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foxinthestarsOn LJ, I got friended by what appears to be a spambot today.
But NaNo! I am still on schedule and over the 20k mark!
Worldbuilding fluff continues and includes the realization that the moral valence of the whole Kutou/Konan thing is so skewed in FY that yes, the other empires would be crazy not to have a preference, whether they feel like they can act on it or not. For the first time this NaNo, the Miaka/Nakago contingent gets camera time, and I did have fun hitting up the internet for a mid-'90's hit J-Pop song. I know Miaka actually dropped some names in the original; danged if I can remember what they were a decade later, but B'z maybe rang a bell...? (For your entertainment, this is Love Phantom.)
I played Miaka a bit softer (for now), but when I was rereading the old stuff (and finding that it wasn’t that good), I wouldn’t say she was well-realized, mind, but looking back on it, our crazy evil Miaka might have been the most interesting character, because she was driven by this tangle of internal contradictions. She doesn’t want to be evil, but she wants to win at all costs and has convinced herself that the collateral damage isn’t real, but then if push comes to shove she doesn’t exactly believe that, either. She doesn’t want to be like she is, but perceives every offer of help as a threat and throws it aside. That's not such a stretch, if I can manage to write it reasonably well...
But anyway!
“When possible, we have tried to maintain friendly relations on both sides,” Tan said, “but if it comes to the confrontation, with so much at stake as when the Gods are to be summoned... This world was meant to exist in balance, with four gods ruling four empires. Konan has respected this for as long as anyone can remember, and as long as Kutou doesn’t, they’re a menace to everyone. Indeed, it is in part mercenary on our parts; when Kutou was able to rule Konan securely, they had an opportunity for designs on us next, since they controlled the river as well as our shared border. Sailing an army through Sairou’s capital to attack us would hardly have been accepted, but they could have cut off crucial imports from both directions and threatened Sairou against interfering. And besides, our ties with Konan have been particularly warm in recent years.”
“You’ve also got spies to tell you what kind of people we are,” Nuriko said, with surprising forwardness.
Again, Tan only laughed. “It’s true, no use denying it. Our eyes in your court and Kutou’s tell us which Miko is more likely to use her wishes well.”
Yui looked down and toyed with her food; along with the usual sadness for Miaka was a bit of sympathetic shame. Apparently all over this world people knew what a state her friend had fallen into.
“That said...” Tan’s voice became more forceful and grave. “We may prefer to see Suzaku summoned, but we can hardly afford to antagonize Kutou openly. Even if we could, the Shogun wouldn’t stand for it.”
“The Shogun?” Yui asked.
“In theory, our Emperor as head of the Sacred Order is the supreme ruler of Hokkan, but the truth is that the Sacred Order is not in command of the military, and so the Shogun in practice is equal to his Majesty. The power that each side has over the other and over the people is a complex and delicate matter.”
Oh, checks and balances, Yui thought.
“Because of this, we are offering our help strictly in secret, from our own people as well as Kutou,” Tan said. “Until we reach the capital, we will conceal ourselves here below.”
“If you put on different clothes...” Yui began.
Tan shook his head. “It is a thing which cannot be done,” he said firmly, but she didn’t think reproachfully. “Indeed I must ask you, also, that we be left strictly alone when we take meals or sleep, and that you make no attempt to see our faces.”
“That’s asking us to trust you, isn’t it?” Tasuki said. “’Leave us alone and don’t look what we’re doing’?”
“But that is normal for them no da,” Chichiri offered.
Her word wasn’t the thing to convince Tasuki, but Hotohori, Nuriko, and Chiriko all nodded, so he finally shrugged an assent. Yui looked down the table to see Tamahome’s reaction, but he was only eating in gloomy silence.
“What do you have planned when we reach the capital?” Hotohori asked.
“We know where the Shinzahou is kept, and we will take you to that place, but...” Tan turned to Yui. “Once you are inside, you must face its guardians alone. We cannot interfere with them, and none of your Seishi may accompany you.”
Tasuki grumbled, more suspicious than ever, but had by that time given up on the others coming to their senses.
*******
‘As days went by, the Suzaku no Miko’s ship continued along the river toward Hokkan’s capital city, far to the north,’ Keisuke read. ‘To those accustomed to Konan’s fair weather, the wind began to harden with cold. After a night to rest, Chichiri recovered her strength and vitality. Tasuki kept a wary watch over the Monks of Genbu who accompanied them, but they made no mischief. Tamahome kept himself below decks also, afflicted with deep melancholy.
‘As they travelled, Seiryuu’s Sei Miboshi also recovered himself from his injuries and used his magic to rejoin his Miko and his fellow Seishi who accompanied her as they travelled over land toward Hokkan’s capital.’
*******
Miaka sat across the campfire from Amiboshi, who played a slow, sweet song on his flute. Despite it, she still shied away from Ashitare, who sat hunched nearby.
Suboshi returned from the carriages with a blanket, and draped it over Miaka’s shoulders for her. “Miaka-sama, Ashitare’s not going to hurt you.”
“It’s my fault, though,” Ashitare said dejectedly. “You could go to town and sleep inside if it wasn’t for me...”
Miaka looked confused, so Suboshi explained. “Whenever he goes out around people, they get scared and start a panic or they attack him. Back home, Nakago could go with him and keep things under control because everybody knew the Shogun when they saw him, but out here... Well, I guess out here Nakago’s in the same boat you are,” he said to Ashitare. “See, it’s not all your fault.”
“But, people try to hurt him just because of how he looks?” Miaka asked. “That’s not fair!”
Amiboshi’s song continued without a ripple, but Suboshi and Ashitare gave her a quizzical look, and she realized how what she had just said reflected on her own reaction. Suboshi finally smiled at her and rubbed Ashitare’s hair. “Come on, it’s okay.”
Still fighting back nervousness, she nonetheless reached out and rubbed the huge werewolf’s head herself, and his contented smile made her feel more at ease. She turned to Amiboshi; “Hey, can you play a popular song?”
He lowered his flute. “Well, that was something all the palace servants sing lately...”
“Does it have words?”
“Ah, it’s a dead girlfriend song,” Suboshi scoffed. His brother sighed.
Miaka didn’t like the sound of that. “I meant popular like B’z anyway...” Of course no one in the book has heard of the songs I like...
“I don’t know anything like that,” Amiboshi admitted. “But maybe you could teach it to me, if you could sing it?”
“Oh! Um, okay!” She considered for a moment. “This one’s called ‘Love Phantom,’ and I’ll just skip the parts that aren’t singing...” After a deep breath, she opened her mouth and fairly shouted out: “’I don’t want anything, I’ll throw it all away! . . .’”
Suboshi and Ashitare jumped, but Amiboshi listened attentively, tapping with his foot to get the surprisingly fast rhythm. He couldn’t help thinking that people sang immodestly in the world Miaka was from.
“’. . . When our two bodies become one, I feel such glorious ecstasy! . . .’”
Very immodestly, and some of the lyrics were just meaningless sounds*, but it had such a bold melody...
Although Nakago had stayed back by the carriages, Miaka’s voice caught his attention. When he looked over to the campfire, he found her sitting closer to Ashitare than she ever had before, and he smiled to himself when he realized that she was singing. As the days had passed, she had begun to shed the sullenness she brought back from Konan and nursed in the palace. If the expedition could amount to an extended camping trip with Ashitare and the twins, it might be the best medicine he had yet found for her.
Nakago, what are you thinking?
His smile collapsed into a scowl. “Miboshi, you’ve returned. What about Tomo?”
I am not that lunatic’s keeper. Thanks to his --- here the thought was a jumble of frustrated imprecation that defied words --- I was unable to stop the Suzaku no Miko at the river. What was that? You don’t seem disappointed.
He wasn’t, and there was no use trying to hide it now. We’ll have to continue on as best we can then.
Racing them to the capital? You realize it’s on the river, of course.
I’ve seen maps, Miboshi.
You aren’t acting as if you have. It’s utterly impossible to outrun their ship with our horses, and if you’re counting on them to spend time searching once they arrive, the Monks of Genbu are helping them. Does that surprise you?
He hadn’t expected it, but it wasn’t a surprise; indeed either of the other empires would be mad to side with Kutou in this fight.
What a thing to think about your own country! came Miboshi’s accusatory delight.
To face facts is competence, not sedition, Nakago countered, focusing effort on keeping Miboshi’s telepathy further at bay.
Are you facing facts? Miboshi questioned. We won’t reach the capital before they find the Shinzahou, and if we try, we’ll only end up following in their trail and lagging behind them all the way. But then, you know that, don’t you? You’d like that, wouldn’t you?
*English, actually
But NaNo! I am still on schedule and over the 20k mark!
Worldbuilding fluff continues and includes the realization that the moral valence of the whole Kutou/Konan thing is so skewed in FY that yes, the other empires would be crazy not to have a preference, whether they feel like they can act on it or not. For the first time this NaNo, the Miaka/Nakago contingent gets camera time, and I did have fun hitting up the internet for a mid-'90's hit J-Pop song. I know Miaka actually dropped some names in the original; danged if I can remember what they were a decade later, but B'z maybe rang a bell...? (For your entertainment, this is Love Phantom.)
I played Miaka a bit softer (for now), but when I was rereading the old stuff (and finding that it wasn’t that good), I wouldn’t say she was well-realized, mind, but looking back on it, our crazy evil Miaka might have been the most interesting character, because she was driven by this tangle of internal contradictions. She doesn’t want to be evil, but she wants to win at all costs and has convinced herself that the collateral damage isn’t real, but then if push comes to shove she doesn’t exactly believe that, either. She doesn’t want to be like she is, but perceives every offer of help as a threat and throws it aside. That's not such a stretch, if I can manage to write it reasonably well...
But anyway!
20021 ★ 50000 (40.04%)
“When possible, we have tried to maintain friendly relations on both sides,” Tan said, “but if it comes to the confrontation, with so much at stake as when the Gods are to be summoned... This world was meant to exist in balance, with four gods ruling four empires. Konan has respected this for as long as anyone can remember, and as long as Kutou doesn’t, they’re a menace to everyone. Indeed, it is in part mercenary on our parts; when Kutou was able to rule Konan securely, they had an opportunity for designs on us next, since they controlled the river as well as our shared border. Sailing an army through Sairou’s capital to attack us would hardly have been accepted, but they could have cut off crucial imports from both directions and threatened Sairou against interfering. And besides, our ties with Konan have been particularly warm in recent years.”
“You’ve also got spies to tell you what kind of people we are,” Nuriko said, with surprising forwardness.
Again, Tan only laughed. “It’s true, no use denying it. Our eyes in your court and Kutou’s tell us which Miko is more likely to use her wishes well.”
Yui looked down and toyed with her food; along with the usual sadness for Miaka was a bit of sympathetic shame. Apparently all over this world people knew what a state her friend had fallen into.
“That said...” Tan’s voice became more forceful and grave. “We may prefer to see Suzaku summoned, but we can hardly afford to antagonize Kutou openly. Even if we could, the Shogun wouldn’t stand for it.”
“The Shogun?” Yui asked.
“In theory, our Emperor as head of the Sacred Order is the supreme ruler of Hokkan, but the truth is that the Sacred Order is not in command of the military, and so the Shogun in practice is equal to his Majesty. The power that each side has over the other and over the people is a complex and delicate matter.”
Oh, checks and balances, Yui thought.
“Because of this, we are offering our help strictly in secret, from our own people as well as Kutou,” Tan said. “Until we reach the capital, we will conceal ourselves here below.”
“If you put on different clothes...” Yui began.
Tan shook his head. “It is a thing which cannot be done,” he said firmly, but she didn’t think reproachfully. “Indeed I must ask you, also, that we be left strictly alone when we take meals or sleep, and that you make no attempt to see our faces.”
“That’s asking us to trust you, isn’t it?” Tasuki said. “’Leave us alone and don’t look what we’re doing’?”
“But that is normal for them no da,” Chichiri offered.
Her word wasn’t the thing to convince Tasuki, but Hotohori, Nuriko, and Chiriko all nodded, so he finally shrugged an assent. Yui looked down the table to see Tamahome’s reaction, but he was only eating in gloomy silence.
“What do you have planned when we reach the capital?” Hotohori asked.
“We know where the Shinzahou is kept, and we will take you to that place, but...” Tan turned to Yui. “Once you are inside, you must face its guardians alone. We cannot interfere with them, and none of your Seishi may accompany you.”
Tasuki grumbled, more suspicious than ever, but had by that time given up on the others coming to their senses.
*******
‘As days went by, the Suzaku no Miko’s ship continued along the river toward Hokkan’s capital city, far to the north,’ Keisuke read. ‘To those accustomed to Konan’s fair weather, the wind began to harden with cold. After a night to rest, Chichiri recovered her strength and vitality. Tasuki kept a wary watch over the Monks of Genbu who accompanied them, but they made no mischief. Tamahome kept himself below decks also, afflicted with deep melancholy.
‘As they travelled, Seiryuu’s Sei Miboshi also recovered himself from his injuries and used his magic to rejoin his Miko and his fellow Seishi who accompanied her as they travelled over land toward Hokkan’s capital.’
*******
Miaka sat across the campfire from Amiboshi, who played a slow, sweet song on his flute. Despite it, she still shied away from Ashitare, who sat hunched nearby.
Suboshi returned from the carriages with a blanket, and draped it over Miaka’s shoulders for her. “Miaka-sama, Ashitare’s not going to hurt you.”
“It’s my fault, though,” Ashitare said dejectedly. “You could go to town and sleep inside if it wasn’t for me...”
Miaka looked confused, so Suboshi explained. “Whenever he goes out around people, they get scared and start a panic or they attack him. Back home, Nakago could go with him and keep things under control because everybody knew the Shogun when they saw him, but out here... Well, I guess out here Nakago’s in the same boat you are,” he said to Ashitare. “See, it’s not all your fault.”
“But, people try to hurt him just because of how he looks?” Miaka asked. “That’s not fair!”
Amiboshi’s song continued without a ripple, but Suboshi and Ashitare gave her a quizzical look, and she realized how what she had just said reflected on her own reaction. Suboshi finally smiled at her and rubbed Ashitare’s hair. “Come on, it’s okay.”
Still fighting back nervousness, she nonetheless reached out and rubbed the huge werewolf’s head herself, and his contented smile made her feel more at ease. She turned to Amiboshi; “Hey, can you play a popular song?”
He lowered his flute. “Well, that was something all the palace servants sing lately...”
“Does it have words?”
“Ah, it’s a dead girlfriend song,” Suboshi scoffed. His brother sighed.
Miaka didn’t like the sound of that. “I meant popular like B’z anyway...” Of course no one in the book has heard of the songs I like...
“I don’t know anything like that,” Amiboshi admitted. “But maybe you could teach it to me, if you could sing it?”
“Oh! Um, okay!” She considered for a moment. “This one’s called ‘Love Phantom,’ and I’ll just skip the parts that aren’t singing...” After a deep breath, she opened her mouth and fairly shouted out: “’I don’t want anything, I’ll throw it all away! . . .’”
Suboshi and Ashitare jumped, but Amiboshi listened attentively, tapping with his foot to get the surprisingly fast rhythm. He couldn’t help thinking that people sang immodestly in the world Miaka was from.
“’. . . When our two bodies become one, I feel such glorious ecstasy! . . .’”
Very immodestly, and some of the lyrics were just meaningless sounds*, but it had such a bold melody...
Although Nakago had stayed back by the carriages, Miaka’s voice caught his attention. When he looked over to the campfire, he found her sitting closer to Ashitare than she ever had before, and he smiled to himself when he realized that she was singing. As the days had passed, she had begun to shed the sullenness she brought back from Konan and nursed in the palace. If the expedition could amount to an extended camping trip with Ashitare and the twins, it might be the best medicine he had yet found for her.
Nakago, what are you thinking?
His smile collapsed into a scowl. “Miboshi, you’ve returned. What about Tomo?”
I am not that lunatic’s keeper. Thanks to his --- here the thought was a jumble of frustrated imprecation that defied words --- I was unable to stop the Suzaku no Miko at the river. What was that? You don’t seem disappointed.
He wasn’t, and there was no use trying to hide it now. We’ll have to continue on as best we can then.
Racing them to the capital? You realize it’s on the river, of course.
I’ve seen maps, Miboshi.
You aren’t acting as if you have. It’s utterly impossible to outrun their ship with our horses, and if you’re counting on them to spend time searching once they arrive, the Monks of Genbu are helping them. Does that surprise you?
He hadn’t expected it, but it wasn’t a surprise; indeed either of the other empires would be mad to side with Kutou in this fight.
What a thing to think about your own country! came Miboshi’s accusatory delight.
To face facts is competence, not sedition, Nakago countered, focusing effort on keeping Miboshi’s telepathy further at bay.
Are you facing facts? Miboshi questioned. We won’t reach the capital before they find the Shinzahou, and if we try, we’ll only end up following in their trail and lagging behind them all the way. But then, you know that, don’t you? You’d like that, wouldn’t you?
*English, actually
