one means so much and it's so important.
Within the same vein, her smile to Kotaro in episode 10 is one during an emotionally heavy moment. It's the first time he's hit an actual snag in his plans. Sakura's singular focus on the Arpino show rather than on the bigger picture of the group as a whole would have been a massive roadblock had she not realized her mistake.
Yugiri is the only one who properly realizes the reason they were sent into the mountains in the first place. Instead of simply sitting on the information, she's proactive about it and actually goes to discuss the problem with Kotaro. She wants to understand his reasoning so that she might be able to help him. And when she turns toward him, she also gives him the observations she's witnessed throughout her new life. This smile may be low on my list of favorites, but it's still unbelievably important.
...Also, when they released the preview image of this smile, my brain short-circuited for ten minutes, so it had to make it onto the list regardless.
8. Season Two, Episode One: The Professional Smile
This smile isn't much out of the ordinary for what we've come to expect of Yugiri, but it's on here because this was our first look at Yugiri after basically two years of very little. None of us knew how the group would come back, how the writing team had incorporated the unexpected pandemic, how things would play out, or what would be happening. The Promo showed Tae's hand flying off to knock off Sakura's head, but as 2018 displayed, the promos can't always be trusted. This showed that, even in this new world where she's only been awake for a year, she's putting her skills to use and working just as hard as the others. Thanks to the conversation from Episode 10 of the first season, we know she was trained as a geisha which would make service work much easier than it would be for the other girls.
I don't have too much to say on this one, to be honest. I do like that she's in softer lighting, as opposed to the others who were all surrounded by harsh lighting on their season two introductions. The softer lighting lends itself well to the lack of pigment and coloration in the girls' makeup, allowing Yugiri to look like she has some color, even if she still looks somewhat pale and tired. It doesn't give her quite the same sickly look the others have at their jobs. The red dress? 100/10. Perfect decision.
7. Season One, Episode Five: The Proud Smile
SHE. DOES. GYMNASTICS. She has every right to this smile! I did the math for this specific part of the episode and Yugiri got third place. The judges liked her rope aerobics so much, they shot her all the way to third place even though her distance was zero meters. It wouldn't have gotten her interviewed, but it would have at least put Franchouchou at the forefront. I still applaud Tae snagging first place, but Yugiri deserves some praise. She really did go face first into the mud on a bike and said, "Never again." She's so proud of herself. I'll be gushing about the actual gymnastics part in a different post a little later, too, but she definitely deserves to be proud of herself. I'm really gay...
6. Season One, Episode Four: The Cute Smile
Originally, this was just going to be me doing some keysmash version of a squeal or something, but there's something I'd like to draw attention to. I'm pretty sure that, by this point, Franchouchou only knows two songs. Yomigaere, which was supposed to be performed in episode 2, and Mezame Returner, which is what's being performed here. Of these two, Yugiri has more experience with this one, but from what the audience had been shown, it wasn't good experience.
Memorizing the lyrics would have been the easy part for her. It's that a good portion of the dance practice was also spent helping Lily get the steps down and potentially calming her frustrations. Then the performance itself would have been a complete disaster if Junko and Ai hadn't gotten over themselves at the last minute to finally help.
This is the first successful performance of Mezame Returner we're witnessing and it's clear the group's had more practice since then. You can see how excited and happy Yugiri is here because this one is actually going well. They had a bit more time to prepare, the two lead roles were actually involved this time, and the audience also was clearly enjoying the performance. She's so happy and it's just so heart-warming to see. Yes, even with the CGI. Don't @ me, she looks adorable.
5. Season One, Episode Seven: The Sassy Smile
This one also was just going to be a squealing keysmash thing, but again, I have something to point out. Look how much more confident she is now that Junko and Ai have, once again, gotten over themselves. Yugiri sees the effect that Junko stepping in had on the others and just like the rest of the group, her movements are more relaxed and free.
It's more obvious, actually, if you look at the way the other girls are moving directly after Junko helps Ai up in comparison to how Yugiri is moving. She did a spin while waiting for Sakura and Lily to finish their segment, and she could be cheeky during her own. She sensed that the tension had mostly dissolved and because of that, she allowed herself to relax and could properly throw herself into the performance. When she throws out this smile and wink, it's not actually directed at the audience. It's Yugiri telling the others that they've got this without breaking the performance.
4. Season Two, Episode Four: The Gentle Smiles
I put both of these here because Yugiri's just... so... caring? So much of what she does is passive that you don't realize just how much work she puts into relieving the stress from the other girls until long after the problem has been resolved.
In the first, she's speaking to Sakura. No doubt, Yugiri probably noticed how worried Sakura was about Junko. Even though Sakura was trying not to let the others catch on just how anxious she really was, Yugiri still knew that something was bothering Sakura as well as Junko. Yugiri knew that the key to easing Junko's mind lay in placating Sakura first. She's seen what happens to them all when they fall apart and she wants to avoid that at all costs. So, Yugiri lifts Sakura's spirits and gives her back the fire and determination to make a great performance.
In the second, Yugiri is watching Junko eat. Unlike the others, it's clear Yugiri knows that Junko is in much higher spirits than when last they saw her. Junko would likely have still been a stuttering, quivering mess otherwise, but she wasn't stuttering and her actions were purposeful and self-assured. Yugiri is very observant. She would have caught on that something had happened to make Junko feel better. What makes this smile even better is that she's not the least bit disappointed. The reason she made dinner was to help Junko, but she doesn't view the meal as a waste of time. She's so focused on other people, that she's happy Junko is feeling better at all and even offers her different platters to help keep her mood up.
These are high on the list for two reasons. One, they're a show of just how much Yugiri does for her girls. Two, YUGIRI COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS HEADCANON CONFIRMED BITCHEEEESSS!!! I GOT ONE RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!!
3. Season Two, Episode Six: The Affectionate Smile
I will be completely honest, I have no idea why this one is as high as it is. I admit, I did spend three hours replaying this single thirty second scene because it's really sweet and Yugiri and Tae don't interact very often, so seeing Yugiri not only be worried for Tae, but also be immediately reassured that Tae would be fine was just something my heart didn't know it needed until it had it. The sheer level of affection Yugiri shows toward Tae is too adorable. Especially since Yugiri usually only has moments like those with Sakura and, to a lesser extent, Lily. This smile's really cute, it's in the middle of a wholesome scene, and it made me love both Yugiri and Tae that much more.
2. Season One, Episode Three: The Excited Smile
Once again, an entry that was going to be a simple squealing keysmash until I realized there was something to point out here as well. This is the first smile we ever see from Yugiri that's genuinely enthusiastic. She has plenty of them, especially during her performances, but this is our first time seeing her fully incorporate herself into the group as an actual member and actually look excited to do something with the others. This was an omen of adorable things to come and damn did it deliver.
Honorable Mentions.
I'm only going to touch on each of these briefly because to be honest, there are a LOT of smiles I could've picked.
The first one is from episode 6 when the group is talking about their very first meet-and-greet. Lily asks Yugiri if she's keeping up okay, and Yugiri remarks that she's taking things as they come. This was a small look into the kind of character she is. As I mentioned before, she's very passive in the way she operates, but that's to the benefit of those she cares for. This is her admitting that she doesn't want to be a problem and it's just sweet that even though Lily is worried about her, Yugiri's still highkey thinking about everyone else.
To the right is a shot of Yugiri during Electric Returner. This one is just the squealing keysmash because she looks so genuinely ecstatic, it's contagious. She's NO DAMN CLUE what happened or why they sound so different, but she is absolutely living her best second life.
The next shot comes from the beginning of Yomigaere and is somewhat of a repeat of the above. She's excited to perform for such a big crowd, she's glad Sakura finally agreed to actually participate, and she's living her best second life. Whoever animates Yugiri's CG model? I love you. I want to send you a gift basket. She's always so happy during performances.
Then comes her smile after the group finds out Sakura's memories are back. She's just glad Sakura, her Sakura, has come back to them, that she accepts her crap luck and is still willing to stay. For Yugiri, this goes under the list of Best Possible Outcomes. Her family is whole again and she's so relieved.
Last in the top row is the first full frontal shot we get of Yugiri in the Saga Jihen music video. She's so unbelievably adorable here. I wish I could've gotten her first expression, but the curtain was still rising and without photoshop, I'm not editing an image to the degree needed to get her whole face lightened. Point is, she's cute and everyone deserves to see her adorable face on the first song she got to be center for.
First on the bottom row is Yugiri looking apologetic from episode 8 of Revenge. She's so cute. It was an honest mistake and she had no way of knowing the paper belonged to Kiichi. No doubt, that was probably why she offered to help him rewrite them later.
Next is how cute she looks in big sister mode. She's wiping the mud from Kiichi's cheeks and is taking such care with him. Throughout the entire episode, she treats him like a little kid and it's likely because her role was big sister for so long that she doesn't know how not to treat him that way. It really does shed light on just how kind she is to everyone, though, that she doesn't even think about her dirty kimono and focuses on cleaning him up a little first.
Then we have her smiling at Kiichi as she remarks on how beautiful his dream of reviving Saga is. She even says she hopes it comes true. His dream means something to her. She can't even fully see it, he can't even fully see it, but they don't need to. What Itou didn't understand this whole time is something Yugiri understood immediately just from listening to Kiichi talk. They don't need to see it in their minds, all they need is to feel it in their hearts, and that's something Yugiri knows.
And lastly on the honorable mentions, because this post is already super long, Yugiri smiling while she's cooking for her guests. It was a tossup between this or the pinwheel because it's just really nice that Yugiri can simply enjoy mundane things. I chose this one because it's a direct contrast to how she was at the beginning. Before, she ate with a disinterested expression, but now, she's cooking for guests rather than just for herself. The lift in her mood is obvious, and it's something so small but so heartwarming, I couldn't resist.
I would've put the pinwheel moment anyway, but unfortunately, as a com major, formatting and design are everything and an extra picture on the top or bottom without a balancer would've thrown the whole thing off. Maybe next time.
NOW FOR NUMBER ONE
1. Season Two, Episode Eight: The Softest Smile
This should have been expected. There's something genuinely touching about the fact that Yugiri really does give her everything, even to complete strangers. These girls barely know her, everyone in town barely knows her, but because her dance students suggested Yugiri go out and actually experience, Yugiri gives it actual thought. She doesn't dismiss them, she doesn't deride them, she doesn't make them feel foolish or anything like that. She treats their suggestion the same way she would if it had come from a close friend. And she does actually take them up on it.
Later, we see her come into contact with Kiichi to demonstrate that even full-on strangers aren't exempt from her kind heart, but this means more. All we know is that these girls take Yugiri's dance class, and from the way they speak when we first meet them, it's clear Yugiri has a professional wall between herself and those she instructs. But she still treats them as she would the girls back in Shimabara. It's proof that, even in the past, Yugiri really was just as kind-hearted as in the present. It's a show don't tell kind of thing that just speaks so deeply to the writer in me. I love this smile. It's everything. Her smiles are everything. She's everything.
