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crack_van2004-07-21 08:27 pm
boniblithe.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2004-07-21 08:27 pm
Entry tags:
The First Death (R) by Eag
Fandom: YAMI NO MATSUEI
Pairing: Multiple: Tsuzuki/Hisoka, Muraki/Ukyo, Terazuma/Wakaba to name a few
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
eag
Author Website: http://eag.squidkitty.org/
Why this must be read:
Set post-Kyoto, the well-plotted fic has alternating scenes from Muraki and Hisoka's point of view. The style of the piece jumps around a bit, sometimes reminiscent of a detective novel, where the protagonist talks to the reader like he's telling you a story when you've just met in a smoky bar at 1 am. For the first couple of chapters, Hisoka moves into an uncertain future, while Muraki relives his past, remembering significant moments of his life in snapshots of time. And then ... well, I can't spoil it for you, but then there's a sudden twist and the plot of the story takes off in a new direction. Filled with details that give a little bit of Japanese flavor. Careful attention to continuity and character background, with speculative backstory for characters like Tatsumi, Terazuma, Wakaba that are fleshed out here and given depth. The plot is interesting and it's easy to get sucked in - before you know it, it's 2 am and you're still reading. One thing that held me back from reccing this in the beginning was what I feel is some moderate OOCness, of Muraki and Hisoka specifically in places, but if you view the story in the context of an AU (which it is) and consider the significance of the situations in which these particular characters find themselves, it becomes something that can be rationalized away. Tucked in among the chapters are side stories, offshoots, outtakes and extra goodies that make for an enjoyable experience. Multichaptered, this fic isn't short by any means, but it has one additional advantage over many of the other long stories in YnM fandom: it's complete :)
***
The trouble with Shinigami, you know, is that when they’re young in their immortal existence, they’re extremely vulnerable. Powerful, regenerative, and with abilities beyond mortal comprehension. Yet like a porcelain doll that’s been repaired, they endure with an eternal, ageless beauty, but carry with them fatal cracks that will never heal properly. The first death never leaves them unscathed. The final death only closes the circle.
The older ones aren’t much stronger. They’re just better at hiding.
***
Muraki looks at the list. “What happens if I use any of these forbidden ones?” He taps the paper.
Watari winces. “Um. Bad things.”
“How bad?” Muraki wonders.
“Well ... you know, in ancient times, the role the ten kings was to refine and purify souls that had built up sins through their lives, right?”
“Yes, I’ve heard that legend.”
“Does the phrase ‘boiling lakes of blood’ mean anything to you? Because they never got rid of those, even after we became a purely administrative unit.”
***
Saki unsettles Oriya in ways that Oriya could never have imagined. Superficially, it seems as though there’s nothing of the pale brother in him – he’s raven haired with dark brown eyes, he doesn’t wear glasses, and his skin’s slightly tanned from the touch of the bright American sunlight. But up close, the details mattered – his eyes have the same shape as Muraki’s, and so too is the shape of his face similar. They both have something of that strange humor that’s like being high in the sky above the storm clouds where it’s frighteningly sunny while below, lightning slams into the rain-soaked ground.
Oriya doesn’t know what to make of it.
***
The First Death
Pairing: Multiple: Tsuzuki/Hisoka, Muraki/Ukyo, Terazuma/Wakaba to name a few
Author on LJ:
eagAuthor Website: http://eag.squidkitty.org/
Why this must be read:
Set post-Kyoto, the well-plotted fic has alternating scenes from Muraki and Hisoka's point of view. The style of the piece jumps around a bit, sometimes reminiscent of a detective novel, where the protagonist talks to the reader like he's telling you a story when you've just met in a smoky bar at 1 am. For the first couple of chapters, Hisoka moves into an uncertain future, while Muraki relives his past, remembering significant moments of his life in snapshots of time. And then ... well, I can't spoil it for you, but then there's a sudden twist and the plot of the story takes off in a new direction. Filled with details that give a little bit of Japanese flavor. Careful attention to continuity and character background, with speculative backstory for characters like Tatsumi, Terazuma, Wakaba that are fleshed out here and given depth. The plot is interesting and it's easy to get sucked in - before you know it, it's 2 am and you're still reading. One thing that held me back from reccing this in the beginning was what I feel is some moderate OOCness, of Muraki and Hisoka specifically in places, but if you view the story in the context of an AU (which it is) and consider the significance of the situations in which these particular characters find themselves, it becomes something that can be rationalized away. Tucked in among the chapters are side stories, offshoots, outtakes and extra goodies that make for an enjoyable experience. Multichaptered, this fic isn't short by any means, but it has one additional advantage over many of the other long stories in YnM fandom: it's complete :)
***
The trouble with Shinigami, you know, is that when they’re young in their immortal existence, they’re extremely vulnerable. Powerful, regenerative, and with abilities beyond mortal comprehension. Yet like a porcelain doll that’s been repaired, they endure with an eternal, ageless beauty, but carry with them fatal cracks that will never heal properly. The first death never leaves them unscathed. The final death only closes the circle.
The older ones aren’t much stronger. They’re just better at hiding.
***
Muraki looks at the list. “What happens if I use any of these forbidden ones?” He taps the paper.
Watari winces. “Um. Bad things.”
“How bad?” Muraki wonders.
“Well ... you know, in ancient times, the role the ten kings was to refine and purify souls that had built up sins through their lives, right?”
“Yes, I’ve heard that legend.”
“Does the phrase ‘boiling lakes of blood’ mean anything to you? Because they never got rid of those, even after we became a purely administrative unit.”
***
Saki unsettles Oriya in ways that Oriya could never have imagined. Superficially, it seems as though there’s nothing of the pale brother in him – he’s raven haired with dark brown eyes, he doesn’t wear glasses, and his skin’s slightly tanned from the touch of the bright American sunlight. But up close, the details mattered – his eyes have the same shape as Muraki’s, and so too is the shape of his face similar. They both have something of that strange humor that’s like being high in the sky above the storm clouds where it’s frighteningly sunny while below, lightning slams into the rain-soaked ground.
Oriya doesn’t know what to make of it.
***
The First Death
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What you said.
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