Stronger With Those Daddy Issues

[missrecalled_mods]

Waking to bird song isn't exactly shocking in Auradon, but it seems... louder than usual on the first morning of the event. And there is a reason for that. Auradon has been visited by a rather large flock of Golden pheasants. An odd flock as experienced birders might notice there are only the brightly coloured males in evidence. But there isn't much time to think about that because with them comes... a complication.

Now this is Auradon, of course, so the only mess the birds are dropping are bright colourful feathers. But the feathers, like the flowers last month randomly trigger a memory. Once again the memory shows in 3D, looking the most solid to the one who touched the feather - and unwittingly contributed the memory. No one can interact with it, and no matter how solid it looks, the figures and places and things in the memory can be walked through with ease. Well, physical ease, anyway. The memory, once again, will not be from the perspective of the one it belongs to; they and their companion or companions will be observing from a third party perspective, thus allowing a person to see their own face in the memories without the aid of a mirror.

The memories this time are memories of fathers and paternal figures. Generally good memories. After all, this is Auradon.

If one interacts closely with the birds or their feathers they might also have strong vivid dreams of their paternal figure. Again, genrally happy dreams given this is Auradon. While the birds will fly away after two weeks, and the feathers will lose their power to share memories at the same time, for every day spent handling the birds or feathers during the event, the character might have up to that many day of intense dreams after.

Comments

[souls_of_roles]

"You grew up...on... a... moon?!" Awe. So much awe.

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Enki rubbed at the back of his neck. "That's... not actually uncommon where I'm from," he mumbled before changing gears. "But umm. You... may want to avoid these bird feathers." He noted the one he'd stepped on to trigger the memory, careful not to touch it again.

[souls_of_roles]

"....Why?"

[under_the_raptors_wings]

"I, um, I think they're kind of like all those flowers last month." He waved vaguely at where the memory of Skisan and the younger version of him had been before fading.

[souls_of_roles]

"Oh..." she considered, then gave him a bright smile. "But it was a guy, so it is dads, right? That's fine then! I don't have a father!" Bright cheerful smile. "So I'm perfectly safe!"

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Enki winced a bit at that, not liking the implication she hadn't been safe when it came to mothers. "I mean, um. I don't have a dad either. Skisan was a teacher of mine."

[souls_of_roles]

"Oh...." Again she considered. "We... could see our teachers?" Or... one specific teacher. Who... decided she was his son.... She eyed the feathers with the look of one about to do something ill advised....

[under_the_raptors_wings]

"I... wouldn't suggest trying. No telling what you'll see." Enki saw where she was looking and might have physically tried to stop her, but he didn't exactly want to trigger another memory either. So hopefully (not likely) words would suffice.

[souls_of_roles]

A limo. Weirdly Kyoko didn't seem to be in the memory, though the young boy in the black partially opened black V neck shirt over a white shirt, a cross necklace, and jeans. There was a man in a suit there. Two other people, with the look of guards, shared the back seat with them clearly trying to pretend they weren’t there.

"Oh!" Kyoko said. "That's teacher! And the Kuon boy!" She watched, wide eyed.

Kuon was staring out the window, looking bored. "Ka udon."

"It's chikara udon," his father corrected.

"Snack Ta Gure," Kuon offered.

"Yugure," his father corrected.

"Hohohoho-o"

"That's Hayashi Mokizai."

Flushing a bit, Kuon gripped the window and scowled. "I... just hate Japanese."

Behind his back, his father was fighting to keep his laughter silent. So far he was succeeding.

"In Japanese," Kuon continued, "why do characters that look the same read differently? Or words have different meanings? Kumo and kumo and hashi and hashi for example. The stingy personality of Japanese people who use one room as the living room, the dining room, and the bedroom really shows in the Japanese language." He flopped back in his seat as his father crossed his arms and his legs, looking stern and a little disappointed.

"That's not true, Kuon," he scolded firmly. "That's not stingy. It's practical. There's no waste."

Kuon huffed, sulking.

"Hey, Kuon. Why don't you learn Kanji... instead of calling it boring?" Kuon turned his face away from his father, who kept trying. "There's a lot to kanji. It's interesting."

"No thanks. Cuz.. it won't help a bit when I'm a grown-up. Learning the language of a small country like Japan. If I'm gonna learn kanji, I wanna learn Chinese."

His father doubled over trying not to laugh out loud. The guards were really trying to not exist, from their expressions.

Kuon glanced over, seeing him doubled over. "What's wrong, dad?"

And like that laughter became crocodile tears. "Uh... no... nothing..." Then the crying seemed more real. Over dramatic, but real. "I'm sad that Kuon isn't interested... This is the country your dad grew up in..."

Kuon looked alarmed and shocked. All pout was gone as he started to reach, desperate. But his hand faltered, hesitated, stayed in place. He stared at his father who had a hand over his face. "Fath... I... I'm s...." Kuon's voice became Kyoko's for just a moment. The stricken look, hers.

The man glanced between his fingers, but when he saw Kyoko there, looking afraid and devastated. at first his glance was curious, as if to see why "Kuon" stopped talking. But then concern too his expression when he saw her paralysis. Her pain. A look of sympathy on his face, a moment of compassion, and then... he reachd out and flicked her on the forehead.

She reeled back, at the moment not seeming much like Kyoko or Kuon. Mostly whoever it was in there just seemed confused and surprised. And confused.

The grin on the man's face was almost sadistic as he sat back. "I lied... you fool."

Kyoko/Kuon still looked confused, but a little less stunned.

"What's wrong, Kuon?" The name seemed to snap her back into Kuon fully. A confused Kuon, but Kuon. "I lied to you, teased you, and flicked my finger against your forehead." he pointed at Kuon. "You have the right to get mad and fight back. If you're a man... show your guts and fight back when someone gets at you."

Kuon blinked, still a bit stunned, but less hesitant. Less unsure.

His father grinned a bit as Kuon leaned forward a bit. Then h mad a bring it gesture and hope filled Kuon's face and eyes with a light flush. Like when he was waiting to see his father eating breakfast he made.

Kuon lunged to try and flick his father's head, but his father grabbed his arm and slid his face away. Then he chopped Kuon on the back of the head before letting the boy go.

"?! Why...?" Kuon asked, hands going to the back of his head as h stared at his father with wide eyes. "Why're you fighting back?! I'm the one who can fight back, right?!"

"You fool...When a man knows someone one is out to hit him, h's not going to let himself get hit without resisting. That's what weak cowards do. Your dad is strong." Despite still sitting, he seemed to loom large over Kuon as the guards exchanged a look. "Your dad only lets someone who's stronger hit him!" His eyes and bearing mad it clear he had no intention of losing or backing down."

"What the..." Kuon mumbled, shrinking a bit. "That's not fair..." Then, stronger, "You had no intention of letting me fight back from the start."

"What are you saying?" his dad asked, looking more relaxed again. "If you want to fight back, do it. Surprise attacks. Weapons. Whatever." He glanced at Kuon. "I give you special permission... because you're my son."

Kuon looked stunned again. "I'm... special? Really? I can really... do anything?"

The guards did not look amused.

"Yes," the father said, crossing his arms and leaning back. A picture of confidence.

"You'll... let me?"

"A man never goes back on his word. So.. don't worry."

Kuon stared at his father, something growing within him as his exprssion slowly evolved from hope to impish mischief.

The man opened his yes and glanaced over, then looked more openly, smiling. "You're... starting to look pretty good... you naughty brat."

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Enki tried to not focus on the memory, but it was hard not to as it was happening around him. Kuon... huh.

"Kyoko, are you okay?" He asked, focusing back on her, uncertain if that was the name he should use given the memory. But she hadn't given him permission to use the other name, so unless she did, he'd stick with Kyoko.

[souls_of_roles]

Her emotions as it ended flooded into overdrive. Excited, nostalgic, encouraged, happy.

She nodded, bouncing a bit. "Energized! I forgot how much I loved being the Kuon boy! And Teacher said I did a great job too!" she beamed. "At making him my own!"

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Enki considered this a moment, chewing at his lower lip. Well, at least she seemed happy. He still felt like he'd intruded by watching that piece of her, their(?), past. He took a slow breath in and out and gave a smile. "I'm glad it was a good memory then."

[souls_of_roles]

She nodded. "So much better than last month! I wanna see more!" She held out her hand to Enki. "C'mon!"

[under_the_raptors_wings]

This only seemed to make Enki more nervous. He didn't want to hurt her by outright refusing, but he had enough trouble with her emotions leaking over even without contact.

He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to reenforce the shield and then let out a breath, rubbing at the back of his neck again. "If you lead I'll follow I just um, am not fond of contact. If that's okay? I...just don't want to bombard you with my emotions." Especially if he encountered another memory. His feelings about Skisan were a lot more mixed than they used to be.

[souls_of_roles]

"Oh, okay. But you can do magic on me any time!" sh assured him with a bright smile. Then she rushed to try and gather more feathers. She wanted to see teacher again!

[under_the_raptors_wings]

"I appreciate that, but I don't have as much control as I'd like and don't know what I'd share, so I'd rather not." Enki followed. Look, if she actually enjoyed sharing these memories, well. He supposed he didn't mind seeing them, and it was hard not to pick up on notes of her excitement. Look, she was hard to block entirely, okay? He just didn't really want to see, much less share, any other memories, so he moved as carefully as he could while keeping up with her hurried pace.

[souls_of_roles]

She didn't understand why that would upset him, but okay. Time to find more shining memories. She ran at seeming superhuman speeds touching every feather she could find, until finally...


Kuon, as he was dressed in the limo, was standing at the bottom of a staircase in a wide hall, a weird contraption of two partially filled soda bottles connected by string at his feet. Two very confused men were staring at Kuon. Kuon's father stood at the top of the stairs, watching.

The darker haired man was quiet in his confusion, standing still. The shorter man, with the lighter hair, was freaking out and babbling, however. "K... Kyoko?! You'r Kyoko, aren't you?! What's wrong with you today?! You're weird! You're obviously weird! You're not dressed like Kyoko! You're not talking like Kyoko! Are you under a strange spell?! Or have you gone off the deep end?! What happened, Kyoko?!"

"Kyoto?" Kuon asked. "That's an ancient city, the western capitol."

That didn't help his freak out. At all. "Kyoko has seriously gone bonkers!" he reeled back. "Sh looks the same... but is a completely different person..."

Kyoko gave a bit of a sheepish grin. "Everyone else has trouble recognizing me when I'm in character. All the time. But somehow Mr. Yashiro and Mr. Tsuruga always know...." Then she flushed a bit. "I acted so rudely, I was sure Mr. Tsuruga was going to filet me the next time he saw me, I was fully prepared to die!" she told Enki, nodding emphatically, her fear from then cutting though her excitement. "But," then respect and awe, "He cut me down in a totally unexpected way! I felt refreshed!"

The memory kept playing, distracting her.

"Hey," Kuon's father called from the top of the stairs. "What're you doing... over there?"

The darker haired man managed to go even more still, shock in his eyes. But memory Kyoko like current Kyoko utterly failed to notice, eyes locked on the man at the top of the stairs.

"Wha?" the shorter man asked, turning to face the voice. Then with more shock "WHA...?!"

Kuon's father started walking down the stairs towards them, hand sin his pockets, eyes hidden by his sun glasses, despite being indoors.

"R...Reeeen! WOW! WHOA!" the shorter man gushed. "It's KOOOOOOO! W RAN INTO KOOOOOO! Th- th- th unexpected coincidence actually happ-----ned!" He was nervous and panicky. He whispered somthing to the taller dark haired man.

"Hey Hey calm down... Mr. Yashiro..." the darker haired man said, moving now to try to calm his companion. He looked almost child sweet despite being a head taller.

Yashiro kept whispering to Ren who kept trying to calm him down with smiles and small casual laughter.

But when Koo, Kuon's father, drew close, Ren's smile fell away and he watched Kuu with a serious stillness, face unreadable.

Koo studied him a moment, then gave the smallest of smiles. "Kuon," he said.

The dark haired man, Ren, jolted ever so slightly.

"We're going home," Koo said.

A stiffness in Ren's body, a slight widening of his eyes.

"Wha...? Who? Who's h talking to?!" Yashiro asked, looking around rapidly.

"DAD!" Kuon said, turning to face Koo with a huge smile.

"... HUH?!" Poor Yashiro was so confused.

Ren's expression was intense, watching and listening, but not moving, not speaking.

"Did. Hey..." Kuon said, racing to him and pulling him towards the other men, pointing. "That's Ren!"

"Hm?" Koo asked, giving Kuon his attention.

"Dark Moon's Ren!"

Koo bomped Kuon lightly on the head. "Hey, don't point at someone who's your senior. It's rude."

"Ouch!" Kuon cried. "I... I'm sorry...." his hand started to slowly lower.

"It's alright if you understand," Koo said, patting his hair. "Good boy."

Kuon stood there a bit stunned as Koo, hands back in his pockets, headed for Ren and Mr. Yashiro. For a tense moment Kuu and Ren locked gaze, even through the sunglasses while Yashiro looked wildly between them. After a long tense moment, Koo extended his hand. "How do you do? I'm Koo... Hizuri." He offered a small faint smile.

Kuon looked over, startled.

"How do you do... I'm Ren Tsuruga." They shook hands.

"I saw... Dark Moon," Koo said as the handshake ended.

"Thank you," Ren said, politely.

"I've heard it's doing pretty well... From the boss.... Uh... I mean the president." Yashiro was apparently in a state of rolling shock. "It's different than the Katsuki I acted... bit it's not a completely different Katsui," Koo said. "I thought you dealt with the role well. To tell the truth... I felt jealous as an actor."

Kuon's face got brighter and brighter, beaming with more and more happiness, flushing. He seemed to catch himself and calmed his face some, but he was still smiling.

"I'm honored," Ren said. "We haven't reached your record though..."

"You'll... surpass it... for sure," Koo said with a grin and a thumbs up, winking behind his sunglasses.

That was the finishing blow for Yashiro, it seemed. Or maybe his battery just ran out. His stilled, just staring.

"Kuon," Koo said.

Ren jolted subtly again.

"We're laving. Come," Koo added.

"YES!" Kuon said, rushing towards Koo. Then.. "OH!" he looked back at the bottles on the floor. H dashed back to grab the contraption. He paused, kneeling. Then he glanced up at Ren and Yashiro. "Ren..."

"Wha...?" Ren asked, seeming stunned now.

"I'm sorry for what I said," Kuon said.

"Wha...?!"

"Your Katsuki was a bit more cool... than my dad's Katsuki.... So I was upset... and said mean things... to you... I lied when I said you weren't bad," he fidgeted with the bottles, but his eyes stayed on Ren's face. "You were.. actually... really... good." He stood, putting the bottles behind his back as he smiled at Ren. "All right... I'll.. acknowledge you too! Cuz... dad... acknowledged you!"

Koo, at the top of the stairs again, was watching intently. The memory faded there.

Kyoko sighed. "The assignment was over right after that. I no longer got to be the Kuon boy. Though he sneaks in again sometimes. I miss being him.

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Enki was silent a moment, processing as much as he could actually understand. Much of it was confusing and he wasn't even sure what questions to ask to understand it better, even if he wanted to pry. "What kind of assignment was it anyway?" He went with after a moment. It was so bizarre to him that she didn't mind sharing memories. But then... they were very different.

[souls_of_roles]

"Oh... I was having trouble creating new roles for my acting... And everyone kept giving me offers to play the same sort of roles over and over. I knew I should be glad that people wanted to work with me, but I kept hearing the same things over and over and it felt like I... like they didn't want me. They just wanted that one character," she said softly. "And while I wasn't getting harassed on set the way I had in school... it was still lonely. And Moko said that getting typecast as a bully was like losing... So I was going to turn the roles all down. But teacher took the phone away and told them that I needed more time to think. Then he lectured me a while about how I had to learn to play the bully roles different... But I told him I didn't know how... so he gave me the assignment to help me learn to build a role that I had no knowledge of. A young boy. His son. He gave me a lot of really confusing information. But apparently I did a good job anyway. I only got to be his son for a short time... but I really liked it. It.. was kind of nice having a father," she said, kind of sheepishly now. Like she was admitting some great flaw. Then she perked up again. "But he told me even after the assignment, I was still his son. I even got to say goodbye to him at the airport..."

Oddly, for Kyoko, her emotions were... very even as she spoke. Small rises and dips, but nothing as strong as her usual. More in typical human ranges.

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Enki chewed lightly at his lower lip as he listened, less out of nervousness and more because he was focusing and it was kind of... habit. "I, umm, have to admit I have very little experience with actors, so I don't really know anyone who's had that sort of issue. But it sounds frustrating and... I'm glad you had the teacher who gave you a chance to try something different." He gave her a small smile.

[souls_of_roles]

She nodded a bit. "Until.... When I was younger, I never knew anything about acting either, but now I love it," she said with a quiet but strong passion. For once a wondrous emotion was pouring out of her, but she wasn't bouncing or hyper as she put her hands over her heart. "It is like... I get to create a new me very time I have a new role, and a little bit of the emptiness fills right up. Like I'm learning... how to be Kyoko Mogami..." she said with a small warm smile that unintentionally hid the happiness and fulfillment brimming out from her.

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Enki's smile ended up more comfortable in return. It was strange to see her both happy and so calm, and it made him take what she said all the more seriously. "Ie... I can see why it's so important to you then. For me... I feel most like myself around animals."

As he spoke he brushed something off his shoulder, despite his efforts a feather had landed there and he about swore (not that it would have come out right anyway) as the scene around them shifted, and he flinched back.

Young Enki was not much older in this moment than the previous and sat on a wall in the yard. There were other children his age in the yard, but not near him. It wasn't clear if he was being excluded or if he just wanted quiet.

The same man as the previous memory approached, expression unreadable. He raised an eyebrow at Enki. "If I did not know better I would believe you were anticipating my seeking you out."

Enki looked over, almost startled. "But you know better."

Skisan shook his head. "You were meditating then?"

"Ie, or... trying. It's hard with all the noise."

Skisan nodded, but didn't comment. That would come next lesson. "Come with me.

Enki hopped off the wall and followed, worry making it into his expression, the boy chewing at his lower lip.

He could not see Skisan's face, but it was visible to adult Enki. There was the smallest smile in anticipation of what was to come. But for a V'Tosh? That was A Lot. He paused at the door to Enki's room, and his face went passive again before he turned to the boy. "I believe it would be in your best interest to check in your room.

Enki blinked, expression shifting from worry to utter confusion. He opened the door and then paused, staring.

The animal in the room was Large and looked like something between an illustration of a saber-tooth tiger... and a bear. The animal turned, approaching and sniffing at the boy.

Enki moved slowly, not rushing at him, but he grinned, and when he started scratching the animal's fur he looked up at Skisan. "A Sehlat? For me?"

Skisan nodded, happiness at Enki's reaction far more obvious than before, though the boy still missed it. "His name is Pasol, and I was given him when I was your age. Now he is yours... On one condition."

Enki winced. "Umm, no more going out to meet other animals?"

"No, nothing so severe. If an animal needs aid, you may take it to the appropriate facility and assist as they allow, but you are not permitted to bring animals here, injured or otherwise.

The boy sighed in relief and then nodded, smiling again and leaning against Pasol as the Sehlat got more accustomed to him. "I can meet that condition... thank you T'kahr Skisan. I will take good care of him."

Enki shook his head fondly as the memory faded. "Ie, as I said, I feel most myself around animals." Given that he'd relayed Skisan giving him Pasol before to others, he was much less shaken by sharing that particular memory.

[souls_of_roles]

She gave a warm smile, but was bouncing and hyper again. "That one HAS to b a fairy! Right?!"

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Enki shook his head, some measure of amusement making it into his smile. "Dhat. A Sehlat is from the same place Skisan was from. Young ones were often given to V'Tosh children as pets. Pasol was pretty old, but I think I learned a great deal taking care of him.

[souls_of_roles]

"Oh..." she said, deflating with disappointment again.