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dragondemoness · 2 years

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Ultimate Cuteness Reader - Persona 5/Royal Edition - The Mansion of Grief (Part One) (The Boys)

Description: The Phantom Thieves (boys) discover that their sweet, adorable, innocent S/O has a Palace.

Went back and remade this part, because I wanted to make a couple of changes and add a little more depth to this, I guess.

You had been acting strange lately.

You seemed down, you didn’t smile as much, and the light from your beautiful eyes was completely gone.

Your partner tried to check on you, but you insisted that you were fine, and with a smile that was clearly forced.

They figured you were going through something, so they gave you their space while letting you know that they were there for you.

Then you started pushing them away and shutting out, and they could tell that there was something more going on.

After school, they made a mental note to go to your house and check on you.

But then they noticed that you left your beloved bunny plush, Mr. Bunny, in the classroom.

You always had it with you wherever you went, which only increased their worry even more.

Ren Amamiya/Joker

When he noticed the plush on the table, he was confused

He had never seen you without it before

He went to your house after school with the plush in his hands

The plush started glowing red and vibrating

Next thing he knew, he was in his Phantom Thief attire, in a dark mansion

Was this... a palace?

The Meta-Nav never detected it

It was unlike anything he had ever seen

And he noticed that the bunny plush was gone

It was your palace?

He didn't want to believe it

It was so unlike you

But he wouldn't know unless he explored, so he did, despite his anxiety

Compared to the other palaces he's infiltrated, this one was absolutely horrifying

The cognition, the designs, even the shadows

Joker was afraid to even go near the shadows

He noticed the shadows were all wearing bunny masks as well

The dark walls of the palaces were lined with paintings

Paintings of you, your bunny plush, and an elderly woman

Except for a large, empty frame

He got up close to one of the paintings, and he accidentally fell into it

He saw the events of the painting unfold before him

It was the day your grandmother gave the bunny plush to you when you were a child

So it really was your palace

But your palace didn't seem malicious at all

Just filled with grief and sorrow

He explored the rest of your memories, up until he made it to the empty frame

He touched it, and suddenly, he found himself in a large room

Joker fell through the frame and hard onto the ground. After taking a moment to collect himself, he stood up and looked around.

He found himself outside, in a large backyard with flowers everywhere.

He looked ahead of him, and his heart stopped.

He saw you, as a child. You were holding your plush in your arms, you wore small, cute clothes, and your once bright, beautiful eyes were now a glowing yellow. You stared at him with no expression.

Was this... your shadow?

"(N-Name)?" He found himself at a loss for words. "Why do you have a palace?"

"I'm looking for her."

He opened his mouth to ask who you were talking about, but he noticed you staring.

He followed your gaze, and saw you staring at the other side of the empty frame.

There was a picture of you and your grandma, dancing together in her flower garden while the bunny plush sat on a rocking chair in the background.

The flower garden looked exactly like where he was right now.

Then he figured it out. Your palace didn't spawn from a place of maliciousness or arrogance, but from a place of grief and sadness. You had been at your worst recently, missing your grandmother more than ever, developing an obsession with seeing her again.

Before he could say anything, the palace began to rumble. And out of nowhere, a hole opened up in the ground. And what appeared was an incredibly tall elderly woman, but much more twisted. She had large, clawed hands and feet, long bunny ears sitting on her head, bright red eyes and a sharp-toothed grin.

So this was your palace's cognition of your grandma. Given how fondly you viewed her, Joker was confused.

So this is why you’ve been down. Your grandma died, and you didn’t tell him.

Your grief became an obsession to see her again, and this distorted desire bred your Palace.

He felt terrible. You had lost the only family member you had left, and he had no idea.

But he took a breath in and put a hand on his knife. He was gonna have to fight your grandmother, and it wasn't gonna be easy.

Ryuji Sakamato

All he wanted to do was return Mr. Bunny to you

And he ended up getting caught up in this mess

The second he reached your house, he ended up in a palace

Was it... yours?

He tries to deny it at first

There's no way you could have a palace!

But the memory paintings proved otherwise

The paintings of you, your grandmother, your bunny

As he roamed around, he felt more and more unsettled

The palace was so dark and scary

It wasn't like you at all

Even the shadows were creepy

They weren't patrolling the palace or anything

They were just standing around in groups, with rabbit masks on their faces

Ryuji cautiously walked up to one of them and struck them with his weapon

It didn't fight back or attack him

Just stared at him and groaned

Ryuji quickly walked away from it

He roamed around anxiously, trying to find your shadow

He just wanted to know why you had a palace in the first place

You were way too nice to have strong enough feelings of malice to spawn one

But as he was thinking, he fell through an empty picture frame and ended up in a flower garden

"(Name)? Why do you have a Palace?"

Ryuji stared in shock at what looked like your shadow. You stared back at him with wide, expressionless, yellow eyes.

"I'm not sure what you mean. This is her home."

Before he could ask what you meant, you pointed to something behind him. He followed your gaze and saw the painting behind him.

It was you, as a child, and your grandmother dancing together in a flower garden.

The flower garden he was in.

Ryuji stared at the painting, with no words to say. He finally realized the truth. Your Palace didn't spawn from feelings of malice or greed. It spawned from your feelings of grief.

You had been missing your grandmother more and more, and Ryuji felt stupid for not noticing.

But he quickly looked away when he heard a rumbling from behind him. He turned, and a creepy, demented shadow suddenly sprang up from the ground. It looked like a strange hybrid of a rabbit and an elderly woman.

Wait... Was that your grandma?

So that was your cognition of her. But why? From the way you talked about her, she sounded like such a sweet person. So why would this be her cognition?

And more than that, what did she even have to do with it?

But now was no time to ask questions. Ryuji breathed in, and brought out his mace. He turned to you, looking to see what he would do. He felt a twinge of sadness in him.

He knew what he needed to do, and that it would hurt you.

Yusuke Kitagawa

He came to Shujin after school to visit you

He painted a new masterpiece for you, hoping to lift your spirits

But you weren't there

Instead, he found your bunny plush on a desk

He picked it up with a smile

"Well, well, what are you doing here by yourself? Where's (Name) run off to?"

He then left and walked to your house

Next thing he knew, he was in his Phantom Thief attire, and the rabbit had disappeared

To say he was shocked would be an understatement

Why did the rabbit bring him here? Where did the rabbit go?

Where the heck was he?

Given his costume and the cognition, Yusuke could only assume that this was a Palace

But it was different

It felt very dark and disturbing

He didn't even consider the idea that it was your Palace until he started to look around

He was distracted by the paintings on the walls

The paintings of you, an elderly woman, and your bunny

Suddenly, his blood turned to ice

This was your palace?!

Fear and anxiety took over as Yusuke took off in a run, desperately searching for your shadow

He needed to know why you had a palace

As he was running, he ran into the empty frame and fell into the flower garden

Yusuke stood up and took a look around. The garden was dark, the only light coming from the garden lights on the ground.

He jumped when he saw your shadow, staring at him with wide, expressionless eyes. You held your bunny plush in your hands, with glowing eyes of its own.

"(Name)... What is this place?"

"This is her home."

As you said that, you turned your head and pointed to something behind him. Yusuke turned around and saw the painting he had fallen through.

It was a picture of you and your grandmother dancing in her flower garden, smiling and laughing. Yusuke could feel the pure joy from this picture, and it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen.

But this moment was cut short when he felt the ground shake. He turned back around to see a large, demented shadow spring up from the ground.

Yusuke watched in shock as the shadow beast towered over him.

Was this the Palace's cognition of your grandmother? But why?

Yusuke froze. This was somehow even more disturbing than the Palace as a whole. And the reason it even existed was because he had no idea she was dead. Your grief affected your mental state, and he was completely blind to it.

He shook his head. Now was no time to succumb to the guilt. You needed him.

Yusuke readied his katana for battle. He needed to help you accept your grandmother's death, even if it hurt you.

Goro Akechi

He had just finished another murder commission for one of Shido's confidants

After exiting the Metaverse, your bunny plush was right there in front of him

He was startled, having no idea how it ended up there

He picked it up, eying it curiously

Then he walked to your house to return it to you and ended up right back in the Metaverse

And the rabbit had disappeared

This Palace was unlike any other Palace he had entered

The overall cognition was dark and horrifying

And there was an underlying feeling of grief behind it

For once, he felt anxious

He took a close look at the pictures on the wall

He saw you as a child, your bunny plush, and an elderly woman

Wait, was this your Palace?!

Suddenly in a panic, Akechi broke into a run and started looking for you

Soon after, he fell through a large, empty frame on the wall

Akechi landed in a flower garden, in the dark mansion's backyard. The only light were the garden lights in the ground. The sky had no moon, and no stars.

Was there even a sky?

He jumped when he heard footsteps in the grass. His heart stopped when he saw your shadow, the shadow of your child self.

"(Name)?" He forced out. You stared at him, your yellow eyes wide and unblinking.

"Why are you here?" He asked.

"I finally found her. She's alive."

"What?"

You pointed to something behind him, and he turned to see a large picture, in place of the empty frame he fell through.

It was a picture of you and your grandmother dancing in the flower garden, laughing and smiling while the plush rabbit sat on a rocking chair in the background.

Then, Akechi understood. Your grandmother had died, and the increasing grief for your grandmother turned into denial, and it became a distorted obsession to see her again, thus spawning a Palace.

He looked at you with sadness. He should have been with you more. He should have been there to help you. He should have known.

But his thoughts were cut off by the ground suddenly shaking, and out of nowhere, a shadow appeared.

It looked like a strange hybrid of a rabbit and an elderly woman.

This was your Palace's cognition of her?

Then he realized: it wasn't how you viewed your grandmother. This shadow represented your grief, and your denial.

Akechi breathed in and reluctantly took out his gun. He felt horrible for what he was about to do. He had done enough damage already.

But the grief was hurting you, and he needed you to accept the truth, even if it was painful for you.

#persona 5 #persona 5 x reader #persona 5 royal x reader #ren amamiya x reader #akira kurusu x reader #persona 5 joker x reader #ryuji sakamoto x reader #yusuke kitagawa x reader #goro akechi x reader #ultimate cuteness reader #ultimate cuteness series

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little-caeruleum-blog · 2 years

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LMK || The Clay-Made Monkey

ATTENTION!!! THIS HAS SPOILER FOR SEASON FOR OF LMK, SPECIFICALLY THE IMAGES THAT ARE ADDED HERE!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

* After many months, Sun Wukong finally found it. He had searched many times all around Flower Fruit Mountain, turning over every rock to find more rocks. Searched the caves hidden deep inside the mountain and the cold beaches that he refused to go near until now. He finally found it. The one.

The perfect rock.

The rock perfectly fit both hands, wrapping it around as a whole. He held it close to his chest and cuddled it, happy he had finally found it! This was it! This would be the one for him to use.

The perfect rock to make his son.

So many years, decades, centuries, of him being alone. He may have his small army of monkeys and a throne in the waterfall cave, but he was lonely. Lui Er would only visit so rarely as he traveled with the wind to find his music. Baijie, Tripitaka, Wujing, and Dragon Horse were long gone, passed away, and reincarnated into who knows when and where.

He needed someone to talk to. Someone that could hold a conversation. Someone to be able to take care of. Fill his lonely heart with love. Someone like a son.

Sun Wukong reached the top of Flower Fruit Mountain, the very same place where he was born out of stone that touched both earth and heaven, the south, east, west, and north corners pillars. Where he began his life but never reached death.

On top of the mountain stood Nüwa. Nüwa was the mother goddess, crafting humanity out of nothing due to her own loneliness. She, too, understands Sun Wukong's own feelings about wanting a companion. She appeared in a bright yellow light to answer the old Monkey King's prayers as he begged for a life he can take care of. In her right hand, she held a bowl full of yellow clay, and in her left, tools to craft the clay.

“I see you have brought the rock.” She spoke in a soft mystical voice. A smile formed on her lips as she glided herself towards the Monkey King. “It is a beauty. Tell me, why did you choose this one out of all the other ones?”

Wukong chose his words carefully. He knew whatever he answered would influence how Nuwe would craft his clay child.

“This rock,” Wukong spoke. “This rock in my hands fell on my lap one day when I was outside my cave. It was warm from the sun and covered in moss from when the water touched the earth. No wind could have pushed this or heaven would have destined this upon me. No other rock would have fallen down from where it had come from except for this. This is how I had come upon my child. This is who my child will be born from.”

Nüwa's silence was comforting as he held out the rock towards her. With his strength, he split the rock in half. Inside it was hollow, the perfect place to put his clay child. Sun Wukong placed the pieces on the mossy stone pillar where his stone once stood. There, he sat down on the floor and watched Nuwe perform her craftsmanship.

Nüwa started off by collecting the clay from the bowl into her hands. Her coarse hands moved with grace as she created life out of a lump of moist yellow clay. The figure took shape into a small monkey with lumpy spiky hair and a messy heart shape mark over its eyes and nose. And the little tale that kept sliding off of its bottom. But Wukong was patient, for once, as his tail eagerly wagged left to right watching. He knew what Nuwe was doing. Another test of his was to learn patience as her craft took time to get its shape perfectly.

With a quick flip of her hand, a small fire erupted from a small crack in the ground. Its light was hot despite how small it was as the mother goddess placed the little clay body near it. She laid out her tools in front of her, her hands waving around before she picked up the smallest carving knife. She picked up a small knife and gently made her large adjustments on such a delicate-looking body. The eyes were wide, bright-eyed as it looked straight ahead at Nuwe. Its body was like a form between a human and a monkey with long human limbs but the fur of an animal all over the elbow, shoulders, thighs, and calves. Its messy heart took the form of a perfect little peach, just the same as Sun Wukong's birthmark. The crooked smile on the toddler's face made Nuwe laugh as she gently massaged its spiky hair, carefully wrapping it around a little hair tie to hold it in place

What seemed like hours turned out to be slow minutes as she held out the beautifully crafted ceramic piece in front of Sun Wukong. Wukong stared at it in awe, tears that would never fall mist his peachy eyes as the little figure was dropped in his hands. It was beautiful. This was going to be his little sun.

Wukong felt a small tug on his head and the slight pain of his hair being plucked out. He looked up and watched as Nuwe placed the orange hair in the small open hands of the clay figure.

“Sun Wukong. Your son is ready to be born from my hands but the mind of yours.” Nuwe declared. “May its life prosper in both heaven and earth as it becomes full of life!”

“Thank you… Goddess?” He said but as he looked up, all that was left was a fading bright light. She had disappeared, fulfilling her duty.

Sun Wukong shook his head as he smiled, a little chuckle leaving his lips. “Looks like it’s just you and me, bud.”

Sun Wukong placed the little clay figure inside one of the halves of the broken rock. He grabbed the other half and placed it over the other, covering up his little clay child before he used his strength to stick the halves together. Patting it down on the stone pillar, he took a few steps back.

He sat down, legs crossed and his hands on each side, and he waited. He would wait for as long as he needed for his son to come out. With his eyes closed and a deep breath, he meditated. And with his heart full of glee, he stayed calm and waited. Wait… wait… and wait.

#LMK #lmk sun wukong #monkie kid sun wukong #lego monkie kid #lego monkie kid mk #lmk qi xiaotian #lmk fanfic #lmk fandom #LMK spoilers #lmk season 4 #lmk season 4 spoilers #wrote this a while ago #bear with me #bear witness #to my creation

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hugemilkshake · 5 months

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Can I ask for Y/N Cookie with the Patrons + Adele Penguin (separate or together, I’m fine with either) and it’s just a day where they hang out with each other and have loads of fun! It’s a date!! (Romantic or Platonic)

Enjoy the milkshake! Bro I love these ocs like I have so much story for em and I can show how these characters behave :3

Chilling with the patrons

-Platonic, could be read as Romantic-

Scorched Garlic

Even if Scorched Garlic is the Patron of Responsibility he still can be fun… sometimes

He likes to be outside and garden when he has free time

He mainly plants flowers and vegetables because it’s quite calming to him

Now if your with him, be prepared for the various plant based dad jokes

He’s very understanding if you accidentally step on a plant or have no clue on how to garden

He will happily teach you how to garden

But over all he’s very chill and nice to hang out with

Grilled Tomato

Grilled Tomato might be the patron of contemptment but she has a thirst for victory

So by nature she will do anything competitive

Wether that be fighting, sports or whatever else she can find

Now Grilled Tomato can take a loss… to some degree

If you beat her in a fight she might be a little upset but she will get over it

She will observe your fighting style (if you have one) so she can beat you

She also like to pull harmless pranks on Shimmering Onion because of how obvious he is

Over all can be fun if your okay with losing

Shimmering Oinon

The only time you can really hang out with Shimmering Onion is at night, not because he’s busy- it’s because he’s more sleepy during the day

But at night, if you’re still awake, you can go star gazing with him

He’s memorized a lot of constellations and usually gets more talkative and productive when it’s dark out

He does get lonely sometimes so if you do hang out with him, he will appreciate it. Even if you fall asleep he’ll still appreciate the thought

But if your awake he will show you constellations, planets and on rare occasions, meteor showers

Overall he can actually be very nice to talk to

Bubbling Oil

Bubbling Oil loves to cook, and a lot of people love her cooking to!

She usually gets her ingredients from the local market or from Scorched Garlic when his vegetables are fully grown

If you want to taste test or help her cook food she will gladly let you!

Even if you have no clue how to cook she will help you but don’t try to get to involved, she doesn’t want you to burn yourself if you don’t know what your doing

But if you do burn yourself, she will tenderly care for the burn and forbid you from going close to the cooking area

But she is great to be around, you can’t help but feel happy when she’s around

Adele Penguin

Adele Penguin might have one of the strangest hobbies out of all the patrons: Rock Collecting

Now you might be a little bored looking at rocks but Adele Penguin will try to make it fun!

But when there’s snow on the ground this sweet lil cookie turns into a devilish little goober

Don’t think your safe from a rouge snowball because Adele Penguin will be one with the snow

Even Grilled Tomato can’t beat this little guy

But other than that Adele Penguin is very sweet and wants to have more friends

Powdered Basil

Powdered Basil…

While he’s not aggressive, he’s a little awkward when hanging around others

Even if you’ve known him for a while he’s still going to be awkward at first

But after a while he will become more relaxed as the two of you walk around the woods

He will tell you about the various plants and animals the populate the forest

He will get excited when he sees a wolf but he won’t bring you close to it, the LAST thing he’d want is for you to get hurt

But he’s very calm when the two of you look at the woods

All Together

When all of them are together it gets kinda crazy but bored games are the main focus

Bubbling Oil will bring in some food and the game will start off really calm

But after like 5 minutes everyone has declared war

Scorched Garlic is trying to get everyone back to following the rules

Grilled Tomato is about to break something

Shimmering Onion is confused

Bubbling Oil is moving the food out of the way

Adele Penguin is planning on how to win the game

And Powdered Basil didn’t show up

He never shows up… even when he always gets invited…

But on the rare occasion when he does show up he always wins

Wild Basil

Okay… how did you achieve this?

Your in the middle of the woods with the fallen patron..

The wolves circling around you and Wild Basil makes it very nerve wracking

But don’t worry! The wolves won’t attack unless he says to! Your somewhat safe!

Wild Basil isn’t very fun to be around, he’s aggressive and greedy

He will take your stuff.

You can’t stop it

But just listen to his rambling about the woods and wolves and you should be safe

And maybe… just maybe he’ll lean on you while rambling. Not because he likes you, but because he wants to lay down

So is it worth it to go out into the woods and have the potential to get mauled by wolves and have your stuff get taken?

#crk #cookie run #crk x reader #crk oc #crk ocs

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spicykaraage · 11 months

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Tenipuri Complete Character Profile - Shuusuke Fuji

[PROFILE]

Birthday: February 29th (Pisces)

Blood Type: B

Relatives: Father, Mother (Yoshiko Fuji), Older Sister (Yumiko Fuji), Younger Brother (Yuuta Fuji)

Father’s Occupation: Company Employee (foreign company)

Elementary School: Seishundai Third Elementary School

Middle School: Seishun Academy Junior High School

Grade & Class: Third Year | Class 3-6 | Seat 14

Club: Tennis Club (Regular)

Committee: Yearbook Production Committee

Strong Subjects: Classic Literature

Weak Subjects: Science

Frequently Visited Spot at School: Photography Room

World Cup Team: U-17 World Cup Japanese Representatives

Favorite Motto: “What is essential is invisible to the eyes.”

Daily Routines: Tending to his cacti, drinking morning coffee

Hobbies: Collecting cacti, photography

Favorite Color: Beige

Favorite Music: Celtic music

Favorite Movie: Musicals

Favorite Book: Interior design magazines ➜ Travelogues, travel photo collections [23.5]

Favorite Food: Apples, Cajun food, spicy ramen ➜ Anything spicy, 100% apple juice [23.5]

Favorite Anniversary: The birthday of a special someone

Preferred Type: A person with beautiful fingers ➜ A person who smells like flowers [23.5]

Ideal Date Spot: Planetarium ➜ An observatory with a beautiful view of the stars [23.5]

His Gift For a Special Person: A flower ring

Where He Wants to Travel: Salar de Uyuni on a starry night

What He Wants Most Right Now: Antique furniture and tableware ➜ Incentive [23.5]

Dislikes: Sour food

Skills Outside of Tennis: Skiing, ice-skating and other winter sports ➜ Winter sports, locating constellations [23.5]

Spends Allowance On: Things to help with his cacti

Routine During the World Cup: Drinking coffee from around the world, contacting his brother

[DATA]

Height: 167cm

Weight: 53kg

Shoe Size: 25cm

Dominant Arm: Right

Vision: 1.2 Left | 1.0 Right

Play Style: Counter Puncher

Signature Moves: Tsubame Gaeshi (Swallow Return), Higuma Otoshi (Bear Drop), Hakugei (White Whale), Kagero Zutsumi (Dragonfly Illusion), Houou Gaeshi (Phoenix Return), Kirin Otoshi (Qilin Drop), Hakuryuu (White Dragon), Gatekeeper of Hecatoncheires, Hoshi Hanabi (Starry Fireworks), Closed Eye, Aoi Fubuki (Blue Blizzard), Hikari Kaze (Radiant Gale)

Time He Wakes Up: 6:00am

Time He Goes to Sleep: 11:30pm

Number of Inui Juices Consumed: 16

Favorite Brands:

Racket: prince (TRIPLE THREAT RIP), prince (MICHAEL CHANG TITANIUM)

Shoes: Nike (NIKE READY AIR BISCAYNE MID III)

Fitness Test Results:

Sidesteps: 63

Shuttle Run: 115

Back Strength: 116kg

Grip Strength: 47kg

Backbend: 62 cm

Seated Forward Bend: 47.8cm

50m Run: 6.8 seconds

Standing Long Jump: 232cm

Handball Throw: 31.5m

Endurance Run (1500m): 4:44

Overall Rating: Speed: 3 / Power: 3 / Stamina: 3 / Mental: 4 / Technique: 5 / Total: 18

Kurobe Memo: “Evident from his beautiful play style, he is undoubtedly gifted in the sport. If he weren’t so concerned with playing aesthetically, I suspect he could go from a great player to an undeniably strong one.” [RB]

[POSSESSIONS]

What’s in His Bedroom [10.5]

Cacti // He moves them back and forth between his windowsill and shelves for sunlight

A rocking chair

Record player // He prefers it over a CD player since it’s quieter

Vinyl records // Bought from used record stores. Most of them are classic and jazz

Computer // The monitor is placed on the shelf next to his desk to conserve space. He’ll put his keyboard on his desk when he needs to use it

His favorite photos // Large printed photos he had taken on holidays and trips that are hanging on his wall

A very spacious closet // He stores his clothes, books, school uniforms and other things in it

What’s in His Bag [10.5]:

Cell phone // His family members are frequently on the go

Pass case

An English copy of The Little Prince // A book that’s dear to him, he’s read it in Japanese and is now reading the English version

Word cards // He’ll write down words he doesn’t understand in The Little Prince and look them up when he gets home

Writing supplies // Used to write down the situations, dates, times of shooting and other details when he captures photos

Compact camera

Compact mirror // He also uses it as a reflector for photos

What’s in His Locker at the U-17 Training Camp [10.5 II]:

Illustrated plant encyclopedia // Borrowed from Shiraishi

Muscle training equipment // 5kg dumbbells. He is secretly doing strength training to improve his power

Camera // Digital SLR

Interior design magazines // He’s thinking of redecorating his room once he returns from the camp

What’s in His Travel Bag:

SLR camera // He prefers taking pictures of his teammates and foreign players rather than the Australian scenery

[TRIVIA]

The Prince of Tennis 10.5 Fanbook | Publication Date: 11/02/2001

He has his eyes closed most of the time to exude friendliness, but will open them when he’s being cautious or calculating. Konomi states they are usually closed whenever he’s smiling

His mother cooks a lot of Cajun and western dishes, which is why he doesn’t mind eating dubious food

He is very family-oriented and kind to his relatives. When he goes shopping with his sister they are often mistaken as lovers

Konomi wrote him to like spicy food since he wanted him to seem different and unusual

He is nicknamed “Fujiko” by Kawamura after the heroine of Lupin III since the latter is a fan of the series

On Sundays he goes to his grandfather’s photo studio on the outskirts of town to take photos

He tries keeping a smile on his face since he wants to find enjoyment in everything. Even when facing a strong opponent in a match, he thinks of how lucky he is that he’s able to go up against a great player

He and his brother Yuuta do not fight, but they do not talk to each other as often as they used to since Yuuta entered middle school

Although he notoriously likes spicy food, he likes sweets as well. He especially loves the raspberry pie his sister Yumiko makes

Despite being born on February 29th, a leap year, everyone still celebrates his birthday every year. Kikumaru once jokingly said to him “you’re only three years old!”

His personality is described as someone who’s very calculating while wearing a smile

Konomi describes him as “growing more on his own,” since at the time he was growing increasingly popular and took on a life of his own

The Prince of Tennis 20.5 Fanbook | Publication Date: 12/04/2003

He is known to be very attentive and can make friends of all types

He keeps his room neat and orderly

He could not handle drinking “Aozu” in Genius 159 due to one of its key ingredients being vinegar (he dislikes sour foods)

His secondary sport would be figure skating

The Prince of Tennis 40.5 Fanbook | Publication Date: 12/04/2007

He is very competitive and will usually stay calm and undaunted in any situation

He is described to be very versatile and multi-talented as well as fastidious, and has a tendency to delve deep into various things in order to feel satisfied

He is easily attracted to mysterious things

He is thought to have had strong spiritual powers by nature and has had strange occurrences happen to him

He is often misunderstood due to his mysterious nature, but he is actually very loving, compassionate and easily moved to tears

He had written a research paper on cacti the previous summer that received a lot of praise and attention, even surprising university researchers

He came up with the name “Gatekeeper of Hecatoncheires” for his technique from a book on Greece he had read when he was younger

Konomi had plans for him to transfer to Rikkai, and states he alluded it after his match with Ryoma, but ultimately decided for him to stay at Seigaku. He explains that he wanted him to transfer to grow even stronger and have a serious match against Ryoma

Konomi had originally wanted him to lose against Niou, but decided against it since he had already lost to Shiraishi

The Prince of Tennis II Official Character Guide: PairPuri Vol. 3 | Publication Date: 01/04/2010

He likes discussing plants with Shiraishi and Yukimura

The Prince of Tennis II Official Character Guide: PairPuri Vol. 6 | Publication Date: 06/03/2011

He, Tezuka and Kikumaru are shown having a chat with Yamato

The Prince of Tennis II Official Character Guide: PairPuri Vol. 8 | Publication Date: 08/04/2011

He had asked Jirou for a photo he had taken of Tezuka being annoyed

The Prince of Tennis II Official Character Guide: PairPuri Vol. 10 | Publication Date: 10/04/2011

His favorite activity is going on drives with his sister since he enjoys watching the scenery pass by

He is interested in trying ghost peppers

When asked what he plans on doing first after graduating, he replies with visiting Tezuka

He lacks confidence in his physical strength, but states he has no intention of forcing himself to build muscle

He likes relaxing with a cup of coffee when doing laundry

He wishes his younger brother would visit home more often

He is named after Fujiko Mine from Lupin III, and after the manga artist duo Fujiko Fujio since Konomi liked the sound of “Fuji”

Konomi came up with his “Triple Counters” since he wanted Fuji to appear as a genius, and that having more techniques meant the more skilled he was. “Higuma Otoshi” was inspired by an intense ballet drama Konomi had watched that had a major impact on him

Konomi tends to draw him as if his hair is flowing in the wind

Konomi has no desire to change Fuji’s appearance, but depicts him having an inner change and obsession over winning. He describes him as kind, but scary when he’s angry

One of His School Days:

6:00am - Wakes up, has breakfast (waffles and morning coffee)

6:30am - Calls Yuuta to wake him up after tending to his cacti

6:50am - Goes to school, morning practice

8:40am - 1st Period: Japanese (Kikumaru secretly passes him a note)

9:40am - Music (jazz lesson)

10:30am - Walks around the school during break time, takes photos of Tezuka without his glasses

11:00am - 3rd Period: English (short test)

12:00pm - 4th Period: Social Studies (Japanese history)

12:50pm - Lunch, develops Tezuka’s photos in the photo studio

1:20pm - 5th Period: PE (endurance run)

2:20pm - 6th Period: Long Homeroom (lesson on off-campus learning)

3:30pm - Stops by the library, borrows a mythology book from Ryoma, who’s on duty

4:00pm - Club activities, practices hitting the ball with his eyes closed

6:00pm - Stops by Kawamura’s house, asks to borrow a game

7:00pm - Returns home, has dinner

7:30pm - Has tea and homemade apple pie with his mother and sister

8:30pm - Bathes (soaks half of his body in the jacuzzi)

10:00pm - Reads while playing a record

11:30pm - Stargazes before going to bed

The Prince of Tennis II 10.5 Fanbook | Publication Date: 09/04/2013

Although it is not on the training camp’s menu, he has a special full course meal of extremely spicy food prepared for him once a week

He gets along well with Yukimura and Shiraishi

The Prince of Tennis II 23.5 Fanbook | Publication Date: 05/02/2018

He has been doing complex scenario training that revolves around different versions of Tezuka ever since the latter’s departure

Konomi states he may continue his and Ryoma’s match in the rain

Fuji’s eyes are open more in the new series since Konomi thinks he looks cooler with them open and that the new opponents are so strong he doesn’t have time to smile

He had gotten into tennis when his older sister’s boyfriend had taken him and Yuuta to a tennis club he was attending

The Prince of Tennis 20th Anniversary Book: Tenipuri Party | Publication Date: 08/02/2019

The photos he wants to take of Australia the most are the night sky

He likes taking photos to refresh himself at the training camp or on his days off

He has mostly taken photos of cacti since coming to Australia

He sends most of his photos to his family

He once went camping with sister and brother, during which his brother’s sandals had been washed away by the river. He and his sister went after them but were swept away by a waterfall, with their younger brother following suit. Ultimately, they all laughed it off at the bottom afterward

#tenipuri #tenirabi #profile #my post #seigaku

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handspunyarns · 1 year

Text

You Were Marked: Day Four.

pairing: din djarin x fem!O/C

word count: 2.1K

summary: Din cannot stop laughing, Marathel ends up in a tree, and eggs are thrown with extreme prejudice

warnings: Mando'a and English cursing, violence to unborn ovoids

You Were Marked: Masterlist

<- You Were Marked: Previous Chapter

Din was still somewhere between dreaming and waking. He could only see soft, fading images in his mind: a gentle curve of a jawline, a slope of a pale-skinned shoulder. He heard a soft voice, quietly saying, “No . . . we can’t . . .” This denial made him furrow his brow even as he dozed, still gently supported in the herbal-scented clouds of sleep. Whyever not? He thought in his sleep. “No . . . don’t . . .” the soft voice pleaded again. No, don’t say ‘no’, he dreamed, but his dream was cut off like hitting a brick wall when he heard Marathel say, “Grogu! No, don’t!”, and Din felt the pounce of the little green goblin on his lower abdomen, not quite his area but close enough to make him grunt loudly with an “URGH,” and struggle to a sitting position with a babbling Grogu in his lap.

Marathel, outside the dark curtained cubicle, stammered, “I’m so sorry, Bounty Hunter! I told him not to wake you . . .”

“’s all right,” Din muttered as he pushed himself to a standing position, Grogu in the crook of his arm. “Time I was up. What the shab is so important, huh, buddy?” He stepped through his curtains and looked up to see Marathel standing primly in the center of the room, her hands clasped over her stomach. His first thought was that she was doing her best to look anywhere but at his face – well, helmet -- and his second thought was that she looked quite pretty today. Instead of her usual tunics and pants of dull tans, greens, and greys, she was wearing a gown of sunset yellow that fell into a swirl of fabric just above her ankles. Over this she wore a smock of deep charcoal grey, embroidered with yellow flowers around the neckline. Her silver hair was pulled back in a matching yellow scarf that was twisted around her shock of hair and tied off at the end.

Marathel looked dismayed that Din was awakened in such a startling manner. “I told Grogu that I needed his help this morning, but we couldn’t leave until you had awakened. I did not want you to find him missing. But . . . he is impatient.”

“Where are you going?”

“To collect eggs.”

“Eggs? Already?”

She looked at his helmet for the first time, confused. “What? Oh . . . no. Not Dahl eggs. It is not quite time for those. Chook eggs.” Din tilted his helmet at her in his quiet way that she already knew meant that he needed more information. “Chooks are, uh . . . fluttery, rather stupid ground birds. They lay lots of eggs that are good for eating. I thought it may be fun for him.” She gestured to the table, where a covered plate waited. “I made you some breakfast. Grogu has already eaten. We will just be past the vegetable garden, if it is acceptable to you?”

She had returned to her nervous formality of a couple days previous, Din noticed, as she dropped her head, and her hands began to go up her sleeves. Din stepped over and placed Grogu in her arms before her hands disappeared. “That is fine with me. That is within shouting distance, I think."

Marathel turned a light shade of a very becoming pink having Din so close to her. She nodded, and said, “We will not be long. You will have privacy, and I will shout as we get near.” She turned towards this kitchen, cooing to Grogu, “Yes, we can finally go now, little one.” The two stepped off the platform and disappeared around the rock ridge. Din waited a few more moments, and sure he was alone, removed his helmet and gloves. He lifted the cover off the plate: toasted slabs of bread with soft cheese and fruit, with some pan-fried meat. A fresh mug of her herbal tea. He had been eating better these past few days than he had the past few months – not that he was complaining – but food was not a high priority for him. He could get too used to this kind of treatment. And the bread. Osik, she made good bread. He shoved a slab into his mouth before he even sat down. What a good wife she would make, he thought idly, before he quashed that idea. He was not in the market for such an arrangement. He had all he could do to keep the child safe from the Imps, as well as keeping his Creed without entangling with a woman or any partner on a long-term basis. He had told Omera essentially that, and he hoped that she had found the person she needed.

And what – or whom – did Marathel need? He scoffed, and muttered, “She got what she needed last night,” under his breath with a smirk, and then silently chided himself for such an unkind thought. He finished eating, and then took the opportunity of being alone to clean himself up, washing his hair, cleaning the bite wound again with a fresh layer of salve – this brought a small grin to his face -- and changing out his thermals and flight suit for a fresh set he had brought with him from the ship. He was in the process of reattaching his cuisses when he heard a distant shriek. Certain that it came from the direction of where Marathel and Grogu had gone, Din leapt into action and was already running that way, strapping on his jetpack and two of his most favorite blasters as he went. He heard Marathel scream, “Bounty Hunter! Bounty Hunter!” making him panic. He was already thinking the worst: Grogu was hurt in some way, a chook had pecked him in the eye, a rabid Dahl was making off with the both of them – as Din tore past the vegetable garden and leapt over the fencing that enclosed the chooks, noticing that the chooks she spoke of were indeed some sort of chicken. Skidding to a halt in the middle of the enclosure, sending chooks fluttering and clucking in all directions, Din saw that Grogu was fine. Grogu, in fact, looked perfectly pleased with himself, sitting on the ground, the basket beside him, as he held an egg in each hand. He looked quizzically up at Din and then ate one of the eggs whole. But Marathel was nowhere to be seen. Din spun around, shouting, “Marathel? Marathel! Where are you?”

“I am . . . oof . . . up here!”

He followed the sound of her voice, looking about 10 meters up the large tree that shadowed the chook pen. There was a distinct rustle of branches and some leaves fell, as he finally saw her perched up in the tree, balanced on her belly on a branch, reaching down to the next branch with her swinging feet. “What . . . what are you doing up there?”

Marathel struggled a bit with a grunt, but finally made it down to the next branch. “He put me up here!” she yelled, pointing at Grogu.

Din was finding it impossible to hide his amusement. “Why?”

“Because you have taught him no manners!” She began to try to climb down to the next branch and was not succeeding at all. “Oof . . . I told him to stop eating all the eggs . . . I scolded him . . .” Marathel scraped her bare foot on sharp piece of bark. “Ow, ow, damnych! I scolded him, and the next thing I knew, I was up this tree!”

Din gaped at her, then looked down at Grogu, who grinned cheekily at him, and then back up at Marathel, who was glaring back at him in fury. The laughter burbled up from deep in his gut, from a place that had not been so tickled in such a long time, and he could not help it, he burst into peals of laughter that made his sides hurt. He held his sides, bent over, trying to get control of himself, but he looked back up at Marathel standing so haughtily in that tree, and then she stamped her foot, shouting, “It is NOT funny!” The sight of her stamping her foot set him off again, and tears were rolling down his face at how ridiculous she looked. She clumsily scrambled down to the next branch, and then yelled down to him, “Are you going to help me down or not?”

Din could barely catch his breath. “You . . . look like you’re doing just fine on your own!”

Marathel struggled down from branch to branch, cursing at Din in her old language and muttering. “Just as bad as Grogu, you are . . . just like a child! You aren’t doing that boy any favors . . . putting me up a tree . . .” and then her gown caught on a twig and tore a large rip in the back of the skirt, effectively shutting Din up instantly. Marathel gasped in horror, twisting to see the back of her dress, crying out “Oh, damnych and double damnych!” She was close to the bottom of the tree now, so she set herself hanging from the lowest branch she could by her hands. Din went to her, putting up his hands to catch her as she came down. Unfortunately, his hands were on her smock over her waist, and the smock slid up against her dress as she slid down, and his hands ended up bracketing her breasts and holding them high against her chest, accidentally -- mostly. Marathel gasped in outrage and shoved Din as hard as she could. “Why, you . . .” She stomped away from him, spitting over her shoulder, “Y mallawer perlys, on chydich mown dynion!”

Din chuckled quietly. “What does that mean?”

Marathel grabbed the basket. “It means, ‘there is much virtue in herbs, but little in men!’” You’re not wrong there, thought Din. She swept a chook out of the way with her foot, sending it fluttering away, Grogu giving chase. She grabbed two eggs out of a nest with too much force, smashing the shells. Disgusted, she threw the broken eggs on the ground, snapping, “Now look what you made me do!”

Din tilted his helmet. “Why are you so mad?”

“I am NOT mad!” This, of course, was a lie, and Marathel grabbed another egg, this time throwing it into her basket with enough force to annihilate both it and two more eggs in the basket. She grunted in rage and picked up some more eggs.

Din shifted his weight to one hip, crossing his arms over his cuirass. “You know, for someone who’s not mad, you’re sure making one hell of a mess out of those eggshells.”

Marathel glared at him, and chucked an egg right at his head, where it exploded on his visor. Din fell about laughing again, wiping the egg mess off his helmet. “Whoo! Look out, Empire, we have a Stormtrooper who can actually hit something!”

“Oh, shut up!” Marathel stomped off through the gate of the pen, slammed it shut behind her, and began marching down the lane back to her hut.

“Seriously, they could use someone like you!” Din shouted at her back. She whirled around, throwing another egg, which he tried to catch against his hip in his hands as it smashed into mush. “That’s what I’m talking about, lady!” he said, laughing even harder.

“RHAFF CODIEH!” Marathel screeched over her shoulder.

“And what does that mean?”

“It means PISS UP A ROPE!”

Marathel continued to march away so fast she was kicking up clouds of dirt at her ankles, her torn skirt swaying with each step, arms pumping at her sides. Din continued to laugh until he was certain she was out of earshot. He stood there, hands on hips, chuckling. “Ahhhh . . . Haar’chak.” He looked down at Grogu, who was covered in feathers and holding another egg, completely nonplussed by all the activity around him. Grogu looked back at Din, grinning. Then he ate the egg. With a sigh, Din picked up the little green morsel, brushing the feathers from his tiny robes. “I think we’re in trouble, kiddo.”

You Were Marked: Next Chapter

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casperleghosty · 2 years

Text

Daycare SAGAU start idea

(This Idea is now living rent free in my grey mass I call a brain, do what ever u want from this intro fanfic idk might make more, but since its 1AM here i need my sleep, see ya later :P)

It was a sunny day in Tyvat, the land of the world's largest rpg, which for some reason decided to suck you in so you could live the rest of your now immortal life surrounded by your so-called acolytes, showering you with affection and adoration to no end.

Not that you mind being a Gen Z teen; just being on the verge of adulthood sounded difficult enough, but now? You get to have tea with Diluc and Zhongli, who are both great company; play pranks with Itto and Venti when you don't want to attend those boring asses meetings all day since they want the so-called blessed knowledge from their grace; eat and cook with Xiangling; and more!

At this moment you were attending to one of those meetings at the time, but this one was different because the ones that bore you like a math book where your teacher just keeps repeating the same shite over and over are for the high-ups, let's say, such as leaders, or sometimes, when times are tough, even the archons attend to help you out.

But this one?

It was a public one in which the townsfolk of the nation you are visiting come together so you can help them out, be it with little fights over who did this or that or plans to expand or better the city or village so they could live better and have a more promising next generation, it was a great opportunity for the people to be in the same place as their beloved golden sun, in the most beautiful garden of their great palace, where their god generously let them in to enjoy the scene of the wonderful smell of the vast collection of flowers and calm scenery while they wait for their turn to present their struggles to their grace.

"Next please." One of your ladies in waiting said this while another poured some tea into your cup for you to sip on; it was a hot day, and they didn't want you to go thirsty while attending to your duties outside.

"Good morning, dear one blessed by the sky above, I hope you could help this servant of yours in need of thy help," said a woman dressed in a green gown with floral designs. The woman said she clasped her hands together and looked at the foot of your chair, not daring to glance at her creator without consent.

"Good morning to you too, my child. What can I help you with, dear one?"

"My liege, please hear mine and my village's sorrows; we've been having crop problems and are afraid we won't be able to feed ourselves; please, dear grace from above, lend us some of your merciful tears above our land, and help these servants grow and prosper in the ground you've given us." She pleaded

You were about to respond softly when you felt a tug on your slippery robes and saw a child no older than a five-year-old. Said child looked up and said, "Please help us, mama is worried so much, now mama doesn't smile like she used to."

Silence

Everything came to a halt as the mother of said child tried not to shake in so much fear; how could she have been so careless, allowing her child to come so close to you, have the audacity to even touch you, or speak to you so casually?

"Please forgive me for abusing your sacred boundaries our grace!" She exclaimed, "I'll take any punishment you see fit to give me for my carelessness!"

Glancing at the child and at the mother, seeing the adult so scared for no reason made you giggle, confusing the guests and your servers alike. I mean, getting punished for a cute little kid like this, what in the world was in the heads of these people?

Piking up the child from beneath their arms, you let the little girl sit on your lap, bob your legs up and down, making a rocking motion, the child laughing, which made your heart melt. I mean, how could you not? The kids' cheeks were so fat you just wanted to squish them!

"So your mama is all worried she can't smile much, huh?" You asked, "We need to make her smile a lot now, don’t we?" You said, making the child's eyes light up with joy, "Can you make mama happy again?" and "Sure you can, here." You said grabbing a bit of the water that had been heated up from the tea your maids were making, making it float and evaporate into a fluffy white cloud, and giving said cloud to the child, "This is a magic cloud; it will make your mama and everyone happy for a very long time, sweetpea," you said, placing the child down and nudging her back to her mother.

Said child hugged you, saying "thank you" into your body, making it sound a bit muffled before running to her mother's arms. "Look, mama, the cloud is so soft and fluffy!" her child said with a huge smile on her face.

"Thank you so much, dearly beloved! Oh, thy heavens' grace are so kind!" the woman exclaimed, bowing down with tears in her eyes, and then the mother and child returned, bringing the day of this meeting to an end.

It was a good day. There wasn't much to solve besides that problem with almost no rain in that woman's village, and after a while of replaying the moment of the child in your arms, it made you think, maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to have a playground in that garden? If there were any parents that had to take their children with them for those meetings , they are bound to get bored, so why not?

And so next morning you told your servants to build a playground for the children, one in each of the palaces you own across all of Teyvat, so that if you were visiting other nations, the kids would have endless fun no matter where they were from!

Plus, it could be a good distraction from all the formalities because, let's be honest, these people sometimes don’t know how to relax around you.

#genshin impact #daycare #wholesome #sagau idea #idea #fic ideas #god reader

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immagoudaboi · 7 months

Note

FOR THE ASK THING: 14, 22, 29

PLEASE AND THANK YOU (*・∀・*)ノ

OIII MOON!!! thanks for stopping by!!! I miss your typos and yelling 🌻🌻🌻

14. Talk about one of your most cherished childhood memories.

I have lots of great childhood memories, but the one that randomly came to mind was when I was around 9 or 10 years old.

I was close to this one family growing up, and they had been fostering three children they were looking to adopt. The family had 4 biological children, and they were fostering 3 more. They invited my mom and I to come with them to go to the courthouse with them to have them officially adopted! They had this large bus and all 11 of us rode together (2 parents, 7 children, my mom, and me), and we were laughing and talking the whole way there, excited that the kids were going to be an official part of the family. The judge was very kind, and all 7 kids and me received stuffed animals afterwards. We went back to hang out at their house. One of the kids even changed her name to include my sister's name as her middle name, (my sister was unable to attend because she had school).

Some of my golden memories from when I was a kid 💛💛💛

22. What do you like most about nature?

There are scary parts of nature, but also very beautiful things. The thing I value most about nature is how undemanding it is. Life is so busy and stressful; but, when you go out into a forest, or out in a field or meadow, or beach or mountain, you can stand in the midst of it all and not remember a thing. Taking a long, deep breath of fresh air is so unexplainably calming, and feeling grass or moss beneath your feet makes you want to roll around and never let that feeling escape. It can be as thrilling and interesting, or as tranquil and peaceful as you want it to be. You can down a trail, chasing birds and squirrels, or you can simply sit on the ground, close your eyes, and exist.

In much of the life we live, we miss the opportunity to simply exist.

29. Do you collect anything? And what are some hobbies you have?

I don't do this so much anymore, but I used to collect rocks and things from outside. I'd have sticks, and shells, and interesting leaves and flowers. Unfortunately, this isn't really viewed as "normal" so I had to "repurpose" much of the material I collected over the years, but I still have a rock collection hanging around with some small bits of amethyst, quartz, emeralds, sapphire, and other little things.

(Yeah, my mom made me get rid of things when bugs crawled out of my acorns 😬 sorry mama macadamia 😅)

On the hobbies side, you know I like photography and painting, but I also love poetry! Again, I don't have much time anymore these days, but I used to write poetry and read lots of it, including short stories! (Levihan takes up a lot of my reading time now, admittedly LOL)

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR STOPPING BYYYYYY I HAD SUCH A GREAT TIME ANSWERING THESE!!!!!! LOT'S OF LOVE MOTHER MOON 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

simple and soft asks here:

#snudootchaikovsky #cashew talks nuts #asks #about cashew #i miss you my chaotic friend

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pantheon-devotee · 8 months

Text

Answering Polytheist & Pagan Asks by khaire-traveler

🙏 - Which pantheon(s) do you actively worship?

Fully, a Greek one. I started with them, and I'm sure I will keep that. Other deities I work with are from Norse and Egyptian pantheons.

🌞 - Which deity(ies) are you closest to/do you worship the most often?

Even though I'm the closest with the Greek pantheon, Fenrir was the one I felt the closest to...and still do. Also, Hades and Anubis are other close deities I work with. Since I was a kid, I loved Athena, and now I still do, and she's present in my life.

✨ - Do you believe in patron deities? If so, do you have any that you know of?

I do. As I said above, Fenrir is the one I feel the closest to and I believe he is my patron deity.... Sometimes I think maybe Hades or Hecate help me more than others.

🌍 - Which pantheons do you believe exist?

All of them. Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse and more, as long as people believe and worship, they will exist.

📜 - Have you ever made an oath, vow, or contract with a deity? If yes, how did it go (you don't have to share)?

No, maybe in the future, but I need to read more about it.

📿 - What are three things you're grateful to your deity(ies) for?

Help in any form and support. Also, those little signs they send me, like a dream, an animal that represents them, or just a feeling. It makes me feel safe and important of some sort.

🖋️ - If you could say anything to your deity(ies) right now, what would you most want to say?

Thank you for being here for me when I need you. It gives me so much comfort, something I've been looking my whole life.

💌 - What is your favorite form of deity communication?

Hmmm... I think praying, giving offerings, making art, and going out and looking for them in the plants, animals, and little things.

🎭 - What is an emotionally impactful or a silly worship-related experience you've had?

I was at the beginning of my journey of worshipping. I was suffering from lower back pain, it was so painful that I could barely move. I asked Lord Lucifer for help, to make this pain disappear, even a little part of it. The next day in the morning, right after I got up from the bed, I felt a lot better. Like someone took out of my shoulder a big rock. I was so grateful.

❤️ - What's one memory of your practice that you reflect the most fondly on?

Making my first altar. It was a collective altar, I didn't know who I wanted to connect the most with, except from Fenrir. It was like baking a first cake, you don't know how it will come out, but you are proud of your effort.

🥂 - What is your favorite devotional act or offering to give?

I like writing, so I write my prays and decorate them with drawings. My altar is full of feathers and flowers, I like collecting them on my walks. Also, taking some time to breathe and do something for yourself is a good offering.

🎉 - Do you celebrate any festivals? If so, which ones?

Not really, I just go with my life as it is.

🫂 - Do you syncretize any pantheons with one another? If so, which ones?

No. Every god or deity is a separate being for me.

🔮 - Do you delve into topics like the occult or the mysteries? Do you do anything esoteric?

I love paranormal, I'm kind of a walking K2 meter due to my brain being built a lil differently. I'm interested in witchcraft, serial killers and mystery in any shape.

⭐ - What is something you wish people outside your practice knew more about?

That I believe in gods/deities more than I believe in humans? That I trust them more than I trust myself? That they are not just "myths".

📖 - Do you like the way your pantheon is most often portrayed in media? Why or why not?

Mostly, yet there are some things I don't like. For example, changing the history, so men look better (Medusas case). Also, showing Hades as this scary god of death... not buying that.

🏛️ - Do you have a favorite statue or temple to your deity(ies)? If yes, what is it?

They are everywhere, don't have to look for a statue or temple.

🔥 - Do you have a favorite myth or tale from your pantheon or others?

I do! I really like all the myths about Athena and Artemis. Gods helping heroes or people, those are good as well. I'm not so into Norse or Egyptian myths, but those about Anubis or Fenrir are quite good.

🧭 - What led you to your practice?

I don't really know, it just appeared somewhere at the moment I needed it.

🧿 - Did you have any other spiritual beliefs before discovering your current practice?

I believe in ghosts, even look for them myself. I always believed in angels and demons.

🪽 - Do you believe in angels and/or demons? If yes, do you worship or work with any?

I do believe, I do worship, mostly demons. I've never had an encounter with any angel but maybe one day?

🪄 - Do you practice witchcraft? If yes, do you keep it separate from your deity worship?

Yes, I sometimes do. And I do, separate it.

🪦 - Do ancestors or human spirits play a big role in your practice?

Ancestors, no. Human spirits, yes. They are guides.

🐾 - Do animal spirits play a big role in your practice?

Yes. Mostly dogs and wolves, due to who I work with.

🌱 - Does nature - plants, nature spirits, etc. - play a big role in your practice?

Yes. They help me find peace of mind.

💀 - Do you believe in ghosts? If yes, have you ever had an experience with one?

I do believe in ghosts. I had a few. As I said before, my brain is built a bit differently thanks to what I can feel the change of energy around me. When I was in the 2nd grade, I saw a ghost in the woods. From 4th grade to 8th, I guess, I kept hearing chain rattles in my house. When I stopped by the haunted house near me, I felt a touch on my neck. There are a lot.

☄️ - Do you believe in astral travel/the astral realm? If so, have you been there before?

I do believe. I am a reality shifter, at least I am trying. As long as you believe something is possible, you can do it.

I think that's all. If you have any questions, ask, either DM me, send an ask or submission. Feel free to do so, I will gladly answer any question^^

#paganism #hellenic polytheism #hellenic pagan #pagan #polytheism #ancient greek #gods #deities

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ginger375 · 2 years

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LUtober

See the full collection on AO3.

Day 22: Hunt

He’d been staring at it for a full five minutes.

Each little flutter of wing made his ears twitch, until it lifted off the flower it rested on and flitted over to a rock a few feet away.

He slowly got up and crept over to the rock, trying not to draw attention to himself, lest he scare it away.

Voices spoke behind him, but his entire attention was on his prey.

“Whatcha doin’ there, Wolfie?” Hyrule asked, ignoring the fact that Wolfie could not answer.

“I think he’s stalking that butterfly,” Wild said as he leaned over to try and see what the wolf had his eye on.

“Oh, the mighty hunter,” Legend scoffed.

All that was background noise as he inched closer to the rock. The blue of the wings stood out so brightly against the washed out landscape of his wolf vision, he wanted to see them up close.

So wrapped up in his observation, he didn’t notice Wild giving him a wide berth as he came around to several paces outside his periphery.

The butterfly opened and closed its wings a few times and then took off, but didn’t go far—it perched itself on his nose.

He tried to see it clearly, but it was too close to his eyes—the blurry blue was still very pretty.

A clicking sound caught his attention as he looked without moving his head and disturbing his little friend. Wild was holding up the Sheikah Slate with Hyrule over his shoulder. “That couldn’t have been more perfect,” Wild said.

With that, the butterfly took off to go do what butterflies do. He shook his head and glared at the two wanderers.

“Can’t wait to show this to Twilight,” Wild said with a smirk. “He’ll get a kick out of it, I’m sure.”

As a wolf, Twilight huffed at Wild and got up to venture out into the woods. He’d been ‘gone’ for some time, so he really ought to get back to camp.

Some time later, Twilight returned with some freshly caught fish to cover for his wolf time. He handed them to Wild, who was setting up the cooking pot.

“You missed Wolfie again,” Wild said with a knowing grin.

“Did I now?” Twilight rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I got the best picture of him on the slate. Wanna see?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Nope!” Wild pulled out the slate and opened the album. He swiped through the images until he found the latest one. He turned the slate towards Twilight.

The image showed Wolfie with his eyes nearly crossed trying to see the Winterwing butterfly perched on his snout.

It was a really nice picture.

Twilight sighed. “It’s your goal in life to get as many embarrassing pictures of me as possible, isn’t it?” He asked quietly so the others wouldn’t overhear.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

#lutober #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu wolfie #lu twilight #lu wild #stalking prey counts as hunting #right?#ginger writes

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accidental-geo-main · 2 years

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Do they collect anything? // Archon edition

Do they collect anything? What do they collect?

Characters: Venti, Zhongli, Raiden, Nahida, + Bonus Scara

Tags: OOC maybe, little angsty in Scara's, GN!Traveler mentioned exactly once,

TW: None that I know of,

I haven't played Raiden's story quests Or Met Kusanali in-game yet so they are probably OOC.

A/N: I hope you all enjoy this! Let me know if you have any prompts Or if there are any typos!

Word count: ~600 || Minimal editing - only spell-checked

Venti

He collects memories. Or at least that's what he’ll tell you.

Always up for an adventure, He loves going on a trip with his friends (or strangers).

He always ends up with a new song inspired by the day

In a few days, you may even find the bard singing these new songs in the town square.

Though if one was lucky enough to travel into his realm, they may be surprised to see an assortment of items he’d been given over the years.

A giant room filled with offerings and treasures of the past.

You’ll find everything from children’s drawings, flowers, and music sheets to Relics of old battles.

If you look closely you’ll find a Jumpy Dumpty encased in an anemo forcefield, placed far away from everything else.

His prized item is a scrap of brown fabric. It's torn and ragged from how old it is. Preserved with magic older than the Knights of Favonius themselves, this seemingly unimportant piece was a part of the Unnamed Bard’s cape.

Zhongli

With over 6000 years under his belt, He’s Collected a little bit of everything

He takes great pride in his collection

An assortment of Books, art, and of course, rocks line his home and teapot Realm

He also collects pressed flowers.

He’s particularly proud of how diverse his flowers are.

Ones from every nation as well as their seasonal variants. An eagle eye may be able to spot a few extinct flowers.

In his teapot, he has a beautiful pressed flower hanging in a frame above his desk. A glaze lily given to him by a late friend.

Raiden Shogun / Ei

It’s unintentional but she does have one.

Gifts given to her by the other Archons and her old friends have accumulated over the years.

Though she doesn’t care much for physical possessions, she finds no reason, nor want to get rid of them

So, she has rooms filled with musical instruments, old wines, and poems. The shelves filled with Liyuen books and a Custom polearm forged by the Geo Archon himself displayed on the wall. Outside the window is a garden filled with plants given to her by the Dendro Archon.

Another room is dedicated to gifts from her late friends.

There is one more room, off-limits to all but her, that contains every gift her sister had ever given her.

Nahida / Kusanali

She has a wide selection of gifts she's been given recently.

Books, Art supplies, artwork, plants, musical instruments, etc.

She’s even been given a Kamera.

Because of her…. Limited contact with the outside world, being able to have something to fiddle with is Celestia-sent.

All her gifts remind her she isn’t alone anymore.

She’s taken a liking to a Zither the Traveler gave her. She’s been practicing it every morning.

Maybe one day she can surprise her friends with a performance.

Bonus! Scaramouche / The Balladeer / Kunikuzushi

Yes but only out of necessity.

Yes, a necessity. A collection is a sign of intelligence, culture, and wealth as far as he is concerned.

He‘s a Harbinger, a nobleman of Snezhnaya. It would be odd if he didn’t have one.

Artwork is displayed across his estate. Classics from every nation, hand-picked by the top art curators of Teyvat.

Of course, he approved every painting before it went up on the wall.

There does seem to be an unusual amount of art depicting themes of abandonment and lonesomeness. Best to ignore it though, for your own safety.

In his room, there is an enormous traditional Inazuman painting depicting a golden hour shot of a family playing in a field. The pristine golden frame stands out in his dark purple room.

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Thanks for reading! I'm not very happy with Kusanali's and Raiden's. Maybe one day I'll revisit this and do them better.

If you have any suggestions for me, feel free to send them in! If you see any typos, etc. let me know!

This is my first time posting my work on Tumblr. It's not the first thing I've written for Tumblr though.

Published: 10/23/2022

#genshin imagines #character headcanons #genshin headcanons #Venti #Zhongli #raiden shogun #Raiden E #Genshin raiden #Nahida #kusanali #lesser lord kusanali #archons #scaramouche #the balladeer #genshin scaramouche #fatui harbingers #genshin impact

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justminawrites · 1 year

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Five Days of Fire Flowers - Chapter 1: Red Oni, Blue Oni

AO3

Summary: The spring of love has finally begun blooming in Inazuma, but longtime friends and rivals, Arataki "The One and Oni" Itto and the town's sweetheart, Naganohara Yoimiya, seem to be the only ones who think nothing of the change. After all, those umeboshi competitions, near-death encounters, and complicated silences they've been sharing more and more often, don't really mean anything.. do they?

1 | TBC

“And then I sent the jerk flying– right down into the dirt!”

“Woah! That’s amazing!”

“But Mister Itto– didn’t it hurt?”

“Ha ha! A little pain isn’t going to stop someone like me, y’see, I’m The Pride of all Oni kind!”

“You’re so cool!”

Arataki Itto puffed out his chest at the compliment and flashed a toothy grin at the kids that flocked to him eagerly.

They were sitting right outside the shrine of Inazuma City, near the grassy plains with the cherry-blossom trees in full bloom, safely away from the watchful eyes of the Tenryou Commission.

Itto had challenged a certain fireworks expert to a duel to win the hearts of Inazuma’s children and the spunky blonde had picked Storytelling to be their weapon of choice this time. Whosoever told the best tale was considered the winner.

He regaled them with his latest adventures fighting a group of bandits by Musuo Blade Canyon, sure of his victory; there was no way Yoimiya could beat him when it came to exciting encounters, she may stir them with her little sparklers or whatever, but he had the grit and scars to show for his various battles with opponents far stronger and more renowned than he. And it seemed to be working, at first.

The three little ones, Matsuzaka, Iwao and sweet Saika, looked absolutely enthralled by his tale, their earlier fears forgotten as they ran their tiny fingers over his mace and Itto turned his smirk on the blonde perched on the bough of a nearby tree, swinging her feet and awaiting her turn.

The Naganohara heir met his smile with a wicked one of her own and jumped down from her place, dusting off her orange kimono as she did.

“Won’t hold it against ‘cha if ya just admit defeat now, Sparkie,” he grinned as she passed him,

“No shame in losing to someone more superior, after all.”

“Appreciate the offer,” Yoimiya said wryly as she resumed seat on a large stone opposite to him, “–but I wouldn’t be so quick to count my chickens yet, Arataki-san.”

“You haven’t even heard my story yet!”

“Yoimiya’s telling us a story!” Iwao gasped, immediately looking up.

“Yoimiya’s stories are the best!”

“Which one is it going to be this time? The Fire Diamond again?” Saika asked excitedly, turning to her friends.

Itto tried not to huff in irritation as the kids abandoned him to huddle under Yoimiya’s rock expectantly; whatever it was, it couldn’t be as good as single-handedly taking on a group of electro Kairagi warriors to protect a village.

“No, today’s special,” she began, crossing her legs, “So I’ve got a new one for you. It’s called Red Oni, Blue Oni.”

The children collectively turned back to give him a surprised look. Itto felt a strange sense of deja-vu pass over him and found himself refusing to meet their eyes. He knew the story of course, it was one of the very first stories he’d learned growing up.

“Oni? Like Mister-Itto?”

“Nope,” Yoimiya winked, “These were very different oni. They used to live in the mountains of Liyue, far, far away from Inazuma, back when the Archons first roamed Teyvat.”

“Oh..”

“Once upon a time, almost 2000 years ago, two oni friends lived in a cave, high up in the mountains above a small human settlement. One had red skin, the colour of Dendrobium flowers, and the other blue, like the sky.”

The children leaned in close, already invested.

“The Red Oni really wanted to befriend his neighbours, so he tried his best to accommodate them; he laid out sweets they liked, invited them to his cave, even tried to help them with their things a few times, but they all ran away screaming when they saw his face.”

Itto couldn’t help but get swept up into the story too as Yoimiya began gesturing animatedly, using her hands to describe what was going on.

“The humans were all very terrified of the two friends, you see, it was a time of great strife among their community and they didn’t trust each other, much less the oni who looked very different from them; so they would curse or throw beans at him if he got too close to the village.”

“That’s not fair!” Matsuzaka cried outraged, leaping to his feet, “They shouldn’t be mean just because of something stupid like that!”

The other two nodded sternly.

“Ah, ah,” the storyteller wagged her finger in his direction and shook her head, “Remember how you all were afraid of Mister Itto when he first came to Inazuma?”

“You thought he was the Great Mujina Yokai, here to steal you away from your homes, didn’t you?”

Itto snorted and the children flushed guiltily; Matsuzaka sat back down without protest.

“Fear makes people do stupid things,” Yoimiya continued kindly, jumping back into the story, “–and the Red Oni knew this, so he would never hold it against them when they rejected his friendship. But he never gave up trying to win them over either.”

“One day, the Blue Oni had just about enough of watching his friend get constantly rejected and devised a plan to help him gain the humans’ trust. I’ll pretend to attack the village, he said, and you stop me. The Blue Oni knew that humans loved heroes more than they feared them, and smartly decided to take advantage of this for his friend’s benefit.”

“A terrible plan if you ask me–“ Itto interrupted, snarling, he knew how the rest of the story went and couldn’t help himself but the kids shushed him immediately.

“So they executed the plan, and it worked!” She didn’t falter, much to their delight.

“The Blue Oni stomped his way into the town and began burning down a few houses, taking care not to hurt any of the people on the way, of course. The Red Oni pretended to intervene and chase his friend all the way back up the mountain, finally earning the approval of the humans. Once he returned, they brought him into their homes and celebrated his victory by feeding him and bringing him gifts to show their thanks, eagerly accepting his invitations to come over as soon as possible! In fact, the Red Oni became so popular that even other villages heard of his brave exploits and humans journeyed all the way to the mountain just to meet him!”

Itto furrowed his brows; this version was a little different from what he’d grown up hearing. Yoimiya caught his eye and winked, as if they shared some kind of secret.

“That’s great!”

“Good for him!”

“But wait– what happened to the Blue Oni?” Saika asked suddenly, looking up at the storyteller.

“Excellent question!” Yoimiya replied cheerily, not missing a beat, “Well since the Red Oni had so many friends coming over he moved into a new cave, with a super secret entrance that only a few people knew about. He wasn’t as fond of humans as his friend, preferring to sit inside and read instead, so he spent the rest of his days like that, happy to see that the Red Oni was happy too.”

“But they still stayed friends?” Saika pressed, leaning forward.

“Forever and ever!” She affirmed, soothing the little girl’s troubled expression by adding, “They never stopped being friends, no matter what! The End!”

“Now– time for the results! Whose story was better?”

The children turned each other excitedly, ready to discuss the stories and give their final verdict.

“Hey, wait a minute!“ Itto interrupted again, now he was sure there must be some kind of mistake.

“That’s not how it MMPFH–“

Yoimiya was on him immediately, covering his mouth with her hands to stop him from saying anymore. He nearly toppled over with surprise at her action, but caught himself just in time, regaining his balance just long enough to hear her whisper-shout Don’t into his ear. He met her alarmed eyes with borderline confusion that steadily bled into understanding.

Iwao, Saika and Matsuzaka gave them a weird look but didn’t think much of it, more invested in debating the victor instead. After a few tense seconds, during which she still refused to take her hands off his face, the children came to a decision.

“Yoimiya won this round,” Iwao declared seriously, the other two nodding alongside him, “Mister-Itto’s story was good too but hers was a little bit better.”

“MMPFH!” The half-oni pleaded his case, but his captor beamed a brilliant white smile and mercilessly shooed them away.

“Well, now that’s settled, you children better be heading back to your parents. It’s getting dark and you don't want to miss the fireworks show, do you?”

The children exchanged a startled glance and looked up to see the red sun setting into the horizon.

“Buh-bye, Mister-Itto! Bye, Yoimiya!”

As the three waved their goodbyes and ran home, Itto shot a sideways glance at Yoimiya, who waved back happily, completely unaware that her other hand was dangerously close to his demon-teeth.

“Precious little things aren’t they?” She smiled, watching Saika’s head disappear past the green outcropping.

Itto pretended to bite her arm, playfully nipping at the edge of her fingers with his fangs and she yelped and jumped backwards, more out of shock than pain.

“Don’t be such a sore loser, Arataki-san!”

“Yeah, yeah. Ya got me today Sparkie, but it won’t be so easy next time.”

“You say that every time, and still haven’t managed to beat me once,” Yoimiya stuck out her tongue but he frowned in return, his mind still on the story.

“Why’d ya lie to ‘em anyway?” He asked, uncharacteristically serious for once, “It doesn’t end like that, y’know.”

“Is it really lying if I just happen to forget a few small details here and there?” She joked, still bouncing on the balls of her feet, but slowed down a little when he looked away, his arm subconsciously tightening on the hilt of his mace.

“Arataki-san? Is everything alright?”

“Hmm,” He rumbled in assent, but his red eyes were clouded with memory.

Itto first heard the story when he was ten, sitting in grade school with all the other village kids, and had memorised the way it had ended.

The truth was that once the Red Oni gained the humans’ trust, they declared him the saviour of their village and would rely on him for everything. He helped them out at first, feeling guilty about the broken homes, but soon found himself unable to leave the villagers at all; there was always more work, always more guilt and always someone left to help.

One day, when he’d found a little time for himself, he snuck away and up the mountain to the cave he shared, only to find it dusty, like no one had lived there for days. A letter awaited him on their little table and once he’d read it, the Red Oni couldn’t stop crying.

The letter was from the Blue Oni, it said: Hello, Old Friend. You have not been back in days so I hope this finds you in good health. I have decided to go on a journey far, far north and I pray you will not come looking for me when I do. You finally have the love of the humans, which you so greatly deserve, but love is a fickle thing and I fear you may lose it if you’re seen with me again; the Evil One. Do not worry for me, I shall manage as I always have, but I hope it’s not selfish of me to ask that you keep me in your memory still. I shall always be thinking of you too. Sincerely, Your Friend.

Itto remembered the way everyone around him either erupted into tears, or gaped around in dazed confusion, like they couldn’t fully grasp what was happening.

Even his teacher had looked a little misty-eyed, dabbing at her cheeks with a white napkin, but he knew at once that none of them truly understood what the story meant. Sacrifices couldn’t change the past. The Red Oni only had their respect so long as he could protect the humans.

He involuntarily narrowed his eyes. Monsters were only loved as long as they were useful.

“Itto?” A feather-light touch on his forearm slipped him out of the memory, and he found himself blinking as two gold eyes, like moons, looked up at him from under a head of choppy blonde hair.

Yoimiya wrinkled her nose, stood up and bumped his shoulder with her hip pointedly so she could sit beside him. He obediently scooted to the side to make space for her and she gave him a small smile as she took her place. The once-pink sky now bruised a quiet shade of blue and a faint hum of anticipation hung in the air. The fireworks show would start soon.

Only when Yoimiya leaned her head against his forearm did Itto realise she’d been speaking.

“–didn’t want to spoil their fun,” she sighed, tucking a blonde curl behind her ear, “They didn’t need to know about all the sad bits with everything that’s already going on. The vision hunt decree’s got a lot of folks down and confused, it’s a miracle these kids haven’t lost their energy in the fuss.”

“Huh.” Itto raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t thought of it like that.

“And besides-” she peeked up at him mischievously, “-who’s to say the story doesn’t end there anyway?”

“It doesn’t!” Itto puffed, insistent, “It ends when the Red Oni finds the letter, even an idiot could tell ya that much.”

“Stubborn as ever,” Yoimiya made a face and reached out to poke his cheek, “Don’t be so bullish, Arataki-san, use your imagination! Isn’t there any other ending you can think of?”

He let her prod at his face as he pondered the question; this was a normal occurrence between the two of them.

He’d challenge her to a duel, she’d find some roundabout way to best him, and then she’d go on to break all boundaries between them like they were best friends, even though he’d only known her for a few months at most.

When Itto had first arrived in the Hanamizaka District in Inazuma, the locals had been wary to say the least. If seeing an oni was rare, seeing a half-human one was even rarer, and he couldn’t hide the glaring red horns peeking out of his stark silver hair, though the horrified stares he garnered grew with each time he came out in public.

Not that he would either way– Itto had leaned into the half-demon persona with gusto; leaving the red birthmarks on his face, chest and arms on full display and only making the occasional attempt to tame his wild mane– which brought its own set of problems.

Vendors would run from him when he tried to buy food, tripping over their carts in fear; priestesses would avert their eyes and pray to the Electro Archon for salvation and even the guards on patrol had a wary hand on their blades every time he passed, like they were waiting for him to snap and attack.

He was used to it. Though born and brought up in Inazuma, he’d been outcasted for his heritage most of his life, to the point where the gasps of shock no longer bothered him. They would all change their tune soon enough.

It was the same in every district, the locals would be horrified by his presence until they saw him punishing a wicked landlord or catching a bandit or defying some other injustice they’d been putting up with, and then the tables would turn instantly; he’d be hailed as a hero.

Itto soon disregarded the opinions of people around him completely and let his strong moral compass do the talking– the culprits would take one look at his glowing yellow vision and the club slung over his shoulder and would admit defeat almost immediately.

Unfortunately, he lost his vision right after that so it made the aforementioned talking, among other things, a lot more difficult.

He’d challenged the general of the Tenryou Commission, Kujou Sara, to a duel and got his ass handed to him; she’d taken his pride and his power, refusing to respond to his demands for a rematch and leaving him with bottled up frustration that had him using his fists to settle matters instead, sending him to jail more and more often.

That was where he’d first met Yoimiya.

“Arataki-san? Did you fall asleep?”

Itto opened one eye to find her unabashedly pulling his cheek now, any pretense of decorum between them forgotten. Though it seemed that everyone else in Inazuma had inherited an intense fear of demon-kind, that particular gene seemed to have slipped the Naganohara heir this generation.

Yoimiya was one of the few brave or foolish, (he’d yet to decide), ones that would voluntarily spend time with him, who wasn’t part of his gang– though not for lack of trying on his part.

“Yoi-chan–“ He began, but she already knew what was coming.

“No, Arataki-san, I’m not going to join your little club,” she huffed and let go of his face immediately.

“Gang. The Arataki Gang. And why not––“

“Because,” she looked up at the sky expectantly, no doubt waiting for the fireworks to begin.

“–some of us have actual jobs around here.”

“I do have a job–“

“Beetle-fighting is not a real a real job, Arataki-san,” Yoimiya laughed, nearly tumbling backwards.

He caught her with his palm, helping her regain her balance without even having to move his other shoulder but squinted suspiciously when she sat closer than she had before.

“Thanks,” she smiled, and Itto’s frown deepened.

Was she really not afraid of him? Not even a little?

“Eat any pickled plums lately, Arataki-san?” She teased as he leaned a little closer, looking for the tell tale widening of the eyes, the sudden flinch of her shoulders as she realised how huge he was compared to her. How his claws could shred her to bits with one swipe.

Itto waited for the gasp of fear and shock that he’d become accustomed to hearing his whole life.

Yoimiya only blinked at him once, twice, in confusion, then leaned forward and pushed his bangs back from his face. They were close enough that he could see the deep brown undertone of her gold eyes, when she reached out and touched his red horns.

Now any self-respecting demon with half a brain could tell you that under no conditions whatsoever must you touch an oni’s horns. Not only are they one of the most sensitive parts of the oni’s body, the loss of one is akin to the loss of a limb.

Some demons even go so far as to wrap their horns with cloth to hide them from any unnecessary stimuli, but of course, Itto had never seen any reason to. It’s not like he had people lining up to touch his head– even the children had only just begun to warm up to him. But, of course, Yoimiya hadn’t the faintest idea.

“Arataki-san,” she said as he gaped at her in surprise, “Your face is heating up. Do you have a fever?”

Itto jumped back like she’d scalded him, cheeks aflame, trying maintain a semblance of his swagger but found his thoughts unraveling as she eyed him micheviously instead.

Yoimiya had been called a lot of things by the citizens of Inazuma– a chatterbox, a messy eater, a delinquent, a doll, even the occasional jail-breaker– but she’d never ever been mistaken for stupid. The girl was as bright as the fireworks she set off on a regular basis, and he’d found out this the hard way.

“Or could it be..” Yoimiya grinned and moved closer but Itto scrambled backwards at the sudden proximity, trying not to think about the sensory overload: how her hair smelled like citrus and gunpowder, or how her lips, her soft, pink, entirely human lips were inches from his own, or how he was fully and thoroughly screwed now that she’d figured out his weakness.

Shit, shit, shit.

“Don’t tell me it’s because you’re..”

BOOM!

She trailed away as the first firework burst in the sky, sending gold flakes of light sparkling across the midnight blue.

As his cheeks cooled down, Itto watched Yoimiya shift towards the sound as more and more explosions joined the original one, now in colours of green and red, her eyes glazing over at the blinding display. It was another thing about her that left him puzzled; despite never being at a loss for words, the only time he’d seen her fall quiet was when she was watching the fireworks.

No matter how many times she’d seen them before, no matter who she was seeing them with, Itto could see how transfixed she was by the little bursts of light that faded away into the vast darkness that swept over them, as though there was a story written in the smoke that only she could read.

“Yoi-chan,” He mumbled, but just as he’d expected, the Naganohara heir barely batted an eyelash, too lost in her own world to notice her friend.

Itto sighed and looked down at his hands; the stark red tattoos banding his knuckles, the claw-like nails, and thought about what she’d said. Isn’t there any other ending you can think of?, she’d asked, genuine and curious in a way that got on his nerves for reasons he couldn’t explain.

He thought he knew how humans operated; they loved anything that was of use to them and respected anything that instilled fear in them.

Itto had no desire to be useful to anyone. It was why he refused to get a job in the first place–– he wasn’t some kind of arse-kissing, mercenary-for-hire, though he’d met many a sleazy businessman who needed to be told that repeatedly, with fists. So he settled for being a nomadic warrior instead.

He’d earn their respect with his fearsome displays of justice and make his mark his own way, The Itto Way–– going so far as to graciously recruit members into the Arataki Gang so they could fully appreciate all that his protection had to offer.

Even Kujo Tengu had a begrudging respect for his strength, he was sure of it, (though she still refused to respond to his challenges for a rematch).

He thought his philosophy was ironclad– until Yoimiya came along and shattered it to pieces. Not only did she not fear him to the point of ridiculousness; she didn’t try to push him into doing her chores with her either; in fact, he suspected that she actively blew off work just to partake in their competitions!

To add insult to injury, Itto doubted she even considered him a real rival for the children’s affections– wouldn’t she show a little more persistence if she wasn’t merely humouring him?

But then again, that was always Yoimiya’s style. She approached everything with such sincere recklessness that you’d really have to stop and wonder how much of it was real, and how much was an act. Not that he’d ever wondered, of course. Her recklessness had gotten him out of jail, after all.

It happened on a day like every other one he’d had since he lost his vision.

He’d gotten into a fight with a particularly cruel landlord and found himself on the wrong end of the Tenryou Commissioner’s katana both in a single day, (talk about bad luck), when he’d first met Yoimiya.

The guards had tossed him into the nearest holding cell, not even bothering with cuffs this time - they knew as well as he did that he had nowhere else to go anyway - and spent the rest of the afternoon getting drunk over a mahjong table.

The Shogunate’s iron tight influence over Inazuma meant that anyone who caused even the slightest infraction was either immediately banished or executed by the Raiden herself, so there was no one left to line its jail cells except petty pickpockets or walking nuisances who dared to bare a little teeth, like him.

Itto rolled his eyes as the two foot soldiers snored away into the fading evening light, just beginning to get comfortable on his own makeshift bed of rope and hay when a loud clink! resounded throughout the room and a he turned to see a tiny blonde girl swear under her breath as she knocked down more tiles across the floorboards, sending the tiny rectangular pieces skittering through his wooden bars.

He remembered wondering three things that day - why this strange girl looked so familiar, what that bauble in her hair was, a hanging lollipop-like ornament resembling a dango, and wether she’d let him eat it just to be sure - as she carefully placed a few of the mahjong pieces back on the board.

“C’mon Yoimiya, we don’t have time for this!”

Itto hadn’t noticed she was accompanied by another person till then, with short, shaved hair and the nondescript grey robes of a street vendor; the man was frantically gesturing towards the exit.

It seemed that a jailbreak was taking place.

“Coming, Hanshirou, just let me get this one–” Yoimiya called back, reaching for the tiles that had fallen under the table. As the man, Hanshirou, fretted to himself and tried not lose temper, Itto got an answer to one of his questions.

“Hey! Hey, you–– Naganohara girl!” He said quickly but quietly, sliding a game piece through the bars, so as to not startle her. She whirled around in surprise as it landed at the base of her ankle, and in typical Yoimiya fashion, shifted towards the unusual instead of away from it.

She crept to the front of his cell and peered through the wooden framework curiously.

“How ‘bout ya bust me outta here too,” He proposed when she was close enough that he could see the red tattoos on her forearm, “–and, in exchange, I’ll owe ya one.”

“Whaddya say? Sound like a deal?”

“Your eyes,” Yoimiya said softly, cocking her head to one side, oddly transfixed.

Itto bristled.

He wasn’t unused to people pointing out the traits of his half demon heritage, hair and eyes especially; but it was always the way they did it that irked him. Their features lined with fear as they took in the silver and red, like they couldn’t believe it existed. Like they believed he shouldn’t. But the Naganohara heir had other intentions.

“And? What about ‘em?” He tried not to growl, crossing his arms defensively.

“They’re like firework shells,” she replied, undeterred, pressing her face against the bars to get a better look.

“They’re.. what?”

Itto resisted the urge to lean closer to make sure he heard her right.

“Firework shells? What’re ya on about, Sparkie?”

The unprompted nickname seemed to shake her out of whatever daze she’d been in. Yoimiya blinked in surprise, gasped and briskly turned around to wave at a horrified looking Hanshirou, who looked like he was about to faint.

“Wait a second!” Itto huffed as Yoimiya placed the final mahjong tile on the table between the two unconscious soldiers and turned to leave, “Don’t ya want anythin’ from me?”

“A favour from The Oni Sumo King ain’t nothin’ to turn yer nose up at, y’know!”

“No thanks,” she shrugged carelessly, not even pretending to consider his offer.

“I’m all out of requests at the moment. But if you need my help that badly, Arataki-san, I’d be willing to play you for it.”

Itto was so surprised by her answer that he forgot to ask how she knew his name.

“Fine,” he accepted resentfully; he would’ve corrected her except she was right. Itto did need her help, even if he wasn’t willing to admit it. Playing for it seemed less humiliating than begging anyway.

“What’re we playin’?”

“Rock-paper-scissors!” She grinned.

They played for hours straight.

Round after round, until the last of the evening’s light bled into claustrophobic night, neither of them getting close to victory in the game meant to settle petty children’s squabbles.

Hanshirou had slipped away by their twenty-seventh game, and a pregnant moon had risen through the high windows, bathing the happy-go-lucky girl and the frustrated half-oni in its dreamy white glow.

A moon much like the one that embellished the sky today; this time a dull, monochromatic backdrop for the rainbow of light that was steadily being punctuated by sharp, sudden bursts of sound.

BOOM!

Itto released a breath and leaned back against the rocky wall, as the sound of the fireworks nudged him out of the memory, and back into real life.

He did end up losing that final match to her (35 to 44), but she’d still unlatched the door to his cell anyway, reasoning, with a wink, that anyone who was willing to play janken with her for four full hours, couldn’t be that much of a villain.

This kindness had, of course, irritated him to no end, so he’d hunted Yoimiya down the very next morning and demanded a rematch. She’d been surrounded by children then, showing them some new toy she’d dug out from back of her shop– they’d been afraid at first, but took a liking to him when Yoimiya beat him again, (this time a pitiful 75 to 4).

Thus began their legendary rivalry for the children’s attention, although, if he were being honest with himself, it really should be renamed Arataki Itto’s Longest Losing Streak in Existence. To a girl who had no trouble winning, no less.

Itto tried not to sulk as he shot a sideways glance at the girl in question; Yoimiya hadn’t torn her gaze away from the fireworks display all this time.

Though it had been a few weeks since the start of their unlikely friendship, Itto found himself unwilling to believe she didn’t need anything from him.

Everyone always needed something from him. It was a fact; wether it be protection or strength, or even just a picture. That was just how humans were.

Why else would she have let him out of jail? Or bothered to show up for yet another sour-plum eating contest, four days in a row. Why else would she bother hanging around him at all?

Whaddya really want from me, Sparkie?

He hadn’t realised he’d said it out loud until the explosions finally faded away and Yoimiya turned around.

“To be your friend, Arataki-san,” she said softly, her perpetual smile strangely sad under the moonlight.

“If you’ll have me.”

The abrupt silence gently sloughed into the soft hiss of cicadas, and rustle of wind on branches as nature took over the symphony with its own, unique orchestra.

Something odd happened to Itto then.

Maybe it was the way she was staring right through him, or how the absence of fireworks left a visible vacancy in her eyes; hell, it could’ve just been because he’d never seen the Naganohara heir look anything short of bright and bubbly–– but an inexplicable sense of guilt pricked his heart.

The buzzing feeling traveled from his chest to his knees, and then right back up to his stomach where it settled, burning a hole straight through his intestines.

He’d been so sure that she had some kind of ulterior motive in befriending him, that he hadn’t realised his suspicions were slowly pushing her away. Granny was right. He could be a real jerk sometimes.

The half-oni sighed, stood up and held out an arm.

Yoimiya glanced up at him perplexed.

“You’re really bad at it then,” He huffed when she didn’t take it immediately.

“Arataki-san this, Arataki-san that–– if I didn’t know any better I’d think ya only met me yesterday, Sparkie.”

The fire in Yoimiya’s eyes flared as the meaning behind his words clicked.

She took his outstretched palm in hers and he pulled her up.

“You know, if you don’t like your name you should just change it yourself– AHH!” Yoimiya began to tease, but shrieked when he bent forward and picked her up by her thighs instead, hoisting her whole frame over one of his shoulders in one fell swoop.

“Put me down,” she laughed as she steadied herself against him, but Itto only shook his head and supported her with one arm, turning to point out the sky with the other.

BOOM!

Yoimiya gasped as the fireworks show resumed, relaxing her grip on his triceps to reach out her hand to the night instead, like she was trying to catch the glittering light between her soot smudged fingertips.

Itto watched her fall silent just as quickly as before and resisted the urge to grin. He wasn’t the biggest fan of the annual light show but watching them with Yoimiya wasn’t half bad.

She absentmindedly placed her other hand on the top of his head, near the base of his horns and he felt a flicker of electricity pass through him, prickling his spine and shaking his passenger in the process.

“Don’t touch the horns,” Itto grouched when she looked down at him in confusion. Her eyes sparkled wickedly then and he wondered if it was morally acceptable to fling her off the cliff right then and there.

“Don’t tell me you’re ticklish,” she laughed again, but obediently moved her hand back down to his neck, much to his surprise.

“Hey, it’s not my fault! Oni horns are extremely sensitive, alright?”

“Alright, alright. Horns are off limits. Got it.”

After a few seconds of comfortable silence, Yoimiya whispered into his ear.

“Itto.. san?”

“Hm,” He rumbled in assent.

“No, I was just wondering if that’s what you wanted me to call you,” she replied, pulling on his earlobe impishly.

“Or what about.. Taki.. san? Oh I know– Taki-kun!”

Itto felt his face (and his ears) flush, even though her hands were safely away from his horns, and mumbled something incomprehensible into the night air. She leaned over to hear him better.

“No I’m not going to call you Arataki Burning Passion for Battle Itto,” Yoimiya snorted, “It’s too long. And it’s not cute at all, Itto-san.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Itto rolled his eyes, “Just don’t sweat it with all that Arataki-san business. I ain’t my old man, alright?”

“Okay, what about.. hm..”

BOOM!

Itto didn’t need to look up to see that Yoimiya was once again lost in the fireworks.

Darkness burned away under the onslaught of tiny silver and gold bursts, briefly turning their night to day, and he felt his sensitive demon eyes shirk against the sudden flash.

The sparks fizzled out and fell, covering the sky in a mock meteor shower, each flicker leaving behind a burning white trail and for a second he imagined the white hot light raining all around them, sputtering out into tiny glowing fireflies as they fell.

It was gone as suddenly as it arrived, the blinding flare, and Itto found himself blinking spots out of his vision as the Naganohara Fireworks Show fittingly came to an end.

“Hey, Sparkie,” he began, gently nudging the girl atop him out of her own daze, “Hey, I thought about what ya said.”

“About.. the name?” She mumbled confusedly, rubbing stars out of her eyes. “About the story.”

“The story?” Yoimiya tilted her head.

“Yeah, the story. ‘Bout how ya said it didn’t have to end like it did?”

“Oh! The Oni story,” she smacked her own forehead, “Is that what you’ve been thinking about all this time?”

“No,” Itto lied, looking anywhere but up.

Yoimiya narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“Anyway, I think I figured it out.”

“Does the Red Oni stay with the humans and have fun forever?” She volunteered, only half-joking.

Itto shook his head.

“He goes searching for the Blue Oni, and brings him home.”

“That’s great,” Yoimiya said kindly, stifling a yawn, “Good for.. (hah).. good for him.. he deserves it.”

Itto nodded, almost to himself.

It was an idea he’d been toying with for a while now. If he were the Red Oni– well, let’s just say the story would’ve gone much more differently if he were in it, but suffice to say he definitely wouldn’t have let his friend sacrifice himself. Hell, he probably wouldn’t even let his enemies sacrifice themselves for him; Itto was very anti-sacrifice all around.

“But you know-” Yoimiya mused, “-I think the humans might be a little jealous if they have to share the Red Oni now.”

“Huh?”

“Think about it Ara– um, Itto-san,” She said, stumbling over the unfamiliar moniker, “If the Blue Oni comes back, the Red Oni’s probably going to spend all his time with his best friend.”

“Yeah, and?”

“And, wouldn’t you be jealous if your best friend didn’t spend time with you anymore?”

Itto considered this.

“Nah, not really,” he admitted after a few seconds of deep thought, “Ushi usually comes back home at the end of the day so I ain’t too worried ‘bout the little guy.”

“Little guy?” She raised an eyebrow, “You’re talking about that tiny ox that follows you around, aren’t you? That doesn’t count, Itto-san.”

“For your information,” the half oni crossed his arms, “Ushi’s a Bull, who also happens to be the Third Foundin’ Member of the Arataki Gang and my best friend.”

“Right,” She rolled her eyes, “But I’m talking about a real person. Sort of like... hmm– oh! Like General Kujou Sara, for example.”

“Kujou Tengu?!” Itto replied, scandalised, “We’re not friends, we’re rivals.”

“We’re rivals,” Yoimiya gave him a pointed look and he resisted the urge to immediately correct her by saying that it was different.

Kujou Tengu was cold where Yoimiya was warm; distant where the latter hadn’t fully grasped the concept. It was different. He just didn’t know how to put it into words.

“I still don’t get it,” he grumbled instead and she shook her head pityingly.

“Poor, poor Itto-san,” Yoimiya teased, petting his hair, “Imagine if you found out that Kujou-san hadn’t been responding to your challenges because she was too busy fighting someone else.”

Itto jaw twitched.

While it was true enough that he’d been clamouring for a rematch against the general of the Tenryou Commission, he had a strong suspicion that she did not share his sentiment. Still, the thought of the countless noticeboards he’d desecrated in order to get her attention had his hackles raising– surely it couldn’t be that hard to make time for another battle with such a worthy opponent as himself.

Yoimiya’s eyes sparked, catching the minute shift in facial expression and mistaking it for something else entirely.

“Aww, it’s alright,” she grinned, “There’s no harm in feeling a little jealous now and then.”

“No idea what yer on about, Sparkie,” he squinted, trying not to recall Kujou Tengu’s sharp gaze or her infuriating smile as she rubbed her victory in his face.

He wasn’t jealous; if anything he was tired of being disrespected by someone who, in all fairness, should’ve been part of his gang but settled for being the Raiden’s lapdog instead.

“I’d be jealous if it were me.”

Itto almost didn’t hear Yoimiya mumble the words into his hair at first.

He waited a beat but she didn’t elaborate.

“Ya would?” He prodded finally, trying to tilt his head back to see her face, in vain.

“Mhm,” he could feel her breath on his scalp, “If the Red Oni suddenly left without explanation and spent all his time with the Blue Oni, I think I’d be terribly jealous of her.”

Her?

“I’d feel like she stole my friend away from me, y’know?”

Silence bloomed between the two after that– a silence that was different from all their other ones, now filled with mystery and the promise of something unsaid. Itto had a faint suspicion that Yoimiya wasn’t talking about the story at all, and for the first time since he’d met her the half-oni wondered how well he really knew the Naganohara heir.

For all of her playacting and childish games, the fireworks expert had never worn her heart on her sleeve the way he did, and it hadn’t occurred to him to ask why, till this very moment.

But before Itto could open his mouth and come up with a response that wasn’t one syllable long, Yoimiya laughed and smacked him on the top of his head, sending a mild shock through his body.

“Oh, look at me running my mouth off like an old spinster,” She huffed, the smile returning to her voice, “Thoma did always harp on and on about how I had no filter. Guess I should’ve taken his advice when I had the chance, huh?”

“Listen, Sparkie,” Itto began, unsure what any part of their conversation had to do with Inazuma’s most well-known Fixer, but she only laughed again, and gestured for him to put her down.

He reluctantly leaned forward so she could easily slip off of his shoulders and onto the same rock they’d been sharing before, and Yoimiya stretched as she did so, her nimble arms extending with fox-like grace.

The tattoo on her forearm rippled with the motion and Itto found his eyes drawn to the single koi fish intertwined with branches of cherry blossoms, all stained a dark, inky red– suddenly realising that he had no idea what the meaning was behind it all.

In all the time they’d known one another he’d learned much about Hanamizaka’s best pyrotechnician; how she took her ramen (with ridiculous amounts of chili sauce), what her favourite hobby was (fireworks), where she hid out when she wanted to get away from people (the beach)– but next to nothing about her past. Not even how she got her vision (though he must’ve told her about his own more times than he could count.)

There were still so many things he didn’t know about his friend.

“Yoi-chan,” he tried again, but she was already bounding away from him, across the plain, up the sakura tree, her quick feet finding purchase in the elegant, brown bark as she hoisted herself up to the top of the trunk.

“You should get up here,” She waved excitedly, “The view is great!”

“Wait a minute! We gotta talk!” He called back, bending over to straighten his mace, which had somehow fallen over and rolled into a nearby bush in all the excitement.

Something smacked the back of his head and he looked up in confusion to find Yoimiya perched higher than she was before, flicking a small, round object at him.

“Hurry up, Itto-san!” She giggled, tossing another one.

He caught it with ease this time, so she stuck her tongue out at him and leapt to her feet to resume her ascent. Itto opened his palm to reveal the tiny, unique shape of a cherry blossom seed taunting him.

“Would ya listen to me for a second, Sparkie?” He squinted upwards, letting it fall from his palm harmlessly, but Yoimiya’s bright orange kimono was already disappearing into the pale pink cluster of flowers.

“I’ll listen to whatever you’ve gotta say when you catch up to me, slowpoke!”

Itto waited a few seconds before he began to climb, straining his ears to hear the faint sound of her laughter that seemed to be coming from all around him. As he heaved himself over the first couple of boughs he felt the wood crack into splinters under his nails and winced.

He wasn’t fond of tree-scaling for many reasons, usually because he felt like the tree wasn’t too fond of him either. Yoimiya had laughed and laughed when he told her that the trees here were sentient. Next thing you know, you’ll be telling me that the Raiden Shogun isn’t the Shogun at all.

The view gave way to an endless cliff on one side - a result of the tree growing out of the rocky outcropping no doubt, which was punctuated by a twenty foot drop into a shallow pool of water - and the distinct, triangular roofs of the Inazuman buildings on the other, glossy under the milky sheen of starlight.

Itto climbed higher and higher, chasing flashes of telltale orange he’d glimpse once in a while, but found himself face to snout with a baby kitsune instead.

He knelt, so as to not scare the creature and watched as it silently opened its big purple eyes and gave him a once-over. Though Itto wasn’t unfamiliar with the foxes - they huddled in the wilder parts of Inazuma and occasionally snuck around the back alleys of the city - he’d never taken a liking to their more secretive natures, even when Granny Oni made him place offerings with her.

If you ever see a raincloud burst while the sun still shines, it’s a sure sign of a kitsune’s wedding, she’d warned him when he’d tried to scare them away once, So I’d try not to anger them if I were you Itto-chan, or they could ruin the perfectly good day you’re having.

He’d assumed it was all superstitious nonsense, like breaking combs or throwing beans, but looking into the oddly intelligent eyes of the animal in front of him, he felt the stirrings of doubt in his stomach. Go on, he prodded mentally, make it rain.

The fox pawed at its ear for a second before letting out a deep sniff and hopping off to a higher branch. He watched it escape, moonlight slicking the path behind it as it ran, and tried not to feel disappointed.

Before he could really appreciate the peace and quiet, however, the unmistakable sound of a branch breaking came from above him.

“Itto-san?”

Itto looked up in horror to find Yoimiya balancing precariously on a thin bough and clutching the branch nearest to her like a lifeline, mirth steadily draining from her face as the one under her feet let out another dangerous crack!.

“Yoi-chan?!”

She caught sight of him then, her gold eyes wide with terror, and managed to muster up a frightened smile.

“I think I might’ve gone too far,” she joked but her voice trembled as she said it, betraying her feelings.

Itto was already on his feet, steadying himself against the tree trunk as he kicked off his sandals.

“Jump!” He yelled, arms outstretched as another crack split the night air in two.

Yoimiya hesitated.

A thousand expressions seemed to flit across her face at once; facets of fear, panic, surprise, each overlapping the other, a Venn diagram of uncertainty mapping itself out on her features as she considered potentially taking both of them down with her fall.

A sudden plop! echoed into the night as a raindrop landed squarely on her scalp, making the decision for her. Then another. And another. The sky was filled with soft hiss of rain in a matter of seconds, drowning out the sounds of the night in favour of covering everything with its wet embrace.

“What’re ya waitin’ for?” Itto roared, the sense of urgency striking him red-hot and fast, like metal in a forge. Rain ran down on him, dampening his hair and pricking his skin. Somewhere in the distance, he imagined the curled up frame of a ginger fox, giggling to itself. Ask only what you wish to receive.

“You gotta jump now!”

“Swear you’ll catch me.”

He gaped up at her, bewildered, wondering if this too was some lame attempt at a last-minute jest, but Yoimiya’s expression was beseeching and wholly, undeniably serious.

“Whaddya think I’m doin’, Sparkie?” He motioned for her to let go of the branch and for a short second he thought she might.

But she pulled back almost immediately.

“I can’t!” She cried, clinging tighter. Itto felt his heart leap to his throat as the twig in her hands snapped instantly, sending a domino effect of breaking sounds across the whole tree.

“Itto-san?”

The terror on Yoimiya’s face doubled as she balanced on the weak branch, both arms out like a tightrope walker, her breaths coming in short bursts, one wrong move away from toppling twenty feet down into a shallow, watery grave.

He moved to the very edge of his own branch, ignoring the rain that streaked down his face relentlessly, crouching a little, so she’d feel like he was closer than he actually was.

“I swear I’ll catch ya, Sparkie. You have my word,” he nodded holding out his arm comfortingly.

“Don’t ’cha trust me?”

Yoimiya took a deep breath.

And jumped.

There was a brief second between her leaping off the branch, (it gave one final, feeble crack before shattering under foot), and her falling into his arms that seemed to last all eternity.

Time stretched, wrapped and melted around them all at once, so all he could remember was the hush as the rain quieted all around them, the few metres of distance between his skin and hers, before it rapidly accelerated forward then he was hugging her, holding her, pressing her very cold, very alive body onto his and taking giant heaving breaths.

As Itto steadied himself so they both wouldn’t have to suffer a less deadly but equally painful landing at the base of the tree, Yoimiya wiped away the rain and tears that had mixed with one another on her face, and took a seat in an attempt to quell the shaking in her legs.

The moon had wedged itself between a slit in the clouds, so that only a sliver of its light was able to illuminate their surroundings. Itto took a seat beside her, letting the adrenaline wear off under the cooling rain that dripped all around them.

“Itto-san,” He turned to her curiously.

Yoimiya gave him a small smile.

“I think I’m finally ready to listen now.”

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