#so this might be the only time you see yume in pink

[starrysnowdrop]

FFXIVWrite 2024 #1: Steer

Idiom: steer clear of; to stay away from purposely; avoid.

During the events of patch 4.3, quest “Under the Moonlight”; Hali tries to convince Yume to take a step back from participating in the investigation of Zenos’ death and potential resurrection.

“Yume, can I talk to you about something?”

The auri samurai glanced down at her pink-haired lalafellin companion and nodded. “Alright, what’s the matter?”

“Well, you see…” Hali scrunched up her face, trying to figure out how to say what she wanted to say. She folded her arms and continued.

“Look, Alisaie and I, well we are worried about you, and we thought that perhaps you might need to take a step back and let us deal with the… umm… problem at hand.”

Yume shrugged her shoulders, not following Hali’s train of thought. “What? Why would I need a break? I’m fine.”

“Yume… you have had to deal with a lot lately—”

“So have we all! Honestly I was thinking that Alisaie might need to take some time for herself with Alphinaud embarking on a diplomatic mission to Garlemald and all. She is the one that needs to relax for a while. But I’m alright.”

The lalafellin astrologian shook her head and looked up at Yume with a concerned expression. “While I agree about Alisaie, I still think you need to rest too, you know?”

Yume was growing tired of Hali dancing around the issue, or was it the person in question. She raised her voice as she replied, “Just say it already! It’s because of Zenos, isn’t it?” She sighed and placed her hands on her hips. “You don’t understand. He is alive, and I need to know if it’s really him, or if an ascian has claimed his body!”

“Yume, listen to me! I think you need to steer clear of all this right now, especially when we tell Lyse the truth. She’s not going to be happy with hearing that Zenos lives, in any capacity whatsoever. Do you really want to be there to witness her reaction?”

Hali briefly closed her eyes as she began to recall the events of the past few days spent in Doma.

“You just had to deal with Asahi threatening you over his obsession with Zenos, and you are still clearly shaken up by the echo vision we saw earlier, so perhaps you should go back to the Rising Stones to relax, meditate, and clear your head. I will keep you updated on everything, I promise.”

Yume shook her head, with slight irritation in her voice as she wanted to put this whole needless conversation to rest. “…No, Hali. I need to see this through for myself, and that’s final. Lyse will just have to be a good little leader and learn how to tolerate me being in her presence.”

This time it was Hali’s turn to sigh. Yume and Lyse were not on good terms with each other anymore, not after they have had several fights over Yume’s fixation on Garlemald’s crown prince. Though Yume never wavered in her duty and fought Zenos alongside her and their friends, Lyse couldn’t stand how much Yume seemed to talk about Zenos, and how the samurai picked up and read every tome she could that held information on him. To not only Lyse’s eyes, but everyone else’s, Yume seemed to be growing obsessed with him, and she always seems to talk about him as if he were a long-lost lover…

Hali wondered for a moment if that was how she looked like when she recalled her days in Ishgard with Aymeric, but she quickly pushed those thoughts from her mind and shrugged. There might be another dramatic argument in the near future between Yume and Lyse, but it couldn’t be avoided if Yume insists on going to Rhalgr’s Reach with her.

“Alrighty, suit yourself.”

Yume’s Blog: @firelightmuse

[kitwasheree]

HI IM SORRY IF YOU GOT TWO ASKS TUMBLR HATES ME BUT YEAH HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Have a little gift from a silly little mage🫶

You’ve grown used to leaving your window open at night. Lying down on your bed, you glance at the night sky somewhat listlessly. Silently counting all the stars in the sky.

Tiny little pinpricks of light, in an otherwise ink-black sky. You’ve grown ever so fond of this sight, staying in this Twisted Wonderland. The stars shine rather brightly here.

Almost like someone’s crimson eyes…. Your thoughts stray to a certain schoolmate of yours. Lilia Vanrouge. With his Crimson eyes that always had that spark of mischief dancing within it, ebony hair with streaks of pink throughout… blood red lips that were ever so tantalising…

Your hand reaches for your phone, before you decide the better of it. He’s probably sleeping by this hour, you wouldn’t want to disturb him. Tapping on the screen ever so lightly, you watch your phone flicker on, your wallpaper a picture of both Lilia and you. He has his arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer in the picture. It was taken after a fun day at the arcade, after both of you won a prize each from the crane games.

How many tries did it take both of you to get a plushie each? Well…. You don’t remember exactly. But what you do remember is the way his brows frowned in concentration, the way he deftly manoeuvres the claw around the plush… and he smile that was stretched across his lips as he handed it to you, grinning all the way.

That smile…. It’s forever etched into your memory, inked right into your beating heart. Try as you might, you can’t forget the way that smile. Great Seven, you were absolutely whipped, weren’t you?

Laughing to yourself softly, you stared at the time on your phone.

11.55.

11.56.

11.57.

11.58.

11.59….

Just then, a notification popped up on your screen. You blinked in surprise. Who could possibly be up at this hour? Clicking into the notification, your heart leapt a bit as you saw that familiar contact name.

Batty Vampy: Hello! Check your windows💜

Propping yourself up, you hurry to your window. Sticking your head out of it, glancing left, glancing right… only to have someone suddenly appear above of you. Hanging upside down in midair, crimson eyes crinkled from laughter.

Lilia Vanrouge, grinning at you upside down. He soon rights himself, landing delicately on your window still.

He beams at you, a mischievous smile dancing across his lips.

“Did ya’ really think that I wouldn’t show up? It’s your special day, after all~”

Lilia slips into your room, an arm snaking around your waist, and the other slipping into your own hand. He waltzes you around the room slowly, dancing to the beat of both your hearts.

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

As the clock strikes 12, Lilia moves just a bit closer to you. Close enough for you to see every detail within those mesmerising crimson eyes. Closer enough for you to feel his breath on your skin.

Close enough for him to press his lips against yours.

“Happy Birthday, darling.”

WAAAHHHHH CERRUUU WAHHH 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺😭😭😭😭💗💗💗💗💖💘💖💘💖💘💝 THANK U SOO MUCH this is soo cute 🥺🥺🥺🥺

the claw machine..... u r giving me DRAWING IDEAS ☝️☝️☝️ so cute ... claw machine date....

🥺🥺🥺 umm but i feel a bit awkward to tell you this but im a platonic lilia yume 🤣😅😂😂 i understand why you would mistake it though

its okay i appreciate it all the same wahhh its so cute 🥺🥺🥺🥺😊😊😊😊😊💝💝💖💖💖💖💘💘💘 im taking it and keeping it ,,, its irilia to me !!

Thank you so much for the birthday gift 🥺💕💕💕 will be drawing claw machine irilia ☝️☝️☝️

[thelasttaleofthepari]

Aikatsu Stars is cool but I have the hubris of a god and I think I can do better so I decided to rewrite everything about it lmao (this is for you @arabella-pink)

Season 1

Main characters are Yume, Koharu, Rola, Mahiru, Ako, and Haruka Ruka (I can’t help it her wide eyes and cute character design has captured me) 

Pre-Season 1 Yume is someone who had a decent amount of fame as a child star and lost it (idk how I came up with all this a week ago and forgot) and now is doing everything she can to regain popularity again 

Yume and Koharu are still childhood friends they are a package deal and you cannot and will not separate them

Four Star Academy is a highly prestigious idol academy that’s super duper competitive- especially considering that you have to be the best of the best to be in S4 

Speaking of S4, in Season 1, S4 only consists of Yozora, Tsubasa, and Yuzu 

Before the school year in Season 1 started, Hime completely disappeared from the spotlight due to the pressure she has felt as the top idol (she’s the most favorited out of S4, every brand she promotes sells out in seconds, she is bigger than life itself, think of her as the Taylor Swift (popularity wise) of Aikatsu) 

Yozora, Tsubasa, and Yuzu are the only ones who know where she is, but refuse to disclose, to the point that Moroboshi almost disbands S4 because of it 

We find out where Hime is like,,, end of S1- beginning of S2 (Hime plays a bigger role in S2) 

Erasing the whole dress-make system that Aikatsu had because I am sick of idol designers I want regular designers back please

For a while, Yume had left her old star life before seeing S4 performs (and being hit with the classic Aikatsu moment™ where she realizes that this is what she wants)

The only problem is… Yume’s not very talented in the idol field… she struggles with dancing and singing and practically has two left feet

So imagine everyone’s surprise (including Yume) when she absolutely kills her debut performance (this is where the magic rainbow power comes in) 

The rainbow power is one of Aikatsu Stars’ biggest mysteries because??? What are you??? Where did you come from?? WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS AND WHY DO YOU TARGET RANDOM IDOLS??

In the rewrite, the rainbow power is something that is a “gift” from the Aikatsu System (which idk I might make another post about with my ideas) in which it amplifies abilities of idols: gives them the most beautiful voices and powerful auras to the point it overrides any other auras nearby; however, it does have its cons: it causes the idol to lose their voice (like in canon), become more fragile, and forget their memories the more they use the power

Anyways, Yume’s feeling great and then the partner performance thing comes and she’s paired with Rola and does absolutely horrendous

Even then, her confidence is still high because she proclaims Rola as her rival (who agrees but doesn’t really take it seriously) 

Oh, I forgot to mention, Rola and Mahiru are prodigies from really rich families (*gasp* nepotism…) and have been child stars- they’re also rivals who are constantly at each other’s throats 

Rola doesn’t really think Yume’s a threat so most of the time she’s quite dismissive of Yume, but Mahiru respects Yume a lot after her debut performance 

Mahiru and Rola had planned to be in Flower Song Class together (and whoever won the selection would win their “little” rivalry) but Mahiru switches classes after seeing Yume’s performance (who has made it very clear that she’s going to go to Flower Song Class) 

Also Flower Song Class has a reputation of pushing out the biggest top idols of their age (ex. Hotaru Yukino, Hime) and is a highly competitive class 

Anyways, Yume and Rola make it to Flower Song (Yume’s power activates again), Mahiru and Koharu are in Moon Beauty, Ako is in Bird Theater, and Haruka Ruka is in Wind Dance 

Rola and Mahiru have a big fight about how Mahiru is a coward and is backing out of their rivalry, blah blah blah some sapphic fighting idk guys they just have a big fight 

Also Ako and Haruka Ruka are friends as well 

Ako became an idol similar to canon,, she liked a member of M4 and wanted to get close to him (except its Kanata she likes and not Subaru because I like Kanata more) 

She basically calculates and plans to trick him into liking her lmao (except it turns out Kanata knew the whole time and liked her for her true self) 

Guys I swear I’ll come up with more stuff for Ako and Haruka Ruka I WILL I PROMISE IT'S BEEN A BUSY WEEK

I may pull a Bandai and abandon M4 because I do not know how they could impact the plot they’re just,,, standing there and looking pretty (I only have stupid headcanons)

Back to Yume, she finds out more about her power somehow and instead of trying to get rid of it,,, she uses it more to her advantage 

Girl is DEAD set on being famous- she finds out a way to use the power frequently, which sets her at the top of her class and actually makes her popular with the general public (she probably got an album out i dunno) 

She’s been warned by Moroboshi, who has seen how this power has hurt his own sister. But won’t stop, she can’t stop, because she’s climbing up and up. She’s made a name for herself, she’s made new friends… and she’s losing them even quicker than she made them 

She can’t remember much about herself anymore: what songs she hums when she can’t sleep, the food her mother used to make for her when she was upset, the games that Koharu and Yume used to play when they were little. But it’s fine, it's perfectly fine because Yume is famous now. She has everything she wants. 

Yume’s been thriving in Four Star’s competitive environment. Koharu, on the other hand… hasn’t been doing the best. Koharu has always been more of a designer than an idol, and she’s always behind everyone else. She doesn’t have many friends outside of Yume, and even Yume has been too busy to hang out with Koharu. The pressure and stress is too much, and she decides to leave Four Star Academy to be better. (*Episode 30 flashbacks*) Yume comes back to their dorm with all of Koharu’s things gone, and only some candy and a note left for Yume. It’s only then that Yume realizes all that she’s lost, that in the search for fame, she’s lost who she was, her friends, her family, everything, just to get her name to the top. 

Yume struggles a lot with fame, where she barely gets an ounce of privacy, and the pressure is crumbling her (along with the guilt that this isn’t her, it’s the magic power). She’s been used by many people, who use her name to be more famous, and then immediately leave her. 

Yume realizes why Hime left. Hime had a midas touch, everything she would touch would turn gold. However, what good is a midas touch if all you wanted was to wear silver jewelry? And Yume thinks of how lucky Hime is, to have taken her dignity and left the idol world. 

A big part of Yume’s arc is how she isn’t idol-worthy. She doesn’t really have the star quality in her. Everyone around her is naturally talented and good at everything and Yume… isn’t. Everyone is sort of the chosen one… except Yume. Yume is a person who knows she isn’t special, but makes herself special. There will always be queens and princesses, but what about the girls without magic in their blood? They have to hold their heads high, as if they are the ones who are adorned with crowns (that’s a Six of Crows reference I love Six of Crows) 

I also had an idea where Yume actually stole the magic power from someone but I also have NO idea how she would do that… guys this is still a work in progress and I’m sorry its so messy its so late and I didn’t get much sleep 

Additional ideas I had that I didn’t know where to put

Koharu is basically a personification of Yume’s childhood and everything that makes Yume… well Yume, so her disappearing is just symbolism for how Yume has lost herself and her childhood 

Mahiru and Rola are gay and they like each other in the rewrite because I think their dynamic is cool (they’re also lacy by Olivia Rodrigo coded you guys should listen) 

FSA still puts an emphasis on individuality so students are encouraged to customize their uniforms as well as their school coords (so their Star Coords all have different silhouettes)

Hime is sort of someone who “haunts” the narrative in Season 1 

Ako gets her own brand (that isn’t FuwaFuwa Dream nor Shiny Smile but a secret third thing (I don’t know yet))

Haruka Ruka may have a Pop Brand with a decora concept called “DECO●LOUR MY WORLD” but I don’t know yet 

Koharu is also a cute type idol 

Anyways the Season 2 post (if I ever make one we’ll see) will have Hime getting an SPR and Yume NOT getting an SPR but she gets Koharu back so I think that’s a fair trade

Also some songs for the rewrite would be The Lucky One (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift, making the bed by Olivia Rodrigo, You’re On Your Own Kid by Taylor Swift, and Castle’s Crumbling (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault) by Taylor Swift

[dreamii-yume]

@shikigamiuwu said :

“Epel’s have a crush to y/n since they meet them and has confessed there love for y/n many times but y/n reject him. So since it was here birthday he thought of confessing again since he has birthday pass, but Y/n reject him again since he has a crush to Vil or Rook (whoever you want) to Epel’s demise, so Epel’s became so frustrated and angry that he just rape y/n and manipulate him on think y/n is not worthy to be with Vil’s so he can have y/n for himself.”

••••••••••

You, my good bitch, have sent like- four big-brained ideas for not only Epel but SILVER BIRTHDAY CRUMBS and I am ascending. Yume does not deserve this, I–

Warnings : Non-Consensual Touching | Non-Con | Yandere

“I like you.”

If it happened to be your first-time hearing Epel say those three words to you in such an affectionate manner, words that are obviously meant to be taken as a confession, it would’ve been enough to put you through a coma because of shock. You’ll be all flustered and probably stutter like a toddler learning how to speak for the first time, trying to figure out if it was a joke or not, despite the obvious signs. I mean...It was a confession from such a beautiful boy after all and you don’t really consider yourself as someone who can reach that level of beauty so, how can you not panic? If it were the first time, you wouldn’t know what to do, what words you should say, or which feelings you should prioritize. You’d be totally lost!

Except…This was no first time.

How many times had this beautiful boy confessed to you over the course of a few months? You weren’t counting, but you do know that you rejected each one of them respectfully and thoroughly. You didn’t why he kept coming back, he’s a lot more persistent than he lets on. “...How many times are you gonna tell me that?” You can answer him as differently as you want, but Epel would only smile at you and say the same thing every time.

“Until you can say that you like me back.”

The first time was as true as it could get, you were flustered, in the state of disbelief, plenty of eye movements going everywhere, grateful but unsure, and nervous sweat formed on your forehead. He loves you in a romantic sense, but even if he was someone precious to you, you just can’t see him as someone more than a really good friend, family even. “...But I keep telling you, I already like someone else.” It was your only excuse; it was a weak reason but at least it wasn’t a lie, Epel should know it more than anyone. It shuts him up, unable to say anything that could counteract your words and at first glance, it looks like a sign of giving up but soon, he’d just shrug it off like you never said anything in the first place.

It was troublesome, Epel wasn’t forcefully pushing his personal ideologies into you but having to tell you something that you already know is tiring to say the least. You wanted to be polite and even appreciate his honesty, but the more times he confesses, the more desensitized you get. Your rejections went from being apologetic to giving out an exasperated sigh and a shake of your head, just wanting to get it over with. It’ll just be the same anyways, the same confession and the same response, there was no point in sugar coating your words at this point.

“I like you.”

Epel might have thought that he’d get the response he wanted if he confesses to you on his birthday, but you could just shake your head in pity. No, you weren’t going to give in to the fact that it’s his special day and feel obligated to reciprocate his feelings because of it. You’d be lying otherwise, and you’re not about to build a relationship out of lies...Seriously, when is he ever going to stop terrorizing you with all these confessions, you’re starting to feel really bad about yourself here.

“Like I said a million times before, Epel.” You narrowed your eyebrows together with a stern and impeccable voice. “I don’t like you that way, I have someone I already like—“

“It’s Vil-san, right?”You widened your eyes as you looked back at Epel, surprised that he gave up a different answer than the usual. He was wearing the same smile as he does before, but up until now, you just can’t stand the fact on how empty it feels.

“H-How did you—“

“It’s obvious. Anyone could easily guess it if they observed you enough...Especially with how you constantly you look at him.” He said, his clear cerulean eyes burning holes into your soul. This made your cheeks flushed, quickly looking down...Do you really act that weird when it comes to Vil? It’s true that he makes your heart flutter and his presence was just something that you can’t turn a blind eye into but...You always thought that you were keeping your feelings cool and low. “What, don’t tell me you’re not aware of it yourself?”

Epel laughed, his hand covering his mouth like a delicate princess. “You’re really funny, charming even when your making such a dumb face too, hehe...” He said with a tinge of adorable red tainted on his flawless skin, rosy cheeks that you could only ever wish in your dream to have. You gulped as he looked back at you, staring straight into your unsettled eyes, making your body tense without knowing the actual reason as to why. “...But that’s only because I really like you that I’m willing to accept any of your bad characteristics. What do you think will I think if I were a normal person? If I were Vil-san?”

Your mouth closed and open multiple times, trying to find the words you want to say. Somehow, you began to piece together what he wanted to say and yet, you couldn’t actually stop him from saying it out loud. You knew it yourself; you didn’t need someone to pressure you into admitting something you already knew. Was Epel this much of a shrewd person before? Regardless, his pink polished lips twisted into a chilling smile.

“I’d think you’re disgusting.”

“You think you’re so smooth, following him around and eavesdropping every time he opens his mouth to talk just to hear his voice. You’re probably the type to steal some stuff from him too, it’s creepy!” Epel said, walking over to you as you kept your head held down, ashamed to be called out like this. “That makes you no different from a crazed fan, a stalker. Vil-san already gets plenty of those, he doesn’t need another one.”

You gasped as Epel grasped your chin, his eyes remaining as dark and cruel as you remembered them before, only that this time, he was no longer smiling. “…That’s why it’s disgusting. That’s not the kind of beauty Vil-san is looking for.” He said as you tried backing away, only for him to keep on stepping forward to stay close to you. “He’ll never acknowledge someone like you.”

You yelped as Epel suddenly pushed your shoulders down, tackling you down to the ground. Grunting, you landed in a not-so gentle manner with his beautiful face hovering above you. “...But I do.” He added, a small smile reappeared in his face, it was more like a pity smile if anything else.

You were getting scared, there was fear in your eyes alone as you try to search for your way out of this situation. Epel has a small structure despite being growing man himself, the different in size between the two of you are barely even noticeable! But with that cold, intimidating gaze, it feels as if you were forced to shrunk down beneath him. “E-Epel—“ Your voice calling out his name only became an encouragement for him to move his hands freely around your body. Even when you widened your eyes as he suddenly lifted up your shirt to expose your chest.

“W-Wait— no!” You can protest all you want, but even struggling against him as a fit resilience did nothing to reach conscience. Your breath was shaking as he merely swayed your flinging arms away, already weakened by your own will, and worked his way into freeing your mounds to be groped. His hand reached the underneath the skirt that you were wearing for his party and wasted no time in reaching for your underwear. Quavering lips turned into gasps of panic as he makes its way down to your erogenous zones, his nimble fingers able to send pleasures down your body. It didn’t take too long before the realization came to you, just how serious this is, that tears began to well up in your eyes.

He took no mind to it though, you plead and beg but you were met with cold, uncaring eyes as you felt a finger sliding in pass your folds. The way you squeaked like a mouse as he bit on your breast too, it was all too insignificant to really reach his ears at all…Looking deeper in the depths of those seemingly gentle eyes, it slowly occurred to you the emotions that he was hiding underneath there. Something that you’ve never noticed until now, or something that you never really bothered to look into, even if it was just for a split second.

All this time, Epel...was angry.

“S-Stop!” As if yelling out in a demanding voice can stop him, it only made him growl in irritation as he thrusted yet another finger inside you. Your willpower was incredibly weak, your stomach was already forming a knot ready to burst out any moment just by his fingers alone. With a scissor-like motion, it’s almost like he knew where to hit you, which places would feel good and would irk you even more, he even dug deeper down your entrance to explore undiscovered places.

An orgasm was inevitable, he was surprisingly skilled with his hands and your body wasn’t able to take all of that pleasure all at once and bursts right then and there. The toll on your body it took had you writhing on the ground, sobbing at the light-headed feeling spreading inside your brain. Epel seemed satisfied though, pulling out his fingers completely to marvel at how soaked you’ve made his fingers to be. “…You’re amazing.” He said, smiling down at you as he began to shuffle in between your legs, not even letting you rest for even a minute. “This is why I like you so much.”

“Please, stop...! W-Why…Why are you doing this…!?”

He leans in, wiping the tears off your cheek as he shook his head stubbornly. “Do you still…not understand?” He said, that chilling smile on his face was making it all the more terrifying for you as he comes and undo his pants. It’s not about whether or not you understood his motive here because you already had way too much time to do that, you were just in a state of disbelief that you’re just…doing anything you can to call off this reality your experiencing at this moment. “I said it over and over again, didn’t I?”

“I like you.”

Epel then chuckled, before shaking his head as if to correct himself from his own wording. “…No, maybe that’s why you couldn't understand.” He said, his smile becoming wider and wider. “Because it’s love.”

“I love you, (Y/N).”

[kudamono94]

More Yume Nikki Headcanons For Fun~ Poniko Edition~

So, actually getting to Poniko's house might not seem like it's worth it at first what with the water and balloon system, but hear me out: Poniko is worth the effort~  Like, have you seen the place she lives in?!  The poor girl deserves love too :(

Once you manage to teleport to her island and knock on her door, you will find it opening on its own, leading you to see inside of Poniko's home.  Upon walking inside, you will finally have the opportunity to speak with her.  Now that being said, while Poniko may seem rather stand off-ish at first, please don't get mad at her!  She may look pissed off with you, but I promise that she's not; the poor girl just has natural resting bitch face, and to be honest, is kind of embarrassed about it; because of said face, she is also too shy to speak to you first, mostly because she's worried you'll get the wrong idea or will hate her even if she hasn't done anything to you.

That said, you will have to make the first move and strike up a conversation.  However, once you start said conversation, you will need to prepare yourself to actually hear her speak.  Her tone of voice is naturally very cold and clinical sounding, and is part of why she's not prone to talking too much (especially to strangers), but once you reassure her that you aren't going anywhere, she will be quick to open up to you.  In other words, if you take the time to show her that you are trustworthy, kind, and are willing to listen to what she has to say without judgement, you will quickly find the blonde thinking of you as a new friend :)

What's that?  You want to make your friendship with her stronger?  Then make sure to come visit her as often as you can when you come to the dream world!  In addition, make sure to talk to her about your adventures in the dream world up until this point!  She's never traveled outside of the pink sea before, mostly because the pink sea is all she knows and she is too scared to venture into the unknown, but she finds your anecdotes about your adventures fascinating and loves seeing the effects you've gathered on your journey even more :3  Her absolute favorite is the cat effect, and every time you activate it, she can't help but be drawn to you...

(She thinks you look absolutely precious with the ears and tail, but good luck trying to get her to admit this out loud lol)

Once Poniko considers the two of you best friends and considers you as someone she can trust with her life, she will be willing to open up to you about the um, Uboa situation.  It's honestly hard for her to explain, and she promises that Uboa doesn't want to hurt you, they just are, what's the word? Odd?  B U T: Uboa is quite nice once you get to know them :)  She even considers them a roommate (who just so happens to be unable to exist in the same room as her at the same time), and will be more than happy to show you how to meet them if you'd like!  Just let her know when you're ready to meet them okay?

Now up until this conversation, every time you have gone to Poniko's house, she has been very adamant about you NOT turning off the only source of light in her house, as well as has gone out of her way to avoid the topic of Uboa after accidentally letting it slip when talking to you one visit; however, once she explains how to summon this Uboa person, as well as who they are and why they can't exist at the same time or in the same place as Poniko herself, it's up to you whether the Uboa situation goes any further.  She's not going to push you to summon them if you don't want to, and will not judge you in the slightest if you want to pretend the conversation never happened; however, should you go through with summoning Uboa, you find all that Poniko told you to be true, and while Uboa is indeed odd albeit still rather polite, you are still always ecstatic when the lights come back on and your friend Poniko is standing in front of you once more :)  Uboa's cool and all, but they're no Poniko, and if you tell the blonde this, be prepared to have her cry, hug you, or both.

She had taken a HUGE risk with sharing this secret with you after all, and had even been prepared to have you run away only to never speak with her again after seeing Uboa, so to have you tell her you had missed her once the lights come back on is both a huge relief and huge way to show her how much you truly value your friendship.  Indeed, after this you might as well consider the two of you best friends~

That said, it should go without saying that, if you want to date Poniko, you must build up a solid friendship with her first.  Once this has been accomplished, either through the Uboa situation or by just spending at least 2 years getting to know her, you are once again going to have to make the first move to upgrade your relationship from plationic to romantic.  Poniko has little to no experience with romance aside from the television and movies she has stocked in her home (and even then that's not very applicable to real life), so you're going to have to take the reins moving forward.  However, once you get the ball rolling, you'll need to be extremely careful not to move things too quickly!  In short, start off small, and work your way up with the romantic gestures if you will...

For example, once you start dating, rather than getting her presents or flowers right away, try memorizing her favorite food/drink, and make sure to bring it with you next time you visit.  Also: when it comes to visits, try staying later and later the more you come to visit gradually until you can stay over for sleep overs~  She may not admit it if you ask her, but Poniko loves sleep overs, and would be honored to have you as an overnight guest in her home :)  True, you may not be able to turn off the lights in her place when you go to see her all the time (see the Uboa situation once more), but her lights are dim enough so that it's not that much of a bother as far as sleeping is concerned.

Then, once you two have been dating for more than six months, you can try grander gestures of your love for her until finally, one day, you find her returning the favor.  For example, in the event you have given her presents from other corners of the dream world, don't be surprised for her to return the favor in the form of homemade gifts.  I like to think Poniko knows how to knit and sew, and does both for hobbies, so be prepared to get homemade sweaters, jackets, blankets, etc. from her.   Like, a LOT of homemade clothes in general.  And should you choose to wear said clothes either around her house or when you go to visit her?   Congratulations, you've just made her the happiest girl in the world~   The only thing that would make her happier in this particular moment would be if you gave her a hug or 2?  Perhaps even 19?  Don't worry about counting, so long as you're giving her physical affection, there's no place she'd rather be than by your side!  The fact you not only trust her enough to hug her let alone wear something she made by hand for you is more than enough proof you love her!  Now she only hopes you understand how much you mean to her in return...

[koizumicchi]

LIP×LIP Docchi Kiss LIVE Report English Translation

LIP×LIP LIVE “First Kiss” ~ Docchi no Kiss Ka, Erabe yo ~ ~ Which Kiss Do You Want ~

raw here

T/N: This WIP has been sitting untouched in my folder the moment it was tweeted ww, so like about 2 years now wwww. Since I decided to do the birthday countdown, I might as well include this and finish this at last. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AIZOU AND YUUJIROU!!!!! 愛してるよ ~

-----

During the waiting time, after entering the venue, the performance version of the songs compiled in the album were playing. The introduction video of the album was also inserted midway.

Lines like “Thank you for spending the same time with us.”

Reflecting on the golden chandelier is a shining light in the shade of blue. This world view of the palace certainly represents LIPxLIP. I feel like I naturally transformed into being a Julietta even before I entered (the venue).

Inside, small petals are fluttering about splendidly. Yuujirou ---> Aizou, introduction in this order.

A thin film (curtain) rose. The band members entered. Oji-san wore a black hat and in his ‘black pace’, dressed in a classic outfit.

LIP×LIP entered, in their Romeo costume.

From the left (of the stage): Nakanishi-san, Kobayashi-san, Reonnu, Aizou, Yuujirou, Keiki-san, Oji-san. Overhead is a horizontal screen.

The songs started right away.

*Nonfantasy

In the screen are images of gorgeous flowers. Right before ‘suki da yo’, (image of) small petals were falling. At Yuujirou’s ‘kimi senyou da yo’, he made a space reserved only for you with his arms. With the dark lighting, the whole venue quieted down; and after a while, the two, preparing for something, said in a clear voice, “suki da yo.”

*Yappa Saikyou

A lively video, with vivid colors used fully to the heart’s content; at the part of the interlude, letters appeared. After “Ride on” is a choreography of profound rhythm. “Daisuki tte yappa saikyou” is brilliantly done with the guts pose.

Aizou and Yuujirou introduced themselves. With the band members’ hands (introduction), the two were sparkling.

*Rodeo

The neon-colored lights are the main image of the townscape.

Smoke came from both sides.

The choreography is dynamic and lively; there are many movements from left to right and they made use of the wide stage.

“Is it OK to meet in the usual place?”

“Yes~ from the very start~”

They seem like they were facing each other.

*Choco Kano

An image of pink-colored pastries. It changes completely from Rodeo; they begin to sway from left to right. A great number of cute dance steps that matched the lyrics. “Tsukue no naka” with a ‘taking a peek’ choreography. “Dare nandesuka?”, pointed to the direction of the audience.

*White Day Kiss

Images (on the screen) of white ribbon, kiss mark, heart chocolate in light blue. Mic stand appear from below. At the chorus, did the double peace sign, swinging both hands. The swaying is impressive. At “Hyakumankai no kisu” Aizou points at his cheeks. In both no. 1 and 2, before the chorus, Yuujirou’s facial expression can’t be seen and it brought more feeling of painfulness in the production. At “Honmei dakara” Aizou draws a big heart (in the air). At no.2, Yuujirou poses as if asleep.

~

(MC Talk)

Aizou: It's Valentine's.

Yuujirou: How many chocolates did you receive?

Aizou: I received one from each Julietta present today.

Yuujirou: No, they gave it to me.

Aizou: What's your basis?

Yuujirou: None.

Aizou: Don't you hate those that don't have basis?

Yuujirou: ?

Aizou: I received them.

Yuujirou: And your basis is?

Aizou: None.

Yuujirou: Aizou, it is bad to lie.

Aizou: I have it somewhere!

Let's decide who is more suitable to receive them.

~

*Judge☆

Red balance scales, a video of a courtroom. “Hitotsume, futatsume, mitsume” is denoted by fingers.

At “igiari”, lightly pushing each other away. “Boku ga (boku ga) kimi wo (kimi wo)” the two forcibly put one foot in front of the other. The appearance of raising the back of a hand towards this direction seems comical.

*Koi wo Shiyou

Pink hearts to hearts in varying colors. “Fuku wo narabete”, a choreography of similar to placing a hanger at an elevated place. “Datsumekko” Aizou with arms crossed and taking off clothes action. The chorus is the MV’s choreography. “Akai ito de”, you can see as if the red thread existed and they are synchronized.

~

LIPxLIP leaving. There is a hidden microphone at the dressing room, leaking their conversation.

Aizou: Let’s fall in love ~fufufu~

Yuujirou: What are you pacing for? Are you nervous?

Aizou: Not at all

Yuujirou: During Nonfantasy, your hand holding the mic was trembling.

Aizou: I could say the same for you; you bought a can of coffee even if you don’t drink one.

Yuujirou: I bought that for you. I don’t always say this but thank you.

Aizou: ?!?!

Yuujirou: Be honest, what did you think when you partnered with me?

Aizou: Why with this guy? I thought we definitely wouldn’t match.

Yuujirou: You’re right. We didn’t align when it came to tuna mayo.

Aizou: Yuujirou would most likely be my rival so I thought I absolutely won’t lose to him.

Yuujirou: I thought an amazing guy is here when I look at Aizou

Aizou: Eh?

Yuujirou: Someone who goes to an audition with bed hair is amazing.

Aizou: It's not bed hair; I styled it! But, with him, I thought, I can fulfill the dream I've always dreamed of.

Yuujirou: .....

Aizou: Wait, Yuujirou being kind to me is suspicious. There's definitely a hidden camera somewhere.

Yuujirou: None of that sort.

Aizou: Is this revenge for the Osaka live? Everyone here, are you excited!?! I love you!

Yuujirou: Pardon us for only playing a video without sound.

Aizou: It's alright; though there's no sound, one could shout their love on their own, right?

Yuujirou: Yeah, everyone is thinking, "What are you doing, Aizou-kun? Hurry up changing your clothes!" (he imitated)

Aizou: Eh? Huh? How embarrassing. You're lying, right?

Yuujirou: It's a lie. They can only hear our voice. (meaning, no video)

Aizou: Oi! As I thought this whole thing was weird!

~

LIPxLIP appeared wearing their Yume Fanfare outfit

*Yume Fanfare

Because they are together, their dance shine beautifully; a song that is conveyed because it is Aizou and Yuujirou. If one is missing, it won’t work at all. A song for two people. The last harmony sums it up and is beautiful as expected. The chorus is stable and similar in the MV.

*Tsuki no Hime

“Please listen carefully”

A picture of a moon. At the chorus, the moon is red and rising; it was mysterious. At the beginning and end, both looked up at the moon and danced.

Aizou is cool, widening his legs diagonally.

Yuujirou crossed his legs; silent dance steps at the beginning, and gentlemanly from “soto no sekai watashi kara” part. The chorus has great choreography and livened up (the crowd).

“Thank you for listening carefully.”

Band members’ introduction

*Romeo

Yuujirou, from the start to the end, did not make a mistake at all. He is honestly magnificent. Aizou in his part “Nayanderu no? Ojou-san” is even more gentlemanly than before. It gradually softened later on. Seemingly like the East Country, a huge feeling of exhilaration overflows in the choreography. At “eran de”, the pose is very-like Aizou and Yuujirou. They jumped the whole time and both of them looked like they enjoyed it more than anyone else.

~

LIPxLIP and the band members leave.

Encore.

LIPxLIP and the band members enter.

They changed to the LIVE t-shirt: Aizou ---> black Yuujirou ---> white

~

*Hitsuyou Fukkaketsu

At the end (of the song) is a clip/scene of a thin cloud on a blue sky. They held each other’s mics and sang. *Silver tape (similar to party streamers; on concerts these are a custom) falls from above. They left their Yume Fanfare shoes on: Aizou tucking his trousers inside his shoes and Yuujirou leaving his outside.

*Repaint

An image wherein you can feel the time of space from the pale bubbles in a light blue sky. Came out in different colors. Mic held in their hands, the two bent down at “seishun wa ima mo tsuzuiteru”. You’d be drawn in at the rush of excitement at the last chorus. They waved both hands left and right.

~

Both: Thank you! (waving at different directions)

Yuujirou: I love you-! (suki da yo)

Julietta: Kyaa-!

Aizou: (I want to do it too) Okay, here goes!

Julietta:

Aizou: I love you-! (aishiteru yo)

Julietta: Kyaa-!

They bowed while their hands were connected. Aizou is always waving his hand and so Yuujirou pulled his arm so they could return back. Later on, Yuujirou comes out all of a sudden and waves goodbye. The fans were given permission to take photos of the venue for five minutes.

-----

T/N: Keep in mind that Japanese and English aren’t my first language so I apologize if there are some mistakes. As always, if you’re going to use/reference my translations, please do not claim it as your own and credit me.

[chips1977]

WARNING : I'm just an addict ... addicted to music. There are people who are born to make music, o8 thers are born to hearing. Whenever was part of this second group. Maybe it's. a habit, I gotta use, even if it 's rock, jazz or the quiet storm. Great pictures of the things I love - music, painting, books, photography, architecture, design, women, and more. I love music more than lasagna. Better to burn out than fade away. The older you get, the better life gets. But time also seems to be accelerating, the clock running too fast. So, looking at those early days, everything is very slow, stretched, and great significance. The most recent time, I spent busy with simple things.People think rock and roll is only about teenage rebellion, but why can not exist old rebel too? THE RESIDENTS is my Biggest Addiction, and,THE RED KRAYOLA, OLD TIME RELIJUN-ARRINGTON DIONYSO,R. STEVIE MOORE,SHRIMP BOAT,SMEGMA,THE SUN CITY GIRLS, LEGENDARY PINK DOTS,MINIMAL COMPACT,FRANK ZAPPA,CAPTAIN BEEFHEART,THE VELVET UNDERGROUND,THINKING FELLERS UNION LOCAL 282,THE EX,CAN,FAUST,WEEN,TELEVISION,THE MODERN LOVERS,SNAKEFINGER,MILES DAVIS,SUN RA,KRAFTWERK,ANAL MAGIC & REV. DWIGHT FRIZZELL,MICHAEL YONKERS,MOONDOG,THE WORK,RAYMOND SCOTT,THE GO-BETWEENS,SLAPPY HAPPY,ART BEARS,NAKED CITY,HENRY COW,SKELETON CREW,JOHN ZORN,FRED FRITH,THE FIBONACCIS,BONGWATER-MARK KRAMER,SHOCKABILLY,BAND OF SUSANS,THE PAINTEENS,STUMP,RENALDO AND LOAF,CERTAIN GENERAL,THE THREE JOHNS,CHROME,PRIMUS-LES CLAYPOOL,EUGENE CHADBOURNE,ESKIMO, MINUTEMEN, MISSION OF BURMA,FUGAZI,BLURT, GLAXO BABIES,THIS HEAT,THE SEA AND CAKE,SAVAGE REPUBLIC,TUXEDO MOON, XTC,U.S,MAPLE,THE PAPER CHASE,DANIEL SMITH- DANIELSON FAMILE .......  Other musical priorities are: HENRY FLYNT, THE FEELIES,PERE UBU,THE CLASH, JOY DIVISION, PROTOMARTYR, CAR SEAT HEADREST,THE BETTER-BEATLES, DARKSIDE,THE MEMBRANES, THEATRE OF HATE, NOCTURNAL PROJECTIONS,THE LINES,CARDINAL,CLEANERS FROM VENUS,THE JAZZ BUTCHER, ELVIS COSTELLO,THE MONOCHROME SET, TELEVISION PERSONALITIES, ALTERNATIVE TV, GONG,ANNIE ANXIETY, THE DEL-BYZANTEENS, WALL OF VOODOO, BUTHOLE SURFERS, RICHARD DAWSON, MAC DeMARCO,WOVEN HAND,16 HORSEPOWER, DAVID EUGENE EDWARDS,SHELLAC, SLINT-PAPA M-DAVID PAJO, LUNGFISH, OM, EARTH,THE BOOK OF KNOTS,LOUNGE LIZARDS-JOHN LURIE,ANTON FIER-GOLDEN PALOMINOS,PETER BLEGVAD,PETER HAMMILL,TOMAHWAK,FANTOMAS,MR. BUNGLE, MIKE PATTON, SUICIDE-MARTIN REV+ALAN VEGA,AARON FREEMAN,JAPAN,STEREOLAB, SPACEMEN 3, SPECTRUM, SWELL MAPS, SILVER APPES, SWELL,MORPHINE, HAWKWIND, DEVO,FLYING LIZARDS, MAGAZINE, RALPH CARNEY,ROBERT WYATT, JOHN WILKES BOOZE, KEVIN COYNE, DAEVID ALLEN, SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM, MX-80 SOUND, SOPOR AETERNUS & The ENSEMBLE of SHADOWS, THE AUTEURS,MAN MAN, DAMIEN JURADO, DAVID DONDERO, CHAD VANGALLEN, LONG FIN KILLIE, MAGIC TRICK-TIN COHEN, CHRIS COHEN, DAVID BAZAN,VAMPIRE RODENTS, JON WAYNE, PRAM,THE OLIVIA TREMOR CONTROL, PAVEMENT, PATTI SMITH, FUGS, PEARLS BEFORE SWINE-TOM RAP, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA-JOSEPH BYRD, FAMILY, GODZ, BONZO DOG DOO DAH BAND,PENTANGLE,THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND, SLOVENLY, CHEER- ACCIDENT, TARWATER, COIL,THROBBING GRISTLE, SHAWN LEE, CLUTCHY HOPKINS, JURYMAN AKA IAN SIMMONDS AKA WISE IN TIME+SANDALS, ZOOGZ RIFT, THE BOOKS,NEW THRILL PARADE, CHRIS KNOX , DAVID KILGOUR,THE BATS,THE CLEAN,THE PIN GROUP, CRIME CITY SOLUTION, ROWLAND S. HOWARD,TOM WAITS, VIC CHESNUTT, JOE HENRY, ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO,THE TAPE BEATLES,THE GUN CLUB, MAGAZINE,THE DENGUE FEVER,THE PAPER CHASE,THE FIERY FURNACES,THE MICROPHONES-PHIL ELVRUM,GARY WAR,RAILROAD JERK, KARL BLACK- SOCK HEADDED PETERS-LEMON KITTENS,THE MUSIC TAPES,THE SHAGGS, BOBB TRIMBLE, FISH AND ROSES, DIABLO SWING ORCHESTRA,POP D`ELL ARTE,MLER IF DADA,TOM ZÉ, WALTER FRANCO,OS MUTANTES,CAETANO VELOSO,MILTON NASCIMENTO, ARNALDO ANTUNES,VINICIUS CANTUARIA,JORGE BEN,CAZUZA,CEREBRO ELECTRONICO,CORDEL DE FOGO ENCANTADO,ROGERIO SKYLAB,OTTO, MOMBOJÓ,CRIOULO,MAX CASTRO, METÁ METÁ, ATALHOS, ROMULO FROES,WADO,ORQUESTRA IMPERIAL, LENINE,APANHADOR SÓ,MUNDO LIVRE SA,NAÇÃO ZUMBI, ALÇEU VALENÇA,ANT- BEE, BILL FAY,RON SEXSMITH,EL GUAPO,DAVID GRUBS,TORTOISE, SAM PREKOP, GASTR DEL SOL,HENRY KAISER,HOME & GARDEN, BOB DRAKE, MY DEAD IS DEAD, AKRON FAMILY, SWANS,THESE IMMORTAL SOULS, UNREST WORK & PLAY,THE TAPE BEATLES,THIS KIND OF PUNISHMENT,SWOLLEN MONKEYS (Ralph Carney) LIARS, SNAPPED ANKLES, CAVERN ANTI-MATTER, GANG GANG DANCE, THE DAMAGE MANUAL,THE BLACK ANGELS,SCOUT NIBLET,DIE FORM,LONELADY,COP SHOOT COP,WAR ON DRUGS,THE MONKS,TIM HUEY,TRACHTENBURG FAMILY,THE TRIFFIDS,THE CRUEL SEA,THE MEKONS,THE METOD ACTORS,THE SOFT BOYS,THE MISTAKES,THE MOUNTAIN GOATS,THE NEW CREATION, BRUCE HAACK, LOREN MAZZACANE CONNORS,GLEN BRANCA,ALBERT MARCOEUR,LOS ANGELES FREE MUSIC SOCIETY, SHELLEY HIRSCH,NEW YORK GONG,THE POLYPHONIC SPREE,LYDIA LUNCH,LOVE, LUCIA PAMELA,FATIMA MIRANDA,SAFETY SCISSOR S,RICHARD HELL & VOIDOIDS, SACCHARINE TRUST, ADAM FORKNER of [[[[VVRSSNN]]] YUME BITSU, ROY MONTGOMERY,RUN ON, LOVELY LITTLE GIRLS,SAFETY SCISSORS, BRIDE OF NO NO,TONE DOGS,TREAT HER RIGHT,TRIPOD JIMMIE,LIFTER PULLER,THEY MIGHT BY GIANTS,GANG OF FOUR,THE POP GROUP, WIRE, JOSEPH K, ORANGE JUICE, RAIN PARADE, THE GREEN ON REED, THE RENDERS,SOUL COUGHING-MIKE DOUGHTY, MAZARIN, KARATE- GEOFF FARINA, SECRET STARS,THE CHURCH, BLANK DOGS, FROG EYES, JOAN OF ARC, PURE X, YUNG WU,WAKE OOLOO, SPEED THE PLOUGH, DRIVE BY TRUCKERS, CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN, MARTIN NEWELL, ERLAND and The CARNIVAL, CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX,CALIFONE,RED RED MEAT, LOW, Eels, LOWER DENS,THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION, KING MISSILE, THE NOTWIST, CLINIC, QUICKSPACE,THE COMSAT ANGELS,THE ASSOCIATES, EZRA FURMAN and THE HARPOONS, EFF BARZELAY, BORN RUFIANS, FERGUS & GERONIMO, CHAIN AND THE GANG-IAN SEVENONIOUS-WEIRD WAR-THE MAKE UP,ESCAPIST,MOONFACE, DEAN BLUNT,COLLEEN,ZERO 7,THREE MILE PILOT,LIFE WITHOUT BUILDINGS, CLOUD CULT,BLACKOUT BEACH,PINBACK,ARIEL PINK,MAGIC HOUR,MAJOR STARS, MAPS & ATLASES, MEGAFAUN,MENOMENA,TAME IMPALA, AMPS FOR CHRIST,ARBOURETUM,TRUE WIDOW,NANA GRIZOL,TIMBER TIMBRE,THE, IMPOSSIBLE SHAPES,THE LOVE EVERYTHING,THE MAE SHI, DEAD SKELETONS,THE SHIPPING NEWS,NEW WET KOJAK,GIRLS AGAINTS BOYS,LES SAVY FAV,GERMAN SHEPHERDS,SILKWORM,DIANOGAH,31 KNOTS,90 DAY MEN, 17 PYGMIES,PARENTHETICAL GIRLS, GUN OUTFIT,VAMPIRE RODENTS, PUMA JAW-PINKIE MACLURE and JOHN WILLS, SLUG GUTS, DOG FACED HERMANS, GOD IS MY CO-PILOT, THE SKULL DEFEKTS, CUL de SAC, PELL MELL, FOR CARNATION, MARVIN PONTIAC, ARIEL PINK, FLAT WORMS, AMEN DUNES, IDDLES, WAXAHATCHEE, WOLF PARADE, SUN KILL MOON, NATALIE PRESS ,CHELSEA WOLFE, SHILPA RAY, INCA SILVER, IBEYI, ANGEL OLSEN,THE COMET IS COMING,SLEAFORD MODS, VAGABOND, SUUNS, MADONNATRON, BIG THIEF, FAT, SHAME, SAVAGES, ICEAGE, OMNI, PARQUET COURTS, WHITE FAMILY, LYDA HUSIK, SHARON VAN ETTEN, dEUS, MITSKI, LAUREL HALO,JULIA HOLTER, MARISSA NADLER, JOSEPHINE FOSTER,TRACY BRYANT, MALE GAZE, TY SEGALL,THEE OH SEES, TYVEK, GOAT, WAND,YUCK, THE MOONLANDINGZ, VIET CONG, OUGHT, ALLAH-LAS,THE FRESH & ONLYS, WHITE FENCE, LAURA MARLING, EMA, PHAEDRA, LHASA, FIRST AID KIT, JANE WEAVER, WYE OAK, CAROLINER AKA CAROLINER RAIBOW ... E gosto de viajar, andar de bicicleta, de comboios, de animais.... não gosto de pessoas superficiais... sem cultura.Gosto de dança, de arte o que quer que isso seja!. Não gosto da monotonia. Gosto de criticar no sentido positivo. Não gosto de sonhar em ficar rico. Gosto do “Vive cada dia como se fosse o último “. Não gosto de despedidas. Gosto de pormenores.Gosto de perfumes. Não gosto de mentir nem que me mintam, não suporto hipócritas.Gosto do mar. Não gosto de quem não acredita em nada e não se importa com nada e tem a profundidade de uma colher... Gosto de viajar, gosto de ajudar e de saber que pude ser útil a alguém em qualquer coisa. Não gosto da efemeridade da vida e da constante lembrança da proximidade da morte. Não gosto de não perceber. Não gosto de atrasos e de quem não é capaz de cumprir as suas promessas, não gosto de quem volta atrás com a sua palavra e ainda menos que voltem atrás comigo. Não gosto da cusquice.Gosto de amigos e da camaradagem, não gosto das” amizades “que se perdem por coisas que no final das contas não significam nada... Gosto de palavras e de conversas sem fim... Gosto de pessoas originais, com humor,com ideias próprias... e com classe. Não gosto de carinho quando estou nervoso.Gosto do campo. Não gosto de seguir a onda.Gosto de coisas pouco claras, mas bem esclarecidas. Gosto de dominar. Não gosto de brincar com os sentimentos dos outros.Gosto de toques e de trocas de olhar, de demonstrações de carinho e de cenas sensuais. Não gosto de ficar bêbado até dizer a verdade. Gosto da grandeza das coisas simples, e gosto de coisas complicadas mas não gosto de complicações... O comum não me atrai, gosto normalmente de coisas que passam despercebidas... Gosto de gostar e de não gostar de tudo isto e muito mais...

[rayshippouuchiha]

Ohhh what about Kisame in calls him home au? It would be nice cause he doesn’t get nearly enough love

You know what? You’re right. Let’s see if we can fix that just a bit cause I do love me some Shark Boi™ …

~~~

There is a rage that burns inside of Kisame.

It’s always been there, just below the surface.  It’s a toothy, gnawing thing that thrashes and hungers and waits.

It has only grown larger over the years, teeth gone sharper and bite stronger with every new slight, glutted on the blood and the fear and the lies.

Kisame wears his titles, the ones others whisper with dread or scorn, with a vicious sort of pride and yet …

Kiri has always been his home but it’s not enough anymore.

Not now, not after everything.

Kisame knows who and what he is but his hands are thick and gummy with the blood of his own comrades now, their deaths ordered by a traitor Kisame hadn’t scented out until it was too late.

Something inside of him feels broken somehow and Kiri holds no more appeal for him now.

‘Sharks,’ Kisame can’t help but muse with something far too close to helplessness, ‘are meant for things like deep waters and dark seas, after all, not for mist.’

And in the end, after a life time spent in service to his village, it’s surprisingly easy for Kisame to pick up Samehada and just … leave.

~~~

He wanders south for a while, makes his way across Hagi Island and to the Sakuru Sea.  He changes directions eventually and crosses into Rice where he kills a Oinin Butai who comes for his head and the sword.

Kiri sends two more hunters, one that finds him in Tea and another who stumbles upon him as he’s passing through the thick forests on his way towards the hot springs that dot Yu.

Kisame kills the second one quickly but he leaves the third one in pieces with their headband shoved between their bloody teeth.

A warning.

~~~

Kiri stops sending hunters.

~~~

Kisame finds himself at the ocean time and time again.

Finds his feet drawn towards the scent of sea salt and deep deep waters.

~~~

There is a man with an offer, a vision.

Kisame listens.

He almost accepts.

But …

He turns his face towards the sea, imagines the scent of sun and salt, and he just …

Can’t.

~~~

Kisame wanders.

He makes his rounds through the Elemental Nations, kills a few people here and there, cashes in a few bounties with various brokers who don’t care if he’s a missing nin or not.

The thrill of a fight is still beautiful but it also feels … shallow for some reason.

Hollow.

Kisame wonders why.

Samehada has no answers.

He keeps moving.

~~~

He finds himself back at the shore again, finds himself staring out over a different ocean with the waves lapping at his sandals, the scent of sea-salt thick in his senses.

He’s somewhere passed Dansu, standing on the edge of the sea and debating between heading towards Yume or going back down towards Iwa and eventually Konoha and Kumo in the hopes of finding a decent fight.

In the hopes of finding something.

“I want to go home,” Kisame breathes the words out, lets himself have this moment of weakness with no one here to witness it but Samehada and the sea.

He isn’t talking about Kiri, not really.

Instead he just wants …

In front of him, almost as if in answer, the ocean surges.

The waves rush up the shore, crashing against his shines in an explosion of foam and strangely warm water.

For a moment it feels as if they’re tugging at his ankles, trying to draw him out into deeper waters.

‘Home,’ the sea breeze seems to whisper, seems to urge, ‘come home, little shark, come home, home, home.’

And Kisame?

Kisame listens.

~~~

Kisame’s not sure, exactly, what’s driving him or where.

All he knows is that this path doesn’t lead him back to Kiri.

All he knows is that he dreams about warm pink sands and blue blue blue waters he thinks he could happily drown in and sunlight glinting gold and warm and welcoming.

All he knows is that he wakes with the taste of sea-salt on his lips and golden sea-sun heating his skin and he wants.

~~~

He cuts a path through Earth and doesn’t bother skirting around Fire even if he’s no longer looking for a fight.

He still runs into the Hatake along the way though and he isn’t ashamed of the way he makes a strategic retreat.

Kisame might be a monster by his own right, might be a Biju without a tail, but …

There’s been rumors drifting around the Elemental Nations about the Hatake going feral.

Konoha has tried to hush them up but … well.

Besides Kisame’s in a hurry.

Plus, sharks?

Don’t mix so well with lightning.

So, yeah.

~~~

Kisame finds himself back at the shore.

He’s closer now to Kiri than he’s been in years.

And yet …

His attention turns in a slightly different direction.

‘Almost home,’ the sea seems to croon. ‘Almost there little shark, come home, home, home. Come make a home.’

Kisame drops his long since slashed headband in the sand, leaves his sandals somewhere near the shell line.

The sea surges up and takes the both of them away.

Kisame steps out onto the water and then he just … keeps walking.

Beneath him, behind him, before him and all around, the ocean laughs and laughs and laughs.

~~~“Hey.”

Kisame blinks, takes a moment, and then blinks again.

Standing in front of him, in a spot he could have sworn was empty just a second before, is a kid.

“I’m Naruto,” the boy says, “Uzumaki Naruto.  What’s your name?”

Kisame looks at this kid, at the shaggy golden hair and blue blue blue eyes and the chakra signature that suddenly glows like a small, wild sun against his senses and all he can say is …

“Hoshigaki Kisame.”

“Did she call you?” Naruto, an Uzumaki in the flesh, asks with something like knowing in his face.

“Yeah,” Kisame answers because it’s true.

“Well then,” Naruto holds out a hand in his direction, slender claw tipped fingers spread wide in invitation, “welcome home.”

And despite years of training, years of blood and battles and death and distrust, Kisame reaches out and takes that small hand in his own.

He steps forward out of the water and onto warm pink sand.

“Yeah,” he says gruffly, “it’s good to be here.”

[ryqoshay]

Tri-Arame: A Break? No Way!

Primary Pairing Trio: YuuAyuSetsu Words: ~2k Rating: G Time Frame: Sometime during the 2nd trimester of their 2nd year? Later? Story Arc: Stand Alone

----------

Author’s Note: How many detours will I take? How many WIPs must I start before I can finish one? Will I ever finish any of the works I started over the last couple months? Only my µ’s muse knows.

Anyway, this chapter was born entirely out of a single comment from myon as we discussed the new songs for the Nijigasaki girls. I don’t want to spoil it entirely, so I’ll include it in the followup post.

Also, the girls of R3birth have not made their anime debut, so they will not be appearing in this scene. Perhaps I may come back and make changes later if they are introduced in the second season.

Summary: It’s time for everyone in the Nijigasaki School Idol Club to have a new solo! And Yuu is going to help them all.

----------

Movement at the edge of Ayumu’s focus caught her eye and she looked up.

“Are you alright, Yuu-chan?” She asked the twin-tailed girl beside her under the kotatsu.

“I’m fine.” Yuu offered a smile that was nowhere near its normal power.

“You’ve stayed up late every night this week.” Ayumu reminded. “It’s fine to take a break.”

“A break? No way!” Yuu shook her head. “I need to help you guys.”

“I believe Ayumu-san and I can take care of anything else tonight.” Setsuna joined from her spot opposite Ayumu. “We’ve made a lot of progress thanks to your help, Yuu-san.” She smiled, though Ayumu noted even hers was not as brilliant as usual.

The three girls had been working together for hours since arriving at Ayumu’s place after school, breaking only for dinner. The project was a pair of new solo songs for Ayumu and Setsuna for an upcoming Live being planned by the school idol club. Although, together may have been a little bit of an overstatement, as Ayumu and Setsuna had each been primarily focused on their own song while Yuu assisted as needed.

And on the topic of Yuu’s assistance, she had been helping the rest of the club as well all week. Thus, all the late nights. She had actually ended up staying at Rina’s, Shizuku’s, Karin’s and Kanata’s places after missing the last train the first couple nights and not bothering the next two. Tonight, it was Ayumu’s turn and they had invited Setsuna to join them.

“Are you sure?” Yuu seemed more than a little dejected.

Whatever Setsuna was about to say in response was interrupted by a yawn. “Mm…” She ended up humming and nodding after.

“It seems we should take our own advice and turn in as well.” Ayumu decided. “We can continue later this weekend. But for now, you and I need to rest up for tomorrow, Yuu-chan.” She reminded her friend of the plans they had with her parents. “Or today, actually.” She corrected, noticing the clock on her headboard.

“I suppose.” Yuu sighed and crawled over to Ayumu’s bed before pulling herself up and under the covers.

“I’m sorry, Setsuna-chan.” Ayumu suddenly apologized. “I got so wrapped up in our work that I completely forgot to set out a futon for you.” She stood and moved to her closet to retrieve the bedding.

“I’ll help.” Setsuna assured, sliding the table a little to make room before getting up to retrieve a pillow.

“Oh, and one more thing.” Ayumu stepped over to her plushie display and grabbed the pink rabbit before turning and handing it to Setsuna.

“… Right… Thank you.” Pink dusted the raven-haired girl’s cheeks as she accepted.

----------

Ayumu opened her eyes to an unfamiliar sound. Soft, almost imperceptible scratches sounded from somewhere in the room. Then a sound she recognized; a page being turned. She sat up and immediately spotted Yuu setting the table, scrawling away at the paperwork for the songs they had worked on last night.

“Yuu-chan?” She murmured, keeping her volume down as she realized Setsuna was still sleeping behind Yuu.

“Mm?” The girl with green tips looked up from her work, set a hand down for support and twisted her shoulders around to face the redhead. “G’mornin’ Ayumu.” She offered a smile that was barely more energetic than the prior night.

“How long have you been up?” Ayumu asked, sliding out of bed, stepping over Setsuna and making her way to her normal spot at the table.

“Dunno.” Yuu admitted. “I dreamed up some good ideas for almost everyone and needed to get them out on paper before I forgot it all.”

Ayumu couldn’t help smiling. She loved Yuu’s unwavering support, even when it lead to hyperfocus and nigh-all-consuming obsession. And while she wished Yuu would take better care of herself, she had long since vowed to do what she could to fill in where needed when it came to her health and wellbeing.

“Are you going to be alright coming along with us today?” She asked.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Yuu nodded. “I love hanging out with you and your parents. I can take a nap afterward.”

Well, at least she recognizes she needs more sleep. Ayumu conceded to herself.

A knock came at the door, followed by Ayumu’s mother’s voice. “Are you girls up? I’ll have breakfast ready in a moment.”

The sound caused Setsuna to stir, so Ayumu was no longer worried about waking her.

“We’ll be out in a few.” Ayumu responded.

“Oh, Setsuna-chan, good morning.” Yuu greeted the other girl as she slowly sat up and yawned.

Setsuna stretched. “Good morning, Yuu-san, Ayumu-san.”

“Good morning, Setsuna-chan.” Ayumu added.

“I had a bunch of new ideas,” Yuu continued “though we probably can’t fit them all into just these songs, and probably shouldn’t try, but maybe we’ll be able to use some in the next set? Anyway, take a look at it later today and let me know what you think.” She held out a stack of sheets.

“Thank you, Yuu-san.” Setsuna accepted and slipped the pages into her bag.

The three then rotated through the bathroom to wash their faces and get ready for the day.

----------

ScarletStorm: Ayumu-san

UeharaAyumu: What’s up Setsuna-chan?

ScarletStorm: I wanted to contact you privately so as to avoid possibly embarrassing Yuu-san.

UeharaAyumu: Yuu-chan?

UeharaAyumu: What do you mean?

ScarletStorm: I believe she mixed up some of the paperwork for our songs.

ScarletStorm: A lot of it, actually.

Oh? Ayumu crawled over to the table to check what was left there. Sure enough, much of it was for Setsuna’s solo.

UeharaAyumu: That appears to be the case

ScarletStorm: I can stop by later tonight so we can swap them.

UeharaAyumu: No need to make a special trip

UeharaAyumu: We’ll see each other again Monday morning

As soon as Ayumu sent the second message, she realized what Setsuna was probably going to reply.

ScarletStorm: I was hoping to work a little more on it tomorrow.

And there it was. Yuu wasn’t the only workaholic when it came to school idol things. Ayumu laughed lightly to herself and shook her head. She was about to agree and set up a time to meet when a different thought occurred to her.

UeharaAyumu: Perhaps we can use this opportunity to help each other?

UeharaAyumu: Look at what the other has done from a different perspective and maybe do some editing or offer some advice?

UeharaAyumu: A little like what Yuu-chan has been doing for us, but we both have different perspectives than her

UeharaAyumu: And each other

ScarletStorm: That’s a great idea, Ayumu-san!

ScarletStorm: It will a little like our Shuffle Festival from a little while back.

ScarletStorm: Actually, no, not really.

ScarletStorm: We’re not covering the other’s song, just helping them write one.

UeharaAyumu: Well there’s no reason we cannot add a little of our own influence to the other’s song

UeharaAyumu: I’ve always admired your style, Setsuna-chan

UeharaAyumu: So I wouldn’t mind seeing what influence you might have on a song that I might sing

UeharaAyumu: Then on the other side, I would like to see what I can add to a song of yours

UeharaAyumu: And on the topic of the Shuffle Festival, I actually kind of hoped I would end up with CHASE! instead of Kasumi-chan

UeharaAyumu: Yuu-chan still likes to play it on her piano every so often and I can’t help humming along when she does

UeharaAyumu: After all, it was the song that inspired me to become a school idol and her to join and restart the club

There was a noticeable pause before Setsuna began typing again. Then another pause. And another.

ScarletStorm: Thank you, Ayumu-san.

ScarletStorm: That song has always meant a lot to me.

ScarletStorm: As such, I am very happy to hear that you and Yuu-san continue to enjoy it.

ScarletStorm: That said, I also enjoy your style.

ScarletStorm: However, I believe Emma-san was a better pick than I for covering Yume e no Ippo.

ScarletStorm: At least she was then.

ScarletStorm: My time with Ayumu-san and Shizuku-san in A・ZU・NA has allowed me to experience many more facets of being a school idol than I would have otherwise on my own.

ScarletStorm: You have allowed me to expand my knowledge and skills of being a school idol.

ScarletStorm: It would be an honor to sing a song in homage to Ayumu-san’s style in exchange for her singing one in mine.

Ayumu smiled.

UeharaAyumu: I’ll let Yuu-chan know we’re trading notes for a little while when I check on her later to make sure she’s taking the break she needs

UeharaAyumu: And speaking of breaks, don’t you be staying up to late working on my song

UeharaAyumu: Both you and Yuu-chan have a bad habit of overworking yourselves and it makes me worry about you

Scarlet Storm: Thank you for your concern, Ayumu-san.

ScarletStorm: I will be sure to go to bed at a decent time tonight.

UeharaAyumu: Alright

UeharaAyumu: See you at the station Monday morning

ScarletStorm: Yes, see you then.

----------

“Wha~?” Kasumi exclaimed, planting both hands on the table and leaning toward two of her seniors on the other side. “Ayumu-sempai and Setsuna-sempai are trading songs?”

Ayumu laughed lightly. “Just trading some influence in style.”

“And learning new ways to look at our songs,” Setsuna added excitedly “how we share them with our fans and ultimately grow as school idols.”

“Kasumin wants to grow as a school idol too!” Kasumi whined. “Senpai!” She turned toward Yuu. “Help Kasumin make her songs even cuter!”

“Yuu-senpai has already helped you a lot, Kasumi-san.” Shizuku pointed out from beside the ash blonde. “I believe what is being suggested here is a little different.”

“It sounds more like our recent Shuffle Festival.” Karin observed.

“That’s what I thought at first as well.” Setsuna acknowledged.

“But what Setsu and Ayu-pyon are doing is trading influence on creating songs, not just covering the other’s songs.” Ai spoke up.

“Exactly.” Ayumu agreed.

“Sounds fun. Ai’m in.” The blonde grinned.

“I would like to try something new as well.” Rina stated flatly. “I would like to discover new ways to connect with my fans.”

“Hmmm…” Emma considered “I enjoyed singing Ayumu-chan’s pure song during the Shuffle Festival, but I wonder how it might feel to sing a cool song like Karin-chan’s or a dramatic one like Shizuku-chan’s.”

“Or a cute one like Kasumin’s?” Kasumi asked.

“I think everything Emma-chan sings would end up being cute.” Kanata’s voice was slightly muffled by her pillow before she turned her head. “Wouldn’t you agree, Karin-chan?”

“O… of course.” Karin didn’t seem to have expected to be asked such a question.

“What kind of influence would you want to have on your song, Kanata-san?” Yuu asked.

“I already get inspiration and influence from Haruka-chan.” Kanata drawled.

“Well, this all sounds like a lot of fun.” Yuu continued. “But if we’re going to overhaul everyone’s songs, it’s going to be a lot of work. But…” she leaned over retrieve a sizable stack of sheets from her bag “I came up with a ton of new and random stuff once Ayumu and Setsuna-chan revealed their idea to me. Take a look and see if anything gives you ideas. I’ll be happy to help wherever I can, as always.”

Seven hands reached forward to take random pages and several discussions broke out among the group.

Ayumu glanced at the twin-tailed girl beside her. Looks like it might be another sleep deprived week for Yuu-chan. She worried silently. Maybe I’ll take a night in the middle of the week this time. Oh. Setsuna-chan and I are pretty far along with our songs, so maybe we can all take a break that night. Perhaps an anime movie night, so long as we limit it to only a few episodes and not an entire series.

Someone said her name to get her attention and Ayumu was taken from her thoughts and into a discussion about a possible lyric change. The next couple hours were filled with excitement and anticipation as the girls of the Nijigasaki School Idol Club began looking at their songs in a new light.

----------

Author’s Note Continued in Followup Post

[pyxisblue]

The Sky’s Melody

Life is not kind to him, but he knows he can leave the safety of his heart to a certain melody.

|| After L!fe: Noah Kind // Yume-ish (can be self-insert), Heart-warming, A touch of romance, Angst: life struggles, mention of violence

In a serene afternoon when Noah decided to take a nap in the shade of a camphor tree, a beautiful sound had stirred his exhausted poor soul  to awake.

It didn't sound like an alarm clock demanding him to get off his blissful rest but instead, it was a melody that danced through the air and approached his ears with grace.

His curiosity piqued, he thought it's better to leave his comfortable napping place to search for the source of music that might be the one to save him.

The trace of the gentle notes led him to an arched window, a grand piano lies beyond it. But what caught his attention was the owner of the fingers that gracefully danced over the keys.

He felt his breath taken and for a very good reason.

She... she reminds him of the sky, a soothing view to his eyes, a wonder of beauty. Whenever life comes at him with all its terrible ways, the broad blue sky never failed to keep him company in his solitude against the harsh reality.

"Of course," he chuckled to himself.

He thought it's only natural for a beautiful melody to be made if the one who plays them is beauty itself.

And he realized he seemed to be half right. This melody would probably save him, and so would the person sitting in front of the piano with a frown and focused expression as her fingers worked her magic in the grand instrument.

Abruptly, the melody came to a halt. An evident frustration was painted on her face, something Noah thought was still adorable. Though, it had bothered him why she'd make such an expression.

Was something bothering her? Was she upset about something?

Standing by the tree across the window, he found himself wanting to know more.

Why did she suddenly stop playing?

Just as when he thought it'd be the end of his dream, she began playing again.

However, she'd always come to a stop. Then, she'd try it again from the start. It didn’t sound so bad as broken record repeating from the beginning, but it seemed like the music was stuck on something.

Although the red-headed man was not musically inclined, he realized she was frustrated about the piece she was playing. His mind buzzed with questions... why?

Since then, it became a daily routine for Noah to stop by and listen to her play.

She was trying to complete the piece, and that became evident when he realized she was adding a different sound every time he listened to it. He was surprised at himself for recognizing the differences no matter how subtle it was. It just showed how often he'd sit under the shade of the orange gingko tree outside the room just to hear her music.

Though, it was a mystery how she never noticed him. Probably, the unfinished piece was enough to blur the surroundings for her. He loved that part about her. The way she crinkled her nose whenever she tries to think, the way her brows furrowed when she hits the wrong key, the way her eyes burn in concentration as she tries her best to solve the puzzle of this melody... It all seemed to draw him in, like how art speaks only to the soul.

The days that passed seemed to be gracious to him until one day, the lady stopped coming. 

He thought he’s used to all the punches life could throw at him, that he could take on anything, but the empty music room behind the large arched window had proved him otherwise. He casted a somber look upon the silence of the grand piano that represented the loneliness he felt in his heart.

The next few days weren't kind to him as well. Emptiness and silence only filled the room, telling him his days of a blissful afternoon had come to an end. There'd be no more melody to caress his often ragged soul nor would there be a peaceful retreat for his broken heart now that he couldn't see her.

"Ah. It's time to go back to reality," he bitterly whispered to himself as he turned away from the Gingko tree and resorted to leave after the few days. But as a familiar figure appeared before him, he stood rooted to the ground.

"You've been listening all this time, weren't you?" She wore an expression he couldn't read.

Was she upset that he had been secretly listening? Was she mad at him because he looked like a stalker?

Before words tried to clamber their way out of his mouth in a form of an explanation, she spoke.

"Would you want to listen to it inside? I heard it will rain today," a sheepish expression and a slight blush was on her face.

He couldn't help but break into a huge grin. The lady had invited him to listen to her in a front row seat. He was so delighted; he thought he's flying over the clouds.

Once they were inside, she tried to pull a chair from the side for him. He was quick to take it to save her from the hassle. Besides, he'd never let a woman lift a thing for him, probably even over his dead body.

A hint of pink crept to her face when he gave her another smile as he took the chair.

'Adorable,' he thought to himself. 

He wanted to say that out loud, but he felt the sudden compliment would cost him the rare welcome. And so, he resorted to looking at her with fondness as she settled in front of the grand piano. He placed the seat with a few meters of distance from her, so as to not overstep into her comfort zone.

The wonderful melody started as her fingers go through the keys.

Ah, yes. This... this was the rescue he always needed. Just as he thought that dark clouds will loom above him forever, a clear sky has opened up to him with hope.

It was a reverie he'd keep in his heart for eternity.

With every second of the moment and every note of melody, his heart was filled up with a joy he couldn't explain, chasing away the hollowness the tragedy of his life made.

It ended with a pleasant sound, like a story with a gratifying closing line. She stared at the keys with silence for a few seconds before her inquiring eyes held his gaze.

"Uhm... what do you think?" He could hear the quiver in her voice.

'She was nervous,' he realized, finding another thing to adore about her.

"Did you make it yourself?" His question was met with a nod.

"It's... it's the first time I played it after I completed it," her gaze darted away from his as she tried hard to hide her embarrassment.

It made him feel privileged. To be the first to hear it, a mixture of happiness, giddiness, and something pleasant he couldn't quite put his finger on brimmed his chest.

"It was..." her head whipped to his direction again as she anticipated the next words to come, "like the sky to me, a sanctuary."

Her pretty eyes grew wide and eventually, tears ran down as she beheld a sight before her that stirred an unexplainable bittersweet feeling within her. Noah had a smile on his face, but his eyes told her of the sadness he was carrying all this time.

A sanctuary.

For days, he couldn't describe what the melody was to him. All he knew was it was healing. Now, he finally found the exact word.

But it confused him how it made her cry. He felt a pang on his chest as her tears came out. Man, he wanted to beat himself up for it. However, she said something he didn't expect.

"Thank you." She wore a smile of her own that somehow melted his heart. 

Unconsciously, his hand reached for her face and wiped the tears away. Although she flinched at the contact, she didn't pushed it away.

"Will you... let me hear you play again, right beside you?"

She blinked once. Twice. When it finally dawned upon her what he had meant. She answered, abashed.

"O-of course. You can listen to me play for as long as you want."

His hand stayed on her cheeks despite the absence of the tears. He looked at her tenderly for a moment before he blurted out something without shame.

"Even if it's for the rest of our lives?"

The surprise on her face made him chuckle. He was ready to declare it as a joke when she said...

"Sure. Even if it's for forever."

It was his turn to blush. The bold action and words had made his heart beat faster than any of the life-threatening situations he had been. 

"Then, I'm going to hold you to it," his lips formed another wide smile, something she responded with her own.

After a few seconds of the sweet moment they shared, she began playing the piece for him again. This time, he sat beside her, in the same long stool she was on.

The melody once again grace the air as it brought a new feeling with it, a beginning of love.

It was her who created a place of peace for him, something he had already given up on. As it opened a possibility for happiness, he didn't want to let go of the melody that brought him to her.

She came to him like the clear sky, offering what his life couldn't give him... hope.

And since then, Noah knew: he could leave the safety of his heart in the melody that is her.

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

This is a story I made for an After L!fe friend, Sky. She composed a piece played in piano that inspired me to make this fiction.

May all of us find a sanctuary in this life that will make us stay.

[starrysnowdrop]

Why Hali/Aymeric?

This is something that I’ve been wanting to write up for a long time now, and I’ve finally been able to get my thoughts down properly. For those who have been around for a while might be used to my ship by now and can see how their chemistry is, but I know I have some newer followers that might be interested in this explanation. Or perhaps you’re just curious even though you’ve been here forever. Either way, I thank you in advance for taking your time to read this! See under the cut below.

Updated: 09/21/2024

So, you might or might not know that Hali is actually not my first WoL OC. Before Hali, I had made an Auri Hingan Samurai woman named Yume Aino, whom I first created back in 2019, shortly after the release of Shadowbringers (Yume’s blog can be found here: @firelightmuse). I didn’t realize it at first, but because of how I had written Yume, as a stoic, no nonsense warrior through and through, but also someone who was dealing with a lot of trauma and trying to find purpose in her life, I soon had a really hard time shipping her with anyone. Over the years I had tried shipping Yume with Cid, G’raha, and I briefly thought of Artoirel, but I now have found her perfect ship with Zenos. Before any of them, however, my first choice of an NPC ship was Aymeric.

Why Aymeric? Well, it took me quite a while to realize that a huge part of me wanting to ship Yume with Aymeric as a first choice was a very personal one. Aymeric was the first character in FFXIV that I completely fell for. Though I enjoyed the characters of Cid, Haurchefant, and G’raha in ARR, it wasn’t until we meet Aymeric in the Pre-HW patches that I had gotten attached to the world and the story through finding a favorite character of my own. Aymeric is so special to me, and that made me try to ship my only WoL at the time with him. But as you can see, that ultimately didn’t work out.

It didn’t work out because Yume and Aymeric didn’t vibe well with each other. There was a severe lack of chemistry between the two. I had realized that Aymeric is much too polite and respectful of decorum to break Yume out of her shell to make a deeper connection than just comrades that respect one another, and I didn’t think Yume was the kind of person that Aymeric would come to love either, as she would likely remind him of the many Ishgardian nobles that he was around all the time, for many reasons which I won’t elaborate on here due to brevity. And as I didn’t have any other OCs at the time, I just continued developing Yume and an NPC ship with Aymeric was discarded. Although I personally was very saddened by that, I thought it was the right decision for both characters.

Yet, I continued having trouble writing any kind of ship with Yume over time. After a few years, as I kept getting frustrated with the ships I was trying to write for her, I got inspired to make another WoL OC that would be different from Yume in every way. She actually would end up being much more of a self insert than I ever expected, but nonetheless I fell in love with the pink haired, happy go lucky Lalafellin woman who would become Hali Aloke, my pride and joy.

As I got Hali through base ARR and into the ARR patches, I didn’t have any intention on trying to ship her Aymeric and to try a WoL x NPC ship with him a second time, as I actually had intentions to ship Hali with Krile later on in her WoL journey.

But everything changed once Hali met Aymeric in 2.4, the lead up to Heavensward. I saw them in the cutscenes together, and as ridiculous of a height difference they had, I still couldn’t help but giggle and squeal whenever they were together. They just were incredibly adorable, and I couldn’t hold myself back. I just had to try to ship Hali with Aymeric.

So I decided to try to write a few prompts with them together and see how their dynamic was. And it was even better than I had expected. Their chemistry was so amazing, and the dialogue between them flowed quite effortlessly. Not only was I highly impressed and kept getting inspired to write more and more, but I got a ton of positive feedback from so many people telling me that they loved Hali and Aymeric together.

And I guess that was that. I have never looked back since. Hali x Aymeric are my everything (well besides Yume x Zenos now of course); my ship makes me so damn happy. Just looking at them makes me smile and want to write and gpose more. I can’t get enough of them. It’s to the point now that I don’t know if I could ever write a ship better than Hali x Aymeric. And you know what? I don’t even want to try at this point.

I still can’t fully comprehend how a pink haired, bubbly, sunshine of a lalafellin woman and a noble, brave, and charismatic Ishgardian knight could be such a beautiful and dynamic couple that would not only bring me endless joy but also keep inspiring me far more than anything else I’ve ever written. It is utterly beyond my comprehension, but somehow it works. And I am forever grateful that I just followed my heart and wrote what I wanted, and not for anyone else’s approval, but my own.

I somehow hope this helps inspire someone out there to not be afraid and just go for the ship they want to write for, despite what the fandom at large says. Trust me, it’s worth it.

[writer-and-artist27]

[Image Description: A comic of two Hero Department students from UA sharing a smile as their friend sings for them in the second panel amongst flowers. The only message in the comic is, “Thank you, Tomoko.” End Description.]

:)) Wing-chan (@wingbladeweaver1357) gave me permission to post this, and well, with midnight close to dawning, might as well add onto it. Story is under the read-more. For the others, here’s more writing. Cherish it. :p

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

Note: A thank-you short story to the lovely Wing-chan for the art you see here. You made my day and night, friend. It’s about time I return the favor.

I hate that my birthday had to be overshadowed by real life and politics on the internet side, more so when anxiety makes you think people forget, but oh well. Some things still came through. 

Dandelion’s Glory AU, here we go. Based on this comic from Wing-chan. The theme for this return gift is Inori no Uta, from Yuki Yuna is a Hero. Enjoy!

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

Before anyone could walk down the stairs and away from the rooftop, a single voice echoed through the wintery air. 

“Hikari-chaaaaan! Shinsō-saaaaaaan! Wait for meeeeeeeee!” 

Shinsō held back the urge to sigh, rolling his eyes fondly. His breath came out as clouds in the cold winter air anyways, sigh or not. “Is she behind us?”

Hikari snickered into her scarf and nodded to him. “Today’s Valentine’s Day, Shinsō, so you should know what that means! The Chocolate Fairy’s here!” With practiced ease, Hikari turned around and quickly intercepted the incoming hug with her own tight embrace, causing the newest “casualty” to squeal loudly. “Hi, Tomo-chan!”

“H-Hika-chan, heeeeeeey!” Tomoko replied in a high-pitched squeak, apparently not minding her nose being squished in Hikari’s blazer before squirming. “H-How did you know I was coming up behind you?”

“Call it instinct, Tomo-chan, instinct,” Hikari smiled before letting Tomoko go, patting her head. “What brings you to our company?”

To no one’s surprise, Tomoko started to puff out her cheeks, smile turning upside down to match her indignant expression. The extra stomp of her shoe against the pavement merely emphasized her mood swing. “You know why I’m here, Hika-chan! Muuuuuuuu, don’t tell me you forgot after all this time! And with the rumor mill!” 

Hikari couldn’t help but snicker, patting Tomoko’s head again. “I know, I know, Tomo-chan. I didn’t forget. What do you have this time?”

“It better not be something poisonous,” Shinsō muttered under his breath.

Tomoko proceeded to round on him with an equally upset look. “Homemade chocolate is not poisonous in my personal dictionary, Shinsō-san! Sheesh, what can a gift-giver do…” she shrugged her shoulders before pulling out a glittery pink gift bag from behind her back. “Which reminds me.” Shinsō took a step back as soon as Tomoko put a hand to her chest, puffing a breath. “Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers! Friends deserve wonderful things too! Sooooo…” Tomoko raised the gift bag in the air. “My first gift goes to—”

Before continuing, Tomoko shot Hikari a pleading look. 

Without skipping a beat, Hikari proceeded to clap her hands together in the closest imitation of a drumroll.

“Arigatou, Hika-chan,” Tomoko said gratefully, turning back to Shinsō before placing a hand in the bag and pulling out a star-shaped package. “The first gift for today goes to Shinsō Hitoshi-san, future Hero and wonderful friend who deserves all the fans in the world!”

It could’ve been like a piano had dropped from the sky with how fast the atmosphere changed temperature. It didn’t even feel cold. 

Shinsō proceeded to turn a light pink. “Uhhh,” he said intelligently, glancing between the gift and the person giving it. “Thank you…?” With a careful clearing of his throat, Shinsō took the package from Tomoko’s hands, turning his head to the side while rubbing the back of his neck through his scarf. “Yeah. Thanks.” He tucked the gift into the inside of his school blazer. “Thanks.” 

Tomoko and Hikari shared a look before giggling. “Aye aye,” the Chocolate Fairy said gently, deciding not to mention her friend’s pink ears before turning to the other person in the area. “Aaaaand without further ado, my other gift.” It doesn’t even take a second for Tomoko to brush her hair back and pull out a heart-shaped package to brandish in the Keyblade Wielder’s direction. “For one of my besties and a person I love very much platonically, Hika-chan!” 

Hikari blushed and smiled too. “Aw shucks, thank you, Tomo-chan.” The gift was handled delicately in the exchange, and once both Hero Department students were carrying their respective boxes, Tomoko took a step back. “But uh, Tomo-chan? What are you doing?”

Shinsō blinked too. 

Instead of replying, Tomoko smiled and clasped her hands together, closing her eyes.

“I did say that Valentine’s Day is for friends too, didn’t I? So, for the two friends that make my world…”

Tomoko breathed in and out, deeply. 

“One song is good enough, isn’t it?”

With one single breath, the air proceeded to be filled with the inflections of a strong singing voice.

“I'm glad that we met (Deaette yokatta)

In the forest that is bright with the sunlight that falls through the trees (Komorebi mabushii mori no naka.)

The wind is always warm. (Kaze wa itsumo attakakute.)

My heart feels like it is going to come undone. (Kokoro hogureteku.)

Praying that days like these would continue forever…  (Konna hibi ga zutto tsuzuki masu you ni…)

The wide sky is overflowing with love and hope. (Hirogaru sora wa ai ya kibou de afurete.)

I will continue to sing till this voice reaches you. (Kono koe ga todoku made utai tsuzukeru kara.)”

It was the only thing Tomoko could think up on Valentine’s Day. There was too much focus on romance and love reserved for special others when there was more than that. There were the people who were single, thinking they were alone. People who just wanted friends. People who didn’t want to be alone. This applied to UA High too. The split between General Studies and the Hero Department was vast, but that didn’t mean bridges couldn’t be made. 

This moment could may as well be a symbol of such a bridge.

Tomoko put her hopes and efforts into keeping her voice steady, right then at that moment.

“Since the day I was born into this world, (Kono sekai ni sou umareta sono hi kara zutto,)

I clutched onto dreams that filled my hands. (Ryote ni ippai yume wo nigiri shimeteita.)

The future that was drawn would surely come true. (Egaita mirai itsuka hontou ni naru ne.)

A single person is too small to do anything alone. (Hitorija chiisana sasayakide shikanaikedo.)

Our wishes would definitely become a prayer. (Watashitachi nonegainara kitto inori ni naru.)

The wide world is overflowing with love and hope. (Hirogaru sekai wa ai ya kibou de afurete.)

Until this voice reaches you, I will continue to sing. (Kono koe ga todoku made utai tsuzukeru kara.)

Always, always, thank you. (Itsumo itsumo arigatou.)”

The song lasted about 3-4 minutes, but once Tomoko opened her eyes, she met the eyes of her friends and smiled. Hikari and Shinsō smiled back, in their own miniscule ways. 

Tomoko giggled and without much else, took a few steps to jump on the two in a hug. “Happy Friendship Day, you two!” 

[dreamii-yume]

I'm not the anon who come up with this Singing curse Au but how about more content of it? When you get no ideal from hornii or soft, a bit of chaos shegnanigant will do the trick. Can you write more about that Au? Focus on some other writing helped me come up with the actual writing ideal I want to write, maybe Yume can try that....? 😳👉👈

@coffee-or-hot-cocoa said

“lol saw the random singing curse au. So how about instead of disney songs mc/darling sings meme songs? lol like if darling visits pomefiore she sings fashion, etc. so thoughts? and bonus points the curse was just a potions accident due to grim doing something wrong.”

•••••

Aight, I’ll take you on that advice Darling! I’ll write more about this AU, since I really find it funny just imagining them lol Cay-kun’s birthday is tomorrow anyways so, it’s fine if I slack off a bit, yeah~?

Meme songs, huh? Now, we’re talking in Yume’s language lol Beware of the cringe beyond this as this contains dead memes probably!

God, this is even funnier and more chaotic if it was Grim’s fault that got Darling in this mess in the first place. Aside from the embarrassment that you would inevitably suffer right after, this random singing curse of yours doesn’t seem to be too bad especially when you get to see the interesting reactions you get from others. Though, most of the times it’s just pure confusion on their faces as they don’t have a single clue on what the hell you’re singing, since it never existed in their world.

“SomeBODY once told me—“ Darling started, slamming a random door open with a wide smile on your face and successfully startling a few students half to death nearby. The Scarabia duo passing by and Kalim being obliviously glad at how energetic you seemed. Jamil had to look away as he snorted, seeing how the students cower away with tails between their legs was golden.

Ace and Deuce being used to Darling’s curse at this point that they basically just adapted to it. “Ah.” The rest of the first years wondered what was that single “Ah.” and Adeuce confirmingthat it was indeed considered a “song” from your world. You explained how it was uttered out by a certain 2D shark girl and people basically went crazy for it. “Yeah, we don’t get it either.” The duo gave up understanding your worlds’ “culture” eventually.

That said, the other students would be lying if they said that they don’t find this strange songs of yours catchy though.

“So, what kind of look do you wanna go for?” Imagine Vil in a good mood and decided to do Darling’s make up. You smile and said nothing, you can feel the urge to sing right on the tip of your tongue but you didn’t know what ridiculous meme song would come out of your mouth. Opening your mouth meant breaking into a song once again as it might disrupt the guy’s mood. “Hm? What’s wrong? Honey, you look like you want to say something. Go ahead, I’m feeling nice today, you see.”

His kind chuckle did not help at all and alas, you slightly opened your mouth and— “Maybe I’ll be Tracer.” “What?” You gulped with a nervous grin. “...I’m already Tracer...”

It’s worse in Halloween. “Spooky, spooky skeletons~” The Heartslabyul students are looking at you funny, but since you were singing it in such a cutesy way, they just assumed that you wanted a candy in return. “Sends shivers down your spine~” Trey filled your whole bag.

I’d also like to add that the curse does not only affect the way you talk but it also plagues your mind as well. The others looks so concerned every time you space out as even if they call out to you as loud as they can, the noise in your head wouldn’t let you hear them. They claimed that you look so serious sometimes, like you’re thinking of something deep but in reality all you were hearing was the constant replay of the Wii Theme and Undertale Soundtracks.

“Se~ no~” Skipping in the hallways, Idia hides behind a wall as he was practically lead astay to this beat you sing. He just finds it so cute! The way you swing your hips really made him imagine you like those idols performing before thousands of fans like him. He wonders if you’ll accept if a creepy otaku like him asks you to wear an idol outfit and sang that song for him in private. Idia finds himself humming and dancing slightly to your song until Cater comes in and giving him a heart attack that costs him ten years of his lifespan.

You said you wanted to try and bake for everyone, so you thought it was better to borrow the Heartslabyul kitchen. “I’m a muffin, and this is muffin time~” Coincidentally, the Heartslabyul squad passed by at the door and thought that the melody sounded cute. Without you knowing, they were peaking right by the door. Cater recording a video while Ace snickers at how girly you can be sometimes with pink cheeks. Riddle, Trey, and Deuce having the same fantasy of seeing you as a housewife baking sweets for her family to munch on. “Who wants a muffin~?”

You did a graceful spin while elegantly putting the tray inside the oven, crouching over. “Please, I just wanna die~” Upon setting the desired temperature, you spun into a small little dance. Cater almost dropped his phone. “Hey, somebody kill me~”

“Please, it’s muffin time~☆”

Needless to say, the Heartslabyul squad bursts in like undercover agents and concerned questions were frantically asked. You wanted to bake, but got a strict therapy session with Riddle and Trey instead. Ace, Deuce, and Cater blocks your exit and you were forced to stay in that room for the next three hours.

Of course. Of course. Cursed or not, your immature ass could not pass up the opportunity.

“We’re no strangers to love.”

“Child of man, what—“

“You know the rules and so do I.”

Might as well commit to it the curse then.

WHVSJXBSKW Yume is such a bitch normie lol I really listed off all the meme songs I know and picked what I can do (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))♡ Sorry for the cringe and dead memes lol I had more memes I wanted to put in but the cringe might be too much

I had so much fun with this one, you were right Darling! This made my head grasp reality better~! Thanks! (๑>◡<๑)

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: DokiDoki Nov 19 & YumeTwins Dec 19

If you read my previous post, then you may recall my plans on trying to do a 2-review-per-1-post method. Not sure how frequently this might be but I wanted to give it a try.

Also, on the subject of December boxes I wanted to bring up that I will not be covering the December Tokyo Treat box as I never got it. We have no idea what happened because this was never an issue before. Kind of disappointing because it was anime/manga/video game based, but I was refunded for it at least.

How this will work is that I will be covering one box, then the other. This isn’t a comparison review, but you guys will have to let me know after you read, which one would you prefer?

Yume Prize and Suteki Crate

One heavily features sailor moon and bunnies, while the other seems to be a collab of PomPomPurin and Gudetama. 

This will be my only comparison of the review; I feel like the Suteki Crate’s items fit more in-line with the box theme. Yume Prize fits in the sense its the same characters within the series, but not the theme of the months box. I think both sets are very cute though!

DokiDoki

This months theme is Snow Bunnies

“Get cozy with this months crate. As the weather gets cooler, these adorable bunny themed items are sure to warm your heart.“

Our first items include a decorative pair of chopsticks, featuring a red color scheme with a print of bunnies and sakura around the top.

The other item is a unique and fun-shaped carrot led pencil :D A bashful little bunny can be seen peaking out from the back, isn’t it the cutest? It’s seems like it would be a bit awkward to hold at first, but it has little nudges around the bottom for easy grip and feels pretty natural. It doesn’t feel like hard plastic either, and it felt nice to use. I did a little doodling with it and I liked it. 

Next up is a cute Rilakkuma mug, which was available in 2 styles. Either this one that I got, or there was a design featuring Korilakkuma holding a stuffed toy.

Besides an adorable light pink coloring, the mug features a fun print of white spots and strawberry, and on the side is written “A sweet, lovely strawberry is my favorite“. It’s very cute, I love strawberries so this is perfect for me~

These are our next and last two items, first up is this cute pink bunny plush. It’s part of some series known as Petanto, adorably long animals with hearts, but for this specific box theme everyone got the same bunny. Each one has a ball chain so that you can bring it along with you.

It’s very cute and plush, soft to squeeze. But it does have some noticeable seams along the arms/hands and ears. It’s not that bad though, and they are very cleanly made.

The other item you might recognize if you have been a viewer of the blog before. We got a smaller, circular one just like this in the past, but unlike that one, this one only came in the “pink style“ while the previous one could be pink or blue.

With the previous one, I decided to store my cute lip products I’ve gotten from various boxes, and I loved it! But... the collection made it hard for me to fit the lid on it, so this square-shaped container was more than welcome:

Look at that, I still got more room :D and now I can use the other container to hold something that will actually fit.

~Opinions~

Content - 5 out of 5, nothing super-special or unique, but the quality is clean and very good, no issues or complaints. They were all cute too, I especially love the new Sailor Moon container and the carrot pencil.

Price - 2.5 or 3 out of 5. I really don’t feel like these items should equal 30 dollars, they’re pretty small when you really look at them. The only real item of value in the box is probably the Sailor Moon container, because its such a popular name brand. Rilakkuma is popular too, but its just a mug. The items don’t feel cheap though, I will say that.

Theme: 5 out of 5. The theme doesn’t really scream November to me, but the bunny vibe they were going for is there for sure. I can feel the coziness in a sense; just imagine sipping on a warm drink while writing in your diary or a letter with your pencil, maybe squishing the little plush now and then~

Total Rank: 6.5 out of 10 Cuties. I’m not trying to be picky or anything, I really do like the items we got, I love bunnies x3 but the items themselves just don’t feel very special, we’ve gotten chopsticks, mugs, and plush plenty of times. I like them, but I want a surprise now and then, you know?

Yume Twins

“It’s finally the time of year we always look forward to! What about you? Isn’t snuggling up with your favorite warm blanket, a cup of hot chocolate and a good book next to the twinkling Christmas tree just the best feeling? This mnth we wanted to give you some kawaii friends to snuggle up with in this month’s Sanrio Christmas box! We hope you love it as much as we do!“

Besides the Sanrio goods that could be won in the Yume Prize, the photo contest prize for this month features Hello Kitty items. 

Holiday dining is a lot more fun when you have some cute matching (less-likely to break) items to eat with, so for this month we got an adorable plate featuring a warm, colorful group picture as the decorate for the Holiday~

Paired with it is this big spoon perfect for delicious soup or just large spoonfuls of whatever you may be eating, designed to match the plate as you can see. The spoons featured a couple different characters.

I feel like these spoons must have been popular this year, because I think we got 3 of them? I have a sumikko gurashi, one of Kuromi, and now this one.

Our drinks need to look cute too, and now they can with a handy, Hello Kitty paper straw! This was available in 2 styles and comes in a pack of 30, making it perfect for any sort of party or get-together, or if you just like Hello Kitty and enjoy using straws.

I’ve known about paper straws, but I never used one before so I was quite curious. I kept thinking “won’t it get soggy and fall apart in the drink or something?“ and couldn’t see it as very practical for more than a few minutes. I know environmentally friendly, but I just didn’t get it. But after trying one out to see, it’s really not much different than a normal straw. It did soften after some time, but that was about it. I’ll need to keep them somewhere in the kitchen so that I remember to use them.

This is probably my most favorite item out of everything. It’s so cute and snuggly, and its lovely Christmas themed picture feels so warm and inviting.

It’s the perfect little throw for the shoulders or lap, or for a quick nap with a pet or plush toy. I admit that I prefer blankets that entirely cover me, rather than most of me or half, but I didn’t mind pairing this with my actual blanket when I tried it out last night. It was very cozy... in fact, as I write this (at 11:15 am), I feel like I need a nap... (I woke up around 8:50 am). 

This is our last item, which felt pretty out of place to me. Gudetama is Sanrio, sure, and it fits because of the Yume Prize; but it clearly doesn’t have a Christmas theme. I also got this item before, or one very similar, so that was kind of a meh moment. This was the only item I’m not feeling out of both boxes, and I do like Gudetama mind you.

~Opinions~

Content - 5 out of 5, I really really liked the items this month! The gudetama sticky note set is nice too, even though I didn’t really care that much for it. It’s okay though, because I could always give it to my friend, who really likes Gudetama and doesn’t have it.

Price - 5 out of 5. In comparison to the DokiDoki November box (okay so I made two comparisons <3<), I feel like this one was definitely worth the price we pay. Or at least closer to it? Not counting the name brand factor, the items are very nice and have a lot of detailing. 

Theme: 5 out of 5. The Gudetama sticky notes have nothing to do with the Christmas theme, but it’s still Sanrio so I’d give it it them.

Total Rank: 9 out of 10 Cuties. I love this box :3 it was a lot of fun and very cute, I’m very excited to use the items within it and with Christmas coming up again soon (I know I’m horribly behind) and the weather cooling down again, this would be the perfect time to bust them out.

Alright, so what did you guys think? I know it wasn’t my best review, but I was a bit... lacking of words for a couple of items. I managed to knock out 2 reviews though, I feel accomplished. I probably won’t be combining the next two though, because there’s a lot of items in one box, and the other is a special case. I’ll explain when I get to it for anyone who may not have seen my past posts.

Until then, see you next time~

[vapormaison]

2019 Best Press 3/4:  カタカナ・タイトル + Kanji Title by TANUKI

While for many vaporwave vinyl is doubtless equal parts collector’s item and audio source, I don’t want to lose sight of the goal of this blog here: developing a canon of the genre for high fidelity enjoyment. That said, when I come across something remarkable or noteworthy about a particular piece of wax, even if it is not a “purely audiophile” object, I want to make mention of it.

And TANUKI’s カタカナ・タイトル + Kanji Title wax release is not only noteworthy, but contends for hi-fi consideration despite it’s status as a picture disc.

But let’s back up slightly.

Going back to the previous thesis on why we buy records, sometimes you just want to own a vinyl just because. Just because you’re a collector trying to compile a discography on wax — or, better yet, just because you truly love the album art. For me, カタカナ・タイトル + Kanji Title (Double EP) was undoubtedly all of the three “just be-causes”.

A while back, I noticed that the LP was going into its 3rd press, and decided to snap up a copy because I like Tanuki, I like Lum, and because of those other just becauses. Unfortunately the only format available was not the pink vinyl, but the picture disc. As I’m sure is well-known (because audiophiles are very loud about things they dislike), picture-discs are a big no-no in the audiophile community. This is because while a beautiful objet d’art, a serious listening session of a picture disc release will usually produce greater amounts of surface noise than any other type of vinyl. You can, of course, with the right system, neutralize and mitigate this process slightly, but true-blue hi-fi heads pursuing that elusive muse of “pure sound” would never give a picture disc a second look.

I’m not one of those people.

Tangentially, I’ve heard whispers of ghosts of rumors from when I was living in Shenzen, China — that various record suppliers (small batch Makers) are working out manufacturing and material processes that minimize these issues on pic discs to create appealing records that cover all the bases: hi-fi suitability, collector oriented visual esoterica, and price. I should also admit I have no idea where those companies are in terms of R&D and/or producing these. I end up catching a lot of very fast talk from extremely motivated enthusiasts, but Chinese is still as elusive a language to me at times as “pure sound” can be. With that in mind, however, it’s logical to surmise that advances in technology will eventually render the differences between picture discs and traditional black wax undistinguishable. So long as the world isn’t destroyed in some cataclysmic climate disaster (very real possibility), or -- as we are watching evolve now: World War 3. My view is that it’d be pointless to dismiss the format out of hand when there are active attempts to innovate it as we speak.

That all said, I know what to expect when a contemporary, big-label picture disc plays. During my college days, I used to spin wax at the university radio station. One of the previous catalog managers had a fetish for this “collectible” format, and was convinced he was doing the station a favor by purchasing all these vinyls, noting a pre-supposed resale value later. I remember throwing these on the well-worn Technics SP-10 we had as our main turntable, and listening to the occasional scratch, frequent popping, and constant surface noise, that for the uninitiated (bless you), sounds like a sustained “cracking” in your Rice Krispies — or for those born in the analog age, CRTV static.

So when I sat down with the Tanuki picture disc, I had this laundry list of preconceptions and prejudices about the format. I thought that I could listen to a moderately scratchy record once or twice, keep it as more a visual boutique item and then eventually include in an article where I bemoan the poor quality of the genre’s releases.

But then, I actually listened.

And it sounded… well, I won’t get ahead of myself. Here’s the full review:

THE MUSIC

BABYBABYの夢 — is doubtless the reason why many of us have bought the EP from a sonic perspective —especially if the band-camp reviews are indicative of trends. I still maintain that this is the Mariya Takeuchi sample/remix work par excellence. Tanuki hits all the essential notes here, a genuine respect and love for the sound-staging of its original source, Yume No Tsuzuki. I still get echoes of the original arrangement in my system, (ever so slightly) with a bright and dance-infused collection of unique sounds — particularly in that delicious, wide mid-range — that flesh out the track into its own sort of masterpiece.

何がGoin' On — the curatorial and conspiratorial side of my brain tells me that Goin’ On will probably go down as one the under-appreciated vintage bangers of this era of future funk. I can envision hipsters two or three decades from now sussing out a neophyte with pretentious questions about this track’s pitch-shifted sample draws from. It has that sort of vibe that you know hits with a certain subset of electronica fans — rich & vibrant, making the tweeters on your system work out in all the best ways — it’s just great.

がんばれ — Tanuki is at his best when he gets playful with brass samples. I firmly believe that the titans in this genre each have their go-to piece in their best arrangement — like Dan Mason’s creative vocal array, or greyL’s manipulation of micro-samples. For Tanuki, it’s whenever her gets a horn — synthesized or otherwise, into his production workflow.

ファンクOFF — continues Tanuki’s magic act, taking another city pop track more iconic for its soulful electric guitar riff and turning it into the most slap-worthy single on this EP. I prefer it when Japanese pop samples are fundamentally re-imagined, although I can see how the perfectionist tweaking of someone like Yung Bae is more appealing for some. Tanuki is undoubtedly one of the innovators of this genre, and there’s no more solid evidence of that talent than this track.

腕の中でDancin’ — if I ended up hosting a sort of mythical vaporwave grammies or something like that, (I’m available, folks!) I would probably go off on a Ricky Gervais style rant on how artists aren’t in touch with “the people” (read: me) because all we really want are more remixes of Meiko Nakahara songs — who given her impact on City Pop should have way more play in this genre than she does. This one, like most of the Meiko mixes I’ve heard, is a banger with an absolute fire bass riff punctuated throughout.

Radiant Memories — this might be my first certified “hot take” in the publication (they’ll be many more, I imagine) — but as far as I’m concerned this is the superior Plastic Love edit. I’ll just leave my thoughts there, so they can soak in with a portion of the fanbase who split my reddit account on an open fire of downvotes for suggesting that other artists than Macross 82-99 (Praise be upon him!) are allowed to touch this song as well. While Macross’s mix is definitely the more up-temo of the two, and that for some is the very essence of the genre, this slightly down-mixed version is both the perfect conclusion for the EP and ideal antithesis.

THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE

Signal to Raise ratio on the following albums:

カタカナ・タイトル + Kanji Title:  ~61.9db (1 db MoE)

Tron Legacy, Daft Punk:  58.4db

Love Trip, Takako Mamiya, Kitty Records Press: 65.8db

(ratings based on averages 5 minutes of sustained play on the testing unit, the machine actually complied this data on its preset, which is another fascinating part about this sort of vintage press-testing tech). The margin of error is because the machine, according to my mentor Dr. Juuso Ottala formerly of Harman International, informs me it was never meant to give accurate readings of picture discs, and to add about a dB of error margin.

One of the benefits of growing up in New England and, subsequently, New York, is that there are no shortage of heritage professional audio brand HQs in operation around a 200 mile radius from Manhattan to Boston. Off the top of my head, there’s Harman/Kardon, Boston Acoustics, Bose, NuMark, Marantz, and Rane headquarters within an hour’s drive from my two hometowns. Early on in my audiophile quest, I got my hands on some cool vintage gear — vinyl lathe testing equipment that has collected dust in both an old Harman technician’s storage unit, and now my parent’s basement. Over the holiday, I recently brought it out to do some surface noise testing on it to get a rough confirmation of what I was explaining in yesterday’s hi-fi guide. The innards of the machine looks eerily like a plinth-less linear tonearm and plate pair attached to a monitor. After making sure I’m not violating some kind of Harman International trade secret, I’ll post it on instagram.

Wanting to also get a firm idea on just how good my ear-test sounded, I grabbed another picture disc vinyl I had received as a gift a few years ago from my brother — the Tron Legacy OST. While I found the film passably enjoyable, my own preconceptions about pic discs, and a general exhaustion with french house — left me with no discernible desire to spin the thing. I hadn’t even broken the seal on the plastic wrap, so it seemed like as good as a blind test as any. I also grabbed what my ears tell me is a “good”, “heavy” press, a 1982 original dead-stock copy of Takako Mamiya’s Love Trip LP pressed by Kitty Records Japan. I’ve played it maybe a half dozen times since I bought it, so it’s as close to “new” 80s audiophile pop record as you can get. The Japanese are infamously anal about low SNR on their vinyl.

And, well, the results speak for themselves. The sweet spot for most black vinyl records is between 60-70db depending on age, weight, and a host of other frankly uncontrollable factors that aren’t worth getting into detail here, as I’d go on forever. The main takeaway here is that Neoncity’s and Tanuki’s record sat at the low end of the audiophile vinyl reference spectrum. Which in itself is a remarkable achievement for a pic disc. It’s worth taking a look at Tron Legacy, which just barely scratches 8db above a cassette tape, and 7db a Japanese vinyl from 1982.

This is all in an effort to say: damn, this is pretty good.

This also somewhat counters the usual “picture discs sound like shit” narrative that’s prevailed pretty consistently in the audiophile community. Tron Legacy? Yeah, that probably sounds like shit if I could bother to suffer through a listen. But whoever Hong-Kong based Neoncity is using actually makes “good” — if such a qualifier needs to be attached — image-pressed records. And that devotion to audio fidelity should be rewarded.

It might be time for me to re-asses picture discs on the whole, and that mind-expanding moment is something I owe to the fine folks at Neoncity.

[vintagesimstress]

21 Questions Tag

It’s the first time I got tagged to do something like this, exciting! Many thanks to @batsfromwesteros :).

Rules: answer 21 questions, then tag 21 people you want to get to know better.

(It got quite long, so I’m putting it all under the cut!)

Nickname: I don’t have one and never had. Some people tried to come up with something, but for some reason it never worked.

Zodiac: Leo

Height: slightly over 170 cm

Last thing searched: 1890s music

Favourite musicians: ehmmm, it seems I live almost without music these days, mostly listening to radio. Katie Melua, but rather her earlier CDs, until ‘Secret Symphony’? Right now I’m a bit crazy about those guys as well. What else... <franticly looking around the room in search of any CDs> ...Brahms? Honestly, have you ever heard anything more beautiful than this, especially from 9:22?

Oh, am I’m kind of a fan of Roksana Węgiel, the girl who won last year’s Junior Eurovision. I wouldn’t call her a ‘musician’ yet, but with that voice she can achieve a LOT. And yes, I know she’s 14. Sue me.

If you had a time machine, would you go back in time or visit the future? I’d go back in time... But only if I was sure I can come back to the present day whenever I want. With all my interest in history, I can’t imagine my life without radiators, thank you very much.

Do I get asks? They are rather comments than real asks, but technically yes. And they make me very happy :)

Following : 54 people

Would you rather be rich or famous? Come on, we all know that EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE FAMOUS!

Honestly though, I think too much of either of those things is dangerous for your mental health and can turn you into a very shitty human being. So, yeah, rather famous, but not superstar level - and famous for some cool skill or something I did and not just because many people know I exist.

Oh well, being a bit richer than I am now wouldn’t hurt either...

Amount of sleep: you mean the amount I get or the amount I need? The first one would be around 8 hours, the second - minimum 10 h per day. Yep, I’m no Napoleon.

What I’m wearing: Black ‘office’ trousers which are my normal casual wear since I quit working in an office. An organic cotton, fair trade blouse in royal blue from Living Crafts which I bought last week, to finally have some proper long sleeves in my wardrobe. No 3/4, 4/5 or whatever, but something that will actually reach my wrists. And some super old, white, knitted, short-sleeved sweater over it. Yeah, there’s a reason why I mentioned radiators earlier.

Oh, and saturated pink socks. My fashion taste is impeccable, as you can see.

Dream job: Something connected to environmental protection and research. I wish I’d realised it 10 years ago.

Dream trip: I’ve been dreaming of Finland for years! And probably yet another trip to Portugal would be yet another dream.

If you were an animal. What would you be? A bird. Flying around freely, travelling around the world.

What are some of your favourite books/films/shows/games/etc.?

Books: too many to name them all. Some examples from the couple of past years: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers Ali Smith’s Autumn Youth without God by Ödön von Horvath Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso Anatoly Rybakov’s Children of Arbat series most of the stuff by Chingiz Aitmatov Jo Baker’s Longbourn Jeannette Walls’ The Glass Castle A Tree Grows in Brooklyn I Capture the Castle Eco’s The Name of the Rose lots of Jostein Gaarder To Kill a Mockingbird The Poisonwood Bible Swann’s Way ...and tones of others.

Also, as an honourable mention: Charles Bukowski’s The Captain is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship probably saved me from a mental breakdown some years ago, so it’s quite dear to my heart.

Films: I’ll just list all my 10 and 9 stars’ movies: Pan’s Labyrinth (2006),  Intolerance (1916), Alive Inside (2014), Pulp Fiction (1994), Kimi no na wa / Your name (2016), Paterson (2016), The Fountain (2006), I am (2010), About Time (2013), Samsara (2011), Yume / Dreams (1990), Melancholia (2011), The Godfather (1972), Interview with the Vampire (1994), White Oleander (2002), What Dreams May Come (1998), Shrek (2001), Frida (2002), Volver (2006), Notre-Dame de Paris (the musical, 1999), Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Once (2007).

An honourable mention goes to Mamma Mia, which is technically a garbage movie, but it makes me smile like no other.

Shows: I’m not really into shows. Let’s say I’m currently watching / waiting for new seasons of Anne with an A, The OA and Babylon Berlin, but I’m not super hyped for any of them.

Games: I play only TS4 right now. Used to love Heroes of Might and Magic, Civilisation, Age of Empires and all that strategy stuff. My all-time favourite award goes to The Longest Journey and it’s sequel, Dreamfall.

Play any instruments? No. Sadly. I have some basic idea of playing the piano, but I’m not really into it.

Language(s): Fluent or close to it: Polish, English, German, Japanese In the making: Portuguese, Russian, French, in this order, with French being ridiculously bad.

Describe yourself as aesthetic: ...what do you mean when you say words?

I lost track of who was already tagged and who wasn’t, so sorry for any doubles and omissions! I TAG @linzlu, @retro-pixels, @pandorasimbox, @smallcowplant, @girlwithaheadamongclouds, @retro-vintage-sims, @mrtri91 and anybody else who’d like to participate :)