#design belong to hachi

[hithisiszooz]

Daniiii :3

[danisha-tdh]

A lot of things I got dragged into sploon, no matter how I enjoying Salmon run (because teamwork and fun day)

So I decided to draw the content

Here's line up agent in my design looks-

Just for the toon style looks, so here's a hcs for each agents:

(Long words)

Trapper, 22 y/o [Species: Octoling??]

Trapper is not just an octoling, he was used to be one of the Kamabo experiment no.5150. Because he was saved by her adoptive mother, Ellie, he always have to hide his identity in the event of Splatoon 1. He doesn't know much about Dj Octavio and the Octarians clan, but he seems interested until the event of Splatoon 3. He doesn't talk, but he can use sign language (it's a sign that he's mute as always and it's because his voice is very likely to human languages and has no bubble effects in it like the other octolings. He's not an only child he was raised by her own mother, he has a sister, Veronika. He doesn't trust the Kamabo or Commander Tartar. He has a strong relationship with Four, but now he miss her (since they became separated and getting worried about her). And also, he's a gardener.

Veronika, 14(splat 3) - 16(now) y/o [Inkling]

She's a little feral and always care for his older brother. Never been join Grizzco industries because her little salmon buddy is afraid of the boss himself. She's a huge fan of Pearl from the Off the Hook. She interested any type of weapons and a mechanic engineer. Being forced to washed herself, since she's smell like fishes belongs in the sea. She's also a best friend of Murch. If you mess with Trapper, you mess with her (she'll forced you to drop yourself in the sea as an threat or eats gross food).

Agent/Captain 3 [No name], 21 y/o [Inkling]

Has slowly lost their original name and gender. Became tired and depressed because of the Octo expansion event, but still smiles when think about the past what they used to. They like Naomi as a close friend. rarely talks and type of introvert person. Doesn't want to talk about Deepsea Metro (they have PTSD). They can rap since they known as DJ Sango. Get along with the Squid sisters, even they stay as their part of the family. Always support other Agents no matter what and only the mysterious agent among others.

Surume/Four, 23 y/o [Inkling]

A great agent who always very positive and an extrovert person. She always like Trapper, who are very close to her (both always think about each other since they were separated from different city). She was busy due to an extracurricular, and a roommates with Hachi and Naomi. Four really care about Trapper's feeling for her if he's not in a good mood. She loves biology to know about sea creatures and even mammals, including plants. She's shorter than other agents.

Hachi/Eight, 21 y/o [Octoling]

An agent who is only one was escaped from the Deepsea Metro with his sister, Naomi. He doesn't get recover his traumatic experience back there, but always finds a way to avoid it. Kind to anyone, likes other agents. He doesn't know about Trapper, but he interested to meet him. Confidence to find answers. He's afraid of C.Q Cumber. When he's stares at you, it can tell he looks like a little puppy. He and Naomi lives with the Off the Hook as like their parent figure. Always protect his sister.

Naomi/Eight, 19 y/o [Octoling]

She's a bit shy and a fan of the Squid sisters after the effects of the Calamari Inkatation. She likes Cap 3 about their skills and being cool. She's barely talks, but always needs a help from her brother. She kinda loves the beautiful view around the new city or places she wants to travel. She's having a fear of Blender and being lonely without her brother or someone. She likes doing art and doodles on her sketch she bought in the surface. She always sticks with her brother since she doesn't want to get separated. And a friend of Four.

Welp that's all the hcs I have for my agents. Most of them are similar the canon splatoon facts. And here's the base of the body type looks

And bonus for Trapper in agent outfit:

[meloarto-me]

Story

Good morning!

I'm just starting a story, and I'm gonna tell you a little bit about it to make it easier to understand.

Starting with this I was inspired a bit by “Hungry Days x One Piece”. Since there are characters in the school, they run their own companies (Arlong), I really liked it and decided that I would use this idea.

Going back to that, it will mostly revolve around my characters Oc and the fishers from One Piece.

My characters are Viktor, Yoko, Pearl and Rose. The rest of the character belongs to the great creator Eiichiro Oda.

A lot of the characters in this version are alive and well.

Fisher Tiger lives and runs a law firm, Jinbe works as a Tutor. The Neptune family, including Otohime, occupy the roles of ala president over the fish race (most fishes and mermaids live on the land allotted to them). Arlong wants to be a lawyer and be like Tiger, but he works at a restaurant and he studies, so he's having a hard time. Chuu wants to be a fashion designer, Hachi the best chef and Kuroobi the karate master. Aladdin's a doctor. The rest in the future

Hode Jones' group is a bunch of troublemakers who often get into trouble, even though some of them work and go to school. But they also have their own people-hating group.

Straw hats are students of the school (they are 18 to 23 years old. Only Chopper is 16.)

The main character will be Rose. It's a 20-year-old shark-human hybrid, due to an accident in the past, there's no membranes between the toes and no fins on the back.

The story tells about dreams and difficulties in adulthood, job search, new acquaintances, love disputes, mental problems, a little gore.

It's a little about it and I have a question Would anyone like to read such a story?????

[squeakadeeks]

living the dream...thinkin' about bees.

WOOOOO I was asked to make a beemancer costume design and how could I not!!!! !!!!!! this was so fun holy moly.

the character is Hachi and they belong to @bukkitbrown!

[xx-angelslut88-xx]

Question For your TPOF oc: what was Lihuá's life before the announcer found her? How did she get caught in the first place? Is she allowed to do anything she likes, or is she restricted?

I also really like her design :] might draw her sometime ^^

(I’m glad you like them! Feel free to draw/write all about them idm! If anything I enjoy it. Also nothing to you cause I never explicitly said it but they use the/them. No spellcheck so my B for any misspells )

Before Abduction

Before they got abducted Lìhuá lived actually a really simple life in Canada. They where a collage student who lived by themself and kept to themself constantly. They’re first gen Canadian as their mother is from Taiwan. So they had this whole thing going on with split culture and not feeling like they belonged to either side enough. They where incredibly shy and just kept to their studies (Ophthalmology /study of eyes)

Kidnapping

It wasn’t really hard to kidnap them. Due to their loner nature and collage classes being at night they where just taken by surprise. They where knocked out and woke up in the auctioning room.

Restrictions

Their restrictions are honestly pretty tame. They currently lived in (what I like to call a glorified dog house) a small home owned by Hachi who leaves them their alone aside from a few nights per week where he comes to check on them, take them to the workplace, or do their typical testings and beatings. They aren’t to ever leave the house without instruction and is to keep the house extremely clean. If it’s not it will lead in punishment. They must go to sleep and wake up at certain times. Their lunch is allowed to be flexible however it has to align with a caloric diet. Outside of work if they’re to talk to Hachi it must be in Taiwanese. That’s difficult considering they don’t know the language Hachi is teaching them. Biggest of all, they must remain respectful and professional at all times. This rule can be confusing because things that may be respectful at one moment can be disrespectful at another. That’s all I can think of for now at least tho!

[komatsunana]

I know for sure Hachi would buy her kids a switch to play animal crossing, but she likes it more and becomes addicted to it lol

What villager type would she love. Who are her dreamies? What kind of aesthetic would she go for regarding island design. And what kind of animal crossing player would she be?

Ok so like, let's set aside the years (since Animal Crossing New Horizons came out in 2020 and her kids would be teenagers/young adults by then) but I could see all 3 of them having a switch and their own islands and it just being. A really good way to keep them all connected, even when they are separated and in different countries 🥺😭

Her favorite personality types would probably be sisterly (remind her of Nana of course), smugs, and lazies. But she's drawn to the cute ones and other than a couple of her ultimate faves on her island, she kinda forgets to talk to them most of the time lol. Umm, of course she likes to make her island pretty. She wouldn't time travel, in part because she can't figure out how to, but she wouldn't be against like Nookizon and visiting treasure islands. It's all about the aesthetic!! Since she's a mom with kids, doing it to bond with her children she wouldn't go very far into making her island any one aesthetic or some -core. She'd just make whatever she likes!! It'd have a very vintage/retro vibe to it though.

As for villagers, I'll post them under the cut, but of course she'd like cute ones but not like,, she wouldn't necessarily like the popular ones.

TELL ME FELICITY DOESN'T GIVE YOU HACHI VIBES.

She'd take Cherry because she reminds her of Nana.

Freckles she thinks is cute.

Benjamin's Japanese name is Hachi so of course she'd take him on that alone

Wolfgang is her ACNH crush

Those are her stay forevers, then you've got...

Hachi doesn't take Judy because she's popular but because her eye's have that old, classic shojo style that Hachi uses in her own art.

These ones she may let go at a certain point but regardless she'd enjoy them!! Poncho just has that cuddly, Pooh-bear vibe. And Colton looks like a prince who is a white horse lol. Ellie has old timey cartoon that I think would appeal to Hachi, while Azalea kinda looks like she belongs in a very kitchy 60's diner but like, very aesthetic looking.

She also took Cyd once on a hunt because he was Ren Jr's dreamie.

[aegistomorrowtoday]

Episode 0 : 平和な夏の動き

It's a rainy evening in Tokyo. 

Unlike most other districts, SUGINAMI-KU is relatively quiet as always. A home away from home.The Party has ended most of their daytime activities, their alternate lives if they have one - involve a time-clock. They've collected their meager payments and paid their utilities and have entered the streets of the Tokyo Mega to indulge in their vices, see friends, and make much more Won than the next guy but they always come here, like other wayward souls before they dive into the endless depths of Tokyo, to decompress.

A Human. Two Synths and an infamously wealthy Wormer relax at Nakahara Peace Garden, an out of the way eatery and public onsen after 10pm, eating their fill of ramen and Soy based Duck and Tofu and relaxing in the warm baths that they previously had all to themselves until the door opens. Three women garbed in traditional kimono - monochromatic gold, red, and black - entered into the establishment and quietly ordered food and drinks not too far from the table possessing our party. Sef -the human and the only flesh and blood local at the table- thought they looked to be suspicious. Suginami-Ku was a more traditionalist district with the disdain for technology and the general technophobia present could speak volumes for any local trying to tote cybernetics around proudly. The Wormer, Ard, was purely a tourist and hadn’t seen nor heard of such garb before, nor did the shorter synth who went by his “free name” of Lumos. Only the more stoic of the group, the janitorial worker synth named Haru understood that these women were either going to or coming from a Yamaguchi-Gumi related induction ceremony. Time passes and our party gets to know one another a little better. Sef is a rising member of the Izumi-kai as a Scoundrel, a gutterpunk bosuzoku, a Japanese Motorgang who specialize in winning illegal street races. Haru is an isolationist, in theory and practice but he is obviously a synth with a sword. He keeps mostly to himself and is very observant. Lumos, the other synth of the group, is older than Haru by decades and frequently calls out the younger synth for being ‘a baby’. Lumos specializes in Street Medicine as a Doc. The tallest member of the table is Ard Hana, a respectable Wormer from off-world and apparently Sef’s proof that alien life does indeed exist. He is just vacationing after leaving his occupation of fifty years on this ball of a planet called Earth, and loving it so far. As a Wormer on the planet, being able to exist as a tourist, Ard Hana is the most wealthy Wormer on the island. 

The three women leave. Another rowdy cadre walks in and forces their way right through the group of formal women who all give a glare to the raucous individual who bogarted past them. This individual looks far too young to order any type of alcohol and resists the hostess’ instructions for him to leave with a simple black card printed with a Dragon on the facing side. The card is a physical credit card, with probably a large amount of won on it already. This card would be the target for Sef who, with the careful eye of Haru, deduces that the loud and obnoxious young man belongs to the Konami Kids, a sub-sect of the Konbawa Kids. A gang that is much smaller than the others and much younger too but mysteriously just as intimidating. They specialize in assassination and the Konami Kids have a working relationship with the Izumi-Kai as coordinators for illegal street racing events.  Sef proceeds to make merry and steal the card for himself but not before the Konami Kid, identified as Chojiro (Choji) imparts Sef with a flash tattoo on the palm of his hand before leaving as abruptly as he came in with a mass of gathered friends and associates. Claiming to be going to where the real fun is starting.  Upon closer inspection of the card Sef sees that it is unmarked and contains no identifiers other than the ornate design that has been laser cut into the surface of the card. A Dragon curling around it’s pearl. The Pearl seems to be a separate piece and made of the same metallic material as the digital strip used to fulfill transactions. Sef decides to take the card with the group to a more quiet place in order to get to the bottom of this card and fish out that datachip masquerading as the pearl. Upon exiting the eatery the group sees the retreating Choji party is being followed by four mysterious men in black and while debating if they should alert Choji or not the group of teens are sprayed with silenced automatic gunfire. Our Cyberpunks spring to action and run to attempt to save whomever was still breathing as the four armed gunmen begin searching the bodies. They were quick work for our seasoned veterans of the violent underworld humanity had to offer. During the fight, Haru outed himself as a former Yakuza Assassin and Bodyguard, being branded a Ronin by one of the members of the kill squad who focused onto the sword wielding man with his uzi. For naught as Haru swiftly demonstrated his skill with the katana by executing his assailant. The tussle in the street was very short lived and Choji wouldn’t make it through two rounds of questioning by Sef as he lay dying in a pool of his own blood. Imparting that he was only passing along a message by giving Sef that tattoo and then whispering for Sef to go get scanned. Sef removes Choji’s hand - the one that flash tattooed him as it was discovered that it was a custom cybernetic augmentation but the group didn’t do more than scavenge some silencer attachments and the supposed payment to the kill squad by what appears to be the Wazinami Gang. Forgoing the Izakaya Sef opts for a Love Hotel which he gains entry into for free, allowing the group to recuperate and sort themselves out. The short reprieve allowed Lumos and Ard to travel across the street to the 24/7 Convenience store - an evolution of the 7/11 Stores that were popular at the turn of the century- to stock up on necessary supplies of laffy-taffy and vodka. 

Haru washes and patches himself up with Lumos’ assistance and changes into a new set of clothing while the group determines the custom origin and use of the cybernetic hand. Afterwards they hack the black card and begin transferring huge amounts of won to scavenged credit chits but not before triggering a trace program that prompts the group to abandon the love hotel entirely and the hacking device as well as the card. Next they decide to go find somewhere to scan the flash tattoo and have been given the advice by Lumos to travel to a Synth Shop. Something Sef is apprehensive of. Understandably along the way the group shops at a weapon’s dealer and snags a couple of silencers for their weapons as the police set up more secure perimeters down the street from them. The nearest Synthstore lies at the joining of three roads in SHINEGAWA-KU and the group chooses one after showing off their pseudo-celebrity status with Sef toting a noteworthy amount of clout with his bike and Ard for being so god damn tall. ‘The Early Bird’ is a small Synth Aug-station. They specialize in installation and maintenance and their mascot and logo happens to be a cutely illustrated bird. The counter is manned by a Synth, female in appearance, who has a lack-luster attitude about her new visitors and doesn’t greet them. But she does make overt sexual remarks towards Lumos’ and gives Sef a taste of the more common human medicine by deriding his human-ness and poking fun at his aversion to the Synth culture. After some pleasantries the clerk agrees to scan the code and the group learns that the code contained within the flash tattoo is an address to a popular establishment in this very district, just a block away. 

Hachi Rebisu

[archive-bc-im-scared]

Horror!Au Hachi

Type of Death: Getting stabbed (she fell over her sewing tools)

Dangerous levels:8/10

Type of ghost: Cat and Mouse (she has strong senses and will chase y’all)

Other things:

-She falls out from the ceiling

-Uses the pins in her back to stab you

-“I hear you~”

-“I’m coming for you~”

-“You can’t run~”

-Giggles a lot trying to find you

(Her design isn’t that good tho but I’m cool with it)

Horror au belongs to @creepychippy

[lamaisongaga]

   BACK IN TIME: LADY GAGA AT MUSIC LOVERS JAPAN

Lady Gaga appeared on Japanese TV show “Music Lovers” to promote her album ‘Born This Way’ with three special performances of ‘The Edge of Glory’, ‘Judas’ and ‘Born This Way’! 

Styled by Nicola Formichetti and Brandon Maxwell, here’s what she wore.

For her ‘The Edge of Glory’ performance, Gaga wore custom-made black dyed wood headpiece from Balmung by Ryuichi Shiroshita, a.k.a. Hachi. Unfortunately, there are no close-up images of the headpiece. When I asked him what was his inspiration, Hachi told me what he thought about while creating was “bird face” and “jail”.

The black architecture-inspired Geometry Wear was created by Bunka SO-EN Award winner, Izuka Emi. What Gaga wore was a black version of Izuka‘s white vinyl and wood creations. Sadly, no photos available either but above some captures of White Geometric Wear, the creation what Gaga’s was based on.

Her black leather shorts belong to G.V.G.V. Fall/Winter 2011 collection titled “Youth Cult”.

The look was completed with a vintage Versace gold studded black leather Medusa belt...

... and a customized version of the black patent lace-up ankle pointed toes and red bottom Pleaser’s Seduce-1020 boots.

For ‘Born This Way’, Gaga sported a daring ensemble which comprised the Iconic Surpiqúe conical bra with attachable shoulder pads from the Jean Paul Gaultier x La Perla Fall/Winter 2012collaborative collection.

She got it customized with spikes by the L.A. Roxx.

Her performance boots are Penthouse Savannah lace-up corset vinyl boots.

Finally, for ‘Judas’, Gaga and all of her dancers sported leather harnesses custom made by New York-based leather specialist and fashion designer Zana Bayne.

Custom Void of Course nail-less latex gloves provided the finishing touches.

[mynameisjaxx]

Sugawara x Y/N

I'm starting my third year in high school with lots of home life drama...yay...

My parents were never really marriage people to begin with. Hippie types, they lived together in an apartment in Miyagi with a few friends. Soon they got together and ended up having me. Of course it was an at home birth. They didn't even name me right away, or register me until a month after I was born. They told their friends about wanting to try to live life the way society deemed it, since now they had to find a way to provide for us as a family. After my aunts and uncles moved on to their 'new life venture', Dad found a job at a bank and mom stayed with me at home. She ended up designing a line of environmentally friendly clothes, using the scraps of fabrics no one wanted from the store. Eventually people kept asking if they were going to get married and they always had an excuse. I was 7 when they decided to tie the knot, and now 11 years later they are getting divorced. 

I didn't want to live with either of them, so I did the one thing that made sense to me. Which also made sense to them, so I left. They set me up with the apartment they had all those years ago. Since the apartment is paid off they had no qualms about me moving in and living on my own. Sure it was my own space now, but I still had to do quite a lot of paperwork so that my name could be on it. They can even check in with me periodically like they were doing before all this divorce business.

It's a sweet setup. A 2 bedroom apartment, open concept kitchen, living room and dining room. The kitchen was renovated a few years ago, but was never used after reno. Shame though, it was done in black and gold. The countertops were coated in a thin film of dust, but that still wasn't enough to hide the intricate marble swirls beneath it. The cabinets were done in a matte black and the handles were thin bars coated in a gold coating. Looking past the counter was the living room, heavy curtains hid the natural light from the outside. It was spacious. Way more than enough for my baby and me. No, not human, she's a fur baby. 

So of course the first step is cleaning and like moving into any new space. I bought new cleaning supplies. It's bad luck to use old things to clean a new space. Sure it might be superstition but, if I really want to give this move my all, I was going to do everything I could to make it right. Cleaning was a breeze. I finished after a whole morning and the house smelled absolutely amazing. I locked up and got in my truck, drove back to my dad's house. It's where I was staying for the meantime. 

Kuroo met me at dad's house 20 minutes after my long drive from Miyagi. He brought snacks like the good friend he is. I was in dire need of good company for opinions. We'd been best friends for the 11 years I lived in Tokyo. It was bittersweet. I was going to be leaving the only place I knew I had family, but then again I'd be setting off on my own. 

"Do you really have to go, kitten?" He cups my cheek. 

"Yes, roo and you know this. I'm leaving tomorrow. The boys are going to load up their cars with my stuff and we're going to Miyagi." I lean into his palm. 

"But, kitten, you could just move in with me. Why don't you?" He insists. 

"Roo, you're an amazing friend for even offering, but I am not going to impose in your space like that. Besides you're going to college after next year and I'm going to continue with my writing gig. Plus, if I have my own place that means you can come over and visit your Karasuno friends more often." I wiggle my brows. 

"Kitten, you know their captain and I aren't exactly friendly." He warns. 

"You say that, but as the ex nekoma team manager, I know Daichi Sawamura holds no ill will towards you. He's just protective of his kids." I shrug. 

"It hurts to hear you say that." He winced and curled up away from me. 

"Aw come on, roo. I'll still be cheering you on." I place a hand on his back. 

"I know, but, it's not the same. Who else is going to push my buttons when I'm wound up too tight? Who's going to give me a hand with Kenma? Or help Lev with his, well everything? Or Yaku with his yaku-ness?" His pleading expression was like a dagger to my heart. 

"I love you boys, but you will survive, I made sure to coach the new kid. They'll take care of you." I wrap my arms around his waist. 

"I'm going to miss you." he turns around to face me. 

"I'll miss you too roo." I buried my face in his chest so he wouldn't see how sad I really was about leaving. 

We stayed like this while my spotify continued to play in the background. Eventually we fell asleep holding one another. It was nice that we got to spend a few hours together, just the two of us. In the morning I fixed us up some breakfast as he labeled the last box.  

The boys showed up just in time. It was Kuroo's, Lev's and Yaku's cars full of stuff and Kenma, along with my kei truck and bringing along my fur-baby, Hachi, we made the move in one day. Once the boxes were in their respective rooms, the boys helped me unpack a few boxes for the kitchen and the living room. Exchanging the heavy curtains and the single rod. The light gray translucent on the first rod closest to the window and the navy black out curtains on the second rod, framing the window much nicer than the other ones did. Shelves were put up and my books were immediately put on them. The tv stand and tv were off loaded and placed perfectly across from the shelves. All I needed was a couch, a dinner table, a possible coffee table, and maybe a stool or step ladder. After that was unpacked and the linens were placed in the closet where they belonged, we moved onto the kitchen. Kenma gave me a hand in putting away the dishes and cups. Kuroo and Lev put away the pots and pans. Over all the place was coming together. 

I bought pizza for them while we were finishing up the common areas. In the second room, I set up my desk and put all my copies of the books I had written along with the master copies with all the original annotations and pen doodles I made. I treasure them. They too are also a memory of my time in Tokyo. Sure, I write teen drama under a pseudonym and it's just editing drama from real life, I'm writing what I know. Smiling on my work, I give one last look and turn off the lights to the room. Stepping out to the living room the boys were sprawled out on the floor. 

"So, who wants to help me pick out a couch and table?" I jingle my truck keys. 

They all get up but quickly realize that they don't all fit in my truck. Instead Kuroo stayed and the boys left back to Tokyo. I thanked them and gave them each a hug. They all smiled and Hachi barked while wagging her curly tail. I waved them off and he slithered a hand around my waist and pulled me into his side. 

"Ready to go?" He smiled sadly and I nodded.  

We drove out to a few thrift shops and he helped me gather a few things I needed. I got a pull out couch, the kotatsu table and a few display stands for my books. We put the final touches but I wasn't staying the night yet. Looking around satisfied, I set up Hachi's bowl station. She looked at me a bit curious and I gave her a bit of kibble in it. She happily ate it up, as soon as she finished I rinsed it out and put it back. We left the apartment and locked up. Getting into our respective cars, I dialed him and he answered, we kept each other company while we drove back. 

At one point we were just using the same radio station and singing obnoxiously loud to one another. He followed me back to my dad's house and I pulled up to the driveway. I turned off the engine and let Hachi out. She ran into the back yard and I shook my head. Crazy girl, she loves to zoom without thinking. Kuroo walked up to me and put his hand on my shoulder. 

"So, I guess, we won't be seeing each other as much?" He sighs. 

"'Fraid so, Roo." He smiles at the nickname. 

"When are you officially heading out there?" He nudges me. 

"I leave in the morning. So I should be there by noon tomorrow." I scratch the nape of my neck. 

"Then let's make this a nice night? What do you say, chibi-chan?" He smirks. 

"What did you have in mind, nerd?" I raise a brow. 

"How about we build a few things the way we used to?" He pokes my cheek. 

"Sounds like a great send off." I walk towards the garage. 

"Alright, let's do this," he takes off his hoodie. 

The table for the dining room was one thing I needed and couldn't find for cheap. Using the tools that mom bought dad and he never used, with roo's help we made the 4 chairs to go with it. We even made the headboard along with a few other small things. It was just about day break when we finished being creative. Grabbing a towel to dust off the wood from our clothes, we shared a look and couldn't help but laugh. 

"I'm going to miss you chibi-chan." He pulls me into a strong embrace. 

"I'm going to miss you too, Roo." He nestles into the crook of my neck. 

"Don't forget us, okay?" He ruffles my hair. 

"I promise not to. Besides, just because i'm moving, doesn't mean I'm going to miss your games." I rub a small circle on his back. 

"You better not." He squeezes me tightly before letting go. 

After a moment of silence, he presses a soft kiss to my forehead, caringly. 

"I mean it, I better see you." He chuckles and walks off. 

It was early morning and the truck had our creations loaded onto the bed. I collected the last of Hachi's toys that were still in the yard and packed it up too. With a quick shower, and fresh clothes I headed out to make my new start. Traffic was smooth, Hachi slept the whole ride and I was on the phone with roo the entire time. As soon as I got there I said goodbye and hung up. Taking the chairs in first as well as the headboard, it was a breeze until I saw the last piece. The damn table. Roo had helped me with it the first time so who was going to help me now?<br />

Rubbing the nape of my neck I let out an exasperated sigh.  

"Hey, need a hand?" I turned to see a guy with blonde hair, he looked older than me, but not by a lot. 

"If you can spare 5 minutes, that would be amazing." I smile. 

"'Course." He puts out his cigarette. 

"I appreciate it!" I smile. 

With the stranger's help we got the table into the living room no problem. Didn't take long at all. I thanked him. 

"I'm Y/N." He looks lost in thought for a second. 

"I'm Keishin." He extends a hand. 

"You seem so familiar to me, looking at you now." I said aloud. 

"Did you used to live here?" He asks. 

"Yeah, years ago." I put my hand in my back pocket and pull out my bandana, dabbing the sweat off my forehead and tying it on the way I've always done. 

"Wait...n/n?" He says. 

"KEI?!!" I realized it was the teenager who used to babysit me. 

"Wow, n/n, I can't believe how much you've grown!!" He engulfs me in a hug. 

"It's been like forever. I can't believe you're still here." I poke him. 

"Definitely, the last time I saw you was a while ago. You were maybe 6?" He laughs. 

"So, what are you up to these days, Kei? Last I remember you were an absolute mad lad in volleyball." We walk out to the front door. 

"I run the family store now, I had to give up volleyball a little, but I still get to be there." 

"What do you mean?" I tilt my head. 

"Well, I'm the coach at Karasuno High." He says. 

"No way!!! I'm enrolled there for my last year!" I lock the truck and shove the keys in my pocket. 

"That's amazing, n/n" he lights up a cigarette. 

"Small world after all, huh." we walk across the street to the store and I buy some snacks while I'm there. 

"So I hope to see you at our games, kiddo." He punches my arm playfully. 

"Oh you will, especially if you play nekoma any time soon." I punch back. 

"Soon. We'll have a rematch." He assures me. 

"See you around school then, Coach Kei." I walk back across the street and get to work. 

Pulling out the old sewing machine that was in a closet, I set to work, making curtains and other things that I knew cost more to buy than to make myself. I even made a few bento coverings. 

It's a cute small town. So of course when I finished moving in, a few neighbors came up to me and greeted me so kindly. My neighbors are really sweet. The families in the apartments to the either side of me had children and they went to the local high school too. They even sent their kids to greet me and made them bring some sweets that she had made. Sugawara and Nishinoya came to greet me with things their parents sent. The boys were nice enough, they even offered to walk me around campus for the first few days, until I got used to the school. 

Hopefully writing my next books here won't be too difficult. Again it's mostly just taking things I have lived through or friends have lived through and changing up some parts, placing them in different order, and of course the names are always switched up. No one beside Kuroo knew that I was the one behind the books, so something I definitely enjoy is  the kick my friends get out of the books. Seeing them feel like, wow this is so relatable. I make sure to leave out details that are just too specific to them, so they don't realize it's them in the stories. Sure, it's not always easy to come up with a plot, but it is my 8th teen drama, so it can't be all that bad. 

It had been an exhausting few days. Packing, moving, and unpacking. I laid in bed and took a few breaths, I texted roo a lengthy thank you for everything and he texted back a few pictures we had together from our adventures outside of volleyball. I smiled, falling asleep with Hachi in her bed next to mine. I took one last deep breath and closed my eyes. It was dreamless, but definitely restorative.  

I didn't feel tired at all. I got up and fed Hachi before pouring myself a glass of water. I look at my calendar and see that school starts in a few days. On the bright side, I have already picked up my school uniform and books. I just have to go down to the shop so I can get some notebooks and a few other things on the list of school supplies. I let Hachi out into the yard and she runs around happily with her favorite yard toys waiting for her by the dog house. 

Getting ready for the day, I threw on my favorite black thigh length shorts, a cute candy red cropped hoodie over a white tank and grabbed my black bookbag. I decide to pull out my skate soles, they can hook onto any of my sneakers and immediately transform them into a pair of roller skates. Best things I have gotten as a gift from my parents, besides the apartment. Town is so quiet even with small groups of people talking and walking around. It's like a speaker being at 20% volume instead of like Tokyo, which is always at 100%. It's kind of nice, not having to skate in between crowds too. After running errands, I stop by the convenience store on the way back. Picking up a light lunch, something to hold me over while I set my school supply haul down, feed her lunch and take her for a nice walk, well skate. Popping off my soles before entering the store and leaving them at the door, Kei was behind the counter. 

"Sweet skates, n/n." 

"Thanks Kei," pulling up to the counter with a sandwich and an energy drink. 

"It's on the house, n/n" He flips through his volleyball magazine. 

"No, Kei, tell me how much it is." I insist. 

"Not telling." He smiles at his book. 

"Fine then, how about you come over for dinner and I cook for you." I propose. 

"You're too much, little n/n." He shakes his head. 

"Tonight, 8 o clock. See you at my door." I say and leave, clicking my soles in and skating across the street before he could answer. 

Getting inside, I put my books and supplies on my desk in my room and headed to the yard, calling Hachi inside for lunch. We chow down and then head out on our walk. I went grocery shopping towards the end of our walk, just what I could carry for dinner. I was going to make a delicious steak with a side of oven roasted potatoes and asparagus. It was among my favorite things to prepare with how easy the prep work is. 

The time was nearing for Kei to come over, I had the table set while the veggies were in the oven. The only thing left was the steak. I liked mine pretty rare and I made Kei's medium. Just as I set the steak on the plate to rest, there was a knock on the door. 

"Come in, the door's open." I shout. 

"It's Suga." 

"Oh, Sugawara, I wasn't expecting you." I met him at the entrance. 

"Well, I got a box in the mail and it's got my address, but your name and since I didn't order anything, I was going to drop it off." the box in his hands. 

"I didn't order anything either." We share a glance. 

"Let's open it." I offer. 

"I don't see why not." He smiles. 

Upon opening the box, there's a note. To Chibi-chan, From Roo. Just a little house warming gift. 

"So it is for me, I'll call them later, thanks for bringing it by, Sugawara." I smile at the silver haired boy. 

"Not a problem. Smells amazing here." He smiles as he walks out. 

"I'm having someone over but as always I made too much, you're welcome to join us." I extend an invite. 

"I don't want to intrude." He raises his hands. 

"Not at all, if you want, we can ask Kei if he's okay with it. He should be here now." I say opening the door to Kei about to know with a small box in his hands. 

"Hey Kei, come in. Do you know Sugawara?" I ask. 

"Hey coach." Sugawara rubs the back of his neck. 

"How's it going, Suga?" they do the bro handshake. 

"So, I'll take that as a yes. Kei you wouldn't mind if Suga joins us right?" I bat my lashes. 

"Of course not. We can catch you up to speed on everything that's changed since you left." He agrees. 

"Oh, no coach, I couldn't possibly." Suga puts his shoes on. 

"Well, if you don't feel up to it, then it's alright, maybe some other time." I shrug and walk back to the kitchen. 

"Sure thing, see you around, Y/N." He nods and takes his leave. 

"Alright, what did you say to him?" Kei raises a brow. 

"Not a damn thing." 

"Lies, he's never this nervous." He crosses his arms. 

"Nothing! I swear." He eyes me. 

"Fine," He sighs and gives me the small box. 

"Kei, you didn't have to bring me anything." 

"Well, it's not much, just something small." He ruffles my hair. 

"Thanks Kei, I'll open it after dinner." I place it on the living room coffee table. 

"Which dinner smells incredible, where did you order from?" He asks sitting down at the set table. 

"I said I would cook for you, so that's exactly what I did. I wasn't going to order out, just to make it easy on me." I huffed. 

"I can almost taste it. Need a hand bringing it to the table?" He asks. 

"No, I've got it." I smile. 

The rest of the night was spent talking about anything and everything, with a few drinks in the mix, we spoke until midnight and just caught up with everything we missed out on in each other's lives. Back when I was younger he really was like an older brother to me, so it felt like I was reconnecting with family. Keishin had crashed because those couple of drinks turned into shots. Needless to say the hangover was of astronomical proportions. Even Hachi knew to let herself out without so much as a bark to wake us. 

"Hey Kei, you still here?" I whispered, trying to open my eyes, but the morning sun was too strong. 

"Yeah, are you okay?" He whispers back. 

"Yeah, no it's killer, how's yours?" 

"I need an aspirin or something." he mumbles in response. 

"I got it, just stay where you are." 

"I don't think I could move with all this pressure." He squeezes his eyes shut, only making it worse. 

Going into my bathroom and into the medicine cabinet, I pull out the pain killers and take 4 out of the bottle. Slowly and as quietly as possible I make my way to the kitchen and pour a cup of water to help make the pills go down. Reaching Kei, I kneel down beside the couch and pass him the remaining two pills and the rest of the water. 

"Drink up" I whisper. 

"Thanks" he takes the pills out of my hand and drinks the water. 

"This was so nice. Good food, good company and a couple of drinks." I smile and rest my head on my hands, next to him. 

"Yeah, I didn't think we would drink this much." he snorts. 

"Neither did I. I just have the stash the parentals left behind." I shrug. 

"Well, it's a very prepared stash." He nods. 

"I know, it was good whiskey." I smile. 

"How about I make some breakfast and you go sober up. Take a shower, there's fresh towels in the bathroom, I even have new toothbrushes in the cabinet. Pick whichever you like and put a cap on it so you know it's yours." I suggest, helping him to his feet. 

"I will take you up on that offer," he stumbles as I try my best to help him to the shower. I set up the water and showed him how to turn it off and where the soap was. 

Leaving him to it, I did my best to sober up the way I know how. Cooking. Running out real quick to the store and I bought some bread and milk, since I had eggs and cinnamon. I had decided to make some French toast. I remember them being his favorite and they are dense enough to be a filling breakfast with just a few slices. 

After returning, and making the meal, we said our goodbyes. I made my way to the bathroom and showered, dressed in my favorite pjs. A black tank top and matching basketball shorts. I happily knocked out for a few hours to sleep off the hangover, putting an alarm for lunch time with Hachi. The day was quiet, until 10 minutes before my alarm I heard a knock at my door. 

"Who is it?" I groaned. 

"It's Suga." 

"Come in" I had forgotten to lock the door. 

"Hey, I heard you guys laughing real hard late last night, so I assume you guys were having fun. I thought I should bring you some of my mom's hangover cure." He holds up a small container with the soup. 

"Sugawara, why are you so loud??" I cover my head with the blanket. 

"I'm sorry," he whispers. 

"It's okay, you didn't know how much we drank." my voice muffled by the blanket. 

"I think I have a good idea of that. So, I'm going to put the soup in the kitchen, is there anything I can do to help?" He whispers. 

"I'm not going to trouble you, thank you for the food and sorry about the noise." I hummed. 

"It's not a problem, just tell me." He insists. 

"Can you feed Hachi? Her food is measured out, just have to mix it together in the bowl that has her name on it." I point to the counter behind him. 

"Yeah, sure." He does what I asked and sets the bowl down beside the water bowl and Hachi immediately comes inside. 

"Anything else?" He asks. 

"No, I appreciate it Sugawara, thank you." 

"Oh, alright. So I will take my leave." He leaves quickly and quietly. 

The rest of the day is uneventful and quiet. Having heated up the soup and eaten it, I felt instantly better. I opened up Roo's gift and it was a care package. A jar full of cheesy chemistry jokes, our favorite movie snacks, and a framed picture of us from when we won the game against Seijoh. I immediately called him and it went to voicemail so I left him a message. I walked over to Sugawara's house and gave back the washed tupperware and thanked Ms. Sugawara. She laughed and reminisced about the days when my parents used to invite her over and they'd all drink or smoke just as heavily. I laughed and she said she'd find the pictures she had of the good old days. I bowed and walked back to my house and got to writing.  

I had decided on the era, the 80s. My parents were around 18 in 1985. I guess its time I told their love story as a murder mystery. I skated for proper groceries right before holing up in my second room. Hachi is such a good time keep, she barks once for breakfast, twice for lunch and pushes a little on the door for walks. Days past exactly like this, just writing and coming out for Hachi's needs and grabbing a snack, soon the first day of class is tomorrow. 

"Alright, Hachi, I have school tomorrow and from then on. Please be on your best behavior." I bow and Hachi reciprocates. 

Meeting up with Sugawara and Nishinoya, it was extra early. The boys had volleyball practice in the morning. Having grabbed the skate soles, I click them into place and I skate in between the boys. 

"Those are so cool, y/n." Noya checks them out at the corner before crossing. 

"Thanks, Nishinoya." I do a quick spin. 

"Just call me Noya," He smirks. 

"Careful Noya, I'm a third year." I winked and skated a little. 

We talked a little bit more about classes, teachers, different clubs. Until we got to the foot of the hill, I look at the boys and an idea pops into my head. 

"I have an idea, but only if you guys want to." I eye them both. 

"What is it?" Noya smirks. 

"Walk and I'll hold your hands." The two look at each other. 

"Seems okay," Suga and Noya extend their hands and they walk, basically pulling me up the hill. 

As soon as we get to the flat of the hill, I thought I was safe, until I felt myself roll a bit back and Sugawara grips my hand tight enough to sling me back up. 

"Oof, that was a close one-"His sling was a little too strong and ended up knocking him down and falling right on top of him. 

"Well, hello there, did you scrape your knee when you fell for me?" I joke. 

"Of course I did, for an angel like you." He chuckles. 

"Damn, senpai, you're smooth." Noya nods. 

The rest of the day, I couldn't help but think about the response he gave to the cheesy pick up line I gave him. I mean, come on, why would I? It's not like we've interacted much. 

The day passes by slowly. Classes were pretty standard first day things. Going over the curriculum for the year and due dates, annotating them in my planner so I could keep everything in one place. By the time lunch came, I took out my bento from my bag and placed it on my desk. I stepped out for a moment to fill up my water bottle, and came back to see Sugawara sitting at the desk in front of me, and turned to eat with me. 

"I thought if it wasn't too much of a bother, I'd have lunch with you." He smiles. 

"Thank you for the company, Sugawara." 

I couldn't make conversation, which is rare for me, a chatterbox. 

"So, do you like your classes so far?" He pokes my hand with his pinky. 

"Teachers seem nice. Strict but fair types." I answer before taking a bite of my sausage octopus. 

"Yeah, for the most part, all the teachers here are like that. They are really invested in seeing us graduate on time and succeed." He smiles. 

"That's really great." I finish my bento and Sugawara goes back to his class, a curt nod and the rest of the day continues. 

It's a great school and lots of the gossip that the girls in my class were catching me up on between classes was definitely helpful when it came to helping me develop the next couple chapters for my book. Of course, I didn't have to mention anything about being author to my english teacher, at least not in front of the class. They were well aware of who I was and where I was coming from. 

The last bell rang and the boys were outside my class. 

"Y/N, we have volleyball practice, if you don't mind waiting for us after practice, we could walk you home after?" Noya offers. 

"Sounds good, boys. I just have one question." They glance at each other. 

"Do you guys have a track? I want to skate but I know I didn't see any good spots to skate around." 

"Not really, but there is a sort of second floor to the volleyball gym. Maybe Coach can let you skate there." Noya ponders. 

"I see. I mean, I would rather something open, but I guess I could make it work." I shrug. 

At the gym, I'm introduced to the rest of the team. 

"I'm Y/N, nice to meet you all." 

"Come on, no slacking off, 50 serves each." a booming voice comes from behind me. 

"Oh, hey n/n. What brings you to the gym?" He seems genuinely surprised. 

"Not much, I was hoping to ask if I could skate the second floor, around the top." 

"That would be a no, but you can skate outside, it'd be less likely to get you in trouble." He rubs the back of his neck. 

"Sure, thing." 

After 2 hours of skating and playing 70's funk through my headphones, I got bored so I decided to peak into the gym. That's when I saw him. Truly saw him. His determination, precision, and confidence. So this is what Kei meant. He seems so different from the guy I had lunch with earlier. He was so sure of his movements, setting the ball up for the other 2 boys to attack. Everything was so fast, and Hinata literally flew. It was absolutely incredible. 

"WOAHHHHHH, nice kill!!!" Oops, I smack my hand over my mouth and duck beside the door. 

"Uh, who said that?" Kageyama ponders. 

It was only 30 minutes after that, they finished cleaning up, and the boys were getting changed into their school uniforms. The downhill skate was wicked. It was like a breath of fresh air. Stopping short of the corner, the boys are out of breath before they reach me. 

"You're pretty fast on those!" Noya screeches. 

"Yeah, lots of practice." I smirk. 

"Alrighty, so I'm going to head home, I have to get my notes in order for the study group tomorrow, are you coming with us?" Noya pleads. 

"Sure!" 

"See you!" Noya waves and jogs off. 

We go to the convenience store and pick up snacks, he grabs a meat bun and is waiting patiently behind me to pay for it. 

"Kei" I point behind me and mouth, that too. 

"Alrighty, total is 500 yen." He grumbles. 

"Here," I say and push Sugawara out as I leave with my bag of stuff. 

"Wait, I have to pay for this." 

"No, it's fine, I got it." I shake my head. 

"Then next time it's my treat." He declares rather loudly. 

"I-," I chuckle, cutting myself off, he was just too cute. 

"Kind of loud, wasn't I?" He gets flustered. 

We laugh and he walks me to my front door. He seemed kind of sad to go, but I didn't stop him.  

This went on for weeks. He'd walk me to my door and I wouldn't say a thing except for good bye. At one point Noya had texted me asking if I thought Sugawara was looking a bit down. I texted back an ‘I'm not sure’ and I shot a text to Suga asking if he was okay. He said he was fine which I didn't believe so I told him to come over, that I had made cookies and they were still warm. He showed up and we ended up talking a whole lot. 

Turns out we have a lot in common. Between storytelling, volleyball, and a general liking of cooking, we shared lots of small things. After school I would invite him over and he would walk right in, making himself comfortable. Hachi loves him and I think having him around was nice for a change. It was getting to be quite lonely. Kuroo and the rest of nekoma was busy with prepping for training week and Karasuno was also looking forward to it, so he hasn't visited in a while.  

It was a regular day. I had stuck around to help with practice, Kei didn't mind the help since it meant he got to leave a little early for his shift at the store. Suga and I typically did the cleaning after the end of practice which wasn't too bad, considering we didn't live far from school. Instead of skating down like usual, I walked with him and held onto my hand out of habit. We talked about how well the team was doing and how Kageyama was shaping up to have a lot of potential. He was a bit down that it was his last year and that he wanted to be the star setter, but he knew that Karasuno's chances were going to be better with Kageyama. I reassured him that he was a great team player and that there was no replacing him as a player on the team. He was like the team's glue. He knew exactly how to get them to work together. He smiled and got a bit shy. I insisted that I meant every word and he got even more flustered. 

As soon as we got to my door, he looked like he did when we first used to walk home together. Didn't want to go home yet,like he  wanted to say something almost. 

"Did you want to come in? Maybe help me with the homework that got assigned?" I offer. 

"I would like that." 

In the middle of working on chemistry homework, I get so lost with the reactions portion of the worksheet. 

"Here, you have to remember that-" He just looked so cute and I leaned over the table and kissed him. I didn't mean to be so blunt, but as soon as we broke the kiss I was flushed. 

"Well, that's another kind of reaction." I joke, trying to work through my embarrassment. 

"Can we do that again? You know, for educational purposes." He stumbles through the words. 

"Of course, educational." he stands and comes around the table and kneels in front of me. 

His hand cups my cheek and we lean into each other. The kiss made my chest tighten in a way that I didn't know was possible. Like it was aching for something, but it didn't know what for. I guess this was it. 

"I-uhh, I-" 

"It was nice." I smile, forehead to forehead, eyes closed. I run my fingers through the hair on his nape. 

"Yeah," He hums. 

"So, uh, how about I take you on a date?" He opens his eyes to meet mine. 

"I would like that." He leans in for another kiss.

[chanoyu-to-wa]

Nampō Roku, Book 2 (39):  (1587) Fifth Month, Twenty-sixth Day, After the Morning Meal.

39) Fifth Month, Twenty-sixth Day; after the morning meal¹.

◦ Two-mat room².

◦ [Guests:]  Sōmu [宗無]³, Ryūami [立阿彌]⁴.

[Sho [初]⁵.]

◦ Tōyo [東嶼]⁶.

◦ Ko-ita  furo ・ kiri ko-gama [小板 風爐 ・ 桐小釜]⁷.

◦ On the tana, suzume ・ hane [スヽメ ・ 羽]⁸.

▵ Senbei ・ kuri [センヘイ ・ 栗]⁹.

[Go [後]¹⁰.]

﹆ Chaire Enza [茶入 圓座]¹¹.

◦ Chawan Nagatabi [茶碗 長旅]  hakobi [ハコビ]¹².

◦ Mizusashi Bizen [水指 備前]¹³.

◦ In a [take-]zutsu [筒]¹⁴, ajisai [アチサイ]¹⁵.

_________________________

¹Go-gatsu nijū-roku nichi, asa-han go [五月廿六日、朝飯後].

    The date was July 1, 1587.

    Asa-han go [朝飯後] means that the guests broke their fast elsewhere (probably in their own homes, since both had residences in Sakai), and then proceeded to Rikyū's house for chanoyu.

    This gathering is not included in Kumakura Isao's modern-Japanese version of the Nampō Roku.

²Nijō shiki [二疊敷].

    This would have been the two-mat room in Rikyū's Ima-ichi machi residence in Sakai.

³Sōmu [宗無].

    This refers to Okayama Hisanaga [山岡 久永; 1534 ~ 1603*], who was also known as Sumiyoshi-ya Sōmu [住吉屋宗無].  He was a wealthy townsman from Sakai, and a highly respected chajin†, who also served as one of Hideyoshi’s Eight Masters of Tea (sadō hachi-nin-shū [茶頭八人衆]). ___________ *Certain accounts suggest that Sōmu may have died in 1595, at the time when Sakai was razed on Hideyoshi’s orders (as a punishment for the city-state’s opposition to his invasion of Korea).

†Sōmu is usually said to have been initiated into the practice of chanoyu by Jōō, and then continued his studies with Rikyū after Jōō’s death (though, given his high standing with both Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, this latter assertion might be a revisionist opinion put out by the Sen family during the Edo period).

   He studied Zen under Shunoku Sōen [春屋宗園; ? ~ 1611], from whom he received the name Sōmu [宗無] -- which he used as his professional name thereafter.

⁴Ryūami [立阿彌].

    Ise-ya Ryūami [伊勢屋 立阿彌; his dates of birth and death have not been preserved] was a machi-shū chajin*.  A letter written to him by Rikyū suggests that he held an official position in Hideyoshi's household -- perhaps as a member of the staff of Hideyoshi's tea department†.

   Ryūami's name is found in other documents connected with chanoyu from this period, such as the Tennōji-ya Kai Ki [天王寺屋會記] and Tsuda Sōkyū's diary of his own gatherings (the Tsuda Sōkyū Ji-kaiki [津田宗及自會記]).  He also appears as a guest at several of Rikyū's gatherings that are described in the Rikyū Hyakkai Ki [利休百會記].

    Some sources describe Ryūami as being one of Rikyū's students. __________ *The Ise-ya [伊勢屋] seems to have been a purveyor of high-quality kashi (then as now).  The sembei that Rikyū served as one of the kashi at this chakai may have been brought as a gift from Ryūami.

†Or possibly the official provisioner of kashi to Hideyoshi’s household.

⁵This word sho [初] is not found in the original kaiki, though the shoza can be understood from the list of utensils that follows.

    With respect to kane-wari:

- the toko held the kakemono, making it han [半];

- the room had the ko-ita furo, making it han [半] as well;

- and the tana had the kōgō and habōki, which would have been placed side by side (with each of them contacting a different kane), making the tana chō [調].

    Han + han + chō is chō, which is appropriate for the shoza of a chakai that is being held during the daytime.

⁶Tōyo [東嶼]*.

   This refers to a bokuseki written by the Yuan period Chán monk Dōnglíng Yǒng-yú [東陵永璵; 1285 ~ 1365] (whose name is pronounced Tōryō Eiyo in Japanese).

   He is said to have been related to the great Chán master Wúxué Zǔyuán [無學祖元; 1226年 ~ 1286] (Mugaku Sogen in Japanese).  Both Wúxué and Dōnglíng emigrated to Japan in order to spread the orthodox Chán teachings.  

   Dōnglíng Yǒng-yú was a follower of the Sōtō sect [曹洞宗] of Chán; and, as mentioned above, he came to Japan in Shōhei 6 [正平六年] (1351).  Although he was a monk of the Sōtō Shū, he served as the abbot (jūji [住持]) of a number of important Japanese temples that had no affiliation with that sect, among which were the Tenryū-ji [天龍寺] and Nanzen-ji [南禪寺] in Kyōto, and the Kenchō-ji [建長寺] and Enkaku-ji [圓覺寺] in Kamakura. ___________ *Though Rikyū seems to have made an effort to write the correct kanji (rather than using the kanji yo [與] that was part of his childhood name as on previous occasions when this kakemono was displayed), he mistakenly wrote yo [嶼], rather than yo [璵].

⁷Ko-ita  furo ・ kiri ko-gama [小板 風爐 ・ 桐小釜].

    The furo -- usually known as the Rikyū men-tori do-buro [利休面取土風爐] -- was made of lacquered, low-fired earthenware; and had been designed by Rikyū specifically to be used with this particular kama*.

    The kama had belonged to Jōō, who seems to have been responsible for the repair of the rusted-out bottom.

__________ *The profile of the furo roughly mirrors that of the original small kimen-buro; though, since the space between the kama and the sides of this kind of furo should be around 2-sun, the size was increased significantly over that of the original metal furo.  This is why it was placed on a ko-ita (like other “large” furo).

⁸Tana ni suzume ・ hane [棚ニ スヽメ ・ 羽].

    Once again, Rikyū uses his ruri-suzume kōgō [瑠璃雀香合] -- with the furo.  Perhaps for this reason, this gathering was excluded from Kumakura Isao's Nampō Roku wo Yomu [南方録を読む].

    Hane [羽] means feather, and is an alternate way of referring to the habōki.  It would have been a go-sun-hane [五寸羽], as shown -- though it is impossible to speculate on the kind of feathers that were used to make it.

⁹Senbei ・ kuri [センヘイ ・ 栗].

    These were the kashi*.

    Senbei [煎餅] are rice crackers; and they were usually procured from a specialty shop, rather than made at home.  The ji-kyaku, Ryūami, was a scion of the Ise-ya house, famous then (as now) for their high-quality kashi (of which senbei was a category); and perhaps he brought a box of special senbei to Rikyū as a gift -- which Rikyū decided to serve during the chakai.

    “Kuri” [栗] probably refers to yaki-guri [焼栗], chestnuts roasted over a charcoal fire. ___________ *Since the guests would have already eaten their morning meal at home, Rikyū served only kashi at this chakai.

¹⁰Again, while Rikyū did not actually write go [後] to indicate the goza, his intentions can be inferred from the utensils listed.

    As for the kane-wari:

- the chabana was displayed by itself, with the vase standing on an usu-ita resting on the floor of the toko, making the toko han [半];

- the room had both the ko-ita furo and the mizusashi (with the bon-chaire placed in front of it*), so the room was chō [調];

- and the tana was apparently left empty, which would be counted as chō [調].

    Han + chō + chō is han, which is proper for the goza of a gathering hosted during the daytime. __________ *It is unclear (from the kaiki) whether Rikyū used the black lacquered Haneda-bon [羽田長盆] that he had ordered for this chaire, or the larger tray that Jōō had made for it (which was black with a red rim).  Depending on the chawan, the bowl could have been displayed beside the bon-chaire if Rikyū's tray had been used; but if Jōō's tray was used, it would have been impossible.

    I have shown Jōō's tray in the sketch because the way the kaiki was written suggests that Rikyū originally intended to place the chawan next to the bon-chaire (meaning that he originally planned to use his own tray), and then “suddenly changed his mind” about doing so (the word “hakobi” [ハコビ = 運び], which means “carried out,” is scribbled in the margin, and was clearly added after the record had already been entered) -- perhaps because the guests (both of whom were experienced chajin) had asked to see Jōō's chaire-bon (necessitating that Rikyū had to unexpectedly bring the chawan out from the katte at the beginning of the temae).

    While both guests were machi-shū from Sakai, and at least one of them (Sōmu) had studied chanoyu with Jōō; but this does not mean that either of them would necessarily have had the opportunity to see the tray that Jōō had designed (it must be remembered that the Nade-kata enza chaire [撫肩圓座茶入] was the first chaire ever used on a chaire-bon -- previously, chaire had only been placed on a naga-bon, and only very few of the meibutsu pieces could be so used since the size had to be exactly 2-sun 2-bu or 2-sun 5-bu in diameter:  the Nade-kata enza measured 2-sun 6-bu, and that was why Jōō had been inspired to make the tray in the first place).  Jōō, while possessing an incredible number of meibutsu utensils, seems to have been especially parsimonious about showing them off -- especially in his last years.

    The fact that the bon-chaire is marked with a red dot in the Enkaku-ji manuscript indicates that this was the “special utensil” used during this chakai, and so the above scenario seems most likely.

¹¹Chaire Enza [茶入 圓座].

    This is the chaire known today as the Rikyū enza [利休圓座]; in the historical documents it appears either as the Nade-kata enza [撫肩圓座] or (erroneously) the Enza katatsuki [圓座肩衝]*.

    This meibutsu chaire had formerly belonged to Jōō, who designed what seems to have been the first chaire-bon for it.  That tray†, which is similar in shape to the tray shown above, has a red edge, and is 3-sun 5-bu larger than the chaire on all four sides.  Rikyū copied the style of Jōō's tray, but reduced the size (so that his tray -- which is the one shown in the photo -- is only 2-sun larger than the chaire on all four sides).  It seems that, while Rikyū surely performed bon-date on this occasion, which tray he used is a matter of debate -- yet, since Rikyū specifically states that he carried the chawan into the room at the beginning of the temae, and since the two guests were chajin, perhaps he decided to use Jōō's larger tray‡.

    As mentioned above, in the Enkaku-ji manuscript of Book Two of the Nampō Roku the chaire is marked with a red spot, indicating that it was the featured utensil used during this chakai.  Perhaps Sōmu and Ryūami had asked Rikyū to let them see it (and see it used on Jōō’s original tray) -- since it had been one of Jōō's treasures, and had been given to Rikyū by Hideyoshi.

     Though the chashaku is not mentioned in the kaiki, with this chaire Rikyū would have used an ori-tame [折撓] of his own making**. __________ *The latter designation seems to have been more commonly used by the machi-shū; and it gained a certain currency during the Edo period.

†Jōō patterned his chaire-bon after the several Haneda naga-bon [羽田長盆] that Haneda Gorō [羽田五郎] had made for Ashkaga Yoshimasa (when he replaced the six large meibutsu trays that had been destroyed when Yoshimasa’s storehouse was burned down during the Ōnin wars).

‡Jōō's tray was too large to allow a chawan to be placed beside it.

    The rather odd way in which the kaiki is written suggests that Rikyū may have originally intended to use his own tray (and so wrote the name of the chawan immediately after that of the chaire, since the two could be displayed together in front of the mizusashi); and then, acceding to a request from the guests, substituted Jōō's tray at the last moment (and so he scribbled “hakobi” in the margin next to the chawan).

**The chashaku shown in the photo is the one to which Furuta Sōshitsu gave the name “Namida” [泪].  Rikyū made this chashaku to be used with the Enza chaire (this was the chaire that he used at his last chakai, on the morning of his death), and then sent the chashaku to Oribe afterward (the Enza chaire was returned to Hideyoshi, to whom it technically belonged).

    Rikyū seems to have frequently replaced his chashaku with newly made ones, so they would always be clean.  It is said that he carved the “Namida” chashaku while waiting to hear his fate.

¹²Chawan Naga-tabi ・ hakobi [茶碗 長旅 ・ ハコビ].

    While searching out the identity (or even a description) of this chawan has frustrated scholars since the Edo period, this seems to be one of the earliest of Furuta Sōshitsu's hiki-dashi-kuro [引き出し黒] chawan*.

    Since the actual chawan has not been located (in fact, it was probably lost around the time of Rikyū's seppuku), the chawan shown above shows one of Oribe's early black bowls (which “Naga-tabi” may have resembled). __________ *Apparently the only account of this chawan that was written by someone who actually drank from it is found in the Sōtan nikki [宗湛日記]*, the tea diary of the Hakata machi-shū Kamiya Sōtan [神屋宗湛; 1551 ~ 1635].

    In his account of a gathering given by Rikyū (for Sōtan alone) at midday on the 20th of the Ninth Month (of Tenshō 18, 1590), he indicates that the utensils used during the goza were a naka-tsugi, a kuro chawan [黒茶碗] (with, Sōtan noted, the utensils -- chakin, chasen, and chashaku -- placed inside it), an earthenware (unglazed) mizusashi, Seto mizu-koboshi, and a hikkiri.  In Rikyū's own account of this chakai (which is found in the Rikyū Hyakkai Ki [利休百會記]), Rikyū identifies this chawan as “Naga-tabi” [長旅].

    Further details on this hypothesis may be found under footnote 15 in the post entitled Nampō Roku, Book 2 (7):  (1586) Eleventh Month, Third Day, Midday.  The URL for that post is:

http://chanoyu-to-wa.tumblr.com/post/179631582956/namp%C5%8D-roku-book-2-7-1586-eleventh-month

¹³Mizusashi Bizen [水指 備前].

    This was Rikyū's Bizen mizusashi.  While definitive documentation is missing, this was most likely the mizusashi shown below (though, when Rikyū owned it, it would have had a matching lid).

    Note that in the sketch of the arrangement of the utensil mat (under footnote 10, above) the mizusashi has been pushed a little closer to the far end of the mat than usual (in the present case the back side of the mizusashi was in line with the back edge of the shiki-ita).  This was so that the chaire would remain in its proper place even though a larger-than-usual tray was used.

   In addition to the above utensils, Rikyū would have used a take-wa [竹輪] and a mentsū [面桶] during the service of tea.

¹⁴Tsutsu ni [筒ニ].

    This was an oki-zutsu [置き筒], a simple hanaire made from a short length* of bamboo, that was stood on a black-lacquered usu-ita†, on the floor of the toko.

__________ *Usually just under 1-shaku long, though this is quite variable.

†As has been mentioned before, Jōō and Rikyū used only one kind of usu-ita (irrespective of what kind of hanaire they were placing on it) -- that known, today, as the yahazu-ita [矢筈板].  It was painted with shin-nuri, and measured 1-shaku 3-sun 2-bu by 9-sun 2-bu.

    Though the modern schools usually say otherwise, all of the other usu-ita were created during the Edo period (and then “blamed” on Rikyū to legitimize their use).

¹⁵Ajisai [アチサイ].

    Ajisai [紫陽花] is the hydrangea -- though the hydrangea available to Rikyū were simpler and more “natural-looking” than the hybrid forms commonly seen today*.

    The East Asian hydrangea (Hydrangea serrata) -- sometimes referred to as the mountain hydrangea -- which generally has very few flowers with enlarged tepals (and these usually arranged in a loose ring around a dense cluster of simpler flowers), is shown above.  The color of the larger florets was pale, and generally somewhere between light blue and a bluish-purple (the more acid the soil, the bluer the flowers).  The flower clusters are also notably smaller, and more compact, than the better known European hybrids. __________ *The hybrid forms, most of which originated in Europe, seem to have been first imported into Japan during the Edo period.

[placetobenation]

SmackDown on Fox Episode #8 SmackDown Episode # 1,057 Chicago, IL – Allstate Arena 11/22/19 The show opens with the SmackDown roster gathered together in the back and for the third week King Corbin is opening the show with a promo, however he is quickly interrupted by Roman Reigns who hypes up the SmackDown roster by saying that they are going to open the garage door and let all of Team Raw and Team NXT in and then kick their ass when they get there. Corbin and Reigns continue to bicker back and forth. Sasha steps up the podium and says that the women are ready which leads to the women walking out of the meeting as they are headed to the ring.

Yet another Corbin segment to open SmackDown, but at least this one wasn’t as long and there were no dog poop bags or bulldog mascots so compared to weeks previous that was a vast improvement. I liked Sasha taking charge at the end and instead of waiting on the opposing rosters to come to them she wanted to call them out and make the first move which shows she and the rest of the women have bigger balls than Reigns and Corbin combined. 

After the intro video we get Sasha coming to the ring along with the SmackDown’s women team, Sasha says that this is their show and their ring and nobody is going to hit them from behind. Sasha calls out Team Raw because she knows that Team NXT won’t show their faces. Team Raw comes to the ring with their captain Charlotte and this would lead to Sasha challenging Charlotte to a match right then. We then get our first look at Team NXT which is comprised of Team Captain Rhea Ripley, Toni Storm, Mia Yim, Tegan Nox, & Candice LeRae, Rhea challenges both Sasha and Charlotte to a triple threat match between the three team captains, this leads to all the women brawling as we go to commercial. 

There have been a lot of good, fun, and badass teams in the history of Survivor Series, but rarely do those teams consist of women, but that is going to change this Sunday as the women’s NXT team that was revealed tonight could be the greatest (and most hachi machi) female quintet to ever compete at Survivor Series. I can’t think of a more badass team than NXT has and despite their cuteness, they are not to be taken lightly as they are some of the toughest women that are going to be in the match. When I saw Team NXT coming through the crowd and saw that Toni Storm was apart of the team I popped as it’s nice to finally see her back after losing the title to Kay Lee Ray back in August, it was a big surprise as she hasn’t even returned to NXT UK TV yet. I do find it odd they made the team all babyfaces and didn’t stick someone like Io Shirai or Bianca Belair in the match to mix it up a bit, but I’m not complaining as I am loving the team they do have. I have to mention that when Raw and SmackDown faced off in the ring there was a nice callback that probably nobody noticed as Dana Brooke and Sarah Logan (who had a terrible looking face paint design tonight) were nose to nose which was a nice callback to their feud they had earlier this year on Main Event that nobody watched.  

Match #1: Sasha Banks w/ Team SmackDown vs Rhea Ripley w/ Team NXT vs Charlotte Flair w/ Team Raw All three women start the match by striking each other until both Rhea and Charlotte team up to take Sasha down with a big boot. Charlotte and Rhea have words with each other before Charlotte takes her down with a rear waist lock and then locks in a headlock. Charlotte kicks Rhea in the face and tries for the snap exploder but Rhea counters and drives Charlotte into the corner where she drives her shoulder into the gut of Charlotte. Rhea hits a kick on Charlotte but Charlotte comes back with a big boot that takes Rhea down. Charlotte pays back Rhea with some shoulders to the gut until Rhea moves and causes Charlotte to go face-first into the corner. Sasha finally gets back into the match and hits Rhea with a backstabber and goes for the first pin of the match which only gets a 2 count. Rhea goes for a kick but Sasha catches her leg and knees her in the face only for Rhea to hit Sasha with a short-arm clothesline and a dropkick moments later. Sasha rolls to the outside and when Rhea goes out to roll her back inside she gets caught with a kick by Sasha. Charlotte pushes Sasha into Nikki Cross and they both go into the steps at ringside. Sasha and Nikki have words and start to argue as the rest of Team SmackDown try to break them up. Rhea and Sasha start brawling at ringside until they are both taken down courtesy of a top rope moonsault by Charlotte and this leads to a commercial break.

As we come back from commercial Rhea breaks up a half crab by drop kicking Charlotte. Rhea sends Sasha into the corner but Sasha tries to fight back by attempting to hit a head scissors but Rhea counters and sends Sash into the corner face-first. Rhea sets Sasha on the top rope looking for a superplex but Sasha is able to fight her off and come off the top with a diving Meteora which leads to Charlotte breaking up a pin attempt by hitting the Natural Selection on Sasha for 2 as Rhea breaks up the pin. At this point, it comes to my attention that Charlotte has a bloody mouth. Charlotte goes to pick up Rhea but gets kicked by Rhea. Charlotte and Rhea are dodging big boots and dropkicks before Charlotte connects with a Natural Selection, but before she can attempt to pin her Rhea rolls out of the ring. Charlotte locks in the Figure Eight on Sasha, however, while has it applied Rhea slides back in and crucifixes the arms of Charlotte which puts her shoulders on the mat for the 3 count to give the Team NXT captain the win. Winner: Rhea Ripley via Pinfall    Match Rating: ***¼ I really enjoyed this match especially the segments that involved Rhea and Charlotte (no disrespect meant for Sasha) because Rhea is the first person that when standing face to face with Charlotte looks like the most legit threat to her as she is one of the very few women that Charlotte doesn’t tower over in the ring and her skills inside the ring are just as great as Charlottes. I will go out on a limb and say that if they want to do another women’s main event at WrestleMania in a few years this one on one match wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility as I think both would be able to pull off the build of a main event WrestleMania match with excellent promos and in-ring action. One thing I didn’t like about the match was the arguing amongst members of Team SmackDown as the trope of team members not liking each other and fighting each other during matches is so overdone when it comes to Survivor Series and to make it even worse they are already running that story with the SmackDown men’s team, but more on that later. Something I did like about the match was the finish as it was really unique and showed that Rhea is smart as she gained a victory in a way never seen before, whoever came up with that deserves a raise or at least a cookie and a gold star as that was brilliant.  If this match was a taste of how good the triple threat tag match at Survivor Series will be then we are in for a treat come Sunday. 

After the match, there is a brawl between Team Raw and Team SmackDown as Team NXT looks on.

King Corbin is talking to Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode about their match tonight and Corbin has a plan to abandon Reigns if Team Raw and Team NXT get involved. Sami Zayn appears and Corbin calls him annoying which leads to Zayn challenging Corbin to a match before walking off as we go to commercial. What was the point of this segment it felt completely unnecessary and I don’t see it leading to anything as both Corbin and Nakamura are heels?   After the break, we go to the back where Bayley is being interviewed about her match on Sunday against Becky Lynch and Shayna Baszler. Bayley brags about being a women’s champion on all three brands and then challenges Shayna to come out and face her face to face in the ring instead of hitting her from behind like she has done in the previous weeks.  We go to the ring which is being taken up by Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn. Zayn talks about Corbin not accepting his challenge because he is scared of both Zayn and Nakamura. Zayn then talks up how studly Nakamura is and that because he is so studly Zayn has something special for him, Zayn reaches into a bag he brought with him to the ring and pulls out an all-new version of the Intercontinental Championship.  Zayn talks about why Nakamura will get the win for SmackDown on Sunday before running down AJ Styles and then acting as if he had forgotten Roderick Strong’s name. Undisputed Era makes their way to the ring and after a brief staredown, Zayn and Nakamura leave the ring. Adam Cole talks about how Undisputed Era will take care of Raw and SmackDown on Sunday. New Day come out to get some retribution for Undisputed Era attacking them last week and UE are glad to accept a 2-on-4 challenge, however New Day reveal they have a couple of buddies who will help them even the odds, this leads to Heavy Machinery making their way down to the ring as we will have an 8 man tag match after the commercial break.

I like the new Intercontinental Championship, but I’m curious why they changed it as the old one looked good as well. I wonder if this means we get a new United States Championship as well? While I don’t want them on Raw or SmackDown because they will end up getting ruined by the booking on those shows I will say that when UE came out they felt big time and looked like they belong on one of the two main shows whereas some of the NXT stars looked a bit out of place being on one of the main shows, if that makes any sense maybe that was just a vibe I was picking up.   Match #2: New Day & Heavy Machinery vs Undisputed Era Big E and Strong start the match out with Strong trying to find an opening to take Big E down, but Big E backs him into a corner, but Strong finally gets the opening he was looking for thanks to a distraction from the UE. Strong tags in O’Reilly and they beat Big E down in the corner and then O’Reilly tags in Fish. Fish & O’Reilly try for a double team move but Big E runs right through them clotheslining O’Reilly and hitting Fish with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Big E tags in Kingston and then hits Fish with a big splash on the apron followed by an overhead belly to belly suplex on the floor to O’Reilly. Kingston comes off the top with a springboard axe handle on Cole who had been tagged in while the action was happening on the floor. Cole and Kingston trade strikes while Strong blind tags himself in and hits a half-nelson backbreaker on Kingston then stomps a mudhole into Kingston’s chest. Fish works over Kingston with strikes and hits him with a tope atomico before tagging in Cole. The Undisputed Era is making quick tags and working Kingston over in their corner. Kingston tries to make a comeback as he goes up to the top but is dropkicked off and sent to the floor where he crashes right down on top of Tucker (who was trying to prevent O’Reilly from interfering). Otis runs over and pulls Kingston off of Tucker and Big E does not take this well as he gets in Otis’s face and we get a bit of shoving as we go to commercial.  As we come back from commercial Fish has grounded Kingston with a chin lock and body scissors, Kingston fights his way out of it and tries to make a tag but Fish knocks Big E off the apron. Kingston finally makes a comeback when he hit Fish with a dropkick out of the corner and then makes the hot tag to Otis. Otis clotheslines Strong and O’Reilly and splashes Cole in the corner. O’Reilly tries to attack Otis with kicks but they don’t phase Otis as he catches O’Reilly and hits him with a capture suplex. Otis calls for the Caterpillar but Fish pulls Cole out of the ring to stop that. Otis catapults O’Reilly into a hip toss from Tucker. O’Reilly tags in Strong but that doesn’t help anything as Tucker throws Strong across the ring and then hits a sidewalk slam for a 2 count. Tucker has Strong down and then looks around like a complete dumbass for what felt like an entire minute before finally going up top and hitting a moonsault which gets him a 2 count after Cole breaks it up. 

Big E hits Cole with a side belly to belly and then backdrops Fish & O’Reilly to the outside. Kingston looks to dive to the outside but Cole grabs his foot to prevent that from happening, meanwhile on the other side of the ring Fish & O’Reilly pulls Big E out of the ring and hit him with the High Low. Kofi fights off Cole and runs around to take care of Fish & O’Reilly but as he leaps off the steps O’Reilly moves and then they hit Kingston with the High Low as well. Otis hits the Caterpillar on O’Reilly but gets taken down by Fish. Cole hit a superkick on Tucker and Strong follows that up with a running knee that gets the win for the UE. Winners: Undisputed Era via Pinfall    Match Rating: **¾ This match really showcased just how great Undisputed Era are to the fans who don’t watch NXT as they were firing on all cylinders and working so well together, in fact, they were so good they made New Day look way less impressive than they usually look which is not an easy thing to do as New Day have been one of the top teams in WWE for the past five years. As far as Heavy Machinery goes they are really good when they want to be but I didn’t feel tonight was the best night for them, the fact that Tucker looked like a complete idiot by looking around like he didn’t know where he was before the moonsault really irked me. This was the second match in a row where people who are supposed to be on the same team get into an argument and this time it made less sense because both teams are babyfaces, although maybe it’s a tease for an upcoming heel turn from Big E or New Day as a team because he really overreacted to Otis pulling Kingston off Tucker. Once again I just want to say that this match was Undisputed Era’s coming out party to the non-NXT fans.

After the match Roderick Strong confronts Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn (who were watching the match from the top of the ramp) when out of nowhere AJ Styles hits a forearm on Nakamura and this leads to all three men brawling until Zayn helps Nakamura get the advantage as he takes out AJ and then hits Strong with some chair shots until UE run them off.  Michael Cole and Corey Graves run down the Survivor Series card and inform us that NXT is keeping their men’s team a secret. We go to a commercial. Not sure what the purpose of keeping the NXT men’s team hidden is. I get maybe having one or two surprises on the night of the show but the entire team doesn’t make much sense, especially since you can kinda predict most of the team given who has been highlighted in the build-up to show and doesn’t already have a match, I’m guessing the team will be Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Matt Riddle, Walter, & either Finn Balor, Pete Dunne, or Triple H.  As we come back the OC is beside the stage to cut a promo which leads to AJ saying he would mop the floor with CM Punk when the fans started chanting his name. Styles runs down his opponents at Survivor Series to end the promo.  With both Rollins and now Styles mentioning Punk  I feel the chances of Punk coming back to the ring are highly likely.  Daniel Bryan makes his way to the ring, Bryan says he isn’t here to do Yes! Chants or to inform people about climate change but he is here to call out Bray Wyatt. Bryan says they can talk about the past or they can fight, whichever one Wyatt would rather do. The lights go out and come back on without anything happening. Bryan is now getting angrier and once again challenges Bray to fight. 

The Miz makes his way to the ring and Bryan wants to know why Miz is out there, this leads the two of them eventually getting into a heated exchanged like they always do when they are in the ring together. Miz says he can’t wait for The Fiend to rip Bryan apart and then he slaps Bryan and then we cut to commercial completely out of the blue.  Match #3: Daniel Bryan vs The Miz As we come back the match has already started and Miz is hitting Bryan with the Yes! Kicks. Bryan catches the leg of Miz and then delivers a slap of his own before sending Miz to the outside, Bryan dives off the apron and catches Miz with a flying knee. Bryan gets Miz back in the ring where they exchange blows before Miz hits Bryan with a kitchen sink. Miz gets a 2 count on Bryan after a PK to the head. Miz hits a couple more kicks to the head while trash-talking Bryan. Bryan makes a comeback and hits Miz in the corner with kicks and chops before hitting the running dropkick in the corner, but as he goes for the third one Miz follows him and hits Bryan with the corner clothesline. Miz comes off the top with an axe handle but Bryan avoids it and tries to go for the LeBelle Lock but Miz prevents it from happening. Bryan hits a running clothesline on Miz before going up to the top where Miz cuts him off and goes for a superplex but Bryan fights him off and lands a missile dropkick off the top. Bryan hits the Yes! Kicks and then just as he was thinking about doing the Yes chant the lights go off and when they come back on The Fiend is sitting in the corner. The Fiend locks in the Mandible Claw on Bryan to end the segment. Winner: No Contest    Match Rating: **

This was nothing special of a match and was used just to set up The Fiend attacking Bryan. Of all the matches happening at Survivor Series this is the one I’m least excited about which is a shame as I shouldn’t feel that way about a match that has one of the best wrestlers in the world facing a champion who just underwent a gimmick change a few months ago and should still be interesting and captivating only a few months later. It feels like there has hardly been any build to this match and this segment on the go-home didn’t sell me on the match either, in fact, it feels like they are building up to another Bryan vs Miz match instead of Bryan vs The Fiend. Hopefully, the match at Survivor Series is good (although if they keep the red light on during the match none of Bray’s matches are going to be that good) but right now I’m not feeling it. I also feel like the Bray/Fiend character development has stalled compared to a few months ago, I actually think the character could use a segment where he has a serious one on one interview with one of the announcers similar to the interview Mankind did with JR back in the late 90s so we can get some more development on why Bray is the way he is. 

After the commercial, Shayna Baszler makes her way to the ring and calls out Bayley, but this time it’s Bayley hitting Shayna from behind as she takes her down with a chop block. Shayna gets in control and Bayley doesn’t want to stay and fight but she has no choice as Shayna locks her in the Kirifuda Clutch on the floor, Bayley is able to escape by ramming Shayna into the ring post. Bayley runs to the top of the ramp as we have a staredown between the two women’s champions before Bayley goes to the back. 

Kind of a bummer Becky couldn’t be there for the go-home show but this match doesn’t really need much more build to get people hyped for it as the build for it has been really well done and I have no doubt those three women will put on a great match on Sunday. It’s now time for the main event Match #4: King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, & Robert Roode vs Roman Reigns, Shorty G, & Mustafa Ali Reigns immediately takes down the heels and then hits a Drive-By on Corbin. Reigns rolls Roode into the ring but Roode grabs the referee with allows Ziggler to hit Reigns from behind and then Corbin sends Reigns into the barricade. Roode tags in Ziggler and they try to double team Reigns only for him to fight them off and hit Roode with a Samoan drop. Reigns tags in Shorty who dropkicks Corbin off the apron and then hits an exploder on Roode and a northern lights on Ziggler that gets a 2 count. Ziggler backdrops Shorty to the apron where Corbin and Roode are waiting, they toss him from the apron onto the announce table as we go to commercial. 

As we come back from commercial Ziggler hits Reigns with a big DDT for a 2 count. Ziggler tunes up the band for the Superkick but gets caught with a Superman Punch from Reigns. Reigns makes the hot tag to Ali while Ziggler tags in Corbin, Ali hits a couple of dropkicks and moments later hits the rolling X-Factor. He catches the leg of Ziggler who was attempting a Superkick and hits him with a spinning wheel kick. Ali hits the tope suicida on Ziggler followed by a tope con hilo on Corbin. Ali rolls Corbin back into the ring and gets out of an attempted chokeslam and then follows up with a springboard DDT out of the corner. Ali goes up top looking for the 450 but Roode crotches him, Shorty tries to take care of Roode but gets hit with a spinebuster on the floor for his efforts. Reigns leaps off the steps and hit Roode with a big Superman Punch and then turns around and gets hit with a Superkick from Ziggler. Ziggler pushes Ali off the top rope and Corbin hits Ali with the Deep Six to get the win.  Winners: King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, & Robert Roode via Pinfall  Match Rating: **¼

This was a fun match but nothing special except for Shorty G getting tossed on the announce table which was a nice looking spot. As Reigns made his way to the ring Michael Cole tells us that Reigns had sent out a tweet that he was going to help Corbin practice getting eliminated for Sunday which is kind of dickish that he puts his personal issues with Corbin ahead of the betterment of his team and the SmackDown brand, if I were Fox I would be like screw this guy get us someone else on the team who wouldn’t be happy with one of his team members being eliminated. 

The heels leave Reigns in the ring alone as Seth Rollins’s music hits and he leads the Raw roster through the crowd. Rollins enters the ring alone and starts trading punches with Reigns before the rest of Team Raw join Rollins in the beat down. The SmackDown roster then ran to the ring to help their Team Captain. After a few minutes of Raw and SmackDown brawling, it’s time for NXT to get involved as we cut to the back and see the NXT stars walking beside the DX tank which has DX, Keith Lee, & Tommaso Ciampa inside it. DX sends the NXT roster into battle and there are at least 50 people brawling around ringside as it is all-out chaos. 

The show closes with a face-off between Keith Lee and Braun Strowman in the ring, they take out some lower card talent with a pounce and a shoulder block before going at each other as members of all rosters get back in the ring to join them as the show goes off the air.  This was pretty much how you expect the Survivor Series go-home show to end now as we have to have the annual Survivor Series multi-brand brawl between all of the wrestlers, it has become as much a November tradition as Thanksgiving is, I’m actually not against the crazy brawl as it is one of my wrestling guilty pleasures. I do think Team NXT coming into the arena on the DX tank (otherwise known as a jeep) was overdoing it, especially since we had already seen NXT stars throughout the night so it wasn’t like they were just now arriving and the fact they didn’t drive it into the arena to give a cool visual made it even more unnecessary, Why do the NXT guys get to be led down to the ring by three Hall of Famers when Raw and SmackDown doesn’t have anybody like that supporting them, it actually kinda makes NXT look less than the other two shows because it comes off as they are a bunch of kids that are being led by their babysitters or parents. I also didn’t like how they didn’t involve the women in the final segment as they did a few years ago when the SmackDown women stood side by side with the men and beat down the Raw women, if they want them to be equal then they should’ve been apart of the brawl. I am excited for Survivor Series weekend as there is potential for some really great matches. That’s all for this week, but be sure to come back next week when everyone will hate each other again and the us vs them mentality will be a thing of the past.

[silviascorcella]

Fashion Conversation: QUATTROMANI

Lo suggerisce il nome stesso: in “Quattromani” si fondono il talento creativo e la passione di due giovani fashion designer, Massimo Noli e Nicola Frau. Entrambi provengono dalla Sardegna, e tuttora continuano a stare e a dare forma alle loro creazioni lì, terra di tradizioni e leggende che rivivono nei loro abiti tessute in trame assai contemporanee. 

Nelle creazioni Quattromani c’è la moda: che è nella bellezza che pervade gli abiti e gli accessori, nel fascino delle forme che agguanta il desiderio femminile, nella grazia attraversata dal graffio di contemporaneità. E c’è la devozione: per il tesoro che è nelle mani artigiane sarde, per le storie antiche che attraversano il tempo, per la rivoluzione che può nascere da un filo. 

Un mélange pregiato di intuizioni estetiche e pratica stilistica che pervade anche la collezione p/e 2016. Dove, come in un estroso gioco di scatole cinesi, compaiono altre quattro mani: due a disegnare l’ispirazione artistica, sono appartenute a Edina Altara, antica e magnifica autrice sarda di un mondo decorativo d’intensa raffinatezza e divertiti ghirigori Liberty; le altre due a interpretare sulla stoffa tale immaginario di sogno, appartengono a Berenice La Ruche, giovane illustratrice sarda che ha profuso la collezione di motifs all print dalla delicatezza trasognata abitati da rondini lievi, boccioli di ciliegio e fanciulle in fiore. Suggestioni intense che Nicola e Massimo hanno tradotto in abiti e accessori, in un equilibrio perfetto tra la leggerezza impalpabile e lo spessore materico della maglieria lavorata con i telai tradizionali. I Quattromani sfoggiano già un importante posto tra i finalisti del contest Who Is On Next? eppure la loro strada è ancora tutta da percorrere: e lastricata di belle storie ancora da raccontare …

Raccontateci di voi e del vostro background: quando è avvenuto il primo vero incontro con la moda e come è diventata la vostra strada professionale? Ci siamo conosciuti nel 2002 nella decisione di intraprendere un percorso di studi da fashion designer, poi a livello personale ognuno di noi ha avuto sempre una passione innata per questo mondo. Non è avvenuto un vero e proprio incontro, diciamo che la moda ci ha sempre accompagnato non abbiamo una data o un momento preciso ma sappiamo che ha sempre fatto parte della nostra vita.

Come, perché e con quale visione di stile nasce Quattromani? Quattromani nasce dopo un periodo di lavoro individuale per entrambi e dalla necessità di scambiarci pareri, consigli e idee. In quel momento è nata come un'esigenza la possibilità di poter unire le forze in un progetto unico, “Quattromani” proprio per esprimere la collaborazione lo scambio costante e la voglia di perseguire lo stesso obiettivo unendo il nostro lavoro. Da quel momento poi abbiamo dato le basi per creare uno stile contemporaneo, colorato, energetico che potesse esprimere la nostra passione innata per questo lavoro. Il proprio mondo creativo è istintivo, l’estetica è una visione personale, i materiali sono sperimentazione e l’imprenditorialità è necessaria: come accade l’armonia di questi elementi nella vostra moda? Non è sempre facile creare l'armonia tra i diversi elementi che portano ad avere un prodotto di moda; serve costanza, voglia di fare, energia e tanta tanta voglia di crescere con il prodotto che stai creando. L'armonia si può creare facilmente solo se tutte le parti del processo possono lavorare con la stessa percezione dell'obiettivo da ottenere .

Un nome all’interno e uno al di fuori del fashion world con cui vi piacerebbe collaborare? Ci piacerebbe poter collaborare un giorno con Tim Walker, vedere fotografati i nostri capi in uno dei suoi suggestivi e magici editorial, e poi un giorno ci piacerebbe vestire Keira Knightley nella sua delicatezza e leggiadria.

La bellezza salverà il mondo, celebre citazione con dentro una verità per chi fa moda: qual è il vostro ideale di bellezza? Noi crediamo sia un'ideale estremamente soggettivo. La bellezza salverà il mondo se il mondo iniziasse a vedere la bellezza che lo circonda. La bellezza può essere in una storia, in un sorriso imperfetto, in una parola, il bello è come noi lo recepiamo e lo trasmettiamo agli altri, allora si la bellezza salverà il mondo. Se vi dicessimo "Imitation of life" (tema di questo numero di Hachi n.d.r.): voi a cosa pensereste? Penseremmo ad adattamento, come segno di protezione, non imitazione di vita ma coscienza di potersi trovare preparati ad affrontare i cambiamenti sempre più frenetici che la vita ci mette davanti. Tra i riconoscimenti ottenuti e i sogni squisitamente personali: quali sono i progetti per il futuro? I progetti per il futuro sono tanti; innanzittutto rendere il nostro brand sempre più riconoscibile e fruibile al pubblico. Stiamo lavorando duramente e costantemente affinché tutto il nostro lavoro possa giorno dopo giorno essere un passo in avanti per concretizzare il nostro progetto, raccontare in modo contemporaneo la nostra terra, e piano piano sembra stia prendendo vita.

[ENGL.]

The suggestion is kept inside the name: the Quattromani brand merges the creative talent and passion of two young fashion designers, Massimo Noli and Nicola Frau. Both of them come from Sardinia, where they are still living and conceiving their creations: a land of traditions and legends that gain a new life woven into their very contemporary clothes. Within Quattromani creations there’s fashion: that is inside the beauty that imbues the clothes and accessories, in the fascination of the shapes grabbing the feminine longing, into the grace crossed by the contemporary scratch. And there’s devotion: to the treasure belonging to the Sardinian artisan hands, for the ancient stories that pass through time, for the revolution that can sprout from a single thread. An exquisite mélange of aesthetic intuitions and stylistic practice that pervades also the s/s 2016 collection. Where, as in a brilliant Chinese boxes game, other four hands emerge: the two drawing the artistic inspiration, belonged to Edina Altara, ancient and amazing Sardinian author of a decorative world identified by an intense elegance and amusing Liberty curlicues; the other two hands interpreting on the fabrics that dreamy universe, belong to Berenice La Ruche, young Sardinian illustrator that lavished on the collection printed motifs revealing a dreamy delicacy inhabited by light swallows, cherry blossoms and young ladies in fool bloom. Intense awesomeness that Nicola and Massimo translated into clothes and accessories in perfect balance among the impalpable lightness and the material thickness of the traditional loom manufacture. Quattromani already flaunt an essential position among the finalists of the Who Is On Next? contest, but their way is yet to be walked: and it’s paved with beautiful stories that are yet to be told …

Tell us about yourself and your background: when did the very first encounter with fashion happen and how did it become your professional way? We met in 2002 when we decided to enroll in a fashion design study program, yet each one of us has always had a personal and natural passion for this kind of world. Actually, it didn’t happen a true encounter, let’s say that fashion has always been coming with us: we haven’t any precise date or moment, but we know that fashion has always been part of our life.

How, why and with what style vision was your label Quattromani born? Quattromani was born after a period of individual work for both of us, and from the need for swapping ideas, opinions and advices. In that moment a sort of need for the possibility to join our force into a unique project took form: “Quattromani” just to express the collaboration, the constant exchange and the wish for pursuing the same goal by joining our work. Since that moment we’ve put the basis for creating a contemporary style, colorful and stimulating, that could express our innate passion for this job.

Your own creative world is instinctual, beauty is a personal point of view, materials are the issue of experimentations and entrepreneurship is essential: what do these elements entail and how does their harmony happen in your fashion? It’s not always easy to get harmony among the different elements necessary to obtain a fashion product: you need perseverance, will, energy and a huge desire for enhancing the product you’re creating. Harmony can be easily established only if all the parts of the process can work, sharing the same perception of the goal.

One name inside and one outside the fashion world you would love to work with? We’d love to have the chance to collaborate with Tim Walker and seeing our clothes into one of his magical editorials. And one day we’d love to clothe Keira Knightley’s delicacy and elegance. Beauty will save the world, a renowned quote holding some truth for those who create fashion: what is your ideal about beauty? We believe that it is a very personal ideal. Beauty will save the world only if the world starts seeing beauty in everything around. Beauty can be found into a story, an imperfect smile, a word: the beautiful thing is the way we embrace it and instill it in the other people. Therefore beauty will save the world!

If I say “imitation of life” (the theme of this Hachi Mag issue n.d.r.): what comes into your mind? We could think about adaptation, as a sign of protection: not a literal imitation of life, yet the awareness of being prepared to face the always more frenzied changes that life puts in front of us.

Among the accolades received and the exquisitely personal dreams: what are your projects for the future? We have a lot of projects for the future: first of all, making our brand always more recognizable and usable by the audience. We’re working everyday very hard in order to make our project come true and concrete, to recount our land  in a contemporary way: and little by little it seems that everything is coming alive.

Silvia Scorcella

[Published on Hachi Magazine issue n°4]

[komatsunana]

My Ai Yazawa Reccomendation List

This is a list that I’ve actually been thinking about for a while now (like... years lmao). Basically just a few of my personal recommendations of series (only manga and webtoons this time around but I have a couple tv shows and anime that I also might rec in a second list if people like this one...) that people like me that are missing Yazawa’s work might enjoy.  The bulk of this list is for NANA, because that is her unfinished work, but I’ve got quite a few recs for her other series.

I don’t love all the series on this list (or even like tbh), but I can see where someone who likes a certain aspect of Yazawa’s work might enjoy the series more than me.   I didn’t include trigger warnings because it’s been a number of years since I read some of these series (and some I never finished) but feel free to ask me and I’ll do my best.

Obligatory recommendation that if you enjoy any of Yazawa’s series, you should give any of her series a try.  I think all of the series that  I’ve read by her are masterpieces in their own right and if you’re missing NANA (or any of her other works) you should definitely read the rest of her work because many of my own favorite aspects of Yazawa’s works are present in all of her work - like female friendship and continuous story lines (rather than episodic).

Feel free to add on with your owns recs... And tell me if you read any of these series!

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If you like the past/future mechanic of NANA with young adult characters and enjoy unveiling the mystery in Kagen no Tsuki  then give Piece by Ashihara Hinako a try.  The MC and her best friend have a good passing resemblance to Nana and Hachi, if Hachi were chubby but they have more than appearance in common with NANA’s leading ladies...  To say any more would be spoilers!  This series also marries some of the messy melodrama of RL with realism like NANA.

Summary: One day, Mizuho, a university student, receives news that her classmate in high school, Origuchi Haruka, passed away. Mizuho doesn't remember being best friends with Origuchi, but apparently, Origuchi told her mother that Mizuho was her best friend. And now, her mother wants Mizuho to help her find the boy Origuchi dated during high school. Mizuho told Origuchi's mother that Origuchi was a very plain girl, and she was never seen with a guy, but her mother told Mizuho that Origuchi got pregnant and had an abortion when she was in high school. Mizuho was shocked, but she still starts asking her other classmates in high school and following the traces Origuchi left behind.

Status: Complete

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If you liked Paradise Kiss for the portrayal of a bunch of odd-balls coming together to do something creative together and inspiring Yukari with their passion OR for Yukari’s struggle with her mother academic expectations then you might enjoy the webtoon Spirit Fingers by Han Kyoung Chal!

Summary:  What do you do if you're going on 18, totally awkward and lacking in self- confidence? You could just sit in your room all day and all night and study and wonder why you never get asked out…OR, if you’re Amy Song you could join up with the Spirit Fingers – the strangest, hippest, coolest (yet most welcoming) art club ever. But as Amy is about to learn, discovering your TRUE colors is about more than just painting.

Status: Complete, still being translated.  Best part is you can start reading the series completely LEGALLY here.  They changed the character’s first names to more western ones and it’s a bit behind the unofficial translations but I still recommend reading it legally.

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If you liked NANA because you liked how the Nanas had the same name and had all these other similarities, meeting under fateful circumstances but also wish they’d date then give Lonely Wolf, Lonely Sheep a try by Fuka Mizutani!

Summary:   Two women with the same name happens to meet each other when they're at the same hospital for the same injury. They want to become closer, but both must overcome their insecurities and self-loathing first.

Status: Complete

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If you like the past/future telling aspect of NANA with a large, fully-fleshed cast of characters who are all living their life check out Cheese in the Trap by Soonkki.  Sul is a very strong, no- nonsense MC but with plenty of charm with great friends.  Like NANA it’s easy to hate some of the more flawed characters but at the end of the day even the antagonists have complex reasons for being the way they are and aren’t just living to be an opposing force.

Summary:  Seol Hong is a hard-working student, who has returned to college after a long break. Jung Yu is a senior at the college known as Mr. Perfect. Seol feels like her life took a turn for the worse since she got involved with Jung. Is Jung intentionally turning Seol's life?

Status:  Ongoing... I think?  You can read the webtoon legally [here] and the translations are being posted weekly still at least.

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Do you like younger looking characters like Mikako and Miwako?  Do you like playboys like George as a male lead but wish he were a bit more earnest?  Did you like how Akira and Midori took their time getting to know and understand each other by the end of the series?  Do you just like how Yazawa emphasizes friendship in her work?  Here’s Lovely Everywhere by Ke Li for you.

Summary: Tong Danwei is a high school freshman with romantic dreams about the boy she is fated to meet. While on the way home from picking up groceries, she runs into a pretty boy, and that’s where our story begins. Will she find love in high school? And more importantly, will any boy be able to overlook the fact that although she is in high school, she still looks like an elementary student?? Follow along on Tong Danwei’s adventure of love and high school angst, with plenty of comedy thrown in to the mix.

Status: Complete  

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If you like the supernatural mystery aspect of Kagen no Tsuki starring younger characters with mysteriously dead-but-not-dead characters, then Route 225 might by a good series to try.  It’s by Shimura Takako & Fujino Chiya (Original Story).  You might know Shimura Takako from her other series like Wandering Son and Sweet Blue Flower, so you know she is great portraying emotional realism like Yazawa.

Summary: 14-year-old Eriko finds herself left in charge of her younger brother Daigo when their parents suddenly disappear one warm summer evening. Trapped in a world that is very much like their own save for the lack of their parents, Eriko and Daigo find themselves desperate for the return of the worrywart mother and apathetic father they never thought they'd miss so badly...

Status: Complete  

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If you liked NANA because you liked reading about a pair of women who are very different and yet are very good friends to the point where their friendship is more important to them than romantic relationships (even if they struggle to properly communicate this to each other) then try the short series Tomodachi no Hanashi by Kawahara Kazune (Story) and Yamakawa Aiji (Art).

Summary:  Eiko is something like a plain Jane and a doormat, while her best friend Moe is a head-turning beauty. Despite their differences, their friendship is as strong as ever.    Guys are always asking Moe out, but her answer is inevitable, "only if you promise to put Eiko before me."

Status: Complete 

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Did you like how Hachi from NANA kept losing her jobs?  And had no luck in love?  Do you prefer to read about young adult characters?  Even though we never talk about how funny Yazawa’s work is... was that something you really liked about her work? Dame na Watashi ni Koishite Kudasai by Nakahara Aya!  Hachi and Shibata aren’t exactly alike but they are both fun to read and get into the mindset of in a similar way.

Summary:   The unemployed Shibata Michiko is betting everything she has on her romance with a younger man—literally. In order to keep him happy, she deprives herself of the things she wants and buys him expensive clothing and accessories. Since she's flat out broke, she needs to find a job before she starves to death and loses her young love interest. However, Michiko discovers that the boy was never interested in her romantically. Depressed at being dumped and after a series of unsuccessful interviews, she bumps into Kurosawa—an intimidating former boss she used to dislike.

Status: Complete, with a spin-off

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If you’re interested in exploring Mikako’s feelings from Gokingo Monogatari when she dropped out of school then Cat Street might interest you.  Both MCs find themselves a group of friends and attend alternative high schools - though while Mikako’s is an art’s school, in Cat Street is more of a free school that seems to specialize in drop-outs and the like.

Summary:  The story centers around Keito Aoyama, a former famous child actress. Due to a childhood incident, she retired from her career early and withdrew from normal society. Now 16, she passes her days in boredom and without purpose. But one day she runs into a stranger who takes her to El Liston--a free school for high school students like herself, who don't have a place where they belong. Though hesitant at first, Keito decides to enter El Liston and subsequently, she begins a new stage in her life. With the help of her only remaining childhood friend, Taiyou, and her new classmates Rei, Momiji, and Kouichi, Keito slowly finds the courage to open up to others and to accept their support. Will Keito return to acting? Will she find true friends? Love?

Status: Complete

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If you want a series like NANA that is about adult women who are good friends and roommates as they balance their life with their career, love-lives, and friendship with each other try Tokyo Alice by Toriko Chiya.  Alternatively, if you were wondering what Hachi might look like if you reversed her obsession with love with her love of shopping... you’ve got Tokyo Alice’s MC (lol)

Summary:   Fu Arisugawa is a little worried there might be something wrong with her. She loves shopping above all else, using her money to buy designer and brand-name items to the exclusion of all else. But while her friends also enjoy shopping, they're all also on the hunt for love in one way or another – something that Fu finds she just isn't all that interested in. When her boss starts showing interest in her, will Fu figure it out? Or is she going to keep going in her shopping wonderland?

Status: Complete, also has a recent drama that you can watch with Prime TV!

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If what interested you most about NANA was it’s portrayal of the music industry of a new band and wanted more of that then try Beck by Sakuishi Harold.  Beck, like NANA, has an anime that while it doesn’t cover the entire series is worth watching or even having the soundtrack on as you read the series.

Summary:  Fourteen-year-old Yukio "Koyuki" Tanaka is a dispirited young boy with no goals in life. However, this all changes when Koyuki saves a strange-looking dog named Beck from being harassed by a group of local kids. The dog's owner, 16-year-old Ryuusuke "Ray" Minami, is an emerging guitarist and the former member of a popular rock band. After Koyuki meets Ray again in a diner, the older boy leads him to his former band's meeting place and dazzles Koyuki with his amazing guitar skills. Slowly becoming interested in the glamour of western rock culture, Koyuki decides to start playing the guitar while helping Ray achieve his dream of leading the ultimate rock band. Together with Ray's younger sister Maho and a few other members, the two boys launch their career into the world of rock by forming a band called BECK. Beck follows the group's struggles and successes as they spread their fame across Japan.

Status: Complete

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If you like how Yazawa writes her female “rival” characters as sympathetic and likable (even if not everything they do is likable) then you might enjoy Koda Momoko’s Heroine Shikkaku.  It’s about a girl who is shocked when she discovers she’s more like the bitchy villainess who bullies the sweet and pure heroine in shojo manga.

Summary:  This could be any girl. Imagine being a heroine of a love story. Hatori also believed that one day she would get married to her childhood friend, Rita. But that's not how the world works! This is a hilarious comedy that honestly paints a painful unrequited love story of this young girl!

Status: Complete

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If you want a short read like NANA, with two very different girls with the same name who tie their futures together then read the one-shot  Watashi to Watashi by Sahara Mizu.  Note that I’m only suggesting you read this specific one-shot, not any of the other one-shots contained in the collection this one is in... Actually I very much insist you don’t read the first one.  I highly recommend reading others’ of Sahara Mizu’s work if you enjoy this one because even if none of them are directly similar to any of Yazawa’s... the emotional complexity is.

Summary:   Two girls with the same name; one beautiful and athletic, the other awkward and shunned. But who’s the lucky one?

Status: Complete 

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If you like a series having 2 characters named Nana in NANA (even if their relationship with each other is... entirely different) and enjoy the format of Nana and Hachi continuing to address each other in inner monologues in the future where they haven’t seen each other for years or you just like messy, realistic relationships try We Were There by Obata Yuuki.

Summary:  The start of high school life. To the girls, that also meant the start of their love lives. For brand new first year student, Takahashi Nanami (Nana for short), it was no different... She happens to end up in the same class as the incredibly popular Yano Motoharu, who rumors say that two thirds of all the girls are guaranteed to fall in love with. But will that hold true for Nana, who says that if she had to choose between like or dislike, she'd say she dislikes him!?

Status: Complete

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What was your favorite thing about Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai?  Was it Akira struggling with his feelings for someone that married into his family?  Was it Midori and Mamirin’s friendship?  Try Omoi, Omoware, Furi, Furare by Sakisaka Io.  (Strobe Edge also by Sakisaka might also work for you).

Summary:  The story centers around Yuna and Akari who have two very different views of love: Yuna is someone who sees love as a dream and Akari is someone who is very realistic about her romance choices. Meanwhile, there are two boys, Kazuomi and Rio, who also have different views of love: Kazuomi's an airhead and doesn't understand the concept of love, while Rio grabs the opportunity when confessed to as long as the girl looks cute.

Status: Complete, being translated

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If you just like Yazawa’s work and want to read works by a close friend of hers...  Yoshizumi Wataru!  You might know her best from Marmalade Boy, but she also worked on quite a few josei works about young adults... Like Cappuccino (if you like moving on from a first serious relationship as we saw with Hachi and Shouji), but also Cherish and Spicy Pink.

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That’s all I got for now... But again... Let me know if you read any of these! Whether or not at my suggestion lol. And add on too! I’ve read or at least tried all of these myself so now I’m the one in need of recs lol.