#points byakko is always sOFT

[deathfavor]

@rosysins said: 'I was worried something happened to you' (sweet & soft sentence starters) from gekk to byakko (bcos they deserve to be soft for v-day)

soft & sweet sentence starters

Byakkomaru can count on one hand the amount of times that he's recently had Gekkouin openly admit to anything when it comes to his emotions. He rarely speaks in anything other than barbs and is quick to revert back if the situation is anything other than dire. He's certain that's what's about to happen when he replies. He can't fault Gekkoin's concern ; the tiger has been abnormally absent despite the fact their wielders are nearby. Especially when Byakkomaru is prone to wandering around on his own to keep surveillance. So it had come more as a surprise when Gekkoin had come searching for him and eventually found him in the space between planes of existence where he'd been lurking.

" I'm fine, as you can see. " And here comes the insult or barb. Byakkomaru notes, a song and dance that he's become familiar with. His hair dances in the breeze, strands of stark white that stand out despite the fog and light colors. His gaze meets Gekkoin for a moment before turning away. " It's only a matter of time before I'd inevitable reform anyways. " He muses, with a soldier's like mindset that he's never been able to shake. He'd be brought back to the weapon no mate what. ( If it broke though, even he is not sure what would happen. )

" Ah - since you're here though. " Byakkomaru turns away from whatever it is that has held his interest, hands clasped together. " Shinya and I are going to be leaving tonight. " He strolls closer until he's standing only a couple feet from the bird demon, head canted to the side. " So this'll probably be our last bit of time together for a some time. " A small smile decorates his face as he bends down a little bit closer towards Gekkoin. " So? Want to spend what time we do have together before then? "

[tickly-trashcan]

Stolen Snacks {Kazuha and Gorou}

A/N: hi hi nonnie! I hope you’re doing well too! :D I’m so excited to write for Gorou omgggg he’s so cute! I had such a hard time coming up with a title for this grrr I hope it’s still okay lol. Have a lovely day/night and remember to stay hydrated! :D 

Summary: Kazuha and Gorou are on the run after stealing some of Thoma’s food. But when Kazuha is too full to move, what kind of predicament does Gorou find himself in?

Word Count: 1.1k (under the cut)

Kazuha picked a leaf off of the bush, folding it over and blowing on it, causing a small whistle. Gorou immediately jumped up, head whipping around as he tried to figure out where the sound had come from. Kazuha laughed at Gorou’s reaction, making the dogboy grumble.

“That’s not funny…” He whined, laying back down against the roots of the tree next to Kazuha, who hummed. He watched as Gorou placed his hands behind his head again, closing his eyes as he muttered something. 

Kazuha closed his eyes, leaning against the tree as well. 

He and Gorou had just snuck into the kitchen at Thoma’s residence, stealing all of the snacks they could carry. They ran off to their favorite tree in Byakko plain and ate as much as they could.

It had been Kazuha’s idea, being hungry and mischievous at the time, and he had dragged Gorou along. Though now that they were likely in trouble, Gorou was no longer in the fun mood he was before.

“Ah, the dango was delicious,” Kazuha commented, making Gorou’s ear twitch in annoyance.

“It was, but now Thoma’s probably hunting us down! I’m too full to move though,” Gorou mumbled, hissing when Kazuha leaned against his shoulder, poking his tummy.

“You didn’t even have that much, your tummy feels empty,” Kazuha teased, continuing to poke Gorou until he squirmed, huffing.

“Stop that!” Gorou whined, shoving Kazuha off of him as Kazuha chuckled. He fell back down into his lap, sighing as he looked up at his dog-eared friend.

“I’m too full to move too, guess you’re stuck now.”

“What?! No, get off of me! If Thoma comes after us I am not going down with you!” Gorou exclaimed, trying to pull Kazuha off of him, but Kazuha managed to make himself complete dead weight, and Gorou was unable to lift him off.

“Maybe if you had eaten more you would be stronger, too bad you didn’t~” Kazuha said, poking Gorou’s exposed tummy again, making his breath hitch as he grabbed Kazuha’s wrist, pulling it away.

“Stop doing that!”

“Doing what?” Kazuha asked with a grin, using his other hand to poke Gorou, making him jolt. Kazuha raised an eyebrow, then smirked.

“Oh right. I forgot you’re ticklish.”

“I am not!” Gorou whined, and Kazuha chuckled. 

“You always deny it, and I always prove you wrong. Should I prove you wrong again?”

Gorou’s eyes widened and he went to shove Kazuha off of him again. Bad decision.

As soon as he let go of Kazuha’s hands, they darted right for Gorou’s bare sides, giving them firm squeezes as Gorou choked on a laugh, lurching forward. He used one hand to keep pushing Kazuha off, but the other tried to peel his hands off of his sides. 

Kazuha hummed as he continued to knead Gorou’s sides, soon switching to squeezing his hips, making Gorou jerk. “Why are you holding back? Laugh!”

“I-I’m not gonna! I already told you I’m not… ticklish!”

“Uh-huh, suuure. So even though you’re bright red from holding in your laugh you’re not ticklish?” Kazuha teased, pointing out the obvious as Gorou’s face went even redder. Gorou grumbled, shoving at Kazuha’s face now as the white-haired boy chuckled.

“I’m not! You’re just - it feels weird!” Gorou claimed, a giggle threatening to burst through when Kazuha dug his thumb into Gorou’s hipbone. Kazuha chuckled again, rolling his eyes.

“Tickling is supposed to feel weird. You’re only proving my point, Gorou.”

Kazuha hummed as he moved from Gorou’s hips to his rather exposed tummy, starting to lightly tickle the skin as Gorou gasped, followed by a soft giggle.

“What was that, Gorou? You didn’t happen to giggle, did you?”

“Shh!” Was all Gorou was able to get out as a retort, and Kazuha chuckled. He knew he was going to start laughing soon, so he was gonna make sure he got as much laughter out as he could. Kazuha switched from the feather-light tickles on Gorou’s tummy and instead started to lightly skitter his short nails across his tummy.

Gorou squeaked, finally breaking. Childish, bright laughter soon filled up the air around them, and Kazuha beamed as Gorou grabbed onto his wrists, giggling frantically and shaking his head.

“Your laugh is so cute!” Kazuha exclaimed, chuckling as Gorou tried to pull Kazuha’s hands away, his cheeks a lovely shade of red.

“It is nohohohohot!” Gorou complained through his laughter, squealing when Kazuha teased his lower ribs, tracing them before coming back to his tummy, pinching at it with ease as Gorou could do nothing but laugh.

“Is too!” Kazuha laughed, making Gorou whine through his laughter. Kazuha climbed up to Gorou’s ribs, which managed to draw out even more bright laughter from Gorou. He hiccuped slightly through his laughter, swatting at Kazuha’s hands.

“Kahahahazuha! Wahahahait! Plehehease, I cahahan’t!”

“Can’t what? Can’t stop laughing? Hmm, I wonder why,” Kazuha quipped, driving Gorou mad as he wailed, throwing his head back when Kazuha went back after his tummy, focusing on the lower part.

“Becahahahause you’re tickling mehehehe! Duhuhummy!”

Kazuha faked a gasp. “A dummy? Is that truly what you think of me, Gorou? I thought we were friends.”

Kazuha scribbled his fingers erratically over Gorou’s tummy, making it impossible for him to predict where he would tickle him. He wailed, lurching forward several times, but it didn’t stop Kazuha from drawing out more and more laughter from his friend.

“I’m sohohohorry! I didn’t mehehehean it! You’re not a duhummy!” Gorou exclaimed, hoping that an apology would stop Kazuha. Kazuha smiled softly.

“Aww, thanks Gorou.”

“Thahahat’s it??” Gorou yelped, laughing even more as Kazuha continued. Kazuha looked up at him and cocked his head, grinning.

“Are you expecting more? I can definitely tickle you longer if you want.”

“Nohohohot that! Anything but thahahahat!”

“I finally found you two!” A voice came, and Kazuha immediately halted his tickling, finally giving Gorou a chance to breathe.

He turned and looked where Kazuha was and saw Thoma with his hands on his hips and a wicked grin on his face. “You two wouldn’t happen to know where my food went, would you?”

Kazuha jumped off of Gorou and bolted, leaving Gorou to scramble after him as Thoma chased them, Kazuha laughing as Gorou growled.

“This is all your fault Kazuha!”

“It was worth it though!”

Gorou huffed, though he couldn’t stop a fond smile creeping up his face. Sure, he was probably gonna get wrecked by Thoma as well, but getting to spend more time with his friend Kazuha had really made his day. Yeah… it was worth it.

[burnsopale]

Pictured: three tired boys breaking into pieces.

I was gonna wait until we actually reached lake Baikal, but I’m impatient, so let’s start the final part of my little series about these three disasters.

In the last post I talked about how Kai, Rai and Johnny are similar. Now I want to talk about how their similar fates will mean something different for each of them.

To recap, all three boys are highly sensitive and emotional, but too proud to dare be vulnerable, and so they hide behind more aggressive behaviour; Kai is antisocial, Johnny is sarcastic and cruel, and Rai is ANGRY. All three spend canon dealing with a big change in their lives (his name is Takao), but they are locked in their self-denial, so they resist the change furiously until they exhaust themselves and reach a crisis point where their armour is shattered and they stand revealed as who they truly are.

Or at least, Rai and Kai get that, Johnny almost gets there, but the arc ends before he can really reach it. He would have, though. Remember, Ralf, arguably the main antagonist of the arc, accepts the existence of the power of friendship before he even steps up to battle Takao. Johnny on the other hand never says out loud that he’s on board with the new regime. So for the images above, I could have chosen Johnny’s flinch after Ralf lost, where he’s got the same pinched expression and bared teeth as the other two, but in his case, it’s his moment of quiet distress in the garden that gives us the clearest glimpse behind the armour.

So they are similar, but the beauty of Bakuten Shoot Beyblade is the level of detail these characters get at their best. All three boys are facing an authority that demand they submit, but giving in will mean something different for each boy.

(Oh no, Judin’s getting horny again.)

(She’s not sorry, though.)

Rai’s case is fascinating because he is an alpha who, more than the other two, is forced to submit. He resists until he breaks, and then Rei overwhelms him with massive power. It’s a benevolent destruction, meant to tear down Rai’s walls and show him a better path, but it’s also a horrible humiliation. Don’t forget that Rai has to deliberately control his temper before he can congratulate Rei.

Remember also that it was Rai’s ambition to be chief, and for a little while that was his future, and now, while he will not have to live with being an imposter chief, the chief who was not chosen, he will have to live with having been the Almost Usurper. Rei and Rai will both be “the redeemed boy” of the tribe, except Rei is pure and blameless, while Rai is blackened and tainted by what he did.

Yes, this is all terribly dramatic, but that’s kinda the point; Rai is dramatic. Rai, Johnny and Kai are so proud that every little embarrassment is excruciating, and this embarrassment was not little.

So it is my belief that for Rai, submission to Rei will never be easy. First of all because his submission was forced; he is part of the clan, Rei is Byakko’s chosen chief of the clan, Rai has no choice but to submit; he tried to resist once and Rei showed him his place. Secondly, Rai is himself an alpha, used to being the dominating personality in all his relationships except with Rei.

And yeah okay we’re getting dangerously close to AlphaOmega fanfic territory here, but they’re friggin cat-people, so the terminology works, and anyway, not every character in this story is dominant or submissive. Max, for instance, can be either or neither. I’ve used him before as the example of a boy who accepts himself completely, emotions, weaknesses and all, and that makes him strong and adaptable, able to withstand for instance the realisation that his mom is a terrible mother. He can blend in with any group of people and do just fine; after all, his element is water.

I obviously have no idea how Rai deals with Rei returning in G-Rev, but looking strictly at season 1, I see a Rai who will always struggle to take orders from Rei, though he will do it for the sake of duty, and because he knows his reluctance comes from his own pride and shame, not from any fault of Rei’s, and really that just adds to his pain. Even leading the Chinese blading team is something Rai will know he is only doing until Rei decides to join them. Then he will have to step down.

ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO, ANYBODY ELSE FEELING A CREEPING DREAD? *sweats* Well buckle up cause it’s about to get hornier.

Next is Johnny. The funny thing is that where Rai is an alpha forced to submit, Johnny only thinks he’s an alpha, and submission actually comes very natural to him. Once he met Ralf anyway. AND YES I SHIP THEM PUT DOWN THE PITCHFORKS. I like to think I ship them because they have this dynamic, and not that I give them this dynamic because I ship them.

Part of Johnny’s problem is that he’s a soft boy who thinks he needs to be a swaggering macho male. He keeps tripping himself up because his natural instinct is to curl up in the safety of Ralf’s authority, which means he’s always doing what Ralf tells him to in the hope that senpai will notice him and give him the affirmation he needs. Remember my argument that Johnny bases his self-worth on his wealth, status and blading skills, all of which Takao is teaching him means nothing, leaving him with precious little; he is in desperate need of someone to tell him he is good enough even without these things. His loud complaining is both a front he puts up, his armour, and the way he expresses his fear of where this train is hurtling. Highly sensitive people are not good at accepting change, and Takao introduces change about as gently as a hurricane.

Unfortunately, the one who Johnny is looking to for affirmation is a guy who has no interpersonal skills whatsoever, and Johnny can’t really look elsewhere because of a little thing that Saint-Exupéry talks about in The Little Prince, when the Prince meets a fox who asks the boy to tame him:

“"I am looking for friends. What does that mean--'tame'?"

"It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. "It means to establish ties."

"'To establish ties'?"

"Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world..."

...

But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow.”

By giving Johnny his first major defeat, Ralf has tamed him, and, as Saint-Exupery goes on to say: “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”

Unfortunately, as before mentioned, Ralf is UTTERLY OBLIVIOUS to this thing having happened. He’s a stork what can I say. At best he has an instinctual sense of Johnny, Giancarlo and Olivier being “his people” now, which for instance allows him to casually dismiss Johnny’s very reasonable request TO BE ALLOWED TO GO HOME.

Ralf is the type who rules with complete authority. He’s a stone wall as far as negotiations go. Not that he can’t change his mind or see the sense in an argument (Again, he accepts the power of friendship when he sees it in action), but only if he is Wrong. This is like the one thing that keeps him from being a straight up villain. In all other ways he is unbendable, which also leaves Johnny’s attempts at asserting dominance hilariously ineffective.

For Johnny, his final submission to Ralf would mean he had reached self-acceptance, and it would give him safety and comfort, and I think Ralf, once he learns how to act like a human being, will grow into his role as Johnny’s Captain.

Though I admit that this, more than with Kai and Rai, is my own interpretation of Johnny’s character, since we don’t get his full arc. And he is not like this at all in the manga, but that’s a separate canon.

Again, if you think this is all very ... well, horny of me, I’m not saying all relationship work this way. Again, Kai defeating Max in battle did not mean Max is now tamed, because Max does not work that way. If he ever allows himself to be tamed, it will be his choice.

Takao, and shounen anime protagonists in general, tend to tame everyone they meet, and some people take it in stride, while others become their devoted followers or obsessed rivals.

Kai was very much tamed by Takao, but since he doesn’t respect Takao or think much of his abilities as a blader, Kai is able to shrug their bond off at first.

At first.

But I’ll come back to Kai if we ever get through episode 45.

[unlockthelore]

Intermission

While Kuwabara recovers from another stint of his training, Hiei discusses his progress with Kurama and tries to understand why Kurama keeps staring at him.

Part 8 of the Honor Among Thieves series. For more updates, follow the honor among thieves tag on this blog. 

+ Additional Note

bold italics represent Hiei's telepathic thoughts.

regular italics represent Kurama's telepathic thoughts.

Ordinarily, training in the dense mountain forests was calming for Hiei. Away from the hustle and bustle of Sarayashiki, where the air was polluted with the stench of humans, oil and machinery compacted into one sprawling area. Whereas the mountains were clean if not untouched by the hands of man, nature free to grow as it pleased, animals roaming, deterred and otherwise unbothered by the clash of steel and the crackling of energy. Where humans would have balked and perhaps intervened, animals knew better than to intrude on the business of those in the heat of battle.

And once those sounds died, quiet and nature reigned supreme.

Ordinarily, a good training session would’ve brought him comfort with just the hint of familiarity of home but this was less of training and more of a breakdown. A gentle breeze rustles the leaves overhead as Hiei stands guard over the sprawled out form of Kuwabara Kazuma.

The youth’s deep rattling breaths evening out as he slips into unconsciousness, practically mummified in the bandages wound about his limbs and taped to his reddened cheek. Soft, muffled crackling of dry leaves captures Hiei’s attention and his gaze drifts to the redhead lingering beneath a tree nearby.

The scene is almost picturesque.

Dressed in a loose-fitting t-shirt and slacks with a book laid out in his lap, his hair tied up in a ponytail barely brushing his shoulders. Pieces of dried fruit set upon the tips of his fingers, offered to a wary rabbit peering from beneath a bush.

Hiei snorts. It’s almost funny enough to make him laugh.

The rabbit’s slow movements, nose twitching ever so often as beady eyes observe Kurama with the same hesitance as prey before predator. When nothing comes, the rabbit snatches the fruit and darts back into the bush with only the rustle of leaves and crisp snapping branches to tell of its presence. Without a word, Kurama withdrew his hand, cleaning off his fingers with a handkerchief before returning to flipping the pages of his book.

He almost seemed out of place and yet not. Nature would always be Kurama’s domain and despite the wariness Hiei knew he should have felt with being in the fox’s element, there was no threat here. Anyone else who might have stumbled upon the scene could’ve drawn the conclusion that Kuwabara and Hiei were delinquents having a bout in the woods while Kurama was an innocent bystander. No one would think Minamino Shuuichi brandished a whip, strong enough to cut through steel, fashioned from a rose of his own creation.

That he was so merciless a teacher his student was rendered unconscious from succumbing to exhaustion and his wounds.

Or that after driving such student to his limits and then past them, he turned his sights to Hiei with a smirk so dazzling it nearly allowed him to catch the fire demon off guard with a well-placed swipe to his legs.

Hiei huffed, averting his gaze. He still had to find a way to pay Kurama back for such a cheap trick but achieving such revenge was debatable. The restlessness beneath his skin wasn’t easily quelled. And his impromptu spar with Kurama had helped with steadying his energy. Perhaps a thank you was in order when they weren’t in the middle of breaking down Kuwabara’s terrible habits.

Perhaps.

Another breeze swept through the clearing, tousling Hiei’s hair and he tipped his head back to feel the brisk wind pricking against his cheeks and the tips of his ears, cooling heated skin. Kuwabara shuddered in his sleep and Hiei glanced down at him, staring silently as he shivered. This high up in the mountains, the air was cooler and clouds rolled over the sun blocking light that would otherwise warm make the clearing an ideal place to nap.

As it was, without proper covering or an ability to withstand, sickness would set in.

Hiei’s brows furrowed. His fingers swift in undoing the clasps of his cloak and snatching it off. The dark fabric fluttered in the breeze, billowing as he laid it over Kuwabara, tucking his hand in his pocket afterward with a sidelong glance at the thicket of trees nearby where a trickling stream caught his attention.

“Offering him comfort?”

Kurama’s voice was soft and even, echoing in Hiei’s mind as if the fox were speaking directly into his ear. Suppressing a shiver, Hiei lifted his chin in a slight show of defiance against Kurama’s questioning tone. Glancing from the corner of his eye at the fox peering up at him with a gentle smile.

Once he was certain that Kuwabara wouldn’t awaken, Hiei stepped away. “He’ll complain if he wakes up cold,” he explained, feeling wholly justified that he was saving himself the headache.

It wasn’t as if he couldn’t snatch his cloak away from Kuwabara when he stirred. For now, he earned this bit of comfort with the progress he’d made. Making a fool or himself or not. It was a brave soul who stood toe to toe with Youko Kurama and lived to tell the tale.

“Of course,” Kurama answers, and Hiei could hear the smile in his voice even through their mental link. “He has been doing quite well, considering the extent of his training.”

Hiei wanted to roll his eyes — although he did agree. Kuwabara’s display in Maze Castle, whilst somewhat horrendous in technique, displayed at least some understanding of energy and manipulation. It still mystified Hiei how he could have thought he’d stand a chance against Byakko, but he was a far more practical fighter than Hiei first gave him credit for.

Something that Kurama wasn’t hesitant to point out after their return to the Ningenkai. Needless to say, the topic was disregarded immediately.

And yet now it reared its head once again.

Noticing the lack of a continuation from Kurama, Hiei glimpsed him from the corner of his eye and sighed. Without his cloak, he couldn’t hide the twitching in his fingers and folded his arms instead.

That must have been enough because Kurama hummed gently in their minds, the sound soothing and curling warmth deep in Hiei’s chest.

“Molding steel is hardest when it’s already cooled…”

Kurama’s answering hum is warmer now as is the solid pressure of his youki brushing against Hiei’s back, coaxing him with soft yet pointed nudges to his shoulder and back, prompting him to turn and look at the redhead from over his shoulder.

“That’s true,” Kurama agrees, seeming pleased as he meets Hiei’s eye. “With how quickly Yuusuke’s been progressing, I’m sure that Kuwabara is attempting to catch up to him.”

Of course he was. Yuusuke and Kuwabara seemed to be in a never-ending battle to one-up one another. What should have been a rivalry was at times little more than childish squabbling. They were friends. Daresay, partners. Yuusuke’s sheer concern for Kuwabara and Kuwabara’s near-sightedness when it pertained to the detective was closeness defined.

If Yuusuke were to leap off a cliff, Hiei had little doubt Kuwabara would follow suit just to say he did. He huffed, turning to face Kurama completely.

“If he doesn’t progress, he’ll die,” Hiei thought, casting a side-long glance at Kuwabara’s sleeping form. “Toguro must have a sense of humor demanding both the detective and the oaf participate.”

The Dark Tournament itself was twisted. Sponsored by humans who wanted nothing more than to see bloodshed and carnage. Disgusting but a “necessary” evil. Giving demons in the Ningenkai a place to vent their frustrations. Even at the price of their lives.

Though to some, there was no greater honor than dying in combat.

“He has an abnormal amount of energy for a human, almost rivaling the detective’s own,” Hiei thought with a careful visual on Kuwabara’s repleting youki. It was odd how quickly he seemed to draw energy from the world around them. Rest was an efficient way to gather energy but Kuwabara had a reservoir of untapped strength beneath all of his thickheadedness. “The basics won’t be enough.”

Kurama hummed his acknowledgement, his gaze trained on Hiei and piercing, sweeping over him as if looking for something. Hiei sighed, rolling his eyes to the heavens. Of course, giving Kurama his analysis wouldn’t end until the fox was satisfied.

And he was clearly looking for something.

For a moment, they stared at one another with nothing said between them. The air charged yet the world seemed to fall away. Kurama with his fingers interlaced in his lap, seeming comfortable despite the scathing look Hiei knew he was given him.

What was his game?

With the faintest tilt of the head, Kurama arched a fine red brow as if to tell him to go on. And after a moment of trying to understand the motive of his search, Hiei conceded.

“Control and manipulation will be the difference between whether he lives or dies,” Hiei explained and Kurama closed his eyes. Whether he liked it or not, the fox seemed to accept Hiei’s words as a possibility. And possibilities were dangerous to them now. “Relying solely on that pitiful excuse for a sword or sucking his energy out of the atmosphere will get him killed.”

The tournament would be dangerous enough for them but they were experienced fighters. Ones who were able to take life to preserve their own if need be. Kuwabara and Yuusuke, for lack of a better word, were children. Innocent in their own way. Fighting for their life and their place in the Ningenkai was different than growing up in the Makai.

Hardly comparable if Hiei’s opinion meant anything.

“You’ve been quite patient with him.”

Hiei’s eyes widened a bit and his gaze flicked to Kurama. The fox’s head was turned away from him, his eyes lingering on Kuwabara, studying him quietly then casting a side-long glance. It was purposeful. Meaningful. Kurama was fishing for something.

With a half-hearted shrug, Hiei trained his gaze on Kuwabara to keep himself from inadvertently exposing anything. If Kurama wanted to play this game then so be it. “You said it yourself, they’re human,” he pointed out, unafraid to revisit their earlier conversation when Kuwabara’s dominant hand was nearly fractured when he went toe to toe with Hiei the first time. “They don’t learn as quickly as demons.”

Kurama chuckled softly, the deep melodic rumble, almost velvety and soft to Hiei’s ears. “Yes, and I also recall mentioning they are far more stubborn than ordinary humans…”

Hiei sighed. He wasn’t sure what Kurama was trying to achieve but he tired of this wordplay. Dropping his arms to his side and ambling over to the fox, his bandaged hand resting upon his shoulder as he lowered himself to the ground at Kurama’s side. The fox said nothing, easing his book to his lap and shifting slightly, allowing Hiei to rest with his head against Kurama’s shoulder.

“How do you think they’ve been managing thus far?” Kurama asked, running nimble fingers through Hiei’s hair, his blunt nails scratching along his scalp sending tendrils of warmth ricocheting up and down the fire demon’s spine.

It took a great deal of concentration to remember that he was being prompted to speak. Hiei’s brows furrowing and his arms crossing tightly, claws pressing to the skin of his bicep to keep himself grounded.

“The psychic is training Yuusuke to the best of her ability. He has ingrained habits and is likely to fall back on them when he feels he isn’t winning. That’ll be his downfall.”

Kurama hummed knowingly. He likely observed this in Yuusuke’s fight against him. A fight that Hiei wanted to have a re-match for sooner than later. Even knowing the detective’s faults wouldn’t give him much of an edge. Yuusuke’s power was growing exponentially, and who knew where he would be once they were ready to enter the tournament.

“Kuwabara competes with him. As long as Yuusuke progresses, he’ll follow. Sensible in a fight but he’s never fought for his life. I doubt he’d want to kill his opponent. Vulnerable and susceptible to emotion.”

Despite all of Kuwabara’s ranting and raving, he did have a head for combat. He was versatile. Playing to his strengths despite being at a disadvantage. Kurama mentioned that it was the tenacity of humanity. A will to survive. Something that demons possessed but often confused with pandering to strength.

Hiei still didn’t understand it but Kurama said many things that he had trouble grasping at face value.

“And us?”

The question was spoken so softly that Hiei’s thoughts nearly drowned it out. Slowly, he opened his eyes, somewhat confused as to when they closed. Kurama’s gentle touches to his hair stilled but the fox’s fingers never left his hair. Hiei glanced up at his face, gauging the unreadable expression and Kurama’s vacant smile, his eyes emptied of genuine cheer and replaced with something other.

He was seeking comfort.

“We will survive this,” Hiei said aloud, unable to take pleasure in the flicker of surprise in Kurama’s eyes at the open admission. “I’m not carrying deadweight.”

Kurama’s eyes crinkled at the corner and the faint glimmer of mirth was something but not enough. “I know,” he said in a familiar placating tone, nearly soothing Hiei’s frayed nerves.

Unwilling to allow him to delve deeper into himself on this, Hiei shifted slightly, tucking his arm around Kurama and squeezing his side. Tension stiffening the fox’s frame, uncertainty in the inquisitive glance he gave Hiei, quietly asking the meaning of the tight hold.

“We will survive this,” Hiei insisted, lifting his head with a slight shake to rid himself of Kurama’s distracting touch.

Kurama’s gaze swept over him once then twice before the fox seemed to decide upon something. Warmth sparking in green eyes as his arms wrapped around Hiei, catching him in a cozy if not loose embrace. Hiei grumbled low in his throat, as Kurama’s face was buried in his hair, not allowing him to see the fruits of his labor in attempting to make the fox happy.

But the gentle press of Kurama’s lips to the top of his head stuttered his heartbeat and his tightening hold stole his breath away.

“We will.”

The admittance did more for Hiei than he could have put into words. He had no doubt in Kurama’s capabilities. If anything, he thought of him as the most capable person on their team. But if they were lacking in any way, they would be dead before the tournament even began. And Kurama — Kurama was the one person in this that he wasn’t willing to risk.

Hiei wasn’t sure how long they sat there together, wrapped up in one another’s embrace. But one of them had the hindsight to release the other once Kuwabara’s energy began to stir around him. The comfortable silence coming to a close as he began to wake.

With a light squeeze of Kurama’s side, Hiei eased his arms from around him and darted over to snatch his cloak from Kuwabara’s body as the psychic’s face contorted while he wrested with the last vestiges of unconsciousness. Darting back to Kurama’s side, Hiei pointedly ignored the faint smile on the fox’s lips as he opened his book and resumed looking at the words. The teasing surge of youki wrinkling Hiei’s nose and he answered back with annoyed energy of his own.

Slowly, Kuwabara sat up and rubbed at his shoulders, chanting beneath his breath with a low groan. “Ow.. Ow…” Blearily, he rubbed at his eyes, scanning the clearing and looking to Kurama with a slight nod before narrowing his eyes at Hiei. “You could’ve taken it easy, y’know!”

Hiei rolled his eyes. It was Kurama who knocked him unconscious. Though, if Kuwabara wanted to blame him then he’d happily oblige.

“If you can complain, you can train.”

Kuwabara’s eyes widened and he held up a hand in the empty air, wincing at the sudden movement. “Gimmie a break!” He cried indignantly in an unholy screech that almost sounded like a whine.

“You slept. That’s enough of a break.”

“Tch.. Kurama! Talk some sense into him!”

Throughout their bickering, Kurama didn’t lift a finger nor seem to acknowledge but the amusement showed in the soft flares in his energy and the ghost of a smile on his lips. Hiei glanced up at the sky, marking the position of the sun and mapping out in his head how long it’d been since their last meal time.

He has to eat and so do you. Take him if you want.

I’m not particularly hungry, Hiei.

When was the last time you’ve eaten?

So demanding.

Hiei didn’t need to point out his bad habits and Kurama pressed his youki against his, proving he understood.

“He just woke up, Hiei,” the fox said in a soft chiding tone, snapping his book shut. “Let him have something to eat first.”

“Have it your way,” said Hiei, rolling his eyes and turning his gaze the other way, ignoring the amused youki Kurama coiled around his shoulders as if prompting him to glance his way.

Kuwabara’s shuffling against the dirt was evident of his difficulty getting to his feet but with a sideways glance, a sliver of pride swelled in Hiei’s chest as the psychic stood on his own two legs. Kurama rose with his book tucked beneath his arm and offered Kuwabara a hand, allowing him to lean against him to keep himself upright.

The pair slowly making their way through the trees on the dirt trail leading back to Genkai’s where Yuusuke’s energy was flickering in and out, evident of the detective’s training coming to a close for the day.

The pressure itself was building but Hiei was unsatisfied. He still had more in him. Much more.

“You are quite kind to them.”

Hiei stiffened up at the amused and playful tone. Rolling his eyes with a soft grunt at the words, his back turned despite Kurama no longer being in his presence.

“You’re seeing things.”

Drawing his sword from where it was buried in the dirt nearby, he brushed off the vines coiled around its blade and prepared to go through the motions of his own training.

“Of course.”

Hiei cursed under his breath. Kurama was never going to let this go.

[rasenkaikyo]

Hina’s Twitter #DailyHeadcanons (thus far)

If you’ve been tracking my Twitter you have probably seen me attempting to put out various headcanons per day for my OCs, and catching up on days where I don’t. Most of them have been about Hinako. Here are all of those to current, including those from a “1 like = 1 headcanon” thread a while back (Thanks again to everyone who contributed to that with a like!).

Hinako is effectively a secular geomancer, as her art has the similar structure but the foundation of different pretenses oriented about the importance of kami.

Because the kami manifest in any aspect of nature, from the rocks to every living individual, the use earth wind and water are construed to be pure, positive manifestations of kami essence, hence their extensive use in shinkan healing, sealing and purging.

Shinkan principle also includes the light of kami, the purported manifestation of soul, which bears resemblance to white magic of the west. Some of the more potent spells, however, extrapolate from one's self more than the latent aether around them, in accordance with soul.

Hinako bears a soul crystal that has long been shared among kannushi of her former temple. It appears as a magatama made of jade.

The shakujo Masakaki, validated in the lorebook in its use originally as a ritual stand, is standard for the temple priests that become shinkan. In their case it became a signature aid only after the priests adopted a versatile field-based approach.

Spells, too, evolved as priests took a more active role beyond their normal bounds, whereas originally such cants were usually full blown norito - prayers of testament to the kami. Hinako recites norito and meditates daily to steel herself in advance.

Hinako's bloodline is a Hingan clan that began as naught more than dairy farmers in the north end of Koshu, rising to status of preeminent warriors to protect their land during the Age of Blood. Pragmatically they allied with the Mitsurugi clan at war's end and remain prominent.

Hinako can detect differences in the flow of aether and by extension any atypical and anomalous areas. Especially where the veil is thin or where something might be lurking, she can manipulate natural energies to pull out what is hiding behind the veil or even open gateways.

Yukai, the Hidden World, is the eminent alternate facet of reality overlapping the known world, where the supernatural can hide or cross over - from yokai to voidsent to the spirits of Reikai and the kami of Shinkai. It is also the most viable one within reach of Hina's magic.

Hinako's equivalent of Holy is the norito-koto Mabataki, an emergency purifying technique described as a projection of the user's spirit, a single blinking eye of the kami making its victims flinch. Its greater counterpart, combining latent aether, is Qi Release: Tenbatsutekimen.

A big influence to Hina of late has been Saint Martha from Fate, due to her voice HC being Hayami Saori. It works well with Hina, as she is of staunch discipline but it hasn't always been that way. Her strength lends both to her constitution and her potential to deck you.

One of Hinako's mother Honoka's favorite things to do was make jewelry out of flowers preserved in resin. She gave these delicate lucky charms in some form to all the important people in her life: chiefly, her brother Yoshichika, her husband Katanobu, and her first child Hina.

Iwa-no-Sato, Hinako's home village, was reputable in a few ways, but the strangest thing it was notable for were the numerous tapirs that dwelled in and around the village and temple; the result of a foreign trader's misfortune and several of the non-native animals escaping.

Iwa-no-Sato, once a lively hub between regions of Othard, has since been abandoned when the 12th Legion made a sweeping effort to eradicate pocket cells of the Resistance after Doma's razing. Its tenkonto has been destroyed and its falcon porter displaced.

As described in roleplay with Tola, Yugiri's refugee convoy was not immediately turned away from Hingashi, but given temporary respite in Kugane while pleas of asylum were attempted to the island chain and at the Thavnairian Consulate.

Hinako has a way of conveying her general intentions without uttering a word, in a similar manner to the Qestir, to those with whom she has formed a bond. Perhaps the most intrinsic, complete link of this sort has been made with Mozu.

Hinako didn't initially take up her priest discipline with grace as a child. She was stubborn and reckless and blamed Granddad for her parents leaving them.

She kinda Didn't Understand and Morimoto wasn't the best teacher for her from an emotional point. Although she is far more cool and composed now, occasionally she can still be a little... snappy.

During her training, Hinako was taught in martial arts and swordsmanship not just for the skill, but for the principles in the art meant to bolster the mind, body and spirit. Methods of precision and awareness would be carried on in her strength as a priest.

One treasure of the Daigo clan is Dojigiri, a katana of mythic quality carried in the family for ages and supposedly once wielded by Morimoto himself. It was named for having slain an oni in legend; stained with the demon's blood, the blade gained a fiery glow.

The existence of aramitama and nigimitama are important concepts in Hinako's belief. They are considered facets of the spirit endemic to all souls, including two additional 'hidden' facets. Maintaining a sense of balance is key to Hinako's regular meditation.

As countering excess aramitama with force is one means to dispel it, Hinako has proposed friendly 'healthy' sparring with Mozu, with a degree of mutual benefit - placing faith not in that Mozu couldn't kill her but she can take anything Mozu delivers regardless.

There are ritual ways to let one's aramitama pour out or boil over to see release. These methods are naturally considered quite dangerous as they often see the subject in a berserk state for the duration of release.

"Yuniwa" is the term the shrine priests have given to similar principles Asylum and Sacred Soil; a section of purified earth with the original purpose of helping connect with kami, it encourages healing the body and spirit.

The ancestry of Hinako's profession can be traced to early geomancers, Auri shamans from the north, and Raen priests from the Ruby Sea - the latter carrying principles of Kojin magic and religion.

Hinako regularly commits a part of her prayers to her girlfriend, bidding the kami to ever watch over her. She also always sends a small prayer in Susano or Byakko's name whenever she sees a thunderstorm, be it overhead or looming majestically in the distance.

Subtly tied around near the base of Hinako's right horn is what seems to be a single little flower-shaped ornament, not dissimilar to the blossoms that she at times wears on her head or as a necklace. This is in fact her linkpearl.

My timeless #DailyHeadcanon is one that spawned when @catearenthusiast​ took a candid shot of Hina from behind a cake, it was decided that after Hinako had tried cake for the first time while in Eorzea she has been enamored with the decadence and artistry of cakes ever since.

Hinako has a comprehensive understanding of tending to plants for it was important to take care of the sacred trees in and around the shrine, like the 'sakaki', but there have been times where she would plant new flowers and the like in areas for the beauty of it.

Hinako is known to have been bold and spirited from a young age. Occasionally she would steal away with her longtime friend Mine and peruse the vibrant streets of Doma proper, enjoying the myriad food and craft stands.

In the end, the truest form of soul is pure and good; there is no 'evil' in Hina's belief, only that which has been tainted along the way. It is for this reason that she gives a prayer to any life lost in this world regardless of circumstance, including Imperial Garleans.

Hinako has not just a perception of one's individual aether up close, but of the "current" or distribution of aether over a broader range, which allows her to head to general points of interest. Of course, she cannot pinpoint exact spots from too far a distance.

While she is very cognizant of large areas of instability, like constant ones such as the crystal embedded in Pharos Sirius or the entire region of Mor Dhona, or something as drastic as a primal summoning, more centralized forms of corruption are a harder read from malms away.

It is believed that in the beginning of days, the great kami walked freely in the Natural World. Things changed over time, however, and eventually the kami could only hold a more subtle or latent presence without being a detriment to the land and qi around them.

Of Hinako's spiritual awareness, arguably nowhere is as potent a place to be than in the Black Shroud. The uniquely teeming nature of the "kami" there leaves the priestess particularly keen about her surroundings unlike any other location she has known.

Hinako regularly forwards the large part of her earnings in tending to property or for others' benefit, at times to the point where she barely has any money for herself. Seeing that she's not one to ask for favors, Mozu (or Mine) tends to treat her on worse days.

Hinako occasionally indulges herself in tea ceremonies, and in the beginning Mozu would merely watch from afar, then later be encouraged to partake herself. The first time Hina did it with Mozu after Doma's liberation, they finished it with a kiss. uwu

Hinako dresses fairly straight-forward as a priest, but she's fond of pretty kimonos and dresses with brighter tones or soft pastels. She would have gone and perused Doman vendors for such, and such went into the dress she took up after starting out in Eorzea.

Aside from her flowery preferences, she may have also chosen to somewhat invoke the spirit of a journeying summoner from Far Eastern lore of ages past...

During her initial Eorzean travels, Hinako happened upon the shop of an Ala Mhigan pâtissier. Beholding the immaculate confections, she just had to purchase a piece of cake. She has loved the dessert since. (xoxo @kukurubean )

On some days when Mozu is gone for a mission, Hinako will kinda just... try on Mozu's kimonos and gear, and walk about or exercise in them. She also times this in ways where she'll show up in Mozu's gilet at 893 HQ, mostly for sake of reactions (esp. from Kiri).

Erring away from the somber epithet Hōzuki, Hinako has come to give Mozu an occasional nickname of her own: "Suzume", literally sparrow, drawing from themes of her family. She will endearingly call her girlfriend her "little sparrow" as well.

Suzu is a logical shortening of this also.

Following the apropos advice of a Valentione's Day fortune-teller, Hina's idea of making the most of the day was to take Mozu into the scenic Yanxian peaks, just as Honoka did with her as a child. She could scarce think of anyone better to share the view with.

Hinako's Magatama, her soul crystal, is regularly attached to a rosary (juzu) firmly wrapped around a band on her arm, and comes into play in various practices. Such use was adapted mainly from ascetic monks in the region. 

Against Mozu's swifter and precise methods, Hinako was taught to "stand with the might of the mountain kami" around her, firm and strong. It is for this reason that she is more durable than she appears, and capable of hauling a grown Auri man pretty easily.

The priests of Iwa often worked afield when called to task for their cleansing and purification rituals -- which due to the potential unknowns, the invisible threat, meant the necessary garb of Doman iron plate armor and underlying chain mail.

As a child, Hinako would engage with other kids in staging elaborate, jidaigeki or chanbara-coded pretend play, in which almost every time Hina herself was a samurai warrior - doubtlessly inspired by her father and grandfather.

Although she would now downplay her capability for physical combat and err away from violence, perhaps it isn't so farfetched that she took to learning the sword.

🌸🌸🌸

[datshq]

DATS’s Insanely Long Hiei Meta Part 1/3

Childhood and Joining the Spirit Detectives

Starting chronologically, in terms of Hiei's personal timeline, his first memory is of him being rejected, unwanted, as he was tossed off a cliff because the ice apparitions thought everyone would be better off with him dead. Right after this event, he was discovered by bandits, who saw his potential to be useful, due to how powerful he was even as a baby. Then, when Hiei became too violent for their tastes, the other bandits turned their backs on Hiei. Once again, Hiei was rejected, despite being useful. He wasn't wanted even here.

This explains why Hiei often behaves hesitant, even over things he wants and knows he needs. He knew he needed to recover after his Jagan surgery but by this point he'd learned that, no matter what, he'd wear out his welcome eventually. Even if someone offered to put him up, they could rescind that offer at any point when they decided they didn't want Hiei around anymore. Shigure saw Hiei's hesitation and he saw through his blustering, which is why he offered Hiei the sword lessons as an added incentive/excuse. Because Shigure promised Hiei sword lessons, it didn't matter if he suddenly decided he didn't want Hiei around anymore, he'd still owe Hiei those sword lessons. This also gave Hiei a safety net of sorts; he knew he'd be welcome for as long as Shigure was still in the process of teaching Hiei these lessons.

As soon as Hiei recovered, he tracked down the floating island of the ice apparitions and discovered that his mother was dead as well as that his sister had disappeared. At this point Hiei was no longer burning with hatred, as he spared Rui's life even as she voiced her desire for death. Here Hiei first starts truly showing his new defeatist attitude. He has clear memory of his birth, so he remembers his mother pleading for his return. Now the only person who ever wanted Hiei was dead, and he felt that his arrival at the village was purposeless. His new goal then became to find his sister and make sure she was safe.

Then complications arose. Hiei got into trouble in the human world, which sidetracked him from his main goal. Hiei mentioned he didn't join the Spirit Detective squad for a pardon, but because he wanted to fight Yusuke again. However, at this point he must have discovered that, in the human world, the Spirit World had power and resources that he could use to locate his sister. Playing nice with them was the logical thing to do, even if it left him as a babysitter to the fledgling human warriors.

The Saint Beasts arc is the most important arc for Hiei's character development. During this arc, Kurama gets visibly surprised by how different Hiei starts acting partway through. This is because, during this arc, Hiei discovered emotional openings in himself that let the human teammates in. First was the gate challenge, where the point was to create a trap that tempted one of the group to betray the others. It was designed to create distrust and to break apart any group coming in to invade the castle. And then Yusuke defies their opponents', and Hiei's, expectations by placing his trust in Hiei. A lack of trust was what caused Hiei to be abandoned for the second time in his life, and now Yusuke offered his trust to Hiei without needing anything from Hiei first. It was almost like being wanted.

And then there's Kuwabara. You all know I pay special attention to how Hiei acts towards and around Kuwabara and in this arc we get all the reasons for it. Hiei started off barely acknowledging Kuwabara's presence. He didn't know anything about him but that he was human and so Hiei has no reason to think too much of it; powerful psychics are rare in this day and age. But then they encounter Byakko, who brings out a lot of the stronger and more admirable aspects of Kuwabara's personality. Hiei had been expecting him and Kurama to do most of the fighting, but Kuwabara stepped up, wanted to carry his own weight and wanted to contribute to the group effort. And he didn't stop until the fight was done, even when it dragged on and exhausted him. The Byakko episodes are the ones where we first really see that Kuwabara simply doesn't tire out completely. Ever. He always manages to find more energy to keep going, although it's only around the Dark Tournament that the other characters start to notice this.

I will also point out that before the Byakko fight is the only time in the entire show where Hiei implies that the group doesn't need Kuwabara's input. After that Hiei never voices that Kuwabara shouldn't fight due to being the least lethal member of the group. It's true, but Hiei doesn't think it diminishes Kuwabara's value to the team. In fact, Hiei even contributes to Kuwabara's training regime for the Dark Tournament, before Kurama takes over because Hiei was too "soft". During the Saint Beasts arc, Hiei grows protective of Kuwabara, but not overly so. This is because Hiei can relate with Kuwabara's desire to fight, to be useful to his teammates and friends, not because they'd drop him if he didn't, but because he wants to do this for them, because they all want to be together. Kuwabara's living the kind of life Hiei wants and, rather than be bitterly jealous about it, Hiei sticks to Kuwabara like glue, observing him and interacting with him.

[anonimo283]

Hello🙋🙋🙋🙋🙋🙋🙋 this time I wanted to show Chiaki another OC of the anime Kuroko no Basket I hope you like it. Thank you😳😳😳😳😳😳😳 ➡INFORMATION 🔵Name: Darcy Chiaki 🔵Kanji: ダ ー シ ー · キ ア キ 🔵Nationality: Canadian  🔵Sex: Male 🔵Age: 16 🔵Height: 178 cm 🔵Weight: 67 kg 🔵Birthday: November 12 🔵Zodiac sign: Scorpio ◼Family ▶1st father: Elias Darsy ▶2nd father: Hiroyuki Satō 🔵Sport: ▶Basketball ▶Hokey ➡APPEARANCE Tall, with a thin body, like a somewhat yellowish skin, his straight hair with a pointed hairstyle of dark lilac. Their dress is usually very young, modern and sometimes simple. His body is very thin of normal appearance and his serious face with tired eyes and an image of someone loose and disinterested. ➡PERSONALITY Calm and patient, as well as big-hearted, it can still be very dangerous or aggressive if they manage to make you angry, but on the other hand very kind and considerate. Somehow it can be very romantic and detailed, especially with Byakko, to the point of getting to dedicate all his life to her. He is not very sociable, so he does not talk much and always tends to be with the same expression. He loves music, as well as some musical groups. He also likes videogames and animes. ➡BIOGRAPHY He was adopted by a gay couple since he was a newborn, since then he lives in Toronto, Canada. Since childhood he was very quiet and antisocial, usually only had a friend named Dylan, and a great relationship with his cousin Margaret, who lived in England. When he barely attended kindergarten he met Byakko Francis since then they were great friends, almost inseparable. But everything changed when Byakko moved to Japan and in spite of everything he would expect her to have a boyfriend relationship at the end of the third grade of high school, but due to the great changes of Byakko and his decision to continue in Japan, without saying a reason Just seeing how his girlfriend and friend changed with eyes of ambition and power so different from the innocent and happy that he used to have causes his relationship to break up at the beginning of the first year of high school. Getting to have emotional problems coming to an accident that completely changed his life and of course Byakko's too. ➡RELATIONSHIP WITH BYAKKO They were great friends due to the great similarity of tastes. From the beginning Chiaki was dedicated to protect Byakko, due to the problems he had with his companions and to devote most of his time to Byakko, listening to their problems and even sleeping with her due to nightmares. ➡CURIOSITIES ✅Knows how to play the guitar, and also usually write songs which are all dedicated to Byakko. ✅I knew Dylan a lot more before Byakko. ✅Chiaki is the only one who knows all the secrets of Byakko. ✅His hair is actually straight but due to the great influence of his father, he usually combs it in the same way as he does. ✅His dream was to become a guitarist in a band with Dylan. ✅In spite of the age he knows how to smoke and he usually drinks alcohol due to the bad influence of Dylan, and he even used to practice it together with Byakko. ✅Chiaki has the soft and delicate voice that give a great touch when he sings. ✅The reason for wanting to learn sports was only to monitor that Byakko did not get hurt. ✅At the end of the second year of high school he is part of a band together with Dylan, and two of his friends Terry, .Marcus and Stacey

[somegremlin-archive3]

@jinxo​ asked:  A white tiger silently pads into Yumeno's room before a blinding white light transforms the tiger into a human and Atsushi smiles as he presents Yumeno with a quite life-sized teddy in the form of Byakko. "Merry Christmas Yumeno-kun."

「 ★ 」   ⋮    Ａ Ｎ Ａ Ｔ Ｈ Ｅ Ｍ Ａ．   ⋮  ━━     At   this   point,   the   child   was   PLENTY   fine   with   the   tiger   that   occasionally   came   in   and   out   of   the   cells.   The   tiger   NEVER   chose   to   hurt   him;   it   only   chose   to   tear   apart   any   guards   or   mafia   men   that   came   close.   But   what   he   DIDN’T   EXPECT   was   for   the   tiger   to   step   inside   his   cell   and   reveal   his   true   self.

               He   always   had   the   sneaking   suspicion   the   tiger   was   Atsushi   -   san   …   meaning   that   the   tiger   was   from   the   Armed   Detective   Agency.   The   Port   Mafia   doesn’t   LIKE   the   Armed   Detective   Agency.   HE   doesn’t   even   like   the   Armed   Detective   Agency.   But   he’s   put   that   aside   for   Atsushi   -   san   already.   What   he’s   worried   about   is   someone   SEEING.

              ‘   Atsushi   -   san   !   Get   OUT   of   here,   they   might   see   you   !   ‘

              A   pause;   he   stares   at   the   GIANT   tiger   plush.   It   certainly   wouldn’t   kill   anyone   but   it   was   very   soft   and   cuddly.   Soft   and   cuddly   enough   to   serve   as   a   pillow   against   the   cold,   filthy   cell   floors.   It’s   enough   to   get   a   smile   from   his   face.

              ‘   Thank   you.   ‘  

[mahouproject-one]

Going For The Head || Shizuka || MM Trial 6-2 || Re: Like, Literally Almost Everyone // Attn: All, Outa

A snicker. “Reiko, when you put it that way, you make it sound like us Osaka folk epitomize chaos. I’m sure it’s only really just the three of us giving everyone else back home a legacy to remember us by, I assure the rest of you that we are not all looking for an excuse to go 200% on the vindictive scale.” Shizuka laughs. “Besides, we’re just as stubborn as we are dumb sometimes, and that's not always a bad thing. We're assholes but we mean well; I don't see any of us going on to go so far as to do something as drastic as... well, this, can you?"

(elsewhere, a young blonde half-French boy sketches out his dream vacation, complete with a pretty girl with grey hair and rabbit ears. he doesn’t know why everyone calls him a furry over that, he just thinks they’re a neat addition)

He stays silent for a while after, keeping his attention on the people who are speaking (with the noted exception of one individual who shall not be named) whilst they come forward with facts, theories, and in one case, an accusation. Shizuka waits; it’s not his place to speak yet, especially not before the men of the hour got their chance to respond. When HOLY and Outa do respond though, his expression goes from calm to... unreadable. Otohiko’s interruption hasn’t helped matters, and as he considers his next words a weight on his chest makes itself known. As in, he only just remembers what he was holding onto is there.

Maybe he should bring it out.

“Know that this is entirely impersonal - okay, maybe it is a little personal since I’m dead and all - but at this point I’m on the same bandwagon as most of y’all. We’re not in the business of voting to kill, but voting to know. To get answers.”

“And the faster we get this accusation formalized, the less I have to hear of Imai than is otherwise necessary.” He mumbles under his breath, before retrieving his wand from a pocket. Instead of casting a spell, he waves it to conjure the lexicon of public information gathered on the various students that had first arrived here.

(or as the viewing audience might know it better as: the roster page public bios)

“At the time of the fifth trial, we had been operating under the assumption that the feline shadows had pointed towards someone from Byakko, or eventually, Mi-Ke due to their talent and their love connection to me. As we now know that doesn’t hold up on either count, so who else would have a connection to cats? Or carnivores for that matter?” Shizuka pauses, before he reads out a paragraph from the roster. “He is more known for his musical arrangements, including his masterpiece titled ‘Nine Lives’ - an arrangement separated into nine different parts. Nine lives belonging to a cat, as you’ve mentioned.” 

He swishes his wand off. Golden eyes, yellow to begin with but now clearer than they have ever been before, flick over and settle with a steady gaze. “And unless I’m quite wrong, you yourself have come into possession of many familiars over the course of our stay here in Mahoutokoro. Amongst them there is a snow fox and a yarn cat, and while I apologize that I did not spend more time with you in order to list more of them I’m sure there are people here who can vouch that you’re their owner. Woodland animals that gather around the sound of music that soothes them and a young man who cares for them as much as he cares about the others he has opened his heart to in this castle. Whether or not the rest of you noticed, here it is: when I first sent out the letter to free those under Otohiko’s control, I noted the absence of two people in particular, whose spirits had already been freed: Morgan Lowell and Zoya Amemori-Kozlova.”

A soft, quiet question. “I assume you were being proactive then, Outa-san? Despite what you’ve said - and I agree that if I were in your shoes, I would have pulled every favour to spare both Miyu-nee and Mi-Ke if I had control over it - almost everything else we’ve learned about them in this castle points towards you as one of the... no, the strongest possible culprit for Otohiko’s Chosen. What you just said, nary five minutes ago interests me: do you think I would have allowed that to happen if I had any connection to Otohiko? On that topic, allow me to point out something else we’ve established earlier regarding the shadows that inhabited the dungeon: Neither Otohiko nor her Chosen one deliberately changed the shadows because the magic was out of their control.” Shizuka nods at Miyu as he says this, considering she was the first to say it. “Who’s to say they had any control over who the pensieve decided was a suitable sacrifice for the mistakes we made?”

Another thought occurs to him. “One other thing, tangentially related but I’ve no idea how important it is. As we have unfortunately established with apologies to the Amemori-Kozlova siblings, Zoya-san was on the verge of being expelled as a scapegoat for what would’ve gone down in Mahoutokoro had this killing game not been started. If the mastermind’s end goal was to find a way to save us all, but in a way that we would be grateful...” He doesn’t finish that thought. Part of him realizes it’s definitely too much of a stretch, but he’s already said it so he’ll leave the dangling thread up to interpretation.

The object in his chest feels heavy, but now is the time to bring it out. “And one, one last thing. The reason why I’m certain about this, why I’m focusing so much on going after you, Outa-san. In the wake of our actions that freed the spirits of this castle, I returned downstairs to see what became of the crossroads. I found a home to return to, one that had four doors for each of the founders, and one stairway down to the basement. There, I encountered... I encountered the wisps of our loved ones - of my best friend and my mother, though I imagine anyone else who took my letter advice to head down there surely heard someone else. And something else, mind you.” Shizuka reaches inside his jacket to withdraw a music box from within. “This was playing in a side room, and when it was either stopped or removed from the premises the wisps disappeared. I’ve stopped it for now to keep it hidden, but I’m going to play it for everyone in this trial room.”

As the music box begins to play its tune, Shizuka forces himself to straighten up. This is an all-or-nothing gamble. “I don’t suppose this melody sounds familiar? And even if it doesn’t... then what kind of instrument does this remind you of?”

[3wishes-rpg]

Forecast For Tonight: Friendship

“Agni?”

He looked up from his plate of chicken chaana masala, a strip of naan hanging out of the corner of his mouth. “Hmm?”

Red grinned. “Pack a small bag, and be ready to leave after dinner.”

Confusion quickly spread over his face as he worked through his mouthful. “Where - what -”

“Ya really think I’d come over to your place for no good reason? We’s going on a date.”

Agni choked on his food, and Red’s grin grew wider. She enjoyed throwing him off his usual confident game. “It’ll be a while, I need to get presentable,” Agni said, looking down at his outfit from last season.

“Nope, not allowed.” Red sipped at her lassi as Agni struggled to process her instructions. When him blinking at her dragged out longer than usual, Red continued. “Just grab some spare clothes, wear shoes you don’t mind getting mucky, and bring out your autobike.”

“I… I guess. I mean...” Agni shrugged. “Date night it is.”

Red took the last big piece of naan. “So what’s for dessert?”

---------

The path Red led them down had just enough room for the autobike and sidecar. Even though Red used the crank flashlight to give an extra source of light, Agni still took the winding path slow. It seemed to take ages to get there, but when asked how much longer, Red quipped, “Had we been walking, this’d taken about two hours.”

“How often did you come here?”

Red’s demeanor changed slightly. “It ain’t too terribly far from me tree,” she said. Agni didn’t push the questioning (his was so curious, but everything else told him to back off), so instead he just placed a hand on her shoulder. After a few beats of hesitation, Red placed her cheek against his hand and closed her eyes.

They both ignored the sniffles.

Agni continued to drive.

After a few more curves they finally finally got to a point where the road narrowed too much for the autobike. “We’ll have to walk from here,” Red said softly, not quite able to look him in the eyes. Agni nodded, walking the bike so that it was hidden behind some trees. Red handed him her bag, and Agni raised an eyebrow before realizing she was handing him the heavier of the two.

“How much farther?”

“Not much. Don’t worry, the clothes ain’t until tomorrow.”

His eyebrow arched higher, but Red didn’t clarify, instead turning on her bare heels to walk farther into the forest. Agni followed, his shoes making quite a bit of noise in the dark night.

“Can we not use the flashlight?”

“Ya eyes need to adjust eventually, so nah.” They walked silently for a bit, the jungle floor going up on a slight but steady incline, and then Red added, “I should’ve asked before, do ya know how ta swim?”

“... If I say no, will you let me drown?”

Red laughed, bright and loud, and Agni grinned. Now it felt like they were on equal ground again. Before she could answer that question, Agni said, “My brother taught me years ago, before, before he…” Now it was his turn for his voice to fade off into silence.

Red did something he didn’t expect: she grabbed his hand. Both their marks glowed dimly in the dark night, with hers hidden behind bandages, his obvious on his forehead. Red didn’t let him stop walking though, her slow yet steady pace keeping him moving over the jungle floor. Finally they reached a clearing where the ground lay flat, with an obvious pit in the middle where a fire could safely burn.

“We’re here,” she said, placing his bag near the fire pit. “Now we have to find wood to burn. It has to be dry, rotted wood, or it’d just smoke and not give off any warmth.”

Agni nodded at her instructions. He constantly felt amazed by her endless well of knowledge, but he knew better than to say anything, as Red always felt like he was poking fun at her. Instead Agni placed the bag on his shoulder next to the one on the ground. He kept the fire pit and the clearing within sight, but either Red knew where to look for dry wood, or she had some stashed somewhere, as her pile grew much faster than his.

In fact, the second time he returned with an armful of wood, she was sitting on the ground, rubbing a stick quickly between her hands, her feet holding another, larger stick still. “Need help?”

“Yeah, dry leaves in a ball in the middle. Please.”

“Sure.” Agni did what he was asked to do, crouching by the fire pit, and it was only a few moments before a soft wisp of smoke came off her sticks. “Smoke means fire, fire means warmth,” Red explained, knocking the smoldering pile into her hands. She blew on it once, twice, before carefully placing it on the pile of leaves. A few more breaths later, and gentle flames sprang to life.

“Now what?” Agni asked softly, watching her carefully and slowly feed the fire.

“Look up,” she said, and Agni did just that.

“Wow,” he said breathlessly, leaning back on his elbows, before just giving up and laying on his back, hands behind his head. The sky above them glittered with a dozen colors he’d never seen before. The usual muted stars he could see in town or from his window nearly blinded him, and now he could see the minor stars, and flickering colors that could possibly be other planets and just… “Wow.”

“There’s been whispers of bears around, so better safe than sorry,” Red said, adding a few more sticks to the fire before lying next to him on the ground.

“I was talking to Miss Annaisha, and she showed me some star books. They have some new names because of the Empire, but…” Red raised her hand, her finger tracing a small circle of what looked like about sixteen bright stars, “That’s me. Apparently I’m considered the ‘Legs’ of Byakko.”

She took her hand from the sky, and looked around, before nodding and putting her hand back up. “There you are, those three stars there, bent like a house roof. You’re the ‘Stomach’ of Byakko, which makes no sense, because your mark is on your forehead. At least mine is on a limb.”

Agni tried to stifle a laugh, but Red heard, pushing at his side. “This ain’t funny! I’m trying to teach you stuff!”

That caused an embarrassingly loud guffaw to escape. “I’m considered the stomach because I follow my guts!”

She stopped pushing on his side. “I... uh. Oh. That makes sense.”

After a long pause, Red continued talking, her hands tracing paths in the sky as her words wove elaborate stories. Whatever books or stories Annaisha told the young girl, Red soaked them up like a cloth did to dye, as she easily talked for hours as the half-moon slowly travelled over them.

Agni wasn’t sure when he dozed off, but when he awoke again, a large white tiger with yellow eyes lay staring at them on the other side of the smoldering coals. He slowly blinked once, twice, knowing exactly who he was staring at while his brain tried to process it, and on the third blink, the tiger disappeared. Knowing they were safe in the cool, dark night, Agni rolled onto his side. Red lay curled into a ball, her thin frame taking up barely any space; Agni scooted closer, throwing his arm over her side. He kept his grip loose enough so she could push him away easily if she wanted, but tight enough to send some warmth her way.

Red sighed, the soft creases in her brow loosening, and Agni fell back asleep.

The next morning started bright and early, the birds and sunshine louder than he was used to. Agni blinked himself awake, then stretched; he slept surprisingly well on the dusty ground. Red was no longer next to him, and he rolled to the other side to see her stirring a pot over a low fire.

“Working on some breakfast,” she said once she noticed he was awake. “Don’t worry, it ain’t rock soup.”

That didn’t soothe his fears, but Agni didn’t say anything as he sat up. Scrubbing at his face with his hands, he tried to peer into the tall sided pot. It looked a lot like rice, but before he could get a good look, Red covered it with a lid, then shifted the pot so it sat indirectly by the fire.

“Now it’s time for the real fun,” Red grinned.

Agni raised an eyebrow. “Real fun?”

She turned on her heel, and started running farther into the jungle with a whoop. “Catch me if you can!”

He stumbled to his feet, completely forgetting to tug his shoes back on, and he chased after her. A very thin path on the ground led the way, and the whoops and peals of laughter coming from Red led him in the correct direction. He could see flashes of Red’s yellow sari among the bright green leaves and dark brown trees.

Warning bells in his head told him to slow down, so even as Red raced ahead, calling him a lazy sloth, Agni slowed his pace to a fast walk. Thank goodness, because the ground suddenly turned into a rocky overhang, and that overhang dropped off to nothingness just as quickly. There was one last squeal of joy from Red, and then the sound of splashing water. Agni peered over the edge, the cliff face probably six or seven polo mech lengths from the surface of the water.

After several long, long moments, Red’s small head finally broke the surface.

“I win, ya slow sloth!” she yelled, her voice echoing through the canyon. Before she could sling any more insults his way, Agni jumped into the water, his knees to his chest to help soften the blow. The water was cold, shockingly cold, and when Agni broke the surface, Red laughed at his guppy open-mouthed face before splashing him.

His forceful splashes back evened the playing field, even when she started relying on her teleportation powers to launch a full on water assault from all different directions. Agni’s mark glowed white on his forehead as his powers helped predict where she would attack next. He got a few good splashes in as well, but when she didn’t seem to slow her advances, Agni started to fight dirty. He grabbed at her arms and legs, pulling her close anytime she was within reach. She sputtered, laughing and splashing and wiggling away.

“Truce,” Red finally sputtered, laughing, her eyes twinkling, “Truce.”

Accepting her truce, Agni floated on his back in the cool water. Red floated near him, not quite as steady, her head nearly dipping underwater when she yawned.

“You sleep okay?” he asked, remembering the vision from the night before.

“Okay enough. Me blinkings be getting good, but it still makes me tired quickly.”

Agni hummed, then suggested, “Next time you spend the night, we can work on that. Like make you blink until failure, rest, then try again. You know, build up your stamina.”

Red splashed him again. “I’m not a failure!”

After spitting out the water, Agni explained, “Until failure means doing until you can’t anymore, or until you fail at trying to make it happen. It’s not a derogatory term, Red. It’s just a phrase.”

“It’s a stupid phrase, but I guess.”

They floated in quiet for a few more moments before Red asked, “Are you sure it’s safe? To talk about our marks at your house? No one will hear?”

Agni grinned. “Shahil’s never complained.”

“GROSS,” Red yelled, splashing him again, and Agni splashed back laughing. He didn’t accept her calls of truce this time around. Instead he pulled her close, then using both his hands, Agni tossed her up and behind his head.

The water fight waxed and waned, but eventually Agni called truce himself, mostly because the grumbling in his stomach got too much to ignore. Even then, he didn’t mention that he was hungry, mostly because the one time he tried to say about being hungry around Red she got more upset than he’d ever seen her before. Instead he asked, “What are you making for breakfast?”

“Congee.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s like… savory rice porridge? With eggs and veg? One of me Littles from Hongnan taught it to us. Sometimes we call it garbage rice, because ya throw anything you can find from the garbage in it.”

Agni hid his grimace behind his hand, pretending to wipe some water off his face.

Red continued, “But don’t worry, Miss Saanvi let me borrow some pans and your cook gave me some eggs and veg and even some spices! In fact, it’s probably almost done cooking. Wanna go back to camp?”

“Sure,” Agni said, not quite so sure of her cooking any more. But she had never made any of them sick before, and her food outputs always tasted better than the individual ingredients, so… it would be worth a try, if nothing else.

The walk up the mountain didn’t seem nearly as long in the daylight.

Sitting with his back against a tree, Agni watched Red pull another pan from her bag, then unwrap some eggs and some vegetables from her clothing. Agni blinked in surprise at the sharp pocket knife she pulled out of a hidden compartment, but her expert handling of it caused him to relax again. The vegetables weren’t always evenly cut, but they were small enough, and after bit of oil from a small vial, Red started to cook in the second pan. She added in some thinly cut carrots, quite a bit of green onions, and some shelled peanuts into the frying pan. Once those softened a bit, Red added in some garlic, then cracked the eggs into the frying pan.

“Runny or hard?”

“Huh?”

“Ya want ya eggs runny or hard?”

“Uh… runny.”

Red stirred the rice as the egg and vegetable mixture cooked, then took out two tall bowls that looked more like cups than anything else. She scooped some rice into each bowl, then topped it with the eggs and veg mix, then gave each bowl a dash of spices.

“Here ya go,” Red said, handing him a bowl and a carved, flat wooden spoon. The congee was something he’d never tried before, but the mixture of the creamy rice with the fried egg and vegetables was something he’d want to eat again. In fact, the two of them finished off the whole pot of rice and all of the vegetables.

Once finished, Red kicked dirt over the remains of the fire. And then, for good measure, she dumped the rest of their water skins over the embers, and then added more dirt. “Don’t want no forest fire,” she explained, and Agni nodded.

With their packs now a bit lighter, Agni carried them both. Now slightly more familiar with the terrain, the walk back down to the autobike didn’t seem to take nearly as long, but then again, their running commentary helped pass the time as well. Red settled into the side car easily, and Agni started to bring them back to town. Agni took the long way home, partly to stay out of the mid-morning crowds, and partly to let Red sleep, curled up almost as small as their combined bags.

Only Saanvi was home when they arrived back at Shahil’s house, and she held the door open as Agni carried Red inside.

“Have fun?” Saanvi asked softly, unpacking the pans from Red’s bag.

Agni looked over at Red, who seemed so young when she slept, but her actions and attitude told a completely different story. “Quite a lot,” he said softly, and then grinned. “Can you tell her something when she wakes up?”

“Sure?”

“Tell her that I said she’s the sloth now.”

Saanvi snorted out a soft laugh and nodded. “I can do that.”

[Notes: the congee recipe I based her meal around can be found here.

The first date night, according to the master timeline, is spring 60 NE. This takes place fall 60 NE, about six to eight months after the first.]

[recentanimenews]

The English Voices of Naruto, Boruto, and Sailor Jupiter Offer Their Advice to Aspiring Voice Actors

VIZ Media held their World of Voice-Acting panel this past weekend with special guests from the English voice casts of Naruto, Boruto, and Sailor Moon. The guests were led in a guided Q&A by Urian Brown from VIZ, and fans were given the opportunity to ask questions as well. The panel began with a rundown from Brown of VIZ titles releasing next year, such as Fushigi Yugi: Byakko Senki, How Do We Relationship?, and Ping Pong. He also announced that VIZ would be releasing Splatoon: Squid Kids Comedy Show and Junji Ito’s Venus in the Blind Spot collection in summer and fall of 2020, respectively.

  He then introduced the first two guests from Sailor Moon: Amanda Miller, who plays Sailor Jupiter, and Erika Harlacher, who plays Sailor Star Maker, and began the Q&A by asking how they became voice actors. Amanda said that she had always been a theater nerd, so she ended up taking some classes from Tony Oliver when he came to her college. She enjoyed dubbing over anime and video games in those classes and Oliver saw her talent and recommended she pursue voice acting. She ended up getting an internship at a studio in LA where she occasionally filled in for bit parts until they started letting her audition for better roles.

    Erika said she’d gone into college leaning towards graphic or computer design because she wanted a job related to cartoons and games. She also ended up taking classes with Tony Oliver who suggested she pursue voice acting as a career, got a studio internship, and filled in for bit parts before eventually auditioning for bigger roles. It just so happened to be the same studio Amanda was interning at too. “Know Tony Oliver is the secret here,” Brown added.

  He asked Amanda if playing a role like Jupiter is fun at all. “Jupiter was my favorite character as a kid,” Amanda answered. She’d grown up relating to her as a taller, more athletic kid, and Jupiter helped show her that you don’t have to be just a tough kid or just a soft kid. When asked about her first recording session for Sailor Jupiter, she admitted that the whole process had made her incredibly nervous given her history with the character and the fact that approvals for the dub voices had gone through the original creator Naoko Takeuchi herself. The director had to take her aside to call her down, and Stephanie Shea, the voice of Sailor Moon, had to call her and tell her to “suck it up.” 

  “Also, I accidentally punched her in the face at AX backstage,” she said. “I had just met her that day.”

    Brown asked Erika if she was as cool and aloof as Sailor Star Maker in real life. “I am the opposite of both those things,” she said. “I’m not cool at all and very high strung.” She said she had to reach deep down into her “acting database” for the role.

  When asked who their favorite weird monster they fought in the show was, Amanda said there was one monster they all called the Katy Perry monster because it was themed around sweets, which reminded everyone of Katy Perry’s “California Girls” video. “It’s true. All girls from California can shoot frosting,” Erika revealed.

  Brown pointed out that the Starlights in Sailor Moon are only around for one season but are still fan favorites, and asked Erika what she thought their appeal was. In addition to their fashion sense being “on point,” Erika said that their arc felt bigger and more impactful than one single season. Amanda added that there’s a “forbidden fruit” factor to it, given the season they appear in wasn’t originally dubbed before, meaning the only way to watch it as a kid was to somehow get your hands on the Japanese version. Erika admitted she hadn’t even known they existed before.

    When asked if there was any pressure coming into a role that already had so many fans, Amanda said there was “a lot of pressure” given how many fans relate to the character as she did, but that the fanbase has been extremely welcoming and supportive of her.

  Both were asked what their most practical advice for anyone serious about pursuing voice acting was. Amanda suggested that you pursue acting on a screen or stage first since the restrictions of voice acting add even more challenge. Theater and singing lessons are good for helping you maneuver your voice, and improv would help as well. Erika seconded the improv suggestion since oftentimes as a voice actor you won’t get scripts ahead of time or be forced to entirely change direction with a character on the fly. 

  With the Sailor Moon questions out of the way, Erika went backstage and Brown introduced another guest: Maile Flanagan, the longtime voice of Naruto Uzumaki. Amanda Miller, as the voice of Boruto Uzumaki, remained for the Naruto portion. A clip of the two performing together in Boruto: Naruto the Movie was played, showcasing their voices.

    Brown noted that Naruto is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary and asked what that journey from the very beginning has been like for Maile. “A long one,” she joked. “I’ve aged considerably.” He then turned to Amanda and asked her what it’s been like suddenly jumping in with Boruto. She said that it’s been one thing with Sailor Moon where it ran and ended, whereas Naruto has been running for 20 straight. Fans have grown up with Naruto into adulthood, she said, so they’ll chastise her for being mad at him as Boruto. “It’s good, but it’s also funny.”

  When asked about how she got into voice acting, Maile revealed she had never wanted to become an actor. She’d gone to college for math and polyscience, but ended up joining an improv group that did well and relocated to Minneapolis. She started working there before moving to LA and doing commercials. She eventually began taking voiceover classes and got her very first roles in the Men in Black and Jackie Chan cartoons within the same week.

  Maile was asked what the first recording session for Naruto was like, she admitted that it had been really hard and that she wishes she could do them over again since she hadn’t gotten to know him as a character yet. She’d also found out how huge the series already was in Japan and it made her nervous. 

    Brown asked Amanda if she tried modeling Boruto’s voice after Naruto’s. “I couldn’t even try,” she said. “Maile has such a unique voice.” The voice she uses for Boruto is more like her natural voice, and she also realized it’s nearly identical to her “making fun of people” voice.

  When asked if she sees Yuri Lowenthal as a rival at all considering he voiced Sasuke, Maile said she doesn’t consider anyone her voice acting rival, and added that men in voice acting get more work than women anyway, though the inequity is slowly getting better.

  Amanda was asked if she thinks Boruto has grown at all since his story started, to which she said that it’s still too early to really tell, though she sees his frustration with Naruto as motivated by the fact that he still remembers a time when his dad was much more present before he became Hokage. 

  Maile said her advice for aspiring voice actors is to have confidence, because if you don’t they’ll never give you the job. Amanda added that changing your posture can help change your performance. Erika came back out on stage, and as the panel closed all were invited to give some final advice. Amanda said to be yourself instead of trying to be like someone else. Maile stressed practicing and putting in the work. Erika echoed Maile, adding that it’s both a lot of fun and a lot of hard work.

    While the panel held a great deal of good advice for aspiring voice actors, it also served as a great example of how dubs can breathe new life into an old series. Sailor Moon may have ended long ago, but the recent dub delivered something entirely new to longtime fans everywhere. Meanwhile, Naruto lives on through Boruto, adding new members to its illustrious cast with every season. Who knows, maybe someday you could voice the same characters you look up to now. All you need is a little luck, a lot of hard work, and the personal tutelage of Tony Oliver.   

  Are you an aspiring voice actor? Do you know Tony Oliver? Let us know in the comments below!

    -----

Danni Wilmoth is a Features writer for Crunchyroll and co-host of the video game podcast Indiecent. You can find more words from her on Twitter @NanamisEgg.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[burnsopale]

(Continued from part 1)

Johnny, Rai and Kai are my three favourite characters, and it’s probably not a coincidence, since they have something fundamental in common; they are soft boys who think they have to be hard boys. All three are emotional and sensitive, but believe that it’s a weakness, and so they hide behind sarcasm, anger and antisocial behaviour respectively. It’s not so strange when you look at their backgrounds, as all three come from some version of a strict and patriarchal culture, but so do for instance Rei, Yuriy and Ralf, so what’s made these three in particular so troubled?

Johnny, Rai and Kai, are all, when we meet them in the show, driven down a dark road by excessive pride. The combination of pride and sensitivity is such an interesting one to me, because it leads to so much good drama. These are characters who find any little embarrassment or frustration excruciating, and so they fear being vulnerable, and learn to suppress pain and hide troubles to always seem like they are on top of things. When their defences are threatened, they can lash out or withdraw into themselves, and in fiction, their buried feelings often build to a magnificent crisis point.

Let’s use Rai as an example. Out of the three, he fits the above description the best; Kai is a little more complicated, and with Johnny there’s some conjecture on my part, but Rai is spot on. When he first appears, he seems like a cool customer, self-assured, authoritative and powerful, but increasingly we realise that he is barely keeping it together.

It helps to contrast him to his sister Mao, a girl who takes pride in her own strength, but who isn’t ruled by pride like he is. She is also angry at Rei, but once she gets a chance to talk to him in episode 12, she understands his point of view and lets go of her anger. Rai also has several chances to hear Rei’s side of the story, but unlike Mao, his wounded pride won’t let him listen. The humiliation Rei caused him still burns a year later. It takes a crisis to bring him around.

Johnny, Rai and Kai all handle their troubles a little differently, but they have in common what I call their “belligerence”. Belligerent means aggressive, hostile, quarrelsome, eager to fight. Rai repeatedly and loudly accuses Rei of betraying the clan and being unworthy of Byakko, while what he truly feels is that Rei betrayed him and that Rei is worthy, where Rai is not. Kai repeatedly reminds the BBA that he doesn’t like them, and that he only helps them out to help himself. In truth, he does like them, and he helps them out because his nature is generous and kind. Johnny gets upset about the presence of the BBA to the point where you start wondering what’s got his panties all bunched, and in truth, the BBA is not the problem, Johnny’s fragile self-confidence is. In other words, the lady doth protest too much; the more often and more loudly the boys repeat themselves, the more obvious it becomes to us that they don’t actually mean what they say.

Contrast them to the ultimate soft boy, Max, who never tries to hide his pain from his friends, but shares all his emotions openly and without shame. He lets his feelings flow and ebb naturally, and is much more well-adjusted as a result.

We’ll do a sort of part 3 to this when we get a little further into this arc, to talk about how my three boys get their character arcs resolved (or don’t, in Johnny’s case).