#calling the others to try and get her down. but in mizuki realising this she ends the song and exits the sekai | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

kasaraku · 9 months ago

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Me : ‘Bored.’

Brain : Moon Kasa.

Me : *Springs up to my docs* Moon Kasa.

Have you ever thought about how someone could be so bright and so full of energy? It's a wonder where they got those energies. Sometimes it was just too much, it feels like they're forcing it out. Maybe it was just natural for them to have such energy?

But where did they get that energy?

Maybe we need to see the examples of a genuine energy and a fake one. We should see if there's something we can differentiate it from!

♣︎

Their show ended a short while ago, yet here he is, tinkering with another machine for another show like there's no tomorrow. Call him workaholic, but machines are his happiness. He can never be away from them. If there's machines that's broken or somewhat abandoned, he will take them and rebuild or maybe make another new thing. He's really passionate about his hobby, after all.

It's no strange occurrence when things like this happen, but usually they'll be the one who'll drag him away from the machines. It's unhealthy to work themselves to death, as their leader says. But Rui won't listen when he's too passionate about it.

For so long, he has been surrounded by loneliness. Before Mizuki barged into his life, he had always been pathetic and weak. He can't even stand for himself and no matter how much he tried to befriend someone, no one accepted it. And he has become numb to it after so long. He now doesn't care about what people's opinions are, or how he was mocked as the weirdo. He doesn't care anymore.

Yet that changed when Tsukasa entered his life and invited him to the troupe. It has a rocky start, but everything went as smooth as it usually can be. Even with them climbing another different kind of difficulty, they can all surpass it with teamwork.

It never fails to surprise him whenever the others are always back at him about how he's been doing, how he takes care of himself, and so on. It feels like he doesn't deserve it. But they all are willing to give him the warmth that he had lost from all those hard times in the past.

"Rui?!"

Speaking of which,

There he is. Their leader (it was self - proclaimed, but they all agreed to it(Tsukasa didn't know)) Tsukasa, was looking at him with a deadpan expression. Emu's eyes were sparkling with her mouth open, while looking at the machine he's making. Nene is just so done, she can only sigh in defeat.

“What did I tell you? We're going on a break so there's no show waiting! “ After all of their work, they're finally given a month of breaks. A little strange, given how the amount of breaks they get, it's weird. But they accepted it anyway, since they could use it for hangouts. A lot of hangouts

But that's not what we're trying to see right now, do we?

He chuckles. Always the ever concerned Tsukasa. Though not needed, they all might die sooner when he's never in his mother hen mode. It's always a good relief everytime Tsukasa steps in and would drag them away from something they overworked themselves up. Even Emu who did kind of overworked herself a few times without realising until Tsukasa steps in and just hugged her. And that's how you get an overworked Emu to fall asleep.

By the time he realises it, he was carried away from his machines and being put down in the audience seat. Though it's not Tsukasa who carried him, it was Emu. She's strong as hell. Nene gives him his water bottle before saying that she'll be helping Tsukasa cleaning up while he stays there with Emu.

A little unfair, but he enjoyed the times he was talking to Emu. He can also hear shouts and banter behind the stage, but he doesn't complain about it. Even with his machines that can potentially hurt someone or more, they're always careful about it and will be praising him like there's no tomorrow.

It makes him warm on the inside.

◇

Being an Ōtori is hard. Having to deal with her brothers nagging about how she's too childish and never wanting to let go of the WonderShow, even when their grandpa is gone. Her father will always disapprove of any of her childish ideas for shows.

Being rich is cool, but can it bring happiness if you're an Ōtori?

Fortunately, Hinata will always be with her. No matter how silly or childish her ideas are, she's always there to support, or even help her trying to achieve it! She's so cool!!

Yet, it's not always all about happiness or sadness. Not just those two alone. There's distress, fury, disgust, and much more. There's always something different.

Though being an Ōtori is hard, there's actually other things too.

Like her being the owner of PhennyLand's daughter, she can meet with Tsukasa, and then Rui, with Nene coming along. It's hard, but these three bring her happiness. She's not only happy to be with them, but she's happy to make memories with them! They're always supportive, too!

With Rui making her ideas and dreams come true, Nene singing her songs she loved, and Tsukasa putting her ideas in thoughts and giving her answers on what they can and can't do, it's so overwhelmingly sweet of them.

They might not know this, but they're her top favourite friends in the whole world. Even if she has so many friends, the troupe she's in will always be her safe place.

“Emu?”

Her daydreaming has come into a stop. She looked from behind and saw Nene, holding her console and staring at her.

Right. They're on a break. It has only been a few days, but it felt like it was just yesterday that they got a break. Even Tsukasa, their star, has begun to relax (she wonders how his energy went from kirakira to fuwa fuwa).

She hummed, looking at Nene with her clueless eyes. Nene sighs in relief, and smiles at her. She then lends her the console she's been playing with while waiting for the boys to finish whatever they're doing.

Emu raises a brow, but takes it anyway. From there, she and Nene have been playing with it as Nene teaches her how to play with the game she never plays. It was super duper doki doki and wonderhoy!! The game is so fun, even though her choice of game is not this kind.

“Girls! Sorry for the wait! Rui forgot something and we had to go back!”

Ah, it looks like they're back. Nene frowned in annoyance as their character died because of his loud voice startling her, and accidentally nudged Emu’s hand and the enemy defeated the character with ease.

“Oh how cruel, Tsukasa - Kun… You didn't even help! Yoyoyo…”

“Oi! You never told me the specific item!”

Nene sighs, but smiles at the boys bantering about what had happened. Emu couldn't understand Nene, despite being annoyed at how loud they are, smiling like it's peaceful.

Even if she can't understand people's perspectives, she doesn't care. As long as they're all happy (including her), she doesn't need to know about it.

♥︎

Everything works differently. No one can tell if it will succeed or if it will fail. But even if it fails, people can try to learn from it. Though some people choose that, mistakes are not supposed to happen for them.

And that was her mindset for the longest. She doesn't know how it can stay that long, but she knows the start of it all. It was because of that failed audition, that she succumbed into nothing but a weak and fragile little child.

For so long, she's been friends with Rui since they're neighbours and also because Nene’s the only one before who can tolerate him. As she became Rui’s first and nicest friend and audience, he became her safe place to rant and sing.

It has become like that for so long that, when they lost contact at middle school, they have no one to turn to. His friend and audience is not around to see his magic with machines, and her safe place is now locked and she cannot rant or sing as freely as she usually is.

But that changed.

It always changed.

Even if his audience is not around anymore, she makes her a robot that she can use to avoid interactions, so she can feel safe without him around.

And that changed, too.

That was her from before. Now, she has raised from her fear and is able to withstand any challenges she sees. Because now, she has her friends to help her overcome her difficulties. Her past self can only learn that, no matter how long she can wait, nothing will change without she herself making a move.

“Nene! / Nene - Chan! “

Now, she has become their troupe’s diva. The singer that can captivate the audience and make them sway with the emotions she puts into the melodies of her voice. She has become an actor who is perceived as the siren as her voice can attract attention with just a little bit of singing.

She smiles. Looking at the troupe that she oh so adored so much right in front of her, with their big stupid smile. She might be mean to the boys sometimes (Tsukasa especially), but no matter how much people will think her favourite person is Emu alone, her favourite persons are right in front of her.

And now, all those lonely times she spends alone becomes something that gives her an uncountable amount of happiness she will never get tired of. She will never be left alone again.

♤

Being the oldest is uncomplicatedly hard and strange. You need to be the guiding light of the youngsters, become the mature one, know what you're doing, and so on. But at the same time, you need to show them how and when to take a rest, allowing others to become childish too, and it's okay not to know what you need to do, because you can never predict the future.

It's a known fact that being alive alone is also a hard thing. But they all do it anyway for their satisfaction and curiosity.

Not Tsukasa though. His reason being is to satisfy others and fulfil their curiosity. Instead of it going to him, he'll make it so that others will have it first before him. Family, not blood - related family, friends, classmates, schoolmates, or even strangers, he will fulfil others first.

It doesn't matter how much he sacrificed for others. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone or disappoint them, it will be fine. It doesn't matter that he's hurting. He just wants others to be happy and well. He will do anything for those who he holds precious.

After what had happened to his sister, he won't be adding their parents’ burden even more with him. He will be a good older brother for his family. He will clean the house, cook his own food, do his homework, and be independent.

Even if that's him at 6 years old.

Now he's 17 years old. He will now be not only a good older brother, he will be a good senpai, an excellent student, a helpful person, and a good and mature leader. He will become that of a positive radiant that'll shine people's problems away. He cannot disappoint.

He can never show weakness, as that'll make him look miserable or people will pity him for it all. That means he cannot cry, he cannot show how he has bottled up his feelings for so long, he cannot show that he has at least gone to the plushie or virtual singers for comfort. None of that.

But even so, that won't stop him from caring about everyone. Especially those who are close to him in the present time. His troupe, who has been growing up alongside him, has been nothing but supportive and helpful to each other. He cannot thank them enough or make them gifts or make them speeches to show how much he has become too attached to them all. They're so bright, brighter than him that it makes him want to make them the brightest.

Even if they'll overshadow him, he doesn't care.

“Tsukasa… / Tsukasa - Kun…”

But even so, they're willing to shower him with affection and care that he never really had since young. The amount of it all was too much, he even cried once. No, there were many times when he cried about how much people cared about him. It was too much, but he selfishly wanted that.

And they're willing to give him as much as he wants.

The concerned look at them for him as he just cried about his flashback was sweet. He allowed himself to be open with them, and they were beyond happy that their closed off leader, and on top of that –friend, let them take a look inside his heart. It was so warming that they care for him as much as he cares about them too.

He shook his head. None of that matters, he thinks. But they matter the most to him. He never thinks about himself, so they'll be the ones who think about him. He will be reminded about anything he forgets and he is a forgetful person, and they wouldn't mind it one bit.

Everyone has become so nice to him, it feels like jewellery that no one can have it but him. It feels like he's their jewellery that people oh so adored and wanted. He's unlovable in the past, but he's loved now.

Note : It was finally done!!! I'm happy with the result anyway, so I hope you enjoy it just as much as I do!

And yes, it has nothing to do with my original idea, but you can see it soo...

#tsukasa tenma #emu otori #nene kusanagi #rui kamishiro #project sekai #polyshow #can be seen romantic or platonic #card deck #It took a while -

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sunny-ghost · 2 years ago

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The Oakwood Mansion - excerpt no.1

A small town mystery feat. A young teen girl trying to solve the case of her missing friend

Deeper into the forest she ventures, over the bridge across a river, which has swallowed a canoe that rests on the murky bottom. Who knows what else it has snatched away, she spares the sunken heap of wood a single glance and no more.

From this point onwards, it's a steady trail, just dead ahead. No twists or turns, no way to get lost.

Yet she slows to a stop, her wheels loudly squeaking and clinking against something. Almost crushed under her front wheel is a golden whistle attached to a chain necklace, the last thing she expected to find. It isn't broken, nor damaged in any way. Leaning over to retrieve it, laughter derails her train of thought.

It comes from the left, past shrubbery and trees just far enough apart for her to slip through. She glances between the whistle and the shadows dancing around speckles of sunlight, beckoning her closer. Turning her bike around, she walks right into its clutches.

Without a path to follow, branches attempt to lock her in place, forcing her to duck or awkwardly manoeuvre around them. She nearly trips a few times, struggling to drag her bike through the roots; it's too cramped for her to carry it.

Upon escaping the thicket, she's greeted by a blinding ray of sunlight. She shields her eyes, and realises the laughter has ceased. Either it had been her imagination, or…

Opening her eyes, the first thing she sees is a meadow of flourishing flowers. Next is a gigantic tree that dwarfs the rest, massive enough to withstand a sizable treehouse, one that looks suspiciously well-kept. Lastly, her eyes trail down the dark wood, and land on two strangers. One balances on a branch, the other sitting on a tire swing directly underneath. They're hard to make out with the sun in her eyes, but they appear to be teens, presumably her age.

"Does this… belong to you?" She calls out, raising the whistle.

Both strangers freeze, and Mizuki awkwardly hunches her shoulders. To her utmost relief, the girl atop the branch jumps off, and walks over. "Yeah! I was worried I'd lost it for good!" Whereas the first person retreats into the treehouse, sprinting up stairs that wrap around its body.

Her attention returns to the girl standing in front of her, bathed in sunlight that bounces off her coily brown hair resting on her shoulders, half up and half down. Mizuki drops the whistle into her hand, and can't help but wonder what she's doing here — in a place like this.

The girl extends out a hand and smiles, revealing a chipped tooth. "Thanks so much. I'm Hikaru, and you are?"

She definitely isn't from around here. If someone new moved in, Gran would've told her as soon as possible. A visiting grandchild, perhaps? But her grandmother wouldn't pass up such an opportunity, especially since Hikaru appears her age. Brown skin and eyes don't ring a bell.

An awkward silence stretching on, Mizuki takes her hand — albeit a bit rougher than intended, and shakes it. "Mizuki," she replies, sounding short of breath. Her eyes dart to the treehouse, and peering through an open window is the other person, who quickly ducks.

"How did you find this place?" She blurts out. Part of her wants to ask how she had the courage.

"Oh, we just… stumbled across it," Hikaru answers, shrugging and fumbling with her skirt. Old cuts litter her knees, nothing severe, and unsurprising considering how carelessly she leaped off the tree branch.

The air is lighter here, trees are pushed back to form a large clearing basking in sunlight. Mizuki didn't think a place like this existed. "You aren't scared of the rumours?"

Watching Hikaru pause, she bites her tongue. Even now, the whispers are faint, but present nevertheless, incoherent voices that swirl around her head. Yet, Hikaru just stares at her dumbfounded, and it's relieving. "The what?" She tilts her head, then peers over her shoulder, realising her friend has fled.

A look of betrayal flashing across her face, she dashes across the field of flowers that sway in the wind. "Syrus!"

Such a beautiful place shouldn't exist in a dark, brooding forest like this. Although, it's not as terrible in the daylight… trees don't loom over her shoulder, branches extending to snatch her away like they've done to so many before. It's easier to see her surroundings, revealing nothing behind dark corners.

"Mizuki!" Hikaru exclaims, leaning off the treehouse's door with one foot off the edge. "You've explored the rest of the forest, right?"

Crows observe from their perches, tilting their heads and cawing. Before she can answer, Hikaru jumps, grabs onto a tree branch and lands safely on the ground. "I could show you around if you want, there's so much to see!"

Her laugh is loud and bubbly, bringing a slight smile to Mizuki's face. But the sky is overcast, grey clouds seeping into view. She got distracted. For a fleeting moment, despite the storm brewing above, her words are caught in her throat. A sense of curiosity yearns for her to stay, to uncover what else lies in the unknown, like buried treasure.

But then the first roar of thunder cries out, accompanied by a light drizzle. "It's about to rain," she sputters. They'll be here next time, won't they?

"It was nice meeting you!" Without looking back, she ducks under the branches, grabs her bike and pedals away. Lightning splits open the sky, and water gushes out from the cracks. Crows soar overhead, cawing in sync with thunder. But she doesn't mind much; a tiny flame dancing in her chest keeps her warm.

the oakwood mansion taglist (open!): @flower-s-wip-garden

#wip excerpt #wip snippet #wip: the oakwood mansion

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cloud-9ine · 4 years ago

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Through a Golden Lens (pt 1)

⤷ pairing - hawks x (fem) reader

⤷ fandom - bnha

⤷ warnings - some language, hawks flirting, reader’s cynicism

⤷ summary - reader is a bitter, overworked photographer at a hero press agency with little patience for her newly assigned muse- hawks

⤷ word count - 4.5k+

⤷ notes - i have lots of ideas so this is probably going to be a multi-part series. also new to tumblr so this might not be the best

⤷ pt 1, pt 2, pt 3, pt 4, pt 5, pt 6

“Mr. Hawks! Please look this way!” his heavy lidded eyes rolled to the side as another blinding flash burned through his vision.

“You look perfect, thank you!” it was hard to smile for their benefit, but he managed. Hawks had attended countless of these events for the press. It had been exhilarating at first, with the rush of adrenaline from the cameras and the lights and the endless stream of compliments solidifying his place in the public eye.

Nowadays, it was less thrilling. After a while, they all seemed the same- each one blurring into a senseless flare of cameras and hollow accolades.

He was bored, to say the least.

“Mr Hawks, would you like to come and see? I’d love to hear your opinion on this set!” with a practiced, easy smirk he nodded. It was easier to pander to the artist than to criticise their work.

He looked good, but when did he not? The shoots were easy to glide through. All he had to do was pull a boyish grin, ‘make love to the camera’ as the photographers always liked to spout. It didn’t really matter what he did: the public would eat up anything with his face slapped on to the front. They all looked the same to him, anyway.

“Looks good,” he wondered why people were so easily satiated by shallow praises, but as he stared at the younger lady’s blush, he couldn’t help but realise that maybe it was him who had something to do with it.

Hawks couldn’t help his gaze from drifting to the door. His skin prickled in the humidity of all the moving bodies in one enclosed space and he longed to take a step outside and stretch his wings in a way that wasn’t to pose for a magazine.

For a moment, he felt like his prayers had been answered when the door opened, letting in a stream of natural light to breach the artificiality of the modelling room.

”(L/N)! You were supposed to be here over three hours ago!” the woman in front of him exclaimed, ripping the camera away from his view and marching to the figure that appeared in the light. He blinked in surprise: this entire shoot he hadn’t heard her raise her voice above anything but a low mumble when conversing with him, and now she was positively fuming.

You stared down at your co-worker through honey-tinted shades, expression unamused.

“Yeah, and I was also supposed to be out of this job three years ago. We don’t all do what we’re supposed to, cupcake.”

For a moment, Hawks thought you were a model. Tasteful cream turtleneck tucked into heavily creased mocha skirt, caramel beret perched on your head. There were a few metal, classy looking rings wrapped around your fingers, but as far as he could see, no wedding ring. It was pretty standard style for those who worked in the arts, but somehow you wore it so well.

Your hair was a little dishevelled, and the dark circles under your eyes combined with the coffee cup in your hand were obvious signs of a rough night. His eyes locked on to the loopy black handwriting on the brown band around the cup.

(L/N) (Y/N)

You were no model, but Hawks couldn’t see the difference.

His wings beat lightly behind his back as he glided over, weaving through the other photographers and models scattered around the area.

“Hey there, I’m Hawks,” he said smoothly, voice saccharine as he spoke to you. Your attention turned to him as you glanced at him from above the frames of your sunglasses, seemingly unimpressed.

“This the new boytoy, Mizuki?” you asked, eyes raking up and down his figure. Hawks was never one to shy away from the gaze of others, but the way you were inspecting him made him feel so exposed.

“Show some respect,” Mizuki muttered, voice lowered at Hawks’ presence but glare still piercing. You sighed, sparing one last glance at Hawks before snatching the camera out of Mizuki’s hands, leaving her scrambling for the device as you walked away.

“Lemme see what you’ve got already,” Mizuki’s face grew red, half from anger towards you, and half because of the embarrassment of being diminished in front of Hawks.

“(L/N) y-you can’t just come in three hours late and take over! I’ve already done the shoot and Hawks has already expressed that he is pleased with the outcome,” you scoffed, rolling your eyes and shooting the shorter woman a glare over your shoulder.

“There’s no way you’re gonna force me to come into work and make me sit here doing nothing,” you sneered, waving the camera around almost teasingly, “you wanted someone actually skilled to do this shoot, and here I am. Let me do my thing,” without waiting for a response, you left, thumb fumbling with the dial that allowed you to scroll through the photos.

Hawks was impressed. You hadn’t bat an eye when you saw him, and while you were very clearly very late, you were confident in your skills and obviously took your job seriously.

“Who was that?” he questioned, wings spreading slightly as his eyes chased after you. Mizuki bowed her head, remorse filling her expression.

“I apologise for her impertinence. That’s (L/N), she was who your original photographer was supposed to be today, but when she didn’t show up I had to take over,” she huffed, “she’s been like this for about a year now, and the boss is prepared to fire her if she keeps it up. So you’d think she’d be able to pull her at together for you, Mr. Hawks...”

After a while, Hawks tuned out her whining, eyes curiously trained on you, surveying your furrowed brows and expression pinched with annoyance as you studied the photos. Although they looked good enough to him, it appeared that you didn’t share the same sentiment.

Hawks didn’t have time to avert his eyes when you turned your head, gaze locking on to his. You raised a slightly suspicious brow, but otherwise didn’t entertain his actions.

“Mizuki, why would you use cool lighting?” you called over your shoulder, not even sparing the decency to turn around and face the person you were addressing. Mizuki frowned, moving to your side. Like a magnet, Hawks did the same, peering over your other shoulder. You eyed him from the corner of your vision for a second before tapping the screen.

“What do you mean?” you sighed at your co-workers words, evidently frustrated.

“Considering you have bird boy over here in dark academia, accented in warmer yellows, using cool lights will bring out too much of a contrast. We need to match the accent colours with warmer lighting, or use a overlay,” you muttered, seemingly addressing yourself more than the two of them. Mizuki just shook her head.

“That would just oversaturate the image,” you snorted, giving her the same patronising look an adult would give a child if they tried to outsmart them.

“Not necessarily. I could spot-reduce saturation in highlight areas during editing. Or, if you really want your contrast, I could neutralise the warmer shades by using a blue, or compliment them using a red,” Hawks didn’t miss the way you said ‘I’ instead of ‘we’. Mizuki looked agitated, her frown growing deeper.

“Even so, we only have white backdrops. That would be a jarring contrast. You’d need something darker or more clustered to make it work. If you wanted a backdrop change you probably should’ve come earlier,” she spoke with a formality that obviously stemmed from Hawks next to her, but you paid no mind. You were silent for a moment, and Hawks could see your eyes narrowing as you were thinking.

“I need a natural background, huh?” you mumbled, thumbing the buttons on the camera. With a shrug, “alright, bird boy, come on, we’re leaving,” Hawks blinked in surprise as you spun on your heel, a grin breaking onto his face. Finally, he got to leave.

“Whatever you say, boss,” you shot him an irritated look.

“Don’t call me that. I’m 22, not 40,” his feathers ruffled up. “Hey, I’m also 22! What a coincidence, right?” he grinned, winking at you. You just responded by rolling your eyes.

Mizuki spluttered, trying in vain to get either one of you to stop as Hawks trailed after you.

“L-Look, you can’t just leave-” you turned, shoving the camera back into her hands, a mirthless smile on your face.

“Watch me,” your voice was cold, goading her to try and stop you, “bird boy, out, now.” Hawks didn’t have to be told twice. Some of the others whispered and muttered as they realised what was going on, but they all fell quiet when you shot them a sharp glare.

He breathed in the fresh air with a content sigh, his chest feeling lighter now he was out the cramped room. The amber glow from the late afternoon sun kissed his tanned skin as he stretched his arms above his head, his forearms flexing slightly under his dark blazer. His eyes shut in bliss and head tilted back, exposing his sharp jawline.

You eyed him slightly, eyes trailing across his features. Now that you had actually left, you were a little lost on what your plan was. You didn’t regret storming out of there, though, nor did you even consider turning back to apologise.

You took your own camera out of the dark camera bag slung across your body, careful not to scratch it on the tripod, and focused the lens on Hawks. It was smaller, a little more compact than the ones Mizuki and the others were using, but you found that it was much better suited for portrait work.

The click of the camera shutter brought Hawks out of his stupor, eyes snapping open and immediately landing on you. Your attention had already been diverted to the screen, studying your work.

“The modelling room is stuffy, I’ll give you that,” you mumbled, zooming in on his face, “but you can stretch while we walk,” Hawks leaned over you, eyes sparkling at the shot.

“Aw, you make me look so good, I’m flattered!” you rolled your eyes.

“Don’t be,” you took a large sip of your coffee, moving down the pathway as you thought. Hawks scrambled after you, his wings puffing out when he reached your side. You couldn’t help but gaze at the bright red feathers as he unfurled his wings, a small, happy chirping noise rumbling at the back of his throat once they were fully spread behind your back. They were warm, you noticed, feeling the heat through your turtleneck.

Your vision was filled with a cheeky smirk painted on full lips, Hawks’ face appearing in front of your eyes. Your eyes narrowed as you sized him up.

“See something you like?” you rolled your eyes as he purred.

“Not in the slightest, bird brain,” his wings beat behind his back, hand clutching the fabric on his chest.

“Oh, how you wound me!” Hawks cried, and you couldn’t help but smile slightly, which you quickly covered with your coffee cup.

“I’m sure you’ll face a villain that will do greater damage than I could,” he hummed, angling his face towards the sun.

“So, where are we headed?” you chewed on your bottom lip, slinging your camera over your shoulder.

“It can’t be anywhere with lots of traffic, you attract a lot of attention, you know?” it was a rhetorical question, but Hawks’ chest still puffed out in pride at your words.

“Thanks, it’s because of my raging-”

“Shut up,” you cut him off, “either way, I have a pounding headache and I do not have enough shits to give to put up with your fan girls today,” with a sigh, you rubbed your temples. Hawks stared at your clenched teeth.

“Hey, why do you-” “I think I know where we can go,” he frowned.

“You know it’s not polite to interrupt people like that-”

“Sunflowers.” your tone dripped finality as you faced Hawks, a brazen determination in your eyes he hadn’t seen until now. It made his breath hitch in his throat.

Breathy chuckle escaping his lips, and eyebrows furrowed when you sped your pace, gulping down more of your coffee.

“Uh, what?” you waved a hand dismissively.

“There’s a sunflower field in Fukuroi City, I think it’s west from here,” the tiniest of grins etched onto your features, “it’s gonna be a lot more interesting than the rest of those blank background. Plus, the yellow will compliment your clothes, and with the sun low in the sky I’ll get my perfect warm lighting,” you explained. Hawks wasn’t sure exactly how much of a difference it would make, but the idea seemed charming, and it was more exciting than being perpetually flanked by a white screen.

“Sounds good,” he chirped, “although, to be honest, you could take me out anywhere and I wouldn’t mind,” you rolled your eyes.

“That’s a shame, because I don’t intend to hang around any more than I have to,” Hawks pouted, crossing his arms.

“Come on, I wanna know more about you!” you bristled.

“Good for you.” the two of you fell into a beat of silence before Hawks smiled, undaunted.

“I’m sure I can win you over somehow,” shaking your head in disbelief, you lifted the cup to your lips, before looking down disappointedly when you realised it was empty.

“I don’t have enough coffee for this,” you muttered. Hawks’ expression brightened.

“That’s an easy fix: your agency is around here so you must know there area pretty well,” he spoke nonchalantly, as if he was on a casual lunch date and not in the most expensive outfit you’d seen in your entire life, “what’s the best place to grab a coffee?” for a moment, you looked taken aback, before shaking your head.

“Best café in these parts is the Sunset Hour,” you said, rubbing the back of your neck, “but as much as I have no inhibitions regarding bunking off work, that’s a little too far away. I need to take this pictures before the end of the day or Mizuki’ll submit those crappy ones she took in the studio,” Hawks nodded in understanding, smile never faltering for a second.

“Well I gotta get you your caffeine fix somewhere, so what’s the second best?” your expression scrunched in thought for a moment, before you jutted a thumb over your shoulder.

“There’s a Starbucks across the road,” he snickered seeing your blank expression.

“Not exactly where I would want our first date, but I suppose it’ll do,” rolling your eyes, you shoved the empty cup to his chest, which he gripped almost instinctively.

“Good thing this isn’t a date, then,” Hawks grinned, sending your empty cup on a feather to the nearest bin before chasing after you as you crossed the road. You didn’t spare him a single glance when he appeared at your shoulder, nor when he reached over above your head to open the Starbucks door from behind you.

“So you’re saying we can have our first date somewhere else?” with a shallow sigh, you shook your head.

“What I’m saying is that there’s not gonna be a first date. Not between us,” his chest tightened. God, you were so mean. He’d be into that.

The inside of the Starbucks was a mix between modern, western architecture and traditional Japanese woodwork. The equipment was all cutting edge, and the tables and chairs were made with a sleek mahogany, but the windows were framed with bamboo shutters, and the backroom was separated with shoji sliding doors. It was an curious blend, one that you studied with an interest. The deep, earthy scent of roasted coffee beans heavily imbued the air, filling your nose with the aroma of something far more familiar.

Given it was the late afternoon, and most people tended not to drink caffeine after 2pm, the patrons were few and far in between. Good for you, at least. It meant you wouldn’t get- “Hawks? Sorry to bother you but can we get a picture?” your head turned at the voice that rung out.

Two high school girls stood to your left, hands clutched together in front of their chests and a dark pink coating their cheeks. With a small sigh, you took a step forward in the small queue. Hawks smiled with all the faux charm in the world, an obvious change in his demeanour as his pride spiked.

“Of course! And just as it happens, I have my personal photographer here who can make sure your photos look amazing as you two do!” it took you a moment to register what he had said through the excited squeals of the girls before he clutched your shoulders and pulled you forward, causing you to stumble slightly.

“Your what?” he sent you an audacious smirk, willing you to play along as one of the girls handed you her phone. Your first instinct was to decline, but as you met the eyes of the girls, so eager and bright, you couldn’t find it in you to disappoint them.

Taking a couple steps back, you lifted the phone, slightly angling it so the picture looked more natural, and not that of a celebrity and their fans (even if it was). You squinted angrily at the poor lighting, but tried to rectify it the best you could. The girls looked a little tense, but Hawks was a natural. A liberal smirk played on his lips and shoulders rolled back, relaxed. Even with the low lighting, the highlights on his cheekbone and jawline were indescribably perfect, and you weren’t sure if the credit should go to you or his god-like genes.

“Wow, that’s perfect!” one of the girls cried, her body appearing by your side. You hadn’t even noticed her moving, “thank you so much!” you just nodded, handing her back her phone and crossing your arms, eyes narrowing at Hawks.

“If that’s all, ladies, we best be ordering,” they nodded frantically at Hawks’ words, sharply bowing and spouting their thanks to the two of you countless times. They left the Starbucks, but even outside you could still hear them fawning over the picture. He faced you with a grin, but you couldn’t muster up a smile.

“Don’t go around telling people I’m your personal photographer,” you sneered. He pouted, looking genuinely disappointed for a second. “What, you don’t wanna be mine?” “Not in the slightest.”

“What will be your order, Miss?” the barista had directed the question at you, but it was clear his attention was elsewhere. You weren’t surprised, but a small swell of annoyance grew in your mind.

“Can I have a mocha with a double shot of expresso?” Hawks chuckled.

“Might as well have an expresso, you know. You’re basically just taking a shot of caffeine,” you shrugged.

“It’s my favourite drink. I like the chocolate taste,” he looked at you with round eyes, a small squeeze in his chest.

“And you, sir?”

“Oh, I’ll have the same, then,” he didn’t miss the way your eyes darted to him. The barista nodded, tapping for a couple seconds before turning back.

“That’ll be 660 yen,” “I’m paying,” Hawks blurted, even before you could offer. You were silent, a small nod in the affirmative rocking your head. As he handed over the bills, he chuckled. “You know, not that I mind, but usually couples would argue over who’s paying,” you rolled your eyes.

“We’re not a couple,” you watched the barista prepare your drinks, more of a way to occupy yourself rather than a genuine interest, “besides, you’re a lot richer than I am. I don’t mean to be impolite, but I’m sure you can lose 600 yen and still be good,” he hummed happily.

“No disagreements there.” “Are you two eating in or taking out?” the barista asked, in the midst of securing the plastic lids to the top of the cups. Hawks’ eyes sparkled as he turned to you with an excitement you assumed only appeared in children.

“Hey, we can-” “Take out,” you responded, giving a now deflated Hawks a challenging look, “I will leave you here if I have to.” the blonde grinned. “You wouldn’t. You need me for the pictures,” he sang, voice jovial.

“I don’t care about you that much. The sunflowers are probably less annoying subjects anyway,” oh. With no warning, his heart beat sped up, his wings puffing out slightly. Sure, he wouldn’t mind if you were a little nicer to him, but your insults were like a breath of fresh air. There was no doubt that Hawks loved the limelight, loved the popularity he got, but the relentless ass-kissing got old after a while. You kept him on his toes. Even if he was just constantly chasing after you every time you brushed him off, he didn’t care.

“Put those away, bird brain,” it was then he realised his wings had spread further than he intended, stretched out on either side of him. One was curled right around his face, and he almost felt himself blushing as he pulled them in. It was just animal instincts, he assured himself.

The rest of the journey was filled with a one-sided conversation of him talking and commenting on what was around you, with no response from you except the occasional witty retort or light-hearted jab at his expense, each one making his heart flutter. It wasn’t too long before you had arrived, the chain link fence around the plot stretching high above your head and corroded with orange rust.

Rows and rows of bright yellow sunflowers stretched to the horizon, an immense display of summer vitality. The fragrance was potent, a sort of cloying sweetness that you didn’t hate. And just as you were about to enter, you knew you had made a mistake.

“Oh.” Hawks stared at you incredulously, attention switching from your taken aback expression to the sign posted on the gate.

“You didn’t check to see it was open?” you looked up at him, allowing him to survey a tinge of remorse he hadn’t recognised until this point.

“Look, how was I supposed to know? This place has always been open at this time since I was a little kid,” you rubbed your arm, brows furrowed. Hawks sighed, rolling his shoulders back.

“Well, the sun’s too low to go anywhere else outside,” he shrugged, “it’s no biggie, I guess. Those other photos weren’t too bad. Hey, now that we’re free, do you want to- what are you doing?” your foot was halfway in the gaps in the gate, the wedges on your heels making it hard to climb.

“I’m not wasting my day for nothing,” you growled, fingers curling around the metal, “get climbing, bird boy,” with a soft sigh, smile gracing his lips and a warm feeling in his chest, Hawks spread his wings.

“I think you’re forgetting something that’ll make this a lot easier,” you felt a cool draft on your back as Hawks flapped his wings, the feeling being quickly replaced by the warmth of his chest as he pulled you in. A foreign emotion coiled in your stomach, but you convinced yourself that it was just the flight.

One arm wrapped around your shoulders, the other supporting your knees, and all Hawks was thinking that such a gentle flight never felt so calming.

Your feet tapped against the soft soil, sinking in to it slightly when the hero placed you down. You nodded your thanks.

“Let’s go over there, I want the sun coming in from the right,” Hawks nodded, content to just follow your orders. You pulled the tripod from your bag and set it up, adjusting it to your liking as Hawks looked around, trying to think of a pose.

Once everything was ready, you turned your attention to Hawks.

“I want to humanise you,” he grinned curiously as you walked over.

“What do you mean by that?” he nearly gasped when you grabbed his chin, angling his face to the side and slightly up, towards the sun. You took a step closer, reaching up and running a hand through his hair. He bit his lip, hands trembling as you tugged slightly, trying to mess it up a little.

“All the photos I’ve seen on you always put a huge emphasis on either your wings or your hero status, and I don’t really see why,” you mumbled, placing one hand on his jawline while the other fixed his hair to your liking, letting a few strands fall in front of his eyes, “I think that just creates a divide. If they wanted you to seem angelic they should play that up, not just have it the norm,” you huffed, “anyway, I wanna put the emphasis on you and not your wings. So ideally if you could tuck them behind your back that would be wonderful,”

Hawks nodded, disappointment filling him as you stepped away. He made sure not to move as he awkwardly folded his wings over each other and pulled them in, glancing at you with a look of apprehension. You just nodded in approval, leaning down to your camera.

You took plenty of shots, allowing him plenty more opportunities to feel your hands on him (and he would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it).

“Hey, why were you so late today?” Hawks dared to question while you were analysing your photos. You were perched on a bench, appreciating your work. The late sun cast a golden sheen on his skin, the spattering of glimmering rays highlighting his face in all the right places.

“I was sleeping,” you responded, deleting an out of focus shot. His eyes narrowed.

“What?” “Just as it sounds. Figured if they were gonna make me work so I could only have three hours of sleep a night it was gonna be on their time, not mine,” he frowned, taking a seat next to you.

“They shouldn’t work you that hard,” you shrugged with a hollow laugh, blank gaze in your eyes.

“What am I gonna do? Have them fire me? As much as I hate this job it’s the only thing that pays for my coffee in the morning,” he was silent as you stood up, stretching your arms behind your bag before tucking everything back in your bag.

“Did you want to be a photographer?” he questioned, only to be met with a forlorn smile.

“Maybe at one point.” the two of you lapsed into silence before you sighed.

“Well, I’ve gotta submit these to Mizuki, and I’m sure you need-” Hawks caught your wrist, spinning you back around.

In the glow of the sunset, you looked almost ethereal. Your eyes gleamed, and cheeks warmed in the orange flare. Sunflowers framed your form, and the words caught in his throat, nearly stopping him from saying anything at all.

“Come work for me.” he blurted. You snorted.

“No.” all he could do was smile as you hopped back over the fence, not waiting up for him.

“Yeah. That’s what I thought you’d say.”

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toku-explained · 3 years ago

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The 2 in 1 Eagle Pair

Trigger: Computer systems across Sorafune are infected by viruses, courtesy of Powered Dada. Like wow, that's a deep cut. Haruki and Kengo talk more as Akito uses the rescued Medals to create Z Hyper Keys of his other forms. With the virus cutting off computer systems at other TPU branches, GUTS-Select goes on high alert. An attempt to use old equipment allows them to pick up automated HQ broadcasts authorising autonomous operations. The Nursedessei has it's systems compromised. It's all hands on deck switching to manual, but Dada is managing to auto fire the Nurse Cannon and Nanase has to run a counter virus program, even Ignis is helping, as Kengo and Haruki manage to disconnect the Nurse Cannon's power right before a second shot fires. Dada instead takes control of King Joe to target Nursedessei, forcing Trigger Multi-type and Z Alpha Edge to fight it, after it uses all its forms they switch to using Power-type and Beta Smash. As Nanase gets control of the system back Dada avatars start appearing to attack the crew, when one attacks Akito, Yuzare takes over and destroys it, but then Yuna collapses. Dada appears to fight with King Joe, and Multi-type and Gamma Future hold it off until it tries fusing with King Joe, getting destroyed last second by Nurse Cannon. They switch to Sky-type and Delta Rise Claw, destroying King Joe but Haruki promising they'll repair him. Later Kengo thanks Haruki for his help, again stating how he's come to recognise Akito's help even if the man himself denies it. Akito gives permission to keep the Sparklencs, and so with Beliarok opening a dimensional tunnel, Z places King Joe's parts in a Travel Sphere and flies off, Akito agrees to grab ramen with Kengo. Akito returns to the lab to find Yuna, who can just remember Yuzare's action this time, and begs Akito to explain.

Galaxy Rescue Force: Sora is surprised by the appearance of Justice, bringing a message from Delacion to Queen Izana, who is unfortunately back on Kanon at the moment. Justice opts to wait, leaving Sora feeling awkward until Ribut arrives, impressed to hear Justice is associated with the Universal Justice. When Ribut thanks Justice for their help with Leugocyte Justice explains that Delacions wants to cooperate with the Land of Light and Galaxy Rescue Force in opposing Tartarus. They continue waiting, Ribut also feeling awkward, eventually running away to patrol, Justice eventually deciding to return the next day.

Revice: Wakabayashi demotes Kadota after both failing to defend the ViStamp lab and his failure with the Revice system, and requests Daiji persuade Ikki to fight for them. A caddie, Ibata, is fired by his boss, Araki, who has become irritated after his recent performance, Olteca appears to offer Ibata a ViStamp. Ibata summons tge Kamakiri Deadman. Ikkirefuses the contract, but when news of the Deadman attack appears still takes the belt, accidentally discovering Vice can possess his bike if it's stamped. They arrive and fight, until Vice tries to go eating again, Daiji passes Ikki the Eagle ViStamp, which turns them into the W themed Eagle Genome. Revi starts attacking Vice, who accidentally triggers their combined Eagle form to finish the Deadman, Vice then targets Araki until the transformation is cancelled. Ikki's family encourage him to help Fenix. Araki approaches the Deadmans, and the next day, when Ibara approaches to apologise, summons the Megalodon Deadman. When Vice mentions he told Araki unleashing your Akuma feels good Ikki transforms again to fight him until Daiji arrives to inform him of the Deadman, at which point he gives up the gear. Ikki and Daiji arrive at the golf course, where Fenix are already battling Giff Junior's, Ikki rushing in. He refuses tonuse the belt, since Vice will attack people again, but keeps fighting, until Vice swears to not attack humans anymore, making a contract to do as Ikki says, and Ikki now transforms again. Vice becomes envious of Ikki's Sealing Buster and borrows Daiji's Gunderphone. Ibata grabs Araki when he tries to power up his Deadman, wanting to put things right, and they combine into Rex form to finish the Deadman. Araki and Ibata make up,

Zenkaiger: No one has had any luck finding Mitsuko. Gaon offhandedly suggests she's escaped to some other world, and when Zox comes wanting an explanation for what happened in the last fight, Kaito asks for his help. Ijirude has no idea how Mitsuko escaped, Stacey confirming he'd put her in storage, and the Parallel World Gate was disrupted as she escaped thanks to Kudakk attack, so they don't know where she went, Stacey isn't sure this should have taken him away from the battle. Kaito, Zyuran and Magine join tge World Purates in travelling, with 20 or so worlds they can try, while Magine tries to divine where she is, Flint takes them to Kashiwa Mochitopia, where they meet the local version of Su-san, not having Kashiwa Mochi on your head there is comparable to public indecency. They try Retrotopia, where Su-san can't comprehend the Kikainoids. Kouritopia's Su-san has far less trouble with them, but hasn't seen Mitsuko, but Kaito is happy to see the freed worlds are at peace. Stacey and the Kudakks arrive, revealing Kudaiters gave been sent to other worlds for Mitsuko, as Gaon and Vroon, looking on earth, find. Kaito wants to split up to protect worlds, but Zox says they have to prioritise Mitsuko since the Tojitendo will just rampage until they find her. Su-san on Kinokotopia tries to have them stop attacking the mushrooms, as the Zenkaigers fight Flint declares she found Mitsuko, and Ijirude calls all forces there. When there the team shows they have Mitsuko, and fight. As things progress Stacey captures Mitsuko, but Kaito gets her back. Super Zenkaiser and Super Twokaiser destroy tge enemy forces, then they escape on CrocoDaiOh, Stacey essentially let's them go for Yatsude's sake, but is ordered by Ijirude to summon Black ZyuraGaon, which drags them back to Kouritopia, Zenkaijuoh facing the mecha and defeating it. They return home, and only now have Magine remove her disguise as Magine, since the Tojirendo won't go through other worlds if they think Mitsuko is home, just continue focusing on earth.

Yodonna 2: We start right where we left off, Mizuki distraught over the detective's betrayal, which Yodonna is able to understand due to her own betrayal by Yodon. The realisation that she has experienced sadness causes Yodonna to freeze. In Yodon hell, Hörn and Mose are in a meltdown over Yodonna's escape, Mose impulsively sends himself to earth after her. Yanako visits the Kuchinawa leader, whose eating whil watching his men give Shousuke a beating, Yanako wants to kill Mizuki. Mizuki retrieves the phone while bemoaning Yodonna's current state, but resolves not to burden Juru with her problems. She also finds herself feeling sluggish, unknown to her being due to the soul transfer. Mizuki arrives at the warehouse, where Enoshima is waiting with gang members, claiming his becoming corrupt was only natural. The regular lead goon grabs the phone, while Mizuki talks about how much Shousuke believed in him. The phone wiped, Enoshima reveals Shousuke isn't there, and they can't have her going around with what she knows. Yodonna takes control right as the fight begins, she's now experiencing anger on Mizuki's behalf. She starts fighting the goons, the boss watching via camera surprised by her skill and saying as much to Yanako. When shooting starts she uses a guy as a shield, and uses his gun to kill the goons. After admonishing Mizuki to exercise properly, she beats down the lead goon again. Enoshima puts a gun to her head, she steals it and shoots him in the knee. Mizuki changes back, happy thanks to Yodonna's help, she's really struggling to stay standing now, and Yodonna realises why. Mose approaches her, kills Enoshima for interrupting, then isn't sure what to do with Yodonna given the soul transfer. He intends to cut the hose, but then Yodonna will, disappear and there'll still be trouble for him with Hörn, better to let her steal Mizuki's life and then take her back. The revelation of what Yodonna was doing leads Mizuki to hate her too. At this point Yanako arrives and knocks Mizuki out. Mizuki wakes in the Kuchinawa offices, where Mose is waiting alongside Yanako and the leader, Kujirasaki. Mose has told them everything, and they seem content to wait out her death and let him have Yodonna after. Kujirasaki finds the whole situation amusing, and has Shousuke brought out so he can watch his sister die. As the process nears completion, Yodonna becomes visible and Mizuki starts fading. Yodonna explains the emotions she has learnt from Mizuki, and that she's realised she's just done to Mizuki what Yodon did to her. And so she pulls the tube out and destroys it. She's going to use the physical form she has until she fades to save Mizuki and Shousuke. She beats Yanako quickly. Goons drag Shousuke away, Mose in a panic uses Yodonna's whip to power up Kujirasaki. And then just goes back to Yodon Hell. Yodonna fights Kujirasaki, telling Mizuki to get Shousuke. As Yodonna and Kujirasaki are fairly evenly matched, Mizuki manages to disrupt the goons enough to free Shousuke. As Kujirasaki prepares an energy blast, Yodonna, knowing she's dead either way, swears to keep Misaki alive, and turns her whip into a scythe to block the blast. A final struggle fells Kujirasaki, and Shousuke declares him under arrest. Yodonna is glad to have won in time and collapses. Seeing Mizuki is alive she finds she's crying, Mizuki explaining she's feeling joy, right before Yodonna starts vanishing. Mizuki forgives her, and Yodonna fades gladly. Juru and Tametomo are still waiting for Mizuki, who finally gets back after Juru reminds Tame of his brief crush on Yodonna. Yodonna awakens back in Yodon hell, Hörn telling her that is she'd let him finish he was going to explain that if she could understand the 4 basic emotions he'd let her revive. He's already punishing Mose for running off after her. After reminiscing she asks if she can revive, but after her running off he's not going to allow it anymore. Unless she learns one more emotion, Love. She wonders who might teach her that...Tametomo perhaps?

#toku explained #kamen rider revice #kikai sentai zenkaiger #ultraman trigger #mashin sentai kirameiger

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fusonzai · 3 years ago

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I think I'm talking about confidence, I'm not too sure.

I was fifteen when I first saw Great Teacher Onizuka. My friend had lent me the DVD set (as you did when it was 2008) and I was about to spend the day watching it, feigning some illness to get out of school for the day. I needed some time alone, to process everything that had been going on around me.

For context, my parents were in the middle of a divorce. My mum, the most amazing person in the world to me, was not having a good time and I was not at all possessed with the skills to help her cope. Processing the concept of divorce, while trying to mediate the two adults going through it, wasn’t something I could handle. I didn’t know what I was doing. I needed a whole day away from friends and away from parents. While everyone was at their day job, I could think about everything and nothing, uninterrupted.

My attempt at getting out of school worked, however it came with a caveat. Mum had decided she’d take the day off with me. Feeling defeated but still stubborn, I insisted that if she was going to stay home too that we were watching GTO. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into.

GTO begins with our protagonist, Eikuchi Onizuka, squatting down by a payphone, trying to stare up the skirts of some high school girls coming down the nearby escalator. That’s a bold open. Two delinquents notice this and attempt to then extort him for cash. He promptly beats them up, forcing them to use all the money they have to buy him some food from the nearby convenience store. This scene establishes a few things straight off the bat: Onizuka is, first and foremost, a pervert and he’s physically strong but not to the point of unfairly asserting dominance over others. Onizuka dreams of being a teacher of all things. He wants to be the teacher he never had, being there for students outside the classroom as well as in. The series showcases Onizuka using his ex-biker gang leader skills and sheer determination to change the attitude of the antagonist students in his class. Each week he solves the reason behind their resistance toward him and they join his team until eventually he really is the Great Teacher, Onizuka.

The first delinquent problem Onizuka solves is that of Mizuki Nanako. Her parents aren’t divorced but they’re not exactly doing well. Ever since her father’s company started doing well and they moved into a mansion, she feels as though her parents just aren’t seeing eye to eye anymore. She blames it on a simple wall separating her parents’ private rooms. Before it got put up, her parents would talk and laugh together, sharing in their joys but also their defeats. Then before she knew it, they put a wall up and stopped sharing anything at all.

So, Onizuka arrives at her house. He’s got a bandana tied around his head, his abs gleaming as he’s smoking a cigarette. More importantly, he’s holding a sledgehammer, ready to demolish that wall. With her parents yelling at him threatening to call the police, Onizuka ascends the staircase and begins to take down that wall. Every powerful swing, shaking the wall and cracking the foundation.

(What a man what a man what a man what a might good man)

It felt cruel watching this scene with my mum. Here we were, two people still trying to process a big life event, opting to spend the day away from the problem. Here Onizuka was, just smashing through the problem with nothing but conviction, stupidity and sheer confidence. I couldn’t quite conceptualise the thought just yet but I think I envied that confidence. I wanted to be able to take a sledgehammer to this invisible problem and fix it. I didn’t know what an actual sledgehammer would solve nor was I even able to figure out what my situational sledgehammer would be, I just knew I wanted to be more like that. I wanted that confidence; I just didn’t know what it was yet.

Confidence. A complete assuredness in your actions. You may not have any idea of the outcome of said actions but you’re certain in the choice you made taking them. Maybe that’s just one definition. I struggle to this day with how to define confidence, I’ve been confident at different times in my life for different reasons. Mainly it’s been something I’ve found as I’ve gotten older though.

I struggled a lot with it when I was younger. I’d struggle to find it and when I did there was someone there trying to take it from me almost immediately. Pink polos were gay, skinny jeans were gay, being interested in anything outside the norm was gay as well. I wasn’t bullied by any means but there was always somebody around to tell you what they thought. I’d fold under that kind of pressure. I remember when I was 10 and we were in music class, I sang a little too loud and the popular girls behind me started pointing and laughing, clipping me before I got too sure of myself.

I got older and I thought I’d found confidence through weight training, but it was just arrogance. I genuinely thought I was better than other people in my creative writing class because I picked heavy things up and put them down. Of course, this had a drawback, whenever I’d meet someone bigger than me, I’d feel pathetic, jealous and inferior. I thought I’d rid myself of this arrogance when I started studying Japanese. My initial study was diligent and excessive. I’d have two Japanese classes a week and spend the rest of my time after work revising. Looking back now it was necessarily efficient studying, but in terms of time put in the hours were there. I believed I was working hard, which led to this arrogance in my abilities. An arrogance that was swiftly cut down whenever I met somebody better than me.

So, I always arrived at this juncture where I’d learn a new skill or hobby and wonder how to be confident in myself without comparing myself to others. I didn’t quite know how to praise myself for doing well at the gym or learning something new in Japanese without immediately comparing myself to others. It meant that I’d occasionally have these emotional highs when I achieved something only to be brought down to earth when I saw that somebody could do it better. I didn’t know how to make my achievements my own. The confidence I had was too fickle, it didn’t come from within and it often led to feeling superior to others based off of a single quantifier.

I was still uncomfortable with myself. I wanted outside validation which led to comparison, boasting and arrogance. I didn’t realise that I couldn’t get any of that from anyone else, it all had to come from within.

It’s taken me 14 years, but Onizuka finally made sense to me. I was watching the incredibly famous (in Japan) live action version of GTO one night, which turned into a nostalgia trip as all the episodes were almost identical to their anime equivalent. As I was watching I was wondering why I still hold this fictional character in such high regard, of all the powerful charismatic anime protagonists I watched in my teenage years, why does Onizuka persevere?

It’s because he’s kind of a dork.

(Get you a man that can do both)

Along with the confidence and strength that being a protagonist in a medium geared towards young boys affords you, Onizuka also has some very human flaws and vulnerabilities. The intense scenes like surprise renovating Nanako’s house or rescuing a whole bunch of kids from a gang are always juxtaposed with him being absolutely wayward in so many other aspects of life. He lives at the school because he can’t afford rent, he’s 26 and never had a girlfriend and his only friends are his students. We are always shown that his confidence isn’t intrinsically linked to how well his life is going, it’s just his feeling and determination in the moment. For all that bravado we see, we’re also shown the more human, relatable aspects. He’s amazing, brave and confident, but at the same time he’s still vulnerable and human.

Yet here’s the thing, I thought confidence meant a lack of vulnerability. I thought one couldn’t be both confident and vulnerable. This isn’t some segue into Boys Don’t Cry or a delve into masculinity. I didn’t believe that vulnerability wasn’t masculine, I just thought that vulnerability meant you had a long way to go before you were allowed to be confident.

(These lines go from bravado to insecurity in an instant, but I still think Tyler is confident as fuck)

I show what I feel to be the pretty vulnerable content on this blog. I write about my doubts and insecurities, the events that shaped me and the times in my life where I really felt at my lowest. I document the struggle I find myself in now, trying to carve something for myself and come to terms with the changes that keep happening around me. I don’t think anybody reading this would have an image of me as an outgoing, confident person. There’s rays of positivity sprinkled in occasionally but it’s generally content that I struggle to tell people in person.

Before starting this blog, I would have imagined that if I wanted to become this confident idealised version of myself, I’d need to erase any form of vulnerability. Delete the Instagram posts with moody lyrics, delete the couple shots and stop caring. I’d need to kill part of myself to become someone different. I couldn’t consciously accept that they were two signs of the same coin, even if I knew it in the back of my mind. The more I’ve been writing the better I’ve been feeling. These fears and insecurities being out in the open don’t make me any weaker, they actually feel like progress. My weaknesses will exist regardless of whether or not I tell people about them, my insecurities won’t disappear overnight. I’ll never be someone I’m not. What I can do is take these things that used to terrify me and put them out in the open. In my last piece I waxed on about making my words my own, by verbalising and bringing these thoughts into the open I feel like they become my own. They’re not completely stripped of power but they don’t hold the same sway over me that they once did.

So that leaves me with confidence. I can air my vulnerabilities and doubts but then where does my confidence come from? How do I then stop it from becoming arrogance?

Let me tell you about Charisma Man.

You know how when Superman goes back to Krypton he’s just a regular person, but on Earth he’s basically a God? Charisma Man is a joke (turned comic) about how Western Men often believe themselves to be Superman on Earth when they move to Japan. Why? You’re basically bombarded with compliments from the get-go. You get told your Japanese is amazing (when it’s not), that you’re so tall (when you’re short back home) and that you’re such a handsome man (when all experiences up until now have led you to believe the opposite). Thus, you create a kind of false confidence for yourself. Or do the people around you do it for you? You yourself haven’t changed but the people around you have, and they’re whispering sweet nothings in your ear.

(Honestly didn't know it was a comic, initially heard of it on a subreddit making fun of other expats in Japan)

Hell, maybe I am good looking? I studied Japanese for a year back home, maybe I am just really good at it? Maybe those people around me back home were just obnoxiously tall and mean. Maybe I am the shit. You begin to formulate this new identity for yourself. You are Charisma Man now. You’ll be making heaps of money, have girls on standby and be loved by everybody in no time.

Except that never happens.

The reality of Charisma Man isn’t so bright. You’re probably an English teacher living somewhere far away from the big city. Your apartment is probably small and old and your salary is half as much as you were making back home. Despite being told about how good your Japanese is, you still can’t turn on the TV and watch a program. You still can’t go to the bank and open an account with your bilingual Japanese friend. You’re still single and you’re probably getting fatter off convenience store fried chicken, if anything.

It’s fake confidence with no merit, built on nothing. You haven’t put yourself out there or done anything to earn that confidence so it always feels foreign to you. There isn’t some feat you perform or some hurdle you cross to get that kind of confidence. You’re not smashing walls with your sledgehammer or confronting your fears and growing. You just get fed compliments until your confidence balloon bursts.

I felt like I was Charisma Man for a hot minute. Separated from everyone I knew, out drinking every night, being complimented left right and centre. I kept trying and failing to keep my feet on the ground. Back then I thought it was new-found confidence, but I wasn’t really coming out of my shell; I was just being obnoxious. After long the facade faded and I realised I was the exact same Elliot I was back in Australia, just with less money and a nicer haircut.

I began to think about my experience. Why was I so confident? Why did it dissipate so quickly? Why was I not the only one that experienced this little phenomenon?

I came to the conclusion that confidence can come from many places. It can come from other people, but then it’s reliant on the praise of others. It’s shallow, fickle and bound to dissipate sooner rather than later. You’re constantly reliant on the praise of others to affirm who you are as a person, you can fool people into giving you praise but that goes away before you know it as well.

It’s a big enough of a struggle to understand yourself, it’s near impossible to understand strangers. Relying on such an unstable form of validation is essentially just inviting mental trauma in the long run.

On the other hand, confidence can also come from within.

After I distanced myself from all that charisma, I began to realise that I felt my best and my most confident when I actually put the work in. I started properly studying, eating well, and writing down my thoughts. It didn’t matter as much if people didn’t say anything, because I went to bed every night knowing that I put in enough work. Nobody said anything about the change, but I felt like I was becoming my own biggest supporter.

It’s both rewarding and daunting when you switch dopamine suppliers. I used past tense in those last few sentences because that particular fountain hasn’t been flowing so well lately. The flip side of not letting other people’s compliments fuel you anymore is that when you’re not doing right by yourself, that confidence tend to dry up pretty quickly.

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momorabu · 5 years ago

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Ibara Hime - Playthrough (Part III)

Warning: Spoilers. R18 Story.

Finally for the last playthrough of this game~! There are only 2 more endings to go, and they’re Mizuki-focused ones.

Ending 3

(Note: This ending can be reached by Ririko wanting to meet Itoh after she had gone to school secretly on Saturday. However, due to options catering more to Mizuki, Ririko’s relationship with Itoh isn’t that good enough to reach the “Itoh” ending. The criteria are pretty much similar to ending 2 in a way.)

Ririko texted Itoh that she wanted to meet him, and he replied soon that he’s going over to meet her. Ririko let him know that she was not at home and was instead waiting at school. Itoh replied that he was at the train station and would return to school to look for her. As Ririko waited in the classroom for him, she looked out of the window as she pondered what she should do since she did not want to return home tonight. Since it won’t be good to stay over at Itoh’s house, she planned to have him accompany her at the karaoke, and later on staying overnight by herself in an internet cafe or a business hotel.

The time was 3PM when she noticed Mizuki running back towards the school. She gasped and quickly texted Itoh to ask if he’s coming here alone. (She’s worried about whether Itoh had let Mizuki know about her whereabouts.) The reply came from Itoh that he’s coming here alone, but Ririko noticed that Mizuki was also texting from the window. She felt that something is weird since there’s no way Itoh would lend his phone out to someone else, but it just seems like too much of a coincidence to her. She also wondered why Mizuki was returning back to school and started to get wary on who was the person she was actually texting before, the “person” who replied that he was at the train station... Getting worried that Mizuki might find her before Itoh does, Ririko knew that she had to run away and hide. She ran out of the classroom that “Itoh” and she had promised to meet, but trying to open the doors of other classroom proved to be futile, as they were mostly locked. Ririko finally found an empty abandoned classroom in the end, that hardly has any furniture at all. She hid in the shadow of a cupboard and decided to call “Itoh” to find out the answer to her suspicions.

Ririko heard Mizuki’s voice as he picked up the call. Trembling, she demanded to know why Mizuki was the one answering the phone when she had called Itoh. Mizuki replied that Itoh had things he had to attend to at home, and thus entrusted his phone to him. That definitely does not sound normal to Ririko, as she went on to ask on Minato’s whereabouts. Mizuki replied that Minato had gone home too and that he had revealed that he had sex with Ririko to Minato and Itoh at the train station. This revelation almost made Ririko faint, being heartbroken that her boyfriend and best friend had known about the truth.

Mizuki noticed that Ririko wasn’t at the classroom where she promised she was waiting in for Itoh and asked her where she was. (He had arrived! D:) Ririko hurriedly hung up on him and even turned off her phone in fear, wondering what she should do now since she can’t go home nor turn to her boyfriend or friend. Knowing that the door to the classroom she was currently at was not locked, Ririko worried that soon Mizuki would realise where she was hiding. As she was still panicking and planning what her next step should be, Mizuki found her. Ririko, being scared of him, cried at him not to get close to her and that she only wanted to meet Itoh. Mizuki smiled as he asked her why had she not understand the situation they were at now, claiming that he can’t live without her, and will destroy any obstacles standing between them. Ririko continued to cry and reject Mizuki, rebutting that Itoh was the person she likes. Mizuki deemed Itoh as a rival who had snatched Ririko away from him and even lectured Ririko that if she had broken up with Itoh earlier on, he won’t have to resort to using such a method (erm... like raping her =w=��) to get her for himself.

Mizuki continued on that when Itoh had wanted to punch him when he knew about the truth (Itoh actually did get angry here?! =w=“), and in return kicked Itoh a few times. (A Demon! This was literally what Ririko thought about Mizuki since he still hurt people and even steals Itoh’s phone during the commotion. On another note, Minato accompanied Itoh as they get away in the end.) Ririko felt that there was really no saving of Mizuki, seeing that he had raped his own sister and even hurt his friend physically. She blamed herself since she had avoided Mizuki, which might cause him to end up this way. Mizuki asked her to take responsibility by loving him back since Ririko is now the only person that can make him feel sexual lust.

With that, Mizuki forcefully kissed Ririko and slid his hand under her uniform. He reminded Ririko of the past where she saw him having sex with another girl in her bedroom, and when she had remembered what had happened at that time, Ririko ended up feeling disgusted and vomited on the floor. She pushed Mizuki away, asking him not to touch her and asked him if he had done that on purpose in the past, wondering why Mizuki was smiling happily at her. Mizuki revealed that he was already sexually in love with Ririko at that time, and Ririko thought to herself that it was not her fault that she was scared of her brother after seeing what had happened. This was all planned by Mizuki and thus Ririko blamed all of that had happened on him instead. Mizuki continued on that it was hard for him to stop his feelings when he was young and decided that he shall reveal his true feelings to Ririko instead. After that incident in the past, even though Ririko had avoided him, and he felt bad that Ririko didn’t even see him in the eye, he still felt better now that he doesn’t have to hide his feelings anymore. He had initially tried to have sex with other girls by pretending they’re Ririko, but he realised that even pretending wasn’t enough to make him cum anymore. He was glad that Ririko wasn’t interested in other guys since she’s a fan of manga and games, and was even confident in his sex skills that Ririko won’t be able to find anyone better than him in that area anymore. (??? Why are you so confident in this seriously?!!)

Ririko had enough of his nonsense and made her escape. She didn’t even want to be family with Mizuki anymore since her body and mind was rejecting Mizuki with all their might. She heard Mizuki calling her name as he ran after her, and quickly ran up the steps to the rooftop, in hope of getting help from Ezaki Senpai.

However, when she reached there, there was no one at the rooftop. Mizuki caught up to her and apologised, saying that he won’t do anything weird to her in school and pleaded for her to go home together. (Not doing it in school doesn’t mean that he won’t do anything to her at home, I’m not believing you Mizuki! D:) Ririko refused and claimed that she would rather die than to be touched by Mizuki again, to which Mizuki calmly asked her to die instead. He continued that Ririko must have not know how terrible he had felt to hide his own feelings from her when he was so close to her, and how hurtful he had felt when Ririko refused to look at him in the eye when he revealed his feelings to her. Ririko rebutted that Mizuki had decided to like her by his own choice, stating that he was just doing what he likes all this time, be it being soccer or girls, and thus did not see him as struggling and in pain. Mizuki explained that he puts in his all in soccer since he wanted to use his soccer skills as a career in the future to support Ririko financially, as he wasn’t good at studying. But his answer made Ririko felt disgusted seeing that he had already planned for his future with her, saying that she didn’t want him to plan her future for her and that he can always find a rich lady to support him using his good looks if he needs financial support in the future. Mizuki replied that such a situation was not possible since Ririko would always be the only girl he likes, and he would never fall in love with another girl. (And all the other girls were just an outlet for him to vent his emotions... Damn I feel bad for the other girls that he had dated before D:)

Ririko refused to listen to Mizuki and stated that she wanted nothing to do with him since she doesn’t like him romantically at all and just wanted him to leave her alone. (Mizuki is seriously sounding like a stalker, pleading her to fall in love with him ><”) Seeing that Ririko was expressing that she would rather die than being with him, Mizuki said that his troubles with her might be solved if she dies too, and offered her an option in the end - to decide which one of them to jump down from the roof of the building. Ririko started to hesitate, which made Mizuki taunted her to kill him since she had rejected him with all her might. Ririko replied that she found it hard to decide and that if Mizuki could return to just being her younger brother, both of them won’t have to die anymore. But Mizuki simply shook his head and said one of them had to be gone.

Ririko noticed that Mizuki had started crying, and realised that it’s been years she had seen the crying face of her brother. Mizuki revealed that he had always hated being seen as a twin of Ririko when they were young, since they were not, and had always wanted to change himself to be different from her. His wish was granted when he started growing up alot faster than Ririko, but he ended up feeling bad instead, seeing that even though his appearance had matured, his inner self still longed for his other half - Ririko. He had felt suspicious when he was young that their parents had decided to try for a baby right after Ririko was born, which resulted in him and Ririko being just 11 months apart. But this was all possible, and the more Mizuki had researched about having sex while one is still pregnant, the more he realized that it was the truth that Ririko and he were related by blood. (Guess he wanted a proof that Ririko and he aren’t really blood-related siblings, I guess he didn’t want to commit incest either D:)

Mizuki continued on that he had touched Ririko at night when they were still sleeping together when they were young, and that was also the first time he had cummed in his life. Their parents had known about this (Dad? Mum?) and did not reprimand him about it, though he noticed that they had looked at him differently after that. Mizuki had felt bad about that, and life became difficult for him as he struggled with his own feelings while listening to others commenting about Ririko and him being twins and siblings normally.

Even though Ririko had heard such comments multiple times in her life too, she did not feel terrible about it, though she does feel complex being compared to Mizuki. Mizuki reached out to her, touching her cheeks, then sliding down his hand to touch her neck, and then her chest. Even though they’ve been really close when they were young, she can’t help but to feel disgusted by the hand that was touching her now, and murmured out Mizuki should be the one to die instead.

The words had flown out naturally from Ririko’s mouth, and as Mizuki continued to touch her, Ririko started to feel more irritated and agitated at Mizuki. If Mizuki had not existed, Itoh and her would still be together happily. If Mizuki had died, he won’t have to feel troubled over his feelings for her anymore. Mizuki agreed though he asked Ririko to remember that the reason he’s committing suicide was not that he was escaping from "his future from now on”, and rather he was just fulfilling what Ririko had wanted him to do. He looked at her with his beautiful face, as he continued that Ririko was the one who had chosen to “run away”, and that he won’t leave Ririko even if he had died. Until the day Ririko had died, Mizuki would make her cry countless times... Mizuki confessed his love for Ririko one last time as he jumped over the railing of the rooftop, and then disappearing from Ririko’s sight as he jumped down the building. (Bye-bye Mizuki.... though Ririko still tell him that she hates him even until the last second before he jumped.)

Ririko bid goodbye to Mizuki after he was gone, though she felt that her life was most probably going to be the same as before even if he was gone. They did not see each other much before in their daily life as they spend most of their time in the house in their own room (other than mealtimes). Mizuki had not existed in her daily life up till now since they did not hang out together, nor talk much to each other. It had always been like this and shall remain like this in the future...

After Mizuki’s death, Ririko soon realised that she was pregnant. She took a year of sick leave from school and went out to the countryside, only to come back to resume her studies after giving birth to a boy. She had not told anyone who the father of the child is, as the child was Mizuki’s son.

Ririko felt that perhaps she had become weird after the whole incident with Mizuki. She saw herself as the one who had killed Mizuki, even though Mizuki’s death was classified as a suicide in the end, and had shut herself in Mizuki’s room every day, mourning for him. She had killed her own family, her own brother, a person who was barely even 20 years old.

When the parents realised that Ririko was pregnant, they forgave her as they were still deeply hurt and saddened by Mizuki’s passing. For the future of Ririko’s child, the parents had decided to adopt him and thus he was considered a stepbrother for Ririko in papers. Ririko had broken up with Itoh and cut ties with Minato too. Ririko guessed that the two might have realised what had happened in regards to Mizuki’s death, but they did not reveal anything to the police during investigations.

Ririko had decided to give birth to the child as a way to forgive herself and to overcome the guilt in her heart. This was the “hope” that her brother had left behind, which she felt that she should accept it no matter what.

The child was Yuki, and called Ririko by her nickname “Riri” (similar to how Mizuki called Ririko). He was bright and cheerful and had also joined the soccer club at school. Yuki knew that Ririko was his mum, as even though they were step-siblings on papers, Ririko had cared for Yuki as a mother, and even breastfeed him when he was a baby, not hiding the truth from him. Ririko had gotten over from her mourning of Mizuki when she realised that she was pregnant with Yuki, and after giving birth to Yuki, she worked hard at her studies and even managed to continue onto studying at a university. After she had graduated, she landed herself a temporary job that allows her to work until three when Yuki was still in kindergarten. Ririko’s life now revolved around working and doing household chores in the family.

After Yuki had gotten home and taken a shower, Ririko noticed him peeking at her phone in the living room, reading a text from someone. She asked him who had sent a message to her, as she was alright with her son looking at her phone. Yuki told her that the message was sent by Itoh. Ririko and Itoh were all now approaching 30s, and the two had exchanged numbers after meeting up unexpectedly recently. Itoh was still the last and only person she had dated, and seeing that both of them were still single, Ririko can’t help but remember her fond feelings for Itoh after meeting him again after all these years.

Yuki asked Ririko who Itoh is, which she decided to let him know that Itoh was someone she had dated before after hesitating. Yuki was confused since he knew that Ririko did not like guys, to which she replied that she had seen Itoh as someone she doesn’t dislike and that she still values her family members even if they were guys. Ririko grabbed the phone away from Yuki as she was planning on replying to Itoh, but Yuki pouted and told her to wait for another “2 years”. Ririko tried to assure him that Itoh and her weren’t going to be in a relationship, stating that the latter probably hates her. Yuki doesn’t believe it though since Itoh won’t send her such a message if he had hated her. Ririko glanced at the message and saw that he was inviting her and even Yuki out for a meal together. She assured Yuki again that Itoh was just an old friend, and was also the friend of her late brother. Yuki refused to let Ririko went out with Itoh, claiming that he’s not going to give Ririko out to another guy. Ririko guessed that her son was probably just being jealous at the thought of his mum being snatched away, and smiled, thinking that perhaps her son was just a mother-con. She promised him that she won’t meet up with Itoh, telling him that she only needed him.

Suddenly, Yuki apologised to Ririko for making her wait, telling her that she would only need to wait for another 2 more years for him. She looked at her son blankly and realised that Yuki had grown up looking alot like Mizuki. She started to feel puzzled on why Yuki kept talking about waiting for “2 years”, and Yuki started talking about how he had failed before and was determined to succeed... to which he meant having sex till the end, though he wasn’t confident of his skills. (My face seriously went “What the...” when I read this OAO”)

Ririko started to feel that her hands and legs had gone cold as she wondered who on earth is the child that is standing before her. The child told her that he knew that Ririko had given birth to him, the child of her brother, the child that was not allowed by the gods and had loved and cared for him. She had chosen him. (Probably meaning that Ririko had chosen Mizuki in the end by giving birth to Yuki.) Ririko denied as she panicked, thinking who could have told Yuki about him being the child of Mizuki as she had not told anyone before. She thought of Itoh and Minato, but she had already begged both of them not to reveal the truth in the past.

The child spoke again, saying that he had told Ririko to remember that he was not escaping at that time and that he would stay with Ririko until the day she dies. This was the future that Ririko had chosen, the future of him and Ririko, and that he had felt terrible for being loved by Ririko as a mother would for her child. With that, the child silently smiled, a smile that looks eerily similar to Mizuki. This was the moment that Ririko realised the mistake she had committed, she had killed her brother, but she did not kill his child. She had cared for the child as part of her responsibility, to wash away her guilt that her brother should not have died at that time. Ririko fell to her knees, crying out for forgiveness from the god, from Mizuki, from their parents, that she had given birth to a cursed child.

“Please take note Ririko. I’ll never give Ririko up to anybody. If you reject me, I’ll destroy everything.”

(Seriously this ending really gave me the goosebumps, what a scary ending TWT)

Omake - Ending 3

This was named as the “Yuki Ending”, and was one of the few endings that actually revealed what happened in the future. Even though this was quite close to being a true ending, the writer decided that it was considered a bad ending in the end. This was one of the endings that Mizuki had actually expressed his feelings the most since he usually won’t reveal much of his actual feelings out to Ririko actually. (I think other than this ending, probably ending 4 was the other ending he expressed much of his feelings to Ririko honestly.)

The writer also stated that this ending was one where Mizuki was the most stalkerish. Yuki’s presence in the ending was also debated to be one that is considered a lucky or unlucky creation. (Lucky as in Mizuki did not actually die but sort of reborn as Yuki I guess....) It was stated Yuki was the name of a male lead the writer had initially planned for another story - Ijime Kekaku, which is the story which developed into what Ibara Hime now. This ending was the ending of that story, which was stated to be way scarier. (I’m sort of curious but won’t dare to read if she ever published it ^^;)

Even though Ririko did not die in any of the endings in Ibara Hime, Mizuki felt that this may be the only ending which Ririko might die in the near future (probably committing suicide cause she can’t deal with the guilt anymore). Mizuki wondered whether Yuki had loved Ririko due to the blood flowing in him, and perhaps he had derived of the truth of his birth after learning about Mizuki from their parents, or listening to Ririko sleep talking as she does sleep talk in her sleep.

Mizuki clarified that even though Yuki was his child, he’s not Yuki. So, rather than Ririko being by Yuki’s side, he would rather that she comes to his side instead. (Can you imagine if Ririko dies in the future, and then Mizuki comes to fetch her in the spiritual world? It just seems like her nightmare would never come to an end D:)

Ending 5 (Mizuki’s Ending)

(The story up to the ending branch is pretty much the same, some of the options do reveal some interesting things about Mizuki.)

Near the beginning of the story, asking Itoh about Mizuki leaving home 30 minutes earlier revealed that Mizuki had come earlier to practise by himself. Itoh remarked that Mizuki was hardworking even though he’s more talented than others, and was already a regular when there are 30 seniors in the soccer team. (Poor Itoh may not have a chance to be a regular until at least the third years had graduated.)

In the morning after Mizuki had sex with Ririko for the first time (when she was sick), Mizuki told Ririko that she had avoided him after seeing have sex with other girls on her bed because she had complex feelings about him. Ririko asked herself if it’s true, did she have some feelings for Mizuki that she’s feeling weird to see him dating other girls? Mizuki is her blood-related brother, even if they look different now, Ririko knew that there were some parts of them which were similar to each other. She told Mizuki that they were siblings until the day they die.

What goes on was Ririko remembering what had happened three years ago, when she witnessed Mizuki having sex with another girl on her bed. She was afraid after knowing of Mizuki’s feelings towards her at that time and decided to avoid him so as to escape from his feelings towards her. Soon, avoiding her brother leads her to treat her brother as if he had not existed, and her feelings towards Mizuki warped towards one with some sort of rejection and dislike in it.

They’ve been close siblings ever since they were young, and Ririko was glad that Mizuki was her only brother even if he’s popular among other girls. But... at that moment, Ririko realised that her brother had chosen another girl for the very first time. Seeing the brother showing a side she had never seen before made her felt that she was betrayed. She had always thought that Mizuki belongs to her, but at that moment, Mizuki had belonged to another woman. The person before her had become someone she did not know anymore, and she denied him as the brother she had known. The person before her was just another man who desired her body, on her bed, in her bedroom. It seems like Ririko had already realised Mizuki’s feelings for her and had treated him as a man who desired her sexually from a very long time ago...

As Mizuki pushed Ririko down onto the bed again, she questioned him why does he decide to have sex with her now after three years, thinking that it’s all too late since he did not choose her in the very beginning. Mizuki answered that even though it will be easier to lay his hands on Ririko in the past, Ririko was too childish in his eyes at that time. He was afraid of being separated from Ririko if his parents had known that they have sex together. The reason why the siblings did not bath nor sleep together at a certain time when they were young was that their parents had spotted Mizuki masturbating by Ririko’s side, and this was why they arranged Mizuki’s bedroom to have a lock so that Ririko would not accidentally come across Mizuki masturbating in the future (and thus he can masturbate in peace =w=“). Even though the parents had seen Mizuki masturbating, they did not think of it as Mizuki having feelings for his sister, though Mizuki will still worry that if they had known about his feelings, they would definitely do something about it.

After learning about what their parents had done, Ririko calmed down. She can’t return the feelings for Mizuki since that would mean that she would betray her parents and end up hurting Minato and Itoh. Sensing Ririko’s worry, Mizuki smiled as he assured her that they would be able to keep their relationship a secret and hide from their parents well. Mizuki had planned to use his skills in soccer to attain a spot in a university in Tokyo, asking Ririko to come with him when the time comes, and both of them would be able to stay together by themselves. Ririko tried to rebut that it’s impossible for siblings to fall in love with each other, but Mizuki pleaded for her to accept his feelings since he really loves her and would never want to give her up to another guy.

Ririko replied that even though she didn’t want to betray their parents, she loves Mizuki too. Knowing Ririko’s true feelings, Mizuki assured her that everything would be alright since he would handle everything well from now on. Ririko argued with him that even if they love each other, they won’t be able to announce their relationship, and she won’t be able to date anyone else as long as she has feelings for him, wanting to know Mizuki’s reaction to that. Mizuki assured her that he will only have feelings for her and wanted her to do the same for him, and both of them decided in the end to break off their current relationship and apologise to Minato and Itoh. Even though Ririko had accepted Mizuki’s feelings, she still wished that Mizuki will fall in love with someone else in the future, getting married and have a child with another girl. When the time comes, maybe she would also get married and have a child too. Perhaps their children would be able to be together if they fall in love with each other since cousins were allowed to be in a relationship and marry in their country.

Mizuki asked to kiss Ririko for one last time, and they continued to have sex for one last time before hiding away their feelings for each other once again. Even though Ririko had felt disgusted once for having sex with her brother, but now... she felt happy and blessed for having sex with her beloved.

After a night of having sex together, Ririko went for shopping on the next day, met up with Mizuki unexpectedly at the train station (since he had finished his club activities), then decided to walk home together. Both of them had called Minato and Itoh respectively yesterday night and broke off their relationship, though they did not reveal the reason for doing that because they were in love with their sibling. The siblings had returned back to being close siblings who love each other romantically in their hearts as if what had happened in the past three years was all just a lie. When they reached home, they realised the door was unlocked, and thus knew that their parents had returned home. Their parents were deep in a conversation, with their mother getting angry about something that had happened in their hometown, and said that Mizuki was her child and she’s not going to give him up to anyone else.

Realising that something was amiss, Mizuki decided to ask them what they were talking about. Their mother was crying, and thus their father decided to explain what had happened to them. As their uncle had passed away (which is why the parents had to leave and attend the funeral), their grandmother had requested for their aunt and nephew to stay with her in accompany. This may sound like nothing to do with Mizuki, but it turned out that Mizuki was actually their aunt’s son, whom she had given birth to when she was 18. As the family did not know who the father of the baby is at that time and since the aunt having no income to take care of the baby, it was said that she had abandoned the baby after giving birth to him. Ririko’s mother was the one who had chosen to take care of Mizuki and treated him as her own child and thus was not willing to give Mizuki back to his biological mother.

Mizuki decided to reveal his feelings to their parents, telling them that he wanted Ririko for himself, and was glad to know that he was not blood-related to her now that he had realised the truth of his birth. Since Mizuki had even planned to marry Ririko in the future, he asked to revert to being cousins with Ririko and be given independence so that he can become stronger to be someone compatible for Ririko. However, this would mean that Mizuki won’t be able to stay in this home anymore and have to go back to stay with his biological mother. Ririko’s mother initially refused to, stating over again and again that both Mizuki and Ririko were her children, but after listening to their father asking her to respect Mizuki’s wishes, and assured her that their family bond won’t get broken that easily even if Mizuki isn’t part of their immediate family anymore, she agreed reluctantly in the end. Mizuki apologised for wanting things to be done his way, but he really loves Ririko and wanted to do anything he can to be with her, stating that it was hard for him when he was in love with her. Even though he felt pitiful that he had to abandon his current parents, he knew that if he marries Ririko in the future, they were all be a family again. (His biological mother is just someone he can use to make this future a possibility.)

Mizuki was glad to know that he’s not abnormal since this was an issue he had struggled with for a very long time, thinking that he might be a narcissist for falling in love with his sister. Even though it may be another 2-3 years before Ririko could even stay with Mizuki, they now look forward to the future where they can stay together by aiming to get into the same university together. It’s been a short week, but the relationship between Ririko and Mizuki had changed dramatically, from falling in love with each other and becoming cousins in the end. Even though they would be away from each other for a period of time, Ririko told herself that everything would be alright, since she knew that Mizuki would be the only person she loves...

(Seems like Mizuki and Ririko are finally together and they’ll be able to attain their happy ending.... or not.)

After a month, Mizuki left their home and went to stay with his biological mother, transferring to a private school making use of his good soccer skills. The couple called and texted each other to continue on their relationship. One night, just before the phone call with Mizuki, Ririko head off into the living room, where she spotted her father drinking and watching the television.

Ririko’s father remarked that he did not expect that Ririko and Mizuki were still dating even though they were in a long-distance relationship, and felt weird since he had always seen them as a pair of siblings who are close in age just a while ago. He was worried that they were planning to marry each other and asked for them to break up and date other people instead.

Ririko had felt weird and wondered why her father wasn’t pleased to have Mizuki as a son (in-law) again, to which he repeated for them to break up again, stating that they were still blood-related. (Hmmm?!!! OAO”) Ririko initially thought he was referring to them being cousins and reminded him that cousins were able to get married, but he decided to reveal the ultimate truth about Mizuki’s birth to her - Mizuki was her father’s child, so ultimately, they’re still siblings.

Ririko was in a loss of words and thought about all the information she had known about their family history. She knew that Mizuki’s mother was her aunt, and not her mother, which means that Mizuki was the child of her father and her aunt. She demanded an explanation from her father, and he reluctantly revealed that he and their uncle (the one who had passed away I supposed) had tied their aunt (which is actually their sister so what the....) up and raped her one night when they were heavily drunk. That ended up making her pregnant and gave birth to Mizuki. Even though Ririko’s father denied having feelings for his own sister now, he was not able to restrain his sexual urges at that time and thus it troubled him now to see that Mizuki was feeling the same as how he did in the past.

Now that Ririko had known the true identity of Mizuki, her father hoped that Ririko would give up on their relationship since they were still half-siblings. But Ririko calmly replied that she had long decided not to care whether Mizuki and she were blood-related or not anymore, and firmly declared that they’re going to get married no matter what. Ririko’s answer shocked her father as he grabbed onto her, begging her to give up on the relationship. However, Ririko taunted her father back not to cause a commotion since her mother might end up divorcing with him if she had known the truth. She even added on that if her father had not wanted to continue the mistaken, he should have punched their aunt’s tummy when she had shown signs of being pregnant from the very beginning to erase Mizuki’s presence.

Knowing how troubled Mizuki had felt towards their forbidden relationship in the past, Ririko knew that Mizuki would definitely be very depressed if they were siblings again after what he had done to make sure they were considered cousins in the society. So in order to protect Mizuki, Ririko decided to hide the truth. She thanked her father for taking care of Mizuki as his own son and complimented that Mizuki had turned out to be an excellent person, putting his weird fetish aside.

Realising that it’s almost the time for her daily phone call with Mizuki, Ririko head back to her room, knowing that Mizuki would definitely kick up a big fuss if she was late as he was easily jealous. Hearing Mizuki’s cheerful voice over the phone, Ririko vowed to bring happiness to her beloved. She knew that their aunt was glad to hear of their relationship when they told her they were in love with each other, and thus there won’t be any objection from that side for their future. However, Ririko told herself that she decided to have only one child with Mizuki, as she did not wish the fate of falling in love with their sibling to fall on her child ever again.

(In the end, this is still considered a bad ending for Ririko, though it’s more of a bitter-sweet ending.)

Omake - Ending 5 (Mizuki’s Ending)

Ending 5 is yet another true ending (other than Itoh’s ending), and is an ending which revealed Mizuki’s birth finally. Even though this ending seems like the happiest ending, it ended up being bittersweet in the end, since rather than cousins, the siblings turned out to be half-siblings. Mizuki still felt that this was his best ending though since he could be with Ririko and marry her as cousins. He was also thankful to their parents for taking care of him ever since he was young.

Finally, the writer revealed that she had created this game in around 4 months, and stated that before Ibara Hime, she was writing another short story called “Ijime Kekaku” (as mentioned in another omake), which is about a girl landing herself in an all-guys school. She revealed some information about that story (not going to translate much of that since it’s kind of complicated), but ultimately some parts of that story, especially the part of the male lead being yandere and good-looking, was what that made into the final story of Ibara Hime. Also, you readers might have realised it by now, Ibara Hime did not have a happy ending for Ririko, as this game was planned to be a helpless tragic incest love story from the very beginning by the writer.

#ibara hime #otome game #R18 otome game #playthrough

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joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh · 5 years ago

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Cardcaptor Sakura episode 25 was great! That fake Sakura caused exactly the type of dumb funny cute inconvenient mayhem I expected it to, tipping over book displays and knocking down children’s sandcastles and stuff, it was fun and Sakura’s worries about being seen as a bad girl are adorable. Stakes go considerably up though when in trying to find the doppelganger, Kero-chan actually teaches Sakura how to read fortunes with her Clow Cards, and she picks up on the fact that the card’s gonna attack her brother. Specifically it actually leads him to fall off of a cliff and break his leg. Which was definitely a surprise, I said I’d be fine if this show were completely harmless shenanigans from start to finish but I’m fine with this too, I think these higher stake moments still fit in and, though they’re no longer necessarily comfy, there’s still like a child friendliness to them that keeps it from being pessimistic or cynical. I like it. Also Kero-chan notes that Sakura’s magic’s getting stronger and also that the Clow Card catastrophe might not happen if Sakura gets all the Clow Cards, but if they end up in the wrong person’s hands something worse than the Earth going “boom” might happen, which is scary. Only brought that second part up because it ties nicely into the first part, but about that first part, I kinda want Touya to learn about Sakura’s magic powers and stuff. Because he actually realised nearly immediately that the doppelganger wasn’t Sakura, because of all the strange apparitions he knows to be in the forest and stuff, so he helps it out just fine, so I think since he has experience in the supernatural it’d be cool to see him react to Sakura using magic. Also Sakura has to figure out the doppelganger’s card name since it’s a special Clow Card, and it actually tries to help her since it felt bad about what it did to Touya, so between that and the fortune telling from earlier she’s able to figure out that it’s the Mirror Card. I figured it out as well, I am at least as smart as a Japanese 10 year old. Yay. So yeah, really great episode.

Episode 26 was also great! Sakura has a new maths teacher, Kaho Mizuki, but she’s shady and powerful and knows about Clow Cards and that Sakura’s a Cardcaptor and stuff, also that Syaoran has his little powers, and also she and Touya are familiar with each other. Between her knowing Touya and that Sakura’s a Cardcaptor, plus Touya constantly staring at Kero-chan recently, I feel like that thing I literally just wished for about Touya learning Sakura’s a magical girl might come true soon. That’d be super hype. Mizuki’s cool though, super pretty, it’ll be nice seeing an adult figure that knows about this magic stuff, since so far it’s all children and Kero-chan. Anyway our Clow Card this episode is Maze, a nice reality warping type that uh, makes mazes. At first it’s a really normal one with just, big green walls, and I thought “oh wow lots of green I bet the background artists had it easy this episode lol” but as if to call me out directly for even thinking that, the maze turns into some fuckin MC Escher infinite stairway bullshit, I loved it. Great episode, as usual.

Episode 27, unsurprisingly, was great! There’s another Clow Card at Mizuki’s shrine (she’s a shrine maiden, forgot to mention) and Sakura and Syaoran go to investigate. No Tomoyo or Meiling this time, what’s great though is that Kero-chan, in his infinite need to shit-talk, is all like “oh the brat’s not here because she’s still doing homework at this hour wow she’s slow and bad lol” and Sakura, absolute fucking champion nice girl, is like “Meiling-chan just transferred here and isn’t used to Japanese yet” like damn fuckin defend her, dunk on Kero-chan. Sakura’s great. Speaking of Sakura being great, she and Syaoran end up kind of confessing to the other that they both love Yukito, and that for both of them it was love at first sight. And not once does Sakura say like the “but you’re both boys” thing or pull any lines that are even remotely homophobic, cause like I’m watching Sailor Moon rn obviously and while S was ages ago, Usagi and that’s reaction to Haruka and Michiru’s relationship bugs me, so for this show to be so like, I guess just accepting, it’s great. Sakura brings up that there’s quite the age gap but says that they can’t help it because they’re in love, which I think is quite cute, you know like I don’t like relationships between 10 and 17 year olds but I’m not gonna throw shade at a 10 year old for experiencing emotions. Anyway then Sakura gets sent back in time by the Return card, and she can’t get back until the time in the past actually reaches the time in the present. I don’t know what sort of timeline implications that has, or implications on a visitor’s age, or anything like that, but actually it’s not important because Sakura basically hides the entire time and also she’s saved by Syaoran since the one other method to save someone is to use the Time card and seal Return. Neato. Cool seeing Syaoran finally use that cool overpowered card he got, but we learned it is super draining, especially in this specific case of freezing time back in time. Sakura hugs him since she’s so grateful and he goes red, maybe they’ll end up becoming a couple, I think that’d be cute. Anyway what Sakura witnessed in the past though is how Mizuki and Touya know each other. See, when Touya was in his 2nd year of middle school, so like 14 or 15 idk, he met her at a shrine he was at since he can see spirits and stuff, and like the next day she was a student teacher at his school, and eventually they became a couple, but she left to study overseas, and before she left she told him they’d both have someone new they love more by the time she comes back and sees him again. I like that it kinda parallels her first meeting with Sakura, with the “I’ll see you tomorrow” bit I mean. If that one anon ask I got was referring to this when they said there are some questionable relationships, I think I can take it, if I highball Touya at like 15 or 16 for when their relationship actually is, and then have Mizuki be 17 since you can be a student teacher at that age, then all’s good, also it’s fiction so who actually cares. Mostly I just don’t want Sakura the 10 year old dating Yukito the 17 year old. But yeah this episode was good and knowing Touya’s connection to Mizuki makes me want him to learn Sakura’s magic even more.

Episode 28 is gonna push me to run out of ways to say x episode is great, because this episode was also great. Remember when I popped off during the marathon episode because Maki the toy shop owner made an appearance? Yeah well this episode has her shop as a central plot point again, which is just great, makes this town feel so homely. Specifically they’re selling fake Clow Cards with no magical powers called Enchanted Cards, and they’re just total novelties, but actually, a real Clow Card gets mixed up in there, namely Shot, which Meiling buys so she can take a shot at Syaoran’s heart (haha) which actually doesn’t work out since it’s a seriously dangerous offensive card that about kills him. Sakura manages to save him by using Mirror to reflect the shot but like, damn, Syaoran got hit a couple of times I mean this is some of the most physical danger anyone’s been in apart from a couple of instances relating to large heights. Good on Sakura for pulling through and saving him. And a good episode as well.

Last for today, and finally bringing me up to date, is episode 29, which, say it with me now, was great! Everyone’s making cake, but it’s too sweet, so they try again, and again, and it’s still too sweet! And then Sakura and Syaoran chase the Sweet Clow Card around the room as it turns everything into chocolate and biscuits and cakes, all the while throwing salt at it, and they successfully capture what might be the most useless Clow Card yet. What a delightful show.

I had a ton of fun watching all of these today. End of post.

#cardcaptor sakura #1.12.19 #sailor moon

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jd-the-anime-fan · 7 years ago

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The GX 12 Chapter 1: Entrance exams

fanfiction.net

Summary: AU Crossover, set in the GX-verse, includes Synchro and Xyz summons though. Naruto and Karin Uzumaki, cousins who enrol at DA in hopes of looking into the disappearances of their respective fathers. They are soon joined by new friends, Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuga, however their investigation comes at a time when dark forces begin to stir, with the fate of the world on the line. Eventual Naruhina and Sasukarin.

Duel Academy the first-built and one of many schools across the world where aspiring duelists go to train and refine their craft. However, attending such a place is not easy as applicants must undergo a written exam before duelling an exam proctor on a separate date. It was on this very day that one such applicant who had passed the written test was getting ready to head out for the practical portion.

He was a teenage boy about fifteen years old, with spiky, blond hair, bright blue eyes and three whisker-like birthmarks on each cheek. He wore a black shirt with a red spiral-like pattern in the middle of the chest area and dark grey tracksuit pants with similarly-coloured trainers. This was Naruto Uzumaki. Currently, he was shovelling the breakfast his mother Kushina had made for him that largely consisted of rice, salted salmon, miso soup and pickles down his throat.

A transparent, blue, serpentine-like monster with a light-lavender-coloured underside that easily reached the size of a full grown materialised beside the blond and regarded him with a look of surprise and exasperation, "Naruto slow down, you're going to choke." It said in a concerned and oddly soft-spoken voice. This was Codarus, a duel spirit and one of Naruto's partners.

"Sorry Cody," The young boy apologised, using the spirit's nickname as he took a brief break in his eating, "But the faster I eat, the faster I'll get to the exam building, I can pass my exam then-ugh!" The blond tried to explain excitedly between mouthfuls of food, only for him to start choking, exactly as Codarus had said, much to the Sea-Serpent's alarm.

"In fairness Cody did warn you." His mother scolded playfully, handing her son a cup of water that he eagerly took and drank from, sighing in relief once he could breathe again.

"Where's Karin?" The teenager asked.

"She already left, didn't want to get caught in the rush hour traffic." His mother explained, "I'm proud of you, ya know?" She asked kindly, "I know you'll ace the duel exam and if your father could see you now..." She rambled on, trailing off as a slightly solemn expression overcame her features.

Naruto got up, putting a hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture, his mother smiling gratefully in response, "I know it's been three years since dad disappeared, but I promise if he's still out there, then I'll find him, along with uncle Nagato." The blond swore.

"It's a nice thought Naruto," Kushina admitted, "But don't be doing anything dangerous, alright? It's not worth it if you get hurt."

"And I don't think it'll be that dangerous." Naruto said assuredly, "Love you mom." He said before quickly giving his mother a kiss on the cheek, running off to catch the next subway train into Konoha City Centre, where the exam would be held.

One hour later...

"Stupid train!" Naruto cursed, "Of all the days it could have broken down mid-journey, why did it have to be today?!" The blond continued to shout, thankfully the train had broken down during a stop at a platform that was still some distance from the city centre and his destination building, the Kaiba Building, one of many small buildings used for the sole purpose of dueling dotted across the world as well as judging applicants to see if they had what it took to enter one of the various academies owned by the CEO of Kaiba Corp. Unfortunately, the delay had caused Naruto to realise he would need to sprint for at least a good portion of his journey on foot. Now he was approaching the Kaiba Building, as well as the deadline for entry to it. Once he reached the top of the stairs in front of the temporary exam hall, he saw the attendants were just about to pack up, "Wait!" Naruto shouted desperately, garnering their attention "Naruto Uzumaki, present."

The blond breathed a sigh of relief as he was allowed to enter the Kaiba Building, entering the duel arena, several duels between hopeful students and proctors seemed to be wrapping up. He smirked as he spotted a familiar mane of red hair in an odd fashion, where one side was spiky and the other was straight. Karin was Naruto's cousin and Kushina's niece, she wore a light-purple tank top with black shorts, a set of glasses adorned her face, behind them was the gaze of her red eyes. She was currently facing one of the proctors, a young man with a horizontal scar running across his face with hair tied up in a spiky pony tail, this was Iruka, a teacher and for the moment, Karin's exam proctor.

Iruka: 2200

Karin: 1900

On Iruka's side of the field were two Marauding Captains (A: 1200-1600/D: 400) and a Command Knight (A: 1200-1600/D: 1900) whilst on Karin's side were two face-down defence position monsters, "You've done well to come this far Ms Uzumaki, but you have three monsters staring you down, with their respective abilities preventing them from being attacked even if you summon a stronger monster. Now my Marauding Captains will attack your face-down monsters." Iruka commanded as the blond warriors clad in armour lunged for a face-down each. The two monsters revealed themselves as a jester-like monster dressed in garish clothing and a somewhat creepy mask (A: 500/D: 1200) and a young woman in indigo-coloured robes holding a staff with a crescent moon on the end (A: 300/D: 400). The two were destroyed and due to their position, Karin took no damage.

"Since you destroyed Magician of Faith when it was in face-down defence mode, its flip effect activates, allowing me to retrieve a Spell card from the Graveyard." Karin explained.

"Perhaps, but it won't help you here as Command Knight can attack you directly." Iruka stated, the regally-clothed knight rushed forward, striking the aspiring duelist.

Karin: 300

"Now, you have two options, A: Surrender and try to apply next year or B: Wait for my monsters to deal damage to your Life Points on my next turn. Which one will you pick?" The proctor questioned, his intent clearly being to turn up the heat on Karin.

"I choose C: Neither," Karin retorted without skipping a beat as Iruka's turn ended, allowing her to draw a card, "And I'll start it by summoning this monster: Shadowpriestess of Ohm!" The Uzumaki declared, summoning a woman in dark blue robes with a gold belt, an elaborate black headdress and flowing, grey hair to the field, (A: 1700/ D: 1600), "And though you're right that I can't attack your monsters, I can do this, activate the effect of the Peten the Dark Clown you sent to the Graveyard. By removing him from play, I can summon another one from my deck." A second clown that looked the same as the one destroyed previously appeared on the field in attack mode, "Next, I activate the Spell Card I retrieved from the Graveyard, Dark Room of Nightmare so whenever you take Effect Damage, three hundred extra points are taken away from your Life Points. It just so happens that my Shadowpriestess has an effect that allows her to sacrifice a DARK monster on the field, such as Peten and deal eight-hundred points of damage to you." At her command, Peten turned into an orb of purple light, which Ohm then used as a projectile, launching it clear past Iruka's three monsters and creating an explosion that damaged his Life Points.

Iruka: 1400

"Now, Dark Room of Nightmare's effect activates," Karin said, a surge of electricity shot from the continuous Spell Card, hitting the proctor.

Iruka: 1100

Just when Iruka thought the examinee's assault was over, Karin spoke up, "It also just so happens that I have another Peten in my deck, I think you can see what's coming?" The redhead questioned confidently as she removed the second Peten from the Graveyard, summoning her third, and final one. Iruka's eyes widened in surprise as the process was repeated, Karin's Shadowpriestess once again inflicted eight-hundred points of damage to Iruka, quickly followed by the effect of Dark Room of Nightmare.

Iruka: 0

Winner, Karin: 300

Despite his loss, Iruka smiled approvingly, "Very good, welcome to Duel Academy."

"Thank you, sir." Karin said, bowing to him

"Hell yeah! That's my cousin!" Naruto declared boastfully, proud of his relative's victory.

"Congratulations," Someone a few rows of seats in front of him said, a young woman about his age with long, dark-blue hair and featureless, yet oddly pretty white eyes.

"Thanks," The blond said, "You here for the exam too?"

"That's right, I won my duel and just thought I'd see the rest of the duels, I'm Hinata by the way." She greeted.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Naruto, I just arrived for my duel."

At his statement, Hinata looked a little concerned and slightly confused, "You haven't duelled yet?" Naruto shook his head, "Sorry to say but I think these are the last duelsâ€¦"

There was a long moment of silence for the teenager before he comically shouted, "What?!"

In another part of the building, situated above the duel fields was the chief proctor, Mizuki. He loved the idea of several hopeful duelists being in his dorm, Obelisk Blue even if they had to share a campus with less prestigious Ra Yellows and Slifer Reds, though the former was much more respectable than the latter, "Excuse me, Mister Mizuki?" One of the attendants asked, the white-haired man cast an annoyed glance at him, "One of the attendees arrived last minute." Typical, there was always at least one person who turned up like this though there was also another reason why he was annoyed with the question, "Did you just call me Mister?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, professor?"

"I have a PhD in duelling." Mizuki said pointedly, "It's Doctor, and if this slacker wants to duel he can apply-" At that moment, his mobile went off, "Hello, I'm very busy-" Mizuki began before he was cut off by a gruff, old voice on the other end.

"Mizuki it's me."

"Ah, Chancellor Hiruzen, nice to hear from you." Mizuki said much more pleasantly, "What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to remind you that so long as the students arrived within the deadline, you are to allow them to duel and do not prevent them from taking the exam for some other ridiculous reason. What was it last year? That they referred to you as, Mister or Professor instead of Doctor?" The old headmaster brought up.

"Of course Chancellor." Mizuki said.

"Very good, continue with your work." Hiruzen said before hanging up.

"Old windbag," Mizuki muttered under his breath, "Very well, let the new arrival duel," He continued as he got up.

"Alright Doctor, but what exam deck should we use?" Another of the proctors asked.

"Don't worry, you just leave that to me." The Academy teacher said, with a smirk that he quickly hid from his colleagues. Maybe he couldn't stop the late arrival from duelling, but he could definitely do the next best thing!

"But I got here on time, how can I not be allowed to duel?" Naruto wondered aloud tugging at his hair in frustration so hard it looked ready to come out.

"Naruto, calm down." Codarus said trying to reassure him, the aspiring Duel Academy student shot a look at his duel spirit, quickly taking him to the side so his new potential friend wouldn't think he was talking to himself, little realising that Hinata could see the WATER monster clear as day.

'He can see duel spirits too?' Hinata thought surprised, to find someone who had the same gift as her. Naruto couldn't see her surprised expression as he took Codarus with him.

"How can I be calm?" He asked through gritted teeth, "If I can't duel then I can't attend Duel Academy, kindly explain what I can do to keep calm?" He finished sarcastically.

As if to prove him wrong, an announcement was made, "Will Naruto Uzumaki please make your way to Duel Field 3."

"Shut up." Naruto snapped as he noticed Codarus looking at him smugly.

"I didn't say anything." The Sea-Serpent said nonchalantly, though it was clear he knew exactly what Naruto meant.

As he made his way down the stairs towards the duel fields, he noticed his cousin coming up the opposite way, "Someone's a little late." She sneered playfully.

"Yeah, yeah laugh it up." Naruto responded in a good natured manner, "I'll be joining you soon enough."

"Of course, good luck."

"Thanks Karin."

"I was talking to Cody." The redhead replied, she promptly began laughing at her cousin's comical indignance. When the two parted ways once more, Naruto himself chuckled at the banter between them.

Once he arrived at Duel Field 3, he was given a Duel Academy-issued duel disk, "Welcome!" He was greeted as he entered the field while strapping the duel disk to his arm. The person who greeted him was a white-haired man with a blue blazer, "You're Naruto Uzumaki, correct? I'm Mizuki the head of the Obelisk Blue dorm, congratulations, you've been selected for a rather special condition on your entrance exam."

"What condition?" The blond inquired.

"You see, I'm not really a fan of anyone who turns up late, so your punishment is you have to duel me at eight-thousand Life Points, against my own deck instead of an exam one. When I said 'welcome', I meant it as 'Welcome to the big leagues kid.'." The exam proctor announced.

"What a dirty trick." Karin said as she took a seat on a row where she could get a good view of the duel. The odds would clearly be stacked in Mizuki's favour.

"I would agree." Another voice a little further down the row she was on said, the source of which was a young man with black hair, black eyes and wearing a black trench-coat over a dark-red t-shirt with black jeans, "You're that guy's cousin, right?" The stranger asked.

"That's right, how did you know?" Karin inquired.

"He made it pretty clear for everyone still here when you won your duel." The young man replied with an amused smirk.

Karin snorted at that, "Figures that knucklehead would do something like that. I'm Karin by the way."

"Sasuke." He replied, "Though from what I've heard, Mizuki uses Zombie-Type monsters and supposedly he has quite a few rare ones, maybe we'll get to see them."

"Maybeâ€¦" Karin mumbled, despite her cousin's predicament, even she had to admit, seeing not just one but several rare cards was definitely something of a treat, for both the audience and Naruto.

After hearing the news Naruto's head had sunk and he had begun shaking, "What's the matter, are you scared?" Mizuki asked in a thinly-veiled taunt.

"Scared?" Naruto said before he began chuckling, much to the confusion of his soon-to-be opponent. The chuckling soon erupted into full-blown laughter, "I'm excited! This is the type of challenge I was looking for! But if I beat you, there's one thing I want from you in return."

"And what would that be?" The white-haired man questioned.

Naruto pointed a finger at Mizuki and made his condition known, "You have to recommend me for a place at your dorm."

The doctor was stunned, though his shock soon turned into a scowl, "Cheeky and turning up late, I hope you realise that's a bad combination. Very well, I'll accept your offer, not that you have a chance." Mizuki stated as the two of them readied their duel disks.

"Let's Duel!" The two declared.

Mizuki: 8000

Naruto: 8000

"As your senior, I'll begin, I draw," Mizuki said, "And I'll start by summoning a face-down defence monster and setting two cards face down to end my turn."

"That's your best?" Naruto asked, clearly having expected more than such a simple manoeuvre, "Then I'll draw and start by activating the Field Spell, Umi and summoning the monster, Mermaid Knight in attack mode." A mermaid with a green tail, flowing red hair and a purple cuirass armed with a sword and shield appeared on the field, (A: 1500-1700/D:600-800), "Thanks to Umi, not only does she get a boost in attack, but since it's on the field she can attack twice this turn. Now attack his face-down monster Mermaid Knight!"

The face-down monster flipped face-up, revealing it as a turtle with a square-based pyramid on its back (A: 1200/D: 1400), Mermaid Knight brought her sword down, cutting clean through and destroying the monster, "Since you destroyed my Pyramid Turtle, I can summon a monster with two-thousand or less defence from my deck, and I select my Vampire Lord!" A pale-skinned man adorned in gothic yet regal clothing appeared on the field, (A: 2000/D: 1500).

'This isn't good.' Naruto thought as now his monster would be defenceless on his opponent's next turn, "I end my turn." He said reluctantly.

"Very well, then I'll draw, and activate the Spell Card, Pot of Greed." Per the card's effect, Mizuki added two new cards to his hand, "It seems that I'm in luck," The proctor stated, "I summon my Soul Absorbing Bone Tower to the Field in attack mode and activate the Trap card, Coffin Seller." A tower composed of blackened and bare bones with an eerie orange glow appearing from a small cave close to the summit appeared alongside the Continuous Trap, (A: 400/D: 1500).

"So long as there's another Zombie-Type on the Field, Soul Absorbing Bone Tower can't be attacked, but that's not its only effect. I activate the Polymerisation in my hand, fusing my Zombie Dragon and The Snake Hair together to summon Great Mammoth of Goldfine!" A purple dragon with rotting flesh and a woman with snakes for hair dressed in a blue robe appeared briefly before being sucked into a vortex. What emerged next was a golden woolly mammoth skeleton that let out a roar as it took its place on the field, (A: 2200/D: 1800).

"Since he was Special Summoned, my Bone Tower's second effect activates, when a Zombie-Type is Special Summoned the top two cards from your deck are sent to the Graveyard. Naruto discarded the two cards, Salvage and Torpedo Fish, "Since one of the cards was a monster, you take three-hundred points of damage due to Coffin Seller's effect." A mist-like, white projectile shaped like Naruto's monster was launched from the card.

Naruto: 7700

"But I'm not done yet, by removing my Vampire Lord from play while it's on the field, I can summon this, Vampire Genesis!" Mizuki declared, as his vampire was engulfed in a shroud of darkness, a new one took its place. Its skin was dark purple, had two large, bat-like wings protruding from its back, jagged teeth and two piercing, red-coloured eyes. It was easily the biggest monster on the field, standing much taller than the already large mammoth (A: 3000/D: 2100), "Another Zombie-Type Special Summoned, so you know what that means?" He asked rhetorically, Naruto grunted in frustration as the next two cards in his deck were also sent to the Graveyard, Gruesome Goo and Xyz Reception, "Another monster, another three-hundred points of damage." Just like before another monster-shaped cloud of mist hurtled towards Naruto, damaging his Life Points.

Naruto: 7400

"Now, Great Mammoth of Goldfine destroy his Mermaid Knight!" Mizuki declared, with a charge that shook the ground, the mammoth-like zombie rammed into Naruto's monster. Naruto flinched as his only line of defence was destroyed, "And don't forget about Coffin Seller."

Naruto: 6600

"Next, Vampire Genesis, attack him directly!" Mizuki's strongest monster gave a bellow as it brought a fist down in a hammer strike on the blond.

Naruto: 3600

"Finally, Soul Absorbing Bone Tower, do the same." The tower appeared in front of Naruto, a vacuum pulling on the blond as if the creature was really trying to absorb his soul.

Naruto: 3200

"Those rare cards pack quite a punch, your cousin is going to have to make a big comeback if he wants to even have a chance of beating Mizuki." Sasuke commented.

Even Karin had to admit that Sasuke was right, Naruto's current situation was dire, it would take quite a lucky draw to get him out of it, "I have a feeling he'll do it." A feminine voice behind the two spoke up, they turned to face the young woman behind them with questioning looks, "I was speaking with your cousin earlier," She addressed to Karin, "My name is Hinata."

"You think he can actually get out of this one?" Sasuke asked, "Care to put your money where your mouth is?"

"One-hundred ryo that he wins." (1) Hinata replied, placing her bet as she agreed to Sasuke's wager.

"Then I'll bet the same that he loses." The young man said confidently.

"That's my cousin you're betting on." Karin stated incredulously, "So, how much can we raise the stakes?"

"My turn," Naruto said, "I'll draw." Looking at his card, Naruto grinned, "I activate the Spell, Moray of Greed so, by returning two WATER monsters to my deck, I can draw three cards."

'Please be good.' Naruto thought nervously as the deck finished shuffling, taking the top three cards, internally the blond breathed a sigh of relief, 'Just what I needed.'

Noticing his pause, Mizuki once again decided to taunt his opponent, "What's the matter do you give up?" The white-haired man was surprised and strangelyâ€¦ unnerved when the blond grinned at him.

"On the contrary, I just got the cards I needed." Naruto said, "Come on out, Codarus!" The blue Sea-Serpent appeared on the field, (A: 1400-1600/D: 1200-1400).

"This doesn't look good Naruto." Codarus said in concern.

"Don't worry Cody, I have a plan." Naruto said in a reassuring tone.

"Mind filling me in?" His duel spirit inquired.

"I would, but where would be the fun in that?" Naruto retorted.

"You're a dick." Codarus muttered, realising that his friend was probably doing this for how smug he acted when Naruto was first called up to duel.

"I learned from the best."

"Are youâ€¦ talking? To your duel monster?" Mizuki asked in clear confusion since he wasn't able to hear the conversation taking place between the duelist and his monster.

"And what if I am?" Naruto asked.

"Reminds me of someone else who believed those myths about seeing monster spirits, Minato Namikazeâ€¦"

"They're not myths," Naruto said adamantly, "And he's my dad."

"Well that explains the craziness," Mizuki said, "But I wonder if you're a hack like he was?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto growled in anger at his father being insulted.

"Please, you mean you don't know?" Mizuki asked, "Your father was an intelligent man, I'll give him that much but at the end of the day, he was a fool who spent his time researching fairy tales instead of actual duelling." He elaborated upon noticing Naruto's confused expression.

"Do you know anything about his disappearance?" Naruto demanded angrily.

Mizuki simply shrugged in response, not seeming to care, "Only that he, along with a few others, disappeared three years ago and hasn't been seen since. Maybe they all finally realised how fruitless their efforts for 'studying' these supposed duel spirits would be and packed things in. They could have at least told someone where they were going their disappearances caused a scandal that almost got Duel Academy shut down."

"Then I'll make him tell us where he's been all these years!" The blond stated.

"What?" The proctor asked in a confused tone.

"I came here to search for him, to find answers about what happened, I promised my mom that I would. I won't go back on my word, my pride as a duelist is on the line!"

Mizuki could only sigh in exasperation, "You really are your father's son, obsessed with chasing something so inherently hopeless. But enough blathering, continue with your turn." He said, internally smirking at his current setup, 'Codarus's ability allows it to destroy Umi, then target two cards on the field and destroy them. Chances are that he'll destroy Genesis and Goldfine to target Bone Tower but with Negate Attack face-down, I can stop the attack and end his Battle Phase. Then when it's my turn I can switch Bone Tower to defence mode, Codarus will have lost its boost so it won't be able to destroy it, that's if I don't get a Zombie-Type on my next draw.'

"I destroy Umi," Naruto began, seemingly, Mizuki's prediction was coming true, "By placing another Field Spell." The blond stated, causing the white-haired man to gain a look of surprise, "I activate, A Legendary Ocean." The sea below them was replaced by an ancient city submerged deep beneath the waves. "This card still gives Codarus a two-hundred point boost to attack and defence but also lowers the Level of every WATER monster on the field and in our hands by one. I set a card face-down to end my turn."

'That's it? The kid might even be more foolish than I thought.' Mizuki internally stated, "Very well, I draw. Since it's the only card in my hand, I'll activate it, Monster Reborn and use it to bring back, Dragon Zombie." The decaying dragon reappeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 0), "Another Special Summon, so Bone Tower's effect activates." Once again, two cards were sent from the top of Naruto's deck, another Moray of Greed and Sea Kamen. Coffin Seller's effect then dealt three-hundred points of damage to Naruto's Life Points.

Naruto: 2900

"Now Vampire Genesis, attack and destroy Codarus." The purple monster roared as it swung at the Sea-Serpent.

"I activate the Trap, Aegis of the Ocean Dragon Lord, with this all Level 3 and below Aqua, Fish and Sea-Serpent-Type monsters can't be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn." Naruto declared, regardless the attack of Mizuki's strongest monster still connected.

"That may be, but you'll still take Battle Damage."

Naruto: 1500

"Goldfine, attack Codarus as well." The mammoth skeleton charged, head-butting Codarus.

Naruto: 900

"And with the effect of your card, there's no point in attacking with Dragon Zombie, I end my turn." Mizuki said.

"Thank you, now it's time for this duel to end." Naruto said as he drew a card.

"Are you joking?" Mizuki scoffed, "I have almost ten times your Life Points, what makes you think you can win?"

"This," Naruto said as he flipped a card around, "The Spell Card, Cost Down, so I discard one card." The blond began to explain as he discarded the monster, Amazon of the Seas, which of course activated the effect of Coffin Seller.

Naruto: 600

"Now all the monsters in my hand are two levels lower and because of that coupled with A Legendary Ocean, a normally Level 7 WATER monster, is now Level 4." There was a collective gasp from most students who had opted to stay and watch the duel, excluding Karin who already knew this part of her cousin's usual strategy. Mizuki's eyes now widened in terror, since there was now a very real possibility of his opponent bringing out a powerful monster with almost no cost.

"What I'm choosing to summon, is Superancient Deepsea King, Coelacanth!" With the declaration, a large grey, fish with jagged teeth, a powerful-looking jaw and most strangely, arm-like appendages that were tipped with claws appeared. Superancient was an understatement as the monster looked like it was from prehistoric times with armour-like plates modern day fish weren't known for having and kelp was growing from between small gaps in the plates, as well as the crown-like formation on its back, (A: 2800-3000/D: 2200-2400).

Mizuki calmed down at that, "It's an impressive monster, I'll admit but it only matches the strength of Genesis and even if Coelacanth isn't destroyed I still have a solid line of defence, whilst you only have two montsers."

"Well, it's a good thing subjects follow their king." Naruto retorted, "Let me demonstrate, I activate Coelacanth's ability, by discarding one card I can summon as many Level 4 or below Fish-Type monsters from my deck as possible." Thankfully the card discarded was Salvage, so Naruto took no damage from Coffin Seller.

"What good will that do?" Mizuki questioned.

"A lot of good actually, when two of the monsters I'm summoning, are Spined Gillman and one Great White." Coelacanth gave a long, reverberating bellow that seemed to shake the very building, once it finished, two blue humanoid, fish-like monsters with barbs running the length of their backs appeared, holding red tridents. The other monster to be summoned was reminsiscent of a great white shark, as the name implied but it also had muscular arms that ended in webbed hands, "Due to the effects of my Spined Gillman, the attack points of all face-up Fish, Aqua and Sea-Serpent-Type monsters goes up by four-hundred since there's two that totals eight-hundred. Plus, A Legendary Ocean's effect gives an extra two hundred."

"A total of one-thousand extra pointsâ€¦" Mizuki mumbled as the two monsters raised their tridents and a blue glow surrounded both themselves and their fellow monsters.

Great White, (A: 1600-2600/D: 800-1000). Spined Gillman, (A: 1300-2300/D: 0-200) x2. Coelacanth, (A: 3000-3800/D: 2400). Codarus (A: 1600-2400/D: 1400).

Mizuki was definitely worried now but calmed himself down when he realised he still had Negate Attack, it would be easy to destroy the two Spined Gillman on his next turn. Yet the proctor couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, "Before my Battle Phase begins, I activate the effect of Codarus. You see, when it's on the field, A Legendary Ocean is known as Umi. By sending it to the Graveyard, I select two cards on the field and destroy them, what am I selecting? Vampire Genesis, and your face-down."

"What?!" Mizuki cried in shock, of course he had expected the blond to use the ability, but that was just when Codarus was on the field. Now with five monsters, each with more than two-thousand attack points staring him down, his confidence in his strategy was at all-time low.

"Good plan, Naruto." Codarus said, beginning to draw in the water from A Legendary Ocean as it disappeared and launched them at the two intended targets in the form of miniature typhoons. The first of them slammed into the vampire, destroying it whilst the second one sucked up the face-down, picking it up and causing it to shatter.

"Unfortunately, my monsters lose the benefit of A Legendary Ocean, but they're still strong enough to take you down." Level 3-4 (A: 2600-2400/D: 1000-800), Level 2-3 (A: 2300-2100/D: 200-0) x2, Level 4-5 (A: 3800-3600/D: 2400-2200), Level 3-4 (A: 2400-2200/D: 1400-1200), "Great White, attack Great Mammoth of Goldfine." The human-like shark rushed forward, the Zombie-Type attempted to defend itself but Great White quickly stopped the tusks and brought its teeth down on Goldfine's skull, shattering the monster.

Mizuki: 7800

"Spined Gillman one, destroy Zombie Dragon." The humanoid monster leapt at the rotting corpse and plunged its trident through the dragon's chest, destroying the monster.

Mizuki: 7300

"Spined Gillman two, attack Soul Absorbing Bone Tower." Like the first one, Naruto's second Spined Gillman attacked, practically dismantling the Bone Tower.

Mizuki: 5600

'This can't be happening, this isn't happening!' Mizuki internally screamed, his defences were completely wiped out, and two of Naruto's monsters still had their attacksâ€¦

"Coelacanth, attack him directly." Naruto commanded, despite its size, the giant fish moved quickly, opening its maw and bringing its jaws down on the proctor.

Mizuki: 2000

"Now Codarus, finish this, show him what duel spirits can do!"

"I was planning on it." Codarus said, lunging forward and biting Mizuki's arm.

Mizuki: 0

Winner, Naruto: 600

Mizuki fell to his knees, 'I lost?' He thought incredulously, 'This kid is a slacker, I used my personal deck, and he beat me! How, could this get any worse?!'

"Hey, Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto called, the blond's now soon-to-be teacher looked up from his kneeling position and scowled at him, "Now don't give me that look," He began in a teasing tone, "You still have to recommend me for a place at your dorm, after all you promised to in front of all these people." He finished, gesturing to the room around him.

Mizuki's face fell as he realised that what Naruto was saying was true, he would have to recommend a place for him at Obelisk Blue. Otherwise, he would run the risk of looking like a sore and petty loser throwing a tantrum, a pupil doing that would be one thing, a teacher though likely ran the risk of either demotion or being outright fired. The worst part? If Naruto somehow remained in Obelisk throughout his entire stay at the school, Mizuki would be subject to that blond being a smug little shit about his victory for at maximum, four years. Thus as Naruto turned away and began heading back to the seating area, Mizuki shouted out the only sentence that felt appropriate at the time, "I hate you!"

"I'm sure this is the start of a beautiful friendship!" Naruto called back, Mizuki gritting his teeth in anger as he heard the WATER-user's echoing laughter.

"He actually beat him?" Sasuke mumbled.

"He did indeed, now pay up." Karin said as both she and Hinata held out their hands for the five-hundred ryo that Karin had raised the stakes to. Sasuke grumbled as he took out his wallet and handed the two smirking women five hundred each.

"Were you really betting if Naruto would win or lose?" The familiar voice of Codarus asked, leaning his head on the spot in front of Karin.

"I had the utmost confidence in him!" Karin stated unconvincingly, Codarus raised what would have been an eyebrow curiously, likely not believing the redhead.

"You mean you only betted in his favour when he summoned Coelacanth?" Hinata asked rhetorically.

Both of those she addressed looked shocked, "You can see me?" The Sea-Serpent asked in amazement.

"That's right." Hinata said, a transparent werewolf-like creature with particularly vicious-looking claws wearing tattered, blue trousers appeared, quite a stark contrast to the gentle-looking, petite woman next to it, "This is my duel spirit, Lycanthrope." The werewolf merely grunted out a greeting, "Sorry, he can be a little aloof." The blue-haired woman said apologetically.

It was at that point that Naruto walked up the stairs, still chuckling after his victory against Mizuki, stopping briefly as he noticed the group together, as well as the yellow-eyed Beast-Warrior staring intently at him which became slightly more unnerving as it appeared to start grinning at him, showing off gleaming white teeth. Slowly, the blond walked up to his cousin, "I'm just going to take a stab in the dark here, ignoring the fact that that duel spirit is starting to creep me out and say Hinata can see duel spirits?" He whispered to her.

"Yep." Karin said, nodding her head.

"Sorry," Hinata apologised, "I would have told you sooner, but we didn't exactly have the time."

"Pardon me?" Sasuke spoke up, "You guys have actual duel spirits?"

"Yeah, are you another person who can see duel spirits? And who are you?" Naruto asked.

"Not see, but I can sense them and even if I couldn't I'd still believe in their existence. The name is Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke explained, "My brother was on the same team that your father disappeared on Naruto and like you I'm going to Duel Academy to find him. If you want to work together, I'd be grateful for the help."

There was no hesitation in Naruto's answer, "Sure, I'm in."

"Count me in too." Karin said, "My dad and Naruto's uncle was with them as well, if they're still on the island, then I'll do whatever it takes to get them back."

"Glad to hear there's someone else who wants to work with us." Sasuke said, smiling almost kindly at Karin, causing a pink hue to briefly dust her cheeks before it faded, "And what about you?" Sasuke asked, the remaining members of the group turned to Hinata, awaiting an answer.

The other young woman looked a little awkward, "I guess I'm the odd one out, I don't have a relative who disappeared on Academy Island, but if you need anything feel free to ask, I think I know someone who could help."

"Thank you," Sasuke said, "How about we have a battle royal when we get to the academy?" He suggested, he noticed his companion's looks before leaning in, glancing around suspiciously as if to make sure no one was listening in, "It's not normal for several people to disappear, not without a trace, something is up. It could be that people in the upper echelons of the Academy, maybe even the chancellor himself are in on the disappearance. If we're going to trust each other completely, we should at least know part of each of our duelling styles. Keep in mind that it's just an assumption, but it's also a distinct possibility that shouldn't be ignored."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Naruto agreed, with the two women of the group also nodding.

"Well, can I suggest something?" Hinata spoke up, the young woman took out her deck, and removed a blue card, a Ritual monster card, not just any one though, it was Lycanthrope, "My mother taught me a way of duelists making a pact together, we put a monster that's sentimental to us in some way together in a silent agreement that we share the same goal, as well as stating what that sentimentality is to show the trust between the participants. For example, Lycanthrope was a going away present from my father." She explained, placing the Ritual monster on the table top in front of them.

Karin was the next to select a card, "She's gotten me out of some tight spots in the past, even if I don't have a duel spirit of my own, she's easily my most trusted monster." The redhead placed Shadowpriestess of Ohm on the table so that the tops of both it and Lycanthrope were touching.

Sasuke took his card out, "A gift from my brother before he disappeared." The Uchiha said, placing the Synchro monster, Exploder Dragonwing so that it partially covered the two previous cards.

Lastly it was Naruto's turn, "My strongest monster, and the first duel spirit I ever saw." He said, though aside from Karin, it was not what the other group members were expecting, Ocean Dragon Lord â€“ Neo Daedalus. Hinata looked surprised at the sight of such a rare monster and Sasuke gave an impressed whistle.

With Naruto placing his card in the final position, a pact was formed between the four of them. A pact to discover the mystery behind the academy's disappearances, to find those who were missing, and most importantly, to look out for each other if the journey they would undertake got dangerous. Little did the group realise that the latter would become reality far more often than not.

A/N: Hey guys, hope you enjoyed this chapter, this was my first time writing a duel so I really hope you guys can give me some constructive criticism on that. But anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you all next chapter.

1) For those wondering, I did the math and basically Sasuke lost about USD$90/Â£90.

#naruto #yugioh gx #fanfiction #crossover #naruto uzumaki #karin uzumaki #hinata hyuga #sasuke uchiha #naruhina #sasukarin #mizuki

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sambart93 · 7 years ago

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2017.10.06/09 Awatenboi no Yoi Doretachi Review!

Come on.. it’s me going to HirokiKun’s play again! This time though, it was his first ever LEAD ROLE stage!! I’m so proud of him! And it was so good and such an interesting set up and -- I’ll get to it!

Official Twitter here Ticket/Stage Information here

CAST and CHARACTERS* *I may get the names mixed up or forget them a bit because there’s no pamphlet or anything.

Tanaka Hiroki as Yamato Tanabe Toshiki as Master Mizuki Momoko as Naho/Nao Yanase Saki as Ageha Mizuno Natsuki as Tomoko Kondou Yousuke as Rikiya Aoki Kuroudo(?) as Otaku Geek Hachifuku Mizuho as Kotori Moto Shige as Kotori’s husband

NON-SPOILER REVIEW

Overall: This was so good! First off, the set is amazing; it’s in an actual bar and they served us drinks when we came in like real barmen. We sit in actual bar/customer seats and they basically act AROUND us for the 90 minutes. The first 30 minutes or so is very much just adlib and improve with some actual story sprinkled in and then the last 30/40 minutes is to a script. It was a simple but good story and I loved the hilarity and the adlibbing/improv that went on. Hiroki was just a pure baby <3 I’m so proud of him; the way he’s able to switch from genuinely laughing hard at an adlib to suddenly getting into actor mode and being this scared, timid character who’s crying his heart out is just so amazing to witness- he’s very talented, but I already knew that! They were all great and they’re already in talks for a second stage! Rating: 8/10

SPOILER REVIEW

Story

It’s been 6 months since Yamato turned up one night at the bar and started working there. He’s also dating his coworker Naho but hasn’t yet told his boss - who also has a slight crush on her. One evening, a man named Rikiya, comes into the bar while Yamato is on his own in the front and threatens him to return the money his father has borrowed from them years ago. If he doesn’t pay it back then it won’t be pretty. Rikiya notices that Naho is in the back and tells Yamato; you either return the money, or use her body to pay me back. We also have other running storylines such as an Otaku who’s too obsessed with 2D to realise that a regular customer has a massive crush on him; we have a husband who appears to be cheating on his wife, and she’s found out; and we also have a hostess who’s with the husband and trying to earn as much as money as she can for something (revealed towards the end).

The Play Itself

This was very interesting and had a nice balance of serious and comedy. As stated above, the first part of this is just pure adlibbing and improve between Yamato and Master and both times I saw this stage, it was hilarious.

Between the adlibs in the first part, we see Naho come to the store and go in the back to change and get ready for work. The master who has a crush on her tries to open the staff room door while she’s part way through changing.

Eventually the master leaves the bar to do something and in comes Rikiya who threatens Yamato, (pulling him over the bar partially and then throwing him down to the ground) to pay him back asap. Towards the end of this conversation, Naho comes out from the back and to the bar where Rikiya implies ‘pay me back or use her body to get the money’ and he leaves. Yamato says that’s his Aniki (which means both older brother and yakuza-partner), so Naho assumes it’s his brother. Naho brushes the subject off and asks Yamato if he’s told the master about them yet. She momentarily goes in the back for something and Yamato takes the chance to take all the money out of the cashier.

Yamato’s Otaku friend comes in after shopping in Nakano Broadway. he’s obsessed with 2D characters and carries a figure with him all the time; conveniently the figure is called Naho and he also has somewhat of a crush on Naho too and anytime he does something wrong to even slightly annoy or upset her, he would beg for forgiveness on the floor xD He was followed by Ageha and (who turns out to be) Kotori’s husband. It looks like they’re a couple but neither of them explicitly say what’s going on between them. This is where another higawari takes place from Kotori’s husband, but I only remember the one from the 6th:

Kotori’s husband: Butai Ni hamatteru/ Recently I’m into watching stages. Master: Fujiwara Tatsiya? Husband: Sonnani fueteinai Tanaka Hiroki to iu / Not someone that famous. He’s called Tanaka Hiroki *HirokiKun immediately starts to flush in the face* Master: What’s he in? Husband: Next month he’s in something like….. (nan toka) Something something blue. It’s around November 12… Hiroki whispers: 8th to the 15th Master: How do you know Yamato? Hiroki: Oh I don’t! I just figured it was that. Husband: So it’s western Blue or…. Hiroki whisperes again: Marker Light Blue Master: HOW DO YOU KNOW?! Hiroki: Well it sounds right

He got so embarrassed and it was adorable!

After this scene the husband pulls Master aside and says that he’s noticed his phone is in a different place every time he wakes up recently, so that means his wife knows about the affair!

After Ageha and the husband leave, Naho’s friend Tomoko, a very shy easily shaken girl, who we soon learn has a huge crush on the Otaku, turns up. Yet both Yamato and Naho are like ‘what’s there to like about him?!’

Once the master comes back Naho drags Yamato and Tomoko outside to try and figure out how she can confess her feelings to the Otaku. The master is left to ask the guy ‘do you even know what love is? Are you even a man? Don’t you want to become a man?’ and Otaku gets intrigued and wants to find out what it is. The master explains how to get his foot in the door of the Mans World. It is at this point where he grabs the top of two cocktail shakers and goes ‘Oppai!.... Op...pai.... O...P...P....A....I...OPPAI!’ and he and Otaku end up doing this huge ‘OPPAI OPPAI!’ celebration dance WHICH Tomoko walks in on and is naturally hugely scared away.

Then the master gets an even better idea; he remembers Naho mentioning she had gotten her bikini dry cleaned and that bikini is in the staff room. ‘Do you want to see Naho’s underwear?’ and he runs into the back and brings the bikini out. He entices Otaku into going to sniff the bottoms of her bikini, but just as they go to sniff, Naho and co storm in (Tomoko obviously told them the situation she had walked in on) and in a flurry Master stuffs the bikini bottoms in his back pocket, out of sight, before they could sniff them.

And now we have the huge entrance of Kotori. She storms in and demands to see her husband who isn’t there and that she knows about the affair and she’s going to divorce him. Within this scene we get a lot of hilarious parts, such as Master going ‘why is he with someone so ug-’ ‘Were you going to call me UGLY?! I am not ugly, I am CUTE!’ as well as her trying to get on the bar stool but because of her weight, she keeps pushing it away with her big bum rather than getting on it, so she eventually jumps on it and then because she kept pushing it further down the bar, she’s practically sitting on Tomoko too and her reply is ‘WAH?! Why you so close to me?! Look at all these space on my right side!’

After being upset about her husband, she tries to cheer up when Rikiya walks in and she’s like ‘we got a customer! Come on everyone! Lets go go go!’ and she disappears from behind the bar. The stage’s atmosphere takes a turn, Rikiya is unforgiving and doesn’t care if the bar is full and that his friends are here, he wants his money and he’ll get it back right now. Just at that moment, Kotori’s husband and Ageha come back to the bar and a rather funny exchange occurs where Kotori and her husband are having a conversation while Ageha and Rikiya (turns out they used to be together) are having a conversation. The two conversations blend so well that at a few points it sounds like Rikiya is replying to Kotori’s words rather than Ageha and it created a lot of comedy. It would be something like.

Kotori’s husband to Kotori: I didn’t do anything I swear! Ageha to Rikiya: You were mean and you didn’t care about anyone else. Kotori to husband: But you love me right?! Why would you do that? Rikiya to Ageha but sounds like he’s replying to Kotori: I never said that!

I’m not doing it justice but it was very funny!

After this quarrel, we get back to the main story which is Rikiya demanding money from Yamato, and Rikiya takes none of it and none of the apologies from Yamato, and starts to get violent: throwing the master, Kotori’s husband and Yamato violently to the ground a lot and hitting them etc. But part way through there’s a rather funny scene where Kotori is like ‘I’m a black belt! Let me at him!’ and as soon as she sizes up to him (she’s about half a foot shorter than him to begin with) she yells ‘OUCH CRAMP!’ and gets out of there immediately.

There is another hilarious scene throughout this, when the master is thrown to the floor and Naho spots her bikini bottoms in his pocket. She’s like ‘what is that? ... WHAT IS THAT? ... and what were you going to do with them? .. WHAT... were you going to do with them?!..... *switches to cutesy voice* could you tell me your plan with them?’ and the master (he’s bricking himself) goes ‘Me and Otaku were-’ to which Tomoko butts in and defends Otaku ‘DON’T YOU DARE BRING HIM INTO THIS! HE DID NOTHING WRONG!’ so Master is left on his own and he replies ‘....I was going to... put them on my head....’ and Naho sizes up to him and says ‘then... put.... them... on’ and he does and everyone in the room was just dying of laughter. BUT Rikiya is pissed that everyone is just going off on tangents whereas he’s there and means business so he pushes Naho and the master to the ground. It’s at this point where Yamato is on his hands and knees in front of Naho, protecting her, beginning for Rikiya to stop and that he’ll find a way to help him out. But Rikiya yells that he’s tired of waiting, he either gives him the money now or uses Naho’s body to get it back.

It’s then at this point too that the master gets back up and defends Yamato saying that he’ll protect him, that he did nothing wrong, that he’s there for him... and then you just hear Naho go ‘Master.... the pants are still on your head’ and everyone cracked a giggle as he quickly realises and pulls them off quickly. Of course this enrages Rikiya even more and throws Master to the ground hard.

It’s at this point, Ageha blurts out that she’s pregnant with his kid and that the only reason she’s working as a hostess is so she can afford to look after the child and she hates what Rikiya has become and has decided she’s going to raise the child herself rather than it know what an awful man the father is. But then she also says ‘you were once Yamato! You’re doing exactly the same thing to him as was done to you! That’s why you became one of them, you had no way out! And now you’re doing it to Yamato too!’

Rikiya takes a moment and approaches Yamato and Naho who are now stood up and near each other; they instinctively flinch and Yamato throws his arm around Naho and his back to Rikiya to protect her. But instead of hurting them Rikiya drops a lawyer’s business card to the floor and says that guy can help him out, and he leaves with Ageha following, saying she’ll at least give him one last time to talk to her about it all.

And END.

So as you can see, a simple story that’s got a good balance of drama and comedy! It’s really good you guys, wish more people could’ve seen it.

Some Comments

It’s amazing how easily the tone changes when between the adlibbing with Yamato and Master at the beginning of the play and when the play actually starts and Rikiya walks in. Seeing the transition in Hiroki was amazing! It got serious so quickly! I love how professionally and so flawlessly he transitioned in that ‘scared out of his wits’ atmosphere and body language.

Also, towards the end, there is so much slamming onto the floor and throwing people around. How no one was hurt, I have no idea! Especially Master/Toshi when he kept getting thrown down because he would always land on his right knee first!

There’s a moment towards the beginning of the play where Toshi would approach a female audience member and often them a drink that HirokiKun would make. On the 6th, HirokiKun didn’t close the cocktail shaker enough and some of it came out and on him. On the 9th, Toshi also asked a male audience member if he wanted Naho to make him a drink so she also gave out a drink. Both times Hirokikun called the drink COUNTRY ROAD and Toshi was like ‘DASAI! // That’s an atrocious name. Why Country Road?!’ xD

I seriously, seriously love that moment where Yamato protects Naho with his body at the end! It was done so flawlessly and it’s just such a sweet moment!

The 6th Differences/Notes

When I walked in Toshi and Hiroki greeted me (they were behind the bar making drinks for everyone) and:

Toshi: What would you like? Me: Do you have any recs? Hiroki: What do you like? Sweet ones? Me: yes! Hiroki: Then I recommend a KashiOrange Me: okay I’ll take that

And he made my drink for me and gave it to me ^_^ Toshi just left us to it.

Before the show started, I got an email saying I’d hit for Hiroki’s play in December ‘Ikazuchigaoka ni Yuki ga Furu / Snow Falls in Ikazuchigaoka’ (see here) so I was super duper happy!

Before the show started and they were just waiting for the last few people to arrive, Toshi was like ‘Yamato (Hiroki) is very good at monomanes/impersonations, right?!’ and Hiroki stopped what he was doing and was like 'eh?! …. well how about you? What are you good at?’. Toshi replied 'I’m good at stories’ so he told the story about the foreigner who wanted to get a kanji tattoo and his Japanese friend said you should get ‘cool guy’ tattooed…. it ended up being the kanji of 冷子 as in literally a COLD/cool kid xD and then Toshi was like 'I ain’t gunna start the stage until you do a monomane’ so Hirokikun did this awful Dragon Ball impression, and was like 'I hope NAHO turns up soon’ and she came through the door to start the show. He was so embarrassed he had to do an impression.

The 9th Differences/Notes

Instead of forcing Hiroki to do impersonations before Naho walks in. This time Hiroki had printed off parts of Line Conversations between the two of them and showed us some really embarrassing pictures of Toshi pulling the worst faces ever. And then Toshi got his revenge; he had printed off one of Hiroki’s Marker Light Blue pictures and said ‘this looks very similar to something else.... an AMERICAN MONKEY!’ and showed us a picture of the monkey too. It was so cruel of him and Hiroki yelled ‘I can remember all the people here who laughed just now!’ xD

Then during the scene where Master tries to open the staff door to see Naho change, she stormed out and slapped him with a magazine and stormed back in and Toshi just stood there in shock, ‘did you just see what she did? I didn’t expect her to actually do it!’

It was so much more emotional at the end this time around for the second show -- it was their final show too - and I cried so hard.

FINAL CURTAIN CALL FOR FINAL SHOW

HirokiKun cried during the curtain call, but I don’t think it helps that I was crying hard. I had started crying from the tense Rikiya part all the way to the end, and he was stood right next to me and saw me crying so we both just kept rolling out water from our eyes xD

Rikiya’s actor came back into the room at the end with the 2D anime doll in his hands and everyone started laughing xD

Naho’s actress got really emotional and said she was happy she got the role she had and happy she could work with HirokiKun and as his pair. I think me and her kept looking at each other two and making each other just cry more. Ageha’s actress was next to Naho and kept looking at me too, I think I cracked her emotions by looking at me too a few times.

Kotori’s actress said at the curtain call that if she gets the chance next time, she wants to be Ageha in the next stage. Rikiya’s actor said he’d like to try Kotori’s husband’s role but now if Mizuho is Ageha next time xD

They’ve talked about doing it in an actual stage next time. But I prefer the bar setting. It’s more intimate, more real; it’s just a very different experience to what I’ve tried before.

They also mentioned that when they first got the script, no one had a set character yet so they had all tried the different characters, to which Rikiya’s actor Kondou said ‘I want to see Hiroki play now and me play Yamato right now’ and Toshi was like ‘YES! LETS DO THIS!’ and so Kondou gave Hiroki his yakuza jacket and it was so big on him; he looked even more like a manchild xD

So with Hiroki playing Rikiya at the end, he stormed into the room (they re-enacted the very first scene between Rikiya and Yamato) and immediately Toshi starts wetting himself hard and can’t take it easy at all. But Hiroki held it together almost the entire time and kept in character. But a few times we all broke was when Hiroki had to sit on the bar stool and Toshi straight away - before Hiroki each pulled the chair out - blurted out ‘can he even get on there?! (cos he’s so tiny) and so Hiroki tried but couldn’t get in the chair normally, so jumped up and into it. His voice worked very well as Rikiya but his actions and his height - and Toshi’s laughing - made it hilarious. He tried to grab Kondou from over the counter but because he’s so short he could barely keep his tiptoes on the stool as he lent over, and then he had literally no strength to throw Kondou down to the floor xD It was SO funny.

GOODS

A guy from the Friday night show was also there again on the Monday/last show! We got along rather well and spent time before and after the play talking; he was there for Ageha’s actress. He was sweet and we could trade our photos together luckily!

And that’s all! I really hope we get a second stage really soon!

#tanaka hiroki #田中宏輝 #review #stage #stage play #舞台 #tanabe toshiki

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superchicalonelyviking · 8 years ago

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Four

Hello everyone from Fuji Q theme park next to (you guessed it) Mount Fuji!

We've been in Japan 10 days now and what a fantastic country! We are totally impressed by how clean, beautiful and cheerful everything is here!

We arrived in Sakaiminato, a small port town in the South of Japan, getting off the boat you straight away see Japanese style houses, Japanese style seagulls (huge brown feathery type things!) and of course lots of vending machines! Sakaiminato is a nice seasidey town with lots of sculptures of characters from an anime cartoon series by the artist Shigeru Mizuki, lining the streets. You can go round and get rubber stamps of all the characters! Walking around town there are red lanterns hanging everywhere, lots of really sweet music playing and people greeting you from the shops as you pass. A kindergarten crocodile passed us, all wearing yellow hats and with colourful water bottles strapped over them and every one of them said 'koniciwa' to us, it was extremely cute! We had read that a Japanese way to show respect to people is to bow / nod your head, and everywhere you go people do this in greeting to one another. Everybody is so polite here as maintaining social order is important in Japan, apparently foreigners tend to break the rules (many of them unimaginable) all the time and have no idea, meaning we are a constant source of embarrassment and annoyance. Well I hope it's not quite that bad but we've been trying to fit in as much as possible!

From Sakaiminato we got a train up to Hiroshima, passing lush mountainous scenery on the way. Even the train was very nice and clean and had cute pictures of cartoon characters everywhere ! We got a Shinkansen for some of the way, which is name for the Japanese high speed / bullet trains- it feels like you're on an aeroplane rather than a train, actually looks a bit like an aeroplane too and it's fantastic how quickly you can move between places. The train attendants, on reaching the door at the end of the carriage, turn round and bow before leaving!

Hiroshima is a very nice, progressive and apparently international city (we thought it would be a lot more multicultural here, even in Tokyo it's unusual to see people who are clearly foreign, and apparently 95% of people who live in Japan are Japanese or Korean due to strict immigration laws), Hiroshima is most famous for being where the atomic bomb was dropped in WW2 and hence most people come to visit the peace park, museum and monuments which serve as a memorial and a message that it should never happen again. The place is very emotive but feels very optimistic too, it is very much about peace rather than divisions. There is a large flame in a shrine which will burn until we reach global nuclear disarmament, a bell which you can strike to send a message of peace, and a children's monument, inspired by a girl who developed leukaemia age 11 and attempted to fold 2000 origami birds before she died but unfortunately didn't succeed, so thousands of school children across Japan send birds they have folded in her memory. There was a busker in the park playing violin really beautifully, after a couple of hours we were so sad that we had to go for Okonomiyaki to cheer up! This is the local dish of Hiroshima and is this fantastic pile of pancake, cabbage, pork, noodles and an amazing sauce, all cooked in front of you! Afterwards we went and balked at how expensive the fruit and veg is here (in the supermarket, about £1 per apple!) apparently due to laws which protect Japanese farmers and govern imports, decided to attempt to cook some of our own meals to save money but subsequently decided this was a terrible idea, we are rubbish at cooking Japanese food and you may as well just pay someone who knows what they're doing! (It's hardly even any dearer) - oh apart from breakfast, we've been having scrambled tofu everyday, you can get a huge block of tofu for around 25p which is about 90% cheaper than in the UK! Also Mat is super happy because the loaves of bread here are sold with the crusts neatly sliced off, initially a disappointment for him, until he discovered that for less than half the price you can buy a bag containing all the discarded crusts!!! Anyhow this probably isn't very interesting so back to Hiroshima...

There is also a beautiful castle, rebuilt in 1958 in a lovely park with the huge temple of the carp god outside, all surrounded by a moat . At the temple you have to wash your hands and mouth with water outside before going to pray in front - to do this you have to summon the gods by ringing a bell, and afterwards clap and bow to signify you have finished. The main religions in Japan are Shinto and Buddhism. I don't know a huge amount about Shinto but I do know there are many gods, and a belief that when people die their spirit goes back into nature, and natural things such as rivers, trees, mountains and rocks are often worshipped or seen as sacred. There are small temples scattered around most places and most will be dedicated to a particular God. We visited some more in Tokyo, where we went next !

Tokyo in comparison with Hiroshima is a huge sprawling city (or amalgamation of lots of towns into a huge metropolis) it is very busy but yet feels strangely calm, I guess due to the attitude there of politeness and consideration not to bother others. Everyone is so well dressed, for example you see lots of people in smart suits and very white starched shirts, children in pristine sailor suit style school uniforms, in fact all the uniforms are very stylish and look brand new, we feel pretty scruffy in comparison! The place we stayed was tatami style with tatami mat flooring, futon mattresses and traditional wall decoration, and you're provided with slippers to use whilst inside the house (although not on the mats, and there's a separate pair for the toilet, it's quite complicated!). We had a few days exploring Tokyo, went to some beautiful temples (visited the temple of the God of Strong Legs, so now our legs are in fine shape) and explored some of the older parts of town, and after we'd finished with the cultural bits went to Joy-polis which is a bit like a cinema complex if instead of a cinema it had loads of indoor rides, and felt more like a giant disco! There is even a rollercoaster themed around sonic the hedgehog where you have to play a guitar hero style drumming game on the way up, and a ride where you're strapped into a skateboard with a big lever attached and it simulates going up and down a half pipe! What really makes the place though is the brilliantly enthusiastic Japanese ride attendants who clap and cheer when the ride begins and when the place closed were all grinning and waving from the exits! We also spent a couple of days at Disneyland and Disney Sea - I was majorly skeptical about this plan but actually it was fantastic, the attention to detail is really incredible, the place doesn't really feel like you're in a theme park so much as a giant pop up book, it's really fun just to explore and go on the kids' rides with all the freaky animatronic characters, some of the sets are actually really impressive! The parades are fun too and there are really good dance shows and a huge firework and light show projected onto the castle at the end of the day. Disney Sea was especially amazing, it is centred round a huge lake with a massive man-made smouldering volcano behind with a rollercoaster coming out of the top. Mat should probably tell you more this as he is the biggest fan but I also loved it!

We also visited Akihabara, Tokyo's 'geek' district, with massive gaming arcades and retro video game shops. Mat played Tetris at an arcade, and was thrilled to get the highest score of the day, before realising his was actually the only score of the day. On the whole Akihabara feels like the big, slightly weird Tokyo that we sometimes hear stories about. It's a cool place!

Near our place was a sushi conveyor belt restaurant where most plates were just 100 yen, approx 70p! So we were loving having amazing cheap sushi. Everything is ordered from a touch screen, but then is delivered via conveyor belt, with a musical jingle playing just as the plate reaches your table so you know to take it!

On our last day in Tokyo we discovered there are several so called 'Penguin Cafes' in the city, so we're really excited as the Penguin Cafe Orchestra was one of the reasons we were keen to come to Japan- the founder Simon Jeffes visited it (via the trans Siberian!) and wrote a lot of music here in the 70's, and the Penguin Cafe have toured Japan and have a following there. The famous song Music for a Found Harmonium was played on a harmonium found in Japan! So it turns out that some of the Penguin Cafes actually have real life penguins that live there (along with Tokyo's owl, cat, bunny etc. Cafes!), and you can watch them over a cup of tea! We decided against that but instead turned up to a place in Asagaya and on arrival realised it wasn't just any old Penguin themed cafe, it was totally inspired by the music, which was playing inside, with their records on the walls, and we spoke to the owner who also loved the music!

Afterwards we went to a nearby Yakitori place he recommended, very small places where you can buy beer and sake(rice wine) and Yakitori which are small skewers with meat and vegetables, cooked in the window, all the food is prepared behind the counter. It was a bit difficult to order as the people there didn't speak much English and our Japanese is awful but we ended up with lots of beer and skewers and afterwards the chef brought us a platter of leftover Fruit and salad then served us three different types of sake, each with a different flavour, which were all really good. Later we ordered more sake and were totally alarmed when the waiter didn't stop pouring after filling our glasses, meaning it splashed over the sides and filled up a small saucer underneath but on googling this found out it is a way sake can be served and is a happy bonus as you get a bit more than the glassful! Our original plan had been to go on a Tokyo big night out (by our standards at least) but we loved this place so much that we stayed all night, they also gave us free ice cream too! It is called Kawana. Highly recommended!

Since leaving Tokyo we have been in Fujiyoshida which is a city at the foot of Mt Fuji, and it has been brilliant! I had a giant picture of the Great Wave of Kanagawa by Hokusai on my wall since the beginning of university (for no good reason other than my room needed posters, I saw it at the Keele fresher's fair and liked it), the painting has a picture of Mt Fuji in the background (it's actually one of a whole series of woodblock paintings of Mount Fuji by Hokusai), the picture is still up in our lounge today and I never thought I would actually see the mountain, or that it would be as spectacular in real life!

The first night we stayed in a place we found on air bnb, we were the host Kazu's first guests so we're guinea pigs for his 'authentic Japanese experience', which turned out to be awesome!

On arrival we were given some lovely Japanese clothes to wear and then we had coffee, green tea flavour kitkats and then Kazu got out what looked like a kind of industrial workbench clamp and with it made us some Kakigori, a type of crushed ice dessert! Then we were taken to a study room and he taught us some Japanese calligraphy, using ink and a special brush, including how to write our names- they are written using an alphabet where all the characters represent a phonic, so for example the 'th' of Elizabeth is the same character as the 'th' of Matthew. There are two other alphabets used in Japan, with more than 2000 characters! Often the characters represent whole words rather than just a sound.

After calligraphy Kazu made us some Takoyaki which are these delicious octopus dumplings! And he drove us to a local restaurant for Ramen, and advised us on what to order. As if we thought it couldn't be any better, when we got back Kazu had run us a hot bath with Japanese bath salts so we had a mini onsen experience too!

In the morning Kazu cooked about 5 different dishes including tofu miso soup, cooked fresh salmon, rice, a really nice salad and tofu in a dressing, and afterwards showed us how to perform a tea ceremony and we had delicious green tea, with very tasty mochi which are a Japanese sweet made by pounding rice into a pulp. He also showed us a Japanese musical instrument called a Shamisen, played for us and let us try it. He even had a replica samurai sword! It was all so totally Japanese!

In conclusion it was great and if you're going to the Fuji area look up Kazu's place! Also, we really need to up our game with our air bnb! It's a bit more difficult to think what we would do for an authentic British experience, but any suggestions are welcome!

Whilst in Fujiyoshida we also went to Fuji Q, a theme park Mat has dreamed of going to for ages. The best rollercoaster was a '4D' rollercoaster called 'Eejenanka', where the seats rotate on their own axis, meaning you go over drops face first, upside down, forwards, backwards... it's really hard to keep track of what's happening and it feels nothing like any other rollercoaster I've ever been on! Our on-ride photo was so beautiful we had to buy it.

There was also the 'Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear', a walk-through haunted house (well actually a zombie hospital) with a reputation of being amongst the scariest in the world. It's really long, it took us about 20 minutes to get through, and you go through just the two of you, feeling alone, rather than with a big group. It was genuinely very scary, my heart was pounding the whole way through, and we were almost tempted to quit at one of the emergency exits part way through!

One afternoon at Fuji Q thousands of fans wearing matching coats turned up and gathered around a big model Sea plane- it turned out they were at a festival for an online Japanese video game - then a girl band came onto a little stage and everyone did a coordinated dance to the theme song. Totally bewildering!

On the last evening in Fujiyoshida we cycled up to a mountain opposite Fuji called Shimoyama, here you hike up through the trees to find the Niikurafujisengen shrine (dedicated to one of Japan's princesses) and a beautiful Chureito pagoda representing citizens of Fujisan, all with an absolutely stunning view of Mount Fuji towering over the town. At sunset it was particularly peaceful and calm. We met several elderly men jogging up and down it as we were nearly collapsed by the side of the path! On the way back down we went to the temple and were surprised by how noisy it was there as they are normally VERY quiet -it sounded like someone was doing some really enthusiastic evening gardening behind it- and then we realised the temple was covered in monkeys! They were leaping around all over the roof and through the trees behind, one of them had a baby on its back, they were super cute!

We went for really good sushi for dinner both nights in Fujiyoshida, it was a small traditional sushi place - somewhere Mat has wanted to go since working at Yo! Sushi (a bit of a different type of sushi experience!) - and the chef was so friendly and told us what all the different bits of sashimi were and how to eat it all! We got to meet his family, wrote in the restaurant guestbook and when we left he gave us a calendar with his name on it and on the second night he gave us a pen! Another recommendation for Fujiyoshida - it is called Musashino.

Next we are going up into the alps to a more rural part of Japan, so we're looking forward to that! Will blog again soon ! Miss you all!

Libby and Mat

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