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implalazz · 24 days

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Waaaaaaaaa I’m back with more yokai fusions & also a comically small Buchikoma

L-R: Blazitina, RoboGrapenyan, Damonono, Buchikoma, Komajisan, Pandatina

Again more design thoughts under tha cut ✌️

My fingers always feel sore after typing this much….. Lots of learning about the details of traditional clothes this time. I chose these pairings cuz I felt lazy & wanted to draw the simpler ones first lol

Blazitina: Lion girl 👍 First thing I can think of in my thought process was making the belt an obi sash. Tattered at the ends to batch Blazion’s & with an obijime for fun. I didn’t super feel like giving her the same kind of Miku-esque kimono sleeves that I gave Lord Lie-In so I just made them weird kinda arm warmers. Did the same for her pants too, I’m not sure what they’re called but they’re inspired by the leg warmer kinda things in PLA on the fancy kimono. Also gave her a juban cuz idk I made her gi dip too far under her arms & yknow she’s a little lady she’s gotta stay covered up. I know all of this traditional kimono gear isn’t conductive to good karate but whatever…… She doesn’t get boots cuz I like drawing paws & her ahoge mimic Blazion’s scar (I didn’t have enough room to fit it in). I was thinking of giving her an x shaped hair clip but I thought it’d be too busy on her head. Overall despite some things I’d change (the way I shaped the obi I know realize the shape is TOO stylistic) I think this is my favourite design of the bunch

RoboGrapenyan: Very much inspired by the pkmn Violet paradox mons* (*See the bells & eyes.) Not much to say it’s a pretty straightforward fusion. The tail onibi are lightbulbs because it feels more robotic & I thought it’d be cool. The jet exhaust is grape soda……. That was a choice. LOOK I’LL EXPLAIN, uh….. grape….. grape exhaust? Grape vapor? Grape soda????? Sure. Also I think in the back of my mind I was thinking of that soda gun from that one episode of SpongeBob. Naughty Nautical Neighbors. I had to google it I had to know what episode it was….. yeah.

Damonono: YAAAAYYYYY FIRST TIME DRAWING HAKAMA THEY’RE WEIRD BUT I’LL GET BETTER AT IT!! They’re supposed to be split leg hakama but in every reference I looked up they’re so wide that they just look like the skirt kind rather than having two leg holes. I gave them hakama cuz bootleg jeans would be weird with a kimono. And I like hakama. That’s it. The sleeves….. Let’s talk about those. I didn’t wanna give them the heart guns/cannons cuz idk…. I liked the way Damona’s hands were posed & I wanted to keep that. So instead they have weird fucked up heart shaped kimono sleeves. I wanted to keep Damona’s long obi too but I thought it might mess with the silhouette already having the sleeves & also that’s just not a thing you do with hakama. So….. her sleeves are kind of like the end of her obi…….. I’m only now realizing she could’ve had them tied up normally & they could still hang that low….. whatever. In my mind they go under the obi, get tied up so they can put on the hakama, & then untie them & let them hang over the hakama. Look I don’t think of fashion in terms of is this normal? Is this practical? If it looks good I do it. Not much else to say. I had to look up a tutorial on how to put on hakama cuz I wanted them to be as accurate as possible……. And now I know how to put them on so that’s cool I guess. I LOVE LEARNING!!!!!!!!

Buchikoma: Again pretty simple. I gave him a little tuft of hair to emulate Buchinyan’s wispy hair tuft. I forgot to draw the spot of the side of the right thigh, lol. His eye spot is shaped like an onibi cuz it’s cute 👍. His haramaki has the patterning of Jibakoma’s tummy spot cuz I can’t not give him the haramaki that’d be a crime. His ears are farther apart & smaller like Jibakoma’s, & his tail onibi are shaped like that cuz idk I tried to imagine what Jibakoma’s tail looked like & I thought of that. Overall another one of my favourite yokai fusions I’ve done. That’s my son

Komajisan: SPLIT EARS!!!!! Inspired by a fandom design of a certain character from a certain comic I won’t name….. IYKYK. Split ears cuz 2. Also extra swirly bits on the swirls cuz 2. I was thinking of adding blue spots to his bindle but I didn’t like how it looked so I didn’t do it. Fun paw spots cuz it’s cute. Forehead onibi are kinda angry lookin cuz idk….. I just felt it. Also mini onibi in between the forehead ones cuz 2. Some makeup accenting cuz……. IT’S CUTE!!!!!!!! I was also thinking of making the onibi half brown & half blue but it looked bad so yeah, I didn’t do it.

Pandatina: Probably my favourite in terms of lineart. I actually got noticeably better at drawing kimono particularly the sleeves. I’m proud :]. I honestly didn’t feel like giving her a haori/cape/whatever so I didn’t (also I just forgot to lol.) So she has a good sewn into the collar of her kimono. Clover shaped obijime like Slimatina cuz it looks cool & I like it, also I needed more clover shapes lol. She’s got one in her hair because of that too, I was thinking of making it blue but I thought nahh. She’s intentionally very pale cuz I wanted her skin tone to really match the snake part of her body. And she has eyeshadow on to emulate the spots around Pandanoko’s eyes, same with her pupils. Again just a simple fusion

#🔩.my art #yokai watch #yokai oc #fusion #Frostina #blazion #robonyan #grapenyan #casanono #damona #pandanoko #komasan #komajiro #buchinyan #jibakoma

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maigeiko · 4 months

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The look of... VIII: Shimizu 清水

Historical context The first official date in the history of Shimizu Geigi is 1872, when "Machi Geisha" (まち芸者), who were distinct from "Kaku Geisha" (廓芸者), appeared. A Kenban (registry office) was established in 1877. At that time, Machi Geisha and Kaku Geisha combined were around twenty people. Only ten years later, in 1887, their number had increased to 100. The number of Geigi continued to grow.

In 1938, the number of Geigi was around 260, and they were highly regarded nationwide for their skills in art and behaviour. In 1951, a "Shimizu Geigi school" (清水芸妓学校) was opened, around 150 Geigi attending the event.

In the 1970's, Japan's period of economic growth started tapering off, interest in traditional arts dwindeled, which resulted in less work opportunities for Geigi and the number of Ryotei decreasing. In response to this, local business leaders and Shimizu Geigi started an organisation to help fostering new Geigi (Seibikai 清美会).

By 1985, their number had decreased to thirteen and the Kenban closed. In 1991, local businessmen and Geigi formed a different company (Seibi Co. 清美(株)), which worked as employer for Geigi. Due to a bad economic environment, Shimizu Odori (清水をどり) was last held in 1998, Seibi Co. was dissolved in 2004, and Haru no mai (春の舞) was discontinued in 2009. As a result of this, some of Seibi's employees became independent Geigi.

Allegedly, the number of Geigi hit rock bottom in 2011 with only two remaining. However, in 2012, around eleven Geigi worked in Shimizu. Since then, the city had a steady stream of Geigi coming and going again. At the end of this year, 2023, there are ten Geigi working in the city.

The look of Shimizu Geiko Local Term: Geigi 芸妓 ※ Hairstyle: Taka shimada, Tsubushi shimada ※ Kanzashi: Kushi, Maezashi, bekko kogai, ear of rice in the new year period ※ Kimono: Homongi, Kuromontsuki Hikizuri ※ Haneri: white ※ Obi: Taiko musubi ※ Obiage: green, pink, white, red ※ Obijime: flat, 1 knot ※ Footwear: Zori

Casual look ※ Hairstyle: Yohatsu ※ Kanzashi: none ※ Kimono: Homongi, rarely Komon ※ Haneri: white ※ Obi: Taiko musubi ※ Obiage: white, pink ※ Footwear: Zori

The look of Shimizu Maiko Local term: Shinjin Geigi 新人芸妓 ※ Hairstyle: Momoware Katsura, sometimes real hair styled (shin nihongami) ※ Kanzashi: seasonal and non-seasonal Hanakanzashi, Katsuyama, maezashi, Shidare in all age groups ※ Kimono: Furisode with shoulder tucks or no tucks at all ※ Eri: white with white embroidery, plain white, white with multicolour embroidery, other colours possible especially during summer months ※ Obi: Koken musubi ※ Obiage: flat, mostly red/silver, red/white shibori, other colours also possible (green/beige/light blue) ※ Obijime: flat or round with 1-4 knots. No obidome ※ Footwear: Zôri

Notes Shimizu was merged with Shizuoka in 2003. Shimizu Geigi and other traditional arts performers are backed by 静岡伝統芸能振興 Shizuoka dentô geinô Shinkô-kai/Shizuoka traditional performing arts promotion association, which is the successor to Seibikai. You might notice I didn't start this post with a historical b/w photo. There are some old photos on the Shizuoka Dentogeino homepage, but they are the size of a postal stamp. And that's it. I feel let down. No chance to explore the historical style of Shimizu. Anyways. "The look of Shimizu/Shizuoka" was requested by @geimaiko. The layout of this post is based on geimaiko's own. Also... geimaiko originally started these series. If you liked this post, you should go and thank her, because without her, there would be no "the look of..." ;)

Sources https://www.shizuoka-dentogeino.jp/geigi/shizuoka_history/, https://www.shizuoka-dentogeino.jp/geigi/shimizu_history/, http://www.shimizu-port.jp/geigi.html, https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNZO41971500Z20C12A5L61000/ (headline and preview only), https://www.youtube.com/@shizuokadentogeino/videos

Pictures: Komachi May 17, Makoto May 17, Komachi+Makoto Oct 17 (sources nowhere to be found), Sakurako+Fukutaro Apr 22, Kikuno+Umeka Nov 14, Iroha Jun 20, Iroha Oct 20, Fukutaro Oct 20, Ichiryo+Komachi+Makoto ~2016, Komachi+Sakurako Apr 18, Fukutaro+Sakurako Oct 18, Iroha+Fukutaro+Sakurako Oct 20

#mg #geisha #geiko #maiko #hangyoku #geigi #shizuoka #kimono #komachi #makoto #sakurako #fukutaro #kikuno #umeka #iroha

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thekimonogallery · 1 year

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Kimono, Obi, Obiage, Obijime, Shikoki: Modorihashi half-collar: Here and there, Yaka mask: Self-made 📸 : Rin-chan

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kimono-daisuki · 5 months

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KimoNovember Day 20: while looking through my pile of Ichiroya/Kimonotte stuff, I noticed this obi and kimono pair well together for a jimi coordinate (probably wearable for someone in their 60s or 70s?). I brightened it a little with the obijime but otherwise stuck to a jimi colour combination.

#kimono-daisuki #kimono #着物 #帯留め #obidome #kimonovember #kimonovember2023

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isan0rt · 10 months

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Actually, @lightandfellowship asking about other Dark Road historical fashion thoughts on this post did kind of get me thinking about it and you know what I think is really interesting? Is that there are only two students that are at any point wearing entirely Western-looking (non-Japanese) clothing without an obi and obijime, and that’s Xehanort (pre-arrival at Scala)...

And Baldr.

Even Master Odin is wearing an obi and obijime despite otherwise dressing like Gandalf, but we’ll leave him aside for the sake of this discussion.

For the most part the students are wearing fusion clothing, but that’s typical of the Taisho era. The Taisho period, which immediately followed the end of the Meiji Restoration, was a period of great change in Japan, and of Westernization. It was very common for people to wear a mix of Western clothing with traditional Japanese clothing. You can see a lot of this in the Dark Road students;

(This got really long lol. Discussion of the secondary and tertiary Dark Road students’ design choices, culminating in discussion of Eraqus, Xehanort, and Baldr’s designs and what they might mean in the context of a Taisho-period-adjacent setting, under the cut).

- Most of the male students, plus Urd, are wearing very loose, bloused pants, probably tobi trousers or karusan-bakama.

- Vidar, Vali, and Vala have some of the most traditionally Japanese silhouettes among the upperclassmen. Vidar is wearing a sleeveless lapped garment that isn’t strictly traditional, but has a very Japanese look to the way it’s assembled and to the color styling, while Vali is wearing pretty authentic-looking Japanese faulds, and is obviously supposed to make you think of the kabuki ideal of a ninja. Vala also looks EXTREMELY Taisho-period; the wearing of silk-painted or embroidered, brightly-colored hakama with an obi and furisode or kosode was extremely common for girls in the Taisho period. Vala has some sort of fantasy puff cuff-sleeve-thing instead of furisode, but her hakama and obi are lifted straight out of the 1910s. Interestingly, these upperclassmen, like Eraqus in the lower class, survive the longest.

- Heimdall, Sigrun, and Bragi are all wearing a mix of actual traditional Japanese clothing and Western elements. They are all wearing short kimono, with Sigrun having a very classic obi styling, Bragi is wearing traditional workman’s clothing (a hanten and sarubakama, with an obi without obijime, interestingly), and Heimdall appears to be wearing a kosode, with obi and obijime. However, Sigrun is wearing leggings and gaiters, Heimdall has some WILD thigh-high Three Musketeers boots and that very intensely high-collared, French-looking bolero jacket, and Bragi is, as previously discussed, wearing a bomber jacket (and also Chuck Taylor sneakers, Bragi you sneaky, deeply anachronistic guy).

- Helgi and Hoder, interestingly, appear to be blending Japanese and Chinese clothing styles; they’re both wearing obi and obiage, but Hoder appears to be wearing a cheongsam, and while Helgi is wearing a sleeveless kimono as a shirt, his fur ruffs very much evoke some traditional theatrical depictions of Son Goku (the Monkey King not the DBZ character); but I’m not that knowledgeable about Chinese clothing so I won’t make too many conjectures here.

- Urd and Hermod and Vor all have very fantasy-like designs, with the girls having fewer garments from either real Western or Japanese styles. Hermod and Urd as discussed have the bloused pants, Vor’s coat looks VERY much like a traditionally silk painted kimono that’s been altered to have a Western tab-collar, but has a traditional Japanese rope bow on the back, and all three are wearing obi and obiage. However, Urd’s robe/cape thing is VERY Western Fantasy Wizard, meanwhile Vor is wearing actual pumpkin pants. Hermod’s looks the most period, with his haori retaining the traditional lapels but altered to have Western bishop sleeves, and he’s wearing VERY WWI-style gaiters.

Now lets talk about the other three, who are actually our main characters; Xehanort, Baldr, and Eraqus.

Eraqus is absolutely wearing nothing but traditional Japanese clothing (aside from the obvious Kingdom Hearts elements of the turtleneck and crossed suspenders). He is wearing extremely traditional hakama, with the most traditional haori of any of the cast. His hair is partially loose but what is pulled back is pulled into something like a topknot; Eraqus is designed in every way to evoke the look of the samurai class. What I think is significant with that is that, as mentioned, the Taisho period followed the Meiji Restoration, when the samurai class in Japan were more or less disbanded in the face of modernization of Japan. I don’t think it’s unrelated that at this point, the Scalan society that considers Eraqus a ‘blueblood’ is also in decline, and is ultimately ended within Eraqus’s lifetime. He is the last of his kind, and he is dressed like it.

Then, there’s Xehanort. When he leaves Destiny Islands to go to Scala he’s dressed in an outfit that calls to mind Ephemer’s, and is extremely Western and modern-looking; which makes sense, since he was raised by Player, and the KHUX time period has very modern and Western fashion (remember Bragi’s Chucks?). But once he’s a student, he’s replaced his button-down shirt and collared sleeveless duster with a turtleneck (Kingdom Hearts, lol) and haori of his own, an exact photo negative of Eraqus’s haori except that Xehanort’s is sleeveless. But Eraqus is a blueblood, and as far as anyone in Scala knows, Xehanort is a nobody and a foreigner; he is still wearing Western pants in a Western style, held up by a Western belt and without any obi in sight. Xehanort was born in Scala, and he resents being seen as Just Some Guy, but he doesn’t belong there like Eraqus does; his haori on top is trying to make him part of that world, an equal to Eraqus, but what’s underneath reflects that Scala doesn’t consider him either of those things.

And then, there is Baldr.

I’ve seen other posters point out that his clothing is all black, under a white jacket (I’m sorry I don’t remember who pointed this out!), but also, Baldr has the most Western and contemporary clothing of all of the characters in Dark Road. In contrast to Xehanort, with his loose, pre-WWI-era jeans, Baldr is wearing contemporary skinny jeans with a wallet chain and fashionable low-buckled boots. He’s also wearing a waistcoat, and a bolero jacket with what looks like knit cuffs. He doesn’t fit in with the others at all, even less than Xehanort does.

And pointedly, like Xehanort, he is not wearing an obi.

I feel like it’s not a coincidence that this game visually sets its characters in the Taisho era, the time period that transitioned Japan from the traditional Japan to the modern, Westernized Japan of the 20th century, and the character who puts a permanent end to Scalan society is the only character dressed entirely in Western and modern clothing. Obviously I can’t say for sure what the intent was, but at the end of the game, the three characters left standing are Eraqus, dressed in the most traditionally Japanese fashion, Baldr, dressed in the least, and Xehanort, the fusion, who is dressed like Eraqus on the surface, but underneath, is dressed like Baldr.

#KHDR #Kingdom Hearts #Kingdom Hearts Dark Road #long post #related to; fashion history #In case this seems like talking out of my ass lmao my qualifications are I have a degree in fashion #with a focus on fashion and costume history #did my final graduating paper on how modern Japanese street fashion #was influenced by Meiji and Heian and Taisho fashion #and also worked as a professional costumer for the theater industry for several years #Butttt it's been a little bit so there may be inaccuracies #but these are my thoughts from like. A costume design perspective and how costumes inform character for narrative purposes

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shesadollette · 3 months

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❝ In Blood and Uniform, We Devote Ourselves ❞

Note: Since I won’t be using “hero” and “villain” as their names, here’s how to differentiate between them: hero as the female spy protagonist, villain as the female kitsune (tw: harsh language, slight discriminatory remarks, indications of violence, wartime era background (1943 to be specific)).

꒰ ⨾ ꒱ Total word count: 2,617

᪥⚘ Taglist: @linsyfelisyya, @raiha-storm65557, @kitcathhhh, @dumdumpew6

ʚᰔɞ Prompt by the lovely: @raiha-storm65557 🌷💕 (i tried my best in cooking up smth by blending history with mythological/folklore creature(s)).

╰ ✧₊˚⊹ “Don’t move,” her voice was so gentle despite everything. Even if Hero wanted to disobey, they couldn’t. All they could do was shiver in the cold wind. Why? What’s happening to them? They wanted – no needed - to run away but it felt like their lungs would collapse the second they would move. “You’ll be alright,” Villain whispered in their ear.

*ੈ𑁍༘⋆

A Japanese. She recognized the language all too well, alas not from the mysterious voice speaking.

To trust the words of an enemy is akin to jumping into a tiger’s lair unarmed; you are just asking for a dagger to be plunged into your own heart, her instincts whispered.

“Um, excuse me, miss. I’d like to pass through,” her teeth clamored as her quivering voice uttered indifferently. The shivering figure gave the source of voice a clumsy head bow and gripped her coat and scarf tighter, the action did little to stave off the frigid air and hunger of that day in the bitter winter of the year.

She considered her options: if she was getting mugged, she could probably use the dagger. If the stranger was a mere senile woman, she’d best leave her be. If—

Her chin was angled up by fingers less freezing and less shaken than her own.

The young woman caught the lady looming over by her eyes first: raw sienna and upturned. Her middle to lower third ratio possessed a high nose bridge followed by a sharp cupid’s bow on full lips ending with the narrow point of her chin. She felt a certain sense of unease by how her features looked so serenely taut as if pulled by a string, yet the aura emanating from her was uncanny, like it would snap any second.

Ink black hair pulled into a simple neat bun revealed an elegant neck draped around by a rich blue kimono seamlessly flowing down akin to a river at midnight, a maroon obi tied at the waist and an intricate obidome on the obijime. White camellia etchings intertwined and separated in a whirlwind of dance on a sleeve and continued their way down the fabric in a perpetual luscious stream.

Silence perambulated by while both women were still as statues.

The lady hummed softly as her eyes narrowed and her lips reduced to an indiscernible frown. “Such delicate features…” She spoke quite strangely, each word enunciated sharp and constricted, her breaths merely condensed to an imperceptible foggy mist, “At one glance, one might say that you are a huntsman or — likely — a poacher, fleeing away from some sort of conflict.” Nails dug into the young woman’s chin, rotating her face gingerly from side-to-side, deep in scrutinization.

Panic flared and she thought of running. But running seemed more like a wish than a will as her boots were kept rooted in the heap of snow. The desire did not falter since the lady continued regarding her icily, “Times like these make people very desperate to take up such jobs to suffice for their family or themselves, you know? Strange however, since your eyes tell a different story.” She gripped her chin firmly, bringing it front to a stop and stared into her soul. “You do not possess the carnage nor the experience that they carry. So what are you, if not one?” Then, conspiringly, “Are you perhaps a spy?”

Shit. She knows. How did she know? She caught the lady’s wrist in her trembling gloved grip, firmly pushing it aside and backed away with a long stride.

“You ask a lot for somebody who dresses haughtily as such,” scoffed the young woman.

“At such a young age too. How old are you?”

She gritted her teeth, jaw clenching while a shaking fist curled itself and waited just for another slip out of the lady’s lips. Famished and fatigued, her mind was traversing nowhere and everywhere all at once as her patience stood on thin ice.

“I assume you are not one to talk, are you? Ju-ri,” the last two words crawled coolly out of her lips.

Her glare upon hearing her true name being spoken blatantly mitigated, causing angry brows to soften as her fist ceased trembling at once. Her brows flickered uneasily, eyes widening first in shock, then migrating to wonder before finally settling on fear. The air suddenly felt more frigid as her sense of alert woke up.

Not a word once more, only this time, it was heavily tangible.

The lady’s placid sigh broke the wall of frost between them before reaching into her low-hanging sleeve. Manicured fingernails painted in red held the recipient the piece of paper upfront. Slightly torn around the edges with marks of it having been folded repeatedly. The young woman’s quivering hands snatched it.

It was a letter. A home address scribbled and a date: December 20, 1941. Dear Nam Ju-ri, … From, beloved brother Nam Ju-young.

Two years ago, he marked his presence with the faded black ink, two years later he was still never again heard from.

“You dropped it,” the lady’s voice sounded again, only now, her words carried the barest trails of Ju-ri’s mother tongue. The usage nigh gave the young woman some sort of odd comfort from the familiarity. Nigh.

It must have fallen out of her coat pocket since she did not recall ever holding it. She cursed herself internally for not being more vigilant as her fingers fastidiously folded it into the tiniest piece she could manage before shoving it deep into her breast pocket.

“Apologies for the impropriety. You may address me as Lady Yōko. In return for your name through spontaneous means, you shall receive mine.”

Ju-ri’s surge of adrenaline peaked itself on tiptoes through blinds when her tongue reciprocated in Hangul, “Cut the formalities, yeah? I don’t need it. I never gave you mine willingly, you took knowledge of it upon yourself.”

Miss Yōko vacantly eyed her. “I have been met with many people coming from various different backgrounds. Be it swindlers, crooks, perverted soldiers, bastards, whores, so many more. Compared to the majority of them, a lowlife from Joseon smuggling her way out to Japan does not make it any special.”

The young woman’s lips twitched instinctively in aggravation as wry laughter wrung itself out of her lips. She cursed. “You know what I hate the most about people? It’s their sense of knowing-it-all. If you don’t learn to tone that grating pride I swear—” A fist was raised that was meant to be a threat; though, she flunked it too close to the lady’s cheek instead.

She caught her wrist mid-air feasibly. “Was it merely my “pride” or are you just too cowardly to face the truth?”

Ju-ri shifted awkwardly and planted all her strength into wrenching her wrist out albeit the lady’s punishing grip only tightened the more she tried as her fist trembled and trembled. Why… is she not wearing gloves? Is she not afraid of frostbite? The thought slithered idly into the young woman’s mind merely during that slip of the second.

“Why?” mused Miss Yōko. “One man’s blood does not equal another man’s burden. I wonder imploringly why you view us the same way even if some of us may not have taken innocents’ blood on our hands.”

“It’s different when it’s agreed upon by one nation and not because of that man himself!” She dared to glare upon her opponent’s eyes and caught the last second of her pupils dilating and constricting akin to slit pupils of a predator, a dark brow raised prolonging the unspoken question.

Imminent fear surged through her hollow being heavily as her heart palpitated in her ears. Her pride was dragged six feet under as a soft gasp escaped, her fist going limp from the incessantly futile struggle. Miss Yōko looked… terrifying. Predacious, even. Quite fury outlined her usual stagnant features. It began to hurt. It hurt. If she wasn’t wearing a coat perhaps the lady’s nails would’ve dug through her wrist and drew blood. The young woman dipped her head and grimaced as her mouth articulated a strangled noise of surrender so subtle she was almost certain it went past her ears.

The fingers that clamped on her wrist loosened their grip almost immediately. Ju-ri sucked in a breath and moaned softly in pain several times as she staggered back and cradled her aching muscle. “Crazy bitch,” she exhaled harshly through gritted teeth in-between breaths.

The lady’s gaze was on the glimmering snow. Breathing slowly. Eerily still. “He was right after all. You do have a short temper and the tendency to put up a rather undesirable fight.”

“Huh? Who?”

A heartbeat of palpable quietude.

Miss Yōko side-eyed her, “Maeda. He left the inn two years prior. One of my former patrons. You came here for him, did you not?”

Her brows furrowed as the foreign syllables danced in her brain.

“Mae… da?”

The lady flicked her gaze up. Ju-ri blinked, her pupils back to how they were. She held her gaze while nimbly fishing into her collar’s slip and handed a sheet to the young woman, faced down. “Take it,” she prompted, tilting her head when Ju-ri made no further inclination to. “It is yours. He told me to give it to his little sister one day if I ever encountered her searching for him. Seems as if today has finally marked that day to be bountiful.”

A grayscale photograph. Dirt with a suspicious hint of blood speckled sparsely on an upper corner of the flimsy faded sheet. White lines veined from several crinkles yet the implications were crystal: A little girl in a hanbok to the left of a boy a tad taller in height. A hand was across his temple in a salute and the military uniform was too loose-fitting for his small shoulders. Both had wide toothy grins.

They did not have much nevertheless it never was the reason they weren’t content. Father would still come home. Mother wasn’t too ill. She remembered that day so many years prior when the photograph was taken yet never saw it for herself until… her vision stung, either due to the extreme weather or she traversed too close into memory lane.

Maeda… is Ju-young. Ju-young was here before? What a fucking small world they lived in.

Realization dawned upon as the back of her hand was pressed to her runny nose and the other grasped the photograph near her heart. “It should’ve been me…” she whispered, her knees met the snow. “It should’ve been me…” Her figure hunched over while she fisted the crumpled sheet tighter, loose dark hair grazing the snow. “That fool. He could’ve done so much more with his life…”

Several soft exhales passed when she felt a warm weight pressed on her quivering bicep and shot a glance up to find Miss Yōko kneeling in front of her. The lady’s gaze was fixed on Ju-ri’s shuddering cupped fists while her palm worked on to soothe the tense muscle. She flinched away from the touch without a thought. The lady retracted her hand gingerly in return.

“I-I didn’t know. Um—” the young woman sniffled to hinder the weight of her congested voice. She wiped her nose on a sleeve, blinking her eyes away and biting her lip, embarrassed under the scrutiny during her vulnerability. “It’s just that… I never expected him to wear the uniform for real and to be out there on the battlefield, fighting for your country. Unwillingly. He was only fourteen when he left. He could’ve turned twenty-three this year—”

“I never said that he was gone,” elaborated the lady, her stature kempt. “I merely stated that he had left the inn. Although, I have not heard from him again either for a good while.”

“Again? You two write to one another?”

Her long lashes lifted to meet Ju-ri’s while a brow raised itself high. “How should I keep him in touch on whether or not I’ve encountered his other blood?”

“…You mean it? You’d really help him even if he’s… even if we’re…?”

Her gaze softened, a soft exhale escaped her nose. “It’s only a matter of good business. I am also a woman of my word. Naturally, he had a small price to pay in exchange for my aid.”

Ju-ri felt her heart fall to her stomach.

“I consider myself a collector and a tradesperson for that matter. With favor, comes a price. Whatever one has given or traded with me, I shall help them to the very best depending on the amount presented as a remuneration.” She craned her head back, scanning the frosty surroundings and clicking her tongue, “Even we ought to delve ourselves in human affairs when the economy is undoubtedly precarious during the war. It does not matter whose hands I shake, what matters is the art of a chase. The hunt. The thrill of it.”

We? Human affairs? Ju-ri thought it best instead to not question the lady’s peculiar choice of vocabulary.

“But, I do not have anything valuable as of now to give you.”

Miss Yōko kept still, shifting a moment later to lift a knee to stand up feasibly, back facing her. “Perhaps your shocking presence in and of itself should be enough for now. It’s better than finding your rotting corpse engulfed in maggots instead,” she muttered, her head craned imperceptibly but not facing Ju-ri, “He talked of you. Highly. He said that he was sorry for not being able to come home to see you grow up.”

Soft flutters of snowflakes twirled and whirled around them as her zori shuffled several steps forward with shallow crunches, palm reaching out slightly to catch the flakes. “Isn’t it nice to have someone care for you dearly? I fail to fathom how humankind holds one another in such high regard despite their lifespan, in such a gruesome era too. Fascinating…”

Ju-ri endeavored her best to make sense of the lady who might be the only chance of finding her lost blood and as her lashes drifted downward, she caught the lady’s shadow looming over… except it didn’t look quite right. The silhouette was not reminiscent of the lady’s. She scaled the shadow nearly up to its head when the lady swiveled three-quarters around.

“Ju-ri, let us leave.”

Her head shot up directly and a soft “Huh?”

“We have to make haste. I sense an abnormality in the weather. It’s subtle, but it is there. A blizzard at best, if my senses are correct, it’s arriving early.”

“How in the world could you tell?”

“I cannot explain everything as of now, however I’ll only say that I’ve spent longer winters in all of its bitterness. I run an inn several paces away. You ought to warm yourself up and eat your fill. Then, we can talk more inside.”

“Why should I trust you?”

At that, Miss Yōko’s lips twitched, bemused. “The choice however, is always yours, for I do not own you and I believe you might be harboring some sort of prejudice against me. But know this, your brother would not leave traces of him behind without knowing you’d search for him. Either way, you need to stay alive for that, it seems.”

Her zori marked the snow with dense footprints threatened to be covered by capricious winds and snowfall. Ju-ri had to choose, and to choose quickly. But, even options were scarce. She swallowed the heavy lump in her throat and sniffled as she watched the lady walking further away without a glance behind.

The photograph was shoved brashly in another pocket. Gloved palms pressed on snow momentarily and a forefinger twitched before her leg made the first inclination to stagger up. She wiped her eyes and nose on a sleeve before fixing her scarf and sniffling. Her boot slumped heavily to stumble after the lady.

What hope — or unlikely — trust, meant for Ju-ri she never knew, but the figure shrouded by snowflakes a few feet away may be her very first flicker in almost an entire decade of desolation.

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ekwallace · 2 months

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I don't think I've ever posted this here. Have some lesbians in your Mononoke!

Title: Interlude Fandom: Mononoke Pairing: fem!Otherself/Kayo Word count: 1870 Rating: Explicit

If Kayo always feels off balance around him--and she does--it is worse with her, the woman who is dark and golden at once, who seems to see through her even more keenly than her other half does. Is that dizzying sense of being defenseless before her why Kayo is so irresistibly drawn to her?

Maybe it's much simpler than that.

"Are you hurt?"

Kayo shakes her head, steps closer. "Are you?" It's an excuse. When she puts her hand on the golden one's arm, she can feel the hard muscle under soft skin much warmer than her own. The urge to trace along the bright line that wraps her bicep is almost overwhelming. What would it taste like? she wonders, and feels herself flush. Oh. Is that what you want from them?

The painted smile curves into a real one, with a teasing edge to it. "What do you really want to ask me?"

"I-- I don't know." It is not a lie, not really, for she could not put this strange longing into words if she tried. Desire, yes, but also something more... to see and be seen, as she is when she is most truly herself, with none of the obscuring trappings of convention and stifling politeness. She could not hope to stay with them, she by her very nature ephemeral and he no less fleeting, never to stay in one place for longer than he must to find his answers. But she can have this much.

The golden woman leans closer, as if to tell a secret. "Do you not, Kayo-san?" Her voice is more musical than her counterpart's, but it sends the same shiver down Kayo's spine when she murmurs in her ear, and, like him, she pauses the slightest bit before saying her name, which makes it feel somehow far more intimate than it ought to.

Heart pounding so hard she feels it in her throat, Kayo meets those unsettling, beautiful eyes. "Can you stay with me? Just for a little while?"

"If you want."

"I do want." It comes out breathy and oddly heavy, weighted with more significance than she intended. She swallows and steps closer. "I do want," she says again, this time acknowledging its full meaning.

The golden woman gives a pleased hum and bends again. She brushes her lips over Kayo's hair, then her cheek, and Kayo turns her head to bring their mouths together.

She has never kissed anyone, and she did not expect it to be like this, overwhelming all her senses and stealing her breath completely. The golden one's mouth on hers, and her hand cupping her chin, are both warm to burning, but her hair, when Kayo (a distant part of her awed at her own daring) slips her hands into it, is cool, and softer than silk.

"I want to see all of you," she whispers when they break apart, and there is no mocking at all in the golden woman's answering smile.

"You know how."

But Kayo must first run her fingers over the markings on her chest, and after a moment can no longer resist kissing them. The golden woman makes a sound, low in her throat and not quite a growl, and grips Kayo's shoulders hard enough that she feels the prickle of sharp nails.

That makes Kayo feel bold enough to tug the bright robe open (she suspects a bit of subtle help in loosening the obijime and obi) and, with a slightly self-conscious smile at remembering her earlier thoughts, she sets her mouth to the spiral of gold about one breast.

The golden woman murmurs an Ah at the first touch of her tongue. Her skin tastes of musk and warm spices. Kayo has touched herself, of course, but how different it is to feel someone else's body respond to her. The golden one lets her explore, arching her back to press closer, until she finally gives what is definitely a growl and tugs Kayo up into a fierce kiss. Then she moves back, only a little, so Kayo still feels her breath across her lips. "I need you much closer than this."

"Oh... Yes." She doesn't know exactly the way of it with another woman, but every fiber of her being cries out to embrace the golden one.

Who steps away, and Kayo is about to say something indignant until she shrugs out of the robe, slips the hakama off, and stands naked before her. Kayo's mouth is suddenly too dry for her to say anything at all at first.

"You're... glorious." She doesn't blush to say that. It might sound absurd to describe anyone else thus, but not her.

The golden woman's mouth quirks as if in acknowledgment (very like her other's when he's amused). "Now, come here." She takes Kayo's hand and draws her to lie down beside her.

Kayo's barely aware of the surroundings, has had no attention to spare for anything but the golden woman since the hone-onna exploded in a shower of colors, and, barely thinking except to fear that she might never see her again, she clutched at the golden one's wrist before she could melt away, too.

They're in some strange in-between, the color of everything, save the two of them, washed-out and watery, but none of that matters, not with the golden one next to her, and Kayo, reaching for her, breathes out, More.

I'm no fine lady, but how pretty we are together, she thinks, admiring the contrast of her own small brown hand against dusk-and-gold skin as she cups again the soft heavy weight of the golden woman's breasts. But she cannot bear even this much distance between them for long, and squirms closer, tipping her chin up as the golden woman tilts hers down.

Her kisses are greedy in a way Kayo can't imagine him being. She doesn't know how it works, whatever the golden one and the medicine seller are together and apart, and she's not sure she wants to, because the thought of him seeing her like this makes her want to squirm in embarrassment.

It also makes the heat coiling low in her belly burn even hotter, and thinking he might know of it, or even feel it, as she slides her hands down, shaping the curve of the golden one's waist and tracing along the lines that mark the swell of her hips, unexpectedly lush, sends a strange, shivery thrill all through her.

"Ah, you tease too much, Kayo."

"You say that as if you don't!" She might move even more slowly in retaliation, making sure she touches each bright curl of gold. "Besides... I don't know what to do."

The golden woman meets her eyes in a look not quite a smile but full of promise, takes her hand again and guides her fingers. Kayo thought she was drowning in warmth before, but that's nothing to the heat at the golden one's core, and after a little while she grows bolder, learning how to draw gasps and little wanting noises, until the golden woman's hand is a burning vise about her wrist and she's shuddering against Kayo's fingers.

She pulls Kayo close then, tumbles them over so her lean length presses her down, one knee between her legs. Kayo rocks her hips up all but mindlessly, but the golden woman, breath still fast, gives her a quick kiss and a smile that bares sharp teeth.

"I've wanted this for a long time," she murmurs, and if Kayo didn't know better, she might think it was an unwilling confession. The golden woman huffs a little laugh at Kayo's expression, leans in to mouth at her ear. "Are you so surprised that I should want you?"

"Yes!" Kayo says, for surely it's obvious why she would feel that way.

"He does, too." It's a murmur against her jaw, and Kayo tries not to shiver, but cannot stop the tremor that runs through her.

"That really surprises me," she says, as much to cover her embarrassment as anything else, but it has quite the opposite effect when she cannot help but imagine pale skin flushed and blue eyes darkened by desire.

"Mm, you still blush so easily, Kayo." She looks down at her, as if to see the effect her words have, but she doesn't linger long; she is as made for graceful motion as her other half for patient stillness, and so deft and quick are her hands that Kayo doesn't realize her kimono is open until the golden woman runs her hand along the edge, nudging the fabric further aside and leaving a trail of heat where her fingers brush Kayo's skin. Her eyes have never looked so much like points of flame, and Kayo, transfixed by them, thinks, Burn me up.

She would almost think she spoke that wish aloud, for the way the golden one looks at her--seeing her, yes, as she really is, eager and wanting and unashamed--is as dizzying as her touch. She skims her hands over the silk where it molds to Kayo's peaked nipples, the slip and drag of the fabric maddeningly almost the touch she craves.

"I didn't--" She shifts restlessly beneath that teasing, and has to fight to catch her breath. "Didn't expect you to be so patient."

The golden one dips her head again and kisses the hollow at the base of her throat. "Am I too patient for you, now?"

"Yes," Kayo says, and arches her back to bare herself to that hot mouth and the silky slide of pale hair over her skin.

"Let me show you something good," the golden one whispers. She moves down, smiling that wicked smile, and Kayo sputters in confusion, and then in dawning comprehension.

"Wha-- What are you-- Oh."

She isn't sure what became of her undergarments, but that is definitely the golden woman's warm breath and warmer mouth on her sex, with no fabric in between to diminish the startling sensation. Kayo's eyes go wide and she grabs for anything to hold onto, for she feels she might fly apart. Her fingers end up tangled in silvery hair again, and she can feel the golden woman's little movements as she licks and teases, seeming to coax pleasure from her very center that spirals up and up. She feels how wet she is by how easily the golden woman's fingers slip between her folds, and she finally cries out, so far past embarrassment that she hopes they both can hear it.

She drifts for a time in a hazy sense of well-being, lying in the golden woman's arms, her whole body feeling pleasantly weak. She thought, before, that she would go back to ordinary life, and be able to look back on this when it all seemed too colorless, to draw strength from the memory...

But perhaps she has learned to be greedy, too. That no longer seems like enough. She opens her eyes and the golden one is watching her. "Will I see you again? Both of you?"

"Perhaps. If you want." Her smile is lazy and satisfied, putting Kayo in mind of a big cat. Kayo smiles back. "I do want."

#mononoke 2007 #mononoke fic #f/f fanfic #rule 63 #Kayo/femHyper

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tanuki-kimono · 11 months

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Super clever steampunk styling with wa-fashion elements: here two leather belts are hold together by a red obijime to mimic traditional tasuki (sleeves holder). I love this SO MUCH!

From this past note, here is how you tasuki is usually done+ some other way of tying up sleeves:

#japan #fashion #steampunk #kimono #hakama #tasuki #sleeve holder #着物

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kudouusagi · 2 years

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Sakurayashiki Kaoru (Skaters backstage)

Sakurayashiki Kaoru S Name: Cherry blossom Sign: Aries Birthday: March 27th Height: 182cm (5'11) Weight: 64kg (141lbs) Blood type: B

One of the members of “S” who was around when it started. At the “S” he preforms logical stating with the help of his partner AI C(Carla)’s calculations. In his normal life he’s a famous AI calligrapher. He works on a lot of projects and has a large fanbase.

Carla, calculate the angle

Partner C (Carla) In his normal and secret life, he works alongside Carla. With the way he dotes lovingly on her and gave her a female name and voice she really is just like his partner.

AI calligraphy Sakurayashiki is famous for his work as an AI calligrapher, using a fusion of calligraphy and digital mediums. He’s held in high esteem by his clients and his public performances are a crowd pleaser, so he’s very popular! His public persona is very mild mannered and kind.

High school days Now Sakurayashiki seems very mature and calm, but in his high school days he had piercings in his ears and on his lip, and he ran from cops in the middle of the night, so he was quite a wild child.

Director Utsumi Comment He’s a character who was made because Producer Suzuki Mari said “I want an AI skater!” And I think we decided to give him glasses since using AI would mean he’s an intellectual. Since this is a Japanese work, we thought it would be nice to have a character dress in traditional Japanese style, and Sakurayashiki was the one who it suited, so even though he uses an AI he wears traditional Japanese clothes. At first he was a lawyer, but when he got traditional Japanese clothes he became a calligrapher. So in the end he was the one with the most complicated development phase and he was the most troublesome character for me (lol).

Character Designer Chiba Michinori Comment Drawing long hair is troublesome so at first I gave him a more simple hairstyle. But Director Utsumi wanted to give him a look that could only be done in anime so I gave him more of an edgy look. Since I was used to drawing Japanese style clothes from Basilisk ~The Koga Ninja Scrolls~ it wasn’t that difficult but honestly if you’re tall kimono don’t really work. Sakurayashiki is 8 heads tall but he’s proportioned as if he were 6. And so I made the placement of his obi a little high. By the way, I have something I based his glasses off of but I’m going to keep it a secret (lol).

Colorist Gotou Yukari Comment Director Utsumi told me that because his name “Sakurayashiki” gives off a certain image (his name means cherry blossom estate), his hair should be pink and his skin should be light. When I saw his pink hair I worried if the viewers would accept a male character with pink hair so I tried out different colors, but it really was the color that suited him best, and when considering how he balanced with Joe I decided to go with pink. His kimono I made a navy blue to show off his hair. The yellow lines on his obi I imagined would light up when he started his AI assistant. His “S” costume is based on a ninja, so to be different from is everyday clothes, I made his haori and kimono white. His obijime I wasn’t sure what color to make so I made ones that were red, yellow, and purple but Director Utsumi said that since Cherry is obsessed with ADAM and he’s determined to “beat ADAM” maybe it should be red to signify that? and so I ended up making it red like ADAM’s image color.

#sk8 #SK8 the Infinity

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