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oldestking · 2 years

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——— basics! ♡

(PEN)NAME: Smol!

PRONOUNS: she / her

ZODIAC SIGNS: Aries!

TAKEN OR SINGLE: single. On mabi however i’m unfortunately married to my cringe embarrassing miner, puppeteer, ozymandias husband (@tenkoseiensei)

TIME ZONE: If I have to be completely honest, I have no idea 😳

——— three facts! ♡

I’ve been on 9+ schools all across my life

I can play up to around 23+ songs on the lyre in genshin! from cursed songs like never gonna give u up or despacito to serious stuff

I can’t think of anything right off the bat but, I learned how to draw on paint not too long ago!

——— experience ! ♡

Holy moly- it feels like it’s been ages! so i’ll just tackle my start since I joined the fate fandom and forward; My first ever fate muse was Nero Claudius! (NEROMYBELOVED-) i wrote her for a pretty long time tbh! What is pretty funny is that I was pretty much a baby when it came down to fate as a franchise back then, and even more fate grand order, In general I understood like 1% of fate and what was going on, however I did understand her character and just really liked her vibrant and loud personality so much! not to mention that it was the perfect ‘excuse’ to read and research about history, and more specifically speaking, about emperors which i´ve always been fascinated about but never really knew where to start;; I think the reason why I’ve had so many fate muses is because I really love history !! and reading about mythology and other cultures is always so interesting to me, not to mention that being able to incorporate all of that in these very unique interpretations of said figures is always so neat, because at the end of the day, you truly get to expand so much more on these characters and form a sort of connection;; it ends up being kind of like creating an oc in a way; BUT! putting the initial blabbering to the side, i’ll try to list all the fate charas i have written in the past; if i forget one then my bad for my terrible memory oop;

OK SO;; i wrote Edmond Dantes (also from fate, that to this day he still remains on my top list of fav servants) , Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, (these last 3 alongside nero were muses i stuck with for a pretty decent time as well! i still love them all very much but i have no energy to manage 4085467 blogs IOUTOIURT), Karna, Arjuna (i absolutely adore the bros and wish i had more energy to write on them f), Charlemagne, Cú Chulainn, phantom, Okada Izou, Mandricardo, Carmilla, Achilles, Arthur Pendragon, Arash, Billy the kid, Gilgamesh, Jeanne D’arc (alter),,, should I include the muses from my multi? there I write Medb, Emiya, Diarmuid, Artoria, Ishtar, Ereshkigal, Lancelot (saber), I think there must be more in overall but this is getting hella long so alas-

From g.enshin; Xiao, Zhongli, deelook, Kazuha, Childe, Albedo, Venti, Ayato;; then from I.dentity v; Norton, Aesop, Andrew, Joseph, Edgar, Mike, and other charas i never really got to write. From kny; douma, Giyuu and Rengoku. From t.ouken r.anbu; tsurumaru, Heshikiri, Ishikirimaru, Mikazuki, Nagasone, Ookurikara, Kasen, Shokudaikiri

——— muse preference ! ♡

BOY- well if you see the list of muses I have written, you could notice some patterns i suppose, but even then, I tend to write a whole mix of personalities; I do admit i have a particular fondness for chuuni characters, tsunderes, edgy and grumpy characters (example; dantes, arjuna, ookurikara, izou etc etc) then old spirits, or well, peepaws (example; zhongli, casgil, mikazuki, arthur) I also noticed I like to write heroes too, or tragic heroes (example; arash, gil, arthur, karna, arjuna, cú, diar, etc etc) tragic charas (example; dantes, norton, etc) and then the more ‘sunshine’ ones too; (like arash, arthur, ishikirimaru, rengoku) I love writting characters that have compassion and kindness in their hearts bc a lot of times, my muses are kinda difficult to approach and open up to others, or sometimes their personalities are too strong (coughs, gil, coughs),,, and I’ll be 100% honest; I live for sappy moments!!! heartfelt moments!! I love writting genuine soft scenarios!! the concept of hope is such a nice thing to me, which is why Arthur is one of those muses that even when i take breaks, i somehow find myself going back to him;; so it’s a nice change! I absolutely adore my dark and edgy charas but I also love my other charas as well; in the end it all comes down to the depth of the character itself, their story, what i can understand about them, and if i just click with them despite how in some cases we are completely different (example; how i still write on gil)

——— FLUFF / ANGST / SMUT! ♡

FLUFF: I LOVE IT!!! There’s nothing cooler than when the chemistry is there and the development is there! when the energy is reciprocated too, and when you know the other mun so you can also clown around; I often found that if i’m not very close or don’t know much the other mun, shipping feels kind of distant so hence why nowadays i just ship my muses with close friends or people whom i’ve had interactions with;; that aside,BOI- the satisfaction of writting a difficult character being able to finally open up??? CHEF KISS!! I have such a fondness for little soft moments, even if its a lil sappy, it makes me feel all warm inside;; specially when there has been a gradual development be it through plotting or direct replies, its just--- -clenches hands on fists-

ANGST: Angst.... I used to love writting angst in the past but;; nowadays it’s not my first choice to say? or more precisely speaking, Im not very fond of angst that has no sense of purpose; when it doesn´t do anything in helping characters develop or realize things;; if its angst for the sake of angst and it’s constantly angst and agony, i find it super draining on my end; and with this i dont mean i like everything to be sunshine and rainbows, because the majority of my characters are always suffering not on that, what i mean is that there has to be some sort of complexity and a purpose in it, or well, in my case i just have to put that on my characters, there has to be an explanation that draws back as of why they are acting in x way, why they are doing x thing, why they are saying x thing,, in conclusion,, im not too fond of angst for the sake of it, but if it serves as a mean to lead to somewhere, im all up for it

SMUT: Definitely not on main! and although I used to be terrified of smut, now i dont mind, tho if I happen to talk about it, it has to be with a mun im friends with! otherwise its just a pass for me, also the obvious that the other mun and their muse must as well be 18+

PLOT / MEMES: OK SO,,,, I’m gonna be completely honest here and say that i’m a lil scared of plotting;; the reason behind this is that sometimes one plots an entire thing and at the end,, nothing ends up happening bc its like,, ‘ok, so since we already know how it’s gonna all end, then it’s done and over’ and it stays there; and man i like suprises!! i like seeing how things could go to completely different ways, the unpredicatibility that sometimes plays in;; not to mention i absolutely SUC K at keeping track on threads, i cant even remember when was the last time I did a starter based on something i’ve plotted with someone else, DESPITE THIS- this doesn’t mean i dont like plotting! pllotting with friends is always a lot of fun!! i think that also plays a big role and helps release some of the anxiety of having to think of something clever right off the bat, bc with friends you can just ramble you know? and boi if there’s something i love is to ramble- rambling about our characters with a friend and putting them on situations? CHEF KISS. Nowadays i work -much- better with memes, this doesnt mean i dont like starters or stuff, in fact i would love to have threads, but usually i just tend to work more with asks/memes

tagged by: @jhansikevidrohi (THANK U SO MUCH FOR TAGGING ME IN ORRIE!! <3<3)

tagging: @nulltune ; @tenkoseiensei ; @risingsol ; @jiingweii ; @resolutepath ; @ardenssolis ; @apotelesmati ; @adpulvis ; @avlon ; @hierum ; @lamentingprophet ; @soverina ; @deityforged ; @corrchoigilt aaaand! -GRABS YOU- Y O U. If you haven’t done it yet!

#;ooc #ooc #tw: long post #THIS IS LONG GIRL-#the conclusion of all of this is that i want to write a.rjuna and k.arna again #and dantes too #and that i love gil

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panndesal · 3 months

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Okay but AU where Rei turns into a cat randomly, but he still has to go to the shogi hall and the Kawamotos.

Thankfully, it doesn't happen during school days or matches. The sisters somehow know its him when he visits (and gets spoiled with pets). He learns how nice and warm it feels to huddle with the other nyas.

But the other professional players just watch on as a black and white cat with square glasses waltzes in the printing room to get copies of game records and even sometimes join them in the waiting room. The cat gets his own board and pushes the pieces into place. Unfortunately with paws, it makes picking up pieces difficult. So, the other players help him move around the pieces he paws at. Not Gotou though—he's a secret softie for cats, but this one wants to claw his face off.

One day, the Meijin visits to sign certificates. A curious cat made its way to his table, carrying a packet of matcha daifuku from Mikazuki-dou. Souya sees the other players with the same snack, so he deems it safe to eat. (Has this happened before?)

Giving in to his cat tendencies, Rei loafs on the tabletop and nods to sleep. Souya couldn't resist petting the cat in its sleep and intermittently nuzzling into the fur, to the point the chairman had to relocate Rei to the waiting room (yes he has a bed there already, courtesy of Shimada).

When he woke up, he's in the lap of the Meijin himself, on a cab to Kyoto. He just resigns himself to fate and goes through the motion of walking, eating and playing shogi with Souya. About to go to sleep, Souya places Rei beside him on the futon and throws the cover over both of them.

Suddenly, a cloud of dust poofs and out of it emerges a full-sized, very-much-human—but thankfully clothed—Rei, whose face is mere centimeters away from Souya's own shocked one.

haha reisouya cute

#reisouya

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moonrisecalamityretreat · 1 year

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It's called inter-dependency | Mikazuki | Trial 5 | Re: Futaba

People always picked the worst people to kill in this place, huh?

Well, not that there were any good options to pick, but Mio had been one of the unfailingly positive presences from Mikazuki’s perspective. It had allowed them to start trying to make amends for what happened and treated them like a person without the judgment Mikazuki thought might suffocate them at times. Mio had also been the first person who’d made Mikazuki laugh after Hotaru died. It was a good person in the way that most people wished they could call themselves good people, and the only real glaring flaw Mikazuki noticed was that Mio had a bad habit of putting other peoples’ needs before her own. If the theory that Mio set that trap on its own was right, then she died still trying to help people in spite of risking her own safety.

Mio being dead just feels like an affront somehow, especially with how devastated Yuriko is. The emptiness in their eyes, the desire to let it all end and never forgive the people who let this happen…it’s a mirror to Mikazuki’s own feelings.

Another reason not to let last trial’s mistakes happen again.

She looks up when Futaba mentions her. Oh, right. Mikazuki had seen her name in one of the pieces of evidence.

“I can add some context to that note. Back when we were in that theme park, Mio-san gave me a comic book she got from that shop–it’s a Tom and Jerry essay with illustrations, and I like that kind of thing. I wanted to pay it back sometime, even though it said it was a gift, so. We made an IOU out of a napkin in the cafe and I signed it.”

She never got the chance to find something Mio would have liked enough to count as repaying the favor, she realizes. Being sad over that won’t change the situation.

“But I had nothing to do with this. As much as I want to kill the Shepherd and probably would have helped if Mio-san asked me…she didn’t. I can go on about how I would have done things slightly differently, but that doesn’t help my case. If we get too invested in emotional appeals, we’ll have the last trial all over again, so I’ll stick to hard evidence.”

Mikazuki holds up their hands, turning them around to show off their nails. They look unscathed.

“If we think those scratch marks on the floor came from the other person, their nails might have gotten worn down a bit, right? Anyone can check further if they want…plus, my breath doesn’t smell like vodka. Ken can confirm that since he’s standing next to me.”

“We can hypothesize that someone was drowning their sorrows at the bar with that half-empty bottle of vodka. Most likely the culprit, since…well, those glass shards in the sink could have come from the chandelier, right?”

#ch5 #mikazuki

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doppel-drop-distance · 3 years

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Doppel Spotlight: Giovanna

Surprise~!

I know, I know, about time, right? The hypothetical Soul Gem has broken, and the Doppel Spotlights are back from the dead! Er…temporarily, anyway. I can’t say for certain how many more of these I’m up to doing just yet. It’s a bit too early for me to make any big estimates or guarantees. But! This Doppel analysis has sat here unfinished for quite some time now! And you all have shown such lovely support that I couldn’t help but be excited looking at all this old material again. So as a gift to you all, let’s finally analyze the Doppel of our main protagonist, Iroha Tamaki!

This analysis will contain spoilers for all of Magia Record’s first arc! This does include anime-specific content, as I will be discussing certain scenes from Episodes 5 and 7! You have been warned!

Let’s dive in, shall we?

GIOVANNA

Doppel of Silence

Feature: Cuckoo

“The master of this emotion is aware of how pitiful her Doppel is and refuses to look at it. This Doppel wordlessly wraps around and strangles anything it doesn't want to hear as it continues its search for something to fill the hole in its heart. While it should be calling for someone, it is cowardly and afraid of acknowledging the reality it has concealed, and so it remains, silently covering its ears.”

It's been a while, so how about we start things off with a little refresher?

Both Giovanna and Campanella’s names are direct references to Night on the Galactic Railroad, a Japanese novel written by Kenji Miyazawa. In the story, a shy boy named Giovanni travels on a star-bound train with his close friend, Campanella. To keep things brief, I’ll leave most of the general plot details out. However, if you’d like a lengthier summary, I suggest reading the summary I provided in the previous Doppel Spotlight, which is linked here.

I should also mention I actually located an English-translated copy of Night on the Galactic Railroad! As a result, I can quote the story directly, although I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the translations or my own interpretations. Please keep that in mind as you read!

The opening scene of the novel establishes early on that Giovanni is a reserved, self-conscious boy. In class, he is certain he knows the answer to the teacher’s question. However, when called on, he doubts himself and stays silent, bringing upon the jeers of his classmates. Campanella, who also raised his hand for the question, willingly chooses not to answer, despite also knowing, in order to show some sympathy for the flustered Giovanni.

This opening scene is likely what is referenced in Giovanna’s nature as the Doppel of silence. Giovanni stays silent out of self-doubt, and as a result believes himself to be pathetic. Iroha also silences herself in her own way, being very passive, self-conscious, and reserved at the beginning of her story. And, true to that comparison, her Doppel’s reflections of insecurity make her feel pitiful, to the point where she refuses to look at it.

Giovanni’s character can also be representative of Iroha’s inner loneliness. With his mother sickly and his father out of the house, Giovanni is too occupied with taking jobs and caring for his family to have time to talk. More often, he is bullied by his peers. The only exception is with Campanella, who doesn’t bully him, and even sympathizes with him. As Giovanni and Campanella travel on the Galactic Railroad, Giovanni’s loneliness is at its clearest. Campanella begins talking to Kaoru, another passenger on the train, and Giovanni becomes morose with jealousy. See this quote here:

“Is there really nobody who will stick with me to the edges of the universe and beyond? Campanella just sits there jabbering away with that little girl, and it hurts me more than anybody knows.”

Iroha is also incredibly lonely, deep down. She lives on her own, with parents away on business trips. The anime implies she doesn’t have a lot of friends either, with her classmates talking behind her back instead. Worst of all, her sister, who she values more than anyone else, is completely absent, Iroha being the only one that remembers that she exists. Such relationships sound awfully lonely, don’t they? It’s only through her bond with Yachiyo and the rest of Mikazuki Villa that Iroha grows into her own, letting her optimism, warmth, and confidence shine through.

Giovanna’s connections to Giovanni tie her quite close to Campanella, Yachiyo’s Doppel. And, well, Yachiyo is certainly not the kind and sympathetic Campanella at first meet. Her first encounter with Iroha is cold, brutally honest, and fully intent on keeping Iroha out at any cost. We learn later on that this attitude is a wall Yachiyo puts up to protect people – that she believes the people that get close to her die, and that she still struggles with the guilt of her past. Yet, it is Iroha who shows sympathy to Yachiyo, breaking down that wall between them. For example, let’s take a look at Chapter Six. After a trip to the Memory Museum Uwasa, Yachiyo has been reminded of the death in her life and is reflexively closing herself off again to keep Iroha safe. Iroha once shriveled up in response to Yachiyo’s intimidating rejection, but now, as her friend, she isn’t having it. She says this:

“You saying there’s nothing you can do to help Tsuruno and the others… It makes me feel sad…Lonely…We fought together all this time…But more than that, I’m angry. I’m angry with you, Yachiyo...”

“I’m your friend, Yachiyo. And as your friend, I’m going to take out that Uwasa, all on my own! I’m going to be the one to protect you. I’ll smash this made-up idea you have of me sacrificing myself for you!”

Just as Giovanni interprets his journey with Campanella as a sign to stay diligent in life, Iroha’s friendship with Yachiyo allows her to steady her own resolve and fight adamantly. Their namesake connection is a sign of their bond, and their newfound devotion to fight together and protect each other.

To wrap up this Galactic Railroad talk, have you noticed that in many of the anime’s early episodes, Iroha is riding on a train? In fact, it is on a train that Iroha is whisked away to Zenobia’s Barrier in Kamihama, where she meets Yachiyo for the first time. Perhaps a stretch, but a fun little detail regardless.

Anyway, there’s far more to Giovanna than story connections! Giovanna’s silent nature reflects a lot of Iroha’s character struggles: mainly, her feelings of denial, and her inclination towards self-sacrifice.

“This Doppel wordlessly wraps around and strangles anything it doesn't want to hear as it continues its search for something to fill the hole in its heart. While it should be calling for someone, it is cowardly and afraid of acknowledging the reality it has concealed, and so it remains, silently covering its ears.”

When you think of someone “strangling anything it doesn’t want to hear”, concealing their own reality and being afraid of acknowledging it...well, that sounds a lot like someone who doesn’t want to accept the truth.

Iroha shows quite a bit of denial in her search for Ui. The odds are stacked against her for a lot of Arc 1. She finds little to no clues wherever she searches, and the Ui she encounters from the Uwasa of the Commoner’s Horse is only a fake. Iroha is certain that Touka and Nemu, Ui’s closest friends, will remember Ui. But, they do not, and only ridicule Iroha for her seemingly impossible set of memories. Throughout Chapter Ten she is belittled for sticking to her goals. She’s ensured on all fronts that Touka and Nemu aren’t believing her, and that there’s nothing she can do to change their minds. But, no matter how many times Iroha is told by the world that she’s believing in a lie, she never lets her belief go.

“I’m still going. No matter what you say. I’m bringing Ui back with me…She’s the whole reason I came back to Kamihama.”

This stubborn determination, when twisted by the corrupt perception of a Witch, is far more like paranoid desire: an aching, fearful need to find whatever is missing in her heart and get rid of whatever threatens it.

Following this, let’s talk about Giovanna’s feature: a cuckoo. Cuckoos are solitary birds, shy and secretive, and best known for their calls. Yet, Giovanna’s beak is tied up with cloth. She cannot call for anyone. Her journey to find Ui is painted as one of futility: Giovanna searches and searches for the one she’s longed for, but in the end, is too afraid to call out to her.

Here’s a fun detail, by the way:

In Episode 5, when Iroha summons her Doppel for the first time, Giovanna actually does not have bandages around her beak (which is why she’s able to let out that high-pitched shriek):

In future appearances, however, Giovanna does have the bandages around her beak.

Come to think of it, Giovanna looks rather... different in her first appearance, doesn’t she? Not only is her beak not bandaged, but her colors are a lot redder and more decayed, her cloak is worn and full of holes, and the crown around her head is gone. This may just be a stylistic choice for Iroha’s first Doppel, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s a sign for something else. Maybe that Giovanna is angry with the Commoner’s Horse Uwasa for projecting an illusion of Ui? Giovanna does fight a lot more aggressively here than in any other appearance, after all - she wraps the Uwasa up and drills into it with her beak. Meanwhile, in her second appearance, she only attacks an Uwasa with her bandages.

Giovanna’s unwillingness to call for others actually brings up an interesting facet of Iroha’s character: her sacrificial devotion. The reason that Iroha unleashes her Doppel in Episode 5 is because she neglects her own needs in favor of others. She believes that she must be strong on her own to find Ui, a thought reflected by her own Doppel’s words in Episode 7:

“Stronger…If you don’t become strong, you won’t be able to find anything! Cover your ears! Shut those eyes! Silence determines fate!”

When Iroha fails to find Ui within the Uwasa of the Commoner’s Horse, she is filled with despair. Ui was right before her eyes, proving the beliefs that even she may have begun to doubt. Yet, in that same instant she recognizes the Ui she sees is nothing but an illusion the Uwasa projected for her. So close, and yet so far. When Iroha begins to succumb to her despair, she even mentions that it might’ve been from the shock of not seeing Ui.

With all of these feelings, all of this disappointment and despair, who does Iroha use her only Grief Seed on? Yachiyo, of course. At this point in the story, Iroha wants to be friends with Yachiyo, but they are not seen as equals. She is not comfortable enough to open up to Yachiyo about her feelings, and neither is Yachiyo with her own. Yet, Iroha still sacrifices herself to keep Yachiyo from falling to despair. And by staying silent about her own woes, Iroha falls to her despair for the first time, summoning her Doppel.

Let’s keep this topic in mind and focus on something I haven’t addressed before: the Magia Archive artbook! There are some production notes in here that provide insights on the meaning and symbolism behind a Doppel. Unfortunately, I don’t know Japanese, but I did find a translation of Giovanna’s section, courtesy of @greenyvertekins. Here is a small piece from it that I would like to highlight:

“The motif is a bird flute and a saint with a rabbit-like appearance.”

The theme of a “saint” struck me as a little odd, at first. I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to get that idea from her design. But, it did lead me to a unique little find, which is probably a stretch, but maybe kind of cool anyway?

(credit to Silvermoon424 on Reddit for the scan!)

It’s a bit harder to see in the official art, but that crown circling Giovanna’s head – to me, it sort of looks like a crown of thorns. A crown of thorns is a very striking sign of self-sacrifice.

And sure, this is the stretchiest stretch that ever stretched, but those drop-like patterns on Giovanna’s body are red, and kind of look like drops of blood, right? Beads of blood that have also been associated with the crown of thorns, r-right? Right…?

Phew…I’ve been going on for a while, haven’t I? Is this…is this longer than the first one? I don’t even know anymore…Let’s silently wrap this up with one more, fun little stretch on my part.

Both cuckoos and bunnies, which are elements of Giovanna’s design, are symbolically representative of spring. Spring is cherry blossom season in Japan, and the Eternal Sakura Uwasa lives near a cherry blossom tree only said to bloom when Touka, Nemu, Ui and Iroha are united again. At the end of the event Cherry Blossom Dreams, the Eternal Sakura even remarks that “spring can finally begin” because they are all together. So, if you squint really hard, maaaaybe the springtime connections here are representative of Iroha, Touka, Nemu, and Ui’s union under the cherry blossom tree. But probably not. I’m just having some fun.

And, that’s it! That’s all I’ve got for Giovanna! Wow! That sure was something!

I hope you all enjoyed my silly little analysis! I know some of these connections are a bit loose, but I like drawing whatever parallels I can with what understanding I have, haha. It was great to write one of these again and share it with you all!

If you have any of your own thoughts, additions, or corrections, do send them along! I would love to hear other interpretations!

#magia record #doppel spotlight #iroha tamaki #giovanna

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blackfireswallow · 2 years

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The Bird Flies For A Last Time – With Broken Wings

You might or might not notice it, but I’ve been absent the past few days. I’ve been so heartbroken and in so deep pain I can’t even breath properly. However, I decided to write a possibly last post, mostly to explain why I’m not here, and why I probably won’t be back anymore. Also I might delete it later, I haven’t decided it.

I might do huge mistake with writing this post, but I feel like I need to get these words written down. A part of me wants to scream them, another part of me wants to just swallow them back. I don’t know which one is the actual good decision. If you read this, I’m pretty much sure you’ll all think I’m crazy, a dangerous person who better not to be around there anymore. Maybe you are right. I’m not sure myself anymore.

Anyway, let me tell you the story of the biggest fool of the world.

It all started back then in 2016. I was still following Ryuji, when getting know about his role in Touken Ranbu, I watched a video of their appearance in Music Japan. That was the very first time I saw Mario – and I fell for him the right second.

Since my childhood I’ve always had a strong bond to the blue colour and to the Moon. I could never explain why, but these two things have always been so important to me. Even when I entered kindergarten at the age of 3, the nurse told me “I’ll give you the Crescent Moon as your sign, it fits you!”. (Here kids get a sign for identification in kindergarten, parents have to put this sign on any of the kid’s belongings, such as toys, clothes etc. This is because kids can’t read but can recognise their sign on their things. Moreover, usually they get a car, fruits, little house, heart as their sign. I’ve never met anyone else who got the Crescent as a sign.)

So, to get back to the Music Japan broadcast, since Mario wore blue and a crescent, he immediately got my eyes on him. And since then, I haven’t taken off my eyes – until now.

Another thing I’ve been into since my childhood is spirituality. I noticed I can feel things that possibly will happen, I noticed I can feel a “presence” of someone who isn’t actually there and it makes me restless. Another thing I’ve been into is the dreams. Funny thing: dreams are connected to the Moon.

When I first started to have dreams with Mario, it was still the whole Atsukashi team. Back then I was stanning both Mario and Ryo at the same time, with Ryo having more focus from me – but somehow Mario always got into the picture and I could not stop giving more and more attention to him. The very first dream I had was: Ryo was teaching me a choreography, he wore his Kogi idol costume and it was only him and me there. This was around SRS2016. Not long later I got to know that Mario was too busy that time to attend rehearsals properly, so Ryo stayed there with him to teach him the choreo. With that a thought came to my mind: what if in my sleep I somehow got into Mario’s body, hence I saw Ryo teaching me a choreo? First it was funny to think about this but I didn’t pay more attention. I still didn’t give my full attention to Mario either. Somehow I felt like he might be kinda full of himself and it kept me in a distance. But then, another dream happened: I ran home from a convention crying because I was hurt for my clumsy Mikazuki costume. As I entered the house, Mario and Ryo were coming down on the stairs, they wore their Kogi and Mika costumes. As they saw me, Mario immediately ran to me and hugged me. Mario. Not Ryo. When I woke up, I was still half-asleep and a voice in my head told me “See? He’s not that bad at all.”. That was the moment I decided to change my focus and have it on Mario. And the moment I made this decision, I felt like everything fell to its place. Everything felt right, that things are the way they should be. After that more and more weird dreams happened until I got nearly convinced that these dreams are real, we really meet in this dimension and I’m actually with Mario there. What was even more weird is, that sometimes it seemed like he “responded” to my thoughts. Mostly like, “I wish he’d post” and he did a few minutes later. Or “I feel like drinking coffee”, and not long after it turned out he had coffee. A lot of like that happened, making me more sure that there might be some kind of connection. But I never got fully convinced.

This went on for more than a year. And then, the year of 2018. When it was announced they’ll come to perform in Paris, I immediately started to beg my parents to let me go. But they didn’t want to let me, especially not alone, only if my brother accompanied me. However, for that weekend he already had plans he couldn’t cancel, so I had no choice but to give up with an aching heart. And then, the announcement of Japan Expo was made. Right a week before the actual performance. It felt like a second chance from God. Luckily, my parents let me go with my brother. And I experienced one of the most weird thing in my life. I’ve been talking on and off about that day, but there is something only a few of you know about. Maybe I shouldn’t tell it now either, I don’t know. I’m not sure. I feel like it doesn’t matter anymore. This has always been the memory I treasured the most. Something I always went back to when I felt down or unsure. But now it lost its importance I guess. The pain in my chest doesn’t let me think about with joy anymore anyway. I don’t know what to do from now. Anyway, I decided not to go into full details. The main point is, that something happened what made me think “did he recognise me from the dreams?”. This is a question what probably remains unanswered. Anyway, not long after Japan Expo, there was an interview with him in which he was asked about his ideal female type and he said it’s a girl who wears a white t-shirt, jeans, sneakers and a little necklace. I got totally shocked – because that’s exactly how I was dressed up at the Expo. The white t-shirt thing appeared in his interviews more, once in a 2020 Junon issue he was asked about honeymoon and he said he wants the girl to wear a white t-shirt, and that he has no choice but to go to Paris (!) but he also wants to go to Hawaii so it’d be great if the girl could speak English (!). Imagine how much I gasped reading this.

As time passed, more things happened. It seemed like he “responded” to what I wrote him in my tweets. Not directly of course, just in a kind of hidden way. And the funniest thing is, that it was not me who noticed this first. It was a friend of mine who pointed this out. First I thought nah, why would he. It must be just a coincidence. But more things like this happened, and in a more clear way. He more or less copied what I wrote him. Also the things he did seemed kinda responses too. Like the horse race events and him trying horse riding. I told him many times how important horses and horse riding is to me and I thought he did it because of that. Now it seems I was a bigger fool than I thought. Anyway, things like these piled up, as well as on spiritual side. Like, whenever he was a few days away from appearing on a TV broadcast, I asked him in my mind to wear either a certain type of clothes or a certain colour. I always asked for something different, and 8 times out of 10, he did as I asked. I was always shocked but also happy. Happy because I thought he had his eyes on me, at least in a certain way. I do have to admit I pretty much thought about him in a romantic way. He felt perfect. Someone who I could imagine myself with. I never loved anyone for so long before. Remember it’s been 6 years since I got to know him.

When I heard about the story of the Red Thread of Faith what connects two souls through time and space and never can be cut or torned, I immediately thought we’re bonded by it. It felt right to think and feel so. I told about all of these things to my Russian teacher as well who is an expert in spiritual things. After listening to my story, she said him and I were a married couple in our previous life, hence these things are happening and that’s why I feel like that toward him.

I was so sure I’m on the right path with him.

I told some of you these as well, even more what I don’t want to write down. Partly because too painful to think back on everything and partly because maybe it wouldn’t really be right. Also I could write about 10 pages about what happened during the years, but I don’t want to. Anyway, one of my friends kept supporting me with this. However the other warned me. They said yeah, there might be some kind of connection, but it doesn’t necessarily be romantic. It’s rather like twin flames and that. Also they thought it’s just that him and me think in such a similar way that it feels like he reads my mind etc. Also him doing activities I mention him might be just because I inspire him. I didn’t believe this friend. I wanted to prove them wrong with such a strong will. But couldn’t. They were right. So, so damn right.

I wanted to believe I have a future, with him possibly. I wanted to believe all these are true, I’m right, that I… I can be with him. Maybe, one day. All of the things happening IRL felt like indications that this can happen. That we’re a “match” or something. As I said, I never loved anyone for that long before. Once I had a boyfriend in high school, but I broke up with him after a few months. A few years after we graduated, he died. It’s still shocking. Also after we graduated I had an interest in another boy but he hurt me so we didn’t start to go out. A year later he died as well. It also shocked me badly. Since then, no one – until Mario. Even when I met a guy a few years ago who was kinda sympathetic, I didn’t do anything because I wanted to be devoted to Mario, I wanted to believe the things. All the things happened, all the similar interests, all the similarities in our personalities made it feel like finally I found “that” someone.

It was too nice to be true. He announced his marriage all of a sudden with a 6 years older woman who he’s known for 8 months only (?!?!) and everything fell apart. All my dreams, all my motivations, all of my goals are gone. Maybe my whole life. He was the only source of Light in my life that I could hold onto on the dark days. I held onto him whenever I had certain silly thoughts. Now I have no Light at all. The Red Thread I once thought is there to help me, is on my neck chocking me. The past days I’ve been having strong chest pain, I barely can eat and I’ve lost weight. I can’t sleep what can be fatal for my heart. This pain is just too strong I don’t think I can ever recover from it. It’ll more than likely kill me slowly. The only things I can do now is crying and asking “Why?! Where did I make a mistake?! What did I do wrong?! Didn’t he see all the things I did?! Was I the only one?! Why didn’t he?!”. And another part of me: “Is this some kind of test? That if I stay ‘faithful’ even so?”. It’s foolish to think that isn’t it.

Everything I did here, was for him. Because I loved him. Maybe I still do. A part of me wants to forget him, push him out of my mind, never remember him ever again, throw away all the goods I collected. But it’s not that easy. I can’t let go of him that easily. Something still pulls me back. Why? There is no point anymore, right? I don’t feel like I can be around him, or here in general. If I think of my relationship with the community, it’s like a tree, and he was the roots. But the roots are gone now. Because I was misguided by my childish thoughts, only to be left with pain and shame.

Now as you know my story, first of all, thank you for reading till the end. Feel free to claim me as a fool, a creep, an idiot, feel free to throw bricks at me, laugh or yell at me and call me sick in the mind. It’s probably what you all think anyway.

I think I’ll be gone from now on. I really can’t stay due to the pain and the shame. Maybe, one day I can come back. Maybe, one day I can congratulate him. But not now.

I never meant any harm. Not even now. The very last thing I’d like to ask from all of you: if you read this, please don’t report me to his agency. I’ll be gone on my own anyway.

Lastly, to my friends who have been by my side during the years. I’m not a person of words, but thank you from the bottom of my heart for always supporting and helping me. I won’t forget what you all did for me. Also, I apologise for every harm I caused. I’m sorry for failing you all. I’ll miss the good times we had.

Foolish little bird. You got your wings broken and your feathers ripped out.

Well then. Goodbye. Thank you for everything.

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anaiswriterr · 3 years

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santa tell me

Pairing: Kirishima x Reader

Rating: T

Warning: Suggestive themes and language

santa tell me by Ariana Grande

↷ SYNOPSIS: After endless one night stands and seemingly pointless relationships - you wonder if your “casual” hookup, the famous red riot, will actually be here in the morning of Christmas and possibly even New Years.

- mha december special part two -

•

��

•

The scent of freshly brewed coffee and eggs awaken you. You look around realizing this wasn’t your bed, and this bedroom is definitely not your own. But it is awfully familiar. There’s a kink in your neck, and as you lower your head you realize you are extremely naked covered in grubby hand prints and bruises.

In between your legs are sore and throbbing in discomfort, you look around and realize your panties are thrown over the nightstand lamp. Rolling your eyes at the torn material, you knew exactly who’s home you were in. You reach out to the lamp, snatching away your panties and slipping on what’s left of them under the sheets - scanning the room for your bra you hear someone clearing their throat from the hallway.

With a sly smirk and messy red hair, Kirishima, twirls your bra in circles with his index finger. Leaning his body against the doorway, “You looking for this?” He chuckles, shoving his free hand into the pocket of his grey sweat pants. You mean to say something but his shirtless figure and rippling muscles remind you why were in his bed in the first place. Pulling the sheets closer to your chest you watch as he makes his way towards the bed. Tossing the red bra to your side, he places a kiss to your temple.

“You should stay a little longer.”

“I have work.”

“No you don’t, it’s Saturday.”

He has you there, “I shouldn’t stay, what if someone sees me walk out your apartment. They’ll think the wrong way..” You shoot back in attempts to think of useful excuses, his eyes narrow in suspicion. “What exactly is the “wrong thing”, Y/N?”

“They’ll think we’re dating.”

The last thing you needed in life was to deal with rumors that you, a nobody, was dating Red Riot. Something plenty of girls have most likely fantasize about, some would probably even kill to be in the position you were in right now - in Red Riots bed, half naked, with your neck littered in bruises sore from the night prior. You wouldn’t necessarily call Kirishima a friend, however he wasn’t a stranger either. He was simply a person you met at a bar once, who made you feel like a somebody instead of a nobody for the night.

You’ve attempted relationships.

Though, they never truly worked out. The last relationship you can recall that actually lasted longer than six months was when you were just eighteen. You are currently twenty four and the closest you ever got to a relationship were late night booty calls from men you’ve met here and there. You were exclusive to nobody but yourself and married to your work; a little sex with no commitment sat well with you.

But to Kirishima, he was slightly different.

He nods to your words, his expression slightly irritated as he pushes himself away from your side. “If that’s what you’re so worried about,” He shrugs, cupping your right cheek with his palm. You move yourself from his grasp, pushing yourself away from his affectionate hands. As much as you really wanted to stay, these kind of relationships where it starts casual and slowly evolves to more romantic pursuits never lasted - considering his profession a relationship just seemed so far fetched.

“I appreciate it Kiri, but I-I just can’t.”

***

You wash your hands for what seemed like the hundredth time today, throwing away your gloves in the trash bin and straightening out your scrubs. Another tiring day of being a nurse, you sigh, happy that your shift was over. Your coworkers bid you goodbye for the night and some of your friends walk in for the nightshift to switch spots with you. You wave them goodbye, exiting the hospital when you notice a red head. The hero you haven't seen since a week ago leaning against his car in the hospital parking lot.

You clutch onto your purse, pressing your lips together, forcing the smile that desperately wanted to show away. The corners of your lips rise just a bit before turning away. “What are you doing here?”

He stuffs his hands into his hoodies pocket, and grins. “I wanted to see you, it’s been a while.”

You take a couple steps forward, digging into your purse for your car keys. “Well, Kirishima you see me, now what?”

It’s easier to hide your true feelings towards the hero then just out right express them, besides, it would simply ruin the ‘friends with benefits’ exchange the two of you acted in. “I wanted to talk to you,”

“About?” You reach out to unlock you car.

“Us.”

You nearly laugh, the dark night sky only illuminated by the moon and it’s stars. It’s cold, and you just realized you didn’t have a jacket on - in the middle of December. Nodding your head you open up your car door throwing in your purse to the passenger seat and reaching in for a thin jacket, wrapping it around your torso; “There is no us, Red Riot. There’s nothing to talk about.”

But there is, there is something to talk about.

“There could be..”

You nod, never. He’s living a fantasy world, “Kirishima,” you sigh nervously, “you’re amazing. Truly, you are just amazing. Sweet, an amazing hero, and you’ve been nothing but kind and patient with me. But I-I don’t think this is a good idea. The sex, it’s great, you’re great-“

He takes a step forward, the December snow settling into his red hair just as he cups your cheeks. A gasps surpasses your lips at the close proximity, the same shitty smile tugs at his lips. No matter what you said it could never push him away - though you tried, oh how badly you tried to push the hero away. He always came back.

“What about you, I think you’re amazing, and it’s not just the sex its everything about you. Holy cow Y/N, you literally save lives. You’re the amazing hero, and I’m just a guy who wants to take the only girl I can think about on a date. I know about your past. And I’m here for the long run - so all the emotional baggage, the dislikes, likes, everything; bring it on. If it means I get to come home to you, wake up beside you, even go to bed I don’t care. Y/N just please,”

He connects his forehead onto yours, looking deep into your E/C eyes in adoration.

“Let me in, and go on one date with me.”

You want to say no, relationships don’t work for you, this isn’t real.

“Please,”

His eyes search for an answer, the dwelling thoughts of pointless heartbreaks and tears from past lovers. To let him in was a possible danger, a possible mistake, a tragedy awaiting to happen - to leave you broken and unloved.

You look up, reaching his gaze stumbling upon your words.

A tragedy.

You feel his lips gently press against your cold ones, warming you to the core. Pulling away you breathe out into the cool air, unaware yet unapologetic about your words. “Yes.”

A beautiful tragedy that was worth the speed bumps and stop signs, letting him in just for once might be worth the possibility of a beautiful future. He smiles down at your form, pulling your jacket over your torso.

His smile could be worth it.

***

Headlights fade away as you enter your car, watching Kirishima drive back to his apartment complex. Your hands on the steering wheel peel off to rummage through the glove compartment scribbling onto an old unused napkin with a pen. Folding the napkin in half and sliding it into your pocket.

Sighing in content, you drive off.

Dear Santa,

Please, please, please, let him stay.

TAGLIST: @meep-meep @hikaru-mikazuki @jabkie @simpingovereveryanimeguy @theycallmemrsbarnes @bittersweetbooke @meri-soni-meri-tamanna @myheroesaretired

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #mha #bnha #mha kirishima #bnha kirishima #Kirishima Eijirou #eijirou kirishima #kirishima x reader #mha x reader #bnha x reader #eijirou x reader #mha imagines #kirishima imagine #kirishima x reader fluff

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kristal-dawn-art · 3 years

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Jujutsu Kaisen OC Reika

I couldn’t resist, so here’s my OC for JJK.

Name: Kougetsu Reika (紅月霊花) Alias: Rei Species: Human; sorcerer Birthday: August 30 Zodiac sign: Virgo Age: 16 Gender: Female Height/Weight: 163cm/ (5’4” Hair/Eye Color: Deep auburn/dark gold Status: Alive Relatives: Kougetsu Toshihiro (father); Kougetsu Mika (mother); Gojou Satoru (distant relative); Okkotsu Yuta (distant relative) Occupation: Student/Jujutsu Sorcerer Affiliation: Kougetsu Clan; later Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School

More info under the cut XD;

Appearance: Reika has fair skin, dark golden eyes, and deep auburn hair that she wears in a side ponytail with a 3-part fringe. She favors comfortable clothing that is easy to move in, with a typical outfit consisting of a purple shirt paired with a gray-and-pink jacket, denim skirt, dark leggings and running shoes. Her school uniform consists of a purple tank top tucked into a short pleated uniform skirt. Leggings, running shoes, and a short-sleeve uniform jacket complete the look.

Personality: Reika enjoys observing others as much as she loves interacting with them - well, as much as she can observe given her situation - and because of how sheltered she’d been before enrolling at Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School (aka Jujutsu Tech), she jumps at the chance to befriend someone. She’s fairly straightforward in her words and actions, whichever is more appropriate in a given situation. While not too much of a conversationalist, she’s happy to keep someone company, if she feels they need it.

For the most part, she wears her emotions on her sleeve, and her tone of voice is a very good indicator of how she’s feeling. Rarely does she feel the need to hide her emotions, but when she does, she does it fairly well. Being a studious sort, she dislikes it when someone interrupts another person while they’re explaining something, and will often clap a hand over the offending party’s mouth.

She’s not that good at picking up on tension in a room, so to speak, but she can make a good guess at how people are feeling, and if they’re feeling down, she’ll try to help them feel better. Overall, she likes knowing she can help others, and is happy to play the support role whenever on assignment. She also hates ‘seeing’ someone get hurt, whether or not they show they’re in pain. Even while worrying for someone, she’s able to keep a cool head, and will choose her next actions in such a way that she’ll have time to tend to the injured person if necessary.

ABILITIES AND POWERS

Overall skill level: At present, Reika is a strong Grade 2 sorcerer, though her precise control of and sensitivity to cursed energy, plus the speed at which she masters different forms and applications of her inherited technique makes it possible for her to move on to being at least a semi-Grade 1.

Extreme sensitivity and energy control: Because she is both deaf and blind, Reika’s other senses plus her ability to sense cursed energy are all highly enhanced. She can feel movement through minute changes in air pressure and thanks to her Curse Sensing, and reading the flow of another’s cursed energy tells her also how much was expended. Training also helped her get a feel for how much energy she has to use to get a certain effect.

Enhanced mobility: Reika’s training to use cursed energy to fuel her movements has improved her speed and reflexes. So while not as fast as individuals like Yuuji or Maki who have innate physical talent, Reika is still able to move very well in combat, with little to no wasted movement.

Competent combatant: Even though her training and her personal preference had her focus on defensive applications of her technique, she can still do a reasonable amount of damage when necessary and thus can hold her own reasonably well.

JUJUTSU Cursed Energy Manipulation Great Cursed Energy: Reika’s inherited technique, overall, takes much cursed energy to use, even if the individual techniques don’t use a lot. Training further helped Reika learn to conserve her energy and use the appropriate technique for a situation. This, combined with the overall effect of the Kougetsu clan’s inherited technique, means that Reika has a high amount of cursed energy to work with at any given time. Drawn-out fights are challenging for her, but alternating between manipulating her opponent’s energy and her own can help her last longer, though not without taking a toll on her body.

Inherited Technique Hands of Tsukuyomi. Believed to be an offshoot of Limitless, this technique hinges on users being able to manipulate both their own cursed energy and an opponent’s to achieve a variety of effects. At its most basic and on the surface level, Hands of Tsukuyomi can disguise or suppress the user’s cursed energy, allowing them to pass as civilians. Users may also gain enhanced speed and mobility by fueling their movements with cursed energy, and increasing the impact of any physical attacks they may employ. The technique’s more advanced forms let users divert cursed energy, absorb it, and amplify the effects of an ally’s technique. Extremely advanced applications of the technique see users manipulating light to distort what opponents see, and even unleashing a barrage of compressed light over a desired area.

All forms fall under one of four phases, each one focusing on a particular general effect. Full Moon focuses on amplification, Waning Moon covers absorption, Crescent Moon deals with redirection, and New Moon focuses on negation. Regardless of form, the user needs precise control to achieve the desired effect. Only a handful of users are able to use more than 2 phases, and while they can and do master at least one, true Hands of Tsukuyomi masters are able to use forms from all four, flowing from one to another depending on the situation. Reika herself is regarded by her family to be a highly gifted user as she is only one of three Kougetsu sorcerers so far who have learned to use Hands of Tsukuyomi to heal themselves and others.

In most cases, activating a technique requires a specific series of hand seals from a fixed set of 12, based on the lunar zodiac, and the user concentrating on the desired effect, including range (if any) and the target. The only techniques so far that don’t require these seals are Reika’s Curse Sensing, Tidal Flow, and Shroud.

Benefits:

Users being able to reflect an opponent’s cursed energy and any effects of these back at the original user (e.g. a user would be able to deflect Mahito’s “Idle Transformation” and possibly cause him to transform instead into a form he wasn’t planning) along with the precise control of their own cursed energy allows them to last longer in combat, compared to if they were to rely on their cursed energy alone.

Users are also able to increase the effectiveness, strength, range, or duration of techniques when using more energy than typically required. For instance, users can move twice as fast when fueling their movements, or reflect more than one cursed technique simultaneously.

Drawbacks:

The stronger the opponent, the more difficult it is to make their technique rebound completely; the user will either have to use more cursed energy, or deal with the technique in a different way (absorb or negate it).

The more powerful forms take longer to master and use up a lot of cursed energy, so if they’re countered or don’t work out as well, the user may be worse off than if they hadn’t used said forms.

Overuse causes users to suffer from paralysis in one or two limbs, an inability to speak, blurred vision, muscle pain, or a combination of any of those. The more powerful the form that was last used, the bigger the toll it takes on the body. In the worst-case scenario, a user may pass out from the physical and mental strain.

Techniques:

Full Moon: Zenith (満月: 天頂 ; Mangetsu: Tenchou) After activating the technique, Reika lays a hand on an ally and channels some of her cursed energy into them the moment they deploy a technique of their own, thereby strengthening it (e.g. Fushiguro’s shikigami will be harder to destroy) or amplifying the effect (e.g. Inumaki’s cursed speech won’t create as much of a backlash).

Full Moon: Moonbeam (満月: 月光; Mangetsu: Gekkou) Reika compresses light and unleashes it in a barrage of beams that she can direct freely, and even redirect if they haven’t made contact yet. The bigger the area of effect, the fewer the projectiles launched.

Waning Moon: Afterimage (下弦の月: 残像 ; Kagen no Tsuki: Zanzou) -description to be added-

Waning Moon: Kaleidoscope (下弦の月: 万華鏡; Kagen no Tsuki: Mangekyou) Reika alters the surroundings to conceal her and her allies’ location while also setting up a protective barrier. While active, the barrier absorbs the energy from cursed techniques targeting her or her ally, creating a well for Reika to tap into later. This takes a lot of concentration, so if she’s distracted, the barrier fails to absorb the energy, thus exposing the illusion.

Crescent Moon: Mirror (三日月: 鏡; Mikazuki: Kagami) Reika controls the trajectory (?) of another individual’s cursed energy, turning it back on them or onto a different target. The effect is usually instantaneous and she doesn’t have to keep the technique activated, unless the user is of a higher grade. When that happens, she needs to keep it active until the redirected energy hits the new target. This technique doesn’t work against special-grade opponents, though, and is tricky to use when there are more than two opponents.

Crescent Moon: Haze (三日月: 朧; Mikazuki: Oboro) A more advanced form that Reika is still trying to master. In theory, she would be able to arrest the flow of cursed energy from multiple targets, making it appear as if their techniques were deactivated. Then, she’d redirect the trajectory of each one (e.g have Kamo’s arrows target someone else, or make Hanami’s plants grow in a different direction) before letting the attacks go through to their new targets. Reika left Jujutsu Tech not long after enrolling to learn this technique from a relative.

New Moon: Disruption (新月: 破壊; Shingetsu: Hakai) This technique enables Reika to negate or forcibly deactivate a technique deployed by someone else. However, both her feet need to be planted - similar to the Simple Domain - and the user whose technique she wishes to deactivate must be within 10 meters of her.

New Moon: Umbra (新月: 本影; Shingetsu: Honei) An advanced version of Disruption that Reika is still trying to master, it functions similarly to a Simple Domain, but instead of requiring the feet to stay set at the point the technique was deployed, it calls for Reika to keep her hands in the necessary seal and concentrating on keeping the flow of energy around her constant. Its range is just 3 meters, but Reika doesn’t need to stay grounded, so it’s more versatile and can be activated even in the air. This is another technique that Reika had to learn from a relative.

Others:

Energy Sensing. Reika’s energy grid that she uses primarily for navigation, but can be used in combat and to sense approaching cursed spirits. Reika can quickly react to whatever information she gets from it.

Tidal Flow. Reika uses cursed energy to enhance her actions in combat.

Tidal Strike. Reika channels cursed energy into her hands or feet and compresses it for precise strikes; the effect is more slicing or piercing compared to the blunt force from, say, Itadori’s.

Shroud. A reversed curse technique involving Reika surrounding herself or others with negative cursed energy to heal injuries.

Barrier Techniques Eclipsing Light (食の光; Shoku no Hikari) Reika creates a protective barrier of compressed light around her and the target. While active, the barrier steadily absorbs the target’s cursed energy, preventing them from using any techniques. She then reverses the flow of the energy, releasing it in either a barrage of multiple projectiles from above or as a single, focused beam originating from her outstretched palms. The domain is still incomplete.

Story: The only child of the current head of the Kougetsu Family, Reika was born both blind and deaf, which made both her parents reluctant to have her train as a sorcerer, even if she later proved to inherit their clan’s Cursed Technique.

As time passed, it became obvious that the little girl’s other senses were enhanced. Using vibrations in the ground and in the air, she was able to tell when someone nearby was talking or when something was being moved. She proved herself capable of using and controlling cursed energy earlier than other young sorcerers, soon figuring out how to lay strings of energy out in a grid pattern and using that to ‘see’ her surroundings.

Because of her clan’s stance on sorcerer society and her parents’ protectiveness, she lived a sheltered life, rarely leaving the family compound and interacting only with family members and teachers brought in to tutor her. Eventually, however, Reika asked that she train in both hand-to-hand combat and the use of her Inherited Technique, arguing that she needed to be able to rely on herself as well, not just on family members, to keep herself safe. Toshihiro and Mika agreed, making sure she learned to suppress her cursed energy so she’d appear as a civilian to any sorcerers and cursed spirits, even when using her energy grid to navigate. The last thing they wanted was for their only child to be endangered, or to draw the attention of other sorcerers.

As her skills improved, Reika took to going out on her own to explore the city, eventually encountering cursed spirits. The harmless ones she left alone, but not the more threatening ones. She often led these back to the Kougetsu family compound for more experienced sorcerers to exorcise. At some point, however, she grew confident enough in her abilities and began exorcising spirits herself when she perceived they had less energy than she did and she could do so without endangering civilians.

During one such outing, Gojou witnessed her luring a cursed spirit into an alley before exorcising it, and became intrigued when he learned the younger one could neither see nor hear - likely a result of a Heavenly Restriction. When his superiors learned of Reika, they called for her enrollment at Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School, reasoning that she’d need field training her family might be unable to provide. Reika’s parents were reluctant to let her go, but the young teen was eager to leave. For her, it was a chance to live away from her protective family members, to test her abilities as much as possible while keeping others safe - civilian or sorcerer - and to learn more about her role as a sorcerer. She entered Jujutsu Tech soon after the Kyoto Sister School Goodwill Event.

Trivia

Reika has to touch someone’s face or throat to be able to tell what they’re saying, using the vibrations to interpret the words. Otherwise, someone needs to sign into her palm to give her information directly.

The Kougetsu Clan doesn’t condone the way sorcerers in Japan are treated, or how the society functions as a whole. Because of this, Kougetsu sorcerers went largely unregistered for 5 generations, their technique relatively unknown. Reika enrolling at Jujutsu Tech broke this pattern.

Reika aspires to be like Maki when it comes to hand-to-hand combat.

When meeting someone for the first time, she asks if she can touch their face. To her, Gojou has a lively face, Fushiguro and Itadori both have kind faces, while Kugisaki’s is determined. Panda’s is friendly, Maki’s is strong, and Inumaki’s is gentle.

Reika says that different colors feel different to her, and she picks out clothing based on that.

Seiyuu/VA: Nitta Emi (JPN)/Cherami Leigh (ENG)

#Kaedraws #dawnlitdrawings #myart #krisart #kristart #Jujutsu Kaisen #Jujutsu Kaisen OC #JJK #JJK OC #original character #fan character #digital art #Jujutsu Kaisen fan character #JJK sorcerer

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aristotles-denial · 3 years

Text

character glossary pt 1

glossary of characters for my atla fic is it my fault the fallen embers burn to help clarify things (and so i can keep my own facts straight)

pt 1: canon characters (especially their changes/additions to canon). pt 2: my ocs

“sob story” means their backstory lmao

all of this is as of chapter 7 - skills will develop throughout the fic, the description of zuko’s scar is Not there yet, and azula & zuko grow throughout (chai son grows a bit too)

warning: spoilers ahead!! go read my fic first!!

Azula

general description:

3 years younger than zuko, born ~2 months later in year than him

9 yr.s old by time of Agni Kai; she turns 10 in chap. 7

she & Zuko have the same eye color & shape as Ursa

straight black hair (she gets that from Ozai)

scattered freckles! mostly on her face & neck, she doesn’t have a ton

an actual baby. shortest of everyone on the Kage (for now at least), average height of 10 yr. old girl (~4’7”)

has yet to wear makeup

generally looks more like Ursa than Ozai

skills/jobs:

mastered blue fire by the time she was 8

hasn’t bent lightning… yet…

has Mai’s dagger but has yet to figure out what to do w/ it

Certified Genius

being a lil shit

sob story wheeeeeee:

forced to watch Ozai abuse Zuko

on Top of that^^, that abuse was threatened against her

Ozai hit her one (1) time (Zuko put a stop to that)

though their relationship is a bit better in canon (or maybe not? idk haven’t thought deeply abt. it yet), Ursa still neglected her & favored Zuko

believed there was a chance Ursa was still alive (mostly so she didn’t have to face fact that she never got to say goodbye to Ursa)

had to watch Zuko burn during the Agni Kai (she put out the fire)

general pressure & shittiness from Ozai (slightly lesser extent than in-canon though b/c she’s younger & loves Zuko more than Ozai)

Iroh

general description:

same appearance as in the show

2nd shortest (once Azula has grown more, he’s the shortest)

kinda yucky toward women

skills/jobs:

firebending

ignoring when Zuko & Azula show signs of trauma & abuse

tea making

sob story wheeeeeee:

Lu Ten was practically butchered in Ba Sing Se (his arm was cut off & he was gutted)

not only is it sad that his son died, but Iroh had to see him on his deathbed

saw Zuko be burned in the Agni Kai

Jee

general description:

it’s accepted by everyone that he’s 2nd tallest, but he & Chai Son are actually the same height (~6’-6’1”)

same appearance as show

at any given point in time if you take a look at what is going on in his mind it’s just the sentence “i hate it here” on repeat

skills/jobs:

firebending

lieutenant

master tactician

loyalty (even if he hates it)

sob story wheeeeeee:

bet against the Fire Nation b/c he was like what we’re doing sucks -> that was seen as treason

after being discharged (??) or whatever, came home to his house burning down w/ his wife & 3 kids inside

admitted to himself that going along w/ the system is the only way b/c if he spoke out against war, ppl. he cared abt. would get hurt

that’s why he’s like Ultra Patriotic & jumped at the opportunity to serve his country again to try to make things right -> was put on the Kage and immediately regrets it lmao

he misses his family :(

Zuko

general description:

3 years older than Azula, born ~2 months earlier in year than her

turned 13 about a month prior to the Agni Kai

doesn’t have to shave his head after Agni Kai (yaaaaaayyyy full phoenixtail)

his hair curls a bit in the humidity (he gets that from Ursa)

he & Azula have the same eye color & shape as Ursa

scattered freckles! his are all over his body, no concentrated in one area

4th shortest on the Kage @ first (he keeps growing); starts off as only slightly shorter than Mikazuki, average height of 13 yr. old boy (~5’2”)

generally looks more like Ozai than Ursa

as of chap 7, still has bandages on his left arm, hand, & shoulder, and left sides of his face, neck, & torso

yes he’s like 5’3” by the time he’s 16 in canon but i Don't Care. he grows to be like 5’10” (that height comes from Ursa’s side (Roku was like 6’7”); Ozai was an anomaly b/c the rest of his family (Sozin, Iroh) is short)

skills/jobs:

dragon’s fire (aka golden flames, but he has yet to get all those colors (pssst he’s gay))

shadow-bending

heat sense

Yes these^^ are all cool as hell but he’s still not as technically great of a bender as Azula

trained w/ dao swords

making me cry

sob story wheeeeeee:

yknow, the usual (Ozai trying to kill him when he was born, the Agni Kai, etc) PLUS:

saw Azulon’s dead body, saw Ozai stab Ursa, watched Ursa die

abused verbally & physically by Ozai (this heightened after Ursa died)

i literally can’t keep track of my own fic there’s Probably more

#atla #azula #iroh #jee narong #zuko #fics #fallen embers #tfeb #my post.#lists #long post.#tfeb meta #meta #?#ursa #lu ten #ozai #azulon #sozin #fire nation royal family #dark

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migila · 4 years

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MitsuChou Week, Day 7!

Note: This came out darker than I originally planned... maybe I should’ve just gone with bright future instead. What a way to end the week...

Day 7: Dark Future

The explosion threw Mitsuki against the wall and he gasped as the air escaped from his lungs. He kept his anger in check by assuring himself that at least the two enemy shinobi he’d been fighting must’ve gone down with the bang.

As he got up, he wondered if Sarada and Boruto had reached his house already. It wasn’t that far, but with all this chaos…

Mitsuki shook his head, trying to clear it. The way to the Uzumaki household was in flames; he couldn’t catch up with them anymore. Of course, he’d known that was a possibility when he’d offered to stay behind to stall the enemy. But it was alright; they’d agreed on a meeting spot, he’d meet them there. He just had to get there.

There were bodies all around, both civilian and shinobi alike. The attack had come out of nowhere; there had been no time for proper evacuation. The Hokage’s order to leave the village and reassemble at the emergency evacuation locations had rung out not too long ago, but by that point many had died already. He wondered if some of his friends or their families were among the dead. It was highly possible; the village was burning, and most of it was probably in ruins by now. He’d know for sure when he’d get to his team’s meeting spot, on top of the stone faces.

“Mikazuki” Mitsuki mutters in surprise when the cat runs out of a collapsed building, heading straight for him. He picks it up, deciding to take it with him. He had no idea how it had survived in this chaos, but he didn’t really care, either. Getting it to safety was the important thing here.

Which is why he became slightly annoyed when the cat jumped out of his arms.

“Mikazuki” he said “We need to go.”

Of course, the cat didn’t listen, returning to the collapsed building. It wanted to show him something, Mitsuki realized, it had done so before, too.

“What’s in there?” he asks despite knowing that the cat couldn’t answer. Curious, Mitsuki followed. And he was glad that he did.

“Chou Chou?” he saw his friend, buried under the debris. Reaching a hand to her neck, he found pulse. She was still alive. There didn’t seem to be that much blood either, so perhaps she was just stuck. Perhaps he could still save her.

“Good work, Mikazuki” he muttered, eyeing the collapsed structure. He could move it, he just had to be careful to not to crush his friend in the process. Carefully, he reached for the first piece, then another and another. When it did start to collapse, he’d already done enough that he managed to pull Chou Chou out of the way, escaping the building with her in his arms just in time. Ducking in to an alley, he looked at her injuries. There didn’t seem to be anything life-threatening, but her left leg seemed to be broken. He needed to treat it-

An explosion occurred not too far away, and the boy realized that he had no time. They had to get away. Now.

Mitsuki ran across the city with Chou Chou in his arms and Mikazuki on his shoulder, doing his best to avoid any enemies. Fortunately, the ones that managed to spot him were weak and he managed to get rid of them without even having to put the girl down.

“We’re almost there” he muttered as he closed in on the stone faces, but he came to a sudden stop as he spotted a body on the road ahead. He’d seen many bodies already of course, but the difference was that he knew this one.

Shino-sensei.

Fearing the worst, Mitsuki dared to take a look around, and immediately wished he hadn’t. Anko-sensei. Principal Iruka. Few dozen children. All dead.

“They must’ve attacked the future generation on purpose” he realized, gritting his teeth. The attack had been more organized than he originally thought “I hope Sarada and Boruto got to Himawari in time.”

He continued his way, hoping that no other familiar faces would show up among the dead.

No such luck.

Udon-sensei was dead, and judging from the clothes, that was Denki’s arm next to him. Fortunately, he didn’t see a body, but he decided to not get his hopes up. No sign of Iwabe or Metal, but again, he wouldn’t get his hopes up.

“Ugh…”

Mitsuki looked down, seeing Chou Chou waking up. He quickly ran forward, deciding that it was for the best to not let her see the body right now. He could always inform her about it later.

“Chou Chou?” he questions “Can you hear me?”

She blinks a couple of times, clearly disoriented.

“Mitsuki…?” she mutters “What happened?”

“We’re under an attack” he simply says “The whole village is in chaos.”

“Attack…?” she muttered. From her slowly changing expression, Mitsuki could tell that whatever had happened to Chou Chou before he got to her was getting back to her “Ah…”

She started crying. Not loudly wailing like he’d expect of his friend; the tears simply fell silently down her cheeks as she stared ahead with glazed eyes.

“Chou Chou?”

“They killed dad” she said “We managed to fight off some of them, but there were so many… and he tried to protect me… now he’s…”

Mitsuki said nothing, simply pulled her a little closer, tightening his grip. He could understand her pain, he supposed, but the time for mourning was not yet. She’d have to get herself together.

“What about your mother?”

“I… don’t know” she answers silently. Mitsuki smiles, and he hopes it looks calming.

“She could still be alive, then” he says “They say no news is good news, right?”

If getting her hopes up was something that’d help her now, then that’s what he was going to do.

“Yeah…” she muttered. Mitsuki raises an eyebrow as she suddenly looks more determined “Yeah! I gotta go find her!”

Before he can stop her, she slides away from his arms, but falls down immediately due to her broken leg.

“Ow!”

“You can’t walk like that” he says “Let me carry you.”

“I need to go find my mom!” she insists.

“She’ll probably head for a meeting point outside of the village” he reasons “We should too after we reunite with Boruto and Sarada.”

Chou Chou freezes. That’s right; it wasn’t just her mom. Sarada, her team mates, all her friends… were they alright? What if-

“We can’t act aimlessly” Mitsuki says “We have to get a better picture of the situation. For now, we’ll go to the stone faces.”

“…Okay” she finally says, attempting to stand up. She does so with great difficulty, but Mitsuki scoops her up in his arms before she can fall.

“Try not to move so that your leg won’t get worse” he says.

“Okay” she replies. Normally, she’d be embarrassed to have Mitsuki carrying her like this. She’d tell him to not get any weird ideas, to keep his hands to himself, but she does none of that right now. Her mind is way too occupied by their surroundings, and for once Mitsuki’s not sure if that’s a good thing. This silent, shaken girl isn’t the Chou Chou he knows. His Chou Chou is lively, so full of life and energy. That’s what makes her so interesting, but now…

“That hurts, Mitsuki” the girl says as the boy holds her close, having pulled her tightly to his chest. Mitsuki jolts, relaxing his grip immediately “Sorry.”

“It’s okay…” the situation is getting to him too, Chou Chou realizes. It’s odd to see the always so calm Mitsuki like this. It’s unsettling. Still, she’s glad he’s here with her. She has no idea what she’d do if she was alone right now.

They speed through the village, and Chou Chou tries to not look at all the bodies lying around, but she can’t help herself. She keeps looking, hoping that there won’t suddenly be a familiar face among them. She’s so focused that she doesn’t notice Mikazuki until the cat jumps down from Mitsuki’s shoulder right on her stomach.

“Wha?!” she shouts out, her first instinct telling her to throw off whatever landed on her, but she manages to stop herself just in time “Mikazuki!?”

“It found you under a collapsed building” Mitsuki tells “I would’ve missed you without Mikazuki’s help.”

Chou Chou smiles a little, petting the cat.

“Thanks” she tells it, wincing as another explosion goes off near them.

“I have to pick up the pace” he says “Hold on tight.”

“Okay” Chou Chou grasps the front of his shirt, holding on to Mikazuki with her free hand. When the smoke around them gets thicker she closes her eyes, hoping that they’ll reach their destination soon. Fortunately, Mitsuki is by no means slow.

Standing on top of the Fourth Hokage’s statue, Mitsuki gazed at the burning village. He’d seen lots of bodies on the way, but now there was no doubt that there were many, many more.

“Will Sarada and Boruto really get here?” Chou Chou asks as she looks at her burning home as well.

“They will” Mitsuki answers, but Chou Chou can hear the uncertainty in his voice “I can’t lose my Sun.”

“Right, he has his priorities” she thought, but realized that she was no different. She too put her close friends before the not so close ones and strangers.

“This is my team’s reassembly point in the case of an emergency, too” she tells “Maybe they made it out safely… maybe they’ll show up…”

Mitsuki heard Chou Chou’s voice crack. It was no wonder; the girl had already lost her father and didn’t know where her mother was. On top of that, she had no idea about the whereabouts of any of her friends.

…

Not that his situation was much different, he supposed. He just didn’t get overtaken by emotions the way people usually did.

The way humans did.

This situation made him question his humanity once more. It’s not like he wasn’t sad or worried, but he considered himself to be rather calm considering the situation. Was that because he was not human? Did he have no humanity?

“That matters not” he reminded himself, shaking his head “What matters now is keeping Chou Chou safe.”

“Mitsuki?” the girl asks as she sees her companion shaking his head.

“We could get spotted here” he says “The edge of the cliff will be safer.”

They got there with a few jumps and, much to their surprise, they were met with familiar faces.

“Chou Chou! Mitsuki! You guys made it!” Metal said. He’d definitely seen better days; there was blood all over him. Judging from how lively he was though, most of it can’t have been his. From the way he had his hand to his side, Mitsuki concluded that he must’ve had a few cracked ribs. Few broken fingers too, no doubt, and there was a hastily made bandage, one that was already stained red, around his right arm.

“Are you two okay?” Iwabe asks from little ways away, but doesn’t take his eyes away from Denki, whose arm, or what’s left of it, he’s tending. The boy himself seems to be unconscious.

“Chou Chou’s leg is broken, but other than that we’re fine” Mitsuki said. He probably had a few broken ribs as well, but Iwabe didn’t need to know that right now.

“Have you guys seen the others?” Chou Chou asks, but they shake their heads.

“Chou Chou!” they all look around as they hear the voice, startled. Mitsuki is the first one who realizes to look up, making him also the first one to see Inojin’s ink bird ��You made it!”

“Inojin!” she cheers, hopping off of Mitsuki’s arms only to stumble to the ground again due to her broken leg which she had forgotten “Ow…”

“Chubs, you clutch” the boy scolds as he leaves the bird and runs over to her “Where does it hurt?”

“Her leg is broken” Mitsuki fills in before Chou Chou can deny anything. Not that she was usually that kind of person, but just in case.

As Inojin examines her leg, the girl asks: “Have you seen Shikadai?”

“He already left the village with Moegi-sensei; she got badly hurt protecting us. He tries to get her some help” the blond answers “I can get away fast if I need to, which is why I’m the one who stayed behind to wait for you.”

Chou Chou doesn’t know why she’s so moved. They were a team; she knew Inojin cared for her despite his constant jabs and the rather insulting nickname, but even so, the fact that he’d stayed behind for her came as a surprise. She was ashamed for being so surprised.

“What about Boruto and Sarada?” Inojin asks.

“They’ll be here” Mitsuki answers. Again, Chou Chou notes that he doesn’t sound all too convinced “They just have to pick up Himawari.”

“And Konohamaru-sensei?”

“I haven’t seen him”

“What about Udon-sensei?” the blond asks as he starts healing Chou Chou’s leg. Mitsuki wonders if Iwabe and the others know, if he should tell-

“Dead” Iwabe states “He’s dead.”

They knew.

Inojin and Chou Chou say nothing. After the blond finishes, the girl’s leg is still sore, but now she can support her weight on it.

“We’ll wait for Boruto’s group and whoever comes here for ten minutes. After that, we need to go” Inojin says, and Mitsuki doesn’t argue. Of course, if the time limit comes up and they don’t arrive, he’ll go look for them, but the blond doesn’t need to know that just yet.

Looking down at the burning city, he wonders where the Hokage is. It would make sense for him to be one of the main targets of the enemy, so he could very well be dead already. Or he could be somewhere fighting whoever was in charge of the enemy. Or he could have already headed for an assembly point away from the village.

“I would’ve thought there’d be more people here” he thinks “Some must’ve already fled by now, but since it’s only us genin… just how many shinobi have been lost?”

Unable to bear to look at her burning home, Chou Chou watches Mitsuki instead. Not that that’s much better; the conflicting emotions that flicker across the normally so unexpressive boy’s face unnerved her. Biting her lip, she limped over to the boy, putting a hand on his shoulder. He jolted in surprise, obviously having been lost in his thoughts, but she ignored it.

“I’m sure everything will be fine” she said, trying to give him a reassuring smile “Don’t worry.”

Mitsuki couldn’t help but be puzzled at her behavior, as usual. She was the one who had already lost a parent, she was the one whose home was up in flames, she was the one who was injured and yet, here she was, trying to comfort him.

He’d never learn to understand her, he knew.

Chou Chou really hoped they’d make it here in time. Of course, she was worried about Sarada and the others, but mostly because she knew that if they didn’t come, Mitsuki wouldn’t leave. In fact, he’d be sure to go look for them. He’d go out there, alone. She couldn’t allow that; it’d be too dangerous. But she knew she wouldn’t be convincing or strong enough to stop him, either.

Four minutes passed.

Denki woke up. It seemed like he was going to make it. They were glad.

Six minutes.

No sign of anyone.

Seven minutes.

Few enemy shinobi had wandered to their location. Iwabe took them down before they could properly even realize they were there. Chou Chou wondered when the boy had gotten so good at acting under pressure.

Eight minutes.

The seconds were ticking by, and Chou Chou started to wonder if she could stay behind with Mitsuki when the others left. Normally, she could do it, but she was injured. Wouldn’t she get in the way? What if Mitsuki got hurt protecting he-

“Mitsuki!”

All heads snapped to the side, and they saw Himawari rushing towards them.

“Himawari!” Inojin was the first to react, running over “Are you okay?”

“Uhhuh” she said “But big brother- “

That was all that was needed for Mitsuki to come running over before she could even finish.

“What happened to Boruto?” he asked urgently “Where is he!?”

“He’s fine” came a voice from behind the girl “Sarada too.”

Mitsuki looked up.

“Konohamaru-sensei” he was indeed there, carrying Boruto under one arm and Sarada under the other. For a brief moment Mitsuki almost panicked, but then realized that they were just unconscious. They were alive.

He rushed over, noticing Himawari and Inojin following him. He took Boruto from the man, noting that Inojin took Sarada.

“I think it’s time we move” the blond says “Don’t you agree, Konohamaru-sensei?”

There was no answer.

“Sensei?” Mitsuki asked. He saw Konohomaru just standing there, a glazed look in his eyes “Sensei?”

When he fell forward, Mitsuki caught him.

“Kono- “he stopped short as he saw the wounds on his teacher’s back, some knives still stuck in his flesh, the blood having stained his vest crimson.

“Shit” Inojin cursed “Iwabe, get over here!”

The boy ran over, taking Konohamaru from Mitsuki together with Inojin. The boy just stood there, staring at his teacher that was bleeding out, wondering how much pain he was in. Was one able to feel the pain when unconscious? Those injuries would take a long time to heal properly, he was sure.

…

They were really bad injuries.

“Brother Konohamaru protected us” Himawari sobbed “He got hurt because brother and Sarada came back for me… because I was too slow…”

“It’s not your fault” Chou Chou, who’d limped over, said, putting her hand on Himawari’s shoulder “It’s no one’s fault.”

The glow on Iwabe’s hands stopped, and soon Inojin’s followed suit.

“I’m sorry” Iwabe said “He’s gone.”

Gone.

After that word, Mitsuki barely registered what was going on around him. He heard Himawari lunge at Inojin, begging him to try again, but his mind barely registered it as he stared at his teacher’s body.

He was dead, gone. How would he tell Boruto and Sarada? Could they forgive him that he hadn’t gone with them? If he had, maybe their teacher would’ve survived.

Could he forgive himself that he hadn’t been there with them?

“Mitsuki” he vaguely heard Chou Chou say “You’re crying.”

Mitsuki blinked, reaching his hand to his face. Crying? Him? That was impossible, yet he still felt wetness on his cheeks. Blood, maybe?

No, they were indeed tears.

He clenched his teeth. What was the point? What was the point of being able to cry? What was the point of resembling a real human if he couldn’t protect anyone!?

“It’ll be okay” Chou Chou said. She had no idea if it was true, but she had to try to comfort him. Her voice cracking, she repeated: “It’ll be okay.”

Mitsuki felt her arms wrap around him. He let her, his gaze drifting to his still unconscious team mates. This was no time for crying; he had to protect them. He had to. He had to. He had to. He-

He closed his eyes as he felt the arms around him tighten. Touching the arms around him, he reminded himself that they weren’t the only ones he had to protect. He’d protect her too.

He’d protect all of them.

He had to.

#mitsuchouweek2020 #MitsuChou week #MitsuChou #mitsucho #mitsuki #akimichi chouchou

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myaekingheart · 3 years

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121. The Double Date

read the scarecrow and the bell on ao3 index | from the beginning | < previous | next >

The one thing Rei hated more than social situations was people who remembered halfhearted invititations to social situations. Unfortunately, on a Friday night, such was the case. Apparently Mikazuki had taken her careless offer for barbecue to heart. So now here Rei was in a dress that was all too tight for her comfort sitting in Yakiniku Q forced to smile and laugh over sake on the worst thing imaginable: a double date.

“Come on, everything is going to be fine” Kakashi reassured her as she got ready. She turned to glare at him and the tip of her lipstick smeared across her cheek, a sharp red line like a warning. Kakashi smiled sheepishly, reaching for a tissue and tenderly wiping her face clean. “Really, Rei, there’s nothing to worry about” he assured her. “It’s just four friends going out for food. That’s all.”

“That’s not all, Kakashi” Rei muttered. She capped her lipstick and raked her fingers through her tangled hair. “Anything can happen when four friends go out for food.” Truthfully, she wasn’t even sure if Tenzo and Mikazuki qualified as friends. Her and Tenzo didn’t know each other well enough. Mikazuki was kind and familiar but also strange and sometimes even suspicious. It was that same suspicion that was taking root in her stomach right now.

“It didn’t seem to be a problem on your birthday” Kakashi reminded her. “That was four friends going out for food.”

Shaking her head, Rei turned to color-correct the red splotch on her cheek in the mirror. “Yeah, but that was Guy and Sekkachi. That’s different. They’re practically family.”

“Then this should be a good change of pace” Kakashi mused.

Rei scoffed and shook her head. “You don’t know me very well, do you, Kakashi?” she jested. A sigh broke past her lips as she attempted to gather her fluffy hair up into the signature ponytail. “Maybe we should just call the whole thing off. Tell them we’ll do this some other time. For what it’s worth, I didn’t even mean it when I invited them to dinner.”

“But they took it seriously” Kakashi continued. “We’re supposed to meet them in less than a half an hour. It’s a little too late to back out now, don’t you think?”

Rei glanced to the clock and knew that her fiancé was right. She fastened her ponytail tightly at the crown and muttered, “At least there should be plenty of alcohol.” Heaven only knew she was going to need it.

Yakiniku Q seemed quiet for a Friday night. The usual drunkards huddled around the bar mumbling inaudible nonsense to one another but the dining tables stood fairly empty. The sight of it only further heightened the eerie paranoia pulsing through Rei’s veins. Where were all the people? A clap of thunder roared in the distance, the sky overhead threatening rain. Rei squeezed Kakashi’s hand a little tighter.

Mikazuki and Tenzo had already stolen a table at the back of the restaurant, chatting quietly with one another between sips of sake. A rising feeling struck Rei’s chest at the sight of them, a red flag urging her to run. Anxiety and embarrassment firmly rooted themselves in the pit of her stomach, overwhelming her with each step nearer.

Kakashi and Rei settled in side by side at the other end of the table. Kakashi eyed her curiously as she sucked in her gut and shimmied her skirt down her thighs in an effort to get comfortable. In the back of her mind, Rei cursed herself for choosing something she had evidently outgrown—a dress that Naru had picked from the Kawakubo dress shop so many years ago. It had been so long since Rei had gone out on a Friday night, she thought it was only appropriate to dress for the occasion. As she stared at her bland closet, she tried to envision what Naru would choose. Unfortunately, Naru’s tastes were five years outdated for Rei’s body. Her stomach squeezed tight against the fabric and her breasts were borderline spilling out of the already low-cut neckline. Mikazuki shot her a cautious glance as she took another sip of her sake. The tension mounted.

“So, congratulations on making captain” Tenzo commented, but it was clear that he was distracted. Rei shifted as she willed his line of sight to rise. Kakashi regretted not bringing her a jacket. “It’s definitely, a, uh…” Tenzo stammered. “A big endowment.”

Mikazuki’s face turned bright red, a pathetic yelp escaping her lips. She dropped her eyes and took an anxious sip of her sake. “I’m sure you’re very proud” she murmured.

Tenzo spluttered, stumbling over the words he couldn’t form in his mouth, as he met Kakashi’s brief but warning gaze. Truthfully, Kakashi didn’t understand why Rei felt obligated to squeeze herself into something so small and risqué in the first place. Her nervous laughter, the way she shifted in her seat, only further emphasized her anxiety. Kakashi took her hand under the table and gave it a tight squeeze, a sign of solidarity, a prayer to calm down. When words failed him, Tenzo sighed in defeat and took a long, desperate swig of his drink.

A painful stretch of silence passed between the four of them, interrupted only by the sizzle of beef on the grill and clink of ice in their glasses. I knew this was a bad idea, Rei thought to herself. She peered out the window to the hazy street below, watching passerby rush into the nearest shops to beat the rain. The bellows of drunks at the bar blurred into an incomprehensible white noise. Raindrops raced each other against the glass. Streelights flickered in the distance.

When Mikazuki finally broke the silence, Rei initially did not hear her. It wasn’t until Kakashi tapped her shoulder lightly that Rei snapped out of her daze. She had no idea how much time had passed but it somehow simultaneously felt fleeting and eternal.

“I just said h-how are the new recruits?” Mikazuki repeated. The uncertainty in her voice, the restraint, made it clear that she regretted having to ask again. That a part of her had hoped that they could just sweep her inquiry under the rug, forget she had ever said anything.

“Fine” Rei croaked in response. Her vision refused to refocus. “Th-they’re fine.” She cleared her throat, readjusted her dress yet again. Her skirt kept riding up as if hellbent on flashing everyone. She glanced down at her thighs and suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Her gaze snapped back up to the beef grilling in the center of the table, to Mikazuki sliding strips onto her plate, to the smell and the texture and the color and the flames. Rei pinched the skin of her thigh between thumb and forefinger, focusing on the sting of her nails, tried not to linger on thoughts of flesh. “They’ll need a lot of work but they have potential” she added.

Tenzo chuckled as he poured himself another drink. “Well, if that one kid of yours is any indication, you certainly have your hands full” he commented. Rei arched a brow. Truthfully, they were all going to be handfuls. Squinting, Tenzo thumbed through the index of names and faces in his brain. A few moments passed before he finally mused, “Sukui, I think his name was?”

“Oh. Him” Rei sighed. She could only imagine what Sukui Yukio must be like in the men’s locker room. But then the thought of the men’s locker room at all—sweaty men, barbaric men, naked men—caused her stomach to lurch yet again.

“Yeah” Tenzo laughed. “He’s a real exhibitionist in the locker room. If I have to hear him mention his resemblance to—”

“Keihaku Goman, I know” Rei interrupted, shaking her head. She lifted her glass to her lips, took a delicate sip. The sake burned her throat but in a good way. In a numbing way.

Blank and confused, Mikazuki searched their faces for a hint before quietly asking, “W-Who’s Keihaku Goman?” She tried to remain composed but with every passing moment, she was beginning to feel more and more outcasted in the conversation.

“He was the main actor in the Icha Icha film adaptation” Kakashi explained. “At least until he got fired and recast for Makeout Violence.”

“Oh…” Mikazuki gave a minute nod, taking another sip of her drink.

Rei took a long swig of her own, reveling in the warmth radiating through her body. She felt like a tiny little flame growing ever stronger, ever more invincible to the rushing rain surrounding. The knot in her stomach began to loosen. “I’m sure with time they’ll get better, but their teamwork needs a lot of improvement” she continued.

“Well, you’ve certainly learned from the best” Tenzo mused, motioning to Kakashi. His arm swayed as if the hinges in his shoulder were coming undone. He lifted his drink almost as if in salute before finishing off his second glass.

Kakashi shook his head, swatting at the air dismissively. “I didn’t come here to be praised” he remarked. Though his voice was stern and steady, there was an undertone of humble delight in his words. He wrapped an arm gently around Rei’s waist as he added, “I’m sure Rei will be a far better captain than I ever was.”

Rei blushed and shook her head, swirling the sake in her glass. “I didn’t come here to be praised, either” she countered. “This is a learning experience for me, too.”

“Have a little more faith in your abilities, Rei” Kakashi replied. “Everything will fall into place eventually.”

Mikazuki nodded in agreement. “Remember when we first joined the ANBU? Things felt so chaotic and intense but with time, we got used to things. And now you’re a captain.”

“I hope you’re right” Rei sighed, taking another sip of her drink. “Because right now, it feels a whole hell of a lot like wrangling cattle.”

“Or babysitting” Tenzo offered.

Rei laughed softly as she nodded in agreement. “I’m just glad I don’t have to do it all on my own” she replied. “Yugao has been a great help so far.”

“I’m sure” Mikazuki said softly. On her face was a smile that was both polite but forced. Generous. Tense. Rei tried to brush it off as she drained her glass and poured herself another. Mikazuki took a delicate bite of her beef then as she added, “It’s certainly a big responsibility. You’re practically in charge of everything. Do you even have time to sleep? Your complexion looks awful.”

Rei sucked her teeth as she carelessly threw a few strips of beef onto the grill herself. Truthfully, though, she wasn’t very hungry. “I sleep…” she muttered in offense. “Balancing work and our personal lives has gotten a little bit tougher and we’ve had to make some sacrifices but, I mean, that’s life. There’s nothing we can really do about it.” Kakashi was taken by the sharp undercurrent in her voice and his heart ached for her. He knew exactly what she was referring to.

“Tell me about it!” Tenzo exclaimed. He tilted the bottle of sake against the rim of his glass but when nothing poured out, he paused, squinted, shook the bottle, peered inside, then shrugged in defeat and tossed it over his shoulder. The bottle shattered with a crash behind him. Kakashi winced. “I mean, being in the ANBU at all is overbearing enough. Mikazuki and I barely get to spend time together as it is! I can only imagine how much less free time you have as a captain.” A waitress passed by their table, quizzically trying to decipher the origin of the bottle behind their booth. Tenzo stretched himself across the table and flagged her down, dutifully requesting another bottle of sake for the group. The waitress glanced to the others as if searching for their approval before giving a single nod and scurrying back to the kitchen. Satisfied, Tenzo flopped back into his seat and continued. “You know, I’ll admit, I was a little disappointed when I didn’t make captain! Spent my whole life in the ANBU and this is how they treat me? I think I deserve a little recognition, you know? But the more I started thinking about it, the more I realized everything I’d be giving up. After all, I need the free time to…sit. And exist. Like a tree! Like a big, beautiful tree! Rei, I don’t envy you one bit.”

Rei forced a polite, panicked smile. “Well, uh, thanks for that, Tenzo” she muttered. Kakashi leaned forward and slid some freshly cooked beef onto a plate for the both of them, encouraging Rei to take a bite but she simply shook her head and took another sip of her drink. “I’m not really hungry” she whispered.

The moment the waitress turned the corner, Tenzo’s eyes lit up and he reached across the table for the bottle of booze. He poured himself another glass sloppily, spilling sake around the immediate area. “You know, this is nice!” he exclaimed. “We should go out like this more often. If only Mikazuki and I could find the time!” Turning to his girlfriend then, he drunkenly pondered, “When was the last time we even went on a date? February? It’s like we never have time for each other anymore! What is that about?!”

“T-Tenzo, please…” Mikazuki whispered. They were beginning to attract attention. She took an anxious sip of her drink as she glanced apologetically to the patrons eyeing their table. Never before had she so strongly wished to be invisible.

“You know” Tenzo continued loudly, “How you two are managing to plan a wedding with all of this, I will never understand! Can you even plan a wedding with work like this? Is that even possible?” He chuckled to himself then as he gazed at his sake longingly. “If you ask me, I bet it’d be so much easier to just elope! What do you think, Mikazuki? Do you think we should elope?”

Mikazuki yelped in shock at the prospect. “T-Tenzo!” she exclaimed, burying her face in her hands. “Please, restrain yourself!”

Clearing her throat, Rei replied curtly, “We’re, uh, we’re making it work.”

In a show of great enthusiasm, Tenzo slammed his fist against the table and wailed, “I’m just so happy for you guys!” His eyes teared up momentarily but Rei was unsure whether it was due to his overwhelming emotion or if he was simply too drunk to function. “You’ll invite us to the wedding, right? I mean, we’ll have to check our calendar, obviously”—here, he drunkenly smirked at his girlfriend as if their conflicting schedules were an inside joke they were both in on—“but how could I miss the wedding of the century? Kakashi Hatake, renowned ninja, getting married!”

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling nervously. “It’s really not that big of a deal.”

Rei hummed in agreement as she brought her glass up to her lips. Just as she was mid-sip, however, Tenzo blurted out, “When are you guys going to have kids?!” and Rei immediately spluttered her sake across the table, coughing and gasping for breath.

“I-I’m sorry, what?” she croaked. She glanced to Mikazuki who sat there stone-still and mortified. Her cheeks burned bright red.

“Kids!” Tenzo repeated. “You know, babies!” He sighed and rested his head on the table, whining, “Kakashi would make such a great dad.”

“I-I don’t know about that” Kakashi replied anxiously. Now he was the one feeling uneasy. He glanced to Rei, searching her face for signs of the inner turmoil he was sure was spiralling in the pit of her stomach now.

Shaking his head, Tenzo insisted, “No, he really would! I mean it!” He turned to Mikazuki with bloodshot eyes and added, “It’s like he was made to make babies! You know?” With a groan, he dropped his face onto the tabletop and muffled, “I bet you guys would have so many babies.”

Nervous laughter broke past Rei’s lips as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Let’s just, uh…take one thing at a time.”

Tenzo laughed as if something about that was funny, hoisting his head up off the table. As he did so, his eyes landed on the karaoke machine at the other end of the restaurant and once again, his eyes lit up. “Hey, look, the mic’s open!” he exclaimed. Before any of the others could react, he catapulted over Mikazuki in the booth and stumbled toward the modest little stage. With each step, he willed himself to move faster, faster, faster as if the mic was at risk of being snatched up by someone else.

“Is he always this eager?” Rei asked, wide eyes watching Tenzo trip over the wires as he clutched the microphone tightly.

“Whenever sake is involved, apparently” Mikazuki sighed.

Chuckling, Kakashi turned to his fiancée and mused, “Remind me not to let Tenzo drink at our wedding.” Rei shook her head and nestled herself warmly against Kakashi. In the back of her mind, she wondered at what point in the night it would be reasonable to leave.

The karaoke machine switched on with an electric whir. Bright neon visuals pulsed on the screen behind him as he scrutinized his options. A static suspense hung in the air as he flipped through the song list until finally, he made his choice. The upbeat intro of none other than “Build Me Up, Buttercup” blared through the speakers. He made eye contact with Mikazuki as he belted out a verse about being let down by a lover, passionate and out of tune. Mikazuki’s face grew even redder as she sunk down in the booth. The other patrons in the restaurant seemed to pay no mind to her and for that, she was grateful.

“You know, he’s not half bad” Kakashi commented, tapping his fingers rhymically against the table.

Rei snorted and tilted her head back so as to better view him. “I didn’t realize you were deaf.”

Kakashi clinked the ice in his glass and replied, “It sounds better after a few drinks.” The irony was that he was hardly even drinking at all.

By the time Tenzo reached the chorus, Mikazuki had finally cracked. She excused herself and hurried to the bathroom, weaving through the crowd that had formed up and down the walkways of the restaurant. “How much do you want to bet she’s going to escape through the bathroom window?” Rei joked.

Kakashi shook his head. “I don’t think she’d do that.”

“You never know” Rei replied. “After a night like this, I’d be desperate for the nearest exit.” And deep down, she had to admit that she was.

“We’ll leave soon” Kakashi assured her. “After all, you have work in the morning, anyway, don’t you?”

Rei scoffed. “We all do.” She wouldn’t be surprised if Tenzo called out sick the next day. Heaven only knew he was going to be nursing a monstrous hangover. As the chorus swelled, Tenzo clenched his fist in a moment of power ballad passion and swayed his hips to the tune. The mic screeched but he didn’t seem to notice.

“I didn’t know he could get his voice that high” Rei laughed.

“I didn’t want to know he could get his voice that high” Kakashi replied. In the privacy of their little booth, he tugged his mask down to take a discrete bite of food before holding out a piece to Rei but yet again she shook her head. “Are you sure you’re not hungry?” he asked.

“Yeah, positive” Rei replied. She kept her eyes locked on Tenzo’s performance in an effort to avoid Kakashi’s scrutinizing gaze.

“You really should eat something” Kakashi urged.

“In this dress?” Rei laughed. “I’ll bust open like a can of biscuits. I’ll just grab a snack when I get home. Besides, I’m not really a huge fan of beef tongue.” Kakashi pursed his lips, displeased but not willing to fight with her on the matter. If she wasn’t hungry then she wasn’t hungry. He wasn’t going to force food down her throat. He only hoped she’d stick to her word about eating at home.

As the song faded out, Mikazuki slipped out of the bathroom and crawled back into her seat. Tenzo rushed to the table, his adrenaline rushing and a massive grin on his face. “Do you think they’d be pissed if I sang another song?” he asked. Before anyone could answer, he swatted at the air and exclaimed, “Ah, fuck it! I’m gonna go again! But first, refreshments!” He reached across the table for his glass and the bottle of sake, smirking confidently as he attempted to pour himself another glass. He had grossly miscalculated his aim, however, and spilled alcohol right into the tabletop grill. The flames flared with a roar of heat, licking at the ceiling maliciously. Tenzo immediately jumped back, dropping both his glass and the bottle, and releasing a clipped shriek.

Fuck. Rei immediately leapt to her feet before the flames could caress her cheek, but their heat was enough to make her lightheaded. Kakashi pulled her back as an extra precaution, holding fast in defense. Channeling all of her chakra into her mouth, Rei shot a sharp jet of water at the flame, effectively extinguishing it in a matter of moments. It was quick thinking like that, she supposed, that got her promoted to captain in the first place.

The door to the kitchens burst open as the restaurant owner came running to their table, shrieking profanities at them about burning down his dining room. Kakashi quickly dug in his pocket for some cash, slamming it on the table, before grabbing Tenzo by the arm and ushering the four of them out into the night air.

“I guess we’ll have to cross Yakiniku off the list of available places to eat” Rei huffed once outside. She smoothed her bangs back as she attempted to catch her breath.

“Unfortunately” Mikazuki sighed. She toed the dirt and muttered, “Their food wasn’t that great, anyway.”

Tenzo bellowed from the street about how he’d be back for an encore next week before spinning on his heel and accidentally walking straight into a wall. “Do you think he’ll be alright?” Kakashi asked, glancing to Mikazuki.

Shaking her head, Mikazuki replied, “I better walk him home just to make sure.” She readjusted her purse on her shoulder as she approached her boyfriend, taking his forearm gently and guiding him in the direction of his apartment. Kakashi and Rei waited until they turned the corner before glancing to one another with stifled laughter. If there was ever a reason as to why they never went out, this would be it. And to think, a disaster like this could’ve been easily avoided if they just hadn’t bothered with trying to be social. Chuckling in disbelief, Kakashi wrapped an arm around his fiancée and together they returned home.

The following morning, Rei stood in front of the full-length mirror in the ANBU locker rooms as she changed into her uniform. She pinched at her belly fat and poked at her thick thighs. If anything, this is just proof I need to go on a diet, she thought to herself. She couldn’t even comprehend how she had gained so much weight in the first place. Getting back in shape was going to be a hassle that she was not looking forward to facing. It was bad enough that the previous night had taken a far greater toll on her than she expected. She slept through three alarms and was forced to skip breakfast. She may have outgrown her dress, but her bad habits were evidently one size fits all. Groaning, Rei pressed the heels of her hands into her eye sockets and fell back onto the nearest bench.

“Rough night?” a voice then asked. Rei peered up through the gaps between her fingers to find none other than Arai looming over her. A smug grin painted her face.

“Why are you always in my business?” Rei asked, sitting up. “Don’t you have anything better to do than stalk me?”

“I’m not stalking you” Arai countered. “If I was, I would’ve already known why you were so damn tired.”

Rolling her eyes, Rei muttered, “Fair point.” She strained her arm so as to scratch her upper back and yawned widely, feeling pathetic. Not as pathetic, however, as Mikazuki. As Rei opened her eyes, she caught sight of the doe-eyed ninja skirting around the wall of lockers, a wad of dirty civilian clothes clutched close to her chest. Without even bidding Arai a simple see you later, Rei slid into Mikazuki’s path with a devilish grin. “So, how about Tenzo, huh?” she asked, raising a brow.

Mikazuki yelped in surprise, tossing her clothes in the process. Pastel tunics and cotton leggings cascaded to the dirty tile floor. “W-w-what about him?” she stammered.

“Oh, nothing” Rei replied, shrugging. “I just didn’t know he was such a party animal.”

Sighing, Mikazuki dropped to her knees and began gathering up her clothes. “He puked in a bush on the way home and I had to crash on his couch to make sure nothing happened in the middle of the night” she explained quietly, eyes downcast and embarrassed. She rubbed the tension out of her neck with a soft whimper, proving that perhaps Tenzo’s furniture was not the comfiest.

The one thing that stood out to Rei, however, was that Mikazuki slept on the couch. Her and Tenzo had been dating for quite some time now. Wouldn’t it have made more sense for her to sleep in his bed with him? For a moment, Rei was suddenly struck with the horrifying possibility that Mikazuki truly was as virginal as she appeared to be. But no, that couldn’t have been the case. There had to be another explanation. Maybe it was simply more convenient to give Tenzo space while he was sick. Maybe Mikazuki didn’t want to impose, or for Tenzo to get the wrong idea while under the influence. Rei was sure there were scores of valid explanations but she supposed she had just grown so accustomed to her very intimate relationship with Kakashi that none of them seemed to make any real sense.

“Sounds like quite a party” Arai interrupted from across the room. “If you ask me, it’s no fun unless someone barfs their brains out.”

“That’s disgusting” Rei cringed. Arai shrugged, seeing no fault in her comment, before skirting around to help scoop up the rest of Mikazuki’s clothes. Mikazuki thanked her quietly before scurrying off to drop her laundry in the bin. Before any more could be said, the dull alarm in headquarters sounded to signify the start of the morning briefing. For once, Rei was grateful for the interruption.

She skirted around the crowds to find her team, rambunctious as always for an early morning shift. As she took her seat, she briefly scanned the room. It came as no surprise that Tenzo was nowhere to be seen.

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mysticdragon3md3 · 3 years

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It's now the last day to preorder Nendoroid Fushiguro, and I'm letting the clock run down. If I had the budget, I wouldn't be doing this. I'd instead be buying Nendo Fushiguro and Nendo butai Mikazuki Munechika. But it's time to admit, I don't have the budget for characters I haven't gotten intensely attached to, nor for purely beauty piece figures. ...Or do I??? o~o;

Lately I've been staring at my Fate Nendos, which are beautiful, yes, but I have no real attachment to them! I shouldn't have bought Saber Musashi, Archer, and maybe even Saber Prototype. I've been preordering 4+ Nendos almost every month, for the past few months, on *my* pathetic budget, and I wasted money on characters I don't even know?!? I don't even watch any of the Fate series! ;o;! Why do I do this to myself?! My wallet?! ;o; At least Nendo Shiro, Fate Zero Saber, and White Rose Arthur Pendragon have proven to have very useful and versatile parts for figure photoshoots. But what am I doing spending on Fate Nendoroids????

And the same for my Touken Ranbu Nendoroids. I have 18 Touken Ranbu Nendoroids and Nendoroid Co-de. I only feel real attachment to FIVE of those characters: the Date-gumi and Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki. And sure, at the beginning of my Touken Ranbu Nendo collecting, we in the figure collecting fandom were trying to send a message to Good Smile Company that they should make more male figures, as much as their female figures. So a lot of my first Tourabu Nendos were preorders just to send a message. Then there were the useful parts. At the time, and for the longest time, there was no Nendoroid More set with hakama. That only recently got announced last week. And then the Co-de had such generic outfits, including hakama, than I knew they'd be very useful. ...They turned out not to be. Their static arms make them less versatile for photoshoots and mixing/matching. And Mikazuki's jinbei and Kashuu's and Yamatonokami's hakama have become obsolete after recent Nendoroid More sets like the yukata set and Seijin no Hi set. I used to be so excited about Nendo Co-de Kashuu's "black" hakama beause I could use it for my custom Nendo Rukia Kuchiki. But now I have Nendo Ichigo and turns out he comes with 2 hakama; 1 for him, 1 for custom-Rukia. So now even that use for Nendo Co-de Kashuu makes his purchase obsolete. ~_~; Sure, the full Nendos' hakama were useful before, but the Seijin no Hi hakama set just got announced last week. That's 4 hakama for the price of one of the Tourabu Nendos I bought for their ONE hakama. My Touken Ranbu Nendoroids are a monument to my completionist collecting wasting my money. x_x; So I vowed I would no longer get anymore Nendoroids that were not characters I loved enough that my heart would stop when i saw their figure announcements---no matter how pretty they were! I would no longer get Touken Ranbu Nendoroids that were not Date-gumi, Sanada-gumi, Akita Toshiro, or Gokotai. And in reality, when butai Nendo Tsurumaru Kuninaga got revealed, I thought he was beautiful enough to want, but i didn't recognize him, so I was thankful I wouldn't be tempted to waste money on him. Turned out it was the Date-gumi's Tsuru, and I was obligated to buy that butai Nendo. I was so torn about parting with my money, even for a figure so beautiful. I was already in the middle of 4+ Nendo preorders, almost every month, recently, and I wasn't feeling too good about buying another version of a character WHICH I ALREADY HAD. But I had setup my rule about buying Date-gumi, I like Tsuru, and this new butai Tsuru fit my criteria. I couldn't back out. No matter how much my wallet wanted to. But becasue that preorder happened so recently, I can still remember what that feels like: to reluctantly waste money on a beauty piece, even though I wasn't so in love with a character that my heart stopped when I saw their figure announcements. And that latter had happened recently too: Nendo Yuuji Itadori remined me only last month what it felt like to love a character so much, I just had to have their Nendoroid. I should feel that way about ALL my Nendoroids. Each and every one. But I don't. Because I'm a goddamned completionist collector. Ugh.

So I vowed to not get more beauty pieces and to also pass up characters I didn't absolutely adore. And then---bam! What happens at the same time? Nendoroid butai Mikazuki Munechika looking absolutely beautiful, even the silver on his armor gleaming more than the armor of Nendo Saber Prototype, plus I think I have a particular liking towards white color schemes with silver and a few black accents. AND Nendoroid Fushiguro Megumi. I'm not a big Mikazuki fan. I like him, but he's not a favorite character of mine. I like Fushiguro, I think he's a nice character, and it looks like he'll have a lot of interesting plot coming up, but I don't adore him. I mean, if I get his Nendo, shouldn't I at least be as crazy about him as Yuuji? At least Gojou is funny and has a great dynamic with Yuuji that always makes me smile---almost as much as Yuuji himself makes me smile. But even though I like Fushiguro, I can't say the same. And I have to start putting my foot down. I don't have the budget for anymore halfway liked Nendoroids/figures. Yes, butai Mikazuki is absolutely beautiful, but a lot of my Fate Nendos are also very beautiful and I don't get as much joy out of them as characters I love for who they are. Yes, Fushiguro is a nice guy, I'm enjoying Jujutsu Kaisen, and getting him would appease my completionist tendency...But he's no Yuuij Itatori, Ryuji Sakamoto, Joker, Sanada Yukimura, Date Masamune, Hinata Shoyo, Homura Akemi, etc. I have to stop spending money I don't have on characters I don't absolutely adore!...Even if I do like them...Like Fushiguro. ;________;

Gawd, this is gonna hurt! There is scientific research that the pain of missing out can hurt more than the regret of buying unnecessary things. Do I really want to risk this?

I mean, I haven't gotten very far in Jujutsu Kaisen THE ANIME, which isn't very far into the story of the manga, I believe. What if I get further into the story and I end up REALLY liking Fushiguro? I told myself like half a month ago that if Fushiguro didn't ingraciate himself to my sentimentality before his preorder closes before midnight later today, then he probably wouldn't be worth getting for me. The problem is that I haven't been keeping up with watching Jujutsu Kaisen. I have a weird habit of avoiding very good series I enjoy, because it guarantees an unproductive day. x_x; What if I had kept up with watching, his character becomes endeared to me, and I would have known by now that his Nendo would be worth getting? I mean, he's just an extra $51...And I do always feel bad when I get a Nendoroid and skip out on that character's friend...That's the reason I got Nendo Heshikiri Hasebe and his Nendo faceplate turned out to be very useful. But more than that, wouldn't I feel bad about getting Nendo Yuuji but leaving him without his friend? I mean, my best figure photos comes from characters playing off each other. And sure, I'm geting Gojou along with Yuuji, but what if Fushiguro turns out to have a lot more interesting dynamics with Yuuji than I've seen so far in the anime? What if he turns out to have mroe interesting photoshoot ideas with Yuuji, than Gojou? Damn it...I'm convincing myself to get him. x-x;;;;;;;;;

"And if I splurge on Nendo Fushiguro, then I may as well get butai Mikazuki too!" Ugh...I can just feel that thought burying itself into my brain! I shouldn't be spending money on this!

Isn't now the time to test my new rule about what Nendoroids to not buy? Here I have 2 Nendos that fit BOTH criteria. All signs are pointing to not buying them. Nendo butai Mikazuki would be the same mistake as Saber Musashi---and all my "beauty piece" Touken Ranbu Nendoroids. Nendo Fushiguro would be the same mistake as every completionist buy for a character I wasn't already crazy about.

Then again, I have made good guesses like when I bought Nendo Kageyama before watching Haikyuu. Then I ended up loving Haikyuu.

Maybe I should cram as many Jujutsu Kaisen episodes into today, to help me decide if I should preorder Nendo Fushiguro, before his preorders end tonight. If Crunchyroll works. It's been crashing repeatedly on me, for the past several---many times I've been trying to watch Jujutsu Kaisen.

Maybe I should just bite the bullet on butai Jiji, since he's only $43. He's not even $50! For that level of detail? This is a great price!

Or maybe, I should accept that I'm not crazy enough about Jiji, and that Nendo Fushiguro might get a re-release by the time his character has become endearing to me. o_o????

#figure collecting #collector problems #wallet dying #confused with myself #processing thoughts

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mikazukikannagisjourney · 4 years

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New Moon in Capricorn plus Solar Eclipse! 12/26/2019 or 12/25/2019 depending on where you are

Hi all, how were your holidays? I hope it all went great 😁 tonight's or today's new moon with eclipse is going to be in Capricorn (check the rising time for your timezone. Also, if you're gonna wait for the solar eclipse, it is mostly gonna be around West Asia going southeast. As for me, I'll be waiting for it to be at its peak, hopefully there would be a clear sky later)(update: it's effing cloudy 😢), and it's going to bring in energies that will not only help you move forward, but also help you energised and motivated. It's particularly strong because not only is it the moon phase for manifesting, with this solar eclipse, portals are gonna get opened, so more energies are gonna come in, so it's best to capitalize on that for the changes that we need, as well as want. And moving on to the new decade, in a week, Capricorn energies will only get stronger because of so many planets moving in to this sign. Might as well harness the power of the ever moving sea goat.

As a natal Capricorn moon myself, I could already feel the extra energies, it feels nice. So if you want to recharge, revitalize, reinvigorate your motivation, your personal strengths, and more so the willpower to get material stuff (because Cappy is an earth sign, which are all about the material realm and its rules and tangible things) now is the best time to harness the Capricorn energies (it IS Cardinal earth after all, and as you may or may not know, cardinal signs are movers, shakers, pushers, pioneers). Time to initiate stuff you want, and you can combine that with mutable energies from the full moon in Gemini's energies, so that you can achieve the fun, positive changes you want in your life. If you're also transmuting karma, low-vibes, having a subconscious healing or reboot, stuff that heals and nourishes your entire being, then please do keep at it. Cappy energies are here to help you push through despite the annoying feels. I don't know about others, but as I went through my karmic detox from the Gemini full moon up to this point, I felt through so much change, but I am doing my best to be excited about it. Especially the healing part. So if you're also on the same journey, I wish you well, because it's gonna be great! 😁

The stuff below is my personal reflection aka just ranting and raving lol feel free to skip below unless you want some weirdass insights 😈

Speaking of Capricorn, and it's friend Saturn, they both don't get great reps. I mean, when you think about either one or both of them, it's always the toiling, the suffering, the harshness, the having to endure hardships, working your ass off and nothing seems to change or improve, or the change is so minimal it's negligible. Basically it sucks. And believe you me, I also think of it too, despite having uber-strong Cappy energies in my own chart lol the irony of it all 😂. And this month we had full moon in Gemini too, so I guess I'm just too biased with the moons this month because I'm a Gemini sun with a Cappy moon, and boy oh boy is that an effed-up combo. Based on my experience, it's hard when you're readily excitable and super-dazzled by new stuff - the Gemmi side, but then you are also compelled to finish whatever the heck you left undone - the Cappy side. There's a guilt either way. I also complained a lot on having to learn things bit longer than others. I mean, as a Gemini I could safely say I'm OK with general concepts, the big picture, the overall composition. But as for the nitty gritty, for digesting the details, I'm a bit of a slow processor. I envy some Virgo peeps in this aspect. I mean, they're fellow Mercury peeps aka sign also ruled by Mercury but I guess their groundedness from being an earth sign gives them that edge. But it's something that I have come to terms with, and I just channel the bulldozing energies of Capricorn for whatever needs to happen for me in that aspect, instead of using Virgo energy (no offense to all Virgo peeps, I love you all but I'm not particularly chummy with those I have met in real life. They look nice from afar, and I could only love them from afar, without any interactions. Unless their moon or ascendants are of a sun sign I enjoy being friends with, like uhm, I dunno, Aquarius, Cancer, Pisces, Scorpio, sometimes Taurus, sometimes Sagittarius, or Libra, and weirdly some Capricorns, and if I failed to mention some other signs, yeah lol I don't even particularly enjoy fellow Geminis unless again, their moon or ascendants are in the signs I mentioned, cause that's a game changer. Lol nothing personal OK? *hugs*). Not because I dislike some Virgos (it's also the sign of my 12th house, the house of hidden enemies and secrets lol I am slowly disclosing my natal chart bit by bit lol zero regrets), but it's just that because I do have strong Capricorn in my natal chart, which took me about 2 years to process and integrate into my system, and finally found the answer as to why I can be too stubborn in certains aspects of my life, yeah, it's a hidden strength to count on. So despite me hating on having to bear the gifts of Saturn (through both Capricorn and the numerology of my name, uurrrrhgh), I guess it's something that I am doing my best to integrate and not reject anymore. Even if it's a bit harsh. So if you're also a lunar Capricorn and for some weird reason you resonate with my stuff, hugs and love to you.

We've come this far, and we can keep going. We're freakin seagoats, with SWAG 🐐 ♑🆒

If you're still here reading this, thank you. 😢😢😢

I hope this post served you well in this season, or in any other season if you read this at some point in the distant future. I pray you find the healing you seek, because you WILL.

Love and hugs,

三日月🌙

Mikazuki

#new moon in capricorn and solar eclipse #new moon in capricorn #new moon in capricorn 2019 #new moon in capricorn december 2019 #solar eclipse december 2019 #solar eclipse 12/26/2019 #also a message for lunar capricorns #but if you're a cappy sun or rising if it resonated for you then i'm glad

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ggdeku · 5 years

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Iron Blooded Orphans broke my heart [SPOILERS]

I finished all of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans last night, but the show I once loved made me feel hollow and unsatisfied.

I quickly fell in love with IBO and that feeling persisted through the whole first season. The journey of Tekkadan from Mars to Earth, and that amazing conclusion in Edmonton had marked it solidly as one of my all time favorite Gundam series ever. The strength of IBO to me was it's characters and world building. I was invested in the group of kids taking control of the private military company CGS to help fight for the betterment of their lives while forging deep family bonds. While most of the members of Tekkadan didn't get all that much screen time, I really enjoyed the personalities of the primary characters. Mikazuki and Orga's longtime, co-dependent relationship was really compelling, you could really feel the longtime emotional bonds between them. Kudelia's lofty goal of independence for Mars, combined with Tekkadan's underdog nature made it a group I was really engaged with and emotionally invested in. The antagonists weren't the most compelling, but the dynamic between McGillis, Gaelio, and Carta gave the opposing side some more depth beyond their immediate goals. You got a good sense of what each of those three Gjallarhorn officers were like as people. I also really enjoyed the political struggle of the series, the fight for independence from Earth is a common theme of Gundam, but I thought it was portrayed well here.

I deeply loved this show throughout all of the first season, but the direction taken in season 2 slowly beat me down until I could no longer pretend I was enjoying it. The last four episodes really kicked the wind out of my sails and felt cheap. IBO season 1 had one focused plotline that made sense and felt cohesive all the way through. Season 2 is a bunch of loosely connected mini-arcs with no clear focus, vision, or message. The way character death is handled in this season is one of main reason why I'm upset. It's not just because almost all of the primary characters are killed off, it's the way in which it occurs and the way the epilogue plays out. It doesn't lead to, or accomplish, anything. The ending feels stolen from the characters in a really sick way.

Biscuit's death in the first season had a ton of build up, and we really got to know him as a person and learn about him through his relationships to Orga and the crew. His death informed the decisions and actions of Tekkadan in a meaningful way. In season 2, it felt like the writers just wanted to kill everyone to seem sad or intense, but it doesn't work. By the time Mikazuki and Akihiro are killed in the final episode, I was numb to impact of their death. I didn't feel sad because of their circumstance, I felt sad that the writers drew out this whole series of characters deaths to the point where it felt formulaic and predictable. The deaths of Naze, Amida, and Lafter was unnecessary but drove the plot forward by having Tekkadan take revenge of Jasley Donomikols, which ultimately led to nothing.

Shino, Orga, McGillis, Hush, Akihiro, Mika. They all die losing. Tekkadan utterly loses, but is able to protect the lives of the rest of their crew. If through their sacrifice they were able to create the positive future for their friends, that would be one thing. But they don't and Gjallarhorn wins. Julieta holds the Gundam Barbatos' head on her sword triumphantly, and Rustal Elion maintains his power and influence through successful corruption, controlling the media message on the truth of Tekkadan and McGillis.

The loss and following epilogue really made me angry as I watched. For some reason, despite being shown to be a corrupt leader who crushes everything in his path, Rustal Elion decides to dismantle the Seven Stars system of leadership in Gjallarhorn and reform it as a democratic organization (he, of course, is elected to be it's first leader). Rustal lets Kudelia becomes the chairperson of the newly independent Mars Union and works with her to abolish Human Debris (slave) trafficking. The antagonist won and through his power let the rest of Tekkadan live, all knowing that he unnecessarily killed their friends and tarnished their names as a scapegoat to punish McGillis. The only reason they still live is because of Rustal and they just have to accept it. It's embarrassing and degrading. Yet, everyone seems fine with that (with the obvious exception of Ride).

Watching the epilogue made me to realize that much of the character work throughout the series really didn't make much sense. Rustal Elion specifically. As the main antagonist of the series, we know nothing about him or his ideals. We only see him act as a mustache twirling villain throughout the whole series, but for some reason he ends up enacting McGillis' idea of reforming Gjallarhorn. We have no reason as to why he has done this. It feels really unearned and like a desperate attempt to make a comment about there not being a difference between good and evil, just different pathways for change. This explanation feels extra hollow because the whole show absolutely depicted the different factions as good and evil.

Julieta and Gaelio's ending was ridiculous as well. These two awful characters get a "Let's go eat meat! Anime! lol XD" ending after a whole season of being half-baked uninteresting grunts. Julieta in particular has no character at all. "I need to get stronger" to the ultimate cliche degree. She is a consistently annoying presence that has almost no connections to other characters and offers nothing meaningful to the story through the entire season. While Gaelio wants his revenge against McGillis, their confrontation ends in a rather anticlimactic showdown. Iok Kujan is a ridiculous cartoon clown that only exists to ruin everything. His presence actively made the show worse at every turn.

McGillis' mysterious intentions were interesting in season 1 but once he started to realize his plans, and they started to blow up in his face immediately, he showed no signs of recognizing his failure and this rapid loss of control. McGillis was a frustrating idiot to watch every time he was on screen, an incompetent Char clone. We never really knew what his plan to reform Gjallarhorn was all about outside of removing the corruption from within. But as soon as he got his hands on Gundam Bael, he demanded that the entire organization follow his every order like a dictator. He didn't use his platform to expose corruption, he used it to gain power and forgot everything that led him to that point. He had no plan to counter Rustal, who was obviously going to oppose him. The show wants to portray him has some sort of scheming puppet master, but the writing consistently fails to demonstrate this in any way. Why is Bael some sort of icon of leadership? Why does McGillis think that as soon in as he pilots it everyone will obey him somehow?

With such a large focus on the Gjallarhorn side of things this season you would think we would get some sort of new insight as to the ideology or internal conflicts of the organization, but that doesn't happen. Everything presented is so shallow. Also the entire character of Almiria goes absolutely nowhere.

Tekkadan also saw some new recruits join the team this season, but they remain underdeveloped hangers-on in most cases. Hush, the most prominent of the new recruits, gets almost nothing to do and his relationship to Mika is not well developed at all. His death felt like it should have had a strong emotional impact, but because he was so underdeveloped I felt nothing. He didn't have that much interaction with the other characters this season, spending most of his screen time as Mika's assistant. He says he wants to learn from Mika, but we almost never see the two of them talk. We never get a chance to care for him or understand what he adds to the group dynamic.

The treatment of Atra and Kudelia was awful. In season 2, they are given nothing to do aside from fawn over Mika. Because it's not anime unless every woman in the show is somehow in love with our antisocial, quiet protagonist boy. Atra and Kudelia are most often seen talking to each other, and it is always about Mika. They only ever talk about him and about loving him. This does a real disservice to the characters who had so much potential. As the Founder/President of the Admoss company Kudelia could have been playing politics to help Tekkadan through the entire season. Atra could have actually helped out with the Tekkadan crew in person and had her own independent goals. Kudelia’s love for Mika was not convincing at all to me. Atra has the benefit of knowing him for most of her life and their relationship goes back the longest outside of Mika and Orga. Their romance wasn’t too out of place. But I don’t think IBO ever made a convincing case for Kudelia’s love for Mikazuki outside of his role as the “main character.” I think Mika and Atra having a baby and Kudelia becoming the step-mom after Mika’s death is a cool idea on paper, but it’s execution in the show was brutal to watch.

Season 2 felt like the writers did not know where to take the story so they threw everything they had on the page. It resulted in a muddled mess of themes and story lines with not enough time to give any characters their due. None of the deaths made much of an impact on the main crew at all. Everyone got over each death extremely quickly. You get one scene of brooding then you move on.

There is a part of me that's just angry about seeing characters I liked die, but it only serves to back up my opinion that death is often a lame way to create drama. The removal of a character is not interesting. You are eliminating a person from your story that (hopefully) had relationships, motivations, goals, and hopes. The interactions between your characters is what gives depth to your story and shows how they each grow individually and as a group. Removing all the characters removes possibility. You can show pain and suffering in other ways. Killing off almost every single one of the primary characters was a boring move.

And it makes me sad.

#gundam #iron blooded orphans #mikazuki augus #orga itsuka #kudelia aina bernstein #atra mixta #mcgillis fareed #anime #anime review #review #sunrise #crunchyroll #mobile suit gundam #spoiler #spoilers

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muffin-n-waffle · 5 years

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Channy Watches Anime Sometimes And You Should Too: Winter 2019 Edition

Yeah I’m super late with this one, and I almost debated not even making this post since there aren’t very many shows that I’m watching this time around, but I said screw that and threw caution to the wind! After all, I’m pretty used to people not really caring what I have to say on this hellsite, so I might as well talk about what I like, right? Right! So with that in mind, let’s get going with some anime!

Continuing on from last season, I’m still watching Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru (Run with the Wind), which is a two core sports anime from the Fall season. You’d think a show about running would be boring, but it’s honestly so much more than that. You know, it’s got the underdog trope and building up a team that basically becomes almost like found family, and it’s just such a well directed show. I love it. If you didn’t start watching it last season, then I totally recommend trying to pick it up now.

With that being said, let’s get into the shows from this season that I decided to give a try.

Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue (My Roommate is a Cat)

Novelist Subaru Mikazuki, who is shy and not good with other people, and Haru, the cat that has been living a severe stray life. This is a story of them suddenly living together and describes the happiness of living together from both points of view.

This one will no doubt become my favorite this season. It’s such a sweet slice of life, and I love how it gives us the perspective of both human and cat. Honestly though, pretty much every time I watch a new episode I always find myself feeling surprised when the credits start rolling. I’m usually thinking to myself, “Really? It’s over already?!”, and I think it’s amazing when a show can do that.

Yakusoku no Neverland (The Promised Neverland)

At Grace Field House, life couldn't be better for the orphans! Though they have no parents, together with the other kids and a kind "Mama" who cares for them, they form one big, happy family. No child is ever overlooked, especially since they are all adopted by the age of 12. Their daily lives involve rigorous tests, but afterwards, they are allowed to play outside. There is only one rule they must obey: do not leave the orphanage. But one day, two top-scoring orphans, Emma and Norman, venture past the gate and unearth the harrowing secret behind their entire existence. Utilizing their quick-wittedness, the children must work together to somehow change their predetermined fate.

Horror anime usually isn’t to my taste, mostly because horror in general isn’t often to my taste, but the premise of this one intrigued me. The mystery in this one keeps me on the edge of my seat with every passing episode, and I’m so glad that I decided to check it out. I’m not going to give much away here, because some shit definitely goes down in episode one, and it’s best to be surprised if you decide you want to watch it.

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen

Considered a genius due to having the highest grades in the country, Miyuki Shirogane leads the prestigious Shuchiin Academy's student council as its president, working alongside the beautiful and wealthy vice president Kaguya Shinomiya. The two are often regarded as the perfect couple by students despite them not being in any sort of romantic relationship. However, the truth is that after spending so much time together, the two have developed feelings for one another; unfortunately, neither is willing to confess, as doing so would be a sign of weakness. With their pride as elite students on the line, Miyuki and Kaguya embark on a quest to do whatever is necessary to get a confession out of the other. Through their daily antics, the battle of love begins!

This one is so much fun! I think it’s great when romance, which is one of my favorite genres, can be given a little twist like this. My only warning is that the dialogue in this show can be incredibly fast at times, which does make it a little frustrating when you’re trying to keep up with the subs while also watching what’s happening on screen, but such is the way of life for a sub viewer I suppose.

Mengqi Shishen (Adorable Food Goddess)

Ye Jiayao finds herself back in time in the body of Ye Jinxuan. After many twists, she thought that she would finally be able to lead a simple life and achieve her dream of opening the best restaurant in Huai Song. However, there are villains constantly trying to bring her down.

Trying something pretty new this time around by checking out a Chinese anime. It’s not bad, but there are times when it’s incredibly cheesy, and the direction seems to be a bit off when it comes to certain scenes. The humor appears to mostly rely heavily on the over exaggerated animation that Japanese anime often uses, but in this particular show it just sort of comes across as odd. Aside from that, the general animation is actually pretty good, and I’ve been blown away by all the fight/action scenes that are scattered throughout.

Aside from that, the main draw to this show for me is the romance. I love the cheesy tropes, like give me that cheese any day of the week, plus it ends up taking place in a historical setting which is also right up my alley!

So an honorable mention of sorts.... I decided against watching this show after a couple of episodes, mostly because I hate love triangles, and I really wasn’t into all the drama it was spewing out. But, regardless, this show does have a straight BANGER of an op that I definitely recommend you check out right here. The imagery of the animation is wonderfully artistic in my opinion, and the voice of the singer is just so emotionally raw. I absolutely love it, and just regret that I couldn’t enjoy the anime it belongs to.

#kaze ga tsuyoku fuiteiru #doukyonin wa hiza tokidoki atama no ue #yakusoku no neverland #meng qi shi shen #run with the wind #my roommate is a cat #the promised neverland #adorable food goddess #anime

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