Claymore Fanfiction Discussion

[lightsenshi]

For anyone interested, I've completed the next chapter of Beginnings. Feedback is always welcomed.

[tripleofive]

Hello!

So, this is me, finally de-lurking - nice to meet you all!

Now, so as not to be completely off topic, here is the first chapter of what I hink is going to turn out to be an epic AU, what-if Claymore fic. I would be really thankful to know what people think of it, and any constructive criticism would be very much appreciated! Also, this focuses a lot on Teresa and baby Clare, so don't read if you're a rabid Teresa and/or Clare hater - are there any actual rabid haters in this fandom?

Spoiler for The Road Not Taken - Chapter One:

Clare whimpered slightly as a flash of pain went through her body. Her hair felt like it was going to come out by the roots, and she could feel the rough, uneven stones on the ground that she was being dragged over…Someone was talking, someone important…she knew that voice, that voice that she could faintly make out through the ringing in her ears, but she couldn’t think of it right now.

Everything hurt…

For a moment, she was back in the past, and the youma had gotten angry at something and taken it out on her, or she’d done something, defied it or tried to run away…had she tried to run away?

But no, that was wrong. The youma was…the youma was…

Gone.

Dead.

She’d killed it, the woman. The Claymore, the warrior with the same eyes as her…the same pain as her…

Teresa…

“Teresa…” she murmured, wincing as her split lip let her know that it didn’t appreciate her talking – but she was used to pain. Pain wasn’t important. Teresa was.

Blinking slowly, she opened her eyes, one puffy and bruised and barely opening – and saw her angel, looking at her through a barrier of bandits, concern and anger on her face.

Barely, she could make out the one handed bandit talking, taunting Teresa – and while he was focused on Teresa, he wasn’t paying attention to Clare.

Concentrating as hard as she could through the pain, Clare slowly reached up to the bandit’s belt, where his short sword was resting, and was able to grab it just as the bandit noticed her.

“Eh?” Hefting her up till only her feet dragged against the ground, he looked her in the eyes.

There was madness in those eyes – the same madness she’d seen that night in the forest, when he’d tried to violate Teresa.

“What are you doing with my sword pet? Do you think you can cut me with it?”

“No.” She whispered softly – before reaching up, and cutting away the hair that he was holding to keep her captive. Body crumpling forward, Clare fell – into the warm arms of Teresa.

“Teresa…”

She smiled, relaxing. Teresa was here, with her. Everything would be alright now.

“It’s alright Clare, I’m here.”

She sighed happily, snuggling closer. “He said you weren’t coming…”

Teresa narrowed her eyes at the one armed bandit. “He lied Clare. I came as soon as I could.”

“I knew you would…”

Smiling down at the precious bundle in her arms, eyes lingering for a moment on the child’s newly shorn hair, Teresa shifted Clare closer, before turning to stare at the bandits, silver eyes coldly furious. “Clare I need you to hold onto me, as tight as you can, alright?”

Clare nodded, tightening her grip. Were they going to run away?

That thought was immediately proven false by Teresa’s next words.

“You filth…You’re worse then Youma…I’m going to kill every last one of you…”

Clare’s eyes widened. No…No!

“Teresa!”

“Shh, Clare, it’s alright. Just hold on tight…”

Struggling, Clare turned her face towards her saviour. “No…Teresa! If you kill them…You’ll die. They’ll kill you!”

Her eyes filled with tears. “Please Teresa…”

The number one warrior’s silver eyes softened at the sight of Clare’s pleading green gaze. She wasn’t worried about dying – she was number one for a reason, and the organization didn’t know as much about her abilities as they thought, but Clare didn’t deserve to spend the rest of her life constantly on the run.

And yet, she couldn’t allow these…wretches…to continue on as they had, looting, murdering and raping…

As her eyes fell on the bandit who had taken Clare, an idea hit her.

“Alright Clare…don’t worry, I won’t kill them.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

She turned back to the bandits, and smiled. It was not the serene, small smile she was so known for however, but a vicious one, oddly similar to the one Youma wore when they were about to strike.

“You should thank this child, gentlemen. This girl, that you brutalised just saved you lives…thanks to her, I won’t kill you…”

Her smile got, if possible, even nastier.

“I’ll just…maim you a little.”

She tilted her head towards the one armed bandit. “And as your friend over there has proven you can still be troublesome even deprived of one arm, I’ll just have to take two. You can thank him later.”

Without moving her gaze from the bandits, Teresa adjusted Clare’s position so that she was held with only one arm, not two. “Close your eyes Clare. I don’t want you to have to see this.”

Clare nodded and obeyed…and Teresa of the Faint Smile moved.

[shelter]

Originally Posted by tripleofive

Hello!

So, this is me, finally de-lurking - nice to meet you all!

Now, so as not to be completely off topic, here is the first chapter of what I hink is going to turn out to be an epic AU, what-if Claymore fic. I would be really thankful to know what people think of it, and any constructive criticism would be very much appreciated! Also, this focuses a lot on Teresa and baby Clare, so don't read if you're a rabid Teresa and/or Clare hater - are there any actual rabid haters in this fandom?

This is just the first chapter, so I can't say very much about it.

I like it that you've chosen to align your narrative to a young Clare. It ups the ante, and the expectations that readers have. To clarify my point, I don't think Clare was a 'baby', but probably several years old. At least that's the impression that I get from reading. The thoughts, reactions, general worldview seem to be of a young child. If that's the feel you were looking for, then it's quite spot-on.

I like your style, the way you pack the action. One paragraph seems to only contain 1-2 major ideas or movements. But watch your sentences. They tend to be a contrast to your succinct paragraphs.

Also, I'm a bit worried about the future chapters. Partly because as a reader I don't have much idea on what the direction will be, except that it's an AU. Also, depending on both how AU-ish & grounded in the canon the story will be, I hope it won't just be a step-by-step detailed revision of the first few chapters of the manga.

Do you have another FFN/ FPress account so anyone else here can see your previous pieces?

[tripleofive]

Originally Posted by shelter

This is just the first chapter, so I can't say very much about it.

I like it that you've chosen to align your narrative to a young Clare. It ups the ante, and the expectations that readers have. To clarify my point, I don't think Clare was a 'baby', but probably several years old. At least that's the impression that I get from reading. The thoughts, reactions, general worldview seem to be of a young child. If that's the feel you were looking for, then it's quite spot-on.

I like your style, the way you pack the action. One paragraph seems to only contain 1-2 major ideas or movements. But watch your sentences. They tend to be a contrast to your succinct paragraphs.

Also, I'm a bit worried about the future chapters. Partly because as a reader I don't have much idea on what the direction will be, except that it's an AU. Also, depending on both how AU-ish & grounded in the canon the story will be, I hope it won't just be a step-by-step detailed revision of the first few chapters of the manga.

Do you have another FFN/ FPress account so anyone else here can see your previous pieces?

Oh, I don't mean she's actually a baby, I just call the little Clare from the Teresa arc 'baby Clare', as opposed to the more common 'little', 'young' or 'child' Clare. I always figured she was around 8-10 years old in that arc...

Also, I can assure you that this is most definitely NOT a rewrite of canon - things are going to be very different, though I can't say anymore yet. i should be posting the second chapter here soon, so you can see for yourself then!

Thank you very much for your concrit, but I'm not quite sure what you meant about the sentences - that they're too long, or wordy? I'm not the best at dialogue, so any advice there is very welcomed!

And finally, yeah, I have a fanfic.net account, but this is my only Claymore story, and also my first story in, like, a year, so it's probably not that useful - I'm incandescentkitsune there (not sure how to link.)

Once again, thank you so much for commenting!

[shelter]

Originally Posted by tripleofive

Thank you very much for your concrit, but I'm not quite sure what you meant about the sentences - that they're too long, or wordy? I'm not the best at dialogue, so any advice there is very welcomed!

I think the dialogue is fine the way it is.

What I meant is dialogue is best left as it is, or to stand alone with a speech tag (e.g "Let's go," she said.) In your case you describe dialogue & action together, which I felt clutters the flow of your story.

[tripleofive]

Originally Posted by shelter

I think the dialogue is fine the way it is.

What I meant is dialogue is best left as it is, or to stand alone with a speech tag (e.g "Let's go," she said.) In your case you describe dialogue & action together, which I felt clutters the flow of your story.

Really? Whenever I try to do that, I always feel that the story gets too...clunky, almost. When I insert the speech into the action, it helps me visualize it in my mind - maybe it's just me.

Well, the second chapter will be posted soon, so you can tell me if I've improved on that aspect or not!

[revan5]

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6610358/...r_eyed_Empress

The latest chapter is out for everyone's enjoyment!

[Nixl]

I kept seeing the artwork for the Silver Eyed Empress and so I finally decided to read what you posted Revan5. It appears pretty damn legit, but I had a Captain Obvious moment when I considered that I would know more of what was going on if I just started reading the chapter 1 first.

Thumbs up my friend.

[revan5]

Originally Posted by Nixl

I kept seeing the artwork for the Silver Eyed Empress and so I finally decided to read what you posted Revan5. It appears pretty damn legit, but I had a Captain Obvious moment when I considered that I would know more of what was going on if I just started reading the chapter 1 first.

Thumbs up my friend.

Many thanks Nixl. As a reward, I've posted RBN's latest work for your enjoyment here and in the Image thread.



This is how he imagines Claire's daughter Teresa growing up to look like. Everyone can have fun imagining less-than-totally-serious Teresa giving her uber-serious mom problems.

[Nixl]

One quick question for you Reven5. Are you a European history major/grad student by chance? Reading the names of the characters reminded me of European nobility and that seems like a subtle factor that a history major would have up their sleeves.

[revan5]

Originally Posted by Nixl

One quick question for you Reven5. Are you a European history major/grad student by chance? Reading the names of the characters reminded me of European nobility and that seems like a subtle factor that a history major would have up their sleeves.

What? Accusing a grad student of International Relations whose second love is history of knowing European nobility? Shocking! Alright Nixl, since you seem to be catching onto my tendencies, just which characters/their names are inspired by historical European nobility? Of course there's a whole other side to the story's inspirations in the names. I would invite you to think about the last name "Havel" for a moment and think about who in Eastern Europe of some importance a few decades ago shared that name.

[Nixl]

Aha! I knew it. For a claymore fanfiction, it is also reads like a Medieval European story of family succession and/or power-plays. There is far too much consideration of politics, family/faction relations, and selective marriages for it be made by anyone other than an European history enthusiast. Although, international relations was my second guess.

Give me a second to remember Havel, I am drawing a blank at the moment since I was a major of History with Asian studies.

edit: The only thing I can come up with is Valcav Havel, the former Czech dissident turned president.

[White Silver King]

There's a guy on Deviant Art who draws his own Claymore Doujinshi and OCs. His art looks almost exactly like Yagi's (so it's really really good) and his concepts are really creative. He's only uploaded the pages in parts but they're all fantastic I'll find a link. My favorite of his characters is the number 6 of Isley's generation that he made, Samuel of White Aria, he's a young kid who used to hum songs to himself when he killed Yoma (hence the name).

Here's the link to his Gallery. His "Awa Doujinshi", "Awakened", and "Claymore" sub-galleries all have Claymore stuff.

Here are some of my favorites:

Claymore Riful:

Spoiler:

OC Claymore Sarah:

Spoiler:

OC Claymore Samuel (Awakened Human Form):

Spoiler:

OC Sarah vs Teresa

Spoiler:

[Weird D]

Might as well bump the thread a little.

Spoiler for Outtake : the Roxanne effect:

“Don’t come any closer!” Miria’s warning shout, accompanied by the tightening grip on her sword, was enough to make Tabitha back off. Looking like a kicked puppy, the braided warrior returned to her side of the standoff.

“Please Captain, this is ridiculous!” she pleaded. “You know I’d never…”

“Better safe than sorry.” Miria interrupted.

“But she’s right Miria! After all we’ve been through, why would we…” Yuma insisted, trying to placate Miria.

“Just call it a precautionary measure.” Surprisingly, Cynthia’s voice was lacking its usual kindness, replaced with a wary edge.

“Galatea, make them see reason, please.” Clare said with barely-repressed annoyance. “This is ridiculous and you all know it.”

“That’s what you think.” the blind Claymore replied coldly.

And this is the scene that Helen and Deneve came up to : Galatea, Miria and Cynthia watching Clare, Tabitha and Cynthia like they were expecting to be attacked at any moment. While only the former group had their swords drawn, the tension between them was so thick that it would take little to nothing for the situation to explode.

Helen blinked several times at the sight. “What the hell is going on here?”

“It’s just a misunderstanding.” Clare stated.

“Please help us! They’ve gone mad!” Yuma shouted.

“We haven’t, we’re just being cautious.” Miria explained.

“More like paranoid.” Clare muttered.

Helen and Deneve exchanged confused looks.

“Come on Captain. Just because there were some… strange circumstances does not mean anything. You know we love…”

“Don’t finish that sentence!”

Deneve sighed before calling out to no one. “Okay, that’s enough. I’m confused, the readers are confused, so spill it! What’s going on?”

The only answer she got was a dainty giggle from a corner of the room. Looking around, she finally noticed the presence of an unknown warrior who gave them a friendly wave, a bright grin on her glossy lips. She had curly hair that was done in girlish pigtails and a mole under her eye.

Miria glanced at the unknown warrior and flinched visibly.

“YOU!” Tabitha screamed.

“Yes?” the friendly-looking Claymore smiled innocently.

“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!”

“What did I do?” Roxanne of Love and Hate asked, a look of clueless bewilderment on her face.

“Because of you Captain is scared of me!” Tabitha shouted, looking like she wanted to cleave her in two.

Cynthia looked at Roxanne distrustfully. “Apparently, your attitude has caused a spread of paranoia around.”

“As if you wouldn’t be if you were in our place!” Galatea scowled. “Look at you! You picked up Yoki synchronization from Cynthia, just like Clare did from me. Considering how Roxanne turned out, we are a bit worried.”

“All right, what exactly has your panties in a bunch?” Helen asked. “I mean, having a copycat character in a manga isn’t exactly uncommon.”

“How about the fact that Roxanne was infamous for befriending other warriors she admired, learning or copying their fighting styles, and once mastered, said warrior would conveniently die shortly after?”

“They died in Awakened hunts.” Roxanne defended, unfazed by the thinly-veiled accusation.

“Right… and you were present in every one of those.” Cynthia shot back.

“Not to mention some of those ABs were weak…” Galatea continued.

“And you didn’t care about your comrades’ death.” Miria finished.

“Are you saying you think I had a hand in their death?” Roxanne gave them the most harmless smile she could. “Do I look like a cold-blooded murderer?”

“Ophelia looked like a nice person, for two pages.” Miria snorted. “Then she turned out to be a complete psycho.” She then turned to Roxanne. “And did you see how you looked in that panel where you saw Cassandra for the first time?”

“Like I was in awe of her?”

“No. Batshit insane.” the Phantom deadpanned.

Helen sweatdropped at the explanation. “I think I understand a little, but isn’t it a bit too extreme?”

“Consider yourself lucky Jean and Undine are dead, or you and Deneve would be busy defending yourselves.” Yuma sighed.

“Hey, I respected Undine. That’s why I…”

“Took up her fighting style.” Galatea finished sweetly.

“After she died! Same for Helen!” Deneve scowled.

Helen nodded. “But what about Taby? She didn’t copy anything from you, Miria. She merely idolizes you!”

“And that’s exactly how Roxanne started every time! Then she went from stalker with a crush to PSYCHO stalker with a crush.” Miria scowled while Tabitha went teary-eyed. "Actually, scratch that. Recent chapters have shown she's just plain evil, period."

"Standing on the side while an AB tortured a fellow warrior, causing your so-called 'friend' to lose it and cut through the others to get to you, and laughing as she did." Galatea enumerated.

"Come on, Ophelia threw Raki to an AB to try and make me Awaken." Clare snorted. That's nothing to sneeze at."

At that moment, Roxanne suddenly sneezed.

"Sorry, but Ophelia did have a redeeming ending. Roxanne is just a crazy manipulative bitch so far." Cynthia stated. Yes, sweet nice Cynthia actually insulted someone. The world is coming to an end.

()()()()

Claymore afterlife.

"HER EVILNESS... IT'S… IT’S OVER NINE THOUSAND!!!!" Riful shouted, a look of shock on her face.

“NO WAY!! I’VE BEEN OUT-CRAZIED!!” Ophelia shrieked.

“WAAHHHH!!!!” they both broke into tears in each other’s arms.

()()()()

By now everyone was backing away from Roxanne.

"So what? You think she's contagious?" Deneve asked blankly.

"YES!!!" all three paranoid warriors chorused together.

"This is the dumbest plot idea the author's ever had." Helen deadpanned.

*Hey, give me a break. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find anything funny in this manga lately? I wrote this after chapter 118 was out, changed it a bit to fit 119, and now 120 came out during proof-reading*

“Fine, fine. I’m sorry.” Helen grumbled.

“This is all your fault.” Tabitha repeated in a hateful hiss, drawing her sword and taking a step toward Roxanne.

“Taby, I don’t think this is a good idea.” Helen pleaded.

“Why?”

“Because she IS a former Number One and can wipe the floor with you without even trying?” Helen suggested.

This made Tabitha pause. She glared at Roxanne who smiled back innocently at her. Oh how she wanted to wipe off that smirk, but Helen was right. Still, justice had to be served so she needed to blame someone for pushing her beloved Captain away from her. Her eyes caught Raki who was casually passing near them.

“YOU!!” she shouted.

Raki stopped and gave her a friendly smile until he saw the look in Tabitha’s eyes. “Yes Tabitha? Is there anything wrong?”

“YES!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!”

Everyone stared at Tabitha’s sudden shift in target. A collective ‘huh?’ was heard.

“IT IS!” Tabitha continued. “If you hadn’t befriended Priscilla, she wouldn’t have stabbed you with her arm. Then you wouldn’t have been taken by the Organization. Then Dae wouldn’t have been able to resurrect those three. Then the rebellion would have succeeded and Captain would not be scared of me!!”

“Whoa! Nice anti-Raki rant here.” Helen admitted. “Though your priorities are a bit off.”

“You’re not helping.” Raki took a step back as Tabitha stomped toward him, sword drawn.

“DIE!!!” Tabitha roared as she threw herself at the man, and not in the good way the author usually makes Claymores do when Raki’s involved. No, this was more the ‘rabid Clare VS Priscilla’ charge. The vengeful warrior brought her sword down, carving a deep gash in the wall. Then she stabbed the wall again and again. Completely unaware that her target was a good ten feet away from her.

Everyone blinked in confusion as they tried to understand what was going on, though Miria and Roxanne were struck with a sense of familiarity.

“I did that.” a certain Claymore with anti-warrior training explained as she walked from behind Raki.

The young man breathed in relief and looked at her gratefully. “Thank you.”

Raftela’s only answer was a simple “You’re welcome.” Raki failed to notice how she looked away shyly, or the faint reddening of her cheeks.

The other warriors didn’t and groaned mentally as yet another Claymore fell to the Raki effect.

“Hey!” Roxanne protested. “This chapter is named after me remember!”

“And by the way, you’d better solve this ridiculous situation soon.” Clare demanded.

“Especially since we’re now outnumbered.” Yuma finished with an anxious look at the opposing side.

*Alright, let me think*

There was a short silence until, with a rumble of thunder (funny, that sounded like cheering fanboys) and a flash of lightning (oops, that’s a flickering light bulb), a familiar yet still dazzling figure was revealed. Her goddess-like body clad in her old warrior’s uniform, sword on her back, her long blond hair fluttering in the breeze and her kind yet confident smile on her face, Teresa of the Faint Smile was looking at them.

WHOOSH!!!!

The aforementioned gentle breeze suddenly turned into a small tempest that blew everyone’s hair and, if applicable, skirts.

Oops, sorry, wrong button.

They all fixed their hair and clothes and Raki discreetly wiped the slight nosebleed he had gotten. Who would have thought Cynthia and Galatea wore naughty underwear?

“Teresa?” Clare said in disbelief though she didn’t dare hug her long-lost mother figure. Any sudden movement might cause an attack reflex from the other side.

“What are you doing here?” Deneve wondered.

“And what’s with the halo?” Helen asked, pointing at the glowing circle above her head.

Teresa looked up and shrugged. “It’s necessary to distinguish the warriors brought back by Yagi and those brought back by the author. As for why I’m here, well, since you are all acting like children, I was sent to solve your little problem.”

“And what’s in for you?” Miria insisted with narrowed eyes.

“Oh, Miria, are you implying I was bribed? How dare you?” Teresa pouted, radiating so much innocence that Roxanne felt jealous.

()()()()

Flashback, Claymore Afterlife. Minutes ago.

“I COMMAND YOU TO GET DOWN THERE!!” a booming voice was heard.

“No.” was the simple answer.

“Oh come on! I’ll give you anything you want.” the author whined.

“You have nothing I want.”

“Money?”

“I don’t need it.”

“Adoring fans?”

“Remember who I am?”

“Men? Women?”

*glare*

“A lemon between you and Raki?”

*brief hesitation* “No.”

“… Changing the label on your shirt?”

“DEAL!!!”

()()()()

“… after all, it’s my duty as peaceholder.” Teresa finished as she looked around at the gathered participants. No one noticed how eyes lingered a split second longer on Raki. ‘Maybe I should have taken that offer.’

“Oh, I remember now! You’re that number one who had the lamest death.” Roxanne quipped in an overly friendly tone.

Teresa’s smile never faltered as she very slowly turned her head to the cause of this mess, her eyes meeting Roxanne’s overly friendly gaze.

Nor did it when she cracked her knuckles.

()()()()

In an effort to protect our pure innocent souls from the sheer violence of the incoming and much deserved thrashing, let us skip to a sweet, tender moment between two kindred spirits.

()()()()

“Rachel? Did you already reattach your limbs after chapter 118?” Rubel asked dreadfully as he backed away from his… Lover? Mistress? Torturer? Well, his something.

Who was wearing a dominatrix outfit.

Rachel only smiled sweetly. “Details, Ruby-poo. Now,” the smile then vanished, replaced with a beastly snarl, “I’M TRYING TO BE MORE DEMURE AND FEMININE AND YOU CHEAT ON ME WITH THAT MUSCLE-BOUND FREAK?! WELL NO MORE NICE RACHEL MISTER!!” she bellowed, still upset at Undine’s interference in the previous chapter.

“She ambushed me… Please… Have mercy…” the spy begged.

“I’m all out of mercy… BUT I HAVE THIS!! NOW BEND OVER AND TAKE IT!!”

“NO! NOT THE STRAP ON!! PLEASE… DON’T…YYYEEAAARGHHHHHH!!!” his broken plea ended in a high-pitched scream of pure agony.

“OH YES!!! WHO’S YOUR DADDY? HUH? WHO’S YOUR DADDY, BITCH!!”

()()()()

After the dust had settled, Teresa was seen wiping her hands, her infamous smile definitely on the smug side and absolutely unscathed. Behind her, the battered and dismembered form of the older Claymore had been face-planted into the ground. Roxanne had lasted a grand total of 0.8 seconds against the aptly-hailed strongest warrior ever, who had reaffirmed her status as ultimate badass of the series.

Damn, that was too fast. She should have suffered more.

The author's grumbling was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Cassandra.

“You know,” she commented snidely as she crouched down and poked her with a stick, “’Dust Eater’ fits you pretty well too now.”

“You have dirt on your face.” Roxanne said before resuming her struggling to free herself, which was difficult without arms or legs. Even though she could not see the elfin-eared Claymore, she knew how she’d react.

“ACK!!” Cassandra shrieked as she predictably and frantically rubbed her face to clean it. As she did, the Macarena started playing in the background.

“That was a nice warm-up. Now,” Teresa said sweetly, “shall we go back to your little problem?”

By now everyone had huddled together and was hugging each other in sheer fright. None of them noticed they were all holding to Raki somehow.

“Problem?” Miria asked.

“What problem?” Yuma repeated.

“Teresa, I assure you, there is no problem.” Clare smiled a bit shakily.

“See?” Helen grinned as she threw her arms over Raki and Raftela’s shoulders. “We’re all pals.”

“Comrades.” Galatea confirmed.

“Best friends forever.” Deneve nodded.

They all ignored Tabitha who was still carving a tunnel in the walls, constantly shouting “DIE!” and showing no sign of stopping.

“Right. We can share skills, techniques, and, well, everything.” Cynthia concluded.

Raftela blinked. “Everything?”

“YES!!!” Everyone shouted.

“In this case, I’ll be borrowing him.” the anti-warrior informed before picking up Raki and quickly making away.

Stunned silence, then…

“WHAT?!”

“HELL NO!!”

“HE’S MINE!!!”

“IN YOUR DREAMS FOURTY-SEVEN!”

“COME BACK HERE!!!”

Teresa suddenly found herself alone with Roxanne and Cassandra. “Author-san?”

*Yes?*

“Is that offer still good?”

*One time deal sorry*

“Damn!” Teresa pouted. “By the way, aren’t we missing someone?” she wondered. “I mean, there were three resurrected warriors, yet there were only two in this chapter. Where’s the last one?”

*Well, you see, despite being the hottest of the trio, Hysteria turned out to be a self-absorbed bitch with no real personality. It’s like her sole purpose was to keep Miria busy. I mean, honestly, keeping on attacking Miria when there was an Abyssal-level Awakened next to her…So I couldn’t fit her here.*

Inside an Priscilla-proof broom closet:

“I HATE BEING IGNORED!!” the missing warrior shouted in hysterics. “LET ME OUT!!!”

[Blue Pentacle]

Hi there,


It has been a long time since I last posted here, on any particular subject, but with good reason as other things, and IRL, have been keeping me busy .


Still, it is nice to be back and with some news too. As some may recall, I conceived and completed a short story series titled "Strange Consorts" - the peculiar tale of a meeting between a young Raki and Luciela of the South, and what came to pass for them.


Expressing interest in continuing the stories, and with much good reception, I have been planning and considering when I could and am pleased to finally offer the first part of a new work - "Strange Consorts: Bad for Business"


The first part can be found below:

Spoiler for Strange Consorts: Bad for Business Part 1:

Claymore

Strange Consorts

Bad for Business

Part 1


Beneath a thick, grey sky a country road crested atop a hill and the lone traveller came to a thankful stop; the ascent having taxed his calves greatly and he having no appetite for falling again as he had once done just before. Now at the top, he so hoped, he found a generous and rewarding vista; albeit one dimmed and drained by the thick clouds and soft light on this unsettled day. Going forward to a more favourable point, he stood by a old tree next to the road and regarded the world beyond.


To the west were many, many acres of unbroken forest which stretched north to the horizon. To the north east, a thick rolling silver cut the landscape as it snaked south; the river still a little lustrous despite the feeble light of the day. This great watery path had then proceeded to flow between the two halves of a large, grey smear a little way from the foot of the hill to the east; the settlement a large and almost unbroken circle ringed by high walls.


From here, the river turned and swept east amongst forest before he lost sight of it. Sighing, he fumbled with a large leather pouch underneath his cloak and soon raised some needed water to dry lips. Suitably refreshed, in part, he took in the scene again; now spying more than he first had in the tiny shapes on boats on the nearby river, and the thin plumes of chimney smoke from places inside the town.


It had been about four days of travel through the province of Langchard, in the south east of Toulouse, until he could at last spy its capital in the big town of Braeton; sat comfortably on the lower reaches of the Ponterus river and considered to be quite prosperous as one of the first large towns on the trading spine of the same name. Regarding the town beyond, he pondered a dulling sky and knew that rain would probably be coming soon; the weak light of the day only diminishing as night would soon spread from the east. His thoughts a little uneasy, but buoyed by purpose he took another swig and started to set off again down the hill.


From beneath his hood, Raki eyed the tall walls and could not deny a certain knot of tension as each step took him forward towards a difficult undertaking.


<><><><><><><><><><>


Approaching the town was a hard walk in itself and the brown eyed youth felt his thoughts slip back to what had come before. A little surprised to realise that it had only been about two and half months since incredible happenings in more southern Mucha, and his part in them which had ultimately seen two very dissimilar beings find something in each other. Raki, an orphaned boy from Doga who had set out north, and Luciela...at first a refined, almost regal woman who had in truth been one of the great fabled monster’s of the world, the Abyssal of the South.


In the war between the monsters and their ilk, Luciela had been weakened and driven north by the invading “Silver King of Alphonse”, Isley; the boy and herself united by an act of kindness which had precipitated greater events, and even greater changes for the fallen Abyssal One. At last, after much tumult and toil, pain and revelation, these most unlikely of companions had set of from the town of Salz; their path northward towards the greener places of Toulouse, and whatever awaited them there.


Much had happened too, in the intervening two months and Raki could not help but feel a smile form on his tired features; the flicker of warm memories and scenes which had so coloured the past weeks firing him to new energy. Dwelling so, he soon found the way ahead broken by high stone fortifications; a large gate looming over some sparse traffic both in and out of Braeton with a spattering of guards bearing the town crest, giving stony glances to passing faces.


Feeling a spike of unease, Raki composed himself and continued; remembering to lower his hood and thankful his sword was hidden under his cloak and belongings. Passing under the gate, he felt the men’s eyes peel over him and before long Braeton swallowed him without incident. At first quite compelled by the sheer size and colour of the town, Raki passed with curious eyes under high buildings and thoroughfares; the intensity of population at first a little oppressive until he grew accustomed to the throng.


Tempted to think of shortcuts, he still remained on the same street; pressing onward and upward until he fancied that the path crested; the boy finding a scene of roof tops parted by the river as the town spread to the north east. Carrying onward, the promised rain arrived though this did not harry him too much; remembering to keep his eyes and ears open for what was desired.


In all, passing down that same incline, Raki found the familiar harsh sounds of the market; shops and vendors, cries proclaiming wares and the hanging banners of other businesses. The crowds particularly thickening here despite the rain, he drew away for a moment before pressing onward into Braeton.


Passing a few shops, Raki noticed his nose stirred by something; a sudden passing of a sweet scent, loudly different from the various other...less pleasant smells of the market places. He could not name it, and soon let the question pass, though it did linger. The sky having already darkened quite a bit, he noticed the first lights being born in high windows as the rain continued to fall; making him too think of warmer places and intentions. Still, with a few more steps and another small square, he found the desired retreat.


The building sat beside a narrower street and three stories high, Raki found the welcome shape and name of the Drymen Inn; passing from the wet night into a doorway and then a small, but welcoming lobby. To the left of a stairwell was a reception; the area divided off from the rest of the floor with a man looking up from a ledger at the new night born arrival. Raki let his hood fall back as he approached and spoke to waiting ears. Soon money was passed, ink wetted a page and keys were given before he was making his way up the stairs and into the narrow, softly lit hallways there.


<><><><><><><><><><>


The room was atop the third floor, one of particular size which the attendant downstairs had found curious though the coin of a paying customer had settled his concerns. Raki finding the door, he thrust and twisted the old key before it opened and he was in. The room itself spacious and well furnished, Raki sagged onto the large bed; his cloak, back pack and sword sat on one of the fire side tall chairs. Fighting the desire to simply recline, he peeked out of the large, half veiled window at the sights of a darkened Braeton; the sounds of the rain on the roof and the slight chill of the glass making his tired flesh shiver just a little before he closed the curtain fully.


Soon feeding the small fire place, the room grew warm with hot colours. Later, the place now all the more inviting, Raki returned from a hot bath; a little of the journey’s ache remaining before he let himself fall atop the bed. His head heavy and body tired, he lay and eyed the dancing flames; occasionally letting his gaze follow the warps of red and orange on the now shadowy walls.


Turning, he sighed and rubbed his face; thoughts again questioning as to the nature of his place here, and what it might accomplish. Finally retiring to bed, he thought to let the fire die out as he propped his short sword beside the nearby night stand. Blowing out the small candle he let the sheets close about him and sleep kindly arrived soon after.


<><><><><><><><><><>


Though he had taken little that day, Raki was roused at some hour by nature’s familiar call and dimly got up; spying the fire’s embers casting a soft light as he went in search of the nearby place to relieve himself.


A little more lucid, Raki returned relived to his room; slipping into the warm shadows with thoughts of bed again. It was as he closed the door and was inside, that he stopped suddenly. Earlier thoughts and desires dying as a slight alarm sounded in his mind. Something was different...was not quite right.


That sweet scent was here again...the same one that had drew him earlier in the market, but here it lingered. In the corner of his eye stood a chest of drawers, and upon them once sat a bowl of fruit; the yellow and orange shades of the Jauange, native to Langchard. But now, to a pained mind, the fruit was missing and the bowl sitting upside down. Chest tight and eyes sharp, thoughts yearned for the sword on the other side of the room as answer to his fright while he remained still.


At last, with a slow glance at the thickly lying shadows, he gave some dry words.


“L...listen...stop it...there’s someone there...I know you’re there...so...so...come out. Now...”


His words were not in vain, but did little to stop him from squirming when, from one of the fire side chairs, two golden eyes pulsed brightly. Raki giving a grunt as he stood back, found a shape sunk in the leather folds of the chair and a voice followed.


“How did you know?...”


The voice was feminine, calm and refined; untroubled and seemingly without threat.


Raki felt himself almost deflate in relief.


“Luciela...”


<><><><><><><><><><>


Still standing by the chest of drawers, Raki watched the tall, hooded figure rise from their seat and feed a few coals into the fire place; the flames rekindling after a time as more light spilled into the room and the figure drew up. Golden eyes fading as the cowl was shed and red locks spilled about a slender pale face and shoulders. In the soft light, blue eyes were warmed with a little smile of welcome.


“My apologies if I scared you, Raki...but I am glad you found such nice quarters here in Braeton; it’s pleasing that the Drymen still stands after so many years...”


Letting her long cloak slip from her shoulders as it revealed a softly red dress beneath, Raki crossed to the bed and drew the nightgown closer; feeling the last pangs of fear ebb as his own smile formed at her return.


“No, no...well...it was a surprise, and I was a bit lost as to what was there. And yes...it seems a well kept place, and nice too.”


Luciela folded her cloak, still damp, and sat again, he sword propped against an arm rest; regarding the flames for a moment before returning with interested eyes to her young companion.


“Yes. Still, how did you know I was here?”


The boy seemed caught for a moment before answering.


“Well...there was that sweet scent...the same one from the market place earlier...I know it was. That was you, wasn’t it?”


Crossing her arms gently, she smiled slightly.


“Yes, it was and I’m glad you noticed – more so that you kept it in mind. Was there anything else?”


He swallowed, eyeing the empty bowl.


“The fruit bowl. I remember it having a few of those fruits inside when I arrived. But getting back from my...er...business, it was empty and on its side. That set me off, but I didn’t realise at first.”


Luciela nodded with some satisfaction; letting her eyes slip to his pillow and back again.


“Good. I’m glad that my lessons are being taken to heart. Keeping your senses open and alert even at the least of times is important, and it’s good to find your wits quick too. Still...what if it had been something...else...what then?”


Perching thin eyebrows, Raki was a little uncomfortable as he knew what was coming.


“Well, the sword was by the nightstand, but I kept a dagger under the pillow, as suggested.”


“You mean this?” She gently asked; slipping a slender hand into a open sleeve to grasp a thin knife; its steel brilliant in the firelight as she revealed the weapon.


Raki nodded stiffly, glancing back to the pillow which had seemed undisturbed. Luciela eyed the blade and him before setting in down in her lap.


“Well...don’t be too taken back. But, if it was needed, this would have done little left under there...and not with you. If the situation had arose, you might have been completely open and vulnerable to anything...knowing what anything could mean...”


Raki nodded with a awkward expression.


“Yes...yes, I know now – well, I should have known but it slipped me. Sorry.”


Luciela smiled and relaxed a little more; her eyes once searching now more content.


“Good, but no need to. A mistake is a chance to learn, and you have been learning much lately, and well too. A teacher could ask for little else, I think, with such a good student. Relax, you’re doing well, Raki, and so soon too.”


Sheathing the blade, she crossed one leg; the folds of her red dress slipping aside to reveal the pale, slender shapes of her feet. Tossing in another coal to the fire, Raki came and sat on the bedside nearby her; the boy watching the flames for a moment too before resting on her, and with a small smile. Luciela turned to him again with a lighter expression.


“So...how have you found Braeton? It’s certainly bigger than I the last time I was here...and that must have been twenty years ago...seems like the town has remained prosperous; reputation and all.”


“Yes, I found that too. I mean...it’s just so big – I mean the last place I saw close to this was Salz, back then, and maybe Talenn when we passed through that hilly country...Hangfeld, and then to here..”


Luciela nodded in agreement; recalling, even after so many long decades, the first awe of realising the vastness of the town and city.


“That’s right, and they will only get bigger the further north you go too; bigger and more complex not only in design but in manner too. Something you will see in those city states, and most particularly in Rabona – which we may visit, given the chance.”


Raki seemed noticeably intrigued by this and it showed in tired eyes.


“That would be good. I was once told that just one district of that city is far more than Doga was...and just seeing Braeton makes me believe it all the more. I thought it easy to lose your way here, but then once you get to know the place you would probably know your way around as easy as any village.”


Inclining her head, the Abyssal One nodded gently; though her eyes were pregnant with something.


“That’s right, and true for us too. Which means that, now we are here in the town, maybe we should think what should come next...and especially if you want to carry through what you want too, Raki...”


Recognising the subject, the boy seemed less inspired and just nodded; his eyes more ambivalent about her words.


“Yes, I know. Things haven’t changed since then...I’ve thought a lot about it, and it is frightening...but I still want to do it...even though it might mean other things too...as you said.”


The woman was silent as she considered his face and nodded; the weight shared by both of them, though with a different kind of purchase on him. Clearing the air, she rubbed her features softly before speaking.


“That’s fine, it is a lot to think about – I know, but let’s not linger on it too heavily now. It’s late, so I think sleep will do you well...and me too, in a while.”


Returning to bed with a glad heart, Raki sunk into the pillows; saving a last look for Luciela. Her elegant shape having curled up on the old chair smoothly; her head leant softly to the side closer to the warmth. Eyes closed, Raki felt that familiar intrigue as the gentle light played on her serene, cool beauty; pale hands folded in her lap as she seemed almost asleep. Watching, he felt eyes widen in surprise as a lid cracked and blue considered him; lips a soft smile.


“Don’t worry. It was long, but I’m not as stiff as you might be from the journey. And, as you know, I’m something of a cat...so lounging by a fireside comes a little too natural for me on nights like this...mark of my bestial soul, me thinks...”


<><><><><><><><><><>


Later that night, the fire dimmed again but the room remained warm as now two figures lay under the quilts. Raki sunk heavily in much needed sleep, while Luciela rested too; her features still while her long red locks spilled about the off white pillow. Getting in earlier, the woman had given a soft smile and drawn close to the boy; allowing her remarkable body to grow warm for both their need, on this chill night. Before closing her eyes, she had regarded the sleeping face close to her’s; the trials and pains she knew he had endured now seeming lost on that peaceful complexion of young manhood. With that, she too had given over to sleep as the rain tapped outside.


Both dreamed in those small, still hours.


Raki found himself returning to those times between the beginning of this remarkable companionship between a human boy and the once Abyssal queen of the southern lands – among the greatest of those called Awakened Beings, a living and terrifying legend, a monster...and now his friend.


The scene was a tranquil dale in the first days of spring. The sun peeked brilliantly through the leaves and a breeze played there too. Below, the two had taken to stopping; Luciela taking to instruct Raki that day with a test. It was not the first, and was only one of many things she had taken to teaching him since those two had set out from Salz. The signs of the weather, qualities of minerals, survival skills, tracking, trapping and the nature of the seasons among the many things she passed to him. Here was a test of swords; something Raki was eager to learn, and to which Luciela consented...but in her own way.


Facing each other amid the tall grass, both drew their weapons: Raki his short sword, and Luciela her hand and a half blade, the least of things which she might use. As they began, a odd sound was heard in the grass, to which Raki turned. Pulling back to his opponent, he found her gone. Tensely turning, his arms locked, he heard something to his side and swung – the blade meeting nothing as the sound drew back.


Trying to calm down, he lowered the weapon a little when his name was called from somewhere amid the nearby trees. Peering, he narrowed his eyes to get a better look only to have his name spoken again – this time right behind him. A start and a cry later, he turned and his blade met her’s in hard swings. It took little for her to turn the tables as the boy’s sword was forced back under fast, pressing single handed thrusts.


She smiled as he tenaciously gripped his weapon and drove the blade forward when he imagined a opening; the steel impotent as she twirled aside to bounce the blade away with her own. Annoyed, Raki had turned and took forward; his lunge stopped as many long, slender tendrils gripped his forearms. Once the fingers of Luciela’s left hand, it took only a brisk swipe of her sword to disarm Raki; leaving the boy to stumble back as she drew up his weapon.


Himself frustrated and a little embarrassed, she gently returned the smaller blade to its owner; her words and actions giving the lesson of the day. Raki’s foes would not always be human, thus he would have to understand that such things would use the human senses and instincts against their prey; sight, sound, emotion, lesser strength and impulse just a few ways in which his own self could be used against him in combat, and otherwise. It was but the first session of that day, and by the end Raki had learned well a few things; the boy weary while his teacher had barely exerted herself. Still, that day had remained with him with deep affection and fascination for her knowledge...


<><><><><><><><><><>


Raki’s dreams were warm, though her’s were of a different sort; the depth and texture finer, darker and more doubtful.


She found herself in those recent days too...but not crossing blades or imparting some wisdom, but rather in the silence of nightly repose. In the shadow of a tall tree atop a hill, both she and Raki had made camp for the night; a good fire casting shadows while both had tried to get some sleep. It was during this time, at some hour, that the red headed woman had awoken and found herself watching his sleeping form intently. It was here that a unspoken lump of fear had been born in her stomach, and she hastened to be rid of it. The fear growing, she had slowly drawn a arm up and reached towards the boy’s shape beneath his covers. Hesitating for a long moment, slender fingers pressed down and found his form under the fabric; warm, solid and breathing. And real...


She felt her heart ease and her hand drew back to veil a tired expression. It had been silly – yet born of real fear...almost terror.


In her blackest moments, even after the brightest days, she would sometimes find herself doubting everything...this journey, her feelings, Raki... A soul terrified that she would only have to press delicately for this world, this new life to break and shatter. Raki and everything else falling away as the phantom of a broken mind...something which had haunted her when she first became what she was, all those years ago: a roaring, dribbling, weeping monstrosity lost to a schizophrenic dream world, and with neigh on divine power through but a whim...


Sleeping, she stirred and a strain passed over her features. Slowly it ebbed until she was still again and peace returned. The night hung heavily outside, wet and blustery, while the sleepers continued with their dreams...


<><><><><><><><><><>


In another part of town, a certain man made his way along a high, narrow street; indifferent to the rain and shadows, his mind was set on other things. Thickly set and with rough hewn features, he was clad in clothes of good make; a hand habitually resting on the pommel of a short sword at his waist. Under one arm, there was a bundle of papers wrapped tightly in a leather case. Finding his destination atop the street, the building was old and rather squat; but its windows were bright and soon he was making his way up the steps and inside the place and its business which bore his name. Barry & Co.


End of Part 1

To be continued...

I hope this stirs some consideration and enjoyment in this continuing unusual friendship between the boy and the Abyssal One.


Blue Pentacle.

[Shiek927]

Firstly, I just want to point out how sad it is that the fanfiction thread now seems to be joining the other threads into fading -- aside from the image thread (which may eventually join the same fate), I thought this one would never fade like all the others...but nobody commented on Dany's fic? It's sad...

But not to worry Blue - I was pretty much your primary, and only, reviewer really so that doesn't change

I'm happy to see this story finally gets it's long-awaited sequel -- your take is so interesting because, as I told you before, rather then going for an epic that involves tons of characters, the fate of the island etc....you focus purely and especially on one thing, which is what we want the most of anyway: Character development. You focus purely and solely on their relationship that it, in a way, more then makes up for everything else.

It can make your style overwhelming, as it was for me in the beginning....but I've grown accustomed to your style; I would nitpick and critique, but I'm passed that really -- you've plainly decided to stick with the way you've been writing since the first chapter, and really, at this point, I'm used to it so it really doesn't matter anyway.

And as far as errors in this chapter, nitpicking is really all I can say, which, at this point, It's not worth it anymore.....the old errors like, Raki isn't really from the Southern region (better translations put him in the Southern part of Lautrec...the West; Riful territory), which isn't confirmed to be named "Mucha".....Luciella could only have been weakened by other Abyssals or beings on her level no matter how many or how strong.....etc; nitpicks which, at this point, isn't even worth bringing up anymore.

Really, I don't even want to critique about anything to be honest -- in general, I'm just happy that a new chapter has been made. We have your overwhelming detail as usual which, while in someways is excessive, truly pulls you into the world in a way few have done before; your creativity in coming up with the various town names (and making the central region much more populated - aside from Rabona, their really isn't any notable city-states or towns)...again, rather then focusing on the bigger events with the various main characters, warriors etc....you focus solely and purely on Raki and Luciella in this big big world which is something truly unique and grossly needed more.

Really, if their is one true critique, it's this -- this chapter, has no title...it's fine if you don't want to make any, since the last story didn't for any of the chapters; however, the story is called "Strange Consorts: Bad for Business"....in the spoiler tag however, you write only "Part 1" which makes it imply that BFB is the name of the chapter and this is part 1, of chapter 1. You should clarify and probably edit this to make it better.

I'm curious about what kind of business these people are running; no doubt illicit and dark -- if I had to guess, perhaps slave-traders, people working with the Org to supply children, the mining camps....hell, maybe even something involving women which places Luciella under watchful eyes as well. It definitely sounds enticing as it's something, again, that is difficult to guess at because, in general, it's rare that such focus is put on things like this.

Their's alot I feel I could say, but I do want to stay on topic, and really, the message I'm saying is a simple one -- that it's good you're continuing the story and a new one has been made to enjoy.

[Blue Pentacle]

Thank you, Shiek927.


It is good to hear your considered reviews again and I do appreciate the points raised; familiar and understood but I am glad that you have enjoyed the first part.


I am also happy to hear that my intentions seemed to be realised in the course of the text, and that the relationship between Raki and Luciela remains a central draw for readers .


You do raise good points in regards to where the story may go, and I hope that the next part will answer some questions and add further texture to the world, as it is.


Thanks again for your reviews .

[revan5]

Spoiler for RBN's first efforts at visualizing "Claymore: New Era" as a manga:

If you ever wondered why Shiek doesn't sympathize with my complaints that he never reads my work, you now know why. Ironically this may be harder for him to ignore, as he can actually enjoy this as a manga.

[Weird D]

Okay, here's the latest humor bit, directly born from the chapter 120 discussion thread. Enjoy!

Spoiler for Outtake : leadership issues:

“Well,” Miria scowled at her assembled friends, “what do you have to say for yourselves?”

No one answered, which made Miria’s scowl deepen. “Six chapters.” she said slowly. “This rebellion has been going on for six freaking chapters and you have just arrived. We’ve been through Abyss Feeders and resurrected Number Ones, who have now Awakened by the way… I am the only warrior left at anywhere near fighting condition…”

“Calm down Captain. Your arms will fall off if you lose focus.”

Miria ignored Tabitha’s concern. “Because you know, all the others have been kind of dismembered, aside from the combat-capable twins and Raftela, who is near death anyway. I could have used the reinforcements much earlier. So WHY did it take so long?”

The rest of the Ghosts, minus Clare who was still absent, shuffled on their feet, heads lowered.

“Well at least we got another ‘big damn heroes’ moment out of it.” Helen muttered.

“We did look pretty awesome.” Cynthia nodded.

“Hello, Abyssal-level Awakened, three of them.” Miria scowled. “So I wouldn’t be so cocky if I were you.”

“Come on, you got yourself yet another epic moment too.” Helen grinned. “I mean, you went toe to toe with a Number One and actually won.”

Miria snorted. “By getting myself hacked to pieces, and resorting to a dirty trick. Not to mention the jokes it has led to.”

“Hey, a win is a win, even one pulled by the skin of your teeth.” Helen laughed, and the others stifled a snicker.

Miria muttered a few choice words.

“Now Miria,” Deneve chided, “no need to have such a foul mouth.”

“Yeah, no need to bite our heads off.” Helen added. “This battle was amazing.”

“Indeed, we knew Miria is strong, but she showed some unexpected skills here…” Deneve trailed off.

“Well, Captain did train pretty hard during those seven years.” a blushing Tabitha defended.

“Though I wonder what kind of training it was. ‘How to fit something huge in your mouth 101’ isn’t exactly common for a warrior.” Helen said.

Deneve raised an eyebrow. “You are talking about Miria’s sword, right?”

“Of course,” Helen confirmed as she took her own sword and examined it. “I mean, look at the size of that thing! What else could I be… Oops.”

“Oops indeed.” Miria hissed frostily.

“But this makes me wonder…” Helen grinned evilly.

The glare Miria threw her promised death. Why her damn it? It wasn’t the first time a manga character grabbed their sword like this! Okay, usually it’s by the blade, but still! Why was she the only one on the receiving end of the innuendo? The fandom had been joking about how she managed to defeat Hysteria, and just like her fake death, she had a feeling she would never live it down.

“Do you want me you show you?” Miria asked dangerously, taking her own sword. “Though I must warn you, the practice is quite hazardous. You might even lose your head by accident.”

“Huh, you know, maybe that’s not a good idea after all… maybe we should drop it altogether.” Helen stammered, getting several nods of agreement.

“I’m glad we agree.” the feared leader smiled sweetly. “Now, back to the original topic… WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?” she roared.

“Well, you see, we were coming to help but we got sidetracked.” Cynthia said meekly. “First we ran into Anastasia’s squad. They had been ambushed by a bunch of Awakened Beings and we had to help them.”

“Cynthia, these Awakened happened to be in our way so we killed them. This was just a fortunate coincidence.” Deneve reminded.

Everyone, even the author, rolled their eyes.

Cynthia coughed. “Sure, whatever you say. Anyway, after that we had to heal the wounded and wait till that low-ranked warrior…”

“Keira.” Yuma supplied.

“Right, till Keira stopped crying.”

“And people thought Raki was a crybaby.” Helen grumbled. “Bad enough from a human, but to see this from a warrior.”

“Back on topic please.” Miria hissed.

“Right. Then Deneve wondered where those ABs came from, and Tabitha managed to pinpoint their origin. One of the Organization’s labs apparently.” Cynthia finished.

“We kicked their asses!” Helen cheered before deflating. “And all we got for that was a few panels.”

“One minute we decide to go there, next we’re trashing the place. And Yagi didn’t even bother explaining anything about it either. What the Org were doing there, how they did it, how it was manned, how big it was…” Yuma pointed out.

Miria grumbled. “Yeah, a completely transparent plot device for the sole purpose of delaying you. Then you destroyed that lab and rushed to me.” Looking around, she caught a few guilty looks and narrowed her eyes.

“Well, you see…” the pig-tailed warrior and seemingly designated spokeswoman started again. “First we had to heal the wounded, again. Then wait till Keira stopped crying, again.”

“I threw my sword a bit too hard.” Yuma confessed sheepishly. “So I had to get it back.”

“Three miles away. A new record.” Helen cheered.

“Then Helen found a booze stash and dragged Nike into a drinking contest.” Yuma said.

“Traitor!”

“Indeed these two are like long-lost sisters.” Tabitha mused. “But then they got hung over…”

“And threw up.” Yuma sighed. “… on Anastasia’s hair.”

“Don’t remind me.” Deneve groaned. “First we had to calm her down, then we had to wait for her to fix her hair. That took a while.”

“Hey, we apologized.” Helen defended.

Miria’s eyebrow twitched dangerously. “Is this all?”

“Just a short bathroom break and we were on our way, Captain.” Tabitha finished soothingly.

“I just hope Keira won’t break down again.” Cynthia sighed.

“And whose brilliant idea was it to go there?” Miria growled, hand just itching for her sword. ‘Must… resist… urge…’

Immediately several hands were pointed toward Tabitha who sputtered indignantly.

“Well, you did decide our course.” Helen stated. “After rescuing Anastasia’s group, we had the option to go help Miria immediately or go to that facility first.”

“And someone pushed the decision on me!” Tabitha glared at Deneve. “Besides I did what Captain would have done and you know it!”

“Don’t blame me, you still made the choice.” Deneve coldly replied.

“Who exactly has been leading in my absence?” Miria asked tersely, only to see her friends shuffling on their feet.

“You see, the problem is that aside from you, Miria, no one ever stood out as a leader. Deneve kind of took over, but it was never official.” Yuma explained.

Cynthia nodded. “If we went by our old structure, the highest-ranking warrior takes the lead, but several things threw this off. For example, among us, higher rank means the strongest, in theory me. However, you and Clare clearly stand above us in terms of power.”

“But Clare is not here, besides she’s too volatile to lead.” Yuma objected.

“Precisely. Leadership stems from two things : ability and willingness. Power should only be a means to enforce decisions if necessary, but a natural leader shouldn’t need it. Their decisions make enough sense that no one contests them.” Cynthia continued.

“But since we tend to butt heads all the time, it does become necessary to keep the others in line. Remember Pieta.” Helen pointed out.

“Right, however this means we often mistake power for ability, which is an error. Galatea and Rafaela may have been stronger than Miria pre-timeskip, but I doubt they’d have led us better in Pieta. As for Ophelia, well...” Yuma shuddered at the thought.

“Right, anyway even though I’m the highest ranking, both Deneve and Helen are stronger than me.” Cynthia resumed her explanation. “Besides, I haven’t shown any willingness to take charge while Deneve did. And she is level-headed and has shown ability to think on her feet.”

Deneve blinked. “What? When?”

“Well, you analyzed the errors Shorty’s squad made against that AB pretty well when we ran into them.” Helen shrugged. “And come on, using those cat-things to delay Priscilla was a nice try.”

“Too bad she has an annoying habit of psychoanalyzing people. It sounds like she’s pulling things out of her ass at times.” Cynthia sighed.

“Hey!”

“Sorry, Miria can explain things and make it believable. You on the other hand sound like a two-bit shrink.” the pigtailed warrior shrugged apologetically.

Helen snickered. “Heh. Dr. Deneve.”

“I do not psychoanalyze.” Deneve huffed.

“Undine’s strange way of caring… Clare and Jean’s ‘wedge’… Tabitha’s worship of Miria…” Yuma counted.

“Fine, I get it.” Deneve’s head slumped.

“But if Deneve had leadership, why did she pass it to Tabitha?” Miria asked.

“Yeah, I’m still wondering that too.” Helen mused thoughtfully.

Deneve crossed her arms over her chest. “Do I really have to explain myself?”

“Well, it did come out from nowhere and hurts your characterization. The readers are probably wondering what the hell you were thinking.”

“Hey, how could I know even more shit was going to hit the fan at the Org?” Deneve defended. “Besides, Tabitha needed some character development beyond being Miria’s cheerleader,” she ignored the shout of protest from both Tabitha, “and forcing her to make a difficult decision seemed like a good way. It didn’t matter if she made the right one, just that she made one.”

“Sure, if you put it that way…” Yuma admitted.

“And I wouldn’t have been blamed if we’d been too late.” Deneve finished.

“Hey!” Miria and Tabitha shouted again.

“If you’re not happy with it, just assign a second in command once and for all.” the short-haired warrior scowled.

“We don’t have that many candidates.” Helen pondered. “Let’s see the pros and cons. Deneve : current strongest, keeps her cool under pressure, rivals Miria in bust size,” she paused and did a double take, “at least…”

“What the hell does this have to do with that?” Deneve shouted, crossing her arms under her breasts and unintentionally pushing them out. Yuma, Cynthia and Tabitha took a comparative glance and sighed dejectedly.

“Fanservice, especially with your penchant for clothing damage.” Helen explained without missing a beat. “Cons : Mrs. know-it-all. Tabitha : cute, good sensor, loyal to Miria’s ethic. Cons : little to no personality, unhealthy obsession with Miria, kinda weak.”

Before Tabitha could protest, Helen went on. “Yuma…”

“Me?”

Helen grinned at the shy warrior and ruffled her hair. “Don’t sell yourself short; see how you finished off that AB that was running away or you saved Galatea. I tell you people, if you think she’s badass now, you haven’t seen anything yet!”

Yuma squeaked.

“And look at you, so cute and huggable, but underneath… SCA-RY! And seeing how you took over as healer for Cynthia, soon you’ll steal Miria’s role right under her nose! Well, if you ever get over that low self-confidence that is.”

By now Yuma was trying to fade into the background.

“Now, Cynthia…”

“I have made it clear earlier that I am not suited for this task Helen-san.”

“Oh yeah, besides you’ve got survivor’s guilt. Bad idea for a leader.” Helen agreed.

“I notice you didn’t include yourself.” Deneve noted.

“Nah, not interested. This whole decision-making thingy isn’t for me anyway. I’m good at kicking butt and that’s enough for me.” Helen said sagely. She then turned to Miria. “So? How do we settle this?”

“No trial by combat.” Deneve warned. “We need someone capable and knowing the author, we’d end up mud-wrestling naked in minutes.”

Everyone nodded.

*Come on, do you have that little faith in me?*

“YES!!” they all chorused.

*Damn! Busted!*

“I know!” Helen shouted. “Let’s call in for a vote. Every character gives their opinion and things remain fair.”

*As you wish.*

There was a poof of smoke and an envelope appeared in Helen’s hand. “Wow, that was fast.” She grinned as she tore it open. “Now let’s see… What the… Hey! They were not on the list!” she shouted.

“What is it Helen?” Yuma asked.

The brash warrior sighed. “Apparently the author forgot to precise only we Ghosts were candidate so every character was included. We had two who managed to get an overwhelming amount of votes. Color-head is runner-up.”

“Clarice?” Deneve asked.

“Yep. It seems she was fairly impressive when she took charge in Rabona. About thirty of those guards voted for her.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask.” Miria sighed. “Who won?”

“Raki.” Helen slumped dejectedly. “Over forty votes. How the hell did he find forty characters and got them to vote for him?”

Before anyone could ponder, they became aware of a rumbling sound that steadily got closer. Looking in its direction, they saw a quickly approaching dust cloud. At that moment, Helen was bumped into by the happy winner as he hurriedly ran past the group.

“Hey! Watch it!” she shouted.

“Sorry Helen! Can’t let them catch me!” Raki shouted back without stopping.

“Funny, I would have thought it was Rubel running from Rachel again. I wonder what Raki is running from though.” Cynthia wondered.

The dust cloud became clearer, revealing itself to be a mob of Claymore trainees.

Over forty shrieking Claymore trainees. Led by a certain pair of twins. With hearts in their eyes.

“RAKI-SAMA!!!”

“MARRY US!!!”

“What do you think I am? A pedophile?” Raki shouted.

“WE’LL WAIT!!”

Helen couldn’t move out of the way fast enough and was stampeded.

Miria stared at the retreating horde, completely dumbfounded. “Maybe we should help him before they lock him away till they’re old enough.”

“Heh heh… Kid… that’s a really big sword… can’t even hold it in my hand… Miria, I dare you…” Helen giggled groggily.

Miria blinked, blushed and forcefully reacquainted Helen with the ground before stomping away.

[Claymore!]

Originally Posted by Weird D

Okay, here's the latest humor bit, directly born from the chapter 120 discussion thread. Enjoy!

Spoiler for Outtake : leadership issues:

“Well,” Miria scowled at her assembled friends, “what do you have to say for yourselves?”

No one answered, which made Miria’s scowl deepen. “Six chapters.” she said slowly. “This rebellion has been going on for six freaking chapters and you have just arrived. We’ve been through Abyss Feeders and resurrected Number Ones, who have now Awakened by the way… I am the only warrior left at anywhere near fighting condition…”

“Calm down Captain. Your arms will fall off if you lose focus.”

Miria ignored Tabitha’s concern. “Because you know, all the others have been kind of dismembered, aside from the combat-capable twins and Raftela, who is near death anyway. I could have used the reinforcements much earlier. So WHY did it take so long?”

The rest of the Ghosts, minus Clare who was still absent, shuffled on their feet, heads lowered.

“Well at least we got another ‘big damn heroes’ moment out of it.” Helen muttered.

“We did look pretty awesome.” Cynthia nodded.

“Hello, Abyssal-level Awakened, three of them.” Miria scowled. “So I wouldn’t be so cocky if I were you.”

“Come on, you got yourself yet another epic moment too.” Helen grinned. “I mean, you went toe to toe with a Number One and actually won.”

Miria snorted. “By getting myself hacked to pieces, and resorting to a dirty trick. Not to mention the jokes it has led to.”

“Hey, a win is a win, even one pulled by the skin of your teeth.” Helen laughed, and the others stifled a snicker.

Miria muttered a few choice words.

“Now Miria,” Deneve chided, “no need to have such a foul mouth.”

“Yeah, no need to bite our heads off.” Helen added. “This battle was amazing.”

“Indeed, we knew Miria is strong, but she showed some unexpected skills here…” Deneve trailed off.

“Well, Captain did train pretty hard during those seven years.” a blushing Tabitha defended.

“Though I wonder what kind of training it was. ‘How to fit something huge in your mouth 101’ isn’t exactly common for a warrior.” Helen said.

Deneve raised an eyebrow. “You are talking about Miria’s sword, right?”

“Of course,” Helen confirmed as she took her own sword and examined it. “I mean, look at the size of that thing! What else could I be… Oops.”

“Oops indeed.” Miria hissed frostily.

“But this makes me wonder…” Helen grinned evilly.

The glare Miria threw her promised death. Why her damn it? It wasn’t the first time a manga character grabbed their sword like this! Okay, usually it’s by the blade, but still! Why was she the only one on the receiving end of the innuendo? The fandom had been joking about how she managed to defeat Hysteria, and just like her fake death, she had a feeling she would never live it down.

“Do you want me you show you?” Miria asked dangerously, taking her own sword. “Though I must warn you, the practice is quite hazardous. You might even lose your head by accident.”

“Huh, you know, maybe that’s not a good idea after all… maybe we should drop it altogether.” Helen stammered, getting several nods of agreement.

“I’m glad we agree.” the feared leader smiled sweetly. “Now, back to the original topic… WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?” she roared.

“Well, you see, we were coming to help but we got sidetracked.” Cynthia said meekly. “First we ran into Anastasia’s squad. They had been ambushed by a bunch of Awakened Beings and we had to help them.”

“Cynthia, these Awakened happened to be in our way so we killed them. This was just a fortunate coincidence.” Deneve reminded.

Everyone, even the author, rolled their eyes.

Cynthia coughed. “Sure, whatever you say. Anyway, after that we had to heal the wounded and wait till that low-ranked warrior…”

“Keira.” Yuma supplied.

“Right, till Keira stopped crying.”

“And people thought Raki was a crybaby.” Helen grumbled. “Bad enough from a human, but to see this from a warrior.”

“Back on topic please.” Miria hissed.

“Right. Then Deneve wondered where those ABs came from, and Tabitha managed to pinpoint their origin. One of the Organization’s labs apparently.” Cynthia finished.

“We kicked their asses!” Helen cheered before deflating. “And all we got for that was a few panels.”

“One minute we decide to go there, next we’re trashing the place. And Yagi didn’t even bother explaining anything about it either. What the Org were doing there, how they did it, how it was manned, how big it was…” Yuma pointed out.

Miria grumbled. “Yeah, a completely transparent plot device for the sole purpose of delaying you. Then you destroyed that lab and rushed to me.” Looking around, she caught a few guilty looks and narrowed her eyes.

“Well, you see…” the pig-tailed warrior and seemingly designated spokeswoman started again. “First we had to heal the wounded, again. Then wait till Keira stopped crying, again.”

“I threw my sword a bit too hard.” Yuma confessed sheepishly. “So I had to get it back.”

“Three miles away. A new record.” Helen cheered.

“Then Helen found a booze stash and dragged Nike into a drinking contest.” Yuma said.

“Traitor!”

“Indeed these two are like long-lost sisters.” Tabitha mused. “But then they got hung over…”

“And threw up.” Yuma sighed. “… on Anastasia’s hair.”

“Don’t remind me.” Deneve groaned. “First we had to calm her down, then we had to wait for her to fix her hair. That took a while.”

“Hey, we apologized.” Helen defended.

Miria’s eyebrow twitched dangerously. “Is this all?”

“Just a short bathroom break and we were on our way, Captain.” Tabitha finished soothingly.

“I just hope Keira won’t break down again.” Cynthia sighed.

“And whose brilliant idea was it to go there?” Miria growled, hand just itching for her sword. ‘Must… resist… urge…’

Immediately several hands were pointed toward Tabitha who sputtered indignantly.

“Well, you did decide our course.” Helen stated. “After rescuing Anastasia’s group, we had the option to go help Miria immediately or go to that facility first.”

“And someone pushed the decision on me!” Tabitha glared at Deneve. “Besides I did what Captain would have done and you know it!”

“Don’t blame me, you still made the choice.” Deneve coldly replied.

“Who exactly has been leading in my absence?” Miria asked tersely, only to see her friends shuffling on their feet.

“You see, the problem is that aside from you, Miria, no one ever stood out as a leader. Deneve kind of took over, but it was never official.” Yuma explained.

Cynthia nodded. “If we went by our old structure, the highest-ranking warrior takes the lead, but several things threw this off. For example, among us, higher rank means the strongest, in theory me. However, you and Clare clearly stand above us in terms of power.”

“But Clare is not here, besides she’s too volatile to lead.” Yuma objected.

“Precisely. Leadership stems from two things : ability and willingness. Power should only be a means to enforce decisions if necessary, but a natural leader shouldn’t need it. Their decisions make enough sense that no one contests them.” Cynthia continued.

“But since we tend to butt heads all the time, it does become necessary to keep the others in line. Remember Pieta.” Helen pointed out.

“Right, however this means we often mistake power for ability, which is an error. Galatea and Rafaela may have been stronger than Miria pre-timeskip, but I doubt they’d have led us better in Pieta. As for Ophelia, well...” Yuma shuddered at the thought.

“Right, anyway even though I’m the highest ranking, both Deneve and Helen are stronger than me.” Cynthia resumed her explanation. “Besides, I haven’t shown any willingness to take charge while Deneve did. And she is level-headed and has shown ability to think on her feet.”

Deneve blinked. “What? When?”

“Well, you analyzed the errors Shorty’s squad made against that AB pretty well when we ran into them.” Helen shrugged. “And come on, using those cat-things to delay Priscilla was a nice try.”

“Too bad she has an annoying habit of psychoanalyzing people. It sounds like she’s pulling things out of her ass at times.” Cynthia sighed.

“Hey!”

“Sorry, Miria can explain things and make it believable. You on the other hand sound like a two-bit shrink.” the pigtailed warrior shrugged apologetically.

Helen snickered. “Heh. Dr. Deneve.”

“I do not psychoanalyze.” Deneve huffed.

“Undine’s strange way of caring… Clare and Jean’s ‘wedge’… Tabitha’s worship of Miria…” Yuma counted.

“Fine, I get it.” Deneve’s head slumped.

“But if Deneve had leadership, why did she pass it to Tabitha?” Miria asked.

“Yeah, I’m still wondering that too.” Helen mused thoughtfully.

Deneve crossed her arms over her chest. “Do I really have to explain myself?”

“Well, it did come out from nowhere and hurts your characterization. The readers are probably wondering what the hell you were thinking.”

“Hey, how could I know even more shit was going to hit the fan at the Org?” Deneve defended. “Besides, Tabitha needed some character development beyond being Miria’s cheerleader,” she ignored the shout of protest from both Tabitha, “and forcing her to make a difficult decision seemed like a good way. It didn’t matter if she made the right one, just that she made one.”

“Sure, if you put it that way…” Yuma admitted.

“And I wouldn’t have been blamed if we’d been too late.” Deneve finished.

“Hey!” Miria and Tabitha shouted again.

“If you’re not happy with it, just assign a second in command once and for all.” the short-haired warrior scowled.

“We don’t have that many candidates.” Helen pondered. “Let’s see the pros and cons. Deneve : current strongest, keeps her cool under pressure, rivals Miria in bust size,” she paused and did a double take, “at least…”

“What the hell does this have to do with that?” Deneve shouted, crossing her arms under her breasts and unintentionally pushing them out. Yuma, Cynthia and Tabitha took a comparative glance and sighed dejectedly.

“Fanservice, especially with your penchant for clothing damage.” Helen explained without missing a beat. “Cons : Mrs. know-it-all. Tabitha : cute, good sensor, loyal to Miria’s ethic. Cons : little to no personality, unhealthy obsession with Miria, kinda weak.”

Before Tabitha could protest, Helen went on. “Yuma…”

“Me?”

Helen grinned at the shy warrior and ruffled her hair. “Don’t sell yourself short; see how you finished off that AB that was running away or you saved Galatea. I tell you people, if you think she’s badass now, you haven’t seen anything yet!”

Yuma squeaked.

“And look at you, so cute and huggable, but underneath… SCA-RY! And seeing how you took over as healer for Cynthia, soon you’ll steal Miria’s role right under her nose! Well, if you ever get over that low self-confidence that is.”

By now Yuma was trying to fade into the background.

“Now, Cynthia…”

“I have made it clear earlier that I am not suited for this task Helen-san.”

“Oh yeah, besides you’ve got survivor’s guilt. Bad idea for a leader.” Helen agreed.

“I notice you didn’t include yourself.” Deneve noted.

“Nah, not interested. This whole decision-making thingy isn’t for me anyway. I’m good at kicking butt and that’s enough for me.” Helen said sagely. She then turned to Miria. “So? How do we settle this?”

“No trial by combat.” Deneve warned. “We need someone capable and knowing the author, we’d end up mud-wrestling naked in minutes.”

Everyone nodded.

*Come on, do you have that little faith in me?*

“YES!!” they all chorused.

*Damn! Busted!*

“I know!” Helen shouted. “Let’s call in for a vote. Every character gives their opinion and things remain fair.”

*As you wish.*

There was a poof of smoke and an envelope appeared in Helen’s hand. “Wow, that was fast.” She grinned as she tore it open. “Now let’s see… What the… Hey! They were not on the list!” she shouted.

“What is it Helen?” Yuma asked.

The brash warrior sighed. “Apparently the author forgot to precise only we Ghosts were candidate so every character was included. We had two who managed to get an overwhelming amount of votes. Color-head is runner-up.”

“Clarice?” Deneve asked.

“Yep. It seems she was fairly impressive when she took charge in Rabona. About thirty of those guards voted for her.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask.” Miria sighed. “Who won?”

“Raki.” Helen slumped dejectedly. “Over forty votes. How the hell did he find forty characters and got them to vote for him?”

Before anyone could ponder, they became aware of a rumbling sound that steadily got closer. Looking in its direction, they saw a quickly approaching dust cloud. At that moment, Helen was bumped into by the happy winner as he hurriedly ran past the group.

“Hey! Watch it!” she shouted.

“Sorry Helen! Can’t let them catch me!” Raki shouted back without stopping.

“Funny, I would have thought it was Rubel running from Rachel again. I wonder what Raki is running from though.” Cynthia wondered.

The dust cloud became clearer, revealing itself to be a mob of Claymore trainees.

Over forty shrieking Claymore trainees. Led by a certain pair of twins. With hearts in their eyes.

“RAKI-SAMA!!!”

“MARRY US!!!”

“What do you think I am? A pedophile?” Raki shouted.

“WE’LL WAIT!!”

Helen couldn’t move out of the way fast enough and was stampeded.

Miria stared at the retreating horde, completely dumbfounded. “Maybe we should help him before they lock him away till they’re old enough.”

“Heh heh… Kid… that’s a really big sword… can’t even hold it in my hand… Miria, I dare you…” Helen giggled groggily.

Miria blinked, blushed and forcefully reacquainted Helen with the ground before stomping away.

Loved it
Except the stuff about Deneve, but other than that it was pretty funny