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brythain wrote:I groan. Fifty of anything is taboo on my list these days.

This...has nothing to do with Fifty Shades of She Who Thirsts, does it?

Serviam wrote:

brythain wrote:I groan. Fifty of anything is taboo on my list these days.

This...has nothing to do with Fifty Shades of She Who Thirsts, does it?

Steinherz wrote:

Serviam wrote:

brythain wrote:I groan. Fifty of anything is taboo on my list these days.

This...has nothing to do with Fifty Shades of She Who Thirsts, does it?

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/ ... 56otmm.png

No, that's not why/how Miki's arm is like that...

It's that yellow silk dress. It's the one she was wearing that afternoon so long ago, as Kenji described it. It's thin silk, and a little loose on her, just enough to taunt the eye.

"Hey, author-san! You like it? I never thought marvellous Miki M would look good in yellow!"

"Hello again, marvellous Ms M. I thought wearing something in bright yellow would make you look darker by contrast. But somehow, it doesn't, and I don't know why."

"It's because I'm brighter than you think."

I look at my glamorous interlocutor carefully. She has that saucy smile, but behind it, there's a trace of insecurity or something.

"I've never thought of you as anything else. You're the I-hate-math girl who ended up doing a Master's degree in economics."

"Yeah, that. But something else. I hear you're doing Kenji's Book Five, the one that ends in March 2045."

"If he'll let me, which he hasn't confirmed yet. Why... oh. I'm sorry."

"Hey, 'life is a bitch—mine' is my motto, you know. No need to be sorry. I just hope you'll spare the readers the details at the end. Never wanted to go there, helluva depressing."

"I think Kenji wants you to know he did indeed miss your friendship."

"Yeah, damn. I never quite got to say that he was such an unexpected friend to have, and a good one."

She blinks, and perhaps there was more moisture in it than anyone would suspect.

Then she smiles, and it's the old Miki again. "See you around, author-san! Thanks for everything!"

The brightness of thin yellow silk and the scent of the brown girl who wore it will stay with me for a while.

"That's unusual, Miss Miura," I say. For once, I've not been caught by surprise. When they visit me, they often do so on their birthdays.

But it is unusual. She's wearing a black silk yukata with pale pink and silver sakura blossoms on it. It's Tanabata Festival dress, and this is six months away.

She pouts a little, almost like Emi Ibarazaki would, and then grins, unable to hold the expression. "Author-san, I can do anything I want, since you've already told my story."

I smile, despite myself, and retort, "Oh no, Miss Miura, your life is too fabulous and your nature too wonderful for me to stop where I have!"

She looks dismayed for a while, then flirtatious. She waves her prosthetic fist in the air. "Ha! Do you mean you find Miki Miura sexy?"

Well, yes, she is that—but I'm a happily married man and I can view such things more objectively. Solemnly, I reply, "Of course you are. You'll always be. But I admire you for the life you lived, when you were so much more than just another pretty face."

Her smile is tired now. "Oh, I was never a pretty face at all. I was just tall and athletic, and it was a fucking turn-on for the boys. I was always short-handed, so they tended to give up on me."

"There was one who never did."

"And I never really loved him. I was just his friend, and I appreciated his friendship, and once in while wondered if it might have been different."

I stare at her. And then it hits me. She's not talking about Hisao; she's talking about Kenji.

She looks back, and sees that I understand.

"Happy birthday, Miki Miura!" I say sincerely and with enthusiasm.

She laughs. "Thank you, dammit! Just try not to say things about me that we'd all regret!"

brythain wrote:I was always short-handed

Oh, you Miki.

And there was one other who was her friend for a long time, but he was a broken soul, so they were never more than that.

This time, I am almost not ready for it. But when I see the dark hair and the grey slash running like subtle lightning through it, I recognise her at once. Today she's dressed in a cream blouse and simple beige calf-length skirt, trying very hard to look like a modest middle-aged business-lady. And almost succeeding, too. Both of us, almost there.

"Ms Miura!"

"Author-san!" she purrs with a little bit of chuckle.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I hear you may be helping to write more things about ol' Miki! What's all that about, huh?"

"Secret project," I say ominously.

She gives me a big, lascivious, man-eating grin. "Oooooh, secret projects are my kinda thing. Keep it up!"

I am about to say, "Keep what up?" and then I realise she's still playing *those* games.

"See you around, marvellous Ms Miura!"

Somehow, she manages to nod me a very revealing goodbye, while looking almost demure.

art is never abandoned, only-

It's funny, really. Most of my work lately has involved the idea of monuments and then their conclusions. The things I find fascinating are ruins, those things we often find on this forum itself, as Nuke misquotes above, 'art is never finished...' well, we know that to be true. In fact, that's probably true of everything, right? Everything moves forward into the that nebulous future, the only thing needed make something a monument is that expression of permeance in the face of loss. (James I. Porter). These monuments and expressions are destined for the ruin, to be fall away somehow, to lose their original meaning or have that meaning be changed; time is a cruel bitch.

Of course, the reason I think this is funny is that AtD is essentially about monuments and their ruinous conclusions. AtD is that expression of permeance in the face of loss, with that acknowledgement that the Ruin is inevitable, Noami is building from a shattered foundation in these stories. It is fitting, given current events that you and I are undertaking Brythain, that Miki should be your most superb of examples at demonstrating this process the most. Miki has that most kissable of philosophies, a quote I'm stealing from Stevie Smith of course, but it's true! Miki's attitude is so attractive; we're all heading in one direction, and despite our attempts at a meaningful permeance, the only permanent thing is our impermanence. The past is that most subjective thing, and Miki, though honest, acknowledges that her story can be a re-telling of it. It's not lying, but Miki clearly understands that we give the past its meaning, that there is nothing certain about the past save for our own uncertainty about it.

I've always found it difficult to comment on your works Brythain. First, because your help all those years ago with Gravity taught me so much of what I now know and think i'm quite good at. Second, because your stories always inspire within me these feelings and considerations, and the only way I know how to honour them is to try and reflect them myself.

Regardless, Miki and Rin's Arc is a pleasure, a beautiful cathartic pleasure. Feels like bleeding out in the best of ways.

Feurox wrote: ↑Wed Apr 22, 2020 6:36 pm Of course, the reason I think this is funny is that AtD is essentially about monuments and their ruinous conclusions. AtD is that expression of permeance in the face of loss, with that acknowledgement that the Ruin is inevitable…

It amazes me that you have expressed in this long and thought-provoking post a lot of ideas that are true to me, but which I had not considered in the past. Now that you've mentioned this, I can see it makes a lot of sense, and that perhaps it is indeed something I was working towards. Thank you very much for taking the time to frame these thoughts of yours. I fear I will take a long time to digest what you've said.