Shelly doesn't have to take the shit but Kevin's gonna give her shit anyway. When she meets Shiro, she will understand Kevin's immediate knee-jerk reaction in this regard. Kevin loves him dearly but he is disgusting.
...but he does tell her. He starts off with Lady Kaihime, an eighteen-year-old general who wielded a fantastic sword that would unhinge itself and go flailing about like a whip. When they sparred she uprooted a whole tree with it and of course it's no surprise that this one would manage to win his favor...despite the fact that she was incredibly noisy, and may or may not have once tracked him down by asking directions from a bear, he's still not clear on that actually. And, she was the first person in Verens who managed to make him laugh -- by way of barging onto the amulet network to recite to all and sundry a poem she had written, about how love was like rotting food. She hated to be so unladylike and yet never seemed able to stop herself and honestly it was high entertainment.
There was Miss Sanae, a literal and proper goddess, who made him a miraculous never-ending milkshake once after he won her spicy food challenge. He still has some of that milkshake with breakfast most days. Although she was very dear to him, he says, they quarreled often in those early days, neither one understanding the other very well. Mm, but -- it was Miss Sanae who said to him once that even if he couldn't have any hope for himself, that didn't mean he couldn't inspire it in others, during a time when everyone was in danger and he was certain he would fall. Knowing what this world is like, he's lived by those words since, something Shelly will see immediately in the way everyone else speaks about Kevin. He's a menace, to be sure, but he's always spoiling all of his loved ones, always insistently throwing parties during times of trouble. Sometimes he even makes a speech, he's that far gone into his self-imposed position as a fussy positivity generator. That's the fault of a lot of people, really, but Sanae was the first person who ever spoke to him as though she believed he could really be what he's become. A few glimmers of silvery light wisp up from him when he talks about her, the love he wasn't at all equipped to handle, and who couldn't have handled him.
Miss Edea was one of Kevin's Rainsworths here in Verens. He doesn't say as much explicitly because he has no idea that's the case, but it will be evident to Shelly almost immediately. She was and still is his favorite boss, he says, just as much of a cake and sweets fiend as he is and insistently unrepentant about her snarky sense of humor and her passionate interest in other people's love affairs. But also -- ruthless in the way she valued every member of her team. Kevin had joined the Enforcers thinking he'd be little more than a hired sword, punching where he was pointed. Actually, he was scolded by his other boss almost immediately for deciding an order he was given was stupid and thus ignoring it. But Edea made it a point to actively chase him down and wheedle his thoughts out of him at the end of every meeting. It was she who gave him the confidence to speak up when he feels a need, and the fact that he's a captain himself in the force now is something he attributes directly to her encouragement and trust. Princess Celestia was another Rainsworth, calm and serene in the face of every single quibble he threw at her, always welcoming him when he popped into her magic shop for a visit and always willing to let him take shelter under a wing if he was feeling poorly.
Celestia was a magic talking pony with a unicorn horn and great big wings, you see. In her own world, it was her job to make the sun come up.
Of course there are scads more; he's had five years to stick his nose in other people's business, after all. Bulat, his husband, who came up out of the canal steaming angrily one winter's day. Kevin immediately called him over so he could heat up his lunch on him. Shiro, his official best friend, who travels with his companions in great ships that fly through space. Keith, his beloved apprentice, who reminded Kevin so much of himself when he first met him -- a scruffy, angry young thing and a prodigy with a sword, who Kevin loved like a brother while he was here. Over the course of three years, Kevin watched him grow up into a beautiful brat of a swordsman and a leader so sturdy that Kevin sometimes obeyed his casual day to day orders entirely on instinct, and his colors flicker terribly when he speaks of how he's off having grand adventures in his own world now that they've won that stupid war. The loss of Keith in particular is still something raw and painful for him and he has yet to find anything to fill that shitty brother-shaped hole. Oh, but there are others still. Gabriel, his recently acquired father, working back in the kitchen now with his extra shadow limbs. Eleanor, who mothers the lot of them, but especially Hibiki; Kevin is eternally grateful for this. Kylo Ren, who we hate because he will not let Kevin play with his light saber, among other things.
They will need a whole pot of tea to get through this conversation. And, when the time finally comes to head home, probably they will need to be pried from the table.
no subject
Shelly doesn't have to take the shit but Kevin's gonna give her shit anyway. When she meets Shiro, she will understand Kevin's immediate knee-jerk reaction in this regard. Kevin loves him dearly but he is disgusting.
...but he does tell her. He starts off with Lady Kaihime, an eighteen-year-old general who wielded a fantastic sword that would unhinge itself and go flailing about like a whip. When they sparred she uprooted a whole tree with it and of course it's no surprise that this one would manage to win his favor...despite the fact that she was incredibly noisy, and may or may not have once tracked him down by asking directions from a bear, he's still not clear on that actually. And, she was the first person in Verens who managed to make him laugh -- by way of barging onto the amulet network to recite to all and sundry a poem she had written, about how love was like rotting food. She hated to be so unladylike and yet never seemed able to stop herself and honestly it was high entertainment.
There was Miss Sanae, a literal and proper goddess, who made him a miraculous never-ending milkshake once after he won her spicy food challenge. He still has some of that milkshake with breakfast most days. Although she was very dear to him, he says, they quarreled often in those early days, neither one understanding the other very well. Mm, but -- it was Miss Sanae who said to him once that even if he couldn't have any hope for himself, that didn't mean he couldn't inspire it in others, during a time when everyone was in danger and he was certain he would fall. Knowing what this world is like, he's lived by those words since, something Shelly will see immediately in the way everyone else speaks about Kevin. He's a menace, to be sure, but he's always spoiling all of his loved ones, always insistently throwing parties during times of trouble. Sometimes he even makes a speech, he's that far gone into his self-imposed position as a fussy positivity generator. That's the fault of a lot of people, really, but Sanae was the first person who ever spoke to him as though she believed he could really be what he's become. A few glimmers of silvery light wisp up from him when he talks about her, the love he wasn't at all equipped to handle, and who couldn't have handled him.
Miss Edea was one of Kevin's Rainsworths here in Verens. He doesn't say as much explicitly because he has no idea that's the case, but it will be evident to Shelly almost immediately. She was and still is his favorite boss, he says, just as much of a cake and sweets fiend as he is and insistently unrepentant about her snarky sense of humor and her passionate interest in other people's love affairs. But also -- ruthless in the way she valued every member of her team. Kevin had joined the Enforcers thinking he'd be little more than a hired sword, punching where he was pointed. Actually, he was scolded by his other boss almost immediately for deciding an order he was given was stupid and thus ignoring it. But Edea made it a point to actively chase him down and wheedle his thoughts out of him at the end of every meeting. It was she who gave him the confidence to speak up when he feels a need, and the fact that he's a captain himself in the force now is something he attributes directly to her encouragement and trust. Princess Celestia was another Rainsworth, calm and serene in the face of every single quibble he threw at her, always welcoming him when he popped into her magic shop for a visit and always willing to let him take shelter under a wing if he was feeling poorly.
Celestia was a magic talking pony with a unicorn horn and great big wings, you see. In her own world, it was her job to make the sun come up.
Of course there are scads more; he's had five years to stick his nose in other people's business, after all. Bulat, his husband, who came up out of the canal steaming angrily one winter's day. Kevin immediately called him over so he could heat up his lunch on him. Shiro, his official best friend, who travels with his companions in great ships that fly through space. Keith, his beloved apprentice, who reminded Kevin so much of himself when he first met him -- a scruffy, angry young thing and a prodigy with a sword, who Kevin loved like a brother while he was here. Over the course of three years, Kevin watched him grow up into a beautiful brat of a swordsman and a leader so sturdy that Kevin sometimes obeyed his casual day to day orders entirely on instinct, and his colors flicker terribly when he speaks of how he's off having grand adventures in his own world now that they've won that stupid war. The loss of Keith in particular is still something raw and painful for him and he has yet to find anything to fill that shitty brother-shaped hole. Oh, but there are others still. Gabriel, his recently acquired father, working back in the kitchen now with his extra shadow limbs. Eleanor, who mothers the lot of them, but especially Hibiki; Kevin is eternally grateful for this. Kylo Ren, who we hate because he will not let Kevin play with his light saber, among other things.
They will need a whole pot of tea to get through this conversation. And, when the time finally comes to head home, probably they will need to be pried from the table.