Two Dishes, But to One Table (Hungry Ghost Overdub); (Yami no Matsuei, Hisoka, Muraki, Eileen, PG-13

[wutangfellowshp]

Title: Two Dishes, But to One Table (Hungry Ghost Overdub)
Author: Rana Eros (ranalore)
Summary: His fate is in the cards, one way or another.
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Yami no Matsuei
Characters: Hisoka, Muraki, Eileen
Warnings: Possibly disturbing themes, like the source.
Spoilers: For the King of Swords Arc
Title, Author and URL of original story: Two

Comments

[mistressrenet]

Oh, nifty. A great story, and I love the voice you gave poor Eileen.

[ranalore]

Eileen became the backbone of the story, so I'm glad to hear she worked well. Thanks, hon!

[inksheddings]

This is chilling. I love it. What a great idea, giving us a taste of Eileen. Terrific!

[ranalore]

Thank you so much! Eileen had to have her say. Poor kid.

[b_hallward]

Wow, this is such a neat, neat story -- I keep on rereading it. I'm fascinated: Eileen and haunting, self-knowledge and fate. The dream sections are beautiful and chilling (Drips down onto the stained, abandoned knives at a small card table, scattered haphazardly over the faces of faded and waterlogged Tarot cards). And I love the Hisoka you present here -- smart and thoughtful and protective, pragmatic and a little detached.

So he stays silent, and watchful, gravitating between Tsuzuki and Tsubaki and wondering which Muraki will strike when he's not there to take the blow.

He hasn't yet learned the answer is both, and it'll hurt anyway.

The narration is so elegant, striped-down and unflinching in a way that's beautiful and satisfying and just so... Hisoka. This feels exactly like what I wish the King of Swords arc were like: the smarter, more sophisticated version that's intermittently implied in the manga, but mixed incoherently with the dross.

Hisoka doesn't expect they'll save anybody, and in the end they don't.Guh, I can't

[ranalore]

This was my chance to address my own issues with the King of Swords Arc, and while I'm glad to hear I did so in a way satisfying to others, I'm especially pleased that you liked the result. Your drabble is just so evocative, I knew as soon as I read it that this was the thing I wanted to focus on, these undercurrents we know were there, even if the canon didn't give them to us.

The Hisoka voice in this piece is very much in response to the way Muraki thought of him in the drabble, so I guess you could say it's a good thing Muraki was so dismissive (though was he? I think your Muraki is very multi-layered, and tells stories even to himself). While my Hisoka is always very strong, he's usually not that convincing to himself about his detachment. I found it fascinating that he should choose that method of response. I'm glad it worked for you, as well.

I'm just so, so happy you liked what I did. Thank you so much.

[wordsofastory]

Wow, this story is really excellent. It's incredibly vivid, for all that it actually feels like a rather sparse narrative, but the images are so brilliant- Eileen's sharp-toothed grin, and shuffling knives, and the Tarot cards. Those sections really do have that weird too-bright feel of a dream; I'm in awe of the writing in all this story.

I love the Tarot cards you chose, and the way they work for the story itself, particularly the Hanged Man, as Hisoka's stuck between all these different choices himself. This is such an interesting take on the idea of a remix, by the way; I adore the ways it intersects with the original story and the new things it adds. Also, I adore your Eileen. Excellent story!

[ranalore]

Thank you, hon! I admit, I delved deeply into the poetic part of my brain for the dream sequences, and relied on the imagery and associations of the Tarot, as well. I wanted the language to be minimalist and hyper-vivid, and it's good to hear I managed some of that atmosphere.

The Tarot cards are entirely Eliza. *G* I told her some of the symbolism I wanted, and she pulled out the right cards for me. I would have been sunk without her there to help me out with that part.

I had to give Eileen her say. Had to.

Thank you again, hon!

[parallactic]

This is so chilling, and dark, and dreamy, and disturbing in all the best of ways. I love the dream images, and the characterizations of Eileen and Hisoka. Your story has become one of my favorites in this fandom.

[ranalore]

*G* That's everything I was going for, and I'm very pleased it worked for you. Thank you, hon!