#just kamikakushi things

[lastmurianwarrior]

Giddy over drawing this actual orb last night.

Dad thought it was a Poké Ball.

Anyway, behold, the Mega Man Star Force Kamikakushi Generating Device that Rogue uses in the second game to swipe artifacts from the museum [and reconstructed dinosaurs!] as well as Geo's friends [temporarily] into the void-like Un-Dimension. Woohoo

[bakuhatsufallinlove]

Time for a lighthearted review!

By now a number of people have heard of ボクの神隠し(boku no kamikakushi), aka “My Spiriting Away” or “My Mysterious Disappearance,” aka the BL manga that Okamoto Nobuhito, voice actor of Bakugou Katsuki, was involved in. It is available to read for free in Japanese here with a total of three chapters. This post contains spoilers for the ending.

Here’s a Q&A peppered with my thoughts on it.

The Premise

Crybaby Uzuki idolizes his childhood friend Haruto who always protected him, but since they started high school, their relationship has soured, leaving Uzuki utterly alone. One day, the pair are kidnapped by a strange man and forced to participate in a mysterious game of life-or-death.

How is Okamoto involved?

Okamoto is credited for the 原案 (gen’an). A corollary industry term in English would be “original idea” or possibly “scenario.” In my experience with comics, this suggests he created the characters and premise, then wrote the concept out and submitted it to a second party to be fleshed out for full production.

The script is credited to Production Beijyu (プロダクションベイジュ), a company who offers a variety of production and promotion services with a focus on editing and proofreading books, magazines, manga, and anime.

The manga—so the artwork and all of its production—is credited to 戸真伊まい, a name I can only guess is read as Tomai Mai, which sure sounds like a pen name and doesn’t appear to be linked to any other published work. This could be for a lot of reasons; the artist might be totally new or they might have worked in other genres and chose a unique pen-name for BL, but the only thing I found attached to this name online was their Twitter account.

How’d it get made, anyway?

As far as I can tell, Okamoto must have personally reached out to Beijyu and applied for their services to help make his idea a real thing. Beijyu gear themselves towards small, independent artists and authors, especially those who haven’t debuted with a magazine or printed publication yet.

For those unaware, manga is a massive industry in Japan, and it can be extremely difficult to get your foot in the door. Many creators talk about having their concepts rejected repeatedly by magazine after magazine, or getting a single one-shot published and then struggling to keep the momentum. There’s a reason all of the huge Shounen Jump creators talk about the intense pressure to keep their work popular and to avoid getting dropped from publication by any means necessary.

Boku no Kamikakushi is available for free and I haven’t heard of any plans for a physical release. To be honest, this suggests to me that Okamoto genuinely wanted to get his story made regardless of profitability—he isn’t just a celebrity attaching his name to a series for attention. There wasn’t some industry demand or opportunity that he took advantage of for professional gain, he must have been the one to initiate this endeavor, and honestly, good for him.

Is it really bkdk?

Nah. I will grant you that the tropes at play certainly reveal Okamoto’s tastes, and we sure could extrapolate about his feelings on bkdk from those tastes. But beyond the similarities in backstory, base themes, and design aesthetic that people have pointed out, the couple have very little in common with bkdk, and in fact, the way they diverge is kind of hilariously shocking??

Okay, fine. What’s their deal, then?

Uzuki is a yandere rich boy who likes to get choked. Haruto is honestly a hapless, horny victim in all this.

What!?

Yeah. The “mastermind” behind the kidnapping is Uzuki himself, who staged the whole thing with his butler. Basically, their high school classmates tease Haruto for being associated with Uzuki, the son of the richest noble in town; Haruto resents it so he distances himself from Uzuki and rejects him. Uzuki ends up lonely with no friends and missing Haruto, so he stages his own kidnapping and puts them both in the “death game” as a way to force Haruto to remember his childhood promise to protect Uzuki as his hero.

That’s insane???

YES. IT IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE.

It’s especially funny because the parameters of the death game don’t technically require them to have sex or get intimate, Uzuki is just a fucking freak and Haruto is confused by his own horniness and goes along with it. The first trial involves a selection of drinks, one of which contains poison, and they have to keep choosing one to drink from until someone dies. Haruto ends up poisoned, and Uzuki uses his prize (“one wish”) as the winner to get the antidote and save him, of course passing it to Haruto via full-on mouth kiss.

Haruto has a gay crisis about it.

The second game: whoever raises the other person’s heart rate to 130 beats per minute first wins, and the person with the elevated heart rate dies. Haruto’s heart rate spikes from aftereffects of the poison, and Uzuki’s solution is… for Haruto to choke him… on the bed they woke up on… so his heart rate increases as well. And then he asks Haruto to kiss him, too, and they just start making out until Uzuki’s heart rate hits 130. Haruto gets upset because he lost his head and ended up dooming Uzuki, but then somehow they arrange for this death to also be nullified, and they end up continuing to play the game for three days.

Three whole days!?!

THREE DAYS! This kid traps Haruto in a dungeon so he can make him participate in weird, sadistic, horny shenanigans for three days!

And then when they finally escape and everything is revealed, Haruto is just blankly confused and has this absent look on his face, repeating that he’ll protect Uzuki. The butler says that Uzuki performed excellent mind control, but then Uzuki imprisons the butler so it can be “just the two of them.”

What the fuck, Okamoto???

Right? And you know what, it isn’t my jam at all, but can we just take a moment to recognize that a professional voice actor who is popular and prominent in the public eye wanted his weird horny BL idea to come to fruition, so he went forth into the world and made it so? And he didn’t even hide behind a pen name or anything, he wants people to associate him with it, he’s promoting it! He loves the hell out of it!

Like, I’m pretty astounded by that, and honestly I respect it. More people should just make things that cater to their own tastes without any self-consciousness about it. Wave your freak flag high, Okamoto.

[x0401x]

Hello, this ask is just for fun......

Top 5 (or top 3) Favorite female characters :

Top 5 (or top 3) Favorite male characters :

Top 5 Favorite animanga :

Animanga you are currently enjoying :

Animanga that exceeded all your expectations :

Top 3 Unpopular animanga you really love :

Favorite romance :

Favorite action animanga :

Favorite fantasy :

Favorite sci -fi :

Favorite drama :

Favorite comedy :

Top 3 Favorite anime movies :

Next in your watch list :

Next in your read list :

Top 3 Favorite antagonists:

Top 5 (or top 3) favorite ships (can be canon or non canon) :

Thanks if you want to answer....

This sure took me a while because, damn, I had to think a lot about each answer.

So, top 3 favorite females:

Sheryl Nome

Oikawa Tsurara

Kuchiki Rukia

Top 3 favorite males:

Gilbert Bougainvillea

Takigawa Masaki

Alphonse Elric

Top 5 Favorite animanga:

I can't really put them in the same category, so I'm gonna write down one of each.

Favorite anime movie: Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi

Favorite anime show: Heike Monogatari

Favorite manga: Tongari Boushi no Atelier

Favorite light novel: Violet Evergarden

Favorite regular novel: Mouryou no Hako

Animanga I'm currently enjoying (so far):

Yatagarasu

Hibike! Euphonium S3

Kaijuu 8-gou

Kuroshitsuji S4

Dungeon Meshi

Urusei Yatsura S2

Ookami to Koushinryou

Boku no Hero Academia S7

Tonari no Youkai-san

Bartender

Tadaima, Okaeri

Touken Ranbu Kai

Boukyaku Battery

Jii-san Baa-san Wakagaeru

The Fable

Seiyuu Radio no Uraomote

Now, I'm still waiting for some stuff to air, so this isn't a complete list. Also, the last title isn't exactly one that I'm super enjoying because it's butchering the original, but I'm sticking with it because I like the franchise. I recommend the manga instead of the anime.

Animanga that exceeded all my expectations

The only one I can think of is Suzumiya Haruhi. It didn't exceed all my expectations because they were high from the start, but goddamn. I despise the fact that I came into the show knowing only the memes and opening clip, thinking it was gonna be absolute weeb garbage (because back in the old days it was much easier to not run into spoilers and I'm not even sure if the novel was already being fantranslated at the time), only to find out that it actually fucking slaps. Can you imagine how pissed I was. That I couldn't hate this bullshit of a show. Also endless eight. That shit was traumatizing even though I caught on quick and skipped most of it.

Top 3 Unpopular animanga I really love

I won't say unpopular but these are definitely underrated.

Tsurune (I mean the novel; the anime doesn't deserve much recognition beyond the good animation and sound design, imo)

Nurarihyon no Mago (I know it's been over for more than a decade and the fandom is long dead, but it was temporarily revived by the recent new chapters, and it was criminally underrated in the west back when it was still being published)

Gangsta (used to be really popular when it was on-going, but the fandom lost its hype completely both in the west and in Japan after it entered hiatus because of the author's health)

Favorite romance: Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso

Favorite action animanga: can't possibly choose

Favorite fantasy: Tongari Boushi no Atelier

Favorite sci-fi: can't possibly choose

Favorite drama: Nana

Favorite comedy: Gintama (I know that comedy isn't the only genre this thing belongs to but comedy is the main one. And yes, I know the story is actually deep but it still takes a backseat to the comedy, narratologically speaking, and this shouldn't be looked down on. Fight me.)

Top 3 Favorite anime movies

I don't really have favorites in any particular order other than Sen to Chihiro, so here are a random few of my faves:

Kimi no Na wa

Senkou no Hathaway

Mononoke-hime

Next in your watch list: All the stuff from this season that hasn't yet come out.

Next in your read list: Nothing, actually. Just keeping up with the stuff I was already reading. Accepting recs!

Top 3 Favorite antagonists:

Johan Liebert

Griffith

Meruem

Top 5 (or top 3) favorite ships (can be canon or non canon):

Let's go with top 10 because I'm a professional shipper. By the way, number 1 is the one that set the bar for all the other ships and anything else is actually just sharing second place. These are really just a few from the top of my head, since I have at least one favorite ship for every fandom I'm in.

RikuTsura (Nura Rikuo/Tsurara)

HakuSen (Haku/Ogino Chihiro)

SakuShao (Kinomoto Sakura/Li Shaoran)

IchiRuki (Kurosaki Ichigo/Kuchiki Rukia)

HaruRin (Nanase Haruka/Matsuoka Rin)

GilVi (Gilbert Bougainvillea/Violet Evergarden)

SoMa (Soul Evans/Maka Albarn)

AruSheri (Saotome Alto/Sheryl Nome)

YuuVic (Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov)

SeiRicha (Nakata Seigi/Richard Ranashingha de Vulpian)

[roy-dcm2]

Zelda Theory - Saria is Missing

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who believes this, but I'm still going to put it out there. It's my headcanon really, I believe that in Majora's Mask, Link is actually looking for Saria, not Navi.

Of course, Nintendo's official stance is that he was looking for Navi, but keep in mind that Nintendo used to say there was only one Link in all the games. What I'm saying is that they can change their mind whenever they want.

Really, there's only two data points to back up my theory.

First, let's consider how vague the instruction booklet is about why Link is looking for someone:

"Done with the battles he once waged across time, he embarked on a journey. A secret and personal journey... A journey in search of a beloved and invaluable friend... A friend with whom he parted ways when he finally fulfilled his heroic destiny and took his place among legends..."

A beloved, invaluable friend that he hasn't seen since the end of Ocarina of Time. That could refer to Saria or Navi.

But, I find it hard to believe Navi could be called Beloved. How long did he know Navi? A month? Three months? And he very clearly sees Navi leave at the end of Ocarina. Are we supposed to believe that she left without saying a word? I mean, if they were close enough that Link thinks of her as Beloved, she would have told him something.

Meanwhile, imagine that Link goes back to the Sacred Forest Meadow and Saria is gone without a trace. She's not in her house, and not even in the Forest Temple.

Remember, Saria says that it is destiny that they cannon live in the same world. Sages become Spirits when they're awakened. (The Japanese call this Kamikakushi - spiriting away.)

Now, the second data point is at the end of Majora's Mask. At the end of the game, the Skull Kid says Link -

What a weird way to cap off the game, don't you think? I mean, according to NIntendo, Link was looking for Navi this entire time and we end with "You smell like a sidequest."

We're supposed to assume that this is the same Skull Kid that appears in the Lost Woods that you can "teach" Saria's Song to.

But, here's the thing, that doesn't happen unless you do that Sidequest. You could completely miss it if you don't go exploring.

So, my stance is that it was Saria herself that taught the Skull Kid the song, since she spent so much time in the Lost Woods. It would make more sense, narrative wise, that Link was looking for Saria, and the game ends with "You smell like Saria. I was friends with Saria. We should be friends!" (Obviously, I'm reading between the lines)

Majora's Mask is a game about the little things. It's about how people affect each other's lives, and no matter how isolated we may seem, we're all connected. Just like Link left an indelible mark on Termina, Saria affected those around her, too. Even in their absence, the people we care about still affect us today.

[necarion]

I went to see Spirited Away in theaters last night, and I'd forgotten how amazing that film is (haven't seen it since in 15 years, and never on a big screen). Some amazing things about it:

Good story, with consistent theme and character development. It's also a way of exploring a beautiful spirit world. And one that definitively answers "was this real?" with a "blink and you miss it" moment at the very end.

A strong protagonist who succeeds through kindness and hard work, despite being terrified all the time. She's ten, and this is all so hard for her, but she does it because it's what's needed. She is also intensely genre savvy.

Stunning visuals. I mean, it's Miyazaki. It's just so imaginative and full of detail, with highly expressive anime characters. Clever little details that could bring giggles amid serious moments.

Amazing music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zeFbkqY4Q8) that captures the sense of wonder and melancholy. Also an incredible grasp of silence. A number of moments where the music stops and there is only the sound of footsteps or the breeze.

I saw it in Japanese with subtitles, because I have enough Japanese to give little insights to untranslatable moments (during the film, obviously the context can be discussed afterwards).

My favorite is the central way in which the character's name changes. When the witch steals her name, it goes from Chihiro (千尋) to Sen (千), due to the wildly shifting pronunciation of the kanji in compounds (note: Japanese kanji are terrible that way).

The other is the title itself: 千と千尋の神隠し (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi / Sen and Chihiro's Kamikakushi). The kami refers to the gods/spirites and kakushi refers to "hiding/vanishing". It could literally mean "The mysterious disappearance of Sen and Chihiro". "Spirited Away" is very close in meaning, given the dual sense of the gods, and to vanish mysteriously. (I think dropping the "Sen and Chihiro" part was a good call; I'm not sure why they did that in the original.) However, in Japanese, there is an additional, more morbid meaning: if a child dies suddenly and mysteriously, they are said to have been taken by kamikakushi, in a sense similar to children being stolen by the Erlking in Germany mythology.

This article discusses a number of other elements that are impossible to translate on-screen

In this movie, it is quite literal, but there is the risk that Chihiro will be taken by the gods forever, particularly if she cannot reclaim her name.

I came out of the movie both warmed and sad in a way I could not quite place. I think it was a regret that the magic had gone, and a shared sense of grief with the protagonist. But it wasn't truly unhappiness. Melancholy isn't quite the right word either. Tumblr can maybe help answer this.

[jane-d-ankh-veos]

Haven't actually played Bloody Wallpaper, refute me if needed. I think it's interesting how the story puts the player character and the Manager of the Royal Beth into the roles of the Wife and Husband from the original story, the Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. (Hereforth abbreviated to "TBW" and "TYW")

It's like hella late where I live so there's probably tons more references I'm not picking up due to lack of sleep + having not played TBW. Some things I picked up were:

-the way that John (the husband from TYW) and the Manager both exert authority over the other party in their respective stories. Especially as John denies any talk of the supernatural while the Manager is, well, the Manager. The similar-yet-opposite way these characters throw their power around is something I'd talk about if I was any more lucid

-mention of legal troubles tied to the estate, where the horrors occur

-isolation of the PoV character

-the pov characters initially start out suspicious of their situation, but by the end their reactions turn into an affected affection for the situation they're in

Also TBW replicates the original story's style (stort sentences, lots of exclaimation marks) well within its own setting, which is commendable

Okay yeah I just wanted to rant abt a 19th century short story I liked thank you for listening have a nice day byeeeeee

Oh, thanks for sharing your thoughts! Interesting...

As for me, I found it notable that these stories go in opposite directions:

The Yellow Wallpaper is tragic and bleak; it starts in lucidity, then madness escalates and takes over.

The Bloody Wallpaper, on the other hand, begins as a nightmare that traps the player character, but in the end the Manager frees us from it, we regain ourselves, and all horrors leave us unharmed (even though October and the Struggling Artist hint that it was more real and more dangerous than just a dream, as it usually is in FL). There is even a happy ending if we choose the Christmas Bonus – all kinds of generous gifts and blessings for everyone who toiled at the Hotel, which is very Monomyth-like (a journey into the subconscious/weird/perilous/unknown is complete not only by safely coming back and getting strengthened by the experience, but also by bringing some piece of those unreachable strange wonders to the ordinary world), especially together with all these classic elements of being-devoured-yet-then-freed, paying supernatural debts in tricky deals, the whole kidnapping-by-an-immortal-power-to-an-illogical-magnificent-realm (the latter was the Merry Gentleman's usual motif even before TBW, and I can talk about it all day, because the Fair Folk + Kamikakushi + "Till We Have Faces"-version of Eros and Psyche are among my favourite mythological topics), etc.

(...Also I promise I will finish translating the last chapter of my TBW-centered fic. You helpfully reminded me that I'm not done with this ES yet.)

[tonguetiedraven]

We need Shirou to come back to life for a day! Rin, Yukio, Tatsuma, and Shura would all be happy :D (and ofc, add ships if you'd like ;3)

This ended up rather angsty, but I hope it fits the vibe anyway <3

The talented @marble-wolf helped me with it!

-- -- -- -- --

It hadn’t fooled Shirou for more than a handful of seconds. The door shut behind the worn and fragile looking boy, and Shirou had turned the stove off and wiped his hands off on his towel. 

He didn’t know how and he didn’t know why, but Shirou Fujimoto knew that was his son, and he knew something horrible had happened to Rin. The boy that had just left was too thin and tired, and his hair was white (and god, there was only one thing that Shirou could think of that would give Rin white hair, and it went with the sharp teeth and the red in his sad eyes.) 

Turning from the spot, clutching the towel in his hand, Shirou let his eyes fall back on his sleeping boys.

Had some future version of himself not protected Rin from whatever had happened? (And where was Yukio in it all?)

He couldn’t be that old. Shirou wasn’t kidding when he said the exorcists were getting younger, but Rin couldn’t have been more than sixteen. Still a kid. His kid.

Shirou set the rest of the rice balls in the fridge and made his way to the couch where the twins were asleep. Crouching in front of them, he gently brushed Yukio’s bangs out of his eyes and peered into Rin’s still blue ones. He traced the curve of his ear and pinched a few black locks between his fingers. 

No trace of white. Still the boy he knew. Still his son.

There was only one way he could think of to get answers, and it was a dangerous game to play. (It was always a dangerous game.)

“I’ll be back,” he promised even though they were asleep. He stood up, ruffling both of their hair and moved to the door, taking off his apron and dropping it on the chair. Nagatomo was on the other side of the door, and agreed to watch the boys. 

He always agreed to watch the twins. He hadn’t shown any fear of them in ages and he worked to make this old monastery feel like a home. 

He was one of the better choices Shirou had made. 

Ten minutes later had him in his full uniform and knocking on Mephisto’s opulent and overly tall door.

Mephisto didn't bother with a "come in", instead he waved his hand and let the door open. 

"Shirou! I've been expecting you!" Mephisto greeted, already anticipating the conversation. He had known as soon as Rin had been careless and forgotten his hood. "How are you, my dear Paladin?"  

Shirou strolled into the office and decided not to play around. He had a few simple questions, and he wanted the answers to them. 

“Why did I just see a teenage Rin?” He asked as he reached Mephisto’s desk. “And why was he unsealed?”

Mephisto took his time answering, continuing eating his cup of noodles, watching the tension in Shirou's face grow as his silence extended. 

"The boy got a hold of a Kamikakushi key, if I'm not mistaken." Mephisto finally answered.  

“You mean you gave him one.” Shirou could feel the weight of that key around his own neck. “And the other part?”

"Circumstances proved necessary for him to be unsealed." Mephisto said with a shrug.  

Shirou pulled the chair out and sat down with a heavy sigh. This entire thing was just them dancing around the real questions. He already knew Rin had Mephisto’s help to end up in his kitchen, and he already knew that something had happened to Kurikara. Both those things were obvious.

The only question was why. Why he had the key, and why something had happened to make Kurikara unsealed.

Why had he not stopped it? 

“You know why.” The voice in his head mocked. Shirou ignored it as he always had and locked his gaze on Mephisto.

He could see Rin in his head. Rin all of sixteen and already looking so worn. Looking like Shirou felt most days. Like the weight of the world was firmly on his shoulders and he’d seen some truly horrible and unforgettable things. Things that were weighing on him and would continue to weigh on him. Possibly forever. Not necessarily afraid, not quite like the haunted look in Yukio’s eyes (so young to already have that frightened gleam.) It was weary. It was the kind of worn that made Shirou think of guilt.

“Circumstances you can’t explain?”

"I could explain but there are always consequences." Mephisto said, though Shirou already knew the price of knowledge all too well.  

Shirou was living in dozens of consequences. He was fairly certain he knew what had happened to bring them to a future with an unsealed teenage Rin, but did he ask? Mephisto would tell him if he asked. If it was what Shirou thought, he’d tell simply to see Shirou’s reaction to that truth.

It was a bit strange how easily he could bring the memory up. He’d been half frozen at the time. Winded, bleeding, exhausted and a breath away from utter despair, but he could still remember the difficulty of each step. He could remember the taste of blood and how numb his body had been from the cold. The weight of their bundle in his hand and how piercing their cries had been. So desperate to stay alive.

He hadn’t made any promises to them at that moment. He’d simply said they could try and do it together, and somewhere in the years he��d found himself wanting to do it with them. Not simply because he was alive, but because he wanted to be alive. He wanted them all to be alive, and safe, and he couldn’t imagine a world where he just let Rin get unsealed. Where he let Rin deal with the same struggles and pain he had struggled with.

He exhaled wearily and looked to Mephisto again.

“You meant him to find me.” Shirou couldn’t decide if it was a question or not. It wasn’t the real question, but it certainly led to it.

"He wanted to find you." Mephisto snapped his noodles away and sat back with a sigh, watching Shirou expectantly.  

“‘Cause I’m no longer around.” Shirou said, quitting with the walk around. “Something happened?”

"Something happened." Mephisto confirmed. There was no point in denying it. Especially not when the reactions could be so satisfying.  

“Did they see it happen?” Shirou didn’t exactly live a safe life, there were a lot of things that could kill him, even if he’d only really imagined one thing ever doing. (The thing laughing in his head.)

Mephisto let his eyes drink in the expression as he spoke again. "Rin was there. Yukio was not."  

Shirou nodded. That made sense. It also explained why Yukio wasn’t with Rin. (Not really. Not unless Rin had been the reason, and that wasn’t what had happened. Shirou didn’t care how rough the next few years got, Rin would never act like his father had.)

Sixteen or seventeen at the most… That just left Shirou a handful of years. Not nearly enough to do everything he wanted. Not nearly enough to teach them everything they were going to need to know. He’d never even touched on Yuri and everything she was. (He couldn’t without risking Rin.)

There was so much to do and no real time to do it in. Loose ends that needed to be tied off and secrets that needed to be buried as deep as possible so they couldn’t come back and hurt, and he had to—

He’d miss everything. Sixteen was high school, and it would have already happened. Yukio wanted to be a doctor. Would he make it? And what about Rin? What had gotten him in that uniform and alone? Would his lonely boys find someone? Friends? Family? Who would take care of them? And the monastery! The men couldn’t easily go somewhere else. Not with their history. 

What could he do? There wasn’t time to handle it all. 

He looked at Mephisto again. This wasn’t the sort of information he’d be allowed to keep, was it? 

“He was, what? Sixteen?” Shirou asked, not really wanting that answer, but not entirely sure how to ask what he really wanted to know. 

"He had just turned sixteen." Mephisto answered.  

“You’re not going to let me remember this, are you?”

"Your memories will be returned to you at the right time." Mephisto vaguely told him.  

Mephisto, in all honesty, rarely lied. He was picky with his words and didn’t need to, even if they rarely meant exactly what it sounded like they did. 

He wouldn’t remember this, but he might someday. (And right time was ominous.) There was every possibility he’d already had a conversation exactly like this. A lot of conversations like this. There was rarely any real telling what sort of conversations and interactions he’d had with the Demon King of Time and Space who had memories and shape shifting in his domain. 

“Then tell me this: how does it turn out for them? Rin and Yukio. Are they happy?” Did they live?

Mephisto's decision was easy. He knew exactly the correct path to take (for this timeline) and he outstretched his hand to Shirou. 

"Why don't you find out for yourself?" Mephisto offered. "No consequences or any threats to our current time. Though I caution you to not interact with the twins."  

Shirou stood up, feeling the stiffness in his joints and feeling ancient suddenly, but nodding anyway. 

“No interacting with the twins. No letting them see me? I can do that.” 

The immediate puff of pink smoke didn’t even really surprise him.

-- -- --

It was warm, not unpleasantly so, and the sun was already high in the sky as Shirou pushed the door open. He blinked up the bright surroundings, letting his eyes adjust for a moment while he listened to the sound of a lot of voices all talking over each other. There was the scent of something sweet in the air, along with grilled chicken and rice balls. Spring was also heavy in the air, flowers and plants and a freshness that made him think of his first time walking into Amahara.

He blinked again, took a step into the yard, and promptly knew where he was, and was a bit confused as to why he was here. 

Kyoto was lovely, of course, and he suspected that the twins would eventually meet the Myodha, but not enough that he’d be here.

When was here? How far into the future was he?

"You—" Mephisto chuckled at the startle that his sudden voice, next to Shirou's ankle, drew from Shirou, "are in the spring of 2024."  

“Twenty four?” Shirou asked, glancing down and taking in Mephisto’s expectant look with an eye roll. He picked the now furry demon king up. “So they’re, what? Twenty eight?”

His babies were full adults. They might have babies of their own. 

So they were at Tatsuma’s place, though it had changed since Shirou had last seen it. Was his old friend still here? Had he finished his own fight?

Taking a few steps into the yard proper, he looked around and frowned a bit. It was bright and open out here. He’d be spotted in a second if anyone looked. He needed to find someplace to offer him at least a bit of cover so he wouldn’t be spotted. 

After all, he was dead in whatever timeline this was.

There was a grouping of shrubs he quickly made his way towards and knelt behind, duck walking his way forward a bit awkwardly with Mephisto tucked under his arm so he could peer around the old inn. The building was bigger if he wasn’t mistaken. Apparently business had been good for the ryokan.

"You will find Rin in the kitchen. Yukio is in the garden." Mephisto directed, silently amused at Shirou's attempts to not be spotted.  

“Kitchen, huh?” Apparently he had decided to teach Rin how to cook. Or the kid was eating. (Twenty eight. Not a kid anymore.)

Shirou peered around the corner at the front of the inn. The yard had been set up for some kind of party, and there were monks and people rushing about to finish setting everything up. Tables had been set up across the lawn with balloons tied to them (a party for a kid?) and brightly decorated packages were on one of them. 

An adult chasing a gaggle of kids confirmed in his mind that it was a children’s party, and had him smiling with memories of the parties he’d hosted for a pair of little boys. 

They weren’t who he was looking for, and even it was years, he was certain he’d recognize the twins he was here for, so he waited for a toddler with dark black hair and a booming laugh to run by and draw a few of the lingering monks away to make his run for the inn. 

The scent of food was stronger in here, and it had him realizing he’d never actually eaten any of the rice balls he’d made. 

Rin was ahead, and Shirou wasn’t entirely sure he was ready to see him. Mephisto had never actually said if they were okay. If they weren’t…

Shirou pushed those thoughts away. Time had never been on his side, and now it really wasn’t. (Sixteen… hardly any time at all.)

It took him a moment to remember where the kitchen was, and once he found it, he was a bit surprised to hear a childish giggle, along with Torako. A moment passed as he curled his fingers around the edge of the door, and as he moved to slide it open, he felt his heart squeezing in his chest at the new voice answering with a light “Haru, not like that.” 

It sounded just how the boy that had wandered into his kitchen sounded.

Shirou shoved the door open and stepped inside, trusting Mephisto to handle it if he shouldn’t be seen, because he needed to see. 

They were all gathered around the counter. The toddler was sitting on it between the two adults, shaping something between her hands and making a mess as she giggled at the rice spilling everywhere. She was young, probably three, and her dark brown and wavy hair was tied back in two pony tails. Her eyes were a vibrant blue, and for a moment, all Shirou could see was Yuri. 

The eyes weren’t quite the right shape, and her skin was a bit darker of a shade than hers had been, but the resemblance was uncanny.

Torako was keeping a hand at her back, some gray in her dark hair and a bit of rice stuck to her cheek as she murmured something to the toddler, pointing at the man’s hands.

There was no mistaking Rin. His hair was black again, and he had a hachimaki to help keep it out of his eyes — still messy as ever. There were freckles on his cheeks and nose, and his eyes were still bright blue, with a bit of red in them that was visible even from the distance. His ears were tipped as well, and —tail! It was just hanging out, swaying in a casually happy way as he shaped out a rice ball and showed it to the toddler. (Haru? Rin’s?)

He was smiling, and it was enormous and giddy, and even the fangs didn’t dampen the smile. 

"Like this." Rin gently corrected her, showing her the formed rice ball. "They're going to be grilled with soy sauce, butter and bonito flakes. A pretty easy recipe, you just have to be careful to not have the pan too hot and shape 'em right."  

That was the exact recipe Shirou wanted to teach Rin. It was why he’d been cooking them when the teenage Rin came in. 

“Perfect,” Torako praised, taking one of the finished rice balls and setting it aside. She pressed a kiss to the babies head and ruffled Rin’s hair in passing. Rin shifted like he had anticipated the movement, and it was suddenly obvious to Shirou that Rin had spent a fair bit of time here.

Rin grabbed some more rice to shape, and Shirou watched as his tail lifted up and around to teasingly poke the toddler in the shoulder as she focused on shaping the rice ball. She shrieked out a giggle, and her face scrunched up in the same way Rin’s always did when he was really laughing, and there was no doubt in Shirou’s mind that he was looking at Rin’s cooking with his daughter. Alive and older and giggling together.unsealed but okay. Unsealed and happy. 

"Satisfied?" Mephisto asked. "Rin and Haru, his child. A hard headed and stubborn child, with a good heart and many people who care about her." 

Rin watched Haru form another rice ball, guiding her gently and he cheered when she got it. "Good job!" And he pressed a kiss to her head, earning a giggle.  

Shirou couldn’t really wish for him to have anything more. A family and people who cared. A future, and by the looks of it, one where he wasn’t living with the time bomb that was Kurikara.

“Yeah, I’m satisfied. For Rin.” Shirou stared at them both hungrily for another moment, and finally nodded his head. He would be satisfied with that. Satisfied that the struggles would be worth it. 

“Yukio’s in the garden?”

"Yes, he is in the garden." Mephisto confirmed. He pointed a paw in the general direction.  

Shirou walked back out in the hall and back out the front door. They’d made progress with the party preparations, and he was a bit surprised to see Nagatomo and Lewin Light in the crowd. Who the hell was the party for? Who had brought such a strange assortment of people--

Shura!

It took him a second to recognize her. She was taller than he'd left her, and she cut her hair short. The playful style suited her, and she had a kid on her hip she was pointing something out to, laughing and bouncing them a little as she talked.

She'd grown up. The curse in her line hadn't followed her? Or had she beaten it? He couldn't see the familiar tattoos, but it might just be the distance--

Mephisto drew his attention back with a nip. Shirou stared for a moment longer, something settling in his chest that had him nodding and turning back on path. 

The garden was past the ryokan, and he didn’t have to do much stealthing to get there. There seemed to be children everywhere, and he remembered Tatsuma saying the temple was shrinking, but apparently they’d fixed that problem. 

(Rin had a baby named Haru, and they were making rice balls together. True Cross was here and it wasn’t a problem.)

The garden cemented that it was spring in Shirou’s mind. The plants were still small and there were a few people tending the plants. A pretty and young blonde woman that had to be Shiemi because she looked just like the current Shemihaza, a bald monk pointing something out to her, a few greenmen running around excitedly, and the person Shirou had actually come for. 

Yukio was crouched in front of a cucumber plant, plucking a few blooms and checking around the roots as he spoke quietly. His hair was as neat as ever, his glasses were slipping down and he gently nudged them back up his nose with his knuckle (the same way Shirou did and the way he’d taught Yukio.) He was in casual clothes that were actually appropriate for the garden and child heavy party that was apparently approaching, which was unusual for Yukio who always tended to wear nicer things. He was laughing at whatever the bald monk had said, and it made his glasses slip down a bit once more.

Happy and gardening. Not exactly where he’d pictured Yukio, but fitting—

Shirou squinted and shifted a bit closer, but it hadn’t been some trick of Yukio’s glasses. One of Yukio’s eyes was paler than the other. Dramatically paler. 

Had he been hurt? There weren’t any other visible scars on his face that Shirou could see. But the eye was different than the little boy sleeping on the couch in Shirou’s actual timeline. 

Had he lost sight in it? (And Shirou knew what could cause that. He’d seen that sort of color before. But Mephisto said Yukio hadn’t been there when he died, so when had Yukio run into Satan?)

Whatever had happened, Yukio didn’t look to be troubled. Or even frightened. There was a naga squirming between the rows and a greenman chattering to him from one of the leaves, and he didn’t seem at all bothered by the demons’ presence. 

“Is he okay?” Shirou asked softly, taking in the way Yukio was interacting with them all and looking content here. His story wasn’t as easy to read as Rin’s.

"He is surprisingly resilient. He is healthy and doing well." Mephisto supplied. 

Yukio Okumura's journey had been particularly interesting to watch unfold.  

Resilient? Shirou frowned a little at that descriptor. But Yukio was doing well now, and resilience was what he’d wanted Yukio to have. The ability to cope with the life he’d been left with. To face the nightmares and come out stronger and not frightened by things he didn’t have to be frightened of.

“Are they close?”

"They are." Mephisto said. "They had some difficult times in the past— well, future — but they are stronger now from it."  

Shirou nodded, only half listening as Yukio moved to sit between the other two. He looked comfortable there, and the way they shifted to accommodate him soothed something in Shirou.

A giddy giggle and a gruff laugh drew his attention away. Tatsuma? His old friend was here too?

Shirou got up and moved towards the laughter. He’d check on him too before he left. Just to make sure.

(They were still close. Yuri’s dying wish hadn’t been broken yet.)

One last glance showed Yukio planting something, and Shirou could see the tiny timid boy who hated how much he cried, but the man he’d become looked confident and okay.

Shirou moved to the back of the house, fluffly dog in tow. 

Get the full story on ao3 here!

[roskirambles]

(Archive) Animated movie of the day: Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, 2001)

Originally posted: January 18th, 2022 Have you ever reminisced about a place that you're not sure was a dream? Do you recall a friend that you're not sure you've ever met? Even if the answer is "no" from the top of your head, the sensation is certainly a familiar one.

Often regarded as one of the best, if not the singular best animated feature ever, this Hayao Miyazaki classic is the perfect encapsulation of that moment where childhood goes away. A coming of age story in a fantasy world of Japanese folklore that eventually fades from sight, the melancholic beauty of what we leave behind and the appreciation of what we can learn from it beautifully intertwine in a journey that is as imaginative as it is moving.

One delicate ballet between the explosive whimsical and vulnerable tenderness, the blooming bond between a human girl and a dragon boy manages to transcend the boundaries of the spirit world through the simplest acts of kindness. In a very Miyazaki fashion, even among the fantastic there's beauty in the mundane. It's not just the sweeping gestures that form these bonds but the simple things, like sharing a rice ball or helping them get clean.

It's rhythm is enthralling, not afraid of being filled to the brim with all sorts of fascinating sights at one moment and intimately silent the next. Not be the first animated film to do so, but many western studios could learn a thing or two here: allowing the silence to not just be a resting spot, but an exercise of contemplation and genuine emotion it's no coincidence one of the most iconic moments to be found here is one of the calmest ones.

I contend it's position as the absolute best(because I don't think such a film exists), and it may not be my favorite film from Ghibli. But it's hard to deny it has earned it's recognition as a masterpiece. Like a summer day lost in one's childhood memories, beautiful and ethereal.

[legend-collection]

Yama-uba

In the town of Masaeki, Nishimorokata District, Miyazaki Prefecture (now Ebino), a "yamahime" would wash her hair and sing in a lovely voice.

Deep in the mountains of Shizuoka Prefecture, there is a tale that the "yamahime" would appear as a woman around twenty years of age and would have beautiful features, a small sleeve, and black hair, and that when a hunter encounters her and tries to shoot at it with a gun, she would repel the bullet with her hands.

Pic by Matthew Meyer

In Hokkaido, Shikoku, and the southern parts of Kyushu, there is also a yamajijii (mountain old man), and the yamauba would also appear together with a yamawaro (mountain child), and here the yamauba would be called "yamahaha" (mountain mother) and the yamajijii a "yamachichi" (mountain father). In Iwata District, Shizuoka Prefecture, the "yamababa" that would come and rest at a certain house was a gentle woman that wore clothes made of a tree's bark.

She borrowed a cauldron to boil some rice, but the cauldron would become full with just two go of rice. There wasn't anything unusual about it, but it was said that when she sat to the side of it, the floor would creak.

In Hachijō-jima, a "dejji" or "decchi" would perform kamikakushi by making people walk around places that should not exist for an entire night, but if one becomes friendly with her, she would lend you lintel, among other things. Sometimes she would also nurse children who go missing for three days. It is said that there are splotches on her body and she has her breasts attached to her shoulders as if there was a tasuki cord.

In the Kagawa Prefecture, yamauba within rivers are called "kawajoro" (river lady), and whenever a dike is about to break due to a great amount of water, she would say in a loud weeping voice, "My house is going to be washed away."

In Kumakiri, Haruno, Shūchi District, Shizuoka Prefecture (now Hamamatsu), there are legends of a yamauba called "hocchopaa", and it would appear in mountain roads during the evening. Mysterious phenomena, such as the sounds of festivals and curses coming from the mountains, were considered to be because of this hocchopaa.

In the Higashichikuma District, Nagano Prefecture, they are called "uba", and the legends there tell of a yokai with long hair and one eye, and from its name, it is thought to be a kind of yamauba.

In the tales, the ones attacked by yamauba are typically travelers and merchants, such as ox-drivers, horse-drivers, coopers, and notions keepers, who often walk along mountain paths and encounter people in the mountains, so they are thought to be the ones who had spread such tales.

Yamauba have been portrayed in two different ways. There were tales where men stocking ox with fish for delivery encountered yamauba at capes and got chased by them, such as the Ushikata Yamauba and the Kuwazu Jobo, as well as a tale where someone who was chased by the yamauba would climb a chain appearing from the skies in order to flee, and when the yamauba tried to make chase by climbing the chain too, she fell to her death into a field of buckwheat, called the "Tendo-san no Kin no Kusari".

In these tales, the yamauba was a fearsome monster trying to eat humans. On the other hand, there were tales such as the Nukafuku Komefuku (also called "Nukafuku Kurifukk"), where two sisters out gathering fruit met a yamauba who gave treasure to the kind older sister (who was tormented by her stepmother) and gave misfortune to the ill-mannered younger sister.

There is also the "ubakawa" tale, where a yamaba would give a human good fortune. In Aichi Prefecture, there is a legend that a house possessed by a yamauba would quickly gain wealth and fortune, and some families have deified them as protective gods.

Depending on the text and translator, the Yamauba appears as a monstrous crone, "her unkempt hair long and golden white ... her kimono filthy and tattered", with cannibalistic tendencies. In one tale a mother traveling to her village is forced to give birth in a mountain hut assisted by a seemingly kind old woman, only to discover, when it is too late, that the stranger is actually Yamauba, with plans to eat the helpless Kintarō. In another story the yōkai raises the orphan hero Kintarō, who goes on to become the famous warrior Sakata no Kintoki.

Yamauba is said to have a mouth at the top of her head, hidden under her hair. In one story it is related that her only weakness is a certain flower containing her soul.

[sidhedust]

Hiii! Just announcing that I have a shorter, easier on the brain serial called Tovera Chronicles: Kamikakushi if you want to check it out! <3 It's a good stress relief project for me as I edit the main story and figure out how I want the webcomic to look!

In a kingdom with an uncertain future, a lone boy focuses on his studies, the political turmoil not phasing him one bit. Tasked with anthropology work related to magekind in Tovera, he sets his sights on a settlement that was once a hotbed for mages-an Ichor settlment, before a time where his own people were scorned, and lived among the other clans.

Motorbroom underneath him, wand and tome in hand, the boy sets off to find, record, and take back relics to his school, Hechea Academy. But alas, life has more fun things in store for this boy. The wheel of fate begins to turn when he retires for the night within the ruin, a voice warns him of what's to come, and, in his own desire to understand his own people and record it for mages to come, he ignores her pleas and walks headfirst into a realm that is an anthropologists's dream, but a child's nightmare.

[shuuenmei]

(inhales) Alright.

I’m currently on the third semester for my first Persona 5 Royal run and with much ideas for “tabula rasa”, I also got a crossover AU idea for black or white which I shall dub as “murder siblings au” where Goro is adopted into Yuu (Rei)’s family.

(Placed right under the cut for story spoilers for P5R and some future plans for black or white. Also this is going to be long.)

Pre- P5R timeline:

In this AU, Goro is adopted into Yuu (Rei)’s family all the way out at Hokkaido at age 10, 2 years after his mom passed away.

Yuu (Rei) is a 2004 baby which makes her 6 years younger than Goro.

Goro, who had already gone through a few foster homes already thought the Shiina couldn’t be any different from his previous ones.

It took a few months but Goro eventually warmed up to them because they had been so kind to him, even after he opened up to being an illegitimate kid. And he had changed his surname to Shiina out of respect for his adoptive family at this time.

He especially bonded with Yuu (Rei) the fastest because she actually helps Goro find some closer with his mother by pointing and talking to his biological mother’s ghost.

He didn’t learn about the fact that the Shiina family and its family tree are practically cursed to have supernatural abilities due to being descended from a Kamikakushi returnee (Yuu (Rei)’s grandmother)) until he is old enough to actually question why Yuu (Rei) and some of his adoptive family members are born with it.

At any rate, another family member that Goro is close to is his adoptive granny and he is especially fond of her because she is just so nice and loving.

Unfortunately, granny died when Goro is 14 and Yuu (Rei) is 8.

Goro grieves, but Yuu (Rei) took the worst because grandma’s death is the first reminder for Yuu (Rei) about human mortality.

This time, it’s Goro’s turn to help Yuu (Rei) out and slowly, he helped her find some closure regarding her grandmother’s death.

Things are peaceful and nice. Goro wished that things stay that way.

And then he had awakened to Loki and Robin Hood due to Yaldabaoth, and then Shido found him with all the intentions of manipulating him but Goro saw through it and refused since he already had a family that he gave a damn about now.

Then Shido brought in the big guns and threatened Goro by putting his adoptive family, especially Yuu (Rei), as leverage and hostage for Goro to work for him or the lives of his adoptive family are forfeit.

So Goro is literally forced to work for Shido and had no choice in the matter lest his adoptive family gets killed.

Goro moves back to Tokyo under the guise of a Tokyo highschool scholarship (Under Shido’s name) but Yuu (Rei) thought something is a miss right from the start but couldn’t do much yet to act on it.

So a year after Goro moved to Tokyo, she saw him gaining fame as “Detective Prince” and took his old surname of Akechi that Yuu (Rei) went “I knew something is fishy!”

Yuu (Rei) called for her older cousins living in Tokyo and ask if the offer to have her stay with them and study in Tokyo is still up (They made the offer to help Yuu (Rei) out from her situation at school because she is shunned for her ability to see the dead and her cousins really wanted to help her.)

Yuu (Rei) moved to Tokyo, chaperoned by her older cousins with a goal of wanting to find her older adoptive brother for answers.

P5R timeline proper:

Due to transfer problems, Yuu (Rei) was only able to get enrolled to a school in Tokyo around 2016 which I set to be the year P5R took place, so Yuu (Rei) had to wait and endure another school year back in Hokkaido.

However, Goro is so busy with his “Idol” persona crafted by Shido in this AU, on top of his hitman job and metaverse explorations, that Yuu (Rei) never actually found him.

He also never got to see or knew about Yuu (Rei) moving to Tokyo because he tried to keep his contact with his adoptive family as little as possible lest Shido and his goons get ideas to bring them into the fold and endanger their safety even more than usual.

Yuu (Rei) did, however, meet the Phantom Thieves in their real life guises in separate occasions and spoke of her goal of wanting to find her brother. However, neither party connected that Akechi Goro is the “brother” that Yuu (Rei) is looking for and the fact that Yuu (Rei) somehow always missed seeing Goro.

So yes, Yuu (Rei) befriended the ghost parents of the Phantom Thieves and ask them for help instead, which includes Isshiki Wakaba and Yusuke’s mom.

Kobayakawa, after his death, kinda got directed to her because Yuu (Rei) had formed a network of ghost informants via Wakaba and Yusuke’s mom over the months of her stay in Tokyo and Yuu (Rei) learned the truth indirectly of her adoptive brother being under Shido’s employ but they don’t know why yet, especially since Wakaba didn’t tell Yuu (Rei) about Persona’s and Metaverse stuff yet since she feared Yuu (Rei) going reckless in her confrontation with her brother in her need for answers.

Then December 3, Akechi entered the Metaverse in his rush to stop the Phantom Thieves from getting a hit on Shido since he still wanted to be the one to personally put an end to the man and Yuu (Rei), who finally saw her brother for the first time, followed after him and entered Shido’s palace because she was close by when he activated the Metanav.

By the time Yuu (Rei) caught up to Goro... he just got beaten by the thieves and Shido’s cognitive Akechi showed up.

It’s a really bad, bad timing for him to show up and then hold her captive, gloating smugly about why Goro actually works for Shido.

Goro is pissed and also torn because of the fact that his adoptive sister is actually here in Tokyo and is looking for him and it took a lot of restraint for him to stay put lest Shido’s cognitive Akechi actually shoots her.

But instead, the unexpected happened.

Yuu (Rei), fed up with being left out of the loop, feeling helpless and refusing to die here, awakens to a Persona in response.

Yuu (Rei) awakens to Ibaraki-Douji as her first Persona.

None of the thieves are happy at the development. Though she was able to manage to fight back, her young age and smaller physique means that she gets easily hurt and it prompted the thieves to step in and help, Goro included.

Since Yuu (Rei) is younger, she literally passed out and had to be tended in a safe room with Goro and Futaba getting answers to why she is in the Palace in the first place.

Goro actually got time to talk and clarify how he actually got entangled with Shido while waiting for her to wake up.

It was a fucked up situation and conflict with no right or wrong answer in hindsight.

On one hand, Futaba and Haru both still had a right to be mad at Goro for killing their respective parents.

On the other hand, knowing that Goro literally got his hands forced because Shido threatened the well being of the one adoptive family who actually gave a damn about him changed their impressions of the detective prince.

When Yuu (Rei) wakes up, both brother and sister had a long talk, shouting matches and all, mostly out of worry for the other.

But at the end of it all, they come to an understanding and promise to not keep anymore secrets with each other.

That said, Yuu (Rei) is still banned from joining the thieves because she is too young for the Phantom thieves to consider getting a help from and they rather prefer that she stay away from Metaverse business as much as possible.

And then the third semester happened and Yuu (Rei) forces her way in because she can’t stand being left out.

Post P5R and Pre-Twst:

Goro tried to turn himself in to atone for his crimes and to pay back a debt to Akira (Joker’s real name in this AU).

Goro’s initial sentence was 5 years of juvenile prison.

However, this was later changed because Shido’s change of heart completely altered and cause complications to how Goro and Sae are going to prosecute and condemn Shido for his massive crimes because Shido claimed that he killed Akechi Goro, and the one that is brought to the police station is a Akechi Goro’s look alike, a Hokkaido boy named Shiina Goro.

Goro is not pleased because he still had crimes that he wanted to atone, since he values accountability among other things that he valued such as freedom of choice, but if he didn’t agree to this testimony, then Shido won’t stay in jail.

So Goro, Sae and the thieves begrudgingly agree to this narrative so Shido will rot in jail forever.

Even Goro admits that it left a bitter taste in his mouth to not be able to get to be able to atone for his crimes but he at least manage to accomplish getting payback at Shido for his threat and his adoptive family left safe.

Despite things being over, Yuu (Rei) decided that she’d like to stay in Tokyo with her cousins instead of heading back to Hokkaido because things were already bad back home because the area she lived in is still prejudiced against her for being “abnormal” but she actually now had people she care about in Tokyo.

Goro decided to head back to Hokkaido because he needs some time away from Tokyo to heal and he needs to talk with his adoptive parents and baby brothers again.

Not sure about whether or not I want to include Strikers in but things are relatively peaceful for the most part as Goro and Yuu (Rei) adjust to regular lives and getting along better with the Phantom Thieves.

And then comes April 2020.

On the day Yuu (Rei) and Goro went back to Hokkaido to visit their grandma’s grave, the ebony carriage appeared and Goro watches Yuu (Rei) being brought away right in front of his eyes.

Twst timeline Proper:

I admit there hasn’t been a lot of thought for this but Yuu (Rei) is literally brought to Twisted Wonderland and start her journey as the new Wild Card of Twisted Wonderland.

Goro had to strong arm and get the Velvet Room attendants to let him see her once he was told about this information.

However, Goro is on the condition that he is not allowed to interfere in Yuu (Rei)’s wild card journey unless necessary and prompted.

Goro begrudgingly agreed to the condition just so long that he can see his adoptive sister.

They reunited... post Heartslabyul where Yuu (Rei) already awakened as a wild card, forming a team with Riddle as the first Persona user to join her, and then he proceeds to judge the rest of the cast because of the knowledge that Yuu (Rei) got thrown into a magical all-boys school.

Cue Goro menacingly smiling with the hidden message of “Touch my sister and you’re fucking dead.”

Yeah, that’s about it but I honestly started writing and thinking the idea out because I thought it’ll be fun to write Yuu (Rei) and Akechi as adoptive siblings with the dynamic of “Looks like pleasant and polite people but are secretly bloodthirsty and feral in different ways”.

Hence, murder siblings.

Anyway that’s all for now!

[souglias]

I posted 658 times in 2022

That's 658 more posts than 2021!

164 posts created (25%)

494 posts reblogged (75%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@souglias

@dinoshimaaa

@c6jpg

@almond-adeptus

@iridescene

I tagged 657 of my posts in 2022

#q - 373 posts

#genshin impact - 261 posts

#childe - 110 posts

#art - 109 posts

#recs - 104 posts

#icymi - 103 posts

#shitposts - 96 posts

#conversations - 73 posts

#mutuals ! - 66 posts

#gintama - 55 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#im a real sucker for stories that include things abt chinese or japanese culture and these r the days i appreciate the fact that im chinese

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

In Another Reality [Kazuha]

c/w: angst, hurt/comfort, mention of a bug, implied blood in one line, separation, recent GAA spoilers

note: thank you to Mint and Feiyue for looking through this for me &lt;3

Thank you for all the likes and reblogs!

Cross-posted on AO3

Born to a family of servants under the Kaedehara clan, your childhood was spent under the roof of the Kaedehara house that you no longer have access to. Most of your memories had Kazuha in them (the first time you met him, the first time you sparred with him with branches, the first and last time you won him in a game of shogi), but those that didn’t have him were those with family.

With your mother’s history as the shrine maiden before she had married, she had many stories to tell you when she had spare time. Those you remember vividly are about the phenomenon of kamikakushi, people being spirited away. You remember her holding about her pointer finger as she warns, “People say that you should never eat or drink anything from that world if you ever get spirited away. Otherwise, you’ll be trapped forever.”

A part of you skeptical about your mother’s stories, you lock the stories in the back of your mind. That is until you enter Kazuha’s domain at the Golden Apple Archipelago. The memory resurfaces, leading you to remind yourself over and over never to touch the tea sets and plates of food you see in the domains. You wouldn’t call this getting spirited away, but it is another world after all.

When you open your eyes after Kazuha touches the bonsai for the third time, you are standing alone. Large wooden sliding doors tower in front of you as you stand in the spacious genkan. You call out the names of your travelling companions, but you get no response.

As if you’re doing a hesitant gamble, you whisper, “Kazuha?”

You are being too hopeful. Sighing, you slip your feet out of your sandals.

“My love?”

Kazuha’s voice comes out muffled behind the wooden door. You almost trip when stepping up onto the wooden floorboard. Perhaps it was just an illusion. After all, domains are unpredictable and unexplainable. A warp in time and space.

You hear your name through the door again. Gingerly, you press your hands against the sliding doors and shift them outwards. It reveals a man all too familiar to you. Except that he’s wearing a white silk kosode with red accents and flowing sleeves on both sides. Maple leaves are sewn meticulously onto his hakama and a gold crest with a maple leaf etched is pinned on a simple red fabric belt.

Eyes running up his body, you settle your gaze on his eyes. There are dark circles underneath his eyes and faint wrinkles on his bottom lid. Beyond the crimson irises, there is only a dim candlelight braving the ruthless gales.

Kazuha outstretches his hand to you and you notice his scar-less hands. When you take his hand, you feel a writer’s callus on his finger that you don’t recall him having.

He brings you down the familiar dim corridor and the wooden floor creaks the way you remember it. The servants in the house shuffle across your vision as the two of you walk, opening and closing the paper sliding doors. A few familiar faces that perk up when they see you and new faces who only spare you a glance in their busy flurry.

Bright sunlight spills into your vision when Kazuha opens the sliding door, causing you to squint your eyes. When you open your eyes again, you see a tea set on the floor with two zabutons on opposite sides of it.

As you step into the room, you note the slightly frayed tatami flooring below your feet and notice the nihonga of maples that has its colours dulled. There is also now a shelf full of bound books. Below it, a sturdy bonsai.

Kazuha invites you to settle on the zabuton opposite him. You shuffle around in your seat in an attempt to shake off the awkwardness (and the unsettling feeling festering in your chest).

You notice that instead of hard sweets, there is a plate of crackers that comes with the tea set instead. Kazuha reassures you, “Don’t worry, it is only the two of us. We shall go ahead and forgo the formalities today.”

Still as attuned to your thoughts and emotions as ever.

Kazuha picks up the teapot and you hurry to hold up your teacup to him. As he tips the teapot, the fragrance of the tea reaches your nose. Nostalgia fills your heart. You used to try making this tea for Kazuha when the both of you were kids.

You had thought you could do it just by looking at the elder servants brewing tea. But in the end, you had accidentally tipped the burnt tea over the tatami flooring and earned yourself a harsh scolding from your parents.

After Kazuha finishes pouring the tea, he closes his eyes as he brings the cup up to his lips. On the other hand, as you bring the teacup up to your lips, you’re hit with a cruel reminder that you’re in a domain. And there are rules you have to abide by unless you can shoulder the possible consequences.

Your arms droop back down to your lap, your cup cradled in both hands. A few moments pass when only the tea timidly sways and brushes at the mouth of the cup.

“What’s wrong? Is the tea not to your liking? I made this with you in mind, but it seems like I have more to work on.”

You bite the inside of your cheek. “I’m sure the tea is great, Ka- my lord. I’m just not sure if I can stomach anything right now.”

His eyes widen and he asks with alarm in his voice, “Are you alright? Do you need anything?”

After you shake your head, he adds, “Please, don’t call me that. Kazuha will do.”

See the full post

153 notes - Posted August 3, 2022

#4

hi sherry :))

you’re doing the most for soon-to-be birthday boy and i love it! all the stages of your event are so cool and thought out so i’m excited to see all of it put together on jax’s b-day.

as for your request event, i’m a sucker for hanahaki so…

i’d love to see hanahaki au with some hurt/comfort ! (and i would totally say no comfort, but i’ll let him be happy for 1 day)

sending big hugs rn and wishing you a great day/night!! 🫶🫶

Blue Roses [Childe]

c/w: hanahaki

Note: HI LEE! I'm so sorry that I took a while to get to this, I've been wrestling with this request for a while :">. It's my first time writing hanahaki and I hope that you like this! Thank you for waiting and for participating in my event. I hope you've been doing well

“Who did this to you?”

The blue of his eyes scalds more than any flame you’ve known. The sheer heat makes you look away.

And how ironic, given that all you wanted was to look at his eyes without it being a privilege. 

There was only once when you managed to admire his eyes without him catching you for an extended period. Despite the brilliant azure sky behind him, it did not dull the richness of the blue eyes. 

Having caught you staring at him, he had nudged your arm and asked, “What is it? Oh~, are you in love with me?”

You had averted your gaze before you scoffed, “How could I love someone who tried to destroy my nation?”

“You wound me, [name].” 

Even though you are staring at the sand instead, you can see him having a hand on his chest with a pout in your mind’s eye.

His eyes have the same blue as the roses you watch yourself cough up. How beautiful, you want to say. Even as the petals had fallen off your lips, they twirl elegantly in their descent. 

You keep your eyes on your fingers as they tussle with each other. You couldn’t tell him.

(Because then, what would that mean for him? Would that put him in a spot? Would that make him obliged to love you?)

“[name], look at me.”

Any despearation he tries to hide leaks into his voice. From the side of your eye, you see his hands ball the ends of the blanket. 

The ward in Bubu Pharmacy becomes a little too small for both you and Childe.

Your eyes slowly run up his body. Abdomen, chest, neck, chin, lips, nose. Finally, your gaze reaches his eyes. Childe searches for an answer to his question in your eyes.

(You do not know how to tell him that he can find the answer in his instead.)

“I promise, I’m not going to harm them. I… just want to talk to them.”

“What are you going to say?”

He doesn't say anything for a few moments.

“Is it Mr Zhongli?”

“What? No! And I asked-”

“Is it the traveller?”

See the full post

170 notes - Posted September 17, 2022

#3

The Drive of Two [Childe]

c/w: swearing, mentions of alcohol, mentions of break-ups, arguments

note: I promise this is not angst. Thank you to @hurricanectar for beta-ing this for me!!! Your comments were very encouraging for me ily <3. For Childe's birthday event hosted by me here :)

Cross-posted on AO3

Thank you for all the likes and reblogs!

-19-

“Want me to drive you to the station?”

You give Childe a confused look as he says that. Childe takes the last sip of his juice before he elaborates.

“I drove here and I know the train station is a 15-minute walk away.”

You realise how kept up you’ve been with a part-time job that you didn’t know Childe has been taking lessons for a driving licence. It also finally clicks why he didn’t meet you at the train station to head to the eatery together this time. 

The thought of having a friend, your best friend, drive you for the first time makes your eyes visibly brighten up. 

You skip out of the eatery like an excited puppy into the hot afternoon sun (which you were hiding from as much as you could earlier).

Childe always knew the first person he wanted to take for a drive was you. But he didn’t anticipate his thrumming heart and the hurricane of uncertainty that spins in his chest. He can feel your excitement radiating onto his back.

Previously confident, he’s now worried his driving skills are still too rough for you.

Childe pulls out his keys with a sweaty hand. There is a twinkle in your eyes and he feels like he’s carrying the expectations of a child. Out of everyone, he knows best not to let down a child with expectations. 

He opens the door to the driver’s seat and plops down in his seat. You open the door of his new car gingerly and step in with great care. 

Shit, I should have opened the door for them. 

You squeeze into the seat that hasn’t been pulled back and you lean back into the seat with stiff shoulders. Noticing the Monoceros Caeli keychain hanging from the rearview mirror, you beam with pride. After all, the only keychain hanging in his car is the one you got for him.

The engine revs up when he turns the key. The whirring of the engine fades away as Childe turns on a song. 

You keep your eyes on the road in front of you, but you can’t help but feel his presence right beside you. From the side of your eye, you see how he pulls and pushes the gear lever with his slender fingers. 

(Were his fingers always that slender?) 

You only truly start paying attention to the road when you find the buildings a little too familiar.

“Childe? You sure this is the right way?”

His grip on the steering wheel tightens a little. “I’m pretty sure I keyed the station into the navigation system.”

“Um-”

He abruptly stops in the middle of the road, swearing under his breath. You chide him to get a move on and he manages to collect himself to shift into another lane.

He chuckles sheepishly, “My bad, I almost got onto the highway to go home.”

After turning a few more circles, he drops you off at a pavement, saying the station should be nearby and that it would probably be faster if you walked there on your own.

Childe opens his mouth just as you crack open the car door. 

“If you need me to drive you again next time, you can always ask me. I’ll drive you whenever I can.”

See the full post

184 notes - Posted July 20, 2022

#2

2:11AM [Childe]

c/w: mentions of destroying

Thank you for all likes and reblogs!

Childe is fast asleep, even with the trembling of the windows in the room. His arm hangs loosely over your waist. The curtain blocks your view, but the flashes of lightning unsettles you. Having lived in Liyue all your life, a blizzard is foreign and you never expected to experience one in your short visit to Snezhnaya. Being careful not to awake Childe, you slide out of his grasp and out of bed. 

You descend the the stairs carefully and skip certain steps. But you still step on the steps that creak, seemingly mocking your efforts to stay quiet. Exploring the house could appease your restless mind. But you still associate certain rudeness with sticking your nose in the nooks and crannies of the house. His family did say to make yourself feel at home, but there is still a line you do not dare cross. 

In the living room downstairs, a flame breathes weakly at the fireplace on a meagre piece of wood. You toss in more wood from the basket at the side. It crackles as it consumes the wood like a stray who hasn't had food for ages.

You settle on the sofa beside the growing flame. In your view, there's a glass window that you can't look away from. The gales knock angrily on the window, causing the glass windows to shiver. Rapid torrents of snow cut through the air, slicing relentlessly at the muddy light radiating from the lamp. You can't help but think there's another presence in the room, ready to ravage you like the ruthless blizzard attempting to lay waste to the trees outside.

Today is your first day in Snezhnaya. Childe has made the effort to show you around his hometown and share with you the sights he’s treasured from when he was young. But all you remember is feeling like an uneven weighing scale. A hand warmer almost burns your palm while chills run down your arms and feet where heat does not reach.

The warmth of the fireplace tickles the side of your arm, yet an emotionless cold seeps into your heart. 

“What’s wrong?”

You jump at the sudden voice from the stairs behind you. Childe attempts to rub the sleep away in his eyes as he approaches you. He plops down beside you, letting out a suppressed yawn. 

“The cold stresses me out and…” 

You dare not say the rest of your words. The image of his parents welcoming you with open arms, his older siblings taking time to find out more about you and his younger siblings swarming around you in excitement flashes in your mind. "I miss home" could come off as a critique of how they have failed as hosts.

Childe treats his family like a prized pearl. If he hears that, would the flame alight in his heart for you be snuffed out by the frost? Perhaps in a few minutes, you’d be out at the mercy of the freezing temperatures.

Childe leans into you a little, still keeping some distance. “And…?” 

You finish your sentence softly, as if you’re still trying to prevent him from hearing anything. There’s nothing from him as an aeon passes. 

(It’s only been a second.)

Childe shifts closer to you on the sofa meant for two. His sides touch yours and he takes your hand in his. Rubbing circles on the back of your hand, he reassures you, “It’s only your first day here, don’t be too hard on yourself.”

You nod, still unconvinced.

“The cold is tough on even us locals too.”

He lets go of your hand and circles his arms around your shoulders. Childe rests his head on your shoulder and snuggles closer to you. “Besides, I can always shield you from the cold with a hug. I’ll buy you all the hand warmers and heat packs you need. Maybe we could create our portable fireplace if that’s what you want too,” he drawls as sleep creeps into his voice.

But before he dozes off, he says, “If it gets too difficult for you, don’t hesitate to tell me that you want to leave. This land will always be here for you to come back to. I'll always be waiting for you here.”

His voice trails off. You lean on his head, careful not to awaken him. The blizzard outside accentuates the warmth of Childe’s skin on yours. The icy storm in your mind calms. A flower blooms in your heart amidst the howling winter.

205 notes - Posted June 23, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

9:22 PM [Ayato]

c/w: none

note: for @sohyuki

Thank you for all the likes and reblogs!

Moonlight touches your skin as you emerge from Chinju Forest and you heave a sigh of relief. You are finally free from the tricks that Ayato has played on you. You thought having Ayato escort you home from the party was a good idea, plus he said he would do anything you asked today since it’s your birthday. 

But perhaps it would have been better that you didn’t. Especially with how Chinju Forest scares you, where the light of the sun does not look down upon you. 

He’s taken 10 years off your lifespan by falsely alarming you with “dark shadows lurking behind that rock”, “plant youkai that eat human souls” and shouting for no reason just to get a reaction out of you. He should be nicer to you. After all, it is your birthday!

(Ayato should have been born as a mischievous bake-tanuki instead of the Yashiro Commissioner. You shouldn’t have said yes when he said he wanted to court you. But hey, that’d mean you couldn’t court him in return.)

Gentle drops of water on your exposed skin stop your train of thought. Thunder rumbles overhead and you see a flash of purple in the distance. Ayato is unperturbed by it as he continues walking into the plains at a slow pace with your hand in his. 

“Ayato, the drizzle might turn into a thunderstorm. Perhaps we should move quicker.”

He shakes his head and continues at his own pace.

The drizzle does not turn into a thunderstorm, but it does become heavier. You can feel your shirt clinging to the skin on your shoulders and you know both of you will be soaked at the slow pace that both of you walk. 

You run ahead of him to pull him along. But instead of following your lead, he comes to a sudden halt and does not budge. Baffled at his resistance, you try to cover him from the rain instead. You tiptoe to hover your hands above his head with frantic breaths and you struggle with your balance, even though you know it will not provide him much shelter.

Ayato clasps your hands between his and brings them down in front of his chest. 

“Let’s dance, [name].”

His pale blue hair starts to plaster his face and wet splotches bloom on his silk white coat. 

“Ayato, you’re getting soaked. You’ll fall sick.”

“A little rain won’t get me down. Just this once.”

Without letting you protest, he lets go of your hands and takes a step back. Ayato stretches his arm outwards as if he’s holding something close to him. 

He says as he checks his posture, “The traveller taught this to me. It’s called the waltz.”

You realise soon after a few steps that the cogs in his brain are turning, trying to recall something. Ayato is a little uncertain, taking a while before he puts a step down. But he takes that uncertainty with pride, unashamed to take back a wrong step even if it leaves a mark on the gravel. 

His feet stop doubting themselves after a mere few minutes. 

The worry in your mind about his wellbeing has yet to calm down, but you find yourself unable to ask him to stop.

He stretches his hand out towards you. Your hand is drawn to him as if it's a magnet attracted to another. He places your left hand on his shoulder, then takes your right in his left

“Just follow me.”

You soon get used to it, even though you step on his feet quite a bit. He steps on yours at times (and you think it might be intentional).

“You’re having fun dirtying my white sandals and watching the rain sully it, aren’t you?” 

He chuckles, “Don’t make me out to be so sadistic, [name].”

You slip on the mud and he catches you, pulling you back towards him. With the proximity, you take this chance gaze deep into his eyes.

Lightning is the boyish glow in his eyes, thunder is the tap of his heels on the gravel. Gone are the elegant steps he has to take. The sly fox that lives in his eyes has slinked away; it has left for a temporary respite. No one except you and the dark skies that do not judge watch him. 

See the full post

206 notes - Posted July 1, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[fmp2carolynnunn]

Spirited Away

"Stubborn, spoiled, and naïve, 10-year-old Chihiro Ogino is less than pleased when she and her parents discover an abandoned amusement park on the way to their new house. Cautiously venturing inside, she realizes that there is more to this place than meets the eye, as strange things begin to happen once dusk falls. Ghostly apparitions and food that turns her parents into pigs are just the start—Chihiro has unwittingly crossed over into the spirit world. Now trapped, she must summon the courage to live and work amongst spirits, with the help of the enigmatic Haku and the cast of unique characters she meets along the way.

Vivid and intriguing, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi tells the story of Chihiro's journey through an unfamiliar world as she strives to save her parents and return home."

[daburuwosagase]

Miracoro 11/2023 reviews

I wish more works broke out of the "cool overdesigned mc and normal kid with bonkers reactions" mold, but I suppose that's the easy way to start a story.

Vampred: Vampire/zombie story. Most of the chapter was showing off the main character Sol, who's a very nice lad with a cool design. He's got artificial limbs, is malewife material, is unfailingly polite, is half-vampire, has a tragic backstory about being tortured by humans, and yet still believes that they deserve his protection. Not sure about that one, chief. The mc's engineered perfection made a lot more sense once I found out the author is the Bitch Cop Ass guy.

Yamikiri Giri: god i miss doctor dokuta. This feels like a good candidate for its successor. It starts off in the middle of action, which is unusual to see with these oneshots. The protag Giri is the polar opposite of the previous guy, and he may actually be an adult? I had a lot of fun reading this one.

Mikazuki: Basically, "what if Maya channeled Phoenix to solve cases?" The culprit actually came as a surprise. It's definitely a Takahashi-sensei work, and it definitely feels inspired by Ace Attorney. I enjoyed it, but not sure if it's the best pick for serialization. It's the only one that made me actually gasp, though.

Monoshiro: Moves along really fast and therefore wasn't left with time for it to sink in. The premise is lacking. Again, cool designs though.

Gatlin: Great action but lacks substance. The sidekick this time is a girl, which I'll gladly take.

Iroha: Karuta... with a CATBOY. Absolute winning premise. The mc Iroha has almost no knowledge of the poems but has extreme reflexes that let him react to the opponent's movements. The art's pretty intense too. Now this could be interesting if expanded upon.

Monster Parent: Pretty good gag manga. The mc's mom is a literal monster who doesn't get that she's seen as a monster. She orally lays eggs in the supermarket to help her look for curry, because the staff are busy and she doesn't want to bother them. Heck of a sentence.

Shinigami Happy End: Very fresh take to have a shinigami whose primary item is trash bags. The modern reaper is a garbage collector. And he's also a tumblr sexyman who goes from main blorbo form to smexy skinny legend. Kind of scary. Kobayashi-sensei popped OFF with the art. The climax spread is actually *abstract* rather than a physical finishing blow, and it rules.

Sonata: Kinda like Inazuma Eleven GO but with a music club. Featuring instrument avatars. The mc Sonata is not a good musician at all but he's dedicated, so that makes up the difference. It breaks the formula slightly by having a whole club instead of one sidekick, and the mc doesn't already have awakened powers.

Seira: A rich girl's awakening to ramen. It's slower-paced than the others, so the flavor soaks in. Even as a one-shot it's nice.

Kamikakushi: Again mostly action-based, but it could easily pivot to part-mystery. We're getting a lot of girl primary characters in this volume, that's really neat. This time the mc has hammerspace hair. The enemy was decently freaky too.

Kamibukuro Hunter: The art style for the kid in this one is kinda... "how to draw anime". It's bizarre. But she can still emote as befits a gag manga. The premise is kinda one-note here.

Gudegudevil: Gag manga about a pet devil trying to dissuade a kid from doing homework but it's too lazy itself to succeed. Not too exciting.

Isekai Boukensha: It's an isekai. And this time, the protag's an 11yo with a wooden stick. Not my thing.

Onigiri: Gag body humor with a sentient onigiri. Feels kinda mundane, or maybe I'm just worn out by the end of all these pilots.

Top three that I think have potential for more: Yamikiri Giri, Iroha, Monster Parent

[drizzleandsleet]

Just completed Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi. The only thing that I regret is that i didn't watch this ten years earlier.

[pearlescentpearl]

Hi! So I'm a big fan of all your stories, and recently noticed that your reincarnated!Tobirama fic is on hiatus/rewrite pending - was just wondering if you could give some deets about that? Like, any particular reason why, are you still doing Naruto stuff or just SVSSS, will the rewrite be in the same story or posted as a new one, stuff like that?

wow, I have not looked in my inbox in ages, incredibly sorry for the delay!

The long and short of it boils down to the fact I started that fic very early in my stint as a fanfic writer (second ever fic!) and as I bounced from wip to wip I found my skill at writing and plotting far outpacing the skill that had gone into howling. I finally hit a point where I couldn't continue it as is and decided it needs to go back on the shelf while I seriously rethink it.

Actually, I've been struggling a lot with the same problem with Kamikakushi too. It's why updates have stalled so long. I've been contemplating just doing a rewrite for a long while now. Longer chapters, better plotting and pacing, a more intelligent political set up, etc. I promise I'm not abandoning it, I really, really want to finish it!

So I technically am still doing Naruto stuff, I've just taken a long break :/. I got burnt out on the fandom and the weirder and weirder takes on the characters, some of which are so stretched by fanon as to be unrecognizable.

so, uh, the good news is that SVSSS has revitalized me, and the better news is that I've started dipping back into Naruto again and I hope to start picking up my old wips again.

hope this helps!