#the wildfires are another matter so damn scary I can’t even imagine :/

[dreamings-free]

Louis arrives in LA..

By JAIMIE DING, AMY TAXIN and EUGENE GARCIA AP News, Updated 11:51 PM GMT+2, September 12, 2024

LOS ANGELES (AP) — As wildfires raging in the mountains cast an orange glow behind the downtown Los Angeles skyline, Southern California residents were jolted awake Thursday by another reminder of Mother Nature’s might.

It was an all-too-familiar feeling for locals when a 4.7 magnitude earthquake rattled the Los Angeles area, unleashing boulders onto a Malibu road, shaking Santa Monica’s 1909 wooden pier and waking some people from bed. No injuries or damages were immediately reported.

-> full article at apnews.com

time to go back home, my boy 😕

[aithne]

(Illume) Wildfire

Reiko poked her head into the cabin where Akechi sat alone, writing something down. "Lord? Can I speak to you for a moment?"

He lifted his head and recognized her. "Reiko. Of course, come in."

She closed the door behind her and perched on the edge of the table he was writing on. "I, um, wanted to ask you a question..."

"Go ahead."

"Did you know who I was when I came to you, a year and a half ago? Is that why you took me into your service?"

Akechi nodded. "I did. I knew your mother and father both, as a matter of fact."

Reiko blinked at him, then tilted her head. "Both? You knew my mother? I suppose, since the Demonbane's a Clan Lord, you would have known him. I don't look a thing like him, really, I must take more after my mother. When did you meet her?"

"When I was searching for Skyhome, I met your mother on the way. She knew she had a living daughter, and was able to track you through all of your name changes."

"So she knew I was calling myself Han Reiko, and I'll bet she told you to keep an eye out for me."

"She did, at that. And your father, well, he is a clan leader. It's amazing what you can pick up from simple hints, especially when the one who is hinting has had too much sake. We attended several clan meetings together, several years ago."

"He seems a bit...bitter, still. At least, in retrospect. The only time I met him, I didn't know how he was related to me. Other than the fact that he was the cause for a very unpleasant episode of my life."

She was fidgeting with her hair, twisting it in her hands. Akechi could see, inside her loose kimono sleeve, a flash of white. He didn't ask, knowing the question would only upset her. "He is still bitter, Reiko. He blames himself for who you are and what you have done. He believes strongly in honor, and to him your life is quite dishonorable. He is trying to atone for the sins of the daughter, so to speak."

She hissed, hand clenched around a lock of her hair. "Twist the knife some more, why don't you? I know. Trust me, I know." She blinked, and swallowed, and looked down. "I'm sorry. I forgot myself. But I've been acting according to my nature, according to my ideas of what's correct. And yet, he does not kill me. He's had any number of chances, and still I breathe."

"He can't, Reiko. You're his daughter, and he still loves you, in a strange way. If he kills you, he dies and with him any chance for your redemption."

At the word redemption, Reiko's hand dropped to her right forearm, rubbing the silk sleeve that covered it as if it hurt her. "I don't think there's redemption for one such as myself, Akechi. I am what I am. I'm always going to have to feed on humans. I'm always going to have to kill them, if only to defend myself. But now, I'm too human. I've loved too much. The Demonbane has caught me as surely as he did in Akita, centuries ago."

"He hoped to make you more human. In a strange way, I believe he did. You're never going to be able to go back to being just a kitsune. For you, Reiko, there is only the future. Future as a kitsune who never kills...or other possibilities."

She was still rubbing her forearm. "It's a painful thing indeed, this contemplating the loss of all I once was. Death would be easier, and it would certainly be quicker. I don't think my father's going to be happy with anything short of my own death. By my hand, if possible. Even if it means his own. I think he has overestimated my courage."

"He might have overestimated your courage, but I think he is counting on your resourcefulness."

"He leaves me in this trap long enough, I may find a way out of it, indeed." Her face was thoughtful, hand still fretting at her sleeve.

Akechi sighed and reached out to her, catching her left hand and pulling it away from her forearm. "If you don't leave it alone, it'll never heal."

She colored, and whispered, "How did you know?"

"I have my ways, Reiko. I can't forbid you from doing it, but I think it may not be the best use of your time." He looked at her sternly. "Your father, I think, is counting on your 'wildfire born of frustration', as he liked to call you."

She sat stock still. "He sounds almost as if he...holds me in some affection. And yet that makes no sense, Akechi."

He shrugged. "He is your father. He cannot help having some feelings for you."

"And yet he bound me and left me to starve. Left me to be tortured." Her shrug was quick and bitter. "Humans. I may be close to being one of you, but there are some things I don't think I'll ever understand."

"Anger's a primal thing. You killed his only son, and it was only later that he learned that Setto asked you to."

"And I'd like to know how he figured that out. I cut Setto's head from his body and set alight the house in which he died. I suppose he was watching me, even then. No matter, I guess. I had one more curiosity, actually. What does my mother look like? I don't remember." The question was asked in a deceptively casual tone, but Akechi could see the bright spark in her yellow eyes.

"Much like you, actually. Small in stature, same eyes, long black hair. Like you, she has a very great sadness about her. Anyone who knew her would know you immediately as her daughter."

"I can imagine. If the stories Lin told were true, then she's known her share of heartbreak." She sighed. "I wish we'd been able to free the kitsune when we were in Tokyo. But getting you out was our priority."

"I never did find out where the kitsune are being held. But I did see Lin, though." He watched as she flinched at the name, reaction seen fleetingly and swiftly hidden. As he'd suspected, it was still an open wound with her.

She said, slowly, "How is she doing? Other than, well, helping Arenro with his plots, and probably planning my death, now that she's rid of me? I'm still angry with her, stubborn girl."

Akechi shook his head. "I don't think that life with Arenro was all she wanted it to be. She looked a bit tired and a bit bruised."

"Oh! That's right, she and Arenro had some sort of relationship before she died, didn't they? And...oh. He just got married. To someone else. Interesting. Bruised physically, or in spirit?"

"Both." He was watching her very closely now, watching all manner of emotion flicker across her face. She had never been as guarded with him as she thought she had been, and now, when she knew they were closer to being equals, she was only bothering with the least amount of control that custom demanded.

"I wonder what he did to her? Not that she probably doesn't deserve whatever happens to her, after she bound all of my spirits and spent centuries keeping me ignorant of what I was, causing me to kill more than I would have otherwise. But...she's still my granddaughter."

He chuckled, softly. "So you do understand the feelings of your father for you. It's the same for you and Lin. Kitsune, you are far more human than you think."

For a moment, she looked deeply disconcerted. "Damn! Fairly caught there, Akechi. I suppose I understand better than I thought. I suppose that Lin and I will have to have it out sometime. She may kill me, but perhaps I'll die knowing what, exactly, I did to make her hate me so when she was alive."

"You will probably have to have it out with both your father and Lin. But when you are ready for those steps, you will have your friends with you, to help and guide you. Something Lin won't have." He saw the words strike home, and he saw her blink rapidly, keeping back tears.

"I refuse to feel sorry for the girl. She has, after all, made her own bed. But we'll see." She sighed, and then brightened. "Oh! I was going to ask. What's up with Arenro marrying Minaku? Did you hear anything about that before it happened?"

"Little. Arenro needs control of the Black Hand badly. He needed to install someone he could manipulate into the clan. Minaku was the perfect choice."

"Ooooh, I bet he's pissed right about now. We messed up his plans, but good. If he weren't so scary, I'd do a little victory dance. However, best not to tempt fate."

"Probably best not to tempt that fate, when so many are finding you anyway."

Reiko gave him an odd look. "Funny how it happens that we have a pair of Clan Lords with us, and another tied to us by blood. And a hengeyokai that all the other hengeyokai are suspiciously quick to help."

He didn't bother to hide his small smile. "Life works very strangely sometimes. And sometimes you have to give it a hand."

"Like I imagine you did. Picking us out and throwing us all together...."

"That's the odd thing, actually. You all came to me. The spirit showed me your potential, and I did what I could to encourage it."

She smiled wryly. "Fate's a funny thing like that. Unfortunately, Fate also only usually sets things up. We have to complete it on our own. We'll see if we can. The Scorpion's the weak link, and not just because he's an arrogant bastard."

He chuckled, deep in his chest. He'd wondered when she'd work her way around to Funitsu. "Give him time. In less than a month, he has married, taken over the Black Hand, and yesterday was given his whole Clan leadership. It's been a trying month. He has been given a lot to think about. And he may fold, but he may surprise even you, Han Reiko, daughter of Takumi Yamashita and Amaterasu."

She frowned. "I wonder if he--wait. Did you just say my mother is...a goddess? Or is that just a coincidence of names?"

He shook his head. "She was named after her, near as I know."

"Oh, good. I've heard that half-deities have pretty rough lives."

"You're right. Some have very rough ones, indeed."

"I've heard stories...but no matter." She shifted into a more comfortable position on the edge of his table. "I hope the Scorpion surprises us, then. He might rise to the occasion."

"He might, depending on who helps and who hinders him. Eh, Reiko?" He fixed her with a stern look, and she had the grace to immediately look abashed. But her chin also went out, stubbornly.

"It's not my fault he's an irritating twit." She made a wry face at him, and looked at the floor. "I suppose that's code for 'be helpful, kitsune, instead of planning to make him trip over himself and thus learn the error of his ways.' It doesn't help that he always sees the demon in me first, rather than the person. I was nearly killed by people who saw me the same way."

His voice was oddly gentle. "Actually, it's code for 'stop seeing the demon in him', Reiko." He paused, and she looked at him, puzzled, but he did not continue. “Tell me, soothsayer, what do you see of the future now?"

Her eyes went distant. "Nothing's certain. The three spirits--of which you're one--really need to quit this endless war you're fighting. If we can find a way to do that, then we may be able to put things right. If not, if Arenro wins, the world becomes a living Hell and none of us will survive to see it. If we win, Japan will still tear itself apart from the inside, starting with the clan system and ending, likely, with the land itself sundering. Not much there but blood and death and fire, I'm afraid."

It was what he'd expected to hear. Not what he wanted, but what he expected. "We have our work cut out for us, then. Time to find a different path."

"I certainly hope so. I wish I could say I have a better idea, but I don't. Not yet, anyway. I'm still working on it."

"I wouldn't say you are doing too badly, at least on the clan front. You do have two clan lords with you, your father is one and another who you have helped before, who will help you. that gives you the advantage of clans, four of seven."

"And we may be able to get the Lions, since you're nominally one of them, if not a Clan Leader. For some reason, though, I'm uneasy. I smell a trap and I don't know yet where it's waiting."

He leaned back in his gaijin-style chair, mindful of the rocking of the boat. "Which one?"

"You mean there's more than one? Well, that would certainly explain the fact that I can barely sleep these days. Well, maybe that's Zhane's fault, but. The entire clan system smells like bait. Tasty bait, possibly necessary bait. And then, closer to home, there's Ito, and it frustrates me that I don't know whose bait he is."

He shook his head at the kitsune. "Doesn't take much more than looking into a crystal ball for one's own reflection to see who and what he is after."

Her hand was back playing with a lock of her hair again, twisting it around her fingers. "Me? But why send a kitsune after a kitsune? They must have known I'd be wary--but they also would know that I'd feel obligated to take him with us."

He shrugged. "So it would seem. I doubt he even knows."

"He seems to know very little, does Ito. I think the Black Hand would call him a 'sleeper'. I do need to get Panda to look at him with that orb of hers."

"Wise choice." Akechi nodded, approvingly. It did seem that with her memories, more of her wisdom was returning. The Reiko he had known three months ago wouldn't have thought of that till it was far too late.

"We may be able to disarm him. If not...I'm not sure. Honestly, he is far too valuable. He's one of our best hopes for rebuilding our population, if he's fertile. After what my father's done to us..."

"Yes, he is at that. A kitsune male can impregnate a great number of women in a year. A kitsune female is pretty much stuck to one a year, barring twins and so forth."

"Less than that, actually. We usually have great trouble conceiving. And there are less than twenty of us left in the world at the moment. We're a dying race. Damn my father and his vengeance, anyway. I can't just kill Ito out of hand. The others might, but I can't." She shifted again, restlessly.

"You know, before this all happened, I used to like puzzles. I now think that they should be banned from Japan. But this is another puzzle for you to unravel."

"It's like we're playing a giant game of Go, only with real people and armies as pieces."

He chuckled again, without mirth. "And I'm by no means a master of the game. Yukiko's better than I am. But Haku's a master of the game, I hear."

"He beats the pants off of me every time we play, at any rate." Her smile actually managed to reach her eyes, this time. "Perhaps I should start paying better attention to his strategy."

"Might be wise. Anything else you wanted to discuss, Reiko?"

"I think you've given me enough to think about for one day. Keep yourself safe over there in Kyoto. I'm sure we'll be by to visit, especially after the baby's born. I refuse to leave this world before I get to say hello to my grandson. Um. And my nephew. This whole family relationship is very confusing, you know."

"Of course. Let me know how things turn out."

Reiko gave him her infectious grin. "Yukiko's made both Tomika and I promise to write her regularly. She seems to be fretting at being left out of things."

It was his turn to give her a wry smile. "Always the curious one, she is."

"She is quite the Lady, all right. Take care of her. I've grown quite fond of my sister, Akechi."

Akechi nodded. "Yes, I'm sure you have. And she of you."

Reiko slid off the table, landing on the ground with a small thump. "Even if she doesn't admit it much, I think she has. I believe I'll take my leave of you, then. I have things to do before I sleep. I'll see you later, Lord." Her eyes were filled with a mischievous sparkle. "Grandson."

And before he could respond, she was through the door and down the corridor, footsteps fading into the creak and mutter of the sailing ship.

[iiyanadesu]

As the news of AcEijun spreads like wildfire, I'm gonna spew out some unpopular opinions about the developments (or lack thereof, as complained by some fans) on Act II.

Not really spoilers. Just a personal view from someone who never plays baseball. (Although I had, at one point, played Pawapuro.)

During the first 100 chapters of Act II I read complaints on the spoiler forums. Most of them can be summarized as such:

1. "Why tf Furuya gets power-up in Spring Koshien? His control and stamina is terrible!" 2. "Why haven't people recognize Eijun already? Look at him, his pitches, his control! *does the Will Smith pose*" 3. "Wtf is Kataoka doing throughout spring? Planning on buying new shades? lol"

And one question that arose from Act I:

4. "Why didn't Kataoka let Eijun pitch in the Fall T finals till the end? Don't give the glory to Furuya ffs!"

(There are probably more questions but these are the noticeable ones.)

So my issues with the replies to these questions are that... they are not satisfying to me. All of them are said in the technical aspect of the story, while ultimately forgetting that this story also leans towards the people aspect. We, the readers somehow are trained to think that EVERYONE who watches baseball are players and automatically know the baseball jargons.

The thing is, they aren't.

The in-universe spectators actually have the very same reactions like IRL spectators. Some of them are / were players themselves, meaning they knew all the rules and technicals. But the majority of them? They know NOTHING about baseball.

People who know nothing about baseball (let's call them the plebs) watch the games differently than those who have experience playing baseball. People who do play baseball pay attention to all the details; pitch type, whether a pitch is strike or ball, pitch count for each pitcher, the usage of the strike zones, all the detailed statistics.

But the plebs? They can't differentiate between a corner strike and a corner ball. Curves and slurves, 2-seamers and 4-seamers look the same. So they focus on what they can understand.

Pitch speed display "154 km/h"? Wow look at that pitch, it's damn fast! Players making errors on the field? lolololol what the heck. A runner ramming against a fielder? OMG is the fielder okay? OH, HE GETS HOMERUN!!!!111 And ofc, "Aww look at that pitcher, he's the ace his pitches are fast he even gets a homerun, so cooooooooooooooooool~"

So before you start typing and complain about the spectators, maybe you need to read the manga as someone who never plays baseball. This is a manga with multiple perspectives, if you choose to only read it from a player's PoV ofc you'd wonder why the heck Eijun is not immediately popular in Spring T.

Okay. Opinion time.

1. "Why tf Furuya gets power-up in Spring Koshien? His control and stamina is terrible!"

The statement, that I totally agree. From what I've noticed, Furuya is the type of player who must not go all out in a peak body condition. He has excessive strength - unfortunately it's not needed because it keeps backfiring on him.

Just. Look at all of his matches when he's at peak condition. His pitches go all over the place lol he even injured Ono with them, poor boys.

"But, but how do you explain his best pitches?"

Okay, here's the thing. One thing Furuya always does when he becomes a relief is to pitch in the bullpen. And he always goes all out. After a while he loses that extra strength, he gets sweaty, he's warmed up - then he could pitch better. When he's the starter, he has little to no chance to warm up, no chance to flex the stiff muscles, no way to reduce that excess strength, hence the reason his pitches fly everywhere.

Spring Koshien is a tournament packed in about 7 days. Imagine pitching for many days straight? Your energy gets drained, you sweat a lot, you become fatigued.

Luckily, Spring Koshien is held in - surprise - spring, meaning cool breezy weather, less sweaty, nicely rested. Stamina lasts longer. Fatigue is still there though, and it limits Furuya's pitches.

Aaaaaaaand yep, because fatigue became Furuya's limiter his pitches were more manageable. All of his best pitches are always due to some kind of limiter. Spring Koshien with his fatigue. Fall T finals? It was because he was pitching despite a foot injury lol must be painful, it restricts his movements.

Just. Re-read those matches.

(Miyuki is the only person who notices this particular weakness and has been pointing it out, but Furuya just. Doesn't. Listen. Another huge weakness Furuya has.)

2. "Why haven't people recognize Eijun already? Look at him, his pitches, his control! *does the Will Smith pose*"

This complaint came in during the Spring T arc. Do you know? Only 2 high school baseball tournaments in Japan get TV broadcasts - the Spring Koshien, and the Summer Tournaments all the way to Summer Koshien.

Spring T is not broadcasted on TV, so whatever development Eijun showed was limited only to those who personally went to the stadiums to watch the matches. On the other hand, whatever impression people have on Eijun is still stuck at the Spring Koshien debut. You know, that match where Eijun rolled off the mound lol

If we want all 120 million people to recognize Eijun's greatness during Spring T, they'd have to go to Tokyo and watch in the stadium, which can only fit between 35k to 60k people. Realistically? It's an impossible feat. Seriously. You're dreaming of the impossible.

BUT.

Because Eijun's epic debut is that funny incident, people are not going to forget him that easily. (Compare to the possible scenario on debuting normally, which means he'd definitely be overshadowed by Furuya because what did Eijun have? His pitches was not fast, his batting skills were still questionable. Very easily forgettable.) Now that he's officially appointed as Seidou's ace, what do you think people's reaction would be, now that Summer T will be broadcasted on local TVs and online?

"Hey, isn't that the guy who fell on Koshien's mound last spring? HE'S THE ACE?? WTF HOW?? WHY??"

Oh, people's reactions will be priceless. And they will definitely be interested in him. Because last time they saw this kid, he was a clown.

NOW IT'S EIJUN'S TIME TO SHINE.

3. "Wtf is Kataoka doing throughout spring? Planning on buying new shades? lol"

This question refers to Kataoka's impassiveness throughout Spring Koshien and Spring T. He went silent mode during training and matches and left all players to do things by themselves (under constant monitoring ofc). Yeah we're not the coaches but I do get why he acted like that.

First of all Kataoka wanted the players to think for themselves. Play in matches, watch the replay, recognize their strengths and weaknesses, work on them. Eijun does that. Miyuki does that. Kuramochi and Zono do that. Kataoka did not try to meddle in their training (unlike one old man) but if they ask for help, he will help. Eijun and his batchmates have been teammates for a year, they are supposed to know what to do by now, so Kataoka can focus on new kids.

But of course, his silence didn't help much because Furuya was clearly struggling, to the point that Eijun got royally pissed off in the match against... against who? Was it Ichidai San? I forgot.

(People were like "Yay, look at Miyuki, he has goosebumps! He's very proud of Eijun!" but judging from Miyuki's facial expression I was like, "lolno, Miyuki is fucking scared of Eijun's accurate pitches, Eijun's really pissed off lmao")

Eijun's pissed off pitches were wake-up slaps to Kataoka's face lmao

Aaaaaaand the final question.

4. "Why didn't Kataoka let Eijun pitch in the Fall T finals till the end? Don't give the glory to Furuya ffs!"

My instant response for this question: lol you guys rly don't care about Eijun's mental health, do you.

I want you to imagine this:

It's Fall Tournament, and Eijun has been suffering from yips for about 3 months. He can't pitch to the inside corner; the deadball against Inashiro's Shirakawa in the last Summer T finals made him scared of pitching there. He has to try other ways, other methods, and eventually he learns the outside corner.

The outside corner is so effective, but when the opponents figure out his pitching pattern? They forced him to eventually use the inside corner. He succeeded, yes, but it was still scary. What if he pitched a deadball again?

Fast forward to the semi-finals. Seidou vs. Seikou, a.k.a. the scariest game in Eijun's life. Ever? Probably ever. Because despite his success on pitching into the inside corner, and that he learned change-up, remember that he was still afraid of deadballs, and one wrong step could destroy everything he had worked. For good and for real.

If you actually read the Seidou vs. Seikou match from Eijun's PoV, you'll find that it's indeed fucking scary.

First, he threw a deadball. Just several days after he was able to throw to the inside corner, and he pitched a deadball. The thing he was scared of the most, he did it.

Second, Kanemaru's mistakes. It added more fuel to trigger the yips back in full force. Ever noticed how Eijun's hands tremble after that? Eijun was so fucking scared, he was stressed, he actually panicked. It was thanks to his teammates that he was able to pitch easier after that.

Then when he got an easier time pitching, came another incident. Miyuki was slammed by the big pitcher. WHAT. THE. FUCK.

(I can imagine part of the reason Miyuki hid his pain was because he knew Eijun was already nearing his mental health limit just playing in that game. Imagine if Eijun found out - even he'd be devastated no matter how much he wanted to emit sunshine. That was why Miyuki kept hiding it until the end of the Fall T finals.)

So the finals came ONE DAY after the semi-finals. Eijun's mental health was improving but was still scarred from yesterday's match. Kataoka knew this. Miyuki knew this. Their decision: to not stretch Eijun's mental health limits too far.

And we all know which is the most stressful part of the finals, because we have seen it before - the final innings of the match.

Basically Kataoka pulled Eijun off the final inning to preserve his mental health that had been stretched to its limit due to yesterday's match against Seikou. And you guys wanted him to face the most stressful inning that destroyed him last time in the Summer T? wtf

So what if Furuya hogged the glory? Furuya only pitched in that one inning, he shouldn't be too complacent (even though he was lol)

And that's basically my opinions throughout the so-called unfair treatments throughout the series. Like I said, this manga is not supposed to be read entirely from the technical aspects of high school baseball. You need to understand the people involved in it, too.

Peace. ;)