#god is it centered around natsume

[kazemiya]

OH MY GOSH ECCENTRICS THEYRE GETTING AN MV AND ANIME ISTG FINALLY

#eccentrics #god is it centered around natsume #finally an mv too

[mihai-florescu]

okay hi. My friend and I were like what if shuffle units did cover songs and this is what we came up with .

Keito, Adonis, chiaki, nazuna, tatsumi - Sugar song to bitter step by unison square garden with keito Adonis centers

tetora koga hiiro wataru ritsu- sekai wa sore o ai to yobunda ze by sambomaster with tetora and koga centers

Eichi, sora, hokuto, mitsuru , nagisa - cruel angels thesis with eichi sora centers

Kanata,mayoi,sena,Hajime, kuro- aun no beats with kanata and Hajime centers

Rinne,tsumugi,jun,arashi- +Reverse by niki feat lily with Jun and Arashi centers

Tsukasa, Shinobu, tori , Yuta, subaru- berry go by Freezer! With tsukasa and shinobu centers

Leo , HIMERU, Shu, Rei,Natsume - undercover milgram with leo and himeru centers

Makoto , niki, midori, Aira, Tomoya - nearer my god Japanese version by foxing with niki center (we got too attached to this group to switch it around )

Mao,kohaku,Mika ,Karou, ibara - why i gave up on music by yorushika with kohaku and ibara centers

Hiyori,souma ,yuzuru ,mama,hinata- Miiha by chinozo with yuzuru and souma centers .

CRUEL'S ANGEL'S THESIS WITH EICHI, NAGISA, HOKUTO, SORA AND MITSURU IS EVERYTHING i need to see that... team god yet again back together (nagisa and mitsuru), sora and eichi is such a good combo (how does natsume feel about sora working with that man...) and hokuto is shinji. To me.

#ask #kamp⚡️ #these are all so good im just eichiP first and foremost

[sakumasmut]

oh my god this idea has been rotting in my brain for so long but maybe some hcs about ibara and natsume pursuing the same person? (reader of course) they’re both so… malicious i need them so bad. it can be nsfw too >:)

it BETTER be nsfw this is a smut account for a reason lmao

Ibara and Natsume Pursuing the Same Person

-Ibara is the first one to notice that someone else is interested in the person he likes. He sees Natsume flirting with you in the ES building and is quick to distract you, more than unhappy at this turn of events

-He’s annoyed that you would even entertain someone else, especially since Natsume is also an idol, but he knows how to win

-He waits until Natsume has a Switch live planned that he absolutely can’t cancel, then asks you to come visit him

-Ibara pins you down and you quickly turn into putty in his arms, letting him have his way with you, not even realizing he’s filming the entire scene with hidden cameras

-you’re absolutely right in saying these two are malicious. Ibara sends the videos of him fucking you straight to Natsume, but instead of making him give up, it just makes him angrier

-Natsume retaliates by pulling you aside when Ibara has a meeting and marking your skin in clearly visible areas, leaving your hole dripping with his cum to trail down your thighs

-Ibara finds out immediately of course, and he’s furious that Natsume hasn’t given up

-The only way to get you wrapped around his finger is to ensure you fall in love with only him, and so they both spark a war of love with you in the center

-Natsume spends the most time with you, his schedule more flexible and using it to his advantage

-What Ibara lacks in time he makes up for in lavish gifts, making sure you know it’s all from him

-In bed they fuck you hard and both demand you tell them that they’re the only one for you, but it becomes hard to say it with pure honesty. Still you say it, just to satisfy them

-So congrats, you have two redheads fucking the life out of you that hate each other. You’re going to have to deal with their rivalry soon enough, but for now you can enjoy being spoiled rotten

#enstars smut #ensemble stars smut #enstars x reader smut #natsume sakasaki smut #ibara saegusa smut #nsft es!! #request

[365runesoftheamalgamations]

Hiya Natsume!! It's my 2 month anniversary on writeblr today!

Anyway, happy Storyteller Saturday to you!

"Are there any things that you think people should know about Molly Connors from Grayland's Shadows?"

hello and how are you?

OH THE GODS, CONGRATULATIONS AND HAPPY DAY MIDNIGHT! We hope today is wonderful for you and filled with little sparks of happiness! Two months on the Writeblr is so exciting! You have come so far too, happy anniversary! ٩(๑❛ワ❛๑)و

And Happy Storyteller Saturday!

Thank you for the question! We are happy to see that you are interested in Molly! We don't normally talk about her a lot, so this was a pleasant surprise! c:

Content Tag List (ask to be added or removed) @a-completely-normal-writer | @aalinaaaaaa | @autumnalwalker | @bardic-tales | @emersonjydestein | @enchanted-lightning-aes | @fearofahumanplanet | @howsweetthewords | @jessica-writes22 | @junypr-camus | @lockejhaven | @midnights-melodiverse | @papercutsunset | @talesofsorrowandofruin

But let's see, some things to note about Molly Conners!

Molly is a child of curiosity entirely, and as such, she is instantly enamored with the very idea of the soft socialite that is Grayland Shade Anderson. This leads to so many things, and counts for a good narrative that hangs around in the story.

Molly is aromantic, so a lot her thoughts and considerations come from a different realm of intrigue and interest than some might seem.

Molly likes to think of herself as openminded and nonjudgmental, and she tries to see things from all of the perspectives available. She is a little more than confident in this thought of herself though, and she sometimes finds herself in the evidence that would be absolutely contrary to her little self-centered belief.

Molly takes her coffee with creamer and nothing else, and prefers that her coffee hold more of the bitter liquid than the light sweetener. This leads to a very unattractive color of her cup, in Grayland's opinion.

Molly favorite phrase to use when things evoke reactions from her is, "F-ck that." Which, again in Grayland's opinion, is very crass and somewhat unbefitting of her.

This Ask Led To 214 Words! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و

Into The Word Box: 5,015

#Runes of Knowledge #storyteller saturday #sts #grayland.shadow #character chatter #OC: Molly Conners #writings #writingcommunity #writerscommunity #into the word box #onto the next hundred+

[tomorrowedblog]

Friday Releases for September 16

Friday is the busiest day of the week for new releases, so we've decided to collect them all in one place. Friday Releases for September 16 include See How They Run, Los Espookys S2, Real Bad Flights, and more.

See How They Run

See How They Run, the new movie from Tom George, is out today.

In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. When world-weary Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and eager rookie Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) take on the case, the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid theater underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.

Drifting Home

Drifting Home, the new movie from Hiroyasu Ishida, is out today.

Sixth-graders Kosuke and Natsume grew up in the same apartment building as childhood friends. During summer break, while playing in the apartment building that is set to be demolished, they find themselves caught in a strange phenomenon. All they can see around them is a vast sea. Will Kosuke and the others make it back to their world? A journey of farewells in summer has just begun.

The Woman King

The Woman King, the new movie from Gina Prince-Bythewood, is out today.

The Woman King is the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen. Inspired by true events, The Woman King follows the emotionally epic journey of General Nanisca (Oscar-winner Viola Davis) as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life. Some things are worth fighting for…

The Silent Twins

The Silent Twins, the new movie from Agnieszka Smoczynska, is out today.

THE SILENT TWINS is the astounding true story of twin sisters who only communicated with one another. As a result, they created a rich, fascinating world to escape the reality of their own lives.

Pearl

Pearl, the new movie from Ti West, is out today.

Filmmaker Ti West returns with another chapter from the twisted world of X, in this astonishing follow-up to the year’s most acclaimed horror film. Trapped on her family’s isolated farm, Pearl must tend to her ailing father under the bitter and overbearing watch of her devout mother. Lusting for a glamorous life like she’s seen in the movies, Pearl’s ambitions, temptations, and repressions all collide, in the stunning, technicolor-inspired origin story of X’s iconic villain.

Do Revenge

Do Revenge, the new movie from Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, is out today.

A dethroned queen bee at a posh private high school strikes a secret deal with an unassuming new student to exact revenge on each other’s enemies.

Casablanca Beats

Casablanca Beats, the new movie from Nabil Ayouch, is out today.

Director Nabil Ayouch (Razzia, Horses of God) drew on his own experience opening a youth cultural center in Casablanca for this story of a former rapper named Anas who takes a job teaching hip hop in an underprivileged neighborhood. Despite differences in identity, religion, and politics, Anas encourages his students to bond together and break free from the weight of restrictive traditions in order to follow their passion and express themselves through the arts. Featuring a dynamic ensemble of first-time actors, many of them students of the real-life cultural center where the film was shot, Casablanca Beats is a vibrant and inspiring coming-of-age hip hop musical with a decidedly feminist edge. Mixing intimate yet high stakes drama with infectious musical sequences, the film transports audiences to a lively and contemporary Casablanca, far from the clichés about the Arab world.

I Used To Be Famous

I Used To Be Famous, the new movie from Eddie Sternberg, is out today.

Vince used to be in the hottest boy band around. Now the troubled former popstar is alone and desperate. He dreams of making a comeback and starts performing in the streets of Peckham, in the hope that someone, anyone, will listen. An impromptu jam with Stevie, an autistic young drummer with an incredible gift for rhythm, sparks an unexpected friendship between the two misunderstood musicians. Together they form a unique bond through the power of music.

Confess, Fletch

Confess, Fletch, the new movie from Greg Mottola, is out today.

In this delightful comedy romp, Jon Hamm stars as the roguishly charming and endlessly troublesome Fletch, who becomes the prime suspect in a murder case while searching for a stolen art collection. The only way to prove his innocence? Find out which of the long list of suspects is the culprit--from the eccentric art dealer and a missing playboy to a crazy neighbor and Fletch's Italian girlfriend. Crime, in fact, has never been this disorganized.

God’s Country

God’s Country, the new movie from Julian Higgins, is out today.

When a college professor in the remote mountains of the American West confronts two hunters she catches trespassing on her property, she’s drawn into an escalating battle of wills with catastrophic consequences.

Moonage Daydream

Moonage Daydream, the new movie from Brett Morgen, is out today.

A cinematic odyssey exploring David Bowie’s creative and musical journey.

Santo

Santo, the new TV series from Carlos López, is out today.

Two cops on opposite sides of the Atlantic engage in a desperate hunt for a vicious international drug dealer whose face has never been revealed.

Los Espookys S2

The second season of Los Espookys, the TV series from Julio Torres, Ana Fabrega, and Fred Armisen, is out today.

More fantastic. More mysterious. More Espookier than before.

Real Bad Flights

Real Bad Flights, the new album from Pink Siifu & Real Bad Man, is out today.

Four Songs

Four Songs, the new album from Blood Orange, is out today.

#Movies #TV #Music #News

[authallan]

Konosuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!, Vol. 1

Author: Natsume Akatsuki, Kevin Steinbach, et al.

Main Topic or Theme of the Book Konosuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! is a light novel that explores the comedic adventures of Kazuma Satou, a recently deceased teenager who is transported to a fantasy world by the goddess Aqua. The main theme of the book revolves around the unconventional and humorous aspects of the fantasy genre, offering a satirical perspective on typical isekai (another world) storytelling.

Key Ideas or Arguments Presented Satirical approach to the isekai genre and fantasy tropes. The contrast between the expectations and reality of living in a fantasy world. Emphasis on the quirky and flawed characterization of the protagonist, Satou.

Chapter Number or Main Sections of the Book Introduction Chapter 1: A Reluctant Reunion Chapter 2: Becoming Adventurers Chapter 3: Panty Raid Showdown Chapter 4: Friend Turned Foe Chapter 5: Vanir the Devil

Key Takeaways: Expect the unexpected: The book subverts common fantasy and isekai tropes by highlighting the comedic and flawed aspects of the characters and their adventures. Quirky humor: The novel offers a lighthearted and humorous take on the genre, often incorporating witty dialogue and situational comedy. Emphasis on character dynamics: The relationships between the characters take center stage, creating entertaining and comedic interactions.

Author's Background and Qualifications Natsume Akatsuki, the primary author of the book, is a Japanese novelist known for his works in the light novel genre. He is recognized for his humorous writing style and ability to deliver engaging comedic narratives. Kevin Steinbach serves as the translator of the English version of the book, bringing the unique humor and storytelling to Englishspeaking readers.

Comparison to Other Books on the Same Subject Konosuba distinguishes itself from other isekai light novels by providing a satirical and comedic take on the genre instead of a typical power fantasy or epic adventure narrative. The book's emphasis on humor and unconventional storytelling sets it apart from many other entries in the genre.

Target Audience or Intended Readership The target audience for Konosuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! includes fans of the isekai genre who are looking for a lighthearted and humorous spin on the traditional fantasy narrative. Readers who enjoy comedic and satirical works with a focus on character interactions will also find the book appealing.

Reception or Critical Reviews of the Book Konosuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! has received positive reviews for its charming characters, witty dialogue, and unique blend of humor and fantasy. Many readers appreciate its refreshing approach to the isekai genre, finding it entertaining and engaging.

Other Book Recommendations on the Topic If you enjoyed Konosuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!, you may also enjoy the following light novels: Overlord by Kugane Maruyama That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime by Fuse No Game No Life by Yuu Kamiya

Biggest Takeaway and Point The biggest takeaway from Konosuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! is its ability to offer a fresh and comedic perspective on the isekai genre. By subverting expectations and focusing on amusing character dynamics, the book provides readers with an entertaining and lighthearted adventure in a fantasy world.

#comic books #book series #konosuba

[mechanicalinertia]

What’s next for Divine Patronage?

So my Ranma / Ah My Goddess! / other miscellaneous anime that take place in 1990′s Tokyo fanfic has become more popular than anything else I’ve ever written. I may have classes but this is my designated ‘leisure activity’ now for sure.

Anyway, I have a rough idea for this initial ‘arc’, and how it’ll end. Fine. Whatever. More importantly, though, I have continuing ideas about how to cross over more and more mid-90′s anime and other things into this mishmash where Urd and Ranma have to ‘problem-solve’ things. Christ I wrote like 9 possible arc setups last night; it’ll take me years to make good on them if I do at all.

That’s why I’m a-posting brief summaries of them here, so if I give up on these people can just steal em’.

1. CRIMES OF THE MISHIMA GROUP AGAINST GOOD TASTE

Sayoko Mishima and her zaibatsu god-nap Keiichi and in doing so royally piss off Belldandy. Urd has to snatch the poor kid, who is now a minor god, out from Sayoko’s clutches before Belldandy just loses it and nukes earth in silent rage. Ranma can’t beat the compound alone, though, so Urd turns to Akiko Natsume - the actual head of Mishima - and her all purpose combat android for some help. Unfortunately, the android has a cat brain. Cue Ranma struggling to confront his fears to save the world.

Crossover with: All Purpose Cultural Catgirl Nuku Nuku, a medium-obscure OVA from the 90′s starring Megumi Hayashibara as the wacky cat-bot-girl with Saeko Shimazu (Kodachi’s voice among others) as Akiko. Good fun.

2. FATE / STRANGE; DAYS

Remember Lind, the Valkyrie from the Angel Eater Arc of AMG? Well, she back. She intervened in Fate / Zero’s Holy Grail War (assumed to take place around 1994) and contracted w/ Kiritsugu the way Urd did with Ranma. Now Kiri may have lost all his lady companions, but he gets Illya back from Germany and is raising her alongside Shirou with the help of Illya’s wacky maids. Maybe lil’ Rin and Sakura are involved, too, I dunno.

Anyway, Lind considers the Sailor Senshi a threat to the divine order (they do appear to predate human civilization) - especially since Saturn’s Glaive of Silence is believed to be the Norse Gungnir, Spear of Destiny, Odin’s superweapon that could (even in the OG myths) rewrite reality itself to render enemies nonexistent.

So Lind gets Kiritsugu, Arturia Saber, and Prisma Illya to go to Tokyo and track down Sailor Saturn with Ranma’s help. Then they end up teleporting to the distant past of the Silver Milennium, back when the Senshi’s magic rendered the other planets of the Solar System inhabitable. Cue a string of John Carter references.

Crossover with: Fate / Zero, Fate Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya. Might even separate the Fate story from the whole Saturn / Gungnir subplot - they’re just hunting Kirei and Gil, then. Sure. Fine.

3. THE FUTURE IS HERE AND IT SUCKS

Skuld time travels into the future, only to find that almost every single timeline ends with humanity being wiped out before the 22nd century - perhaps by SM’s Great Freeze, perhaps by other factors. Unfortunately, she forgot to close her possible-future-timeline portals properly, which leads to various cyberpunk futures bouncing off one another for supremacy in 1996.

(Look I wanted to just fuckin do BGC or GITS crossover. Couldn’t decide. Why not both?)

Crossover with: BGC 2032 (Or my 2069 rebot), Ghost in the Shell, Silent Mobius (maybe)

4. GAMES OF THE GODS

The obligatory ‘gang plays an RPG’ sitcom episode, only a) it’s Cyberpunk 2020 because I’ve read that system’s books, and b) the goddesses all bring their boytoys along to be sucked into the game world as their player characters. (Urd gets Ranma, Bell gets Keiichi, Skuld is the GM, Peorth gets Ryoga, Lind gets Kiritsugu) (I guess I better do an arc where Peorth patronizes Ryoga to screw with Urd...)

5. GUNS, BOMBS, ROCK N’ ROLL

Ranma gets dragged along by Urd for a vacation, theoretically to LA. But then after getting bored of the Obligatory Beach Episode, Urd rediscovers that she has a daughter in Chicago - Rally Vincent. She and Ranma rush off to screw up the events of the manga and protect her daughter from the brainwashing of a lesbian rapist crime lord. (I wish I was making that last bit up). Maybe Priss of BGC tags along to really hammer in the WACKY KENICHI SONODA CROSSOVER thing?

Crossover with: Gunsmith Cats, Riding Bean, maybe BGC

6. HEISEI BLOSSOMS BLOOMING

The Japanese government decides to reactivate the Teikoku Kagekidan project, this time using idoru as the mecha pilots instead of the Takarazura Revue thing they had going on in the 20′s. The K-on girls audition, the Love Live girls audition, someone in the Ranma cast or something tries out as well. Mecha are now nuclear-powered instead of steam-powered (whatever that means)

Crossover with: Original Sakura Wars franchise, Tite Kubo iteration non-involved. maybe K-on and Love Live

7. RANMA’S LUDICROUS EXCURSION: STAR-DIAMOND DUST IS UNCRUSADERABLE

Ranma gets a stand. Urd thinks it’s like her angel. Yare yare daze.

Crossover with: What do you think, genius?

8. ETERNAL SUMMER

Ranma gets trapped in a temporal anomaly centered around Tomobiki Town. Now it’s August 1982, Ataru and Lum are about to get married, and unless he can stop the total breakdown of the pocket reality within the seven days before the time loop resets he’ll become part of it forever. Trippy New Wave Existentialist Bullshit - Screwball Comedy meets Body Horror. Also see: Higurashi.

Crossover with: Urusei Yatsura

9. TRICOWBOYOUTLAW BEBOPGUNSTAR: EFF YOU, SPACE COWBOY

A valiant attempt to crossover all three of the late 90′s ‘Cowboy shonen’ anime of the time in one universe. A shared universe? Nah. We’re probably just gonna transplant all the characters into 90′s Tokyo again and watch the body count pile up.

Crossover with: Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Trigun. Oh, and maybe one of those ‘robo-maid’ shows from the aughties (Hand Maid May, Mahoromatic, Steel Angel Kurimi), just to fuck with everyone.

10. COPS AND ROBOTS

Ranma gets in trouble with the police for sneaking onto the Babylon Project, forced into community service, and then ends up blackmailed into the long-running grudgematch between the SV2 Labor Squad and the Tokyo Highway Patrol.

Crossover with: You’re Under Arrest, Patlabor (original OVA mostly)

11. SUPERIOR AUTOMATRONIC DISPUTE RESOLUTION: GO NAGAI EAT YOUR HEART OUT

Skuld gets in a fight with some deities from some rival pantheons, and as a proper grudgematch resolution they all resolve to build Giant Robots and then Battle Royale them. Ranma has to pilot one.

Crossover with: NOTHING.

12. THE HOUND OF ULSTER BARKS AT MIDNIGHT

Cu Chullain, husbando of Ex-Valkyrie and turncoat Irish goddess Scathach, teams up with Ranma in Dublin to stop IRA extremists from resurrecting the Tuatha De Dannan, specifically the Morrigan. A teenage Bazett (from Fate) shows up and gets all fangirly.

13. TALES FROM THE OOPS

An abandoned particle accelerator built in the 80′s near Stockholm may or may not cause Ragnarok. Ranma and some edgy Swedish Teenagers have to deal with 90′s recession bullshit and clean the place out

Crossover with: Tales from the Loop, Things From the Flood

That’s about it, honestly. I have other things I’d like to crossover with, tbh, mostly mecha stuff. Among them:

- Cannon God Exaxxion

- Eva

- Gundam UC

- Muv-Luv

-Negmia / another Ken Akumatsu trashpile (and I mean that in the best possible way)

Shit this is fun. Imma make another one of these posts with even more ludicrious crossovers later. Peace out.

#all purpose cultural cat girl nuku nuku #ranma 1/2 #ah my goddess #fanfiction #fate zero #fate kaleid liner prisma illya #ghost in the shell #bubblegum crisis #cyberpunk 2020 #gunsmith cats #riding bean #sakura wars #sakura taisen #urusei yatsura #cowboy bebop #outlaw star #you're under arrest #patlabor #k-on! #love live #megacrossover #cu chulainn #tales from the loop #things from the flood

[sleepymouses]

tagged by @littlepetbee, thank uuuu <3 i spent way too long thinking about htis lol,

Rules: pick 5 shows, then answer the following questions, tag a bunch o ppls to do it too (if y’all want to, supes no pressure or anything!)

Natsume yuujinchou  (a teenage orphan who sees spirits/monsters sets out to free the spirits who were bound in magical contract by his grandmother after he inherits a powerful book, aided primarily by a spirit who appears as an exasperated fat cat (who is just as fun as he sounds). Titular character is like my Fave boy in the whole world, he’s so kind and soft despite all the hardships he’s faced, the series has very gentle pacing/character development, and each episode is a carefully crafted lil story that have often moved me to tears, chuckles, or outright chinhands of fondness as u watch natsume slowly find a home in the world and amongst the humans &spirits around him. big focus on friendships, there’s like no romance with any of the main characters, lots of cool different creatures (most of whom arent all that scary once u get to know them), its just literally everything i could ever dream for in a show and it exists! <3)

Leverage (team of modern day robin hoods ruin rich peoples’ lives via  delightfully crafted spy cons to give back to the regular folks the rich people hurt. Extremely good, strong found family vibes, and v cathartic)

Brooklyn 99 (follows diverse cast of character who make up a NY precinct. Hilarious, immensely wholesome & groundbreaking, & probs the most lighthearted crime show besides like psych tbh)

Blackspot/Zone Blanche (spoopy french/belgium crime series set in a small village way out in the mountains surrounded by misty, mysterious and murdery woods. eerie and atmospheric, but also like one of my fave characters (everyone calls him teddy bear) keeps a pet guinea pig at work, so it’s not entirely grim and bleak)

Longmire (a modern western crime drama centering around the titular sheriff and others in their small town wyoming county, well written and lot of chracter development revealed alongside some really good case mysteries bc i love trying to figure out whodunits apparently based on a book series well adored by dads btw)

who is your favorite character in 2? (leverage) ahhh,,, this is hard... Eliot maybe? like Hardison is baby ofc, but i relate to elliot a ton (i think if i was on a team i would want to be the hitter tbh?) and love the subversion of so many action hero tropes that he is, also endlessly amused by how very put upon he is despite all his rad/random skills

who is your least favorite character in 1? (natsume yuujinchou) oh seiji matoba for sure, he can go eat a mouldy tree stump. absolutely evil nasty dude

what is your favorite episode of 4? (blackspot) the end of the road. great opening, didnt end up too devastating unlike a lot of the cases, Hermann was gr8, cool twist i hadnt super expected in the plot which was neat.

what is your favorite season of 5? (longmire) probs 1, walter reeally started to piss me off being Such A Man in later seasons, also me being extremely anxious about Henry and his life choices later, that creepy stalker storyline starting up with Someone and when Someone else in the main cast got died really suddenly and upsettingly later on as well, also when a weird relationship started between some of the characters that i really aint feeling so. before all that happened was nice (also sorry if this is super vague, im trying to avoid spoilers)

who is your favorite couple in 3? (B99) Besides Jake/Amy and Holt/Kevin (bc oviously theyre gr8) uh.. i know it was a long time ago and didnt last very long, but i thought rosa and marcus were really sweet? it brought another layer out to her character, even when they broke up that helped rosa starting to show emotional vulnerability and all, even tho it ended it was still just, idk, i liked them.

who is your favorite couple in 2? (leverage) Does trio count, cos Parker/Eliot/Harding 4 life yo

what is your favorite episode of 1? (natsume yujinchou) i have sooo many faves ahhh!!! i dont think i could pick just one on pain of death, every episode is acrefully cosntructed gem all on its own and i have too many that i love and adore to pick jsut one :((

what is your favorite episode of 5? (longmire) Dog soldier!! ive rewatched that one a ton, so so many good bits, really satisfying resolution of the case despite the shitty system that was revealed, and i rmr getting chills by the end the first time i saw it.

what is your favorite season of 2? (leverage) i guess season 1? just, idk, everything being set up and watching all these grumpies/less grumpies who have no plans to stay together start working together as a baby team, and just the joy of seeing their first heist together with the first plot twist, just.. such a delight, but all seasons that ive seen so far were all excellent, it’s a stellar show

how long have you watched 1? (natsume yujinchou) oh idk exactly, like years and years man... defs the longest out of all on this list

how did you become interested in 3? (b99) i think it was just on netflix way back in season 1 and i started watching it, loved it and never stopped? i think that might have even been before it got rlly popular lol

who is your favorite actor in 4? (blackspot) i dont rlly know any of these french peeps? but teddybear’s one of my fave characters, so hopefully the person who plays him is also cool, in which case hubert delattre (if not, Suliane Brahim does a v good job as the lead)

which do you prefer, 1, 2, or 5? (natsume yujinchou, leverage or longmire) um... real torn between natsume and leverage here, they’re both such lovely gems that do found family so, so well.. leverage is a team of modern robin hood-esque spies with brilliant writing and exciting heists and multiple delightful plot twists every episode and great character building and so much catharticism in ruining evil rich peoples lives.

but natsume’s title character is one of my very favorite characters ever, hes been through so much but he becomes the most kindest and thoughtful boy ever, and its so, so soft and gentle in its development of characters and their slow build of getting to know each other and becoming friends, and the interactions with the paranormal world are very rarely entirely malicious/scary, and there’s pretty well no romance, at least like no romance for plot/with the main characters anyways, and there’s lots of female characters who have important roles but arent sexualized/killed off for man feels/exist for romo (which sadly cannot be said about a lot of media, especially manga/anime tbh, even leverage does not win entirely on that front).. its defintiely my favorite anime ever (i dont watch loads, but literally no other one can ever come close to topping its perfection),

i guess tho, leverage is over, and natsume is still technically ongoing, so i guess for that then i have to go with natsume?

which show have you seen more episodes of, 1 or 3? (natsume yuujinchou or b99) Natsume for sure, they’re so short its easy to power thru like half a season in an afternoon

if you could be anyone from 4, who would you be? (blackspot) i would probably want to be someone who didnt live in villefranche actually haha uh, it’s a pretty spoopity place.. even some of the characters i do like make some Bad decisions that are v bothersome. Dr. Leila barami seems to have a good head on her shoulders tho, so if i Must be a character here then let’s go with her

would a crossover between 3 and 4 work? (b99 or blackspot) oh god... the cheery upbeat department at the 99 meet up with a grim, misty tiny mountain forest village with bleak day to day life, solving crimes amidst small town paranoia and weird maybe cult-related conspiracies and honestbhly something/s paranormal and menacing going on in the woods?? i just... cant see any of the characters even interacting lol, im just picturing jake’s confused befuddled face when he hears something weird but like x 10000

pair two characters in 1 who would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple? (natsume yujinchou) hm... i mean, one of the things i love about Natsume is that there arent really any romo relationships tbh? at least not with any of the main characters in the main storyline (so far), just like the odd one-off of minor characters (and takashi’s adopted parents ofc, but that’s different). so, yeah, i cant really think of one (although i think the big fandom fave ship of takashi and his worst enemy is rlly.. nope, and i dont know what’s going on there? takashi and tanama however, that would make sense, tho it is not unlikely so i cant answer this question with them)

overall, which show has the better storyline, 3 or 5? (b99 or longmire) b99! cos ya know my annoyances with some of the stuff happening later on in longmire lol, b99 just got better n better as it went along, and it’s still going :’)

which has the better theme music, 2 or 4? (leverage or blackspot) blackspot has a real good eerie atmospheric theme which is gr8 and i love it <3 (leverage’s tune is like, elevator music/cheesy jazzy spy tune, which does suit it tho lol)

and idk, anyone bored and stuck at home who wants to do this? no pressure if ur like nah but if u wanna go ahead.... @creepy-friend-of-darkness @anna-wa @rhinky-thingz @rexbasileus @aeolian-harp @warrenkoles @softbrobarnes @damnitttana @cluelesswolf @moondoggiestyle @blloodorangeisthenewblack @my-nail-beds-suck @frankiecolours @savvylikeyeahhh @lake-effectkidx @justhugharry @casualmisandry @j4ya @galaxygalpals @thesecondwarm @dealwright @knipperdollin @curlycombover @kaspbrakeddie (and if i didnt tag u and u still wanna do this, consider yeself tagged)

#littlepetbee #long post #littlepetlouis #thank u for tagging me in these <333 sorry im rarely here to do them but i appreciate em and try to keep track when im on #heather watches things #also this was a fun thing to think about bc urgh i am so tired of same old shit day in and out these days oof #natsume #k now im real emosh about natsume ahh #leverage #also come scream at me if u watch any of these ahh #longmire #askables #black spot #b99

[owletstarlet]

Never Felt Like Any Blessing, Chapter 6

Kaname’s staring at his palms, lying open in his lap. He doesn’t have the faintest sense of how long he’s been doing this, or sitting here, in dirt and underbrush with the air thick and still and the light unchanging around him. But he knows, somehow, that he wouldn’t be able to get up, to move from this spot if he tried. He wants to try, should try—this is wrong, it’s all wrong, he’s sure of it, but every time he tries to grasp onto the why, it’s like water trickling through his fingers.

“You’re trembling,” notes a dispassionate voice, not a stone’s throw away.

The voice sends a jolt of fear through him—that voice is far and away the most wrong of all—but it’s like moving through molasses just trying to lift his head.

“What, you’re not going to launch yourself at me like like you did the last time we spoke?” A considering pause. “Though I suppose you couldn’t, could you?”

And the masked youkai has dropped down in front of him, suddenly, cross-legged, toothy grin broad as ever as it leans forward.

“Where…is this?” Kaname’s voice feels hoarse from disuse.

The creature shrugs its thin shoulders, but the grin slips. “Could be a dream. Could just be the inside of your own head. Or something between, I suppose.” A delicate snort, and the creature turns its head a bit to nod towards the center of the clearing. “How macabre, though, for the imaginings of a human child. There’s still blood on the ground, just over there. The leaves are all dark with it…I wonder if there’d be any more grisly little bits of him left behind, if I cared to look.”

At that, he does move, as much as he’s able—which isn’t very much at all. He’s just barely inched himself forward when he’s falling right back again with a half-choked cry, smacking his head against the tree trunk he’d been apparently resting against. And his chest—oh god, his chest, it’s like it’s been run right through with a pike, pinned to the bark behind him, he can’t move, can’t breathe, can’t breathe—

Or maybe, he can, he realizes muzzily, some nebulous amount of time later. That, or he doesn’t need to, here. Because he’s stuck to the tree still, gazing up through streaming eyes at the youkai now standing over him.

“My, my,” it says. “It seems that was foolish. Best to stay still, after all.”

And Kaname does just that, it’s all he can do, even when the creature leans in close, reaches out with a long, pallid finger, and swipes just beneath Kaname’s lower lip. It’s jarring in itself, to see the dark blood on the creature’s fingertip—he hadn’t realized he was bleeding—but then the creature’s tongue darts out to lap the blood up. A beat of considering silence, before the creature lets out a reedy sigh. “As I suspected,” it says. “Not an ounce of flavor to it. I should hope that won’t be the case once I get my hands on the real thing, after all this.”

Real or not, Kaname feels his stomach roiling. And now he can feel the coppery warmth on his tongue, filling up his mouth, leaking from his lips, and it’s all he can do not to gag on it. His chest is on fire, his vision is going hazy—or maybe it’s the very forest around him shifting and turning formless—but the youkai is there through it all, in absolute clarity, squatting in front of his sprawled-out legs now. Its smile has vanished, thin gray lips pursed.

“You know, as collateral, you are rapidly becoming more trouble than you’re worth.”

So let me go, Kaname thinks, desperately, but can’t quite muster the breath to say.

“I cannot,” the creature says, dryly, as though it heard. “Slipping into your head at inopportune times is one thing. But to dissipate the mark I’d have to get close, and I cannot; the wolf-beast has seen to that. In any case, I’d not be so inclined, after the grief you’ve given me. I’ve told you so before. Your beloved is sure to make for the tastier meal, but I’ll be sure to relish you too, if only out of spite. Though you know,” it continues, thoughtful, propping its chin on its hand, “from what I’ve seen, thanks to you, I have begun to speculate. On that beloved of yours. And his maddening collection of…disciples. Lapdogs. What have you. And how a frail little slip of a human child could has gotten such an irritatingly formidable creature to do his bidding. Or a Lord of the Marshes, for that matter. Or any number of the Devourers of Man he’s got in that merry little band of his.” The creature reaches out once more to swipe its fingers across Kaname’s chin, at the blood still dribbling steadily there, but when it withdraws them it doesn’t taste, merely studies the bright red smeared against the gray-white of its skin. “The child’s no exorcist,” it continues, voice gone pensive. “If he was, he certainly wouldn’t need that priest to sit there muttering his obnoxious spells all day…no. From his own furtive whispers to his beast and the others, I’m led to believe that the child’s in possession of something terribly interesting. Something that I think I shall like to have for myself.”

Kaname can’t answer; the youkai’s words are slipping into one another and swirling past his ears near-meaningless to him as the edges of his vision grow misty and strange.

“I don’t suppose he’s enlightened you on the matter, has he?”

He grasps at the frayed ends of his concentration—Natsume, it’s about Natsume, you need to listen—but it’s no good. Instead he stares.

“Ah.” The youkai smirks at his silence. “It’s just as well. It would be too easy, if I could just root around in your mind for all the answers, would it not?” He taps Kaname’s face, two blood-darkened fingertips right between the eyes. “Be consoled, though. Perhaps he doesn’t confide in you, but he has wept for you.”

That much cuts through the viscous fog in his head, even if the words surrounding it elude him, and the noise that escapes him is an odd sort of whistling gasp. The creature snorts, a light, near-satisfied sound, and rolls back on its heels.

“It was just the once, that I heard. And I’d say he tried to be very quiet about it, so as to not disturb your healers, they all look harried enough. But it was practically deafening to me. And how peculiar that is,” it mutters, cocking its head. “That he’d mourn you, before you’re even gone. Perhaps he has given you up for lost, after all. As it is, it’s astonishing that humans have time for anything else, outside of mourning one another. You all die so frightfully quick.” The last words are punctuated by a tap tap tap of spindly fingers, another two between Kaname’s eyes, and one just above his heart. He scarcely recognizes the odd garbled keening that follows as coming from his own lips, at the renewed burst of the agony still gnawing away at him beneath the skin, insatiable.

“Nothing to say, then?” A sigh. “You really do make for dreadful company. A pity, seeing as it’s you that’s dragged me here.”

Silence, then. Kaname can’t see any longer. Can’t hear, can’t think. He’s pitched over, at some point, cheek pressed to the underbrush, breaths coming quick and ragged.

He misses it completely when the creature turns away from him, rises, and gives a smile that could have clotted the blood in his veins then and there. “Oh? But this is interesting.”

***

“I did tell you it wasn’t going to work.”

Takashi glances up to find Sensei, looking for all the world like a disgruntled high school student, one hand propped on his hip and the other holding out a bottle of vending machine grape juice.

“Here. If you collapse, Touko will try to keep you home tomorrow, and we’ve got work to do.”

Takashi’s opened the bottle and taken a sip before he’s even aware of it. “Do we have until tomorrow?” he asks, more to the potted plastic fern on the little table by his knees than to Sensei.

“We’ve got no choice, do we.” Sensei sits down heavily on the bench beside Natsume, arms crossed, brass-haired head tipped back against the wall. “The ayakashi has to come to us. Even with the little stunt it just pulled, I doubt it’s that close-by or someone would have dragged it out of hiding by now. And it’ll take some time to get the word out that nobody’s to attack it or provoke it on its way to us. That aside,” he adds, jabbing a finger at Natsume’s shoulder. “I’ll be very annoyed if it gobbles you up because you were too worn out to dodge it. I’m the one that gets to eat you, not some presumptuous newcomer.”

Takashi truly is too worn out to take the very obvious bait and tell him off, which only proves Sensei’s point. But he’s already been told by a nurse—kindly, but in no uncertain terms—that he ought to go home, that Tanuma is not to have any visitors for the rest of the day at least. His dad, the obvious singular exception to that rule, is with him now. And Takashi’s been sitting on this bench in the little seating area just down the hall, gazing at the gathered dust on the leaves of this little fern on the table, feeling entirely unmoored. He didn’t even put up a fight when Sensei plucked his phone from his bag, transformed his voice enough to reasonably mirror Takashi’s own, and called Touko to briskly inform her that they’d be home early, they’d take the bus back, and no, she really really ought not to come all the way out here to pick him up.

“Hurry up and drink this so we can get out of here,” Sensei presses, now, snatching the bottle out of Takashi’s slack fingers and twisting it open, holding it back out without its cap. “We’re having skewers tonight, and they’re calling my name. Really, you should get Touko to comment on how awfully pale you’re looking more often, because she always rolls out the best meat dishes on those days.”

The last thing Takashi feels is hungry, but he complies, managing about a third of the bottle under Sensei’s scrutiny. It’s too sweet; usually he’d like it but right now it’s cloying on his tongue.

“Natsume-kun?”

And Tanuma-san’s there, then, clothes a bit rumpled, a can of coffee in hand. He looks for all the world like he’s aged twenty years, every line in his face pronounced with shadow, but his eyes hold only gentleness when they meet Takashi’s.

“They told me you hadn’t gone home yet,” he says, stepping forward and offering them a wan smile. “I’m sorry, they’ll not allow visitors for the rest of today. Can I…shall I call you both a cab?”

“Ah, no, I—“ Takashi reaches for his bag. “We’ll take the bus. We were just leaving.” He stands, on wobbly legs, and can’t quite meet Tanuma-san’s eyes. He hasn’t allowed himself to stop and analyze just how directly responsible he is for what had just happened, how severely he’d miscalculated and hurt his friend for it. Even while sitting here staring at a plastic plant for half an hour or more his mind’s been skittering away from that particular line of inquiry; it’s not productive, there’s not time. But standing here face-to-face with Tanuma-san now, Takashi’s chest feels as tight and thin as a soap bubble fit to burst.

Tanuma-san holds up a placating hand. “There’s no need to rush on my account, so long as you’re both alright to get home. You ought to finish your drink, you do look a bit ill.”

When he goes to sit again he all but falls back into the bench like a collapsed marionette, eliciting a small oh from his own lips before he can stop it—he hadn’t realized just how shaky he’d actually been. Off to the side he hears a faint snort from Sensei; if Tanuma-san thinks anything of it he doesn’t comment. He picks at a corner of the bottle’s label, just to give his hands something to do.

“May I sit?” Tanuma-san asks, nodding at the empty space on the bench. “They’ve asked me to step out for the moment; they’d like to run some tests.” His tone barely changes, the words careful, but it’s clear he knows exactly how much good such tests would actually do.

“Um. Of course.” Takashi’s voice sounds odd and tinny to his own ears, and he slides over until the wooden armrest is digging into his side somewhat, an unnecessary gesture for the ample amount of space offered by the bench.

Tanuma-san takes the offered seat and opens his own coffee, though Takashi can see in his periphery that he makes no move to drink it. Then, “I understand his nurse told you a bit about, ah. What you saw. That he’d had a seizure.”

Well.

It isn’t as though Takashi can contradict that explanation. He nods, eyes on his knees, feeling vaguely outside of himself.

“I’m grateful she did,” Tanuma-san continues, softly. “It’s outside their policy to say as much, maybe, but you saw it happen. I’m sure that was very frightening, I wish I had been there.”

I made sure you weren’t, he thinks, ruefully. What he says, without at all knowing how to explain why he’s saying it, is, “I’m sorry.”

Tanuma-san peers over at him, then, an odd look on his face. And what he says next is leagues away from anything Takashi might expect.

“What do you need, Natsume-kun?”

His eyes are patient, but very grave, and Takashi has no idea what to say. “I—I don’t,” he starts, feeling distantly as though he’s answering the wrong question entirely. “—need anything, that is. The buses run every fifteen minutes, and. Touko-san’s already expecting me back early, but, um. Thank y—”

“I’ll tell you what he needs.”

It’s abrupt, clipped, and over his shoulder. Then his bag is snatched right off the table, nearly taking the fern with it. And Tanuma-san looks every bit as bewildered as Takashi is bemused, watching Sensei rifle through the bag. After a moment he draws a paper at random from one of Takashi’s school folders and a pen, letting the rest fall to the floor with a thunk. He barely even registers the rumpled, visibly marked-up parchment that he’d hastily stuffed away earlier now peeking out of the open bag where Tanuma-san can see, because of the sharp rip of Sensei tearing Takashi’s school assignment in half.

“Hey! What are you—”

“Are you alright, Nana-san?”

But Sensei ignores them both, slapping the paper against the wall and scribbling something with the pen, a level sort of determination in his amber eyes. Ten seconds later, he’s holding the paper out to Tanuma-san. It’s a sigil of some kind, Takashi can see now, angular, roughly scratched out and reminiscent of characters he’s seen in Natori’s circles.

“First off,” he says, when Tanuma-san accepts it with a frown. “Stop it with the chanting. All of it. It’s not helping. So give it up until we say it’s alright again. As for this--” He flicks the corner of the paper with two fingers. “If he wakes up, and his eyes look funny, stick this on him. Make sure the mark’s touching skin. Got it? In fact just use it if he wakes up, period. Don’t wait around to check his eyes.” His voice is flat. “If you want to be of any use here at all, this is how.”

Tanuma-san doesn’t even get the chance to respond, has mere seconds to begin to look astonished before Takashi takes Sensei’s arm and yanks hard. “Please excuse us,” he blurts, then hauls Sensei unceremoniously away.

Sensei doesn’t resist as Takashi marches him down the hallway—or, less of a march and more of an aggravated shuffle, really, as the floor and ceiling still won’t quite settle where they belong around him. He ducks into the first open doorway they come upon, a tiny room half taken up by an assortment of vending machines. It occurs to him that it’d be laughably easy for Tanuma-san to follow them here if he wanted, but Takashi’s knees are wobbling badly enough now that he has to brace a shoulder against the snacks machine beside him; hunting down a more private location is wholly beyond him at the moment. Sensei rolls his eyes, his non-captive arm snaking out to brace Takashi around the middle.

“You should’ve finished your juice, moron,” he says, glancing idly down at Takashi’s fingers still wrapped around his pale forearm. “And it’s not proper to be manhandling a girl down the hallway, is it. What would those nice nurses say, if they saw?”

Takashi ignores him. “What on earth was that, back there?” he hisses.

Sensei merely shrugs, and tugs his arm free at last. “The priest knows what I am. Keeping up the charade just wastes everyone’s time. Everything I told him was true; now’s not the time to be sparing his feelings.”

“What did you give him, then? You can’t just—is that sigil going to hurt Tanuma?”

Another shrug. “Probably.”

“Sensei!”

Sensei plants a hand on his hip. “You saw what happened. How easy it was for the ayakashi to just take him over like that. Hell, that shouldn’t have even been possible. And we can’t let it happen again.”

Takashi’s insides feel frosted over. “But forcing it out again could kill him.”

“Any of this could kill him,” Sensei snaps. “It’s half a miracle it hasn’t, by this point. What are you planning on telling him, though, if he wakes up only to find out that thing had worn his skin to murder his father and half this hospital, just to spite you?”

Takashi flinches.

“I thought so,” Sensei concludes, unequivocally, before Takashi can find his words again. “Now sit down before you fall and crack your head open on the coffee machine or something equally stupid.”

“But what about the chanting?” Takashi mutters, feeling deflated, once Sensei has guided him down onto the sticky linoleum floor. “Wouldn’t that help, if we’re trying to stop any more possession?”

“Well yes, in theory. As long as we don’t call on it directly again, but who knows. Anyway, right now we need it to quit screwing around and finally show its face, because time’s obviously working against us. Of course it’d be better if we can intercept it before it gets anywhere close to Tanuma’s room, but if we can’t predict where it’s coming from, and it senses all the priest’s wards and balks at all because it thinks we laid a trap, we’ll lose our chance.”

Takashi blinks. “You’ve…given this a lot of thought, haven’t you?”

“Not really. It’s all pretty obvious.” He fishes a coin out of his pocket and pops it into the machine at Takashi’s back.

“…thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet, brat.”

***

Takashi had arrived at the hospital that morning a full hour before visitor admittance began, but the clerk on duty let him in after just twenty minutes—which, in Sensei’s estimation, was because he’d looked like hell and the nice lady felt sorry for him. He’d come armed with the oversized parchment, ink and brush that Taki had given him, tucked into his bag alongside the talisman she’d insisted he take along since he’d made her promise not to visit today and then utterly failed to explain why. When Takashi had set to work, comparing the sketch he’d made in a notebook the previous night to the marks on Tanuma’s chest, he’d hardly had the presence of mind outside of his task to consider how odd his behavior must look to outside eyes. Whether he’d been going for subtlety or no, it must’ve been apparent he was sketching, and openly staring at his friend’s chest and torso while doing so, and at one point when Tanuma-san had left to use the restroom he returned to find Takashi seated at the opposite end of the room from where he’d been before so as to get a better angle. To Tanuma-san’s credit, though, he’d made no comment; had merely asked him about his morning, if he’d gotten enough sleep (he had decidedly not), before allowing him to work in amenable silence.

It was a tall order, faithfully rendering the entirety of the mark when the thing had morphed into a thick, loud maze of haphazard lines that seemed to have lost most semblance of an actual pattern, and led to creeping doubts about the entire basis of his plan as he tried to copy them. And there was the added complication and guesswork where pieces of the mark were obscured by wires or electrode stickers or the edges of sheets, or invisible where they’d curled around completely to touch his back. And throughout the process, for fear of freezing up entirely Takashi had found himself utterly unable to look at Tanuma’s face, as bloodless and slack as it had been for days now.

Virtually all of the brush-and-ink work had had to be completed on the floor of a single-stall bathroom a few corridors away, where he’d had the space and privacy to spread the parchment out completely despite his fear it would only contribute to potential errors. All in all, it had taken three hours to complete, and another tense forty-five minutes after that while he’d stared at a single corner of the open textbook on his lap, aching ink-stained fingers resting on the corner of the bed, while he waited to get Tanuma alone. Sensei had spent the time idly flipping through a stack of random manga volumes commandeered from the waiting room, expression studiously disinterested. He’d been asserting since yesterday that this whole plan was half-baked and almost certainly pointless, but tacitly acknowledged that he had no better ideas himself, and if the somber demeanor of the hospital staff was any indication, they couldn’t afford to just wait around anymore.

He’d even offered to orchestrate a diversion, elsewhere in the building, in order to potentially give them the time they’d need alone in the room—an offer which Takashi denied, but appreciated nonetheless. A little before noon, Tanuma-san finally stepped out to phone a few relatives and family friends with updates—of which it seemed there would be few to offer—and Takashi knew he’d have ten minutes at most before a nurse dropped in, or Tanuma-san returned.

He hadn’t thought twice, really, before drawing out his paper, splaying one hand out across the inked mark, and pressing the palm of his other to Tanuma’s skin.

Only to withdraw it, a second later, hand flying to his own mouth instead. He swallowed convulsively, eyes watering, trying to breathe through his nose, through the nausea rolling over him in waves.

“Well what’d you expect, honestly, with a curse of this magnitude.” He’d barely heard Sensei’s voice through the ringing in his ears. “I thought you’d be prepared for that.”

“Right,” Takashi managed, through his teeth.

“Are you going to go through with it?” The question was impatient, but not disparaging.

When Takashi forced himself to lay his hand back down, palm over blackened skin in the very center where the lines ran the thickest, it was several long seconds before he could force any words through the overwhelming urge to be sick.

“C-caster of this spell, I call on you. Come take it back. Release my friend, or I will not return the name which I have taken from you.”

What Takashi was expecting, in the moments that followed, was the pull or push of his own energy to indicate that his message had been received, or nothing at all. He assumed the latter, when he was first met by empty silence, Tanuma as still as ever beneath Takashi’s hand.

What he was not expecting, some fifteen seconds on, were the pallid, pupil-less eyes peering at him from within his friend’s face. The voice, hushed and high and creaky.

“You hold my name? Then call it, child.”

#after ten thousand years here it is #to be fair i changed jobs and moved cities #but i'm so happy this part is done even if it's shorter #quick note at this point though #my intent is not to just torture characters for its own sake #so if you don't love reading that i can promise that for tanuma in particular it's not going to get any worse than it has #not that he'll be aware of anyways #he's suffered enough #natsume yuujinchou #natsume's book of friends #natsuyuu #owlet's fanfic #tanunatsu #tanuma kaname #natsume takashi #nyanko sensei #owlet’s fanfic

[winterune]

The Lonely God

Word Count: 2329

Late entry for @natsumeweek 2019 Day 6. Prompt: Gods / Magic

Summary: On the last day of a field trip, Natsume’s class were having a test of courage when Natsume found himself trapped in a looping path and he had to check what the cause was if he wanted to find a way back. 

~*~*~*~*~

The forest and hill behind the inn they were staying for the field trip was said to house a lot of ghosts. It was said that hundreds of years ago, a powerful, malevolent being was sealed in those hills and its contempt still remained until today. Incidents had been happening over the years that always ended up with missing people or someone turning up dead. Or, at least, that was what the locals said. Natsume didn’t know how much truth the story carried. Still, despite having dealt with youkai most of his life, walking down the dark narrow moonlit path up the hill by himself sent shivers down his spine and goosebumps raising throughout his arms. Thanks to the locals for telling him all these ghost stories.

Why did they have to go through this test of courage alone? They should have gone two at a time. They really shouldn’t have let Sasada be in charge with this thing.

A rustle on the bushes on his right side made him jump.

A huge head suddenly appeared and Natsume screamed.

“Can you be any louder?!” a voice he knew too well spoke up.

“Sensei?”

Natsume squinted in the darkness and indeed, he could see the black and orange pattern on the cat’s head. Nyanko-sensei jumped through the bushes and shook his body free of leaves and debris when he landed on the path beside Natsume. Natsume sighed through his nose.

“You didn’t have to scare me like that!” he said indignantly.

“Your fault for having a faint heart,” Sensei retorted. The cat turned around and headed up the hill. “Come on, let’s hurry up and finish this. There’s this manju shop I saw down the street and I want you to buy me some.”

Natsume scowled, but he had no other choice but to follow.

Shortly afterwards, they came upon a split in the path.

“Funny,” Natsume mused. “I don’t recall Sasada mentioning this.”

Nyanko-sensei was looking to the right, then left. He lifted his head higher and sniffed the air. “This way,” Sensei said, already marching down the right path.

“Hey, wait!” Natsume called him over. “Come on, Sensei, don’t go off on your own or I won’t buy you any manju!”

That stopped Nyanko-sensei in his tracks. He looked over at Natsume and glared at him. Natsume grinned at him.

Down the right path, Natsume followed his guardian’s lead, until they came upon another split. Nyanko-sensei chose the right path again. On their third encounter with the split, the cat was grumbling and muttering under his breath and Natsume started feeling something was not right. When they came across yet another split in the path, Nyanko-sensei screamed in frustration.

“OK, who’s doing this?” he shouted to no one in particular. He glared up the left path, as though he could see something in the dark.

“What’s wrong, Sensei?” Natsume asked.

Sensei clicked his tongue irritably. “Haven’t you noticed? We’ve been walking in a loop! Someone wants us to go up there,” he said, nodding up the other path.

Natsume had had a feeling there was something wrong with the left path. Something eerie and sinister. It was as though the air itself trembled. He had tried not to look directly there, but now that Nyanko-sensei had pointed it out, Natsume readied himself to face the left path.

Indeed, the path was so dark Natsume couldn’t see anything beyond the trees and leaves. It was as though the trees themselves were trying to hide whatever they were hiding inside.

Ghosts, came Natsume’s thoughts, along with all the stories he had heard from the locals.

“Maybe we should check it out, Sensei,” Natsume said.

Nyanko-sensei glanced at him and Natsume knew that glance. It was that glance that told him he was doing too much again, but there was nothing they could do. If they want to leave the loop, it seemed the only way was to go up the left path, deeper and higher into the hills.

“We won’t be able to get those manju if we can’t leave the loop,” Natsume said, using the one leverage he knew would persuade the cat-guardian. Nyanko-sensei narrowed his eyes, his scowl deepening, but knew he couldn’t refuse.

“Come on!” he said in resign. “The faster we get this done, the faster I can eat those manju.”

So Natsume and Nyanko-sensei went up the left path. The path felt different the moment Natsume stepped into it—denser, narrower, and more suffocating. It went up the hillside and with every step, Natsume felt his feet become heavier.

After a while, the trees ended and the forest opened up to a moonlit clearing with a red torii gate at the center and a small shrine beyond beneath a huge tree. The thick atmosphere seemed to be swirling around the shrine.

“Is that where the youkai is sealed?” Natsume asked warily.

“Seems like it,” Nyanko-sensei replied. In a poof, the cat transformed into a great white beast, and Madara growled at the shrine. “Let’s get this over and done with, Natsume,” he said. “You break the seal, I’ll banish it.”

Natsume nodded. Holding the waist bag that contained the Book of Friends tightly, Natsume walked up toward the gate. But he noticed it too late: the sudden stillness in the air, the slight change of wind, the rush of a black shapeless mass, and Madara screaming his name. He looked back, right as the sinister smile of a faceless man appeared before him and his feet had taken him through the gate’s threshold. Then everything vanished.

***

When Natsume opened his eyes, he was on the other side of the gate and the sky was bright and blue and cloudless. In the far distance, he could see black birds soaring high. It was warm, unlike how the place had been just moments before.

Natsume’s attention was drawn to the voices behind him and he saw the small shrine on top of a huge rock and a girl his age crouching before it. She wore a school uniform he recognized, dusty-blonde hair hanging down to her bust. The girl was laughing and Natsume knew who she was.

“Reiko-san,” he said without thinking.

The girl’s laugh stopped abruptly and she looked over her shoulder. Their eyes met and Natsume closed his mouth in surprise, eyes widening and blinking several times.

She could see him?! Let alone hear him!

Reiko cocked her head to the side. “Who are you?” she asked. When Natsume didn’t answer, Reiko stood up and brushed the dirt from her skirt. “How’d you get here? Are you lost?”

Natsume opened his mouth, but no word came out. How could this happen? How could Reiko see him? Even if some youkai magic were involved, usually, he could only enter a memory, not be present inside the memory itself.

“You can see me.” A statement, not a question, and from the frown and the slight crease on her forehead, Natsume knew that was not what he was supposed to say.

Reiko looked back at the shrine and Natsume could see the same old shrine ornaments there. Except, there was a man standing underneath the tree foliage just behind the shrine. A man with jet-black hair, kind eyes and a warm smile, wearing a worn-out yukata.

“I know you can manipulate the time, but what is this?” Reiko asked the man. She looked at Natsume again and there was a small smile on her face—a mixture of astonishment and displeasure. “A male version of myself from an alternate universe?”

Reiko couldn’t help but laugh but Natsume still couldn’t process what was happening.

Someone who could manipulate the time.

When Natsume looked at the man, he found the man was staring back, and for an instant, the faceless man and his smile flashed in his mind.

Is that the youkai? Natsume thought.

Reiko approached him and peered up into his face. Natsume realized that he was taller than his grandmother had been at his age. The same hair color, similar eyes. No wonder the youkai often mistook him for her.

Reiko held her fingers out to his cheek and Natsume felt the warmth in her touch. His eyes widened. This was real. This wasn’t just some flashback. He wasn’t just some apparition. He was physically here, wherever and whenever ‘here’ was.

Was he dead? Or did he just travel back in time?! The former seemed more plausible but he didn’t feel dead at all.

“And you made him look so real too,” Reiko mused, still not knowing it was her own future grandson who was standing right before her. “For a God with not enough power left, you did well with this one.”

Natsume’s eyes shifted again to the man in the yukata and the smile on his face full of resignation. Reiko didn’t say anything else but thank the man for his time and his name before leaving the shrine and passing through the gate down the hill. Natsume watched as the youkai kept a close eye on Reiko’s receding back before he turned his full attention on Natsume.

“As you’ve heard, I’m the God of this small shrine,” he said.

“You’re not a youkai, then?”

The man sighed, the small smile never leaving his face. “At times, I do wonder about that,” he replied. “Whether I’m still the God I used to be, or if I’ve become too much of an ayakashi.”

“What happened?” Natsume asked.

“Nothing entirely special,” the God said. “I used to have a lot of shrines scattered throughout Japan, but fewer and fewer people worship me. Now, I only have this small shrine to call as my home and with no one to come for me, my powers start to diminish. I won’t be able to hold back the negative energy that has been going rampant in these parts for long.

“That’s when Reiko came along.” The God smiled. “You could say that her presence brightened my day. She gave me enough strength to fight off the dark energy for a while longer.”

It dawned on Natsume then what had happened to the God, and why he was led to come to the shrine. It wasn’t a malevolent being trapped and sealed in the mountains. 

“I have probably lost my mind to the evil in the time you came from,” the God said and Natsume couldn’t bring himself to nod. But the God understood nonetheless and he nodded, his movement heavy as though he was suddenly wearied.

“My powers allow me to see the past, present, and future, and I see that Reiko has died in your time,” the God went on quietly. A short pause, and Natsume swore he could see the God’s shoulders shook imperceptibly. When he looked up and met Natsume’s gaze, his eyebrows were drawn and his smile was thin. “Will you return my name to me? It’ll give me enough power to fend off the evil energy.”

Natsume nodded, even though he had a feeling the God didn’t really want his name back. But there was nothing else he could do. The God looked fine in front of him, but this was some forty to fifty years ago. The God in his own time didn’t look as warm nor kind as this.

“Thank you, Natsume,” the God said. “I will return you to your time now.”

The God closed his eyes and Natsume felt warm breeze all around him, pushing at him, cocooning him, and when Natsume opened his eyes again, he was back in the shrine, at night time, the malicious energy overwhelming him. Noticing Natsume finally back to his senses, Madara growled his name under his breath as he pinned the black, shapeless mass under him.

Taking a closer look, Natsume could just make out the face and the jet-black hair. The kind eyes had disappeared, the warm smile replaced by a sinister sneer.

“Natsume!” Madara growled again.

This was not a sealed youkai going rampant. This was a God being overtaken by the evil energy in this mountain, turning it into a mindless youkai, rampaging the land he had sworn to protect. Natsume grabbed the Book of Friends from his waist bag and performed the ritual.

The book flipped open to a page and Natsume whispered the God’s name, sending the black letters back into the mindless God. The black mass screamed and at once, Natsume was brought back into that bright clearing in the cloudless day, where Reiko challenged the God into a rock-paper-scissor match.

“I’ll still come here every day,” Reiko said, when Reiko won and the God wrote his name on a piece of paper.

The God smiled, though he knew Reiko would never come visit again.

Natsume opened his eyes and found himself lying on the grass. He stayed there for a couple more moments, staring at the star-strewn sky, and was it just him or did the sky look slightly brighter than it had moments before? The air felt lighter and the clearing seemed wider.

Nyanko-sensei appeared in his line of sight.

“You’re awake, Natsume?” the cat asked.

Natsume sat up and looked around. The clearing was empty except for both of them—the God nowhere in sight.

“He already left,” Nyanko-sensei said, answering the boy’s unasked question. Natsume looked at the cat beside him. “The moment you returned his name, his mind came back. But he didn’t have that much power left to begin with, so his name only gave him enough power to protect the whole mountain from the dark energy.”

“He’s gone?” Natsume asked.

Nyanko-sensei shrugged. “Who knows? He could be off somewhere taking a nice long break for all I care. Anyway, Natsume!”—Nyanko-sensei went up to his face—“You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

When Natsume cocked his head to the side, Nyanko-sensei scowled. “Manju! Man-ju! Come on! Let’s hurry before the store closes up!”

Natsume couldn’t help the chuckle as he watched the cat-guardian stalked away out of the clearing. Natsume took one last look at the shrine. He offered a silent prayer and murmured a goodbye before he followed Nyanko-sensei out of the clearing.

~ END ~

#natsume yuujinchou #natsumeweek #natsume week #natsumeweek 2019 #natsume fanfic #fanfiction #my fanfiction #my story

[osakaso5]

IDOLiSH7 End Of Year Story 2018: Friends Scene!

A Peaceful Intermission Part 1: Friends Scene!

Part 2

Staff: Good work! We're all done!

Mitsuki Izumi: Good work!

Yamato Nikaido: Good work.

Nagi Rokuya: Good work! OH! What is wrong with Tamaki? He is still sitting down.

Sogo Osaka: It seems he fell asleep while we were on standby. I was wondering why he was being so quiet... Tamaki-kun, Tamaki-kun.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Snooze...

Sogo Osaka: This is bad... Everyone, go on ahead. I'll carry him after you.

Yamato Nikaido: No way.

Mitsuki Izumi: You can't carry someone of Tamaki's size.

Sogo Osaka: It's easier than you'd think. Tamaki-kun's center of gravity is right here around his shoulder and back, so if I prop him up from there and walk, his right leg will move on its own...

Nagi Rokuya: Hm... You talk like a mechanic.

Riku Nanase: Good job, everyone!

Nagi Rokuya: OH! Riku, Iori.

Iori Izumi: Good work. Is Yotsuba-san not waking up?

Sogo Osaka: That's right... How do you help him move around when he's like this at school?

Iori Izumi: I just leave him be.

Riku Nanase: Leave this to me! Ta-ma-ki! Wake up!

Riku Nanase: If we don't hurry back, we won't be able to go on a shrine visit!

Tamaki Yotsuba: Shrine visit...

Mitsuki Izumi: Ah, he's awake.

Tamaki Yotsuba: I went to a shrine.

Riku Nanase: Huh!? All by yourself? But we said we'd all go together!

Tamaki Yotsuba: No. Just now. In my dream.

Riku Nanase: Oh, in your dream. In that case, it's OK!

Tamaki Yotsuba: Yay!

Yamato Nikaido: What is this conversation... Come on, let's go.

Tamaki Yotsuba: What about the shoot?

Sogo Osaka: The others are done with their shoots, too.

Iori Izumi: You must've missed it, since you were asleep. Nanase-san's first...

Riku Nanase: You don't have to tell him!

Tamaki Yotsuba: His first what?

Iori Izumi: You'll see when the show is broadcast.

Tamaki Yotsuba: I wanna know!

Riku Nanase: Do you think they'll keep it in?

Iori Izumi: They definitely will.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Huh? What is it!?

Nagi Rokuya: Riku tripped over his own feet.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Ah, so the usual.

Iori Izumi: The usual, indeed.

Riku Nanase: It's not usual!

Tamaki Yotsuba: But it was his first fall of the year, right? We should celebrate it.

Iori Izumi: Should we really?

Tamaki Yotsuba: Rikkun, happy New Year!

Riku Nanase: Huh? Happy New Year!

Mitsuki Izumi: Ahaha. How many times are you gonna keep wishing each other a happy New Year? You've been doing it since morning.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Until I'm no longer in the New Year's spirit!

Sogo Osaka: We finally have the time to be able to visit a shrine together.

Nagi Rokuya: OH! I cannot wait for our first shrine visit of the year! The lion dance,  the fortune slips, the temple festival, offering  our prayers!

Mitsuki Izumi: It's already pretty late, so I don't think we'll get to see the lion dance or go to a temple festival, though?

Nagi Rokuya: OH! My New Year's spirit will not be sated until I see the lion  dance and a temple festival!

Tamaki Yotsuba: Same here!

Riku Nanase: Mine neither, I guess!?

Iori Izumi: Please stop complaining over such strange things.

Yamato Nikaido: But we can still draw fortunes and pray at the shrine,  can't we? We'll just stand out if we go  during the day.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Huh...

Sogo Osaka: We can't go to a temple festival, but we can buy takoyaki from the store on our way back. As long as you get to eat it, does it really matter where it came from?

Tamaki Yotsuba: You don't get it, So-chan!

Nagi Rokuya: OH... I wanted to see the lion dance...

Riku Nanase: Nagi, I can show you a lion dance!

Nagi Rokuya: OH! But how...

Riku Nanase: Look! Lion dance!

Iori Izumi: Uhiyaaagh!?

Iori Izumi: What are you doing, Nanase-san!? Don't cling to my back like that!

Riku Nanase: Iori, do the mouth part of the lion dance! Flap your arms, and try to bit Nagi's head with them. He'll get a blessing that way!

Iori Izumi: Nanase-san! You're always too sudden to do these things!

Riku Nanase: Dear Iori Izumi. Please do the mouth part for our lion dance. Sincerely, Riku Nanase. Happy New Year.

Iori Izumi: Saying it slowly a second time won't do you any good! I will not participate in anything so childish. Now, get off me.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Iorin, stop complaining over strange stuff.

Iori Izumi: My complaints are perfectly reasonable!

Mitsuki Izumi: Ahaha! In that case, I'll do the head part! Iori, get behind me!

Iori Izumi: What...

Mitsuki Izumi: Come on!

Iori Izumi: A-alright... Well then, here I go, Nii-san.

Iori Izumi: .........

Mitsuki Izumi: Are you holding on?

Iori Izumi: I am!

Mitsuki Izumi: Okay!

Mitsuki Izumi: Look, Nagi! It's the lion dance~!

Nagi Rokuya: OH! The lion dance is here! Hey, c'mon! Lion dance!

Mitsuki Izumi: Any crying kids here~?

Nagi Rokuya: No! Don't cry! Keep smiling!

Yamato Nikaido: Isn't this starting to get mixed up with some other dance (1)..?

Iori Izumi: N-Nii-san, you're skipping around too much...

Riku Nanase: Ahaha! Mitsuki's lion dances a lot!

Staff: Ahaha! IDOLiSH7 is doing something again!

Staff: They're so cheerful. Even when the cameras aren't rolling, they're always having fun.

Mitsuki Izumi: Come, Nagi! Gimme your head so I can chomp down on it real good!

Nagi Rokuya: But my head is already right here? You may bite me whenever you wish.

Mitsuki Izumi: I mean lower it!

Nagi Rokuya: OH! Sorry!

Mitsuki Izumi: Roooar!!

Nagi Rokuya: WHOOOO! I was bitten!

Tamaki Yotsuba: Bite Rikkun, too! It's supposed to give you good health, right!

Riku Nanase: Okay! Then you need to come be the body, Tamaki!

Tamaki Yotsuba: Alright, I'm making my body debut!

Yamato Nikaido: That's not a phrase I've heard before.

Sogo Osaka: It's the New Year, so new experiences should bring good luck.

Nagi Rokuya: In that case, I will make my debut as the lion's head! Mitsuki, grab on to me!

Mitsuki Izumi: Ahaha, sure! Make sure to bite Riku!

Iori Izumi: Huh? All of a sudden, we have a new head?

Sogo Osaka: That's a common occurrence in business, too.

Nagi Rokuya: Groowl!

Yamato Nikaido: And what a wild head he is.

Nagi Rokuya: Riku, prepare yourself! It is the end of the line for you!

Riku Nanase: H-help..!

Tamaki Yotsuba: Rikkun's in danger! This is a huge pinch!

Sogo Osaka: Is it?

Iori Izumi: What happened to the good health you were supposed to give? Just bite him already.

Nagi Rokuya: Chomp chomp!

Riku Nanase: I got eaten..!

IDOLiSH7: ........

Mitsuki Izumi: There! Now you're healthy!

Riku Nanase: I'm healthy!

Nagi Rokuya: And I got to see a lion dance!

Yamato Nikaido: Good for you.

Iori Izumi: Yotsuba-san! You were trying to put your hands on my sides amidst the chaos, weren't you!?

Tamaki Yotsuba: Hehe. You noticed?

Tsumugi Takanashi: Everyone, good work!

Sogo Osaka: Manager, good work.

Tsumugi Takanashi: You seem to be having a lot of fun, lined up like that! What were you doing?

Sogo Osaka: Um, Nagi-kun wanted to see a lion dance, so Riku-kun said he'd be the lion...

Yamato Nikaido: Just fooling around, as usual. They got a little excited since we'll finally get to go on a shrine visit.

Tsumugi Takanashi: I see! Well then, let's return to the office for a bit, and leave for the shrine right after!

Mitsuki Izumi: I hear Banri-san and the president will be coming, too?

Tsumugi Takanashi: It's nighttime, and some of you are still minors, so it's best to have some guardians with you...

Tsumugi Takanashi: But they said they'd follow you from afar, so as to not bother you!

Mitsuki Izumi: That just sounds scary...

Sogo Osaka: Apparently it's a god of entertainment. Since it's so late, we need to be quiet.

Tamaki Yotsuba: So we can't ring the big bell? Isn't that kinda boring?

Sogo Osaka: It'll be fun.

Sogo Osaka: As long as we're with the others, it'll be fun even if we have to stay quiet. And even a quiet prayer should reach the god.

Tamaki Yotsuba: So-chan, what are you gonna wish for?

Sogo Osaka: I thought you weren't supposed to tell other people your wishes?

Mitsuki Izumi: I've heard that, too. That'll be our rule this year.

Yamato Nikaido: Well, it's not like I'd go around telling my wishes to people, anyway.

Nagi Rokuya: You are just shy, Yamato. I know what you wish for, even if you refuse to tell me.

Yamato Nikaido: What?

Nagi Rokuya: ...I want these guys to have a safe year...

Riku Nanase: Nagi, that sounded just like Yamato-san!

Tamaki Yotsuba: Yeah! You've gotten even better at imitating him than me!

Yamato Nikaido: Stop doing impressions of me! Geez, you guys have picked up some creepy games to play... Come on, let's go.

Mitsuki Izumi: Ahaha. You look so embarrassed. Manager, what about them?

Tsumugi Takanashi: I've contacted them! Their schedules should be open!

Mitsuki Izumi: I see, that's great!

Nagi Rokuya: It is not. We made a promise to collect the complete set of coasters from that collaboration café...

Mitsuki Izumi: We can do that some other time! If all of us go there together, we'll just cause the shop trouble, y'know?

Nagi Rokuya: Hm... I suppose so.

Tsumugi Takanashi: Well then, everyone get in the car!

IDOLiSH7: Yes! 

- - - -

Staff: Good work today.

Toma Inumaru: Yeah. Good work.

Minami Natsume: That ended sooner than I thought.

Toma Inumaru: Right! We had a busy New Year, but it looks like we'll be free for tonight.

Torao Mido: Right. Even I don't have plans tonight.

Haruka Isumi: Me neither.

Minami Natsume: Neither do I. What about you, Inumaru-san?

Toma Inumaru: Me? I thought I'd go home and drink beer while watching all the New Year's shows I taped.

Toma Inumaru: Also, write New Year's cards! I got some from people I haven't sent anything to. So I'd like to get that done within the first week of January.

Haruka, Torao, and Minami: ........

Haruka, Torao, and Minami: Hmph...

Toma Inumaru: What's with the reaction!? Why do you guys have to glare at me!?

Torao Mido: No reason. Good job today.

Haruka Isumi: Good job.

Minami Natsume: Good work.

Toma Inumaru: Y-yeah. Good job...

Toma Inumaru: ........

Toma Inumaru: ...What the hell. It's the New Year, and they're already acting all moody...

Toma Inumaru: Oh, well. I wonder what snacks I should get on the way  back. Since it's the New Year, maybe  I should really treat myself...

Haruka Isumi: Shrine visit...

Toma Inumaru: Whoa, you startled me! When did you get there, Haru!?

Haruka Isumi: You said you wanted to go on a shrine visit with us.

Toma Inumaru: Huh..?

Haruka Isumi: We won't have a better chance than tonight.

Toma Inumaru: Huh? Ah... You guys wanted to go tonight?

Haruka Isumi: Not really. It's just that you said you wanted to go. And we're not busy tonight.

Toma Inumaru: Really? But that'll be possible until the end of the month...

Haruka Isumi: You need to do the  first shrine visit of the year within the  first week of January. Or are you one  of those people who only cares about  New Year's cards? Are you?

Toma Inumaru: Not exactly... So, are you telling me that Tora and Mina were waiting for me to invite them, too?

Haruka Isumi: I dunno.

Toma Inumaru: You guys can be such a pain in the ass... You should've just asked me yourselves, instead of waiting for me to invite you.

Minami Natsume: Inumaru-san.

Toma Inumaru: W-whoa... You surprised me! You guys are already done changing, Mina and Tora?

Minami Natsume: Fufu. As much of a pain as we can be, we're quick at getting changed.

Toma Inumaru: So you heard that...

Torao Mido: Minami and I just happened to be free tonight. We're gonna have dinner at a hotel.

Haruka Isumi: That sounds great!

Torao Mido: You can join us if you want, Haruka. After that, maybe we can go find a shrine and do whatever.

Toma Inumaru: You mean a shrine visit.

Torao Mido: Didn't you have some important New Year's cards to write?

Toma Inumaru: ...I'm not falling for that every time. You want me to come with you, right? Give me a proper invite.

Torao Mido: ......... Not really...

Haruka Isumi: We weren't gonna...

Minami Natsume: New Year's cards are an important aspect of Japanese culture, after all.

Toma Inumaru: Can't you just admit that you wanna go together!? I bet it'll be really fun!

Toma Inumaru: A lot happened this past year... So let's go to a shrine and  pray for a good new year together.

Torao Mido: ........

Torao Mido: I'm not going to invite you. You're the one who talked about this in the first place. So you need to say that you want to go.

Toma Inumaru: Listen...

Torao Mido: Why did you forget? We were waiting for you to bring it up.

Toma Inumaru: .......

Torao Mido: Stop being so impulsive. We're sick of dealing with your whims.

Torao Mido: If even you're full of shit, we won't have anything to believe in.

Toma Inumaru: Tora...

Minami Natsume: I think that's enough. If we dawdle, our free time will be over.

Minami Natsume: I've had enough of wasting time with needless stubbornness, too. I've learned that lesson the hard way.

Minami Natsume: Mido-san. Your expectations for other people are too high, as well.

Torao Mido: Minami...

Toma Inumaru: ...Sorry. I wasn't trying to string you guys along. And I didn't forget.

Toma Inumaru: I'm just bad at planning ahead. I thought we could go once things settled down...

Toma Inumaru: But you guys need to talk to me too, y'know. Sometimes, it makes me feel lonely when I'm the only one taking the lead and getting excited for something.

Toma Inumaru: If you're looking forward to something too, then just say it. That'll be enough to make me jump with joy. Because that way, I can actually get into the preparations!

Torao Mido: ........

Torao Mido: I wasn't looking forward to this, really.

Toma Inumaru: ...Oh, I see! Then don't come, stupid!!

Torao Mido: Wha...

Toma Inumaru: Haru, Mina, let's go.

Haruka Isumi: G-go where?

Toma Inumaru: The shrine.

Minami Natsume: What about Mido-san?

Toma Inumaru: Who cares. Haru, Mina, let's draw fortunes. I hope we get good ones.

Haruka Isumi: Wait, this isn't gonna work! Torao won't be able to say that he wants to come with us!

Minami Natsume: I think so, too...

Toma Inumaru: Shut up! That guy keeps making us walk on eggshells around him, despite being the oldest! He oughta learn some humility for once!

Torao Mido: .......

Haruka Isumi: ...He's staring at us! Hey, just go ask him!

Toma Inumaru: I just did, didn't I!? Why do I have to give in to him every single time!?

Minami Natsume: Because that's something only you can do, Inumaru-san.

Toma Inumaru: ...Only me?

Minami Natsume: Yes. I do feel apologetic for depending on you so much, but...

Minami Natsume: Isumi-san, Mido-san, and I are still too afraid of rejection, because we're not as strong as you.

Minami Natsume: We still can't shake the worry that we might be ridiculed and abandoned.

Toma Inumaru: ....... Dumbass. I'm like that, too.

Minami Natsume: I'm sorry.

Toma Inumaru: Haha, it's fine. Well, I guess I've got no choice...  

Toma Inumaru: Tora. I'm begging you. Won't you come with us?

Torao Mido: ........

Torao Mido: I don't want to.

Toma Inumaru: Why you..!! You're making this harder than it needs to be, asshole! Now's the time for you to agree!

Torao Mido: You said you were leaving me behind earlier.

Toma Inumaru: And I just took it back! Live in the moment, why won't you!!

Haruka Isumi: Geez, what a pain... We're taking too long to even leave. I'm done hanging out with you guys in my free time.

Toma Inumaru: Haru! Not you, too...

Haruka Isumi: So, let's make this work. I'll hire you guys.

Toma Inumaru: Work?

Minami Natsume: You'll be our employer?

Haruka Isumi: Yeah. You guys will follow me, and play with me. I'll entertain you the whole night.

Torao Mido: What's your margin?

Haruka Isumi: Payment upon completion. You got a problem with that?

Toma Inumaru: Haha... Nope.

Minami Natsume: Not at all.

Torao Mido: Hmph. Fine.

Haruka Isumi: Hehe! Then it's settled! Hey, have you decided which shrine we'll go to?

Minami Natsume: I'll show you my shrine of choice. Their amulets are lovely.

Minami Natsume: Truthfully, I wasn't sure whether to do a shrine visit this year... But thanks to all of you, I've somewhat gotten into the mood for it.

Toma Inumaru: I see... I'm happy to hear that.

Haruka Isumi: What shrine is it? Do you think we can we get cotton candy and candy apples there?

Toma Inumaru: Don't you think the food stalls will be closed by now?

Haruka Isumi: Huh? But I wanted to eat some...

Torao Mido: If it's apple-flavored candies you want, you can get them anywhere. Just buy some at a convenience store.

Haruka Isumi: They're not sold in convenience stores. They're whole apples that have been turned into a candy. They're so big that it's hard to walk around with one.

Toma Inumaru: That's right. And they stain your tongue red.

Minami Natsume: It's also very easy for the stick to come loose.

Torao Mido: So it's nothing but demerits. Why would you want something like that?

Haruka Isumi: Because it's so much trouble, and you can't get it at the store. Convenient and nice things are so outdated.

Haruka Isumi: I want something that's time-consuming, a huge pain in the ass, and hard to find. The same goes for me, and you guys, and this new year.

Haruka Isumi: Something that's hard to carry and sticks all over my hands is way better than gum that I can just chew on and spit out.

Torao Mido: Haha... I guess so.

Minami Natsume: Well then, as soon as we find candy apples, let's walk around with them.

Toma Inumaru: And stain our mouths red.

Haruka Isumi: Why not?

Haruka Isumi: Alright. Let's go. 

- - - -

Riku Nanase: I'm back!

Mitsuki Izumi: Welcome back!

Riku Nanase: Ahaha, but you came in with me!

Mitsuki Izumi: But it's nice to get a response, isn't it?

Riku Nanase: Yeah! Welcome back!

Iori Izumi: Nanase-san, don't leave your coat on the sofa. And Yotsuba-san, put your socks back on.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Ah! Coming back to the dorm makes me wanna lie around!

Sogo Osaka: We have to leave soon, Tamaki-kun. If you sleep right before going out in the cold, you'll get sick, you know?

Tamaki Yotsuba: Ah, by the way. Did we buy lozenges?

Yamato Nikaido: Lozenges? Does your throat hurt?

Tamaki Yotsuba: So-chan was feeling a little sick. Right?

Sogo Osaka: I'm fine. Manager bought me troches, and I got better right away.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Really?

Sogo Osaka: Yeah.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Say "aah". If that thing's red, it's bad. What was it called again, the vulv... (2)

Sogo Osaka: That would be the uvula, Tamaki-kun.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Was it? Show me.

Sogo Osaka: ........ Let's do that later. After I've brushed my teeth...

Tamaki Yotsuba: Why? Did you gt chocolate stuck on them? Did you eat some without telling me?

Nagi Rokuya: Sogo. Please get well soon. This year is much colder than the last year that ended a few days ago.

Sogo Osaka: But it's not any colder than Northmare, is it? You're good at handling the winter, Nagi-kun.

Nagi Rokuya: It is my season, after all. The air is clear, the stars are easy to see, and sometimes, the streets become covered in white.

Nagi Rokuya: And, women seeking warmth leap into my arms...

Yamato Nikaido: In the end, that's what you really care about.

Riku Nanase: I wonder when we're leaving for the shrine. What did our manager say?

Iori Izumi: She'll let us know once they contact her.

Mitsuki Izumi: Let's watch TV until then. Here we go.

Nagi Rokuya: OH! It is the show we appeared on!

Riku Nanase: You're right! We're singing our new song!

Tamaki Yotsuba: Here! After this part, I almost bumped into Nagicchi.

Mitsuki Izumi: It was pretty narrow there, after all. We had to make those sudden turns, too. I wonder if that got caught on camera?

Tamaki Yotsuba: I think so! We didn't crash, but we almost burst out laughing.

Nagi Rokuya: It was indeed very dangerous.

Tamaki Yotsuba: It's because you dodged by lifting your hands like you touched something hot.

Nagi Rokuya: You also avoided me like you had just stepped on a cat's tail.

Riku Nanase: Wow, I wanna see! Is it coming?

Tamaki Yotsuba: It's right after this... Ah...

Riku Nanase: It's Yamato-san!

Mitsuki Izumi: Yamato-san's making a cool face!

Yamato Nikaido: Whoa...

Iori Izumi: It seems the cameras were more focused on a closeup of our leader.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Hey, Yama-saaan...

Yamato Nikaido: What!? I didn't do anything.

Tamaki Yotsuba: You're so cool!

Yamato Nikaido: Wait, that's what you meant!? Haha. Thanks!

Sogo Osaka: Ah...

Riku Nanase: Ah..!

Iori Izumi: .......!

Riku Nanase: Holy cow..! Wasn't Mitsuki cool just now!?

Mitsuki Izumi: W-wasn't I!?

Yamato Nikaido: Ahaha. What are you getting all flustered for?

Nagi Rokuya: Fantastic! The camera work and your fanservice matched up with a perfect timing!

Sogo Osaka: I couldn't help making a noise. Mitsuki-san's very cool when he acts all mature.

Mitsuki Izumi: Sogo.

Sogo Osaka: Yes.

Mitsuki Izumi: I love you, man.

Sogo Osaka: Ugh..!

Tamaki Yotsuba: You're right. You did make a noise.

Yamato Nikaido: Oh, it's almost time for our center's turn.

Riku Nanase: Aaah... When you all stare at me like that, I get kind of nervous..!

Iori Izumi: What do you have to say about your performance?

Riku Nanase: Huh!? I think I did fine...

Tamaki Yotsuba: There he is..!

Nagi Rokuya: OH! Riku..!

Mitsuki Izumi: Riku! You're so cool!

Yamato Nikaido: Riku-kun! You're so cute!!

Riku Nanase: Thank you! Thank you, everyone..!

Iori Izumi: You don't need to wave your hands.

Iori Izumi: ........

Iori Izumi: Fufu... I suppose it's fine.

Iori Izumi: IDOLiSH7 will change the world again this year. 

Door opens

Tsumugi Takanashi: Everyone, good work!  

Riku Nanase: Manager!

Tsumugi Takanashi: They contacted me! Let's get going!

IDOLiSH7: Yeah... 

To be continued...

Translator’s notes..? 

1) the phrase “are there any crying kids here” is a part of the namahage dance, not the new year’s lion dance

2) tamaki was originally attempting to say のどちんこ, which is a japanese slang term for the uvula that literally translates to ‘throat dick’

#idolish7 #friends scene! #translation #i7 #zool #other translations

[willel]

Does Will possess any trait that your favorite characters tend to have? (aka he's a nice kid, and we all like nice people, but what about him personally appeals to you?)

Ha. Well, my favorite characters are usually the sweet soft spoken person who goes through supernatural hell whether it’s possession, kidnapping, or having some kind of powers or trait the bad guy wants.

Poltergeist is one of my favorite childhood movies ever. So is Child’s Play. 

More recently, obviously I enjoy the entire Byers family + El. Especially Will. No surprises there. 

In other media, I like Natsume from the manga Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume’s Book of Friends). It’s about a boy who has the ability to see ghosts and demons. His parents died when he was young and he was passed around from distant relative to distant relative, accidentally bringing all kinds of trouble with him because he could see things normal people could not and had strong spiritual power. God, it is SO good. Pretty much all the manga I read involve the main character being special like this in some way and overcoming a rough childhood because of it. 

Let’s see…. those are the kinds of books I like reading too. It’s been so hard to find books more recently, but a favorite old trilogy of mind is The Darkest Powers trilogy by Kelley Armstrong. I don’t want to spoil anything, so here’s a summary:

Chloe Saunders sees dead people. Yes, like in the films. The problem is, in real life saying you see ghosts gets you a one-way ticket to the psych ward. And at 15, all Chloe wants to do is fit in at school and maybe get a boy to notice her. But when a particularly violent ghost haunts her, she gets noticed for all the wrong reasons. Her seemingly crazed behaviour earns her a trip to Lyle House, a centre for disturbed teens.

At first Chloe is determined to keep her head down. But then her roommate disappears after confessing she has a poltergeist, and some of the other patients also seem to be manifesting paranormal behaviour. Could that be a coincidence? Or is Lyle House not quite what it seems…? Chloe realizes that if she doesn’t uncover the truth, she could be destined for a lifetime in a psychiatric hospital. Or could her fate be even worse…? Can she trust the other kids in the home, and does she dare reveal her dark secret?

There’s another series I liked back then. The Power of Five by Anthony Horowitz. Here’s a summary:

As punishment for a crime he didn’t really commit, Matt was given a choice: go to jail or go live with an old woman named Mrs. Deverill in a remote town called Lesser Malling.

He should have chosen jail.

A strange and sinister plan is coming together made in Lesser Malling, with Matt at the center of it all. People who try to help him disappear … or die. It all ties to an evil place named Raven’s Gate - a place whose destiny is horrifyingly intertwined with Matt’s own.

So yeah, you can see how that also fits into my tastes. Oddly enough, I do kinda relate to these kinds of characters. Not because I can see ghosts. And my childhood definitely was not as bad as these characters. But… there’s something about seeing them struggle to fit in and then eventually giving up on that idea and making their own path that I love. Makes me root for them. 

When I was in middle school and harassed, I used to try so hard to fit in. By the time high school hit and I moved somewhere else, I completely gave up on that idea and for the first time, I found lifetime friends. Even though they’re more normal than me, they’re still my buddies. Around then, I found another forever bestie online and all three of these people are my pals forever and ever. 

And I wish the same for all these characters too. 

#ask

[yiulee999]

Hey! What do you think of OPM season 2? I still love it & am looking forward to next weeks new episode but i just wish Saitama had more screen time ;-(

hey nonny~! 

apologies for the late reply, its a combo of not getting notifications (tumblr u useless trashbucket) and being on surgery rotation (i miss sleeping so much) 

firstly, i am truly glad you still love it and look forward to the new episodes!!! 💖💖💖please dont let anything i say from this point on dissuade you from that enjoyment 

THAT BEING SAID 

///cut for length 

ive only watched up to the second episode, and i am having Such Difficulties convincing myself to keep watching. i know my rxns to ep 1 were overall pretty positive and I stand by it but the more i watch the more the Cringe/Hypercritique starts take over. 

Turns out, the art style had a bigger impact than i thought on the length of which i enjoy shows. personally, i just really like when anime/shows have a happy marriage between writing and artwork. and when show directors know how to interpret writing, how to set up a scene (the angle, the music, the pacing), and then communicate with artists who have the skills to bring that idea to life using the medium they’re given -- that’s when writing becomes storytelling. OPM’s writing is still fantastic since they’re going off ONE (whereas GoT has the opposite problem where the production value is 4K and the writing is early 2000s livejournal/fanfiction lol god why is everyone dropping the ball in 2019??)

As for the art, since opm switched to jc staff and shingo natsume & co. left for other projects ( ;;_____;; im emo ), its inevitable we would see a drop in animation quality and i find myself constantly getting distracted by things i never used to get concerned about in the first season (bc of the high bar of expectations set by s1 artists/directors, like theres just no way jc staff would match up it to all of that and i feel bad for them, they’re trying their best but that doesn’t mean theyre immune to critique on the artistic liberties that they’ve taken that i feel as a viewer, may not have been the best choice?) 

the shading: no, just, unnecessary and distracting and why is it the center of saitamas face, im by far no expert in lighting but a bish can tell something doesnt look right??? 

the shading pt II: color choices. just gonna say i was not expecting sai’s ‘hair shirt’ in ep 1 to be bright-ass neon green, it was a little jarring at first and i miss him in red ;-; i get hes supposed to have poor fashion choices but i dont see him as the type to pick something that stands out so much in the crowd, like he likes to be left alone. NEON doesnt really relay ‘hi dont mind me im just barely existing here lol’ 

the shading pt III: genos arms/neck. okaY so the bby looks good in screenshots. like he’s shiny and nice to look at when nothings moving. bUT this is animation?? movement of objections is different from still life manga so making every single scene almost 99% like murata’s panels translates a little awkwardly to the screen (like staff is lucky bc murata’s a force of nature with his panels playing out like a movie for ref). but when genos moves, the arms are just distracting bc everything around him is drawn simply without shadows so they stand out by themselves and i (visually) forget about the rest of him haha. 

the pacing: it feels scripted, person A says this so we’ll show person A in the shot, then person B is saying something so we have to cut to person B, etc etc like keeping pretty steady to manga lines to the point where i was starting to get bored bc i knew what was coming. it was really intervaled? like someone had to be saying something at a certain effect and i think s1 had more dramatic pauses (lol) but thats how you can place emphasis on scenes to have an emotional impact if the character doesnt say anything and just let the soundtrack do some talking and the cadence of the script will change too (im 10000% talking about the sunset scene in s1 god bless. like it was slow, there was MOOD there wasn’t any rush and really gave the viewer time to think about the relationship between the two characters and what that moment meant to each of them) i feel like there were several scenes that could have been more like in the scene where sai protected fubuki, could have been a little more dramatically emphasized (aka just a pause) so the viewer could get a chance to understand that he purprosefully shielded her or when genos says that strong heroes are drawn to saitama--bUT nope its the same pace, like c l o c k w o r k just like my t eARS--

the fight scenes: how do i even start. the one scene that got me INTO opm (like watching the anime, reading the manga, drawing fanart, writing fanfic, reading fanfics etc) was kickstarted by the fight scene between genos and saitama in s1 that was circulating on tumblr a while back. i thought the characters were interesting and the fight was badass and it just looked SO COOL. (also the forehead flick at the end just kinda sealed my fate). going from that to s2 fight scenes where its mostly cut scenes and freeze scenes?? where theres a cut out behind the characters back?? during a fight scene????? this isn’t a calling card or an anime opening??? i dont understand. when they dont do cut scenes, its interesting but my initial impression is just underwhelmed. i can find good parts but it feels like i have to replay the scene to notice it? theres also an overwhelming amount of graphics/cgi manipulation that overpowers the actual art sometimes. its lacking some of the fluidity that comes from hand drawn fight scenes from first season. OTL

the sound directing: so i thought that the mood just felt off for certain scenes and the sound didn’t seem to support the scene as well (unless it was like the character’s theme or smtg) and i looked it up and the sound director was also replaced (Yoshikazu Iwanami replacing Shoji Hata). i have no idea if the sound director is also in charge of character lines but there were parts were fubuki was monologuing and i had no idea she was inner monologuing, i thought she was talking out loud and that just took extra effort on my part to re-orient myself (im nitpitcking i know but its just how i watch shows lol) 

there are still some parts i like about the animation:

fubuki looks bangin and i love her👌👗

all of this just made me realize how insanely lucky we were to have an amazing s1 and just have it exist and how i really could not care less if they had just waited forever to make s2 as long as we had the same crew come back. but anime is still a business and the quicker they dish out merch/seasons, the more money they can bring in. which they do in the short run but they would bring in more if they spent a little more on quality in the long run and it becomes one of those classics that ppl will rewatch and keep recommending to ppl who want to get into anime and oh my god we’re never gonna have that now, are we. if im gonna rec it to a friend its gonna be ‘read the manga!’ or ‘just watch s1!’ uGH. its just an unfortunate situation, its not one person’s fault either, so many factors go into what made opm s1 so spectacular and seeing s2 just made me appreciate s1 more. i guess im happy to have a s2 regardless? 

i’ll still watch to support (and bc i like suiryuu and wanna see sai in a karate gi and wig lol). maybe i just have to get used to the new style. 

so in summary,

#this got outta hand real quicc #sorry nonny u really didnt ask for this😅😅😅 #i just have paragraphs of emotions #my inbox is open hit me w discourse if u disagree lol #this is just imho #Anonymous

[roedusk]

Natsume FFXV Crossover Notes

I’m trying to organize my thoughts and figured an update might not be a bad idea for the people without access to my thoughts.  So here you go.

Let me know what you think?

(Will probably change as I write things, and I'm certain I forgot explanations and notes I was going to write because of tangents…  So sorry about any confusion.)

World Notes

General World Notes

- FFXV setting with Yokai/Ayakashi based on Natsume added.

- Plot of Natsume happened during his teen years and he and his friends are now adults, 21-26 ish so they’re around Noctis and Co.’s age.

- I'm classifying some yokai or yokai abilities as “divine” for lack of a better word.  This is yokai such as guardians of temples, and abilities such as Nyanko-sensei/Madara's purification ability.  Yokai with this classification are generally more powerful than equivalent non-divine yokai, and have power over the world in some way.  They so tend to be bound up in complicated rules most ayakashi don't have to deal with. In exchange Divine Yokai are generally not affected by yokai exorcism, or at least not to the same extent, it depends on the Yokai and situation, aka the plot.  Yokai with divine abilities are also usually powerful, and tend to be exceptions to rules that usually apply to all yokai.

Astrals

- The Astrals are the same type of creature as the deities Natsume bumped into in the Moon Splitting Festival, powerful on their own but regenerate their power (if they use it up doing things like making the land fertile) through worship of humans.  They all fall into the category of divine beings Madara can probably oppose and maybe manage a win, but it would probably get him cursed.

- Bahamut, Ramuh, and Leviathan are all at their original undamaged power percentage, having never taking a serious blow to cut their power.  They are about equal in power to Fuzuki from the Moon Splitting Festival, since he hasn’t been diminishing his power like Hozuki was.

- Titan, Shiva, and Ifrit are at post-damage power levels.  Titan however has a lot of worshipers and followers that he amassed while dormant, so his damaged power level is about equal to his non-damaged brethren.  Shiva and Ifrit are about equal in power to Houzuki (who is not as powerless as they appear in the Moon Splitting Festival episode).

- The Astrals are both powerful enough to be seen by humans and chose to be so.  The deities in the Moon Splitting Festival (unlike in Natsume canon!) can also make this choice, but generally chose not to.

- Each Astral has a realm of influence. Their influence changes the feeling of the area, such as how welcoming it feels or how prone its inhabitants tend to be towards settling in one place.  

- Bahamut's influence is over Insomnia, and his disapproval of yokai/ayakashi makes them less common, and the ones who stay in spite of the encouragement to leave tend to be stronger and less family/group based.  Insomnia tends not to be comforting, but has a feeling of purpose living there that generally feels lacking when moving away.  This feeling of purpose can also feel grating tho, like being forced to do things all the time can be draining.

- Titan's influence is centered on his temple in Old Lestallum, but has also spread from his physical location at the Disk of Cauthess.  He appreciates life that thrives but especially the kind of life that can cooperate to do so, like early settlers of the area or yokai living among the forests and human settlements in symbiosis.  Titain's power is more attractive to those who are clannish and protective of their important people.  It also exudes the feeling of being guarded, since Titan was injured protecting the area and those in it.  This can be comforting or constraining depending on the individual and how they feel at the time.

- Ifrit's influence is lingering over Ravatogh, but is also present in the Meteor and it's shards.  His influence is both the creative inspiration he gave to Solheim and the impulse to act that can both lead to good decisions without hesitation and quick bad decisions based on anger or lack of forethought.  His anger at the war of the Astrals also lingers in the sphere of influence over Ravatogh making the area less friendly to living things that can feel it, but it has been largely tempered out of the Meteor by Titan's protective influence.  Lestallum started based on inspiration of those drawn to the Meteor and thrives on those working with the shards now.  Tempered by Titan's influence towards cooperation it's the most successful new settlement in a millennium.

- Shiva's influence is centered around her corpse, but is also present in Tenebrae where her messenger lived.  It tends to encourage self-possession, people who know what they want and go for it regardless of what anyone else might think. This helps people like Lunafreya keep their strength up in bad situations, and allows people like Versatile and Ravus to pursue their goals without worrying about the morality of them.  As the same time it also encourages self-restraint, not in matters of morality but in not revealing yourself too easily.  This can be armor but can also make it harder for the individual to understand their more “firey” emotions.

- Leviathan's influence is found deep in the ocean, and while certain things can bring it to the surface it's much weaker up there.  The strongest surface place is the Altar of the Tidemother, where she was worshiped and interested enough to look at humans in return.  Her influence is part of the strange feeling the Ocean has, where it's huge and vast and cares nothing for if you live or die.  If you want something you have to go after it yourself, there is no promise of divine intervention or idea that you may get ahead if you do things the right way.  There's no judgement from a higher power for doing something underhanded, and if you want rules you have to find a way to build and enforce them yourself. This attracts those with a drive to get ahead and play the angles, eventually leading to the founding of Altissia.  Leviathan herself takes interest in those who fight for what they want, but that's no guarantee she will respond to a plea for aid even from those she likes.

- I have no idea about Ramuh right now?

Starscourge

- ???

- As far as I can tell canon Starscourge is explained as a mutated malaria virus.  But it also drives people mad before vaporising them and the resulting Miasma somehow both eats sunlight preventing it from reaching the ground, and generates demons based on the remainders of the mad dead people's egos that die instantly in sunlight.  These vaporised egos can also apparently be used to power magitech armor but the ego in them makes them difficult to control??? And the "only"/prophesied cure to the disease is to kill Ardyn (who is neither the source or receptacle of the disease, nor the source of its recent resurgence, tho he did help it along in the last 30 years), then to die so we can kill his soul.  This somehow purges the Miasma. (And spoilers? depending on if the book is canon or not it may be the last part needed for a world killing wave Bahamut wants to use?)  I also can't figure out where in the game I bumped into the explanation that the Starscourge is from the meteor Titan is holding? Because it's something everyone in the fandom thinks is true now that I go looking but is apparently not canon?

- And a cure?? I have no idea, really??? But I have some thoughts???

- Has existed at least since Solheim, and was around long before Ardyn.

- It infects yokai/ayakashi as well as humans and animals.

- Is probably a miasma in the greek tragedy sense? (If my greek dramas seminar in college is to be believed) Miasma in greek tragedy apparently coincided with someone who was “to blame” and whose death was needed to stop the poison from killing people.  The King does bad and the whole kingdom suffers kind of thing.  But if they don’t kill themselves in penance then the person that kills them becomes the problem and the miasma continues.  Not sure where I’m going with this but it matches nicely with the Natsume system of problem solving being about emotions and experiences?

- Probably need the modern trope of a Panacea to cure it? Something everyone worked together to get/make (in true Natsume fashion) to give to Noctis after the 10 years???

- How do I cure this??

- Did this disease ever even make sense?

Character Notes

Natsume

- Born in Duscae, Natsume’s family is descended from people who settled Old Lestallum a thousand years ago, so most of his relatives (who he was passed between as a kid) were from the Lestallum/Old Lestallum offshoots area.  However he did have a few relatives in Insomnia he lived with as a child for a little bit.

- Natsume had never lived in Old Lestallum until the Fujiwaras took him to their home there.  He loves the town because of the good memories there and intends to live there the rest of his life if he can.

- Because of his unique heritage Natsume has the ability to help purify Yokai/Ayakashi and help them move on (in the psychopomp way or just therapy way) even when those difficulties are caused by infection by the Starscourge.  He’s unaware that he’s purifying the disease when he does this, thinking those cases are just more dramatic versions of what he deals with every day.

- Examples of the above are Shigure (the luck god trapped in the old school), Rokka (leader of the Masked Yokai), and Sui (the broken guardian and companion Gen was trying to save).  The Mirror Yokai’s ill friend also has the Starscourge which is why he disappeared on her, not wanting her to get hurt when his emotions were bad.

- Natsume still lives in the Fujiwara’s house, and is technically employed by Tanuma’s father.  He travels the area making sure the wards on the Havens are fully powered and has the rest of the time to devote to Ayakashi problems.

- Natsume feels like this should be a temporary thing rather than a lifelong job and that he’s taking advantage of Tanuma for employment, while Tanuma is worried they’re using Natsume for their safety the way others have tried to.  But he’s happy and Tanuma is happy to be working with him so they reassure each other it’s ok.

Tanuma

- Due to slightly different setting details Tanuma decided to follow in his father's footsteps as a priest.  He is currently his father's apprentice, but is mostly left to his own devices at their home temple while his father travels.

- The little used temple he and his father moved to in Old Lestallum is Titan's temple there.  It was once the main one, but as Old Lestallum wanted in population and importance it was abandoned in favor of temples elsewhere, most especially the temple/tourist attraction at the Disk of Cauthess in modern day.

- Several temples to Bahamut have also sprung up in the area, much more regimented and grander than Titan's newer temples due to the active ancestor worship of Lucis being mixed in.

- While people in Old Lestallum kept the main temple building and living areas more or less clean, they didn't take much care of the grounds.  Enough care to keep the wards up, but not much more (not that they were really aware of this, it was just muted respect and in case a new priest moved in).

- Since Tanuma and his father moved in the wards have strengthened.  At the same time Natsume has been incidentally expanding and strengthening the weak wards around the town his grandmother had created by living there.  This makes Old Lestallum a remarkably safe place compared to elsewhere in Lucis, and people have started attributing it to the temple's new care pleasing Titan.  (Hense how the temple's income can support 3 workers now.)

- As caretaker to the temple, Tanuma has gained some strength from growing up there.  He still has a weak constitution, which yokai/ayakashi can stress by being present, but his stamina/resistance is much better now.

Noctis

- Ever since he was little Noctis realized he could see things other people couldn't.  In his case, unlike most others who can see yokai, the ones he saw were few and far between due to living in the Citadel, the center of Bahamut's influence.  Pretty much the only one that interacted with him was Carbuncle, and they were a benevolent guardian spirit.

- After his injury, while in Tenebrae, he saw more “spirits”, but also learned Luna could sense them (but not see them) when she sensed Carbuncle with him.  This lead him to believe the ability to see/sense spirits was tied to him and her being chosen ones.

- He tries not to worry his friends by any weirdness with creatures other than Carbuncle, but he doesn't try to hide that he can see them either, assuming it's understandable, so they just accept his little comments as well.

- After leaving Insomnia and entering Titan's influence he starts seeing a lot more, and less refined ones and is getting overwhelmed.

Lunafreya

- As one of the line of the Oracle Luna has the ability to sense people, such as knowing where they are in space in relar to her, and if they're sick or injured.  This extends to yokai/ayakashi though she isn't able to see them unless they have the ability to make themselves visible to humans.

- Umbra and Pryna are yokai guardian dogs, what their divine abilities allowed them to assume a form visible to humans, which is how Lunafreya found them as puppies. They have since adopted her as their charge.  Gentiana has accepted them as her guardians due to them being divine, she wouldn't have allowed any other yokai near her charge.

- Gentiana is also ayakashi and has the ability, from Shiva's power, to become visible to humans, though she can be more seletive of who can see her than most can.

Taki

- Taki grew up wanting to be able to contribute something to helping her friends that they couldn't just do without her.  This lead her to joining the Hunters so she could keep them safe, and she has since become an expert marksman, (though she largely prefers the bigger guns hunters in the game use rather than pistols like Prompto).

- She generally sticks to Cauthess, because most of Natsume's travels are in the area, but she has become good enough at her job that she is asked to help further afield occasionally.

- She still remembers many things about yokai from her grandfather, and what she learned from growing up with Natsume, so she can sort of tell if ayakashi things are happening and ask for him to help.  She still tries not to draw her circle until he (or Tanuma or Natori lately) tell her it's ok with the yokai.

Reiko

- A woman yokai speak of in fear and respect and humans talk about in disdain if at all, but nobody really knows anything about.  She lived in Old Lestallum and in spite of bad experienced there saw the area as her home.  This was enough to take protective barriers around the town, but weak ones.

- More concentrated barriers were created around places she camped/spent the night because of her deliberately attempting to create a safe place to sleep.  These eventually became Havens once she realized she could do it deliberately.

- Unknown to her, or anyone else anymore, and independent of her ability to see yokai/strong spiritual power, she is descended from a bastard male child of the Oracle’s line.  This altered her powers just enough to make her unlike any other human's.

- Towards the end of her life she met Regis and company out in the wilderness around Old Lestallum.  A strange unapologetic woman who laughed at them and called them idiots before helping anyway.  She gave Regis specifically some pointed advice before sending them on their way.  (Not completely certain what it was yet but not sure if I need to know.)  When Regis went back to look for her later in life people were confused why he cared about that strange woman and he could only find out she wasn't well liked and had since passed away.

Regis

- Regis has no ability to see or sense yokai, but he was best friends with Aulea, who could but kept it a secret.  On his road trip to Accordo in his youth he bumped into Reiko, now an adult.  She was unconcerned with who he was, and unthreatened by his retinue.  She didn't want anything from him either, but gave him some pointed advice on the world being more than what he could see that stuck with him through his trip.

- When he returned home he realized Aulea could see things he could not, and managed to broach the subject with her.  After convincing her to believe him, and that he believed her, this brought the closer, lessening a bit the stress being able to see yokai had put on her.  He respected her wish for it not to be known, even to his friends, until after her death, when he explained a little to Clarus (and maybe Cor) in relation to Noctis.

Aulea

- Per Word of God she's Regis’ childhood friend.

- Born into a low ranking Noble house in Insomnia she was the first in generations to be able to see yokai. However it wasn't unknown to happen, and her family had been on the lookout for it since implications of collusion with any spirit other than Bahamut needed to be carefully repressed.  She grew up learning her ability to see strange things was to be entirely ignored, trained in composure and people reading (to determine what other could see).

- She also grew up responsible for the family's guardian spirit, Carbuncle.  They were the only yokai she was allowed to talk to and then only in private.

- As an adult this composure training made her known as someone impossible to startle, and she gave up trying to fake alarm at things other really did see because it was a good reputation to have.  (Those close to her learned to read her microexpressions and she was comfortable enough with them to drop the full mask to her more normal reserved self.  Deadpan is her favorite I joke.)

- Either way, as a child she stumbled on Regis out alone, and ignored him entirely because there wasn't anyone else around for her to realize he was human instead of a yokai.  This intrigued him, and when they were next introduced (at a public event her family had been invited too) he insisted on talking with her.

- Regis spent a lot of time with her as a child, so he saw her eyes flicker to things that weren't there, picking up on it because of his own training to avoid threats to the royal heir.  He noticed her aborted movements and how she would look over at him for context, but didn't realize what it all was.  Instead he dismissed it as a child can as just how the other was.

- After meeting Reiko something she said made him think about what his friend acted like, and he eventually concluded he should just ask her.  Tho she was startled, Aulea was able to avoid an overt reaction but also decided to just agree he was right, startling him and herself.

- Since them the two of them sorted out how to discreetly hint something was up and Aulea allowed Regis to ask about yokai she saw in private if she indicated no yokai were nearby to hear.  This is how Regis learned about the dragon yokai that lived in the throne room but just watched, and about his family's new guardian spirit, Carbuncle.

- After Noctis’ birth Aulea was able to tell Regis he had the ability to see Yokai since he would play with Carbuncle.  She passed away soon after but not before making a Carbuncle statue to help the guardian protect her family.

Nyx

- As a child in Galahd, Nyx grew up in the shadow of an old temple, still maintained out of respect for the protective spirit (no one said deity out of superstition the Astrals might get offended) that lived there and their followers.  Unlike most, tho, Nyx had a little sister who swore she could see them.

- Nyx still isn't sure if he believes Selena when she told him about the Coeurl guarding the temple, and he regrets that she died knowing he wasn't sure if he could believe her. He doesn't realize him trying to believe her and standing up to the people who insulted her “stories” was more than enough for her. He even walked with her the second time, when they were very young and she was scared of the wild cats everywhere but wanted to pay her respects at the temple.

- Selena befriended one of the guardians at the temple, and he lead some of the others down to try and help (without permission) when Nifelheim attacked.  The temple was destroyed in the attack and the guardian was unable to save Selena.  Unlike the rest who stayed to try and find those who flead the temple's destruction, this guardian attached themself to Nyx out of regret, and has been protecting him since.  This is at least part of his ridiculous luck.

Libertus

- Libertus doesn't believe in spirits or guardians, because wouldn't they have protected Galahd if they existed?  He respects Nyx's wish to respect Selena's superstitions but privately thinks he needs to let go of the little rituals to move past her death.

- On the other hand, he took in Crowe when they first met because she reminded him of Selena (tho he keeps looking out for her because of who she is now), so he's not coping with her loss as well as he thinks he is either.

Crowe

- When she mentions she was driven out of her hometown, Crowe lets other people assume it was by the empire. She doesn't mention that fearful villagers drove out what they thought was a cursed orphan before they could be cursed in turn. She's still seen the evil of the empire and wants to stop them, but she didn't have the personal stake people assume she has until she heard what happened to her new family.

- In her travels before being picked up by other refugees headed to Lucis, Crowe ended up giving in and yelling at a yokai to leave her alone.  A crow yokai, Yatagarasu, heard her and their flock took pity on her, driving the yokai away. Yatagarasu took it on themself to help Crowe navigate the world of yokai, since they had gotten involved already.  They and a few of the crows from their recent flock accompanied her in her travels, becoming her signature talent and inspiring many people to point out her name.

- Crowe is able to blame most of her jumpiness on the crows, because they get between her and yokai all the time, and hasn't told anyone she can see yokai.  She doesn't want to get driven away again.

Pelna

- Pelna is from one of the smaller islands in Accordo which was mostly evacuated during Regis’ attempt to oppose the empire there.  He spent most of his young life as a poor refugee along the Lucian coast, eventually moving to Insomnia when he proved compatible for Kingsglaive.

- Family superstitions that he grew up with require an offering of thanks in return for actions above and beyond the expected response to a situation.  The superstition started as something similar to a temple offering you give to the helpful stranger to make sure if they're a spirit it knows you acknowledge its help so it doesn't throw a fit.  Also decent advice for dealing with Exorcists.  But the specific reasons have been lost to tradition.  Now it's just the difficult to explain idea that if someone goes above and beyond for you, you owe them a well thought out thank you gesture, so they won't think you put less effort into coming up with the gesture than they did helping you out.

- If someone is close enough to be considered family it's mostly moot tho, just give them the consideration and care family is due, and that will repay their care for you.

Matoba

- The Matoba clan is a wealthy family in Accordo which also happens to be secretly Exorcists.  They do own an old house in Duscae but it hasn't been used for more than a staging ground in generations.

- When Regis came to Altissia to oppose the empire the Matoba family took interest.  Hunting yokai and yokai turned demons in secret was tiring and difficult.  If they could get involved with Lucis they could have an excuse to be at many more locations, and armed.  So the family inserted several of their members into the resistance, and once they fled to Lucis afterwards some of them were able to enter the newly formed Kingsglaive.

- Over the years multiple Matoba family members were able to infiltrate the Kingsglaive, including Matoba himself.  They have no loyalty to Lucis, but are definitely anti-empire.

Natori

- An actor who grew up in Old Lestallum, Natori is really an exorcist whose cover job was surprisingly successful.  Probably mostly famous in Insomnia unless Nifelheim and Insomnia share movies.

- He moved out when he was of age, fleeing his family mostly, but came back to deal with an exorcist request in his old neighborhood.  Since meeting Natsume he has been spending more time in the area.

- I think he lived in Accordo and has recently bought a place in Lestallum instead maybe?

- Was in Altissia when the signing ceremony happened, probably waiting to meet with his agent or at a shoot.  He's been trying to get news of what happened since then, worried for Natsume and co in Old Lestallum more than the city tho. He's most worried Natsume somehow got involved because he does that a lot.

Plot Summary

Crowe's Path

- I know the least about this path right now, but it insists on being a separate one from the other two, so I'm going to try to honor that.

- This path starts first, ish, with Crowe's mission from the Kingsglaive movie.  For those not in the know, spoilers, this is a mission assigned by Regis to rescue Luna from house arrest in Tenebrae and get her safely to Noctis in Altissia.  Only she's attacked and killed on the way.

- In this fic she is on her bike with the black van coming around the corner at her when the crows start going nuts, but not because of the van.  Nope, there's a rogue behemoth that just came out from behind the nearby stone structure and has seen her.  It charges her, body checking the van as it attacks her.  She loses her hand and watch to its teeth and is thrown from her bike by the force of it.  The bike is pretty totaled and she's struggling to get away when she blacks out.  The glaives in the van open fire drawing it's attention, and are too busy fleeing the behemoth to keep track of her.

- Dave (the hunter from FFXV) was nearby tracking the behemoth for Hunter tags, and his dog drags Crowe to safety for him.  He gets her into the van with a tourniquet and rushes her to medical attention.  Once she's safe to be moved she's transferred to Meldacio HQ for the monster attack specialists there.

- Because of her mission, when Crowe wakes up she doesn't ask to send a message to the capital of what happened.  She tries sending Yatagarasu back but they aren't able to talk to anyone but Nyx's guardian and just presence alone isn't able to get the message across.   Someone will know when she doesn't make a checkpoint but not soon enough.

- Note here: I'm making her leaving the city earlier, to give her more than 2 days to pull off an infiltration rescue, especially when the empire probably had Luna traveling for at least one of those days.

- With the help of a post surgery potion Crowe's wound and bad bruises heal up enough to move around in a little under a week.  But she still has to do physical therapy and learn to move around with only one hand (The amputation to clean up the injury is under the elbow but she did lose the hand and at least half her lower arm).  So she can't head back to report in then either, much to her annoyance.

- To keep her cover she had a physically present gun for protection, as anyone traveling beyond the wall would have had some sort of physical weapon the lack of one would be strange.  Only now most of her fighting ability with it is diminished due to needing to somehow use it with only one hand.  Dave asks Taki to stick around for a few days and see if she can work with Crowe on adapting her style to one-handed.  Taki agrees and tho Crowe is generally untrusting and frustrated she is thankful for the assistance.

- Once she can fire and reload the gun, if not all that well in the latter case, Crowe insists on heading back to Insomnia even though she's not done with her recovery or used to the loss of her hand yet.  Taki is resistant to clear her, but really the say is Crowe's.  So instead she offers herself as a driver, and Crowe a place in her truck on the way there.  Crowe grudgingly agrees, since she can't be sure she'll be able to drive herself back even if she could get her hands on a vehicle.

- The make it almost all the way back before Dave calls them to pull I et and turn on the radio.  Insomnia has fallen, and the empire has it blocked off do they can't even get inside.  Crowe is determined to try anyway, her family is in there, but Taki refuses to let her and Yatagarasu promises to scout and report back if she waits here.  So she caves and the duo stop at the local hunter station to rest and wait for news.

- Yatagarasu returns with a report. Not sure exactly what they found or didn't.  Crowe is unable to either locate or join Luna's group, and isn't aware any of the royals survived.

- Somewhere around here Taki realises Crowe can see yokai because she's doing similar things to Natsume. She tells Crowe a this, and about the circle she can draw to make yokai visible and her experiences with Natsume.  Crowe is skeptical and alarmed but Taki refuses when she offers to just have the other drop her off somewhere and go about her business.

- Not sure what Crowe's plan is at the time or ends up being (other than learning to use firearms and other weapons one handed)?  I know most of the flexibility in solving the main plot comes from her trip, since she's a completely new element to the story.

- Since I was unoriginal and went looking for crow yokai, then ended up with Yatagarasu instead of Tengu, Crowe's arc probably has something sun related to do, not sure what.  Is it Solhiem related or is that too much of a deus ex machina?

- No matter the plot they have the support of Dave.  If they need a boat to get to Altissia/the other continent he's probably the one who finds them one

Luna's Path

- Luna's plot starts with Kingsglaive. She's in Lucis as a pawn of the empire and the Kingsglaive is sent to rescue her.  Pelna is able to locate her on the ship as in the movie, and gets her out just in time to be snatched by an Ultros demon. Iltros drags him away around the corner as Nyx gets to Luna, and he's forced to leave Pelna to get Luna to safety. (I have to assume he's struggling with this somewhat, because it's so against his established character to never mention it again.)

- Ultros is a yokai based demon, so when Matoba catches sight of it he's able to kill it with one of his exorcist arrows in one shot.  When he comes over and finds out it's Peln who was injured he decides to use Pelna as assurance against them pro-king factor, proof that he is not on the empire's side in the coup attempt.  In the interest of this he protects the inured Pelna from the other Glaives, helps him survive the airship exploding and crashing, then helps him escape the city when it would really have been a better idea to leave him behind.  Even when their powers fail he steals them a car and gets them to the exit, where Pelna is able to reunite with the others, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

- Back with Nyx and Luna, the Glaive who was stabbed in the back still manages to explode most of the ship, and Nyx and Luna manage to escape onto another before Luna jumps on to the Citadel and Nyx goes after her.  They intervene in the battle with Glauca and escape with the King and Clarus when the Mist Dragon (and Nyx until the last minute) keep Glauca busy.

- Regis still gives Luna the ring for safekeeping and puts up a barrier to force them to go on without him and Clarus.

- Before he dies Glauca is able to get Nyx's call for backup and direct him to the trap with Luche.  He also gets the call from Libertus on the revolutionaries’ line, and incidentally reveals himself through his wording.  This is around the time that the Glaives’ power from the king cuts out, signifying his death.  Libertus arrives at the location given to find it's a trap for Nyx and Luna, and is able to apologize to Nyx, and reveal Glauca is Drautos.  The three of them get in Libertus’ car and escape through the battles raging in the city.

- At the outskirts of the city they stop to find a change of clothes (less Kingsglaive) and a way to escape the city.  This is when they regroup with Pelna and Matoba joins the team.

- After escaping Luna insists she needs to fulfill her calling rather than heading to Altissia immediately. Pelna points out the empire is probably blocading the sea as well and they need a place to lie low and plan.  Matoba recommends a compromise, and suggests they seek sanctuary at the temple of Titan in Old Lestallum.  It's not where the empire would expect her to go due to it being neglected in favor of the Disk of Cauthess these days, and he can vouch for the priest taking them in secret.  Pelna backs him up, saying it's a reasonable idea, and with no other options this becomes the plan.

- Matoba wanted to be able to try to bug Natsume again, and also knew Natsume and Tanuma would take them in and wouldn't betray them, so a win for him either way.  (Pelna had been having trouble reading him and eventually asked what he would take as a thank you gesture, which surprised Matoba.  He was disappointed to find that Pelna was traditional instead of from an exorcist family tho, and informed him that he wanted to head to Old Lestallum to seek sanctuary with a friend and asking Pelna to back him up if they ask where to go.)

- Once they get to the temple and Tanuma agrees to hide them from the empire there the party meets Natsume.  They don't get to talk much but he is aware Luna is the Oracle and was there to make a covenant with Titan.  He also helped the others get things from town that they needed.  (Luna calls Nyanko-sensei cute which he approves of.)

- Matoba tries to get Natsume to agree to join his clan for protection, but is turned down, and Pelna interrupts, feeling guilty about helping get Natsume into this position.  Matoba is entertained by this rather than upset tho.

- Once Titan awakens Luna heads to the Disk with her guards to talk with him.  Then she announces she needs to get to Angelgard to awaken Ramuh.  This is a bit more difficult but eventually they are able to haggle a trip over out of a fisherman willing to do a favor for the Oracle.  They hide below deck until arrival, when Luna gets out and awakens Ramuh.  On their way back they're flagged down by a larger vessel with Nanase on board (Matoba's clanswomsn with the spectacles) asking for him.  She got is message and is here to take them to Altissia.  Since they need to go anyway they accept his offer to accompany him, even if it is suspicious.

- It turns out Matoba is part of a major Altissian family, and they're able to enter the city unnoticed at his private dock.  However Luna needs access to the Altar of the Tidemother, which requires her to negotiate with the government, essentially turning herself in to them.  Matoba leaves the party but the other three all insist on accompanying her to be her guards even while they're on house arrest pending the First Secretary's decision.

- Once Noctis arrives and negotiates successfully with the First Secretary she comes to lay out her terms to Luna.  She is to send her guards to help in the evacuation of the citizens, same as Noctis, and in exchange they will be allowed access to the Altar.  However, Ravus is threatening war if she is not released into his care, so Luna needs to convince him to let her do it herself.  He is asking for a private audience first, to keep her safe from Ardyn, and Claustra intends to turn Luna over to prevent this if she can't convince him.  Luna agrees.

- The Glaive refuse to leave Luna alone with the enemy commander, so Ravus and Luna have their talk but now with an audience.  They argue and Ravus threatens but eventually he says something that gets Nyx to interject.  They argue about trusting the magictech troopers Ravus has to ensure her safety if the Chancellor countermands his orders, and about losing little sisters to the empire.  Luna takes back the conversation at this point and is somehow able to convince Ravus to let her go through with the covenant?  He places the burden of her safety on Nyx before storming out, and when Luna tries to protest she promised Claustra their help in evacuation Libertus says the Secretary is just going to have to deal, she can spare their best to guard their Oracle.

- Lunafreya still gives a speech, but it might be a radio address instead of in person?  And it's a better speech.

- Luna and Nyx are on the altar when Leviathan responds to the summoning, and Nyx is later able to prevent Luna from getting stabbed by Ardyn long enough for her to summon Knights of the Round power-up for Noctis of it's still needed, and not from hp this time.

- Natsume arrives on Madara's back in the middle of the fight between Astrals and is able to help Carbuncle heal Luna after she nearly kills herself healing Noctis.  All of this adds up to Luna surviving and being alive when Ravis and Ignis arrive.

- Ardyn really wants to know how Natsume can fly.

- Elsewhere Matoba petitions Leviathan for power to fight the demon hunting him.  She is impressed enough by how strong he is fighting that fate to not kill him immediately and says she might even consider it before disappearing.

- After a group effort manages to drive away Ardyn again Luna and Noctis’ groups combine into one, and end up staying at Matoba's Manor until they're well enough to be on their way.

- Not married to this flow of the fight scene, so there are other ideas floating around about Misuzu or Sasafune from Natsume showing up…  Much thinking to do.

Noctis's Path

- This plot starts 99% the same, only Carbuncle is a companion character who texts Noct's phone to talk in texts that people who can't see yokai can't see.  The others sort of realize he's Noct's guardian but not that he's physically present.

- Until Titan's covenant is complete it also goes almost exactly the same, maybe with a bit of dialogue about about seeing more yokai as they get to Duscae or some conversations with Carbuncle from time to time.

- Unknown to Noctis and co, Titan vanished in the crater to retreat to his Temple to recover (he knew the basic size of the temple and shrunk to a taller than human but still small form to not crush it).  Natsume panics at the bleeding yokai (since Titan chose to hide himself while recovering) and Tanuma and him bandage all his injuries and tuck him into a bed in the temple, only later finding out he's Titan himself.

- Not sure if they realize who he is only after Noctis shows up (because he's unconscious until then) or if he wakes up earlier than that.  Nyanko-sensei can speak astral tho, so that should help (since we don't have Luna or Ardyn to translate).

- I still have no idea where the Meteor ended up??

- In the trial with Ramuh the revelations aren't just scenes from the past to teach the audience context.  They're actually something helpful to Noctis himself.  I have no idea what yet.

- Noctis and co retrieve the regalia, but ping into Ravus (and Ardyn), then head back to Lestallum to find Jared dead.  Iris leaves the city with them to get her to safety, but the guys decide to stop at Old Lestallum and head to the nearby Imperial base to get vengeance for Jared.

- Somehow this ends up with them deciding to visit the temple of Titan before moving on.  At the Temple Noctis sees Titan injured and is startled to realize the gods he's been calling on are people too.  Should be obvious in hindsight but it's hard to wrap your head around.  He also meets Natsume, who startles him by being able to see Carbuncle too and realizing Noct can see Carbuncle as well.

- This leads to Noct having to adapt to the revelation that seeing these creatures isn't a chosen one exclusive thing.  Natsume is also struggling with meeting a child as clueless about yokai as he was as a kid and being able to help with that but unsure if he can handle it.  With some encouragement from his friends he decides to go for it and he and Noctis have awkward conversation together.

- This somehow (how ??? For future creativity to figure out) ends up with Noctis and co coming back to visit on their way up to the Vesperpool.  Natsume is glad to see them but on his way out, explaining he's headed to Meldacio HQ to look into a request from there and check on the nearby Havens.  Noct offers for him to come with them, since they're headed that way themselves, and Natsume is startled but appreciates it.  (Noctis preens a little at being able to help his new friend.)

- Because of this new unknown being there, Gladio hesitates for a bit to leave Noct instead of protecting him, but his need to prove himself better than both Ravus and his father wins out and he leaves the party here, meeting Cor at the Crow's Nest instead.

- Natsume worries his presence drove Gladio away, but tells himself it's a silly thought.

- Natsume separates from them at Hunter HQ and they go into the dungeon with Aranea.  Staggering out with their prize they bump into him staying in the caravan at HQ.  He offers to share since they look exhausted and they're tired enough to agree.  The trio bond with Natsume a little independently, and the next morning Noct asks if he'd like a ride back.  Natsume admits his job ran longer than he was expecting so he still needs to check out the havens before he can head back.  The guys surprise him by suggesting they accompany him then.  They see him safely to the Vesperpool and Myrlwood havens and Noct even gets to do some fishing.

- After dropping Natsume off back in Old Lestallum they head to the cape, only to be sent to Lestallum to refine the mythril. (Gladio rejoins party like main game but maybe Noct recognized his voice at least?)

- Meanwhile Natsume is worried about the party and startled by the impulse to go after them.  (Probably because he's realized who they are and that they're going to leave to get put in danger again.).  Nyanko-sensei tells him something along the lines of if he wants to he should just do it, and Natsume decides he’ll at least offer to help however he can.  He heads to Caem to try and find them, is startled by the dragon, has to stop a fight with Madara and the dragon, and is almost treated as a threat to the people there before Iris speaks up for him.  Then he gets to hear the first person who remembers his grandmother fondly when Regis mistook him for her for a second.

- Noct and co return to find Natsume waiting for them, wanting to help.  They're flattered but not sure they want to put him through that, but he insists he wants to help the people important to him instead of waiting and wondering if he could have helped.  (Something along those lines.). In the end they're convinced to bring him because Noct could use some help figuring out the yokai thing and no one else they know can help with that.  Plus everyone but Gladio thinks he's a good guy from traveling together a bit.  (Mild personal conflict between him and Gladio as a recurring plot point.). And of course Nyanko-sensei is going too.

- (Back in Old Lestallum Tanuma ends up telling the Dogs’ Circle that Natsume went on a trip, which ends up being spread around to everyone it might concern as gossip pretty quickly.)

- Natsume heads with the party to Altissia, where Natsume bumps into Natori, who is oberjoued that he survived the Imperial Invasion alright and horrified to realize he's gotten dragged into things again (tho he's ok at hiding this).  The party is suspicious of him, but Natsume is clearly happy to see him so they decide he's trustworthy.  Natori offers himself as tour guide for their first time in Altissia and they accept.

- Then they bump into Matoba on the street.  The party are unimpressed with yet another Ardyn type character, and neither Natori's or Natsume's body language reassures them.  Matoba offers for them to stay at his Manor while in town, since he's a part of a powerful family they would have greater protection and more leeway in Altissian politics than staying at the hotel.  They agree to think about it and get his business card before he leaves them to it.

- Natori is able to bring them to Maagho where Weskham is able to give them information on the people they've bumped into.  (He's interested in the fact that Natsume, someone he knows nothing about, is somehow connected to one of Altissia's oldest families and a famous actor known as a bit of a loner.)  He advises them to take up Matoba's offer, since he can provide protection, but they're still hesitant about what he might ask Natsume for in exchange.

- Natori is willing to out them all up in the Leville, but Natsume wants them to accept Matoba's offer, so he insists on going with them instead.  Matoba's perfectly happy to have him staying at his house too.

- The party is startled to learn Matoba knows where Luna is, since she stayed with him when they all got to Altissia.  Information that she had 3 Kingsglaive members with her is appreciated as well, tho his own background as former Kingsglaive doesn't help their suspicion.  Matoba is, of course, unsympathetic.

- Natsume is among the currently undecided factors that help keep Luna alive.  I have at least one possible scene of Natsume bring carried by Madara through the Titan vs Imperial Army battle, then helping Carbuncle heal Luna while Nyx, Ravus, and Ignis face down Ardyn.  So might use that or it might change.

- After the battle the combined parties bump into Matoba, who offers to let them stay at his family home again, they accept because once again he's a non political option and theoretically a bit safer.

- I have no idea of they manage to convince Ravis to join the party here, but that is a possibility.

- And… this is where I know very little about how things are going to go.

- The party is still interested in getting the Crystal and probably all insist on going.

- If Gladio has anything similar to his macho episode on the train it needs to be better written so he's not just being an asshole and is going to have several people vocally angry with him.  Not sure if Ignis blinds himself tho.

- If Prompto gets knocked off the train Pryna goes after him.  No idea if other helpful yokai are involved yet and if so how he'd tell.

- Also, does Ardyn have illusion powers or not?  If so I need him to use them earlier and have limits/specifics.  If not I need to rewite those scenes.

- Noctis meets a Phoenix yokai in Tenebrae.  No idea if he's important later or just a handy visual metaphor.

- Not even sure if Noctis gets sucked into the Crystal, but I think he probably has to be?

- Somehow at this point, Noctis or no, the main problem is the Starscourge, and between Prompto and Noctis we should have enough notes to make a guess as to what it is, a disease instead of an unknown.  So we do the Natsume thing and everyone starts working together to find a way to solve this without needing the Prophecy because that requires Noct to die (which we now know how…?  Luna maybe?  Does she even know?).  By the time Noct returns (if we lost him) we have a solution.

- No I don't know what that solution is yet.  My current best guess is a magically quest created Panacea. Are we going to throw it at Ardyn? Is it a spell like Holy in 7?

- Somewhere in here Noct does fight Ifrit.  He's learned that Astrals are people too and wants know why Ifrit is so angry.  The Astral is able to describe what happened in Solheim (need to figure out what I want this to be for this fic) and afterwards, and is able to let go of anger at humanity.  He was mostly holding onto it because he felt betrayed by his fellow Astrals.  The fact that Lestallum managed to use the power he left to make hope is helpful.  So he contracts with Noctis after Noctis cures him of the Scourge (with help).  

- Ifrit's purification removed his empathetic link with Ardyn.  Ardyn loses most of his rage.  Not uis feelings of betrayal, just the burning rage he had absorbed from Ifrit.  Usually he absorbs the fill echo of the killed person but Ifrit was alive still, so purifying him took the emotions away again. This may or may not be important in curing the Starscourge…?

- Details for the future as I get there I suppose?  But really, how and when does Crowe get involved???

Side Path: Regis

- This one is a plot point I've had for later reveal, but basically essential to Nyx's survival, so I guess I'm ruining the surprise now.

- I mentioned in Aulea's entry that there was a dragon yokai in the throne room.  She's based on the blue guardian dragon from Natsume more or less, but much larger, and her abilities are inspired by (liberal interpretation of) the Mist Dragon.  She arrived in Lucis somewhere in the middle of the 2000 years it has existed, and settled in the throne room to watch.  She doesn't move around the Citadel, and mostly treats it like an interesting that show she enjoys watching and piecing together.

- This got more complicated when Aulea married into the royal family and told Regis she was there.  The show started to address her own presence as a watcher, if only two of the characters.  Made it slightly more personal, especially when Regis started complaining about things under his breath while sitting on the throne and idlu asking her opinion tho he know she couldn't respond.

- When Aulea died outside of the throne room, Regis came privately to tell her before the royal announcement of her death, crying and unable to share with anyone else the secrets Aulea held but let him see.  The dragon responded by summoning a light mist in the throne room in mourning, which made everything look very ethereal for weeks.  People talked about an I'll omen, while other conjectured the crystal was mourning.  Regis appreciated it tho, and took it as a sign she cared, so he extended a formal invitation to the funeral. And for the first time in centuries the dragon left the throne room to attend, summoning a similar mist over the event.

- Regis still spoke to her now, and she sometimes even showed she was listening by summoning a wash of mist that swept through the room.  Mostly she still just watched tho, ignoring the little prince who could see her too.  Regis didn't invite her anywhere else, but did ask her to look after the kingdom while he rushed to Tenebrae with his son.  Then they both witnessed Nifelheim's demands for the peace, and Regis spoke long into the air about his misgivings.  The dragon settled in to watch what unfolded, but feeling angrier than she had in situations like this before.

- On the day of the signing, whole lingering in the throne room after speaking with Nyx, Regis told the dragon (uncaring of Clarus’ presence) that they were going to have the signing in a different room, because the Emperor would be slighted if only Regis has a throne, so she's welcome to come.  And so she goes.

- She's angry when the battle starts, how dare the empire try to end her watch?  Mist swirls around ankles, and then Glauca appears.  And she's not about to let the rule of Lucis end in such a way.

- She uses the power she's never felt a need to before, summoning a physically present form out of the mist. She snatches Clarus out of the air as he's thrown, the sword thrown after him passing harmlessly through her Misty neck.  And then the Mist Dragon engages Glauca alongside Clarus and Regis.

- When Nyx and Luna arrive she fights alongside the Glaive, buying time for everyone to escape down the elevator, then disappears to arrive after them.  Regis puts up the shield and she stays with him and Clarus as Nux and Luna escape.

- Glauca is not used to the opponent having as cheap an ability as he does to reduce damage, and this battle is much more even.  At the end he disengages and escapes back up the elevator shaft, where he has time to receive Nyx and Libertus’ calls before the dragon finds him.  She able to deliver a final blow to his already severely injured self and he dies early.

- She returns to Regis and Clarus who are trying to figure out what to do now.  Regis insists on heading back to the throne room to summon the Old Wall, but Clarus isn't going to let him warp up the elevator alone.  The dragon ends up taking them.

- ? Not sure what the cost of summoning them is this time, but there has to be one.  It's just not deadly.

- Afterwards Clarus insists Regis disappear, cut off the surviving Glaives so it looks like he died and focus on getting out of the city alive.  Regis isn't happy with that idea, because it would require him not to help anyone they came across as they left.  And Clarus doesn't like their odds of surviving even without a fight.  They kind of decide their only real option is to make a last stand here.

- Clarus asks if the dragon could take the king to safety while he made a last stand, which Regis objects to.  The dragon says she could carry both if them to safety, but why should she?  Regis asks her to, please, because he doesn't want Clarus to die for him.  She agrees on the condition that he do as Clarus says and fake his death, cut off anyone who could claim otherwise beyond Clarus himself, and stay where the two of them decide he is safe.  Regis isn't happy but agrees.

- Clarus suggests they head to the hideout in Cape Caem, and agrees to give the dragon directions.  So she grabs them both and flies them away in the night, using the battles and darkness as cover for them to escape unseen.  Once at Cape Caem Regis and Claris switch to everyday clothes and live in the ship bay. (If she can assume human form like Nyanko-sensei the dragon is probably the one to buy food, if not Clarus is.)  They aren't discovered alive until Iris and co. come to Cape Caem, and it's Cid who discovers them (and nearly gets attacked by Clarus).

- When Noctis arrives in Cape Caem there's an unseasonable mist, and above the cape is the dragon from the throne room back home.  She sees him and goes to circle the top of the lighthouse, which is enough for him to sprint over and warp up to the ladder rather than wait for the elevator or anyone yelling after him.  Up too he finds Clarus and his dad and they have a reunion.

- Regis’ friends refuse to let him go with Noctis to Altissia.  Not willing to let him reveal himself just yet.  So Weskham doesn't know he's alive, and Noctis isn't supposed to tell him.   Not sure how that will end up.

- And not sure how Regis changes the plot yet either.  But he's there at least?

#natsume yuujinchou #natsume's book of friends #FFXV #my fanfiction #fanfiction idea #this is apparently 17 pgs long #no wonder it took so long

[captainoftheseaqueen]

Sometimes I just watch really cute, fluffy, tropey  animes when I’m stressed out.

Things I’ve seen that other people might like:

Kamisama Kiss / Kamisama Hajimemashita

(Romance anime)

Nanami is the daughter of a gambling addict, and his debts have made them homeless. While out in the park, she saves a man from a dog that has chased him up a tree. As thanks, he gives her a token and is gifting her his home. It turns out his home is a shrine, and this might make her the new god of it!

---Fairly predictable, but some lovely designs and has characters who are clearly meant to be adults or young adults, and not simply teenagers. An excellent ‘time travel’ segment in the OVAs.

Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi / Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits

(Romance anime; Adult Protagonists; possibly Slice of Life)

Aoi is a college student with the ability to see spirits/yokai. When passing a Torii gate, she meets a spirit who pronounces it is hungry, and she gives it a homemade meal. For her troubles, she is abducted by this spirit to the Hidden Realm, the world of the spirits. The spirit, an ogre named Odanna tells her that her grandfather owed him a debt and promised him Aoi as repayment, so she must marry him. Aoi negotiates and instead ends up working for his bed and breakfast for spirits.

---Extremely strong protagonist, and a well balanced story! The character’s life is not centered around romance, and in fact it is often pushed aside for the sake of her other duties. Aoi is a chef, and as such food plays an important part in the story. Odanna and Ginji, both male leads, are incredibly kind and compassionate, and perhaps the healthiest love interests I’ve seen in most anime. Both boys remain friends, and their feelings for Aoi, in any sense, never harm their relationship with one another.

Natsume Yuujinchou / Natume’s Book of Friends

(No romance! Slice of Life anime)

Natsume has inherited the ability to see spirits from his grandmother Reiko. Upon her death, he recieves the Book of Friends, a book containing the names of spirits Reiko bullied/befriended/manipulated into giving her their names. Natsume has decided to undo this and give the spirits back their names and freedom.

---There are some themes of neglected children, particularly in regards to Natsume’s own backstory, but overall the series has an overarching element of healing. Natsume makes many friends over the course of the anime,and of the list, it is the longest running at five seasons and ovas!

Fukigen na Mononokean / The Morose Mononokean

(Categorized as a supernatural comedy)

Ashiya is possessed by a demon on his first day of school and ends up enlisting the help of Abeno to remove the possession. This puts him in debt and he begins to work for Abeno, the master of the Mononokean, 

--- A large, likable cast of characters, episodes are plentiful in comedy. 

Fruits Basket

Romance.

The new 2019 series. Please. The animation is so much cleaner and the original anime suffers from being an early 2000s rush piece.

Other series that can have much darker themes or are otherwise more mature, and can not necessarily be considered fluffy, but are well-written:

Death Parade

Akatsuki no Yona /Yona of the Dawn

One Punch Man

Donten Ni Warau / Laughing Under the Clouds

#and if you want tropey but enjoyable reverse harem #yo have Dance with Devils which has A MUSICAL NUMBER IN EVERY EPISODE #and Phantoms in Twilight which actually features a college age protag

[chiibinomonodamon]

My Top 10 Shoujo/Josei Ships

Let’s address the elephant in the room. Yes, they are problematic which is why they rank last. No doubt. But like, they’re ten and children make mistakes. Especially children who are as unfortunate as Natsume. Natsume himself is probably the most offensive one in this list. But I just...really have a soft spot for brooding bad boys who secretly want to be saved by the cheerful nice girl and that’s not going to go away ANY time soon. I grew really fond of these two as the series went on. I just did.

Man, these two used to be a lot higher when I was younger (like the same age as them lol) KKJ was the first true cosplay I ever did! So...um, not so much in the anime (although he’s not totally innocent but he is better). Chiaki has...issues. Lol. To say he’s insecure...is probably an understatement. But when you look at his upbringing, it’s really no surprise. Maron is the only person he truly seems to care about so he’s going to cling and be needy. But she knows how to handle him. She’s always in control (not in a bad way) but in a way that’s good for both of them. I love how mature she is. He will learn from her....if he hasn’t already. Okay, they’re married with a baby so I would think adult!Chiaki has gotten over what made the teenage ship problematic. Besides, they totally have God’s approval; what more do you need? XD

  *laughs* Who here watched this for the episodic Phantom Thief plots?

*crickets chirp*

OF COURSE YOU F*CKING DIDN’T.

Ya all watched it hoping for these two....RIDICULOUS TSUNDERE...GOOBERS TO TURN AROUND ONE DAY AND CONFESS HOW MUCH THEY DREAM OF GETTING MARRIED TO EACH OTHER...

MeimixAsuka is the absolute classic “love-hate/ slap slap kiss” ship DONE RIGHT. Which is great because so many are done very very wrong (and I can think of quite a few in, ironically non-Japanese media...aimed at children...that can honest to God, be interpreted as downright abusive. *coughiCarlycough*

But not these two. They are so f*cking innocent. Delightfully innocent. Like, their most offensive action is to call each other “idiot”. But God forbid anybody ELSE do that...oh no, if you dare bad-mouth one in front of the other, he/she gets so mad. And that’s like the cutest shit ever.

OH HEY. IT’S THE ONE BL SHIP I ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT!! Um...well, these two are great. I thought they were great in college when I went through my fujoshi stage (ugh) BUT I STILL think they’re great NOW. This is the anime version of The Odd Couple. With more gay. xD These two are sweet as chocolate. Their interaction is just precious. What’s more important? THEY’RE ACTUALLY GOOD FOR EACH OTHER. No rape. No forcing feels on each other, great chemistry, comforting comforters; all the reasons you’d ship a regular boyxgirl pairing. This one just happens to be two boys. AND I STILL DON’T KNOW IF THIS EVER TURNED CANON AFJLFJLFJDLJF

This is one of those very few Childhood Friend Ships I’m all for. It’s kind of crazy that they were able to rank this high when I haven’t even finished their story yet. BUT I LOVE THEM. I was going to pick a ship and say “Imagine _____, except they’re little kids.” But actually, I’m having a hard time comparing them to another ship I can think of. So...they’re KINDA ‘Slap Slap Kiss’-ish but Seiya does not hide his feelings. AT ALL. He’s pretty out-spoken about it. And all he wants to do is sweep her off her feet...but it’s basically the other way around xD As for Ririka...going by Shoujo Logic, her crush on (wow he’s so boring I can’t even remember his stupid name LOL) is superficial and she subconsciously has deeper feelings for Seiya that she’s unaware of...but damn, she sure gets fired up when he’s hurt in front of her! So that gives me hope.

This is just a given. It’s HIGHLY unlikely you would find another “Best Shoujo Pairing” list WITHOUT them. So he’s already there but HURRY UP AND REALIZE YOU LOVE HIM, AHIRU. Lol dammit. The only hint we get from her is “Fakir always makes me stronger” and that SINGLE LINE is deeper than ANY thought she ever had about Mytho. Hell, I’m pretty sure Ikuko herself ships them hard. Their entire relationship is so beautifully crafted...just like the rest of the series except maybe for Ahiru’s crush on Mytho which just had me going “LOLWHY” the entire time.

“SLAP SLAP KISS” LITERALLY. All they do is fight...and then kiss. xD They’re always saving each other, supporting each other, underneath all those insults, then they get married and have two cute kids. Some people think Kazune’s too hard on her...but it’s “tough love”. He has to be because that’s what motivates her. Every single thing Kazune does in the series is strictly for her sake. Their main problem is miscommunication...but I think that goes away quickly so who cares?

Yes, yes, I know. We have two major problems here: The first is initial sexual harassment. Obviously.

But here’s the second problem:

IT’S  JUST TOO DAMN FCKING HOT.

Tooyama Ema knew how to turn up the sexual tension to ELEVEN with these two. Good lord, did she ever. This is by far the sexiest manga I’ve ever read!! Whoever coined the phrase “DOKI-DOKI MOTHERFUCKER” surely had to be reading about Yukina making Shigure do things and Shigure making Yukina do things. While the ship (born from blackmail) should strictly fall into ‘Guilty Pleasure Smut’ category, it only teeters on the edge. For me, at least. Why? Because the character development is actually really damn good. Shigure goes from Cold, Uncaring Magnificent Bastard to Excellent Tsundere Boyfriend Material quite steadily and beautifully. He’s also the only character in the series who can handle Yukina’s personality flaws. Basically, “he’s good for her” while the others are...um, terrible. xD

HEY. IT’S “ANIME TWILIGHT EXCEPT IT DOESN’T SUCK” SHIP.

It’s an ancient story. ‘Vampires make sexy boyfriends’. I believe this has been going on for a reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally long time. Like.....since the 30s, maybe? When did Anne Rice start writing? IDK ANYWAY IT’S A THING. Cutesy human girl wants vampire. The vampire is broody, dark, emo. “I’m dangerous. Stay away from me. You’ll only get hurt”. But they still turn into an off-again, on-again thing because he can’t make up his f*cking mind on whether to protect her at his side or “protect by neglect”. We’ve all heard it before.

EXCEPT THAT IS NOT THIS STORY.

No, it’s cutest f*cking damn vampire romance I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. And yeah, I did watch Karin and Tsukuyomi Moon Phase but I’m partial to vampire stories for women so fck that. lol. So...where to start. First of all, Riho loved him way before she even knew what he was. When she finds out, she still loves him. And he does do the “You’re better off not being with me because danger”. But he doesn’t say this to be edgy or to manipulate her; he says it because what he does is actually dangerous enough for her to get killed and he doesn’t want that. But she doesn’t give a damn. And he treats her like a princess. And she finds out how lonely he is and vows to always stay at his side and he respects her f*cking decisions and they go on cute dates and always comfort each other and just afjalfjalfjaijfIWEJFILOVETHISSHIPSOMUCH.

Before I get to #1, here’s some honorable mentions:

SakuraxSyaoran from CCS

YonaxHak from Akatsuki no Yona

KurosakixTeru from Dengeki Daisy

KirarixHiroto from Kirarin Revolution

DaichixNajika from Kitchen Princess

TamakixHaruhi from Ouran High School Host Club

ZeroxYuuki from Vampire Knight

Note: I am not good at top lists. This was insanely f*cking hard to do.

So....drumroll..........

WHO SAW THIS COMING?

WHO FCKING SAW THIS COMING?

IF YOU DIDN’T,

YOU DON’T KNOW ME.

GET OFF MY BLOG.

These two pairings are....like...they affect me in ways I just cannot fathom. Like...I literally do not understand how they’ve cast these obsessive spells on me...but they have. Fanart records do not lie. And mine...for both of them is ridiculous.

So why?

The best answer I can come up with is...

“Most emotionally deep”. They inspire me. They make me squeal with joy and break down sobbing. They give me warm fuzzy feelings while at the same time, tearing my heart to shreds. I just can’t get enough of either one. It’s almost like they’ve touched my soul somehow. I just don’t know. I don’t think there’s a ship that expresses the feeling of ‘soulmates’ stronger than these two ships. I feel like Takuto and Mitsuki and Issac and Rachel were born so they could meet each other. They’re both oddly similar...and yet different as night and day seewhatIdidtharwiththepics. I think “sacrifice” and “salvation” is what I respond most to when I think about ever-lasting true love. And everything about these four characters’ development is centered around these two things.

#shoujo #shipping #happy valentines day #I'm like so bad at elimination lol #feel free to ask me about a ship I didn't list #or one I did #long post