Silly little doodle and then some not so silly thoughts about siblings continued under the cut. It gets sad. Be warned!!
Yi is three years old when his parents give him another gift he doesn't like: a "sister". Heng is bald, wrinkly, and quite frankly not much to look at. But when he pokes her tiny little hand it curls soft and warm against his finger, so he decide sshe might be alright after all. She seems smarter than most babies, so maybe she can help with your experiments when she's a little bigger. Maybe.
First impressions are lasting impressions. Yi know she's growing quickly- he's the one who tracks her height on the wall, after all- but even if it looks like she might grow taller than him, he'll always be three years older than her. When he's young, he thinks this means he knows what's best on just about everything.
The explosion recalibrates his world.
The thought that haunts him isn't "I died." It's "I almost killed her."
So he moves away to learn more, ignoring her watery smile as she sends him off. If Yi doesn't know everything and can't figure it out on his own, then he just has to go somewhere that will teach him what he's missing. Easy.
At Kunlun, he realizes half the things he thought he knew were flat out wrong, and the other half were rudimentary truths at best. Lesser students drop out, slinking back home in shame. Yi devours everything they teach him and more, and still finds time to pick out souvenirs to send back home. He's an older brother, after all. It wouldn't do for him to set a bad example.
As the years fly by, he sees Heng grow up through letters and video messages. It's lonely sometimes, but his work on the Eternal Cauldron project is a matter of civilizational life or death, so he throws himself into his projects. After so many years away, his lab is more of a comfort than his childhood home will ever be. Still, he makes an effort to go back and visit when he can.
All his thoughts grind to a halt when she refuses to come with him. It goes against the fundamental truth of his world: she's his baby sister, so he needs to protect her and tell her what's right and wrong. He has all the answers. He's spent years working on them. She just needs to listen.
Why won't she listen?
A three-year gap stretches over a lifetime. For the very first time, he looks at Heng and sees a stranger. He says as much.
If he could go back- if he could change that conversation- if he could have said anything else—
He wakes up in a world without that three-year gap.
An impossible, five hundred year expanse severs his past from his present. This is the new truth of his life- sharper and surer than even the executioner's blade. For a time, he tries to re-calaculate the gap.
Five hundred and three. A little less, depending on rounding error. Conversely, she might even have been a little older than his memories are now when she—
The thought refuses to go away.
It doesn't seem like it should be possible for little sisters to die. For there to be a world afterwards.
When he was younger, he'd confidently asked Heng "What would you do without me?"
He finds he doesn't have an answer, faced with the other side of the question.
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does the tutorial section of nine sols imply that Yi wasn't just rusty from 500 years of being Mostly Dead, but learning his martial arts skills as he went?
Like. The guy was a scientist— and a dedicated one. He really strikes me as someone who learned the theory but never had reason to practice it, y'know? If all the Sols bosses' battle designs match their personality/lore, Yi's being Violence not out of skill but out of rage and spite driving him to pick up the Art of Battle would be... kinda fitting. Also, it recontextualizes why Jiequan was so excited to get to fight Yi at last!
Also, Yi's fighting style being focused on parrying is especially fitting given that this is a revenge story— of course his violence is fueled by the force of those who wield it against him. That being said, all of this being taught by Lear, coupled with the context we get from the comic series... it makes me wonder whether Lear really is the peaceful old man he presents himself as. In this essay, I examine the symbolism between Lear, Jietong and Yi in respectively symbolizing Just War, Wars of Conquest, and the limits of the doctrine of self-defense—
The narrative that Jietong was a tyrant and only a tyrant must have been pretty pervasive throughout Penglai, right? After all, that's the narrative that Yi recounts. So then, for Jiequan to have idolized his ancestor so much...
It could have been a simple, desparate fantasy for control from a weak, bullied child. But to desire so much as the revival of the Jie Kingdom? Where did Jiequan find his narrative of history? He seemed rather alone in his memories...
Headcanon that Ji told Jiequan stories of Jietong with such fondness that the young boy who idolized his guoshi wanted to give them a whole kingdom. That Ji only found Jiequan later in life— that upon their first encounter at the shattered statue of Jietong, Jiequan cried bitterly and hated the ancestor who could not protect him, regardless of whatever else his legacy held. That Ji who appeared before him like a hero became an object of admiration and the revival of Jiequan's belief in the Jie Kingdom. After all, heroes are forged in agony. Here was a solarian who saved him, and yet carried centuries of untold sorrow upon his thin shoulders. But when Jiequan made his childish declarations that he'd revive the kingdom of his ancestors, Ji would smile just so and pat his head ever so fondly; melancholic in his joy and seeming to look far, far away. It was almost as if they were seeing someone else from a long, long time ago.
That was fine, too. As long as someone stayed by his side. As long as he had some greater purpose to aspire for, some dream to achieve... Jiequan would never be that weak, lonely child again.
And maybe someday, someone would talk about him with as much fondness as Ji talked about his ancestor. Wouldn't that be nice?
Tagged by @crazymistahj. Thanks for the tag :D I too do not have editing skills, but if you want, make a 3X9 of your fav comfort characters. Please keep in mind that I have the memory of a goldfish so these may not be the most accurate response... I. I had to google "popular manga series" after #1 to give my brain a jumpstart...
1. Kim Dokja: Worst coping mechanisms known to man, actively walls himself into a hell of his own creation, absolutely unreliable narrator. The furthest and closest one can get to being Just a Guy.
2. Riza Hawkeye: Has seen the horrors of war, will risk life and limb for a better future. Clever, strong, and loyal. Will pull you back from the brink of no return.
3. Diluc Ragnvindr: Born into a comfortable life, lost what matters most. Lost himself, probably. Doesn't know how to talk to his ex-best friend except through bickering, but will come with claymore blazing to save him. There is friendship between them that is old but new, so beloved that each treats it like it will shatter if spoken into existence.
4. Himeno: Probably an unusual choice. I think she would have been happy in a different world. Loved and loved and loved and lost. (And lost).
5. Liu Qingge: Chronic second male lead syndrome. Will fight losing battles for the sake of people he cares about. As with most characters who aren't SQQ, the story is a tragedy from his perspective.
6. Portgas D. Ace: Good brother. Can't spell.
7. Frieren: Doesn't understand humans. Tries anyways, and gets better at it. Not particularly skilled at expressing her emotions, but has undying trust in and clearly cares for her companions. Very powerful but also silly at times, which I appreciate.
8. Koro-sensei: funny yellow octopus haha but also a person who was saved amidst desperate loneliness and chose to spend the brief remainder of his life helping people trapped in that same despair. An excellent teacher.
9. Julius Monrey: Debated between choosing him or Ace, but I think Julius is a little more doomed by the narrative. Grumpy but for good reason. The only person who cares about life in a world where death is as common as stepping outside. Probably very tired.
My first textpost... what flood will this unleash? We'll find out!
Tagging: I don't know anyone yet, but hopefully one day I'll have people to tag ^^
