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meanbossart · 2 months

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Love Drow's camp greetings, but now I've got to know-- what would his romance path look like?

(This was a REALLY FUN thought experiment, thanks for asking about it!)

You'd get approval points by: -Picking the joke dialogue options, especially if they're dark or crass. -Succeeding intimidation checks. -Starting fights no-questions-asked with characters that don't immediately show you respect. -Defying authority. -Antagonizing drows, githyanki, mindflayers and goblins. -Being friendly towards animals. -Showing willingness to do what the dream visitor suggests. -Notable boost if you let him take on the Loviatar priest in your stead.

You get disapproval by: -Disclosing to people that you're infected with the tadpole. -Agreeing to help NPCs who aren't offering to get rid of your parasites. -Some deception checks (he doesn't always realize you're lying). -Being distrustful/pushy with Shadowheart. -Siding with the absolute. -Trusting or empathizing with the Emperor at all after he reveals himself (Yes, he will leave you if you bang the squid). -Massive point loss if you don't let him take on Orin on his own.

[More elaboration underneath the cut, CW for terrible relationship dynamics and implications of sexual coercion, especially within the context of BDSM.]

He can be persuaded to allow you to have a one-night-stand with Halsin, but will not agree to a three-way relationship or long-term arrangement.

He will stay with you if you sleep with Mizora without the need to roll for anything, but you will lose a lot of approval.

He will agree to a four-way with the twins at Sharess Caress if you ask him about it, but only after you complete his quest. If he has lost to Orin he will kill the twins during the act. If he has accepted Bhaal, he will ask if you want to kill them with him, but you can refuse/dissuade him from doing so.

In regards to his personal interactions, you would usually get choices between antagonizing him, expressing fear, not taking him seriously at all, or making flirtatious advances.

He's neutral/disapproving towards flirtation prior to triggering a romance (though he still reacts flattered). He's neutral/approving of not being taken seriously and/or being feared, as long as the PC is being somewhat facetious and not expressing outright distrust or doubt toward his capabilities. Basically, as long as what you're saying implies that he's formidable, or makes him laugh, he will like it.

After the romance is initiated, he will enjoy flirtatious dialogue options that put him in the role of the desired, compliment his looks/abilities, or express general affection. You would also get options that paint him in a kind of "sexually predatory" light - he doesn't like those.

You could encourage him to embrace his Urge at the start of the campaign for approval, then he flips to wanting you to discourage it after it grows outside his control. If he accepts Bhaal, this switches it back to where he approves of it being encouraged. If he loses to Orin, he will just agree with you whether you tell him to give into his Urges or keep fighting them.

You can break up with him at any point unless he has accepted Bhaal; In that case, he won't agree to it and say that when he takes over the brain you won't have a choice on the matter. The only way to keep him from betraying you during the ending is to either kill him or staying in the relationship with him and dominating the brain together.

As for the actual romance scenes, it'd be similar to Astarion's route where you get to sleep with him right away, then the following interactions are more focused on other forms of intimacy and developing the emotional side of the relationship. You would get the option to push for more sex every time, which he would turn down out of fear of what the Urge might do if he goes along with it - if you keep pushing even after that, it gets you disapproval.

During the scene that locks the romance path (prior to arriving at Baldur's gate) you can persuade him to have sex, and if you succeed he will lose control and try to murder you during the act. The only way to survive it is to kill him instead. You can be resurrected if you lose (he cannot) but he then breaks up with you.

The "themes" of his romance are supposed to allude to the different dynamics of a maso-sado/dom-sub relationship. If you push him to pursue Bhaal you are setting yourself up for a 24/7, lifelong arrangement. the relationship is reduced entirely to your sexual desire for each other, the pushing of boundaries with no limits, and constant one-upmanship. You are no longer allowed (and outwardly mocked) for displaying any tenderness that isn't sexually charged, and he will become angry with you if during your night together following the finalization of the quest you don't pick the aggressive/violent options during intimacy.

If he loses to Orin, he becomes entirely emotionally dependent on the player character, willing to bend to your every will and latch onto the PC as his new master whether or not they agree to it. He is terrified of his fate and desperately wants to please you so you don't abandon him before he loses himself. You can either take advantage of this and revel in the power you have over him, become frustrated, or demonstrate patience and try to encourage him to hold onto some individuality. You can also just kill him, which he will allow you to do through dialogue options at any point. During the romance scene that follows this path, you can only have sex if you restrain him completely first.

If he refuses Bhaal, you get yourself a quiet, cocky, but loving weirdo who enjoys play-dynamics a healthy amount but is ultimately in it because he likes you as a person. He's willing to compromise on the maso-thing as long as you don't put him down for it, and it is implied that while things may not be perfect, you are both willing to work on it through mutual understanding and patience because the relationship is based on more than just burning desire or co-dependency.

#ask #bg3 spoilers #companion DU drow

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shera-dnd · 8 months

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Once again trying to talk about Themes™ and probably just saying the obvious again BUT

Baldur's Gate 3 is a game about freedom of choice, both mechanically and thematically

Not in the "Your choices matter! (not really)" way most game market themselves on

But in a "The fact you can choose matters" way that is much spicier.

Like that's literally the core driving point of the plot. You shouldn't be able to choose, you shouldn't be free, but you are and now it's up to you to fight to maintain that freedom, and decide for yourself what to do with it

(funnily enough this is also why this game doesn't hit my trigger, because all the mind control is completely opt in)

And every single companion reinforces that in one way or another.

Gale freeing himself from his past and choosing who he wants to be now, without Mystra.

Astarion killing Cazador and stopping generations of abuse in their vampiric line

Karlach escaping Zariel and choosing to make the most of the life she still has

Wyll breaking his contract with Mizora so he can choose for himself what he fights for

Lae'zel and Shadowheart both unlearning years of indoctrination at the hands of their messed up cults

And if you're playing Dark Urge you get to reinforce this again with your conflict about trying to determine for yourself who you want to be, when every fiber of your being demands that you be a monster

It's not even just the main characters. Like how often do you get sent on quests to free people who have been imprisoned or enslaved.

Volo, Halsin, the deep gnomes, the tieflings, Aylin, Volo again, Minsc, Orpheus, even Hope itself

Hell, one of the main bad guys is the chosen champion of the God of Tyranny and is using a magical mind control mcguffin to control a giant magical mind control GIGA BRAIN!

I guess that's why it feels so obvious. Every last bit of this game is used to forward this theme of freedom vs control, but it's this consistent reinforcement that makes it so good for me

And then of course this all comes to a grand conclusion towards the ending. My own feelings about the ending's execution and the parts I felt were a bit... lackluster, can wait for a different day

But thematically speaking they managed to end with a real bang, and it's all thanks to the narration

Because whatever decision you make, that woman sells it. No matter what you want your ending to be, she will fucking deliver it in just as triumphant a way as any other

BG3 doesn't want you to leave the game thinking "did I make the right choice?" it wants you to feel like whatever you choose WAS the right choice for you

I literally had my character turn into a squid and them kill themself and she still managed to make that a glorious moment to finalize my story on.

"After so many deaths in the name of your father, this one is just for you"

(god so many lines from the durge playthrough have my brain in a vice grip)

And speaking of daddy dearest, the only endings that come across as being bad, are the ones where you surrender your freedom.

When you surrender to the Absolute, when you do as Bhaal commands you, when you give the crown to Raphael

The entire game is one giant conflict between your freedom to self determine vs more powerful beings and their drive to take absolute control

And so the only way for your story to end "badly" is if you surrender to those powers and give up

...so yeah... that's all I got

Baldur's Gate 3 is a good game

Could use some work here and there, and my nitpicks could make their own needlessly long post, but it's still really good

Go play it

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 spoilers #bg3 spoilers

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xuzuitengenx · 1 year

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Genya Shinazugawa x Male Reader Oneshot (Wattpad)

Title: "Gganbu"

Genre—Angst

AU—Squid Games (Yk what to expect from this OS)

A/N : Sorry for any misspelled words or bad grammar!!

It was the marble game. Gunshots and screams quickly fill the air.

"Player 130, Eliminated"

Y/N and Genya were partners and found out how they should play the game.

"You should go first. Since your number is lower." Y/N said, looking at the wall in front of them to play.

Genya nodded, grabbing a marble before slightly crouching down to toss the marble which rolled and stopped close to the brick wall.

He slowly stood straight, looking back at Y/N. "Your turn." He says, stepping back.

Y/N slightly smiled at him, before taking a marble too and stood in the area Genya previously stood in.

Y/N looked at the wall for a bit as he held the marble in his hand, twirling it around. He then looked at the marble in his hand before just dropping it in front of him.

He moved out of the area and looked at Genya. Genya's eyes widened, taken back at what Y/N did.

"..Y/N. What are you doing?!" He asked, pushing the taller man roughly to a wall. They both made eye contact.

"I lost, you won."

"Stop.. Why the hell would you try to do that?!" Genya yelled, gripping onto Y/N's clothing. "Ah, butter fingers. It happens." Y/N says, not fighting back.

"What you said.. Making sure I won. Is that what this is?" Genya questioned, not breaking eye contact with the (E/C) eyes. "Do you think that I'll be grateful that you did this?!"

Y/N only weakly laughed.

"Throw again." Genya commanded.

"And I still wouldn't be able to win. At least, let me lose this thing in stylee~" Y/N says as he scoffed.

"Y/N, STOP SPITTING BULLSHIT! STOP TRYING TO ACT COOL AND DO A REAL THROW!" Genya yelled as tears filled his eyes.

Y/N looked at the almost broken state of Genya before speaking.

"I have nothing... and you got a reason to get out of this place.. I surely don't."

Genya had a tear fell out of his eye as his breathing was shaky.

"I thought about what I'd do..If I was the one who got out since you asked me about it earlier. As hard as I thought about it. I really got nothing.."

Y/N now also had tears in his eyes, only slightly smiling to lighten the mood which was not working.

"The one who should have a reason to get back out there..that's what's right."

Genya had tears rolling down his face within this point. His head slightly shaking in disagreement.

"You can do this.. Just don't die in here, alright? Go make your nemi proud." Y/N says, wiping away Genya's tears. Genya slightly leaned into his lover's touch.

Soon one of the red soldiers came and stood there. Making their presence known, Y/N began to remove his hands away from Genya's face which Genya stopped by putting his hands on top of Y/N's.

Y/N planted a kiss onto Genya's head before moving away from Genya, feeling himself going into tears.

Genya finally walked away from Y/N, unwillingly and walking behind the red soldier.

"Genya!"

Y/N yelled making both the red soldier and Genya stop but not turning back to him.

Y/N swallowed down his sob before putting on a smile.

"Thank you.. for playing with me!" Y/N says loud enough for Genya to hear.

The sound of the gun cock was heard and then the gun shooting.

Soon a thud was heard after. Genya flinched at the loud bang. Biting his quivering lip, he continued walking with the red soldier.

"Player 034, Eliminated"

#dom male reader #male reader #mature #seme male reader #top male reader #x male reader #demon slayer #demon slayer x male reader #kimetsu no yaiba x male reader #kny x male reader #genya shinazugawa #kimetsu genya #genya x male reader #kimetsu no yaiba

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mywitchcultblr · 7 months

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Baldur's Gate romance is ridiculous

I wish there's an option to say that "it's just platonic" to companions who get the wrong signal without rip away their heart, people like Gale and Astarion take it well but others like Wyll is just OUCH.

There's should be a heart icon to indicate whatever a dialogue is flirty or not. The fact that Tav can accidentally romancing nearly every single person they met including the fucking squid is just ridiculous, utterly mind boggling.

Please take a hint that just because someone is being nice to you, doesn't mean they want to bang you or ride into the sunset with you

People be like "It's easy to romance Gale the guy keep hitting on Tav, please stop" meanwhile Gale said to Astaroth (my fave Tav) that they are not close enough to do the weave thing at the tieflings party despite their approval being good. Astaroth accidentally romanced Karlach and Shadowheart plus Halsin despite the fact he's gay and into Astarion only but people keep getting the wrong signal because he tried to be helpful to his friends

La'Zel also been eyeing him for god knows how long

• Karlach, do not offer to cool her down as it will lead her to kiss you. Please understand that he just doesn't want you to blow up

• No Shadowheart, it isn't about romance, your friend just supporting your religious choice because he doesn't see Gods as good or evil but as aspects of nature, he couldn't care less about Selune vs Shar

• Halsin please don't get the wrong idea, STOP trying to hump random people. Oh god the offering to distract you at the camp was meant to be platonic, what do you mean you want to kiss? No

• *Squirt Lae with water gun* No, stay back

• Astarion please notice your part elf part human part dragon sadomasochist boyfriend who slowly sliding into the dark side despite trying to help people oh and he will totally support you to ascend

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #lae'zel #shadowheart #halsin #astarion #gale #karlach

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the-backdoor-garden · 1 year

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List of Cuttletavio AU ideas that become more weird and deranged as you keep reading:

Modern day AU were they're idols too

Modern day AU were they're normal people

Everyone's dads AU were they get married and take care of their deranged children aka all the agents and the idols and Octavio's army of child soldiers.

Role swap AU with Pearlina (not confuse with the previous ones, as there the idols remain unchanged. Here, I imagine the Squid Sisters design would change to reflect that Pearl is their grandma now)

Pokemon AU!

High school AU but you think Craig's a jock? NAH HE'S A CHEERLEADER and Octavio is a nerd.

Minecraft AU!

Role swap AU between them which makes Craig a prince and Octavio some sort of captain (Craig would be more like a western prince because you know)

Pop Team Epic AU!

Romeo and Juliet AU (how we interpret them is already very Romeo and Juliet so it really is just a change of setting and different ending)

Roblox AU.

Assassin AU were Craig has to infiltrate octoling forces to kill Octavio but ends up falling in love (inspired by AO3 fic called "Operation: Femboy" DON'T LET THE NAME FOOL YOU, IT'S REALLY GOOD)

Racist AU- wait that's just the og-

2000s emo AU. They met through MySpace and started flirting through Tumblr.

Arcade AU. You know how arcades let you put nicknames on your high score? Well Craig is really good at this arcade game but there's someone who keeps getting higher scores than his and so they start remotely beefing but never seeing each other because they go in at different hours, until one day he finds that someone playing on the arcade and it turns out is Octavio and it's basically enemies to lovers but they're enemies because of an arcade game.

Grafitti AU. The same as before except it's grafitti. Craig makes a grafitti, Octavio goes over it and rinse and repeat until one of them finally finds the other doing it.

Sailor Moon AU! Craig is Serena and Octavio is Darien because yeaaa!

ENA AU. Craig is an Ena and Octavio is like Moony but actually supportive when his boyfriend has a mental breakdown.

Chainsaw Man AU. Craig is Denji and Octavio is Makima.

Lupin III AU. Craig is Lupin, the white glove thief, and Octavio is Zenigata, the detective whose existence revolves on catching him.

Jojo part 2 AU. Craig is Joseph and Octavio is Caesar.

News reporters AU, were they're both serious news reporters and shit.

Drift king AU. Octavio is the drift king and Craig is a guy who wants to beat him, but also Octavio is the heir of the Yakuza and it all becomes Craig helping his lover escape by winning competitions and getting money to run away.

Skullgirls AU were Craig wants to keep the Squid Sisters away from the Skullheart however Octavio is attempting to get it to harness its power without making a wish. They also both fought against the Skullheart side by side on the past, but when the Canopy Kingdom went to war with the other kingdoms (one of them being Octavio's kingdom), they had a falling out

Technical support AU. Octavio fixes computers and Craigs keeps busting his because he's cute, even tho Ammoses can literally fix it for free but oh well let the bi be bi.

Kill Bill AU but Octavio is Bill. Craig is the bride of course.

Car dealer AU were Craig wants to sell a car to Octavio so he fucking resorts to fucking.

AU of my OCs-verse were basically they're both assasins for Albert Richter, CEO of the company that owns the country, who is also their lover so trio, and they're being chased by T and D for their crimes UNLESS they stop working for the guy. Octavio wants to keep working for him but Craig doesn't, so yeah (This is a very self indulgent AU that most of you won't get unless you're my boyfriend, love you my love muack muack)

Spongebob AU. Craig is Spongebob. Octavio is Squidward.

Company AU. Craig is Octavio's secretary who is the CEO of some corporation or some shit.

BODY PILLOW AU WERE CRAIG IS OCTAVIO'S BODY PILLOW AND-

Vtuber AU.

Omegaverse AU.

Big Bang Theory AU.

Fifty Shades of Gray AU.

JFK AU. Octavio is JFK. Craig is his wife.

Coffee Shop AU.

#i apologise in advance #cuttletavio #djvorce #splatoon #dj octavio #cap'n cuttlefish #capn cuttlefish #craig cuttlefish

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atonalginger · 3 months

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WIP Wednesday

So today's WIP is a memory/flashback that will be sliced into an upcoming story Stowaway Savior, starring Ruby and Goose and introducing a new oc, Cooper Benbow. This memory is Cooper's and in his POV. When it's finally incorporated into the story it will probably be broken up so y'all get to see it in one piece here

Also it should be warned that there are spoilers for Starborn Saga in this sneak peek under the cut. In case you don't want to be spoiled on that fic *shrug*

The spacer stumbled back with a machete buried in their suit, visible streams of steam seeping from the rip as the frozen hellscape played bloody hell on the dying fool. Goose kicked the spacer back, unaware of the straggler sneaking up on him. Cooper took aim, slowly pushing all the air from his chest and holding as he pulled the trigger, watching the spacer’s helmet explode in a red vapor-spray, the deafening crack of his rifle ringing out into the crater seconds after the spacer laid dead behind his Crimson captain.

Goose spun around, his sidearm in hand, to see the dead straggler. He scanned his surroundings and then raised his arm up to where Cooper was perched. A chirp in Cooper’s ear lined up with Goose tapping his wrist controls, causing the pilot to smirk under his helmet. He opened the line before slinging his rifle onto his back, “howdy handsome.”

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Goose snapped back, a unexpected heat in his words.

“I got word from a tiny gemstone you were hunting vermin by your lonesome and might need some backup,” Cooper was making his way down the winding stairs, his footfalls echoing as they hit the creaking metal steps, “I thought we agreed you wouldn’t pull dangerous stunts like this again.”

“Ruby called you?” Goose wasn’t moving from his place, scanning the crater with anxious movements that were upsetting to watch.

“Yes, she did. She was worried about you but didn’t want to get your parents involved,” Cooper reached the bottom and strolled over to Goose, “what’s got you so jumpy?”

“You shouldn’t be out here!” Goose snapped his head back to Cooper, his visor hiding his face, though his intense green eyes could be felt all the same.

“Why not?” Cooper pressed.

“There are morphs out here,” Goose growled, “I came out here to liberate the stolen crates quickly but you being down here complicates that.”

“You landed in morph territory alone?” Cooper raised his voice, “and have the audacity to be mad at me?”

“It’s too dangerous for you to be down here!” Goose yelled.

“But not for you?” Cooper shouted back.

“I’m expendable, you’re not!” Goose yelled before whirling around and storming over to a hand loader stacked with sealed crates, “but since you’re here now, grab a fucking loader so we can get on a ship before the locals show up.”

Tears welled up in Cooper’s eyes, Goose’s words banging around in his skull. He wanted to grab the temperamental ginger, shake him to knock sense back into him but not here. He was right about one thing, it was too dangerous to stand around. He hurried over, grabbing the handle of the other hand loader, and started dragging it toward the Golden Squid.

Such a silly name for a ship and yet it fit Goose and his new pride and joy perfectly, the Hope11 docker like a beak and all the bumper legs the tentacles meant to grip her prey. And while the ship itself was black, all the radiators, piping, and attachments had a polished gold sheen. Goose was waiting deep in the loading bay, his sidearm reholstered and a rifle in hand, watching Cooper’s back for any angry locals.

Goose refused to talk more once they were safe on the ship, heading straight for his seat to drop Cooper off at the Stormherald. Just a noncommittal grunt of a ‘goodbye’ as they stood in the loading bay waiting for the ramp to lower. Cooper knew it wasn’t worth escalating here. Not right now. But he would get to the bottom of that outburst in the crater.

several hours later...

“Thanks for assisting out there,” Atomic said with a toothy grin, “always good to know the Freestar has a few captains out there willing to aid their allies.”

“I’m not a…” Cooper caught himself before fully correcting the Pirate Queen. He swallowed and adjusted his gun belt.

“Lieutenant, Captain, it all bleeds together up here,” Lila winked as she tapped her temple, “you have your own ship, making you a captain in my book. As well as the Fleet’s. Have you considered signing on, Lieutenant? Better hours, better pay, more fun.”

Cooper laughed nervously. He was never sure what to say when someone started trying to pull him into the Crimson Fleet.

Goose sighed next to him and gave his arm a backhanded tap, “come on, I’ll walk you to your ship before she starts the hard sell again.”

“We have plenty of boy scout types running with us these days,” Lila teased with her hands on her hips, “just remember the offer is there. We could always use a pilot like you.”

“I will,” Cooper nodded and followed close behind as he and Goose made their way back to the Stormherald.

Goose’s fingers briefly laced with his as they waited for a large traffic jam to clear in the markets and again near the visitor arm of docks. Cooper was flustered, two hours ago Goose was yelling at him, disparaging himself, and now he was sweetly caressing his hand like none of that happened. His stomach turned; he didn’t want to fight but it felt inevitable.

Goose had pressed further into the Stormherald while Cooper locked up the hatch. He heard him in the all-in-one moving things around on the counter, the sound of plates slacking and containers clicking into place. Is he straightening my ship?

Cooper walked into the all-in-one to see that Goose was in fact straightening the kitchen section of the hab, putting the clean dishes away properly and locking all the food containers back into place. He stood there blinking at the scene, trying to wrap his head around what the stubborn ginger was doing.

“I wanted to apologize,” Goose said, his back still to Cooper, “I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. You were there to help and while I had it mostly under control, you made everything move quicker. I’m sorry, Coop.”

“Why were you mad?” Cooper asked, “why did you say…you’re not expendable. Not in the slightest.”

“I was mad because I know you Freestar types,” Goose’s words were barely a whisper, his head hung low, “how quick you soldiers are to play hero and get your asses ripped apart my morphs for folks not worth it.”

“Ethan…” Cooper took a step forward, his hand held out to touch Goose’s arm.

“I still hear his screams sometimes, when the nightmares take root,” Goose shook his head, “he didn’t have to die there. He could have run, scrambled into the loading bay, but he didn’t. He stood there, facing a monster, and died for it.”

“Who?” Cooper winced at his question. It felt invading and nosy even if it was necessary.

Goose sighed, “A soldier that was traveling with Atomic when we met her. Fury was a decent guy who deserved better. He didn’t have to die for some punk kid.”

Cooper remembered that name. He was a green recruit, fresh off the farm, when Commander Shepard was reported dead from a terrormorph attack outside Akila City. Word was he was a damn hero, working side by side with pirates to liberate the city from outlaws and then sacrificed himself to save his crew from a UC xenoweapon attack. He’d never realized that Goose was apart of that crew.

“He wouldn’t think that,” Cooper said softly, “and I can think of at least a few people who would be devastated to hear you talk like this. To hear you call yourself expendable.”

“Every pirate in the fleet is expendable,” Goose stood a little straighter, “and I’m sure your COs would say the same about your soldiers.”

“I’m not talking about them,” Cooper was firmer, “Do you have any idea how lost I’d be without you? You aren’t expendable to me, dammit!”

He could see Goose’s jaw flex, setting into place.

“Ethan, look at me,” Cooper took his arm and forced the ginger to face him.

Goose’s eyes were turned to the ground, reddened and glassy. His cheeks were flush and his lips a thin line as he bit his lower lip. Cooper reached out and cupped Goose’s face in both hands, rubbing his thumbs across the rosy cheeks. He leaned in and kissed the line of lips, feeling his pirate stiffen his stance, locking up, as their lips met.

Cooper internally sighed and went to pull away when Goose’s hands seized his face, his lips pushing hard against Cooper’s, a passionate hunger overpowering both their senses. He leaned into Goose, pressing his body against his pirate, Goose’s hand slipping back into his hair and seizing a chunk while rocking back into Cooper.

#starfield fanfiction #the coemancer crew #atonalginger writes #crimson fleet #wip wednesday #oc: Goose #oc: Cooper Benbow #even all these years later some wounds haven't healed

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saintsenara · 2 months

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Your answers to those unhinged ships asks are all golden lmao I'm always laughing like a hyena

Dunno if it's too late but I wondered what you would think of:

Dudley/Pierce

Myrtle/teen!Severus

Millicent Bulstrode/Pansy Parkinson

Irma Pince/Filch

Lily Evans/The Giant Squid

ahh cheers, anon! it's never too late for unhinged shipping.

dudley dursley/piers polkiss

really into this on account of piers' canonical description being that he's scrawny, meaning that he and dudley could be this meme in human form:

severus snape/myrtle warren

this bangs as a concept. i am obviously someone who has an interest in shipping myrtle with theatrical little bitches, and the teen snape fits that to a tee, but i'm also someone who is on the record as a defender of her as someone who is - in her own little way - very empathetic and emotionally mature, and who provides a great source of comfort to all sorts of lonely teenagers even if she's not entirely sure how.

we literally have a model for how this might go - snape, angry and alone after the breakdown of his friendship with lily, ends up spending time with myrtle because he has nobody else he can talk to and because her toilet is the only place in the castle he can cry without james and sirius being there - in myrtle's friendship with draco.

plus, it adds another delicious layer to him bursting onto the scene post-sectumsempra and realising his teen angst bullshit now has a body count.

millicent bulstrode/pansy parkinson

yes.

i'm on the record that pansy canonically likes women, and i'm also on the record that i hate that millicent bulstrode - who doesn't really do anything wrong other than own a cat and want to deck hermione [same, girl!] - gets one of jkr's classic "oh this isn't a female character harry likes so i should make sure the reader knows she's ugly and mannish" descriptions.

fuck that! pansy can be a femme with a cunty little bob [and i hope genevieve gaunt knows what a service she's provided to fandom with that look in prisoner of azkaban] and millicent can be her smoking butch girlfriend.

argus filch/irma pince

canon. he's rifling through the restricted section nightly.

lily evans/the giant squid

canon. the squid's wee heart was broken when she went back on her promise and started seeing james.

#asks answered #asenora's opinions on ships #unhinged and deranged ships

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magicinfinityverse · 24 days

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(13/15)

History of my Bill Sans Cipher AU

History of AU Under Universe merveilles or Gravity merveilles Tale

And Bill Sans Cipher

(13) People and characters in AU

Under Universe merveilles or

Gravity merveilles Tale

Basically, how many characters are there?

And who is there?

Grandpa Blackvoy darkness

Grandma Super giant black hole

Grandfather and grandmother are parents on father's side.

Grandpa Whitevoy bright white

Grandma Supernova big bang

Grandfather and grandmother are parents on mother's side.

1. Dad Bill Mischief Gaster Cipher♂️

2. Mom Nebula Mahakal Cipher♀️

3. Bill Sans Cipher♂️

4. Nebilly Sans Cipher♀️

5. Pyronica Grace Bie♀️

Grillby + Pyronica

6. 8 Ball Undaz♂️

Undyne + 8 Ball

7. Giffuni taton♀️

Mettaton + GIFfany

8. Keyhole Temmie♀️Kemmie♂️

Temmie + Keyhole

9. Cthulhu Kraken ♂️

Onion-shaped Squid + Cthulhu Demon

10. Hectorgon Maffle♂️

Muffet + Hectorgon

11. Alshifty 007♀️

AIphys + Shifty shape shifter

12. Kryptos Kids♂️

Monster Kids + Kryptos

13. Nappaci-Fire ♂️

Napstablook + Paci-Fire

14. Mushroom Dummy Lava Lamp

or Mushroom Lava ♂️

Dummy + oil Lava Lamp

15. Titicier♀️

Mad mew mew + Cycloptopus

16. BumbleGlyde♂️

Glyde + Bumblebeast

17. Devil 88 River Person

Galaxy meda♂️

River Person + Devil 88 pages

18. turtle What's His Face

or Hyster♂️

Grandpa turtle + Mr. What's His Face

19. Pook Pick♀️

chicken or bird or duck +

three headed bird

20. SirenNeiyr♀️

Shyren + mermaid

21. Mysterious Stone statue ♂️

Stone statue + Hiae Behind

22. Multi - BearLi ♂️

Uncle Bear in front of the

Grillby shop + Multi-Bear

23. Trickterween♂️

So Sorry + Summerween Trickter

24. Snowman holding an ax♂️

Snowman + Statue of man holding

an ax

25. Gomdogamy ♂️ Dogaressa♀️

Dogamy and Dogaressa + Gompers

26. Fairy Red♀️

Rad + Little angel

27. Axolotl Toriel♀️

Toriel + Axolotl

28. Zan thar ford♂️

Gyftrot deer + Zan thar

29. Rumbit ♂️

Rabbit Selling ice cream + RUMBLE

30. mafia Asgore♂️

Asgore = mafia

31. Sharp teeth ♂️

Doggo = teeth

32. Rubix Box♂️

Flowey = Amorphous Shape

33. Sher Blanc♂️ Sher Noir♀️

RG 01 and RG 02 = chess twins

34. Unicorns group♀️♂️

= Monster Under AU

35. Gnomes♀️♂️

= Monster Under AU

36. A terrifying one-armed skeleton monster ♂️

= Monster Under AU

37. A purple spider has an arm in its mouth ♂️

= Monster Under AU

38. eyesball bat ♀️♂️

= Monster Under AU

39. giant whale ♂️

= Monster Under AU

40. Gravity xx?xx water tower ♂️

= Monster Under AU

41. Mailbox Bizarre and

Devil Mailbox

= Monster Under AU

42. monster bell tower

= Monster Under AU

43. C-3 Lu human leather sofa

= Monster Under AU

44. Devil island head Can float ♂️

= Monster Under AU

45. Demon horde hand

= Monster Under AU

46. Soap bubble of distortion

= Monster Under AU

47. Strange tsunami waves

= Monster Under AU

living things Weirdmageddon

And there is also the creature of Weirdmageddon.

Nightmare Dimension Lots more

That makes you excited and excited with many mysterious characters.

Explain further This universe

do not have Asriel Flowey

and Papyrus Frisk Chara

#history of my bill sans cipher au #undertale au #sans au #my art #original art #my ocs

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block-swing-perry · 8 months

Note

My thoughts on “fly-on-the-wall” type devil fruits.

Paramecia type I’m thinking of something where you just aren’t perceived by most people. You’re not invisible or anything just for some reason most people don’t notice you & have trouble remembering if your there or not (Kinda like Junta from Kubosan won’t let me be invisible)

Another paramecia idea. You can open a viewing window of sorts from anywhere in the world. You can open the window anywhere as long as it’s somewhere you’ve been or seen (an accurate map or picture would suffice) or you can observe whatever a specific person can see. Downside is it’s filtered through their senses and you have to “tag” the person idk how yet but you can only have ten people “tagged” at a time max. You can switch between the people at will but only one person at a time. All of this is completely undetected. The only way someone can tell you’re watching is if they have observation Haki & even then only if it’s really strong.

I can think of a few Zoan types you can do. Most of the ones I can think of are the run of the mill camouflage type thing. Mainly thinking of cuttlefish & squid & such as those change colour & shape (sorta) whereas chameleons just change colour based on temperature (don’t quote me on that).

The other type of Zoans you could do are just really small creatures, a fixed look alike (eg. stick bugs), something with super sight/hearing that way they can observe without being observed if that makes sense, or a cheetah type camaflouge where you can hide in a specific environment.

Logia types I’m thinking something where they can observe through wood, dirt/earth/soil, plants & such, or Wind where they can call the wind & it “speaks” to them & tells the user what it’s seen.

oooo these are all great ideas! kinda love the wind telling me secrets

a general ramble of powers i've been mulling over (with no real regards to the devil fruit types, ill figure stuff out once ive narrowed down whats funniest) has been:

a general sticky power but every time its activated everyone forgets about me

can connect to anything that has the power to eavesdrop but since thats mostly snails i have to mind overpower the snail or convince it to let me share its headspace, and maybe possibly other peoples heads (sight range? i have to touch them at some point?)

bug wings+stickyness. my pirate moniker is just fly on the wall because im always on the ceiling and no ones ever looks up

i can switch spots with bugs

i also wanna somehow connect a poem my mom used to tell me a lot as a kid to all this which goes like:

fly fly, on the wall.

bang! bang!

fly not.

idk how that would smoothly be incorporated though lmao, whether or not thats included in this devil fruit we're making up or a skill i give my self insert

also thinking about where i would fit in the one piece world? im leaning towards placing myself near Koby because ngl i dont think i would do well as a pirate (at first, i think youd have to place me in circumstances that would poke me out of warm comfort)

#one piece

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crazyyanderefangirlfan · 8 days

Text

Teresa Diamandis

"Sometimes all you need is a positive attitude and a knife"

---+---

BASIC

Name: Teresa Diamandis

Nickname(s): Teri (by close friends), Teri-Teri (by Satori), Love, Dear, Honey (all by Wakatoshi), T, Harpy (by best friends).

Alias(es): Shiratorizawa's most beautiful Swan, The Succubus, Aphrodite (in Shiratorizawa), The Huntress (in St. Trinians).

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Straight

Ethnicity: Greek

Blood Type: O+

Age: 17-18

Birthday: November 23

---+---

APPEARANCE

Hair: Back length snow white hair in space buns with bangs framing the upper sides of her face.

Eyes: Ruby red eyes with black eyeliner and mascara.

Height: 166cm

Skin: Snow white

Body: Lean but curvy

Tattoo(s): None

Piercing(s): Gold star dangle earrings.

Scar(s): Faded bullet wounds on her shoulder

Other: She wears pink lip gloss and her left leg is amputated so she has prosthetic. On her neck she wears two chokers: a black fabric gold crescent moon and a simple gold near her neck.

---+---

SCHOOL

Occupation: Manager

School: Shiratorizawa Academy

Year: 3

Class: 3

Club(s): Boy's VBC

Number: None

Role/Position: None

Attendance Record: Good

Average Grade: B

---+---

STATISTICS (out of 5)

Power: 4/5

Jumping: 5/5

Stamina: 5/5

Game Sense (ability to 'predict' or 'sense' the opponents next move): 3/5

Technique: 3/5

Speed: 5/5

Overall (total): 24/30

---+---

CHARACTER

Personality: Teresa is a kind, caring, organized and supportive girl who is also determined and sometimes persistent, frank, as well as adventurous. Generally easy-going, she's a positive individual who is straightforward, she doesn't keep anything hidden in her heart. She's compassionate and honest, Teresa can bring out the best in people and has a way of getting what she wants.

She may not look like it but she has great intuition and sensitive to the emotions of others, this makes her adaptable to many people but feel exhausted from too much stimulation and will stay in her room for hours to recharge.

She's family-oriented due to having such a large family, though in some cases she can get embarrassed by them. Such as the time when half of them visit Japan to see her and spend time with her, though flustered she appreciated the gesture.

Teresa is proud to be the manager of a powerhouse team though not to the point of arrogance and bragging. She's highly protective of them especially her juniors. One time when she witnessed Tsutomu getting bullied, she threaten to stab his bullies with her heels in their crotch if they don't leave him.

Behind her pretty exterior hides a very sadistic, sarcastic, and hilarious nature. Teresa is a skilled huntress and finds pleasure in her prey's pain, she gets particularly excited when her prey runs as it makes more exciting for her, especially to hear their pained screams.

Though not she's cruel, she will be as a form of retaliation to bullying if they continue, this especially applies to entitled and toxic fangirls who are delusional in thinking she wants all the boys in VBC team to herself, promising to disfigure they're faces if they continue to bully her.

Her relationship with Wakatoshi is similar to an 'old married couple as they often act like parents to the team. She's supportive of her boyfriend and often stays behind with him to help him practice and encourages him to take breaks and relax. Due to his popularity, she's quite possessive of him and would subtly lay her claim on him whenever other girls flirt with him. However, deep inside she fully prepared if he ever chooses volleyball over her, caring about his happiness over hers.

Likes: Family and friends, Wakatoshi, grilled squid and octopus, hardcore yaoi, music, flowy dresses, strong sunblock, sewing, fashion, volleyball, pom-pom pens, knives, her turtle Chelone.

Dislikes: Harm to her friends and family, her ex, toxic and entitled fangirls, her juniors and friends bullied, ginger, forgetting to use sun block, her leg acting up, her extended family being too much, her younger brothers taking things without her permission, entitled people, people saying she should need more sun on her.

Hobbies: Impalement arts, volleyball, shopping, cooking, roller skating, spear fighting, sewing, watching anime and movies, hunting, kick boxing, reading, pottery, playing video games.

Goal(s): To make sure the team is in top form and figure out what she wants in life. (Hopefully to marry Wakatoshi).

Current concerns Hiding her more extreme mangas from Satori.

---+---

SOCIAL

Mother(s): Tula Diamandis

Father(s): Niko Diamandis

Sibling(s): Percy, Hector and Jason Diamandis (younger triplet brothers)

Relative(s): Numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.

Friend(s): Shiratorizawa VBC, Shoyo Hinata ,Yukie Shirofuku, Kaori Suzumeda, Shinobou Murasaki, Elise Fontaine, Sara Feng, Josie Sanchez and other girls in St. Trinians

Best Friend(s): Bridget Fortuné, Heather O'Cleary, Irene Song, Juliette Chaveleir, Skyla Barretto, Cat Tamami.

Love Interest(s): Wakatoshi Ushijima

Rival(s): Any who thinks they have a shot with her boyfriend or tries to replace her as manager with ill intentions

Pet(s): A common box turtle named Chelone.

#haikyuu #haikyuu!!#shiratorizawa #ushijima wakatoshi #hq wakatoshi #hq ushijima #haikyuu ushijima #haikyuu shiratorizawa #hq shiratorizawa #teresa diamandis

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thefinalcinderella · 2 years

Text

Tsurune Book 3 Chapter 1 - Eccentrics (Part 1)

Translating this chapter gave me flashbacks...everyone get your kyudo glossary out, you’re going to need it (I should really figure out a better balance for what to keep in Japanese and what to keep in English)

Also, please pray that I get book 3 by the end of this year

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1. Binzuru-san is the “Japanese embodiment of Pindola Bharadvaja. Pindola is an Arhat, one of the spiritually accomplished followers of the original Buddha, who asked them to remain in the world for eternity to propagate the Dharma, or Buddhist law.” Billiken-san is a charm doll made by an American teacher. Apparently there’s a statue of one in Japan where people rub its soles for good luck

2. Seiya refers to the Japanese saying “ 右に出る者はない “ which means “being second to none” and refers to the custom of the rightmost seat being the seat of honor

3. I don’t actually know what this word “下座心” or gezashin means. I guessed that it had something to do with being humble since 下座 means “lower seat” or “getting down from your seat to prostrate yourself”

4. These are changed references to real Japanese snacks. “Tocchan Ika” is “Yocchan Ika,” (a type of squid snack) “Baby Moon ramen” is “Baby Star ramen,” and “umainbo” is “umaibo”

5. This took forever to look up but I think it’s a reference to a kyudo song/chant? Basically it means “practice as if you’re in a tournament and act like you’re practicing when you’re in a tournament”

Previous | Next

“E-Excuse me, Narumiya-senpai, can we touch your forehead?”

“…Huh?”

Young maple trees announced the arrival of spring. Brand-new rubber bows were piled up on the shelves of Kazemai High School’s kyudojo.

Narumiya Minato’s hands were on the cord of his hakama. He couldn’t understand the words of the jersey-clad new student.

The first-year, Kanbayashi, was reservedly smiling and nodding next to his friend, but his eyes were blinking at high speed.

“Um, what’s with this all of a sudden? Is this a punishment game or something?”

“No, it’s not. We asked Kisaragi-senpai what we should do to become better at kyudo, and he told us to pat Narumiya-senpai’s forehead.”

Minato glanced at Kisaragi Nanao, who was talking with Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo. Nanao, who sensed his gaze, held up three fingers and waved them with a “Merha.”

“Nanao, you’re telling people nonsense again.”

“Don’t make that face, Minato. I didn’t lie. I just told them my personal opinion. Come on, you have to listen to the request of your adorable kohai.”

Hearing this, Ryouhei’s eyes sparkled.

“Me too, me too! I wanna get better!”

Ryouhei quickly went in front of Minato and started patting his forehead. Imitating his senpai, Kanbayashi also rubbed Minato’s forehead. Minato was speechless as he stared at the two, who looked satisfied from accomplishing their goal. Pressing his hand against his bangs, he stepped back and bumped into something.

It was Seiya.

“I heard that it’s the head that makes you get better.”

Next to him, their coach Masa-san, a.k.a. Takigawa Masaki, was also there.

“Seiya, that’s not true. You have to touch the soles of his feet, not his head, for your wish to come true. C’mon, Minato, put out your foot. Thank you, thank you.”

“Stop it! I’m not ‘Binzuru-san’ or ‘Billiken-san’!” (1)

Despite Minato’s shouts, Masa-san had his hand to his mouth, chuckling. Just as he was thinking about grabbing his hair whorl and rubbing it, another new student stepped up to him.

Keyaki had thick, strong-willed eyebrows and large, dark eyes with a sharp gaze clearly indicated where he was looking.

“Senpais! Please stop fooling around and start practicing!”

Kaito also spoke after him.

“Keyaki’s right. Masa-san, what are you doing?”

“Fufu, sorry, sorry.”

Masa-san clapped Kaito’s shoulder.

Minato and the others had become second-years, and the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club welcomed twenty-two new members this year. There were ten boys and twelve girls. Among them, two of the boys and three of the girls had experience. Kanbayashi Hikaru had experience, and Keiyaki Keima was a first-timer.

Practice began.

The kyudo glove, the “yugake,” was put on the right hand.

That hand took a “hitote,” or two arrows, and the left hand held the bow.

Kaito, Ryouhei, Seiya, Nanao, and Minato stood at the entrance.

Kyudo was a type of budo, and it was the art of shooting a bow. Budo was the way of the warrior. Eugen Herrigel called kyudo “the warrior’s way of shooting,” and Miyamoto Musashi taught that “a warrior is simply one who has a taste for the way of death.”

For competitions, there was “kinteki�� (short-distance) and “enteki” (long-distance), and they did the former. They shot arrows at the thirty-six-centermeter diameter kasumi-mato at a distance of twenty-eight meters. At Inter-High, each team consisted of five people called a “go’nin-dachi,” and each person shot four arrows called “yotsuya” for a total of twenty shots.

At “honza,” the archer bowed and stepped forward. If they sat on their heels at the shooting line, turned to the side, stood, performed ashibumi, and shot, that was called “zasha.” If they remained standing at the shooting line and performed ashibumi, that was called “rissha.” The left and right hands were called “yunde and mete” or “oshide and katte.” The process of shooting an arrow was divided into eight steps and given names. This was called the Eight Steps of Shooting (Shahou Hassetsu).

The Shahou Hassetsu was as followed.

First, Ashibumi (Stance) – The feet’s position. Determining the position of the target and self.

Second, Douzukuri (Set) – Preparing the foundation for shooting. Readying the body. Adjusting it.

Third, Yugamae (Bowset) – Nocking the arrow on the bow. Prologue to the confrontation with the target.

Fourth, Uchiokoshi (Set up) – Lifting the bow and arrow.

Fifth, Hikiwake (Drawing) – Pushing the raised bow evenly from both sides.

Sixth, Kai (Fulldraw) – Unification of the target and self. Drawing the bow to its limit.

Seven, Hanare (Release) – Letting the arrow go. Releasing it. Setting it free.

Eighth, Zanshin (Follow through) – Following through to the end. Fully extending yourself.

The five glided into the shooting area, lined up in front of the targets and began shooting in order starting from the front. When the bow with nocked arrow were raised up high and pulled to its limit, bow and archer completed a beautiful cross. After the other four finished shooting their haya and otoya arrows, Minato was the only one left in the shooting area. When his right hand flicked back, a pleasant matooto (sound of arrow hitting the target) was heard.

They went to collect the arrows and bring them back. On the arrow-collecting path, they walked with the arrow feathers pointing at the lawn.

Tommy-sensei spoke.

“Now that you seemed to have learned that the fundamental forms equal taihai, let’s continue with the rubber bows today.”

Just because you joined the kyudo club, it didn’t mean that you would be able to immediately hold a bow and arrow. First of all, you had to imitate the action of shooting a bow without holding the tool, which was called “empty-handed archery.” It was like air kyudo. Tools such as rubber bows were lent by the club.

One of the girls spoke up.

“Coach Takigawa, could you take a look at this?”

“Okay. Seo-san, will you help me?”

Seo and the others corrected the girls’ shakei by putting their hands on their arms and backs in accordance with Masa-san’s observations. Shakei referred to the form.

When practice ended and Tommy-sensei and Masa-san had left, Keyaki let out a big sigh.

“Onogi-senpai, when will I be able to hold a bow? Stretching, taihai, empty-hand practice, rubber bow—that’s all we’re doing. We can’t even wear hakama.”

“Don’t whine. That’s how it is for beginners.”

“Beginners?”

“When I started kyudo in middle school, all I did was collect arrows, paper the targets, and shout ‘Yes.’ It wasn’t until the third-years retired that I was able to stand in front of the targets. The first thing we learned was how to clean the kyudojo.”

“When exactly are you talking about? It’s very old-fashioned to start with cleaning. It is inefficient and meaningless. The common sense here is questionable.”

“Cleaning is a basic part of life, you know? What’s inefficient about learning the basics. Even chores are a fine job.”

“You’re obedient, aren’t you. People like that who only do what they’re told without using their brains will only be used by others. If something is necessary, those who are in charge should be the ones to take the initiative.”

“That’s not what I’m saying. Budo begins and ends with etiquette.”

“To be honest, I’m disappointed. I thought that a team with only first-year students had adopted a revolutionary training method since they won second place at Nationals, but Coach Takigawa just has the female members correcting the shooting forms of the newcomers.”

“Hah? That’s enough, you.”

Seiya cut into their conversation.

The smile on his face made those who have known him for a long time freeze.

“I understand Keyaki’s desire to draw a bow as soon as possible. The empty-handed practice and rubber bows are a program for you to learn the Eight Steps of Shooting. If you suddenly pick up a bow and arrow, it is dangerous because you might hit your face with the bowstring and hurt yourself, or the arrow might fly off to somewhere else. It’s a practice method designed to minimize injuries and accidents.”

“I know the Eight Steps of Shooting from watching the video sharing site ‘Yotube.’ What I lack is practice and experience.”

“Have you learned how to move your feet?”

“There’s sashinutai and kashinjoutai. When advancing, you move your left foot first, and when moving backwards, you start from your right foot. Or, when moving forward, you start with the foot closest to the shimoza, and when moving backwards, you start with the foot closest to the kamiza.”

“You seemed to have read the textbook thoroughly. Just like the saying ‘There is no one who can appear on the right,’ (2) in Japan since the olden days, the right is the upper seat and the left is the lower seat. In other words, the Minister of the Right is more important than the Minister of the Left.”

“Isn’t it the other way around in international etiquette? Everything needs a change. Aren’t kyudo uniforms too conservative, like using white only for tournaments? Aren’t you just sitting back and doing nothing by using the word ‘tradition’ as a shield? If you do nothing, you won’t fail or be beaten.”

“I think it’s hard to draw a line between which colors are okay and which colors are not. If everyone wears the same color, it would be difficult to see the economic disparity between them. Apparently, the kendoka of the Imperial Guard wear white dougi and white hakama, originally for hygienic reasons. Keyaki, you’re aware that you lack practice and experience. I think sometimes you don’t understand the meaning and reason of things unless you try doing them. It’s shallow to assume something in this way before you try it.”

“I’m not making assumptions.”

“If you think you can start a revolution by yourself, you’re being too arrogant. Do you have any like-minded comrades who agree with your words and sometimes admonish you? Kazemai’s leaders are always updating their information. When coaching, they always do their best to keep men from touching women—unlike in the past.”

Next to the silent Keyaki, Kanbayashi’s gaze wandered around.

Minato raised his voice.

“Wait, Seiya! Even if it’s obvious to us who have been in the kyudo club since middle school, there must be a lot of things people who pick up a bow for the first time in high school don’t know about. I think this is due to a lack of communication. Before, Onogi got angry because ‘I didn’t hear any of that!’, right? He said we hid things from them because we didn’t trust them. ‘Please understand’ doesn’t tell people anything. I’ve watched you, Seo-san, and Masa-san having discussions until it’s late. I know you bought new rubber bows from the small budget of the club.”

Seiya took a breath and ordered everyone to clean up. People scattered. Keyaki, perhaps frustrated that he was backed up by the person he had told off for messing around, didn’t even make eye contact with Minato.

After checking up on Keyaki, who had gone to get a mop, Kanbayashi ran up to Minato and Nanao.

“I’m sorry, senpais. This is all because I got excited over something that had nothing to do with kyudo before practice… Keyaki is just impatient. He wants to draw a bow as soon as possible.”

Nanao answered.

“Mm, I understand. Kacchan’s always like that, and Seiya isn’t angry either.”

“He’s always like that?”

“Yep, that’s normal for him. Seiya’s slightly sadistic, and Kacchan’s an extreme masochist. I’ll talk to Tommy-sensei, so don’t worry about it. Do you wanna touch ‘Minahead’ one more time?”

“Minahead?”

“Minato’s forehead.”

Both Kanbayashi and Minato blinked at the same time.

---

The silhouettes of five boys and their bicycles stood out cleanly against the backdrop of the setting sun.

Minato was in front of a candy store by the bus stop. Usually, he commuted to school by bicycle and ran to the supermarket to get groceries after club activities, but on this day, everyone was making a side trip together. A sweet smell wafted through his nose, and somehow his cheeks were dyed red as well. He could hear the sound of children spinning for capsule toys.

Ryouhei snapped the popsicle in his hand into two.

“Minato, I’ll give you half. I feel like my head is full of words today. Um, you step forward with your foot that’s farthest away from the gods, right? I was doing it without thinking all this time.”

“That’s gezashin, the mindset where you do something humbly. (3) The fact you can do it unconsciously is proof that your body remembers it. Ah, this is a nostalgic taste.”

“Isn’t it tasty?”

“Ryouhei, where’s mine?” Seiya urged.

“I always give you one, so none for you for today.”

While he was saying this, Ryouhei finished the popsicle and opened the seal of the next sweet. Tocchan Ika, Baby Moon ramen, and umaibo (4) were put away into his stomach one after the other. Nutritional supplements were essential to his growing body.

The two cousins were sitting on the edge of a flower bed. Nanao was playing with a frog key chain hanging from his bag, and Kaito was stretching himself out.

“A real pain-in-the-ass joined the club.”

“Don’t say that. You’re a pain-in-the-ass too, Kacchan.”

“Hah? That ain’t true.”

“I think it’s good that he’s enthusiastic. But he might also get over-theoretical. It doesn’t have to be so excessive that it’s a revolution, but it might be good to think about improvements. It’s also true that we want as many new students as possible to stay.”

Seiya sensed Nanao’s gaze and smiled. Giving the two of them a sidelong glance, Kaito raised his stretched-out body.

“By the way, the Nanao Fan Club is being pretty quiet even though they’re always so noisy.”

“Apparently, the first-year girl members made it clear to my girls that they didn’t join the club for me. They purely wanted to do kyudo.”

“That’s good.”

“And to tell you the truth, it’s also because we got a great coach here.”

“Oh, so they’re more interested in Masa-san, if anything.”

Nanao followed the clouds in the distant sky with his eyes. The clouds, which looked still, were slowly drifting, like phoenixes crossing the sky.

“Let’s stand on that stage as the five of us this year too.”

“That’s a given.”

The corner of Kaito’s mouth raised.

A bus passed by as the boys talked with their heads together. A red vending machine, a box of popsicles, and a poster announcing a summer festival. The capsule machines were filled with treasures. Rainbow-colored circles lit up in the outdoor lights, and crows cawed from the mountains.

Seiya sent a text message to Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo. The wind blew.

---

A few days later, the members of the kyudo club gathered.

The club president, Seiya, spoke.

“Everyone, thank you for taking the time to fill out the survey. The first-years are now practicing entering and exiting the kyudojo, so today we’ll do rubber bows and subiki, and tomorrow we’ll be facing the targets.”

The first-years were flustered. They hadn’t imagined that they would be standing before the targets so soon.

The curriculum was as followed. The scoring target for long-distance competitions, which was about twelve meters from the shooting position, would be placed. The diameter was one hundred centimeters. After that, they would learn how to use a yugake and try shooting at the makiwara. Running concurrently, they would enter the arrow path and stand five meters, then ten meters, from the azuchi, and finish off by shooting from the shooting position.

Seeing the smiling faces of the new members, Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo shook hands and said, “Alright.”

Tommy-sensei continued.

“We had a class for the general public, but our club was short of weak bows for beginners. Incredibly, the kyudo equipment store gave us five bows. Thanks to Yamanouchi-kun.”

Ryouhei rubbed the tip of his nose with his finger.

“You don’t have to rush out to buy a bow until you’re comfortable with the bow strength, but please come to the store when you’re ready to buy.”

“In three months, you’ll be able to shoot in a tournament format. However, you must be careful to avoid danger and take safety into consideration, and you’re not allowed to practice alone unless you get permission. You may only nock arrows in the presence of the advisor or the coach.”

Keyaki put on a muneate and put on a cotton glove on his right hand. Subiki was drawing a bow without nocking an arrow. The right hand gripped the bowstring, and you drew the bow to its limit and returned it to its original position without letting it go. There was the risk of snapping the bowstring if you let it go without any nocked arrows.

The big target was a great success. It was a bit intimidating to hold up the bow and arrow, but it felt better to actually shoot an arrow than to imitate drawing a bow. The vibration was felt throughout his body, and he was enveloped in an indescribable sense of freedom.

Facing the target. Once you heard the sound of the bowstring, you could no longer escape from the bow.

The next step was to practice shooting arrows at the thirty-six-centimeter kasumi-mato from close to the azuchi. Since there would be people entering the arrow path, the second-years weren’t allowed to stand in front of the targets while the first-years were using it. They concentrated on makiwara practice.

Seeing that, Keyaki pursed his lips.

“Coach Takigawa, we didn’t mean to take away from the senpais’ practice time…”

“Makiwara aren’t just for beginners. It’s a very important practice for archers. Those guys are serious about training their juniors as well. I myself have been invited to Kazemai High School as a reverse mentor.”

“A system in which young people give advice to their superiors. I’m worried about how long this will last.”

“People are anxious about what they don’t know. It’s hard to wait a long time without knowing what to expect. Even if it’s hard, if you know how long it will last, you can be more patient than you think. It wasn’t my intention, but I left the newcomers out of the loop by not sharing information with them. I’m sorry about that.”

“No…I didn’t understand the situation either.”

Masa-san called Seiya over.

“From now on, the club president will contact you every month with the schedule.”

“I want to make things better together. Honest young people are more trustworthy than shady adults who are always laughing.”

“I wonder who you’re talking about.”

“Who knows.”

Masa-san stood next to Keyaki and stared in the same direction.

“There may be one fact, but there are as many interpretations as there are people. The origin of the word ‘togaru’ (to become sharp) is ‘toga,’ and it’s a companion word to ‘togabito’ (criminal) and ‘toge’ (thorn). The ancient Japanese believed that to be ‘togaru’ was a sin, breaking the harmony of the group. So, ostracization and harassment will continue for a long time. Are my opinions guided by someone else? Am I guessing the thoughts of those in power? Did I become arrogant because they were praised? On the other hand, am I harboring resentment because I’m being treated unfavorably? It’s necessary to ask yourself these questions.”

“What should I do?”

“Have fun. Become someone worthy of trust. Increase your amount of experience, carefully examine the information, and increase the number of friends you have. Then you’ll be able to face the true boss.”

In front of Masa-san and Seiya, who had turned away, Keyaki bowed his head and said, “Thank you.”

---

He could hear the awkward cries of a lesser cuckoo coming from somewhere.

A yawatashi was being held at the Kazemai High School kyudojo. The archer was Masa-san, the first kaizoe was Seiya, and the second was Ryouhei. They were respectively wearing lapis-lazuli blue, dayflower blue, and amber-colored kimono decorated with family crests. They were prepared by Keyaki, who apparently collected old kimono under the influence of the Yotube channel, “Yumihiki Douji.”

When Masa-san and the others exited the dojo, Keyaki, seated in seiza, was waiting for them.

“Masa-san, your shooting was full of dignity. Your kimono suited you so well as though it was made for you.”

“Oh, uh, thank you.”

It seemed that the newcomer had taken to him quite a lot.

The five first-year students with kyudo experience were also wearing hakama. They had decided to hold a match within the club. It was thirteen mixed male and female students, zasha, and four arrows for two rounds for a total of eight shots. The order of shooting was two first-year boys and three first-year girls for the first group, the five second-year boys for the second group, and the three second-year girls for the third group.

Kaito was staring at his arrow. He beckoned Minato to him, tapped him on the forehead, and walked away with a face of feigned ignorance.

The match began. The very first oomae was the first-year boy, Himuro.

He was a somewhat mysterious boy, so taciturn that one might forget that he existed, and with his bangs long on one side, it was hard to read his expression. But when he stood on the shajo, the atmosphere changed completely. His eyes, which peeked out slightly, didn’t blink. His bow was raised high in the air. His arrow flew sharply. He hit the target.

Next was Kanbayashi. Although he was a little awkward, it was clear that he wasn’t a beginner. He drew his bow to its limit and the tip of his arrow caught hold of the target. He opened his body up in a broad stance, and the arrow hit the target at the nine-o’-clock position. His first arrow hit the target, and the look of relief on his face was evident.

The three first-year girls followed, and the results ended up being two, three, one, zero, and two hits.

The second group consisted of Minato, Seiya, Ryouhei, Kaito, and Nanao.

Minato spread his legs open. He inhaled the breath of the earth through the soles of his feet and conveyed it through his trunk to the branches and leaves.

The two masters were sitting at the judging table in front of him, but he must not be distracted. I’m just a tree, a big tree. I simply breathe quietly while watching people’s activities leisurely.

He raised his bow. He stretched his arms towards the sun. As he opened his body wide and basked in the sunlight, he could feel his cells begin to dance. After he abandoned himself for a while, he heard the sound of his arrow hitting the target.

Meanwhile, Nanao’s feet hadn’t grabbed hold of the earth. His heart was beating wildly. Where’s the danten again? What’s the center of the body? As he repeatedly answered his own questions, he no longer knew where to release the arrow. The arrow made a dull sound after it was released. After that, only one of his arrows hit, and his shooting became indecisive.

For the third group, the final ochi was Seo. She was the tallest amongst the girls, and her tightened body and dignified form was beautiful. After she released her arrow, there was a shout of “Yes!”

For the results, Seiya was in first place having hit all eight of his shots, and last place went to Nanao with five hits.

Nanao’s back was heavy. As it turned out, there was a large boy clinging to his back.

“It’s rare for you to hit only just over half.”

“I’ve been watching a lot of videos recently and tinkering with some things, so I can’t hit as much now.”

“You’ll be back on your feet in no time.”

“Right you are.”

After lining up, Tommy-sensei gave an announcement.

“I’ve kept this a secret from everyone, but today’s match was actually the intra-school selection for the district tournament.”

Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo widened their eyes.

“Doesn’t that mean that this is a pop quiz?”

“How terrible of you, Tommy-sensei.”

“We were testing you to see if you were practicing the lesson ‘Practice as if you’re in a tournament, and make your tournament into practice.’” (5)

A paper was put up.

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#tsurune translation #tsurune

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