#uchiura

[dilfosaur]

felt a little silly and wanted to make new character bios for my neopets

[merpmonde]

Nagahama Castle Ruins

Like Hikone Sawayama, Nagahama Castle is not on the list of Japan's 100 Famous Castles, nor on the list of Japan's Next 100 Famous Castles. Like Hikone Sawayama, it was a pre-Edo period fort which was owned by clans which at some point landed on the wrong side of the unifiers of Japan. Little is left, and short posts mark where buildings would have been. It's a short climb from the base, and the view of Uchiura from this location is pretty good.

This part of Numazu, and the island in the middle of this shot, Awashima, is most famous for being featured in the anime Love Live! Sunshine!!, which I know nothing about but saw some hints of (train for another day). It's possible to see Mount Fuji from here on a good day. And... well, I could see some it...

It's a considerable distance from a train station, though there appears to be a bus stop at the base, but I was driven there by a friend so I don't know how frequent the buses are. We were also lucky to get on a quick boat tour out to Awashima and back, with the chance to see the castle from a the sea, against the hilly backdrop of Izu Peninsula.

[ktbatmanhayes-blog]

Someone has to love the 8th wheel

(follow @dilfosaur to see the og)

[latenitewaffles]

OK Agent 32 Side Order drabble GO.

Agent 8 (or Shelly, as they had been told by their close friend, Matt- though, Pearl and Marina still called them Eight.) had become quite accustomed to climbing the Tower of Order at this point. Nearly halfway through all the Pallettes, the difficulty never even surpassed that of Girl Power Station, which still gave them stress dreams on occasion. They had hoped those Octolings had gotten free, but they pushed that thought to the back of their mind for now. There were other things to worry about.

Like finishing Agent 4's Pallette.

"Eight, are you with us?"

Marina's voice shook Shelly back to reality- or as close to reality as one can get in the Memverse.

"Oh, uh... yeah, Marina. I'm fine."

A flash of pink flooded Shelly's eye's- Pearl had suddenly flew right up into their face to get her battle buddy's attention.

"You better be! We're coming up on a boss floor! Yo, Rina! What floor's up next?" The drone yelled excitedly.

"Um... intensifying_harmony.floor! So you're going against the Parallel Canon next!"

Shelly froze. That boss. The one they had extreme suspicions about. The one that strangely resembled their boyfriend.

"Eight? Hello?"

"I'm fine! Let's go!"

"Ahem."

Acht's sudden noise made the group turn to them, as if they had forgotten that they were there in the first place.

"... Am I really that quiet? Whatever. Eight, if you're not feeling up to it, we can go back to the foyer or Marina can switch the boss to the Asynchronous Rondo, it's no problem."

Shelly shook their head. It's not like they had told their companions about their suspicions yet, and they didn't want them to worry... though from the looks on the other's faces, they already were.

"Seriously, it's fine. Come on Pearl, let's go beat these guys!"

"That's what I like to hear! Team Eight rides again!!"

"Well then, stay safe. Marina and I will be here keeping the elevator warm."

The elevator door opened up to the balcony, and Shelly rushed to the cage as quickly as possible. They could see the Parallel Canon in the distance, each of them getting ready to take them on. As soon as they landed, the first wave started- the pair of gray helmeted "Inklings" wasted no time trying to take down their Octoling adversary, but failed miserably as always. The second wave fared no better, each of them going down quickly thanks to the many power chips in Shelly's current Pallette. Though, strangely... the masked Inkling hadn't dropped yet. Odd, it usually comes in the second wave...

"EIGHT, WATCH IT!"

Pearl's shout managed to snap Shelly out of their trance, and just in time, too- they were almost the victim of a Triple-Splashdown. Luckily, they were able to dodge roll away, and Pearl took the Inkling down with an Inkstrike. The next 3 were splatted just as easily... which left the final one. This time, Shelly would get to actually have a look at this Inkling to see if their suspicions were true. It rode the cage and immediately used a Triple-Splashdown, and as the ink settled... Shelly got a good look at him. They'd recognize that dumb spikey hair from anywhere- it was him. Agent 4.

Archie.

Their heart jumped, and not in a good way. They had hoped that Archie had managed to stay out of this, but somehow he was sucked in too, now mindlessly serving as defense for Smollusk just as Marina was before.

"Arch-"

Splat.

He had gotten the jump on them. One life down.

"Eight?! What the heck was that?! Don't tell me you froze!" Pearl said, getting right back into Shelly's face again.

"I... that's... that Inkling, it's... Four."

"Wait. Your roommate? The one who's Pallette you're running right now?"

"Well... we're more than roommates, but..."

"YOU'RE DATING SOMEONE?!"

"That's not important right now, Pearl! Can you just help me free him like we freed Marina?"

"Of course! But we're gonna have a conversation about this later, y'hear?"

"Yeah, I know."

The ensuing fight took up the rest of Shelly's lives. Most of them were wasted trying to reason with the greyscaled Inkling, but now they had a plan. Pearl set her Killer Wail to a non-lethal level, and as soon as Archie's body was just destabilized enough, Shelly would rush in and rip the mask right off his face- it sounded just stupid enough to work. When the Killer Wail ended and the Inkling was practically melting apart, Shelly ambushed him from behind, grabbing the mask from the chin and pulling as hard as possible. Archie screamed in pain- though digitalized through a filter, Shelly knew it was him. The dense, chaotic, lovable squid they loved dearly.

"Sorry, Archie, but this is hurting me way more than it's hurting you!"

A few more tugs, and Shelly heard a click- they hoped it was something good, but the hope was momentarily dashed when Archie threw them off of him.

"What the shell are you doing, Shelly?!"

He actually spoke. Though garbled, that was him, his real self.

"Archie! It's me, don't panic, let me help!"

"Y-you're hurting me! I can do it on my own!"

"Calm down, please! Just let me get the mask off of your face!"

Archie didn't let them. He just kept pulling, and each time, the color returned to his skin and tentacles, but...

"I-I can’t... I can't get it off!! H-Help!!"

Shelly walked back over to him, and kneeled down. There were tears pouring from the red eye sockets of the mask- it was truly stuck. He tried to pull it more, but Shelly stopped him.

"Don't hurt hurt yourself, Archie. It's going to be alright."

They kissed him on the forehead of the metal mask, and it finally fell off. His colors were back to normal, and the greyscaling had been undone. The Tower seemed to count that as a victory, and on the platform behind them, the locker key formed.

But that could wait. Despite Pearl's protests, Shelly comforted Archie in their arms, both soaked head to toe in ink.

It was surprisingly nice.

"Thanks..."

"You're welcome."

"Don't let me go."

"I won't."

[briefbestiary]

When they were Yaushikep, they would terrorize the village of Rebunge, however fervent prayer was answered by the sea god Repun Kamuy, who dragged Yaushikep into the sea, transforming the red spider into an octopus. Now, as Atkor Kamuy, they act as the ambivalent god of Uchiura Bay, equal parts protective and merciless, capable of swallowing passing ships and whales with ease.

When Atkor Kamuy appears above the waves, both the sky and the water are coloured red to reflect the scale of the deity's massive manifestation.

[thegreatmatpi]

y'all, i actually did it. i still can't believe i was able to go to Uchiura and visit all the places. i stood on THE Aqours beach.

[cerisinceri]

uchiura girls!!

[legend-collection]

Akkorokamui

Akkorokamui is a gigantic octopus-like monster from Ainu folklore, similar to the Nordic Kraken, which supposedly lurks in Uchiura Bay in Hokkaido. It is said that its enormous body can reach sizes of up to 120 metres (390 feet) in length. Its name can be translated as "tentacle-holding kamuy."

According to legend, Akkorokamui was once a gigantic spider named Yaushikep who lived in the mountains nearby a village named Rebunge. One day, Yaushikep ascended down to Rebunge and caused havoc. Fearing for their lives, the villagers prayed to the gods to save them. Their prayers were answered by the sea god Repun Kamuy, who pulled Yaushikep into Uchiura Bay. It is said that Yaushikep turned into a giant octopus who took over the bay as its god and since then, he has been known by the villagers as At-kor-kamuy or Akkorokamui.

Ainu reverence of this monster has permeated into Shinto, which has incorporated Akkorokamui as a minor kami. Self purification practices for Akkorokamui are often strictly followed. While Akkorokamui is often presented as a benevolent kami with powers to heal and bestow knowledge, it is fickle and has the propensity to do harm. Akkorokamui's nature as an octopus means that it is persistent and it is near impossible to escape its grasp without permission.

Akkorokamui enjoys the sea and offerings which reflect this: fish, crab, mollusks, and the like are particular favorites of Akkorokamui, which give back that which it gave. Homage to Akkorokamui is often for ailments of the limbs or skin, but mental purification and spiritual release is particularly important.

Akkorokamui is characteristically described with the ability to self-amputate, like several octopus species, and regenerate limbs. This characteristic manifests in the belief in Shinto that Akkorokamui has healing powers. Consequently, it is believed among followers that giving offerings to Akkorokamui will heal ailments of the body, in particular, disfigurements and broken limbs.

Shrines in dedication to Akkorokamui and associated octopus deities are found throughout Japan.

[kaosithesecond]

Uchiura's gun show

[sifasdt]

SIFAS Daily Theatre Classic: 2023-04-25

(Transcription after the break.)

[Image transcription:]

SIFAS Daily Theatre for 2023-04-25

Returning a Once-In-A-Lifetime Request

Kanan: Kanata-chan, will you grant me my once-in-a-lifetime request? Kanata: Eh~, what is it? I’m listening~ I did ask you for something like that, too, didn’t I~? Kanan: Dive with me... into the sea at Uchiura!! Kanata: Eh!? Kanan: Kanata-chan, I want you to see the world under the sea too. It’s so beautiful! Kanata: Under the sea, huh... Kanan: If we swim a lot, I think the nap afterwards will feel extra amazing, don’t you~? Kanata: Let’s dive! Kanan: Yay! Kanata: It’s Kanan-chan’s once-in-a-lifetime request after all~! Let’s swim a lot!

[End transcription.]

[taperwolf]

In the runup to the Ijigen Fes — more fully, "Another Dimension Festival IDOLM@STER★♥Love Live! Song Battle," the big joint concert between four generations of Love Live and three generations of Idolmaster scheduled for the Tokyo Dome on December 9 and 10 — the Love Live YouTube channel posted a video introducing the groups. It's very nice, with one of each franchise's more iconic songs, and showing the images that have been made of a few members of each group in each other's iconic locations (the most obvious example is the one of Cinderella Girls' Rin, Arisu, and Anastasia on the beach in Aqours' home town of Uchiura).

Among the excited and enthusiastic comments — mostly in Japanese, of course — was one complaint in English:

Huh???!?

[dilfosaur]

more neopet humonsona doodles (don't feel like finishing wahoo)

[okiria]

Kanan's wife (real and canon)?!

A quick doodle ref for a LL S/I! After graduation, she works as a community engagement director in Uchiura, helping organize festivals and community events. Kanan gets a job collecting samples for a local marine biology lab before deciding to study marine biology herself.

Alternate art (no glasses) under cut!

[a-student-out-of-time]

👻 got me curious

//Okay, this might sound weird, but I actually had a whole-ass crossover in mind with Persona and Love Live Sunshine, of all things

//I creatively called it "Persona LLS," and this was right around the time Persona 5 initially released

//You know how Persona games always start with someone moving to a new place for whatever reason? LLS has the character Riko Sakurachi move to Uchiura, where most of the rest of the cast lives

//Only instead of forming a school idol group, they get caught up in the similar sort of chaos as Minato, Yu, and Akira, this time involving people going missing

//I went as far as to assign some personas and come up with enemies based on the Ars Goetia, and I wrote like 75% of the first chapter before I fell off and never got around to it again

//Weird, huh? : P

[latenitewaffles]

Taglist

I don't use tags often but I DO tag my OCs, AUs, and other story ramblings. This post'll be updated in the future.

Blogkeeping Tags

#waffle-vents

#waffle-talks

#waffles-with-a-side-of-queue

Spidersona Tags

#neon-spider-au

#callum-rook

#leonardo-rodriguez

#symbiote-pride

Pokemon Tags

#myles-ripley

#hugi-feroxi or #hugi-von-stjarna

#amara-rubato

#lavender-delarosa

#fado-modinha

#cael-flint

#thorne-sabre

Persona Tags

#game-on-au

#game-on-[character first name]

Splatoon Tags

#sam-ghile /Captain 3/Agent 3

#archie-mikau /Agent 4

#shelly-uchiura /Agent 8

#matt-takowasa /Agent 8.5

#dex-o'neil /Neo Agent 3/Neo 3

#silver-terygii /Little Buddy

#manny-limacina

Fire Emblem Tags

#devon-fawkes

#eliana-fawkes

#cyrus-oc

[ryqoshay]

Melody Air - Fly High: Sakura

Primary Pairing Trio: YuuAyuSetsu Rating: G Words: 653 Fandom: Love Live Nijigasaki Parent Fic: Melody Air - Fly High Time Frame: Sometime after the main story AU: Airline Event: Promptober 2022 Event Source: Idol Fanfic Heaven channel on Discord Prompt: Bloom

---------

Author’s Note: Entry for a Backup prompt

Summary: The trio take a flight to view the cherry blossoms

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“And now, if you’ll look straight ahead, coming up on the horizon, is Matsumae Park.” Yuu announced from where she sat in the back seat of Chase.

Ayumu listed happily to her girlfriend began to list random historic and current facts about the park, from when it was established to its hours of operation. The trio was flying to Sapporo for an overnight stay and a lot of cherry blossom viewing. But they were not taking the most direct route. Instead, Setsuna had planned a meandering flight plan that would take them over several popular Hanami festival areas. And one submarine base with a highway strip, about which the discussion had somehow led to this trip.

“I need to take her up.” Setsuna said, pulling back on the yolk, reminding her passengers of the minimum altitude she would need to maintain now that they were approaching a populated area.

However, even as Chase leveled off at her new altitude, it did little to diminish the glorious view.

“They’re beautiful…” Ayumu murmured as she watched a blooming sea of pink pass below them.

“I know, right?” She could hear Setsuna’s grin in the tone without needing to take her eyes off the blossoms.

“Next up we have the famous Goryokaku Park, a famous star-shaped park surrounded by a moat and popular tourist attraction.” Yuu continued to play the part of tour guide as Setsuna banked Chase to the right to follow the coastline up to Hakodate. “However, do keep an eye out for smaller parks along the way in places like Fukushima, Shiriuchi and Kikonai.”

“It will take us a little over half an hour.” Setsuna explained. “I’ve got her on course. Would you like to fly, Ayumu-san?”

“Alright.” Ayumu nodded.

Just a few months ago, Ayumu was far more hesitant to take control of Setsuna’s Cessna, but recently, she had started looking forward to it. She still lacked the confidence to perform take off and landing maneuvers, but just flying and maintaining course and altitude was fun.

“Ne, Yuu-san.” Setsuna turned in her seat. “Can I do the rest of Goruokaku Park?”

“Of course.” Yuu handed her tablet forward before giggling. “Is that why you let Ayumu fly?”

“I… uhm… well, maybe a little…” Setsuna admitted. “I just… I have fond memories of Goryokaku. My parents took me many places when I was young as they wanted me to learn about our nation’s history. And the fort, or park, was one of those places. But I also know how much Ayumu-san likes flying now.”

“And Setsuna-chan loves sharing the things she loves with the ones she loves.” The teasing was gone from Yuu’s tone.

“I do. Very much so.” Setsuna confirmed, still behaving as though she was being teased. “A-Anyway, Ayumu-san, I’ll take over again when we start getting closer to Yakumo.” She mentioned the area with the military base and highway strip. “Then you can fly again as we round Uchiura Bay, up to Noboribetsu, then arc up through Chitose, following the railway.”

“And Setsuna-chan will land us in Sapporo.” Ayumu concluded.

“Mm.” Setsuna nodded. “Anyway, the Goryokaku fort was built near the end of the Tokugawa shogunate to protect the Tsugaru Strait against a possible invasion by a Russian fleet. Its star design was inspired by a French architect, Vauban, and allowed a greater number of gun emplacements.”

“Kinda like the one on Liberty Island in the States?” Yuu asked.

“Yes, although Fort Wood is actually an eleven-pointed star, unlike Goryokaku, which only has five. Citadel of Jaca in Spain might be a better comparison.”

“Hrm… but isn’t that one land locked?” Yuu considered. “At least Fort Wood was also designed to defend a waterway.”

“You’re not wrong.”

Ayumu couldn’t help laughing. “I thought Setsuna-chan and Yuu-chan were only obsessed with aviation history.”

“We can expand our horizons sometimes.” Yuu insisted.

“Mm.” Ayumu smiled and let her girlfriends resume their discussion.

---------

Author’s Note Continued: I can’t see the word bloom without thinking about Ayumu and her solos at this point. And I had recently written an entry about her and her girlfriends planning a trip to Sapporo to attend a Hanami festival there. This one pretty much wrote itself.

And with this, my Promptober 2022 is officially complete. Only a week late in posting the final chapters, but... que zura, zura. Now to get back to work on my queue... that I’ve only made longer with the ideas I’ve come up with during this event.