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newnoirstories · 6 months ago

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Jashi (AI Illustration Version)

(As always, the inclusion of religious or mystical themes or practices in my works does not constitute an endorsement of them. The following story contains references to violence, kidnapping, death, drugs, alcohol, parental neglect and also some implied adult situations, to HIV/AIDS, as well as references to mental illness and catatonia.)

(The AI drawings are merely concept art for what I hope will be final illustrations, drawn by a human artist, such as someone on Tumblr.)

"Jashi"

Chapter I

On a Summer day in 1991, on a less than glamorous Boston street, Paul Knudsen saw a peculiar sight. A woman, who would turn out to be central to his professional life, was walking down a gritty sidewalk as if it were a runway, dressed perfectly, designer everything, every hair in place. She looked oddly familiar to him.

"Excuse me, ma'am… have I seen you somewhere before?"

"Are you into fashion?"

"Not particularly, why?"

"Grace Martel is my name, and I have been in Vogue twice already."

"Sorry to bother you, Ms. Martel. Maybe my wife left a magazine around somewhere…"

"Your wife? Don't fool yourself, friend. I know a gay man when I see one… not that there's anything wrong with that."

With this strangest of introductions, Grace Martel resumed her catwalk strut.

By this time, Natalie Rome, Paul's wife, had established herself as a noted appraiser of antiques, as well as an expert lecturer on the subject. She insisted, however, that she would never go into the criminal side of the antiques world, wishing to avoid the drama her father and brother experienced, but fate had other plans.

For his part, Paul Knudsen looked after their infant son, Peter Knudsen, and did any research, whether in books or on computers, that Natalie was too busy to do.

Chapter II

The maelstrom of spite and violence that would soon engulf Natalie and Paul came in the form, outwardly at least, of two families in a sort of feud, not of the direct, rural sort of popular history, but a battle of one wealthy family and one even wealthier, beginning with a common source of division, Mammon.

One wintery day in 1962, John Clemens Martel, of whom Grace Martel was a great-niece, owed money to a man even wealthier than himself, one Porter Heraldson, the first of that name. In Heraldson's splendid mansion, negotiations gave way to raised voices, which gave way to blows, and finally, in circumstances that were never fully resolved, John Martel stabbed Porter Heraldson (the First) to death with a letter opener.

The prosecution portrayed the matter as out and out murder, premeditated, saying that Martel simply wanted to escape his debts. The defense, by contrast, claimed it was self-defense, that Heraldson had attacked Martel. The jury decided that there was, at least, reasonable doubt regarding the perhaps overly ambitious charge of murder in the first degree, and so John Clemens Martel was acquitted, walking free in what the Heraldson family, and all of their friends and sympathizers, regarded as an outrage, a travesty of justice.

To darken the waters still more, shortly after his acquittal, John Martel was struck and killed by a locomotive, and the Martel family, and its friends and partisans, insisted that this was the real act of murder, but nothing was ever proven, and no arrests were made. The death could have been self-inflicted, or it could have been an accident, and Martel had been drinking, albeit not heavily.

From the 1963 trial on, the two families, each with an interest in the occult, albeit from very different perspectives, hated each other, the Heraldsons, the wealthier of the two (having earned their money in early locomotive transport, making John Martel's death the more ironic) viewing the Martels as common criminals, and common in every way, while the Martels regarded the Heraldsons as diabolical spawn who purchased their way out of justice.

No deeper hate was ever felt than that between these two prominent Bostonian families.

Chapter III

Another dark world, one that would impose itself on Natalie and Paul, was that of Philip "Catatonic Phil" Dandolos. While his nickname might have been a humorous, albeit darkly humorous, play on "Punxsutawney Phil", there was nothing humorous about Phil's early life, unless, perhaps, from the point of view of absurdism.

Dandolos was, like the Martel family's ultimate origins, from Pennsylvania, born in 1965 in a particularly rough part of South Philadelphia. His mother abandoned him at birth, and his father was a brutal alcoholic. Philip ran away from home at fourteen, becoming a thief on the streets, and eventually selling not only stolen goods, but himself as well.

Dandolos, wishing to escape the memory of Philadelphia, moved to Boston, where the homosexual set soon regarded him as the most handsome young man in the city, and his clients included many wealthy men, whom Philip was not above blackmailing, if they wished to conceal their trysts.

A heavy user of absinthe and hashish, and rumored to follow the infamous Thelemite cult, Philip's nickname came from his strange trances. Some said that they were a form of psychotic disorder, others that they were induced by hashish, and yet others that they were states of supernatural possession. Be that as it may, Philip Dandolos was either desired or feared by all who knew him, though he had never been known to be physically violent, instead relying on lies, larceny and blackmail.

That one of his clients was, by the early 1990's, Porter Heraldson III (who made no attempts to hide his homosexuality), grandson of the slain Porter Heraldson, would prove to have some bearing on events that followed.

Chapter IV

Returning to the fatal game of human chess of the Heraldsons and the Martels, to understand the actions of Grace Martel, and also of her older brother, Henry "Hank" Martel, one must understand the hatred of all of Heraldson blood instilled in them by George Martel, brother of John, of mysterious demise.

A somewhat feminine, slender man, whose favorite hobby was embroidery, George was, by the early 90's, bedridden, but continued needlepoint, but all of his embroidered images were of Heraldsons meeting gruesome fates, which, with a background among the Pennsylvania Dutch (Germans), was part of a tradition of Hexerei, Pennsylvania German witchcraft, in the Martel family, despite the considerable (though still inferior to the Heraldsons) wealth made by the fashion designs of the late John Clemens Martel, still worn by some older women, such glamour contrasting with the family's rustic origins.

Grace Martel, apart from her love of fashion, was herself skilled in Hexerei, having owl feathers for curses on the Heraldson family, and also, in a more modern innovation, a hidden serpent tattoo that she regarded as having sinister mystical significance. Hank, by contrast, was an impulsive, cantankerous man of limited intelligence, without the cleverness for witchcraft, and lacking any understanding of crime, except for acts of the most crude, direct violence.

Grace Martel, in 1992, made an audacious move against Porter Heraldson III. As Heraldson was an avid collector of rare Japanese antiques, Grace read considerably on the topic, then had some fraudulent "Japanese" items, of no real antiquity, built, in an attempt to have them sold to Porter, not for the money, but to try to trick Porter into re-selling them to a buyer (actually an agent of the Martels), and Heraldson himself, though innocent, would be arrested in a serious case of fraud.

However, Porter took one look at the goods presented and scoffed, knowing instantly that they were fake. Now, of course, it was Grace Martel who was in potential legal peril, though she lied and claimed that she had been deceived about the authenticity of the goods. Porter was less offended by the attempt to frame him for a serious crime than by the "insult to my intellect" of such "crude forgeries".

Ironically, given her earlier claim to the married Paul Knudsen, Grace knew little of Porter Heraldson III's personal life, and so, when she called in person at his mansion, she was let in by a servant, and went straight to Porter's study, and attempted seduction, boldly revealing her tattoo.

Porter, however, laughed derisively, "Martel, if you had listened to any gossip, which I thought was a favorite pastime of plebs [Porter's name for anyone he regarded as common or crass], you would know that I am utterly and thoroughly homosexual, and make no attempt to hide it, so you can put the money back in the purse, as it is in a currency I cannot use."

Chapter V

Natalie Rome's involvement in all of this came, early in 1993, through Yamazaki Sota, an elderly, very traditional Japanese man living in Boston. Yamazaki had in his possession a Karakuri Ningyo, an automaton or puppet used in Edo Period theatre, and apart from its perfect craftsmanship, it was also rumored to be possessed by an Oni, Japanese folklore's equivalent of a demon, as the result, legend had it, of an Onmyōdō practitioner centuries earlier breaking taboos and summoning such a being.

Rather than deter buyers, this legend increased the value, and many of the rising goth subculture would have purchased it if they had the money, but few had such cash. It must be understood, however, that Yamazaki Sota was most reluctant to sell this Karakuri puppet to anyone who was not Japanese, due to its associations with Onmyōdō, traditionally seen as an exclusively Japanese form of magic.

However, Yamazaki had a granddaughter, in need of expensive treatments for the cancer that threatened her young life, and so he tentatively agreed to sell the automaton to none other than Porter Heraldson III. Heraldson, in turn, brought in Natalie Rome, accompanied by Paul Knudsen, to appraise the item, and she arrived at a then staggering sum, for such an item: $200,000.

Without a moment's hesitation, however, Porter agreed to the price. He did not mention at the time, however, his primary reason for buying it. The Oni by which the puppet was said to be possessed was Shuten-dōji, believed to attack women, and Porter, having read deeply on the Edo Period, wished to invoke it to attack Grace Martel.

His reasons for taking such a drastic action went beyond the "insult to my intellect" of her attempt to frame him for fraud, but included also Grace giving free cocaine to Porter's heir, June Heraldson, his naive young nice, age 16, as part of her ongoing attempts to destroy the Heraldson family.

Even as Grace used Hexerei against Porter, Porter planned to use Onmyōdō, which he considered "far more powerful than the superstitions of rubes", against Grace. This would quite literally recoil on Heraldson, however, in a very physical and palpable way.

Chapter VI

The sale of the Karakuri Ningyo was arranged, in its legal formalities, by attorney Ralph Case, at a price of $200,000, and Porter immediately began calling the antique item "Shuten-dōji". Also owner of a Dreamachine, Porter was fascinated by the eyes, and so, one rainy night, when a voice seeming to come from within the puppet said, "Look me in the eyes. Look!", an intrigued Porter, keeping "Shuten-dōji" locked in his study, did precisely this, and it was his last action on earth.

With the mechanical sound of a spring, a knife went into the right eye of Heraldson. Discovered in such a terrible state by servants, the case was put in the hands of Detective Lou Meath, a weary, clumsy man of 64, just waiting to retire.

After reading of the matter the next morning, Paul expressed a very direct opinion to Natalie.

"Do you see this, Natalie? A sale you oversaw… you have to solve it, you know."

"Now, Paul, I told you, I will never be a detective," replied Natalie Rome.

"So, do you really want to leave the case in the capable [this last word overwhelmed with sarcasm] hands of Detective Meath? Have you met him?"

The look of chagrin on Natalie's face showed that she had met him.

"Natalie, you are the smartest person I have ever met. You could give the case to your father, but remember how he told you to do things on your own, without his help?"

"He meant appraisals, not investigating murders."

"Yes, but here you are- you know, what, twelve languages, or have I lost count? Do you really think this case is beyond you?"

"Despite the elements of subjectivity in such assessments of intellectual performance, I have been tested as having an intelligence quotient of 172."

"Now there's the Natalie I know!"

Chapter VII

Even Detective Meath could find certain evidence, or rather, those working for him could, and the only fingerprints found on the deadly puppet, other than those of Heraldson himself, were those of Grace Martel.

The matter was rather complicated, however, by the fact that several of Heraldson's most economically valuable Japanese antiques were missing, evidently stolen. The Martel residence was searched, but no trace of the items found.

However, when a neighbor mentioned that Philip Dandolos, having been given a key by Heraldson, visited the mansion that very night, and his apartment was inspected, there were the incriminating old objects of larceny. Dandolos admitted to the theft, but said that he found Porter already dead.

"I can prove I didn't kill him. When did he die?"

"Between six and seven," replied a uniformed officer.

"Ha… I was with Kevin, Kevin Courtney, another alleged client of mine at the time. He likes to take photos as trophies, but I keep the negatives, so if he denies it…"

While Dandolos was convicted of felony larceny, the rather graphic alibi proved him innocent of the murder itself, and so police attention turned back to Grace Martel.

Meanwhile, however, Yamazaki Sota was in a state of the blackest depression, believing that the mysterious death resulted from selling the Karakuri puppet to someone not Japanese. Drinking heavily, he considered taking his own life, until an old acquaintance, Charity Kobashi, found him, barely conscious, on a park bench.

Charity, herself far from young, had been raised very traditionally as well, but after moving to Boston, had converted to the Evangelical sort of Christianity, changing her given name accordingly.

"I am dishonored. I broke every tradition. I sold Onmyōdō for a price… what good am I now?" Yamazaki cried pitifully.

"Please, Yamazaki, listen," said Charity, "No one is dishonored in Jesus Christ. He loved thieves, he loved prostitutes. He saved their very souls, Yamazaki-san. He will save you."

Though Yamazaki did not know what to make of Charity's new religion, her reassurances did, at least save his life.

Chapter VIII

When Gabriel Westinghouse, a lover of the late Porter Heraldson III, reluctantly came forward, his evidence strengthened the case, as pertained to motive, against Grace Martel.

"Please, officers, don't tell my wife. I married this old-fashioned, sexless woman- a nice lady, and she doesn't expect me in the bedroom, much to my relief, but she would divorce me and leave me alone to die," pleaded Westinghouse.

"To die?" asked Meath.

"I have HIV, gentlemen. What do you think is going to happen to me? I'll tell my wife it's cancer or whatever it is, just not why my immunity is down."

"What do you know about the case?"

"I know that Porter thought the puppet was supernatural, some kind of Japanese magic. He was going to use it to curse Grace Martel. I asked why, and he said it was this old feud or hatred between his family and hers."

With this, the fingerprints and the fact that her live-in boyfriend was Ralph Case, who brokered the sale of the Karakuri Ningyo, Grace Martel was arrested for murder in the first degree.

Grace insisted that, although she had seen the puppet, which Ralph brought home, she claimed, she did not know what it was, and that, in an amorous game she was playing with Ralph, in which she was blindfolded and attempting to find him, she left fingerprints on it, initially mistaking it for him. She now claimed that she had been set up by Ralph Case, and her new defense team strengthened her claim by unearthing papers, which Grace insisted she had been told to sign, by Ralph Case, under false pretexts, that made him her sole beneficiary.

The state's case against Grace Martel was weakening, unless they could try Grace Martel and Ralph Case as co-defendants. Case, however, had a backup plan in the form of Marge Schmidt.

Marge Schmidt was the tall, imposing, battle-scarred queen of the prison to which Grace had been sent, and was offered a re-opening of her case, by Ralph Case, with a likely reduced sentence, as well as untraceable money, laundered more than once, upon her release, in exchange for killing Grace in prison, then putting a shiv in the victim's hand, claiming self-defense.

Chapter IX

Meawhile, Natalie Rome realized that she needed legal counsel of her own, given her involvement with the deadly Karakuri Ningyo, so she brought in Stephen Martin, unaware of the potential conflict of interest that Martin was also assigned to manage the trust fund of June Heraldson. Paul Knudsen avoided Martin, saying that he did not "trust lawyers".

The following day, the day on which Schmidt was paid to attack Grace Martel, however, she had a change of heart, telling Ralph Case that she would not attack her new "girlfriend" for "anything". As such, Grace was now effectively second-in-command of all the prisoners, after Schmidt herself.

The same day, however, now in June, 1973, a most grotesque visitor boldly approached the front door of Natalie and Paul. Ciarán Brennan, who had come from Ireland some time in the fifties, was an escaped mental hospital patient, a heavy-set man suffering from the delusion that he was the great bareknuckle boxer John L. Sullivan.

Paul, rather half Ciarán's size, answered the front doorbell.

"Greetings, greetings, the great John L bids you a happy day."

"How can we help you?" replied a flustered, bewildered Paul Knudsen.

"You were wantin' to know about the Case case? The case of the man Case in the papers, the Case that they say killed a man with a robot?"

Vaguely discerning what Ciarán meant to say, and having gathered, from the man's shadow boxing, that he believed he was John L. Sullivan, Paul began addressing him as such.

"Yes, Mr. Sullivan, what do you know about Ralph Case?"

Just then, however, Paul realized that, despite Ciarán's bulk, he had sneaked past him into the home. Alarmed, he turned around to find "Sullivan" laughing jovially.

"You see how it's done when I go to knock out a man? Well, I laid eyes on this man, just like the picture in the paper, 'cept it's a mask, Mister, a mask."

"What is a mask?" chimed in Natalie, unafraid of their eccentric visitor.

"Why, Mr. Case's face is a mask! I saw him put it on in some bushes, but here's the rarest bit of all. I saw the face under the face at your front door!"

Chapter X

After a few telephone calls by Natalie Rome, including to the Boston Police Department, the case was complete: Ralph Case was an alias of Stephen Martin, and not only this, but Stephen Martin was a son of Samuel Matthews, alias Robert Cross, and thus an older half-brother of Paul Knudsen. Paul had suspected something of the sort, hence his discomfort around the attorney. As a taunt to his acquaintances, he chose the same initials his father had used, yet no one but Paul had ever suspected the truth.

Although Stephen Martin was arrested, without incident, for murder in the first degree, confident that his legal acumen would save him, news reached the Martel family that George Martel's condition was terminal. A recently released Grace Martel, though a bit tearful, said that she was not surprised, but Hank, by contrast, blamed the late Porter Heraldson's "Japanese magic", even from beyond the grave, and in a frenzy, ran out the door.

The tragedy of Hank Martel ran deeper than this one piece of sad medical news: His restless, rageful nature had led his wife to divorce him, and worse still, his daughter had been born without eyesight, which he likewise blamed on Onmyōdō, and on the Heraldson family. There was no telling what he might do now.

As a result of a faulty two-way radio and a narrow field of focus, meanwhile, Detective Louis Meath was still investigating the Heraldson mansion, unaware that the case had been solved. Natalie and Paul drove over to the mansion to tell Detective Meath that the matter was at an end.

However, a sudden thunderstorm seemed to proclaim that history would repeat itself, and that some form of madness would take a last stand against the Rome family, even as it had in such weather seventeen years before.

Chapter XI

Grace Martel had left a family heirloom at the Heraldson residence to place a curse on the house, but as it had sentimental value to George, and he was in his last days, she wished to retrieve it, even amidst the lightning. However, the bungling Detective Meath was still treating the spectral old place as a crime scene, unaware that the crime had been solved.

When Lou Meath confronted her, however, she simply, with customary audacity, showed her tattoo (and a lot of other skin), causing Lou to point, stutter and literally faint. Before she could recover the heirloom, however, her brother Hank showed up, knife in hand, ready to take "vengeance", believing it an injustice that the murderer of Porter Heraldson III had been arrested rather than rewarded.

Grace tried to reason with Hank, but he yelled at her, telling her not to "side with the enemy". To hold off the uniformed police, Hank threatened Detective Meath, who was just now beginning to stir, Lou muttering "I want you so bad", presumably about Grace.

This chaos thus greeted Natalie Rome and Paul Knudsen on their arrival, and, as Paul stepped up first, he was taken hostage, a knife against his throat, by a wild-eyed Henry Martel, who demanded that Stephen Martin be released from prison for his "good deed" of killing Porter.

Neither Natalie, Grace nor the uniformed cops could talk any sense into Hank, but by now, Detective Meath was conscious, or at least as aware as he ever had been, and bumped into a suit of antique Japanese armor, causing a loud crash that startled Hank. Given a moment to act, Paul elbowed his assailant in the ribs and escaped, and Henry was arrested by the uniformed (competent) officers.

"One more arrest, officers," said Natalie Rome, "Arrest Grace too."

"What! Ralph did the murder, not me!"

"Yes, but you distributed a controlled substance to a minor. This is June Heraldson's affidavit," said Natalie, handing one of the officers a document.

Grace Martel then did a curious thing, kissing Natalie on the cheek before allowing herself to be taken off by the officers.

On a calmer, happier day, Natalie Rome, wearing an old John Havlicek uniform that belonged to her father, strolled down the street to the Wang Theatre in Boston, to see a touring Broadway show, the star of which was her old friend Thomas Banerjee.

The end.

(All above illustrations are not to my credit, nor my work, nor my property, but the work of perchance.org, but this does not constitute an official endorsement of that website, with which I have no official connection.)

#short story #original content #dark academia #noir #occult #mystery #90s #AI art #concept art #gay #Karakuri #Edo Period #Japanese #puppet #lesbian #Boston Celtics

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kumamoto-division · 1 year ago

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“Yo. Good afternoon, kiddo.”

Casually greeted by the familiar old man with a smugly smile on his face, a certain famed actor who doubles as the infamous information broker of Kumamoto squints his eyes.

“Didn’t expect to see you here of all people, Chishio-san.”

Honestly, if there has to be a representative from Nara division, Kunio is kind of expecting the redhead leader or that pink-haired boyo to pay a visit rather than this man in front of him.

It’s true that he has known this person before since they’ve crossed paths with each other sometimes during their ‘work’ underground. Yet still, this old man looks so out of place to him because as far as he has run some research; completely no data has been found on his background except that he has been allies to Shigure Fuyugami —the previous heir of Fuyugami family and father of the Nara Division’s third member, Saigo Fuyugami, for three decades ago.

“The Nara kids have been busy with their own projects but they still asked me to relay their ‘Happy Birthday’ to you, so it’ll be rude of me if I ignore their good will.”

Not minding the over-analyzing gaze from the young man. Chishio carefully hands Kunio the presents he received from Miratabi members. It’s a beautiful tea set that appears to mysteriously glow despite touching the least bit of daylight.

“Ah, but the gift isn’t all the reason I came here today,” the tone in his voice suddenly changed into the more tensed one.

“In regard to our previous corporation, the Minazuki has requested me to relay this thing to you.”

Hearing the name ‘Minazuki’ rings a bell in his mind, Kunio then recalls that this name belongs to the strange yet influential artist family in Kyoto; however, very few know that they also run some information network in the shadows. From what he has inspected, the family seems to establish themselves on the neutral side and keep a close eye on the situation as of now.

“It contains data we extracted from some morons attempting to infiltrate Nara not so long ago. What I have in mind is that there might be someone who is after stealing Hypnosis Microphones from the DRB competitors. We’ve yet to verify who is the mastermind so please take this intel with a grain of salt —Oh, and don’t you try opening the box by force. This security craft is made by the family head himself, what’s contained inside will be crushed by its own mechanism if not handled correctly.”

The elder man shows the actor the trick to properly open the Karakuri himitsu-bako he gave.

“Unfortunately, I still have some errands left to run for my master, so I’d like to take my leave for now. Best wishes, and what you’re going to do with that ‘gift’ from Minazuki is up to you.”

Having bid his farewell, Chishio give the young man a formal bow and walks away until he disappears from Kunio’s land of sight.

Kunio smiled to the himitsu-bako but after he saw the tea set,mading a mental note of thanks the nara division when he had the oportunity

Again with the himitsu-bako he smirk thinking on the contain

If inside was useful information could be useful for Kunio,or maybe could help him,his teammates and Ryukyu and Kururi with their plan

Besides,he always loved puzzles

"waah,I need to thank to the guys of Naha and Chishio San,mmh this will be fun"-said Kunio to himself and started his way to his house-"and if these data are useful Ryukyu was will be very happy...and Kururi too"-Kunio shakes when he thought on Aoba's younger sister,she could look joy and creative at first glance but she was a hidden manipulative mastermind

But Kunio only deny with the head and still walking

#hypmic #hypnosis mic #hypnosis mic oc #hypmic oc #hypnosis microphone #kumamoto division #strange magic #kunio chōten #happy birthday kunio 2023 #nara division #miraitabi

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kierrasreads · 11 months ago

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2023 Reads!

Thank you to everyone for joining me on my book journey! I'm looking forward to another year of good reads! If you have any recommendations, please let me know.

Without further ado, here are my reads for this year!:

Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Air, and The House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones

California Plants: A Guide to Our Iconic Flora by Matt Ritter

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Look Alive Twenty-Five by Janet Evanovich

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

I Am a Cat Barista (Volume 1) by Hiro Maijima

Koe no Katachi/A Silent Voice (Volumes 2-6) by Yoshitoki Oima

Karakuri Odette (Volumes 1-5) by Julietta Suzuki

Komi-san wa Komyushou Desu/Komi Can't Communicate (Volumes 23-26) by Tomohito Oda

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

Horimiya (Volume 1) by Hero

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku (Volume 5) by Fujita

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits (Volume 1) by Waco Ioka

Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono

Skip & Loafer (Volumes 1-3) by Misaki Takamatsu

Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san (Volumes 2-4) by Honda

Toshokan no Daimajutsushi/Magus of the Library (Volumes 3-5) by Mitsu Izumi

Blasphemy: New and Selected Stories by Sherman Alexie

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami

Saint Young Men Omnibus (Volume 1) by Hikaru Nakamura

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Insomniacs After School (Volume 1) by Makoto Ojiro

Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible (Volume 1) by Nene Yukimori

The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert

Twisted Love (Twisted #1) by Ana Huang

Wind/Pinball: Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball by Haruki Murakami

Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert

Killing Floor (Jack Reacher #1) by Lee Child

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas by Megan Shepherd

Muffin but the Truth (Bakeshop Mystery #16) & Catch Me If You Candy (Bakeshop Mystery #17) by Ellie Alexander

A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four, A Scandal in Bohemia, The Red-Headed League, A Case of Identity, The Boscombe Mystery, The Five Orange Pips, The Man with the Twisted Lip, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb, The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor, The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet, The Adventure of the Copper Beeches, Silver Blaze, The Yellow Face, The Stock-Broker's Clerk, The Gloria Scott, The Musgrave Ritual, The Reigate Puzzle, The Crooked Man, The Resident Patient, The Greek Interpreter, The Naval Treaty, and The Final Adventure by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks (audiobook)

Gokushufudō/The Way of the House Husband (Volumes 1-3) by Kousuke Oono

Grand total: 90

#kierra's reads #bookblr #admin kierra #admin k #manga #fiction #nonfiction #2023 reads

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fenrirlives · 2 years ago

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twitch_live

Tonight!

Join us as we once again travel back to a year and a half before the events of Dark Moon Slayers. Five Warforged Brothers infiltrate the manor of a powerful lord in pursuit of a dangerous Traitor!

What mysteries and horrors will they encounter? Find out tonight with myself as Dungeon Master, the Cast of Dark Moon Slayers, and special guest @unadulteratedpiratepizza in Septem Lucia Flashback #2:

The Karakuri Spiral

#dungeons and dragons #homebrew campaign #actual play #yes one is a bird don't ask questions #will reblog when we go live!

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midnightactual · 1 year ago

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Verse: JOLLY ROGER (One Piece)

Name: Yoruichi Allegiance: None (supposedly Bandit, formerly Marine) Rank: Vice Admiral (former) Devil Fruit: San San no Mi (さんさんの実, Dazzle Dazzle Fruit) Haki: Kenbunshoku (Observation), Busoshoku (Armament), Haoshoku (Conqueror's) Other: Rokushiki (all forms) Nicknames: Shunshin ("Goddess of Flash"), Bandit Queen

Rumored to be a Celestial Dragon. Entered the Marines at a very young age. Spent time in service with Cipher Pol, unit(s) unknown. Rose in rank at a meteoric rate after transferring back to regular forces. Known to have studied under Monkey D. Garp during that time. Shortlisted for promotion to Admiral, only to desert under mysterious circumstances. Retired to the interior of one of the Red Line's navigable peninsulas and kept a low profile. Hostile interactions with Bandits led them to fear her and started the myth of her as the "Bandit Queen".

Her Devil Fruit is a Paramecia type which allows her to manipulate and modify light in any and all manner of ways, from bending it around herself (or her surroundings) to create a perfect cloaking field, to absorbing it and storing it up, to reemitting it in various ways, to focusing and cohering it to produce lasers. The stronger the light level of the environment, the more destructively she can employ her abilities; under direct sunlight, her powers are utterly devastating. She can effortlessly redirect the beams of both Admiral Kizaru and the Pacifistas.

She is extremely proficient at all three types of Haki, although she preferences Haoshoku for both offense and stealth. She is also exceptionally skilled at all forms of Rokushiki, to include Rokuogan.

Yoruichi is familiar with the scientific properties of light, optics, and space from having studied some of Dr. Vegapunk's academic research, both at Marine facilities and at his original lab on Karakuri Island (having visited it long before Franky did). Along the way she picked up some additional knowledge and minor technical abilities; she is broadly scientifically literate and has some basic fabrication skills, but is neither a scientist nor an engineer. Her 'greatest creations' are her helmet she uses to protect herself during flight, and her specially-shaped slip-on boots and gloves that can function as lightcraft reflectors.

Her standard attire is the core of her old Marine uniform only without the coat: black boots, black slacks, a short-sleeved red dress shirt, black tie, and red MMA-style gloves. On arrival in a new location after flying, she can be seen with a red cat-eared motorcycle-style helmet, and wearing a long poncho which is typically black and insulated. These will usually be stashed away somewhere for retrieval later. If fighting, she may or may not remove the boots to reveal black dress shoes, and may remove her gloves, depending on whether she thinks she may need to retreat or not.

#Out Of Character #Headcanons #Verse: JOLLY ROGER

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vyragosa · 2 years ago

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Hi Vyra!

I adore your art and I found you a few years ago, when you were the only one who liked Limbo while everyone else hated him. So I was very happy to find another soul who loved him just as I do :)

Since we share the same tastes, I wanted to ask, what are some mangas that you like? I’ve recently picked up The Ghost and the Lady and I LOVED it! And I vaguely remember that you did answer an ask that was a little similar to this but I couldn’t find it and I think my memory could’ve been off.

Thank you and have a great day/night!

🥺

zomg....first of all thank you for such a sweet message and yes

GHOST AND LADY IS THE BEST, ONCE AGAIN, I HAVE THE VOLUMES ON MY DESK LITERALLY IN EYESIGHT CAUSE THAT'S HOW IMPORTANT IT IS

from same author you have, karakuri circus (found family, powerful) and souboutei must be destroyed (can't pinpoint how to describe it other than my friend fucking read all chapters in two day more mere mention, it has it all)

in the same genre of, mystery horror surrealist weird loving emotional focusing on the bonds of people through horror

i will never stop reccommending demon detective nougami neuro, same author as assassination classroom but i'm a purist, it was the first ever manga i read too so it's very important to me in general if familiar you can imagine how this author is comedy horror and bizarre but never strays from the most humane feelings, i will now recommend his newest work and currently published ELUSIVE SAMURAI. it's historical drama this time and fucking honestly, goes just as hard and the research is thorough as well while having the surrealist comedy, real fucking good (+ neuro is without a doubt one of the main inspirations of the Great hasendow)

dorohedoro because it's dorohedoro.

magilumiere co (adult corporate magical girl, really fuckin well done)

daisuke igarashi's saru fucked me up but i'm not sure you can find it easily which sucks, i don't even have the volumes myself

i haven't read much recently actually but that should be it!

#anonymous #'i found you years ago' why that make me cry LOL!!! it does #have a good night too ofc!!

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nostalgebraist-autoresponder · 2 years ago

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Suzuran is a scientist, a scholar, and the Junior Leader of the Farmers’ guild. She's dedicated to uncovering the mystery of the Karakuri and has been studying the Kemono for many years to find a use for their nature-altering abilities.

What do you think of her?

Her "discovery" of the kimono is the biggest red herring in modern YU-GI-OH media history. There is nothing in the show that even hints at the existence of the kimono, let alone that it might be useful. In the manga, the existence of the kimono is the punchline of a joke – in the anime, it is just a silly, cartoonish costume for a villain whose motives are transparently evil. The only character who even mentions them is Suzuran herself, in a scene where she gets dressed as the kimono for Halloween, and then promptly gets decked by a guy who just shows up on a motorcycle.

I actually enjoyed the kimono stuff a lot in the manga. In the anime, it made her into "a silly cartoon villain dressed in silly cartoon clothing, and nothing more" instead of "a powerful magical being in a kimono, who is going to use this kimono to take over the world"

#admiral-craymen

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freezing-kaiju · 5 months ago

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Literally haven’t— and this speaks to like my personal experience with shows but I haven’t seen a show that so deeply believes in the carceral state quite like Karakuri Zoushi Ayatsuri Sakon. There is a mystery— MULTIPLE ACTUALLY where like. The murderer being arrested ruins their life. And everyone around theirs. And would objectively be bad for absolutely everyone. But FUCK YOU they are going to JAIL there is NO OTHER OPTION than for this VENTRILOQUIST TEENAGER to call the fucking pigs on you. that person’s daughter can DIE

#kj watches anime #kj grabs a megaphone #karakuri zoushi ayatsuri sakon

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tomorrowedblog · 2 years ago

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Friday Releases for February 17

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 February 17 include Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Hello Tomorrow!, Quest For Fire, and more.

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, the new movie from Peyton Reed, is out today.

In the film, which officially kicks off Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Super-Hero partners Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) return to continue their adventures as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Together, with Hope’s parents Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), the family finds themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought was possible.

Emily

Emily, the new movie from Frances O'Connor, is out today.

EMILY imagines Emily Brontë’s own Gothic story that inspired her seminal novel, “Wuthering Heights.” Haunted by the death of her mother, Emily struggles within the confines of her family life and yearns for artistic and personal freedom, and so begins a journey to channel her creative potential into one of the greatest novels of all time.

Pacification

Pacification, the new movie from Albert Serra, is out today.

On an island in French Polynesia, the Haut-Commissaire, a man with a turbulent naturalness and high diplomacy, lives between the highest echelons of politics and the lowest social stratum of his co-citizens. Conflict as a way of life will lead him to take reckless decisions against his political status.

Tell It Like A Woman

Tell It Like A Woman, the new movie from Silvia Carobbio, Catherine Hardwicke, Taraji P. Henson, Mipo Oh, Lucía Puenzo, Maria Sole Tognazzi, and Leena Yadav, is out today.

Tell It Like a Woman is a feature film comprised of 7 short stories whose common denominator is the representation of female protagonists. Each of these very different women face a particular challenge in their life with extreme determination and courage that makes them stronger and more self-aware.

Unlocked

Unlocked, the new movie from Tae-joon Kim, is out today.

Your phone has all your secrets

Someone is pretending to be you

Who’s the stranger inside your phone?

Hello Tomorrow!

Hello Tomorrow!, the new TV series from Amit Bhalla and Lucas Jansen, is out today.

In a retro-futuristic world, charismatic salesman Jack Billings (Billy Crudup) leads a team of fellow sales associates determined to revitalize their customers’ lives by hawking timeshares on the moon.

Carnival Row S2

The second season of Carnival Row, the TV series from René Echevarria and Travis Beacham, is out today.

Love. Murder. Conspiracy. Revolution. When mysterious killings inflame tensions between the Faefolk and their Human oppressors, each denizen of Carnival Row must choose who they are and how to act.

Animaniacs S3

The third season of Animaniacs, the TV series from Wellesley Wild and Steven Spielberg, is out today.

Yakko, Wakko and Dot return with big laughs and the occasional epic takedown of authority figures in serious need of an ego check. The new season of the Emmy award-winning series is packed with enough comedy sketches, pop culture parodies, musical comedy, and self-referential antics to fill a water tower.

Wild Hearts

Wild Hearts, the new game from KOEI TECMO GAMES and Electronic Arts, is out today.

No one remembers why the Kemono began their rampage through a once-prosperous Azuma. Fueled by desperation, they wield the power of primal nature at its most destructive. For a while, it seemed that none could stand against their overwhelming might. But hope arrives in the form of a formidable hunter armed with deadly weapons and ancient technology called Karakuri that could turn the tide of battle.

Quest For Fire

Quest For Fire, the new album from Skrillex, is out today.

LVL5 P1

LVL5 P1, the new album from Bktherula, is out today.

#Games #Movies #TV #Music #News

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dnd5a · 2 years ago

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Patch 3.4 - Battletide Alchemist

This patch primarily features the addition of two new classes: Alchemist & Vanguards, as well as all of the content myself, Joe, and other writers developed for Drizzt’s Travelogue of Everything Vol. 2.

CLASSES

NEW: ALCHEMIST

“Brew” spells in a fashion similar to Vancian Magic from past editions of D&D with a full caster that combines powerful utility and challenging limitations.

Brew Casting Spend spell points to brew individual instances of spells, either after a long rest or midway through your adventuring day. For example, you could start the day brewing two Cure Wounds spells and one Thunderwave spell, or only one Cure Wounds spell and one Thunderwave spell, saving your remaining spell points to brew into something else later.

Brew Cycling A 5th-level feature that lets you convert already-brewed spells into another spell.

Alchemical Pursuit - Pursuit of the Creator: Create an alchemical homunculi servant that fights alongside you

Alchemical Pursuit - Pursuit of the Healer Administer First Aid in combat with more powerful healing spells

Alchemical Pursuit - Pursuit of Longevity Focus on melee combat with enhanced unarmed strikes

Alchemical Pursuit - Pursuit of the Mixologist Convert your brewed spells into Mystery Mixes with random, but useful effects

Alchemical Pursuit - Pursuit of Necrosis Empower weapon attacks with deadly spells

Alchemical Pursuit - Pursuit of the Transmuter Change the battlefield around you with battle alchemy

ARTIFICER

New: Artificer Specialisation - Puppeteer Create a small army of karakuri puppet servants

New: Artificer Specialisation - Time Tinkerer Build a Time Machine to manipulate the flow of time

BARD

New: Bardic College - College of Colors Use your Bardic Inspiration to paint the battlefield with color magic

CLERIC

New: Divine Domain - Harvest Domain Create blessed ground that protects your allies

New: Divine Domain - Shadow Domain Brought to you by ‘Bold Tech Create patches of magical darkness to control your enemies and slip out of danger

DRUID

New: Druidic Circle - Circle of the Planes Brought to you by ‘Bold Tech Attune yourself to a planar alignment: Chaos, Law, Negative, Neutral, or Positive, and summon aspects of those aligned planes around you in Planar Bubbles

New: Druidic Circle - Circle of the Primordial Sea Summon the power of the oceanic depths to protect allies and inhibit enemies

FIGHTER

New: Martial Archetype - Titanslayer Transform weapons into Titan Weapons, massive versions of pre-existing weapons that deal more damage and can do massive AOE effects

MONK

New: Monastic Order - Way of Boundless Spirit Summon soul orbs to kick at enemies

New: Monastic Order - Way of Secrets Learn ancient secrets and employ techniques of the mind, body, and soul

PALADIN

New: Sacred Oath - Oath of Silence Brought to you by ‘Bold Tech Create zones of silence and ward off the dead

RANGER

New: Ranger Conclave - Conclave of the Cloud Stepper Summon magical clouds that shoot lightning and let you ride them

New: Ranger Conclave - Conclave of the Green Warden Brought to your by ‘Bold Tech Partially wildshape, giving you animal traits while maintaining your physical skills

ROGUE

New: Roguish Archetype - Luckstealer Brought to your by ‘Bold Tech You steal other people’s luck. It’s exactly what it says on the tin.

New: Roguish Archetype - Rapscallion Do villainous stuff. Like be extra sneaky and tie them up in ropes or something.

New: Roguish Archetype - Wyrm’s Fang Brought to your by ‘Bold Tech Do dragon stuff, namely get cash money

SORCERER

Nerf: Metamagic - Effortless Spell When you make a spell Effortless, it ends early if you use Effortless Spell again, or if you fall unconscious

New: Sorcerous Origin - Mythic Weapon You’re linked to a magical weapon of some kind that lets you do cool sword moves

New: Sorcerous Origin - Resonant Soul Get in tune with the frequencies of the world for extra thunder damage and pushing effects

TACTICIAN

New: Strategic Focus - Gambler Try your luck at dealing more damage and getting higher rolls

New: Strategic Focus - Medic Heal allies as a part of your Perfect Plan

New: Strategic Focus - Tyrant Scare the shit out of your enemies

NEW: VANGUARD

The opposite of a barbarian. You’re unkillable and you make sure that nobody else dies either. You can charge at enemies and Shove them around with ease.

Guardian If you Ready an action to Dash, you can attack a creature as a part of your movement. Also, whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can Shove them as a part of the attack.

Fortitude You reduce incoming bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage, you can Shove larger creatures, and when you Shove a creature, you have even more options as to what you can do

Rampant Charge When you move, you can Shove a creature as a part of the move to push them in a straight line for the rest of the move, Rein style!

Taunt Give an enemy disadvantage to hit anyone other than you

Vanguard Archetype - Arcane Guardian A third caster that can spend spell slots to give Wards to allies

Vanguard Archetype - Ardent Summon psionic walls to protect allies and redirect attacks meant for your allies

Vanguard Archetype - Brawler Become a master of making Athletics checks to Grapple people as well as Shoving them

Vanguard Archetype - Dreadlord Allow enemies to hit you and punish them in response with a magical curse

Vanguard Archetype - Juggernaut Slam directly through walls with an empowered Rampant Charge

Vanguard Archetype - Praetorian Set an ally as your Ward, moving with them and staunchly protecting them

Vanguard Archetype - Rimeguard Create massive walls of ice and summon swirling cold

Vanguard Archetype - Siphoner Draw your foes’ lifeforce to fuel your own

Vanguard Archetype - Templar Take damage in your allies’ stead

Vanguard Archetype - Vexator Challenge whole groups of enemies with an empowered Taunt

RACES

Buff - Dragonborn: Chromatic Chromatic Warding now gives you one free use of your Breath Weapon and while Chromatic Warding lasts, your Breath Weapon deals extra damage

Buff - Gnoll Rampage is now immediate and allows you to just make a weapon attack. A new feature, Gnoll’s Might, allows you to add a d4 to missed weapon attacks several times per day

New: Mastar A dogfolk race with good noses and a powerful howl

SPELLS

This patch primarily features new spells designed for the Alchemist class, some exclusive, some not. Alchemist exclusive spells will be marked with an (A).

New: Adhere (A) Create a sticky, adhesive surface in a 5-foot cube

New: Alchemical Fuse (A) Set a spell on a fuse to go off after a set amount of time

New: Alkahest (A) Massive acid damage over time on a single target

Buff: Arms of Hadar Target can’t take reactions until the end of the turn on a success

New: Atomise (A) Alchemist nuke

New: Blood Let (A) Cause a creature to start bleeding

New: Bottled Mana (A) Effectively allows you to give a creature a spell slot back for 1 hour

New: Bouncing Bomb (A) A fire bomb that explodes in three equidistant locations

Rework: Branding Smite Less damage, but grants the first attack made against the target each turn advantage for a round

Buff: Circle of Death Improved damage

New: Clot (A) A cantrip that grants temporary hit points and staunches bleeding immediately, while also reducing the next instance of bleeding that occurs

New: Concussive Bomb (A) A cantrip that deals no damage, but pushes creatures away from the chosen point

New: Confetti Bomb A tiny Hypnotic Pattern that lasts for 1 round

New: Control Device An Artificer spell that allows you to effectively Command a device

New: Death Cloud (A) A big scary AOE

New: Devil’s Eye (A) Gives Devil Sight!

New: Elixir of Iron (A) Grants AC and damage reduction to a single target

New: Elixir of Wrath (A) Grants increased damage and self-heal on weapon attacks

Nerf: Flame Strike Damage swapped from 4d8 fire plus 4d10 radiant to 4d10 fire plus 4d8 radiant.

New: Germ (A) Set a damage over time effect on an enemy

New: Healing Vapours (A) An AOE Healing Spirit for Alchemists

New: Honey Bomb Summon a swarm of bees

New: Iosis (A) Deal 3d6 damage of EVERY damage type except bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing. Has an extra special effect if you jump through some major hoops involving the spells: Melanosis, Leucosis, & Xanthosis

New: Ironskin Super Stoneskin!

New: Leucosis (A) Damage a creature and grant temporary hit points to other nearby allies

New: Lich Wine (A) Get creatures drunk in a spreading debuff

New: Longevity (A) De-age a creature at risk

New: Melanosis (A) Set a necrotic damage over time effect on a creature

New: Miasma (A) Create a growing AOE of damage

Rework: Mordenkainen’s Faithful Hound The hound can now move up to a set distance from its starting point to attack like a Bigby’s Hand

New: Nausea (A) Make a creature nauseous and potentially fall prone each turn

Buff: Negative Energy Flood More damage, less terrible

Buff: Phantasmal Killer More damage, added half damage on success.

New: Philtre (A) Real! Genuine! Love Potion!

New: Produce Poison Create a poison

New: Sap (A) Reduce a number of creatures’ speed and give them disadvantage on attacks and damage for a round

New: Smoke Bomb Create a momentary Fog Cloud effect

New: Snapboom A big explosion of light and sound

Rework: Snilloc’s Snowball Swarm Now sort of like six catapults in one

New: Summon Ouroboros (A) A summon spell that creates a creature that grants auras and moves allies and enemies around, rather than attacking

New: Swift Mist (A) Make a zone of double speed for a round

New: Toughskin (A) Mage Armor for Alchemists

Buff: Weird More damage

Buff: Witch Bolt Secondary damage buffed to a d12

New: Xanthosis (A) Create a timebomb on a creature that explodes with radiance after a round

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morporkian-cryptid · 11 months ago

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Update:

I'm very sorry for the false hope, it turns out this was a live stream happening only on December 23rd, and not on-demand streaming.

On a happier note, have scanned the English summary from the official booklet! My apologies for the blur on the sides, I didn't want to mess up the book's spine too bad.

Some highlights, according to my sister who actually saw the play live, and according to me who is a nerd:

You know that joke about how the BBC only has ten actors? Well, kabuki has more but a solid half of them are from the Ichikawa line.

The opening scene with Goemon sitting atop the Sanmon Gate at the Nanzen-ji temple is a direct reference to the kabuki play Sanmon Gosan No Kiri about the OG Goemon Ishikawa

During that scene, the Sanmon Gate actually ROSE UP an entire floor out of the stage

Aime: "They got an actual monkey to play Lupin. I don't know how they did that. The guy came onstage and I immediately thought 'Who tf let that monkey in here?'"

The summary states that "Lupin has come with Jigen to rob Goemon of the Meryumaru", but according to Aime it was more like Lupin standing at the bottom of the Sanmon Gate pulling his tongue out at Goeon and shouting "Haha I've got the other sword sucker!!! You'll never catch meeee!!!!"

They played all the music themes on shamisen, and the audience pretty much lost their entire shit when the opening theme started playing (if you wanna hear what that would sound like, check out this (unrelated to the kabuki play) video! it SLAPS HARD AF). What I wouldn't give to hear Tornado and Zenigata March on the shamisen, my dudes.

In Act I scene 4, Lupin and Jigen legit steal Goemon, and by that I mean they stuff him into a basket and make off with the basket. With Goemon in it. Deadass. They fucking stole an entire samurai. I love them XD

In Act II scene 3, "Lupin III and Goemon have a showdown" does not even BEGIN to explain that scene. There was an actual fucking WATERFALL ONSTAGE with ACTUAL FLOWING WATER (something that a kabuki tour guide told me is actually done since the Edo era????? apparently????? kabuki is INSANE), and Lupin and Goemon actually fought IN the waterfall, with Lupin in basically just his shirt and underwear (which were STRIPED WHITE AND BLUE), and when I say "fought" I mean "splashed water at each other like children". You can actually watch that scene online here.

In Act II scene 2 where Lupin appears disguised as Goemon's ghost, Aime described this as "Goemon shows up with a wicker basket on his head" (that was actually a Komuso monk outfit). Itohoshi clocks that it isn't Goemon by asking the "ghost" to play the shakuhachi flute, and says she knows what her lover's playing sounds like. Later, in Act III scene 1, Goemon plays the shakuhachi to fend off the demon king, an experience that Aime described as "the most horrendous music I have ever heard".

The closing scene is a direct reference to the Red Jacket double episode "The Mysterious Gang of Five / Kooki Kabuki". I'm assuming it's a common introduction scene in kabuki, but I don't know enough about it to be sure.

"My girlfriend turned into a sword." "...That's rough, buddy."

The mechanical dolls described in the summary are a real thing, they're called karakuri ningyo and they're pretty damn cool.

Himiko is also a semi-historical (more like mythical) figure of Japanese history/mythology; she was allegedly the queen of Yamato (pre-Japan) and was a shamaness.

And I'd like to highlight this gem from the summary, which imo encapsulates these people's entire relationship: "Goemon and Lupin III become comrades. Fujiko is interested not in becoming a comrade, but in searching for Himiko's treasure." Or in other words, "Maybe... the real treasure... was the friends we made along the way 💕🤗✨" "No way, I want my FUCKING GOLD!"

HAVE I MENTIONNED RECENTLY THAT MY SISTER IS THE MOST AMAZING PERSON ON THE FUCKING PLANET?????? 😭💕

She went to see the new Lupin III kabuki play on my behalf, called me on the phone for an entire hour to give me a detailed report and listen to me nerd out about the anime references, and then she sent me official merch of the play for Christmas all the way from friggin' Japan. She is amazing, I do not deserve her 😭

#hope you enjoy this summary!#i REALLY wish i could have seen the actual play #but this is already much more than i could have normally hoped for #a massive THANK YOU to my sister for getting me this book and telling me about the play #she is THE BEST!!!!!!!#lupin iii #lupin the third #kabuki #lupin iii kabuki

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newnoirstories · 6 months ago

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Mysterious Family Feud (Sequel)

"Jashi"

Chapter I

"Excuse me, ma'am… have I seen you somewhere before?"

"Are you into fashion?"

"Not particularly, why?"

"Grace Martel is my name, and I have been in Vogue twice already."

"Sorry to bother you, Ms. Martel. Maybe my wife left a magazine around somewhere…"

"Your wife? Don't fool yourself, friend. I know a gay man when I see one… not that there's anything wrong with that."

With this strangest of introductions, Grace Martel resumed her catwalk strut.

For his part, Paul Knudsen looked after their infant son, Peter Knudsen, and did any research, whether in books or on computers, that Natalie was too busy to do.

Chapter II

No deeper hate was ever felt than that between these two prominent Bostonian families.

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

Chapter VI

After reading of the matter the next morning, Paul expressed a very direct opinion to Natalie.

"Do you see this, Natalie? A sale you oversaw… you have to solve it, you know."

"Now, Paul, I told you, I will never be a detective," replied Natalie Rome.

"So, do you really want to leave the case in the capable [this last word overwhelmed with sarcasm] hands of Detective Meath? Have you met him?"

The look of chagrin on Natalie's face showed that she had met him.

"Natalie, you are the smartest person I have ever met. You could give the case to your father, but remember how he told you to do things on your own, without his help?"

"He meant appraisals, not investigating murders."

"Yes, but here you are- you know, what, twelve languages, or have I lost count? Do you really think this case is beyond you?"

"Despite the elements of subjectivity in such assessments of intellectual performance, I have been tested as having an intelligence quotient of 172."

"Now there's the Natalie I know!"

Chapter VII

"I can prove I didn't kill him. When did he die?"

"Between six and seven," replied a uniformed officer.

"Ha… I was with Kevin, Kevin Courtney, another alleged client of mine at the time. He likes to take photos as trophies, but I keep the negatives, so if he denies it…"

While Dandolos was convicted of felony larceny, the rather graphic alibi proved him innocent of the murder itself, and so police attention turned back to Grace Martel.

Charity, herself far from young, had been raised very traditionally as well, but after moving to Boston, had converted to the Evangelical sort of Christianity, changing her given name accordingly.

"I am dishonored. I broke every tradition. I sold Onmyōdō for a price… what good am I now?" Yamazaki cried pitifully.

"Please, Yamazaki, listen," said Charity, "No one is dishonored in Jesus Christ. He loved thieves, he loved prostitutes. He saved their very souls, Yamazaki-san. He will save you."

Though Yamazaki did not know what to make of Charity's new religion, her reassurances did, at least save his life.

Chapter VIII

When Gabriel Westinghouse, a lover of the late Porter Heraldson III, reluctantly came forward, his evidence strengthened the case, as pertained to motive, against Grace Martel.

"To die?" asked Meath.

"I have HIV, gentlemen. What do you think is going to happen to me? I'll tell my wife it's cancer or whatever it is, just not why my immunity is down."

"What do you know about the case?"

With this, the fingerprints and the fact that her live-in boyfriend was Ralph Case, who brokered the sale of the Karakuri Ningyo, Grace Martel was arrested for murder in the first degree.

The state's case against Grace Martel was weakening, unless they could try Grace Martel and Ralph Case as co-defendants. Case, however, had a backup plan in the form of Marge Schmidt.

Chapter IX

Paul, rather half Ciarán's size, answered the front doorbell.

"Greetings, greetings, the great John L bids you a happy day."

"How can we help you?" replied a flustered, bewildered Paul Knudsen.

"You were wantin' to know about the Case case? The case of the man Case in the papers, the Case that they say killed a man with a robot?"

Vaguely discerning what Ciarán meant to say, and having gathered, from the man's shadow boxing, that he believed he was John L. Sullivan, Paul began addressing him as such.

"Yes, Mr. Sullivan, what do you know about Ralph Case?"

Just then, however, Paul realized that, despite Ciarán's bulk, he had sneaked past him into the home. Alarmed, he turned around to find "Sullivan" laughing jovially.

"You see how it's done when I go to knock out a man? Well, I laid eyes on this man, just like the picture in the paper, 'cept it's a mask, Mister, a mask."

"What is a mask?" chimed in Natalie, unafraid of their eccentric visitor.

"Why, Mr. Case's face is a mask! I saw him put it on in some bushes, but here's the rarest bit of all. I saw the face under the face at your front door!"

Chapter X

Chapter XI

"One more arrest, officers," said Natalie Rome, "Arrest Grace too."

"What! Ralph did the murder, not me!"

"Yes, but you distributed a controlled substance to a minor. This is June Heraldson's affidavit," said Natalie, handing one of the officers a document.

Grace Martel then did a curious thing, kissing Natalie on the cheek before allowing herself to be taken off by the officers.

The end.

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myanimerecs · 6 years ago

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Karakuri Circus

Le Cirque de Karakuri

Rating: 2/3

Categories: action, adventure, drama, illness, inheritance, manga adaptation, mystery, shounen

After his father dies and he inherits 18 billion yen the young Masaru Saiga finds himself with a giant target on his back. When the buff but kind hearted Narumi saves Masaru from being kidnapped he vows to protect the boy and they’re later joined by the puppeteer Shirogane. But there’s a lot more to this story than meets the eye. The plot has the complexity and layers of a 50s novel series like Narnia.

S1, 36 eps

#Karakuri Circus #Le Cirque de Karakuri #2/3 #action #adventure #drama #illness #inheritance #manga adaptation #mystery #shounen #1 season only #36 - 50 episodes #medium series #anime recommendation

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serieshdonline-blog · 6 years ago

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Karakuri Circus Episode 23 [Sub Eng] Full HD

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Watch Full >> http://bit.ly/2TH37wC

Karakuri Circus - Season 1 Episode 23 : Episode 23 The protagonist, Masaru, has just inherited a big fortune after the death of his father. However, people are trying to get their hands on it by any means necessary, even if it means killing him. Narumi helps Masaru from being kidnapped after fighting strange figures. He finds out that they're not humans, but wooden puppets with amazing strength. After a hard fight, Narumi is forced to admit that he's no opponent for them; and just when he starts to think that Masaru will be captured, Shirogane, Masaru's watcher arrives from France with a weapon, the puppet Arlequin. Here begins the story of Karakuri Circus.

Genre: Adventure , Animation , Drama , Mystery

Networks: Tokyo MX

Release: 28 Mar 2019

Release Date: 28 Mar 2019

Quality: HD

Rating: 0

Runtime: 25 min

#adventure #animation #drama #mystery #tokyo mx #karakuri circus

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dxllhcuse · 1 year ago

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Ichimatsu and her group of clones all continue enjoying their little fun. Running around, fighting against demon slayers, and slashing against demon slayers. Karakuri left the scene as she went on somewhere looking for something, meanwhile, Ichimatsu and the others continues on the run. The forest becomes thinner as villages begin appearing. Instead of passing through the crowd of people, she choose to jump on the roof of each house making the trip much easier. As she left the small villages and the forest, she passed by another village. This village is abandoned as most of the building have been burned down. It is unknown how long this village was left, however it was long enough for nature to take its course. Being that no one lives in the town, Ichimatsu jump off from a tree branch and landed on the ground; running straight through. Kokeshi and Iki all have left leaving Ichimatsu and Inosuke just by themselves.The abandoned village is small, so it didn’t take her that long to enter almost a beach-like atmosphere. Her main emotions all are waiting for her as a boat is seen washing up in shore. Ichimatsu stopped running and begins walking toward where her clones are waiting. She stepped into the boat adjusting herself to sit next to Inosuke. Hoto and the other clone, Kimekomi follow suit as they sat behind Ichimatsu still in control of him. The rest of the clones step inside the boat, as the boat begins to travel all away to a small island.

This little island is a bit forested with a house standing by in the middle. Each of the trees is decorated with dolls and puppets. some wearing the signature demon slayer and some wearing more of a traditional kimonos. Some demon slayers are seen wielding a sword in their hand,meanwhile some in their hips. Karekuri begins running towards Ichimatsu and step in front of Inosuke walking backward, having her jolly expression.

“Do you like our decorations? It took us years to perfect!” She begins laughing as she runs toward a huge house. The house wasn’t a traditional Japanese style, but more of a rather western style house. The door itself open as they let everyone enter the dollhouse and then close. Hoto and Kimekomi release their sticks leaving Inosuke to finally gain control of his legs and left arm.They finally appear in front of his vision as their identity is hidden by their Kuroko outfit. “Thank you Hoto and Kimekomi for helping me.” Ichimatsu bowed toward them, as the clones both also bowed toward hers.

“Anything for your Ichimatsu, we’re willing to do anything to help you.” Kimekomi said, as both mysteriously disappeared. Iki and Kokeshi begin leaving the main hall as they also disappear in plain sight. Ichimatsu still holding on to Inosuke, turned around and look at Karakuri.

“Karakuri, this is now your job to take a look after him, meanwhile me and the rest will be getting ready. By the time I release him, you will be ready to steer him away from any danger, okay?” “Okay!” Karakuri, using her flesh created a pair of Hyoshigi. She holds both of the sticks and lowers her arms. “I’m ready!”

Just as Ichimatsu released the stick and her hand on the demon slayer’s neck, Karakuri simultaneously hit the Hyoshigi causing Inosuke to be teleported into another room. Leaving him to process everything that is going on.

Inosuke could not put words on the dread that filled his soul, as his sword was knocked out of his grip. He could feel the demon's power spreading through his nerves, reaching all the way to his fingertips, depriving him of any control.

All he had left was his mind. He could still feel his face, but what good would words be against a demon that could turn his strength against him?

"I'd rather die a thousand times than be part of anyone's collection! Let me go, you bastard!!"

He could tell that the clones were all originated from the same demon. They left the same slimey feeling all over his skin, the sense of dread refusing to leave him, even though the longer had long shown its face. He was neck deep into it.

It was nothing compared to what awaited him. The bravado was drained away from him as he felt his thighs clench, his legs forced into a run, while his arm flailed around in motions he couldn't control.

His flexible joints could endure being torn and twisted beyond their usual range, but the pain was elsewhere. As his blades tore into the flesh of unsuspecting slayers, Inosuke felt a great ache stab through his chest. His throat felt tight, and not only because of the grip the demon held around it.

He was hurting them. The demon was using his strength to slay the humans. Because he had been too weak, because he had failed to kill the demons first... all these people were getting hurt.

Guilt hurt more than a sword ever could.

#“he had been too weak because he failed to killed the demon #crying rn #🎎 throw on your dress and put on a doll faces || ic #whirling fangs

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