#i think Edo probably has some spots

[krakenshaped]

Acne Phoenix + other doodles

[demonslayedher]

You need a mountain to make a sword

Mt. Youkou, which only exists in the Kimetsu no Yaiba universe is essentially named "Mt. Sunlight," is said to receive the most sunlight, which gets soaked into the Shoujouhi iron ore and Shoujouhi iron sand—both of which also only exist in this universe and are named for a particular shade of red. This mountain is therefore crucial to the development of Nichirin blades, and deserves more focus than a one-time mention in Chapter 9. If demons were to find this place and prevent them from mining, the Corp would be screwed.

A mountain is a finite resource, though. This post was supposed to be short and simple to say: 1. Large portions of that mountain are lost in the effort to collect the sunlight-soaked iron sand 2. Large portions of that iron sand is lost in smelting it into steel 3. Large portions of that steel is lost in the smithing process

But of course, it is not short and simple, I have more to say about charcoal and what this all means within the context of the KnY world and additional speculation about the production of Nichirin blades.

First you need to break the mountain! Okay, so you start with a mountain. This one is said to be “closest to the sun,” which has made some people theorize that this is the tallest mountain, Mt. Fuji, but perhaps that is just a way of saying it is in a sunny spot in the east. The main criteria is that it is very exposed to the sun. I think the "it doesn't rain" there thing is an exaggeration, as there are trees drawn there, so I assume it has some sort of a water source.

I will focus primarily on collecting the Shoujouhi iron sand as opposed to the ore, because in real life steel smelting in Japan, iron sand was more widely available than ore—and however they got the Shoujouhi ore, I’m guessing it was more of a process of scraping it off exposed parts of the mountain instead of digging deep in the dark for it. It used to be that that iron sand was collected in rivers and lakes from the natural, slow erosion process, but going by the illustration in the manga panel, they appear to practice kanna-nagashi, a process of collecting iron sand in large amounts by speeding up the natural erosion process by scraping off chunks of granite mountain into man-man waterways, and channeling it through a series of collection pools to sort the heavier iron sand from the rest of the sediment. Another reason to suspect this method is because the "Kana" of Kanamori's name is written with the same "kanna" kanji: 鉄穴 ("iron cavity," as opposed to the more common real life last name Kanamori which uses the simple 金 for metal/gold).

In the heyday of real-life traditional iron and steel smelting with iron sand, kanna-nagashi resulted in mountains being leveled because they used up so much of the natural environment. This was used for meeting almost all of the iron and steel needs of populous Edo period society, which did not need as many swords as in previous eras but needed anything from tools and nails to pots and pans. The swordsmiths in Kimetsu no Yaiba only needed to make swords for the Demon Slayer Corp (which we’ll use for referring to the organization’s full history, though it was less formally called “the demon hunters” for most of its existence). The swordsmiths making Nichirin blades were probably frugal with the precious Shoujouhi iron. They needed to make it last for as many centuries as it would take to defeat Kibutsuji Muzan.

Not all iron sand is created equal! While what's very crucial to Nichirin blades is that the iron that has soaked up the power of the sun, what's also crucial to making Japanese blades is a high level of purity in the iron. To put this in perspective, the more common kind of real-life iron sand (akome) that could be used for general iron needs might make up 5-10% of the rock plucked off the mountain, but masa iron sand, the kind that was (and still is) preferred for making Japanese swords might only make up about 0.5-2%. These sands would differ in size, the amount and array of impurities, and how high of a temperature and how long you need to smelt them. However, the real-world smelting process for making sword-quality steel used a mix of these two kinds of iron sands, so it might be reasonable to assume they stretch out the Shoujouhi iron sand supply by supplementing it with high quality sands from other nearby, shadier mountains. There is also the matter of how much of it was Shoujouhi ore, and how much of that ore was available relative to the sand on this fictional mountain, but I’ll focus primarily on a real-world iron sand based processes for consideration on numbers.

Anyway, we've perhaps already wasted at least 85% of what we've taken from the mountain to get this sand, and then it's time for smelting the Shoujouhi iron sand (and Shoujouhi iron ore, in this case) in a traditional tatara clay furnace, because for most of Japanese smelting history, that was what you had.

Tatara iron and steelmaking made the most of what Japan had! Smelting iron in clay furnaces did not originate in Japan, but while many other places in the world had more abundant sources of iron ore to start with, Japan did not, so the tatara method was continually development to make the most of what was available: iron sand. Two of the other major ingredients in this method were clay and charcoal, the qualities of which were important in setting off the chemical processes of smelting the iron sand into pig iron (which would be refined into better iron or for steel for making swords). With Edo period developments in this Japanese smelting method, they were able to skip the pig iron step and achieve a sword-quality steel, tamahagane. Tatara is still the only method with which you can achieve tamahagane.

Look at this beautiful sword baby:

(Fun fact: Tamahagane is covered with many different colors—but rather than being indicative of Nichirin-like properties, these are tiny films of remaining impurities in the metal, which reflect light similar to how it bounces off a soap bubble or a CD. Cool, huh? I also tend to theorize that the coloring changing aspect of Nichirin is a matter of bending the visible spectrum of the sunlight contained within them.)

We don't have time here to go into the fascinating details about how this smelting process works and why tamagahane gives you the characteristic attributes of Japanese blades, but suffice to say, what's crucial is that tamahagane has a high level of purity and an ideal amount of carbon for making blades that are both strong and ductile. However, prior to the Edo period development of tamahagane, we don't actually know all the details about the materials used. Swords could vary widely in quality in the Sengoku period, and it's very likely that the high-quality ones (like what the demon hunters would had used) mixed stronger, imported iron with the local iron sand. This is another reason I'm willing to bet Nichirin blades might be reenforced with other material, though it is still entirely possible in-universe that they are purely Shoujouhi and the craftsmanship of the swords back then was purely thanks to the swordsmiths’ efforts.

A quick note here before we go on: historically, it makes the most sense for Tanjirou to have been offered tamagahane at the end of the Final Selection, because this was the standard material for Japanese swords at the time. In Chapter 8, Kiriya does not say “tamahagane,” but just “hagane,” which means “steel.” However, the first fanbook says that they choose their “kouseki,” which is “ore,” implying that this is still in a raw material stage. It’s possible that before the Edo period development of tamahagane, swordsmen were offered their choice of lumps of Shoujouhi ore, but given the speed with which Tanjirou received a completed sword, I’m willing to bet it had already undergone the smelting process with Shoujouhi iron sand in one big smelting batch. Although industrialized methods of smelting steel with mined iron ore, coke, and brick furnaces were already the norm by the early Taisho period, tatara was still in use, and still the only method of making tamahagane, so I am inclined to think the Swordsmith Village stuck with this and used tamahagane (and Japanese fans who are familiar with the tatara process all tend to assume the same, though most of the ones I've talked to about it are biased tatara nerds in the first place).

Charcoal is crucial in tatara and Japanese swordsmithing! We also don't have time to go into detail about the clay or construction of the tatara furnace, but because this is KnY and I love charcoal, we will touch on that briefly: The charcoal used in tatara would be slightly different from the charcoal Tanjirou produced for household use or the charcoal used in multiple steps of the actual smithing process (both as a heat source and as a coating in a crucial step of the process). In a tatara furnance, it needed to burn quickly and at high enough temperatures to melt iron sand, it was left somewhat "undercooked" in the charcoal making process so as to leave more volatile organic components. Even with those sorts of adjustments to the charcoal making process specifically for tatara, Tanjirou could absolutely talk shop with the Swordsmith Village charcoal producers.

Also, in order to get trees big enough for tatara charcoal use, the trees were ideally 30-50 years old. Forestry methods in tatara charcoal production typically allowed the forest to grow back every 30 years, but this meant they needed roughly 30 different areas to cycle through and cut down from year to year. A single operation of the tatara furnace typically requires about 12 tons of charcoal, that is, roughly one hectare of forest. (This is why industrial tatara in real life usually required owning entire mountains in order to have that much forest available.)

What is one tatara operation? For our purposes here, suffice to say that a tatara operation for the purposes of making tamahagane is a roughly 70-hour process of adding iron sand and charcoal to the flames every 30 minutes or so, resulting in a 2-3 ton lump of mixed metal, called a kera (which is written with sort of vivid kanji that makes it's like the "mother of metal," 鉧). What adjustments that might require to include Shoujouhi iron ore, I am not sure. It is an extremely labor-intensive process, with a high level of know-how required to be successful. It is very easy for the process to be ruined if the giant flames are not maintained, or the proportion of the materials is off, or if there is too much moisture or not enough constant air flow, etc. It also uses a lot of material. In addition to about 12 tons of charcoal, one operation typically requires about 10 tons of iron sand. Roughly 70% of the resulting kera would be tamahagane. That means, very roughly, that of the 10 tons of iron sand, only 15-20% remains as ideal sword material, but maybe only about 0.3-4% of the overall iron sand turns into top quality tamahagane.

How many swords are we talking? The Swordsmith Village exclusively made swords for the Corp, which in Tanjirou's day and age is said to be “a few hundred” people (Chapter 4, and given the context, I assume this means “a few hundred swordsmen” as opposed to including outside supporting roles). Tamagahane for a katana is about 4 kilograms, so you can get, conservatively (and this is only my guess based on weight calculations, not on actually numbers of lumps of tamahagane I found results for), about 375 swords worth from one kera, or maybe up to 90 especially high-quality swords. We see anyone from a Mizunoto like Inosuke to a Pillar like Muichirou getting their swords replaced without much fuss, and clearly some styles of Nichirin blades require more or less steel (looking at you, Stone Pillar). The swordsmiths likely also use material for practice and trying new techniques, as well as for having extra swords available like those stocked up in the village.

I'll allow you to think backwards about how much mountain this consumes every year in a Corp that has been collecting ore and sand from Mt. Youkou for 800-1000 years, with the more damaging kanna-nagashi process being used for about 250-300 years. Instead, I will work forward to say that for a typical katana, that 4-kilogram tamahagane results in only a 1-kilogram sword, so you lose material at this stage too.

To recap: The amount of Mt. Youkou destroyed but which gets collected as iron sand is only about 0.5-15% (if we're being generous). The amount of that iron sand which gets converted into tamahagane is only about 15-20% (or less if they are very stringent about Nichirin quality), though the numbers might be very different depending on the amount of iron ore used. The amount of tamahagane which remains as a finished sword is only about 25%. This is not even taking into account the amount of forest, clay, or even the series of stones necessary for the polishing process, not at all to mention expertise and labor.

So quit breaking your swords, Tanjirou.

Sources: In modern day, the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords (NBTHK, or Nittouho) operates the Nittouho Tatara furnace three times every winter, so most of these numbers are based on their modern-day operations (though they do not practice kanna-nagashi, which was primarily practiced in the Edo period when tatara was a major industry). Other info primarily comes from other tatara related museums, especially the Okuizumo Tatara and Sword Museum and Wakou Museum, though it’s been glossed over for fandom purposes. Also, I’m a sword nerd anyway.

[drawnaghht]

Chizu x Kitsune and why it's gay

lol i don't have a lot of energy to post but wanted to make a short fandom post anyway? I'll just briefly talk about the more memorable and emotionally important moments between these two :3

Spoilers for the entire series, but if you didn't notice stuff, might be good reminds on several things! This isn't really like a full analysis and it's not a full summary either. I just like this ship and although it seems unanimous that this is seen as a sapphic ship, I also think it's a bit underappreciated? Or perhaps it's just the show itself that needs more regard? I'm not here to defend the show or ship, just to detangle my thoughts on how their scenes together look like to my mind as a storyteller but also what the possible crew intentions could have been. This became kinda long.

So in the series, we as viewers see a lot of moments between Chizu and Kitsune that are about honesty. Or they just talk to each other and create meaningful connections with each other through these interactions. Even with smaller stuff, there's moments in each ep where they either look at each other, or to each other.

in ep 3, "Posessions" we see Usagi asking Kitsune had stolen things and Kitsune denying this about her. Then in a following scene, when she finds Chizu and asks her where she learned to fight if she just works at the temple, she admonishes Chizu for making up a bad lie for that. "You don't have to tell me the truth. But don't tell me a lie." This sounds like a very earnest moment. Like i don't have the brainspace to analyze it more right now but basically, "oh wow, there's something interesting there."

As an episode closing scene, we see Chizu exit the Murakami house/museum to go to a dark alleyway. There she meets the leader of the Neko Ninja crew (only mentioned in the 1st ep), Lady Fuwa. I love this scene for how creepy and scary it makes Fuwa ar first with her mask, but then sort of silly and laughable with her huge pom-pom head. I'm not sure if I'm reading it right, but it seems the intention was to make a dangerous but laughable villain/antagonist, almost like a Bond villain who looks ridiculous but could still kill you. Like it's obvious from this interaction that Fuwa only thinks about herself and her own goals and thinks in shallow goals (taking over Neo Edo via "controlling" the Ki-stone). Her ideas look silly from some distant point, but she still commands respect and fear with voice and demeanor.

There's the friendship candy moment/scene in ep 4, "Run Rabbit Run" and then Chizu's flashback of her trauma being raised in the Neko Ninja crew and losing her friend Kayo. Her friend gave her this same friendship candy to cheer her up, "Things will get better Chizu". I'll leave the Chizu PTSD analysis for another time bc I feel like I could probably do with reading up on the comic to also see what the inspiration for this all could have been (+ I'm just not up to write that much tonight). The point of the scene overall is to establish a stronger connection between the two main characters as well as show us the viewer a more fleshed-out reason for Chizu's background as a Neko Ninja. Someone who's high-ranking enough to go on a stealth mission into the temple housing the Ki-Stone which provides the entirety of Neo Edo its power. But also someone who really does not enjoy being a ninja or being dishonest. Someone who's a little unsure and incredibly lonely among her ninja kin.

The flashback is a reminder for Chizu that friendship is a luxury. I also feel we're meant to take it from here that both of them value friendships in similar but different ways. Or that friendship is something lacking for both but they see it slightly differently. Neither has had many friends before, or any at all (we find out later that Kitsune only had a "ghost friend" and presumably her puppets) but they express valuing their team members in different ways. Kitsune gives friendship candy to everyone, even Spot, while Chizu just tags along in the service of her own motives/plot while pretending she's too aloof and doesn't care enough to do anything more than fight yokai. But here when Kitsune says "aren't you gonna eat that" after Chizu leaves her startled PTSD flashback she just says, "Maybe one day" with a smile. So here we see a setup by the writers that this friendship candy is important for Chizu and that she wants to continue being a real friend of Kitsune, or at the least, have any real friends at all.

Chizu goes back to the dojo to exchange info and receive more instructions from Lady Fuwa. We have a small scene where after this, she shares a moment with a random Neko Ninja kid training in the dojo in the background. She takes her mask off, tired from the training and is immediately admonished by Lady Fuwa. This kid slightly resembles Kayo, Chizu's childhood friend. Same outfit, different cat fur pattern but similar colorscheme. A kindred spirit. (I actually have a little theory about this, but that's for later, maybe a short fanfic). We can see that unlike the other adults at the dojo, Chizu still has some compassion left despite her training.

We have a moment in "Run Rabbit Run" where it's subtly established that although we haven't seen much threat or action from the ninja, they're considered "bad actors" in the city. So much so that every other gang in the city is afraid of just Chizu on her own (without her friends knowing she's apart of this crew). To us the viewers they are a little unknown but it's implied that the entirety of the city fears them.

Then there's the big reveal scene at the end of ep 5, "Common Sensei"

Chizu's betrayal, the surprise from all her new friends, and a genuine expression of disbelief from Kitsune (the "no...")

And then at the start of the next episode, "Nobody Likes a Ninja" the focus is immediately on Kitsune, on the other end of Chizu pointing a hand-crossbow at her.

And you can see the hurt in Kitsune's eyes.

So here as viewers we can make the basic connection that this betrayal hurt more than anything else that night. And the entire one half a plot of the episode we spend with the two of them as Chizu tries to apologize or make up to Kitsune somehow.

The rest of the season is spent focusing on other characters and relationships and setting up season 2. A really important part of this is the rescue of Hana, one of the only kids who Chizu saw training in the Neko Ninja dojo who didn't really take to all the fighting and training to be spies and assassins. Hana essentially becomes like a little sister to both Chizu and Usagi through the handful of episodes she's in and is taken under the wing of Usagi's auntie, sent to safety at her farm away from the city.

Then in s2 we see how much time the crew spends together after the "world has been saved" from the big butterfly hand in the sky. We see Chizu and Kitsune acting like longer-time friends already as well as Kitsune raising a "little sister" now - Kiyoko. Basically the rest of the team finds confusing and weird at first but gets used to Kiyoko quickly. Chizu mainly expresses worry but goes along with this as slowly this "little sister" (to avoid too many spoilers) is treated more and more like the other smaller kids in their home. By season 2, Usagi and the other characters see Gen and Toshiko's house as a home and treat each other as basically family. Mostly they're all still close friends, but to Kitsune especially, this has now become family. While Chizu had an abusive childhood living and training under the Neko Ninja crew, Kitsune is portrayed as having been homeless and a street performer. So to her, having new friends she can not only trust her life with but also just spend nice peaceful times with, is mega-important. So in "The Fuzzy Pony" (s2, ep 3) we have the kids playing and Chizu and Kitsune talking about it, the latter commenting, "We have a nice little family going here."

In this same episode, while playing with Kiyoko, Usagi realizes that him and her share a birthday (bc of the happenings in the series' first ep) and how they could celebrate those together ("Joint birthday parties!!") Kitsune responds with how Kiyoko would like that and how she wants to give Kiyoko everything she never had, including birthdays. Gen and Usagi are surprised about this but Kitsune is completely non-chalant about it. ("Nah, I dunno when I was born. No birthday, no party, no biggie.") This sends Gen and Usagi on a big side-plot to organize a surprise birthday party for Kitsune.

After seeing Hana play with the other "kids" of the household, Chizu thinks about the rest of the Neko Ninja children and decides to save them as well, alone this time (Usagi was along the first time). Kitsune secretly comes along to this to support her (and also to see Chizu fight, to see some action in general). There's a really fun scene between them which I can't really summarize perfectly enough, you'd have to see it yourself. But the point is, Kitsune willingly came along on her own. "Hey. I'm an orphan and orphans help orphans. I'm not asking for your permission." And there's an understanding between them that they're going to do this together. and oh man it's so sweet, I wish someone posted this scene up on youtube cuz it's just so ougghghghhh it's so sweet!!!! aaa!!

When before in "Run Rabbit Run", Kitsune was more careful with fighting crowds of regular citizens or gang members with an impulsive and untrained Usagi, here with Chizu she feels confident and is also willing to tag along, even if the potential enemies are trained ninja. To cut the summary shorter. the kids don't believe them and think it's a loyalty-test from Fuwa.

In this episode, as a last-ditch effort to save the ninja kids, Chizu challenges Fuwa to a death match duel, for the leadership of the crew. Although Kitsune is threatened and captured here, to make her watch the match, she frees herself and gleefully cheers Chizu on, demanding a complete smackdown for Fuwa. I thought this was cute. Kitsune is so violent about this duel as an "audience member" but even before during Truly Chizu would be like the 85 % of Kitsune's impulse control (this is an old meme, look it up). Chizu wins in the end and Kitsune is elated, like in a "great, lets go home, we have so much to tell the others" kind of way, but Chizu stops her. Now that she's won and become Lady Chizu, she has to stay with the Neko Ninja crew. And Kitsune is devastated, what do you mean you won but can't come home??

"But that.... that would break up our family- I mean, our team" and ouuuhhhhh, this was heartbreaking to watch. I really love this ep for the character moments between these two, ouhghhh /sob

They say their goodbyes and hug. The quiet "come home when you can" is so bittersweet it made me want to cry. She goes to the birthday party, with a note saying she's supposed to meet her friends there, still pent up. Not so much from the dojo fight, but from fact that she's not going to see Chizu anymore. So much so that she attacks the birthday balloons almost cuts the surprise party guests with her fans. It's shown as really sad. Like you can see from Toshiko, Usagi and the staff member's faces that they weren't expecting this kind of reaction from this birthday girl.

But guess what? Chizu showed up at the party as "Ohayou Pony" as a surprise party gift for Kitsune's new birthday party! this was another sillier but also nice moment because you get to see the characters really happy despite the circumstances.

So after this episode, I definitely felt, "there's no way these two aren't at least girlfriends" and also, it genuinely felt like the status quo of the show was going to legitimately change. in the following episodes we actually do see Chizu a bit less, unless it's a life-threatening situation or we see her more with the Neko Ninja.

There are some smaller moments inbetween eps which you can see yourself if you watch the series cuz this psot is long enough already ^^; For example, in ep 15, Kitsune goes to tell Chizu of the whole invaders situations to get the ninja crew on their side and I find the way they look at each other or how Chizu huffs a laugh at Kitsune trying to lighten the mood really sweet if tiny moments altogether.

in ep 17 "Willow Branch" they get to use their new kaikishi weapons more and fight against ghosts. Chizu mis-calculates and accidentally almost takes a shot at Kitsune. For "levity" it only hits her eyelash, but Chizu is worried and embarrased all the same.

then in s2, ep 8 "The Chizu Stands Alone", where the ninja crew basically turns on Chizu, there's another interesting moment where there is one last ninja ("Fumiko") who is left with Chizu against all the turncoats, but then leaves (another thing to leave to my theory posts), only to return with an ally in turn. Kitsune with the newly-built mech that Tetsujin built. How did this ninja know to get Kitsune specifically? Yeah, okay, she is the only one who can pilot it, but still! This was nice too because we're shown how the two of them are walking home via the mech and talking about what happened. How Chizu felt like maybe she was making a difference but now feels like she didn't change anything about the ninja crew at all, but Kitsune reminds her that the kids are safe and that's actually a big thing. It's still about the orphans with these two and the ninja crew storyline.

There's also a nice moment in the finale ("Invasion!") where Chizu goes to help Kitsune out of her mech after it's damaged in the big fight. The rest of the scenes with them together are mostly focused on their little family team of 5 afterwards.

So yeah, just a little view at some of the moments I remember in the series that cemented the relationship as a pairing for me! You can comment and reblog with tags or comments if you noticed anything else as well :] A lot of these moments are really sold by some of the solid writing and the excellent acting by Shelby Rabara and Mallory Low as Kitsune and Chizu respectively.

Also, this is just something I saw on twitter, but one of the main writers, Jeffrey Reddick (who also wrote the series finale) also quote-retweetd some of the promo tweets about Usagi Chronicles. He has mainly been a horror writer so far, but the important thing for me that I noticed on his profile, is that Reddick is openly gay. Although there are probably always going to be queer members in cartoon crews, we don't ever actually know that for sure usually and speculating on stranger's identities is pointless beacause well, it's just a fun cartoon, I can sense queer vibes from it whether the crew themselves are queer or not. But I also feel like some of them being seen as openly queer makes it easier to see that some parts of a show could be intentionally written with queerness in mind.

So I do believe the slightly 90s style* queer-coding was no accident :D

*(or whatever we wanna call it - it feels a little older - "show don't tell")

Overall, this ship just feels really sapphic in an old pre-Steven Universe kind of way... like I would have totally un-knowingly shipped this as a kid before really knowing anything about myself or others or even words to use about it. Basically, they are a pair. do not separate. And I think it's sweet that it exists at all, bc it really is subtle. I know in online fandoms it can feel like we don't need this kind of storytelling since we have more openly queer cartoons too, but I think for the sake of even just variety alone, it's good to have this kind of lightly queercoded story-telling wrapped inside an action cartoon too next to everything else in the mix of both cartoon and general other media we have today. I also find that this way it is easier for future queer kids to realize this about their old favourite cartoon Usagi Chronicles that it was queer. .... In a kind of roundabout way? I'm thinking about situations where more openly queer cartoons like Steven Universe or Owl House would be banned in more conservative households. I knew a little cousin for example whose parents were very particular about the cartoons they let their kids watch and so more "high-energy" cartoons like cartoon network stuff was banned entirely. So I don't know if this would actually happen in real life, but this is just one scenario i'm thinking of.

Of course you can still interpret it as *only* friends too I suppose but you can't deny that they're important to each other in more ways. Like if this was a straight ship, we would be getting ship manifestos left and right. Or maybe fanfic. They'd be called the mom and dad of the family, etc. and although that's a simple way to put it, that also shows feels like proof of intention. The soundtrack also becomes beautiful and on-point whenever there are important scenes with them together, which just adds to the "it's queer" picture.

I'm sure I'll find a better way to write about this but right now I just wanted to list everything I remembered off the top of my head. They have so many of these sweet and everyday moments as well as heavier or more serious and plot-driven moments, it's so nice to see. Usagi Chronicles in general is a very character driven show and these two are the strongest characters in the cast. I only wish we had gotten more moments or flashbacks even with Kitsune, but I suppose she is the kind of character who wouldn't even need flashbacks. But that means she just stays mysterious until we find out more info about her (again, I know she's based on the ideas we have from the character Kitsune in the Usagi Yojimbo comic, but still. At least to me, she feels like a flesjed-out character in the cartoon show, so it would have been cool to see more of her and some other characters like Gen too. On the other side, looking at these episode summaries here, it does feel like the cast balances each other out nicely.

Anyway, leave me a comment if u liked this! Maybe I will do other analysis abt other parts of the series later when I feel like it :) I've been a bit sick the past two weeks so I haven't been in the mood to draw but I will probably still have a bit of energy to write some simpler things so who knows, might write on other Usagi Chronicles topics!

Happy Friend Day and Happy Valentines!

[queenharumiura]

♧ Is there an RP partner(s) that you credit for becoming a better writer? ♦ What's an AU that you've always wanted? ♢ What's an AU that you think just won't work with your muse? ⚜ What is the best time to write for you? Why? ☆ What type of fantasy AU would you like to do one day? ☣ What's one thing that will make you drop a thread? ✆ Other than RPing, what's a hobby of yours? ❥ Has something ever happened for you to hate a ship? Why?

Taken from meme: [x] ||Accepting|| @parallelroutes

♧ Is there an RP partner(s) that you credit for becoming a better writer?

I wouldn't say anyone specifically, as I'm getting practice with writing every time I thread with someone, so any of my thread partners has aided me in becoming a better writer in one way or another.

♦ What's an AU that you've always wanted?

Mmmm I can't remember if there is one that i've always wanted. If I really wanted something, I probably either wrote it out in a fic before, or I'm waiting for someone to hit me up on it. There was the one wishlist thing of were-pomeranian Haru and I did get a taker- even if they did leave the RPC not long afterwards- I did still get to try it out. So I did get it lol

♢ What's an AU that you think just won't work with your muse?

I'll make things work. Watch me. I'll find a way. I did a Demon Haru verse once, don't test my powers.

⚜ What is the best time to write for you? Why?

Probably night as i'm usually most awake then. Afternoon is also good for the weekends, because otherwise i'm at work. I don't do so well in the mornings because i'm sleepy.

☆ What type of fantasy AU would you like to do one day?

Mmm idk, i'm pretty open to most things, and the wording makes it sound like I'd have to choose something I haven't actually done. I've done a Demon Haru, I've done a princess Haru, I've done a Yakuza heiress Haru, Varia Haru, Haru who got blasted into the past Haru, Werewolf Haru, Pirate Haru, did try a Pokemon trainer Haru, an AU of Haru never having met the Vongola but still somehow got affiliated with the underground anyways Haru, Edo era Haru, Black Blood brothers AU (which is basically a vampire Au), Spy Haru, and probably more that i'm forgetting off the top of my head right now.

So idk, I guess some other genre that I haven't really tried is if she was a different entity, like a spirit. Now that I think about it, I think I did conjure up an idea of a Dragon verse before. Yeah- idk. I can't think of a specific fantasy AU i'd like to try that I haven't already dabbled in before.

☣ What's one thing that will make you drop a thread?

Ehhh I'm pretty tolerant of many things, and if I have an issue with something, i'm one to speak up about it and discuss how it can be amended so I can continue.

IF I'll drop a thread for some reason, it is likely that I dropped the mun themselves. They probably did something that royally upset me.

Other than that, the only other thing that would actually make me full stop drop a thread on the spot: give me a 2 word reply. You'd think i'm joking, but I had a partner who only gave me like 2 word responses and it KILLED me.

✆ Other than RPing, what's a hobby of yours?

I like to read manga/manhwa/manhua a lot. I used to like singing a lot, but I don't as much anymore because I feel self-conscious about neighbors hearing me. I suppose occasionally collecting art from artists is also a thing that I do now.

❥ Has something ever happened for you to hate a ship? Why?

LOLOLOL you bet! I'll admit that I loved the novels from a certain writer whose novel was made into a live action not long ago, but there was a massive thing with doxxing, hacking people's accounts, threats, verbal harrassment, etc going on from the EN and CN fans and it made me SO SICK that I've left an entire fandom because of it.

The sad thing was, the fandom that I was in was for one of her earlier works and it didn't have nearly as much attention compared to some of her later works. I got harrassed for a ship and I'm full of a lot of resentment for the series and a lot of things surrounding it.

Don't get me wrong, the series were great and I enjoyed them, but my experience with bad fans and being harassed sucked all the enjoyment from me. I'm happy for people who can love the series and enjoy their time in the fandom. I, unfortunately, did not.

[juviaafullbuster]

IN EVERY UNIVERSE

"JUVIAAAA"

He should have known. He should have seen it coming the moment he heard that blue cat call out her name. Of course nothing good would come from this. That stupid cat, exceed, whatever he is, was raised by Natsu after all.  But he didn't think much of it when he saw him flying towards Juvia, who was currently sitting with the other girls and landing in the middle of their table.

"Yes Happy?"

"Remember what I told you when we came back from Edolas?"

Happy was wiggling his tail excitedly, while trying to hold back from spilling the information immediately. After all, he lives for the drama. Juvia on the other hand was just looking at him, confusion written all over her face.

"Juvia isn't following.."

"You know, about the Juvia in Edolas and how the Gray there is obsessed with her.."

"Oh yes! Of course Juvia remembers that! The other Juvia is very lucky.."

"Yeah, and guess what? She got even luckier. Turns out they've got-"

"HAPPY!"

Gray had to stop him before he spilled too much. Why were they on the other side of the hall anyways? Juvia was always stuck to him whenever he came back from a mission. Why did she have to abandon him now of all times?

"What is it Gray? I'm busy delivering information."

"If you don't shut it that's the last information you'll ever deliver."

At that Happy visibly gulped. Gray was sure he was considering whether it was worth taking the risk. He probably still remembered the incident where Gray had declared him his enemy. Gray himself didn't remember much of what happened, just that it wasn't his proudest moment when he woke up half naked on an island surrounded by strangers. Now however, he was glad it had happened. At least that cat knew what he was dealing with and wouldn't dare to finish that sentence.

"Hey popsicle, are you threatening Happy?"

This just keeps getting better. Of course Natsu had to get involved as well. All he wanted was to enjoy being back home and spending some time with Juvia. And he wasn't doing either. Really, the last thing he needed was Natsu and his damn cat to ruin things for him.

"I don't threaten anyone unless necessary. So if you want to save him from trouble, tell your cat to back off."

"I'M AN EXCEED!"

"Like I care. Point is, shut up."

"HEY, DON'T TALK TO HAPPY LIKE THAT!"

"Stay out of it, flamebrain!"

"IF HAPPY IS INVOLVED, I'M INVOLVED."

"Whatever.."

He just needed to get to Juvia. There was no need to participate in the conversation with Natsu. Not that you could actually hold one. It would always end in a fight and if that idiot doesn't shut up soon, Gray was sure that this will be the case today as well. So he decided to be the bigger person and ignore Natsu, no matter how much he was provoked. However Natsu didn't get the message.

"What's up with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're being weird lately. Happy noticed too, right Happy?"

"Aye!"

"I'm not being weird, what the hell are you talking about?"

"I think it's because he's jealous of you!"

"WHY WOULD I BE JEALOUS OF NATSU?"

"He did tell me what happened.. is it because he has more woman than you?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know, that snow woman. He had quite a lot on his side, you however just had-"

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

Like it wasn't bad enough that he was going to tell Juvia about their Edolas counterparts, she really didn't need to know about that whole woman in the depth of his heart thing.

"You're jealous of me?"

"Who's jealous of who?

"Gray is jealous of Natsu."

"Seriously?"

"NO!"

That's it. He's going to kill that cat. But first he'll have to deal with Natsu because he was costing him his nerves as well. So next thing he knew, they were throwing fists at each other until Erza forcefully stopped them.

"What is this about? Explain yourself before I pull out my sword."

"Grays being mean to Happy."

"That's because Happy is stupid! Probably got it from you.."

"SILENCE! Happy!"

"Yes?"

"Explain!"

"Well, Gray is being mean to me just because I wanted to tell Juvia about what we saw in Edolas. I don't see why he's so worked up over it, I mean I was just going to say that they're married."

"Who's married?"

"Gray and Juvia!"

Silence. The whole guild went silent. Well, except for Happys snickering. Gray could swear he felt his soul leave his body. He was certain he would never hear the end of it. After all, he could already feel the eyes on him.

"Gray and Juvia are married in Edolas?" It was Juvia who decided to break the awful silence. Happy nodded eagerly in response to her question.

More silence. Or as Gray would say, the calm before the storm.

"Is that true?" Juvia was looking at him with wide eyes. He knows her well enough by now to know exactly what was currently going on in her head. He could tell her imagination was going wild with wedding pictures. But she was clearly holding back from squealing, instead she kept staring at him, desperately waiting for an answer. Gray sighed.

"Yes.."

And then all hell broke loss. Mira was cornering him trying to find out as much as possible, while Cana kept adding her inappropriate comments. Elfman starting shouting something about marriage being manly, whatever that meant. By the time Gray had managed to escape from them Juvia was no longer in sight.

"Juvia?"

"She went outside, said she needed to cool down."  Lucy smirked proudly, making Gray fear her next sentence. "Good thing you're an ice wizard. Who else could cool her down?"

"Hilarious. I'm going outside."

"Of course you are."

Gray didn't bother reacting anymore. Instead he went to search for Juvia. The cold air outside hit him in the face. It wasn't until now that he realized how stuffy it was in there.

He distanced himself from the guild hall while keeping an eye out for his bluenette. He really had missed her during his mission and now that he was back, he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. After all, he had finally acknowledged his feelings for her and after seeing their counterparts in Edolas and that vision he had been trapped in, it just made him long for her more.

Those feelings still freaked him out somehow. He wasn't aware that he was capable of feeling this much for someone. But Juvia had really broken down every single one of his walls. And he was really grateful for that. She was the one who kept pulling him back whenever he was close to the edge. She's his power to live, even though having admitted that so bluntly in front of her still got him all embarrassed. And her teasing didn't help one bit.

"Juvia!" He spotted her on a bench near the lake. She seemed lost in thought. When she heard his voice however, she immediately spun around.

"Graysama! Juvia is sorry for leaving so abruptly.."

"Don't worry about that. Are you okay?"

He sat down next to her. Usually he would leave a space between them, not wanting to give her any ideas. But things changed. And now here he was, sitting as close to her as possible, longing for her touch. Juvia smiled at him.

"Juvia is very happy that you're back."

"I'm happy to be back too. I.." He cleared his throat and looked away shyly. "I missed you."

"Juvia missed you too. Juvia was wondering whether you were doing alright, if you manged to stay dressed and whether the others bothered to pick up the clothes you discarded.." she kept talking but Gray was too focused on her beauty, wondering how he'd gotten so lucky having someone like her in his life.

"I want what they have as well." Gray had blurted out the thought before he could realize it.

"What who has?" Juvia questioned him. He could go back on his word, pretend he never said it. But what's the point? He was just making himself suffer by prolonging it. And he had promised her to be clear with his intentions once he got back, not that he got to finish that promise before he was swept back to Elentir. Point is, it was time for him to be honest.

"I want what Edolas Gray and Juvia have.."

"You want.. you want to marry Juvia!?"

"What? No!"

"No?"

This wasn't going the way he wanted it all. Gray sighed.

"One day."

"One day?"

"Yes, one day I'm going to marry you. But I think it's still a little early for that. To be fair, our counterparts in Edolas are older.."

Juvia just kept looking at him in disbelief. He couldn't blame her. It wasn't exactly his style to be so open and honest. They didn't start dating yet and he was already talking about marriage. Juvia had really impacted him..

"Listen. I want to be with you. Like Edo Gray is with Edo Juvia, like Fairy Nail Glen is with Fairy Nail Juvina.. I want Earthland Gray to be with Earthland Juvia as well."

"What's Fairy Nail? And who is Juvina?"

"That's a long story.. point is I want to be with you. I'm sorry I'm not as clear with my intentions as the other me. But that doesn't mean I want you less than he wants his Juvia.."

By this point Gray was a blushing mess. He couldn't bring himself to look at her, too afraid to see her reaction. He had literally just run her over with emotions.

"Graysama doesn't have to be sorry."

"Huh?"

"For not being as clear with his feelings. I feel in love with this version of Gray, the Earthland version. Juvia wouldn't change a thing about you."

Gray smiled at her. She was truly too perfect. How did she always know what to say? She seemed so calm and collected while he was literally trying his best not to freak out.

"And Juvia would like that very much as well. Earthland Gray and Earthland Juvia being together.." she was looking at Gray sweetly and he couldn't help the smile that took over his face.

"I promise to be the best version of myself for you."

"You already are."

They smiled at each other and Gray tucked behind the hair that had fallen into her face. He found himself leaning closer and he saw Juvia doing the same. He had just closed his eyes, just a little away from finally kissing her after thinking about it for so long, when a voice interrupted them, making them jump apart.

"Gray loves Juvia!"

"Quiet Happy!

"They are so cute together."

"About time he made a move."

How had he not seen them hiding behind that bush. He'll admit Lucy, Wendy and Charles were hidden pretty well, but Natsus pink hair and Happys blue fur were visible to everyone. And Erza hadn't even bothered hiding. He must have been too focused on the girl in front of him to notice. Said girl was now blushing furiously.

"I'm going to kick their asses.."

"Juvia thinks it's sweet that they're so supportive of you. You have a great team."

"How are they a great team? They literally interrupted a very important moment."

"Juvia knows.. but Juvia is very happy already."

"So you don't want me to kiss you?"

"Juvia didn't say that!"

He was truly enjoying teasing her. So much, he was able to ignore his friends presence. So instead of letting them ruin their moment, he leaned in and finally, after so long, kissed her. It took her a moment to react, but once she did, Gray felt like the luckiest person in the universe. He was never going to let her go.

"Juvia loves you very much."

"And I love Juvia very much."

He kissed her again, already addicted. His friends were cheering, probably happy that he finally made a move. He couldn't blame them, it took him long enough.

"All that because I told her about Edolas Gray and Juvias marriage. Imagine what she'll do when she hears about Greige.."

"Who's Greige?"

"HAPPY!"

♡♡♡

Here you have it, my contribution to Gruvia day! I hope you like it, let me know what you think :)

Also, I'm still fangirling over the drawing we got today. Maybe I'll write something about that too one day..

Anyways, happy Gruvia day! ♡

[yuriko-mukami]

🎮 - What’s your favorite video game?

Questions for the mun!

(( Yosh! An interesting topic!

From DL games I find it hard to decide which one I like the most, I guess I just love Ruki's routes in general (still one to play!). But that's probably not a surprise.

Aside from DL, my favorite otome games are Amnesia: Memories and Later and Hakuouki: Kyoto Winds and Edo Blossoms. I guess I'm a bit boring person who goes for classics here. From mobile otomes Ikemen Sengoku is my favorite.

Other than otome games I play mostly JRPGs (and I've played those more than otoge). There are so many games to love but my all-time favorites are Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy XII. Like many other FF fans, I started with FFVII and that game has a special place in my heart, and I truly love FFVIII too, but FFIX was the one that captured my heart completely.

In Final Fantasy IX, the story is awesome, all characters are so lovable, the music is perfection, and the world feels very alive. I love the mini-games, the battle system, and the art style too.

And when it comes to Final Fantasy XII, I'm in love with its world Ivalice. It's so vast, alive, and interesting. Adventuring there fills my heart with joy. I also adore the characters, especially Balthier and Fran, and the political story hits somehow the right buttons in my mind. I recognize that the storytelling is lacking in some spots and that you need to see behind the surface to really understand the characters who don't always say everything clearly... but damn, that game gets me every time.

FFXII was also the first game I played in Japanese because I wanted to try out the Zodiac Job System version and back then it seemed that it wouldn't get a port in the Western world (A funny nuance: the voice acting was in English but menus, subtitles, and non-voiced conversations were in Japanese). So, in that regard, it is special to me. Years later we got FFXII: The Zodiac Age for PS4 here too and that was the perfect reason to play it again. And damn, I just love the job system and gambit system of that game!

I think out of all games I've played I have finished FFIX and FFXII at least 5 times each (and neither is that short) and I totally am going to play them again someday 🥰

(Sorry, this turned out a rather long answer for such a simple question... 🙈)

[kaquyas]

I honestly assumed Tobirama would be the one everyone asked. Please, indulge us with your thoughts on Tobirama 😌

from this ask meme

favorite thing about them

genuinely thought creating zombie no jutsu was fine and normal. he was like "yeah i'll create some zombies" and just did it. i love a good insane and unhinged scientist and simply cannot resist! but even more than that i LOVE the implications of it. how does someone justify creating that? what was his thought process? WHY did he create it? and also, if he was able to justify edo tensei, what else can he justify to himself? i just LOVE characters with skewed moral compasses who will find any way to excuse their fucked up actions

least favorite thing about them

please process your trauma and get therapy for your ptsd and examine your prejudices. please. please. pspspspsps you want to think about and analyze your biases so you can come out of it a better person sooooo bad. he's absolutely biased and just refuses to acknowledge it. tobirama convincing himself he is always right both a blessing and a curse. what i love and hate the most about him. he's soooo insufferable (there are hearts in my eyes and floating around my head)

favorite line

“grown ups are stupid” only to grow up to be a stupid grown up <3

brOTP

HASHIRAMA shaking vibrating sobbing. idk if it properly counts as a brotp as they are actual brothers but i also do not care 😌 their relationship is the number one thing i care about i think about them 24/7. if you’ve ever talked to me about anything other than the senju brothers it sounded like the teacher from peanuts i just was not listening. went in one ear and flew out the other as a little butterfly

OTP

[foaming and frothing at the mouth] i feel normal feelings. about madatobi. none of which are exclusively available to shrimp.

also have an insane soft spot for minato and tobirama i think they would be soooo cute 🥺

nOTP

literally any woman. sorry ladies henis gay <3 also any of his students

random headcanon

he and kawarama are fraternal twins, with kawarama being born about twelve minutes before tobirama. they were attached at the hip up until kawarama's death

unpopular opinion

he was not kagami and danzo and torifu's sensei!!! they were on his escort unit when he was hokage, but they were NOT his students. also as mentioned earlier, i definitely think he is biased against the uchiha because he just refuses to acknowledge the fact that the war messed him up in any way, and as a result he both 1) has prejudices and 2) is insanely self defensive about it (realized i didnt finish typing this sentence at first x_x adhd strikes again)

song i associate with them

i have TWO playlists for this guy and this ask meme gives me song in singular form...lucky for all of us i can't read

tidal wave by the mountain goats

even the proud, even the very proud probably die on their knees twin masts out on the open seas mistaken for trees

my boy builds coffins by florence & the machine

my boy builds coffins with hammers and nails he doesn't build ships, he has no use for sails he doesn't make tables, dressers or chairs he can't carve a whistle 'cause he just doesn't care

also vienna by billy joel. take a break king take a NAP

favorite picture of them

"picture" cute! have five

tl;dr

[limitless-shadows]

Picking up gofushi crumbs from the manga pt. 4

Disclaimer: Beware of anime/manga/fanbook spoilers. This is just me commenting on the manga with the lenses of a gofushi fan (’-’)/

This segment contains manga panels from chapter 82 to chapter 138.

About loneliness, limitless and six eyes vs ten shadows, Zen’in deal, and others.

[Chapter 82]

The life of an exorcist is rough.

Nanami was certainly right when he said that being a sorcerer is shit. They put their life on the line for people who don’t know about curses or that sorcerers exist, they may even die alone and gruesomely, shamans are probably overworked due to a shortage of sorcerers, etc.

And how many close bonds do they get to make?

Yet Gojou gave Yuuji the room next to Megumi so it could be more livelier and fun...

[Chapter 84]

^ referring to Gojou

Due to the nature of his power and how strong he is, I guess that Satoru often does solo missions. Even during fights, it’s better if he’s alone. That’s even more sad?! dang and here I had hopes to see gofushi taking on missions together unless-

[Chapter 85]

Heh it was Megumi who noticed Hanami’s weak spot.

[Chapter 91]

For the strongest to be able to trust others does say quite a lot for their current situation. Trust in the first years, trust in Megumi ;-;

[Chapter 92]

Megumi’s shocked/worried face upon hearing that Gojou has been sealed. I’m glad that we get to see it drawn!

[Chapter 93]

So... what I learnt from this is that Satoru has some pressure since he solo carries the Gojou family. What sort of childhood did he have while growing up if the family put all of their expectations on him??

...that he has saved many a sorcerer!!

Toji’s deal with the Zen’in ;-;

[Chapter 96]

The smol Gojou that pops up when Megumi thinks of a plan hehe

Gojou also mentioned Fushiguro back when he tested Itadori in chapter 3.

Using each other to bluff and employing a different naming. I guess they think alike www

[Chapter 109]

What a character development :D after Gojou’s talk to him back in chapter 58.

[Chapter 117]

Gofushi got even better after chapter 117-

It’s another moment where they are alone! When they animate this, is it going to be during a sunset too? XD

If they are at the college, then that’s one chair upgrade.

Their families being on bad terms hrmm hrrmm

Gofushi truly has a lot of potential for writing prompts. Romeo and Juliet? Reincarnation?

Also makes me think if there will be a fight between Satoru and Megumi in the future o_o;;

Moreover, it’s not known how they exactly died. They could’ve been weakened from before their fight and/or someone delivered the final blow? While Megumi thinks it’s probably due to Makora, I don’t think it’s only that. There must have been something else? We haven’t seen Megumi’s true potential yet aaaaah next chapter is when Tengen might drop some information on the group, and I hope he knows and shares some secrets about the Ten Shadows technique (will it be the reviving theories? or maybe being able to enter some sort of shadow realm?). Heh mission impossible to retrieve Satoru.

The Edo period was between the 17th and 19th century, while the Keicho period was around the 17th century. According to the fanbook, it’s been 400 years since someone with Limitless + 6 eyes was born. So Satoru was most likely the next Gojou to be born with those abilities after the fight between the past clan heads... it really makes me think. huh, for there to be a Ten Shadows user during this era too.

Then Megumi goes and says

whyyyy

belieeve

[Chapter 126]

This scene in chapter 126 when Nobara spilled coffee on Gojou’s shirt which caught me off guard by surprise.

Since they didn’t have much time to think about what to do. Their panicked reaction was to slip the shirt inside Megumi lolol

Leave it to Akutami-sensei to draw the funniest scenes haha. Sacrificial lamb Megumi lolol although Satoru might have been able to tell with the six eyes.

[Chapter 138]

Head of the Zen’in clan Megumi--

I assume the 3 parts from the speech bubbles are independent things with the agreement being carried out first. When they found out that Megumi inherited the Ten Shadows technique, it was decided that he would become the next clan head. But only if Satoru is dead or incapacitated. Why make him the leader without knowing what he thinks about the Zen'in clan tho? Is that just because he has the Ten Shadows technique? Is it much more appreciated than the Projection Sorcery technique which Naobito and Naoya have? Because it can rival Limitless and Six eyes?

Naobito really hates the Gojou’s. According to the fanbook, his stress source is the Gojou family, and he doesn’t get along with them which is why he didn’t do much during the Shibuya incident. I wonder why :D definitely doesn’t have to do with them stealing (?) Megumi from them, right?

Now I’m curious how the deal went through. I want to see Satoru and Megumi’s trip to Kyoto D:

Part 5 will probably be done after the manga releases more content... whiiich might take months. But aay ヾ(≧ ▽ ≦)ゝ there was actually a bunch of things to talk about! I started shipping them maybe after chapter 79? I was surprised at chapter 58 which dropped more interactions between them. Then 59 showed their first meeting and 79 made it more clear (/≧▽≦)/

[animezing-fandoms]

Making Love

Masterlist

Warnings: Smut! 

Relationships: Nalu

Summary: Now that they've found the white wizard, it's time for them to leave Edolas and head off to Elentir. But Edolas Fairy Tail offers to let them spend the night first. But Natsu and Lucy are stuck sharing a room, and there's only one bed. And for some reason Natsu's been acting strange around Lucy. And that night Lucy finds out why and sees a side of the man she loves that she's never seen before. My take on what I think would be cool to have happen after FT 100 YQ chapter 67 but I know it probably won't happen lol.

A/N: Here’s a Nalu smutfic based off of the recent 100 YQ chapter. I hope it turned out as good in words as it did in my head lol! Enjoy!

--------------

“Thank you again for letting us stay the night.” Lucy says as her Edolas counterpart walks her up the stairs. 

“Sure thing! Letting you guys borrow some clothes to sleep in is the least we could do after all you’ve done for us!” Lucy Ashley says as she brings Lucy up to the door. “But unfortunately we don’t really have that many spare rooms so you’re gonna have to share.” 

“That’s fine. I’ve shared rooms with Erza and Wendy before, it’s no problem.” Lucy assures her alternate self. 

“Oh uh…well, you’re not sharing a room with either of them.” She says and twirls a lock of her hair. 

Lucy’s heart began to beat faster, her mind immediately jumps to the worst case scenario and sure enough when the door to the room she’ll be staying in opens up, there’s Natsu sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace with Nasha on his lap. 

“Natsu?!” Earth Lucy shouts.

“Nasha!?” Edolas Lucy shouts. 

“Mama!” Nasha shouts happily.

“Lucy!” Natsu shouts happily.

“Nasha what are you doing in here? I told your father to watch you.” Lucy asks.

“He had to go out somewhere and so he left me with the other papa and said that counts because he’s technically still taking care of me.” Nasha explains.

“That unreliable little...” Lucy grumbles to herself.

“Wait, Lucy why are you here?” Natsu asks. 

“Because we’re sharing this room tonight.” Lucy says. 

“Wait!? We are?” Natsu exclaims. 

“Yep. Apparently so.” Lucy says and scratches the back of her head. “Just the two of us, alone, and there’s only one bed...” 

“Oh...” Natsu says. 

Wait a minute...was Natsu blushing? Lucy thinks to herself as she studies his reaction to the news. She expected him not to care, but now it would seem like he actually cares a great deal...

“I thought I’d be sharing this room with Gray.” Natsu says.

“Yeah well given how much you two fight and the fact that we don’t have a ton of money for repairs, we figured it’d be best to keep you two separate. So the girls are sharing a room, and Gray is sharing a room with the Exceeds.” Edo Lucy explains as she holds out her arms for Nasha. 

Natsu lets her go back to her mother and seems sad that he can’t hold onto her for longer. It was amazing. She wasn’t even really his and yet, he treats her like she’s his own. In fact, it seems like ever since he found out that Edo Lucy was her mother, he’s acted fatherly towards Nasha. Again, Lucy didn’t dare think too much into it, but a little bit of hope couldn’t hurt. 

“Besides, after spending some time with this little one, I think it’s clear the two of you could use some one on one time.” Edo Lucy adds with a wink, making the other Lucy’s face turn bright red with embarrassment and anger. 

She planned this! But unfortunately she left the room with her daughter before Lucy could point that out. So now here she was. Alone, with Natsu. Well, joke’s on her because it was late anyway so Lucy was just going to change into some sleep clothes and go right to bed. 

“So uh, you were playing with Nasha?” Lucy asks as she goes over to the dresser and pulls out a sleep top that looked similar enough to the ones she wore to bed. 

“Well I wasn’t playing with her...” Natsu says and his voice trails off when he sees her unbuttoning her top.

To Lucy’s surprise, Natsu turns away. Normally Natsu couldn’t care less if someone was naked or not in front of him but now he was actually trying to give her some privacy? What’s up with that? 

“She wanted a bedtime story so I told her a story about the time Igneel took me to the forest to teach me how to hunt. I think she likes dragons.” Natsu says.

“Well she is your daughter, sort of.” Lucy says and finishes changing into her sleep clothes which consisted of a silk top and silk shorts. 

Natsu must have heard her finish changing because he turns around as she’s putting away the outfit she borrowed from Edolas Lucy and blushes when he sees how little she’s still wearing. 

“Natsu, are you okay?” Lucy asks.

“Yeah I’m fine!” He answers quickly and runs to the bathroom. “Just gotta pee!” 

That was strange... Lucy thought. And it would only get stranger once they have to figure out their sleeping situation. 

——————— 

They both took turns using the bathroom and when Lucy came out she noticed that Natsu was making a makeshift bed on the floor in front of the fireplace. 

“You’re not going to take the bed?” Lucy asks. 

“No you can have it. I don’t mind sleeping on the floor.” Natsu says. 

“Alright, as long as you’re okay with that.” Lucy says and climbs under the covers. 

She was about to lay down and go to sleep when she heard Natsu grunt as he tries to find a comfortable spot on the floor. 

Lucy bites her bottom lip and considers her options. Given how weird he’s been tonight, asking him to share the bed with her probably wouldn’t go over well. But then again, she’s also curious about why he’s acting so strange. So maybe she should ask. You know, for science! 

“Natsu, do you want to share the bed with me?” Lucy asks. 

Natsu stiffens and turns to look at her.

“Uh, are you sure you want to?” He asks. “I thought you would want it all for yourself.” 

“I thought so too at first but...it’s cold and you’re clearly not comfortable down there so... Natsu, come to bed with me?” Lucy asks and cringes the second that sentence leaves her mouth.

Did she really just ask him that? It’s not like she didn’t want to but, she never thought she’d be in a position where she had to ask Natsu to come sleep with her. He usually just made himself at home whenever. Sometimes in her bed! 

So when Lucy sees the worry on his face as he climbs under the covers and stays on the far side away from her, she has to ask. 

“Natsu is something wrong?” Lucy asks. “You seem really nervous around me tonight. Did I upset you somehow?” 

“Well you didn’t do anything but it’s just that, earlier today...Erza told me where babies come from.” Natsu says. 

“Oh.” Lucy says and blushes, trying to process what that means if having that knowledge makes Natsu suddenly avoid her. 

“So now I understand why you were so upset when I asked you to make Nasha with me when we get back to Earthland. I really should have known just what I was asking you to do before I asked it. If I had known I’d have to have sex with you in order to have a baby with you I definitely wouldn’t have asked you for it so casually. So you have every right to be upset with me. I’m sorry.”

Wow. Erza must have really knocked some sense into him! Then again, it’s Erza. If anyone was capable of knocking sense into someone, or just plain knocking them out, it was her. 

But the level of maturity Natsu had right now, and the seriousness in his gaze, and the fact that he was shirtless, she couldn’t help but find it all insanely attractive. If only he felt the same way she’d take him right here right now! 

“Thanks Natsu. I’m glad you’re learning about the world and respecting me by giving me more privacy because of that. But you don’t have to be so shy around me and refuse to share a bed with me because of that. You’re allowed to touch me and be close to me.” Lucy explains to him.

“No I can’t do that.” Natsu says. “It wouldn’t be right because...it would turn me on.” 

Lucy’s heart froze and she could feel the blood pumping in her ears. Did Natsu just say...

“Natsu...you’re attracted to me?” Lucy asks softly.

“Yeah. I’m in love with you Lucy.” Natsu admits and Lucy starts internally screaming. “And I’ve been attracted to you for awhile now actually. I just didn’t realize it until Erza explained everything. I mean, I knew that I liked you and thought of you as more than a friend and wanted to spend my life with you. But now that I know why my dick gets hard every time I see you naked or in some skimpy outfit, I don’t think it would be right for me to be in a bed with you or change in the same room with you, knowing that while that’s happening I’m thinking about how badly I want to shove my dick in you.” 

Lucy can feel herself clench at the thought of having Natsu’s penis inside of her. She wanted it. She wanted him. Bad. And now that she knew he wanted her too, why wait any longer than she already has! 

“And you think that I haven’t been thinking about that too?” She asks before she can stop herself. 

Natsu looks at her in shock. 

“When you asked me if we could make our own Nasha back in Earthland I told you we could. And I knew exactly what you’d have to do to me in order for that to happen. And I still said yes. I wouldn’t agree to that if I didn’t want it.” Lucy explains. 

“Wait Lucy, do you really feel the same about me that I do for you?” Natsu asks. 

Lucy’s heart was pounding. This was every dream she’d ever had come true. She looks up at Natsu with her darkening gaze and reaches for him. Seeing his pupils dilate just like she knows hers are only fuels her conviction to bring his face down to hers and kiss him deeply. 

Natsu instantly reciprocates, climbing on top of Lucy as she shifts to lay on her back so that they can kiss easier. 

Lucy spreads her legs to let Natsu lay comfortably on top of her as they kiss. They both smile as they break for air. 

“Does that answer your question?” Lucy asks. 

“I can’t believe it.” Natsu says. “You’re really in love with me? I thought you only saw me as a friend and thought I was too annoying to love.” 

“Well you thought wrong Natsu. I’ve been dropping hints that I like you for awhile now. And I always thought you were too dense to think about romance so it would be impossible for you to be in love with me.” Lucy says. 

“Well I guess I am pretty dense if I didn’t figure out your hints.” Natsu agrees. “But I definitely love you Lucy. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

“Then kiss me you big dummy.” Lucy says and flips them around so Natsu’s on his back and she’s laying on top of him as they kiss. 

As they made out, Lucy could feel an ache between her thighs, so she decides to roll her hips against Natsu’s to get some sweet friction to satisfy herself. Natsu grunts against her minstrations and mutters her name as she releases her lips from his. 

Both of their eyes had grown darker with lust, and their gazes remained locked on each other as Lucy sits up and lifts her top off over her head, letting Natsu get a good look of her ample chest. 

He couldn’t help but stare at her in awe. The glow from the fire was shining off of her pale skin, making her shine like a star as she gently began to grind her hips against the tent in his pants, making it grow even more. She let out a soft whine as she felt him hardening against her and Natsu shudders as she looks at him with those pretty doe eyes as she begins to rotate her hips, making him reach out to hold them, needing to feel her soft skin under his rough palms. 

“Lucy, you’re beautiful.” He moans and stares at her. 

“Thank you, Natsu.” Lucy says and blushes under his gaze. “But why are you surprised, this isn’t anything you haven’t seen before.” 

“I know but every other time I’ve seen you like this was by accident and it made you mad. Now, you want me to see you, and now I finally know how to appreciate what I’m looking at.” Natsu says and Lucy feels hot under Natsu’s smoldering gaze as he looks her over. “Now I know what those other guys at the guild and Sorcerer Weekly are talking about when they say you’re sexy. But they haven’t seen you like this.” He says and runs his hands up her hips and along her waist, tracing her hourglass figure in his hands. “I’ve seen girls naked before. Hell Erza and I still bathe together sometimes. But I never reacted to her like I’ve reacted to you. Just getting glimpses of you like this made me want you before I even knew why I wanted you. And that’s how I know that you’re the sexiest woman in the world Lucy. And I will never want this with anyone else.” He sits up and cups her cheek in his hand. “There’s no one from the past, future, or any other world that could ever compare to you.”

“Oh Natsu…” Lucy whispers as she tears up and cups his face in her hands and kisses him deeply. 

She presses her body to his, needing to feel as close to him as possible, and Natsu reciprocates by holding her tightly in his arms and running his hands along her back. She moves her hands down his torso to the waistband of his sweatpants and begins tugging on the strings to loosen them and pull them down to free his stiff erection from his clothes. 

Natsu feels what she’s up to and grunts, pulling her closer to him and releasing her mouth to press kisses along her neck and fondle her right breast in his hand to make her moan as she pulls him out of his pants and underwear. So he brings his mouth down to her other breast and takes her nipple into his mouth and sucks.

“Natsu…” Lucy moans and wraps her hand around his manhood and squeezes.

Then she gasps at the animalistic growl that he emitted from her touch and he releases her breasts and looks at her with a dark gaze that makes a shiver of pleasure run down her spine as he presses a kiss directly under her breast and hooks his fingers into her shorts and panties. 

He continues to press kisses down her torso as he lays her on her back on the bed and pulls the last of her clothes off of her, spreading her legs open as his mouth makes his way down towards her-

“Oh!” Lucy exclaims and arches her back as Natsu presses a kiss to her soaking slit. 

She looks at him with a mixture of pleasure and surprise. Did Erza tell him about oral, or did he think this was something new that he was making up on the fly or was he being driven by instinct? Either way, Lucy didn’t care. She was already wet for him and now having his mouth against her was only turning her on even more. And then he starts using his tongue and she just can’t contain herself. 

“Yes Natsu!” She shouts and arches her back. 

He swipes his tongue against her clit and she practically squeals in pleasure and grabs his head. But as much as she loved his tongue, she desperately needed something inside of her aching channel, and luckily, Natsu’s member was aching to be inside of her. 

“Lucy…” Natsu moans and looks up at her with a dark gaze. “I need to be inside of you…” He begs and Lucy gulps and bites her bottom lip. 

“Good, because I want you inside of me.” She replies breathily. 

Natsu quickly climbs back over her, pulling his pants and underwear off the rest of the way in the process and Lucy spreads her legs wider for him. He braces himself with one hand beside her head and uses the other to line himself up with her entrance. They lock eyes and both gasp as her pussy opens up and the first few inches of his dick slides in. After getting over the initial shock of being joined, Natsu finishes the job with a gentle thrust of his hips and Lucy moans as he fills her completely, her hands flying to his shoulders to hold herself steady as their hips meet. 

Both of them were looking at each other with wide eyes and gaping mouths as they took in this new feeling of being joined to each other. 

“Natsu…” 

“Lucy…” 

“You’re so…big.” She moans and smiles at him and he smirks. 

“Maybe that’s why you feel so tight…” He replies. “Wait this doesn’t hurt does it?” Natsu asks, looking at her with concern. 

“No.” Lucy says. “It doesn’t hurt at all…it feels really good actually, having you fill me like this. And it makes me wonder how Gajeel didn’t split poor Levy in half when he did this with her since she’s so much smaller than him!”

“Maybe she’s bigger than she looks? Or Gajeel’s smaller than he thinks? Yeah, it’s probably Gajeel being secretly small. But enough talk about them. Lucy, what should I do now?” Natsu asks. 

“You can start thrusting. Just drag your dick out of me a bit and then push it back in.” Lucy instructs. 

Natsu gives it a try and they both moan as their hips slap together again. 

“Lucy that felt so good, do I just keep doing that?” Natsu asks.

“Yes Natsu! Just like that. Keep going!” Lucy begs and moans as he sets a fast pace. 

The only sounds in the room were the sounds of their skin slapping together, and the occasional moans that weren’t swallowed by each other’s mouths. 

“Lucy, you feel so good around my dick. If only I had listened to those dumb talks when I was a kid, we could have gotten around to this sooner!” Natsu exclaims and Lucy smiles. 

“Yeah, maybe.” Lucy says. “But I’m so happy we’re doing this now. And you feel so good inside of me-oh Natsu I think I’m close!” 

“Me too.” He breathes huskily. 

He brings his mouth down to her neck and kisses it to find her weak spot. Once he does he bites it and she arches her back into the hand that was fondling her breast. 

Considering how wet she was already, when combined with the neck biting and breast squeezing, once her fingers found her clit she was coming in no time and screaming his name as she hit her peak. 

Natsu came soon after, having been pushed over the edge by the feeling of her walls clenching around him and milking him of his release. 

He rolls off of her to keep from crushing her and collapses next to her. 

“Wow Lucy that was, amazing.” Natsu says and runs his hand through his hair. 

“Yeah, it really was.” Lucy says and smiles as Natsu leans on his side to cuddle her and she does the same.

“Am I supposed to be this tired afterwards? I feel like I just finished a fight with Laxus.” Natsu says and Lucy laughs. 

“Well you lost a lot of fluids so I’m not surprised. Just go to sleep, you’ll feel better in the morning.” Lucy tells him. 

“Okay then. Goodnight Lucy. I love you.” Natsu says. 

“I love you too.” Lucy says and gives him a quick peck on his lips before turning to face the other way to go to sleep. 

Lucy sighs in contentment as Natsu presses himself against her back. She really did this. She lost her virginity to...Natsu Dragneel. Natsu...Dragneel. Natsu Dragneel. She just fucked Natsu freaking Dragneel!?!

Was she really so head over heels for him that the day he found out what sex was she spread her legs and let him have his way with her. Yes. She really did just do that.

And now her womb was full of his semen, and the rest would drip down her thighs during the night. Not to mention her neck and chest were covered in his bites. 

It was a little embarrassing to say the least, but she couldn’t be happier. She’d been wanting to do this with him for awhile now. And now her dream had finally come true. 

But Natsu still sensed that she was feeling tense so he had to ask. 

“Hey Lucy, are you sure you’re okay that we did this?” Natsu asks. 

“Natsu there’s no way I would have ever let you do it if I wasn’t.” Lucy laughs and Natsu smiles and runs his hand through her hair. “I mean, I was always taught growing up that I should save myself for the man I marry but I rejected those rules the night I ran away from home. Besides, you’ve already seen me naked so many times and now that we’ve done this, I don’t think I could get married to anyone else but you. Especially since we’re going to be together forever.” Lucy laughs and Natsu looks at her softly. 

“Well, then if that’s the case then, Lucy, after we finish this quest and get back to Magnolia, will you marry me?” Natsu asks. 

Lucy’s heart skips a beat before warmth spreads through her chest. She always dreamt of hearing a man ask her the most romantic question she could think of. And she never thought that Natsu would be the one to ask her, even now that she knew she wanted him to. But she knew exactly what her answer was. 

“Yes!” She exclaims and kisses him deeply before pulling back. “Yes Natsu I’ll marry you and be your wife and then we’ll make our own Nasha and be a family together forever.” 

Natsu kisses her deeply and they both have tears of joy streaming down their cheeks as their lips part. 

“Lucy, I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy.” Natsu says. “I really don’t know much about romance and stuff but I want to make you happy. So if there’s anything you want me to do to be more like those guys in the books that you read, just ask and I’ll try my best.” 

“Oh Natsu…” Lucy says and rubs her thumb against his cheek. “You don’t have to be like the characters in my books. I fell in love with you because of who you are. Denseness and all. I mean normally when a guy proposes he’ll give the girl a ring to wear so everyone knows she’s engaged but that only happens if the guy plans on proposing. A spur of the moment thing like this doesn’t need that and it’s still just as romantic.” 

“Wait, that’s what the ring is for, so people know you’re engaged and don’t flirt with you?” Natsu asks. 

“Well I mean it’s also a sign of love between two people but, yeah it works for that too.” Lucy giggles. 

“Damn, I wish I had one on me then.” Natsu says and pouts. “Or I wish I could use my magic here. Then I could just pull one of the nails out of the floor and use my fire to make you one right now.” 

“Well, if you really want to give me something, sometimes in my books when a guy proposes to a girl and he doesn’t have a ring, he’ll give her a string to tie around her finger until he gives her a real one later or at their wedding.” 

“A string…” Natsu thinks then sits up excitedly. “I’ve got the perfect one!” 

Lucy sits up, pulling the blankets up over her chest, not for modesty but to keep warm because it felt drastically colder to be naked in bed without Natsu, and she watches as he picks his scarf up off of the ground and finds a loose thread. 

“Natsu!” She gasps, shocked that he’s about to ruin the most precious object he owns. “Don’t do that you’ll ruin Igneel’s scarf!” 

“Don’t worry about it, this thread’s not an important one and it was loose anyway.” Natsu explains as he tugs on it then bites it off with his teeth. “And maybe this is why, because I can’t think of a more perfect string for you.” He says as he comes back over to her and she holds out her hand and shows him which finger to tie it around. 

“Why is it perfect?” Lucy asks. 

“Because Anna made this scarf with Igneel’s scales. That scarf was made by two members of our families. In a way it represents both of us. So what better string to use to show everyone you’re mine?” Natsu explains as he ties the string into a bow around her finger. 

Lucy tears up as she looks at it on her hand. The same hand that bore her guild mark that she was only able to get after meeting the man that was now going to be her husband. 

She holds up the back of her hand to show it to him, just like she did all of those years ago when she first showed him the guild mark on her hand. And once Natsu made that connection he reaches for her and kisses her deeply. 

“You know you’re still a weirdo.” He says when they pull apart for air. “But you’re my weirdo now, and I love you.” 

“I love you too Natsu.” Lucy says as Natsu climbs back under the covers and kisses her forehead once before they fall asleep in each other’s arms. 

———————

When Lucy woke up that morning, for a moment she worried that last night was all a dream, and that she hadn’t made love to Natsu and gotten engaged to him. But then when she picks up her hand and sees the string tied around her ring finger, and feels Natsu’s warm body shifting behind her, she’s overcome with joy that it was all real, and he felt the same.

She woke up to see Natsu smiling at her and they kissed each other for as long as they could before they had to get ready for their journey to Elentir.

But first, they had to say goodbye to Nasha.

“Thanks for the dragon story and dragon scale!” Nasha says as she holds up one of the scales from Igneel’s scarf that Natsu decided to give her. 

“Dragons sound cool! If I ever come to Earthland will I get to meet one?” Nasha asks. 

“Well uh...they’re not really around anymore.” Lucy says and Nasha pouts.

“Awww...well that’s okay I guess. I’m still going to get to meet Earthland Nasha sometime right?” Nasha asks and Natsu and Lucy look at each other and smile before looking back at her. 

“Yeah. We’ll definitely bring her with us next time.” Lucy promises. “Goodbye Nasha, and be good for your parents.” 

“I’ll do my best!” Nasha says. “And I’ll practice breathing fire every day until I can do it like Earth Papa!”

“That’s my girl.” Natsu laughs and waves goodbye to her as they set off on their journey. 

As they all walk together, Erza notices that Natsu and Lucy were holding hands, and something instantly clicks in her mind. 

“I bet if we ever come back again, Nasha’s gonna have a sibling.” Erza says. 

“What makes you say that?” Lucy asks. 

“I heard the Edolas Natsu and Lucy in their room last night making some pretty obvious noises.” Erza explains. 

Lucy stops dead in her tracks and a blush forms on her cheeks.

“Oh yeah I heard that too!” Gray says and laughs. “It was kinda weird hearing Natsu and Lucy shouting each other’s names like that but at least that’s something you’ll only ever hear in Edolas. It’s not like we’d ever catch you two doing something like that.” 

“Yeah...well uh...” Lucy says and taps her fingers together.

“Wait what’s that string for?” Gray asks, noticing it on her finger. 

“It’s from my scarf.” Natsu explains.

“Why would you tie a thread from your scarf around her finger?” Gray asks.

“Because after we had sex last night I proposed to her and we’re gonna get married when we get back to Magnolia.” Natsu explains casually. 

“Oh okay.” Gray says and then it hits everyone except for Erza and Faris all at once. 

“Wait...WHAT?!” They all collectively exclaim. “YOU GUYS HAD SEX?!?”

“And we’re engaged.” Lucy says and blushes as she holds up her hand with the string.

“My heavens when did all of this happen? It couldn’t have been just last night?” Carla exclaims. 

“I THOUGHT YOU DIDN’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO FUCK!” Gray exclaims, still trying to process what’s happening.

“Erza told me yesterday.” Natsu says. 

“Erza why did you do that!?” Gray asks. 

“Because he wanted to make Nasha with Lucy back at home so I figured now was the time to tell him.” Erza explains. 

Poor Wendy was cowering off the path. 

“So those noises I heard last night, wasn’t Edolas Natsu and Lucy but...our Natsu and Lucy!?” Wendy shudders.

“Do you have any idea what’s going on?” Faris asks Touka.

“How should I know? I’ve only known these people for as long as you have.” Touka replies. 

“Fair enough. It is rather interesting to watch anyway.” Faris says. 

“What the hell did Natsu and Lucy do to each other last night? And how could he have proposed without me!” Happy whimpers. 

“Way to go flame brain you broke Wendy.” Gray scolds Natsu.

“She’ll be fine in a few hours. Or days. Besides, I know you’re just jealous because I slept with a girl before you did!” Natsu retorts.

Gray fell silent and his face went pale. A man who didn’t even know what sex was until yesterday, had just lost his virginity before him. Juvia was going to become an extremely happy woman once Gray gets back to her. 

“Now now, that’s nothing to make fun of. We all find love at our own pace. And I’m happy that my two closest friends have finally found theirs.” Erza says and hugs them. 

“Thank you Erza.” Lucy says. 

“You’re welcome. But I need to know, am I going to be the maid of honor at the wedding?” Erza asks. 

“Uh...” Lucy says. “Honestly I didn’t think I’d get this far so soon. But I’m happy I did.” She says as she smiles at Natsu from over Erza’s shoulder. 

Being on an adventure with friends and now the love of her life too? What couldn’t be better? 

[higuchimon]

[fanfic] Rigors of Choice

Edo took a break from his training, setting himself into one of the most comfortabl chairs and sipping at a cup of his favorite tea.  Everything seemed quiet for the moment.  He didn't doubt that something would happen to stir events up again, but for now, he enjoyed the rest.  He wondered who he would duel once the Pro League season started up again.  There were so many options.  He looked forward to another battle against Manjoume Jun, and once Marufuji Ryou got back on his feet - well, that would be interesting.

He considered various strategies he could use against them and others, planning what might happen.  It would all depend on what lay in the future and for now, he enjoyed the pleasure of not knowing.

His phone rang.  Edo's lips quirked for a moment before he answered. He knew who it would be, since very few people had that particular number, and Ryou was too busy healing and dealing with Fujiwara Yuusuke to give him a call.  He allowed it just two rings before answering.

"Hello, Saiou,"  he murmured, knowing the cadence of that breath before a word was spoken. "What can I do for you?"  He wondered exactly what it was Saiou wanted.  He hoped everything was all right.

"I - I  have a question,"  Saiou said at last, his voice faltering. Edo tensed.  He didn't like the idea of Saiou being in trouble of any sort.

"What is it?" 

Saiou hesitated again before speaking.  "What is my favorite snack?"

Edo blinked a few times.  Of all the questions in the world, he'd never expected to hear that.  "Excuse me?"

"I don't remember what my favorite snack is,"  Saiou confessed more than a little sheepishly.  "I was thinking about getting one, but - none of them feel right." 

Edo closed his eyes for a few seconds.  Saiou's recovery had been coming along very well but there were times when something just didn't work right.  This seemed to be one of those.  He drew in a silent breath, hoping that Saiou didn't hear him, and spoke.  "I can get there soon."  He knew that he could just tell Saiou what sort of snack he liked, but knew this was a rare chance to see Saiou's face when he had that snack for the not-quite-first time. Plus, he didn’t want to just pick. That wouldn’t help at all.

"All right.  I'm at the apartment."  Saiou told him.  Edo promised again to be there soon, hung up, and told his trainer that he would work late that night.  Then he quickly headed out, trying not to smile too much.  Saiou could sometimes be adorable without even tying to be.

Saiou needed to learn to do this, and it really wouldn’t be that difficult. Perhaps even a touch amusing.  Edo headed up to the apartment and inside, smiling at the sight of Saiou sat in his favorite chair. The former psychic rose to his feet as soon as Edo entered, brightening in the same moment.

Edo's first instinct was just to hug him.  Even when he looked more cheerful, he still looked so lost, as if the weighty concept of choosing a snack was too much for him to bear.  Instead, Edo rested a comforting hand on Saiou's shoulder.  It wasn’t easy given the difference in their heights, but he did it regardless.

"Did you want to go to the store?"  Edo asked quietly.  "Or did you have something else in mind?"  It wouldn't be the first time that Saiou shopped online.  He wasn't exactly afraid of leaving the apartment, but he wasn't good at talking to people these days.  So most of the time he didn't bother and just ordered what he wanted in.

Saiou pressed his lips together for a few heartbeats then straightened up.  "The store.  There's a chocolate store at the end of the block."

Edo had seen it on his trips in and out.  He'd never gone inside, though, having too much of his own work to do.  But he nodded.  "Let's go then."

Truth to tell, he didn't know if Saiou even had a favorite sweet or snack in general. Usually he sampled various teas and whatever it was that Mizuchi made for snacks.  He wondered if he could persuade Saiou to try and make his own snacks eventually.  Something like that might be able to ground him, something Saiou could use drastically.

To begin with, though, the two of them headed downstairs and to the sweet store.  Stepping inside meant entering a place where the scent of chocolate wafted over them like a tidal wave.  Edo had never been too fond of chocolate himself but he could see why it appealed to some people.  He glanced over at Saiou, who stared at all of the offerings as if he truly wanted to take them all and knew that he couldn't.

In many ways, Saiou had to learn how to be a person all over again.  He'd relied on his second sight for so long, never having to make a proper decision because he knew what would happen long before it did, and now that he didn't have that anymore, he had to learn how to work his way through all the options that life had to offer.  Edo wondered if he'd gotten around to picking a favored toothpaste yet. 

"Which one of them really appeal to you?"  He asked, gesturing to all of the wares. Saiou glanced at each of them in turn, worrying at his lip before he he started to walk down the aisles.  He didn't stop for long at any of them, observing.  Edo walked along with him, spying a few chocolates that he knew Saiou had tasted before.  But he didn't seem interested in those, until he stopped by a row of KitKats, in an extremely wide variety of flavors.

"These are interesting,"  he said at last, nodding towards the racks of sweets.  Saiou glanced that way, nodding in agreement, though quite slowly, as if he weren't actually sure he agreed or not.  He took a hesitant step closer. 

"I've had these before,"  he mused, eyes flicking from one brightly wrapped sample to another.  Edo agreed, letting Saiou come to his own conclusions and make up his own mind.  He knew which one he liked, but Saiou needed to make his own choice.  It wouldn't help him in any way to choose for him.

Slowly Saiou reached out for one of the items.  His touch was hesitant at first as he brushed his fingertips across one of the items, then another of them, not picking up anything until he came to one in particular.  His eyes lightened at once.

"I remember this one - I liked it."

Edo checked which one it was - dark matcha KitKats. Saiou had always had a soft spot for KitKats, he'd noticed, and more than once Edo had brought a few over when he'd gone on trips back to the States.  Saiou savored each and every one of them, but he'd always enjoyed these the most.  So now he nodded.

"Is that the one you want right now?"

Saiou hesitated for a few seconds, then pressed his lips together and picked it up.  Then he glanced at Edo, a question clearly visible in those brilliant violet eyes of his. Edo nodded; this was a trip for Saiou and he could do whatever he pleased. Edo’s concern was only that he did do what he wanted.

With that gesture of support, Saiou stepped over to the drink area.  Edo didn't stop himself from smiling.  Saiou learning how to do things because he wanted to do them and not because destiny told him to do it - he knew how it felt.  There was something unutterably thrilling about choices. 

While waiting for Saiou to make his decision there, Edo examined the sweets himself, wondering if he wanted something.  There were so many options and flavors that he only saw in Japan.  He snorted softly at the "Black Thunder" brand - it wasn't Manjoume's, but he'd probably be having them as sponsors sooner or later.  He ended up picking up some salted caramel and went over to select his own drink, pleased to see Saiou now holding a nicely chilled white peach cider.  He'd never quite had the taste for that himself, but he'd seen Saiou enjoy it before.  That meant he still had the same tastes - he just had to remember them all, and be sure he wanted them, instead of being told to eat or drink something because his visions told him that was what he'd eat or drink.

Edo didn't often take breaks from his training, especially for little snacks like this, but this was one time he found himself very glad to have done so.

The End

Notes: I finally have finished GX Rare Pairs Week! Now I can get back to GX Month (and oh, boy, do I have a lot to get caught up on there!)

Saiou has a lot of adjusting to do. But he will have help!

[krakenshaped]

Okay so more tag duel posting of cool things I've noticed on my first playthrough (as someone who chose Asuka as their duel partner)

Tag Duel 2 Spoilers ahead!!!

If not paired with the player, the other characters will pair themselves up as so (not sure about Asuka + Kenzan has Not Been Spotted Yet) (<- not sure if partners can change or randomise)

- Judai will partner up O'Brien. I've found them hanging outside the Osiris dorms in the morning, In the locker room next to the store at noon and in the dueling arena at night.

- Manjoume oddly enough partners up with Johan. I've found them in the classroom at night.

- Sho and Rei partner up. I've found them in the forest and on the volcano (if I'm remembering right, it was early game)

- I found Edo with Fubuki. Which is an interesting concept as well as a fun nod to the manga (maybe), Fubuki's win animation is that little thing they do when they poses, shake their tush and thumbs up. (The 10join classic) They're also found in the classroom at night.

- Kenzan has Not Been Found. He's missing in action.

- Jim partners up with Junko but I have a feeling it would have been Asuka had I not chosen her. They hang out at the harbour at night.

-Amon (lol) partners up with Napoleon (lol) because it seems a little obvious (lol) he couldn't find anyone to partner up with him (L bozo) he's having a baby tantrum in the card shop.

Other facts to note when considering when writing your ygo fanfiction (whether it be Asuka trivia or just map trivia)

Asuka likes grapes and steak sandwiches. She does not like gyoza or fermented cheese. Like. Girlie HATES gyoza and fermented cheese.

Asuka talks about Fubuki like he's still dead. Lmao. This can be written off as copy paste dialogue/win-lose quotes from TD1 but I think it's interesting to consider about what it says about their relationship.

Asuka has other reactions to areas around school at different times (which I'm assuming is the same for every character). One is the aforementioned harbour dialogue and the other, which happens during morning or noon, is Asuka hoping that nobody drew the golden eggwich yet.

In the first morning, Asuka chides you for sleeping in and gets angry at you for keeping her out too late, claiming its the girls curfew and she doesn't like staying out too late. This somewhat suggests Asuka is an early to bed early to rise sort of person as at least Judai and Edo don't comment on it.

Similarly if you try and skip class, Asuka will get angry at you and drag you to class anyway (honor student queen).

The abandoned dorm is easily one of the biggest maps in the game. Entering it plays some corpse party ass music. It's not scary but it is almost hilarious how Konami put their whole konamusi into the abandoned dorm while not even letting you enter the Yellow, Blue or Girl's dorm. (Which was what interested me the most since I was curious if there were rooms for each character.)

That being said, you can enter every room in Osiris including Manjoune's old room.

Oh right. Johan also confirms he's been living in the Red dorm in a stray piece of dialogue about how Ruby needs to lead him back to the Red dorm at night. This means he's probably staying with Judai and Manjoume (since at this point in time Manjoume was forcefully evicted out his own room by Rei.) Food for thought.

I'll probably update more trivia, tidbits and thoughts as i continue playing and tag it

-> #tag duel analysis

[demonslayedher]

Kaburamaru's real life inspiration: Iwakuni White Snakes

Images and a video are behind a cut, you can guess what you'll find below. Might I just say I was stunned not only by how cute these snakes were, but also how legit friendly and curious they were??? I went to both the Iwakuni Shirohebi Museum, near the lovely Kintaikyo Bridge area, and Shirohebi Jinja (White Snake Shrine), which was only established in 2012 but has a longer history among various Benten shrines around the area. As you might have gathered, these albino snakes are local to the Iwakuni region, and I've gone more into their real life history and what that says about how Kaburamaru came into Iguro's life on this post. I suggest reading that first; this shall just be me fangirling about these adorable snakes. I have never felt such a connection with a reptile before, but on this day I was blessed.

Like, seriously. I loved these snakes so much. Please, come appreciate these snakes with me.

THIS CHILD IS THE REAL-LIFE KABURAMARU OF MY HEART. I LOVE THIS PARTICULAR SNAKE SO DEARLY. Let me back up a moment. This was from one of a couple of large enclosures on the grounds of the shrine, which incorporated snakes into a bunch of its design. White snakes have long been considered messengers of the god Benten, and join an array of other special white animals in Shinto lore, but they are especially beloved in this region and there are active efforts to preserve them. They are basically albino rat snakes; it's a matter of preserving the recessive trait for albinism. (And being albino, that means Kaburamaru probably didn't have great vision either.)

So right away I noticed that in the outdoor enclosure, the snakes were pretty easy to spot on the ground right away. One came closer to the edge as we came by, but so close that I couldn't see its face, so I was like, "yup, that is a snake" and went on with my shrine visit. I'm going to take a moment here to say that although the museum had some charming displays about the Edo period discovery of the white snakes in rice storehouses and about the life cycles and anatomy of snakes, I enjoyed the shrine more, though there were also snakes at the museum who were pretty aware of humans too. Like this eight month old baby, "Love-chan." (The babies' scales are thinner, so they appear more reddish because you get more of the red of their insides showing through.)

Also at the museum, we interrupted this couple while they were busy. The two veterinarians who accompanied me provided analysis which is unnecessary to repeat here.

By all rights, Kaburamaru probably would had preferred to be hibernating at the time they battled Muzan. He's such a trooper. So anyway, back at the shrine, they had an area on the opposite side from the main worship hall which you could enter for 100 yen, and they had a collected of white snake related treasures and goods there (similar to how the boar shrine in Kyoto had Inosuke merch among all the boar stuff), as snake figures have often been a symbol of good luck for making lots of money. I found three pieces of Iguro & Kaburamaru merch, including a chibi that sat in front of chests of coins, contemplating the nature of riches. (My Closet Play was lame, and it's hard to tell but both my pants and my scrunchie had black and white stripes, and I wore mismatched turquoise and yellow earrings. It may look like I am gasping at all the snake treasures, but more likely I am orating.)

So anyway. Now let me come back to my favorite snake in all of Iwakuni. This little fellow noticed me come in and came straight over to say hello.

I LOVE HIM. He had his tongue going crazy a long time while trying to check me out as best he could from the other side of the class, and when I offered my finger to him, he clearly tried to get close to it--now that I think back on it, had there not been glass, he probably would had climbed right on. What struck me most was that once he locked on my face, he locked on. He stayed totally still and we stared each other straight in the eyes, practically nose to nose for at least a solid 30-60 seconds, and this little fellow probably would had been happy to stay like that longer had I not stood up and moved on. There was a connection going on there like I have never felt from a snake, nor have I seen many other animals happy to stay still so long with a curious stare at each other.

I feel so honored. I loved him. I loved him so much.

<3

[tl-notes]

Kobayashi’s Maid Dragon S2 Episode 5 Notes

Better late than never! Hopefully I’ll catch up with these before next week’s episode hits.

私は、種族全体の目的よりも自分がやりたいことをやっているエルマに、興味がありました。

当時の私、そんな感じでしたし。

What Tohru is saying in these shots is a little different in the Japanese:

“I had an interest in Elma, who was doing what she wanted to do instead of advancing the goals of the species [her faction]. Since that’s how I was at the time, too.”

That is, for the first sentence, Tohru is saying Elma wasn’t interested in the broader dragon goals, not Tohru herself.

Then in the second sentence, instead of a wishy washy “I think that’s how it was?” Tohru says that she was like that too, hence her interest.

So it goes from like:

 “I was interested more in Elma than in faction goals, because she was acting freely. I think, anyway.” 

to more of a:

“I was interested in Elma because she was acting freely, not bound by faction goals. That’s what I was like too, after all.”

Not sure if it really counts as a translation note, but since I had some questions about it, here’s a few words on the Tohru/Elma disagreement scene.

Tohru thought Elma was like herself: acting not according to what dragon (or human) society asked of them, but according to their own personal set of values. Elma, by allowing herself to be placed in the position of “god” by the humans, had changed that; she locked herself into permanently being a (large, important) cog in the human society. From Tohru’s perspective, she’d lost the one person she felt kindred with, her fellow “free actor.” She doesn’t particularly care what happens to the humans, hence the 私が言いたいことはそういう話ではない (“That’s not what I’m trying to talk about”) when Elma says she’ll just stop the wars from happening: that’s all well and good, but it doesn’t solve Tohru’s issue.

Hence Kobayashi’s response: both grand (involved the fate of nations), and petty (Elma got “trapped” by food, and Tohru’s initiation of the fight was for personal reasons).

喧嘩するほど仲がいい kenka suru hodo, naka ga ii

This is one of those sayings that is often a giant pain in the butt to translate, because it’s not an odd concept in English, but for whatever reason* there is no common pithy saying for it like there is in Japanese, so it’ll almost come off less smoothly. 

The idea is that, in order to “have a fight” with someone, you have to already have an established relationship that’s at a certain level of closeness.

Two strangers? Why would you even have a reason to fight, who cares. Two acquaintances? Why deal with it, just smile and nod and go on with your day. Two close friends though? You probably care enough to want to convince them of whatever it is, and/or you don’t want to have to hide your real thoughts/feelings around them like you might around, say, just random coworkers or something—meaning more chances for friction.

*My theory on this is that it comes from the same place as the “wow Japanese people are so polite” stereotype and stuff like honne/tatemae as discussed in a previous episode’s notes: in a situation where two strangers/acquaintances might get into a shouting match in the US, in Japan there’s a comparatively higher chance they just tatemae it up to prevent direct conflict and end the situation early—hence less likely to “have a fight” per se. As always this stuff is just on a continuum though.

What do you call these “clouds” left by planes as they fly? In Japanese, they’re called 飛行機雲 hikoukigumo, lit. “airplane clouds.” And they’re not a season word! 

Officially, anyway. 

However, they are heavily associated with summer, to the point where you if you google around to find out if they are a haiku season word, there are a whole bunch of sites to tell you no, they’re not, stop asking. That doesn’t mean they’re not a great way to tell the audience it’s summer anyway, though! 

If you’re curious as to why the summer association: how long vapor trails like this remain visible depends heavily on how humid the air is. More humidity, longer trails. And Japan has very humid summers (and very dry winters!).

If you’ve heard the song Tori no Uta, the OP to Air (also animated by Kyoani), hikoukigumo is the very second word in the lyrics—no coincidence given the heavy summer theming! If you haven’t heard it, I suggest giving it a try.

“Candy shop” here is 駄菓子屋 dagashi-ya, which is a kind of store that specializes in very cheap varieties of “candy” (maybe more accurately snack foods?): dagashi. If you’re seen/read any of the series Dagashi Kashi, you’re familiar with this variety of snack. 

Dagashi is so called because, back in the Edo period, quality white sugar was super expensive and not something commoners could typically eat. Cheaper brown sugar was, though, so you ended up with different terms for stuff made from each: the expensive 上菓子 jougashi and the cheap 駄菓子 dagashi. 

Later, in the Showa period after WW2 when the average person was able to afford a bit more, the term stuck around but more generalized, referring to a wide variety of cheap snacks. These snacks are not necessarily always sugary, and they often have some sort of gimmick so it wasn’t “just” a piece of candy—toys attached, or games/puzzles, or requiring some interesting way to eat/drink them. If you grew up with Dunkaroos: that kinda thing.

Similar to “penny candy,” dagashi was/is cheap enough for children to afford several different varieties of with just a bit of change from their parents, and small stores specializing in them—dagashi-ya—sprung up all over the country, quickly becoming a popular spot for kids… and, not too long after, a symbol of childhood nostalgia. 

They’ve been on a big downtrend in the last few decades however. The spread of convenience stores as a competitor for snack buying is often cited as one reason, while a greater variety of ways for kids to spend their playtime now (video games etc.) is another.

You’re probably aware, but of the many reasons to bow in Japan, to show humility when making a request is a big one. 

Of note here is that Tohru doesn’t push Ilulu’s head down, which other characters in other shows might have done here, but just lightly reminds her: yeah okay you’re a dragon talking to a human, but you’re the one asking—act like it. She does, and her sincerity is rewarded.

The word here is ぱねぇ panee, which is a heavily abbreviated form of 半端(では/じゃ)ない hanpa nai, ~lit. “not halfway/half-done/half-assed.” 

hanpa ja nai→hanpa nai→hanpa nee→panee

It’s used probably how you’d expect: describing something intense af.

(I’m mostly just bringing it up because I love super-shortened slang like this!)

The phrase for “like” here is 気に入った ki ni itta, which is basically to have an interest in something/someone, to take a liking to, to say something is a favorite, etc. When said of another person, there’s typically an air of the speaker considering themselves in a higher position. It generally isn’t “like” in a romantic sense.

Take’s “hey that’s my line,” comes from the fact he’s (in his mind) in the position of power and was judging her on whether he’d try to kick her out of the job. You can tell he was thinking of it as “I like the cut of your jib. I guess you can stay.” kind of thing.

Normally a new employee would not say this about their new boss/job, even if they did like it, though a boss/senpai could of a new employee, hence the “what?”

Notably, Ilulu used “like” earlier in the episode to refer to Tohru as well. In that case it was 好き suki, which is a more literal “like,” with the various implications that may or may not have. Personally, it strikes me as a little odd to translate them both as “like” in the same episode.

And that’s it for episode five! I’m

[cherriesink]

Maeda Yoshinobu - Murmurs

Murmurs are snippets of character reflection earned by increasing Explore Points during Exploration. They usually include 6-7 monologues about other characters and 3-4 monologues about things important to the specific character.

These lines are taken straight from the English translation of the game, so fair warning of bad grammar.

About Yatsufusa “It looks like Yatsufusa won’t join Code Zero no matter what... If I remember correctly, “Yuuki” is the last name of the gentry in the navy. Is he related to them? 

He held a strong aversion towards to the military. He also isn’t suited for the military. Although, differently than Kurusu. He rejects the military under his own strong belief.

...Well, he won’t become a threat to us. It’s unthinkable that he will become a suspect in a special case at least while he’s living like a decent human being at Tenman-ya. 

Never did I imagine that I will be running a top-secret vampire unit when I signed up to become a soldier... But look at me now, going back and forth between humans and vampires. I don’t want to accept it, however- I’m not much different than Yatsufusa in that sense. I’m neither a human nor a demon myself...” 

About Kurusu “Shutaro Kurusu- the strongest vampire in Japan ranking in A-Class. But why did such power go to a rookie like him above all people... It gives me a headache just thinking about it. Even if he’s physically A-Class, he’s useless in battles if his heart and soul are unranked.

On top of that, he shows sympathy for both vampires and humans. How did such a spineless one make it into the army in the first place... Sheesh. Our hearts and soul are the only things we cannot train to get better at... Perhaps it’s what we call a quirk of fate.

Even so, I must build up the unit for Code Zero to function. Especially Kurusu. Practice makes perfect- I must teach him how to move before thinking anything. I’ll teach him how to become a proper soldier that slays a vampire with his reflex. 

First and foremost, I must change the way he talks... What in the world did the army teach him? He’s no different from a civilian on the streets...”

About Yamagami “That fool, Yamagami and I graduated the same year from the military academy. He is incompetent as a soldier. He wasn’t as smart as me but he wasn’t bad either. That is why he was assigned as the military attaché to the Embassy of Japan in London. He was posted in Great Britain as a military diplomat... His assignment was to look into the highly confidental information of Britain’s special unit. So how did it end up being “Many go out for woll and come home shorn”?

That fool! How can he be so foolish, turning himself into a vampire?! And an unranked one... Even I can beat him. But like they say, “Fire and water make good servants but bad masters,” he can detect vampires that are stronger than him- in other words, every vampire that’s hiding in Japan because he’s unranked. He is the eyes of Code Zero so to speak.

...But did you really have to become a vampire yourself? You fool...”

About Takeuchi “Takeuchi is indispensable for Code Zero. Vampires are full of weaknesses. And Japan does not have that many vampires compared to other countries. Kurusu is the only A-Class. The the rest are C, D, or unranked...

We will fall behind foreign countries on special missions at this rate. That is why Takeuchi’s inventions are crucial to cover up our weaknesses so we can equally compete with western ones. Some weapons are ready to be used in an actual battle.

...But I’ve heard rumors that he’s selling his inventions in department stores since he has been whining about the recent budget cuts... Apparently, the sunscreen for vampires are popular amongst women and bringing him loads of money... It’s a military secret for god’s sake.

What in the world is he thinking...?”

About Suwa “It is impossible to understand what Suwa is thinking. It’s nearly impossible to control a vampire that’s been living since the Azuchi-Momoyama period. He can’t even control himself because he’ll lose himself the second he smells human blood. Therefore- the deodorize mask is a necessity for him. 

I’m sure the only ones who’ve killed a human being in Zero are Suwa and myself. He was a stray vampire for a long period of time. Therefore, dangerous. He is a bare sword. The only element that allows me to control him is his loathe against vampires. Apparently, he hunted vampires as a hobby before joining Code Zero and was feared by other vampires.

In any case, I shouldn’t have to worry about him as long as he has blood, the deodorize mask- and a target to hunt for.

...If he ever becomes a threat against mankind, I will have Kurusu take care of him. I must train Kurusu hard enough until that day though...”

About Defrott “Honestly- I want Defrott on our team. There is nothing more reassuring than having an S-Class vampire in Code Zero. However... sadly, that is impossible. Since he is only interested in plays and nothing else. His pride as an S-Class vampire will not allow let alone being used by the military.

On the other hand, he does not attack people. We cannot beat him either, even if we use all our resources. There’s no other way but to keep a certain distance from him. 

That’s where Yatsufusa comes in. Because it seems that Defrott likes his company. I don’t quite get them but Yatsufusa is essential in order for us to keep a good relationship with Defrott. Either way, I’ll let him be for the time being.

...Wasn’t Suwa into plays too? Perhaps I can make Suwa go undercover. It’s combining pleasure and profit for him.”

About Tenman-ya “Tenman-ya deals with vampires for a different purpose as Code Zero. It’s surprising that they’ve been protecting vampires since the Edo period- long before Code Zero was established. And the owner being human. Shinnosuke doesn’t know the exact history of the shop either but he is the 13th proprietor. 

Honestly, it is no ideal that another organization has the same amount of information as us- if not even more than Code Zero.

However, I must acknowledge that they are the reason why the vampires living in the Imperial City are quiet. We do no need to make waves if vampires are buying blood in exchange for their labor.

That manager- Ishikawa was it? He makes me curious but we should keep our relationship as is since he shares information with Code Zero while supporting Shinnosuke.”

About Code Zero “Like they say, “Only God knows what will happen,” who would’ve imagined that there are vampires in this world. I was living as an earnest soldier and now I’m in the middle of a war with vampires.

It’s as if I’m in one of those nursery tales. I never understood the story of “Momotaro” even as a child. Because if I was going to fight the ogre, I will never choose to take the dogs, monkeys, or pheasants with me as a fellow companion. They’re useless.

However, my fellow companions turned out to be... Yamagami, an unranked vampire, Suwa, an irrational one, Takeuchi, a science geek, and Kurusu that refuses to fight. Suddenly, Momotaro has better companions than me.

...Either way, I must go fight the demon with these subordinates of mine. What a pathetic Momotaro I am...”

About the Right Arm “I amputated my right arm because I got bitten by a vampire... If I didn’t act with my impulse, I would’ve probably been long gone by now. Or be sleeping in one of the coffins that Takeuchi invented. 

It was inconvenient at first, but this prosthetic arm isn’t so bad anymore. It can act as a shield against a vampire’s fangs and a weapon if I swing it around. Being able to fight with one arm is actually an advantage when putting it into practice.

The only problem is that my heart suffered serious damage when I lost so much blood from amputating my own arm. Either way, I would’ve died if I hadn’t cut it off on the spot. I should be glad that I was able to extend my life. Other than that, I just have difficulty driving...

I just remembered that I punched a vampire so hard the other day. I have to get Takeuchi to fix my arm. I should have him reinforce it even if that means a few extra kilograms.”

About Vampires “I’ve never even heard of vampires when I lived in my hometown of Saga. People went missing sometimes. Was it a vampire’s doing now that I think about it?

I’m sure I’ll get mocked by myself if I tell myself from just a few years ago what I’m doing right now. Nobody signs up to join the military thinking that they’ll become... a colonel of a special unit for vampires.

I’m glad I trained hard in swordsmanship to the point where it hardened my hands. Bullets are useless with vampires. Even if it hits, it won’t cause much damage. They’re easy to read because they all do the same move. They come up to you and try to bite you on the neck. That’s when they slow down for a split second. The most efficient way to kill them is to slice them at that moment.

...All this knowledge that I have is only useful against vampires. Even if I told anyone, they’ll laugh at me for sure.

Oh well. You never know what happens in life.”

[time-to-write-and-suffer]

I wouldn't mind that post on VNs!

So I was gonna write three different lists, but then after writing the first part I realized this is very long and takes a while to write and nobody cares anyway so I’ll just post my recommended list only. Well, I mean, you asked, but I doubt you wanted all this lol. Thank you for giving me an excuse to talk about this stuff, though. Hope you enjoy my ramblings!

An explanation for what this list is: Sometimes I know a game isn't perfect in many aspects but I still had a genuinely good time playing it, hence why I'm recommending it. Also I should mention that I could talk for hours about some of these games so if anyone’s curious about more of my thoughts, let me know.

Alright, now that that's out of the way ...

How to Take Off Your Mask / How to Fool a Liar King / How to Sing to Open Your Heart (f/m): This is a trilogy of smaller, single-RO games where you can take one of two routes depending on how you act, and they’re all interconnected where you get to meet and interact with the previous games’ characters in the sequel games. I went into this expecting very little but what I got blew me away with how funny, charming and cute the games were. They don’t take themselves too seriously, at one point an angsty male character monologues deeply about some shit, and another one just slides into frame and starts mocking him. It was so fucking funny, holy shit. Also, a central theme is literally racism against catgirls? Which is monumentally stupid, and probably the games’ main flaw, especially in the final game where it pairs up a catgirl with a catgirl racist, but that one still ends with a literal bisexual queen literally making a man her malewife because she fell in love with his cooking, so like ... It speaks for itself. My favorite game of the three is the second one, where you get to play a punchy fake catgirl and romance a pink-haired prince. And honestly, all the female protags in these games are lovely and a breath of fresh air, and the male characters are fun and not abusive assholes either. There’s full Japanese voice acting, and two out of three female protags are literal catgirls who pepper in “nya” and “mya” into their dialogue, and it’s just treated as a quirk of their catgirl race. I AM NOT KIDDING. Yet somehow it never comes off as cringe, because it doesn’t take it self too seriously. These games are just cozy. That’s the only way I can describe them. Cozy and hilarious. Play them yesterday. Dream Daddy (m/m): Man tumblr did this game dirty. This is just a cute, wholesome daddy dating simulator with gorgeous art. Coming out on Top (m/m): So you know Dream Daddy? What if it was EXTREMELY, MAJORLY NSFW? Though I realize how bad the comparison really is, the only thing these games have in common is that they’re gay dating sims and don’t have an anime art style and oh, yeah, they’re both really well-written. Or at least, extremely funny. COOT (heh) is DDADDS’ horny older cousin, and I first encountered the game on a lesbian letsplayer’s YouTube channel. Yes I watched a lesbian play a gay porn game and it was GOOD. I was there for the cringe and fun and got surprised by how genuinely funny and sometimes actually touching the game was. I can’t give it my universal endorsement because it’s not a game for everyone, as I said, it’s extremely NSFW and the menu theme literally includes the singers screaming “SEX SEX” at the top of their lungs. There’s more to this game than the porn, but there’s just so much porn. It can be censored in the settings but it’s unavoidable. However, I still think it’s worth a look just because of how funny it is and how charming the characters are. If you don’t want to play it yourself, at least watch Anima’s playthrough of it. It hasn’t aged super well in some spots but I still go back to it every now and then. Akash: Path of the Five (f/m): This game markets itself as a more “professionally produced” western dating sim, and that’s accurate in some superficial aspects. The game is pretty poorly written, but it’s absolutely gorgeous and has really good English voice acting by actual professional voice actors. The premise is quite self-indulgent, but I genuinely respect that about it. You play as the only female elemental in a village with only men, and all five of your classmates want a piece of you. It’s clear the writers have put some thought into the lore and worldbuilding of this world, but barely any of it comes through in the actual writing and plot, which is basically just a vehicle for you to get together with your boy of choice. The ROs aren’t very well-developed either, and the plot is the same in every route with only minor variations depending on which guy you pick, up to the point where the protag has the same voice lines in some parts regardless of which guy she’s talking about. It also has one extra half-route that’s so bad and pointless I genuinely wonder why they wasted resources on making it instead of spending a bit more on the writing/adding some variations to the main plot. So why am I recommending this game? Well, it’s pretty, and it sounds nice. This game is a himbo, gorgeous but dumb as rocks. Enjoy it for what it is. I know I did. Get it when it’s on sale, I think if I hadn’t gotten it at half-price I would’ve felt a bit more cranky about it. Also Rocco is bae. Mystic Destinies: Serendipity of Aeons (f/m): Yes that’s the full title, no I don’t know what it means either. You may have noticed how most of the games so far I’ve enjoyed because they don’t take themselves too seriously? Well, this one does. It takes itself SO FUCKING SERIOUSLY. Like, way too seriously. It’s a little embarrassing at points because baby, you’re an urban fantasy dating sim. Calm down. But the game has gorgeous art and 3 out of 5 routes are very good. The last route, the one with your teacher, is both the most problematic yet somehow the one that breaks down the very concept of a dating sim within its own narrative (yes, this shit gets fucking META) and it got so wild at the end that 1) I still listen to the soundtrack for that route and 2) I still remember it to this day despite finishing it ages ago. My favorite route is Shou, he’s a sweetheart, but the mindfuck route is so buckwild that I think the game is worth playing just for that. There’s also a route that’s like a neo-noir mystery? I Do Not Know. This game is many, many things and it does them so sincerely and tries so hard, you can’t help but respect it. It doesn’t always stick the landing but man, just let this thing take your hand and wax poetic at you for a bit. Also get this one at a sale because it’s very expensive to get the full version. I got it for 9 bucks on itch.io and I felt that was a fair enough price, I’d say I wouldn’t have minded paying more for it because there’s a lot of content to enjoy and/or be baffled by. Arcade Spirits: This one’s a bit more weird from what I recall, and I honestly couldn’t tell you much about it, but I remember having a very good time with it and recommending it to a friend when she was going through some tough times and she said it made her feel better. I remember it making me feel better, as well. This is a VN about an arcade and the ROs are wonderfully diverse, with very real human conflicts that get explored in each of their routes. It can get quite existential and heavy at times, but in the end it’s a kindhearted game that I think everyone can enjoy. The main character was also, how you say, mood. It’s a game about getting possessed by a video game and then learning self-love. Ebon Light (f/m): This one’s free/name your own price on itch.io so go play it. It’s a weird plot where you play as a girl who ate an elven relic? And then the elves kidnap you because you’re the relic now. All the ROs are extremely pasty (like, literally white, as in literally the color white) dark-haired elves, except for one, who’s an extremely pasty blond elf, so ... diversity? I honestly don’t know what this game is aside from unique. I used to be a bit put off by the art style but now I think it contributes to the general atmosphere. It’s a weird game that technically doesn’t do anything groundbreaking but still left an impression of “huh. weird” in my mind and I think more people should play it. The ROs are all pretty generic dating sim archetypes but done well, with bonus points to Duliae who’s just a massive creep and I love him, and also Vadeyn who’s the only bitch in this house I respect. The worldbuilding is honestly a bit buckwild and I can’t give enough credit for how unique the elves’ culture is in this game. Definitely give it a go. Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds / Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms (f/m): These two are newer releases of an older Japanese visual novel. I wouldn’t call it a dating sim, it’s ... it’s more of a super depressing historical fantasy epic with some minor romance aspects awkwardly wedged in. It’s seriously some of the heaviest and most grimdark shit I’ve ever played in a VN/otome. I don’t understand why it’s a dating sim, it doesn’t read like one, it’s just historical fantasy based on real world events with characters based on real people, and they kill and they die and they grieve and they suffer. The games are literally about the downfall of the Shinsengumi, there’s no way of avoiding everything going to shit and you get to watch and be in the middle of it all as they struggle to stay alive and relevant in a world that doesn’t need them anymore. And there’s the protag in the middle of it all, being useless and submissive and bland just the way the usual otome protag is. I don’t think these games are necessarily fun, and the romance is certainly a lot more downplayed and deeply problematic just based on the age differences alone with some of the men, but the sheer amount of horror and sadness in these games make them stand out above its peers. It’s like watching a war movie. Since most of the characters are based on real people, they feel like real people instead of the usual otome archetypes, and they are so, SO flawed, it’s interesting to just watch them deal with the shit the world throws at them. It’s an Experience, and if you’re up for it, I think it’s worth the time. Cinderella Phenomenon (f/m): This game is free on Steam so go get it. You play as a really, genuinely shitty princess who gets cursed to be poor and forgotten and she has to help one of the ROs break his fairy tale curse so that she can learn about being a good person herself and return to her normal life. This game doesn’t look like much, but it has a genuinely well-written main character who’s actually at the center of each of the stories and in the overarching plot instead of just being around to make eyes at the real protagonists, aka the love interests. Aside from the main character, my favorite part of this game’s writing is how each route slowly but very smoothly expands upon the overarching intrigue. If you play them in a certain order, you get more and more info revealed to you that you didn’t see in other routes, gaps are filled in as you find out more about what actually happened and why, but every route also stands on its own as a full experience and none is more canon than the rest. There’s also some really heavy emotional parental abuse explored, which I found quite potent at times. The romances themselves were alright, I think Karma and Waltz were my faves.

[movieloversposts]

47 Ronin (2013) 7/10 Review

A mixed race man gets adopted into a royal family in Edo Japan, growing up to be a fine fighter. One day, his master dishonors himself resulting in his death. His 47 Samurai set out to kill the man who wrongly accused their master.

If you're into history and drama, you would like this movie. While the special effects are a bit much for my taste, they help add suspense and alter the story slightly.

I feel like altering the original story made Lord Kira look even worse here, but considering the fact that fantasy was an added element in this movie, it makes sense. His character is very arrogant, and creepy at times; he has a superiority complex, if anything.

If there's one part of the movie that was altered slightly from the original story, that I like, it would be the last fight scene in the movie, at Lord Kira's home. I won't go into details- because spoilers- but I like that they added an event to go with the last hours before he goes.

The fight scenes are pretty entertaining, I have to say. Since they mainly involve swords instead of guns, they look better- with all the body movements and twirling every so often. It's kind of like watching Lord Of The Rings fight scenes, which involve swords too. It's very aesthetically pleasing to the eye, since they aren't just parked in one spot, compared to some gun scenes.

To keep spoilers away, I will say that there are some points in the movie where the fantasy element is a bit overdone and unnecessary. You can watch the movie yourself and decide.

Would I watch this movie again? Probably. Would I watch it when I just want to watch a movie and not think? No. Again, the fantasy elements seem to contrast sharply with the original story in this film- and not in a good way at times.

(I feel like it's obvious that I don't like fantasy in a biopic- but I did enjoy this movie)