Eighth: Swaying (Video; un: Fashiondiva)

[corpsewarblade]

(TW: panic-attacks, blood.)

Hey everyone! How's the summer heat treating you?

[Her smile seems even more forced than even her usual act- like she hoped that over-saturated grin would allow her to push her way past whatever it was bothering her.]

So July kinda... okay like, majorly ran away with me, so- So I'm gonna be hosting the Summer Fashion show on the 15th August, at the beach- we'll be doing... so, like, the morning theme will be summer styles, with swimwear in the afternoon. I'll put on a BBQ too!

I hope you guys are as- as excited as I am! It's gonna be, like, a total blast.

Any volunteers who want to help out would be super duper appreciated, so just... lemme know, 'kay?


[The camera seems to be trembling. Mukuro takes a deep breath, before her expression turns more troubled.]

S-so, uh- like I don't have any issues with the Traders normally, they've always given me good stuff but- just a heads up that after the Celliwig thing they're in a bit of a- let's just say weird-ass mood?? Or- or maybe it's just me, I dunno... Anyone else have any problems with them this month?

Like, I just turned up- I mean, yeah, okay I usually go earlier in the day but I didn't think they'd close up shop too early, you know? Anyway I just turned up and was taking my time making up my mind and-

And they were totally all 'Oh hey! We brought you some stuff we thought you might like because you're, totally like, a loyal customer and all that'. Not in those words but-

[Another pause, swallowing back the anxious tears pricking up in her eyes as she tried to work out what to say.]

Okay no but seriously- seriously what the flying fuck are they on?!

[And with that, she carefully lifted up something in one, shaky hand- a spear of such a dark grey metal that it almost looked black. It tapered into a sharp point, and had small grooves near the blunt side that were almost reminiscent of ballistic markings.

Most noticeably, the tip and centre showed hints of dried blood.]

I- I dunno what they expect someone like me to do with this kinda thing- you know?

[And with that faltering, she'll fumble with her phone- attempting and failing to flick to a private setting.]

...Hey, Darin, can you like, make it into a sword or- or anything? Um- crap meant to private that part- sorry-

Comments

[corpsewarblade]

Don't.

[Her own voice surprised her- because, well, her first instinct was to just push the damn thing as far out of her way as possible and never think about it again.

...But there had to be something else. It didn't feel right to just destroy it.

There was a reason she called him out specifically, after all, and it wasn't just because she needed the moral support.]

Can you...can it be melted down? Remade, or-?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Anything can be remade.

But it needs a shape. A form. A purpose.

If I remake this, Mukuro...you need to think carefully about what you want it to be. What you want it to represent for you.

[corpsewarblade]

...I want to use it as a weapon. A sword, maybe.

[The question of 'why' kept floating through her mind.]

The spears were the last thing Junko gave me, so...

Um. No, that's not it.

I guess...I think I want...a weapon made by your hand. Not her's. Does that make sense?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

... ... ...

You have any experience with swords?

[corpsewarblade]

I use a knife a lot for close range engagements- when I borrowed Hijikata's sword at the mirror hall I could apply a lot of the same techniques once the weight, balance and range differences had been accounted for.

...Pretty sure you could show me some pointers either way.

[Mukuro took a deep breath. Thinking about weaponry was a good way to get her anxiety to settle.

But she didn't want to disappoint Darin- and she knew with the way her mind was racing that her words and thoughts were getting all mixed up as she went along.]

Um...I don't want to...I don't want to pile too much crap on your plate. Sorry, I'm- I'm not making sense, am I-

...I don't know.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Mukuro.

[He sets the spear down away from her and turns to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder.]

You're not piling on.

But I do want you to understand something. Something that I know that, as the Ultimate Soldier, you already know. A weapon is more than a tool. A weapon is meant to be an extension of yourself. A part of you. If you can't harmonize with it, then neither of you will reach your full potential.

There's more than one type of sword, after all. I think that...if you want to do this, to properly reclaim Gungnir...it needs to be the right weapon.

[corpsewarblade]

Huh-

[She'd been thinking so fast that something so obvious hadn't even occurred to her, and her eyes grew wide as the penny seemed to drop.

Mukuro stared at him a moment, before drawing the combat-knife she always kept with her- flipping it easily in her hand as she settled it in her grip. That blade was her as much as she was it. It felt normal, at home in her hand as she wielded it- and she fundamentally trusted it.

She flipped it again, studying it, before putting it away, half closing her eyes in thought. It was the same with her pistol, wasn't it? The way she channeled her blood through it to fire felt so normal- she'd got a handle on it quickly because using normal bullets wasn't too dissimilar. Putting a piece of yourself into it, trusting the shot, following that through to hit at a target-

But voicing those thoughts was hard right now, and instead, she managed a mumble of: ]

Compatible. I trust them.

...I shouldn't have forgotten something that simple.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Don't beat yourself up. It's easy to lose sight of things sometimes, especially if they're not constantly being hammered in.

...I have some ideas. Let me hold onto Gungnir for now. I promise I'll take good care of it. In the meantime, we'll go through some weapons I'm thinking of. Something that suits your bodytype and style...something uniquely yours.

Alright? We're going to make something great. I promise you that.

[corpsewarblade]

You think we can...? I- I want to...

I'll have a think too, about what might work.

[She'd pestered him to let him test out weapons in the Forge before, so that would be a good baseline, right?]

...Yeah. I trust you.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

I know we can!

But for now, I'll keep it in the forge in a locked case so it doesn't bother you.

Alright?

[corpsewarblade]

Right. That works.

...Thank you.

[Mukuro took a deep breath, trying to settle her nerves. She was...glad the spear was in good hands.]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Hey...when things calm down...

Do you want to talk about it...?

[corpsewarblade]

That'd- yeah. That'd be good.

...About everything that happened back home.