hypomeneo | Open Post

Ye ol' general open post. Memes, PSLs, game divergence, Fate AUs... all of it finds a home here. NSFW. PM me or hit me at

Kerimeos for more plotting.

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[Waver dreams of the meeting of three frozen rivers at a hill... or is it a mountain? There is a large, black pot bubbling over a fire untended, but its owner is nowhere in sight. There should be an owner.

There's a rattling sound in the air as singing rises with the wind. Waver's vision whites out as snow blows around him, and ice crunches as something walks past him. It's just a shape in the white out - vaguely human.

"Kiputyttö, Tuonen neiti,
joka istut kipukivellä
joen kolmen juoksevassa,
veen kolmen jaka'imessa
jauhaen kipukiveä, Kipuvuorta väännätellen!"

His lungs burn from the cold. Something metallic fills his nose. The scent is like copper or iron, sharp and lingering. He recognizes it. Blood. Fresh spilled blood.

"Käy kivut kereämähän kitahan kiven sinisen,
tahi vieretä vetehen,
syytäise meren syvähän,
tuulen tuntumattomahan,
päivän paistamattomahan!"

And suddenly the wind dies and the flurry of snowflakes cease. The air clears, until all that's left is the fog of his breath misting from his lips. The lights in the sky dance overhead, terrible and stark in their beauty. The snow glowing underneath them is pristine.

Yet the rattle of bones continues to whisper in the wind and the stench of blood thickens until the stench coats the back of Waver's throat. There's a new sound too. A rasp, a grind, a little like the scrape of a stone pestle against a mortar. But slightly different. Waver's modern ears can't place it until he sees the sitting woman grinding something between stone as she sings, ignoring the man watching her.

Does he want to know what's being milled? No, instinct tells him, this is not a place he wants to be and the answer is not one he'll like. The bloodstained mittens alone set him on edge.

... he's heard her name before... yes...

... it's falling from her shadowed lips, if indeed she is singing about herself...

Kiputyttö.

The pain goddess.

Outside the realm of dreams, Waver shivers in Iskandar's arms. Unaware for now this vision is a dream at all..]

Edited Date: 2020-09-18 01:45 pm (UTC)

[Iskandar has never lost his belief in omens. He never saw reason to. His current position clearly supporting that course of action. Usually, he had people qualified to discern the meaning out of such omens at his disposal. Yet he knows no oracle. Not here, not even back in Japan. He's also not used to prophetic dreams. So the current one puts him in a rather uncomfortable position...or it will, the moment he realizes this is a dream.

He doesn't know that yet.

For now, he's wondering how exactly did he get here. The frozen expanse looks oddly familiar and yet he cannot place it anywhere. Something about it feels known. As if he has been here already. He just can't recognize this place. What he is fully certain of is that he does not know this woman nor does he understand the language she's using. A second time a feeling of familiarity strikes him. He has heard it somewhere before... but where? and when? He cannot say.]

Forgive me the interruption but...

[The woman stops milling and looks up. All her face save for the thin line of black lips is covered in shadow. She raises her arm pointing to the side. Not even looking in that direction but Iskandar knows with the surety one can only have in dreams she wants him to look. So he does. And it freezes him on the spot.

A wide, red trail, blood frozen into fresh snow, leads away from where he is standing. A long one, thirty steps at least. It's so vivid, it's surreal. As if someone squeezed raspberry juice onto the snow. And yet it is not the blood that horrifies him most. It's the figure at the end of the trail. Barely a silhouette, unstable, dissolving on the edges, wrapped in a chaotic, ever-shifting dark fog. It's image dancing, one moment clearly visible, the other losing details, its shape becoming uncertain, ambiguous. As if the reality itself was trying to erase it.
It stands over a perfectly round hole in the ice, its bloodied hands shaking. Red against black of the shadows. Red against white of the snow.

Now he recognizes the place. It dawns on him with mounting horror he knows why it seemed so familiar. And that they left all of their shinki at home...]

[He's seen this place before.

It's an odd thought, ghosting in and out of his consciousness. The wind cuts into his clothes (he's wearing clothes? Wasn't he in bed naked?) as his lips part to ask a question. He's been here. Or at least walked by here. The lights in the sky and the atmosphere paint it unreal, but he swears...

What's moving?

There's something moving.

Like before.

In the white.

Waver swallows, throat suddenly dry, as his eye moves to its corner. How did he not notice the crimson trail sweeping past him in an unsteady line before? His toe digs in the snow to reveal ice underneath. A thick layer above a river. Darkness swirls in the waters below.

A river. He and his husband walked beside the frozen river and watched - the splashes and smears lead right to it - watched the workers of the resort cut a perfectly round hole in the ice for the users of the smoke saunas along the river to bathe afterwards.

At the end of the trail, at the hole, it waits with bloody hands. Bloody hands... bloody mittens... the only thing that is distinct about it. The rest...]

Were you trying to bury it, my lady?

[The question rasps out of him. Kiputyttö. The goddess who not only creates pain, but buries it in the places no light can ever reach. Darkness.. pain... suffering... sin...

Where is Iskandar?

Where is he?

... they're alone. All their shinki are in the Heavens of a land half a world away. Just so they could have some time to themselves.

That decision, Waver realizes with a sinking heart... was a... grave... mistake...]

This is ayakashi isn't it?

[The woman, a goddess, Iskandar has no doubts about it now, smiles...or rather the thin line that her lips form stretches. It catches him off guard how young she sounds when she finally speaks.]

If this is what you call them. A malevolent spirit. Then yes. But you don't belong here warrior god. We'll meet again soon. Now shoo, wake up!

[Not until that point did he realize he was dreaming. It hadn't occurred to him even once that whole this situation is rather strange. And yet, there's no longer a chance to ask further questions as the woman clasps her hands and in an instant, everything goes black.

Iskandar realizes that it's not simply black. It's just dark, dark like in a room with curtains drawn in the very early morning, and he sits on the bed in the bedroom of their rented cabin. He must have fallen asleep like that. He looks down and smiles seeing Waver still asleep but the smile fades the moment he notices Waver's bracelet on the nightstand and not on his wrist.
He groans. Stupid. How could he have been so stupid?! He should have made him put it on the moment they left the shower, not wait like a complete idiot. Ugh! He'd better do it now.

Waver, deep in his own dream, is not aware of his husband's anguish. Nor that his visit to the realm of a local goddess might be cut short any minute now. His attention, quite understandably, on the said goddess as she does answer his question. In a way. She doesn't look up but her voice sounds surprisingly young.]

Yeah. Kind of. Or what I intended to do before two foreign gods waltzed into my territory uninvited, unannounced and unarmed. Practically walking spirit bait. Seriously, I don't get it. You're a mage, what the hell were you thinking?

[No ancient goddess speaks like that. Cranky, modern teenagers on the other hand quite often do.]

Sit. We might not have much time. Do you even know where you are? And no, I'm not asking about the name of the country so spare me that.

Your-? [oops?] ... my husband and I were unaware this was your domain. I apologize for the trespass.

[Confusion abates along with panic as Waver lowers himself carefully into the snow beside her. A dream, and now he's woken to it. But this is also as real as the waking world, as some dreams tend to be, accessing other planes of existence.

Instead his stomach turns with dread and no small amount of misplaced but still present petty irritation that flares up and disappears like a flash of flame in the pan. Their vacation! Simply not the time to be annoyed about that, Waver reminds himself. His face is contrite, however; the goddess raises valid points. And now that they're here, they have the responsibility of helping to deal with the obviously ayakashi like spirit threating the land. That is their duty as gods and guests. Unknowing trespass or not, foreign lands or not.

What that duty as gods might require, Waver pointedly doesn't think about right now. They need shinki to fight; the ones they have are half a world away.]

A dream, my Lady. And the underworld if I might wager a guess, though the landscape resembles Kakslauttanen resort. Is this Kipumäki?

[In the waking world, his husband is fiddling with the clasp of his bracelet. A tiny thing, not the easiest for larger fingers. They have just moments until he succeeds in fastening it and Waver awakes with a gasp and a flail of limbs.

Just moments.

But moments in the dream world can stretch on sometimes.]

Edited Date: 2020-09-26 01:29 pm (UTC)

[Time flows differently in the waking and dreaming world. What takes minutes in the waking world can stretch to hours in the dream. It would be difficult to say how much time they really have to talk.]

Lady?

[The goddess refrains from outright laughing. Not her style definitely but Waver does get a very crooked smile. She has stopped her grinding the moment she started talking so when she ceases that the silence rings with only the wind howling.]

I doubt anyone ever called me that. But that's beside the point. So no, this is not Kipumäki. First, you're way too alive for being anywhere even near Tuonela. This is just Dreamland's version of Kakslauttanen. Don't the places in your country have one's of their own?

[The question at the ends sounds sincere. As if she is truly curious. Curious in a way that only people who's never been abroad can be. It is a question to ponder, how many of the gods travel? At least to place that don't have their followers and shrines already. ]

Edited Date: 2020-09-27 09:16 pm (UTC)

[Well. My lady. Simply calling a person just 'Lady' is reserved for one particular girl who grew to be an amazing woman.

He misses her. But is content she's not here.

The 'alive' part gets a crooked smile of his own.]

Not that I've yet encountered. There are the Heavens and the Near Shore; anything else hasn't been stumbled upon by the ones I know. That said, where my husband and I are currently worshipped isn't native to either of us. Our pantheons are elsewhere.

[He can just sense the questions starting to bubble.]

It's a complicated story.

Edited Date: 2020-09-28 09:03 am (UTC)

Oh, I know you died... [The goddess tilts her head slightly, her face still obscured by the hood and the shadow but surprise is obvious in the tone of her voice.] at least once... huh? that's interesting... [She shakes her head.]

Whatever. Either way, deified humans - or whatever you two actually are - do not count as dead people in these parts.

[The questions are there but with Waver's quick assertion in the way, they don't get asked. At least, not now. The goddess just sighs.]

Oh well, must be awfully nice to travel.

[At least once. It depends how you define death - both literal and metaphorical.

With the anniversary of his death fast approaching, he finds he's at peace with it for the most part even if he doesn't know if the Master got away in the end. It was a gamble made of faith and trust, like so many others made by other Servants.

That said, not counting as dead here is relieving.]

It is. I hope you get to enjoy it in the future.

[That's sincere.]

And that's good to know. [His eyes slide to the ayakashi looking spirit. They can be corrupted spirits of the dead or simply a collection of pure negativity.] Our 'friend' over there on the other hand...

Yeah, that one. That might be something you two can help me with.

You see, I can sense the pain he's in and the pain he caused or is going to cause. That he either already killed or is going to kill. Time is kinda vague here. Nothing out of ordinary. It's dreamland, thing work like that here.
But this ... corruption? This is strange. This is my domain. I should be able to see who he is. I should be able to see his face at least. I want to know how he is able to hide from me.

[The goddess looks up, straight at him and finally Waver can see her face. She looks like she sounds. Young, pale face with black lipstick and black eyeshadows, she can't be older than twenty. Or has been when she became a goddess.]

You are a mage. Let's say you help me with finding out who this guy is and how he's able to mask himself here where he shouldn't and I will forget you and your husband are trespassing on my land. I think that's fair.

[She casts a quick glance behind her as the snow starts to fall and the scenery around starts to get more and more blurry.]

And that's a sign it's time for you. See you in the waking world, eastern mage. Next time we meet in person you'd better introduce yourself. You already know how people call me.

[Meanwhile, Iskandar finally succeeds in wrangling the stubborn bracelet into submission and manages to secure it around Waver's wrist. It did not help it's so tiny. He feels awful. He promised Waver he'll make sure he has it on before they both fall asleep and failed. It's all his fault that Waver had nightmares now.]

I'm so sorry, my love.

Edited (no life without edits ;)) Date: 2020-10-08 01:50 pm (UTC)

My apologies, I am---

[The scenery blurs out before he can get in another word and Waver wakes, gasping and flailing, and barely registering that Iskandar is speaking to him.

Sorry... but what? What is he...

Waver's not recalling the bracelet, and there's a confused groan as he sags back into his husband's arms, clearly disoriented.]

Why are you...? I'm alright... I...

[The next groan is more pained as the Caster feels a headache coming on, and clutches his head. Oh hell... that damn dream that wasn't really a dream at all.

They've really stepped in it, haven't they?]

Fuck.

You're sure? You were shaking.

[Iskandar might have had a weird dream himself but his wasn't a nightmare. An omen? Maybe. He'll think about what that might have meant later. Right he has more important things on his mind.

Like how in the name of all the Gods could he let this happen?! Please, don't be mad at him. He's already plenty ashamed of himself.]

I was sure you... that it's the nightmares again. I've ... fallen asleep when you still didn't have your bracelet on. I know I promised, I just —

[Iskandar stops mid-sentence and just blinks, fully confused now. Not nightmares then? What else did he miss?]

Huh?

Yeah.

[He's sure.]

Not nightmares. More like... dream walking. Or a vision.

[It's murmured as Waver's hand slides down off his face. He remains dead weight in Iskandar's arms for a few moments more - still coming to himself and groggy. Uuuuugh. He hates waking up like this.]

One of the local goddesses wanted to talk. It's probably for the best we forgot to put it on. [It's fine. No, it's fine. He's only going to have a headache. That'll go away once he drinks something.] No strange dreams for you?

[Um... a goddess? Eh, so he can't ignore his own dream now. Such a shame. Can't they have some true vacation for once, huh?]

What did she want?

[Iskandar bends over to kiss his husband's forehead. He knows what that groan means, and hopes there's really a good coffee machine somewhere in this hut. Because very soon they will need some truly strong brew to battle that headache.]

A brief one but in light of your dream, mine might mean something too. I didn't realise it was a dream at first because I was just near that sauna we saw today. Then there was a strange lady with a grinding stone, some bloody mittens and some ayakashi she was worried about. All very symbolic, and short. She basically told me to go away and that was it.

[He was a bit concerned. They haven't taken any of their shinki with them for the trip. Mostly because it wouldn't really feel like holidays to him if they did. Still, not overly concerned because, in the end, it's not his territory, not his ayakashi, not his problem.

Yet from Waver's expression, Iskandar can guess he was wrong in his optimistic assumption. The goddess might have no wish to talk to him but she definitely spoke with Waver. That could only mean his own attitude of not his problem might end as simply wishful thinking.

All he wanted was some time alone with his husband....with no outside interference, prayers, demands or anything else.]

That was her. Her name is Kiputyttö. One of the daughters of Tuoni and Tuonetar, the rulers of the underworld in Finnish mythology. She presides over pain and illness.

[No. Apparently not. Something Waver finds himself peeved at. The headache doesn't help. His expression softens at the kiss, though.

... a memory floats up about something about a coffee machine like the one at the airport being in the cabin. Is that right? Waver's not sure. It's all fuzzy. Maybe Iskandar was telling him about it. That would be convenient if that's true.]

She was trying to bury the creature like she would pain. It wasn't quite working. Something is interfering with her ability to perceive him and his identity past that it's a him. All she's aware of that he's in pain, he's about to or just has killed, and he's in our general area. I saw him at the sauna too.

Which has left her displeased. [Waver sighs.] Our presence isn't making her happy either. We're invading her territory, apparently, and she's concerned we came in unarmed. [But how could they know? Frustrating... so very frustrating...] She's willing to let things slide as long as we help her with the ayakashi, however. Figuring out how the thing is able to hide, who or what he really is...

[It's their problem if the ayakashi decides to try and ambush them for a meal, no matter what their choices are in regards to dealing with it. No shinki are a problem that way. A cranky goddess who might rope in other members of her pantheon if she doesn't get her way might be a headache too.

One on top of this building... UGH.]

What a present, huh? [Waver's lips curve with no small amount of exasperation.] Merry Christmas.

I hate politics.

[It's Iskandar's turn to groan. So assuming they can be private persons on their own vacation and not foreign gods abroad was too much of wishful thinking on his part, eh? Eh...too good to be true. Something had to happen to spoil it.]

Displeased, huh? Maybe she should have done a proper introduction when we arrived? Instead of dragging you into her dreamworld or whatever it was and kicking me out with no explanation.

[He's not even against helping. Only pissed it ruins their vacation. And then there's the ayakashi problem. Iskandar doesn't think that dragging that thing on the local goddess head is beneath him. They won't be able to dispatch it themselves anyway.]

I'd be most happy if we kept as far from this mess as possible but I guess that's not happening. If we're supposed to investigate it, I have a hard time imagining how we can do this while staying at a safe distance.

[Iskandar shakes his head. Oh well, they will deal with it. As they dealt with every moronic thing the Older Gods has thrown at them back in Japan. They will figure something out. Waver will. He always does.
Iskandar leans down to kiss his husband.]

Nah, this is my present. Merry Christmas, my light.

[Coffee, breakfast, and then they can start planning what to do next.]

You and me both.

[Waver doesn't know which of them hates it more. The Old Gods certainly make them irritating. Not that they aren't always more pain than they're worth.

A bark of a laugh bubbles up in his throat at the mention of introductions.]

Would you believe that she harped on me being neglectful on that matter, then? She intends to meet us in person eventually. Better late then never, but Christ.

[He shakes his head. Gods. There's no difference between here and that pompous pantheon back in Japan.]

At least we're aware and not being caught off guard by the thing. I don't mind helping, but...

Tch, this can wait until after breakfast. I refuse to deal with it until we're both fed and had our fill of coffee.

[Annnnnnnnd there's the crankiness. Not helped by the headache, but with such a grump beginning to build, something needs to derail it before a literal black thundering cloud forms above Waver's head.

Thank goodness for everyone, that derailment comes in the form of a kiss. Waver pinks as he returns it, mood shifting, softening, while he scratches the back of his head.]

Merry Christmas.

I know we don't celebrate it, really. But. I have something for you.

[Both of Iskandar's eyebrows fly upward as huffs at that last declaration. This one revelation immediately chases away all the concerns about a foreign goddess and her interference in their holiday plans.]

Ho? I thought this trip was the present.

[He really did. He only got a small set of hairpins for Waver. Nothing especially fancy or spectacular. If he knew Waver was planning something else other than organising this whole excursion, he'd think of a more appropriate gift. Now he feels dumb.

But there's nothing that a kiss can't fix so that's exactly what follows. Or two, or ... only his own curiosity lets Iskandar tear away eventually. It is no easy feat when his beloved is so warm and delicious. He'll make it up to him after they return home.]

What is it, hm?

It is! The main one, anyway.

[They're not rolling in the riches of Asia here! Waver would wheeze if Iskandar thought he had planned anything extravagant - small and personally intimate on the other hand.]

And spoil the surprise? You'll have to unwrap it and see.

[After a kiss... or two... or three... or...

It's a shame to leave this nice warm bed for even a moment when they finally break for air. Even worse as he's still naked and foregoes even thinking of a robe for heading to one of their bags for something buried under his clothes. Brrrrrrr.

The return to warm covers and even warmer husband is swift, hands holding a brightly wrapped package. Waver holds it out to Iskandar.]

For you.

Edited Date: 2020-10-27 02:25 am (UTC)

At least throw a bathrobe on!

[Iskandar furrows his brows at a large box wrapped in decorative paper he gets handed over but more over sudden sprint across the frigid room. Maybe not exactly frigid but they got all those covers, blankets and furs for a reason! It is cooler than they usually keep their bedroom.
No doubt the packaging if work of one of the ladies from Waver's Kyoto temple. He accepts the box but puts it aside for a moment. He wraps Waver in his arms, rubbing his hands all over his body to warm him up.]

You're freezing.

[The grumbling is much exaggerated, that's for sure, but Waver startled him with his sudden sprint so now he has to suffer Iskandar fussing over him. Those are the rules. Only when he's made enough of a show of his efforts, and got Waver actually warmed up properly. Only then he picks up the box. He weighs it in his hand, his jaw almost dropping even before he looks inside.]

This is insane. You hauled this all the way from Japan? I fear asking what you had to leave at home to make it fit the weight limit.

[Technically, the hauling part was him. Waver was already doing all the talking with different officials and airlines staff part, so the least Iskandar could to contribute and not feel useless was to carry their luggage. He had no idea what was the significant part of that weight. Waver you crazy... This is all before he looked inside.]

No, you didn't...

[Iskandar's eyes lit up the moment he unpacks the gift and realizes what it is. He carefully unlocks the case and watches the three tiers slide away from each other revealing the contents. He shakes his head for longer while touching all the drawing implements, the pencils, brushes, even a small, wooden figurine. As if he wasn't sure he's not asleep anymore.
How did he even know? Iskandar hasn't been very vocal he'd want one. He thought it unnecessary spending on something that was purely his whim. Yet Waver somehow was able to uncover it's something he'd like to get.]

Thank you, my love. This is wonderful.

[He puts aside the box which as much care as when he was examining it and leans down to kiss Waver.]

I hope you're prepared for a modelling session? Or two? I will need to test my new set.

[Naturally. It looks too good. Besides. Having bits of tape and wrapping paper caught in his hair from present wrangling would have been a dead give away.

There are tsun sounding noises coming under his breath, even as Waver submits to the fussing and even presses insistently closer because. Cold. Cooooooooooold. Don't scold him about the bathrobeee---- fiiiiiiiine.

Fiiiine.

Don't stop rubbing.]

I... cheated. Just a bit. [There's a flush as he looks up, glancing to the side quickly. It's not a Mage-like thing to do for such a minor, mundane thing, but...] A small act of magecraft.

[But the fluster morphs into quiet, eager anticipation as Waver watches the paper come off and Iskandar reveal the case of art supplies. A grin grows, threatening to crack his face, as his husband's eyes light up. He watches Iskandar touch the items contained within with reverence, marveling at the contents while shaking his head.

This. This is everything. Just to see his King, his love, react like that.]

You're welcome. [Breathy from the kiss.] And more. I look forward to you breaking it in.

[Look, it's obligatory that he protests. Waver is the one usually complaining about the cold so Iskandar cannot leave such blatant disregard for personal comfort uncommented. Even if he very much enjoys it as an excuse to indulge in touching his husband everywhere without getting accused of being an insatiable monster. Not that said accusations, to be perfectly honest, are by any means incorrect.]

Ha! I knew that!

[Iskandar's shoulders shake with laughter. Of course. Magic. What else? He should have expected that. Waver is the master of unconventional solutions. Most of them employing magic to some extent.]

You're as cunning as you are beautiful, my love.

I think I will start with a proper nude portrait. [A low growl rumbles deep in his chest.] Just you. On that bearskin in front of the fireplace. Wearing nothing at all.

[A true test will be how long he'll be able to keep drawing before joining the subject of his future masterpiece for some more hands-on approach.]

[They are both insatiable monsters. One's just much more forward (and honest) about it than the other. Waver runs one finger down his husband's chest. They have work to do and the wrath of the local goddess to avoid, but to everything holy and good, that growl is making him want to play some serious hooky.]

Start... [A knowing smile plays over his lips.] I imagine the finish is going to play out a bit differently.

[He's going to be in the good kind of trouble if he keeps up the double entendre, but... Christ... they really need to deal with this.]

I better crack the case fast, then. That kind of work is going to require your complete attention.

[Iskandar catches the hand on his chest and keeps it there. There's a serious risk they won't leave this room today if this continues... and yet he cannot not fall for the temptation.]

It definitely would. Complete, undisturbed, undivided attention.

[He agrees, each adjective punctuated by a gradually longer and more sensuous kiss. By the gods, how much he wishes they could just stay here and pretend the outside world does not exist. That the entire universe is only this room, a crackling fire, warm comfortable bed and this amazing man in his arms. Nothing else.

And yet as much as he dreads to admit it, the longer they tarry, the harder it gets. So finally he draws Waver into last long kiss before releasing him.]

But no case cracking before breakfast. Let's have at least a decent meal first.

[There's a slight groan as Iskandar pulls away. Waver's face is flushed, clearly worked up by each progressively more passionate kiss, and he gives himself a shake to try and break out of the amorous haze his husband has put him in.

Once he's sure he's not going to throw everything to the wind and pounce to continue things anyway (how... uncharacteristically... aggressive of him...), Waver stretches languidly, banishing the remnants of morning stiffness, before swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

Back to the cold. He'll ignore the mess in the other room for now and grab fresh clothes from the suitcase.]

Right. I think you said something about this cabin having at least a coffee machine...?

[Outside cold, in other words. Even braving it for breakfast will require steaming courage. Unless they teleport right to the restaurant. Which is very possible.]

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