#actually shintō

[satellitevenusnine]

The Leaders

18+ explicit, Paya x Tauro, 8k+ words. Romance/Fluff. All the romance. Cozy. My kink is healthy communication. Not hurt/comfort, more like emotional release/physical release. Spoilers for the "Finding the Fifth Sage" questline. Proportionally speaking, 60% of this fic is sex scene. I'm waiting on an AO3 invite but the fic will live here for now. Apologies for any typos, this is my first piece of writing in 8 years. Not looking for critique or writing advice, but if you like it, feel free to send some love my way. I just saw the lack of content and decided to fill the gap, so to speak.

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When Tauro returned to Kakariko village, he was grinning from ear to ear.

Koko and Cottla ran to greet him at the southwest gate shouting their excitement into the light of the evening sun. Koko offered him one of her ring garlands and he swung her up onto his shoulder so she could put it around his neck. Cottla insisted that Tauro try a recipe she was working on. Grabbing his hand, Cottla pulled the unresisting researcher toward a bubbling cooking pot.

Paya heard the clamor from her loft window. She descended into the main room of the village hall and leaned out the window facing the High Spirits produce store. Tauro would have been hard to miss in most contexts, but her eyes immediately found the curly streak of white in a tumble of dark hair. His head was thrown back laughing and she couldn’t help but smile herself. She noticed the container of scrolls strapped to his back and felt excitement pull her to her toward the door. She slipped on her geta and hurried to meet the welcoming party.

“Lady Paya!” Cottla called out. “Come try my Mommy’s pumpkin recipe!”

Paya bowed to the child. “Thank you, Cottla. I would love to.”

Tauro playfully smacked his lips together and patted his belly. “Hey there, Paya! It’s so yummy, I’d eat up the whole pot if you let me!”

Cottla began to give a small lecture about the importance of sharing, Tauro and Koko on his shoulder nodding along gravely. Paya smiled to herself as she helped herself to a spoonful of nutty, spicy, meat-stuffed pumpkin. She savored the warmth as the flavors suddenly reminded her that she had gone too long without eating that day, lost in her ledgers of village supplies. Hunger to the point of nausea rose up and she had to lean a little against the matsu pine tree next to the pot. Lecture concluded, Cottla asked Paya what she thought of the food.

“You were absolutely right about sharing what we have in times of struggle, but I could eat up every last bit myself!” Paya said. She sighed a little. “Have you ever gotten so focused on something that you almost forget you have a body?”

Cottla frowned and shook her head “no,” but Koko was thoughtful for a moment and said, “Sometimes when I’m making my ring garlands, I want to only be thinking about nice things so the people who buy them can feel good as long as they have the garlands. It feels like that’s the only thing that exists, praying and braiding. Then it feels funny when my hands start to ache or something and it’s like I wasn’t even Koko for a while.”

Paya nodded at the older girl. “That’s exactly it.”

Tauro asked Koko, “Can I give you a hug?” and she threw her arms around his neck. He squeezed her tightly, swung her around once and set her giggling on her feet. “I’m glad you are Koko,” he told her. She laughed, waved, and ran back to her garland stand, but Cottla was still frowning at Paya.

“How are you sposed to take care of the village if you forget you have a body?” Cottla asked indignantly, shaking her ladle at the chief.

Paya bowed her head and folded her hands as if to beg forgiveness. “If I knew what delicious food was waiting for me, it would be much harder to forget,” she insisted.

Cottla lowered her ladle, squinting in suspicion. “You only had one bite! You better take a whole pumpkin and eat it all up!” She insisted right back.

Paya smiled in her gentle way. “Thank you, I will. And I will try to remember that you are counting on me to eat well, little Cottla.”

The little girl nodded decisively. She turned her ladle on Tauro now. “You take one, too. I gotta take the rest to Daddy now.”

Tauro grinned and said thanks, hoisting the box of scrolls off his back and setting his ring garland on top of it before scooping a stuffed pumpkin out of the steamer in the pot. He noticed Paya’s focus gravitate toward the box. “I’m surprised you managed to go this long without asking me about my findings! Link helped us land one of the biggest hauls in MILLENIA of Zonai research,” he told her now that they were alone.

Paya’s eyes lit up and she opened her mouth to ask a question when her belly growled as loud as a lynel. Hand over her stomach, she sighed a big sigh. “Cottla is right. I - I’m famished,” Paya replied. “As my honored guest, it is indelicate of me to eat without you starting the meal yourself. As desirous as I am to hear your news, may we please eat together?”

Something seemed to give Tauro pause for a second. His face was hard to read in a way that had nothing to do with his eyes being hidden under curls. Then his usual cheerful smile split the solemn expression and he tucked into his stuffed pumpkin without wasting another word.

Paya bowed her head and gave thanks, then did her best to match Tauro’s leisurely pace instead of tearing into her dish the way her stomach demanded. They ate in companionable silence and left the chatter to the cuccoos until the last morsel made it to Paya’s mouth.

“May I ask you something, Chief Paya?” Tauro inquired.

Paya nodded, dabbing her mouth delicately.

“Did you used to forget meals before the Ring Ruins fell?”

She glanced up at him in mild surprise. He had never really asked her such a personal question before.

She nodded slowly. “For a while after my mother passed away.”

Tauro made a noise of sympathy. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

Paya looked down at her hands in her lap for a long, quiet moment. “She would have been chief before me if she had lived ’til Grandmother left,” she heard herself say. “I had to start preparations to take her place under Grandmother’s tutelage immediately after…” She was suddenly conscious of having forgotten to put on her chieftain hat in her hurry to greet Tauro and the children. She felt exposed without it now.

Paya felt a tear slip down her cheek and brushed it away reflexively. She had wished for her mother intensely while the stone ruins rained down on the village and the castle rose into the sky, and it had passed out of her awareness until now. A wave of grief hit her, recent losses calling to old ones amid the uncertainty of the future. She was trying so hard to be what the village needed both now and if the Demon King should return to his full power. She desperately fought back a sob.

Tauro was suddenly on his knees in front of her, blurry from the tears she couldn’t hold back anymore. “You don’t have to hide this from anyone, least of all from me,” he murmured. But Paya had both hands pressed tightly to her mouth and she found that she couldn’t look at him.

“Can I give you a hug?” Tauro asked. Paya felt certain that she would drown him if she let loose, but the need for release was greater and she flung her arms open to his embrace. How long had it been since she was held? Not since she was entrusted with the care of the village, at the very least. Not for many Blood Moons. She poured her tears upon his chest and it felt like she became a wild thing howling. Tauro subtly waved away onlookers concerned for their chief and kept her wrapped firmly in his arms no matter how roughly her wailing wracked her body. Her cries echoed off the cliffsides and it sounded like the mountains cried with her in many voices. When she began to tire out he drew her in closer, rocking slightly, until she relaxed in one big sigh. A breeze clacked the wooden emi hanging above them.

“Thank you,” Paya croaked, face still pressed against his body. Tauro just hummed an acknowledgement and the sound of it vibrated through her skull. She sat listening to the great whoosh of his heartbeat for a minute, relaxing further. When she finally raised her head, she found herself looking for his eyes.

“May I…?” Paya started to ask. “May I pull your hair away from your face? I just realized I have never actually seen your eyes.”

Tauro smiled gently. “Of course.”

What little distance remained between them was closed with great tenderness as Paya tucked long locks behind his ears. She wasn’t fully prepared for the sensation of falling into his gaze once she could finally meet it. The warmth and concern present, the patience and the steadiness disarmed her.

“Oh!” She said, startled. “Oh. This is quite intimate.”

Tauro’s smile grew into a grin, hiding his eyes once again in deep creases. “Yeah.” He replied. One large hand traced slow circles on her back. “Are you ok?” He asked.

She nodded “yes”, unable to look away from his face.

The sound of someone clearing their throat nearby startled her back into the wider world.

“Lady Paya,” Dorian greeted her. “Would you like to rest now that you’ve had your evening meal?”

Paya drew away from Tauro reluctantly. He, in turn, left his hand to linger on her back, a fortifying presence.

“You’ve got a little pumpkin in your beard, friend,” Tauro pointed out to Dorian. The guardsman hurriedly brushed the food from his face as Paya collected herself.

“Please thank Cottla again for her fine cooking and her care for her Chief,” Paya told Dorian, a noticeable rasp in her voice now. “Both your daughters do so much for the village. I can see the future of the Sheikah is bright because of them.” She bowed deeply to her bodyguard.

Dorian’s attitude softened somewhat. “Thank you, Lady Paya. I give thanks for them myself every day.” Straightening his posture, he asked, “Would you like to be escorted to your chambers?”

“Yes, I would,” Paya smiled, “but I wonder if I would be better served if you took the night off to rest and spend time with your family. They reminded me once again that without our health, the village cannot go on. We each must take care of our bodies and our hearts. Mr. Tauro has news of the latest developments in Master Link’s journey that he has yet to share with me and it may be best to relay that information in private. Cado and Olkin have guard duty in front of the village hall tonight so I will be well protected.”

“Tauro, would you be willing to accompany me to my chambers?” She asked.

Tauro beamed, bowed, and said, “Absolutely, my Lady!”

Dorian looked taken aback but bowed as well. “Our Lady knows best. I will enjoy time with my girls and return to my post refreshed in the morning.”

Paya felt the absence of the heat of Tauro’s hand when he took it from her back. The sound of Dorian’s footsteps receded.

She averted her gaze from the play of his muscles as Tauro shouldered the crate of scrolls again and clasped her hands in front of her heart. Grandmothers, see him through my Eye. Is he for the Sheikah tribe or for tonight?

Tauro’s hand lightly grasped her shoulder to let her know he was ready. Paya looked up at him and felt a pricking between her eyes that felt like the day her tattoo was inked. A spreading heat and intense yearning for him soaked into her bones. Her lips parted and she began the meditative breath. If you do this it will be Ceremony. Voiced yet voiceless.

She covered his hand with one of hers and spoke it. “If we join, it will be Ceremony. As Chief of the village, I do not do this casually. Knowing this, would you be willing to accompany me to my bedchambers?”

His lips parted too. With so much of his body bare, when he flushed it was very visible. “Yes, my Lady.”

Fireflies began to glow in the village round.

***

“I would still enjoy hearing what you discovered in Faron,” Paya said as she and Tauro climbed the loft stairs together.

“In my wildest dreams, I could never have imagined we’d find depictions of the workings of these ancient conductors, let alone EXTANT ritual garb made by Zonai for HYLIANS to wear!” He gushed without hesitation

“I almost lost my sea legs when me and Calip found Link WEARING the artifacts under a site struck by lightning that had been directed by Zonai conductors!”

Paya giggled and directed him to set the box of scrolls on her work table. “‘Lost your sea legs?’ Like lost your balance from shock?”

“Exactly right! The conductors were able to channel the energy away from the giant storm above Faron Woods, possibly due to the electricity attraction of metals and the energy absorbing properties of Zonaite!”

Paya shook her head in disbelief. “That kind of power… Truly a fascinating culture, but that kind of capability gives me pause.”

“Oh, 100%” Tauro said with vigor. “But now that WE can access these relics, it’s important that everyone know as much as we can about them. Their effect on the world, why they were put there, who they affected, the material cost to make them!”

Paya smiled. “I agree. Let no one person be considered the master of such relics.”

“Uh-huh. I like that.” Tauro looked around the room, scratching his head.

“Paya, may I make myself more comfortable?”

“Of course, Tauro. Do you need to ask?”

“Well, that means taking off the clothes I wear to fit in better with the Sheikah and sitting on your bed because my head damn near hits the rafters.”

Paya blushed from her seat next to her work table. “How much of your clothing do you wear to preserve my sense of modesty?” She asked.

“Basically, all of it.”

“Oh.”

Silence.

“Tauro, please make yourself comfortable.”

He smiled but it was one she had never seen before. Teasing. He wore boldness better than any garment.

He uncovered his head and shook out his hair. Paya became very aware of her body as the yearning pull started up again. He was right, his head nearly touched the beams of her ceiling. He tilted his chin, leaning contrapposto, and slid his vest off his shoulders, followed by a shirt he had mostly deconstructed. He untied his arm band, the turn of his head accentuating the tendons in his neck. He ran his hands languidly across his chest, grinning. “Still doing ok over there?”

“Oh, yes,” Paya breathed. Her expression shifted from entranced to curious. “How can you share yourself with the whole world like that?”

“I’ve got nothing to hide and everything to feel.”

Paya’s view drifted inward as she considered what Tauro had said. “That sounds wonderful,” she murmured. “You are truly blessed, Tauro.”

It was his turn to look introspective, stroking his chin and playing with the tie in his beard. “I hadn’t really thought of it that way. Do you want to hide, Paya?”

She looked into his face again. “Not right now. Not from you.”

He put his hand over his heart. “I am truly blessed.”

“Are you as… comfortable as you want to be, Tauro?”

“I’ve got more to show you, Paya.”

“Please, make yourself at home here.”

Another heartwarming grin. Off came his tool belt, his gloves, his research notebook in it’s net pouch, his purely decorative jacket around his waist. He licked his lips and hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his shorts. Paya’s breathing sounded loud in her own ears. Pushing his hips forward slightly, Tauro eased his last article of clothing off his body slowly and gracefully, relishing the sensation of his skin being exposed. He was left in only his Lurelin beads and magnifying lens pendant. He stretched his arms a little and brushed his hair back to make eye contact with Paya. Her mouth was open slightly and the heat in her eyes was intense. Even when he was at half-mast, to borrow a Lurelin phrase, he was the picture of desire.

“I think I see what you mean now,” she said with some awe in her voice. “If I were to visit you in Lurelin, should I wear something like… that?”

The beads draped around Tauro’s hips actually rattled when his cock jumped at the thought. Paya’s breath drew in sharply. “I think that is something you and I can definitely try just for us,” he said in a measured tone, “but most folks in Lurelin these days wear some cloth. They just don’t mind that I like sticking to the old ways.”

Paya let out a scandalized giggle, eyes wide. “I’m glad I asked first.”

Tauro sat down on her bed. “Are you comfortable, Lady Paya?” He leaned back onto his elbows, abs flexing as his torso curled along the length of her bed.

“I, um. I might need some assistance. My hands are a little unsteady right now.” She admitted.

He sat up again and held his arms out to her. She got up out of her seat and crossed the room to him. He was looking up at her face for the first time, but not by much. His hands slid across the sash at her waist and up her back as he drew her between his bare legs. The heavy wool of her garments was velvety against his inner thighs. He stroked her back as she reached for his face. She cupped his jaw with both hands, stroking her thumbs across the stubble on his cheeks. Half-lidded, her dark eyes looked like endless pools he could drown in. She leaned in for a gentle kiss.

A different kind of hunger began to make demands of her body. She moaned into Tauro’s mouth and he gasped, fingers flexing along her spine. The kiss deepened. Her hands were in his hair, tracing the curve of his collar bone, clasping the back of his neck. He grasped at her hips, slid his palms up her rib cage, dragged fingers down her shoulder blades. “Ohhhhh,” Paya moaned again, arching into him.

Tauro pulled away first. “What assistance do you need, my Lady?” He asked.

Her eyes cleared a little of desire. “Oh!” She said, a little breathlessly. “Um, something just occurred to me. Before you help me, um, get comfortable, you should know I may come away from this bed bearing new life. It is our custom to make vows before Hylia should we become family in that way. The bond is forever, in this lifetime and maybe the next.”

Tauro stroked her back again. “The bright future of the Sheikah tribe?” He smiled. She met his smile with one of her own. He put one of her hands over his heart and put one of his hands over hers. “Do I get to be your official consort or something?” Paya’s shy delight practically set her face aglow.

“You get a seat by my side always in all matters. Any children I bear will have the right to wear the Eye tattoo as proof of their unbroken Sheikah lineage.”

“That’s what that means?!”

Paya nodded “yes.”

“Wow. You really want me to be a part of that?”

She nodded again.

He really considered her words, but his hand never left hers, still touching his heart. He interlaced his fingers with hers. Taking in a deep breath and locking eyes with her, he said, “I would be truly blessed.”

Paya’s eyes filled but they were happy tears this time. She leaned in for another kiss and Tauro brought a hand up to her face, touching her tattoo reverently before their lips met again. She began to feel the press of his arousal against her body and her breath escaped her in a long exhale. Tauro moaned a little and let his hands roam down to her lower back and beyond. He used his solid grip on her ass to press her hips against his. “OhhHHHH!” from Paya, than a gasp. Tauro made a noise deep in his throat as their kissing gained a fiercer edge.

“Tauro,” she whispered, “Please…”

He stopped to let her catch her breath. “‘Please’ what, Paya?”

She had to find her words again. “I do not think I can manage knots right now. Will you undo my ties for me?”

He took her hands, kissed her palms, his sure fingers making quick work of the ties at her wrists and forearms. “Easier than untangling fishing line,” he chuckled.

Smiling down at him, Paya reached up to her hair to undo her top knot. Her loose sleeves revealed bare arms and Tauro gulped, realizing that this was the genuinely the most he’d seen of her body so far. She put her hair sticks and vermillion ribbons down on the stand next to her bed as Tauro rubbed her hips. She shook her head now that her hair was free and Tauro saw that in the lamp light, the strands shimmered like silver but had an aura of gold. His breath caught in his chest.

“The knot in my obi tie is tucked into my back,” she told him.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her again. “How do you tie it like that?” He whispered against her lips.

“I tie it in front and twist it round to the back,” she laughed. “But I like this way of discovering.”

“Mmm.” Tauro agreed between kisses, “Me too.”

Another quick knot to undo and her obi was on the floor, her great surcoat hanging freely around her body. She pulled it off and Tauro was shocked and delighted to see she was wearing a halter top underneath. When he ran his hands up her back again, they both thrilled at the touch of skin on skin. She leaned into his touch, letting her head drop back while she steadied herself with a grip on his shoulders. Groaning from the pressure of her pelvis against his bare groin, Tauro laid kisses along her collarbone while his hands confidently explored her newly exposed territory. His breath hissed through his teeth when he realized her neck was still entirely covered.

“There are two clasps at the back,” Paya whispered.

In a flash, he had them open. She released his shoulders to pull her top over her head and then it joined her obi and coat on the floor. Unconsciously, Paya clasped her hands over her heart, covering her bare breasts with her arms. Tauro’s breathing was unsteady and his mouth hung open slightly. She could feel the heat and humidity from his breath on her chest. He looked only at her face as she reached a hand to run her fingers through his hair and closed his eyes when she began to lightly scratch his scalp.

“The ties at my waist are the last,” she said.

Tauro hugged her tightly and pressed his face against her throat. Both Paya’s hands were in his hair now and the skin on the back of his neck tingled as her nails traced circles round and round. He grazed teeth against the hollow between her throat and shoulder and she cried out. Massaging her glutes, he kissed and sucked and worked her neck. Her hips began to move against his and he grunted. When she started scratching circles on his shoulders and upper back, Tauro cried out too, muffled against her neck. Running his own fingers through her hair, he brought Paya’s mouth to his and drank of her desire.

A cool breeze came through the loft’s open window and raised gooseflesh on Paya’s fevered skin. Tauro’s hands burned where he touched her.

He drew away first, holding eye contact as he released the ties from the curves of her hips and the thin cotton underskirt fell away.

“Are you comfortable now, my Lady?”

Paya shivered slightly from excitement. Her blush was everywhere. Tauro could feel the warmth and damp from between her legs against his body. “My need for you is uncomfortable. I ache with it,” she said. Tauro felt his own body tighten in response and he tipped his head back. He sucked his breath in through his teeth. “Ah.. yes. Right there with you.” Drawing her into his arms again, he just held her skin to skin for the first time. “I don’t know that I fully appreciated how sensitized you would be with all that cloth and tradition between you and the world.” He told her. Something in her belly unclenched and she let out a breath.

“Oh! Does joining not feel like that to everyone?”

Tauro pulled back slightly to meet her eyes, eyebrows raised. “Beloved, nothing we’ve done so far has felt like joining with anyone I’ve ever been with.”

“I want us to be comfortable together.” He said. “It doesn’t have to be all about tension to get release.”

Her eyelids fluttered a bit as she took that in. “Can you show me?” Paya asked.

Tauro licked his lips and began making slow circles with his hand on her upper back. “Focus on breathing deeply for a bit.” He intoned, leaning in to brush a kiss below her ear.

She could do that. She felt the rhythm of his breathing slow down and began to match it. Tauro massaged between her shoulder blades and planted kisses along her neck while she took in as much breath as she could and released it as slowly as possible. A practiced meditative breath. When she inhaled, he put a hand on her rising breastbone and just rested there, the other hand moving to the curve of her back. A long sigh out and he laid his lips to linger on the junction of her neck and shoulder. He cupped one of her breasts which prompted her next breath in and she pressed into his hand. “Ahhhhhhhhh” Paya sighed.

“Do you feel more comfortable now, Beloved?” Tauro asked, voice buzzing against her throat.

“Oh, yes,” she breathed. The passion she rode began to feel more like a great current than a tempest

“Do you want me to start opening you up?” He asked.

“OH! Oh, yes.”

“Let’s lay you down, Beloved.”

“Mmmmmmmm. Yes.”

Tauro simply splayed both hands across her back and lay down, taking her with him. Stretched out on top of him, Paya took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply, slowly, passing the leading rhythm back and forth between them. Tauro rolled them over so that Paya was on her back and he straddled her hips. More kisses, more sighs, more discovering.

“Will you spread your legs for me, Beloved?” He asked.

She bit her swollen lower lip as he raised himself onto knees and elbows. Running her hands down her body, she squeezed her breasts, traced the curves of her belly, and began to touch her lowest lips as she spread her thighs for him.

“OH!” Tauro gasped and wasted no time covering her face, neck, and chest with kisses. She sighed and kept her breathing steady, but the weight of his body pressed against her vulva made her play with her pussy more urgently.

He cupped and caressed her breasts, sucking a nipple deeply into his mouth, jaw open wide, and laving the underside of her breast with his tongue. “Yessssssss,” she breathed, arching up into him, raining kisses on the top of his head, her free hand tangled in the waves of his hair. He squeezed and massaged, worshipping alternately with hand and mouth, briefly pausing to listen to her racing heart.

Her slit was so slick now, she could feel her nectar dripping like honey over the crack of her ass and soaking into the futon. There was a patch on Tauro’s belly where he pressed his body against her. When he rose up, a string of it followed him.

“Paya, my Lady. Beloved,” he moaned “May I taste you between your legs?”

She whimpered. “Yes!”

He lay his cheek along her belly and brought her wet hand to his mouth. He kissed and licked her fingers, sucked them greedily one by one making little sounds of appreciation, licked the creases between her fingers with the flat and the point of his tongue. Her hips moved beneath him and she sighed. He nuzzled her stomach tenderly, being mindful of his stubbly cheeks. He gripped the prominences of her pelvis and gave kisses like blessings across her womb. Paya intertwined her fingers with his as he kissed the top of her mound. She squeezed his hands and tried to remember her deep breathing as she felt warmth, then cool against her slit as Tauro exhaled, then inhaled, then sighed hot breath against her most intimate of parts.

He kissed her clitoris when he felt her begin an inhalation. Immediately, her legs spread wider, pushing her pussy against his face. He squeezed her hands back and put his whole mouth on her flesh, sucking while his tongue slowly, deliberately writhed and licked between her lips.

“Ahhh!” She cried out, thrusting into him. Her back arched up off the bed as she tried to breathe in slowly through her nose. “ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” she sighed out, grinding gently, head tossed to one side.

Tauro made noises of satisfaction between her thighs and her rhythm stuttered. He hummed with her lips in his mouth and rimmed her slit with his tongue. She pressed into him and fell back on the bed. She let go of his hands to massage her breasts and he grabbed a pillow to put under her buttocks. Lapping the length of her with the flat of his tongue, he lifted up her hips and wrapped his strong arms around her thighs, pulling them open further and angling her pussy for a deep drink. Her well had many waters for him. He dipped into her with thrusting tongue and Paya’s voice dropped a whole octave. “UHHhhhh,” she groaned. She scraped her nails across her nipples and reached for Tauro’s head between her legs. He spread her lips wider with rubbing fingers, aiming to relax the muscles of her pelvic floor. He nursed her clit and swirled his tongue inside of her.

She felt like she was melting into his mouth. Her eyes closed and her hips rippled more smoothly against his face, knees dropping toward the futon as she unfurled to him. She made a tender fist in his hair.

“Oh!” Paya sighed, rubbing the space between her breasts with the other hand.

The bed moved slightly from Tauro pushing his own hips into the futon. Her strokes against his tongue started to grip him and he voiced his hunger for her climax. Fingers, lips, suction, pressure, depth. He came up for air with a ragged breath and then sank back into her. With his tongue as deep inside her as it would go, he curled it up toward her pubic bone, moving the point back and forth. Her thighs began to shake. Her toes pointed into his ribs, then flexed. She took as much breath as she could into her diaphragm and felt her Hara, her solar plexus, open up. Then Paya let herself feel it all. His joyful presence after a time of fear and tragedy. The ease with which formality dropped away as they worked together. His enthusiasm and his ability to sit in observation the way she sat in meditation. The way in which he hid nothing and sensed everything.

She rained her sacred waters on him and he did his best to drink them down. His hands roamed her body, touching her everywhere. Her thighs were pressed against his ears. Her cries sounded almost musical, going up and down scales. Tauro heard them as if swimming through the solid conductor of her flesh. He felt like he was being swallowed. Her walls pulsing against his lips and tongue, her hips rolling his head, her hand drawing him in. The smell and taste of sea water. His eyes rolled up. Every sense was filled with her release. Paya moved against him like ocean waves, like something bigger than the bounds of the earth. Thunder clapped overhead. With one hand clutched against her heart, she let go and let the rhythm ride her. It tumbled them both.

When Tauro came up for air again, he was a little wobbly. His lips were puffy. Veins pulsed in his neck. His beard and some of his curls were dripping. His entire face and torso from the nose down were shiny from her gushing waters. Lifting himself up onto his elbow, he burped.

Paya felt like the whole expansive world was her body. She was luxuriating in it when she heard Tauro’s burp and opened her eyes to see a very soggy man.

“Are you well, Tauro?” Her voice sounded resonant like a bell.

A toothy grin appeared. “Beloved, I’m well.”

“Will there be more joining tonight?”

“Mm. The intention is there. Give me a moment, please.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean —“

He nuzzled his face against her knee with as much energy as he could muster and stroked the top of her thigh. “I know. If not now, after a nap. I want you too.”

Her smile was loving. She reached out her arms for him. He belly-crawled up on knees and elbows til her face was within kissing distance. Their torsos were slippery from her fluids and the promise of rain in the air.

Tauro flung his hair back and leaned over her to lace his fingers behind the base of her skull. His eyes explored Paya’s face. He kissed her Eye tattoo and pressed his forehead there, taking a deep breath and exhaling through his nostrils. She met his unblinking gaze and inhaled his breath deep into her Hara.

“Do you know that tradition?” He asked her.

“I’ve not heard of nor experienced it before, but I did what felt right.”

He stroked her hair. “Bright future.”

“Family,” she replied.

“It’s not just for lovers,” he said. “If you share breath, you share life.”

She smiled, reached for the edge of the futon quilt they lay atop of and wrapped it over both of them.

“Do you want to tell me more about your practices, Tauro?”

He sighed happily and flopped to one side, letting his hand play with the curves of Paya’s ribs, waist, hip.

“Where I come from, grandparents and grandbabies do it, parents and children, people you’ve grown up with or survived great challenges with. It’s feeding each other, and it’s like a language that belongs to plants and creatures, minerals and the weather. It all breathes.”

Paya nodded in appreciation. “I feel connected with all things when I meditate, through my breath, because of what you describe.”

“If there’s a name for my practice, I don’t know it. It’s older than names.”

“Is the kiss on the forehead part of it?” She asked

“I wanted to honor where the life in you comes from. It feels meaningful that you have a marker there, where you and I make a connection, too. Some relationships may add kisses, but they won’t mean what ours will.”

Her eyes shone. “We are truly blessed, Tauro”

He drew closer. “I feel it, Paya.”

Closer still. “Beloved Paya, I’m ready if you are.”

She glanced down.

“Well, not ready ready.”

“Tauro, I would enjoy reciprocating. Do you want me to love your body with my mouth?”

A stirring near her hip.

“Oh Beloved…” with some heat.

He drew her mouth to his.

She was mindful of her pressure on his swollen lips. She could taste her own salt on him and his skin had half-dried a little tacky. Some of the urgency had bled off with her release.

Slow, tender kisses expressed her care for him. Paya asked Tauro to lay back and some of the thick quilt fell away. She reached for a basket under the stand next to her bed and got out a jar of oil. She poured a little in her hands and straddled Tauro’s belly. Spreading the oil across her palms, she put her hands on his chest and leaned down to kiss him some more. He slid his hands up to her hips and brushed her skin with his thumbs. Paya sat up and leaned her body weight into the muscles of his chest.

“Ahhhhh,” he sighed. He did his best to keep up with stretches while doing field work, but it was a demanding occupation.

She described big, broad circles in the tissue of his pecs with fists and palms, pressed her fingers between each rib and worked the muscles there. She ran her thumbs in the space between his ribcage and diaphragm while he inhaled deeply. Moving off to one side, Paya rubbed Tauro’s stomach clockwise, no deep pressure on the abdomen. She was careful with his sacred Hara. Her circles got bigger and moved lower. His breathing was deep and regular. She stretched out beside him and kissed the side of his face. He brought an arm up around her shoulders and she leaned her head on his bicep. Her hand slid past the beads on his hips and she rubbed oil into the muscle attachments at his pubic bone.

Tauro brought his knees up to change the tilt of his pelvis and some of his beads clinked as he changed position. His breathing became a little more rapid but still steady. She kissed his throat, his heart, his belly, bringing her hands up to rub broad circles across his nipples with her thumbs. She licked his belly button, circling it with her tongue before pressing inside. He took an extra deep breath and his hips twitched.

Paya looked up at him through silver lashes. “Shall I remove the beads around your middle?” She asked. He pointed to the ties and her fingers were much steadier now. He pulled the strands from under his body and dropped them on top of Paya’s discarded clothes along with his magnifying lens.

The length of his penis lay along one of Tauro’s hip creases. He was swelling but not hard. She reverently rested her cheek against his belly and stroked her oily palm down the underside of his cock, her thumb continuing the motion down his scrotum in the valley between his testicles. She came back up behind his balls and grasped the whole root of him. Tauro began to pant a bit, one knee dropping to the futon to give her better access and his hands coming up to play with his tits. Paya spread saliva around her lips with her tongue and stroked her hand up the length of him. There was enough lubrication from the oil on her palms that she gave each pull a twist at the head. His foreskin began to pull back as blood rushed to his phallus.

Moving her hand to caress his inner thigh, Paya wrapped her tongue around the head of Tauro’s cock and slurped it between her wet lips. His abdomen heaved and he thrust, a little shallowly with no real intention, up into her mouth. “Oh, Goddess!” He yelped.

She sucked gently, pulling up, twisting her mouth around his head now. She swirled her tongue around the tip as he rolled his nipples between his fingers. Paya grasped his hip and began to bob her head slowly up and down his length. He breathed in deeply and rocked his pelvis toward her face. After a minute, she pulled off of him and drooled on his cock. Her hand stroked the base of him with this new lubrication as she caught her breath. When she swallowed him again, she took him as deeply as she comfortably could.

“OHHhhhh, Beloved!!”

Her eyes flickered shut. Her sucking pulsed. One hand made corkscrew motions where his penis joined his body and the other played the valley between his testicles again. Her thighs slipped against each other as her arousal started to spill out again.

Tauro was grunting, groaning in time to her strokes. Paya hummed, fluttering her tongue along the underside of his cock. She pressed his hips down in to the futon when he bucked up toward her, and came up for air. Tauro traced her jawline with a finger.

“Ok, Beloved, I’m ready ready now.” A little raggedy, but with some energy.

Now Paya’s lips were a little puffy as well, and glossed with her saliva. She reclined along side him and they turned to each other to kiss. Tauro’s phallus was hot and slick between the press of their bodies. She threw one leg over his hip and ground her inner flesh against his cock. He rolled her over on to her back and she wrapped her legs around him. He kissed her thoroughly, ardently as he rutted his hips into hers, sliding between her lips and over her clit, driving her desire higher. One hand ran down the front of her body to lavish attention on her breasts. A hand in his hair drew Tauro’s head back and he made eye contact with Paya. She laid her palm at the base of his skull. Tauro did the same for her and kissed the center of her Eye tattoo. Her other hand grasped the slippery length of him and guided him to the center of her heat. Tauro pressed his forehead against Paya’s and stared deeply into her eyes. She exhaled long and slow through her nostrils while he inhaled, then he exhaled long and slow, pushing his cock forward, while she drew his breath in. This time, Taura could feel her drawing his Shen, his spirit, into herself with their breath at the same time he was being physically drawn into her body.

Truly blessed.

He rocked his torso back and pushed his hips deeper. Paya rocked her pubic bone toward him and spread her legs wider. She breathed slowly and evenly, and as she relaxed open, Tauro sank deeper into her body from his own weight. They found each other’s lips, making the sounds lovers make as they explored. Her arms went around his neck like a garland. Then Tauro pushed himself up and the shift drove his cock deep enough that her pussy swallowed him whole. Paya cried out in satisfaction, wrapped her legs around his like vines anchoring him in place. He held there a moment, straining as he felt her hold on him. Everywhere.

“UHHhhhh”

A flash of lighting lit up the room in black and white.

Tauro folded forward seeking kisses. There was an abundance there for him as thunder rumbled in the distance. Paya reached both hands down for his ass cheeks and used the leverage to grind her clit against his pubic bone. Very guttural vocalizations came out of Tauro as he wrapped his arms under and up over her shoulders to hold on. Her head fell back in an arc, her mouth open, exposing the column of her neck. He ravaged her neck with lips and tongue, needing an outlet for the sensations and needing to spur her on. He rocked into her as much as he was able.

She felt so full. Not only full with her lover, with Tauro’s body, but full of vitality, full of pleasure, full of emotion. It felt so good to be in this body and to share it with someone who could honor all of her. She kneaded his buttocks and they both moaned as he flexed inside her. Tauro pushed himself on his hands so the balance of his weight was in his pelvis and he felt his shoulder muscles tense. Paya gasped, gripped his ass harder, circled her hips — mortar and pestle. She pushed him right up to the edge in her own release. He took a deep breath in, wrapped his fingers around her breasts, and rode the sensations. She gushed around him, pulled him deep with her internal embrace as they churned together. She lifted her knees around his ribs and, free to move his hips, Tauro began to move by millimeters in and out. The thinner, watery fluid of her release eliminated friction. She let go of his ass cheeks, put her hands over his on her breasts, and just let their bodies pulse together.

Tauro flexed himself inside her again and her torso rose off the bed. Kissing her. Kissing him. Kissing each other. He rested on his elbows and Paya wrapped her legs and arms around his back. This was an old language too. They matched breath, chests pressed together, and heartbeats hammering in synchrony. He moved in and out in time to their deep breathing. Push, pull, pressure, vacuum.

“Tauroooo…” Paya moaned

A hitch in his breath. Now in and out in time to their pounding hearts. “OhHH Paya!”

She could feel him growing fuller and firmer too. She was stretched to her capacity and she engulfed him. She kissed him, suckled his tongue, and pressed her heels into his sacrum at the base of his spine.

A scratchy gasp burst from his lips. His fluid movements were not under his intentional control anymore. He could feel energy building up in his Hara, in his guts, in his balls.

Paya spilled over first, calling his name again. The bed was rocking like a boat on the ocean. Tauro’s beads clicked in time to his thrusts. She was milking the core of him and he felt his energy expand outward. He rutted into her welcoming body, back bowed, and he felt like he was bursting apart like the birthing of a star. In a rush, his Jing, his essence, flowed from his root and poured into Paya. He poured it deep, deep into the well of her sacred waters. They cried to each other like cranes taking flight across the skies.

Lifegiving rain poured down on the village.

***

“…are you well, Tauro?”

“y- ye —ahem. mm. yes, Beloved.” murmured threads of voices.

“shall we rest just like this?”

“mm. don’t think… i can move anyway.”

sighs. rustling of bed linens. yawns. kisses. sleep.

***

Tauro cracked one eye open as sound of cuccoos crowing carried across the village despite the muffling blanket of rain.

Paya was still fast asleep. He’d moved off to one side of the bed at some point during their rest. Pulling the futon quilt up to his chin, Tauro snuggled up to her again. This definitely beat a bedroll or a cot in this kind of weather. He supposed there were some material advantages to staying in one place where you could cultivate things. His focus drifted around the room as he felt sleep starting to take hold again.

Sitting bolt upright in bed, Tauro asked, “Paya, is that an ORIGINAL tapestry depicting the Calamity??”

She startled awake, rubbing sleep out of her eyes and staring confusedly up at him. “mmmph?? Y-yes??? You didn’t notice it last night?” Her scratchy voice asked blearily, squinting at him.

“I was focused on OTHER THINGS, Beloved!”

Laughing, she put her arm over her eyes. “You took all your clothes off right in front of it!”

Mouth agape. “And you DIDN’T POINT IT OUT??!”

“I have looked at that tapestry every day of my life, sweet one. It started to pass beyond my notice when the Hero won against the second Calamity and we were no longer charged with keeping it safe for fate of the world.” Paya took his hand. “Have you learned much about Sheikah relics?”

He was considering her. “Not enough, apparently.”

Lying back down, Tauro wrapped an arm around Paya’s shoulder. “How many of your ancestors have had the tapestry?”

She brought a hand up to her Eye. “Including the weavers, I am the 108th generation to serve in this way.”

He started to play with the tie in his beard. “How old were you when Link reawoke the first time?”

“Mmmm, do your people count the year of pregnancy?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I was twenty years of age.”

“… was your mother already…?”

“yes. I was being educated to become Chief after my grandmother.”

He squeezed her lightly. She placed a hand over his heart and snuggled into him.

“Paya, Link and the Sages are going to win.”

She curled her fingers. Sigh. “Tauro, I trust you. I still fear for my village, though. Where does your confidence come from?”

Considering in silence. “So much has been laid down before you and I were born. So many things have had to go right over thousands and thousands of years for us to have the tools and information we have at our disposal. You called me here at the opening of something new, each of us carrying this wisdom from the ancients, and then when we joined, it felt like we blessed the whole valley. Maybe we can’t see the whole story yet. But I think it has to mean that we have the best possible chance to succeed.”

Closing her eyes, Paya listened to the great whoosh of Tauro’s heartbeat. “I feel it, Tauro.” Her voice resonant, like a bell.

He kissed the crown of her head and turned to encircle her in his arms. They matched each other’s breathing and lay listening to the rain on the thatch.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

ok here's my half-hearted attempt to figure out the tripolar singularity

[ID: First image is a screencap of Fukuchi holding the space-time sword at his side; the blade glows bluish purple. The second is a colour portrait of Fukuchi from the manga. The last is a screencap of the Holy Sword from the anime, wreathed in blue light against a dark backdrop. End ID.]

The singularity is comprised of three components:

Shintō Amenogozen - The space-time sword, which allows the wielder to cut through time and space in a limited capacity. Created by an ability user to be used in shinto rituals 1500 years ago, Fukuchi used it for combat which made him nigh-unbeatable due to his ability amplifying the sword's range - from around 12 centimeters to a hundred-fold more: 1200 centimeters, or 1.2 meters. Interestingly, the original time limit seems to be the same - a limit of 12 seconds - so Fukuchi does not seem to have enhanced it temporally. An interesting line about it from chapter 86: "A katana infused with both the ill-omened and divine... At that time and place, what was unexpectedly materialized resembled the very law of the universe." Another from 114.5: "The space-time sword, said to have God himself dwelling within it."

Mirror Lion - Fukuchi's ability, which allows him to enhance any weapon he gets his hands on by a hundred fold. From his use of Shintō Amenogozen though, it seems as though he can amplify speed, strength and range but in only spatial dimensions, not temporally.

The Holy Sword Soluz Levni - The sword used to seal Bram, forged from an ability user who died and had their body turned to metal. It both attached to the brain of its victim and placed a Holy Seal on the hand of the one who wielded it, which is what allowed Fukuchi to use Bram's ability. It does this by consolidating "body" and "ability" into one, thereby merging the physical with the abstract. Bram has been stabbed with it twice.

As with any singularity, the key is to find the paradox or contradiction - as the space-time sword was the last component that set off the actual singularity, that's what we need to be looking at most closely. A singularity also takes one of two forms that we've seen so far - one, the clash of two or more similar abilities with no clear victor creates an unforeseen third effect (Odasaku vs Gide), and two, an interaction of ability on the self or with another ability creates a feedback loop that amplifies indefinitely and becomes much more powerful than its host (Rimbaud, Chuuya, Verlaine).

In order, Fyodor stabs Fukuchi with the Holy Sword, fusing body and ability. This may already cause a singularity - the physical and the abstract has been merged. We still don't really know what this means, but if you recall from Dead Apple, abilities can be temporarily separated from their "hosts", and from Stormbringer, abilities require a human or human-like soul/will to exist (with the exception of singularities), so while we don't know the true ramifications of this merge, we do know it's... significant, in some way. This part here is the big question mark to me.

But in this case, the result should be inert. This shouldn't cause anything in particular to happen - but it does, we assume, allow Fyodor to wield Mirror Lion through wielding the blade.

So when he stabs Fukuchi with the space-time sword, this is where, presumably, the feedback loop is created.

Mirror Lion is bound to Fukuchi's physical form and able to be controlled by Fyodor -> Shintō Amenogozen is stabbed into Fukuchi -> Fyodor holds the hilts of both swords, allowing him to amplify both simultaneously with Mirror Lion as the conduit -> ??? evil profit???

My current thought (really more of a shot in the dark than anything) is that Fyodor amplifying the Holy Sword also binds Shintō Amenogozen's ability to Fukuchi's body (so there are two abilities bound to one body now - one space-time cutting and the other constant amplification). This amplification is likely the source of that feedback loop that would amplify the ability into a singularity (so presumably, bye Fukuchi, for good now - he's ceased to be human, most likely), and now that both abilities are bound to Fukuchi on a physical plane... I suspect the time range can now be extended. It allows Fyodor to increase the range of time the sword can jump through far past its limits, and if Fyodor is now in control of how this time-cutting ability is directed, then theoretically, Fyodor may now be able to jump through time and space and alter the outcomes of various points in history. If he wants to rid the world of ability users, this would be a control freak's best means of doing so, I assume.

"Two heavenly blades bring forth unto this land, a miracle."

Essentially Fyodor may want to rewrite ability users out of the narrative, and so in order to use the Book (potentially) to do so, he needs to "prepare" the timeline so that removing abilities makes logical narrative sense (in keeping with the rules of the Book). Alternatively, he cannot use the Book because it may have been created by an ability user, so this would be an unalterable contradiction - he is forced to remove ability users by going back to do things manually, perhaps even by killing the original creator of the Book.

I am definitely going to turn out to be completely wrong on this, but I hope it was fun to read, nonetheless!

[shintoinenglish]

Review: The Essence of Shinto

I have written before of Yamakage's authorship of multiple antisemitic conspiracy theory books. That said, given that there are not a lot of English language books about Shintō, I find this book is often recommended. It should not be recommended to anyone, not just because of the authorship, but for its misinformation. There is very little actual information that can be salvaged from this trainwreck of a book.

Koshintō is not an ancient practice - it's a new religious movement; an attempt to imagine an ancient Shintō, which is, in my opinion, inherently paradoxical, as the concept of Shintō as the name of a religion (and indeed the concept of a religion itself) were consciously constructed as recently as the Meiji Era, which is the 19th century. The archaeological and historical truth is that we do not know what Yayoi or Jomon period peoples believed, and Shintō is likely very distinct from that, and that is okay. While I understand the impulse to try to reconstruct Yayoi or Jomon era religions, I find the impulse to remove foreign elements like Buddhism to contain elements of xenophobia, and have found the idea of Shintō as truly ancient to be misleading at best. We do not actually have an ancient practice handed down to us. Japanese religious practice, first, is diverse -- regions do things differently. Kyushu area graves, for example, bear continental Chinese influence and have 土神 enshrined at their sides. Secondly, while I do think there is a necessity to undo the damage that State Shintō has done, it is not helpful to do so in a way that, at best, ignores and at worst, contradicts history.

Secondly, Yamakage Shintō is barely attested outside of Motohisa's writings. Many of the practices allegedly specific to Yamakage Shintō are common Japanese New Age theories, along with some condescension of traditional practices. One way to recognize this is his repeated use of the word "spiritual" (which presumably was either written スピリチュアル in the original text). It's ironic, then, that he puts down "bizarre cults and sects" (p.13). The aforementioned paragraph should explain why I am so skeptical of the Yamakage school when there is no such thing as ancient Shintō by definition.

Crucially, there is some dangerous and typical New Age medical misinformation here. He claims that certain chants or practices can heal different physical and mental health symptoms, which is not something anyone should say, much less someone who claims to be a religious teacher. This is a sidenote, but I am hoping that Paul de Leeuw did not absorb any of this, but am concerned as he trained under Yamakage.

Yamakage states "...Shinto leaders have been at the forefront of campaigns to restore the forests..." As much as Westerners want Shintō to be the Green Religion that saves the world, I've had very little luck actually encountering any shrine websites or articles that back this up, outside of the traditional practices of keeping very small sacred forests known as chinju no mori. If anything, the opposite has been documented. See Sacred Forests, Sacred Nation for more on this subject. I would be open to correction on this, but Yamakage provides no sources whatsoever; in fact, he provides no sources throughout his book for any of his factual or historical claims. Presenting the Showa Emperor as a source does nothing but reinforce fascist rhetoric about the emperor being the religious head, as he was at the time of State Shinto, and likely says more about his personal convictions than his religious ones. There is something eerily dystopian and fascistic in Yamakage's description of the people cheerily following the Showa Emperor's example.

I have noticed a tendency in some Japanese people to do what I think of as self-orientalism; an exoticization of your own body and culture to appeal to whites. It seems to me that Yamakage is doing such a thing, while simultaneously appealing to Japanese nationalistic sympathies, by saying it is an ancient, mysterious religion untainted by materialism. Demonizing materialism, in fact, goes against the actual practice of most Japanese -- many, many businesses regularly pray for prosperity and dedicate lamps to shrines, or will get ritual decorations for prosperity known as kumade during the November Tori-no-Ichi festival.

"Ajimarikan" is a chant that is, at best, shoddily derived from Buddhism, as is his use of mudra hand gestures. At worst, he completely fabricated this chant and doesn't even attempt to provide a meaning for this phrase. The Five Great Vowels Chant and the Heavenly Counting Chant are both chants that do not exist outside of this book.

Yamakage Motohisa also repeatedly uses Okinawan/Ryūkyūan religion as examples as if it is a part of Shintō, which it most decidedly is not. There was forced assimilation because of colonization, to my understanding, but the practice is entirely different from Shintō.

This is kind of a briefer overview than I originally intended, but I hope this provides some information on why I dislike Yamakage and this book so much. My hope is that he stops being recommended as any sort of resource and a better one is translated soon.

[bluebamb00]

VOLUME 25 COVER HAS BEEN CLEANED UP,

and im here to talk about it. (Major spoilers... if you didn't think of that before)

First of all, we have 5 different people in the picture:

Fukuchi

Fukuzawa

Dazai

Fyodor

Possibly Atsushi? (The legs behind Dazai)

Analysing the main elements of the picture that stand out the most, we can see that:

Fukuchi and Fukuzawa are side by side; behind them is a coloured background. Fukuzawa's side is white, and Fukuchi's is black. This should represent the good and evil, (I'm going to absolutely reach here) but it could also represent the symbol of Yin and Yang.

The symbol of Yin and Yang is halved into white and black, with a small amount of white in black, and black in white. So, according to this logic, perhaps Fukuzawa may do something evil in the name of good. This could range from wiping out a good majority of Yokohama to anything. But this could also mean sacrificing someone.

And following that, Fukuchi may help the Armed Detective Agency. As there is a little amount of good, there is a chance Fukuchi will help the Detective Agency with defeating Fyodor. Taking into account the fact that he is most likely dead, it could mean that he has already helped. In the image, the Shintō Amenogozen is stuck into the ground. The Shintō Amenogozen is a sword that belonged to Fukuchi before being merged with the Holy Sword Soluz Levni. When a sword is stuck into the ground, it sort of looks like a cross. And this was actually done in some cases in real life, when headstones couldn't be placed at that moment.

This is one indicator that Fukuchi is not saveable, and might be killed off. And to quote our favourite beauty, Koyo: "A flower that blooms in the dark can survive only within the dark. If you pursue the light, its heat will burn you up in the end." Applying this logic to the fact that Fukuchi looks ashamed in the original cover image, and that he is surrounded by darkness, it is safe to say he may not recieve a spot in the light.

The Shintō Amenogozen is also on Fukuzawa's side of the cover. It sits right under his image.

This could mean that the sword someday comes into Fukuzawa's possession.

Seperating Fukuzawa and Fukuchi is the demon himself, Fyodor.

Surrounding Fyodor, there is a dark aura. Just finding some posts on reddit and the general internet, most people tend to say that anyone with a dark aura has secrets deeply hidden. Secrets. Extremely dark secrets, with an additional tie to dark magic or dark powers.

Fyodor's ability has already been revealed, so only God knows what other secrets he could be hiding. But in Fyodor's hands, he holds what appears to be a rook. From an article I found speaking of the symbolism of chess pieces,((https://steemit.com/life/@iamthenerd/the-symbolism-of-chess) Here is the link if you'd like it ^^) the symbolism of a rook is essentially brute force.

"The rook is brute force. It is a disregard to beliefs. It is the equivalent to "Hulk smash!". "

Relating the rook to be a direct use of force is a beautiful analogy for this cover especially. Fyodor revealing the nature of his ability could be one way of using "brute force"; a reveal of one of his secrets. (I call the 'nature' of his ability one of his secrets, as it had not been revealed beforehand and a lot of us had honestly been mislead by that scene of Fyodor and Karma in my humble opinion) Another way this rook could reference brute force is following his ability reveal. When he causes a tripolar singularity.

"Just as in real life, we do not pull out our rooks until the board has developed a bit....There is a time and a place for the rooks where they are highly effective. The only trick is to make sure you keep account of the rest of your board and never "just use" your rooks unless it's all you have left!"

Following what this source says about the rook being a possible last weapon, this tripolar singularity could be the last thing Fyodor has left for him at the moment. As always, the protagonists win in the end, but this could represent the end of Fyodor being a main antagonist and finally bring an end to his cruel antics! Sorry Nikolai.

In all his glory, lays the detective Osamu Dazai.

In the cover, Dazai is laying with his eyes closed, but he carries a determined look on his face. Surrounding him are Japanese Camellias.

There is a lone camellia right next to his heart, and a camellia stabbed right through with one of the Hunting Dog's swords that sits above his shoulder.

The meaning of the Japanese Camellia can mean a many of things:

Devotion and Undying Loyalty

Bravery and Perseverance

A Symbol of a Noble Death

As I said before, Dazai dons a determind look. This could link into both the Devotion and Perseverance. He is determined, but for what?

Well, my best guess would have to be saving the Detective Agency. The stabbed camellia above his shoulder could represent how the Hunting Dog's had come close to defeating him and his plans behind the scenes, but had not defeated him. However, as the camellia represents loyalty, the stabbed camellia could represent a part of him that has been betrayed or could be betrayed by his loyalty.

We all know about the transfer of one Agency member to the Mafia, and I think it's safe to say a majority of the BSD fandom hates it. (I SURE DO, I DON'T WANT DAZAI TO GO BACK WAAAAHHHH) Dazai could be chosen to transfer to the Port Mafia.

However, although this may seem insignificant, the light is shining on Dazai. In BSD as a series, the ADA is represented as 'The Light' and the PM as 'The Dark'. Dazai is still shining in the light, and the light is also shining on the camellia on his heart. This gives me the small amount of hope needed to say that Dazai will remain in the Armed Detective Agency, and that his devotion to the ADA will truly be seen by all.

Dazai also keeps on his bolo tie, which I have seen mentioned by a lot of people to be a symbol of his connection to the ADA. His bolo tie is in no way damaged or harmed, and it reflects in the light. This would also symbolise him remaining in the ADA.

Although, there is a hefty chance he could be. Mentioned in the part of Fukuzawa and Fukuchi, I say that there could be a sacrifice made by Fukuzawa to maintain good. This could be 'sacrificing' Dazai and putting him down as the transferee.

Also, I'd just like to add, it's most likely to early to be deciding who goes to which faction. Like I said, though, I cannot predict what Asagiri will do.

In the background of the sky Dazai lays in, we can see a pair of legs running.

There is no one else I can think of when I see those high legged trousers. Atsushi. Atsushi not being in the main focus, but being in the background, could insinuate that the rest of the ADA will appear in the story quite soon as support characters in this part of the story.

-

All in all, I have reason to believe that this may be one of the final volumes of the DOA arc. The usage of Fyodor's rook - his final(?) piece- is giving me that impression heavily.

I have never posted any of my theories before. I hope anyone who reads this takes my thoughts into account.

[woodblxssomcrowned]

I really do love Kaname in hakama~

I often see this is a particularly casual getup, right next to a yukata but a tad bit more practical. More on the level of what we see Hashirama and his brother’s wear as kids. Not necessarily the best to train in, but not as restricting as a yukata.

I especially see this as something she’d wear day-to-day in the WS au. In the main verse she tends to make an effort to look far more put together and will wear more intricate and nice clothes, both because she actually likes those looks, but also due to feeling like she has to compensate for her ‘weakness’ by at least looking pretty. In the WS au her feelings of inferiority are far FAR less prevalent because the academy ordeal never happened, so her confidence in her abilities never took the crippling blow that it did in the main verse, and therefore doesn’t feel the same strong urge to find ways to compensate for it.

The shilouette and how she’d get dressed in it is pretty much the same as for how Shintō shrine maidens wear their attire, with the hakama sitting closer to the natural waist compared to how women’s modern hakama are otherwise worn.

I do love the color combination I found here for the hakama and the kosode. As usual I go with more distinctive green for her than the canonical greyish/greenish blues that dominates the Senju palette, but if Tobirama can go all out with cobalt blue then she can go with her lovely greens.

But I can’t decide on the details, so feel free to comment on which you like best or if you think it looks best all completely plain.

[ambyandony]

loosely based on actual rp lmaoooo

inside joke i thought the public would get a kick out of. believe it or not giorno has asked limbo this question multiple times

[Transcript:

Giorno: Limbo-sama. Giorno: Are you looking at Mista-sama in a God-honouring way?

Limbo: you know damn fucking well i'm a Buddhist, not a Catholic. Limbo: I don't have a God to honour with the way I am looking at that man's ass.

Giorno: ... Giorno: I see. Fugo: (WHEEZE) Giorno: I thought you were Shintō? Fugo: Limbo, the 貪 (राग) !! The 煩悩 (क्लेश)!!* Limbo: 煩悩について黙れ！！！煩悩について黙れ！！！**

* 貪 (Ton, Japanese equivalent of राग rāga: a Buddhist and Hindu term representing a character poison which encompasses any lust, greed and attachment to a sensory object); 煩悩 (bonnō, Japanese equivalent of क्लेश kleśa or Kleshas: Buddhist term for 'poisons' that afflict the soul and result in 'unwholesome actions', translated in many ways including 'worldly desires' and 'poisons'); * Sentence roughly translates to "Limbo, the craving!! The worldly desires!!"

** "SHUT UP ABOUT MY WORLDLY DESIRES! SHUT UP ABOUT MY WORLDLY DESIRES!!!"

End Transcript]

Giorno's like 'wait i thought you were shintō..?? you have a home shrine" (she's both) and Fugo's like "LUST IS A WORLDLY DESIRE LIMBO. BUDDHISTS ARE SUPPOSED TO LET GO OF WORLDLY DESIRES LIMBO."

fugo usually tries to keep a straight face but like imagine the shyest most modest girl u know is just outright like yeah i was looking at his ass. like half the time this girl wont even say "fuck" without apologising bc of her anxiety and she just goes and says this. that's fucking hilarious

[divineprank]

Let’s talk about Hyrule’s bestiary, shall we? Tears of the Kingdom, and by association, Breath of the Wild makes this implication that all of Hyrule’s monsters are not a side effect but instead, a deliberate action of Ganondorf and his evil intentions, his malice and gloom. In fact, we quite literally see this in the Tears of the Kingdom trailer, and we see this in an in-game cutscene wherein he commands his monsters to rise up. Which, this isn’t the first time that a Zelda game ever suggests the presence of evil commands the existence of monsters, but I argue that this is a story beat that falls flat and in fact, I think there should be something more to these monsters’ existence; after all, this is a game series that reflects Miyamoto’s youth, mirroring his adventures in the Kyoto countryside, his discovery of that cave and his days-long hesitation to explore the inside of it. The creator and executive producer of many of our beloved Nintendo franchises, Zelda is one of the purest representations of Shigeru Miyamoto, but more importantly, it represents his faith and his relationship with Shintoism. Shintō - the way (tō) of the gods (shin), is a broad, native-based faith that draws focus around remaining in touch with and respecting the kami, that is, gods, the nature spirits, or perhaps the spiritual energy, that are believed to inhabit all things: nature, animals, landscapes... 

They are, essentially, the soul of everything.

Miyamoto actually lives close to the Fushima-Inari shrine, a beautiful place of worship at the base of a mountain (also called Inari) dedicated to one of the most familiar kami, Inari, (short for Ine Nari, or Ine ni Naru -- the reaping of rice)  who is the god and protector of rice cultivation. Miyamoto has a very personal connection to Inari, believing this nature spirit to be his guardian angel. This shrine is considered to be the head shrine, the big boy among the other thirty-thousand other shrines dedicated to Inari across Japan. The shrine has been around since at least 711AD and is where billions of people have come to pray for a bountiful harvest, prosperity in personal endeavors, the safety and thriving of their family and loved ones, and protection of their home. Worshippers will trek through the approximately eight hundred Senbon Torii, these beautiful Torii gates that are erected in honor and deep thanks by those who have prayed at the shrine and have had their desire or wish come true.

I mention all of this in a post about Hyrule’s monsters because it’s this real-world inspiration that permeates Miyamoto’s video games, informing his game design philosophy. Something particularly iconic about Star Fox 64′s levels, for example, are the many arches you can fly your Arwing underneath and receive health rings or power-ups as a secret bonus reward. This is a direct reference to the Torii gates at the Inari shrine. 

Purity is a very important component when it comes to Shinto rituals, such as kagura, a traditional dance that is meant to establish and maintain the perfect balance between nature, humans, and deities. Impurity, or more specifically, pollution is driven away by these rituals, as Shintoism suggests that it is considered a contamination and obstruction to the flow of life and thus the blessings from the kami.  

Tôru Ôsawa introduces this concept very, very effectively in Ocarina of Time. Young Link’s adventures across an untainted and pure version of Hyrule introduce us to two nature spirits, two kami, who are integral to the flourishing of their elemental domains. The Great Deku Tree and Lord Jabu-Jabu, both are honored as patron deities amongst their respective tribes. The Great Deku Tree embodies the eternal life, endless youth, and boundless spirit of the mysterious forest and Lord Jabu-Jabu is thought to protect the health and clarity of the water that runs down Zora’s river and crawls through the country, providing Hyrule with fresh drinking water -- the source of life itself. 

The early part of Link’s adventure introduces us to these kami. When we begin the game we are introduced to the Great Deku Tree, who has fallen ill after being cursed by Ganondorf, and we are required to travel inside of this great nature spirit and purify him, destroy the monsters, rid our tree-daddy of the impurities inside of him, and cleanse this deity’s soul. When we are almost at the curtain-close of Young Link’s act, we travel inside another kami who is rife with pollution, and as Link, we must heal Lord Jabu-Jabu, who has also become “green around the gills” following a terrible encounter with Ganondorf.

While it’s not subjected to the same anthropomorphization of the other two kami, we know that Death Mountain is alive in its own right. Kaepora Gaebora once whispers to us that the state of the mountain, its mood and its health, can be determined with one glance up at the cloud that crowns Death Mountain’s summit. When Link is a child, he must explore the inside of Death Mountain, purifying one of its many caverns by eliminating the monsters that are infecting it like a virus. Large, dangerous boulders roll down the mountain face and threaten the safety of the sleepy Kakariko Village nestled at the foot of the mountain. These are all symptoms of the natural balance being skewed, of course, brought upon by Ganondorf’s wicked demands not being met.

The beginning of the game doesn’t just introduce us to the controls, pivotal characters and how the world of Hyrule works, but it also establishes this Shinto concept that there is supposed to be a perfect balance between nature, humans, and deities. In fact, this is symbolized in the Spiritual Stones that we collect as we unite and purify forest, water, and fire. While we’re on our journey of healing, we as the player are painted a perfect picture of what a healthy Hyrule looks like – what it should look like.

We know what happens next.

Shintoism doesn’t really promote any commandments for followers to live by in the same ways that a western, Christian-based faith might expect, instead only suggesting that the idea of living a simple and harmonious life with nature and people and is quite simple when adhering to the four affirmations of the Shinto spirit:

 Love of nature; nature is sacred, to be close to nature is to be close with the kami

 Family and tradition; the family is the primary mechanism by which traditions are preserved

 Physical cleanliness; followers of Shinto take baths, wash their hands, and rinse out their mouths often.

 Matsuri; to participate in festivals in which worship and honor are given to the kami.

While they aren’t particularly “good” or “evil”, kami are imperfect creatures and there are ways to upset them. Negative actions such as living outside of these four affirmations of the Shinto spirit and thus not living a simple and harmonious life with nature and people, or committing negative actions or evil deeds referred to as “kegare”, (literally meaning “dirtiness”), are an equivalent to committing a sin in the eyes of the kami. While most kami are usually fun-loving, benevolent and quite forgiving, there are kami who make mistakes or are quick to rash actions, and some may actively try to hurt people should they feel disrespected or taken for granted. For instance, if a life is taken without gratitude for this ultimate sacrifice, the soul might experience “urami”—that is, it will hold a grudge.  During the spirit’s ongoing rage and pain, it transforms into an aragami: a powerful and evil kami that seeks revenge.

By the time Link wakes up seven years later, Hyrule no longer resembles that perfect picture of harmony with nature, the deities, and humans. There’s a terrible gloom settled into most of the major locations of Hyrule that gives off this desolate, dying feeling to the rest of the country. Everywhere you look, dark clouds hang over the once vibrant skies of Hyrule; the forest is infested with wicked monsters that trap the Kokiri children and their fairies in their homes. Death Mountain is angrier than ever with the ring of clouds blazing with fire as a ferocious dragon now inhabits the volcano. The lake has dried up and Zora’s domain is completely frozen. All the while, a violent and vengeful shadow looms over Kakariko Village.

What can be misleading about this part is Rauru stating outright, that Ganondorf’s evil powers radiated from the temples of Hyrule, which kind of suggests what’s happening to the very nature of Hyrule is coming directly from Ganondorf himself as if he’s waving his hand and infecting these temples directly. However, I don’t believe this is the case. This is because of what I’ve established earlier, that due to the mistreatment of Hyrule itself; the balance between nature, humans, and deities has been skewed, the very land as a whole began to sour.  

So yes, Ganondorf’s evil power did radiate from the temples, because these were places of worship, sacred temples that belonged to each of the races of Hyrule. Shrines to give thanks to the lands that take care of them, to show appreciation of one another, and to look up to the gods with gratitude. He stole something holy, and thoroughly abused it, disrespecting the Goddesses, abusing the nature of this beautiful country, and caused a horrible rift between the tribes who inhabit Hyrule, and as a result Hyrule rotted. Where gentle nature spirits once roamed, now only horrible monsters remain.

I don’t really believe that many of the monsters that infest the temples and attack Link among his journey are Ganondorf’s servants per se. Certainly, the Iron Knuckles are perhaps one of the only examples of proof of loyalty to Ganondorf’s cause, and even then, with proof of the (probably brainwashed) Gerudo warriors nestled inside of them, I’m not even sure you can call them monsters, anyways.

Why do I think this, then? Well, for starters…

Are we to take Fado’s words to mean that as soon as Grog transformed into a Stalfos, he marched out of the forest and joined up with Ganondorf’s ranks? That’s a cartoonish thought, and while it is possible, it really contradicts with what Fado says specifically: that anybody that comes to the forest will be lost.

Lost is the keyword, there. You see, in a 1999 interview with 64Dream Magazine, Yoshiaki Koizumi, confirms that upon transforming into a Stalfos, Grog instead wandered off to the Forest Temple to live there. He also confirms that this is what happened to the child who stalks around the graveyard in Kakariko, the one who wishes to look scary, just like Dampé. According to Koizumi, five years after Ganondorf obtained the Triforce, the little boy left Kakariko in search of his missing father. Upon entering the Lost Woods, he soon transformed into a Skull Kid, and now fears all adults he encounters.

Even before Ganondorf’s reign of terror, the people of Hyrule were already disrespecting the natural world and its spirits. Taking into considerations the Odd Mushroom that Fado demands back from you upon discovering Grog’s absence because she says it belongs to the forest, or even the Eyeball Frog, who Koizumi confirms in 64Dream Magazine, are often used by those who don’t feel particularly sorry for their sacrifices. Perhaps this is why Stalchildren roam the fields at night, why Peahats often attack any adventurer who wanders too close to their nests, why Skulltulas remain nestled in dark, damp places because even before Ganondorf stole the Triforce, Hyrule was already growing sick from its inhabitants’ greed.

It definitely explains the existence of the Spiders of the Curse…

That’s why I feel the idea that Ganondorf purposefully raises the monsters out of thin air to act as his “servants” really takes away some larger nuance and deeper meaning from the Legend of Zelda series, but, hey, that’s just an old boomer’s take. 

https://jref.com/articles/shint%C5%8D-the-way-of-the-gods.27/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/shinto/beliefs/kami_1.shtml https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/shinto/texts/stories_1.shtml#h2 https://www.zeldadungeon.net/the-divinity-of-jabu-jabu-zeldas-kami/ https://femhype.wordpress.com/2016/05/10/japanese-environmentalism-shinto-the-legend-of-zelda/ https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/unmistakable-influence-shintoism-videogame-history/ https://www.zeldadungeon.net/wiki/T%C3%B4ru_%C3%94sawa https://zeldauniverse.net/2011/09/14/immortal-childhood/ http://inari.jp/en/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inari_%C5%8Ckami https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fushimi_Inari-taisha https://crafttabby.com/explore/nintendo-inari https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYPKHbOD_xg  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyUcwsjyd8Q  https://www.neoseeker.com/the-legend-of-zelda-ocarina-of-time/faqs/162138-zelda-64-script.html https://www.armageddongames.net/archive/index.php/t-61081.html http://forums.legendsalliance.com/topic/17108-list-of-japanese-translations/ https://www.thehyrulejournals.com/what-we-do https://www.learnreligions.com/shinto-worship-traditions-practices-4570821 http://plaza.ufl.edu/sroy12/cgs3066/project2/beliefs.html https://www.patheos.com/library/shinto/beliefs https://archive.org/details/64dream-April-1999-ozidual/64Dream%201999%2004%20%28J%20OCR%29/page/n89/mode/2up https://www.reddit.com/r/truezelda/comments/y13iic/some_minor_lore_details_from_the_developers_of_oot/

[unolvrs]

hi, uno! ever since you started talking about shinto pjo, i can't stop thinking about it! on a scale of 1-10, how different are the shinto demigods going to be from the greek demigods? and maybe one or two things that make them different? PLEASE I NEED CRUMBS!

i've gotten lots of questions about the shintō!pjo thing and this is the only one i can answer right now! but i suppose they're very different, pushing it to around a 7 or an eight. they're more similar to the romans and the egyptians ^^ btw, these are canon in terms of this fanfic i'm working and not mythology canon unless stated otherwise.

one of the biggest difference is the system of births of the mikogami. they're only born under certain rituals and if they're born outside of said ritual, it's considered "impure". one of those rituals is an ancient one involving a kannushi getting possessed by a kami and a virgin miko. (irl, this hasn't been done for centuries. so don't worry!) while one of the 'impure' births are if a kami carries the child in the womb themself. there are other ways but that's the most popular among the pure vs impure.

not-so fun fact: in early japan, women in battles are considered impure and unlucky. men are discouraged to lay with women prior to a battle and pregnant women are even more unlucky. especially menstruation. there are still a shrine or two forbidding pregnant women or women in general to enter their grounds!

another difference is maybe the caste system-ish going on among the mikogami. in shintō canon, there's already a stark difference between kami who live in the earth (kunitsukami) and kami who live in the heavens (amatsukami). and of course in myth canon, there are those most common 'river kami' or 'mountain kami' in comparison to big shots like susanō and amaterasu and tsukuyomi.

so it lies on the shinmē (神名) of the kami, whether or not they have an actual name or just a title. that's going to be a huge influence on the status of the mikogami. sometimes it doesn't matter but sometimes they do.

in a nutshell, the shintō kami are going to be a lot more complicated than the greeks, honestly... don't get me started on the underworlds and the unseen worlds... there's really a lot to consider.

[hyeahgaku]

WAS THAT IDLE DEATH GAMBLER DOMAIN EXPANSION REFERENCE FROM OSARAGI?!!?! OMGGGG real recognizes real!! 🤲🏼🤲🏼

Hahahaha that's one way to call it as a reference but fun fact, the hand sign that both Osaragi & Hakari used is actually associated with one of the seven lucky gods called Benzaiten in Buddhist mythology. She is a Shintō & Buddhist goddess of eloquence, good fortune, and knowledge and thus one of the gods whom the Japanese people pray to for good luck.

I say its less of a reference to Hakari's DE & more of coincidence that both Suzuki-sensei & Gege-sensei referenced Benzaiten since the two characters both rely on luck in their own ways :)

[daily-hyosatsu]

A 'new' name for the fourth consecutive day! The name 新納 is usually read Niiro or Niino, but also potentially Niinō, Shinnō, Niina, Ninō, Niiru, Shintō, Shinno, Niuno, or Arano.

新 means new, and it’s read atara.shii, ara.ta, nii, or shin. Its radicals are 斤 axe on the right, and 立 stand and 木 tree on the left.

納 is a first for this blog! The radicals are 糸 thread and 内 inside, which makes sense because the verb 納まる (osa.maru) means to fit (in a box, frame, or category), to settle a matter (or taxes), to occupy or settle into a position, to subside or be sorted, all kinds of gentle sorted meanings. Its counterpoint 納める (osa.meru) means to pay taxes/fees (or to make an offering).

It can also be read nō, natsu, na, nan, or tō, as in 納税　 (nouzei) paying taxes, 納得 (nattoku) convince, or 納豆 (nattō), those fermented beans that are so slimy but if you know what to do with them they do actually taste nice.

[2broschlininahotub]

Meet the Mikanko girls

Mikanko" is based on an alternative reading for mikannagi (御巫みかんなぎ), a court lady who serves in Shintō rituals. "Mikanko" also refers to mikanko (御神子みかんこ), another name for a miko (a Shintō priestess).

"Mikanko" is also a play on mikan (蜜柑みかん, a type of mandarin orange) and ko (子こ, lit. "child").

The theme’s name is written in Kanji as 御巫 (August/Divine Oracles/Mediums), but sounds like it could be “Orange Girls”, as in the fruit.

Meet Ohime

"Ohime the Manifested Mikanko" is named after the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu. The other "Mikanko" members are named after descendants of Amaterasu who inherited her three sacred treasures.

Ōhime 大日女, another name for Amaterasu

This is from the yugipedia.com and ygorganization.com which is where I get most of my info from.

She has two sacred treasures with her. The mirror and sword. The mirror has the power of reflection and purification. The mirror has the ability to reflect and absorb damage. She can make any fatal hit reverse it back to the opponent with an exponent of two with the mirror only. If the sword is included, it would be the exponent of four. If the other girls where fighting with her, it would be an exponent of sixteen but with another mirror it would be an exponent of 32. She realeses the damage via the sword or the mirror itself. She can use the sword and create the windblades with the damage tornados or any wind related technique with a sword. She can make a laser beam with mirror plates into reflecting sunlight or just smack them with the mirror. If she does smack someone with the mirror, It feels like being getting shot point black by a shotgun. She also has telekinesis. The mirror can dispel illusions and show someone's true form. If used on Yae, it would make Yae into her fox form.

She was taught dance by Ame no Uzume. Ame no Uzume also helped her get out of a really bad situation. Personality, she gives off this aura of respect. She is kind of excited to be in this new world. It feels like she can travel without having to deal with divine duties and not being pestered by other people. Fun fact: if this universe were to be a dating sim. She would be a bisexual dateable option.

Meet Nini

Nini is themed after a cat or more specifically, a Nekomata, a cat themed Yokai with two tails also the inspiration of Jibanyan from Yokai watch.

The Yata no Kagami is a mirror was when Ohime's brother sent Ohime into depressive state which caused the world to drown in darkness. They hung this mirror on a tree to lure her out of the cave. What actually got her out of the cave was Ame no izume who did a strip tease ( I am not kindling this is in actual Japanese myth) and Ohime heard the commotion and saw a rooster, the mirror and the half naked Ame no uzume. The God of strength closed the entrance to the cave which is called Amano Iwato.

She holds the Yata no Kagami, the mirror of Ohime. She uses the mirror in combat as an agility. She can teleport split the mirror into multiple pieces and report through them. (don't worry the mirror reattaches it's self when not being used). She do the stuff Ohime can do without the sword so she can reflect the damage but she cannot store power or gain more stored damage via sunlight. She can also use the mirror fragments to use as moving platforms which can make illusions of her. Her teleportation can activate via her reflection and she has hydro and cryokinesis.

Nini comes from Ninigi-no-Mikoto one of Ameterasu's grandsons. Nini does more foreign dances compared to her sister who does more traditional dances. Nini is trained in ballet, flamenco and tango besides the shrine dance. Nini is the older sister who acts as the respectable and calm sister but also becomes the most chaotic drunk. She would get arrested for public indecency cause she was dancing on a pole naked.

Meet Hare

Ha - Re

Hare is based of a rat/mouse.

Hare has the ability to change the swords height but not the weight meaning the sword is light despite its size. She can also use the sword to store attacks and release the attack via a beam or slash that can make a giant wave of fire.

Hare holds a blade known as the Kusanagi no tsurugi. A blade given as token of forgiveness to Ameterasu by her brother. The blade was found inside yamato no orochi think hydra but Japanese.

Her name comes from Iwarebiko-no-Mikoto a descendant of Ameterasu.

Hare is trained in more traditional Japanese dances. Hare and Nini used to own an orange stand to make money. Hare is the wild and free kind of girl also a sad depressing mess when drunk. Hare and Nini would become a wing woman for the other sister if the other has a crush on someone or she are dating someone.

They currently working at Yae's shrine. They are actually the strongest people in inazuma if the creator fragments are not included.

[hazardous-waste-containment]

IMO neither Mishima nor Kita can fully be considered fascists. Kita probably came closer which is ironic since Mishima is actually one of the few Japanese rightoids that has directly and profoundly influenced a lot of Western fascists (presumably because he was already well-known in the West as a right-wing author, and then killed himself in the most extra way possible that makes him easy for fash to romanticize; Kita is much more obscure).

Mishima was pretty clearly a religious, elitist, monarchist reactionary who was unconcerned with social revolution or with meaningfully new forms of politics in general. He didn’t just incorporate monarchy as one component of a reborn Japan, he made recourse to it as the primary legitimizing principle of Japanese culture and nationhood and his goal was to clear away the machinery of the modern state and restore the Emperor as divine Shintō autocrat. Thus the closest comparison is probably the interwar radical right like Action Française or especially the neo-Carlists. On the other hand, his worldview was also deeply imbued with fascist aesthetics – of the perfectly sculpted and purified (and emphatically masculine) national body, of the cult of action and heroic death, of a D’Annunzian life-lived-as-art, and so on.

Meanwhile Kita actually followed a similar trajectory as Mussolini, from Marxism to a kind of class-collaborative national socialism. Unlike Mishima he was unambiguously revolutionary and modernizing, explicitly rejecting Shintō fundamentalism and propounding a secular doctrine of state in which the Emperor incarnated the collective will of the Japanese people; he envisioned a great new empire across Asia, under a new authoritarian socialist Japan, to bring about a messianic sea-change in world civilization. However, rather than advocating revolution ‘from below’ through a populist mass movement, he advocated military coup and imperial prerogative ‘from above’. While he described Japan as a living organism he never desired the kind of cascading, organic mass hierarchy described by ‘popular elitism’, instead seeing ‘national reorganization’ as purely the work of a small clique of radical officials surrounding the Emperor. Altogether we might describe Kita as a proto-fascist, if that term has any meaning.

[eirrw]

spoilers are below the break and indented

2022-11-13, 15:13

so id written up this whole first impressions review after watching s2e1 of warrior nun but i think it disappeared into the aether?

im through s2e4 now and and opinions are pretty much the same. writing is better but still not great, feels like the got a better budget and/or practice on the vfx, storylines are interesting enough to make me want to keep watching

im sketch about the major new characters (but i always am (especially men)), but as theyre built out i am intrigued how things will go. there's some relationships hinted at that id love to see followed up on cause im a hopeless romantic at heart

theres also some kickass demon murder which is always cool

2022-11-14, 00:07

right so netflix already killed one show i loved this year (rip first kill, you were too stupid to live 🙏). if warrior nun doesnt get a third (final? wrap it up, dont push your luck) act i might actually fuckin riot.

and dont get me wrong, i have ~feelings~ about how the show went down (particularly e8), but those can (and should) be cleaned up

can we talk about the tropes that went into the last bit tho? kill your gays, forbidden lovers, borderline enemies-to-lovers, fuck! also the whole thing felt really male-gaze-ish

dont get me wrong, i was rooting for it the whole time (see: hopeless romantic), as someone who mostly ids as male it felt kinda icky. idk maybe im just drunk

but anyways, it was good solid fun and i think it deserves another go. give it a whirl netflix, take a risk, you have a content problem and making cool shows that ~some~ (not all!) people like helps

also it takes the piss outta the church. i think i make my view on religion fairly clear (and am happy to clarify them if i dont), but i am an absolute sucker for myth and legend and boy howdy do the abrahamics have a lot of that

christianity is of particular interest to me, maybe because its the predominant religion in my part of the world, and the one ive been exposed the most. i also find that in general its the least commonly to be used in a mythological sense

i love shit like warrior nun, or lucifer, or his dark materials (is the show good? i havent seen it), that use christian myth as an inspiration/basis and spiral out from there. like fuckin da vinci code is about the fake history, these build a fantasy out of the legends

i see "a lot" of stuff stemming out of islamic and jewish myths, and im not nearly well-versed enough to say why that is. maybe theyre older religions that hung on to some of the old gods cruft? the creatures and shit that dont really appear in christianity

and dont get me started on the ips that are built on other old religions. norse, greek, slavic, the "old gods" that are classified as myth solely cause no one really believes it any more

theres no difference to christianity, or judaism, or islam, outside of the fact that people still believe in it. its all stories to explain why the world is the way it is and codify a way to live

im mainly picking in the big three here, but i have the same feeling towards all the others. hinduism, shintō, etc dont get a pass

so yeah, more christian myth please. theres a lot of material there and making people mad is fun.

2022-11-14, 12:51

been thinking a bit more about why this bothered me so much can we talk about the tropes that went into the last bit tho? kill your gays, forbidden lovers, borderline enemies-to-lovers, fuck! also the whole thing felt really male-gaze-ish

i think its the build up. they were pushing this from e1 or e2 with the dance scene, but then did the ol classic "we're into each other but we're never gonna talk about it like normal people"

and the relationship never progressed. at all. until the last half hour when its just lets kiss and declare our love for each other

which fair, these chars are young and in a rough spot (mildly) so maybe theres no time for that. but it still felt weird

and something i see pretty often (from a certain crowd) in these situations is the "oh so youre just gonna make 'a' gay now? she never suggested anything like that", and its like, no

bi people exist. and if theyre in a heteronormative relationship then 1, good for them, and 2, they can still be into the same sex! they dont need to talk about it!

and in this case, 'a' had been confined to a bed in a catholic orphanage for most of her life. maybe the whole, oh i like girls too thing just didn't hit for a while.

and 'b' was obviously gay right from her exposition chat in s1, even if they didn't come right out and say it (see: catholics).

i love that it happened but im bothered that there was no depth to it. idk, maybe if they figured it out in like, e5, and were able to spend some time building up to that final release itd have gone down better

i.e. still tropey but at left i could have felt better about it

copied from twitter, 2022-11-13/14 https://twitter.com/virunus_/status/1591887046150340615

[eccentric-nucleus]

He called his swordsmanship style derived from this miraculous dream the Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū, the "Heavenly True, Correctly Transmitted Style of the Way of the God of Katori".

i've had to make up some technique names for some of the dumb martial arts stuff in this fic but none of them compare to actual historical weapon style names

[ancientpillarsoflori]

17/07/2023 山鉾巡行 (a short field work diary ramble?)

going into gion matsuri as someone who read their fair share of books about kyōtōs heritage and tourism industry, and who has an above average knowledge of shintō (which still means i barely understand anything), i couldn't help but be fascinated by gion matsuri's yamaboko parade.

of course, the event is heavily commercialized. the parade itself is ripe with police, camera crews, and professional photographers. at the crossing from where we were watching, there was paid seating (in the shadow, essential for japanese summer) available. in the end, it is just a street corner in an ordinary japanese town - not the glamour of gion itself, with it's heavily curated street views and kimono-wearing flaneurs.

but i couldn't help to perceive a sense of connection to the past. first, because an elderly lady was talking to me and my friends, telling us about her youth growing up in gion. her birthday is on july 10th, so she always treated all the goings on during that time as an extension of herself. she left early due to the immense heat and low level of comfort for non-paying spectators. yet, she has been to gion matsuri every year.

second, we were at a crossing at which we could observe the turning of the yamaboko. those big carts, intangible world heritage, are assembled and disassembled each year. each has its name and connection to a chō (block). since they only drive on one axis, they are turned by 90 degrees in an elaborate orchestration of wetting the road and putting bamboo sticks on the ground. i have zero spatial imagination, so i won't try to wrap my head around how they actually move those 15 ton floats.

what i could wrap my head around: that this celebration has been carried out (in some form or another, let's not essentialize) for more than one thousand years. that people (i.e. the 祇園祭会? shintō priests? unesco auditors?) will time and time again decide to do the impractical thing, and pull 15 ton wagons around an enormous city in scorching july heat. and move them around corners with physics (?), an arm full of bamboo sticks, and sheer willpower.

[shintoinenglish]

Japanese New Age Cult Red Flags

Just like any religious community, Shintō and Buddhism are not free from harmful cults -- ranging from spiritual pyramid scheme groups to groups that purchase shrines and take over their administration.

For community benefit, I will list some key red flags, as these groups often post online and expand their following on social media. Please note that context should be paid attention to; use your judgement. If there are multiple traits present in a group, I highly suggest keeping your distance.

Focus on past lives. It is not wrong to believe in reincarnation, but claiming to be a reincarnation of a specific, usually powerful historical figure or kamisama/buddha etc. is an instant red flag.

Talk of Japanese being a secret lost tribe of Israel

Other, usually antisemitic and xenophobic conspiracy theories, including, but not limited to: The Star of David is the same as the kagome-mon. This type of behavior can build off of the same kind of conspiracy theories in the West; there are plenty of Qanon believers in the Japanese religious sphere, unfortunately.

Pseudohistory such as: speaking of the Hitsuki Shinji oracles as legitimate historical texts, or favoring Jindai Moji scripts.

Claims to reconstructed prehistorical Jōmon era religion - this can include some Koshintō movements, so again, use your judgement well.

Reliance on one figure as a central authority, especially when disregarding others.

Reliance on oracles and prophecies heard by one central figure

Putting down other sects or traditions

Circumventing ordainment/training for clergy

Talk of auras, "the spiritual" in a vague sense, referring to shrines and temples as "power spots" (some more normal folks do this last one, but that's because the influence of New Agers is actually pretty significant -- but it decenters the importance of kamisama in a shrine or buddhas/bodhisattvas etc. in a temple).

Focus on prehistoric shamanic queen Himiko, female kamisama and Ryūjin-sama (use your judgement wisely here). TERFy New Age cults exist in Japan as they do elsewhere, and this often is accompanied by focus on Himiko etc.

Overemphasis of shamanic elements of Shintō (while a historic truth, often endangers people with mental illness and lacks healthy balance)

Using nonprofit or charity-type locations that seem secular at a glance to recruit members (the infamous Aum Shinrikyō has two descendant cults which recruit through yoga classes)

Talk of ancient mother goddess worship (influenced by Western pseudohistory, a la Wicca)

Excessive focus on messages and signs from kamisama, usually in the context of shrine visits (this is not to say you cannot have signs, but rather that balance is necessary)

Damaging shrine property; hugging goshinboku

Ignoring or speaking over experts and clergy, especially when asked to stop

Informing other worshippers at a shrine that they are bowing, clapping wrong

Incorporating Western New Age or pagan practices

Focus on healing (with the common sense exception of kamisama or Jizō known for healing)

Suggesting or demanding you buy a product or service, especially for health conditions, job issues etc. There is a reason for the common trope of shady people selling expensive ceramic pots to people who are vulnerable.

Multiple members are romantically or sexually interested in or involved with the leader/central figure.

Recruitment either by lay members or from officials. This situation can be tricky, but most shrines no longer do this. Shrines with official worship groups will have posters and such, but will not prosletyze.

I will add to this list as I see fit. Please do not harass anyone, but rather use these guidelines to set safe boundaries around yourself when considering groups.