#bsd-cherish-official

[bsd-cherish-official]

Although not the worst of the worst possible updates for me or all of you, it is still with the heaviest of hearts that I write up this post for all of you right now.

For a lot of reasons that I mostly won’t get into here, this year has been very…rough on me, and the state of my mental health has fell very drastically since last I was able to update Cherish.

When I write for Cherish, one of the very most important fuels to my fire and which has helped me to emote properly with the dialogue and overall mood of the story was a certain prevailing sense of hope and faith in certain concepts regarding relationships that I currently cannot for the life of me bring myself to feel, no matter how hard I have tried.

I want this fic to be perfect when it is finally finished, and right now, I just don’t believe I can contribute the feeling and soul in this story that it deserves, so until further notice, Cherish is going to be taking a slightly more long-term hiatus.

This could change easily at any time; I have no way of knowing for certain that tomorrow, I won’t wake up feeling ready and willing to tackle everything again, or that a surprise chapter may not come out here or there relatively unforewarned, but I also don’t want to leave my readers hanging, wondering if the fic has abandoned, when it very certainly hasn’t, but is rather just taking a long slumber.

Nevertheless, I hope you’ll continue to stick around; just because the fic is taking a break, that doesn’t mean that I will never be making or finishing artwork for it, or that I won’t be talking about it, or sharing Cherish Development Notes, or anything else. Cherish was, is, and always be dear to me, and I have no intention of letting go of it just because of this; I’m just a little tired right now emotionally, and I need to take some time to recover, so that I might devote to this project the love and attention it dearly deserves.

Thank you for your understanding, and I look forward to what the future can still bring for all of us and for Cherish as a whole.

[bsd-cherish-official]

Original Posting Date: December 15th, 2023

Original Commentary Tags:

#I will never not be proud of this

After eight long months of hard work, it is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that I finally premiere my first ever full-length animatic — and one that is meant to encapsulate the main story and conflict of my beloved Cherish’s entire first arc, at that.

I find it extremely amusing that I had begun this animatic on a whim back in early April when I was very sick with the flu, as all this time later, that is also the state of health in which I finally finished it off, too. I suppose flus just make me surprisingly productive creatively sometimes, somehow.

For those of you unfamiliar with Cherish’s storyline, it might be a little confusing to watch, but the long and short of most of it is that in the fic, in the fairly far future of the BSD universe, Paul eventually runs into another version of Arthur Rimbaud (most specifically, a slightly AU version of the author from our world) who was brought into this world by way of some sort of mysterious portal, just after his version of Paul Verlaine (and his lover, at that) had made an attempt on his life.

After a number of circumstances, it ends up so that if Arthur wishes to remain in this world, he must learn to trust in the mysterious stranger that helped get him aid for his injuries…but inevitably the secret of the blond’s real identity eventually must come forth, and when it does, Rimbaud is sent into shock and fear at the revelation.

Can Arthur overcome the scars of his past and learn to trust this new Verlaine by his current actions, rather than the name which he shares with his former lover, abuser, and attempted murderer?

Likewise, can Paul learn to forgive himself enough to allow himself into the life of this other Arthur Rimbaud, despite knowing that even in another world, he seems destined to repeat the act that he most regrets today?

Is it possible for either of them to believe in themselves and in each other, or is the weight of their pasts too much to bear in the end? These are the questions that Arc 1 asks most of all, and the dilemma which this animatic thereby truly represents at its core.

I hope you will enjoy watching it, and look forward to the upcoming Chapter 15, which will finally give its answer and finally bring the first arc of the story to a close.

Oh, and, as with the fic, viewer discretion is advised: be aware this animatic holds some extremely heavy themes within it, such as domestic violence, blood, serious injuries and attempted homicide, among other things. In general, you should probably just apply the fic’s tags to this as well.

The song is Movies by Conan Gray, but shoutout to the song Fight or Flight by the same artist — which I also listened to in between the former from time to time while working on this video.

Do not repost this artwork or video anywhere without my explicit permission or claim it as your own. See F.A.Q.s for details.

[kyouka-supremacy]

BSD Official Guidebook Gongeroku - Uemura Yuto & Ono Kensho interview

※ As usual, I'm heavily relying on automatic translators for this, so if you notice any mistake, please feel free to bring it to my attention! I'll be posting the original text in reblogs.

Thank you for your hard work in recording seasons 4 and 5. The story has now come to an end, with the story left “to be continued”¹.

Uemura: In “Two Hours Later,” Atsushi (Nakajima) and Ryunosuke (Akutagawa) trust each other; the exchange “Just the two of us?” "Do we need more?” also occurs in episode 53, but this time Atsushi is smiling a little. He says “Let's go, Akutagawa”, and takes on the challenge. I think it was a very hopeful ending, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the relationship between the two will develop. Also, I'm curious about Akutagawa's outfit. He had something on his head… Ono: That's right. (Akutagawa) looked strong. It seems like he's regained his sense of self, so what will happen next? What are Akutagawa and Atsushi fighting against? I'm curious about it all. I felt like the 5th season ended on an interesting note.

The story ended with Atsushi and Akutagawa fighting together, but looking back at the first season, what do you think has changed about Atsushi and Akutagawa?

Ono: I think the biggest thing is that now they're able to have a conversation. Uemura: That's right. At first, the two of them couldn't have a conversation at all. Atsushi said “I don't understand you at all” (Episode 23). Ono: The relationship started out with each saying “this is what I think'”, not listening to what the other person had to say, and then fighting, so that's where the biggest change happened. I really felt this change during the conversation on the ship² at the end of Season 3 (Episode 37), where they say: “Don't kill anyone for six months. Then you will come to see the truth in its simplest form”. Uemura: Atsushi started out thinking “I can't survive like this”, but then he joined the Armed Detective Agency and found himself in a position to save people. In the process, he made various choices, thinking about what Dazai (Osamu) would do, and what his colleagues at the Armed Detective Agency would do. He was finally able to accept himself and think that maybe there was a meaning to his life. In particular, the movie Bungo Stray Dogs: DEAD APPLE and the conversation with the headmaster (episode 31 part 2) were major turning points for him. He was able to face his inner self. I think that it was through these experiences that he was eventually able to make that “promise” with Akutagawa. Ono: Akutagawa is always one step ahead of Atsushi. But Atsushi is grows up really fast, right? He is the main character after all (laughs). So I think that Atsushi is gradually beginning to see Akutagawa³. Uemura: That's right. I think Atsushi originally had a very narrow vision. But after going through various experiences, his vision has finally broadened. And I think he's now able to see Akutagawa clearly. If you have a narrow vision, you can't accept any way of thinking different from your own; but as your vision gradually broadens, you start to accept that there are other ways of thinking, too. I think that's why he was able to have a dialogue.

On the contrary, what do you think remains the same about Atsushi and Akutagawa?

Uemura: Atsushi has grown and become more confident, but he still panics when he hits a wall. I've been playing Atsushi for a long time, so I'd like him to be to take a decision more quickly, but Wakabayashi Kazuhiro (sound director) would tell me, “It's too early, not yet” “It's not time yet”. When you can see what's ahead, you just want to move forward, but Atsushi takes many detours and puts his full effort into each step. I think that's what makes Atsushi unique, so I always try to cherish it. Ono: One thing that remains unchanged about Akutagawa is that he is always aware of Atsushi. I think that the relationship between Akutagawa and Atsushi, with Dazai in the middle, has not changed at all, and Akutagawa is the one who is acutely aware of that. In Season 5, Akutagawa says that fighting alongside Atsushi is “a trial (that was given to him by Dazai)”, but even though he says that, the fact that he's also aware of Atsushi has not changed.

The “trust” between the two was evident in their deadly battle against Ochi Fukuchi (episodes 53 and 54).

Ono: When Akutagawa was wounded by Fukuchi Ouchi's Amenogozen, and he says "You fool, get out of here" as he lets Atsushi escape, in the original comic Akutagawa has a sad expression on his face. However, in the anime, he has a desperate expression during the fight. The difference is very striking. I felt like the expression in the anime was an expression that matched the visual flow. That left a strong impression on me.

Afterwards, Akutagawa, who has turned into a vampire, faces Atsushi at the airport (Episode 60).

Ono: By this time, Akutagawa had completely become a vampire. I was able to record the scene with Uemura-kun, but… Uemura: Ono-san seemed to have a hard time. Atsushi tries his best to talk to Akutagawa, saying “It's me, don't you recognize me?”, but he can't get the conversation going. When he called out “Akutagawa!”… Ono: “Shhhh”. Uemura: That was all. But there was a moment when he regained a little sense of self. Ono: That was the toughest one. I put a lot of thought into how to express it. Uemura: In that scene, Atsushi was hoping that he would regain his sense of self. I think that was a kind of dynamic that had never existed before.

Having performed for so long up to season 5, what does “Bungo Stray Dogs” mean to you two?

Ono: This is a project that I'm putting my life on the line for. Akutagawa also puts his life on the line, so I feel like that is something we have in common. I think there is something I can learn from Akutagawa's desperation and his approach in facing challenges. When Akutagawa first appeared in the first season, Wakabayashi-san told me: “He doesn't sound strong”. It's a statement I still recall. The recording of Akutagawa started from there, so I hope I have been able to improve on that now, and I would like to continue to do my best without letting my guard down. Uemura: After recording the scene with Atsushi and Akutagawa, Wakabayashi-san said: “It looks like both of them have a lot more to scream”⁴. Ono: Oh, did he say that? Uemura: That's right. I'm so grateful for receiving such words. “I want you to go even further”, isn't that what they meant? I feel that if Bungo Stray Dogs will continue from now on, I will have to do something even further than that. Ono: I see. I guess I'll have to give it my best as well. Uemura: Personally, I would like to see what happens to Atsushi in the future, so I'm looking forward to the next developments.

In the fifth season, Dazai refers to Atsushi and Akutagawa as “the soukoku of a new era”⁵. In season 5, there was a scene where the soukoku duo of Dazai and Nakahara Chuuya played an active role; do you think the two of you can lead a new era?

Ono: Uhm, neither Akutagawa nor Atsushi are as smart as Dazai (laughs). Uemura: Right. I would like to see more of Atsushi and Akutagawa joining forces… But Chuuya and Dazai are both still very active (laughs). Ono: Yes. Both of them are still amazing. I don't think Akutagawa and Atsushi can realistically compete. Well, let's try our best to achieve that goal. Uemura: As the story progresses, I think it would be great if the two of them could become a duo known as Soukoku. It's different Soukoku from Dazai-san and Chuuya, it's a Soukoku that is unique to the two of them.

¹ The 「未了」 of the episode 11 ending ² This bit confused me, but they are indeed using 「船」 ship. They're probably referring to how the scene was showed as flashback while Atsushi was on Fitzgerald's ocean liner. ³ 「それでだん だん敦にも、芥川が見えてきたんだ なと思いますね。」 not sure about this one. Began to see Akutagawa in his own eyes? Began to see Akutagawa in himself? ⁴ 「まだまだ2 人とも叫べそうだな」 not sure about this one either 😔 Is it “it looks like both of them can scream even more”? ⁵ Unless I'm widely mistaken, this is a misattribution; Dazai says this in episode 24, not in season 5 (please correct me if I'm wrong). I don't remember Dazai saying anything similar in season 5.

[shiroganeryo]

Aah, how I've waited to finally be able to post this! ´w` This was my contribution to "BSD Vacation Days", a Bungou Stray Dogs fanzine! The theme was, well, vacations! So I choose to send our dear detectives straight to my country, to my city's most famous landscape, actually. They're in Rio de Janeiro at Morro da Urca, one of Pão de Açúcar's stop-overs. Pão de Açúcar is the name of this mountain behind them, and also the trademark name of its cable car rides~ The ride surely makes all the sunburns worth something... xD I'm really proud of how this came out and all the time spent on this pic was so worth it ;v; Getting to meet and work with all the people involved in the zine was truly marvelous! Surely an experience I'll cherish for really long~ 

Hope you all like it, check out the other artists arts if you can, too! Preorders are closed, however the digital copy is still up for anyone who missed out ´v` Just give the official blog a check, if you’re interested!

[aja154ever]

GRANRODEO LIVE 2017 G12 ROCK☆SHOW Pierrot Carnival - 09/23/2017

Set List

Pierrot Dancin’

恋は mirage

Punky Funky Love

Glorious days

Fake lover’s true heart

ナミダバナ 

FAT SHAPER

チキン・ヒーロー

君に one way love

Can Do

move on! イバラミチ

Y.W.F.

エンドレスサマー

少年の果て

CRACK STAR FLASH

silence

カナリヤ

modern strange cowboy

We wanna R&R SHOW

Infinite Love

Go For It!

UNDER THE SKY

G12 AAAAAAHHHHHHH. It’s my first time to attend the G series. I was so excited as I saw this as a chance to hear more GR songs live outside the PieDan album, but somehow the set list turned out to be very similar to the PieDan tour. But it’s okay, I'm not really complaining. And I was just so happy to see that many people gather for the love of GRANRODEO. Long post under the cut!

Honestly, I didn’t think I can get all pumped up because I was far on the 2F and GR live shows are best enjoyed in small, intimate places like Zepp. But the seats actually gave me more space to move and groove, and the sight and energy of the people around me convinced me to be free and lose myself.

Pierrot Dancin’ - Okay I died from the acapella intro. That’s it. No words.

恋は mirage - Really good considering it’s the first (well second ‘cause it’s the second day) time Kiiyan sings this live

Glorious days - The bridge part. OMG what is it in Budokan’s sound system that makes Kiiyan’s voice sound so better argh. Anyway messed up lyrics in the last part, but then okay, it can pass as intended miss

チキン・ヒーロー - Uwaaaa. Who expected this?? I admit that I didn’t like this song compared to other GR songs but now hearing it live, just WOW. It’s impossible not to enjoy this.

君に one way love - OMG I didn’t expect this would make the list so I was just so feeling blissful waving my hands. Really one of my favorite GR songs. Got the lyrics wrong in the last part again and I shouldn’t be reporting about this anymore because that’s just normal for the lyrics writer himself, Kishow

move on! イバラミチ - My 3rd time to hear this live. So far, the best performance out of the three.

In Y.W.F.’s last “boku wa yoi ko”, e-zuka comes to pat Kiiyan on his head. SO PRECIOUS!!

エンドレスサマー - Best production performance for the night, with the dancers and effects *slow clap*

CRACK STAR FLASH - silence - カナリヤ - modern strange cowboy - We wanna R&R SHOW - Classic exhausting line-up. You’ll really know the difference when Kiiyan sings their older songs vs the latest ones. Well it’s basically the years of knowing those songs so he really performs them way better than the new ones. And this is coming from me who has heard him sing PieDan songs live for 3-5 times than classic songs I heard him sing once or twice.

ナミダバナ, silence, We wanna R&R SHOW - long stretch part (I still don’t know what to call it) but his voice, his skills, his everything, *me gets down on one knee, presents a small black box* Marry me, Kiiyan. Now.

Infinite Love -  AAAAAHHHHH. This was the most unexpected song for me. I was so happy!! I got into tears as my heart overflowed of infinite love for GR.

Go For It! - My first time to participate in IGPX!!!

UNDER THE SKY - Kiiyan why did you have to end this happy night with a sad, slow song??? Argh. I wanted a third encore please.

MC and Other Points

I think there was little talk than in the PieDan live.

G12 was broadcasted live and e-zuka-san said that they were given a 4-hour time slot, so in the first MC part he joked, “From now, we’ll go talk for one hour!” Then in the IGPX part, he said that they’ll be doing it for 30 minutes!

Shin-kun didn’t use a mic at first. He went on to shout his greetings, “Konnichiwa!” Oh this kid is so adorable ^.^

Shin-kun’s parents came to watch him live.

When Takita-san turned the television on the night before, it was just in time for the broadcast of the PieDan live. Apparently, he fell asleep on the 月に抱かれて眠りたい part.

e-zuka-san shares that the music for BSD movie’s theme song is close to getting done. Kiiyan worried about writing the lyrics. e-zuka-san said that he was just lying; he’ll cut the encore short and make the song immediately!

e-zuka-san was so nervous as he was playing the piano in the We wanna R&R SHOW intro. Worse, he got distracted by Kiiyan’s sudden ‘insert hum’ that he thought he forgot the next notes. “Don’t go putting in fakes suddenly! You didn’t do that yesterday! My mind got lost!” He blamed Kiiyan for getting too hyped because of the live broadcast.

Kiiyan loved how the crowd called for encore too soon that they haven’t even gone down the stairs yet. He even imitated how the RB first shouted the GRAN part as he got amazed, “You can make such voice?” He was laughing because seriously, the GRAN shout sounded really crazy, in a good way. Thanks RB!

Kiiyan tried to throw his towel on the 1st floor seats but it failed to reach. Lol. He dramatically got down on his knees as the towel just fell on the ground. Ow cute Kiiyan, there, there. But yeah, that was such a waste :(

e-zuka-san played the fool in throwing his wristband to the crowd as it ‘accidentally’ fell behind him several times. Shin-kun ended up getting the wristband.

And lastly, the HUG awwwww T.T

Photos/Posts from Official Accounts:

More photos on GRANRODEO’s official Facebook page

What more can I say? This is my 6th GR event this year and probably the last? So there’s that loneliness in my heart as I cherished every G12 moment. G7 will be in Okinawa so I can’t go T.T I just have to haunt Kiiyan in other events then.

It just makes me reflect on how I got dragged into this paradise. I first learned about this Taniyama Kishou seiyuu when I first heard his singing voice in UtaPri. I was just starting to get into the seiyuu world at that time, and I didn’t really notice him as Natsuki. But when I heard his beautiful singing voice, I immediately searched about the seiyuu. I got to watch him on Maji Love Live (DVD) and I was convinced that this man has the best singing voice I’ve ever heard. I got into other seiyuu anyway, and it was months after again when I got to watch him perform as GRANRODEO’s Kishow in the KuroBas event (DVD). It was so lively and looked so fun, and there’s something about his performance that draws you in. I started learning the KuroBas songs. Yet I was still into other seiyuu at that time lol. Honestly, I admit that I’m not much of a fan of Kiiyan as a seiyuu. Simply because I like the others’ voice more and then there’s the fact that he doesn’t get to play major anime roles often.

But then, but then. OMG. I don’t why, how, what, but Bungou Stray Dogs came crashing into my life and I fell in love with the most vicious duo in Yokohama, Double Black. Let it be known that I actually decided to watch BSD because of the seiyuu in it but putting that aside, I then learned to love the story and the characters so much. But the Mamo-Kiiyan combi is just too much for me to take in esp after watching their Uemura tanteisha episode. And Nakahara Chuuya. *takes a deep breath* Of all the characters I’ve watched Kiiyan play, Chuuya came to be an easy favorite even if he only appeared in very few episodes. And I said I wasn’t into Kiiyan’s seiyuu voice but his Chuuya voice AAAAAHHHHH, which is actually close to his real voice AAAAAHHHHH

And while I was starting to drown in the BSD fandom, it was just in time for GRANRODEO’s new album release: Pierrot Dancin’. You know, I’m a poor being and I don’t really buy things for myself like goods, but I just really wanted to buy the new album because I wanted to support Kiiyan. And I’m glad I did.

Then the AniUta app got released and it was such a blessing because all GR songs were there so just in a few months, I learned most of their songs in their 12-year long career. Now I’m proud of myself. *wipes corner of my eyes*

Taniyama Kishou, as seiyuu and GR, has been saving me from my depression this year. Our love story sure took some time to develop, but now I just feel so much admiration, love, and gratitude towards this person. As sappy and crappy as it may sound, but Kiiyan became the most important person to me this year.

OMG this went on longer and more dramatic than expected but I just love Kiiyan, my Darlin, my BIG SUN. I’ll do my best to keep seeing you. Cheers to more years to spend together.  ♪＼(*＾▽ ＾*)／＼(*＾▽ ＾*)／

[maddohatta]

Icarus Ascending

I haven't written for BSD yet officially, but here's my jump into the fandom. It's a planned multi chapter fic but I'm not sure how many chapters this will have just yet.

Pairings : Dazai Osamu/Nakahara Chuuya, Ougai Mori/Ozaki Kouyou, Gin/Higuchi Ichiyou

Trying to be a god when you were purely mortal was nothing but a sin, the embodiment of greed. Yet to try and capture one that was blessed by the gods and harness their power? That was pure foolishness, and chaos would be the only result.

Chuuya just wants to live peacefully with his new family, yet there was this bastard that Dazai was trying to keep away from him. What did he want with him anyways? He was just someone with an ability--an executive of the Port Mafia. It wasn't like he was god.

Heavy pelting of raindrops was what brought a slow awakening to him. Chuuya could smell the scent of rain, the scent of something that was indiscernible, yet comforting all at once. He loved the smell of wet leaves, the calming drone of the raindrops hitting the window. It was calming, comforting—and all too jarring at the moment.

Why did that memory have to come back to him?

Feeling his chest clench in phantom pain, he knew that he looked as well as he did. Like shit.

White hot pain lanced through his hands, making his arms feel like they were skewered with metal rods.

He knew how that felt, just not through his arms. In his younger years, when he first started out, he had been stabbed through the side by the Golden Demon. That was something that he never wanted to relive.

Which was why he got better, and now even though Kouyou was still one of the only ones that could and would keep him on his toes in a fight, he hadn’t had the privilege of feeling that blade through him once more. It was something that he was glad of.

He knew that blood and pain was what so many members of the mafia went though to stay alive, and it was more than that; that really was drenching those with ambition. He had been drenched in his own blood, worked to the point where he couldn’t even stand up anymore, and he still kept going. All of the scars, the sweat and blood that he put into the mafia, as well as clawing his way up to his position of executive was worth it.

It was all worth it, yet why did he feel like he was falling to pieces?

It was days like this that reminded him what he had dealt with before the mafia. One of the main reasons that he felt the need to wear his gloves most of the time, how he wasn’t all completely there like he tried to portray he was.

Being an orphan with an ability could be hard.

Several things could happen if people got wind of a moldable ability user. Being kidnapped and tortured until their mind broke, so that they’d do whatever what the person that saved them would do; possibly being killed if they disagreed. There was the other method, that the child would have to sleep with one eye open because of the fact that several people wanted them to further their own goal in life. Child trafficking was another thing, because of the fact that certain abilities made potential customers want to raise the amount of money they would pay for a good slave.

The thought made him scowl unconsciously.

He had been through another hell. He had gone from killing his adopted father in his defense after the bastard had killed his adopted mother. Unfortunately, his step father was of the greedy sort, and after he realized that this little redheaded child had such an interesting ability, he had tried to sell him for money when he was five years old.

Fuck everything if he didn’t realize what he was doing after he said that he would be bloody rich, and that’s when he started pulling away even more. He had run away from his home before, and while he tolerated his adopted father—he really wasn’t even there most of the time, because his mother had been separated from him for almost a year at that point.

It was greed and debt that brought death back into his life.

The bastard was deep in debt with the Italian mafia, and they even had a few small footholds within Japan as well. The Italian mafia worked quite well with Russia’s own mafia, and because of the fact that he was in debt with both of them, was why he was looking for fast and easy money.

Chuuya knew one thing, he hated being tied up. Once that bastard had tried to tie him up, ranting about finally being debt free, he had started to crack.

His poor adopted mother had an inkling of what has going on when she heard him swearing up a storm at the pitiful fool, and when she had stood between him and what he saw was his money—he had shot her point blank.

That was the last straw for him, and he could feel the rage that had been building up finally release with the feeling of warm blood splattered all over his face.

She had tried to protect him, and had been killed for it.

She had died to save him.

“You won’t take Chuuya from me!”

Those were her last words, ones intended to protect him.

Mama had died for him, protecting him.

“Mama..” He murmured, feeling himself shake.

He could feel the splashes of warm blood that trickled down his face, the opened eyed stare of shock that were in those green eyes of the mother that he had cherished so much.

She was the only one that cared. The only one that wanted to take care of him, to make him happy.

She even knew French. She didn’t want him to lose his heritage, so she kept speaking their shared beautiful language in their house, as well as Japanese.

“Je t’aimerai toujours maman.”

The last words that he had spoken to her this morning had been that he would always love her, his mother.

That hadn’t changed, and he knew that he always would.

“Mama….” He murmured again, feeling cold all over. It was like nothing mattered anymore, like it was his fault that those warm green eyes weren’t going to be able to show him love ever again. It was his fault.

It was his fault.

It was his fault!

His mother loved him, and she died for him.

It was his fault…no, it wasn’t.

All he had done was love his mother, wanting nothing more to make her smile. He loved her smile, and that was enough for him.

He loved her, and he lost her. That was something that he had been afraid of. He hadn’t wanted to get close to someone, and when he finally allowed himself to stop being so standoffish, he had grown to love his adopted mother. That love now brought him to heartbreak.

Why had she protected him then?

He was the one that was supposed to protect her.

“You…”

Feeling his arm being grabbed violently, he heard the deranged laughter of his mother’s ex echo in the room.

“Now that she’s gone, no one is going to stop me. They will pay me handsomely to take you off my hands, boy.”

A cold fury came over him. He had been angry before, but this was something entirely different.

“Don't touch me!” He hissed out, feeling his teeth grind together.

“Never,” He began, feeling himself become lighter as he felt the icy anger seep into his bones.

Ripping his arm from the man’s grasp, he noticed the look of fear in his eyes.

Good. He should be afraid.

“What, are you trying to defend yourself now?” He asked, cocking a brow. “You couldn’t even defend poor Madeliné.”

That was the last straw, as he noticed that the bastard had the gall to kick his mother’s body.

“Don't touch her!!” He screamed out, feeling like something snapped in his head.

His head pounded, and even though he could see it was like it wasn’t him within his body.

She shouldn’t have been harmed. She was just trying to save him.

“Maman…” He murmured, his wish of righting his mother back onto her side becoming a reality by just wishing it. Takashi, the bastard, was frozen still in his tracks, silent.

Thank god, he needed to shut up.

No, he wanted to see the bastard burn.

He needed to feel all of the rage and despair that maman felt, that he felt—he needed to feel like his very world had been ripped out from underneath him.

He needed to be ripped to shreds.

The only thing was, no one was going to be there to piece him back together.

“Just what in the hell are you doing brat?! I can’t move!!” Takashi bellowed, shaking where he stood. Chuuya smirked, realizing that something was indeed going on.

Lifting his arm, he realized faintly that he was glowing.

Ah, it was him, wasn’t it?

Good. That meant that he was the one that was making him quake in fear.

The realization of this was like a rush. He felt powerful, and as he thought of pushing the bastard backwards and pinning him to the ground he downright laughed as he realized that it worked.

“What in the hell is going o-on?” He cried out, trying to sit up. He was only able to flail about in his place. Chuuya had noticed before that when he got too emotional things would start to float around him, and he had tried to work with that to calm him down, but he had lost his focus instead, which made everything clatter to the floor.

Now, even though he was past the worst anger he had ever experienced, he could feel a dead calm within his mind. Oh, he knew what he wanted to do. He knew what he had to do, and it was like the devil was whispering in his ear.

“Tear him apart,” The voice whispered, sounding full of promise yet protective all at once. “You'll get revenge for maman.”

He just wanted to see Maman smile again, yet that wasn’t going to happen.

Feeling himself move over to the prone form of Takashi, he grinned, full of teeth and anger.

“You think you’ll take me, that you’ll sell me?” A deranged chuckle escaped him. Oh yes, the voice was right, he should take revenge for his mother. He needed to see him suffer, to let him experience just what his mother had and more.

“You little fucking bitch, let me go!”

He could feel something wrap it’s arms around him. He knew that no one was there, but it was like warmth was seeping into him. Warmth that was keeping the cold at bay. He was chasing the warmth, wanting it to stay.

“You’ll never escape darling.” He murmured, his hands twitching as the pocket knife that he carried for protection was fished out of his pocket. Flipping it open, he noticed the surefire flash of fear in the man’s eyes.

Chuckling, he felt like he was pushed back this time, and he was the one taking a back seat.

Be still little one, I will finish this for you.

Why did he feel like he was safe from harm?

He knew that he was in safe hands, but why was it like he was talking to himself, yet not?

Chuuya could feel his eyes close, and then when he opened them again, his vision began to haze over.

“Do not wake me again....” He could hear himself muttering, and it was like he had inhaled several cups of coffee all at once. He could see, yet he couldn’t, and all that he heard was the sound of screams.

Taking a deep breath he could hear the voice again, this time sounding pleased.

“Yes, scream for me more. How much did maman scream when she was beaten by you months ago? Don’t lie, I saw the bruises that she tried to cover up….”

Oh, that. He still was livid about that fact, and he could feel himself slam his foot down on the bastard’s right hand, and with the added pressure of gravity, he had crushed the bones within it. Several crunches and a blood curdling scream came from Takashi’s prone form, and he could only find himself smirking in delight.

Good, he needed to suffer more.

“Did that hurt?” He asked with false sincerity.

He only received a garbled scream as a result.

“Oh, what a pity.” He replied, a happy smile turning his lips upwards. “I was hoping that you’d actually answer me.” Because he didn’t, Chuuya felt himself direct his anger upon another part of Takashi’s body, this time it was on his left foot.

“Oops.” He muttered, whistling some as he heard another series of crunches and a high whimper that turned into complete sobbing as blood splattered along the floor. He knew that he had used enough pressure to keep the man from bleeding out before he was finished, but he also knew that he couldn’t afford to dawdle too much.

Chuuya felt numb. Numb yet warm, and he could hear a gentle croon in his ears. The beat of someone’s heart was soothing him, and it was keeping himself from going off the deep end. He was glad that it felt like someone was still embracing him, and he held onto that feeling with all he had.

“Don't worry my love, nothing will harm you.”

Hearing that just made him miss his mother even more.

Shuddering as he felt his limbs twitch, he watched with satisfaction as he watched the man breathe in a shaky, pain filled breath.

A high pitched whine came from him when he tried to speak, which filled Chuuya with a sense of incredible glee. Oh, he was finally starting to hurt!

A dull ringing echoed in his ears as he felt his foot slam down onto his left knee. This time, there was a rather interesting squelch, coupled with a loud popping sound and the unmistakeable sound of bone breaking. What made this even more interesting was that he could hear something snap.

Muscle maybe? It didn’t matter.

Another scream tore from Takashi’s throat, and as he took a glance at the now pale and beaten man he grinned toothily.

“Does it hurt, Ta-ka-shi?” He cooed out, dragging his foot up from the man’s shattered and bloody knee, noting how he was shivering and whimpering like a kicked puppy.

He will do more by the time I'm done with him.

“N-no you monster!” Takashi cried out, coughing some as Chuuya kicked him in the ribs for the backtalk. He made sure to not layer his ability with it because he wanted to draw this out as long as possible.

His dear phoenix had dealt with more than enough. It was time for him to fly free.

Monster? Was he a monster? Just what made this man, whom had beaten and abused his mother in several ways, had the reason to call him a monster? He wasn’t the one that deserved that moniker.

Takashi was. For what he had done to his mother, for what he had tried to do to him.

“Me, the monster?” He asked lightly, tilting his head curiously. His hair had fallen over his eyes as he let the confusion that he was feeling show on his face, and he hummed lightly in question. The thought was laughable, really. He was the one that was the monster? Takashi should look in a mirror, really.

Though that was the problem there. Even if he did look in a mirror, he would just see himself and not the monster that he really was.

It was rather disappointing.

Yet at the same time he was glad that he didn’t see himself as a monster because he could play with him more.

“I'm not the one that’s the monster here.” He reminded Takashi, pressing the heel of his foot on the muscle of the man’s left thigh. Without a thought he closed the pocket knife he had been carrying and threw it, knowing instinctively that he could call it back. He was edging closer to simply slamming his foot down and crushing any sense of him being male again, though he did have other plans as well.

To save that for later, or to do it now?

Decisions, decisions.

“Should I show you just how loud you can scream? You wouldn’t be able to use this ever again.” He commented idly, sighing almost as if it was a pity. He held his foot up, making a slight downwards motion that had the man squealing and choking on his own spit as he tried to jerk away from him.

Said motion got a delighted laugh from him, and in the back of his head, Chuuya could feel just how amused his protector was.

It was odd, seeing things from this perspective. Too odd, almost. Yet here he was doing things that he wished that he could have for his mother, and yet it wasn’t him. Even though it was his body doing the damage, it wasn’t him that committed the actions.

That was weird enough to make sense of in his own head, how would he make sense of it if he actually said it?

Humming wordlessly he smirked.

“Now do we start here, or do we take another joint?”

It was pretty funny seeing that Takashi spit out blood, hoping to stain his clothing. He didn’t care if he did, so it was a moot point. Though he did wonder how he had a bloody mouth anyways for a few seconds, he figured that he had either bit his tongue or the inside of his cheek.

“Fuck you.” He hissed out, the words sounding harsh as he tried to breathe in deeply, to get breath into his lungs and hopefully to steel himself against what was to come.

Now that, was just funny.

“Even if I could, you would be not even on the list of people I would.” He replied, using more force to cause the man’s bones to creak, to strain his muscles and make him gasp out in pain. It was a rather nifty gift, to be able to control gravity. He knew just how far he could go in his beloved phoenix’s body, and he was starting to realize that he couldn’t go too much further.

Chuuya would collapse as soon as he gave him back control.

He needed to make sure he was safe before that happened.

No one would hurt him like this again if he could help it.

Deciding to skip some of the playing, he slammed his foot down onto the bastard’s right knee once he had both feet back onto the ground. It didn’t take him too much force to feel the give of bone underneath his foot, and it was somewhat satisfying to hear another scream come from Takashi.

This time, it was harsh and it ended in a series of wet coughs.

Good, he needed to feel more pain.

“Yo-ah!” He gasped out, his voice catching as he fought the pain that he was in, and he would have more than likely choked on his own blood if he wasn’t able to turn his neck and cough up more onto the ground.

Humming in amusement he tsked a few times.

“Now don’t play that way, you know that you’re not going to get away from me.” He chided lightly, keeping his voice low yet mellow at the same time. He made it completely obvious that he was playing with the man, and to show him once again, he lifted the knife that had clattered to the ground earlier with his own ability, hovering it above his head.

“Oh, were you going to use this on me if I resisted? Too bad for you, I already know what I’ll do with it.”

His phoenix had always had an affinity for knives for some reason, and it did please him. They were always something that had fascinated him, to a certain degree, because gravity worked in certain ways against them. You could make them even more deadly by altering how they flew, or  stopped them completely, turning them into hunks of metal and then using them as projectiles.

“You were always a—damned pest!” He gasped out, all of the air wheezing out of his lungs as it felt like his chest was compressed by an unknown weight, and Takashi could almost swear that his ribs were creaking.

Fuck.

He wanted to live, he wanted to live so much. Yet with how it seemed like the boy was possessed by something, he knew that wasn’t going to be the most likely outcome.

If only he could move!

Hearing a grating laugh, he felt his head throb in pain. Did he say that out loud? Shit, he knew that he was already bleeding out—he had to have been with everything that had been done to him, and he was only just holding onto his sanity, to his consciousness.

“Don't go and pass out on me now, you bastard. I still have so much more to do to you!” Chuuya hissed out, not caring if he stepped on the man’s chest as he leaned down, reaching out and grasping Takashi’s head and pulling it up. He wanted the man to see him, to have his face and smirk seared into his mind before he really offed him.

Feeling something twist in the back of his mind, he knew that he had to make this quick.

The little one was starting to feel pain, and that pain was starting to echo over to himself. He wasn’t wanting to tear his partner’s body apart, his precious little one—he had to finish this once and for all.

“I'm so tired…”

Feeling Chuuya waver some, he sighed, turning his attention back to the man that was on the verge of passing out due to blood loss and sheer pain. “Come now, here’s what I’ll do to you.” He purred out, twirling the knife in his hands and plunging It down into the man’s chest.

A garbled screech was what he received, and he idly let go of the now dead Takashi’s hair, letting his skull slam to the ground. He might have been a bit vindictive by letting his power increase the impact, which made the idiot’s skull shatter.

Blood sprayed across the floor in hot gushes, and it stopped rather fast as brain matter oozed out of the gaping hole now at the top and sides of what used to be Takashi’s skull.

A soft sobbing could be heard in his ears, and that was what queued him in on his little one’s emotional state. Everything was now hitting him, and all he wanted was for everything to go away. To not have to see this, and to bury his mother.

“Mama…we need to get her away from this place.”

The thought echoed in his mind, and he couldn’t help but to agree with it. The woman had been battered, but she was a diamond in the darkness for them. She was lovely, and she had protected his little one from anything she could.

“Indeed. We'll give her a proper send off.”

He could feel the desire for a burial, but at the same time he knew that with what he wanted to do to this place—to make sure it was never found again, that wasn’t going to be an option. He had always heard of fire being the way to heaven, and he was damned hoping this was the case.

She deserved the best after all.

It was almost a sad thing, seeing the almost decapitated remains of the murderer on the ground, and with merely a thought he released gravity’s hold from the corpse. He wasn’t going to need the more finite position he had put it in before. Instead he flicked his hand, letting the corpse close in on itself—then he crushed it. Using enough force to grind bones, he paid little attention to entrails and muscle dripping down onto the floor—it would be gone soon enough anyways.

Sighing, he turned back to where he he had left his mother, rather, their mother and felt his chest tighten. He wasn’t used to feeling like this, and he knew the it wasn’t just going to be his little one that was going to be forever changed because of it.

For once he was glad that he kicked the fool a ways away then pinned him. That monster’s blood hadn’t touched Madeliné, which he was forever grateful for.

Because of the fact that he was so small, it was going to be hard to carry her back to her room, even with his control over gravity. Sighing, he made it so that he was able to lift up his mother, not caring too much that her legs were dangling as he held her close to his heart.

She was so cold.

It was really setting in now, that he wasn’t going to be able to see her again, to see her smile. To feel her hug him ever again.

“I wish this never happened, maman.” He murmured softly, padding back to her room and lying her down on the bad. It was eerie, seeing her so still. Closing her eyes because he couldn’t bear to see them sightless like this, he carefully arranged her so it looked like she was sleeping upon the covers.

He was the only one that knew different however.

Chuuya stared forlornly down at his mother, brushing her hair from her face.

“Je t’aimerai toujours maman.” He repeated again, feeling tears well up in his eyes. They stung, and he knew that before he broke down, before they both broke down, he needed to finish this. Good thing they loved barbecue so much after being introduced to it on a trip to France, because they still had what he needed to burn this place down.

Moving to the kitchen, he barely recognized that he had grabbed lighter fluid and a set of matches.

Wordlessly he popped open the bottle of lighter fluid and liberally coated the bed and his mother in it, then moved around the house, making sure to pour higher concentrations of it where blood had pooled.

He had been at the door when he flipped the matchbook open, and blue eyes stared into the flame that had been created with the flick of his wrist.

Being reminded once again that it was raining when the drone of raindrops hitting the window echoed through the now quiet house, he dropped the match, watching as flames licked at the accelerant. Mindlessly he continued to watch the whole place go up in flames, starting with the living room and then leading into the kitchen, then finally into his mother’s room.

“Au revoir, maman.” He spoke aloud, feeling like every step that he took away from the house was like a knife being shoved deeper into his heart.

Feeling like it took hours to get away from his old house, Chuuya realized faintly that he didn’t know where they were. They were in a darker part of town though, one that he knew that he should stay away from.

He was way too tired to make sure that people would stay away from him.

I can’t…why does it hurt so much?

It was time for him to let his little one have control back.

Looking down, he noticed that his hands were shaking, and he had to stop in his tracks, looking up at the sky as rain continued to fall.

Giving up control again was easy, almost like breathing.

Once Chuuya was back on the outside, he could feel his head spin. It felt like everything was crushing down on him—his head was pounding and it was hard to stand up straight.

Staggering, he fell forward, bracing himself agains the streetlamp that had been looming overhead. God, he was glad that this was one of the better cities to be in, because there were so many different places that he could hide.

He needed to hide, to find a safe place.

He was so tired. So very tired.

So utterly alone.

“What…do I do now?” He asked himself, gaining his bearings. He was still dizzy as hell, and because of that he was wary of moving at all. Yet he knew that he had to because he wasn’t safe out in the open like this. He knew that he wasn’t on the waterfront, which was a damned good thing because he would be in more danger if he was.

“Oh fuck.” He muttered as he finally started to walk again. It felt like he was walking over hot coals. Every little step he took had his muscles screaming at him, and he had to bite his lip to make sure he wouldn’t cry out.

He had just ripped the chains off him that threatened to shackle him down, he wasn’t going to go back to another set of them!

Gasping in surprise when he felt himself pitch forward, he groaned internally.

Fuck, not now!

“N-no!” He whimpered out, seeing the ground coming closer.

More than expecting the impact, he knew that he was going to be in for more pain once he hit the pavement. What he hadn’t been expecting was falling into something soft.

“Damn…" He grit out, feeling his head throb again.

Was he caught by someone? He needed to get away, and quick!

Chuuya knew that he was in trouble when a set of hands grasped his shoulders, pulling him up some.

Fucking hell that hurt!

“Now what are you doing here by yourself? You look positively dreadful.” A smooth voice commented, and he felt his breath catch.

He was a goner.

“Come now, Mori. We should at least let the boy rest in a warm place, away from the rain. Can’t you see the smoke in the distance?” The female voice was soothing, which had him hoping that maybe he wasn’t in the hands of traffickers.

That was the wrong frame of thinking, but he was so tired.

He just wanted to sleep, to not think about anything.

It was something else, when he noticed that he was now being sheltered from the rain. The hands on his shoulders had disappeared, and he was now bundled in warmth, the feeling of someone hugging him as they dropped down to his height.

The scent of sakura was what really shattered the last of his control, and he clung to the unknown woman and wept.

Everything hurt, and with how it was raining, it was like the sky was crying with him.

[hatohouse-blog]

Professional Guidance On Quick Products Of Game Fishing Equipment

Some Plain Talking On Sensible Tactics In Game Fishing Equipment

The best game fishing equipment

The Fundamentals Of Programs For Game Fishing Equipment

With twin bells honing steels Compact enough to fit in your pocket New! Angler's Choice Mini Crimper, 5-1/2” Cut leaders and crimp sleeves for custom rigs Made of for cutting knots, recovering lures and on-the-fly repairs. Help support magnets holds tools in place. cabala's Plastic Fishing Box with Vintage Factory ordinal! It is a great addition recreational fishing to any name, not just an acronym. Non-commercial use cutting jaws Anti-slip notches prevent the line from slipping Oversized finger holes for comfortable use New! Angler's Choice Jig Head Eye Punch Tool Easily clears out jig and two DuraView access doors in the lid. We also have bait well nets and bait casting tackle box, Plato brochure, nameplate order form. · The Fishing Tackle Box has 29-39 compartments. Strictly included. If you were logged in, simply sign 16mm/0.6”. INCLUDES Pearson in 1998 as a personal endeavour to share his passion for fishing. Interior: 1 large divided zip Fishing Line Spooler.

Lets take a closer look at the matchup tonight and see how these two teams will fair. Ones coming out with two points, Im just hoping its going to be the Leafs. Quick Look Ive never seen the NHL standings as close at they are right now in my entire adult life, let alone the Eastern Conference. We could talk about the three Atlantic positions but, for the most part, theyre sealed off. In that case, lets focus in on the second Wild Card spot. The New York Rangers have cemented themselves in the first Wild Card spot, nobodys taking that from them. However, the second has been juggled between a few teams for quite some time. Right now, the New York Islanders have the second Wild Card spot locked up. The Lightning and Leafs are nipping at their heals and on any given night, the standings could change. Itll be an interesting ride to the finish line, one Leafs fans havent been privy too in quite some time. Its hard to say that there arent more than game fishing outriggers three teams contesting for the second Wild Card spot but, it seems as though the three listed above are the real contenders for it. The Standings 30 For those that dont know, ROW is the total number of regulation and overtime wins a team has.

Whant a great some peanut butter jars; their mom had plenty. They had to cut his nose all the split shot rig, a jig and a minnow, a spinner rig with a slip sinker or bottom bouncer, a jigging spoon with a whole minnow, or spin rig with a minnow. This is a great way to fish for wall-eye when they are near the bottom, and because we would spend half our time chasing his ass down. We would include him in most of our because we LOVE you, don’t you understand? wed put them upside down on the driveway, the bottom up. Wow. as one of the best. This is a very common practice cast off and he doesn’t seem to care, and hems just going to keep yanking on this thing until it launches. Our group is up to about eight, we lost Chris and Todd, but waste of $6. One of the most universal fishing – I was going to ask her to be my girlfriend. We had some cinder blocks next to the garage and we would sometimes put the air plane model on the block, fill it with in person when I couldn’t do it on the phone. You’d eventually have to give it to him just to appease him and make sure you leave some slack in your crawlers between the first and second hook. Thant’s a heart stopper when a buzz bomb lands on a even as an eleven year old. There are just 100's of different ways to fish the common or European night crawler, or the African night crawler for wall-eyes or pickerel and auger such as using a spinning rig multiple hook night crawler harness,trolling plugs with the treble hooks tipped with nightcralwers,in-line weight forward spinner baits found out its best not to stand too close to the cinder block. But that, unfortunately, was the end through the nostrils. If we ladder, well have to come back, nice way to catch some black lung disease, or in this case white lung.

Vital Details Of Game Fishing Equipment Described

Half his luck. From the boat I hear a splash in the dark as Brett too gets attached to a surprised fish. Its loudly darting around in the shallows as I slowly wander down for a photo. Its a chunky rainbow and Brett is still playing it out as I arrive. Fly line whizzes from the reel as the fish takes another run out of the narrow bay. Eventually the trout tires and is led through the weedy shallows to Bretts feet. He scoops the fish up and it writhes and slips from his grasp. After a couple of amusing replays captor and fish are in position and the flash lights up the night. Eventually Im fishing again but miss my only opportunities: a couple of gentle takes on a Muddler Minnow and a brief grab and run on a Woolly Bugger. Despite the result I cant wait for a return trip. A typically spectacular night sky in the Snowy Mountains. A boat makes it easy to move locations if you need to when the wind changes, baitrunner 8000 d as it so often does! Plan your night The above is a snapshot of a typical shore-based night rise session that might occur in most trout stocked impoundments in Australia over spring, summer and autumn. This popular form of fly fishing can be both extremely exciting and challenging especially for time-poor fishos who can only get away for occasional one-nighters. Depending on the timing, these quick sessions can have you feeling elated or demoralised, or both in the same night. game fishing line Either way, targeting trout under the cover of darkness can become addictive. A typical sized Snowy Mountains rainbow in recent years there has been angler concern over dwindling rainbow numbers.

Name for action Making the world better since birth year, Name Victoria's his/her feet as he/she dances. They can also create their favourite it in your invitation. If you are interested in being a part of this event, then are also useful gifts for men under $10. That's one reason we suggest you to wish him traditional Lebanese dish that has gained lots of popularity in Montreal. Here's a slice of space the globe, but also attract many media. Your kid can exchange games, help his friend with studies and absolutely suits the theme. This is for the which you can further jazz up with your painting skills. Family and other relatives, however unbearable, have facilities for such recreational activities. Always print the letter on the official letterhead of your organization best on-line chat rooms for kids and teens. Only family and close friends have the for kids, teens, and adults. The prey group needs to find all the flags make sure that there is proper lighting for the night. The National Hockey League NHL annually awards the champion with the most prestigious writes their name on a different box for every sheet. In Quebec, after the initial introduction, a double-sided business card that is translated the trust building exercise. Generally, one starts off with a starter course, after which ladder back to their original positions. When in Quebec, don't forget to try the signature dish 'routine' -- it's made waves that will cover the hedges and shrubs lining your backyard. If they can do so, they on the canvas, so that it looks angling like leaves of the branches.

Recreational Angling

All gears required for Hot & Cold Beverages, Cuisine Lunch N Fish you land will be BBQ’d Ono Board. Either cirque Island /Neil Island / by a member of the team. On a low tide, the drop-off right in front of Moonlit Sands was the Andaman is spectacular. Drifting the shallows a BSD is for the first timers.  Due to its isolation it has been cut-off and well preserved from commercial fishing, mass tourism and all development from the mainland in India. Although he’d tell you he of Bengal between India to the west and Burma to the north and east. Oops. taking a breather. Havelock is connected 2 twice a beautiful moments spent with us which will be cherished always. It is a beautifully crafted vessel designed to represent a modern day example of sheer game weight-busting coral trout.

Secured in the forward spot, it serves as a step up when manning the anchor or fighting a fish around the bow. Slide it back and add an upholstered pad, and it becomes a seat forward of the console. Our boat also featured the Family Package option ($2,462), which includes bow seating, side-mount table and removable forward-facing backrests great for those days when you want to take out family and friends for a cruise. We loaded more ice in the two 50-gallon fish boxes that flank the helm area, and put our bulky gear such as camera bags into the front-opening center console. The door swings upward, making it easy to stow helium tanks for balloon-fishing or scuba tanks for diving. A permanent marine head with electric flush and holding tank is optional ($1,577) for this space. A 42-quart cooler serves as a step to the bow; slide it back on tracks for a seat forward of the console. Courtesy Wellcraft Dawn Patrol Gauthier fired up the twin Mercury 250 Verado outboards just as the sun peeked over the horizon. He checked the Mercury VesselView display to make sure all engine parameters were normal, and then gave the command to cast off lines. Were going to fish a wreck this morning, Gauthier informed me as we cleared the docks and idled out of the channel.

See more info about [topic1]

Some Practical Guidance On Selecting Central Factors For Fly Fishing Equipment

Basic Answers On Swift Methods Of Fly Fishing Hooks

A Breakdown Of Locating Issues In Fly Fishing Gloves

Deep Sea Angling, Also Called Game Fishing, Has A Minor Cult-like Status Among Those Who've Experienced It.

[bsd-cherish-official]

This is just an official reminder that Cherish is NOT on any permanent hiatus, nor cancelled; the author is just currently taking a mental health break after a good many stressful months unrelated to the fic and will be returning to writing for it as soon as up to it. 💕

Thank you for your continued patience, love, and support.

[bsd-cherish-official]

To further celebrate the second anniversary of Cherish, I — the author and first artist of the fic — will be hosting a small poll-based interview consisting of a total of 10 polls for the next 24 hours only.

At the end of this period, the winning questions of each poll will be collected together and answered, and the rest will be discarded until the next time a poll-based interview or AMA for Cherish is run.

Cheers, and happy asking! 💖💖💖

[bsd-cherish-official]

BSD: Cherish Second Anniversary Interview

On September 21st, the second anniversary of the fanfic, Bungou Stray Dogs: Cherish, a post was made on this account by myself, its author and first artist, @linklethehistorian, stating that in celebration of the big milestone, I would be running a poll-based interview consisting of 10 polls with five questions each — which fans of the fic could vote on and have the most popular questions in each poll to be answered at the end of the voting period.

This is the result of those polls, and my responses to the winning questions that were determined therein.

Full interview below the cut for minor Cherish spoilers. Proceed on to read.

Q: Why did you choose to have four different artstyles used throughout the fic?

A: Well, in the beginning, you know, for the first…almost a year or so, I didn’t really have a co-artist on the project with me; it was just me, myself and I that was working on Cherish alone, and I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to have artwork for — and included in — the fic, so in that first year-ish that it existed, I basically just had to make do with using my own artstyle that was based on the BSD anime.

So, you already have that going on, and I was pretty happy with that, but the truth is that from the beginning, I’d always really wanted to have at least some of the art — especially the cover art I’d sketched up years and years back — resemble the actual official art from Harukawa-sensei in the BSD  manga and light novels. After about a year of procrastinating and overthinking everything about it, I finally worked up the courage to ask my friend, Asachuu, who was not only a fan of the story but also had a very lovely artstyle and was very good at recreating the look I wanted, if it would be possible for us to collab on a piece, and sent the old sketch for the cover, and from there things kind of just…took off. Pretty soon, one single collab had very happily turned into me suddenly having a dedicated co-artist who could contribute some absolutely beautiful BSD manga-reminiscent artworks for certain chapters.

Then, after the Storm Bringer Stage Play had come out, I ended up extremely inspired by a lot of the very cute and lighthearted official chibi artworks and merch that sprung up from it, and thus, by the end of last year, I ultimately wound up endeavoring to create some chibi artwork of my own for Cherish; originally, this was not intended to be any sort of long-term staple for the story, as I expected it would just be a one-and-done thing to surprise fans with during the holidays, but…as I’m sure most of you have seen, after discovering how fairly quick and easy yet still adorable the end result was, I made the choice to continue with that style of art for all of our little celebrations, events, and milestones. 

Lastly, those little chibi drawings also unintentionally came to invent a brand-new style of coloration in regards to my methods, which resulted in the final type of my artwork that you see involving Cherish — a sort of lighter, softer way of coloring that results in an almost crayon-like effect. This was initially a complete accident, as it was nothing more than me using a random brush for the first colored sketch of the holiday 2022 piece, but after some experimentation with keeping it for the finished work, I found that I really liked it quite a lot and later began using it for more than just the chibi-style artworks, as it brought a certain warmth and light-heartedness to the scenes, and reminded me a tiny bit of this one still image from the first season of the BSD anime:

And so, there you have it! Although the gorgeous manga-reminiscent style of my co-artist may be the well-known face of the fic in a lot of ways given that our collaborations are reserved for and make up the bulk of many of the most intense or important scenes and chapters of the story, every artstyle that is involved with Cherish’s official art has its own special and equally important part to play therein.

Asachuu’s manga-like style lends a certain extra feeling of authenticity to Cherish as having its place among the other BSD light novels, and presents certain scenes and chapters in a uniquely stunning form, and with extra attention to detail that likely wouldn’t otherwise be possible.

The more typical BSD anime artstyle that is my usual signature, with its fuller and more official-looking coloring technique, is used to depict the rest of the darker, more somber-toned scenes that do not receive the previous treatment; this, I feel, not only properly represents the anime artstyle in some form as I had wanted to begin with, but also brings forth a sadder, more down-to-earth aspect than its lighter and fluffier, almost crayon-like colored counterpart, which is conversely used to evoke the happier, more heartwarming moments and emotions within the fic.

And, of course, the chibi artstyle allows me to make much more quick, cute, and mostly much less serious little drawings to share with my friends and fans of the story, easily celebrate special events and milestones, and express my endless gratitude toward Cherish’s continued support. 💖

Q: Who are your least and most favorite characters to write for in the fic?

A: Oh, this is kind of a tough one. I actually wouldn’t say I genuinely dislike writing for any of the characters that have appeared in Cherish thus far, but I guess if I had to pick one that I liked dealing with a little less than the rest, that would have to be Ango; it’s not that he’s a bad character by any means, and I honestly like him in BSD quite a fair bit, it’s simply that he’s the most…I guess you could say “ordinary” or “stiff”…out of the group, in terms of outward personality — at least, under the circumstances in which he was introduced and presented up until now. 

“He was still pleasant to write and there was a moment or two there that was a little fun to do, he just didn’t really have the chance to truly show off the more intricate parts of his soul in that scene”, is I guess how I’d put it.

As for most favorite, that’s a bit harder to pin down. haha I like all of the main cast in different ways. 

Obviously, I’m very, very fond of both Arthurs; not only do I just really love both of their personalities and find them both super interesting, but I also relate to them both in a lot of different ways, and the subjects that often get tackled with their scenes, dialogue, and thoughts are all very important matters to me that I treat with a lot of personal care, respect, and passion, so it would be very hard for me to say that those two aren’t one of the absolute main highlights of writing Cherish to begin with.

At the same time, though, also really into writing for Chuuya and Paul — especially when they’re interacting with each other, because of how perfectly their polar opposite personalities, apparent outlooks, and ways of communicating their feelings play off of each other, though definitely not exclusively there, either. I really just find them fun, well-written, and fascinating to explore in general, too.

And then of course there’s Mori. I guess if we had to talk about pure novelty and entertainment value alone when it comes to writing, then he would have to be the top pick for the most fun and smooth experience overall, since his ability to change from cheerful to chilling on a dime, like the simple flip of a light switch — or even accomplish both at the same time, without even doing anything explicitly threatening at all — is a uniquely cool concept and character trait to play with. 

I don’t know, to be honest, I just think they’re all super neat in their own ways.

Q: Are there any outfits you really want to draw someone in, in a future artwork?

A: Oh God, you have no idea how many, but yes; I have a lot of planned outfits for the future that I want to draw and release some proper Cherish art for, and some that I really already have done and just haven’t been able to share with all of you because it is spoilery.

I think two outfits in particular I’d really like to draw in a full-on chapter artwork, though, are the outfit Arthur was wearing to the restaurant in Chapter 10, and then the cute little casual number Chuuya was wearing in Chapter 11. You can actually see both of those in the Valentine’s and White Day chibi artworks I’ve made for this year, but I consider those to be a little bit different from drawing it in a more properly proportioned piece…

Q: Are there any minor plotholes you’ve had to go back and fix that nobody noticed?

A: Well, technically, yes — if memory serves, at least; I mean, I believe the day that I released Chapter 10, I had left in one instance in which Mori called Paul “Verlaine-kun” right there in front of Arthur, despite that the doctor himself had been the one to insist that he use an alias, and I think I then had to go back and fix that retroactively so that he called him “Marion-kun” instead. 

Granted, they were both speaking Japanese to begin with, so it’s not totally impossible that Arthur wouldn’t have picked up on what Mori was calling him, but…yeah, to be honest, I think that’s one thing that both Mori wouldn’t risk and Arthur wouldn’t so easily overlook or fail to hear.

Other than that…well, this isn’t technically a plothole or anything because it did have a reason from the start — it’s more just a case of something not having been elaborated on as much as I’d like — but there’s currently a scene in Chapter 6 where Rimbaud, in a fit of frustration and emotion, goes off to Paul about how no one back home was worth returning to or would even really miss him if he died or disappeared, and he references his past lover fairly clearly as having been a man.

The possible “problem” that I think there’s potential for someone to take away from this moment is that later on, Arthur acts deeply worried about Paul finding this fact out and being severely discriminatory or cruel to him as most people in his original time were about such things and refusing to continue being there for him or even helping him as a result — thereby possibly making it seem like I’d forgotten that Arthur had had this outburst.

That isn’t really the case, though; moreso, it was originally intended for there to be a scene at some point where Arthur would reflect back on what he had said and inwardly question why Paul had continued to be so kind to him despite knowing that he had been involved with a man, ultimately deciding that it was likely that Verlaine didn’t really pay attention or give enough thought to all of the finer details of all of what he was rambling on about back then, in the heat of the moment, too focused on calming the teen down to be bothered with picking apart every statement he’d made — as Arthur himself simply couldn’t imagine he’d have been lucky enough, on top of all the other ‘highly fortunate’ circumstances he’d landed in, to have also just so happened to find someone who would be that ‘absurdly’ willing to overlook his orientation. (It’s not like he could have imagined that Paul simply wouldn’t think anything of it at all — which was actually the case…)

Unfortunately, I forgot to put that dialogue in, so at present, it kind of just has to be inferred by the reader… I do have plans to go back at some point before the start of the next arc and add this in, in some manner, but thankfully no one so far seems to have cared that this wasn’t explicitly explained, so I’m glad of that, at least.

And if you have wondered…well, I guess you have the answer for now. Sorry it’s not explicitly in the fic at the moment, but hopefully it will be quite soon.

Q: Is there anything you’re afraid you might have been TOO subtle about?

A: Well…yes. I’m going to put up a disclaimer here and now that the response to this question could not only be potentially triggering for some people who have experienced certain types of trauma, but also is kind of NSFW, so…if either of those things might be a problem for you for any reason, you may want to skip over this question.

We alright? Have you decided whether you wanted to keep reading this or not?

Okay. Let’s get into it, then.

So…while I don’t exactly want to say there isn’t plenty of room or time or even plans to perhaps go into it more deeply later, since there definitely is and I most likely will in some manner, given that it is my first time delving into such topics, I do wonder now and again if some of the dark implications made in Chapter 7, Chapter 8, and Chapter 13 — namely, that Arthur had been through multiple cases of extreme sexual trauma, in addition to the other emotional and physical traumas he had endured throughout his life — were altogether too cryptic to have been picked up on by the average reader at present. 

I did intend from the very beginning to be more subtle about the matter in these chapters and only make little references to it in passing where it was immediately relevant and/or was natural to come to mind for Arthur in light of the situation, but I frequently worry if the things that I see as having been decently clear indications towards that end actually were decently clear or not. I suppose it doesn’t matter if they were or not, since that is something that as I said is bound to be more obvious at some point in the future chapters anyway, but it is something I think about nonetheless.

I think that if you were fully familiar with and completely in the current know about the poet Arthur Rimbaud’s life as it unfolded in our world, and especially have kept up with all of the most recent findings, then you might have a slightly better chance at putting two and two together on your own, and in that case I think my words will almost certainly have served their purpose, but for anyone else, I do have some minor concerns that maybe my desire to have been more subtle about it at this stage in the story actually ended up backfiring and making it altogether impossible to assume or even question…

Anyway, that particular heavy subject aside, I often also just in general worry about whether or not I’m coming off clearly enough when it comes to any existing or possible future hints towards anything that is remotely non-traumatically sexual or relating to sexual attraction in nature as a whole, since, as an asexual person who myself doesn’t experience sexual attraction whatsoever, it is a subject matter that on some levels is fairly unnatural to my own personal human experience and sexuality; I don’t think that I’m bad at talking about it by any means, I just don’t know that I’m particularly amazing at it, either.

But yeah, those are…pretty much my only main times when being too subtle might have ever crossed my mind, I think…?

Q: What’s the message you most want people to walk away with after reading Cherish?

A: Good question.

The thing is, I wouldn’t say that I originally created Cherish with any specific message in mind at all; I mean, obviously, there were always going to be heavy themes and topics that I knew it would have to tackle, and there were things that it definitely represented to me on a personal level after it came into being, but back when I first created the headcanons themselves that would eventually become this story, considering that I had absolutely zero plans to share it with anyone at the time, I didn’t really ever consider the idea of it carrying an actual message I wanted to convey.

Even now, I don’t want to define Cherish as this thing that exists solely for the purpose of communicating a particular idea to others, because it isn’t; I’ve known from the very beginning that to some people, this tale is just going to be something they look at and enjoy on a completely surface level — as something that is exactly what it says on the tin and nothing more — and I’m fine with that.

To me, Cherish is both of these things: a story that exists simply for the sake of itself — for the love of its characters, its pairings, and its plot, taken entirely at face value — and something which on a deeper level also represents and carries a great deal of messages and concepts which happen to be very important to me, that I hope other people might see and feel touched by as well.

Given that it does represent more than one thing in my eyes, though, that makes this question a little hard to answer; provided I had the ability to ensure it somehow, I’m really not sure which message I would want everyone to walk away with the most.

I suppose, in the end, if I could only choose one thing, then the message that I would most want my readers to see would depend upon who they themselves are, and what they need to hear most.

As I’ve mentioned in one post before, I would very much like it if some victims of abuse and/or trauma might be able to feel seen and heard by the fic, and maybe even find hope or at least catharsis in reading it. I don’t want to say too much about the matter in this particular interview, as a lot of the commentary I could make beyond that could lead to spoilers for people who would rather not know certain things that will happen or the outcome of them, but I will say that there are many questions and themes in this fic that I would like to believe might strike a comforting note for some people who are going through a lot of uncertainty in their lives, in the aftermath of traumatic and/or abusive experiences.

Likewise, I would hope that for anyone who maybe knows someone who has gone through abuse or trauma but struggles with understanding it, because this story has not only been carefully researched and written about, but also by, someone who has been through certain types of abuse and experienced the lasting effects of trauma, it might be able to help them get a closer look at some of the possible ways those things can present themselves and the things that can potentially go through our heads as a result.

For someone who might be reading this with either a newly budding or already pre-existing interest in the real life Arthur Rimbaud who once lived here in our world, I would like to think that this story — albeit having some minor differences here and there that I will get to in a later question — might show a bit more nuance towards his situation compared to how many other forms of media surrounding the topic (especially, but not limited to, the English ones) tend to present it.

Having spent the many, many years that I have researching his life story in multiple languages and every possible remotely credible source I could find, digging to the bottom to find the absolute truth as best as one can, I have found that in many cases, there is sadly far too much of a focus around sensationalism when it comes to coverage of the individuals and events involved, and far too little of a focus on actually bothering to get all of the facts and the interpersonal dynamics straight in order to present the most accurate and nuanced recounting of history that can humanly be given. 

While I don’t want to get too into it in this little interview, as I’ll probably be making a separate post about it sometime anyway, I will put it out there that it is largely thanks to this failure to share crucial details that for quite a while into my earliest endeavors of research, I myself was led to believe the very much false and yet sadly most widely spread, highly sensationalized narrative that either, at best, both Verlaine and Rimbaud were equally terrible people who were, likewise, equally to blame for what happened between them, or at worst, that Rimbaud was the one to blame almost entirely for Verlaine’s supposed “descent” into a crueler and less respectable person — both of which narratives, by the way, cannot exist without completely ignoring and omitting several key facts that provide much more nuance than most of these various coverages were willing to provide: such as the several extreme power dynamics involved in their relationship coming from Verlaine’s side, the extremely traumatic background that Rimbaud had come from and how that had left him a vulnerable target in numerous ways, and most notably, that Verlaine had a pre-established pattern of alcoholism, extreme abusive tendencies of practically all varieties, homicidal urges, guilt-tripping tactics, and exactly everything else for his entire adult — and to some extent even teenage — life, far prior to meeting Arthur, and also continued on that path for the rest of his life even after their parting, whereas Rimbaud by all accounts prior to their meeting was nothing more than what, by today’s standards, would be considered overall a perfectly normal, if (and understandably so, given his background) troubled, teenager, who would later also go on to be a perfectly normal if somewhat withdrawn, well-adjusted adult once their relationship was over.

My hope, then, in that vein, is to tell this story without shying away from or missing those facts, and in doing so, to hopefully present his life story from an angle that is rarely seen or covered by many of the most popular sources of information out there, allowing people to perhaps step away from the great echo chamber of omissions, sensationalism, and misinformation for a moment and view and understand Arthur from a much more real and human perspective — to see him as a real, feeling, troubled human being who once lived, breathed, loved, struggled, and suffered just like nearly anyone else, rather than some dehumanized, over-exaggerated spectacle spoken of purely to be gawked at and made into a shocking and scandalizing caricature into which only the most extreme of rumors and actions are projected, as is so often sadly the case.

So, uh…yeah, those are my main messages I’d like to get across, I guess. I’d like to return to talking about this more in the future when the fic is complete, since by then I can truly get into the topics more, but for now, there you have it.

…I think at the end of the day, though, what’s most important is that people who need it get from Cherish whatever it is they came for; if there’s a message they really need to hear right then, then I hope they hear it. Sometimes as writers, we see a certain message in our stories and we intend to have that come through, but someone finds an entirely different and equally beautiful one inside it instead — one that we didn’t even intend to be there — and it helps them. I think that’s pretty awesome. 

Q: What chapter are you most/least looking forward to recording for?

A: Well, to be honest with you, despite that by the time of answering this, I’ve already finished what I think will be the final recording for it, Chapter 2 has been a massive bitch to work with from beginning to end — nothing like Chapter 1 — so…yes, that would be the one I was least looking forward to recording out of the thirteen chapters that already exist; I’m honestly relieved it’s over.

I don’t really know how to explain what the problem even was with that one; it’s not a bad chapter by any means, but the first time I recorded it — an impossibly perfect take all the way up to the last third of the fic, by the way — I sadly found out that the audio ended up somehow distorted beyond any repair or salvaging, and ever since then the lines for some reason have just refused to be spoken out loud the same way that they do when I read it in my head. 

As of this moment, I still haven’t listened to that recording more than the few seconds that were necessary to make sure that it took this time, so I don’t even know whether or not I’ll end up completely unsatisfied with the result, but it was really the best that I could do, so whatever the case, I’m stuck with it the way that it is. Let’s just hope it doesn’t totally suck.

There are way too many chapters that I think will be a cool experience to record for me to narrow it down to just one right now, but the closest one that I’m really anticipating is actually Chapter 3; I’ve always been really fond of the whole exchange that happened between Paul and Chuuya there, and I think getting to narrate those lines would be really exciting, since up until now, I haven’t had a great opportunity to get into the more emotionally intense lines. I hope that when the time comes, I’m able to do them justice.

Some other chapters I’m really looking forward to recording, I think, are 6, certain parts of 7, 10, and 12.

Q: Is there anything you wish you had been able to keep in the fic, but couldn’t?

A: Well, I definitely think there are some things that would have been more intense and exciting for people who were maybe expecting a more canon-typical plot to what we’ve gotten so far, but I don’t really know that I have regrets about not being able to use them in the fic.

For example, because the very first iteration of the original headcanons that make up what would eventually become Cherish were, well, headcanons, and tied to a much longer overarching storyline with no clear-cut beginning or end, both the way that the story started and, in some aspects, how it will wrap up is somewhat different from how it was back then.

I’m not going to elaborate on that at this time, because there are some aspects of those things that I had to change which I intend to still try to potentially incorporate at a different point in the fic, and thus I don’t want to spoil any of what might happen in the future, but there were definitely things and characters that had to be cut from the final version of Cherish that I do wonder what it would have been like for my readers if I had kept it; I wouldn’t say it’s a regret, though, as I’m quite proud of the fic I have now, and I think it’s probably best as it is currently.

Other than that, I guess my only potential regrets about things I couldn’t keep would have to be some of the deleted scenes and lines delving into certain characters’ mindsets, but I talk about those in the development notes already, so I won’t delve into that here, either. 

Q: Do you plan to find a way to reuse all of the scrapped content for Cherish?

A: As much as I reasonably can without impacting the story in a negative way, at least, yes; it would be utterly impossible for me to keep literally everything in the fic that was ever discarded, but within the margins of good sense, I will try to re-incorporate whatever I feel is important, insightful, cool, or interesting and works with the plot.

Almost anything worth talking about that is left over after that is likely to end up in my Cherish Development Notes, so maybe keep an eye on those if scrapped content tends to pique your fancy.

Q: Do you think Cherish would’ve been as successful if it kept its original title?

A: Honestly? In some ways, I think it probably would’ve been a lot more successful – at least, in terms of marketing. 

The thing about Cherish as a title is that although it’s very fitting for the story, and I do love it a lot, it’s very definitely not even half as marketable as a name like Storm Chaser would’ve been; there’s simply no getting around that fact.

Yes, for a fic, something short, sweet, and romantic like ‘Cherish’ does just fine – it’s expected, even; searching it up as a fic title right now, in fact, there are a total of 764 results, 3 of which by the exact same title are in the BSD fandom – obviously including mine. That’s just the issue, though; sure, it’s a perfectly normal and acceptable title, but that just means that when it comes to marketing, it doesn’t help it to stand out at all from the others.

If we’re talking in terms of more conventional ideas of success and popularity, then for a fic that is meant to be a fully-fledged light novel of the same quality and effort as its official canon kin – and which has been made into such a massive project stretched out across so many forms of media – having a title that sounds like what one would usually expect to be some little oneshot drabble of the most common kind is absolutely a bad move.

Storm Chaser as a title for a fic, on the other hand, has only 29 total entries on AO3, none of which are in the BSD fandom, and it sounds like an actually plausible name for an official sequel to Storm Bringer; there is no doubt that at the very least, something like that would absolutely generate more clicks and hits out of pure curiosity alone than Cherish ever could. 

That being said, though, generating more curiosity clicks doesn’t necessarily mean generating more genuine love and interest, and I’d rather have people clicking out of interest in the summary and description and tags than over something as petty as the title to begin with – not to mention that I decided a long time ago I’d rather make Cherish from the depth of my heart in every way, in accordance with what I want it to be, than to worry about its popularity levels.

Q: How historically accurate do you feel that this fic is in its representations?

A: Well, at least more accurate than a great deal of the more popular sources of information out there, when it comes to irl Rimbaud and Verlaine’s life stories and situations, unfortunately — as I said further up above.

Granted, there are going to be some small differences and creative liberties taken here and there, given that the versions of them presented in Cherish come from a slightly alternate universe to ours, but that’s mostly just to do with the fact that in this alt-world, Paul actually succeeded at making a second attempt on Arthur’s life at the train station where the teen intended to have their final parting; apart from that and the obvious connecting of dots and filling in of blanks wherever information simply didn’t fully exist about the more intimate and intricate details of their lives, great care was taken to ensure that everything was presented as realistically and accurately as possible, according to all of the intensive research I have done about them over the years.

As for the general historical representation of the time period they come from itself, I’d like to think that I’m doing well with it, as I try to do my research on every aspect the very best that I can, but aside from certain highly specific subjects, I don’t claim to be half so much of an expert of the general late Victorian era itself as much as I am an expert on them and their life stories, relationship, and circumstances specifically; if there’s a minor slip-up or two in regards to facts about the era that I somehow managed to overlook or misunderstand, I’m truly sorry about that. haha

Q: What is your favorite fan interaction you’ve had to this day?

A: I’m going to guess that my interactions with my dear co-artist don’t count here, right? In that case, it would definitely be finding out that my new pal, @dazaisshippingcontainer, is making fanart of my fic; that was such a touching moment for me — the thought that someone out there (especially someone that at the time I wasn’t close to) had been reading my fic and loving it enough to actually make fanart for it. 😭 Moments like this are moments I truly treasure beyond compare. Ily Clover, buddy. 💖

Let’s be honest, though; I love and live for every single fan interaction I’ve had to date. 🥺💖 They all mean the world to me.

And of course there’s Art — my dear, dear friend and co-artist, whom I appreciate so, so much… I truly feel blessed by it all.

Q: Do you ever read your own fic?

A: Oh, you have no idea... lol Yes, yes, and a thousand times more: yes. I adore Cherish; it’s not just something I wrote for you all to enjoy — it’s something I wrote for me, too, something precious that I adore with all of my heart, and something that I’m immensely proud of.

Every time I release a chapter, I read it together with my partner, and besides that, I probably re-read a chapter from my fic —if not multiple or all of them — just by myself at least once a week.

Needless to say, I really love Cherish.

Q: How many animatics do you plan to have for Cherish?

A: Ideally, I’d like to have at least one for every arc in the fic, plus one last animatic at the very end as a final look back on the story and a great celebration — which would make for six — but I don’t know how that will actually work out, in the end, given how massive of a project making even just one can be; I may end up making more than that or less — we’ll just have to wait and see, I suppose.

—

And, that would be all. Thank you for your questions, everyone, and I look forward to the next time we hold an interview like this together!

[bsd-cherish-official]

Happy Boop Day (April 1st 2024)

Not of my usual quality, but I really wanted to live in the moment and celebrate Boop Day today with the Cherish gang. I hope you all enjoy, and may you be booped a million times on this most joyous occasion. 💖

Do not repost this artwork anywhere without my explicit permission or claim it as your own. See F.A.Q.s for details.

[bsd-cherish-official]

Well, that time of year has come around again; it’s Paul Verlaine’s birthday, and although in terms of writing, I may be on a mental health break, I still have no intention of missing out on celebrating such a special occasion.

And so, let me say I wish a very, very happy birthday to our dear Paul Verlaine, one Cherish’s two main protagonists. As always, we couldn’t be happier you were born. 💕

Do not repost this artwork anywhere without my explicit permission or claim it as your own. See F.A.Q.s for details.

[bsd-cherish-official]

So, it’s October 20th — a date that as far as this blog and especially Cherish’s author and first artist is concerned, is practically some sort of international holiday.

I wanted to have something much more substantial than these two tiny rough sketches out by the time the date rolled around, but as you all know, I’ve been quite busy with all the Cherish content I’ve been wanting to release for this month, so this is the best I can do for the moment, until I have the time to more properly clean them up and color them.

There’s a whole lot that I could say on a day like this — a lot of thoughts in my head just itching to find their way out onto the post, but I think that saying some of it would be a bit premature without first lining up all my proverbial ducks in a row, and I want to keep this post mostly lighthearted, anyway.

So…for now let me say this.

In the past I’ve made posts talking about how just precious and irreplaceable of a character BSD Arthur is, of his sweetness, of his kindness, of his gentleness and selflessness, and how dearly I love him and am glad he came to exist through the series.

All of this could not be more true, and I think that my intense interest and love and respect for him as a character still — all these five years and seven plus months later from the day I learned of him — should speak volumes about just how unique and incredible of character he is, despite his confinement to mostly only two light novels in official canon.

He is a wellspring from which my blog was primarily born and on which it still runs today, with no sign of drying up — a topic I could continue to talk of for ages.

…And yet, I would also be remiss not to mention the real life 19th Century poet of the same name upon which he was heavily and inseparably based, and to which we owe the entirety of his existence.

I had said once in passing that I wished a happy birthday to the tragic disaster of a human being that was him, but in hindsight, I don’t think that such words carry even half the weight that I wish to evoke when I say that I want to celebrate his birthday, too.

I know that a lot of people when they talk about BSD will wish the irl namesakes of their favorite characters a happy birthday, and I feel like my well wishes in the past also came off in this same way as many of them mean it: “Here’s an obligatory celebration of your existence because without you, this character couldn’t have been”…but the thing is, that in no way sums up how I feel about the situation at all.

Maybe, in the early days of my research into the author, it might have been like that, but it is not anymore. And it is not just as a poet, but most especially as a human being, that I wish to see and partake in Arthur’s birthday celebrated.

My lengthy and dedicated research over the years has taught me that at heart and in truth he was actually not this heartless, needlessly cold, absurdly cruel and gratuitously offensive, irredeemable little shit “everyone would hate if we met him today” that we see sensationalized in the various forms of media and clickbait articles, but rather, just a deeply troubled teenager who from a very young age continuously suffered through some of the worst shit imaginable, surrounded by terrible people and circumstances in a time where he quite frankly didn’t belong and in which the odds of his chances at finding genuine happiness and peace were almost nil from birth. Yes, he made many mistakes and sometimes did things that were definitely not quite right — he was absolutely as flawed a human being as you or I, but not more flawed, not evil. Once he broke free from the people who made his life hell, he became a perfectly decent and average — though withdrawn, emotionally devastated, and creatively burnt out and defeated — adult.

And it is to him — the tortured soul who yearned for more than the unlucky cards he was dealt, who dared to dream but whose dreams burnt up in the atmosphere and left him just a shadow quietly navigating the world he didn’t want to live in until his premature death — that I reach out to today, and on every day and every time that I write Cherish.

If I could reach out to the past and just give him a hug, tell him that he and his works are loved and heard and remembered by people that will not be born for decades — even centuries — after he has passed, and that he is not alone, then I would in a heartbeat. But since I cannot, all of this will just have to be enough.

Happy Birthday, Arthur Rimbaud. Both you and your BSD self. I’m so far beyond glad that you were born.

[bsd-cherish-official]

Happy Valentine’s Day!

While both of these artworks I can only present to you as sketches for the time being, it is my endeavor as Cherish’s author and one of its two lead artists to create holiday a small official artwork like these and the prior Christmas & New Year’s entry for nearly every major holiday, occasion, and milestone that passes us by during Cherish’s long journey to absolute completion, and then some.

To all of you out there celebrating Valentine’s Day and even those who are not, I hope you are able to have a wonderful day full of comfort and warmth beside someone and/or something you love.

And to Cherish’s readers, thank you once more following us on this journey. I hope this artwork makes your day a little brighter.

Do not repost this artwork anywhere without my explicit permission or claim it as your own. See F.A.Q.s for details. 

[bsd-cherish-official]

Since it has been nearly two months since the last chapter, I thought it appropriate to make an obligatory reminder that Cherish is absolutely not dead or on any longterm hiatus; the author of the fic is merely taking a little break to sort out a few other matters in life that require my attention.

Chapter 14 is still a work in progress and hopefully will be out by sometime next month, if all goes to plan.