Another untitled Gaim ficlet, Kappa universe

[estirose]

Kouta has gotten used to a diet of Helheim fruit and nothing else. He's even gotten used to gardening - though it's less gardening and more convincing a bunch of alien plants not to grow outside and not to grow any fruit. It's bad enough that every so often he opens up the door and has to prevent tiny Elementary Inves from escaping and causing a panic.

Someday, he knows, he'll have to move before someone realizes he's not aging. And the garden will have to move with him. This will be a while; he's working with Takatora as they try to get Mitsuzane a little closer to sanity. Kouta thinks that they might be on the way to convincing him that Takatora is Takatora and not Kouta.

He'd let his sister near the garden - she knows it exists, he had to tell her that there's enough Helheim flora there that he won't starve to death - but it's far too dangerous to humans. There's always the possibility that a human will find it and its fruit, and then everything will spiral out of control.

There's a commotion in the shed, and Kouta internally winces. Is he going to find a full-sized Inves in there? Is he going to have to kill another human that was in the wrong place at the wrong time?

He opens the door, and the vines are waving. There's a shape in there, a dark shape, and he realizes after a moment that Mitsuzane found his way in and now he's almost completely wrapped in vines. The vines aren't harming his old friend, but Mitsuzane is struggling. "Teleport," he says, hoping that Mitsuzane is coherent enough to go back to the dock. It isn't Kouta's top choice, but the plant can be overwhelming if one isn't used to it. He himself has to mentally force vines away from his body if he's been gone for too long; he thinks, sometimes, that the plant considers him part of it.

Mitsuzane teleports out, and Kouta takes a deep breath. He looks among the slender vines for a fruit and sees one, probably generated when Mitsuzane came in. He fishes out a bag and seals it, knowing that Mitsuzane must have been hungry enough to find his way there.

Maybe Mitsuzane will eat without being prompted or commanded this time. Kouta always hopes that he will. But that's in the future, and this is now. He must make do with what he has.

Comments

[estirose]

Yes. Depending on how much Takatora lets up on him, he'd be able to keep in touch with Akira. But the world is definitely doomed.

For the world's sake, hopefully Takatora will respect Kouta not wanting to be in Yggdrasill.

[reka]

I'm not sure Takatora would feel that that decision is up to him. It's the family responsibility, after all. He might respect the choice but feel as trapped as Kouta. More so, maybe, now that he knows how unhappy Kouta is.

[estirose]

True! Given his reaction to Kouta's optimism in canon, he might feel trapped but having to forge ahead. Kouta could mention that the family doesn't need three siblings working for Yggdrasill. Takatora's a natural leader and Micchy's brilliant, and Kouta can't offer much. That's why he was so surprised (or would have been if Micchy hadn't kept him in the loop) that Takatora was searching so intensely for him.

[reka]

I hope he doesn't put it that way to Takatora. Takatora loves his siblings and wants them to be safe period.

I think it's less that Kouta's needed and more that it's a responsibility, but it's also that Yggdrasil doesn't have much time. And that Micchy is fourteen years old and isn't ready at all. (Not that he's ready at 16 either, but.)

[estirose]

I think he'd have some tact. Or at least I'd hope so. He is pretty upset. I'd hope that Takatora would explain things and then haul him off to explain what's going on and why Kouta is so needed (and then Kouta can tell him, hey, there's gotta be another way, and so on).

[reka]

Kouta is tactful, but he's also terribly honest and that can make it difficult in times of distress. His insistence that there must be another way is also probably much less convincing when he has just been dragged back home after running away.

It's really hard to figure out what's reasonable for Kouta here. He's not a sulky person, but I don't know what else to do in this situation but sulk.

[estirose]

Yeah, I'd be sulking too. Takatora intends to keep him home for a few days and Have Words with him, and Kouta will be busy trying to convince Takatora that either there has to be a better way or leave him out of it and let him stop being a Kureshima.

In any case, I think I am going to get back to poor Kouta's main thread and finish the main fic. *wry grin*

[reka]

It's interesting that small tweaks can change things so drastically, I think. I think Kouta would have a harder time finding a better way if he couldn't find a better way for himself.

There's no limit to the AU possibilities, so finding a limit is probably a good idea.

[estirose]

Yes. AUs are fascinating! This Kouta got derailed by one comment of Micchy's (and choosing the wrong moment to leave), but I think he would have been close to the main story's Kouta if he'd had a chance.

(I am proud of myself - I got the bare bones of my replacement archive up and running, which got a little messy due to some formatting issues and such in dokuwiki, but finally ironed out into a more or less working static archive. I just have to keep adding fics and uploading as I go along. One of the fun parts was splitting "Something To Build" so it was a little less everything split together. There's a link in my Dear Yuletide Writer letter.)

[reka]

I definitely agree. He doesn't have the same opportunity to develop a sense of maturity outside the family as main story Kouta, and I think there aren't as many opportunities to develop maturity as a Kureshima because Takatora, and a failed runaway attempt would only make it worse. (Tenses? What tenses?)

(The archive looks good! Keeping archives updated is difficult-- I have a little hanging file box that I try every so often to use so I can find papers, but it's difficult to remember and every problem that comes up is very frustrating. I like how you split up Something To Build. It feels simple and tidy.)

[estirose]

Yes. He's always been in Takatora's shadow, just as Micchy was. Takatora tries too hard to protect them, so Kouta isn't as grown up. Akira definitely gave Kouta what Takatora could not. And in some ways, I think the attempt would make Takatora bizarrely even more protective of Kouta.

(It is hard! But because of the wiki, I am able to fix and add things fairly easily. I just corrected two or three things that needed to be on the next line (fortunately in the fandom pages), added a fic that didn't get onto either the title or the fandom pages, and added a WIP section so I could add WIPs as I came across them to someplace other than the main fandom/title pages.)

[reka]

I think maybe that Takatora hadn't thought that Kouta felt as separate from his identity as a Kureshima as he apparently does. So being more protective makes some sense.

(I think the wiki format is really cool for a fic archive. I love how wikis work.)

[estirose]

Yes. It's kind of a "protect the wounded member of the tribe" mentality, I think. He can keep his brother safe while his brother reconnects with his identity as a Kureshima. Hopefully not in an overboard way, but getting his brother back to a way that he can function to save the world.

(I was surprised how well it worked! But then again, I had several tries at it, so I think I know what I'm doing now.)

[reka]

Takatora is so tied to His Responsibility as a Kureshima that I don't think he really understands how Kouta (and Micchy, but Takatora may not recognize that) can feel like they can escape it. But he will definitely try to fix it, and Kouta is much more likely to tell Takatora how he feels and stuff.

(Yeah, it's visually pretty similar to Dots. It has the feel of a very simple plain-text archive but isn't as awkward as they can be to navigate. I like it a lot. I wish I could get an RSS feed on it, but that's not really necessary for anything. The only thing I've noticed is that you mention the "All the Lullabies" universe and I don't think the fics in that universe are identified that way.

I should think of something to archive for practice. It sounds like a fun challenge.)

[estirose]

Yes. He failed to instill that in his siblings, and neither of them is really keen on going into the family business. On the other hand, he and Kouta will be having a lot of honest talks with each other, and Kouta might get a little less irritated at Micchy for turning him in. If he can't not be a Kureshima, he might get Takatora to take some of his blinders off (which might save Takatora in the end).

Just as long as Kouta refrains from mentioning Micchy knew where he was the entire time.

(Yeah, It's static, but there are some interesting tutorials on how to do a RSS feed that I'm checking out. I didn't spot that on "All The Lullabies", I'll have to put that on the site's To-Do.)

[reka]

I agree. It's possible that Takatora won't be able to translate knowing about Kouta's problems to seeing Micchy's, but hopefully Kouta can convince Takatora that he needs to try something else. I'm sure that Kouta will mention Micchy's issues, but I don't think Micchy will be honest about his feelings or want to discuss them. If Kouta forces a family talk, Micchy might very well start to resent both siblings.

(I think there's only one reference to it. Man, to do lists. I'm terrible at remembering to check things off.)

[estirose]

Yeah, I can see Takatora thinking the only problem is with Kouta, even if Kouta mentions Micchy's issues. Because Kouta's mention of Micchy could be sour grapes. And Micchy will encourage Takatora to focus on Kouta. Because that's what he's always done to survive.

But it will help Kouta in a way as well, because he might be able to argue that he does need to get out from under Takatora's shadow to grow (except in a way that's more tactful) and become the person that the world needs.

(I'm bad at to-do lists too! This one it's hard to escape because it's in my face more or less when I'm updating.)

[reka]

They have some extra time to figure things out in this universe, so Kouta might well get a chance to convince Takatora that he needs some autonomy to grow. Micchy unfortunately won't benefit the same way because he's 14 and cannot developmentally reach the same level of maturity that Kouta can, but Kouta and Takatora can do things to hopefully give him a better and more supportive environment to grow up in. Until everything goes to crap, at least. Hopefully Micchy won't feel like it's an empty gesture.

I'm not sure Takatora would quite think it's sour grapes, since Takatora's grasp of other people's motives can be poor and influenced by personal opinion, but Kouta's judgement isn't beyond questioning. I mean, he did run away from home.

(I have a setup that puts the text of my to-do list on my desktop, but I have a terrible habit of no longer noticing things when they've been in the same place for a while. So sometimes I end up with things I've done staying on the list for a week or so.)

[estirose]

Yes. If Kouta is lucky, he might be able to convince Takatora to let him live on his own for a while and understand the world that they're supposed to be protecting. (Takatora might go for it if Kouta went to university or something like that.) Kouta's still kind of irritated at his younger brother but he's not someone who bears a grudge at least.

(If I forget, it's staring me in the face and sometimes requiring me to scroll, so at least I'm not forgetting this to-do list.)

[reka]

Yeah. Many countries don't have the same tradition of going away to university, but if Kouta goes somewhere outside Zawame, it might be easier to have a small apartment closer to school as long as he stays in touch with his family. I can see Micchy nurturing a serious grudge against Kouta for that, though. Poor kid. He's in the age range where he's separated from both of his brothers.

[estirose]

I'm thinking Kouta's probably going to end up going to the University of Zawame (or something like that), but negotiating with Takatora to let him have his own place so that he can concentrate on his studies. (This would also allow Micchy to have a tiny bit of breathing room in terms of someplace to spend time that's not the house. Kouta might be a little bit irritated at him, but he recognizes why Micchy has issues.)

[reka]

And that fourteen-year-olds all have issues, and that what Micchy needs is space so his issues don't eventually blow up in his face. I don't think Micchy would necessarily talk to Kouta about his feelings, but it would be an outlet with someone who kind of understands. I don't think Kouta having his own apartment that Micchy could go to would completely replace Gaim's role in his life, but having a place where he doesn't feel he has to lie would be really good.

[estirose]

Yes. Micchy can join Gaim (Kouta will keep it a secret for him, let him stow his gear, etc) and that would still get Kouta semi-involved, though he'll know about the Drivers and when Yuuya gets his, Kouta will know something bad's happening. But he still might take it on because it gives him a chance to do something to save the world other than Project Ark.

[reka]

Kouta might not get a chance to get a driver if he's not directly involved in Gaim, but if he knows the team it's possible that something similar could happen. I think that Kouta would kind of be expecting something bad to happen because of what he knows about Project Ark, but he probably didn't expect it to happen to his little brother's social/creative outlet. I agree; Kouta will definitely want to do something.

[estirose]

I could see Yuuya texting the image to Mai while she's out to eat with Kouta and Micchy, and Kouta realizing what the heck it is and immediately drawing Micchy aside with a warning on what's going on. He might take it on himself knowing the consequences if he goes into Helheim with Mai and Micchy trying to find Yuuya. If that makes any sense.

(Of course, given his luck, Mai takes on the driver and becomes Gaim without intending to.)