#considering yuya's track record...

[incorrectsdkquotes]

Yuya: I'm just saying, when I die in mysterious and unexplained circumstances I want you all to make sure that everybody knows it. Instead of saying I was "a friend to everyone" and that I "lit up a room" when I entered it, I want people to shake their heads while muttering that I "asked too many questions for my own good" and talk about how they "warned me that I was getting in way over my head" and that I "always had a knack for finding trouble" wherever I went. If you don't make me a local urban legend, you've failed me.

Team Kyo:

Okuni: I'm sorry, "when" you die in mysterious and unexplained circumstances?

[yrpreciousmoon]

Morioh Hi-Fi (5/25)

Title: Morioh Hi-Fi (5/25) All Chapters Here Fandom: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Pairing: Josuke x Okuyasu; Rohan x Reimi; Koichi x Yukako; more. Rating: T for now Description: In an AU where Part 4 never happened, it seems Stand users are still  drawn to each other.  Rohan Kishibe runs Morioh’s coolest record store,  along with the  world’s okayest employees: Koichi, Yuya, and Okuyasu.  They live happily  in their bubble of obscure music references and  hipster style points  until the fateful day when Josuke Higashikata  enters the picture. AN: Please enjoy the absolutely stunning artwork that Miima created for the fic!!! It is so thematically appropriate for this chapter too!

Track 04 : Spinning

Okuyasu paced up and down the aisle, practically vibrating with excitement as he examined the paper in his hands. “Okay. Okay...” His gruff voice came through the filter of a chewed fingernail. “Right. That makes sense. That makes so much sense!” He finally stopped and looked up at the boy leaning against the brick wall of the store. “Have I told ya you have a way with words?” “You may have mentioned it.” A small smile played on Josuke's lips. “Seriously, man. It's like... it's like poetry sometimes. Is that weird to say?”

“Yes,” remarked Yuya, who was idly flipping through a magazine on the other side of the room.

“Ah shuddup, you of all people know the importance of some pretty words.” Yuya looked up from his reading, considered this for a moment. “Fair.” “Anyway...” Okuyasu returned his attention to Josuke, “What I'm tryin' to say is, I really dig your interpretation, man. It's totally what Bowie was goin' for.” “Yeah?” Josuke shot him another lop-sided grin. “It didn't read too much like a research paper?” An enthusiastic shake of the head. “Nah, bro. Bowie wants you to think about his shit. He wants you to build a fuckin' thesis statement around it.” He reached out and placed a hand on Josuke's shoulder, eyes intense. “Listen, I gotta introduce you to this one friend of mine... He loves 'Ziggy Stardust,' he's obsessed. He'll talk to you about it for hours if you let him, it's like goin' on an acid trip...” “Yeah? Have you ever been on an acid trip?” “No but that's beside the point.” A chuckle. “What is your point?” “Oh, uh...” Okuyasu paused, having momentarily forgotten. “I guess just that... I'm glad you liked it. I was worried I might be leanin' into the foofy stuff a little too hard.” “What?” Josuke tilted his head. “Foofy?” “Like...” Okuyasu tapped his chin. He looked over to Yuya, who was definitely still eavesdropping. Yuya took the cue and shrugged.

“I don't know, man, you always call my sense of style 'foofy,' so I guess it means tasteful and refined.” He pointedly adjusted his black cravat.

Okuyasu clicked his tongue, indicating that there were several other adjectives that came to mind first, though he thought better of using them.

“So you mean 'flowery,' maybe?” Josuke tried, “Err... experimental?”

“Yeah, yeah, you get it! So like, I wasn't sure if I should change directions and go a little more masculine instead. But I'm glad the experimental stuff really did it for ya.”

“I can do masculine too, y'know,” Josuke said with a raised brow, challenging. “Oh yeah?” Okuyasu replied, instantly picking up on his playfully competitive tone. “Okay, then how 'bout I hit you with a one-two punch this week?” He took a boxing stance and Josuke mirrored him without missing a beat. “I'll find ya somethin' more flowery AND somethin' with some big balls.” “Sounds right up my alley,” Josuke said, throwing a pulled punch that Okuyasu easily deflected. “But you're gonna burn through those 'Five Records to Blow My Mind' pretty quick. Are you trying to get rid of me?” “Course not, bro. Just tryin' to sell you some records so Rohan doesn't fire me.” He side-stepped, tried to jab Josuke in the ribs, was too slow.

“Alright, well I can't have you cast out on the streets. Go ahead, show me what you've got.” Josuke tapped his knuckles against the side of Okuyasu's head and was ready to gloat when the other took advantage of the contact, pulled him forward and caught him in a headlock. “Aah! No fair!”

“Yeah, Nijimura always plays dirty,” rang the cool voice from behind them, as Yuya appeared from seemingly nowhere. “Jeeee-zus,” Okuyasu gasped, hopping forward and releasing Josuke. “Toldja not to sneak up on me like that, ya freakin' ninja.” “Oh, get over it. I just wanted to come see which Of Montreal album you're about to recommend.” Okuyasu pursed his lips at this. Yuya flashed a smug grin. “I mean, you were talking about Mikitaka a second ago, right? And experimental music? Not too hard to see where you're going with this.”

“Yeah, yeah, I'm so predictable, losin' my edge, I get it.” Back to Josuke, he added, “Count Dorkula here is actually right. Of Montreal is my buddy Mikitaka's favorite band... they're this American group. Totally insane. I can't exactly say I get 'em, but you might. Experimental – check. Flowery – check.” He nodded his head in the direction of the 'O's and walked both of the other men over.

Josuke's fingers immediately drifted over the various album covers, exploring the chaotic, 1960s-looking psychedelic scenes. “Hmm... 'The Gay Parade?' ” he read aloud.

“You wish,” replied Okuyasu.

“What's that even supposed to–”

“Look, The Beatles already did 'Yellow Submarine,' you don't need to listen to its little sibling.” Okuyasu dismissed the idea with a wave. Josuke simply nodded, as if this statement made any sense at all to him. “Nah, dude... this is what I was lookin' for...” He pulled out a record featuring what appeared to be several women woven together by the locks of their wild hair. Josuke smiled to himself, and Okuyasu knew exactly what was going though his mind. “Looks kinda like Yukako, right?” snickered Okuyasu, and the stare Josuke gave him let him know that his hunch had been dead on.

“Ah... 'Coquelicot,' ” observed Yuya, oblivious to the synchronicity happening between the other two.

“Eh?” asked Josuke.

“ 'Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies,' ” Okuyasu elaborated, as if this clarified anything. Josuke continued to stare. “Well... technically the full title is 'Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse.' ”

“It's foofy, alright,” Yuya muttered.

“...Man, my English is pretty good, but you may as well be making these words up,” Josuke said, squinting at the album cover.

“Hey, you're the one who's always writin' fancy, big words! Just trust me on this!” Okuyasu blushed fiercely. “I know it sounds weird, but I think you'll get somethin' outta it.”

Josuke shook his head, nudged the other's arm. “C'mon, don't pout... Of course I trust you! You were right about Ziggy Stardust after all.” He snatched the record away to make a point, inspected it some more.

“Hell yeah I was right!” Okuyasu shot a triumphant look over his shoulder at Yuya, who was snickering and retreating. Evidently he'd lost interest in this exercise now that Josuke had agreed to humor Okuyasu's bizarre recommendation. “So here's the thing, Josuke. 'Coquelicot' leans way, way into that weird, like, character stuff. This one's about fairies.”

“Fairies?”

“Yeah. I guess. Look, man, I'm not saying you're gonna like it, but it WILL blow your mind. This is gonna open up a lot of very weird doors for you. A gateway drug. And I'm gonna introduce you to Mikitaka afterwards, and he's gonna take you down the rabbit hole.”

“Uh huh. Okay, you've sold me, now before I change my mind... what's the other one you're sending me home with today?”

“Ahh.” Okuyasu closed his eyes, stood up a little taller. “Now this is a little more up my alley, personally. So if you hate it, don't use those pretty words of yours against me, okay? But I think you'll be into it. ...You better be into it.” He stalked a few rows further down the aisle and quickly plucked out an album with a stark red and black cover.

Josuke leaned in to suss out the writing. “Queens of the Stone Age... This is the album with big balls?”

“The biggest,” Okuyasu confirmed proudly.

“Hm. I think I liked your 'love-making and fucking' analogy better.”

“Yeah, well, this one fucks. It's all sweat and testosterone and muscle cars.”

“You've got a way with words yourself, y'know, Oku.”

The little nickname didn't get past him, and he swelled with the knowledge that Josuke had given it to him. When was the last time he'd gotten a nickname... one that wasn't an insult? “Ah! Flattery won't get you a discount, Josuke...”

“I had to try.”

Okuyasu slapped him hard on the back and, his job as the music guru completed, he promptly started off towards the register. He paused for just a moment to crane his neck and inspect the record that Yuya had picked up in the meantime – letting out an ominous “Hmmm” before continuing on his way. When he finally turned around again, he was struck by the deeply thoughtful look on Josuke's face.

“Um... Everything okay, dude?”

“Yeah.” Josuke shook himself out of it. “I was just thinkin'. I don't have anything to do tonight, so... we could listen to these here, maybe?”

Okuyasu's eyebrows crept up towards his hairline. “Oh? Huh. Yeah, sure! Why not? You're gonna get whiplash listenin' to these two back-to-back though, I'm warnin' ya!”

“We could take a break in-between. You get to take a break, right? We could grab a bite to eat or something. You're buying though, since I'm already pushing it getting these.” He tapped the records in his hand and smiled.

Okuyasu beamed back at him. In truth, he hadn't been too sure if Josuke was really into this budding friendship of theirs but... here he was, specifically asking to spend a couple of hours just hanging out with Okuyasu, shooting the shit about his favorite thing. A cool guy like Josuke – the kind of guy who probably spent most nights crashing parties and wooing the ladies – and he wanted to chill at Dark Pink? Damn. Okuyasu must be doing something right.

“Hey, hang on,” came Yuya's voice, breaking into the thought. “Since when do we get breaks?”

“Since you agreed to cover the store while we go out to eat. Thanks, man!”

Yuya just glared.

.

Ultimately, the two did not take a break, though not for the sake of poor Yuya; instead, they found themselves doing so much laughing and analyzing and waxing philosophical while Coquelicot spun on the turntable that it hardly seemed necessary to discuss it over snacks afterwards. And so with a little bit of coaxing Okuyasu had agreed to put on the second record immediately and ride out this little marathon of theirs.

While the music was infinitely different this time, heavier, the album still evoked the same jokes and back-and-forth-struggling-for-words that the first one had. And likewise remained the quiet, pensive moments where words simply wouldn't do. But that was okay, because somehow just by looking at him, just by being there, Okuyasu knew what Josuke was thinking and yeah, he was totally right. As always.

Sometimes Okuyasu would get especially excited about a particular bassline, grab Josuke's shoulders and tell him to really listen, and though a tiny part of him worried that his new friend might deem this behavior very uncool, he had a feeling Josuke would just get it.

.

At one point near closing time, Rohan had come in to check on something. He stared wordlessly at the two of them splayed out on the floor as he passed. Josuke flashed him a peace sign.

“...Yuya, you can go home early if you want,” Rohan called over his shoulder, “Since apparently Josuke works here now.”

Yuya slammed down the magazine he was perusing. “Yeah – really? That sounds good to me!” He grabbed his jacket and then raced from the store before anyone could argue. “Smell ya later, assholes!” he hollered from the front steps.

Frozen mid-air guitar and still on his back, Okuyasu tipped his head as far back as it would go to catch a glimpse of his boss. “Hey Rohan, umm... you're not mad at us for doin' this or nothin', right?” he called.

Rohan stepped back into the room to study them again. Arms crossed, hip leaning hard into the door frame, he raised a brow and took a long while to reply. “Nah. You two are mostly harmless. Frankly the least of my worries at the moment. But you have to actually do your job if anyone comes in.”

“I have been!” Okuyasu replied, “Honest! And anyway I'm just helpin' a customer here with his purchase.”

Josuke punctuated the statement with a smile and wave.

“Yeah, yeah. Don't forget to lock up.” Rohan disappeared into the office again for a few seconds, returning with a small portfolio that Okuyasu suspected held some unfinished drawings. Rohan rarely let Okuyasu peek at his artwork, and even more rarely appreciated his clumsy feedback about it, but there was no harm in asking, right?

“Hey, whatcha got–”

“If anything gets broken or stolen,” Rohan interrupted, “it's coming out of your paycheck. And Josuke will owe me another round.”

Josuke laughed. “We'll see about that.”

Okuyasu sat up slowly, watching his employer cross the floor to the exit. “Uh. Yeah, sure, man, you got it,” he called, and received only a flick of the wrist as both a reply and farewell. As Rohan vanished into the stairwell, Okuyasu looked over at Josuke. “...You guys went out drinkin' together?” He wasn't sure if he loved this idea or hated it.

Josuke avoided his eyes, suddenly something tense in his expression that Oku couldn't quite put his finger on. “Oh, yeah. We ran into each other the other night. I was sayin' hi to Koichi and Rohan showed up.”

“Oh.” Somehow, that was enough put Okuyasu's mind at ease. “That makes sense. Cool.” He hugged his knees to his chest and turned to look at the turntable that was still diligently spinning. The music quieted, dissolved into some indistinct chatter that indicated a change in songs. “Ooh, hey Josuke, pay attention to this one, okay?”

He closed his eyes, indicating that Josuke should do the same. And then he surrendered to it, the slow and sultry bassline washing over him, followed in short order by the drums and a ferocious guitar melody. When the surprisingly gentle vocals came in, he let out a breath that he'd been holding in. Yoga and meditation had nothing on this.

“You know...” Josuke said quietly from behind him, “I get what you meant earlier when you called this music 'masculine', but – it's really more than that, isn't it?”

“Mm?”

“It's like...” Okuyasu heard the other boy sit up, felt him lean his weight against Oku's back. “...There's a lot of energy. Raw energy. Pent up frustration. Pain. And... strength. It sounds like someone who's been knocked down again and again, but who always gets up and keeps fighting.”

“Yeah...” Oku turned this description over in his mind. “Yeah, dude!"

A moment passed, and Okuyasu could tell Josuke was debating if he should say what he was thinking. “It's just interesting that you said you... identify with it.” Okuyasu felt him shift again. “I mean... Do you feel like–” He paused, let the aggressive music fill the space around them, “–this?”

Okuyasu let his chin rest on his knees. “Sometimes, I guess,” he mumbled.

Josuke hummed softly. Okuyasu had a feeling the other boy knew there was more to it than that, but he didn't press. Instead he said, “You're a pretty cool person. You know that, right, Oku?”

But Okuyasu didn't reply; didn't want to say 'not really' and then get lectured about it. He'd been there enough times with Koichi to know better. So instead the two of them simply sat there together until long after the music had ended and the turntable clicked into its infinite, silent spiral along the inside of the record.

[k7l4d4]

Owl House AU Ideas, ZA THIRD!!

Once more, I AM HERE! WITH AN IDEA! (Man I love how hammy All Might is) This next one is bit lighter-tempered than my prior ideas, and is a crossover to boot! This AU crosses the Owl House with one of my favorite anime and game franchises, so I hope you all don’t think less of me for putting it out there... ANYWAY ON TO THE IDEA!

Basically, my idea is a Crossover with Arc-V, with Hexside being an elite Duel School that had been assimilated by the Leo Institute, causing a huge number of students and faculty to leave out of protest. Of those left behind were the Blight Siblings and Lilith, who is teacher at Hexside in this idea, with Amity rendered bitter and despondent over all her friends leaving. While most of those who left Hexside go their separate ways, Luz and her friends, along with Eda, transfer over to You Show and become friends with Yuya and the gang. Hexside's tracks are different in this AU, with each track representing a type of dueling or aspect of the duel/entertainment industry. The Abominations track is replaced with the Summoner's course, specializing in the Extra Deck summoning methods and experimentation, as well as attempts to create new summoning methods. The Oracle Track is replaced with Analytics course, where students study up on how to best research duelists and decks and how to apply it, as well as Ritual Summoning and deck manipulation. The Construction Track is switched with the Industrial course, which teaches students how to build, alter, and repair all the gear that goes into modern dueling, such as Duel Disks and the ARC system, they are often taught Boring But Sensible plays, with decks that prioritize an effective win over a flashy win. The Beast Keeping Track is now the Designer's course, where aspiring card designers learn the ins and out of the industry, they often possess unusual decks with an emphasis on combos and making use of difficult to play cards (Note, many of the students in the Designer course believe in Duel Spirits). The Bard track is now the Idol course, which teaches students how to be dueling idols along with the skills needed to work in that section of the industry, with decks prioritizing deck outs and burn damage. The Illusions track is the Dueltaining course, which teaches the students showmanship and acrobatics, the students of this course often use resource intensive decks with a lot of flash. The Healing Track here is the Recovery course, along with teaching students how to best recover and manage their life points and deck resources, they also teach students how to treat any injuries that might occur during an action duel along with psychology to aid those who suffer traumatic accidents while dueling on an action field. The Plant Track is known here as the Resource course, which teaches aspiring duelists how to make best use of their decks and the cards within, with many duelists in it playing a Defend The Castle play style, building their entire decks around bringing out a massively powerful monster and Keeping it there by any many means they can. The Potions Track is now the Implementation Course, which teaches students dueling formula and strategy, with many of the duelists employing multiple decks so that they have an answer to any situation (otherwise known as Bastion's dream class). Amity is considered one of the best duelists of her generation, knowing all the currently known Extra Deck Summons, and picking up Pendulum Summoning after seeing it ONCE, and is capable of performing all the summoning methods on the level of their respective dimensions, something which severely unnerved Sora during the School Duel. Amity was known as one of Hexside's twin Queens, specifically known as The Apex, alongside Luz, The Rainbow. Luz promised Amity that they would stick together throughout their careers, and Amity was left shocked and hurt when Luz withdrew from Hexside following Leo's takeover, something she herself couldn't do as a result of her parents backing the transaction; during their next duel, Amity kept a stoic face throughout, until Luz's peppy antics caused her to snap at her in frustration, with the subsequent information that Luz's mom had withdrawn her without her consent nearly breaking Amity, who realized her anger was for nothing. Amity's skill quickly earned her a place as one of Leo's best, and seeing her being dueled so evenly, when none of the present Leo students had been able to make her so much as sweat, as well as be defeated, were left extremely shaken, with Henrietta herself completely floored, as her research had shown Luz to have no better a win record than Yuya did at the start of Canon (To clarify, Luz deliberately plays at the same level of her opponent(s) at all times, so that she can better help them improve their skills, which severely skews all known data on her, as she is actually on the level of a Pro by the time of Canon). In this story, the rift between the Clawthornes is rather different; originally, they were a dueling Tag Team at the very start of Action Duels, but a mishap resulted in Eda being seriously injured, sparking a huge safety reform, resulting in action duels being playable at a level safe for kids in the form of the Junior division. While Eda eventually recovered, her career as a Pro was essentially ended, sparking a deep bitterness against the Leo Corporation, who she held responsible for her injury. She and Lilith later joined Hexside as faculty, with Eda leaving in protest when the school was bought out by Leo; when she learned that Lilith had stayed, she grew angry and cut ties, in spite of the urging against the act by her friends and loved ones. Due to not being cursed, Eda is significantly more youthful in appearance than in The Owl House, possessing vibrant red hair. As a result of her sparking the mass exodus from Hexside, the Leo Institute and Corporation both received a lot of negative publicity, with the scrutiny resulting in frigid hostility from Henrietta when she and Eda met in the School Duel. On Lilith's side of the feud, the day prior to Hexside being bought, Lilith was offered and gleefully accepted a promotion (note, she and Eda already had a significant difference in position within Hexside, but neither let it interfere with their relationship, as Eda was always happy when Lilith rose through the ranks), but one aspect of the promotion was a contract which prevented her from quitting, something that left her horrified when she learned what had happened to the school. After coming to terms with her position, Lilith decided to use her situation to learn what had become of Leo Akaba, who she blamed for her sister's suffering, along with herself, and, in her words, "remove that worthless speck of a man from the face of the Earth." Lilith's position at Hexside acts as a calming incident for those students who remained following the exodus, causing her to adopt a pseudo-maternal role for Amity as compared to their cooler relationship in canon. Oh, almost forgot to mention, during their duel, Luz maintained a perfectly even head the entire time, only to be shocked when Amity Ritual Summoned, something she had known how to do in theory but had never actually performed up until then.

As Always, feel free to ask questions, give comments, or use the idea as you see fit, not that I think this’ll attract a very big audience. Just throwing it out there.

[wrestlingisfake]

New Japan Cup finals preview

Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL - This is the final match in the 2020 New Japan Cup tournament.  There is no time limit; there must be a winner.  Whoever wins this match qualifies to challenge Tetsuya Naito at Dominion on July 12, for both the IWGP heavyweight title and the IWGP intercontinental title.

Okada defeated Gedo, Yuji Nagata, Taiji Ishimori, and Hiromu Takahashi to make it to the finals.  It’s somewhat rare for him to even be in this tournament, since he’s often been the defending champion awaiting whoever wins in the end.  Evil tore through Satoshi Kojima, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and his own teammate SANADA to get here.  Not that Evil was a pussycat before, but it feels like he’s developed a real vicious streak during the tour.  We’ll see if that plays into the story of the match.

Historically, Okada is 3-1 against Evil in singles competition, and Evil’s one win was in 2017.  On paper I’d pick Okada to win ten out of ten times.  But the context changes everything.  We just saw Okada vs. Natio in the Tokyo Dome six months ago, and it doesn’t really make sense to give that match away on a show that will be at one-third capacity due to social distancing. 

On the other hand, as head booker Gedo has a track record for working around unforeseen obstacles to get his long-term storylines back to where they were meant to be.  Dominion would normally be New Japan’s #2 show of the year and a major storytelling tentpole, and I can imagine a Naito-Okada rematch was originally penciled in.  Then again, before the shutdown, we were getting a lot of teases about Naito wanting his teammates (including Evil) to get hungry and challenge him for his titles, so Naito-Evil could have been the plan all along too.

My instinct in these kinds of matches is to root for the upset, which generally means rooting against Okada.  Fortunately, Okada plays to that and treats every match like he’s Ric Flair defending the world title against Tom Stone.  He’s really great at making you feel like he’s your favorite wrestler of all time while also making you hate his guts.  So I’m probably going to wind up pulling for Evil, but he and Sanada have been the Kazuchika Okada Job Squad for years, so I wouldn’t put any money on him.  Okada wins.

Tetsuya Natio & Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi vs. SHO & Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii - This match should mainly set up the Takagi vs. Sho match on July 12.  The Shingo-Sho rivalry is an extension of their junior tag title program in 2019, which seemed to peak when they met in last year’s Best of the Super Jr. tournament.  Sho finally managed to pin the big guy in the opening round of the New Japan Cup, so Shingo is in a real bad mood about it.

Hiromu eliminated both Yano and Ishii from the New Japan Cup, and I’d say the Ishii win was a bigger upset, but I suspect Yano’s the one who isn’t finished with him.  See, when Hiromu was a rookie Yano shaved his head, which became a psychological advantage when they met in the second round of the New Japan Cup and Yano brought some clippers.  Hiromu got the upper hand (with the help of some athletic tape, Yota Tsuji, and an elevator).  But I think this issue, as they say, is far from over.

Four guys in this match hold six different championships, so there a lot of possibilities for the guy who scores the fall earning a future title shot.  It’s actually kind of a problem right now--New Japan arguably had too many champions before half the roster got locked out of the country.  For example, I’d be up for Sho chasing Hiromu for the junior heavyweight singles belt, but we can’t even get into that until he challenges Shingo for the openweight belt, and who knows when the openweight trios belts and the junior tag belts will ever get defended.  I’m kinda thinking Naito just clobbers Yano to avoid any complicated booking.

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi & Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre, Jr. & Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado - This is a preview for Tanahashi and Ibushi defending the heavyweight tag team title against Taichi and Sabre on July 12.  Suzuki and Nagata also have bad blood stemming from Nagata eliminating Suzuki from the New Japan Cup in a first-round stunner.  Taguchi and Despy are just here to support their buddies, I suppose.

I’ll save my thoughts on Golden Ace vs. Dangerous Tekkers for tomorrow.  Suffice it to say that the babyfaces would be strongly favored on paper, so the story is compensating by having the heels demolish them with ultra-mega-heel stuff.  If the booking holds true to form, I figure the heel team has to win here.  More to the point I think Tana or Ibushi will get pinned by Taichi, and the whole group will be left crying in agony after a brutal Suzuki-gun beatdown.

SANADA & BUSHI vs. Taiji Ishimori & Yujiro Takahashi - Sanada and Bushi are the two guys in Los Ingobernables de Japon who aren’t getting pushed right now.  Ishimori and Takahashi are the two guys in Bullet Club who, uh...well, they’re the two guys, kinda.  Bullet Club has always been mostly a foreigner group, so the pandemic has reduced them to this pair, and old-timers Jado and Gedo.  I don’t like Bullet Club’s chances.

Master Wato vs. DOUKI - Hirai Kawato was a trainee working prelim matches until he was sent on excursion to CMLL in 2018.  Now he’s back as “Master Wato,” but as soon as he reintroduced himself on July 3 Douki ran in and beat him up with a pipe.  Considering Douki spent much of his career in the Mexican indie scene because he never made it into the New Japan dojo system, I assume there’s some resentment involved here.

I haven’t seen a whole lot of Young Lions make their big return as full-fledged stars, so my standard for that sort of thing has been Jay White, Hiromu Takahashi, and Roppongi 3K.  Those guys all got fairly big pushes upon arrival.  Getting punked by Suzuki-gun’s jobber and making your in-ring debut in the third match of the night is not exactly what I’d call a big push.  So we’ll have to wait and see whether Wato can make it big.  But he should make short work of Douki, at any rate.

Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto & Gabriel Kidd - Kojima and Tenzan are both former world champions and both pushing fifty, but since they aren’t booked to beat everybody like Goldberg and the Undertaker they’re more tolerable in the role of aging legends who never go away.  Goto is the star of this match, simply because he’s young enough to push but not a rookie jobber like Kidd.  But at 41 years old, Goto may not have much to look forward to beyond the kind of stuff Kojima and Tenzan do these days.

Kidd happens to be one of two non-Japanese guys on the roster (the other is Zack Sabre) who managed to be in Japan when the travel bans went down.  It’s probably a great opportunity for him to learn and gain experience, but it also likely means he’ll be doing jobs meant for a whole crew of LA Dojo trainees.  This match is mainly a question of whether Kidd loses the fall or Goto wins it.

Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura - At one point Makabe was a top guy in New Japan, and his stable GBH was a force to be reckoned with.  By the time I got into NJPW, GBH was just Makabe and Honma as a midcard tag team, with Makabe’s star power carrying the load.  Now Makabe is 47 and Honma is just lucky to be here after a 2017 neck injury.  They’ve been doing more and more “old guys work with the rookies in the prelims” matches, but I think at this point I think we can stop pretending they’re biding their time before a big tag title run.  Keep an eye on Tsuji and Uemura, since in a couple of years they’ll be making big returns like Master Wato.  As for today, they’re gonna lose hard.

[pamy92]

Asato Yuya Birthday Event 2019

14 December 2019 

I attended all 3 sessions of Asato Yuya’s 2019 Birthday Event last Saturday. The venue was held at a hotel ballroom lasted the whole day! 

I tried my best to capture as many information I could remember (it was a very long day and I couldn’t sleep the night before due to nerves)! We couldn’t take any pictures so all images used are from Asaty’s uploads! ^_^

At all 3 sessions, the programme flow is largely the same with minor tweaks in the content and surprise changes as many fans attended multiple sessions.

Introduction by Emcee from Presence Tours and Kazuma

Entrance of Asaty/ Birthday Surprise

Segment 1: History of Yuya (childhood photo exhibition)

Segment 2: Yuya Talk-Time (Fans Q&A session)

Segment 3: O / X Game (aka True-False quiz game)

Thank you Speech by Asaty

One-to-One Photo & Handshake Session

I attended the 1st session with @beansproutsong​, and the 2nd and 3rd session alone! We had to queue up according to our assigned number, get an ID check before being allowed into the ballroom. It was free seating so we tried to get seats closest to the stage! In the 2nd session, I managed to get 2nd row seats in the middle and in the 3rd session, I got 4th row seats in the middle. 

The emcee from Presence Tours (organiser) and Kazuma did a brief introduction and the usual no-nos, and we were reminded quietly about the secret surprise for Asaty (except for session 3).

:: Birthday Surprise: Session 1, 2 & 3 ::

The same birthday surprise instructions were also printed and left on every seat for us to read. 

[Brief summary: Thank you for attending the Asato Chanpuru birthday event this time - 1st session. During the event, we will be giving Asato Yuya a surprise. When the words [Happy Birthday] are flashed on the stage screen, everyone sing the Happy Birthday song after being prompted ‘Ready go!’. Please sing ‘Dear Yuya’ in a big voice! We seek your cooperation!]  

In [Session 1], the surprise was almost accidentally ruined! When the emcee tried to move on to the next slide, he accidentally back-tracked and it was a slide about the surprise briefing. The audience members screamed, and Asaty was like ‘Wait? What? What’s going on?’ It was so funny!!! 

During the surprise, a cake was wheeled to the stage and Asaty blew out the candles after we sang Happy Birthday! The chef that made the cake was standing at the back of the room, and Asaty took a bite of the strawberry shortcake that was prepared separately for him. He was like ‘UMAI~!!’ at the first taste, and kept thanking the chef! 

In [Session 2], the cake was still left on the stage (I suspect it is just a dummy cake for wedding ceremonies) when I entered the ballroom. 

But this time round, the instructions on my seat are different and we received a light stick! 

[Brief summary: Thank you for attending the Asato Chanpuru birthday event this time - 2nd session. During the event, we will be giving Asato Yuya a surprise. The lights will dim at the start of the event, please activate your lightsticks.  Everyone sing the Happy Birthday song after being prompted ‘Ready go!’. Please sing ‘Dear Yuya’ in a big voice! We seek your cooperation!]  

When the doors opened for Asaty to enter, everyone’s light sticks were a beautiful purple and Asaty was like ‘SUGOOOOOOI’ when he headed to the stage. The birthday song was played and we sang Happy Birthday. The candles were not lit so he motioned to Kazuma to light it for him. Because the song was ending, he tried to blow it as Kazuma struggled to light all of them haha! 

In [Session 3], there was no paper printed on our seats. But the instructions were shown in the slides which basically told us to sing a birthday song when prompted on the screen during the O/X Quiz game. BUT, the true surprise was actually...RIN RIN! 

So after Asaty gave his thank you speech, the emcee said they have received a sudden message from Wada Masanari, which they played back. Asaty was laughing and talking over the recording, so I could not hear Rin Rin’s message clearly. But basically, Rin Rin was congratulating Asaty on his birthday and that sorry he could not be here to celebrate with him. 

Then suddenly, Rin Rin said ‘Actually, I am backstage. I’m coming inside now.” And everyone started screaming in shock, even Asaty froze for a second. Then Rin Rin said “Please don’t get too excited when I enter the hall.” And then RIN RIN CAME THROUGH THE DOORS!!!! Everyone was screaming! Even I myself am screaming ‘OMG!’. My first live Rin Rin! I have never seen him in person before! Asaty was also shouting ‘RIN RIN!!!” and jumping excitedly! 

Rin Rin was filming on his phone throughout the whole thing, so he panned his camera at us and then went straight to Asaty for a photo! It was so precious! Asaty was so HAPPY and gave him a big high-5! 

Then Rin Rin whipped out a present he was hiding behind his pocket, and it was a new Nintendo switch Pokemon Go game cartridge! Rin Rin said his rehearsal was cancelled so he quickly asked his agency (which is the same as Asaty’s) if he could crash the party. It was very last minute but Asaty was so so so happy! I have never seen him so excited before! The video that Rin Rin took will be uploaded on New Year’s Day! I can’t wait! No idea where it will be released though - hopefully on the Asapuru Channel! 

:: Segment 1: History of Yuya ::

In this segment, we were shown various pictures of Asaty in his childhood! Asaty had asked his mom to send over some childhood photos a few days before the event & she shipped 10 albums over.  It was raining when the box arrived & it got a little wet too, to Asaty’s horror. 

Whenever the emcee flashed a chubby baby picture, Asaty kept gushing over how cute his chubby baby pictures are and cooing “This guy is cute! I’m so cute!” And he kept poking his fat baby arms on the screen!  Also, a lot of toddler-Asaty photos are of him smiling brightly with his papa because he rarely sees him. Then we saw shots of him crying when his papa has to go away. 

Here are some memorable things he shared: 

[Picture of baby Asaty grinning with only two bottom teeth] Asaty pointed at his baby face, laughed and said “I finally grew teeth!!” 

[Picture of toddler Asaty at an amusement park] Asaty hates the spinning tea cup ride even till now. When he was young, his uncle spun him around so hard, Asaty vomited and it flew everywhere.

[Picture of 7 yrs old annoyed-looking Asaty with a pig mascot] Asaty was at Disneyland and trying to take a picture with one of the 3 Little Pigs. Unfortunately, his bro got in his way and he was trying to shove him away. He confused it with the 7 dwarves & said the pig was from Snow White

[Picture of toddler Asaty and his infant younger bro cuddled up in bed] Asaty had a finger on his lips and an annoyed “Shhh, my brother is sleeping!” expression on his face as the photo was taken.

[Picture of 4 year old Asaty riding a shisa statue at a shrine visit] He laughed when he saw the picture and said “I have a pervertic look on my face!” When asked by Kazuma if it was okay that he was sitting on it, he quickly answered “It depends on the shisa.”

[Picture of bro and him with yukata waist ties around their heads, both look drunk and bored] Kazuma: “What are you guys looking at?” Asaty: “I dunno... maybe horse-race betting.”

[Picture of Elementary Sch Asaty] He said he wasn’t considered handsome because there were other boys better looking than him. He had no girlfriend nor any valentine memories. But he had a girlfriend in Preschool. LOL

[Photo of High Sch Asaty at his graduation] During his High School graduation, he said that he promised a Junior that he will give his bottom blazer button (his blazer only has 2 buttons) to her. But when another student asked for it first, he forgot and gave it to her. When his junior found out, she got really angry at him. Asaty then said didn’t understand why girls wanted his bottom blazer button when the top-most is closest to his heart. “...Maybe...” His hand then strayed to his crotch which Kazuma told him to stop. LOL

:: Segment 2: Yuya Talk-Time ::

Question: If tomorrow is the end of the world, what would you eat? 

Asaty: I want to eat a lot! (when prompted by emcee to list the first food) Unagi! And then Macdonalds! Then curry! (In your last 30 seconds of living?) Unagi once again! 

Question: What recently made you cry? Asaty said he was watched Joker recently and because the character had a lot of depth & character development, he was so moved that he cried. 

Question: What is the one thing you wish to have? Asaty said he really wants an iPad Pro, so he can play Call of Duty better (he plays it on his iPhone currently) and he kept bugging Ono Kento & wanted to use his.

Question: What was the most touching moment you had experienced this year? Asaty said it was when Seirin won the Winter Cup. It was so touching that the main cast cried when they did the table-reading. The cast still keep in contact on LINE.

Question: When #和田のお顔が綺麗 trended on Twitter. Asaty didn’t know it will go viral. He said that Rin Rin was happy when he used the hashtag for the first time & subsequently started a series. Too bad Izawa & Kento’s hashtag didn’t go viral.

Question: What’s a routine thing you do before a big event? Asaty says he’ll take a shower and give his chest a punch with his fist to settle his nerves & get himself ready.

Question: Do you get nervous before performing as F6. Yes. He messes up his lines when he gets nervous. During OsoSute, Asaty once had a slip of tongue & accidentally said “Mysterious Oni. Purple Cool.” It was supposed to be “Mysterious Cool. Oni Purple.” 

Question: Unagi. Asaty likes Unagi ever since he is aware of how much he liked the taste of it when he was in Elementary school. 

Question: What is your Kanji of this year? Asaty said 忙/急(busy), due to the consecutive KuroSute & HeineMyu performances. It was not normal for this to happen.

Question: Please talk about F6 Costumes. Asaty said their costumes were inspired by the circus! Osomatsu -  Ringmaster (Greatest Showman), Karamatsu -  Beast Tamer, Ichimatsu - Knife Thrower, Choromatsu and Jyuushimatsu are Clowns. Asaty doesn’t know what the heck Todomatsu’s costume is lol (his own words). 

:: Segment 3: O / X Game (aka True-False quiz) ::

In this segment, all the audience members had to stand and answer O or X with their arms. Only those who got the answers right can continue standing and play the game. Winners got his autographed board and a solo-polaroid of him. I lost all three sessions lol. The questions are HARD! 

Question: When Asaty takes a shower, the first thing he washes is his neck. (Answer: True, all the girls were shocked.)

Question: Asaty likes chocolate cake the best out of all the cake flavours. (Answer: True!)

Question: Yuya was not the name his parents originally wanted. (Answer: True. Asaty’s parents did consider naming him Tokiya, but decided to stick with Yuya instead!) 

Question: Winter is Asaty’s favourite season. (Answer: True! He really loves winter and snow! He however does not do winter sports because in 2011, he suffered from a really bad winter-sports injury which he got scolded by his agency for not taking care of his body. )

Question Even though Asaty is 32, he is forever 17 in his heart. (Answer: True)

:: One-to-One Photo & Handshake Session ::

At the end of the event, all of us will line up according to the rows we were seated at to meet Asaty one by one at the partition outside the ballroom. It was well-organised and flows very smoothly. My only gripe is that compared to last year’s 30-seconds talk, we only had about 10 to 15 seconds to chat to Asaty! 

Session 1: I was so nervous the very first time I met him after a whole year, and I was a little worried that he wouldn’t remember me at all (I mean he has a lot of fans and I don’t expect him to remember everyone) but my fears were unfounded. When I walked over and waved my hands, saying I was from Singapore, his eyes immediately lit up in recognition.  I bought him a merlion face mask and a durian pouch as his present, and he suddenly asked me if I liked durian which threw me off and I got tongue-tied. 

After receiving the polaroid, I did not realise he left my present with the merlion mask facing the camera on his lap. When the picture developed, I saw it and started laughing non-stop! Such a troll picture. I thought I was the one trolling Asaty with lame presents but looks like he trolled me back. Whoops

Session 2: The emcee told us we will not be given time to talk about our presents because it took too much time in the earlier session, he told us to pass it to him and the staff will take it away immediately. It was really a shame because I wanted to tell him about the concept of the fan book this year! So while waiting for my turn, I rehearsed what I wanted to say to him so my mind won’t freeze! I’m so glad the words came out and Asaty was able to oblige to my unofficial interview request without his agency staff coming in to stop us! 

I really liked it when he concentrated hard to think before looking at me to say those words to his overseas fans. His sincerity is radiating off and he was really not taking it lightly (aka saying it in a flippant manner). 

I think that was about this time when I realised that I really really want to continue promoting him overseas. TBH, with my day-job taking up so much time in my personal life, sometimes I feel like stopping...  Then I realised that he is also trying really hard on his end and he is honestly very grateful and down-to-earth for all the local and overseas support. Even though many overseas fans have already moved on, I’ll continue supporting and helping you Asaty! 

Session 3: With this being the last session that I will meet Asaty till late 2020, I thought I could just fool around and tease him a little - by making him speak in English! I remembered in his live-stream that he said ‘I can’t speak English!’ after coming back from the USA, which contradicts what his relatives in Okinawa told me - Asaty has been studying English via English music, dramas and movies, so he could communicate with his American relatives and nieces/nephews. 

When it was my turn, I waved to him crazily again and asked him to speak English which he laughed and said ‘Okay’ After we took our picture and he took both my hands and then suddenly said ‘I’m very happy!” which I totally was not expecting at all and my mind went blank! It was probably the cutest thing he said EVER and in English too! 

I wanted to tell him to do his best next year, come visit Singapore and I hope to see him again soon. But I got tongue-tied and all I could say was ‘See you next year!’ GAH I AM SO MAD AT MYSELF!!!! I only rehearsed the first line and didn’t think about what other things to say in English to him LOL. #fail 

------

All in all, I really really had fun meeting him again! His hands were gentle and warm and his brilliant smile is just like the sun itself. 

Thank you Asato Yuya! I really hope to see him again in 2020! This time I’ll bring more lame Singapore presents to make you laugh! 

[onett199x]

Yuya Wakai | Images

Yuya Wakai is a Japanese jazz pianist whose music is, frankly, kind of difficult to track down.  This was the only album of his that was available on Amazon.  It came out in 2014 and is a solo piano album consisting mostly of standards, with a couple of originals (I liked M.O.B. a lot - In Love In The Rain was a good slower one as well.  Wasn’t as big on Afterimages, which is a little on the out there/modern classical side) as well as a Paul McCartney song and the theme song from an anime (Macross Plus, I think?  One of the ones that Yoko Kanno did the score for).  Having looked up his other albums, it seems like he’s a big fan of anime, considering one of them is all covers of music from Studio Ghibli films, and the other is all covers of anime shows or video game music.  Those ones are a little harder to find, though, so it might be a while before I can get them.

I want to, though, because it’s obvious from this recording that he is an extremely talented player.  He can do fast and technical, and he can do slow and meaningful as well - I particularly enjoyed his take on Over The Rainbow, a tune that has really resonated a lot with me personally in the last year or so.  I don’t want to say this is like, a modern classic or anything, but I do think Yuya Wakai should be someone to watch for fans of jazz piano and of Japanese jazz music.

[yrpreciousmoon]

Morioh Hi-Fi (6/25)

Title: Morioh Hi-Fi (6/25) All Chapters Here Ongoing Playlist Here Fandom: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Pairing: Josuke x Okuyasu; Rohan x Reimi; Koichi x Yukako; more. Rating: T for now Description: In an AU where Part 4 never happened, it seems Stand users are still  drawn to each other.  Rohan Kishibe runs Morioh’s coolest record store,  along with the  world’s okayest employees: Koichi, Yuya, and Okuyasu.  They live happily  in their bubble of obscure music references and  hipster style points  until the fateful day when Josuke Higashikata  enters the picture. AN: YAY STANDS! Sort of. I mean it is an AU after all. Thank you for your comments + kudos + whatever! Your support keeps me going~

.

Track 05 : Pieces Form the Whole

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A few days had passed, the requisite time for Josuke to “sit with” new music before Okuyasu would allow him to return to the store to receive his next offering. Now Josuke was flicking through a milk-crate of records, occasionally pulling one out based on artwork or title or some other unseen force, and then placing it gingerly in a pile. He'd been given this task by Okuyasu, of course, and whenever the stack would get a few deep Oku was sure to appear at his side, quietly thumbing through and removing an album or two with a head shake or a tut-tut. If Josuke was really lucky, Okuyasu would enthusiastically tap on the record, thump him on the back, and give him a thumbs up before leaving him to it again.

This easy friendship they'd somehow stumbled into felt good, real good if Josuke was being honest with himself (and frankly, being honest with himself was something he'd been trying to do more often lately.) Though he hadn't yet been elevated to the status of One of the Guys, the friendly, wordless rhythm he'd fallen into with Okuyasu had him feeling confident that he could – and should – take the step to start hanging out with the aforementioned Guys outside of the role of 'customer.'

And sure, he'd seen a lot more of Koichi lately, but that was a gimme; knocking the lights out of someone's high school bully had a tendency to assure you at least a baseline level of friendship for life. But now he'd also gotten a toe in the door of Rohan's elusive good side, and Yuya seemed to respect him, at the very least, as a fellow man of refined taste.

Josuke shifted his weight, hesitated for a moment in his musical excavation. He'd never admit it, of course, but before wandering into the orbit of the record store he'd been feeling awfully... lonely. A strange thing for someone like him, someone who seemed to get invited to every party, get hit on at every bar. But lately he'd been thinking that maybe he could use a friend or two who wouldn't mind spending a night in. Who would ask him how he'd been doing without using it as a segue to talk about which party drugs they'd ingested most recently.

He kept his head lowered toward the records, but his eyes flicked upwards, hiding under long lashes as he observed Okuyasu.

The other man was currently leaned against a pillar, arms crossed, lips pursed in an unimpressed expression as two customers bickered over some rarity release he'd managed to acquire.

“Please, I've been asking you to sell to me for weeks,” crowed one of them, a guy with a bad flat-top and a jacket covered in patches and pins from foreign lands. “Nijimura! Have you no heart? I'll die if I don't get that record.” He pleaded with beady eyes, hands clasped in front of him.

“Hmmmm...” Okuyasu tapped a finger on his chin, pretended to be considering the appeal.

“I'll give you 4000 yen,” said the other, a man with straight black hair and an outfit that wasn't far cry from Yuya's usual wardrobe.

“Sold,” said Okuyasu, casually pointing to the latter fellow.

“What?!” cried the first, “That's not fair! Why would you sell it to him and not me?”

“Because you're a nerd, Tamami,” Okuyasu replied, flinging his arms out to the side, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. At this Josuke burst out laughing, quickly clasping a hand to his mouth to stop himself, but the damage had already been done; the flat-top guy whirled on him and glowered for a moment before storming out of the shop. Okuyasu, on the other hand, grinned wide and shot Josuke a wink, then ushering the victorious goth guy over to the register. Josuke couldn't help but smile back, even when his friend turned away.

Yeah, that word felt right – friend – even though they'd only known each other for a few short weeks, and not yet seen each other outside of these four walls.

But today Josuke hoped to change that.

He'd felt some kind of draw to Okuyasu, something there since the beginning that made Josuke want more. He wanted to lie on the floor with him and talk about music for days. It didn't matter if Josuke had no idea who the bands were or what in the hell “post-grungecore” meant. There was just... something about Okuyasu, and he wanted – needed – more of it.

He supposed, however, that at least part of the draw was that he found Okuyasu to be tremendously cute – an internal confession that made red spring into Josuke's cheeks. He'd already told himself, very sternly, that he was not going to mess up this potential friendship with a one-night-stand or drunk makeout session. But still...

Josuke stole another quick glance.

One could hardly hold the crush against him. “Tall, dark, and handsome” was a cliché for a reason, after all. And who didn't have a soft spot for that whole “bad boy” vibe?

He shook the thought from his head, returned to his search, fingers dancing anxiously along the edge of the record he'd stalled on moments earlier. Crushes aside, it had just felt so refreshing to meet someone as authentic as Oku. Someone unabashedly accepting of himself, and who seemed to have an honest interest in learning about and helping Josuke, too. And Josuke reveled in being able to just be himself, no feigned social niceties or white lies. He didn't have to pretend to like Okuyasu, and didn't have to pretend to be someone Okuyasu liked. It was completely unlike his vast circle of quote-unquote friends, unlike his relationship with...

“How's it going?” came a voice in his ear, and he let out an involuntary shiver at the realization that Okuyasu's chin was resting on his shoulder.

“H-hey,” Josuke replied, voice catching, “It's going good, I was, um...”

Okuyasu's arm brushed against his own as he reached to examine the album currently in Josuke's hands.

Dammit. How the hell was he supposed to avoid nursing a crush when this guy had no concept of personal space?

“Oooh, Josuke, this is the one!” Okuyasu exclaimed, leaning into his friend just a bit in his excitement. Josuke bit his lip, ignored all of his flirtatious intuition telling him to roll his hips backwards at the contact.

“Here, let me...” Okuyasu snatched the record away and seemed to be back at the turntable in the blink of an eye. Josuke let out a small breath, half-relieved and half-disappointed.

The music that had been playing came to a sudden stop, eliciting a small sound of complaint from Koichi. Okuyasu urgently reassured him: “Dude, I promise you Something Corporate will still be here in fifty-three minutes and twenty-one seconds. But we just discovered–” He held his hands out in front of him to stress the importance of the words, “The Top Five Albums to Blow Josuke Higashikata's Mind: Number Four: OK Computer.” His voice was even, resolute, and full of solemnity, not unlike a preacher.

Koichi appeared to consider his sermon for a moment, then responded with an equally stoic nod.

A hush fell over the store. A soft crackle as the needle hit the spinning record. Then all at once, the sound of electric guitars crashed around them, giving way quickly to gentler strings and an ethereal melody. Josuke put a hand on his hip, stared up at the drop-ceiling, bobbed his head as he took it all in. He knew the other boys' eyes would be on him, and he'd have to say something soon.

“It's haunting,” he called out to them, the first word that came to mind, “And that bass is really amazing.”

Okuyasu slammed a palm on the countertop. “Hot damn, he's learning, Koichi!”

Turning down the volume – just a tiny bit – Okuyasu jogged back to Josuke, his hands tucked into his jacket pockets. “Alright, so here's the thing,” he said, eyes shining, “You don't really wanna listen to this one here. I mean, ideally you wanna listen to it floating in space, but short of that... this is a religious experience, you'll wanna give it your full attention.”

Josuke nodded, looked down at his pristinely polished shoes. This was his chance. “Would you wanna... join me? Being my, uh, spiritual guide on this journey 'n all.”

Okuyasu tipped his head to the side. “What d'ya mean?”

“Like, hang out with me while I listen to it. The way we did a few days ago, but, y'know... not at your job. Maybe at your place?”

“M-my place?” Oku paled a bit. “Um, I dunno, my place is kinda a shit-hole, and I live with my brother, who's not exactly a fan of having company over...”

Oh shit. Was he bailing? “Well, okay, what about my house?” Josuke blurted out, “I, um... I live with my mom right now, just until I save up enough for my own apartment, so it's not exactly the coolest place in the world, but–”

“Okay!”

“Eh?”

“Yeah! Your place sounds great! When did you wanna do that?”

Josuke blinked at him. That had been easier than he expected. “Um. Well... when do you get off work today?”

“Pfft. I was off an hour ago.”

“What?!”

“I was helpin' you, man!” Another playful thwack on Josuke's back. “I couldn't just walk outta here without arming you with some flowery love-making music.”

“Okay you have to stop calling it that, and also, you are a total dumbass. You should have told me!”

A shrug. “Why? The fuck else would I be doing right now? Drinking a beer with my cat?”

“That... actually sounds pretty great.”

“It is. But getting to see you experience Radiohead for the first time is better. C'mon!”

.

The walk back was a pleasant one, Josuke riding high on having successfully invited a guy over to his place without any kind of ulterior motive. The pair babbled on and on, pointing out their favorite places in town, making vague plans to go with each together some time, and cracking wise about each others' taste in bars.

Finally, Josuke stopped and nodded to the understated home that stood in front of them. “This is me,” he announced.

Okuyasu gripped him by the shoulder. “Dude. What? Are you serious?” He spun Josuke around and pointed eagerly at – well, Josuke couldn't exactly tell. “I live like, three blocks that way. You ever seen that piece of shit house on the corner, the one with a scary-lookin' gate?”

Josuke furrowed his brow in thought. “...The old duplex? It has a garden out front?”

“YEAH, DUDE!” Oku punched him in the arm, and Josuke laughed at the unchecked force of it. “The house is my dad's, the gate is thanks to my big bro, and the garden happens to belong to yours truly.” He flashed a sheepish grin. “...It started out just growin' catnip for my little dude. But then I figured I could try to make the place look a little more invitin', since no one else in the family seemed interested in that.” He paused, then Josuke could practically see the light bulb turn on in his head as he went on: “Hey! Whenever you decide to move out, I could totally cut you a deal on the other apartment! Then you wouldn't even have to come to the shop to get blessed by my musical taste.”

“Wow, okay. You just went from calling it a piece of shit to telling me to live there. You wanna take a breath and come inside for a minute?” Josuke smirked, raised a brow.

“Okay, okay, I'm just excited, we're practically neighbors,” gushed Okuyasu, blushing ever so slightly as the pair continued up Josuke's front steps. “Hope ya know you've just opened yourself up to unannounced drop-ins.”

“There are worse fates,” replied Josuke, opening the door and kicking off his shoes. “Oi, mum!” he called out, “I'm home and I brought a friend!”

“Are you telling me this so I'll introduce myself, or so I'll stay out of your way?” came a voice from further in the house.

“So you'll make enough dinner for three,” he corrected her.

“You are such a brat.” A moment later, Ms. Tomoko Higashikata rounded the corner, her hair pulled up into a messy bun and her sleeves rolled up. With the slightest pang of guilt, Josuke realized that she must have been cleaning. “Hello,” she breathed, “Welcome to our home. I'm sorry– I mean Josuke's home, I'm just the help.” She stepped forward, bowing.

Okuyasu, for his part, seemed frozen. Josuke elbowed him. “It's okay. She doesn't bite. But my jiji lives with us too, and he's an ex-cop, so that's another story.”

“R-right!” Okuyasu bowed stiffly. “A pleasure to meet you! I'm Okuyasu Nijimura, ma'am!”

“You can call me Tomoko,” she said with a smile, “Can I get you boys anything?”

The two politely declined, and Tomoko wished them well before making herself scarce. With a light shove, Josuke prompted Okuyasu to follow him towards the stairway, muttering, “You don't have to be so nervous! It's just my mom!”

“Sorry!” Oku hissed, “She just – I didn't expect her to be so young! And pretty!”

“Family resemblance,” came Josuke's cheeky reply.

“Yeah, I can definitely see it,” said the other, and Josuke was surprised by the seriousness in his tone.

“So anyway, this is my–” Josuke began, opening the door to his room, but Okuyasu burst past him without waiting, eagerly taking it all in. “...Right. Make yourself at home.” Josuke closed the door behind him and leaned up against it, watching the other carefully, observing his reactions to the quaint and tidy room. In truth, Josuke was quite proud of his own decorating prowess; he'd done his best to style everything in a muted purple palate, and tried to keep things orderly for drop-ins such as this.

Okuyasu pointed out various things in the room with “ooo!”s and approving nods. Here and there he'd stop to pick something up and admire it more closely, before something else caught his eye and he moved on.

“Oh? What's this, Josuke?” he asked, picking up a strange looking ceramic creature from Josuke's desk.

With a laugh, the other replied, “Something my mum got me years ago in Tokyo. We were visiting, and I don't even know why, but I started screaming for that thing. I was like, four, I dunno... but I had to have it. She bought it just to shut me up, but then I wasn't allowed to keep it in my room until I was thirteen years old. She said I would–”

Okuyasu whirled around. “Hey! Y'know I used to live in Tokyo, did I ever tell you that? Woulda been around that time too... I wonder if we ever–” He flourished his hands while scouring the depths of his memory, attempting to solve some impossible math problem that would determine if the two of them had ever crossed paths before. But between this sudden motion and his misplaced attention, his fingers quickly lost track of the delicate figure in his hands.

Crash.

The sound was remarkably soft for how devastating the damage was. A thousand tiny pieces tumbled across the floor in every direction, and both of them just stared for a eternity in silence.

Then: “FUCK!” Okuyasu exclaimed. “Oh my god – shit – I'm so fucking sorry!” He dropped to his knees and uselessly scrambled to brush the pieces into a pile with his hands.

“Oh! No, Oku, it's okay,” Josuke said, moving to kneel beside him. “It's fine, really!” When the other didn't reply, he added, “I'll find a way to fix it. Don't worry!”

Okuyasu stopped fumbling and turned to him, eyes brimming with tears. “How? How the hell are you gonna fix somethin' like... this?” He gestured toward the sad pile of splintered pieces. “God... Guess now you know what a fuck-up I am... I always ruin everything...” He shook his head and stood up quickly, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. “L-look, Josuke... Let me go grab a broom, okay? I'll clean this mess up so at least ya don't have to look at it like this. And then I'll figure out some way to make it up to you, I promise!” There was a beat. “Shit.” And with that, he bolted from the room.

Josuke stared after him for a moment. Once his friend's chaotic energy had dissipated, he sighed. What a pain. He returned his eyes to the remains of the figurine and picked up the largest piece that he could find, turning it over in his hands.

Yeah... he knew he should be grateful, but seriously, being an esper and having to conceal his abilities at every turn? Ugh. Truly a pain in the ass.

And with that thought, for probably the millionth time in his life, Josuke watched as a purple aura rose up from his palm and engulfed the shard of the mystery animal. His power wasted no time recalling each and every piece of the creature back into its rightful position until, after just a matter of seconds, it was restored to its former glory with not a scratch upon it.

“J-josuke...?”

He jumped at the voice behind him and the tiny ceramic beast flew into the air, arcing gracefully before smashing against the floor for the now one-million-and-one'th time. Josuke whipped around to face the doorway, meeting the gaze of a slack-jawed Okuyasu.

“Um. I was uh... gonna ask where you keep your cleanin' stuff...”

Josuke opened his mouth, but no words came out. Shit. He'd prepared plenty of excuses to get himself out of situations like this, but not for friends, not for someone he was actively trying to be honest with. So he just stared, completely at a loss, until Okuyasu's look of shock began to melt into excitement.

“Dude!” he hissed, rushing to join Josuke on the floor once again. He grabbed the other's shoulders. With as much restraint as he could muster, he whispered, “You have it too?!”

Josuke blinked. “I uh... whuh?”

“You've got the... the thing, I dunno, you've got powers too!” As if to elaborate, Oku held his own hand out between the two of them, palm up. All at once it began to radiate with a blue light.

Josuke's eyes widened. “What?!” he barked, “You've–? How did–? When did–?”

“Damn, dude, I knew there was a reason I was drawn to you!” Okuyasu raised his fists triumphantly. “Oh fuck yeah, this is awesome!” Josuke knitted his brow, his jaw still hanging open slightly. Okuyasu chuckled and went on, “Don't gimme that look! I just meant that I was drawn to you the same way I was with the guys at Dark Pink. ...They've all got it, too.”

“WHAT.”

“Okay.” Okuyasu put up his hands, motioning for Josuke to settle. “Sorry. This is probably a lot. It's just... It's been a while since I met anyone else with the thing.”

“No kidding,” Josuke mumbled, “I've hardly ever... I mean...” he looked away, “Apparently it runs in my family? O-on my dad's side. But I... they...”

“Hey, mine too!” Okuyasu's grin was at it's widest now. “I've heard most people don't get it 'til they need to use it. Like wakin' up some kinda animal instinct, y'know? Comes out when somethin' traumatizin' happens. Lucky for me, trauma ain't exactly hard to come by in my family.”

“Yeah,” Josuke agreed, thinking back to the conversation they'd had several days earlier on the floor of Dark Pink. The words they'd said, and the words they hadn't; They drifted through his mind as his eyes lingered on the faint markings on his friend's face. The two of them exchanged a dark look of understanding, not needing words now, either.

“So, like...” Oku went on, shifting into a cross-legged position, “They say people with the gift are drawn to one another. So when you find one, you're likely to find more.”

“That's... kinda cute. Like a found family, almost.”

“Yep. Right down to the fact that most of 'em are annoying as hell.” Josuke laughed, and Okuyasu smiled. “Hey, Josuke... Do your thing again, will ya?”

“Oh! Sure.” Josuke nodded before scooping up a piece of the figurine from the floor again, extending his hand outwards for Okuyasu to observe. He called on his power, the familiar purple aura returning and setting to its task with ease.

“Wow,” Okuyasu whispered under his breath, his eyes wide. “That is so cool. Can it fix everything?”

“No, not everything. It's kind of like... um, you ever used 'undo' on a computer?” Josuke handed the figurine back to his friend. This was hard; he'd rarely ever had the opportunity to talk about his ability, let alone have to explain it. Still, it was like a weight off his shoulders, having someone – other than a Joestar – to share his secret with. “It works on people, too. Mostly. I can heal physical wounds but... I haven't been able to get it to work on myself.”

Okuyasu nodded with rapt attention. “Does that mean you can cure people too? Can you stop people from dyin'? Can you–”

Josuke held up a hand to stop him. “I can't bring them back,” he said, voice sober, his eyes darting away. Oku tapped his chin in thought.

“So like... if you chopped my head off... you could put it back on, but I'd just be a corpse.”

“Gross, but yeah.”

“Huh.” Okuyasu was clearly turning the possibilities over and over in his mind. “It must be nice to have somethin' useful like that.”

“What do you mean? What does yours do?”

Oku shook his head. “You can help people with yours... Mine's just stupid.” He was frowning, now. “It's like, the opposite of yours.”

“Opposite? So it breaks things apart?”

“Not... exactly.” He rubbed anxiously at his neck. “I can make things... disappear. Here,” he said, and began rummaging through his jacket pocket. He located an old candy wrapper, held it up for Josuke to see. Then he balled it up, lobbed it across the room, and made a motion as if to catch it. His aura blinked across the room to envelop the wrapper, and then, just like that, it was gone. Josuke's mouth fell open again.

“So where does it go?!”

Okuyasu shrugged. “Beats me. But it's pretty goofy, compared to somethin' like yours. I guess I could be... the world's most depressing magician act...”

“And have the world's biggest bill for rabbits and playing cards,” Josuke agreed, “But seriously, that's really... impressive, when you think about it.”

“Scary, you mean.”

Josuke didn't argue.

“It is. I know it is! It could be real... eh, destructive. I try to be careful. Don't really like usin' it, if I'm honest.”

“Just 'cause it's dangerous doesn't mean you can't use it. Think about it like a samurai sword, man! You could train to use it really well!”

Josuke's enthusiasm seemed to get through to him. He raised his eyes to meet Josuke's blue ones, let another small smile peek out on his lips. “Well, there is one thing that I learned how t'do, that I think is kinda cool...”

“Mmmm?” Josuke hummed, inquisitive.

Okuyasu sat up straighter. “Okay. So it makes stuff vanish, right? And if I concentrate...” he began to look around the room, “I can make space vanish, too!”

“O-oh? Hang on, what do you–”

But Okuyasu's eyes had already locked on to something and he swiped at it; Josuke felt a rush of air and suddenly the picture frame from his bedside table appeared before them, easily caught and then proudly displayed by a grinning Okuyasu.

“Whoa,” Josuke gasped. He leaned in, eyes shining. “Just think of all the things you could do with that!”

Okuyasu mirrored him, leaning in as well. “Pffft! What you could do with yours!”

“What we could do as a team!”

“We could fight natural disasters!”

“Be emergency responders!”

“Stop criminals!”

“Stop assholes!”

“Prank Rohan!”

“Get extra food at restaurants!”

“Sneak into places at night!”

And just like that, the afternoon dissolved into sharing boyish dreams of how to utilize – or exploit – their abilities, setting aside for another time the discussion of how and why they'd been able to awaken these powers in the first place. Instead they fantasized about becoming a crime-fighting duo, and what they'd be called, and what their theme music would sound like, eventually coming to the very important decision of what to name these things of theirs.

Josuke didn't really get the name that Okuyasu gave to his (“Don't worry about it, it's a deep cut, you'll figure it out eventually”) but he had been given the highest honor (“sick Pink Floyd reference, man!”) for his own. The compliment had him glowing with pride.

As the afternoon grew long, Josuke found himself truly content, in a way that he hadn't been in so long. He was so content, in fact, that he wasn't even bothered by the chiming of his cell phone as it repeatedly tried to interrupt them. After the fifth or so time that it rang, he simply turned it off and tossed it aside – a problem and person that he wanted to keep as far away from this evening as possible.