#shikibu

[edithsotoart]

Neko Dazai

[lasudio]

VeronaHills, Round Six: Shikibu

Sean breezed past Patricia, fanning himself with a gloved hand. "See you upstairs, babe," he said. And she would.

It became routine. Sean would clean every house in the village in his remit, Patricia would film axe-throwing videos for her influencer account, and at the end of the day, they'd take it to the bedroom. "Word hard, play hard" were among the words she'd tap alongside action shots that smashcut to açaí bowls. Her small but scrappy audience could never accuse her of lying.

A new habit was forming, though - a green-eyed habit that resulted in Sean telling Junior Mann, in no uncertain terms, to "fuck off and stop sniffing around". Poor little rich boy just wanted to have his hand at an axe. Patricia couldn't fault his inevitable attraction to her. She could fault the throwing of hands that occurred... but at least Sean was able to sheepishly apologise after the younger lad shoulder barged him and left the scene (Cleo was about to hit go on a pre-emptive call to emergency services).

"I know I need to sort myself out. I just... want to be with you."

Cleo rolled her eyes, put the phone down and answered the doorbell that neither Pat or Sean seemed to hear as they embraced. Pat's fanclub were brawling on her last nerve - not to mention, in her own home! She opened the front door half-expecting another suitor, all fists-up and chest-out.

"Afternoon! I'm Carolina - from the garden club - I was just at your neighbour's place. Lovely work there. But I wanted to tell you I think your garden is sublime."

Cleo gazed into the inexplicably candy-coloured eyes of Carolina. Sublime. In that moment, it was the sweetest word she'd ever heard.

[sims2forever]

Wan, Year 2

[pixuou]

Cleo Shikibu's solo show at the Pavilion closes the festival weekend.

[katlimeart]

Made in 2017

If you’ve seen this anywhere else, I posted it back on my deviantArt when it was made.

Mario girls cosplaying as characters from Okamiden

1 + 2. Kagu

3. Ayame

4. Shikibu

5. Umami

6. Charity

7. Nanami

8. Thunder Lady

9. Kiku

10. Miko Cho

[whilereadingandwalking]

Genji is not a perfect person, but there’s a purity to him, a beauty that’s clearly meant to be lauded, particularly in contrast to later chapters. He’s in love with love, a true romantic, and his sometimes unwise affairs are motivated by a true sense of love. He never abandons one of his lovers, which in this time is crucial. No matter the shame it brings to himself, he tries to find a way to honor the women he’s fallen for. He’s charming. No one can not love him, or ultimately forgive him his faults.

The age of Tale of Genji had strict rules of romance—of how flirtations worked (largely intermediaries and poetry), of how commitments worked, of how aloof vs. present it was appropriate to be (it’s good to commit but bad to hoard or become jealous). It was possible to love too much. Genji is accused of this, but he always remembers to care for the people he is responsible for—once he grows up that is.

Early in the text, he neglects his wife, and he also neglects “the Rokujo lady.” The Rokujo lady becomes so jealous and enraged that her spirit begins to sicken his wife. This ghost returns more than once over the course of the text. She has grown sick from obsession and neglect, and Genji pays the price for it. It’s part of what motivates him to always care for the women he romances for the rest of his life.

Later, in the “Uji” chapters, young Kaoru and prince Niou also love too much. Niou is impulsive like Genji but also flighty, and Kaoru is serious like Genji but also obsessive. Both men pursue the women at Uji with insistence that the text can’t quite forgive as it could for Genji. Both, somehow, go too far—perhaps in their attempts to hoard, or in their impatience.

[havingapoemwithyou]

[nothing in the world is usual today] by Izumi Shikibu tr. Jane Hirshfield and Mariko Aratani

[lunamonchtuna]

— Izumi Shikibu, from The Ink Dark Moon Love Poems

[shanks]

魚デニム

[yee-art]

2 kinds of Old man

[edithsotoart]

My personal project thinking about the interactions of my OC Murasaki Shikibu, with the ADA members (and Oda like a plus). I looking for show the relationship with each member.

[lasudio]

VeronaHills, Round Eight: Shikibu

The house fell quiet as soon as Patricia and her paramour left town.

It was for the best - of course it was. Breaking your heart over a best friend with benefits wasn't sustainable. Cleo wondered if she could say they were even best friends anymore. Sean the cleaner just came right into their home and scrubbed away their connection, and Patricia let him, even literally handed him a key. Okay, hint taken. Cleo's last interaction with either of them was seeing the keys left by the landline at the front door with a note: "Til next time, P".

Aunt Catherine visited to meet Chloe, the new cat. She took the opportunity to deliver sage advice, as was her prerogative - she'd been Cleo's love sensei for as long as she'd known her.

"You deserve to be with someone who feels the same way you do. What about that woman from the garden club you told me about?"

It was so simple - a date with Carolina Lajoie would fill Cleo's cup again. They would make dinner and make love and know that they could do it every night if they wished.

Cleo wanted to believe that it could be for the rest of their lives.

[apoemaday]

Things I Want Decided

by Izumi Shikibu

Which shouldn’t exist in this world, the one who forgets or the one who is forgotten? Which is better, to love one who has died or not to see each other when you are alive? Which is better, the distant lover you long for or the one you see daily without desire? Which is the least unreliable among fickle things— the swift rapids, a flowing river, or this human world?

[lillyli-74]

What colour is this blowing autumn wind, that it can stain my body with its touch?

~Izumi Shikibu

[feral-ballad]

Izumi Shikibu, tr. by Kenneth Rexroth & Ikuko Atsumi, from Women Poets of Japan

[Text ID: “I keep my heart burning”]

[ariadnethedragon]

The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu