Work Text:
[Keter]
Angela was in a bit of a pickle as she and the other female head librarians were all facing the girl who became a women too quickly,even in Angela's eyes it was too quick.
"While the sentiment is appreciated. None of us are mothers Tiphereth." Angela cut to the chase as she held the small box. This..felt wrong.
Tiphereth blushed and Geburah shot her iconic glare at the white haired librarian. She'll take this over tasting the fabric of mimicry. Immortality doesn't mean free of pain. Malkuth seemed close to punch her too.
"Well duh of course I know that!" Said the blond teenager in a outfit thay she was outgrowing...why was she getting older in the library? It wasn't normal. She should stay a child. This was all that was on Angela and Hod's mind. Shockingly Geburah felt this twinge too.
She killed Lisa. She killed countless children. Why is this different?
"I....know we can conjure anything we want whenever we want. So it was a bit hard to find a good gift for each of you. I... me and Enoch never got to do this whole song and dance,I know it's a vapid tradition."
"Enoch and I." Was all that Geburah could say as she held the wooden necklace. There was nothing that special about it. The most outstanding part of it that it was wood. Reminiscent of the type in the Dark Forest. She always loved these woods...had she mentioned it? She didn't remember that she did until recently,that was the long term effect of what Ayin and Benjamin did to her. The light helped but....
The wood wasn't the best part. It was imperfect,carved. Handmade.
She wore it,and went back to her floor. This could've been thrown unto her head without a word. It would be much easier.
...it was considered as a headgear with its bonuses? But why?
"Yeah what did I expect..." The Red Mist was ready to snap but Tiphereth smiled.
"It's ok I'm...glad." Why was she glad? She had just give a gift to her own murderer.
Even she couldn't explain it. She'll have to pick up a book or two on her floor about her development stage in life and maybe interview her fellow assistants.
Next was Gebura's turn to unwrap her gift. She had low expectations and was ready to be excited. The little twerp was already a daughter to her so she could see what got her here. But the fact the gift had the biggest made her excited. She would've been happy with anything but she still was,somehow, surprised.
"I...my floor has been hard at work at creating new ways of smoking along with flavors. Old ones too. I know you like the classics so I did something else too."
She found some devices that she intuited how to smoke with though she knew not their names. She also noticed a custom made argileh,both pleasant to look at and made for comfort. She also saw pictures.
Pictures of the past. And some drawings too.
"The drawings were easier."
A picture of Kali,Lisa and Enochs too old for his age smile.
A picture of Enoch that managed to bait his sister into smoking one of Kali's stronger ones. Kali didn't even know it happened it had happened until she started questioning why Enoch was uncharacteristically snarky and Lisa "really didn't feel good." The girls in the original laboratory had to give a tough talk to her....until they realized it was too late. They shouldn't have included Enoch in that discussion. Benjamin was here for his questions in particular but it wasn't a good idea.
A picture of Kali singing to Lisa the song of acceptance,of moving on and mourning in the city. "Pass on." After the founding members number had started dwindling down.
A childish drawing of Kali with her mimicry,shortly after the first time they were attacked by outskirts monsters,she had an audience of two back then and while she didn't see this drawing before she recognized the boys handwriting.
-Red Mist the Hero,Killer of Sheeps.
They thought these were sheeps?
"He always was too embarrassed to show it to you but I kept it." She explained.
The next drawings were way more detailed. All in different styles and depicting scenes...with people she knew.
"Overall even in passing you were mentioned in a lot of books. Those drawings are reconstruction that me and my assistants made from what we remember we read in those book before releasing them. Those are.. what happened to all the people you saved. All of them. Every single one."
To say it was a pile was presented in front of her. It's...how did this number of paper fit in a two meter tall box?
"I.... I..." The Red Mist dissapeared along with the rest. She doesn't remember if she ever felt close to crying. But this one might have been one such case.
"Did...was it..this was a good idea...right?" Asked Tiphereth.
"It was a great idea. I am sure she is.. well I'll check up on her later." Angela had already opened her gift. A simple box. She liked its simplicity. The content of the note would have made her roll her eyes even chuckle at its irony st every other circumstance. But after seeing the outburst of the normally stoic librarians made her think again.
"This gift is appreciated. Truly." Was all she said.
"I got a pamphlet!" Said Malkuth. Nervous to open it.
"This one wasn't my idea,actually. It was your assistant librarians who had heard of all of my commotion that came up with it. Other floor got on it too...I honestly don't know how no one noticed."
"Because we were working on what to do next instead of killing time." Angela's voice was downtrodden.
"We have all the time in the world! Literally!" No we don't. No we never did and never will again,you are growing. Stop growing. Stop growing....
Why did she want time to stop? She fought so hard for time to continue moving and for her to get to live. For her to get to forget stuff. She had started forgetting some of the more obsolete information. And her growing must stop at the standard of the human mind and body. Twenty-five. It's enough. It has to stop then. It must.
"It's...not a pamphlet." Malkuth couldn't help but take a look at the not-pamphlet and Angela followed.
Names upon names. Angela recognized them all of course,they used to be thr agents and clerks of lobotomy corporation and became the librarians here. Not every name was there and not everyone was full of praise but every message shared something.
Honesty.
The good and the bad. They were all honest. It,somehow was enough to make the women cry. She had saw how they died right? She did remember that some of them died by her direct hand,right? But some of the ex-clerk or agents now librarians directly told her it was ok. That in the end everyone here at least died once. Some had some biting remarks along with it,of course,other were directly telling her off but it all made her happy and cry tears of joy. The male head librarians also made their own notes.
All ending with Roland: "Remember to breathe!"
"THANK YOU SO MUCH TIPH I HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE TO HUG."
"Thats...probably gonna take her a while..." was the sentiment echoed around the remaining three.
Hod was already on the ground. Reading. "It's lovely... did you really write all yourself Tiphereth?" The teenager nodded.
"Yeah well...someone gotta write new stuff! Maybe that could fuel your bookclub! It's some science fiction because...you know I've got references to pull out from. And..."
"It really is lovely. This world you created....neither overly bleak or blindingly light. The characters are engaging and challenging.. for the book club do you have..?"
"Oh yeah! I will make sure that copies appear."
And thus there were two.
"I don't want you to think that I don't appreciate you Tiphereth. I simply don't understand why you needed to include me. I wouldn't have taken offense. I am sure that you have some people in your floor that you see as a motherly figure. I've only caused problems for everyone."
"You're funny."
"While I have been practicing this...wasn't an attempt."
"...I know. You caused problem for us with me and my brother but you were forced to. So that's on Ayin not you."
"I enabled him. Many times I could've.. "
"Sure you stopped the light but....honestly? It might have been for the better. The Light going on for too long uninterrupted would have had consequences beyond what we originally could have conceived. We have been working contrary to what you might think.
"The distortion phenomenon would have always happened. Same for the awakening of E.G.O's but...people would have been blinded. Not literally but their mind wouldn't have set right. They'd have been lobotomized essentially. They got to medidate on that feeling. They got to pave their own path." She took a deep breath.
"So thank you for having a mental breakdown Angela"
And then there was one women holding a stupid note
'Blood is thicker then water is a stupid expression'
Yoshihide had a duty to honor her mother's. She also for some reason still loved and respected them.
"Alcohol? Reliable but that's not gonna be enough. Maybe fine aged wine... with a rose... she always wears red might work." This was the easy part. Valencina knew what she liked,everyone did.
The Dihui Star was harder to please. Not once had she accepted a gift. Hell without the veil Yoshihide might not know who she's talking with. Mmmh... killing her and getting someone to impersonate her...
No. This was her mother and she loved her. And she knew she did too.
It was play pretend when she cried she hated flowers when she was 7.
She picked the sweets up after she left the room unacknowledged last year at 14.
"Hey,Akatugawa." she called to the middle aged man who worked here her entire life. "Idea for mom 2 this year"
"You know it's always tricky with your mom 2. You say that she appreciate it but the next day..." he shut his mouth with a quick glare. "Pffft there's dragon beard?"
"What's that?"
"New kind of snack. Everyone is all over it. The perfect parent-children bonding food or something."
"True?"
"That's the marketing and how I sell it. I don't have children so..."
"...I'll take thirty."
"Right I hope she'll.." he was a fool but not that much. "My service will be to your liking."
It was one of the better mothers day,in Yoshihide's mind. Though the dragon beard was loved more by her fathers. Callisto thinking the smell could make good 'seasoning' and Rien getting a suspicious amount of snack based prescripts.
[Malkuth]
The patron librarian was interrupted I'm her frantic episode by Angela.
"An... Angela are you ok?"
"No. Yes? No. Yes."
"Hey hey hey let's go somewhere quiet."
And so they did.
"Do you have a mother?"
"What?"
"You. Birth name Elijah. Did you have a mother and how did you celebrate it with her."
"I...I well yes I have a mother." She let it slip that it was harder to find someone who was born without a mother then otherwise. "I...well I came from the nest of T corp. So me and my siblings would gather our time savings and spend an extended amount of time with her. We would make her pancake and her favorite curry."
"Thank you. Why did you do it?
"I just wanted to. She is...was? I don't know if she's dead now. She wasn't the best mother but she was alright. She was kind to us and sure I...didn't always feel like she liked me or my siblings... we always needed to do more but it was because T corp is a place where the best survive. And I was far from the best. I just... I don't know? Why are you..?" Angela had dissapesred when she started sulking and punching herself down. She didn't even notice.
"John was right in his note I really need to work on eye contact. "
Yoshihide didn't like for Araya to spend time with her grandparents but it did yield the benefit of that first mothers day when she was two.
"Mama!" Araya jumped at her,fortunately Yoshihide cigarette was long gone and she had took a gum to remove the smell after her job was done.
"Yo beanie. What's that you're holding?" Asked the mother to her little clone.
She was presented with a collage.
"Mommy's birthday!" And she scowled before putting two and two together.
What was presented to her was an arrangement of folded papers into the shape of a scene of her mother in an art gallery. With everyone clapping at was definitely not a piece she would make.
Everyone had sunglasses.
"Did your grandpa Matthias help?"
"Yep! He just told me if was mama day! He only did the sunglasses. I told them they were ugly though.. he cried... I think? He just made a lot noise."
Yoshihide stopped listening and kept looking at every detail. The glitter, the colors weren't objectively perfect and the paper was shoddy.
But mothers aren't really known for being objectivity when it comes to kids. Especially those under their protections.
"This is the best piece of art I have ever seen." She said with the sincerity that only a mother can have. And she truly believed it.
She would believe it until she would forget everything else.
Angela did visit the rest. Nothing was as enlightening as Malkuth,though.
Roland shared he just ate snack and made flowers out of papers for his grandmother.
Yesod just got to pray that his mother came back alive always ready with a cake. Feather of a nest being a fixer always was something...
Hod never celebrated mother's day,but before she got to elaborating she was taken for the book club,everyone excited to read Tiphereths book.
The aforementioned wasn't on the list to ask. She already had her answer.
Netzach said he didn't have one to begin with as she died and so just sulked when young and lived his life as another when grown. In other words he got wastes.
Chesed treasured those times as he got to swap stories with his mother.
Angela decided to go to Gebura and Binah but neither seemed to be in the right mental state...Gebura flowing with tears and Binah staring into the void.
So she had reached her target.
Ryoshu and Araya had also reached her target. This mother's day Araya had an eternal gift.
She had promised to become Mommy's mommy. It happened. But mommy was still her mommy.
They would always be together. Soul by soul. Intermingled between the body,the mind,and the blade.
No the waves weren't lonely. They never were lonely with the memories of the sand castles.
They were lovely.
[Hokma]
"Angela? Lovely seeing you h..." Hokma stood still as she took him in a hug.
Did..hokma was confused. Did she ever hug him before? Did she ever hug anyone before? Not a grapple or helping or being helped to stand up. But a true hug.
"Angela.."
She took a few steps back.
"Sorry if I shook you. And I know that it is highly inappropriate to celebrate this day with you. As you are neither a women nor do you see me as your daughter but..."
"You are my daughter." Angela contained her surprised. "It's simple. We may not share blood. I might have been accessory to creating you,you have the physical appearance of Carmen and Ayin but no matter what...you will always be my daughter. I may not be your mother or father but I at least consider myself your parent. As it is my duty to guide you. Which I failed at."
"... no you didn't. You.... treated me well. Ayin's words will always haunt me. The first words I heard from the first person I saw with the first voice. You might have been second in the process but this second mattered so much to me. I have went over hundred of thousands of years before I completely lost my desire of empathy. And it all.... it was all because of you.
"You said it best. You aren't my mom or my dad. I just realized how foolish it is to categorize the two. You are my parent. If I had six parent but you weren't there it wouldn't have been enough but even if we were just both born human and you were my dad...alone...for me it would be enough."
She smiled at the old man who is tearing up. The man who's time had changed him just as Tiphereth has been changing recently.
"Happy parents day,dad."
"Thank you Angela."
"Blood is thicker then water really is a dumb phrase."
They embraced for a few seconds before Roland broke through the door.
"I found a book with the Jelly bug juice! Its delicious!"
"Party!" Said Tiphereth and Chesed in unison,what got Chesed in such a mood?
The parent and the child exchanged a nod. Bug juice party.