#anyway back to yamashita

[fionnaskyborn]

Was tagged by @oceancamp to post my current five favorite songs! (They should invent a stages-of-grief-esque model that encompasses and accurately describes both types of anguish I had to go through making this list - the one of limiting myself to only five songs, and the one of trying to put as little videogame music on here as possible so that I don't end up looking like an absolute goddamn geek, which... I am... Oh well!)

Thank you so much for tagging me - here are the songs!

Heaven Pierce Her - War Without Reason

Tatsuro Yamashita - Love Space

This specific arrangement of Death And Republic + Meet Again

Winger - Junkyard Dog (Tears On Stone)

The Protomen - Light Up The Night

Is it courtesy to tag other people after you've been tagged in a post like this? If that's the case, I'll tag @spiralled-fury, @solradguy, @swamppossum, @five-by-five, @northstarring, @ineedmoredragons and @tbonechessor!

[jannahime]

The unforgotten night

Ohma Tokita Part 1

Tokita Ohma x gn reader|smut|fluff|

⚠️18+ content/smut/NSFW⚠️

Warnings: swearing, cream pie, mentions of soreness, one night stand, tears, f oral, m oral, dominant, a few positions, drunk,

Okay so this is my first written smut. I love this series so much. Anyways I hope you enjoy.

18+ only Minors DNI

After Ohma's fight with Inaba ended with Ohma coming out victorious in battle, you, Ohma, Kaede, Kazuo, and Lihito went to one of the restaurants on the island where Kazuo Yamashita ordered lots of victory meat for Ohma.

Lihito and Ohma sat on either side of you at the table. Ohma scarfed his meat down. He looked up at you with slate gray eyes as he watched you drink your beer slowly. "Hey y/n...so uh...are you single." Asked Lihito with a cheeky grin.

But before you could answer Kaede stepped in. "Lihito...stop trying already....you got rejected yesterday what makes you think she would say yes to you today....besides... some else already has his eyes set on her. If I were you I would stop now before he loses his temper." Replied Kade with an indifferent glare.

"Pfft! Like I'm scared of the guy who wants her too! Who is he anyway why don't we settle this with-"

"Um Lihito.....sorry but I'm not interested......." You say with a sheepish smile as you continue to eat your meat.

Lihito just sighed and he ate his food in silence. Ohma just grinned smugly as he knew that he was victorious once again.

Kazuo decided to break the tension by making a toast to Ohma's win against Inaba. "Ohma.....did you get yourself looked at.....you have scratches on your face." You say with a calm demeanor.

"I'm fine..... it's nothing life threatening y/n." Replies Ohma with a slight smile.

You blushed as Ohma smiled at you so you turned away quickly drinking your beer fast. Ohma only chuckled softly as he noticed your red face. Everyone drank to their content until you couldn't handle it anymore.

You laid your head on Ohma's shoulder already to your limit with your liquor. You laughed softly and snuggled on his shoulder unaware of what you were doing because you were wasted. Ohma chuckles softly once more as he caresses the top of your head.

Kade soon walks away with Kazuo to help him take a drunk Lihito back to his room leaving you and Ohma alone together.

"Ohma......Hic-up!" You laugh with joy. Ohma looked at you with a gentle look, He thought your flirtatious side was cute. But what got him the most was the way you would look at him with such longing and desire in your eyes.

He soon picks you up bridal style and he takes you back to your room. You begin to to shower his lips with small kisses. Ohma just chuckles with amusement.

"Mmm...Muah....Muah..." You giggled with joy as you kissed while he carried you back to your room.

Ohma continued to chuckle as seemed to enjoy this affectionate side of you. The two of you don't make it inside of your room yet and he sets you down in front of your room to which he pushes you up against the door as your lips crash against his. Ohma presses his body against yours kissing you deeply.

"Mmm...." You moan into his mouth as the two to you continue to kiss with so much passion. Ohma cups your chin as he slides his tongue inside of your mouth exploring your mouth.

"Mmm....Ohma....ah.." you moan softly.

Ohma's hands begin to caress every inch of your body. Ohma slides his hands underneath your shirt and he begins to knead your breast gently. "Ah.......Ohma......mmm." but Ohma didn't let you utter another word as he continued to firmly kiss you.

"these are mine." He says while he squeezed your tits whilst pinching them playfully.

"Ah.....Please.....lets go inside....to do this..... someone might see us....." You say with a shaky quiet voice.

Ohma licks your lips his eyes full of lust as he then kisses you once again deeply. You continued to whimper softly. "These soft lips of yours....are mine." He sensually whispers in your ear.

"Hurry up and open the door....." Spoke Ohma with a hoarse voice while biting your bottom lip.

You gasp softly and moan. "Ohma-"

"Open the door....." He says in low husky whisper as he gives her a sly peraly white smirk.

You nod your head slowly and you get your hotel key out and open the door. As soon as the two of you got inside Ohma slipped off his shirt. You can see his huge member bulging and twitching inside of his sweat pants.

Without warning he slides off your shirt and your bottoms leaving you with just your black and red lace lingerie.

He pushes you down on the bed where he then rips off your lingerie towering over you yearning for you.

Ohma slides off his bottoms revealing his huge bulge. He gets in between your legs and he begins to lick your neck and bite down hard on it. "Ah.....ah..." You let out a small moan.

Ohma trails his kisses to your collarbone. he licks your collarbone where bites down hard on it as well, making you arch your back and lean your head back pleasure.

Ohma begins to suck on your breasts. He suckles and licks on your right nipple as he then bites down on it hard while you squirm underneath him. "Ah! Ohma!." Ohma only chuckles at your reaction.

His kisses continue to trail down your stomach to your lower abdomen. "Ohma! Wait! Wait! Not there! I'll lose my mind if you go down there! " You say already blushing crimson red feeling a little shy.

He licks your left inner thigh and then he bites down on it hard leaving a purple mark on it as well. Your neck, your chest, and your lower abdomen had a couple of hickeys however that didn't matter to you seeing as he was just marking his property.

Your legs rested on his shoulders while your feet were pointed on his back your toes coiled , your legs twitch as he begins to orally stimulate you.

"mph.....oh ......oh.....ah...." You continue to lean your head back on your pillow gripping the sides of it tightly as you begin to breathe heavily.

You look at him as he continues to eat you out. You can hear him sucking and slurping his nose digging deeper inside making you shiver and trembling with pleasure.

"Oh God......ah....he's so good at this." You think to yourself as you bite down on your bottom lip to hold back loud moans.

Your hips begin to buck on their own as Ohma begins to pump two of his fingers in and out of your cunt while he continues to lick your clit. You desperately grabbed on to his head gripping his hair tightly.

"Ah......Ah..... AH! AH FUCK!" You moan louder forgetting about the fact that Kaede's room is next door to yours.

Ohma smirked in amusement as he continued to lick you p****, he liked the way you reacted while he continues to suck you senseless while pumping two fingers in and out of you.

"ooh.....ooh....Ohma.." you whimpered his name softly. Your body trembled and twitched with pleasure as Ohma dug his face deeper devouring you senseless.

It got to the point where you couldn't take it anymore. You were getting close to your orgasm. "Ohma! I'm cumming! Oh God!" Your whimpers continued to get louder, you buck your hips faster gripping his hair tighter. You moaned louder and breathed heavier.

"AH! AH! AH! AH! AHH!!!!" You finally reached your climax exploding your sweet nectar all over Ohma's face.

He pulls away from your c****, licking his lips tasting your sweet nectar. You lay on the bed trying to catch your breath covering your face with your arms. Your hair is messy and wet from the sweat. Ohma grins playfully as he wipes his face with his forearm. "You tasted good ..... Just as I expected." He replied with a small chuckle.

He crawls onto the bed and he towers over you again. His huge bulged shaft rubbed against your p****.

"O-Ohma...." You gasp softly as you grab on to his shoulders tightly.

"No matter how much you moan, scream, and yell ....I won't stop." Replied Ohma with a guttural whisper.

You only nodded your head as you looked up at him biting your lower lip in anticipation.

To be continued

Part 2 is up⬆️

[schadentekkers]

Any match recs for someone getting into DDT/TJPW?

hello and thank you for entrusting me with this task, i feel honored and under prepared, but incredibly excited. yippee!

**linking all of the matches via wrestle universe, which i highly highly recommend for the amount of content you get for the price! i believe you can also do a free trial (which got me when i wanted to watch zack on noah and then i spiraled from there. but i digress.) and if you don't dig it you can cancel it! ALSO i'm sure these are mostly available via different avenues if you're like ok we get it shut up about wrestle universe.**

DDT ~

i made a chris brookes specific match rec list a few months back, which are still a lot of my favorite matches and ones i recommend for getting into ddt, so i will send you there before listing off some more! (also want to rec ueno vs higuchi from the king of ddt show as well!)

STREET WRESTLING at IZU-KOGEN GRANILLUMI - one of the first ddt shows i ever watched and i literally had the time of my life. so much silly fun that i feel really encompasses ddt.

TAKESHITA, SASAKI, & KANON vs. MAO, UENO, & TO-Y at SUMMER VACATION 2023 - a solid match as well as solid storytelling within 37kamiina !!

UENO vs. SAKAGUCHI at KAWASAKI STRONG 2021 - really really really good match... ueno suffers so beautifully at the hands of sakaguchi. (unfortunately sakaguchi recently retired and i've been sad about it every day since)

SAKAGUCHI vs. HIGUCHI at GOD BLESS DDT 2022 - a true banger i'm gonna be honest here

CHRISDREW vs. SHUNMAO at D-OH GRAND PRIX 2021 IN OTA-KU - it is a hardcore match so there is use of unconventional weapons (see: legos and plastic bins) and blood, so be warned if that's not your thing! a comfort match for me tbh..

there is also a rumble style match where everyone is in swim trunks that i want to rec but i cannot for the life of me find it rn. so anyways. these are some great ones to start with, i think. i also recommend just watching like, a big show and seeing who catches your fancy as my lists are often skewed by my biases lol. ultimate party 2023 is a good one to start with if you go that route!

TJPW ~

MIYU YAMASHITA vs. MIU WATANABE at GRAND PRINCESS '24 - SO GOOD. so good. so so so good. one of those matches you remember feeling every single emotion ever. if that makes sense

RINA YAMASHITA vs. MAKI ITOH at TJPW '24 - super fun, as you would expect. rina and maki have a cute-off and everything. there is also blood so a warning for that!

YUKI KAMIFUKU vs. VIVA VAN at WE ARE TJPW - i haven't watched this since seeing it live, but i remember really enjoying it and it's one of the matches that really made me love kamiyu..i already loved her from the ddt street wrestling show mentioned above, but this match was a standout from her (for me)

MIZUKI & HIMAWARI vs. POM HARAJUKU & SHOKO NAKAJIMA at SUMMER FESTIVAL 2023 - the sillies!!

MIZUKI ALL AROUND BATTLE ROYAL at ANGEL AND RABBIT - everyone is mizuki and it's incredible. if anything, watch for pom's attempt at whirling candy and also her bridge out of a pin <3

POM HARAJUKU vs. YUKI ARAI at MAX HEART PRINCESS TOURNAMENT - the match that started it all for me, i think. pom in all of her goofy glory.

again, recommending watching one of the big shows and seeing what moves you! grand princess '24 would probably be a good place to start!!

and hopefully these are enough to make you want to watch bc both promotions are just so good. like.. i cannot recommend them enough, literally begging everyone to start watching them bc i am SOOOOO glad that i did!

[cherrylng]

Matt Bellamy Interview - Muse [ROCKIN'ON (September 2000)]

"The ideal is to keep pushing forward and go on and on and on and on and die in the end….. What I want to do is act out that ideal."

The new generation of guitar band supernovas, Muse, have finally broken through in their home country of the UK. We caught up with Matt Bellamy just before Summer Sonic to find out more about the hyper nuclear explosion he is about to cause on stage. Interview by Erika Yamashita

Matt Bellamy is 22 years old. On the day of the interview, he had not returned from Glastonbury for a long time. When he finally got back, he got into a big fight with his sweetheart, who had been with him since he was 15, over whether he was going to Wimbledon or not. After all that, a phone call came into our waiting mobile phone, saying "We've broken up", which was not even an excuse (Of course, after this interview, he went to Wimbledon in his girlfriend's car). A genius boy is still a boy.

If a genius is born of talent plus environment, he is a very good test case indeed. A boring hometown, a complicated family environment thrown in at the delicate age of mid-teens. He was placed in a situation where there was nothing else to do but music, and his special qualities, which he could master as soon as he was given a musical instrument, blossomed most fortunately. The problem is the ‘riskiness’ of Muse's live shows, which lightly involve the superhuman technique cultivated in this way.

Every time I saw them on stage, I started to wonder if they were okay. Unnormal hyper-energy, passion, adrenaline - there's just not enough to say. He looks like he has a ticking time bomb in his breast pocket and is running into unlimited chaos. There, an explosion of life is always waiting, willing to stab the world in the back and destroy itself.

However, within Matt Bellamy lives the will to objectify such extreme conditions of life. He becomes possessed by the role as he plays it, and yet there is no fail-safe on the bomb in his chest that he returns to in the end, leaving a shell behind. The chaos which he dives into is always a flashpoint. And then, with a bang, he rises in an unknown place, leaving behind a shadow that flutters over the cliff and disappears before our eyelids. Another one is gone. And here I am.

A strange, almost split-second, instinctive balance. Is it his character, his theatrical training, or the blood of his mother, a medium? Or perhaps we are looking at a 21st-century artist who is called upon to survive.

"It's not that we think we're the best or anything, but I just don't see any bands playing this kind of rock in the UK at the moment."

The stage at Glastonbury was also incredible. The ending was like you, Chris and Dominic rolling around in a three-way and trying to smash a drum kit, what were you thinking at that moment? 「(laughs) No, I was struggling to get out of the way when they got on top of me. So I kicked the equipment over. I wasn't trying to break anything, I just decided not to break any more stuff. Well, that was the moment at the end of the show when the three of us got closer, or something like that.」

Closer, huh (laughs). Anyway, Muse went from being an unknown band at Glastonbury last year to becoming such a big name in the space of a few years. How do you feel about it? 「But I don't really feel that way. People don't stop us on the street and think we're famous. We're just starting out. People often talk about how well-known we are in interviews, but we don't see ourselves on TV or in magazines, so we don't really know.」

You guys originally got noticed at the CMJ festival in the US, which led to your signing with Maverick. Then came France, Germany, and Australia, followed by the very late recognition in your home country of the UK How did you feel about this? 「Yes, it's true that the British were late in that respect, and we were the last to be signed. But the record is the biggest seller in the UK. We were the first to have an album go gold. So we were slow to jump on board, but once we did, we were quick. We ended up being the most successful in the UK. I think the reason we didn't catch on right away is because it was a time in the UK when record companies weren't interested in guitar bands. They tended to focus on idols and R&B groups.」

The arrival of Muse has allowed British guitar rock to assert itself with pride, and has also created the ground for a revival in the young guitar band scene. In your eyes, do you see rivals to yourselves in the current scene? 「No, that's the problem. It's not that we think we're the best or anything, it's just that I don't see any bands doing this kind of rock. We seem to be the only ones in the Top 40 with this kind of music. Then there's Travis and Stereophonics, but they're not really new anymore, are they? They're on their second album. And then there's…… Coldplay are a great band, but they're not what you'd call rock! I wouldn't say they're our rivals because their music is completely different. I have no doubt they're going to be big, but I think it's a different audience.」

Do you feel like you're more in your element when you tour the US with bands like the Chilli Peppers and the Foo Fighters? 「UK bands have had a hard time in the States over the last couple of years. This is the downside of Britpop. Oasis and Blur sold really well in their home countries and then brought it to America, but they needed a slightly special audience in America. In other words, people who thought Britain was a really eccentric and cool place and would wear Union Jack T-shirts and stuff like that. We had a problem with people expecting that from a British band. But when we played with the Foo Fighters, I thought we had finally met a real American audience. Our music is more global than British, and that tour was really good for us. We got the chance to play to 20,000 people who only listen to American rock night after night. Other UK bands still don't get that chance.」

That's quite an energetic touring pace, isn't it? I saw your ‘room introduction’ in Select magazine, and it looked like a deserted room with a bunch of chairs and musical instruments placed in a corner, and it looked like the owner might not be coming back (laughs). 「Hahahaha…… I don't actually live there anymore. I lived there for a year until last January, but I was on tour a lot and rarely came back, so I decided to leave. I used to work as a decorator and painter before the band became famous, so when I had more time I thought I'd do some work on it and make it a better home. The bed was still there for now, so I thought I'd put a few more things in there, so I took this photo. That's the closest I can get to being at home now, but I'm never at home at all (laughs).」

How many days have you actually been at home this year? 「Hahahaha…… About two weeks in total.」

There is a lot of concern out there that you are on the verge of burnout. Not long ago, there was a news report in the British press of you saying that, "If we keep going at this pace, we're going to burn out". 「I'm sorry about that, but it's not true at all. I was on a student radio show in America and I jokingly blurted out that "touring is hell and I'm burnt out". I was exhausted from all the small venues and all the travelling from the tour at that time, and the interviewer said, "You look tired", so I just said it in response. We just happened to be in that situation at the time, we weren't burnt out. But the radio interview went on the internet and the NME printed it proudly in their papers. It was like we were issuing an official declaration to the British press.」

The UK press is doing a great job as usual. 「Hahaha. Well, it doesn't matter. We're fine over here and it's obvious when you see us keep playing like this.」

"The gig was over and I was lying on the floor, motionless behind the amps. I stayed like that until the lights came on and everyone left, and it felt really good."

It's been ten months since "Showbiz" was first released to the world, and in that time you've already come a long way. How do you feel about that album now, looking back on it yourself? 「Basically, I still like it. I think it shows what we were like back then. The only regret I have is that the mixing could have been a bit better in places. But it doesn't matter, I was a different person then and I'm a different person now. When the album first came out, we were compared to Radiohead a lot, but as people got to know our live sound and who we actually are and who we are as a band, that stopped happening.」

Yes. By the way, I've been wanting to ask you something for a while. Your father was also a band member, so you must have been familiar with the industry from a long time ago, and I thought that's why you were so determined to make it big at such a young age. But when you decided to become a professional musician, your father wasn't around at all, let alone being a confidant? 「That's right. That's one of the things I'm starting to see…… My parents divorced when I was 13, and that's when I started playing guitar. I've recently started to wonder if that might have something to do with my father's disappearance. Before that, I wasn't that into music. I was just doing it for fun. But then my father left and it was just me and my mother, and then my mother left too, so I lived with my grandmother, from 14 to…… to 18, I think. That's when I really started playing music.」

Why do you think that was? 「I don't know, but when I'm playing music…… For me, music makes me forget everything else - everything that I don't like. Living like this every day now, I don't feel like I went through something terrible in the past. I don't think it was hard, either. But I think the reason I've managed to get by is because of music. Especially when my parents split up and neither of them were around anymore, I was able to get through it because of music.」

About the power of music. At the London Astoria show on June 7th, you seemed to lose your temper completely and rolled over with your guitar in your hand, right under the tube-shaped lights at the back of the stage. How is it that the climaxes of your shows, like at Glastonbury, are so unusual? You get to an extreme orgasmic state while you're playing, and you're like, ‘Kill! Kill! Kill me!’? 「Hahahahaha…… Ahaha…… No, recently, I've been thinking about it. I don't know if it's possible to make it happen, but I'd like to do a gig with a curtain at the back of the stage. The three of us have been soaring to the top, and even though there's a limit to how high we can go (laughs), sometimes I feel like that when I'm playing a gig…… It's hard to describe, but when I'm playing music I'm totally liberated and almost become a different persona. I think it's really boring to just stand there and wave and leave after a gig. The ideal gig is one that goes on and on and on and on, and in the end you die hahaha. But I don't really want to die (laughs), so what I want to do is to act it out. You know, like a one-act play. I become the destruction of everything, and in the end I disappear. And only the curtain remains. That's the way I want to end it」

And like only silence remained? 「Yes, yes. If we release many albums, we will be able to do many different kinds of shows, but the music we are doing now always has a climax waiting for us. If we start playing more quiet songs, I think it would be possible to play those songs at the end of the show and have a mellow ending, but for now. The way we ended the second day in Astoria, that was the first time we've done something like that. I was lying on the floor under the light tube, behind the guitar amp, not moving. I stayed there until the lights came on and everyone left the building. It felt really good, you know. I was starting to feel like I was falling down little by little and that it was really over. A lot of times during a gig you get so high from all the noise that you just can't get it down. But when you're sitting on the floor like that, you gradually come out of it. I can leave it on the stage. When I wait until all the audience is gone too, I really feel like everything is leaving me and disappearing.」

I see. So you die and are reborn every time. 「(laughs) That's right. I want to do an ending that conveys that.」

By the way, Muse's music, especially your guitar and vocals, is full of a sense of urgency, as if you are squeezing the world to death. It's like a sense of ‘I want to somehow make this world the way I want it to be’. What do you think? 「Hmmm…… I can't say I know what to say. Sometimes it's hard for me to look at things objectively. I think it can be read in various ways, it could have something to do with the way I was brought up as a child, it could be something that comes out of my inner darkness and chaos, it could be something that touches my subconscious and triggers a reaction in my brain that leads me to some kind of creative activity. But…… I've noticed recently that after a few months of making an album, I'm really good at explaining things. Why did I make this album, why did I write these songs? But in the last couple of months I've started concentrating on writing songs again and I don't know why I'm doing it at all, again. I can't explain my motives when I talk about the songs, but a few months ago I could say it very clearly and precisely. I'm back to confusion now. I'm starting to doubt that even my old songs were really made for the reasons I thought they were. From February to May this year I was undeniably confident about why I was doing what I was doing. Writing music itself is the most simple thing ever, I can't explain it, but it's a certain ‘feeling’. It's just a very simple desire to get the ‘feeling’ inside me out there. It doesn't matter if someone else is listening or not, it just spreads and fills the room with that feeling, that's all. It's only when it takes the form of an album that I start thinking about this and that. But I can't do that now. Sorry.」

No, I think that's right, when you're making something. By the way, do you consider yourself a guitarist, singer, or songwriter first and foremost? 「…… (thinks for a moment)) …… I don't know, I think I'm a songwriter first and foremost. I mean, I'm more of a music maker or a composer. That's what I want to be. I've passed the best stage of playing every instrument I've ever picked up. When I first started piano lessons, I improved a lot and by the time I was about 13 I was a very good pianist. All I played were pieces I'd composed myself. Of course, it was based on something I heard by ear, but I didn't really know it, so I just pieced it together. I realised that as soon as I learnt one instrument, I tended to move on to another. That's why I started playing the guitar. By the time I was 16 or 17, I was probably technically a better classical guitarist than I am now. Well, I play differently now. Then, at around 17, I let go of the guitar and concentrated on getting better at singing. It's the same with other instruments, but I seem to learn the basics very quickly. Then I decide if I want to improve further or not. Maybe it doesn't matter what kind of instrument you play, the instrument itself is a way of venturing out.」

Great guitarists often put their inability to express themselves in words into their instruments. But you put an excessive amount of energy into your guitar and vocals, like 300% when you add them together. That's rather rare, isn't it? 「Ahahaha, yeah, well, I'd like to. Ideally, I'd like to be like Jimi Hendrix. He sang a lot, and at that level, I don't think you're aware of how you're playing anymore. When you sing and play, it's almost automatic because you can't focus on your fingertips, and it's more expressive. The emotions that come out when I'm singing just flow straight out of my fingers. When I play guitar on stage, it's not the notes or chords that come to my mind, it's the emotion of the song itself. I really forget what I'm playing.」

"I remember very clearly that when I was 14, I thought that music was all I had. Well, I feel like I'm slowly starting to understand why my life is the way it is."

That's something only you can say, of course. So, the highly anticipated second album. You've written a lot of new material, but is it going to be a very different type of material? 「Yes. In terms of the method, it's the same as the first album, and each song is polished based on a live performance. For example, ‘Muscle Museum’, ‘Sunburn’ and ‘Falling Down’, we practised them live and then changed the instruments and arrangements on the recordings, and they turned out completely different. In the same way, the new songs we're playing live at this stage might not sound so different from the old ones. We're playing the same instruments and using the same techniques as before. When we go into the studio, we listen back to them and try different ways of doing things. I mean, that's when the song is really finished. Anyway, I can say here and now that some of the songs will be heavier than before. I don't know if heavy is misleading…… There are a couple of numbers where the guitars feature more than on the first one. But if I say that, people will expect it to be another heavy guitar album, won't they? Yes, there are some powerful, heavy and hard guitar-driven songs. But on the other hand, I think there are a couple of acoustic-oriented numbers on there too. With very old instruments. You know, bone percussion like they use in voodoo. And some Spanish guitars. So some of the songs will be very organic, very raw and sad. It's like taking the piano out of ‘Sunburn’, if you know what I mean. ‘Sunburn’, ‘Showbiz’, ‘Hate This And I Love You’, those are the songs that came towards the end of the first album, and I think it shows that the trend of our songs is shifting.」

Oh, I see. So it's safe to assume that the material for the new record is already in place? 「Yeah, we've got most of the songs. We've just started thinking about what sound we want to make and what instruments we want to use. With the first album we wanted to have variety throughout, and to create development within the songs, and we're going in that direction again this time. There's a lot of variety, and the direction of the variety is all over the place. It's hard to explain (laughs)…… But I'm sure it's going to be something that's very Muse.」

So the question is, when do you start recording (laughs)? 「Hmm, after the summer festival tour is over. We'll make a demo in September. Then we'll decide on a producer.」

Do you have any idea who you're going to choose? 「John Leckie wants to do another one, but I think it will probably be someone else. He's a great producer and a pleasure to work with, but I'm afraid to work with the same producer twice. And then I'm afraid that I'll be afraid to leave that person next time. So I'd like to take this opportunity to try someone new. I'm thinking of having a producer from Boston do a couple of songs, but if it's really up to me, I'd like to use a different person for each song. I don't know if that's possible. It might cost too much money. Anyway, we'll record a full record in November. And the first single in January or February next year.」

That's a good pace. By the way, regarding the content of the songs, you've said for some time that you want to deal with themes that go beyond personal anguish in the future. How do you feel about that? 「Well, there are a few…… To be clear, two songs, that's what I've done. That's something you can do when you're with someone else and you feel really connected to them. For example, with my mother, I recently had a long talk and found out a lot of things. She showed me some old photos and I started to understand more about who she was when she was younger. She had a lot going on in her life, and I thought that she must have had a difficult time when she was young, so I wrote a song about that. The other song is from the point of view of a young girl. She's always flicking through fashion magazines, comparing herself to other women who look like models and lamenting that she's not like them*. And she thinks how empty that is. That's what I'm putting myself in her shoes to sing about.」

Wow, that's exciting. Is this a very conscious process? Do you still find yourself saying, ‘Oh, I'm talking about myself again’? 「(laughs) Yeah, quite a lot. But the really good songs just come out on their own, without me even thinking about it. Like, I don't even know what I'm talking about. But I made a conscious effort to write songs that don't just rant and rave like that (laughs). It's the first time I've made a song that wasn't random. I won't know if it's a success or a failure until it's finished.」

You mentioned your mother, was she a medium? 「Yes, she was. It was a long time ago though.」

I wonder if the reason you often talk about the separation of technology and spirituality has something to do with this background. For example, when you were a child, did it feel very natural for you to come into contact with the world through spirits and the like? 「Hmmm… I don't know. I don't really understand it myself, but I'm interested. These things are speculation and nothing is factual…… It's true that when I was a child, my mother was a medium. That means she speaks the language of the dead. That kind of thing was very close to me. I was around 8 or 9, and my brother was around 13, and he was really into it. But when I was 13 or 14, my mother stopped. My father left, and that's when my mother stopped doing it too. And I remember very clearly that when I was 14, I thought that music was the only thing for me. Well, I'm slowly starting to understand why my life is the way it is……」

Yeah. By the way, you just turned 22 the other day. How did you spend your birthday? 「Oh, I was in London and took a day off. An old friend who I hadn't seen for months came out to London and stayed at my place. I was about to go on tour the next day, so I had a day off. I bought a Go-Ped. You know, a scooter with an engine. We rode around London on it, it was fun.」

Matt on a scooter. I can picture it in my mind (laughs). Lastly, what does the word ‘hope’ remind you of now? 「Hope. Hope is, you know…… Hmmm…… First of all, you're trapped in a cave or something like that. That's fine. That's the normal state of affairs. But hope is when you see a little hole all the way up there, and you see the sky, and the sun, and there's light. It's just a ray of light shining on your face. But it doesn't reach there. That's my image of hope.」

It's not here now, but I know it's there. Is that what it feels like? 「Yeah, yeah.」

Translator's Note: The article perfectly describes Matt as it is. "A genius boy is still a boy" indeed LMAO

* The song that Matt referred to later came to be known as 'Screenager' and appeared on the second album, Origin of Symmetry. As for the song that Matt talked about wanting to write to be based on his mum, I don't know what that is. If anyone knows, do let me know!

Do support me on my Ko-fi!

[orezby]

For the people reading this post, it’s a sign.... that you really fall on the lowest part of tumblr... or you like High Guardian Spice haha.

I know nobody gonna see this so i just do it for myself ! (i’m pressuring myself)

I finished Rosemary’s sketch. I got school too. And since i like both of them, i have to balance both of them.

'Remember not to push yourself too hard !' Bro remember you say that last time ? Nothing comes up from staying on your comfort zone scrolling forever and admiring everyone. We have a goal, dreams to chase and good habits are the base to reach them. Let’s do it step by step again ok?

Sleep / Study / Drawing / Eating / Physical exercices / Taking care of family, friends and others people.

It’s hard but well...

Pain of regret <<<<< Pain of doing it

Pain is really the only thing to make someone feels alive.

Anyway. Coming back to Rosemary’s sketch...

She was the first character i wanted to put on but i wasn’t sure about her backstory and her redesign... so it was hard. But well, i can always change it another time when i’m more inspired.

Even if it’s not perfect, i can still improve myself next time !

Ok i stop annoying you,

bye !

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Chapter 23 - The Connector

"Ohhh, that's so awesome! Really?" Ohma's eyes widened a little, watching his wife, upside down on the couch, her long hair sweeping the floor as she giggled on the phone. "Even the Russian Mafia joined? No way! Ha, that's so cool!" it must have been Inaba she was talking to, otherwise she wouldn't be giggling and gossiping like that. "And you've got the Brazilians too? The Portuguese? The Yakuza also? And a lot of cults and political factions too? The Worm's gonna get annihilated in no time, amazing!" she's been talking on the phone for at least an hour - On face cam, no less. Ohma couldn't hear anything they were saying on the TV. "Oh, okay, okay - Go say Hi to Uri from me! See ya, Sadako-chan!" finally, Kisara closed the phone after nicknaming the Black Phantom after the ghost girl from The Ring. Very smart.

"You talked through the entirety of the film. Film that YOU wanted me to see." Ohma grumbled, playfully glaring at her. "Well, yeah, I did - But! Inaba told be about their meeting with the big powers and how their Anti-Worm alliance went. I have to call Raian and see what he knows also, but all in due time. The Kure clan is pretty busy lately." the man rolled his eyes, snatching Kisara into his arms and taking the phone away from her. "Shut up and replay the movie from the beginning." the girl giggled, doing just that before relaxing in his embrace. "Say, have you heart anything of Koga lately?" Ohma hummed in affirmation. "Yeah, he's with Kano and Rolon, training. On a trip with the Purgatory chairman or something." "Oh, is that so? Maybe we should go on vacation soon, how's that sound?" Kisara grinned up at him. "We just returned two days ago, you disaster woman." he ruffled her hair, amused. "Nothing's to say we can't have fun whenever we want. Not like there's anything holding us back, anyway."

True, there was nothing holding them back, except a lowkey duty to destroy the Worm, if the time arose. With a well-planned scheme and lots of people involved, Inaba and Himuro found Xia Ji, the one who brought Ohma's cloned heart to save him, and tried to subdue him; They failed. With the aid of Medicine Man's tracking device, Akoya and Ryuki found him and tried to take him down - They, too, failed, but Ohma was there to make a deal with the Chinese leader. If he doesn't run away, he won't hurt him - Otherwise, he won't be able to move ever again. Tokita guided Xia Ji to a warehouse, where not only those who tracked him down were waiting, but the Heavenly Wolves also, but Kisara and, of course, the main fighter, Narushima Koga who was waiting for his rematch after what happened months ago when Ji and his gang almost killed him and Yamashita Kazuo. Were it not for Ohma and Raian, they'd have been minced meat.

If Ji wins, he gets to walk away without anyone trailing him. This was Koga's closure, and Xia Ji seemed to want to fight him also, under who knows what pretext. He looked desperate enough, and bloody and bruised to the core - Yet his pride, most of all, was destroyed. Just as expected, the enemy pulled out weapons, but it took no time for the youngster to beat punch him away, throwing away any said blade. Punch after punch, Koga kept beating the feral man down, until he god up, more desperate than ever, and like a spiky wolverine, he began attacking with a ridiculous amount of force, almost reminding Kisara of Wakatsuki's punched. Hold up - With how easily he gets up, and his weirdly ferocious punches... Could he also have a milder Superman Syndrome? What a joke. Every word out of his mouth is a lie, and every deed is an act, yet in all honesty, Kisara and Ohma agreed to one thing, watching the fight - He's stronger than Koga is at the moment. Those martial art skills were truly wasted on that rat man.

Every time Koga knocked him out, Xia Ji got angrier, spewing shit about being the ruler of the underworld and that he'll destroy everything - Was he connected to the head of the Worm, then? Did he have all his power taken away from him? That wasn't the behaviour of a leader, he was far too emotional and distraught, not to mention, a complete and pathetic failure. He appeared dangerous, practicing some techniques from Chinese Wushu schools, turning his whole body into a whip, concentrating his strength into his fingers so that he may inflict the maximum amount on damage at a rapid pace - Even so, Koga had the upper hand, chopping at his wind pipe, punching away the weapon he tried to use as a trump card, and using his Crescent Moon Kick as a finisher, Xia Ji was on the ground, groveling pathetically, begging for mercy though contradicting himself - Saying he won't kill anyone, but in the same breath, denying the worth of the dead.

Finally, Ohma stepped in, stopping Koga from killing Ji, and letting him go - A debt, repaid in full. A mercy undeserved. But if he ever shows his face again, Ohma will kill him himself. Nikaido Ren mentioned that, although they had orders to eliminate Xia Ji, they have been revoked - Ji was no longer affiliated with the Worm, he has no power anymore - Still, they will continue monitoring him every so often.

Since then, Koga continued to train with Ohma and the others, preparing for the Berserker Bowl that will be taking place soon enough. They've got some big names getting to fight in the Kengan x Purgatory joint project tournament, including Cosmo and Saw Paing, but also, some of the so-called supernovas. As soon as Kisara heard Rihito's going to enter the tournament, she cringed, calling Yamashita Kazuo about entering. She would rather die than allow that idiot the chance of winning. He had enough luck to get the easiest matches and find his way to the top. She was gonna crush that hope.

"You're kidding." Ohma looked at her, incredulous. "I never knew you were so petty." "That's an understatement, love." Kisara's smile was poisoned like Snow White's apple. "I've been hating that guy even more with each time he hit on me like the disgusting pervert that he is." Ohma huffed, amused. "Alright, Your Majesty. Go win that crown."

Though she entered that tournament, she hadn't told anyone, so it was a huge surprise for everyone upon seeing the Queen of the Kengan Matches in one of the eight pools. She only fought twice - A win and a loss, both in high-stakes tournaments - Yet both fights were at least two years apart, it was as though she had retired. Not only that, but she was still the CEO of the Hasashi Company.

Pool A: Furusaki Jinsei, Leonardo Silva, Hong Xiaohu, Albert Hiruma Poo B: Sakuragawa Arata, Yurikawa Taiju, Tsukamoto Seishiro, Imai Cosmo Pool C: Ilyukhin Asimov, Death Crow Jr. , Yuge Tsuyoshi, Rihito Pool D: Mark Myers, Pitali Klitschijo, Kim Jang-Gi, Onoda Ikkai Pool E: Kim Seung-Yuop, Aki Saito, Narushima Koga, Funayama Yoshiki Pool F: Kono Haruo, Himuro Ryo, Luca Tyrant, Adam Dudley Pool G: Hasashi Kisara, Nam Nhat, Sawada Keizaburo, Yoroizuka Saw-Paing Pool H: Gaoh Ryuki, Ushiroda Takero, Chiba Takayuki, Tokeshi Kota

Each entrant will fight one match every two weeks, so a minimum of four weeks to determine which single person from each pool moves on to the championship. What a pain in the ass, Ohma agreed with Kisara's statement. They were used to fighting everything, all at once - This was far too lax a schedule.  Unfortunately, each Pool had fights in different cities, so it was rather a drag. In spite of that, Kisara convinced Ohma to go support Koga, whereas Yamashita Kazuo was in Hokkaido with Ryuki. She was fine with Tsuki-san as her supporter. Her first fight was against Sawada, the fighter using dancing at his core. The red head smirked, knowing she will get an easy win. Coincidentally, just after getting Ohma back, she started taking dancing lessons. Why? Because she noticed her lack of grace, caused by all those manly fighting styles she was using, and how in the world could she be a pretty princess dancing gracefully the bride and groom dance, huh? Clearly, she needed some practice, and what better than to learn those pretty Chinese dances she saw in the Imperial Dramas, alongside with some Wushu schools, to add the cherry on top?

Now, now, Sawada didn't have to see her going all out fighting, he wasn't worth her time, unfortunately, so might as well have a little fun, yes? She fought much scarier opponents before, so this should be a piece of cake.  Confident, Kisara initiated the fight, baiting the opponent with a low palm strike, before dodging a chop with her forearm, followed by a kick attempt. Sawada tried to hit her with some roundhouse kicks, but she easily evaded them, before kicking him in the ankle, to make him lose his balance a little. Just as he tried to lunge at her, she went in for a diaphragm kick, an uppercut, ended by an elbow to the back of the head, and a knee in the face, making him fall backwards painfully. Quickly, he got up, jump-leaping at her with a heel strike, but Kisara ducked, swiftly following close behind and kicking him in the butt; As he was down, she hit his head down to the ground with her heel. Not giving him any time to breathe, she grabbed him up, gracefully twirling with two strikes to his vitals, and another palm to his jaw, and another barrage of well aimed strikes. Finally, Keizaburo used his whirlwind strike, which made the fox girl smirk - As he was rotating her way, she swooped to the ground at the single leg supporting him. As he stumbled, Kisara jump-kicked him to the ground, before doing a backflip, hitting him in the head weird her feet - With a graceful pirouette in the air, she landed gracefully on his head, stomping him into the ground into a perfect K.O., as she did a pretty courtesy for the audience.

Hasashi Kisara won.

As expected.

Still, it almost amused her how they still referred to her by her maiden name. Not that it matter, she was still the one and only Kitsune Queen.

Kisara grinned, jumping up and down like a child in front of Takeshi, gleaming with cheerfulness. "Was I cool, Tsuki-san? Was I? Was I?" The man pat her head, humming in amusement. "Of course you were. I told you, you had a real career as a fighter - Not that it's any of your priorities." he said. "Were you so bored that you entered this low-stakes competition? It's not like you." Kisara's smile turned into a mischievous smirk. "I just didn't want to let that blond idiot, Rihito, win." Takeshi's eyes bulged open in shock, only to start laughing.  "You're ridiculous." he shook his head at her.

The outcome of the first match was as follows: In Pool A, Leonardo Silva and Hong Xiaohu won. In Pool B, Sakuragawa and Cosmo won. Pool C, Rihito won, unfortunately, and the Russian guy too. Pool D, Myers and Kim won. Pool E, Koga and Aki Saito won. Pool F, of course, Adam won, and unfortunately, Haruo won against Himuro, only to forfeit because of an injury - What a pity.  Pool G, Kisara won against Sawada, and Saw won against Nam Nhat. At this rate, she's going to have to fight that hard-headed dumbass puppy. Awful odds for her. Lastly, in Pool H, not only did Chiba win, but shockingly, Ryuki lost.

Two weeks passed by past, and Kisara now had to face none other than Saw Paing - And honestly, what a drag! That guy was as though as it gets, and even crazier than the craziest weirdo in the world! Who the hell could break the ground with their head, anyway? Should she use speed, like Rei? Should she use Aikido? No, most of her Aikido moves involve throwing and head or face hits, that's not going to work on his ironman. Agito's style, maybe? But she'd rather not show everyone her Dragon Shot again, just like in the Kengan vs Purgatory tournament. After two years, people might have forgotten she even knows the Fang's fighting style, so better to use that in the later rounds, and keep diverting now - But Saw was not a person worthy of underestimating, he was incredibly strong, and Kisara feared him. She was sure punching a brick wall hurt less than punching him.

"Haha, sorry, Kisara! Can't believe the first time we meet after your wedding is in the fighting ring!" he laughed, pumped up for the fight. "Forgive me but I'll go all-in with our fight!" "And I promise I'll do the same, Saw!" the girl promised him as they both took their stances.

Saw took his usual Muay Thai stance, whilst Kisara got in a basic Kenpo low stance, hoping she was capable of learning enough Wushu techniques to beat him. Saw charged in, delivering two alternative punches before doing a roundhouse kick to her head and a knee to her jaw, as the height difference permitted, and a kick to her ankle - Though it hurt, Kisara managed to block all attacks, using Indestructible. In retaliation, she got in a crouch, sweeping at his feet and charged with a butterfly twirl kick, only to block again two punches coming her way swiftly. Damn, this man is hella strong, she tsk'ed, aiming a jab move similar to Gaolang's, though she knew very well he knew how to counter it.  She couldn't continue blocking his hits, she would soon get too injured to carry on - She had to get on the aggressive at once. 

She quickly did a high kick, followed by a few feint jabs at his jaw, an elbow to the diaphragm, and a fast donkey kick with both feet, driving him further behind. She rolled to the ground, jumping up and uppercutting him, continuing with a chop to his wind pipe and a quick fall to the ground, scissoring his feet into stumbling away. As he got up, she jumped and heel-kicked him twice before hooking her foot to the back of his neck and slamming him into the ground - She followed by grabbing his wrist and elbow similarly to what Hatsumi taught her, and falling to the ground, she destroyed his joint so he'd have less use in his right arm.

Facing again, Saw continued using even that injured arm, fighting through the pain, and they hit each other with new techniques, either blocking them or baring through the brunt of the jab - Either way, Kisara knew she must not allow him the chance of using the Hammer of Burma, or she was dead meat. She had to hit his windpipe somehow and knock him out, and fast, otherwise she doubts she can win with her force.

In a quick sequence of movements, Saw managed to score a punch to her abdomen, knocking her backwards, following with a few more well aimed hits towards her head, a shin kick and an uppercut with all connected, leaving the woman gritting through the pain. "Damn it, Saw." she wiped the blood from her chin, jumping up, only for the Burmese to spring at her immediately with high kicks and an attempt at grabbing, which thankfully failed - Her Aikido was always going to save her, it seems. She quickly grabbed Saw's wrist, rotating with him to change the flow of the motion before pushing him away so she can get going and finish this quickly. 

Kisara got in a low eagle stance, spring up with two strong palm his to the diaphragm - As she was rotating, she grabbed his other wrist, using her elbow to hit him hard, which she repeated as she faced him again, with an uppercut. Still holding onto his wrist, she dove behind him low, kneeing at his lower spine, swiping back at his feet, dragging him to face her, kicking him in the abdomen and palm-striking him away. Instead of falling back, Saw grabbed tightly onto her arm - He was ready to use the headbutt on him, but he didn't have a good enough grip on her. Before he could charge, Kisara held on his forearm, tripping him and getting to his side before instantly karate chopping at his windpipe, making him fall to the ground - To make sure he would get up, she quickly kicked him in the ribs to roll him on his belly and slammed her knees onto his back, immobilizing his joints again.

"KISARA WINS!"

Oh, thank fuck, Kisara breathed out in relief, shakily getting up to her feet. Somehow, that fight was worse than the one in the Purgatory. Maybe. Whatever.  She stumbled slightly walking back to Wakatsuki once again, who gently put a towel on her head, wiping away the sweat and blood. "I never want to fight that monster ever again. How did Gaolang keep up with him all these years, anyway?" Kisara groaned dramatically. "Nah, well, I suppose Gaolang is Gaolang. I doubt I could do that every again though. I'm just glad Hatsumi taught me well enough to do cheap, dirty tricks like that." "A win is a win, don't think too much of it. It was a great fight." he handed her back the phone. "And I filmed everything, as promised." "Sweet! I can't wait until Ohma starts picking apart every mistake I made!" she laughed mirthfully, evidently joking. "Hey, Tsuki, let's go grab Cos and go for a drink, yeah?" "Sounds like a plan." the man smiled simply, waiting for her to get showered, get the medical attention required and change to her civilian clothes before leaving the arena.

From Pool A, Leonardo Silva won. Pool B, of course, Cosmo won with no problem. From Pool C, annoyingly enough, Rihito won. In Pool D, only Mark Myers remained to advance further into the competition. Pool E was easily won by Koga and Funayama. The brawl between Himuro and Adam in Pool F was won by the American who trained hard with Kureishi and Cos. Kisara won and advanced further into the competition from Pool G. And Pool H, well... Ryuki won against Chiba after almost assassinating him. Poor man, he might not be a brilliant fighter, but he's doing well enough for himself. They had to do something about Ryuki before he does something irreversible.

Late into the evening when Kisara finally arrived home, Ohma was already there. He seemed pretty content - Had he just finished a sparring session, maybe? Regardless, she made a beeline to change in her sleepingwear and let herself fall on top of him, exhausted after such a long day. "So, what did you think about my fight? Worth writing in the book of records?" "Hell no." Ohma chuckled. "But considering who your opponent was, you did pretty damn well." he praised her.  "Ha! You're getting mellow. It's almost like we're married!" Kisara grinned, nuzzling in the crook of his neck. "So, three more fights, huh?" Ohma hummed. "You really want to win, don't you?" "Oh, I don't care about winning - But losing means getting beaten up to a pulp and getting knocked out. I don't want a reminder of what happened in my fight with Takeshi, y'know? So - By default, I gotta win to avoid pain. That's enough of a motivator for me." Ohma actually chuckled at her hilarious resolve. "That, and I get a rush of dopamine when I beat Rihito." "You're a menace."  "You won't be coming to the drawing ceremony, will you?" she asked, raising her head to kiss him. "Nope." he smirked. "I and Yasuo are gonna watch from the comfort of our home, stuffing our faces with a ton of food." "Yeah, that does sound like you, alright. You're such men, it's unreal." she laughed softly. "Don't worry, I'll write my autograph on your forehead after I win this." "And Her Majesty's ego is bursting through the roof again." Ohma rolled above his wife, trapping her face between his hands.  "Not only that, but this Queen deserves a little bit of royal treatment, don't you think?" she smirked, her arms wrapping around his neck, pulling him down into a deep kiss. "So demanding." 

With the tournament beginning, Kisara dressed in her most beautiful green hanfu dress, flowing around her as if she was a Spring Nymph, with her hair filled with flowers. She might not be Chinese, but considering the amount of things she learnt from that culture, from fighting style, dancing, history and what not, to the time she spent learning from Agito in the years they were away; There was nothing more beautiful than the awakening of one's soul and the happiness achieved through enlightening. Or whatever Buddha Gautama said - He's the top guy, he knows best.  Might as well become a princess! Buddha might have renounced his titles and luxuries, but she was far too shallow to let go of her hard-earned possessions. And she liked being pretty! Though she'll have to wipe off her make up before her fight, she wouldn't want to look like a Kiss member after a concert, or a wet, trashy raccoon.

"It's time to begin the draw for the Main Tournament!" Sayaka called out from the stage, next to Alisa. "And now, introducing the Eight Berserkers vying for the top!"

One by one, the champion of each pool walked forward on the stage. Pool A: Leonardo Silva Pool B: Imai Cosmo Pool C: Rihito Pool D: Mark Myers Pool E: Narushima Koga Pool F: Adam Dudley Pool G: Hasashi Kisara Pool H: Gaoh Ryuki Everyone was dressed their best, all of them beautiful and shining - Of course, Kisara, the single woman there, was the most glamorous. If people thought the only woman fighter might have stood out the most, they were wrong. Koga, dressed like a fucking pimp, was the single sore spot on the roster. Poor boy truly needed some female influence in his life. With the draws done, the matches were as followed:

Match 1: Imai Cosmo vs Hasashi Kisara Match 2: Mark Myers vs Rihito Match 3: Narushima Koga vs Leonardo Silva Match 4: Gaoh Ryuki vs Adam Dudley

Finally, everyone could relax and enjoy the banquet at their leisure, for on the morrow, the tournament will be taking place.  Regardless, Kisara had a lot of fun with Cosmo and Adam, taking their sweet time laughing and gossiping, catching up and what not. Koga was at the table with all his other supernova friends, Rihito was flirting as always - But Ryuki was all alone, in a corner. Kisara felt like she should try and comfort him in some way, or maybe encourage him, yet she had no idea what to do, so she continued her own fun. After enough pictures taken to commemorate a lovely evening spent, and a flooded social media, they returned home to rest until the tournament.

The Tournament was taking place in the Purgatory-Owned Coliseum, called "The Core", a hundred meters underground. Unfortunately, Nogi wanted to add the pathetic Ringout rule, so Kisara had to pay extra attention to what she was doing. Before the first match could take place, Kisara quickly paid a visit to the manager who was watching from one of the best stands up in the audience. "Hey, hey!" Kisara smiled brightly, flinging around her arms to play with her long sleeves. Though she couldn't wear a pretty dress anymore, there was nothing to say she can't continue wearing her pretty haori or hanfu coats over her equally pretty gym clothes. Gotta be a fashion icon even while sweating to hell! "Oh, Yamashita Kazuo, you've got a friend! You are so sociable, I envy you!" she grinned, turning her gaze to the man who was drinking canned beer with the old man - He was tall and well built, just like a fighter. He had a calm yet almost apathetic or bored look on his face, and he had his messy blond hair kept in a tail. "My name is Hasashi Kisara - Oh, actually, I suppose Tokita Kisara, considering I got officially married recently." The man looked her straight in the eyes for a few seconds, almost making her feel uncomfortable, before he spoke. "Jackie Lee." he said his name. "It's lovely meeting you, Miss Kisara. Your match is coming up soon, isn't it?" Kisara smiled, as if she was sparkling. "Are you Chinese?" she asked. "Oh? How did you know I am a foreigner?" Jackie tilted his head a little in surprise. "Yamashita-san also guessed well. Is it my accent?" "I'm not sure! It's just - I've gotten acquainted with the language over the past five years or so, and I think it has a certain melodicity that Japanese doesn't have. It's like... Like a honeyed mead caressing your soul. Does that make sense? No, of course it doesn't, that was stupid, forgive me." Jackie smiled at the woman, shaking his head. "Don't apologise. I'll take that as a compliment." he said. "I actually think it's remarkable how you picked it up so easily." "O-Oh, I'm glad you think so!" Kisara smiled cutely, bending a little to his level, only for her eyes to widen a little. "Oh, you have such beautiful eyes! I've never seen anyone with Polycoria before! And your shade is truly unique!" "Ahh, you flatter me, Miss." he smiled friendly. "Can I treat you to anything? I wanted to go get more beer for the two of us." the man asked gracefully. "Oh, no, I couldn't ask that of you!" she stammered quickly, not wanting to inconvenience. "Besides, I have to rush to my match. I hope I'll live up to expectations!" Jackie look at her again, almost as if he was analysing every inch of her body, before he smiled again. "Don't worry, it's on me. Good luck with your match, Miss Kisara." "Xièxiè!" Kisara attempted to thank him in his own language, offering a peace sign before rushing back down to the arena so that she can begin her fight. 

To think, out of all the possible fighters, she had to be pitted against the one she was most afraid of! Well, Adam was rather fearsome also, not to mention, they both trained with Kureishi. But Kisara was good at taking down huge guys like Adam. But people her size, specialised in grappling? She was screwed. Her joints and limbs were weak, and she has a low pain tolerance. If she lets him grapple her and gets a solid hold on her, she's as good as done for.

"Pity the two of us have to fight, huh? Frankly, you're the one who scared me the most - Such luck I get, huh?" Kisara chuckled softly, looking at the confident Cosmo in front of her. "I thought the same, Nee-san." Cos rose his hand for her to shake. "Remember years ago, when you saw my first fight? Remember how I said I wanted to spar with you one day?" "Your dream came true, Cos." she chuckled, shaking his hand. "Let's have fun, yeah?" "Hell yes!"

The two stepped away from each other and took their stances - For the first time, Kisara actually did a stance - Cos saw her fight before, there's no use bothering to play the stanceless non-fighter card anymore... At least, not against him. Kisara was the first to throw a lazy feint kick, getting him on high alert before stepping away. Just like in a UFC fight, they assessed each other's every twitch of the body, only for Cos to quickly need to block a fast kick to his head, followed by a feint jab to his chest. "Damn, you're fast, sis!" Kisara attempted another blow, only for Cos to duck and grab her arm, pulling her towards him so he could side-step behind her and punch the side of her face.  "Not faster than you, it seems." Kisara had a pained smile on her face, stepping away from him and keeping her feet first as Cos kicked at her ankle, but couldn't make her stumble. They had an equal exchange of quick jabs to the face before the boy feinted a jab to her diaphragm before crouching for a low-grab, his hands trying to grip tightly on the back of her thighs, but his had got hold in between her arm and ribs and managed to wrestle him away, leaping backwards. Cos might not be an enemy she's used to, but it was the first time she fights someone close in weight with her - She couldn't believe she could actually fight him, what a revelation. Still, her master plan was to throw him out of the ring - There was no other way around it, and with her Aikido, she might just make that happen.

As Cosmo was doing his footwork, he rushed right in front of her, aiming two straights to her face - Unbeknownst to him, as he was attempting a grab, Kisara fell low to the ground, her arms around his thighs, going for a similar grab as him previously, and as he tried to get out of her grip, she used her weight to throw him to the ground, on his back like a turtle on his shell. She was on her feet, between his legs, trying to land a strike but also guard against his kicks - What a fucking standard UFC moment, she thought, remembering all the fights she saw with Ohma when he taught her how to fight against grappling, her biggest weakness on Earth. She landed a sweeping kick to his thighs, looking down at him, before scaring him with a fake attempt at jumping down on him, as though she was Seki doing a fascinating Pro-Wrestling move. As if!

Sike.

She jumped again, one leg carefully in front of her so her knee and thigh would get caught between his legs and she could hold all her weight concentrated on her knee, down on his abdomen, while she landed a nice punch to his face, and rolling away to safety. She watched the boy pant, evening his breath, his back slightly hunched on the ground and his legs up - She remembers a Baki episode, when Yujiro Hanma proposed that the invincible move.  But she had the perfect counter.

Kisara waited for Cosmo to kick his legs in retaliation to a feint from her, so she did a cart wheel, grabbing his legs and rolling him with her - But she couldn't get on top of him, for he wrestled away perfectly. Damn grappler king, his reputation preceded him. "I hate grapplers." Kisara breathed out, making the boy grin and jump to his feet, lunging at her with another few strikes - Once again, Kisara forced another grab by kneeling and grabbing at his thighs and waist from the side, similarly to what Agito was doing, and managed to get him on his back again, her torso against hier crossed shins, and she tried to punch him somehow, but he grabbed her arms and hand. They were in a tight lock and struggling for domination by holding tightly onto the joints.  "Where'd you learn to grappler so well?" Cosmo gritted through his teeth as the woman managed to slip from his grip - That sweat was making her slippery. "I have a husband, you know." she grinned at the implication. "The least Ohma can do to be useful is to be a good practice dummy." somehow, she managed to get up and grabbed at his ankle, dragging him around a little, as if to play and taunt him. She was subtly dragging him closer to the edge, whilst also making her unnervingly close. What a gamble. She only bet on people, not on situations like this.

She allowed Cosmo to get up, not wanting to deal with that annoying ground grappling anymore, only to block a few punches with her arm, using Indestructible - But her thigh didn't work as well for that blocking. When he aimed a kick, she grabbed his ankle, throwing herself to the ground, but Cosmo grabbed her head, aiming a hard punch, getting each other in a tight lock and standing up. He landed a painful knee to her diaphragm and a jab to her face, making her gasp, breathless, and be forced to retreat immediately. That hurt like hell. She had to end it immediately.  

With a few steps took forward as if to scare him, Cosmo stepped back before grounding himself steadily on his feet. Cosmo lunged and attempted a punch to her face, but just like before, Kisara ducked and grabbed at his knees, trying to wrestle him down - She got her head in a suffocating headlock and Cosmo kicked her feet, making her fall down to the ground. Immediately he got behind her, his arms around her waist, getting her up, holding her so tight that she feared losing her breath altogether. Her nails were digging desperately into his hands, trying to break free in some way - The line was so fucking close, if only she could... If only...

As she was stumbling around on her feet, feeling her vision blur rapidly, she fell to her knees, her forehead planted on the ground with Cosmo still holding her, kneeling just next to her. This was it. It was do or die - Whether she wins or loses, it's in this last move.  With her last strength, from that uncomfortable position, she got up, clawing at his hand so hard that she managed to snap away the grip of his intertwined hands, and grabbing his wrist, she dove under his arm, tripping him forward and throwing the both of them to the ground, rolling with him like two children and making Cosmo touch outside of the ring.

"MATCH OVER! KISARA WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINS!!!"

Cosmo's eyes shot wide open, and he looked down at the bloody grin of the woman underneath him. "Sorry, Cos. It was the only way I could win against you." "I can't believe I forgot about the Ringout. How annoying." despite the disappointment, Cos smiled and offered his hand to help her up. "Five years ago, you ran away from Senpai after getting him to the ground. To think you'd trick me like that - What a Kitsune!" "That's the only thing I'm good at, after all." she chuckled, getting up and hugging the boy.  "You better with this, okay, sis?" they fist bumped, making a promise. "You've got it, Cos!"

She left for the showers and was ready to look for her darling, but for some reason, she found herself returning to the manager. Why, she wasn't quite sure - On the other hand, she knew that multiple rounds were definitely not her thing... Not in fighting, at least. For other things, well - It's not like she's the one doing most of the work to begin with.

By the time she got up the stands, she saw that Koga's uncle, Joji, also joined them in drinking. Those three seemed to be having lots of fun and were getting along well. "Hi, again." she gave a brief wave of her hand, and the trio, as if sharing a single braincell, waved back in unison. Jackie, who was towards the edge, patted the empty seat next to him for the girl to join, before handing her a can of coke. "You fought well. Thought you might need some energy to keep you going." Kisara smiled gratefully at Jackie, sitting next to him and enjoying the cold beverage.  "Thank you, Jackie, you're very sweet. I hope we hang around again someday!" she said. "Somehow, everyone becomes friends with Yamashita Kazuo. It's really cool, right?" Jackie nodded in agreement, handing her a plate of sweets. "Enjoy." "Hey, that's too much! You've already got me so many things, I can't --" but the casual look on his face showed her he wouldn't accept a negative answer, and to leave the formalities. "Fine, fine. I'll treat you to something later then." she said, munching on e pocky stick. Coincidentally, Joji and Jackie did the same thing, at the same time. Were they kindred souls?

She took out her phone, taking a winking selfie with the pocky between her lips and sending it to Ohma, texting him about random things as she listened to the old man telling them that Myers was a serial killer pardoned by Idemitsu from his 3000 year prison sentence. He won over two hundred matches with his physical abilities alone, and just in his third year in Purgatory, did he start learning martial arts. "Oh, come on, I don't want to fight a serial killer. I've had it with that." Kisara groaned, leaning back on her seat. "If I knew Rihito would get the short end of the stick and face off against that guy, I wouldn't have bothered entering the competition." she ruffled her crimson hair, pouting in annoyance. "You seem pretty confident that he's going to win." Jackie pointed out. "Yeah, well - I don't give two cents on Rihito. I firmly believe he's the biggest shame of Kengan." she shrugged, bored, looking at his stupid coat with << I'M A SUPERMAN >> embroidered in the leopard patterned material on his back. "The only reason I entered the tournament was to make sure he doesn't win. I couldn't live with the idea of the biggest loser in the world winning out of sheer, dumb luck." "Fascinating resolve." Jackie looked at her with wide, surprised eyes. "You must mean - Ridiculous. Petty. Stupid." she chuckled playfully. "I know, I know. But what can I do? I guess I was a little bored, that's all." "I don't think that matters. As long as you're having fun and enjoying yourself, I think that's all." Kisara looked at the man and smiled, happy that someone was so understanding of her weirdness. "That's a positive outlook, I love it! Thanks!" she hummed, leaning on the side to clink her coke can to his own beer can.

That Myers guy pumped his muscles up with Indestructible and engaged in a barrage of punches, but nothing he received seemed to affect him. There was no way Rihito's finger slicer were going to affect this though guy, Kisara thought, and the two men next to her were munching aggressively on the chocolate glazed sticks. Rihito seemed to be doing well dodging all hits. He must have realised already that the Indestructible, especially used by a newby, was heavily flawed a technique - The sturdier he was, the more rigid - Rihito was attacking his knees until Myers gave out - And he slashed at his face - Uh, mask - With his Razor's Edge technique, making him bleed heavily, and fall to the ground, needing a medic urgently.

"You canNOT be serious! That was ridiculous!" Kisara groaned, slapping her forehead.  "Look at the bright side. You'll get to defeat him in the semifinal." Jackie pointed out. "Well... Yeah, true, but..." she muttered softly. "But Ohma got a scar from him, you know? It's pretty bad, and it still hurts him, with the change of the weather. I'm a girl, I don't like scars. That guy's a menace to fight." "If you know where to strike, you won't need to worry about that." Jackie said. "You've got a good handle on Aikido and Wushu. Grab his wrist after he tries to slash you and knock him out with a good hit to the face." "Glabella, philtrum and chin." Kisara gasped in realisation, earning a nod from the man. "Jackie, you're a genius! If you're not a fighter already, you should be! You'd be the new star of Kengan!" she grinned, newfound vitality energizing her again. "I'm not that good." he dismissed her claim. "But I'm glad I give off that impression."

Next was Koga's fight against Leonardo Silva, and as expected, Silva lunged first ready for a low grapple, only to miss and get  a hard punch to his face. Instead of stopping him, Silva continued him torso-grapple, throwing him to the ground - Only for him to be forced to let go of the clutch. Good work, Koga. Your Redirection Kata worked wonders. Your hard work and dedication bore fruit, after so long.  Koga tried to punch his with the Ironbreaker, but got redirected, thus had to engage in a rush of hits with his opponent. Parry and counter, parry and counter, until Silva found his hand aching like hell trying to hit Koga's forearm. Once Leonardo stopped countering and began ducking, it was Koga's time to realise that his Adamantine technique expired, and his fist was twitching - He got distracted, allowing himself to get tackled to the ground. The two grappled and wrestled, his head kept in a tight rear naked choke.

The only way for Koga to get out of that hold was to bite down on his arm while breaking it with the Ironbreaker, causing Silva to leap away - His bone was cracked and in agony. Ohma was very proud of his student. Koga used his finisher on Silva before following close behind with a flying knee, and punched his down with Ironbreaker once again.

Koga won.

"He's a wonderful fighter." Jackie said. "That's my nephew. As in, my relative." Joji spoke blankly, while Yamashita was cheering, excited. "You might just be fighting him in the finals if he continued fighting like this." Jackie turned his gaze at Kisara. "I like the confidence you have in me." she teased him. "I wonder if I can beat him. I'm already feeling as if a panzer tank ran me over... Though, I don't think he's doing much better anyway." she chuckled lightly. "Still, he's been training hard every day for the past years. I've just been dancing and traveling." she laughed leisurely. "What's life without some fun, huh?"

As Koga existed the arena, he was met with Ohma who praised his wit and craft, even going as far as to suggest teaching him another move before his match against Ryuki. Hopefully, he won't use it on Kisara though, should they meet in the finals - Though, Ohma has the feeling that his wife could easily defeat Koga, considering she is the most familiar with his Niko style and all the people that helped train the boy. That tricksy little vixen always ended up surprising, one way or another - Though, he was very proud of her ground grappling. His husbandry work was well done. How funny. 

Jackie came over with a whole bag of cans and sweets, wearing the same apathetic look on his face. "Thank you so much, Jackie! You can sure poind these back, can't you?" Yamashita was blushing with glee and a little drunk. "I'm just, how you say... Boozing and Schmoozing, you see?" how could he say that with such a straight face? "Jackie, nobody says that anymore. It's not Hip." Joji informed him seriously. Out of nowhere, Yamashita's other CEO friends, Yoshitake and Ken came over with more booze, just as hammered. "Narushima, that's pretty old-fashioned too! Hey, Kazzy! I brought us some good sake!" Ken chirped. "Oh, my word! Who's that dandy over there~?" Yoshitake flirted with Jackie, most likely. "Kenny! Mr. Yoshitake! Let me introduce you! This guy came all the way from China." Yamashita explained as Jackie bowed to them humbly, telling them his name and everyone started drinking. Only Jackie made sure Kisara had a nice and cold coke to drink, as she had to fight again soon, in the semis. Men and their drinks.

The fight between Ryuki and Adam began soon and Ryuki started swinging in a way similar to that of Agito's Formless stance, and in the blink blink of an eye, he was on the ground, attacking Adam - But unlike his past mindless brawler style from before, he was much better prepared, especially in fighting theory, and he hit with a high stick shot, and many other hits and kicks, even easily managing to evade an eye gouging attempt by throwing himself shoulder-first into Gaoh's pelvis, making him fall down. When Adam tried to kick at his fallen opponent, but Ryuki got in a handstand, kicking him away, getting his ankle caught in a tight grasp and twirling him around like he was a toy, and from the friction with the ground, his back was bleeding heavily. "Ah, damn, I know those moves. That damn Setsuna... No wonder Ryuki's so hell-bent on killing. How frightsome." "You seem to know quite a bit about this." Jackie noted. "Oh, yes, well - I got in quite a scary encounter with the man who taught him these moves, you see. Quite very scary. If it weren't for my husband, I don't know what would have happened. He was rather mentally unstable also." Kisara shuddered softly, remembering that day when Kiryu took her away, saying he wanted to save her or something. "At the end of the day, I'm still a girl, you know? I don't like fighting that much, but I like knowing I am safe even if there's no one protecting me all the time." she smiled softly. "You, men, are something else, you know? Going out of your way to get hurt, and all that, just for some adrenaline rush. It's kinda adorable." "Interesting. You say all that, yet you're going to fight again soon, under the pretext of boredom." Jackie could feel a smile tug at his mouth. "Ah, well - You won't see me fight again. I've had it with tournaments, officially." she declared. "But I can't deny, I like learning all sorts of things. And encouraging my friends. I don't like watching them lose, but I like seeing them win and be happy." "And if they die?" his question rang somber. "Jackie... I don't want to think of death." Kisara shuddered, uncomfortably. "I... My husband died in my arms. I mourned him, almost three years." she spoke softly, looking down with a sad smile. "I thought life ended for me also. Well... In a weird way, I've got someone to thank for saving him. He might be an enemy, but he brought my husband back to me. Xia Ji might be a pathetic rat man who killed hundreds of people, but for that at least, I can thank him." "Xia Ji, huh?" Jackie muttered under his breath. "You heard of him? He looks like a weirdo, and he doesn't take care of his hair. It looks like hay." she chuckled at him. "No, never heard of him." he shrugged carelessly. "At least you are happy." "Yeah, you're right." Kisara smiled at him kindly. "I am happy."

Adam continued to punch and kick Ryuki, easily tanking his hits, and even if they did hit, he wasn't all that shaken up. Adam was so used to Cosmo's speed, Ryuki was in slow-motion for him, hence why it was so easy to predict his moves and kick him to hell, following up with a rush of heavy punches to the face and even a stomp to the belly, and kicked him into rolling to the other side of the ring like a soccer ball again and again. 

Adam didn't beat down a fallen enemy - Instead, he waited until Ryuki stumbled to his feet and tried to block a hit, only for Adam to play with him like a rag doll, slamming him into the ground. When he wasn't looking, Adam got a small Setsuna-like attack on his forearm. The flower of carnage has blossomed, and Ryuki was ready to kill. Ryuki wasn't broken yet - He knew was being beaten to hell meant, he was trained by his grandpa after all, and just like Ohma, he had to almost die, to become this strong and resilient.  The young boy took more and more hits, like a Kamikaze soldier, and before he knew it, Adam's latissimus dormi muscle was completely twisted to hell my Setsuna's Rakshasa's Palm technique - It only left the hockey master lack-luster in his attacks.  Ryuki used his assassin fingers to shrike at Adam's neck, knocking him out - He was in a critical condition and needed emergency care. 

With all the drama from the last fight, the four went down to congratulate Koga on his win, and wish him good luck on the semis - Unfortunately, by the time they arrived, the two friends were in a deep argument, with Ohma hiding behind a wall, motioning for them not to interfere. There was no chance to save Ryuki while he was still under the clutches of Setsuna - Surely, Ohma realised that too, as he comforted the depressed manager.

As soon as Ohma saw Jackie however, he looked weirdly at him. "Have we met?" "No..." Jackie almost seemed to hesitate. "This is my first time talking to you." "I see. Sorry, I must've been mistaken." Ohma shrugged, unbothered. "There are a lot of lookalikes out there." as the old man pointed that out, Kisara felt a weird, uncomfortable pang in her heart, as though there was something odd, not only about Ohma and Ryuki and their cloning, but of the Worms, the Connector and all these coincidences going on. "This is Jackie Lee, Ohma. He's Yamashita Kazuo's and Joji's new friend. He's been getting us drinks and snacks all day. He's really cool!" Kisara skipped to her husband, getting on he tippy toes to steal a kiss, her arms wrapped around his torso. "He even gave me an idea on hos to defeat Rihito without getting injured at all. Girls care about scars, you know?" Ohma nodded, smiling down at his wife. "Glad to hear you're having fun." he said. "The intermission is about done. Isn't it time for your match? Why are you loitering about, you little dumbass bookworm?" "I wanted to see my stupid gym rat for a lucky charm kiss." she smiled innocently at him, before stealing another kiss and rushing towards the prep room to change in her fighting clothes.

"The first match of the Semifinals - The Trickster Kitsune, the Queen of the Kengan Matches, Hasashi Kisara! - Versus, The Superman, Rihito!" Sayaka called out loudly. "And, in the second match, The First Eye, Narushima Koga! - Versus - The Dragon King, Gaoh Ryuki!" she continued, waiting for the chanting and cheering to subside. "All four are powerful fighters, but two will be eliminated! Their chances are half and half! Who will be in, and who will be out?!"

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[earlysunshines]

What kind of music do you mainly listen to? Do you have any recs I’m bored🤕

hi!!! as of lately ive obv been looping all of newjeans' discography (mainly supernatural, cool w u, and ditto I think) other than that a mix of everything!! but since it's summer I've bene listening to other songs a lot more than others esp like rnb and rap and whatnot

ANYWAYS im a huge music nerd/person so like I'm so serious when it comes to this which is yeah aynways

my favs as of rn!! they're purely based on mood and feeling:

for car rides/relaxed but vivid, lively moments: loyalty by kendrick lamar and riri, love by kendrick lamar, juliette! by ph-1 ft umi, cosign by ph-1, rush by twice, witchy by kaytranada ft childish gambino, do 2 me by kaytranada ft anderson paak, snap my finger by kaytranada ft pinkpantheress, splinter by fig, and july by dean, floor seats by a$ap ferg, jam and butterfly by dpr live, dragonball durag by thundercat, nike shoes by beenzino, underwater by red velvet

for lounging (my late night loops): me against the world by 2pac, beauty and essex by daniel caesar and free nationals, clairos new album, eighteen by dvwn, wake up call by mel blue, not for sale by zion.t, daisy by wte, light by wte, peach eyes by wte, floral sense by yesung, love belt by jonghyun, episode III by charlie burg, callback by charlie burg, nangs by tame impala, tired by lo-fi levi, you by lo-fi levi, dancing by black party, slow down by mac ayres, anything by chet baker really, untitled 08 by kendrick lamar, anything off laufey's everything I know about love album, night drive by sam wills, come back to me by rm, dirty dancer by orion sun, slidin by kai, say you love me by kai, scene-1 by sebastian mikael, under the moon by alex isley

with friends: yah by kendrick lamar, humble by lendrick lamar, v by zion.t, the hillbillies by kendrick lamar and baby keem, I think by tyler the creator, a boy is a gun by tyler the creator, bleach by brockhampton, rental by brockhampton, the weekend by stormzy, summer breeze by piper, zombies by ph-1, ANTHING off ctrl by sza, duckworth by kendrick lamar, shut the f**k up that's mine by dabber, gas station by june, nobody's business by rihanna, a day of weather by june

misc: wasting my time by elujay, magic ways by tatsuro yamashita, telephone number by junko ohashi, city pop by sugars campaign, (unreleased and only on yt) 3am freestyle by dean, tabber, and kim xinya, chi-ka by dean and tabber, satin by destin conrad, in the air by destin conrad

yeah thats a lot but some good ones fs (lots of Kendrick bc he's an artist, a creative mastermind that changed the industry IMO)

[astrowaffles]

Can I ask your top 10 fav fics ever (from any fandom, if you don't mind)?

Also, just curious, is there a story behind your name "astrowaffles "?

i really have to dig in the archives for this one! i'm very sad because i have forgotten to bookmark lots of fics that I think about all the time. i've done my best to dredge up the ones I wanted. mostly these are in no particular order. title/link first, then description.

Three-year-old Atsumu and Osamu accidentally travel into the future. Twenty-three-year-old Atsumu has no choice but to look after them.

Cue family shenanigans, team bonding, and playing house with Sakusa Kiyoomi. Atsumu can't believe this is his life.

Neither Kiyoomi nor Atsumu are strangers to casual sex. The reason for that is “a lack of emotional capacity,” as Kiyoomi would say, and Atsumu is “just really horny”. They sometimes meet in the hallways when they pull their victims behind them, heated gazes clashing in the space between them.

That they end up sleeping with each other at some point is an inevitability, and so is the rest. They just take a while to realize it.

Featuring the complications of room assignments, unintentional domesticity and a lot of mutual dumbassery. Also, the bone-deep exasperation of an entire volleyball team.

“Omi, was it?” And there’s the voice that Sakusa so desperately wishes he could ignore. He turns to meet the catcher’s gaze anyway.

“Kiyoomi. I prefer Sakusa.”

“Right, Omi. Ya pitch?”

“According to my contract.”

“Listen,” Atsumu adjusts himself once more so he’s relaxed along the chair rather than sitting on the cushion properly—legs again propped onto the armrest, “I’m gonna be yer catcher nine times outta ten and I love this game. We can both at least agree that a workin’ relationship would be beneficial for the both of us.”

***

finally called up to the majors, kiyoomi is thrilled to be playing baseball just as he always dreamed. until he realizes that playing at this level includes playing nice with miya atsumu—baseball's walking media circus. surely the media couldn't be that wrong about the hot-head catcher, right?

Chuuya breathes. Dazai answers, “Yamashita Park.” Ding.

(Kunikida despairs as he tallies yet another correct answer. “Just how are they doing this.”) (Lucy tugs at her braids as she sees the odd couple rack up points, frustrated and awed in equal measures. “What is wrong with Japan.”)

(Or, the one where they play charades and everyone gets traumatized by soukoku’s level of telepathy.)

The fanclub girls are annoying Machi about being on the student council. Kakeru has a plan to divert their attention. It's a fake dating AU. * “Well, I may have…” Manabe's cheeks flooded with colour, suddenly. And it made Yuki confused enough to forget how freezing cold with fury he was. “I may have already said – a few – some things.” There was a beat. A beat where Yuki’s brain had to catch up. It didn’t like what it arrived in. “You gave me a fake boyfriend?” His voice shook. His hands shook. He pressed them into fists in case Manabe was looking. His eyes were still on the ground. He hand scratching the hair at the back of his neck feverishly. “Your…relationship is fake,” he said, slowly. Painfully slowly. “But your boyfriend – your boyfriend is a real person.”

was seeing bokuto some predestined fate? or did akaashi just chance upon it all?

The fans have been begging for olympic athletes Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shouyou to do promo together, the JVA finally gives in

[OR; kagehina play truth or drink, the internet goes absolutely bonkers]

“What is that thing for?”

“I’m glad you asked, captain. This… is the Public Display of Affection jar. Or PDA jar for short.”

“Now whenever you do something that may hurt our children’s innocence, you’ll have to put money in the jar as a punishment."

Inspired by simple-symponia's art.

“So what’s the issue then?” Xie Lian asks.

Feng Xin takes a deep breath in, lets it out, and then breathes in again. “What I’m trying to say is, I think I’m homophobic.”

Or, Mu Qing starts going out on dates, and Feng Xin starts slowly losing his mind.

he was an idol, he was a twitch streamer, can i make it any more obvious?

(yes i can)

zuko was a member of the international pop sensation soolong, and between travel and rehearsals and concerts and events, he rarely had free time. but when he did, zuko spent it watching livestreams of a mysterious hot boy who spent his time playing video games.

his name was sokka, and zuko was in love.

-

-

also, no, there's no story behind 'astrowaffles'! i've cycled through a lot of names - rosedewdrop, lonelylilravenclaw, apolla-holla....i just wanted something fandom neutral so i could post whatever i wanted. thanks for the ask!

[yoshifruit]

i respect your mario opinions very much and i repsect your music opinions even more. I know you just made a post decrying the tendency of people to commodify music as an art form through the lens of fandom brain however i was wondering what do you think luigi would listen to

Viewing music through the lens of other fandom (because to be fair, people enjoying music can also be a form of fandom) mostly only annoys me when it's mostly the only thing talked about in a YouTube comments section for a song, cause I feel like it steers a conversation into talking about some show or game rather than the song itself. If it's on people's personal blogs though I don't mind, since this is something I myself do. But also I do realize this mindset makes a hypocrit. Anyways I ended up writing more than I thought I would, so I'm putting it under a read more. Thank you very much for sending this ask. 💚

Usually whenever I think of a video game character's taste in music, I tend to base it on what songs represent the character in the games, and what music genres the composer was most likely inspired by when composing those songs. With most Sonic characters this is easy because of Jun Senoue deciding to use different music genres for each character in games like Sonic Adventure and SA2. I think it's a bit harder for some Mario characters though, since most songs in many Mario games aren't use to represent Luigi himself, or Mario himself for that matter.

So for Mario, I tend to think of his taste in music in association with the music that Koji Kondo was inspired by when composing for the earlier games. And I think Mario and Luigi would have mostly similar music taste, considering they're close siblings who still live together, and thus probably listen to a lot of music together. I'm basing this on my own sibling experience though, since this was the case when I lived with my sister. But also whenever I hear music that reminds me of music in Mario games, I tend to think of many Mario characters rather than just one.

So because of that, I think both of them would be into jazz fusion, artists like T-SQUARE and Lee Ritenour and other 70s/80s jazz fusion artists. Like I think Mario would own multiple jazz fusion and smooth jazz albums in vinyl and would put them on to relax or to do chores around the house and Luigi would happily listen with him, sometimes putting on the albums himself. Thinking about artists like Al Jarreau, Spyro Gyra, Casiopea, George Benson, Bobbi Humphrey, etc.

I also think they would eventually find and enjoy 70s/80s J-pop (aka City Pop). Similar to a couple jazz fusion artists, some people have pointed out that Kondo might have taken inspiration from city pop artists like Piper and Tatsuro Yamashita (though I think these comparisons to Kondo's work are a bit debatable). I think Mario and Luigi would enjoy this style of music in a similar way. I think they would like artists like Masataka Matsutoya, Hiroshi Sato, Masaki Matsubara, etc. Though maybe I think this because many of these artists were inspired by jazz fusion, jazz funk, and disco.

Oh I also think Mario and Luigi would love disco. Not necessarily because of any of the music in the games. I imagine Mario and Luigi grew up and lived in a New Donk City similar look of New York City in the 70s and 80s, before they moved to the Mushroom Kingdom. Probably because of Native New Yorker by Odyssey, like I can imagine both of them listening to this song when living in New Donk while feeling a bit sad about their lives at that time, but then listening back to the song and feeling nostalgic about that time. I feel like Luigi would be way more into disco than Mario would be though. Like I can imagine him going to the disco clubs as a young adult. But maybe this is just because I read him as being gay lol. Oh, and I think Pauline would also listen to disco. I think Luigi would be into Italo-disco as well.

Oh, and I also think Luigi loves flamenco, though he's probably not listening to it with other people often. Like it's a music genre that other would be surprised he'd be into. Think this specifcally because of his theme in Mario Strikers Chraged which is really good. It makes me wanna listen to more flamenco styled music since I don't run into that style of music often, other than Blaze it Up by Mondo Grosso, not sure if Luigi would like that one though. If anyone has flamenco recs, please send them.

Thanks again for sending this ask, I'm suprised anyone cares about my opinion on these things since I rarely talk on this blog. I would've linked to more songs, but Tumblr is being weird about me adding links to this post. Sorry if this response is kinda boring. I put together a playlist that reminds me of Mario games and characters while some of these songs I've mentioned here on it, but never finished the playlist. Maybe I'll work on it again and think more of Luigi this time.

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | The Octagon (Karson, 1980)

This isn't very good, but maybe worth seeing for the cast. First and foremost, you get Art Hindle, who just a year earlier played the most divorced man in Canada and in this one treats his girlfriend abominably, which makes you wonder if he was more at fault for his marriage falling apart than the other movie let on. (Whaddya mean he wasn't playing the same character...) You get Lee Van Cleef, who is gruff and steely but with a twinkle in his eye as always, but given that his character doesn't meaningfully contribute much to the plot, you wonder if he owed somebody some shooting days. You get Tadashi Yamashita AKA Bronson Lee, who I suspect was brought over on Chuck Norris' insistence, given his background in Japanese karate films, but mostly makes you appreciate Sho Kosugi's star vehicles all the more given how little he has to do despite playing the main villain. You get a few recognizable faces in smaller roles, like Tracy Walter, Brian Tochi, Ernie Hudson, who's really jacked in this and is really jacked now and was probably more jacked in Ghostbusters than anybody realized, and Richard Norton, looking like the porn parody version of Norris with an even worse moustache and mop haircut.

As for Norris, who falls flat as always when playing heroic and is not at all helped by the echoing narration that probably sounded in the theatre like he was sitting behind you, whispering sweet nothings in your ear. But he has good chemistry with his co-stars, and one wonders if he'd be better respected as an actor if he'd instead made a career out of good ol' boy supporting roles, stepping in for a few minutes to back up the boys and mack on some honeys while opening a can of whoopass on the bad guys. I'm thinking like Bo Hopkins in The Killer Elite. Certainly he would have proved more engagingly threatening to the ninja villains in that movie than Burt Young, whose easy elimination of countless ninjas in the climax provides an embarrassing low point in Sam Peckinpah's filmography.

Anyway, the plot involves a ninja training camp in which an international assortment of terrorists, mercenaries and other nogoodniks attend to learn the ninja ways. This thankfully avoids most of the racism of other movies of this era in its depiction of this lot, although the diversity of the villains means that this probably reflects Norris' views on DEI. Norris and Hindle also bitch about their government being unable to stand up to said international threat, so there's probably some stuff to unpack if you're looking for it, although it's less blunt than his movies for Cannon. (Also, given that some of the characters include Canadian terrorists and it takes three ninjas to take down Art Hindle, this is the most fearsome Canada has ever been onscreen.) This is also firmly a product of the Carter era, in that it has that extremely brown look and a generally low energy level. I guess the Crisis of Confidence extended to ninja movies. There isn't very much action until the last twenty minutes, and while those come up short against pretty much any of the Cannon ninja movies, they're an oasis in the ninjitsu desert of the rest of the movie. That being said, given that Carol Bagdasarian's character spent a good amount of time in this ninja training camp, it's a little lame that she spends the climax shooting people with an assault rifle. That is not the ninja way.

[ecological-hauntings]

こんにちは, bonjour, or just a simple hello. My name is Victor Yamashita-Rousseau, I'm 34, use He/Him pronouns, and research Ghost Type Pokemon at the Lilycove Ecological Society. Most of my work has me up on Mt. Pyre, but I'm currently in Paldea teaching at Uva Academy.

Major Focus of my Studies:

The Natural Interactions of Ghost Types in the Wild.

The Origins of Human/Non-Human Ghost Types.

The Existence of Non-Pokemon Ghosts in Relation to Ghost Types.

Regional Ghost types and Their Cutural Mythology.

Trainer Card:

Look who's dragging Vic back to Tumblr! Meeee @awn-moo that's who! Anyway, just changed up his backstory, his current situation, and a little bit about his family. That will all be found out as I keep playing toys with him. Also! This will be very science/hc heavy, so be prepared for my infodumps about ghosts hehehe :3c

Alright! Rules:

- No sapient pokemon/legendaries - Be niceys - No explicit NSFW. There may be implied or subtle NSFW jokes and stuff made. But I will tag appropriately (Mun and Mod are 18+). - No Magic Anons/Pelipper Mail/Pelipper Malice/Musharna Mail - Have fun!! I missed Vic and am suuper excited to play him again!! So do enjoy!!

[epickiya722]

Hi,.....if you don't mind me asking, can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from BNHA? Amd why do you love them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series? Sorry if you've answered this question before....If you've answered them before, do you mind changed the amswers to Sk8 series....(Again sorry if I'm asking too much)....

Thanks so much for your blog, love reading them ......

HOW DID I ALMOST FORGET TO ANSWER THIS, WTH, KIYA?!

Anyways!

Okay, I'll do 3 since I also want to answer for SK8! First, BNHA!

My favorite characters are (and should be no surprise to anyone who has been following my blog long enough 😆)...

Miruko - hands down she easily became my favorite the moment she graced her presence in the story. She's the #5 Pro Hero who just hops around and kicks ass. She's a "no nonsense, let's get this done" character and I have to applaud Sakaya Kinoshita and Anairis Quiñoes for providing such great voices for her. Both women really put "I'm a badass and I know it" into voicing Miruko. There's also the fact that rabbits are one of my favorite animals.

Midoriya - He's unique to me. He has a range that I like. He could look like he couldn't hurt a fly and then the next he looks out for blood. His green curls and freckles are nice touches to his character. He's sweet, kind and has a sharp mind. But he's also stubborn, quick to anger, irrational. Out of all BNHA characters, he is the one I do relate to the most when it comes to having emotions. Again, I'm applauding voice actors here because Daiki Yamashita and Justin Briner bring Midoriya to life on the screen for me. I could not imagine any other voices but theirs for the sub and dub, I just can't.

Rock Lock - I'm giving Rock Lock love here because he just doesn't get enough of it. He's one of the few adult characters that really did bring up a good point about the kids in season 4 and yet does recognize their potential. He immediately gave me Dad vibes and I was right that he was indeed one. Which is another element to his character I love. He thinks about his family, he is really a softie. I love that for him. When he thought about making it back to his wife and son, I teared up a little. And I'll bring race into this for a bit because it is not often we do get Black characters in media with a softer side, let alone in media not created by Black people. So it was nice to see an actual family man with a job like his where it doesn’t affect said family in a bad way like Endeavor's does or even Captain Hero's in Vigilantes where he was having some martial problems. He's #1 Dad and husband in my book and I take no arguments on that. Also, anytime he talks I gotta to listen. Again, yes, voice actors, Yasuhiro Fujiwara and Gabe Kunda, love them. And his quirk, I actually love that quirk. It's a fun one.

Now for moments!!! Again, doing just three. And I'm sticking to just the anime here to avoid spoilers.

Ya'll already know I'm going to say the Miruko vs. High End Nomus fight. Out of all the fights in season 6, that is one of the best ones. Even leading up to her being Shigaraki's containment. I was actually surprised that made it on one of the recent Watchmojo anime videos for anime fights that caught the audience by surprise or something along those lines. Of course, not mad about it because oh my gosh, just watching her kick ass in a purple lit setting really just... I loved it so much.

I gotta bring up the dorm room episode here. It's one of the episodes I can rewatch and not get tired of it. There's so many funny moments in that episode and to be more specific my favorite scene is when they got to Tokoyami's room. From him trying to stop them from checking out his room, be overpowered because it was 2 to 1 and he is still fairly small (doesn't even have muscles until later) to the showcasing of the room. His room is my favorite. Gothic setting with black and purple lighting? Hell yes! I also love his "GEEEEET OOOOUT!" Don't blame him.

For the third one... hm... I have a lot of moments I like and I'll pick season 4 for this since not a whole of people talk about that season. And I'll choose... okay, when Eri finally smiled. That scene actually made me cry, did it. She's been through so much and all it took for her to smile was to see Midoriya on stage and have a fun time. Honestly, every time Eri smiles I want to or actually do cry. I did it in Mirio's flashback of his when she smiled at him in season 6. She's just so precious!

Now onto SK8 the Infinity! Starting with the characters which was hard to do because I do love them all as a whole.

Reki - he's literal sunshine who really has some great artistic skills. And out of all the characters, his design is my favorite out of everyone else's. I would wear his hoodies and I love how he wears many colors. He had a signature outfit, but he does change his clothes and his aesthetic is something I would wear. I am a sucker for colors and hoodies. Also, love hearing

Sketchy - Yes, that little pet is a favorite. He's just so freaking adorable??? Sassy little creature.

Nanako - Langa's mom is just so amazing. That woman really is just trying her best to be a good mom and you know she really does love her son and her late husband. She reminds me of Inko, Midoriya’s mom. Just a woman who has a kind heart and wants nothing but her son to be okay and safe.

And now for moments!!

The beach episode is overall is a favorite. I love that episode as a whole. It was a very funny episode... then episode 7 happened. I never thought the number 7 would betray me.

I really love that part where Reki and Langa were fixing skateboard, it's such a sweet moment.

The part in the epilogue with the Kyan family! As a big sister, it warmed my heart seeing another big bro Reki moment with the twins! IT WAS SO ADORABLE!!

[undetectorist]

hi! 😊 for the end-of-year book asks -- 2, 3, 17 por favor

omg i totally forgot that i queued that, thank you for asking my love!

2. did you reread anything? what?

omg, DID i. back when i was incredibly depressed in march/april, i found it really difficult to read anything new, partly because i wanted to be comforted and soothed, and partly because i was in a state of mind where i couldn't summon up new opinions on things. i wanted to read books where i knew how i'd feel at the end of them. and then i ended up rereading lots more as the year went on. anyway here's my reread list:

persuasion by jane austen

less by andrew sean greer

watership down by richard adams

the lord of the rings by j. r. r. tolkien

the earthsea quartet by ursula k. le guin

our mutual friend by charles dickens

a people's green new deal by max ajl

home by marilynne robinson

the wolves of willoughby chase by joan aiken

i hotel by karen tei yamashita

red white and royal blue by casey mcquiston

emma by jane austen

a room with a view by e. m. forster

the topeka school by ben lerner

gideon the ninth, harrow the ninth and nona the ninth by tamsyn muir

good omens by terry pratchett & neil gaiman

have his carcase by dorothy l. sayers

the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy by douglas adams

confabulations by john berger

piranesi by susanna clarke

the left hand of darkness by ursula k. le guin

whew.

3. what were your top five books of the year?

cloudstreet by tim winton

decolonial marxism by walter rodney

nothing to see here by kevin wilson

tom lake by ann patchett

in the woods by tana french

17. did any books surprise you with how good they were?

YES, nothing to see here knocked me out with how incredible it was and how much i needed to read it at the time. was also very much taken with beyond black by hilary mantel, which isn't necessarily a surprise but i was nervous to try her non-historical fiction books because i love her historical fiction so much!

[bunnymajo]

Useless fun fact but it’s my blog so I’m sharing it anyway: 

So I always try to listen to a certain genre or motif for a character if I’m drawing them to get into their mindset a little better (that’s why character image songs are a god send to me, please anime companies please keep making them) 

So here’s the motifs I go for with Sonic characters I’ve drawn recently:

Sally Acorn -Pretty Rhythm/Aikatsu music, anything that’s upbeat and about doing your best. “Calendar Girl” from Aikatsu which is about being busy and loving it I think especially fits.

Nicole - Vocaloid Music

Antoine - 70′s shoujo music, specifically if it’s set in France, so Rose of Versailles or La Seine no Hoshi etc.

Bunnie - She & Him, a more folksy/country sounding duo that I like

Rotor - City Pop, also more aquatic/icy type of game music. Oh and YMO!

Elias - Tatsuro Yamashita albums, One album had a narrative of a youth having a night on the town for the first time and since then I was like “That’s it!”. Ozaki is another one.

Surge & Kit - I’ve got a special playlist for them but I expand to whatever fits the piece if needed. Generally Surge gets J-rock/Babymetal & Kit gets Keane

Julie-Su: Metroid soundtrack

Mina Mongoose: Lynn Minmay songs and also pop music from 2001 (Britney Spears, Mandy Moore, etc)

Tails: Just a bunch of Sonic remixes tbh. Like I’ve found a lot of good covers of “Believe in Myself” this past month but I also fall back on future funk. I also have a bunch of sad spacey music if I’m including Cosmo

Sage: Ali Project

Starline: Classical music, the more pompous the better.

[lgcichika]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

nam here! after this interaction, i decided it’s within my best interest to re-introduce myself and my 3 children. i have been in lgc since 2020, though my “eldest” was actually my second muse and the fact she’s lasted this long still shocks me.

this turned out longer than i expected, but i hope it sort of works re-introduce myself to you, and work towards more plotting!! i used to loooove plotting but life... ANYWAY!

Yamashita Ichika ( fc; miyawaki sakura - le sserafim )

*sobs softly* i remember when i first brought her her fc was listed as iz*one. based off her fc, ichika was a japanese idol who decided to leave it all to come to s.korea to challenge herself and to capitalize on the growing popularity of k-pop worldwide. however, due to the toxic culture within her former group, what was a nice but introverted girl turned hard, and self-serving. over time, however, she not only managed to debut legacy’s crystallis, she’s started to open her heart to making friends and trusting others. though she can be a bit awkward but she’s trying. while she did manage to get a boyfriend despite hating him at first, her main goal for me has always been growing her trust in others and having friends. due to personal irl stuff this last year, i haven’t been as active with this and just been trying to get requirements done, but she has made some progress. in 2023 let’s plot more okay?

Okada Taiyou ( fc; adachi yuto - pentagon )

in all honesty, taiyou was made when lgc was having a model drought but i love my boy. taiyou never planned to be famous, but decided to come to korea as a way to break out of his shell. initially he wanted to be an idol but his own fears and problems with his confidence seemed to dilute whatever promise he held to debut. after he failed to join fd4, he sort of gave up on being an idol (he was aging out tbh), and decided to try modeling instead of packing his bags completely. as a model he’s gotten hosting opportunities and has started his own sunglasses brand called SOLA. he was also made to be a foil to ichika, who was blunt and standoffish but looked pretty and nice. taiyou looks like a cold emo boy but he’s very sweet, and kind. he especially has a soft spot for the japanese trainees.

Parker Su ( fc; xiao dejun/xiaojun - nct/wayv )

while ichika and taiyou are my introverts, parker is my extrovert. he’s friendly and outgoing, and has the ability to talk a wall— or perhaps sing to it. parker is from san francisco, california, usa, and just wants to sing day and night. he’s just a romantic who loves to sing love songs, and used to fall in love with a new girl every week because girls are a gift and he loved the idea of love. even if he’s short, he’s too confident in himself to care— though i wouldnt call him full of himself or egotistical. parker knows he’s playful and fun loving, and believes in the end his personality will always overshadow his shortcomings. that said, he did end up falling for a tsundere model but she left the company (aka was accidentally cleared) before he could tell her how he felt so he’s a bit in his sad boy era right now. which is hard since he just debuted as type zero’s new main vocalist and just finished up his debut promotion so he should be on the top of the world.

the mun;

you can call me nam. my pronouns are she/her, and my mood is typically tired. my timezone is usually pst (utc -8:00) or pdt (utc -7:00) depending on daylight savings. i would say i’m very friendly and laid back but insanely absentminded, so i apologize in advance. you can reach me on twt or dc.

[morihaus]

@profanetools tagged me in a tag game :)

describe one wip you’re planning to work on over the summer: my tesfest output has simultaneously been under my expectations and yet pretty much where i figured they'd be. i filled out what i'd like 2 do for each prompt and was quite happy with my ideas but i still have some i really really need to get a jump on... and even if its not done in time for tesfest i can always come back for em. anyway the next targets are "forgotten" about a certain emperor of tamriel's severed head and "teeth" which i had a really great sentence written about hunger and mundus but have not yet figured out how to expand it

recommend a book: the only thing ive been reading is moby dick. if you want to hear about the hidden gem ive been digging into over the summer im sorry to disappoint you. i've been reading about whales. i would not recommend it to the average person i'm doing this as part of a wider character research thing. would love to know more about the characters in the book and less about the length of a whale's skeleton if i'm being quite honest

recommend a fic: in the process of drawing @everybodyknows-everybodydies 's character kharish for artfight i dug into some writing on her and really really enjoyed this one abt mirabelle and fellow wizards... but if you dont want to read about restoration rearranging people's organs i highly recommend any fic involving kharish and colette on her blog. the greatest will-they won't-they in the history of tamriel

recommend music: firstly ive been getting a kick out of this site that lets you listen to radios of different countries in different time periods. been very handy during artfight. but as for specific songs that've been in my head lately:

The Theme from Big Wave by Tatsuro Yamashita

Stayed Away Too Long by The Littlest Man Band

Best Clockmaker on Mars by Sturgill Simpson

share a piece of advice: genuinely just writing myself a sentence for what I want to do with a piece has been an interesting and fun way of getting my writing brain in gear. you probably shouldn't wait weeks to start, admittedly. but it was fun to just put something down as a prompt to myself. got the ball rolling

tagging @everybodyknows-everybodydies bc i already did so why not <3 and @ayem can receive this in 2-3 business days, do as you please