#kamoda kei

[fictional-birthdays]

Happy Birthday! (April 1st)

April (Pop’n Music)

Hipopo & Tamayo (Pop’n Music)

Saddle Shoes (Pop’n Music)

Ace Ikebukuro (King of Prism)

Naoto (Pop’n Music)

Elise von Klagen (BlazBlue)

Kei Kamoda (Prince of Stride: Alternative)

Cephalobot (Animal Crossing)

Cyprus (Hetalia: Axis Powers)

Arakune (BlazBlue)

Miguel Kurashiki (Rose Guns Days)

G.B./Cyborg 007 (Cyborg 009)

Hyumu Hellsing (Majikoi!)

Kintaro Toyama (Prince of Tennis)

Tsuyoshi Yamamoto (Katekyo Hitman Reborn!)

Kengo Myojin (Boyfriend Kari Kirameki Note)

Kashii (One Piece)

Kerville (One Piece)

Yuzuko (Log Horizon)

Otome Katou (School Days)

Tachibana (Senran Kagura)

[yakumocchi]

Matsuoka Yoshitsugu + Sport Anime

[purisute]

PRINCE OF STRIDE THE LIVE STAGE: Visual Interview Vol. 6 Mihashi: Kanegae Ko (Kamoda Kei) Kageyama Tatsuya (Kamoda Yu) Kanshuji Reo (Shima Aoi) Nakajima Takuto (Harigaya Hisato) Sawada Takuro (Eifuku Takeshi) Yokoyama Masafumi (Nagatsuka Nobuhiko)

From the December edition of Dengeki Girl’s Style.

Scanned by @purisute​. DO NOT REPOST.

[shinovich0]

I did it so long ago haha

[kaimiiru-creations]

Birdcage Chapter 1

Ch1: Far Sky

Ch2: WIP

Premise: An au where Umino doesn’t detect Senichi while the bird club is brainwashing Kinoko

Time taken: ... 5 days lol, but that was mostly figuring out the plot and also writing a rough draft of the second chapter, too.

Warnings: None... but there will be some eventually.

Characters: A lot, but with a focus on Eishi.

Key code:

Hey. = thoughts

“Hey.”= tweets

“Hey.”= Eishi’s tweets

“{Hey.}” =Bellwether tweets

Closing his eyes, Inspector Senichi could hear the thunder of wings echoing from the rooftop above where he was hiding. His breaths were soft, his heartbeat slow. He was adept at hiding and finding out secrets. That’s why he was an inspector.

Dress shoes tapped down the staircase, and Senichi opened his eyes to find Kinoko walking past him. She was swaying a bit, and rubbing the side of her head in an exhausted manner.

“Did you have a nice chat with the seraphim?” Senichi asked politely, nearly making Kinoko trip as she faced him, her eyes slightly wider.

Kinoko quickly composed herself. She leaned on the opposing wall, crossing her arms, looked down.

“There’s no way we can catch the seraphim. They won’t bargain with us at all if we don’t let them go where they want freely. Not even Eden’s usual method will work.” Kinoko looked up, frowning a bit, as if dazed, “I came here to meet them becau-”

“No, no, don’t try to defend yourself. Go back to headquarters. You can report to Kyo-san there.” Senichi interrupted her. Briefly, Kinoko frowned more deeply but turned to briskly walk down the steps. Senichi’s eyes wandered thoughtfully, before a small smirk grew on his face.

There was something off about what Kinoko said after her meeting with the seraphim, and he was going to get to the bottom of it. He pulled out his phone.

“Security? I want you to keep an eye on Karasuma Eishi’s whereabouts. I believe the seraphim may have done something to Kinoko-san.”

-----------

A familiar crawling sensation burned within Eishi’s back, and his eyes shot open. Lying within the warm covers of his bed, he slowly sat up, took control of his breathing, and scratched idly at his back. He closed his eyes. He remembered white, remembered Takayama’s outstretched hand towards him, remembered reaching for him, but not much else. It was like a dream, after all.

He got up, turned off his clock’s alarm before it went off on its own, and went into the bathroom. He got ready for school, and the tingling in his wing mark gradually calmed on its own. Letting his wings out would relieve the sensation, but he wasn’t keen on doing so when his mother could walk in.

Back in his room, he examined his school uniform in his hands.

This is… the last day I’ll go to school, probably. He thought as he changed his clothes, I can’t continue to live like this. The seraphim around the world are increasing and it’s only a matter of time before Eden closes in on our lives… Even what we’re going to do tonight is just buying us more time.

He fixed his tie in a well-practiced movement, but his mother’s voice brought him out of his thoughts.

“Ei-shiiii!” Her voice was worried, a bit strained.

Another lecture about how sneaking out at night is bad? Eishi wondered as he walked down the stairs.

He stopped on the steps. Other than his mother, three people were at the door: the Eden agent from before, Senichi, and two police officers by his sides.

And Eishi was plunged into a deep, deep, dread.

They must have found out about Umino! He thought, frozen on the spot. His mind quickly switched gears into overdrive, and he kept his face carefully fixed into a neutral look as he forced his feet to go forward, Wait, wait, let’s not jump to any conclusions without more proof-

“Karasuma Eishi,” Inspector Senichi called, “Would you mind coming with us to answer some questions?”

Eishi turned to the kitchen and walked inside, ignoring him. There was breakfast- some eggs, bacon, and toast- on the counter, and the TV drawled with the morning news. A normal morning, if it weren’t for Eden literally knocking on his door.

“I’m so sorry about him,” His mother apologized to Senichi, and then called again, “Eishi, they’ve found out that you’ve been sneaking out late at night, past curfew! I told you sneaking out with your friends would have consequences!”

Eishi stuck a piece of bacon in his mouth. He wasn’t hungry, but he needed something. He wasn’t sure when he’d eat next. Concentrating, he tweeted out, ”Everyone needs to get up now. Eden’s trying to take me somewhere. What’s everyone’s status?”

”I’m fine! There’s no one here trying to take me anywhere... Are you alright?!” Rei was the first to respond, immense worry dripping from his tweet.

”Nothing’s going on here! Need some help?” Umino chirped.

”Kamoda and I are good here.” Irene replied.

”Ei-chan! I’m coming over to help!” Kamoda declared.

”No. Stay where you are. Their snipers are probably watching the skies…Worst case scenario, they might have found out what we did last night,” Eishi took the buttered toast from the table, but was too deep in thought to bite it.

”Catching the leader is a good way to lure out the leader’s followers.” Irene advised grimly.

”Exactly…” Eishi paused, “Irene… should I go peacefully?”

”Did they get the police involved?”

”Yeah. They must have successfully bargained with the government.”

“Eishi, come here when you’re done! Don’t leave the police men waiting!” Eishi’s mother called again.

”Well, kiss your normal life goodbye.” Irene sighed.

”... I’m going to go with them. They should all focus on me if I do… and in the meantime you all can escape.” Eishi decided.

”Ei-chan! I’m worried…!” Kamoda called.

”I’ll be fine. It’s just to buy time.” Eishi bit into the toast, his mouth dry. But he wasn’t shaking. His eyes were clear as he walked back to the front door. He barely registered his frowning mother, and had a bit of trouble really focusing on Senichi’s expression as he listened to his friend’s tweets.

”Hey! Let’s all meet up somewhere?” Umino suggested.

”The usual place on the sky tower!” Rei declared. There was a chorus of agreements.

”Be careful.” Eishi told them, taking another bite of his toast.

“Karasuma-kun?” Kenichi asked, smiling at him knowingly.

”Worry more about yourself, Karasuma.” Irene warned.

“You’re Senichi-san, right?” Eishi asked.

“Correct. Come, we’ll talk more in the car.”

As Eishi reluctantly followed Senichi outside, he ignored the two police men falling into line besides him and looked at the sky. The sunrise was too beautiful, painting the clouds in a pink and red array. It never had looked so far away before. Eishi brought his gaze back to the ground, a dull ache blossoming in his chest and tingling in his sleeping wing mass. Senichi opened the door of a black car for him.

“I’m not being locked up in a police car, a gun to my head?” Eishi asked with a dry smile.

“There’s no need for that, is there?” Senichi asked, smiling back as his eyes glinted in a too-amused way. Eishi could read that hidden warning but didn’t give the inspector the satisfaction of a reaction. He simply ducked his head inside the car. Senichi closed the door behind him, and walked around to sit in the driver’s seat. The policemen outside were talking to Eishi’s mother, or going back to their own police cars.

“Does Eden not have enough funds to pay drivers to transport inspectors?” Eishi asked, putting his foot on the armrest between the two front seats and tapping his toast leisurely to get crumbs over the backseat. It served Eden right for basically kidnapping him. He didn’t bother with his seatbelt.

Senichi didn’t seem to mind, only chuckled and adjusted his rearview mirror to meet Eishi’s glare. “I wanted to talk to you personally. About what your group did, and what will happen from now on.” The car started moving.

“What did we do?”

“You and your group did something to re-program Kinoko-san’s mind.” Senichi said, “Which means there is a Linker in your group. Which one of you is it?”

Eishi frowned deeply as familiar surroundings passed by the car.

”They know what we did last night. They that one of us is a Linker.” He tweeted out.

”Damn.” Irene hissed. Umino made a worried sound.

”What can we do to help?” Rei asked.

”You can help me by not falling into their trap and staying away… I’ll keep you updated. Right now I’m in a car with that inspector, Hai.”

”Okay.” Rei replied solemnly.

”Oh, that nasty guy! I hope I get to beat his face in!” Irene hissed.

“Did you honestly think you can stay free like this?” Kenichi asked, “Brainwashing the minds of humans, refusing to own up to your own actions…”

“Yes. We never meant any harm,” Eishi replied, his tone flat, “It was you who made the first shot by threatening our freedom.”

“I see. What I said back then was merely a warning, but now, your retaliation has... startled Eden.”

Startled? I’m terrified by what you’ve had to make us do to protect ourselves. Eishi thought bitterly.

“And so we’ve had to bring you in more forcefully than we would have liked,” Senichi continued, “So we can separate you from your group. Even if you don’t tell us, we’ll find out who the Linker is eventually.”

”They’re planning on isolating me from the rest of you, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t using me to bait you out. They don’t know who the Linker is.” Eishi tweeted out, shoving the rest of the bread into his mouth and chewing.

“Don’t worry. We’ll put you in a much better environment, even if it may seem like we’re clipping your wings.”

Eishi sighed, disliking the metaphor greatly. “To ‘manage’ the birdmen in China and Europe, right?”

“That spares that explanation. I’m sure that leading a large group is where a Bellwether like you can flourish.”

Eishi didn’t reply. He did have plans to go to the out-of-control birdmen, but doing it on Eden’s terms left a terrible taste in his mouth…

“What does Eden want with a Linker?” He asked.

“A Linker is the ability that Eden wants the most. They would help us to further understand Seraphim directly.” Senichi replied.

“And by understanding, you can be less afraid of us?” Eishi asked. The silence ticked on, and it soon grew obvious he wasn’t going to get an answer, “I am not telling Eden who the Linker is.”

“Would you rather have Eden take all of your group away from their daily lives?”

“Don’t act like Eden doesn’t already want to kidnap all of us the first chance that you people get.” Eishi scoffed, “We just want to be left alone.”

“I see.”

They parked in front of a tall building downtown.

”I’m at... Some sort of EDEN secret base, most likely.” He tweeted as Senichi turned off the car.

”A tall building between a bakery and a bookstore?” Irene asked.

”Yeah, seems like the place.”

”That’s their headquarters alright.”

”I can’t take this lying down anymore!” Kamoda suddenly burst out, ”Isn’t there anything we can do?!”

”I said, stay where you are and don’t come after me. Don’t try to save me, worry about yourselves.” Eishi replied, ”I’ll find some way out on my own.”

There was silence for a moment. Kenichi opened the car door.

“Are you ready to go?” Kenichi asked.

”No! I won’t have you take all of this on yourself again!” Rei was next to say.

”Yeah! Come up with something! Or else we’re going in now!” Umino cried out.

”With my ability, I’ll slice through that building like it’s butter!” Even Irene had been sucked into the determination of the rest.

Listening to their hopeful tones filled Eishi with equal parts warmth and trepidation. They… really cared for him, didn’t they? Eishi would have given everything to fly away with them, but he had to keep his face blank, his breaths normal. He had to...

“Karasuma-kun, are you ready to go?” Kenichi watched Eishi expectantly, patiently.

”I’m asking you to stay back. Do you want me to use my bellwether ability?” Eishi’s tweet became dangerously close to activating his ability, ”If you want to stay free, please fly away as soon as you can. Takayama’s somewhere in Germany… I’ll escape and find all of you eventually.” He paused, looking away from Senichi to hide his face under his bangs, his voice sincere now, ”I’m sorry I can’t protect you further than this… Irene, what do they do with captured seraphim?”

”I imagine they’ll give you a checkup, and then put some tracking device on you before locking you up somewhere.” Irene replied quietly.

”Okay… I’ll keep you guys updated as long as you’re in range. Please do the same on your end.” Eishi replied.

“Are you talking to the rest of the seraphim?” Senichi asked, “Asking them to save you, perhaps?”

Eishi looked up at him and smirked, blinking the red in his irises away. “That would be convenient for you, wouldn’t it?” He paused to take in Senichi’s own surprised smile, but his smile soon dropped as he found no satisfaction in it. He got out of the car. “Lead the way.”

[otaku-loves-weed]

Prince of Stride 

プリンス・オブ・ストライド

https://www.instagram.com/otaku.loves.weed/

[bird-pun]

If these kids are all birds, do you think any of them can sing/are musically inclined in some way?

[CRACKS KNUCKLES]

THANK YOU ANON  FOR AN EXCUSE TO TALK MUSICAL HCS

I’ll just do the birdkids bUT:

Sagisawa:  can sing (sings quiet) , and has probably had to play instruments before! Violinist Rei would be so good

Takayama: yes!!!! Takayama doesn’t do it often but he actually has a nice singing voice, and he could probably be able to play the guitar if he REALLY sat down and played 

Karasuma: Karasuma CAN sing but he doesn’t WANT TO (at least in front of people). Also, I love the idea he’s good at piano  

Umino: SADLY SHE CANNOT SING. But....I have the headcannon that she can rap (please imagine umino rapping with takayama And/or Kamoda beatboxing)

Kamoda: He’s usually off key but if he TRIES Kamoda would have the best singing voice out of everyone

[fictional-birthdays]

Happy Birthday! (April 1st, pt. 2)

Badtz-Maru (Sanrio)

Hipopo & Tamayo (Pop’n Music)

Kashi (One Piece)

Hyumu Hellsing (Majikoi!)

Kensuke Kurosaki (Corpse Party)

Kei Kamoda (Prince of Stride: Alternative)

Hanatarou Yamada (Bleach)

Keigo Asano (Bleach)

Kimihiro Watanuki (xxxHolic) 

[leenaevilin]

[Announcement] プリンス・オブ・ストライド THE LIVE STAGE エピソード 5 ( prince of stride the live stage episode 5)

the show will be running from May 31st, 2018 to June 4th, 2018 (Tokyo) @ シアター1010 (Theater 1010) & June 15th, 2018 to June 17th, 2018 (Osaka) @ 森ノ宮ピロティホール (Morinomiya Piloti Hall) 

ps: jin is back in the game^^

Cast:

Izaki Ryuujirou as Yagami Riku (八神陸) Aoki Jin as Fujiwara Takeru (藤原尊) Satou Arisa as Sakurai Nana (桜井奈々) Kumagai Kaito as Kohinata Hozumi (小日向穂積) Kishimoto Takuya as Hasekura Heath (支倉ヒース) Shiraishi Kousuke as Kadowaki Ayumu (門脇歩) Arai Yuusuke as Dan Yuujirou (壇悠次郎) Mizukoshi Ayumi as Kawarazaki Riko (河原崎莉子)

Hiramaki Jin as Suwa Reiji (諏訪怜治) Kobayashi Ryou as Mayuzumi Shizuma (黛静馬)

Kanegae Kou as Kamoda Kei (鴨田慶) Sawada Takurou as Eifuku Takeshi (永福武志) Yokoyama Masafumi as Nagatsuka Nobuhiko (長塚乃彦)

Murata Hisashi as Himemiya Yuuri (姫宮悠李) Tanabe Ken as Shishibara Kaoru (獅子原馨) Asegawa Kenta as Samejima Arata (鮫島改) Matsumoto Yui as Hachiya Tetsu (蜂屋鉄)

Murakami Wataru as Izumi Shinobu (伊泉忍) Taguchi Ryo as Tomaru Kansuke (戸丸寛助) Iwase Kouki as Masunari Ikki (益成一騎)

Sugawara Masanori as Minato Shuugo (湊柊護) Nakamura Tarou as Satta Kazuki (颯田佳月) Kurosaki Reon as Shizuno Makoto (閑野誠)

Kitamura Kento as Yagami Tomoe (八神巴) Harano Masaaki as Natsunagi Touya (夏凪瞳弥) Maruyama Naoyuki as Izumino Hajime (五十公野哉) Oohashi Noriyuki as Izumino Ryou (五十公野了) Masuda Yuuki as Sakurai Jou (桜井譲)

Hayashi Shuuji as DJ Stride (DJストライド) HAYATE

homepage twitter natalie

[lackadaisical-pottymouth]

Hydra.

[Birdmen Fic]

Thank you @kitsoa for the suggestion!! This was fun and I hadn’t done it in a while;; 

Fox typed aimlessly on the keys of the new hightech keyboard he’d indulged in, his mind racing in place at a billion miles an hour. It was quiet, for once, but unlike gadgets and trinkets, he knew better than to take for granted the temporary calm.

Jonathan stood behind him, eyebrows arched slightly and arms crossed--always crossed (always cross, a friend had quipped once. You’re always cross, Jonathan!). The others lingered close by, their arms dangling, interlocking. Fox grinned, his features angling in the pale blue computer light. 

“Peeking, Johnno?” he asked aloud. The rented room was soundproofed twofold-- once by Dynamat and again by deaf neighbours. 

One of the others, Eli possibly--name stolen from a friend whose Last Procedure coincided with his 17th expunging date (birthday seemed inappropriate of a word)-- Eli tsked in exaggerated boredom, draped selfishly off the side of the table relegated to note and blueprints. “Show us something interesting, Nameless.” said with faux annoyance to cover interest. 

Fox’s grin dug into the sides of his mouth. He slowed his clicks till they were short. clipped. taps. He stifled his laughter at the looks of indignation that followed. Still, he pulled up the profiles he was certain they were familiar with. A lazy thought crossed his mind about avoiding confrontation. No point in beating yourself up, some might say. 

Eli cringed. Mark (now situated nearest Paul with his arms hooked around Jonathan’s shoulders) sent him a look of unimpress three weeks in the making (when the Karasuma kid did it, it seemed natural as breathing. Mark’s first had looked like he’d need a quick visit to the john). Jonathan, as always, seemed passive, observing. Like he could--would--step in at anytime. Fox wasn’t sure it was benevolence that kept him away. Guess he didn’t know himself that well. 

A low ding sounded when the profile arose, and he found his eyes caught on the light hair and patient smile of Sagisawa Rei. Next came one of Umino Tsubame, her face a portrait of shock. Kamoda Mikisada with a kitten tucked where there shoudl have been completed homework. Takayama Sou. 

He clicked again. The pictures minimized, then zoomed to a back corner. Others took their places. Sagisawa’s eyes half shut in between breaks. Umino at the gate where she waited for them from time to time. Mikisada amidst a sea of fallen foes. A third click, concentrated gazes while others scribbled notes in time with the meteronome of the teachers tired droning. 

Fourth, looks of calm, this time amidst a crowd. They seemed almost unnerving. Easily glossed over at first, then painfully apparent and jarringly different. 

The fifth was a splash of analytical red eyes, as if dissecting the observer into miniscule pieces before observing them under a light microscope. 

Eli interrupted the sixth with a jeering grin. “Developed a fixation, Nameless?” he taunted, rising from his position to rest his weight on Jonathan’s side. As if signaled, the others flocked closer, a tangle of limbs and identical faces peering closer at the big screen and the holographic attachments. They blinked in unison. 

Jonathan cast a glance at Eli, who smiled lemon-sweet and ignored the...rebuke. The dark haired man looked away with an eyebrow raised, signalling Fox to continue. 

Fox hummed softly, swathed in blue that reflected off the rims of his glasses, “You know the story of the hydra, correct?” 

His audience nodded. Fox pressed a button and the pictures began to cycle. 

“Nine heads. A pain to kill?”

Eli shifted his weight to the balls of his feet as Fox spoke and the pictures began again. The smile, the stare, the shock, the concentration. repeat. “Cut off one and two more grow in its place,” his hands found the edge of the table and he gripped it, “sounds like us.”

For a moment there was silence. Fox thought about his traitorous heart and his rebelling cells and how there were identical copies of him just waiting to be hatched. AIII-G-1153. There were hundreds of him already. He thought about the blood in his veins, and found himself laughing. If they should be so lucky. True to character, Eli was a sardonic piece of work. He wondered, idly, if that was in his DNA.

Nature. Nurture

Nurture. Nature. 

No.

These thoughts were buried, sealed and tucked away for another time, maybe when he was taking medicine and forcing down a meal. For now he continued, the crack on his face masquerading as a smile. “Eight of the heads were easy enough. But that ninth head, that ninth head was tricky.”

“It stayed hidden while the others fought.” Eli. 

After a minute, Jonathan nodded, “It was immortal.” 

 Fox rewarded them a quirk that really couldn’t be considered a smile, “more viscous than the others, too. Needed a special sword to kill it and everything.”

“So what’re you saying?” Eli asked, though the playful tint, if there had ever been any, was now strained. “They’re hiding a ninth head?” 

Fox clicked. 

At this Eli’s face took on a dire edge. Paul shifted, situated now between Jonathan and the table. Mark made appropriately surprised expression. Their eyes trained to the monitor, where the footage from Fiona’s blackout streamed. 

Static buzzed, distorted the sound and pictures with a blizzard of white flecks. Amid the stormy night sky, one dark figure began to fall and another dove after it. 

Fox clicked again. 

No video, this time. Just audio from a disguised pin. “This is a loan.” and then deafening static as a hundred thousand dollars in technology shorted out. 

“What I’m saying,” Fox said, and behind him swirled clips and pictures and red eyes and dark bodies around a short , dark haired, bird boy staring up at the camera, staring up to their shared soul.

“What I’m saying is that the ninth head has been here the whole time.”

Jonathan almost smiled. 

.

[kitreadsbirdmen]

Body Language

Eishi and Rei have a conversation about the little things.

Link: AO3

Umino is a sight to behold.

Eishi let’s his eyes linger a little too long, knowing just how the female birdman’s flying style spikes his blood pressure. In his current transformed state, he is definitely primed to leak his thoughts. Phrases at risk include: “Damn her wing mass leaves little to the imagination” and “Does she need to move her hips in that aerial spin?” She stands a criminal to his propriety and it doesn’t help that the gentle flutter of her eyes in his memory places that physical infatuation on firmer ground, especially when she is literally far from landing herself.

As if to answer him, she performs a backwards loop, twisting her body at the arcing crest after an almost poetic extension of her arm. Her wings clasp tightly to her form as she dives.

“Nice!” Kamoda swoops out of her fly space below her. He waits for the girl to halt her descent with a smooth unfurling before falling to meet her momentum driven rise.

“You make that look so easy!” The green birdman’s flying gait is most distinct when he’s hovering. Labored downbeat strokes with a hungry grab for air. Then, in an exchange Eishi could only label as ‘casual’-- Kamoda inches into her fly space and brushes the tips of his wings against Umino’s with a simply placed downward stroke. The girl returns the gesture all while chatting about her flying technique.

Eishi allows himself to fixate on the wing brushing. He clicks his ballpoint pen, grateful for his perch on the cliffside, permitting a steady hand for notes. Observation is his game, but it’s only recently that a stray comment from Sagisawa inspired a different, social angle to his approach. That and the string of Awakenings in the group brings the topic of instincts to the forefront. How are they different? What does it mean? Touching wings… sharing thoughts… was that intimate?...Kamoda does possess affections for her… and she really looks good flying…really really good.

“Relax. It’s innocent.” The voice beside him is bemused. Eishi whips his head to face the knowing look of Sagisawa, arms crossed and half a mind on the scene before them.

“I didn’t say anything!” He defends in a muted shrill. The others have the crashing waves and howling winds to drown him out. The quick motion shuffles the radiating heat from his cheeks into focus.

“No but you were thinking it.” Eishi swallows, cold and thick with the paranoia.

“M-my thoughts...leak?” He stumbles through a gripping anxiety that spins his processors. He has been ogling Umino for the past ten minutes.

Sagisawa only laughs at his sudden fear. He takes the opportunity to sit himself next to the smaller bird. Half perched, half attempting to sit cross-legged, Sagisawa curls his talons into his foundation before continuing.

“Don’t worry. I’m good at noticing these things…” He gives a sly tap of his temple, the red of his eyes practically glowing. Eishi relaxes in response, only having to cover up the wounds of his pride than heal them completely.

“But yeah,” Sagisawa continues. “that wing tap was just affectionate. I don't even think Kamoda knows he was doing it.”

“Seems familiar to me.” Eishi grumbles on his defeat. Above their perch he notices that Takayama has joined the duo and is demonstrating some kind of trajectory shifting technique. He throws himself skyward with an impossibly strong wingbeat before letting his momentum stop his flight on a dime. The sire birdman then does an incredible 90 degree pivot. Sagisawa hums in amusement.

“I feel, there’s going to be a tendency to place our interactions against normal human standards.”

“What do you mean?” He understands the claim, he just wants Sagisawa’s insight. The fair-haired birdman rocks back onto the heels of his palms, contemplative.

“I guess it’s like going to a different culture and trying to figure out the differences in values and customs... I have a family acquaintance in France who greets people with a kiss, but there are couples here who haven’t so much as pecked each other on the lips. Different cultures, different customs. We--” he makes an unnecessary gesture to the five bird kids hanging by a deserted cliffside-- “are an entirely new species, so we’re bound to bring with us our own set of customs.” Spoken like a true cultural migrant. Sensitive to the values of subcultures.

Kamoda’s attempted 90 degree turn morphs into upside down flying in the background. The wires got crossed somewhere in the learning process.

“We all still have a human upbringing, that does inform our judgement.” Eishi narrows his eyes. Umino joins Kamoda’s flying style several meters above them. She’s the image of relaxed. “Nature versus nurture, right?” The professor dropped that term a lot. He had a feeling Sagisawa was more attuned to its definition.

“True...” Sagisawa says this softly, as though unsure his words have any substance. The subtext is there. Sure they were raised human, but how much of that will matter with a pair of wings that bordered on sentient? Eishi never picks the brain of anyone other than Takayama so he never knows how strong they feel it. The phantom yearn and the prickling ache. Takayama also once mentioned the wing’s ‘memory’. Personified and active. It’s a daunting prospect,--for how do you fight something within you that possesses an agenda? Anything was possible.

Eishi takes a moment to swallow back a sudden onset of stomach dropping anxiety. He revisits Professor Tatsume’s words.

‘You can beat down even fate.’

Eishi huffs a laugh out of the blue. Sagisawa cocks his head.

“And I thought puberty was the worst of it...” His companion cracks a smile at that, a little surprised, but ever encouraging.

“Making a new culture sounds like a tall order White.” Eishi emphasizes the codename like a joke, pivoting the conversation with a musing lean onto his hands. He mindlessly shifts his wings out of the way. “What does that entail?”

Sagisawa hums. “Well, I say we just sit back and watch… a little compare and contrast here and there… but it should just... happen.” He makes an explosion gesture with a flash of his claws to emphasize the final word.

“And what are we looking for with our great powers of perception?” Eishi feels the facetious approach entice a more natural rhythm from the Trickster. He in turn catches the tone with a knowing smirk.

“An easy feature to distinguish in culture is communication. Language, lingo, delivery.” He rattles. Kamoda and Takayama meanwhile are climbing in altitude for some reason.

“We got that down. Tweeting’s pretty bird-kid exclusive… though I wouldn’t call it a language by definition. We’re still thinking in Japanese...”

“Who knows? There’s no telling if it surpasses the language barrier.”

Eishi raises a brow at that. “Sounds like a future experiment.”

“I’ll be happy to oblige.” The resident bilingual mocks a subservient honor. “But spoken-- er... telepathic - communication isn’t the only thing to look out for. Body language is key.”

Ah, full circle.

“I’m ‘guessing’ these wings aren’t just for fancy flying.” The conversation is indulgent, the process of pointing out the unspoken is now an exercise in verbalization. Talking about it makes it more real, if they are conscious of the differences they might be able to notice when it slips away. Eishi is assuming the role of an engaged student. Just above them the green and red birdmen appear from the line of clouds plummeting at insane speeds, helmets up-- a race it seems.

“I don't know about you, but they seem to move in conjunction with everyone’s emotions.”

“Well, not all of us are hypersensitive empaths…”

Takayama wins the race, reaching Umino’s mark with a wingspans length of lead. There’s a sneering joke about aerodynamics and baldness running through Eishi’s mind as he finishes his quip to Sagisawa. There’s an exasperated sigh in response.

“That’s not-- Listen, Umino’s an open book. You’ve noticed the little fluttering thing she does.”

“Fluttering thing?” She always seems to bat her eyelashes in a manner he’d describe that way, but he just assumes it’s his… enamored perspective. He finds himself watching the female birdman climb the sky, presumably to have her race with Takayama. She has a distinct wing gait, opting for less work and more ease with a slow rising corkscrew ascension, catching updrafts with cupped wings and stabilizing with a precise circling slice. Takayama meanwhile is flying up at Umino’s pace. They’re circling in a sort of dance. He always seems to coddle her...

“Yeah, when she’s really excited about something she kind of…” Sagisawa leans forward to uncurl his wings from the ground. Then for a second Eishi believes the Trickster’s been shocked by electricity because he spasms a jump, moving his folded wings in shallow flaps. “-- over and over again... It’s like a tail-wag on a dog. She does it without fail anytime Takayama so much as breathes.”

That snaps Eishi’s attention far too quickly.

“And then there’s you…” Sagisawa is suppressing an arrogant and knowing smile. He crosses his arms while he tilts his head in a judgmental once-over. “You like looking big.” 

“...Big?”

“Oh yeah. Wings never completely folded, hovering slightly over your shoulders.” He demonstrates his description expanding his silhouette into a positively looming image.

Eishi self consciously snaps his wings tight to his body.

There’s a laugh. “It’s all about the body language. Silent, but sure.” Now he just sounds like some elaborate proverb. In the distance Umino and Takayama are racing, a mere second from the flapping Kamoda finish line.

“So it doesn’t even matter if I’m leaking my thoughts through a tweet… my wings are going to tell the world.”

“Essentially.”

“Nothing’s personal anymore…”

“Hey hey, there you go judging the birdman by the human standard. Who’s to say we’re built for secrets?” Sensing a lull in the conversation, Sagisawa rolls forward to his knees.

Kamoda is rushing Umino in excitement. Takayama lets her win. He does a sweeping dance with a strong air current. Behind their conversation lies the phantom trails of a commercial airliner.

Eishi hums. Short and low. “I do.”

Sagisawa doesn’t respond as he rises to his feet. He simply extends a hand to Eishi. The Bellwether’s mouth is a small line as he considers taking it. The memory of Takayama’s touchy ability hovers in his mind and he wonders from where his caution should lie. The standing birdman meanwhile assumes his own expressive posture; wings dropped low and submissive like a dragging cape. It’s sympathetic and exhibits no challenge to Eishi’s wounded identity. Eishi briefly superimposes the more default wing-folded posture on Sagisawa and feels a subtle twist of discomfort in the wake of his imagination, as though offended. While subconscious in nature, the instinctual pull toward silent expressions are irresistible.

He takes his hand and finds his hard expression soften in a weak musing as he pulls himself to his feet. It manifests as sigh, a smile hidden on the outskirts. Sagisawa perks. “Hm?”

“We’re like a pack of test-y wolves.” Eishi replies. There’s humor on his lips. “It’s so animal… and kind of surreal to notice.”

“The perks of a mid-life species change.” Sagisawa shrugs as though explaining off the weather. “Though you speak for yourself with the wolf comment. You’re so far the only one I’ve noticed to get test-y over some body language.” It’s a tease and a wry grin lights the dialogue.

Eishi’s brow furrows in defense and he makes an effort to protest before the Trickster continues. “But we can’t really blame you I guess. Additional symptoms of being an Alpha?” The way his voice curls is infuriating, but the moniker flushes his face with a red embarrassment.

He had gathered a while back that Takayama was dubbing him the leader, but putting it in pack terms like that weakens his knees. “We’re not beasts.” He grumbles with little conviction. With the amount of meta-analysis and scientific method being thrown around as of late, Eishi had his personal misgivings.

“Without a doubt. But we certainly aren’t human now are we?” Sagisawa smirks with a knowing glance. Always on the contrary-- Eishi was finding his presence to be intellectually stimulating despite any apprehensions around his greater theatrics. He might admit a fondness for the way it inspired his own wit.

“You’re insufferable.” Spoken like a true friend.

“Gotta keep you on your toes.”

Eishi narrows his eyes, suddenly feeling indignant.

Hmm. ‘Alpha’.

He flicked the switch, channeling his companion’s need for flare.

“You know, if I had to make a guess, I’d say you were undermining my authority with that attitude.” Eishi takes a step into Sagisawa’s space, blinking his eyes back into a brilliant red as he cocked a challenging smirk. His wings extend through his intrusion. The motion is slow. So subtle it’s undetectable had they not left their tell in the forefront of the conversation. By the time he’s halted his space encroaching he’s gained a much larger percentage of surface area to his presence.

Sagisawa lights up instantly, far too giddy at the threat. His lips purse as his eyes blaze the same color. While still holding his wings in composure behind him, his wing mass feathers seem to flare with a static electricity. Reservation was not the term to describe the dramatic Sagisawa Rei, but ‘in-control’ fit a good majority of the time.

“I am the president of our fine ensemble.” A proud lilt. Eishi scoffs.

“A figurehead.”

“I didn’t realize it bothered you.”

“It doesn’t. Just have to keep the pecking order straight.” His voice reverberates in a lower pitch, attempting a more impressive status. It probably would’ve work if not for the stretch of his neck as he craned his gaze to meet the second tallest club member.

“Oh that was bad.” Sagisawa gives an arrogant huff of self importance. There were many instances where such behavior would elicit Eishi’s staple irritation at the finer society’s audacity to act in any way other than humble. It was so easy to forget Sagisawa’s pedigree in the drumming rhythm of a conversation. The constant, but erratic beat inspired the spontaneity of Eishi’s smiles and wit. Like a knee-jerk reaction, the shorter boy’s wings jolted into a pointless flap, hitting the space around him like a thug would mark his turf.  

“Race?” The electric desire rolls through Eishi only after he’s made the challenge, his tone far too eager for his liking, but irresistible. It seems like the most perfect solution to protect his pride and it smears his face with a competitive grin. His body feels the thrum of anticipation courses through the tips of his wings, putting him in a coiled up crouch. He slows his breath trying to predict his opponent’s inhale. There is a staunch extension of the taller boy’s wings, prepped and ready.

“Down the cliff-side. Tag Umino to win.” Poor girl.

“Takayama.”

“Deal.”

They didn’t even need to rev behind a countdown, the proverbial gunshot went off as they fling themselves of the cliff-side, letting gravity take them. Immediately at the rush of the wind, their firing nerves meet validation with the climbing horizon. A helmet only forms on an afterthought in the blur of dark hair, and at its completion, it swallows the roar with a mind spinning silence.

The memory of a screaming downpour flits past his eyes. The vertigo of cutting loose, like the free fall of a liberated marionette. At the time, Eishi felt more like the cruel puppet master, merely untangling the already woven strings of control and trauma. He took the kindred mind that  flanked his right and lead him through a dream of illuminated beacons and air that sparkled with falling diamonds. Where a sense of heedless freedom engulfed them like the rain that consumed their speeding forms. Mindless conversation lulled by an adrenaline spiked high. Sagisawa glowed with a joy gasping for air and each breath wove his heart with unparalleled warmth.

Just like that memory, Sagisawa followed his lead, whether he wanted to or not.

 “Ei-chan! Sagisawa! Finally decided to…”

Kamoda trails as the barreling form of the two birdmen grows at an alarming speed, directly toward their existing pod of hovering bodies.

“Get a head start Takayama, you’re the moving finish-line!”

Eishi’s tweet is positively booming and it sends Umino and Kamoda careening to the side out of the way as they slice through the air toward the red birdman. Takayama’s face is reaction-less but he absorbs the sight with a widening focus.

“Why the hell are you warning him?” Sagisawa tweets in an exasperated tone while Takayama sends himself into a dead weight plummet to the earth without preamble. Eishi takes an arching dive after him, a bullet of black. The white birdman is on Eishi’s tail in their mid air pivot, their forms now shrinking in the distance. In a surprise twist, left behind are the hovering flaps of the flock’s two most rambunctious members.

Umino looks at Kamoda with cocked eyebrow. Well wasn’t that a sight to behold

[prince-of-stride-omegaverse]

Do you have any hcs for Kamoda Kei & Yuu (not as a pairing, though)? I love this Striding-Levi-douchebag and his precious aniki way too much

Kei is a beta

Yuu is an alpha

Yuu is pretty much the only alpha relationer you’ll ever meet. Alphas in stride are rare enough as it is, and he’s the only one currently on the scene

Most people who know them say that they were switched in the whole gender department, because Kei acts more like an alpha than he does like a beta and anyone who looks at Yuu can hardly tell he’s an alpha at all

As children, people mixed them up a lot because they think ‘Yuu is the alpha’ and not ‘Yuu is the brunet’, so most of the time you can catch them answering to each others’ names

[kohinata]

[allanimemangaquotes]

requested by miffythoughts FB | TWITTER | QUOTURES LIST

[lackadaisical-pottymouth]

A Rei and Eishi Thing

[Birdmen Radio AU]

Monetary bets remained off the table if they had the pleasant misfortune of playing with Rei. His poker face, a perpetual thing of calm bemusement, had invoked legends among the other radio hosts. It permeated tearoom whispers between breaks. Rumour had it he'd actually won the station in a high stakes mano-e-mano battle to bankruptcy. Others conspired that honeyed words had stolen the building from right under the previous owner’s nose.

Eishi, however, fancied himself somewhat immune to Rei’s charms. So when his boss came to him with heart and tickets in hand, his first response was, of course, a resounding no. 

“You need to leave!” plead Rei with a smile that made the moon green with envy. More a fan of gossamer clouds, Eishi resisted the urge to roll his eyes.  

Paper documents spread in a collage on his desk and atop of that mess sat a sheaf of brochures. Barely-disguised excitement left Rei fidgeting in the seat opposite his. Weighing worst case scenario’s and the ETA for the pizza delivery guy, Eishi swallowed down his better judgement. “Okay, I’ll bite.” he pronounced, leaning forward to grab at one of the rust-coloured sheets, “What do you mean?”

A petulant huff and Rei readjusted his pin-straight posture to a slightly more relaxed variation thereof with no apparent loss of energy. “Come with me. We’ll find music, see sights--have you ever seen the museums? They have the most amazing aviation collection--”

Temptation almost squeezed the yes from his throat. It was forced down as Eishi regarded his friend and the puppy-dog eyes he flashed.

“--And the food,” Rei continued, an unhindered locomotion of tantalizing descriptions that plucked mercilessly at his resolve, “My goodness. The festival’s all day on a Friday, but the scene Eishi, the scene. Musicians everywhere. It’s the chance of a lifetime!”

Rei-induced affirmation danced on the tip of his tongue. He almost accepted, almost. But a niggling suspicion ground it to a halt, refortified his walls. Eishi narrowed his eyes, “Is this supposed to be a ‘Sagisawa and Son’ thing?”

Rei’s smile stuttered.

Bingo.

“It could be a Rei and Eishi thing if you let it?” offered however-tall of curls just as the buzzer shrilled of an arrival. Rei sent him his biggest, most charming smile.

Eishi indulged in the long awaited eyeroll as he exited the room.

--

A month later, his day off began with an annoyance that prickled at the base of his neck. Eishi attempted to roll his shoulders around it, distracting himself by tearing through sheaf after sheaf of marking.

The mess from his desk had been transposed onto the station kitchen. Assigning ticks or circles to the papers was more or less grunt work he’d been co-opted to assist with last minute while his prof tackled more pressing projects from more advanced classes. He forced his mind to remain focused while his hands worked, pointedly ignoring the mahogany door that led to Rei’s office.

Away from him, the station continued to bustle. Robin waved at him as she entered for her shift, her smile small and polite. Later, Fiona beelined for the coffeemaker in the 10-odd minute transition period. She didn’t regard him as she entered (he supposed he was to Fiona as death was to Gertrude--present, but usually ignored), but there was a fresh cup of coffee in his fav --er-- preferred mug when she left. He’d return the favour with a thing of dark chocolate.

An hour into marking and his mind began to wander. To schoolwork, the impending end of term. To station work and the newest crop of writings (the month’s theme was Winter Wonderland).To certain knowitall bosses and that damned closed door.

What was really annoying about Rei was that he’d somehow known. He’d known. And Eishi knew this because following the initial proposal, while he thoroughly sussed the venue and festival for any nasties or hidden bits, Rei had all the answers down to the tickets. Rei indulged in telling him everything, from venues to rumoured appearances, to icky folklore of the place.

Stupidly, dumbly, profoundly interested, he’d listened.

“All we need now is to go!” Rei had laughed the night before while Eishi chopped onions and cabbages and somehow turned a salad into croquettes.

“Who the hell is ‘we’?” he’d snapped, slamming down with more force than necessary as if to compensate for the absence of the stuff in his own voice.   

Hell, even the hotel had been snagged in advance, a ridiculously fancy sort that probably rated in diamonds or obsidian rather than mere, plebeian, gold stars. The prickling feeling--annoyance, definitely annoyance-- spread to his throat and ears, arresting them in an itchy warmth. It was totally a Sagisawa and Son thing, he’d read the itinerary, knew it’d be a Sagisawa and Son and Weird Glasses Kid thing if he agreed to come.

(He could hear it now: This is my son, Rei. This is his third wheel.)

Ugh. The thought wrought horrors on his already flimsy resolve and his stomach stewed in eschew of the feeling. He pressed his palms to his eyes and relished the cold till white static stars filled his vision.

He could still leave, right? Go home, actually enjoy his day off?

Rei would clue in later that he’d -- almost! Almost had!-- a change of heart, probably. The over-kind tact that plagued him would stop him from saying anything till long after the trip. He could go and nothing would change except Rei.

Who--by the by--still hadn’t emerged from the mahogany doors and it was three-pee-ehm in the afternoon.

A quiet part of him registered that, Hey, bud, you could’ve sent a text, just as another regarded the garish ‘W’ on the countertop calendar, nearest Gertrude and the ugly, tawny, pot it stayed in.

Meeting day.

He mightn’t even be there.

Fatigue rested heavily on his temples.

Static splintered back to coloured specks and then again to a blurry variety of the white that foamed on the oak table. Tired fingers pressed the bridge of his nose as he began making estimates of how long it would take for him to pack up and be gone before--

“Eishi?”

He pinched his nose (nope, not a nightmare) and bit back a groan.

Slowly, too slowly, not slowly enough, Rei crossed the distance between the door and the table. Then came small talk as he peered over Eishi’s shoulder at the lab assignments he’d toiled over.

Words more or less drifted over his head as Rei recited routine topics. “Hi Eish’, it’s your day off, why are you here instead of getting some rest? Oh, is that marking? Damn, Dr. Saitou’s working you hard. Haha. Did you know I’m going on a trip? Of course you did, I asked you, I’m probably upset about that but I won’t say anything because I’m not an awful human being” --paraphrase courtesy of his mind.

At some point, he wasn’t quite sure when, he’d risen from the chair. Rei remained slightly crouched despite having ceased what he’d been saying. Worry quirked his eyebrows. A dry realisation noted that, for once, Eishi was the taller of the two. Eishi inhaled, once for luck and twice for oxygen, and then he was speaking.  

“Listen,” he commanded, taking just a little too much pride in the way Rei flinched, “If we’re thinking of making the best of this trip, then we’re leaving in the morning and getting there by afternoon.”

Saucers would’ve envied the size of Rei’s eyes, the subtle gape of his jaw. Breathing, once, twice, Eishi continued, “And understand that I’m not doing any father-son bonding whatever, because I’m not a son, in case you didn’t notice, and your family business is yours.”.

The table brushed his hip and papers, disturbed, fell. He felt his fingers cold against his arms and straightened his back, “Is that fair?” he asked, biting against an apology lurking in the back of his throat.

Rei nodded up at him, his mouth still slightly agape.

“That being said,” Eishi continued, satisfied, directing his gaze instead to the percolating coffee maker, “I look forward to going on this trip with you.”

From the corner of his eyes he could see Rei’s lips pressed together, the crack of a smile spreading at the edges.

--

They spent the night before leaving in Rei’s house. His bags were piled on the livingroom floor-turned-loading dock. Eishi settled back on a beanbag in the absence of Rei’s over-excited mountain of fluff he passed for a dog. Discarded take out boxes completed the look.

The day before Disaster, he’d call it. Maybe take and send a picture of it to Kamoda when the encyclopedia of things to be packed had been downsized. He recounted the items to himself,  

“Credit card, camera, gift cards, pepper spray--”

A confused call from one of the bedrooms. “Why would you need pepper spray?”

“--lock, key, the first aid kit, and a blanket and pillow.”

“I can’t find my shampoo.”(“Which one?”)”The peach one--it’s smaller? Came with a carry baggy even?”

“It’s at my place.” (“Really?”) “You left it there last time, never took it back.”

“That was a month ago!”

“And my hair thanks you muchly.”

Rei gasped, scandalized.

--

A gleeful tune tap-tapped on the rim of the steering wheel. “So,” Rei said, checking over his shoulder for traffic, “think we’ll get there in by dinnertime?”

Eishi pointedly-not-pointedly shot a glare at Rei, who had the audacity, the absolute nerve, to be awake and chatty at seven in the morning.

Wait, no.

They’d--no, not that, because it bloody well wasn’t true--Rei, had woken at around five and had proceeded to drag him out of bed. Because, and cursed be his past self from a month ago for doing this, they’d agreed to leave early and be on country roads before rush hour hit. Spring fever had possessed Rei to take the scenic route despite the world of green only barely peeking out from winter coats.

Scenes thus far included Rei’s apartment, the main road, Rei’s apartment (the sequel starring Rei’s prodigal suitcase), a drive through cafe (which, really, was a sight to behold), and now the backroads leading out to the wild blue (brown? vaguely yellow?) yonder.  

Eishi cradled his coffee while flipping absently through the radio channels on Rei’s fancy-ass rich people dash. Par for course, the car really was more tech than vehicle. One of the buttons might’ve turned it to a submarine if he pressed it in the right sequence.

Probably.

Eventually, Rei lapsed into appreciated stretches of silence as the car jittered along. Practicing partial caution--he half expected Rei’s gangly arms to strike at any moment, swatting him away from the console in tune with Gwen Stefani’s Hollaback Girl-- Eishi turned to a station more familiar.

They’d tuned in for storytime, apparently. Rei tilted his head toward him, eyebrow raised in an unspoken question. He responded with a shrug, a similarly unspoken answer, before opting to listen to Irene’s excited recount.

“--Was the MEANEST lookin’ fella I ever saw! Like, six-foot-ten, 375 pounds of pure spite-on-earth. And he looks at us with his eyes one kind and ‘es like ‘What’rey’doin’ere?’” His coworker’s voice dropped to a gruff mumble before continuing with the same laughing lilt, “So, Red n’ I grab the stuff and book it, because if Man Mountain doesn’t want us there, we’re not stayin’--ain’t it right, Red?”

The sound effect that played was unrecognizable, somewhere between a foghorn and a bagpipe. Eishi imagined the incline of Takayama’s eyebrows, the slightest ghost of a smile. He pictured Irene’s eyes flashing with mirth as she gesticulated, oversized headphones shifting with every movement.

Rei was laughing from the driver’s seat, his hand crooked about his mouth while the other kept firmly on the wheel. Little huffs of air punctuated the subtle shake of his shoulders as fair hair curtained his face.

Eishi looked away, pocketing a comment about distracted driving. He took a sip of his coffee, totally not hiding a grin of his own. The recount resumed,

“We get to the boat, havin’ just out run the Megalodon,” she said, and he could almost see her leaning back, as if tomb raiding were normal as the changing seasons, “We’re feeling pretty good about ourselves. Exhausted, hungry, damp, but pretty good. We get set to go, strappin’ everything in, callin’ Rene t’ say we’re getting back. But the radio’s busted and the engine keeps makin’ weird noises.”

And then she paused and Eishi’s coffee hitched in his throat.

“You ever get that feeling that something’s about to go wrong?”

He forced down the liquid. Rei tightened his grip on the wheel. Irene’s voice dropped low, conspiratory.

“Red gets the boat going, but he keeps lookin’ back at the island. I’m feelin’ the same sorta vibe, like somethin’s not quite right. We agree, collectively, to get the hell outta there before ol’ Meggie gets back on our tail.”

“For a minute there, it looked like we were in the clear.”

She was silent a full beat where the air seemed to still.

And then, all at once, her voice was loud with vibrant animation, a roar in contrast to the whisper that preceded it, “but ol’ Meggie ain’t goin’ down without a fight! Allasudden there’s this THUMP--”

Rei’s car careened to the side, trampling bump bump bump over loose gravel and stones before a screeching halt. Eishi ricocheted towards the upholstered door. His coffee burped scalding liquid onto his hands and trousers. He pressed the offended digits to his mouth, blowing softly against hisses of pain.

“What the hell, Rei?” Urgency outweighed the anxious knot in his throat. Rei was pressed against the grey seat, shoulders hunched with his hands knuckled white on the black steering wheel. His eyes were trained on the rearview mirror, to the dark asphalt expanse.

Eishi risked a glance of his own, fearing the worst. He deflated, slightly, from relief when he found naught but a plastic bag making lazy trails on the backroad. When he looked back Rei was rubbing tired circles into his eyelids. He bit out a sigh and Eishi felt the relief-anger-fear combo press down in favour of a slack worry.

Rei regarded him when his shoulders relaxed and his breathing became even. Not stilled, not yet, but the tremors had mostly subsided. His mouth was screwed into a thin line, a splotch of red on his cheeks, “Sorry,” he muttered, breaking eye contact to lean back, “‘thought I hit something.”

Eishi mirrored the action, staring up through the sunroof at the overcast sky.

The remaining feelings ebbed till only worry remained and the blinking noise of the hazard lights. Words raced through his head, to his tongue, but he remained frustratingly mute. Form was not given to his essays of thought. Eventually, after much too long of silence, Eishi settled on asking, “How much sleep did you get?”

The inadequacy of the words burned on the tip of his tongue, stayed that way till Rei sighed and said “None.”  

Oh.

Oh.

He clicked his tongue in time with the click of the opening door. Gravel crunched underfoot along with dirt until he came to the boot. Chill winds accompanied him as he dug for the black fleece blanket, as he dropped it unceremoniously into Rei’s lap.

“You’re sleeping,” Eishi stated, gesturing to the open back seat. He rolled his eyes and shivered against the cold as Rei stared at him in silent protest. “It's not charity, you ass,” he said tiredly, caffeine cravings renewing with irritating vigor, “you're driving when we come back.”

On a regular day, the dispute would stretch till Rei whittled him to maybe a half-way point. But the silence with which Rei exited was testament enough to his current status. Eishi slipped into the driver's seat but kept equally mum.

In place of protest Rei settled instead into the passenger seat. The blanket framed him at his shoulders, draped down to cover his hiked-up feet. There wasn’t challenge in his eyes as he stared, but Eishi clicked his tongue nonetheless.

Ass.

--

When he’d thoroughly rested (after he’d ceased fake sleeping and had lapsed into soft snores with the chair reclined as far back as comfortable), Rei instructed him towards a “hidden road” and a “big surprise”.

Eishi noted that the last people to have seen him alive were probably the waiters and waitresses at the restaurant they’d stopped at, and that his phone had a panic function if he didn’t check in every twenty-five minutes. The pepper spray was tucked deep in the pockets of his suitcase, but if the need arose, he said, he’d be able to get it in a minute.

Rei called his bluff and told him to take a left where the road didn’t seem to follow. Hesitantly, stupidly, curiously, he obliged.

A declaration from Karasuma Eishi is as followed:

He will not tell Sagisawa Rei (Bossman, Lil’ Rei Rei, Balderdash Extraordinaire) that the expanse of rippling blue took his breath away. He will not tell him that the smell of water prickled each of his senses till they were taut and alive. He will not tell him about the picture he’d kept in the loose board underneath his bed for most of his elementary school career.

For the good of the world, for the good of his eardrums and healthy constitution. And truly, for the good of his boss, whose heart would likely explode from glee, he would shoulder the burden by himself.

The scene still commanded his attention when Rei saddled next to him with a grin thoroughly self-satisfied. “Did you get the pictures you wanted?” he asked, though his eyes remained trained on the cyan sky and the blue-green water.

Rei hummed in place of an answer with an infectious glee radiating off him in sheets. Eishi sidestepped the onslaught and returned to the car. The picture was static in his mind. The trees, the water, the gossamer clouds, and the asshole grinning like a Cheshire cat.

.

[sambart93]

2018.06.01 PuriStage Episode 5 [Review]

This is the final one, I think, I hope. And of course I went! Because I am trash and have an addiction problem that I can’t get over xD I really shouldn’t have but, I got a ticket so might as well go!

Official Website here Official Twitter here Press Coverage 1 PreOrder DVD here Online Store here Previous Reviews of the Series: Episode One, Episode Two, Episode Three, Episode Four

CAST and CHARACTERS

Hounan Izaki Ryuujirou as Yagami Riku Aoki Jin as Fujiwara Takeru Matsunaga Arisa as Sakurai Nana Kumagai Kaito as Hozumi Kohinata Kishimoto Takuya as Hasekura Heath Shiraishi Kosuke as Kadowaki Ayumu Ayukawa Taiyou as Kuga Kyousuke Arai Yusuke as Dan Yujiro Mizukoshi Ayumi as Kawarazaki Riko

Saisei Hiramaki Jin as Suwa Reiji Kobayashi Ryo as Mayuzumi Shizuma

Mihashi Kanegae Kou as Kamoda Kei Sawada Takurou as Eifuku Takeshi Yokoyama Masafumi as Nagatsuka Nobuhiko

Ichijyoukan Murata Hisashi as Himemiya Yuri Tanabe Ken as Shishibara Kaoru Asegawa Kenta as Samejima Arata Matsumoto Yui as Hachiya Tetsu

Ichiba Murakami Wataru as Izumi Shinobu Taguchi Ryo as Tomaru Kansuke Iwase Koki as Masunari Ikki

Tsubakimachi Suga Masanori as Minato Shugo Nakamura Tarou as Sata Kazuki Kurosaki Reon as Shizuno Makoto

Kakyouin Kitamura Kento as Yagami Tomoe Harano Masaki as Natsunagi Toya Maruyama Nao as Izumino Hajime Ohashi Noryuki as Izumino Ryo Masuda Yuki as Sakurai Joe

OTHER Kobayashi Shuuji as Piece of shit DJ Stride HAYATE as Isurugi Isamu

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NON-SPOILER REVIEW Overall: This was so much better than (at least) the last one (Episode 4)! This was so much more enjoyable and interesting and just a lot of fun to watch! I almost didn’t go this time because while I love the anime and I was super hyped for the stage series, it’s always been pretty forgettable to me. So I nearly didn’t go because whats the point when I keep getting disappointed and none of my oshis are in it but... my fav character was back, Himemiya, I have this huge crush on Hiramaki Jin still, and he’s back this time around by some miracle(!), and we knew it was going to be a completely different story so I was interested in seeing something I couldn’t have expectations for but was with a cast/characters I liked. So I went... 

Also every time I’ve had freaking amazing seats. Episode 1: row 5, Episode 2: 10th row, aisle, Episode 3: 11th row aisle, 4th row: 11th row left side and this time: 7th row aisle. You can’t give up luck like that, can you?! And the seat alone is a big enough reason to say this time was so much better! Because of my seat, I had Hiramaki Jin RIGHT behind me. I had Kanegae’s butt right in my face. I have Aoki Jin run past me so fast. I had Izaki run past me and my hair just blew back. During curtain call I’m pretty sure KishiTaku spotted and remembered me and he got this amused smile on his face and wouldn’t look away (I was in my seat WISHING a kankeisha was behind me but I knew there wasn’t). Everyone outside of the stage/story itself was such a good experience. And can I just remind everyone how amazing the pre-show music is?! I freaking love it! Just let me sit in that theatre for 2 hours listening to that pre-show music please!! Or give me a gosh darn CD! xD Then the story itself; it was so interesting! I LOVE what they did and the character dynamics! It was sooooooo good! This stage allowed the lesser ‘important’ characters to develop and show their personalities which was nice. And then the stunts!! Again, please like Aoki Jin just stood out. It was a LOT more obvious this time who had kept up with their training and who hadn’t which made those that had carried on, stand out and look even more amazing -- although I was relieved to see Izaki’s knee muscles had softened a little. And we had freaking Hayate who did (what I think) is the most dangerous stunt of them all and you literally heard the entirety of the audience shit themselves and gasp. It was amazing. OH! The length this time was just right! It’s 2 hours and 20 minutes! I remember being so pissed when episode 4 came about and it was like less than 2 hours (turns out it was supposed to be 2 hours and 10 minutes) and no break. HOW CAN A FINALE BE THE SHORTEST ONE?! Anyway... this was the perfect length for them this time I think - especially because this one is a stand alone story. The character development was really good too! Especially Riku and his brother. And the other school’s members development too was great! I was so emotionally involved this time around that I was crying at the end at a few parts! This was just SO MUCH BETTER! If they’re gunna keep doing PuriStage like THIS one then please, bring out 5 more and I’ll definitely go! My literally only one (new) complaint is the ending. But that’s spoilers so I’ll talk about that later. My complaints about DJ Stride and Nana still stand though. OH! And the AfterTalk was so much fun too! Rating: 7.5/10

SPOILER REVIEW

STORY

So certain members of each school have been selected to join the EAST JAPAN national(?) team, obviously this causes the not-selected team members to either be pissed, get hurt, feel jealous or feel left out, which leads them to create their own rival team: vs East Japan. And so these two teams compete to see who really deserves to be given professional Stride opportunities. Meanwhile, Tomoe gives up Stride so he can take over and continue the family bakery, stating he doesn’t want to do Stride anymore.

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That’s the bare basics of this story and that is all you really need to know about the story because it focuses very heavily on everyone’s relationships. Suddenly teams are getting broken apart because one or two of them have been picked for this national team which means they can’t go to their school’s training etc. On top of that, because of the rival team, old team mates are now competing against each other so it’s like “I want to beat you but I still want to be your friend after all this” which causes tension. There’s also tension WITHIN the groups themselves. They ALL used to be rivals and now they have to start working together as a team?! Course that ain’t gunna go so smoothly! The story is just SO damn good! I absolutely loved that the teams mixed and they had to start working together and the conflicts and problems that arised within and between the two groups/teams were so great!!! It got even more juicy when the school members would be AGAINST each other in the races! My favourite was definitely Himemiya versus Hachiya! Oh my emotions... they kept/keep ALL the ‘versus’ pairings a secret until you actually see the stage so they were all surprises to us, which I loved! Although I know my friend said she would’ve preferred it if she’d known about who was racing who BEFORE the show. But personally I think that would’ve ruined a few things such as who’s on who’s team and things. Other pairings like Riku vs Takeru were blatantly obvious they were going to happen so I still stand by that I agree with Trifle for not revealing the teams and rival pairings beforehand.

A huge plus this time around, as stated above, was the fact it was an original story. So while we all knew these characters and we liked them, we were getting something different, something exciting, something we didn’t technically know (maybe this story is part of the game? But from the way they kept the pairing and the pairing bromides a secret makes me think it was an original story for the stage), and because of the story splitting the teams up, we could get some less known characters or less popular characters into the spotlight, or we could get more character development from others. It definitely felt like Hounan was the less interesting and less main this time around which was great and we could focus on others. Even though Riku and Hounan are technically still the main focus, I felt this stage gave them less time and more time to others. Which, me being bias towards others, was a godsend! We like how we spent more time with Takeru rather than Riku this time too and we got to see more of his development and his struggle and I felt he was more relate-able this time around.

The main character development I was happy about was the rift that occurs within Ichijyoukan. We have Himemiya and Shishibara being picked for the EAST JAPAN team while Samejima and Hachiya have been left behind and join the Versus team. And then, as said before, it gets even more juicy when Hachiya and Himemiya go head-to-head; you can see how much Hachiya respects and loves Himemiya and I love how no matter what happens in the race, it isn’t going to cause bad blood between them. And there’s this BEAUTIFUL scene towards the end when Himemiya has been chosen to go further in the EAST JAPAN selection series while the other three are being left behind and they got him a signed Ichijyoukan towel and it seems like he isn’t interest but then (I’m going to tear up thinking about it!) he swings the towel behind him and wears it almost like a flag around him and I just got so emotional - Himemiya is a little shit but you can tell he cares for his teammates, he appreciates them, he supports them even though it looks like all he focuses on is winning.... ahhh my heart!!

Also, with this shift in character/team focus, some lesser appreciated characters got more love. The three that caught my eye were Natsunagi Toya, Tomaru Kansuke and Kamoda Kei. And what got me cracking up part way through about these characters/cast most of all was that I couldn’t help they all felt like my friends’-oshis and when I spoke to my friends after they were like ‘yup that’s one of mine’ xD BUT I love how much more time they got! I’ve always liked Natsunagi and his actor - I’ve always thought he was totally adorable in the anime and the actor himself looks totally adorable, in fact he reminds me of someone.... the Yamanaka twins maybe? -- and he got more time in this which was so nice! Then we had Taguchi/Tomaru (by the way, his picture on the PuriStage site does not do him justice, he looks MUCH cuter in real life) and he has some issues to work through this time around and he takes his anger out on people and for quite a while he has a lot of frustration and he’s upset about the whole EAST JAPAN and not being chosen for it etc. I think his yelling scene was very well done and it shows just how little hope he has even though he’s good enough to be in the Versus group. And then we had Kamoda; it DID help I got that moment where he butt was right in front of my face but this time around he just seemed much more interesting to me and he’s cute so can you blame me?!

As for the new people... there were 5:

Matsunaga Arisa as Sakurai Nana Team Tsubakimachi: Suga Masanori as Minato Shugo, Nakamura Tarou as Sata Kazuki and Kurosaki Reon as Shizuno Makoto. HAYATE as Isurugi Isamu

We all know, I don’t give a shit about Nana, you can take her out completely and I’d be more satisfied. I GET why she is so predominate in the main story, I GET IT but I just don’t want her in it. She annoys me, she’s not exactly interesting, she’s only in it because of her father (yes I went there), just no thank you. Don’t care how many times you change the actress. Just leave. Yes the actresses are very nice and very sweet and I like actresses who’ve played her. I just don’t like Nana. MOVE ALONG.

Ah man Tsubakimachi.... I HATED these guys!! Well two of them. As soon as they came onstage I fucking hated Shizuno Makoto - this bratty arrogant cock head. And just UGH go die Minato Shugo; his hair is TOO anime and annoying as fuck and oh my god, don’t get me started on his voice. Maybe like 10 years ago I would’ve like the stereotypical ‘hair covering eyes and a soft voice’ character but now they just ANNOY me. UGH....

BUT SATA KAZUKI! OH MY! I LOVED THIS BOY STRAIGHT AWAY!!! And the actor Tarou too! His so tall and lean and he’s a good mixture of competitive and devoted but also a little shit. I love how we have the backstory of Kata and Takeru used to be in the same Stride group and Kata bullied him because naturally my brain goes ‘SEXUAL TENSION!!!’ and just... Kata is sexy and mean and great okay!! He doesn’t go overboard like Izumi-mean (if you catch my EnStar/EnStage reference there) in terms of bullying but OH! Did I mention he’s sexy?! I looooooooooved him and he has the whole jacket falling off one shoulder that just so sexy.... ohmyyyyy. But his two team mates are fuckheads okay.

I really want to see Kata and Takeru go head to head. Can we have a spin off which them in middle school and see what it was like? Or should I just go and doujinshi that shit?

So lets just have some appreciation for ALL the non-Hounan guys that entertained me and that I loved in Episode 5

HAYATE! Oh my Hayate is the BOMB! We all know people like Aoki Jin are really talented and good at the stuff in PuriStage but holy fuck, this old man is LEAGUES above everyone else. It never registered with me before but he did ALL the choreography and parcour training for these boys in PuriStage! He did it ALL! And you can tell why! Holy shit... he was doing his own stunts! He was JUMPING OFF the top platforms and onto the floor and it was so flawless and so freaking amazing and he’d doing it while HOLDING ONTO HIS HAT! Like straight away the ability level is way above everyone else. And then he has one scene where he’s training EAST JAPAN team (he’s in charge of them) and he asks what would be the best way to get over this one course; so three of the boys give three different ways and he’s like ‘you’re all right but slow so y’all wrong’ and he proceeds to show them the right way and he literally jumps ONTO A BAR! THE BAR IS LIKE 7+ FEET IN THE AIR. HE JUMPS ON THIS BAR WITH ONE FOOT and has enough power to jump onto a different platform! WHAT THE FUCK?!!? This was the moment that audience absolutely SHIT themselves. There were actual gasps during this moment and the entire room got tense and it was crazy. I’ll be replaying the SHIT out of that scene when it’s on DVD. Seriously, MY explanation is not giving it justice. He JUMPED from a 7+ ft platform onto a SINGLE BAR and onto another 5 ft high platform... WTF?!?!?!? Aoki Jin, you’re good but Hayate clearly showed how superior he is to everyone there for this sport that isn’t even real xD

Can you clearly see how much more I enjoyed this episode?! It took 4 stages (like 8 hours of wasted time... more like 13 if you include goods lines and stuff haha) but we got to a part that was just soooo juicy and gooooddd!! Seriously, PuriStage can continue their series so long as they continue doing things like this; original plot lines, other school focuses, mixed up competitions etc. YES!

And how could I forget to talk about my beloved Hiramaki Jin <3 I was a little worried partway through the show because in the beginning in the opening he was running around the stage just like everyone else but then in the actual play himself, he and Kobayashi were in their uniforms. BUT in the second half they turn up in EAST JAPAN and Jin runs in the final EAST JAPAN versus VS EAST JAPAN match. Kobayashi explains that Jin/Reiji does actually want this and so they cancelled their live for Reiji -- which is the sweetest thing ever!!! So Jin ran in the last race and of course looked great! But before the match he came into the audience area and he was right behind me and I just couldn’t stop looking. He’s so pretty and I’m so glad he was back this time around *cries* I understand why these two spent so much time out of the main story and why they were in it this time; one is to create mystery ‘why they in it if they ain’t going to race?’, another is because they’re damn popular characters you have to have them, another is the actors themselves almost always work with Trifle now so clearly they have a good relationship with the cast, staff and crew so they probably got asked if they wanted to return and did so, another reason is that these guys are much older than the other cast so in order to keep them safe and not over-worked they didn’t give them big whole chunks of Stride-ing. We don’t want wonderful actors like Jin and Kobayashi and KishiTaku getting hurt do we! We leads me actually TO KishiTaku! He also spent a lot of time NOT Stride-ing this time around and again I get it’s because of his age; he still did a damn good job when he DID Stride, just like Jin did, but they convenietly brought back in ‘Heath your injury is bad again isn’t it?’ in order to keep KishiTaku from stretching himself too far. I get all these reasons why they did what they did.

PS. No way am I complaining, I just felt the need to explain to those who maybe see the DVD and love one of these actors or characters and question ‘well what’s the point if they ain’t doing Stride?’ so here you go.

Ahhh Jin....

But Alex, what about the main guys?! Okay... I guess I’ll talk about them...

So the main part of the main characters/school this time is Riku and Tomoe’s relationship, and Riku’s character development (because isn’t it always *yawn* he’s so immature and I feel he never really develops). Riku is obviously hurt that Takeru got picked over him to be in EAST JAPAN so he has some hurt feelings towards the team and towards himself rather than Takeru - which is good - and he wonders why he was not good enough. Then we have the Tomoe plot line; he gives up Stride in order to help at the bakery because their father is ill. While Tomoe explains that he’s in his final year, he can’t do Stride forever and he always planned on taking over the store anyway, so might as well leave now before he gets scouted for EAST JAPAN or something. And stupid Riku takes it from face value and believes Tomoe!! What an idiot! But slowly, people like Heath go to his shop and ask ‘is this really what you want?’ and we also have Taiyou’s voice as NAME HERE calling from America (which is why he isn’t here this time) and telling him ‘the three of us should race together again’ so Tomoe starts to face his real feelings again. There is this beautiful moment towards the end where he gets back into his Stride gear and he’s racing and he finally admits and yells ‘I WANT TO DO STRIDE’ and I was so emotionally involved with him by that point that I was just streaming!

Some other scenes that I love were just so ridiculous and cracked me up. I love how the banana joked carried on from the previous stages in this one and we had one of the PURPLE GUYS taking the banana and eating a massive chunk of it in one go xD Also we had the twins from THE OHTER SCHOOL who had the weirdest warming up stretches and stuff and 50% of the audience were too busy watching and laughing at them rather than paying attention to the slightly serious topics going on between the rest of the EAST JAPAN members xD and sometimes one of the characters would point out and go ‘what the fuck are they doing?! Do you see this?!’ which was hilarious!

I loved the ending when GLASSES GUY was crying and acting like a mother watching her son go to war with the whole handkerchief in hand and waving pose xD speaking of the ending; I didn’t like it. I really like how Takeru is the only one to get picked to go the international races and he’s about to go and Nana and Riku are like ‘don’t worry, we’ll see you there next year’ which was beautiful BUT THEN THEY HAD TO RUIN IT and Dan-sensei gets a call and they’re requesting at Riku and Nana join the team too so they don’t have to wait a year and I thought it completely ruined it. WHY?! WHY?!?!? It was perfect and mature of them being okay with Takeru going off on his own, WHY did you have to.... anime-cliche it and allow the others to go too?! OHHHH I really hate this ending. WHY?!

Unfortunately we’re finishing on a negative here ^^^^ but in general I really, really enjoyed this installment! So much better then episode 4 for definite, so much better than the main story. I really loved this one! I kinda of hope we will get another but judging from tweets and stuff, it sounds like this really was the last one -- at least with this cast... but time will tell.

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I am sooooooooo behind as usual, even though I only had two plays this month! I had an entire month to catch up and I just didn’t! I SUCK! I’m sorry. And July... holy shit July is fucking crazy.... prepare yourselves for THAT schedule.