130bladeworks | the daily life meme

the daily life meme

the daily life meme

We all know sword boys don't fight 24/7, right? So what do they get up to off the battlefield? Plenty, actually. Getting ready for the day, having meals together, arguing over sleeping arrangements - there's a lot more to life than just sorties.

This meme is all about that.

► A - morning

1. RISE AND SHINE, EVERYONE! Time to get up for another busy day. The alarm has went off in the Citadel's rooms, but not everyone heeds its call immediately. Are you already up even before the bell goes, or do you decide to lie in for just a little more? Has your buddy rolled off his futon? Maybe it's time to poke him to wake him up. Of course, the decision is ultimately yours to make.

2. Getting ready for the day. Due to the shortage of rooms, most swords have a roommate (or two). What're your daily rituals like? Want to comment on someone using too much hair gel or strange-looking liquids in modern plastic tubes? Or banging on the bathroom door because the other guy doesn't come out and you need to pee right now? Let's hope you can last until they finally make their exit...

3. Breakfast. Who's cooking? What's cooking? Do you like it? Do you not like it? If you don't, do you make your own? Don't set the kitchen on fire if you're trying out something new, too. It's expensive to get a new stove.

4. Sortie Preparations. Going somewhere new today? Better be sure you have all your troops and equipment in order. What colour did you get this time? If you don't ensure the little soldiers go into their spirit orbs properly, you won't get protection later on. And if you're not that happy with your squadmates, maybe someone will swap with you. Go ask around.

► B - daytime

1. Lunch...? Sorties often take full days, so lunch is usually bento on most days, prepared by one of the servant spirits or by a friend of yours. (No prizes for guessing who did it.) Have fun eating on the field. Maybe you can even grab some fruits off a nearby tree, if you're lucky! Let's hope no one swapped your packed lunch while you weren't looking...

2. For those resting. Not everyone goes out all the time, so there's bound to be a few swords remaining in the Citadel every day. What will you do to entertain yourself during this time? Sparring, watching television, or exploring the fields around?

3. Expeditions. These are different from sorties, in that there are no battles involved and you're only required to scout around. If you're sent to a populated place, then there's more to do. It's best to blend in, but maybe you can even goof off a little. Just don't do anything drastic, because that might change history and nobody wants that.

4. Day off. If it's break day, then everyone will be in the Citadel. Sleeping, hanging out with friends, mischief, or just chilling in your own room - the sky's the limit.

► C - evening

1. Welcome home. How did your sortie go? If you're injured, the saniwa will repair you. Or maybe your whole team got unlucky, and you're waiting in line. Yagen should be able to help you out, but can you find him?

2. Dinner. Usually more extravagant than breakfast, and held in the courtyard under the setting sun campfire-style. If anyone brought marshmellows, it's time to roast them - but if not, you can still enjoy your well-earned meal alongside your friends.

3. Technology time. There is a TV room in the Citadel, as well as a gaming room (by popular request). There's Smash Bros, Pokemon, an assortment of party games, and the ever-present Mario Kart. Will friendships be forged or broken today? Only time will tell.

4. Some peace and quiet. Or maybe none of these interest you, and what you really need right now is some silence. Go out to the fields and watch fireflies, or just enjoy the cool evening breeze.

► D - night

1. Cleaning up. There's a queue for the washroom to bathe. If you didn't take the chance to shower before dinner, you'll have to wait. Let's hope everyone has closed their doors properly...

2. Stargazing. Still lingering in the courtyard? There will be a feast for the eyes of those who stayed up late enough. Since the Citadel is so far away from everything else, the skies are perfectly dark - letting the brilliance of constellations shine through. Isn't it beautiful?

3. Sleepytimes. It's lights out, but not everyone goes to sleep on the dot. Are you still up chatting, or is the snoring of your roommate what's kept you awake instead? Roll them over to the side, maybe they'd stop this way.

► E - wildcard

Feel free to write your own prompts!

coding and prompts written by

feonixe, image sourced from here

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Thanks.

[ Then he turns and closes the door quickly with a snap, half-leaning against the wall once it closes with a subtle click. He hadn't had time to inspect himself just yet, maybe his injuries are worse than he thought they would be.

Of course, he only allows himself about five seconds before standing up again, lining the laundry basket with a plastic sheet and tossing his shirt in. In fact, he needs a full change of clothes, but that could come later once he's had a shower. It's as he suspected, his glamour is fading in some places, especially on his true form - but it'll be alright once he wipes the blade clean and sheathes it.

After checking that his vessel hadn't cracked (thank god) and settling that, he drapes one of the large towels over himself. ]

I'm done. You can come in now.

[ Steeling (ha ha) himself a little so that his glamour would hopefully stop malfunctioning. ]

[She did hear the slight thump of a body leaning against a wall, but she says nothing. She'll give him time, because if he's open to letting her in this time, then she's sure it's because he just needed to get ready. He was definitely worse off than usual, but he's proud.

So she waits, until he finishes what he does and lets her in. She flushes slightly when she sees him with only a large towel on him, and steps in, ready to locate a first aid kit and to...

What was that? She's not sure, but something was a little strange about him. She needed to look more closely--]

Mitsutada, where would you like me to start? [So she can get right on it.]

[ He hasn't quite thought far enough to that point yet, so he looks a little confused for a moment while he tries to find something to say ]

Well... wherever you see fit, I suppose.

[ Quietly praying a little that she won't go for his back... because that's where his kinzou pattern had been burned into his body. The mark is usually covered by the glamour, but right now he isn't sure if it's even working. ]

[That was a little startled, Mitsutada, please! She raises her eyebrow once, but then shrugs it off since she has more important matters to attend to! She moves in and starts rearranging his pillows so he has somewhere comfortable to sit.]

Come, let's start from the back and move forward.

[...Ah, she's starting from the back then.]

[ WELL SHIT.

He can't refuse, because if he did, she'll be more suspicious and that is Not A Good Thing. So he just sighs a little, bracing himself before sitting down and adjusting the towel so she could see. There aren't a lot of open wounds on his back, but the few he has are quite deep. Guess someone has been shielding his comrades a lot the past few days. ]

's nothing bad, I hope?

[ Just... anything to distract her?? Please don't let his glamour flicker when she's looking at him...!!! ]

[THAT'S RIGHT, if she grows suspicious, you know what will happen. And so she waits for him to settle down, being blissfully ignorant to the problems that is happening to him right now. All the while taking out a first aid kit so that she can mend his human body.

After kneeling down, she looks at each cut, hissing at seeing how deep they are.]

If anything, they are clean.

[Clean cuts are easier to deal with than messy cuts, and she knows she could stitch them up too, but hopefully she wouldn't have to. She readies a cloth to clean him up, but it was then that something flickered.

Mitsutada's hopes were about to be crushed as she sees every line, burn marks here and there, and the gold that melted into his back.]

Mi...Mitsutada! Your back--!!

[ Oh shit.

The glamour flickers a few more times before he manages to will it completely into existence, the scars suddenly vanishing to be replaced by unmarked skin. If anything, his panic has strengthened it - but at the cost of making it flicker more errantly. ]

It's nothing! [ but she's not buying that is she ] Really. I can explain.

[ Please don't whack him. ]

[OH SHIT IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT.

Seeing how he controls it, she understands now that he's been hiding something all along. There has been word floating around that Mitsutada is one of the more unfortunate swords, but she never knew how far it went.]

Nothing? This is not nothing. [She tries to trace where those burns were, but nothing; it was smooth.]

What happened? [Her voice is firm, meaning she wants a truthful explanation, and she withholds all violence for now only because he still has violent cuts on his skin that she still needs to bandage up (then she might hit him).]

[ He turns around so he can face her, pulling the towel over himself in case he lost control of his glamour again. Maybe he should have told her earlier, but he's always put it off because there wasn't a need to. And now... ]

I was made like this. When I became human, they were already there. So I just covered them up with magic.

[ He doesn't think he needs to say what the they are. ]

So they're not... well. They're not new. It's nothing to worry about. [ Since they were with him from the beginning. ]

[He's always been proud of his looks, for him to have to disguise them...

Well, for a sword, those scars could also be a sign of weakness. She could understand that. But right now? He's putting pressure by trying to hide them from her when he could be relaxing.]

Why did you not tell me?

[She tugs at his towel, trying to pull it off of him.]

You do not have to hide them from me. You will tire yourself out.

[ He just... deflates at her words, letting his glamour flicker a few more times before turning it off entirely. It's definitely not something he is used to, as keeping it on had become a 'base state' of sorts - but it is possible.

And it isn't pretty. Apart from the kinzou mark on his back, there are scars scattered all around his body, most prominently on his hands - but she can't see that, since he's still wearing his gloves. One in particular runs diagonally across his back. ]

Well... there wasn't any occasion to bring it up.

[ She should know this is how he deals with negativity, by ignoring them unless absolutely necessary. ]

[It made sense, after all, that he didn't have to say anything. No one brought it up. She didn't bring it up. She wouldn't even had known were it not for now. And he probably felt vulnerable like this. Now it's more obvious, how scarred he was. A sword who suffered the flames. She reaches out to touch one now, whispering to excuse her forwardness. It's rough, not smooth like it was before.

She shakes her head.]

You've been keeping this to yourself...it's been difficult, no? Does it feel a little better, not having to exhaust yourself now?

[She tilts her head so that she can look at him in the eye, her expression softening.] For the record, I still think you look "cool".

[ He gasps just so slightly when she touches his scar, though it's more from the unfamiliarity of it all. He had kept them hidden for so long, it felt almost alien to have them back again.

And yet... ]

I just try not to think about them.

[ Because they just aren't important at all.

And then: ] You'd think so?

[Her touch is gentle, just to show that he shouldn't be afraid of his scars (or her in any case, since she's a little over the fact he hid something this vital).]

You shouldn't need to think about them, nor hide them in any case, but it is up to you. It is not like you function poorly on any other day disguising them. It seems like it is just today.

[She nods firmly, unwavering.] I think so. You grew careless today, but I am glad I am able to see this side of you too. I believe you look cool in anything, so do not worry.

[ He says nothing at first, placing one hand over hers where she touched him, letting the silence sit for a while more before he gently removes it and stands up. Though he makes no move to leave, merely retrieve his vessel where he had left it. ]

Promise me something?

[ He then unsheathes true form, holding it horizontally so she could see it. The sword is completely black, save for a misshapen gold stain near the hilt - and a single stripe of silvery steel where the iron oxide had been sanded and polished away. ]

Don't tell anyone else.

[She was happy to sit in silence; his gloved hand still feels warm, it's the same no matter how he looks. Honestly, it doesn't deter her at all. And if it helps him, then she would sit like this for as long as he likes. Well, until they have to clean up his wounds before worse happens.

She nods when he stands up, straightening herself up in a better kneeling position so that she can see what he was doing, or showing her. And then she stands up, moving over to get a better look. Vietnam had seen him before, but it was a silver blade, not this black one. So it's true, the burns never disappeared from his blade.]

I won't tell anyone else, I promise. Thank you for showing me this, I know it means a lot to you. [She looks at how he was sharpened, probably so they can use him again.] Did it hurt?

[ He blinks, and for a moment his glamour is back, the blade flickering back to silver before fading back into its true blackened form. ]

... yes.

[ Returning his vessel back into its sheath now. He didn't want to make her worry, so he doesn't elaborate. How can he put into words, even? It's a sensation exquisitely difficult to describe. Amputation comes to mind, but it is different. For one, it was refinement instead of crippling, and yet the pain is still the same. ]

It's over. Don't worry about it, okay?

[And so that is how it worked. He flick the switch on and off using his...mind? and then it transforms his form and blade. It's helpful, but she wonders if it puts more pressure on him nonetheless. He is strong, just, she isn't sure. It could be fatal, though he is here right now.

A short answer still worries her though. She knows he never elaborates when he wants something dreadful to be avoided. It must've been terrible.]

I will try not to. [She reaches out to take his hand, hold it close. She wanted to embrace him to show him she still got his back, but then his fresh wounds are in the way.] Such wounds are old, I am just glad you are here now. If there is something to worry about, perhaps it is your current set of injuries. [She tried to make it more lighthearted, just so she would do as he wished; not worry too much about it.]

[ It's good that she's moved on - in fact, he is very much grateful for that. His way of dealing with unpleasant things is always to ignore them, push them to where they would not be brought up again. Because they aren't important anymore, aren't relevant anymore. What was done was done.

He sets his true body on the table again before going back to where she was sitting. ]

Then, do you mind...?

[ Helping him with his injuries, he means. He could tend to his front easily, but his back would be a problem. ]

[She's not really a big fan of how he ignores his problems, since sometimes it is best to deal with them head on, but she can't blame him when he does it so that no one else will worry about him. Besides, if he was willing to tell her such a problem, he trusts her enough now. She could help him through it.]

Of course. Please remain still.

[She nods and then shuffles so that she can clean the excess blood off of his back before applying the bandages. In any case, it's easier than it would be with a human because it's not like he can get infected. It's different though, seeing how his back is scarred and the melted gold that can never disappear. She is able to get a better look at these old wounds now, and just briefly, presses her forehead onto his back, close to his scars, before sitting upright once more.]

Tell me if it hurts. [She's being as gentle as she can, but it's still raw and deep, one can never know.]

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the daily life meme

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