#iku can join in as a treat

[halfmoon-horse]

As someone who sucked at languages at school and comes from a country known to be bad at foreign languages, being able to actually hold conversations in another language is such a rewarding experience I never knew I needed. It's a testament to my progress, my ability to stick to something even if it takes years and an irregular schedule, and shows I can always still learn, grow, and improve. It's also weird to live somewhere that I'm functionally illiterate lol but I'm getting to experience learning to read and use new words and terms all over again, just like when I was a kid.

[lovelyloveylou]

Howdy everyone! Did you guess what series my most canon breaking s/i is from? It’s Bleach! Because of course it is. Here i am back again reposting this profile, hopefully to the right blog and hopefully with a read more XD I’d like to introduce you to my gal Etsuko so let’s do that under the cut~ Images made on the pastel girl app!

Princess Etsuko Abe/Etsuko Zaraki

Approximately 1,000 years old, though if anyone asks she ballparks herself around 530 since that’s about as long as she’s been conscious

Birthday is March 20th

5’2

120lbs

Squad 11, 4th Seat

Zanpakuto - Tetsu Hitsuji/Iron Sheep – Kido Type – Command is Sink Tetsu Hitsuji

Shipped with Kenpachi Zaraki

Relationship status Married! Though I’ll discus their relationship at all it’s points

Anniversary is January 26th

Kids? Yes! There’s 11 of em counting Yachiru so I’ll probably make a separate post about them XD Their names are Minako, Fumi, Rentaro, Ikue, Kana, Chika, Suguru, Ryuunosuke, Tomo, and Jubei. Minako, Chika, and Ryuunosuke are their biological children, the other 7 are adopted~

Story? Yes but not written! I do however have several filler arcs worth of content sitting around in my brain that I might occasionally write about. If they were part of the anime she, Setsuko, and Tsubame would be the main characters for the Spirit Callers arc, which would reveal the existence of more elemental spirits that exist all throughout Soul Society and the Human World and a group that seeks to control them and then the Lost Princess’s arc which would revel their parentage immediately after. They would also be minor characters in the short Magical Souls arc where my insert who ships with Mayuri ropes a couple of my other ocs into becoming magical girls via unethical soul science! It’s a fun time.

     A bit of background~ Etsuko and her sister are the daughters of the Soul King. Born some few decades after the birth of Yhwach to a different mother, the girls were kept away from the world and others out of fear that they too could share their souls. Like their half brother they could not hear, see, or speak when they were born and rested quietly in a sort of stasis for some 500 years before they began to slowly awaken and grow. They manifested a large amount of spiritual power from a young age, Etsuko being the more powerful of the two. It’s unclear if this extra power comes from her being older or because of the concept she embodies as an extension of her father. Either way she grew into enormous power and for a period in her childhood was rather unruly with it. She is the embodiment of Chaos, while her sister embodies Order, though you wouldn’t guess it meeting them now. She graduates from the academy and joins Squad 11 as their 4th seat two years before the start of the manga.

    Her Personality~ Etsuko is a kind, quiet, and very determined woman, sometimes naïve, and a hard worker. Because of her strength and the nature of her abilities her mother took special care to shape her into someone considerate and with good temperament. Through this training and conditioning she built up a steady work ethic that is an asset to squad 11 (and poor overworked Yumichika). Much of the empathy and emotional understanding came naturally once the rush of being what amounted to a super powered child wore off and Etsuko realized she could do real and lasting harm to others if she didn’t keep her abilities in check. She strives to be kind, polite, and patient in all things, extending the same grace her mother offered her in her difficult moments. In the same vein however she can be quite strict if you’re not actually trying.

     She quite often appears nervous or timid, especially in new or crowded social situations. This is because her social development was somewhat stunted given the limited number of people she had to socialize with on her level in the Soul Palace and she doesn’t always navigate conversations gracefully or understand all the references people make. Because of her seeming anxiety though people assume they can take advantage of her easily or push her around, they quickly learn though that she is not quick to bend to the will of others and is not a person to be trifled with. While she’s quite willing to go with the flow in most circumstances anyone looking to manipulate her is likely to meet the sharp edge of her sword. This easy temperament combined with her intolerance for bullshit lends her quite well to her position in the 11th. The Shinigami stationed under her feel comfortable enough to approach her with questions and concerns knowing she won’t judge them harshly and perform to their best ability knowing that they’ll be praised easily and recognized for their growth.  She inspires loyalty and despite her awkward socialization is an endearing and genuinely caring person which lends her friends rather easily.

And a few headcanons before we go

She eats A LOT, all the time. Her metabolism is exceptionally high on account of her larger than average amount of reiatsu. Depending on the day she could out eat Kenpachi in a single meal. As it stands she eats several more times a day than him, though in normal-ish portions.

Because she eats so much she’s gotten very good at cooking! It’s her favorite hobby actually and she treats anyone who happens to catch her in the kitchens to some of whatever she’s making. There are members of the squad that park themselves just outside the barracks kitchen throughout the day specifically so they can eat her cooking.

Her nickname around the squad is Princess. Early into her time there Yachiru asked why she eats so slowly and sits to straight and Etsuko told her it’s because that’s polite and “Princesses must always be polite.” No one took her off hand declaration of royalty seriously but the title stuck, at first a little mocking and then fond. There’s some hilarious faces when the squad finds out that nickname is also an actual title.

She’s very good at kido but prefers physical battle. Part of the reason for this is that, occasionally, spells will go awry because of her reiatsu. As an embodiment of chaos her spiritual pressure is prone to being, well, chaotic, and can cause odd manifestations of that power.

The other reason she prefers to just fight with swords is that she likes the physicality of it. She quite likes physical activities in general!

The photos above depict her in a possible version of her princess garb, the outfit she wears while working at a cafe in Karakura town during the Magical Souls arc, and her style during the epilogue 10 years from the end of the 1000 years blood war.

I could literally go on about her for forever but I’ll stop here! Keep an eye out for ship headcanons and also for Setsuko and Tsubame’s profiles. Also if you enjoy bleach pls be gentle!!! These girls and their stories are pure, canonbreaking self indulgence born from a convo I had with my friends where we lamented the fact that the poor soul king at the least deserves a loving wife and at least one decent child XD Also also if you have Bleach ships can our s/i’s please be friends? These girls need more friends XD. Thanks for reading this far btw! You’re a trooper.

[ryuukia]

[Translation] ORIGIN -Dark and Light- Behind the scenes ④

I said I wanted to finish posting all the backstage moments during the event gacha, so here it is. Swiiiiiits profiles might take some more because I’m not proofreading that with Ryota (uni sucks life out of us)

Once I’m done with the profiles too, I’ll be making a masterpost~

Assistant translator & proofreading: @ryota-kunstranslations (you’re an angellll)

Please don’t repost/reuse my translations.

☆The obedient person who can’t be tamed ☆

Ryota: Aah, come on, who’d throw a plastic bottle here? What if someone got hurt? So careless

Ryota: Nozomu, come here. You were rubbing your knees a while ago. It’s better to disinfect them just in case. Hey, come here already.

Ryota: I’ll stay and clean up, so it’s fine if Mamoru returns before I do. You have to work on the new song, right? Did you forget anything? Really, it’s ‘cause you keep spacing out.

Ren: Ryota-san! Ryota-san! Recently, I’ve been thinking that whenever I look at you, I feel like I can understand what the words “tsundere moe” really mean!!

Ryota: …...th, thank…… you……

Kensuke: wwwwwwww

☆ Do you see them? ☆

Shun: Tomte-san is so friendly and cute. Ah, hey, that tickles (giggle)

Yuri: I think he’s always wanted to meet the demon lord, he seems happy

Shun: I am honored. I couldn’t find the time to visit the fairy world lately

Kakeru: …...What are they doing talking to thin air? Those two, I mean..

Arata: Kakerun, we lose if we react. As long as it’s not a ghost then it’s not scary. I’m satisfied with just that. (serious face)

Kakeru: Showing that facial expression was definitely your first mistake.

Kakeru: (Nakai-san is also a fairy, but everyone can see him… fairies are deep)

☆ A gentle moment with a gentle person ☆

Morihito: ……-blows-

Dia: …… -blows-

Mamoru: …… -blows-

Arata: …… -puffs-

Issei: ……

Morihito: The cocoa is delicious

Dia: One cup after physical training is exceptional, isn’t it?

Mamoru: I feel healed…

Arata: The sweetness is just right…

Issei: …… (nod nod)

Koki: I’ve been making sandwiches as a snack, would you like some?

Aoi: I also helped. Egg sandwiches, fruits sandwiches and others. There are a lot.

Yoru: If you want something substantial, there’s also fried chicken!

All of them: Are you gods?

Koki: You’re exaggerating (laugh)

☆ People who are in high spirits ☆

Nozomu: I, no.1, Nanase Nozomu, shall start!!!

Lise: Okay! Please do!

Rui: Fight

You: You seem excited www. What are you doing?

Nozomu: For real? (Haduki You style)

Lise & Rui: That was close

You: You all better get ready.

※It was an imitation contest

☆ Are you good at dancing? ☆

Tsubasa: Well then! I’ll do it! I’ll dance!

Iku: I won’t lose either!

Koi: I’ll also give my best~!

You: Hey hey, if it’s dancing then it’s definitely gotta be me.

Kai: Oh, it looks like you’re having fun!

Shu: Shouldn’t we show them how the seniors do things once in a while?

Kensuke: If this is a test of strength, then I won’t lose!

Hajime: If it’s a competition then, there’s no way I’d back down.

Shun: My my, if Hajime participates, count me in too

Soushi: Looks like I’ll be representing SOARA. As a former athlete, I won’t hold back.

Tatsuhiko: Same here

Shiki: The seniors are making a stand

Lico: I’m the female representative!

Issei: Eichi too, come on, fight

Eichi: No way no way no way no way! I was thinking of joining in too but there’s no way I can just throw myself in at that kind of line-up!

Ichiru: If I were you I’d join them right away...!!

Rui: I feel like my energy’s being sucked out just by looking at them standing there

Aoi: Rui, let’s hang on a bit more (bitter smile)

Yuri: Movement that goes with music is simply beautiful.

Morihito: That’s right. Everyone is so cool

☆ A healing view ☆

Kakeru: …… (nom nom)

Dai: (......It looks like it)

Rikka: (......Indeed)

Stare

Kakeru: Ha! You’re watching!

Dai & Rikka: ! (jerk)

Kakeru: Dai-chan-san and Rikka-san, you've been looking at that lizz and back at me for a while now! If you think that I resemble a squirrel that much, shouldn't you be contributing to make my cheeks puffier? Please buy me at least one meatbun right now!

Dai: Roger (bitter smile)

Rikka: Please accept our humble treat (laugh)

☆ Unshakable Man ☆

Arata: Sigh~......

Aoi: You’re lying on the floor…… (bitter smile). Are you that tired?

Arata: Ah, no, I’m staying like this because I’m wondering what’s the best angle to take photos from.

Shu: You look spirited

Koki: Really full of spirit

[letsplaystarrysky]

Starry★Sky in Autumn -Hoshizuki- 10/26

Today’s a Monday and Tsukiko’s class schedule involves a lot of changing classrooms. We join her just as she’s gathering her things to hurry to her next class…

Out in the hallway, someone goes “Hey,” to catch her attention and she pauses. Turning around, Tsukiko finds it’s the woman she saw with Hoshizuki-sensei on Saturday.

“Oh good, I thought that was you!”

She then  laughs at herself and jokes about how of course it was Tsukiko, but she forgot that there was only one student in the school who was a girl. She then bemoans how the school has nothing but boys and it’s just...lacks something that way. Tsukiko can only listen, surprised at her sudden appearance and not knowing exactly what to say. She only finds her voice when Mystery Lady calls her the one flower brightening up the school, and protests that that isn’t the case, really. Mystery Lady smiles at her and chides her, saying she’s cute and should be more self-confident.

The way she says it has strong echoes of that time Hoshizuki told her the same thing...back at the Star Road…

Mystery Lady: Oh but I’m keeping you from your lesson, aren’t I? Sorry, but where’s the nurse’s office?

Tsukiko: Huh?!

Mystery Lady: (；へ；) this school is just so big I can never remember how to get anywhere.

As if she can see it written on her face that Tsukiko remembers seeing her coming out of the nurse’s office not two days ago, she explains that Kotarou came to meet her at the gate so she didn’t get lost then. He gets annoyed at the fact that she gets lost every time she comes.

Tsukiko’s not sure, but she’s finding Mystery Lady kind of adorable the longer she listens to her. And the school is kind of ridiculously large.

Mystery Lady: You think so too?! We should get Kotarou to make a map!

Tsukiko: I’m pretty sure he’d just whine that it’s a huge pain.

Mystery Lady: That’s true…

Aw, look at them bonding over discussing Hoshizuki behind his back. That’s how friendships are begun, am I right?

Tsukiko shows her the way to the nurse’s office on her way to class, and thinks to herself about how while this lady definitely looks and seems more mature than her, she still has a little bit of a childish, cute side. In that sense, she kind of reminds Tsukiko of Hoshizuki-sensei…

When the reach the hall with the nurse’s office, Mystery Lady thanks Tsukiko again and says she should get to class before all the boys get even more jealous of her for taking up her time. What? Tsukiko asks. Mystery Lady confides that she saw plenty of students stopping to look at Tsukiko as they passed. Tsukiko protests that they were most likely looking at Mystery Lady...since she’s so beautiful. Mystery Lady laughs and tells Tsukiko how she’ll gladly take the compliment from someone so cute.

That said, she still thinks the boys were looking at Tsukiko. Does she have a boyfriend?

Tsukiko: No, I don’t.

Mystery Lady: ufufu. I can see from your face that there’s someone you like, though, right?

Mystery Lady tells Tsukiko to hurry up and confess to that person, and Tsukiko feels super awkward because she still doesn’t know Mystery Lady’s relationship with Hoshizuki-sensei. Before Tsukiko can try to think of a way out of the awkward place the conversation went to, Mystery Lady spots Kanata and Suzuya looking for Tsukiko off-screen and they part ways.

Tsukiko comes away from the conversation not knowing anything new about the Mystery Lady, but well aware of the fact that she’s a warm, and friendly person. Tsukiko’s sure that around her, Hoshizuki can relax and be himself…

It occurs to her that she should have at least asked the Mystery Lady’s name.

Maybe if she stops by the nurse’s office after school she’ll still be there?

However, when Tsukiko reaches the office after school, she can hear Hoshizuki-sensei’s voice through the door.

Hoshizuki: How many times do I have to tell you, I won’t go to a matchmaking meeting!

Matchmaking?

This is followed by Mystery Lady’s voice, telling him that he’s old enough he should start thinking about these things. But Hoshizuki is firmly against the idea, and the Lady chides him sternly about being too focused on whatever happened in the past. Going on denying himself happiness like this would never have made some unnamed someone happy, he knows that right? Mystery Lady understands that he thinks he can go on by himself, but she knows that he needs someone to support him. She knows he has the bad habit of pushing himself too hard, and who is going to be by his side and hold his hand when he collapses from exhaustion?

Uh, rather heavy handed writing there, since Mystery Lady doesn’t ship Hoshizuki and Tsukiko (yet) but okay, sure.

Anyway, Hoshizuki’s not having it, and getting more belligerent by the moment. Tsukiko hovers outside the door, wondering what to do. She definitely can’t go in without making it super awkward…

Did somebody say making it super awkward?

“Hey, Tsukiko-chan, what are you just standing there for? If you want to talk to Kota-nii, just go inside.”

And before Tsukiko can stop him, he reaches around her and opens the door.

As Tsukiko predicted, Hoshizuki and Mystery Lady freeze awkwardly. For his part, Mizushima also freezes awkwardly. Tsukiko was already frozen awkwardly. It’s an awkward party.

Mystery Lady recovers first, and warmly greets “Iku” with a “long time no see,” and a comment on how much he’s grown. Mizushima smiles back and thanks her, calling her “Koharu” and finally giving us the chance to stop calling her Mystery Lady.

Tsukiko: You know each other?

Mizushima answers with a well, yeah, and turns back to Koharu, expressing that he didn’t expect to see her there. She pouts and asks if he thinks she slacks off on the job too. Mizushima laughs and theorizes that if anything Kota-nii got that bad habit from her, after all. This finally breaks Hoshizuki out of his awkward silence, he laughs and agrees. His lack of work ethic definitely came from her.

Okay, so the three of them definitely have known each other for a long time, but Tsukiko is still confused. Just what is their relationship? But then, finally it comes to light…

Mizushima: Kota-nii could never say no to you.

Koharu: Naturally, big sister knows best, right.

Wait whaaat? So the gorgeous mystery lady was Hoshizuki-sensei’s older sister?!

Koharu laughs and says that’s right, and this is when it finally occurs to her that she never introduced herself to Tsukiko. She’s Hoshizuki Koharu, the chairman of Seigetsu Gakuen. But Tsukiko’s welcome to call her Koharu-san.

Oh, okay…

Chairman?!

(Chairwoman?)

Hoshizuki explains that Koharu took over when their father stepped down… but that said, she rarely comes to the school and makes him do most of the work.

Wait.

Wait, wait.

So what he’s saying is, Hoshizuki-sensei is the son of the school’s former chairman?

Mizushima laughs. Didn’t the name of the school clue her in?

Not in English it wouldn’t so allow me to explain.

Most kanji have two basic readings, the on-yomi and the kun-yomi.

Seigetsu Gakuen’s “Seigetsu” is written with the kanji for star and moon.

Sei = Star

Getsu = Moon

And lo and behold, Hoshizuki is written the same way, but using the other readings for the star and moon kanji.

Hoshi = Star

Zuki = Moon (technically it’s ‘tsuki’ but linguistically when paired in this way the ts sound often becomes a z sound in Japanese but we’re not going to get that far into it).

So basically whoever in the family founded the nerd school for nerds named after the moon and the stars decided to use the alternate reading for the name “Hoshizuki” and gave us “Seigetsu Gakuen”. Does any of that make any sense?

Probably not.

It’s kind of convoluted anyway, but as a Japanese person in Japan seeing the same Japanese kanji all over the place to refer to both the school and the school nurse, Mizushima does kind of have a point. Did she never wonder about it before?

“Well, you’re a little slow on the uptake sometimes.”

Rude.

Anyway, Hoshizuki had never brought it up because he never saw any reason to tell the students.

Well now Tsukiko knows. Koharu asks if she’s enjoying her time at the school and if she doesn’t get lonely sometimes being the only girlperson. Tsukiko says she’s fine, and that she’s enjoying her studies. Koharu’s happy to hear it, reminding Tsukiko about how she’s just said this school needed to be brightened up a bit.

There’s a funny moment where Mizushima wholeheartedly agrees and Koharu scolds him for being a shameless flirt, telling him he needs to learn how to treat girls better.

Ain’t that the truth?

Koharu: If he tries anything with you, Tsukiko-chan, you just let me know. I’ll make him pay.

Where were you in Mizushima’s route, Koharu-san?

While she’s here in this route though, she milks Tsukiko for all the blackmail info she can get. She leans in conspiratorially and asks if Kotarou has been doing his work properly. Tsukiko kind of hedges the “properly” part in her answer and Koharu looks over at her brother disapprovingly. She asks that Tsukiko look after her useless brother for her and Tsukiko stammers out an agreement because a) what else can she say? And b) she feels awkward again because the way Koharu words it sounds the same as the stock phrase people use when they support someone’s romantic relationship.

Mizushima clues in on how friendly Koharu is with Tsukiko and asks, isn’t this their first time meeting? It comes out that they a met on Saturday (actually earlier, but Saturday is the earliest Hoshizuki knows about) and ahaha oh by the way she had to ask Tsukiko for directions again today.

“Seriously? You still don’t remember? This is your school!”

Koharu: That reminds me, can you make me a map of the school, Kotarou?

Hoshizuki: … You can handle that, Iku.

Mizushima: Why do I have to?

Koharu: (-_-) Kotarou…

Hoshizuki: Fine, fine, I’ll do it.

Seeing them talk amongst themselves like this amuses Tsukiko, who contents herself to just listen. She also admires how Koharu masterfully commands the conversation and makes the two guys seem like kids. She’s so cheerful and warm, too, Tsukiko hopes she can be like her when she gets older.

Anyway, Koharu realizes the time and says it’s time for her to be going. Hoshizuki immediately looks relieved. She points out that she wouldn’t have stayed so long if he’s just listen to what she says and Mizushima gets a kick out of this little tidbit. Tsukiko cheerily points out that Hoshizuki can be stubborn sometimes, and he tells her to leave him alone. Koharu however thinks Tsukiko has a point. She sees herself out with one last stern warning for Hoshizuki to seriously consider the matchmaking meeting.

Hoshizuki flatly tells her he refuses any matchmaking meetings. He’d also like to refuse ‘that other thing’ they talked about, if he could, because it’s too much for him.

Koharu scoffs at this, completely self-assured that she’ll get her way in the end, and heads to the door.

Tsukiko: Good-bye, I hope we can talk again soon.

Koharu: Awhn, you’re so sweet. I could just take you home with me.

Hoshizuki: Don’t abduct your own students please.*

(*translation is 100% indirectly implied)

The room is silent a moment after Koharu leaves, then…

Mizushima: You’re going to turn down the matchmaking meeting she set up?

Hoshizuki: Yeah…

Mizushima: Kota-nii, you’re not still dwelling on that, are you…?

Whatever “that” is, Hoshizuki says it has nothing to do with it, he just doesn’t feel like it. (liar) Mizushima clearly doesn’t know quite what to say, so he hands Hoshizuki what he’d been here to deliver from Haruki-sensei and makes a hasty exit.

Suddenly Tsukiko finds herself alone with Hoshizuki.

He apologizes if his sister made her uncomfortable, but Tsukiko says not to worry, she likes Koharu. Figures, Hoshizuki declares, Koharu’s nice to girls but mean to boys. Tsukiko giggles at this. So that’s why Hoshizuki-sensei and Mizushima-sensei couldn’t talk back to her.

Anyway, Tsukiko’s still a little surprised to learn he’s the son of the school’s former chairman.

He never tells anyone because it’s kind of annoying how people act when they find out. Sometimes people realize the truth from his name (unlike some Tsukikos).

Somehow this reminds Tsukiko of when she saw him coming out of the mystery room on the fifth floor and this seems like a good time to ask about it. Oh, that’s the chairman’s office, he casually informs her. He sometimes goes there to help out with his sister’s work. It only became known as the mystery room because Koharu is busy and doesn’t find time to visit the school often, so it’s locked most of the time.

Hm… Tsukiko mulls over this.

Since he’s being so amenable to answering questions, she decides to also ask about that other mystery surrounding him. Is it true he used to want to be a doctor?

She tried to ask casually, and is surprised when he stops and stares at her in surprise. For a moment she wonders if she shouldn’t have asked after all, but then he unfreezes and wonders how she knows about that. She heard a rumour from her classmates. He sighs.

It’s true, he was studying to be a doctor, but he dropped out of medical school. He hesitates, uncharacteristically looking somewhat vulnerable, then offers her a sad smile.

When he offers no reason why he dropped out, she asks, and he only tells her it’s not a very interesting story. She still wants to hear it, she says, so he sighs. She waits, thinking this might be the solution to one of the mysteries surrounding him.

“A long time ago, there was someone I wanted more than anything to save…”

He goes on to explain that when he was growing up, there was a friend of his mother’s living in the area who had two children younger than him, a boy and a girl. At first Koharu was asked to babysit the kids, but when she was in high school, she became too busy, so that job fell to Hoshizuki-sensei. (sound familiar?)

Hoshizuki: I didn’t belong to any clubs or anything when I was in school.

Tsukiko: That sounds like you.

Hoshizuki: Hey, now.

Anyway, babysitting made him realize that he actually kind of liked taking care of people. The two kids were twins, and the girl often got sick and had to go to the hospital. He’s sure Tsukiko understands what that’s like, since she’s in a similar situation with Kanata. Tsukiko thinks about it and agrees; she does know what that feels like.

As Hoshizuki and his babysitting charges grew closer and he came to think of them as family, his urge to protect them only grew. Luckily he was lazy but still from a family of smart people and had grown up with a good education, so he decided to pursue medicine and see if he couldn’t find a cure for the girl’s illness.

“But I was too late… and she died before I could become a doctor.”

His reason for studying medicine gone, Hoshizuki dropped out of med school and fell into a deep depression. He doesn’t remember much of what happened until Koharu and his father all but forced him to take up the school nurse position at Seigetsu Gakuen.

Tsukiko doesn’t know what to say. Hoshizuki tries to laugh a little and tells her to stop making such a sad face. But he does remind her to cherish the time she has with her own childhood friends.

Tsukiko apologizes for asking about something so painful. He shrugs and looks away, softly saying that it’s in the past.

Is it though?

Is it really?

I know what kind of game we’re in.

Tsukiko’s just as suspicious as I am. After all, he keeps turning down matchmaking meetings and didn’t Mizushima say something about the past when he found out? Does that mean… Hoshizuki was… in love with the childhood friend who died? And now he’s too caught up in her memory to move on?

Should… Should she ask?

“He might not want to talk about it…”

“I’m curious but I can forget about it.”

“I have to know, so I’ll ask.”

You’ve been enough of a Nosy Nancy today Tsukki, let’s leave this mystery for another time. We’re taking the considerate route with the first option.

Tsukiko knows enough about his personality that she can see asking any more about this would annoy him, so she holds in the question. He knows her just as well though and…

Hoshizuki: What are you looking at me like that for? Oh, if you’re wondering about the matchmaking meetings, no comment. He then goes on to comment anyway, complaining that he’s too young to get married and Koharu should just leave him alone.

Waaait a minute, then what about what Mizushima said? You might be wondering, but the game planned for this and sends in some off-screen soccer players to bust in the door and say there’s an emergency that needs Hoshizuki-sensei’s attention! One of them fell during practice and hurt himself.

Hoshizuki and Tsukiko go straight into work-mode, with him looking after the student and her getting him the gauze and disinfectant and things he needs. They’re so busy, they completely lose any chance to continue the conversation.

Much later, Hoshizuki realizes it’s night with mild surprise. Tsukiko’s already gone for the night, and he reflects on how the office seems so much quieter when she’s not around. He wonders to himself why he told her about the past he’d tried so hard to forget. Has he gotten so used to having her near that he’s let his guard down?

Tsukiko had answered when he asked that he wasn’t the person she liked.

As for him… he was almost at his limit…

Before he can dwell on that line of thought, he closes the curtain and obscures the stars and the moon from view.

[evilisk-played]

Labyrinthine December Pt 0: On Bonus Points / My Party Setup

I’m currently working through Labyrinth of Touhou’s postgame. While I’m not fresh from beating Maribel (I’ve been beating all of the V2 and Bloodstained Seal Bosses that I can with my Maribel-slaying party) I finally hit a wall with Eientei V2 fight. 

Before I get into this playthrough in earnest though, it’s time to analyse my current party setup and, worst of all, figure out how to spend those 40 extra levels I’ve accumulated for most of my party members. I love this game but dear god does allocating bonus points for all characters make me anxious. Since I’ve forgotten how to use most of the cast, I decided to look at the stats for all my current party members.

Long, analytical post ahead.

So, how about them bonus points?

As a quick reminder, Labyrinth of Touhou doesn’t have conventional levels. You still gain EXP, but rather than some EXP share mechanic, it’s more like you gather up EXP in this gigantic pool that every party member draws from. Every party member has different EXP milestones that dictates when they can level up or not (with some characters having quicker level up rates than other).

Also, every party member gets a ‘bonus point’ for every level they get and these bonus points are crucially important. While every character has the same base stats and leveling rate, bonus points are one of three ways that allows players to really customize characters. Though some characters are too specialized to really be changed (like Chen, who is just about being stronger and faster) other characters have a wealth of good stats that allow them to be tweaked in different directions.

Yuugi, for example, has good HP, ATK and DEF. As the owner of one of the most powerful ATK spells in the game, you could totally tweak her to get the most out of that one attack... however that’s not the only direction you could take her character in. For me, personally, I realized that as good as her ATK is, her DEF has even better growth. So I made the decision to up her HP and DEF instead. Now she serves as my poison-paralyzing tank (who I often use alongside Komachi).

Bonus points are really important like that, and it’s fully possible to mess a character up by building points into a stat they don’t even use (like adding any bonus points to Patchouli’s ATK stat). And since there are no take-backs without reloading old saves, I understandably get a bit anxious about where to put bonus points. While I *always* have the Touhou Wiki’s LOT Guide open, that’s not enough; the Wiki can tell you what the good growths are, it can’t tell you how you’ve already spent your on points. (I’ve been playing for 70 hours, forgive me for not remembering where I put all those bonus points.)

So before I proceed with the game, I’m going to take a hard look at each characters stats.

...But before I do *that*, I’m gonna explain how I’ve been using my current party.

For the record, I have all the characters you can possibly get in Labyrinth of Touhou’s main game (including Kaguya)

Ever since beating Maribel, I’ve been running around with this half-assed party:

Chen, Komachi, Nitori, Ran, Yukari, Marisa

Chen’s a simple character: stronger, faster, stronger, faster. She’s pretty independent, so you can shove her into any party, but at the same time, she doesn’t add much specific synergy to a party (she can switch characters out with fast speed, but all high speed characters are capable of this). 

Komachi is my main tank. I love that poisoning-paralysing-debuffing skill, and that beefy health value means you’ll never be caught off guard. My approach to bossfights is “everything and the kitchen sink” (aka, do everything: buff my characters, debuff and inflict ailments), so she really speaks to me.

Nitori and Marisa are my main nukes. Even though it’s inefficient, I like having both on my team. Marisa is great but waiting to regain all that SP is crazy (and good luck using Master Spark on MYS resistant bosses...). Nitori is the backup attacker I can use multiple times in a row. I can also use her as an okay tank with her Camouflage ability.

Ran and Yukari are my other tanks. Ran’s never left my party ever since she’s joined; her ability to buff backup characters is just too useful to me (even if it leads to fights taking *forever*). Yukari is another tank I use, mostly just for her Cheat Spell (though I’ll occasionally use her Yakumo spell, since I always have Ran and Chen all the time). I’m probably under-using both these characters, but eh, they’re working for me so far.

Some of the other revolving door members are:

Suika and Yuugi: these two oni are my other tanks. Yuugi is like poisoning-paralysing tank number two, with occasional nuke capabilities. She’s a bit more reliable than Komachi in terms of actual tanking. Suika is the MND tank that’s more reliable than either with tanking (because of Missing Power).

Sakuya and Remilia: my backup tanks. Sakuya exists to speed buff party members and to take hits. Remilia is a really speedy tank who is pretty self-sufficient (bc of Curse of Vlad Tepes). Both are useful for their speed rather than their outright tankiness, which is why they’re paired together.

Reimu, Eirin, Meiling: these three are my main healers. Yes, you heard me, I don’t use Minoriko or Sanae all that much (I just seem to have really bad luck with those two). Anyway, I can usually get away with having two of these healers in the active party. Having three of these is overkill, though in certain bossfights like Rinnosuke and his first phase, it’s totally necessary.

Aya and Cirno: these are my other speedsters. Aya is Chen with a bit more synergy (since she can buff speed). Cirno is a character I only recently started to use, and it’s purely as “fast paralyzer” (I gave up on giving her good stats, and now I just dump all her bonus points into SPD). Both these characters get more use in random encounters, though I’ll occasionally use them for bosses (like using Cirno in a “Paralyzing Trifecta” with Komachi and Yuugi). 

Suwako: my other nuke, alongside Marisa and Nitori. She basically exists as the NTR nuke. That’s about it. I might be under-using her, though she’s been critical in a few important fights, which is more than the following characters...

And now here are the party bench-warmers.

Patchouli: I used her a lot early on. I stopped using her for some reason (I think because there were too many MAG + ATK / MND ignoring bosses popping up)

Minoriko / Sanae: Like I mentioned before, they never seemed to work when I actually brought them out for fights. So I never used either (outside of early game for Minoriko)

Youmu: another early tank I stopped using. She seems good on paper, but I can never make her work (her damage is always less impressive than I remember, or she’s always getting annihilated when I need a tank) 

Alice / Mokou: these characters both belong to that weird niche of “MAG attacker with weirdly good defensive stats” (Eirin is also part of this niche, but since she has a healing spell, I treat her as a healer instead). I never really found a good spot for either character since their best spells are all FIR based (and Yuugi already readily covers that area).

Rumia: she sucks

Wriggle: she’s another early tank I actually used a lot of for her poisoning capabilities. Then Yuugi and Komachi arrived (and they could tank better, and could also paralyse/debuff along with poison) so she lost her position.

Iku: I never got around to using her much. It always felt like I had to build the party *around her* and I didn’t like that (I prefer my strategy of “death by beefy, poisoning-paralyzing-debuffing girls)

Flandre / Yuyuko: these characters seemed too unwiedly to use outside of trash mob fights. As good as her attack stats are, Flandre’s best skill messes up your whole party, and that’s no good. Yuyuko is a character I may have written off too early though.

Reisen: she never filled a good role in my party. It feels like she’s supposed to be another speedster (that relies on Grand Patriots Elixir to build up her speed) but aside from Discarder, her offensive abilities kinda suck. (Also, every bossfight I’ve brought her into, she’s always died. Even in the ones I win, she dies. What are you, Lunarian Wimp Lo?)

Kaguya / Orin / Rinnosuke: these three characters all came in way too late for the main game. It’s like “I’ve been playing a specific way for about 60 hours; I’m not gonna adjust my party when I’m right at the endgame”. I will say, Kaguya did end up being crucial in the Maribel fight with 100% buffed Hourai Barrage. 

+ + +

And I think that’s all of the characters and my usage of them so far. Now that I know where all the characters have been, I’m going to have a hard look at their stats to see if I could be using them better and, more importantly, figure out where to put those blasted bonus points.