#then my personal hell is taiko. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

hornime · 4 years ago

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twinkle tits | tanaka saeko x gn!reader

she laughed again, causing a strangely warm feeling to bubble in your stomach. “i like you, you don’t take anyone’s shit.” her expression turned darker. “i’d love to break you.”

warnings: 18+, timeskip!saeko, kinda dom!saeko, titty sucking, mentions of unsafe driving

w/c: 1.8k

a/n: furudate told me that it’s canon that saeko has tit piercings in the timeskip.

you grumbled in annoyance as a red chrome motorcycle cut in front of you on the highway, forcing you to slam on the brakes and hold down your horn, probably for a bit longer than was necessary. as you both decelerated to stop at a red light, the rider, visage hidden by a mysterious black helmet with a tinted shield, turned back to look at you, making you seize up behind the steering wheel.

they seemed to think something over and rotated back to face forward on the seat, before raising their right hand and flipping you off.

are you serious? you thought. you’re the one who cut in front of me.

all you wanted was to give this person a piece of your mind, but you knew that 1) road rage just wasn’t worth it and 2) doing so would do nothing but make your commute unnecessarily complicated. it was one of those mondays, and the last thing you needed was to get pissed off before getting morning coffee in your system. all you wanted to do was forget about the incident and move on with your day.

unfortunately, the fates weren’t keen on making that happen.

to your frustration, the annoying bike, with, to your newfound knowledge, the even more annoying rider, turned into the lot of your office building, parking in front of a recently sold lot, which was conveniently located right next to your workplace. you debated for a second over where to park, for all you knew, this biker could be crazy or something, but you decided that, at this point, you really didn’t care.

you turned off your engine, gathered what you needed for the day, and stepped out of your car, intending to look straight ahead and get through the doors of your building with as little conflict as possible. thoughts bounced around in your head as the revving of the motorcycle a few spots away quieted: don’t engage, don’t engage, don’t enga—

“hey! you!” a voice called out. you cursed internally, before spinning your head towards the yell.

a woman with brown eyes that glinted dangerously and blonde hair that shone in the early sun was tapping her foot, the incessant click of her black stiletto on the concrete becoming more and more irritating. stiletto? you thought. how the hell was she wearing stilettos on a motorcycle?

your eyes couldn’t help but trail downwards towards her chest, her crossed arms accentuating her soft, leather-clad curves. as you were distracted by her body, she walked up to you, snapping a pair of red nails in your face and bringing back to reality.

“hey,” she insisted, a hint of amusement evident in her voice. “my eyes are up here.”

you looked up, embarrassed at being caught ogling her, and made eye contact. shit, you thought, losing yourself in her sharp features. she’s really hot. suddenly, you remembered what this crazy lady had put you through: and she almost made me crash. “hey,” you responded tersely. “who the hell taught you how to drive?”

you cringed at your bluntness, so much for avoiding conflict, while she raised an eyebrow in challenge, a spunky smile turning her lips up. “who taught me how to drive? what about you? you barely checked if anyone was gonna turn in.”

you chuckled in astonishment. there was no way this bitch was trying to flip this on you. “you’re kidding right? you drive like a literal madwoman.” you thought back, in hindsight, maybe you hadn’t looked to see if anyone was coming, but that wasn’t the point! isn’t it her job to be a defensive driver?

she threw her head back and laughed, a strangely charming sound for how loud and taunting it was. “yeah, i get that a lot. too fast, too reckless, and too cocky. i think it makes life more interesting.”

“well, i think it almost killed me.”

“lighten up,” she snarked, digging the tip of her pointer finger into your chest. “you look like someone that takes life too seriously. you gotta take a risk sometime!”

“a risk that might send me into my grave,” you deadpanned, “no thanks.”

she laughed again, causing a strangely warm feeling to bubble in your stomach. “i like you, you don’t take anyone’s shit.” her expression turned darker. “i’d love to break you.”

you flinched at her change in tone. what?

“well,” she continued. “i gots’ta go. lots of lives to ruin! yours is just one of many.”

you called out as she swiveled to walk away. “wait!” she cocked her head towards you. “where d’you work?”

she gestured to the lot she’d parked in front of. “saeko’s cycles. i’m saeko and i sell cycles. motorcycles. ‘s a work in progress. you?”

you nodded at the building next to hers. “there.”

she approached you again, extending her fingers to dance on your shoulder, sending hot chills down your spine. “we’re work neighbors then.” she grinned devilishly. “guess i’ll be seeing a lot more of you.”

you gulped. she really was hot.

“guess you will.”

you both went your separate ways.

for the next few days, the pattern repeated: saeko would cut you off, you’d honk, she’d flip you off, and you’d engage in some banter before heading off to work. you looked forward to interacting with the driving demon everyday; you thought about her throughout the day, on the way home, at night in your bed with nothing more than your imagination, your hand, and an incessant ache for sex... she was driving you crazy.

on saturday morning, you grumbled at the sound of your alarm: you had to drop off some paperwork at the office. reluctantly leaving your bed, you drove your way to the building. a scarlet flash caught your eye, and you were surprised to see saeko’s motorcycle parked in its usual spot. why’s she here? it’s saturday. after completing your task, you reached for the handle of your car door, then stopped. saeko’s probably working in her shop, you thought. it’d be nice to stop by.

you peered in the doorway, hearing the clattering of what you presumed to be tools coming from the back. “saeko?” you called, making your way through shelves of biking equipment and gear. “it’s me.”

the blonde poked her head out from the other side of a muddied motorcycle, hair pushed back with a headband. “hey!” she stood up, wiping her hands on a damp cloth, approaching you in a red-lined vest and a black headband. she looked dressed up, almost for a performance.

“what’s with the getup?”

“oh,” she said, looking down as if she’d just noticed what she was wearing. “taiko clothes.” at your confused expression, she clarified: “taiko’s a kind of japanese drumming. i’m captain of a local team. this,” she pointed at her vest, “is a happi. and this,” she tugged at the headband, “is a hachimaki. i just came back from rehearsal.”

you stood, speechless. she looked really good in those clothes, but you were sure that she’d look even better with them off.

she cleared her throat. “you have a nasty habit of zoning out on my tits. like what you see that much?”

your eyes shot back up to her, the heat of humiliation creeping up your neck. “um, uh. i-i...”

she chuckled at your shame. “no it’s okay, i like the attention.” her gaze turned predatory. “and i like you, too.”

within an instant, saeko was on you, your mouths melding together in a raunchy and needy kiss, tongues clashing passionately. lips locked within each other, she guided your movements, leading you to a small room at the back of the shop.

suddenly, she shoved you off of her, raising her leg so that the toe of her black stiletto teased lightly at your crotch. she gently increased the pressure, causing you to yelp in surprise—and an odd form of pleasure.

“why don’t you take a seat, babe?” the pet name made you shiver. saeko continued pushing you backwards until the backs of your knees hit the leather of a swivel chair, and you fell onto it.

eyes wide with lust and lips bruised with her animalistic desire, she thought you looked absolutely perfect, gazing up at her with a look of pure want. her eyes narrowed as she approached, towering over you. her hand grazed your throat before grabbing it. her hachimaki was hanging off the top of her head haphazardly, and she reached up and took it off, placing it on a neighboring table. she did the same with her happi, leaving you with an enticing view of her top half, clad in nothing but a lacy black bralette.

you couldn’t keep your eyes off of her, fervently tracing her delicious breasts. the area over her nipple was covered in a mesh fabric, and you could see—was that silver?

your head jerked up in shock. “you have tit piercings?”

“hell yeah i do,” she teased, climbing onto your lap and spreading her lags on either side of your knees. in this position, her bust was at your face-level, the barbells sparkling hypnotically. “you like?”

you swallowed dryly, convinced that she knew exactly what she was doing: spurring on your already overwhelming desperation for her body. “...yeah,” you whispered breathlessly. “i like ‘em a lot.”

she crossed her arms and lifted the erotic undergarment over her head, bare flesh now tantalizingly close to your mouth. “give ‘em a taste then.”

she didn’t have to tell you twice. your lips swiftly latched onto her right nipple, tongue swirling around the bud, and you moaned at the metallic taste of the piercing. you raised your thumb to play with the other one, and she gasped at the contact.

“you—you’re really good at this,” she panted. “you look cute like this. all needy for my tits.”

you mewled at her praise, releasing her nipple with a pop! and moving your mouth to work the other one. “i like you, saeko,” you mumbled into her skin. “i don’t even mind that you’re a shitty driver.” you looked up at her, eyes blown wide with arousal. “you’re really cool.”

“yeah, yeah, i know,” she giggled. unexpectedly, she pushed her body off of you and landed on her feet.

“why?” you pouted, trying, and failing, to conceal your disappointment, mouth feeling empty.

“oh, stop whining,” she chided, pulling her clothes back on. she motioned to a nearby motorcycle helmet on the corner of her desk. “put that on.”

“wha-where are we going?”

she sighed, kneeling to scrub some dirt off her shoe. “i know i said i’d break you, but i didn’t realize you’d get this dumb just from some sucking. we’re going to my place.”

she turned to glance at you, ravenous gaze reflecting her intense desire. “and once we get there, we’re gonna have a lot more fun. if we survive the drive, of course.”

you let out a sigh of amused exasperation. she’s gonna kill me.

#feeling ultra super gay today #for one woman only #this one #kinky.inky #haikyuu smut #haikyuu! smut #hq saeko #saeko x you #saeko x reader #saeko tanaka #saeko x y/n #saeko

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hishima · 3 years ago

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i'm actually the worst person to ask about rhythm game recs because i spent years of my life playing llsif on and off and getting into mobile gacha rhythm game hell. but i mean, if you're there for the gameplay and not the gacha, they can sometimes be fun? project sekai's probably the one everyone is getting into now.

this got long so... under a read more.

i've been meaning to expand my list myself, so i'll mostly talk about those ones -- for ones you can download, there's stepmania (can be played both as a ddr-type game and with keys and the like), osu (...it's osu), arcaea (i want to try it but i'm also intimidated), voez, cytus, phigros, lanota, deemo, and plenty, plenty more. a fair amount are available on mobile devices but some can be played elsewhere too!

as for ones you can purchase, the project diva series is pretty well-known, especially within circles of people that like jp media. there's also a 3DS game, project mirai, which is different in what it does but sorta retains the diva aspects. (also why sekai is called sekai and all.) taiko no tatsujin is one i hear good things about! but also if you're trying to avoid carpal tunnel be careful since it's a lot of, well, taiko drumming. a couple others on my wishlist to try are just shapes and beats (jsab), a dance of fire and ice, and rhythm doctor! they all seem pretty rad.

summary list of things i mentioned:

The funny anime gacha music games (includes Love Live! School Idol Festival, BanG Dream! Girls Band Party, D4DJ Groovy Mix, Project Sekai Colorful Stage... etc.)

Downloadable (may have purchase options etc) - Stepmania, Osu!, Arcaea, VOEZ, Cytus, Phigros, Lanota, Deemo... and more.

Purchasable - Project Diva games, Taiko no Tatsujin, Just Shapes and Beats, A Dance of Fire and Ice, Rhythm Doctor

there are way more, including stuff like actual arcade games, but again I'm not the best person to ask so </3 if anyone who plays rhythm games regularly wants to actually list off some recs themselves please do.

stay safe, take care of your wrists, and have fun o/

WOAG THANK U SM VIOLET!! i've heard of a few of these and i'll definitely do some more research and add them to my list! :-) and of course i've been meaning to check out crypt of the necrodancer as well. tysm for all the effort you put into these recs :") ILYYYYY ❤️❤️❤️

#floweringviolet #😊😊😊#asks

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champion-leon-imagines · 3 years ago

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Chronicles of Galar - Prologue 1: Taiko Hirebayashi

Some Info beforehand. This is going a pretty long fic with several chapters. But the chapters are somewhat different than normal fanfictions. Because they are just in chronological order but some of them are not actually connected to each other and some may have a greater timeskip than others. Imagine it like a readable diary of your adventures with just the mention worthy adventures added. But be careful, because this story is like a HELL OF A TOOTHROTTING-FLUFF fic. The main pairing is of course You x Leon. A side Pairing is Taiko(OC) x Raihan and a mentioned Pairing is Leiko(OC) x Piers Although, you won’t have to deal much with Leiko. But Taiko will get a bigger role since she becomes your best friend. Oh and if you wanna look for the Fic and it’s parts, make sure to follow the tag: Chronicles of Galar. Now enough Chatting, here is the introduction of the first character: My lovely tsun Taiko! And don’t forget: This is NOT proof read. English is NOT my first language. So please be gentle with mistakes.

[Prologue: Taiko Hirebayashi]

[9 years before the timeline in sword / shield]

“Taiko, honey. Don't run too far away from the camp. The wild area is teeming with Pokemon. ”, a woman, around her late 20s to early 30s with purple hair that was tied in a pigtail, spoke in a warning tone. She wore glasses and petted a Flareon, her loyal partner Pokemon. "Yes, mommy.", a 9-year old girl with fiery red hair replied cheekily. "And stop using this word, please. Did you learn that here in Galar? Please just call me mother. ”, she corrected her daughter. Ever since the holiday in Galar began, the child seemed to have increasingly adopted the linguistic peculiarities of the inhabitants of this region. "Okay, mother.", Taiko muttered and rolled her eyes in slight annoyance. She didn't thought it was that bad, because she loved everything in Galar. Much more than at her home in Ecruteak City, in Johto. Her mother was one of the dancing geishas at Ho-Oh's temple, which was why Taiko was promised an Eevee for her 10th birthday as a starter Pokemon. Like all geishas, she should learn the art of meditation dance one day, in order to command the awe of the holy phoenix pokemon. But now they were here, in Galar, enjoying a few days of vacation.

Taiko quickly got bored, however. In her tent, she started to felt shut in. Her toys were only entertaining for a short period of time. She wanted to explore the wild area and see Pokemon! No matter how much her mother told her not to.

The young redhead sneaked out of the tent, while her parents were talking to an employee of the Pokemon Rangers, because a wild Dynamax Pokemon attacked the Lake of outrage nearby. Therefore, a warning was issued to all traveling coaches and tourists to stay away from this lake in any case.

If that didn't sound like an adventure ..

Without even thinking about it, the girl simply ran through the wild area. Lake of outrage was relatively in the middle of the area and her parents' camp was quite far to the south, at a popular campground for out-of-towners. Because there were only weak Pokemon running around, which did not pose any danger to hikers.

So Taiko just had to walk south, right? ... But she didn't knew where the south was.

The extroverted redhead remembered her days in the scouts camp, which had taken place near Cianwood City. She remembered that moss grows on the northern side of trees because they are often in the shade due to the rays of the sun on the other side and the moss can spread there. So Taiko examined the surrounding trees and based on the position of the moss, she quickly knew where north was. She nodded proudly and then strutted north, full of energy.

Meanwhile in another part of the wild area.

“Pokeball, go!” an 11 year old boy with dark skin, casual clothes and a red headband that hid most of his hair, shouted. The pokeball hit a small, white spherical pokemon, which was vaguely reminiscent of a slug. The dragon pokemon Goomy. The ball wobbled three times before stopping and trapping the Pokemon. "YES!" the boy smirked and put himself in a victory pose, which, of course, nobody could see because he was alone. Shortly afterwards, he took his Rotom smartphone out of his pocket and took a picture of himself and his latest catch. Then he opened a social media page that was similar to Facebook.

'Look, I caught a Goomy! The dragon tamer Raihan has struck again! : D Soon nobody can stop me, so take a good look @Leon! I will be champion before you!'

With a grin, Raihan tapped 'Publish' and waited for the many likes from his friends and “fans”, as he liked to call his followers. It took less than 5 minutes before his best friend and rival had already made a like and comment.

'Wow, congratulations @Raihan! This Pokemon is totally rare! Unfortunately I haven't seen one yet. But don't be too early! Who will be champion first is still to be decided! '

Raihan grinned and replied, in his cheeky way. 'You have to find the stadium for our decisive fight first! XD I have enough time to train my Pokemon. '

The young man put his smartphone back in his pocket, he knew that Leon never accepted his provocations and therefore it was a waste of time to wait for an answer. “Come on, Vibrava. Let's see if we can find more cool Pokemon! ”He said to his partner Pokemon. The green, dragonfly-like Pokemon nodded eagerly and flew over the area, while Raihan grinned and followed his companion. He just loved looking for Pokemon in the wild area.

Back to Taiko. The young redhead was already regretting her spontaneous ideas and had to admit: she was lost.

This part of the wild area was so heavily overgrown by dense forest that hardly any sunlight penetrated through the thicket and consequently the moss grew on all sides of the trees. So it was impossible for her to determine in which direction she had to go.

"...MUM? DAD? DO YOU HEAR ME? ”And then she gave up and called desperately for her parents. Why the hell was she always so .. stubborn and had to give in to her curiosity?

The girl fell on her knees and began to cry. She was just too spontaneous and didn't think about the consequences. Now she was here in an unknown area, far away from her parents and who knows what else was lurking in the dark thicket?

A bush near her began to jiggle and that frightened the little girl. She stopped her emotional outburst and looked frightened at the bush. She crawled a few feet back from her almost sitting position and shivered as the rustling increased. Taiko swallowed lightly, trying not to make a sound to attract the attention of this unknown creature in the bush.

Suddenly a small, white rabbit pokemon rolled out with some somersaults. It had a kind of red fur in the shape of a plaster on its nose and its long ears wiggled and twitched as it straightened up and looked around. Taiko looked at the little Pokemon, which noticed her now too. It looked back. Neither of them moved for a few moments until Taiko blinked several times.

"How cute ..", she beamed and crawled forward on all fours. The little Pokemon stopped and tilted its head slightly as it watched the humans movements. "Scor? Scorbunny!" the little creature said. Taiko knew that Pokemon could only say their name, so now she knew the species. So that was a Scorbunny! She had never seen it before. Was it a regional Pokemon from Galar?

"Mmm, I think I have some candy somewhere …" the redhead mumbled. At least the situation calmed her down enough to forget about her outbreak minutes before ... She searched her pockets and actually found some fruit gums made from red haban berries. A very sweet type of berry that was perfect for sweets. Taiko smiled and offered the Pokemon some fruit gums. "Little one? You're are hungry, aren't you? ”She asked.

Scorbunny bounced closer and sniffed the girl's hand. Probably a first approach as to whether it could trust the person. As it took a fruit gum on its paws, it sniffed the gelatine again and stuffed it into its mouth. Taiko giggled as the Scorbunny gleefully chewed the fruit gum and then happily hopped up. "Scor! Scor Scor Bun?"

Taiko didn't knew what the Pokemon was trying to tell her, but from it's hopping around and staring at the fruit gums, it was obvious. It wanted more candy. The redhead smiled and gave Scorbunny a few more fruit gums. This time the Pokemon was braver and patted Taiko's hand with its paws before pounding on the fruit gums. Taiko had to laugh gently when Scorbunny let 5 fruit gums disappear into it's mouth at once and chewed contentedly. "You remind me of me." Taiko giggled.

Scorbunny finished snacking and as a token of gratitude, leaned it with its head on her arm and cuddled up to her. Taiko blinked slightly in surprise. Who could have guessed that wild Pokémon would approach humans so quickly? So obviously love goes through the stomach. Taiko smiled again and ruffled Scorbunnys fur behind it's ears. The Pokemon let out a satisfied purr and closed its eyes.

After a while, the Pokemon hopped onto her lap. This action surprised Taiko and she put both hands around the Pokemon. "It's so trusting .. it definitely belongs to someone ..", the redhead sighed, disappointed. She would have liked to keep the Scorbunny to herself. The two lingered like this for a few minutes until Taiko noticed that she was still in a quandary. She still didn't know how to get back to her parents. And the Pokemon was certainly not a sign back.

Slowly, the girl got up and let Scorbunny on the floor. “Go, your trainer is probably already worried about you.“ Taiko smiled and gave it a few last fruit gums before she continued on her way.

For the next 10 minutes she already missed Scorbunny .. She sighed softly to herself and stopped to lean against a tree. "Scorbunny ..." Taiko's eyes widened when she heard the Pokemon's call and turned around. Scorbunny was a few meters away from her. Taiko didn't even think for a second that it might be another Pokemon. It MUST be the same ..

When the Pokemon saw the girl kneel down, it ran into her arms and snuggled against the redhead's chest. Taiko straightened up and hugged the Pokemon. "You probably missed me too ..?", She asked and as if Scorbunny wanted to answer, it's nose nudged her fist when she raised her hand in front of it. Taiko smiled. "Then let's find a way back together." Scorbunny nodded and climbed onto her shoulder, where it made itself comfortable.

Taiko went on for a while, she didn't know how long, but it was already getting dark. Her parents were probably worried ... Then suddenly a huge lake was before her. Scorbunny sniffed the new surroundings and then tensed up with a menacing growl. The redhead swallowed at this cautious behavior. "The Lake of Outrage ...", she realized then. She wanted to run in the other direction when suddenly a giant Pangoro blocked her way. Apparently she had invaded it's territory because it looked angry. And aggressive.

The redhead stepped back, startled, and tripped over a thick branch. She fell on her bum and held her aching foot after she fell on it with her weight and cried out in pain. Pangoro seemed angry at the noise and stepped closer. It's dangerous threatening gesture made the girl's blood run cold. Scorbunny growled loudly and jumped in front of the girl as if it wanted to fight Pangoro.

"No..! This is an evolved Pokemon ...! It's too strong .. ” Taiko warned, but Scorbunny tried to attack with a double kick and jumped on the evolved Panda Pokemon. Pangoro held up Scorbunnys leg with one paw and tossed it back so that it landed in the mud next to the girl. "Scorbunny!" Taiko shouted distraught and took Scorbunny in her arms when Pangoro came closer and raised his paw for a blow. The redhead closed her eyes tightly and tears ran down her cheeks. "I don't want to die yet ..."

"Vibrava, dragon rush!", a boy's voice penetrated her ears and Taiko looked up when something enveloped in a blue aura slammed into the menacing Panda Pokemon from above in full speed. Pangoro was staggered by the recoil and Raihan jumped in front of Taiko, ordering his Vibrava to make further attacks. "Super power, now!"Raihan ordered, causing Vibrava to launch a wave of attacks on the Pangoro. The fighting Pokemon appeared to be extremely robust and put up with all attacks. "Damn it, well then we have no other choice. Vibrava, use sandstorm! "Raihan shouted. Then he turned to the girl behind him. "Cover your mouth and nose!"

Taiko nodded and pushed the scarf, that her mother had given her over, half over her face. Vibrava created a dense sandstorm that made the entire area so opaque that you couldn't see anything. It was only when Taiko felt someone put a hand on her shoulder that she recognized the outlines of the boy, who helped her. "Let's get out of here before the storm subsides," he said. Taiko tried to get up, but a strong pain in her leg made her fall back to the ground.

"Ouch .."

"Hey, are you okay?" Raihan asked, holding her to keep her from falling again.

"I must have broken my leg when I tripped earlier .. I can't step .." the redhead sighed in frustration. Raihan blinked for a moment and saw his Vibrava land on his shoulder. He knew the sandstorm wouldn't hold up the enemy Pokemon much longer. An idea occurred to him without further ado and he turned his back on the girl while he knelt down. “Climb on my back. I'll carry you. ", He said.

"T-I can't ask that of you ..", Taiko mumbled and shook her head vigorously.

“Come on, my tent is not far from here and the storm won't hold back Pangogo for long. We have to get out of here. ”, the young trainer explained and Taiko probably had no other choice. She sighed and climbed onto his back, the Scorbunny clinging on her shirt and holding onto her as the boy carried her away from the lake.

It really didn't take long, a maximum of 10 minutes, until the boy reached his tent and gently laid the young girl on his sleeping bag.

"Here we are. Uhm. What's your name anyway? ”The boy then asked with a smile.

"T-Taiko and what's your name?"

"Raihan. Are you a Gym Challenger too? " Raihan asked and saw how the Scorbunny had snuggled up with her and was sleeping. The redhead shook her head. “I'm not from here and I'm only 9 .. My parents and I are only here for vacation. I live in Johto. “, She then explained.

“Then why were you alone at Lake of outrage? It's not an approved campsite at all. On the contrary, it is strictly forbidden for travelers to enter here.“

"Uhm .. well .. I was curious because I was bored in the tent and .. then I somehow got lost ..", the redhead explained, embarrassed, and tugged on a strand of red hair. Raihan just looked at her before he laughed. This reaction offended Taiko now that she thought he was making fun of her situation.

"Hey, that's not funny, I was really scared!" She said with a pout and turned away with slightly flushed cheeks. Raihan wiped a tear of laughter from his face and grinned slightly before winking at her. "Sorry, I didn't laugh at you. Just .. I've done so much nonsense too. When I was 5, my father was camping here with me too and I saw a Trapinch and followed it to Lake of outrage too. My father had to save me from a wild Gyarados in the water. And I was just thinking that I was having a deja vu when I saved you, ”he admitted with a laugh.

Taiko blinked slightly.

"Uhm ..", she just wasn't quite sure what to say to that. "Thank you for the rescue ..", she said quietly, but still slightly offended, and turned her head away from him.

"You are welcome. But let's take care of your leg first. ", Raihan said and got a first aid kit from the corner of his stuff. Taiko lingered as quiet as a mouse, a rarity with her otherwise extroverted personality, when Raihan exposed the leg by lifting her pants up the affected leg and pulling down her socks to inspect the damage. “That looks bad. No wonder you can't walk. ", He said and took a rag that he moistened with a kind of disinfectant spray. "That could burn a bit now," he warned her.

The redhead bit her lip and squeaked softly as he placed the rag on the wound on her leg. Raihan smiled and praised her for how bravely she got through this action. She even had to laugh a little when he confessed that he had screamed like crazy when he was injured and his father wanted to treat him with the stuff too. She didn't know why, but somehow Taiko didn't feel so helpless anymore.

She watched spellbound as he expertly cleaned the wound and treated it with a bandage. "You don't seem to be doing this for the first time," she said then. Raihan blinked and then looked up at her as he kneeled in front of her to put his foot on his lap.

"Yeah. I have a clumsy best friend. His injury rate is pretty high when he's got lost. I don't even know how often I've been bandaged his falls and grazes. ", Raihan said thoughtfully and Taiko giggled. “Sounds like me. I am also at risk of injury. A miracle it was only the leg. ", She sighed. Raihan smiled and put her leg down again.

“You would certainly get along well. He exudes the same positive energy as you. ", Raihan said, whereupon Taiko went a little red in the face. However, she didn't know why. "I exude positive energy?" She asked.

"Sure, of course. You can see that just by how Scorbunny has taken you to its heart! I thought to myself that it wasn't yours when you said you were only 9 and not from here. So it's a wild Pokemon, but it behaves like you've been training it for years. ", The boy remarked, whereupon the girl's cheeks turned even darker. "Uhm .. I'll take that as a compliment .." she whispered, slightly embarrassed. "It was one." Raihan winked and was amused by the shy behavior of the girl. At the lake she had behaved differently. Then there was a short silence between the two of them until Raihan reached for his smartphone. For once, he wasn't interested in his social media activities. “Which campsite are you at? In the east or in the south? ”He asked.

"Uhm .. south?"

"All right." Raihan smiled and started dialing a number.

"Who are you calling?"

“Mr. Pascal. He is practically the lessor of the campsite. Your parents surely miss you. So I'll give him our coordinates so that someone can come and pick you up. Because I can't carry you the way to the campsite. ”At this comment the redhead blushed again and turned away slightly. “Your last name would still be helpful to find your parents more easily. "..Hirabayashi."

Raihan called and talked to Pascal for a few minutes until he had passed on all the informations. About the aggressiveness of the Pokemon at Lake of outrage, about the injured girl and also their whereabouts. Then he thanked him and hung up. “They can't send a rescue team out until tomorrow morning because they'd have problems finding us and transporting you. I told them that you can spend the night with me in the tent and that you are safe. ", Raihan said. "Uhm .. but you only have one sleeping bag." Taiko spoke. "But that doesn't matter .. I can sleep on the floor."

Raihan sighed.

“There is no way of letting a girl sleep on the floor. You sleep in my sleeping bag, I sleep on the floor. " He said.

"Never."

"Well, then we'll both sleep on the floor if you don't give in." Raihan shrugged his shoulders, whereupon Taiko rolled his eyes. "Then give in.", She said and shrugged her shoulders. Raihan grinned slightly and folded his arms behind his neck.

"Only if you sleep in my sleeping bag." Was the devious answer. "To what extent is that giving in for YOU?" Taiko asked now and crossed her arms in front of her chest. The two just looked at each other for a few moments before Raihan sighed in defeat. "Well, let's make a compromise.", He said, which made Taiko sit up and take notice. “It gets darn cold here at night anyway. If we cuddle up a little ... together, we can both sleep in the sleeping bag and the body heat prevents us from half-freezing to death. "

His suggestion made Taiko look shocked. He wasn't really serious, was it? She didn't know this boy at all. But now that he said it, it was actually quite fresh. "..."

"You can of course also become a living Vanillite if you prefer that.", Raihan said and spread out the sleeping bag. "Okay, okay. It's only for one night. ", She gave in, whereupon Raihan had to laugh again.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The next morning, Taiko's parents and some of the wild area staff members went to the location of forest that Raihan had described for them. It wasn't long before they found the tent, which was guarded by a Duraludon. “This is Raihan’s tent. It has to be. " Pascal remaked, before Taikos parents ran to the tent. "Taiko ?!"

Taiko blinked, she was still half asleep when she yawned and snuggled into something warm. This warmth moved slightly, from which the redhead woke up. She wiped away the sleep on her eyes and then saw how she was snuggled up against Raihan, her legs tangled and his arms pressed her to his chest.

The girl quickly broke away from him and Raihan woke up too. "Woah?"

The redhead ignored him and let her mother hug her tightly.

"What kind of things are you doing?" Her mother scolded her. "I'm sorry .. really .." the girl apologized and was then pulled into a hug by her father. "Never do that again," he said then. "You're hurt, aren't you? I'll carry you back. ", He said then and wanted to pick her up. "Wait, dad ..!" Taiko stopped him and then turned to Raihan. She made a beckoning hand gesture that signaled him to come closer. "Thanks again for everything, Raihan. I hope to see you again. ", She smiled and hugged him goodbye. Raihan smiled and hugged back. “Well, if you ever want to visit Galar again, you are always welcome. Until then, I'm champion and you can visit me in my palace. ”He laughed. "The champion lives in a palace?" Taiko asked and her eyes widened greatly.

"I dunno, but definitely!", Raihan laughed then, whereupon Taiko had to laugh too. "Well, see you at some point, hopefully. And take care of yourself, you risk-of-injury. ", He said teasingly.

Taiko was then carried back to the campsite and was even allowed to keep Scorbunny.

And what should she say?

5 years later, she set foot in Galar again after her divorced mother wanted to start a new life over there and Taiko seized the opportunity and followed her to see the cute boy from back then again.

#Chronicles of Galar #Leon #leon pokemon #pokemon leon #pkmn leon #champion leon #raihan #pokemon raihan #gym leader raihan #raihan pokemon #Leon x Reader #Pokemon #pokemon sword and shield #pokemon shsw

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toukenramblings · 4 years ago

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Video Games: Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki, Aizen Kunitoshi, Atsushi Toushirou

Oh ho, a fun lil headcanon set like this is so funnnn~!

Warnings: Not much I suppose?

Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki

Sweet MuMu adores video games where we can travel the world. Fantasy world, modern world, past, present, future, he don’t care! An open world game will suit him best! There’s so much to do, and like a lil puppy, MuMu want’s to explore it all!

Extra bonus points if there’s a part of the game where there is something to do with the ocean. He adores the sea after all! Boats, driving them, exploring the ocean, exploring the unknown, oh this TouDan will drink that shit up.

The games that come to mind are Assassin’s Creed: III, Black Flag, Syndicate, Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. Why? Most of them deal with exploring new lands and some of them deal with piloting ships! III, Black Flag, Odyssey, Origins, Valhalla to be more specific. Syndicate has guns and classy fashion. A little too much for Mutsunokami but he loves playing with the guns in the game - they are very similar in make to his own after all. he also rly likes the sea shanties in odyssey because i rly like them too

If Mutsunokami wants to relax and not play Assassin’s Creed where he goes around stabbing everything that moves, he will play Subnautica or Abzu or Journey to relax. Maybe even Animal Crossing! He loves the cute little animals but I personally think that games where he can just explore the world and meet new people and learn lore just make him happy the most.

Games MuMu would never play are horror games or anything with spiders in them. So Bayonetta and Devil May Cry are out. He loves the idea of gun-toting protagonists but nope, nope. Spiders? Bye fam.

Now that I think about it, he would just be Blathers. He can play Animal Crossing but Gods help him the minute he sees a spider in that damn game. “I THOUGHT THIS WAS A PEACEFUL GAME, WHY ARE THE SPIDERS TRYING TO KILL YOU” cue controller thrown at the television.

Oh MuMu adores party games! Can’t play Smash Bros or Mario Kart for shit. Watch him pay too much attention to the background and yeet himself off of the stage because he saw something shiny. He can kinda play though, but again he gets distracted the most. Buuut ask him to play Mario Party with the rest of the swords and damn right he will play!

Can and will make video games turn into a drinking game. MuMu adores competitive gaming with the rest of the citadel. Will start taking bets on who is gonna win and lose, and sure he may be a pouty loser but he’ll be fiine. But damn right he’ll yeet a tantou to ensure his win. No he won’t he’s not that cruel.

Mutsunokami also adores rhythm games! Taiko no Tatsujin because of Don-chan and the idea of playing with a lil taiko drum as a controller. He’s very much into music after all. There are times when he stops playing a game to just listen to the music and take it all in!

A guilty pleasure game he plays is probably Ghost of Tsushima. No he’s not checking out Jin’s ass whenever they go to a hot spring, what are you talking about? MuMu enjoys it because sometimes just going back to your roots and stabbing a ho is just what you need. dear khotun khan, eat shit

Aizen Kunitoshi

Aizen is also super big on rhythm games. As said above with Mutsunokami, Taiko no Tatsujin will be a favorite of his. He has a secret collection of Don-chan merch, no one is stopping him damn it. Just fucking tRY and take away his precious Don-chan(s). The only ones that can touch his prized collection are the rest of the Rai swords, other peeps he is close to, and maybe you if you two are close/you ask nicely. Get him some Don-chan pajamas and he’ll cry.

Aizen is also pretty good at fighting games, Street Fighter coming to mind because he adores over the top bullshit and the colors! The colors! He mains Ryu though, but he’s more than willing to try new characters!

He’s also pretty competitive at times, so he would adore playing fighting games with the rest of the swords at the citadel. Hotarumaru and he are always playing Smash Bros or Mario Kart, which ends up with a lot of broken controllers. Hotaru has been slightly banned from planning highly competitive gameplay though.

Other games that I know Aizen will be into will be Animal Crossing when he wants to relax. He loves the little yearly festivals and events in the games and it kinda mirrors how life works in the world. Of course he adores Digby and Isabelle, and has threatened Tom Nook with Hotarumaru before. “Don’t you cheat me you stupid tanuki, don’t make me get my brother in here.”

Games that Aizen cannot play are puzzle games. He doesn’t mind them, he just finds them really boring. He watches Akashi play them sometimes but even then, Akashi will conk the hell out. If you play them and have Aizen on your lap watching, Aizen will be amazed at how you are so good at them!

Aizen cannot deal with horror games or sad emotional games. He’s pretty emotional himself and will need a lot of hugs after. He will refuse to play Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons as they remind him of Hotarumaru and himself a lil too much. Horror games is because he’s too scared to. Hotarumaru doesn’t mind them, he likes playing them while Aizen and Akashi cling on to each other and scream in terror.

Aizen also loves games that not only have great music but the visuals and colors just catch his eye. Katamari Damacy comes to mind and he loves the main character a lot. The music! The colors! Ohh man its the best.

A guilty pleasure game he would love is the monster catching genre, Pokemon is an idea but he also loves Yokai Watch. Yokai Watch feels a lil more closer to home, plus Yokai Watch had a crossover with Taiko no Tatsujin! He immediately wasted no time and effort to try and recruit Don-chan. iM STILL TRYING TO GET DON-CHAN ON MY TEAM U LIL SHIt but also im rly biased towards yokai watch and digimon

This lil guy will also love collecting plushies of any characters of the games he plays! Don-chan is his first choice of course but catch him and Hotarumaru in a little cuddle puddle with 70 other plushies from various games!

Most of all, Aizen loves games where he can play with others! Friends, family, you! It doesn’t matter to him! He’ll drag you from your office to relax and just cheer anyone up with something fun! “Come play with me! You promised after all, master! I’ve found a rEALLY cool and fun game to play together with Hotaru!” bless him he’s trying his best

Atsushi Toushirou

Like Aizen, Atsushi will mostly enjoy multiplayer games because of his multitudes of brothers, younger and older. He’ll pick out games like Mario Party, Mario Kart, classics for sure. But then there’s games like Wario Ware or Smash Bros. He wants to play games with as many people as possible! He loves it when he can play with you and his brothers!

If Atsushi wants to play something more solo, he will play something along the lines of Cooking Mama. Houchou got him addicted to it gee i wonder why Houchou loves the game so much but Atsushi just loves the dishes that he can prepare and it almost feels like he can cook! He once tried to follow exactly what Cooking Mama did in the game for cooking once uh...it did not end up. But none the less, he loves the colors and the music of Cooking Mama!

He is also a big ol fan of life simulation games, Animal Crossing being his favorite. Again he and his siblings can all play together and the calm atmosphere almost lulls him to a peaceful sort of sleep that he adores the most. He loves the relaxing vibe and sometimes wishes to live there, wherever the hell these guys live.

Next to Yagen, I think Atsushi will lowkey adore horror games. Yagen does it just to get a rise out of the rest of his siblings and Atsushi is kind of the same. Sure Yagen finds the most gorey and atmospheric based horror to scare the crap outta his siblings, Atsushi will probably play the more jumpscare based horror games just to get a scare outta them too! What good is a horror game if you’re not scared as well??? Damn right he’ll wait until it’s night time to play these games!

Atsushi also does love RPG games! Star Ocean, Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, come to mind first. He just loves going on big adventures! Exploring new worlds, meeting new people, learning new things! Bonus points if the game has a really emotional story, catch him and his brothers crying about whatever happens on screen.

Atsushi has a secret fondness for rather childish games. Pokemon, Yokai Watch, so on and so forth. YEs he’s trying his best to be mature and stuff, supporting you his saniwa and all, but sometimes he just wants to be himself and have fun! He has a few mascot plushies from his brothers too, shhh.

Atsushi is also terrifyingly amazing at turn-based strategy games. Mario + Rabbids being a favorite because of the colors and overall fun atmosphere. Fire Emblem is a close second. He knows exactly how to keep his units and characters alive, what upgrades to give them, so on and so forth. “General! Come look at what I did in my game! Wouldn’t it be cool if we could also do something like this?!” he says that as Rabbid Luigi yeets himself off of normal Mario and soars through the air like a bird, landing gracefully without hurting himself. Atsushi no.

He’s the most likely of the TouDans to get into the indie gaming scene, looking at new and upcoming content creators to see what they make! He wants to support them as much as he can!

He’s also one of the more responsible of the TouDans in terms of games. Others will start buying them on a whim but Atsu knows there’s a budget to be had! He isn’t as money crunching as Hakata or anything but he knows his damn limits!

Another game genre he’s secretly into are visual novels. He loves the budding relationships between characters, romantic or not, he loves seeing where they end up! It’s like he’s growing with them!

#touken ranbu #touken danshi #touken ranbu x reader #touken ranbu imagine #tkrb #tkrb x reader #tkrb imagine #mutsunokami yoshiyuki #mutsunokami yoshiyuki x reader #mutsunokami yoshiyuki imagine #my writing #aizen kunitoshi #aizen kunitoshi x reader #aizen kunitoshi imagine #atsushi toushirou #atsushi toushirou x reader #atsushi toushirou imagine #https://toukenramblings.tumblr.com/tagged/Chaotic%20Citadel%20Correspondences #Chaotic Citadel Correspondences

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kingofthewilderwest · 4 years ago

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Tagged by @writingstellar! Good to hear how life’s going and holy crap I was just thinking about how it’s coming up 10 years since we met.

Rules: answer 30 questions and tag blogs you are contractually obligated to know better.

name/nickname: Haddock. King. Against my will, every other variation of fish-like things you can think of. King Fishy, Fishy, Fishface, Fishyface, Fish, etc.

gender: enby

star sign: 🖕

height: 5′ 2″

time: 12:27 AM

birthday: October 19

favourite bands: Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys, The Dead South, Old Man Markley

favourite solo artists: uhhhhhhhhmmmmmmm... get back to me on that. Can... can Beethoven count? C’mon I fucking have Beethoven music TATTOOED ON ME, we gonna make Beethoven count.

song stuck in my head: a combination of like six Flatt & Scruggs songs and covers rn, most prominently Colors. I have no idea why. I don’t listen to their late 1960s stuff as often, but I woke up and that song came to me with tenacity and wouldn’t let go.

last movie: What was the last movie I watched in my Bad Movie Night group? Was it Leo the Lion????? Oh gosh. That nightmare is the last movie I saw??? Dudes holy shit that movie was a special kind of awful, it was a horrible experience and it’s scarred me forever and [spoilers] why did you make the elephant canonically fuck the emaciated lion?!?!?!

last show: Flatt & Scruggs TV Show. Shut up. I like them. A lot. Hyperfixation gonna hyperfixate. And they’re actually really wonderful and personable to watch, in addition to making great music.

when did you create this blog? summer 2014

what do I post: on this blog? Well, it used to be an analysis blog for HTTYD and more. Now... whatever, but usually fandom-related materials for my favorite shows... Gravity Falls, Fullmetal Alchemist, etc.

last thing i googled: middle finger. to get that middle finger emote up there.

do i get asks? absolutely. sorry that I no longer respond to everything as I once did. I no longer have the time and presence of mind to get to all asks, and it’s no longer a priority in my life or major past-time. but I read all of them and appreciate all of them and really do try to answer peeps when I’m on here and in the mood! Thanks for talking with me so much!

why i chose my url: As a How to Train Your Dragon blog, I thought it would be the COOLEST thing to pick Hiccup’s title. I was in excited shock it wasn’t taken.

average hours of sleep: uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I’m sleeping a fuckton lately, like sometimes 10, but that’s not normal to me.

lucky number: 13, 19, 320.

Instruments: Yes. I have an entire sideblog dedicated to my banjo explorations and bluegrass/country music obsession, to rant and rave to like the 0.1 person who’ll see it. ;) Feel free to check it out... I try to make it accessible to like, anyone, even peeps with none music background left beef. Banjo is my latest instrument and I’m proud of how far I’ve come in less than a year and a half. Started on piano as a wee one, got good at it. Added flute and piccolo, got good at it, played semi-competitively at local/state events in high school. Added clarinet. Added viola and played that in college orchestra because it was the one thing I could get INTO orchestra on because they didn’t audition on it. Also own/play to varying degrees of skill or incompetence: pennywhistles, soprano recorder, khloy (Cambodian flute), khene (Southeast Asian pipe instrument), tro (Cambodian spiked fiddle), tro ou (Cambodian spiked fiddle), dizi (Chinese flute), shakuhachi, ukulele, guitar, fiddle, Irish flute, harmonica, didgeridoo, shit why do I feel like I’m forgetting some things. Uhhhhhh... in college I played some taiko, shamisen, and shinobue too? I dunno, just chuck a woodwind or a string instrument at me, and I’ll figure something out. Won’t necessarily be pleasant but there’ll be notes.

what i’m wearing: red pajamas. They have snowflakes on them. they are warm and comfy.

dream job: I know it’s hard work as hell, believe me, my fam’s been in it, but seriously? transitioning to agricultural work. I’m an old-fashioned ass at heart and, as much as my work has serious perks with a flexible schedule, I hate how much of my life is spent on a screen. I’m happiest working with my hands, and I’ve got a green thumb.

dream trip: Dammit, I have to pick ONE place??? fuck that shit, I want to go everywhere, I have bucket list countries in every continent. shit. uh. how about Norway because that’s the home of my ancestors.

last book i read: I’m currently reading three right now. the last one I finished is an obscure Country Music history picture book from the 1960s. Oh hey wow did the bluegrass hyperfixation appear again? WOW YOU BETCHA IT DID. Uff-dah.

favourite food: I’m going to just say a fucking cuisine rather than narrow it down to one dish. Thai food.

nationality: United States American.

favourite song: Foggy Mountain Breakdown. Yes. Flatt & Scruggs came up again. Get used to it. I have fucking had Flatt & Scruggs appear multiple times in my dreams. I have fucking had Flatt & Scruggs more in my dreams than some of my irl friends.

top three fictional universes: Mass Effect, Fullmetal Alchemist, Gravity Falls

gonna gently tag (no pressure!):

Okay I am sleep loopy so I cannot think of names rn but I might reblog and tag later with peeps because I always like poking friends.

#meme #blabbing Haddock #long post #about me #my life #music #that banjo business

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maiselous · 5 years ago

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Observations and love notes from my Avatar re-watch:

Katara is the glue. I’m not gonna list off everything she does for people bc that would take forever but she is the reason everyone arrives anywhere (North Pole, Ba Sing Se) in one piece. She’s also the reason why. She got the boy out of the iceberg. She was Aang’s impetus.

That being said, something I love about Kataang is that just because Katara is maternal and Aang is a goofball doesn’t mean she has to actively take care of him. He’s not like “lol I’m so inept what would I do without you”. They’re functional humans is all I mean.

This is not to take anything away from Sokka. He is my favorite person who is not Aang and those memes about how the story would be like 1/10 the length if Sokka had more power are TRU. That being said, he can’t sew.

“You have to master the four elements to defeat Firelord Ozai. And when you do, I hope you think like a mad genius!” -Bumi in s01.05 Me, has seen Aang energybend: UGHHHHHH

The older I get the more I discover the levels of almost Tolkien-esque attention to detail. This applies to the lore to the world-building with very specific real-world inspirations to the music. Y’all heard the Cave of Two Lovers theme sewn into that last tune before Aang and Katara kissed? Taiko drums used in cultural motifs partly inspired by pre-Meiji Japan? Oh yeah.

Fucking Jet. What a charmer. What a troubled child. I love him. I love the Freedom Fighters. I love their little Lord of the Flies society and their ends-justify-the-means ideology. They’re a microcosm of a world ravaged by war and hate and the fact that these are basically child soldiers and gangs??? I mean, thanks Nickelodeon??

Yeah you know what? Disney would never, and that’s why all they’re shows and movies are milquetoast as fuck.

Why the hell do people dislike the Cave of Two Lovers. It’s literally one of the funniest episodes on the season and the story of Oma and Shu is gorgeous???? Even if you’re not into Kataang this episode is lovely dammit.

I also appreciate how earthbending, the roughest toughest element, was started by a romance.

I like Toph a lot more now than I used to... what was wrong with me back then? (I sound like Katara.)

It’s actually really really interesting to me that most people refer to Aang’s people as the Air Nation while Aang, who is one of them, calls them Air Nomads. Yes it speaks to the general perception of Air Nomads, but “nation” and “nomads” are basically contradictory and is an extremely reductive way to look at them.

Iroh was clearly never meant to be Firelord because there’s not “z” in his name lol

Hector Elizondo as Wan Shi Tong. That is all.

Notice how Azula always fights dishonorably. For all of Zuko’s obsession with honor and integrity, Azula has no problem with it. She literally didn’t hesitate to kill the Avatar from behind while in the Avatar State, and purposefully tried to kill a bystander during an agni kai.

Book 2 is the best. Book 3 was great and the final 4 eps elevates the show to literal god-tier but the first half was kinda meandering until Black Sun.

This fandom resurgence is fucking fascinating. I’m looking at returning fans as well as newcomers and it seems like Zuko is the fave. It’s absolutely for good reason, but I can’t help but wonder if part of it is because so many of us see ourselves in him? I dunno. Zuko--at the beginning--is angry, lost, and desperate. I can connect with that on some level. I’m just curious why it’s almost unanimous (right now at least). Let me know, honestly.

If this show is about balance, then it’s explored through all kinds and all levels of friction: - individual vs. community will (i.e. Katara vs. Northern Water Tribe) - subtle friction between Buddhist and Confucian ideals (”you must learn to let her go” vs “power and perfection are overrated”) - Pacifism vs. Justice-by-any-means (This is a tough one to unravel. Like, I’m definitely not qualified to get into these philosophical weeds but you guys have met Jet and seen Book 3 so you know what I mean.) - This all speaks to the overall friction between Aang’s identity as the Avatar and his identity as The Last Airbender. It’s gorgeous. (God I have a lot to say here, more to come.)

I think a big part of what makes this show satisfying is the fact that all the plants have reasonable payoffs. Everything in the finale feels like a culmination of everything we’ve seen leading up to it. Nothing feels out-of-left-field; Azula’s descent, Aang and Katara’s relationship, Zuko’s rise. Even the energybending. (more on that too, later) Other showrunners and writers take notes.

#i know I have a lot more thoughts this is just what came out rn #please comment i wanna hear your thoughts #i'm absolutely on this shit rn #avatar #avatar the last airbender #a:tla #atla #aang #katara #sokka #zuko #azula #ozai #toph #avatar aang #avatar rewatch

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tilbageidanmark · 3 years ago

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Movies I watched (and books I read) this week - 29

The Lighthouse, an ominous story about two lighthouse keepers who descend into madness as they are stranded on a remote island. New England horror gothic of the 1890s. Stunning acting and black & white cinematography. Dark and crusty as the soul.

Willem Dafoe’s crazed Hark Triton, Hark monologue.

✴️ 2 animated shorts:

✳️✳️✳️ One Small Step, from Taiko Studios: My most favorite not-Pixar animated short about a little girl and her old dad. I watched it 20 times, and I’ll watch it 20 more.

10/10 - Perfect eight minutes of heartbreak and love.

✳️✳️✳️ Nothing happens, a Danish short: on a snowy field on the outskirts of town, a mysterious group of people gather to watch a flock of ravens.

✴️

Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Winter Sleep, an epic 2014 Turkish adaptation of Chekhov’s short story "The Wife".

3+ hours long, dialogue-rich and slow exploration of an ambiguous hotel owner in Cappadocia, who is challenged by all the people around him, including his unhappy young wife and frustrated sister. Lyrical, refined, and cerebral - I’ll check out Ceylan’s other films.

✴️

I didn’t remember that Chekhov wrote many hundreds of stories before dying young at 44. In order to better understand the narrative in ‘Winter Sleep’, I read his story ‘The Wife’ (full text here).

And indeed, the opaque, meandering film left much to interpretation. This short story made much clearer that this was an unhappy marriage, a misunderstood couple who couldn’t communicate any more without both feeling slighted and hurt. I couldn’t see why was the husband so disagreeable to everybody around them. But it helped bringing this broken life into focus.

✴️

The Lure, a weird Polish horror-musical, very loosely adapted from Hans Christian Andersen's ‘Little Mermaid’. Combining siren sisters, cannibalism, kitschy vampires, MTV and trashy nightclubs in 1980′s Warsaw. The opening scene was the most promising - and it went down from there.

2/10

✴️

Charly, adapted from the sci-fi story ‘Flowers for Algernon’. A “retarded” Cliff Robertson is selected for a miraculous surgery that triples his IQ & makes him a genius. It starts innocently enough trying to address the plight of the mentally challenged, but once he falls in love with his teacher, it gets dated ridiculously fast.

The only lasting part of the movie is Ravi Shankar’s beautiful score.

Charly was the only movie my ‘teenager me’ saw together with my mother: I don’t remember how come we went to the theater and why she picked this one, but I was 15 then.

✴️ 2 by Bob Nelson:

✳️✳️✳️ The confirmation: ‘The Bicycle Thieves’ in small town Washington. Clive Owen is a divorced, down-on-his-luck, loser father, who gets to spend a weekend from hell with his 8 year old son. The first half is gloomy and very hard to watch as all the daily things that can go wrong, do. But he gets to bond with his church-going son, and they both find redemption at the end.

This was directed by 60 year old first-time director Bob Nelson.

Best film of the week!

✳️✳️✳️ Before Confirmation, Bob Nelson wrote the script for Alexander Payne’s Nebraska: another soft story about an estranged parent. This one has old, senile Bruce Dern and his son on a black and white road trip to claim an illusory million-dollar sweepstakes prize. Simple, austere, heart-breaking. 8/10.

✴️

Ingmar Bergman’s 1975 stage production of Mozart’s masonic The Magic Flute.

First re-watch in 40+ years - what joy!

✴️

Hilda af Klimt, The Life of an Artist, a short bio of the spiritualist and world’s first abstract painter. By educator Paul Priestley on his ‘Art History School’ YouTube channel.

✴️

The Little World of Don Camillo, 1952, based on a book I loved as a kid. With toothy Fernandel as an activist priest in a power struggle with his frenemy the Bolshevik mayor. “In a small village in the Po valley”. Nostalgic throw-back to late 40′s Italy.

✴️

The Insult, a 2017 Oscar-nominated Lebanese story about a cuss word that escalates until it engulfs the whole country. A Palestinian construction worker calls a hot-head Christian mechanic ‘A fucking prick (ARS)’ when he behaves like one, and - like the good middle-easterners they are - neither one can let it go until it nearly destroys both of them.

It would have been even better if it didn’t turn into a traditional courtroom drama in the second half, but still... 5/10

✴️

David Fincher’s masterful The Social Network, about young hateful asshole Mark Zuckerberg stealing the concept of facebook from the Vinklevoss brothers. Terrific drama, crackling dialogue by Aaron Sorkin, and moody, tense score by Trent Reznor.

Not exactly sure how truthful the story is, but it helped establish the notion that he was always a despicable person, as confirmed in all his actions in the last 20 years,

✴️

I can’t believe I just watched Long Shot AGAIN, a month or two after my last re-watch! Despite its cliched tropes, I can’t get enough of the romantic chemistry between drop-dead beautiful Charlize Theron & the schlubby guy she once babysat. (Photo Above).

And, O'Shea Jackson Jr. is a carbon copy of his dad, O'Shea Jackson Sr.

✴️

Flesh Gordon, a cheesy “sex comedy” from 1974, cheap spoof of the 1930′s Flash Gordon serials. Gratuitous, unfunny soft-core stupidity.

The concept of ‘No Consent’ was central to many of the early sexploitation movies. Not camp!

✴️

Sons of Denmark, a misfired political thriller, about a growing anti-emigrant, white power movement in Denmark and its effects on the local Muslim population. 3/10

✴️

The HBO documentary Catch And Kill, Ronan Farrow’s new series, based on his podcast, which was based on his book which was based on his reportage (Talking about milking a story).

Farrow was a hero, Weinstein was a super-creep, and I must stop watching HBO-type documentaries.

- - - - -

(My complete movie list is here)

#movies

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localkatze · 1 year ago

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I've had friends say that when me and my brother play taiko it looks like we're hypnotized

#doodle #comic art #taiko drum master #if hell is real #then my personal hell is taiko.#taiko no tatsujin #太鼓の達人

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freckled-nebula · 3 years ago

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my OCs’ theme songs- Mira and Kora

Mira- Trailer Trash by carolesdaughter

i picked this song for mira because it kind of perfectly explains her life of living rupee to rupee in deya village. as a designated hunter, she was always on the road, either hunting or taking fresh kills to the communities she delivered to. deya village was extremely prone to monster attacks because of its location between central hyrule and zora village. she was used to having most of her possessions be destroyed every 6 months. life was either boring or torture, so she drowned most of it out with alcohol except for when she was actively hunting, when she was usually hungover. deya was basically flattened in the last attack, and talk around the town was no royal help was going to arrive any time soon. several of the townspeople decided to stay and make do, but not mira. she left town to find somewhere else to live and hunt. by the time the yiga jump her in gerudo desert, she has almost nothing to her name but a few blue rupees, her bow and arrows, and an apple or two. she was constantly at the brink of having nothing but managing to scrape by. joining the yiga clan actually gave her a sense of security she never had in deya.

Kora- Party Girl by Hey Violet

kora is a very naturally extroverted person, and is usually the first footsoldier chosen to mentor new recruits (which is how she meets Mira when she joins). she really doesn’t mind being the center of attention. hell, her talent she did to join the clan was playing the taiko drums- a skill she learned back in kakariko. However, she feels this constant need to be funny and happy and “on” when around other yiga she respects. kora was a victim of neglect in kakariko. when she was still a young sheikah, she reacted to this by rebelling constantly, getting into fights, stealing carrots, sneaking out of the village at night to go party at the stable close by. sure, her parents didn’t care when she told them she was trans or into girls, but they also didn’t care when she told them..... anything. or when she did anything. when she left kakariko and joined the yiga at 19, she kept that “eyes on me” mentality with her. The rebellion was mostly worked out of her pretty quickly, but she still feels a constant need for people to pay attention to her so they don’t go away. this means taking any bet around the bar counter at dinner time, rocking the stage at every party, and meeting and befriending absolutely as many people as she can. the more friends she has, the more she will have when some start leaving, right?

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konpithepuppy · 4 years ago

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[TRANSLATION: POTATO 01.2021]

7 MEN SAMURAI CROSSTALK AND SOLO INTERVIEW

Scans not mine

May not be 100% accurate

Feel free to correct me, thanks

Konno Taiki x Sugeta Rinne x Sasaki Taiko

I don't like the cold clothes I wear during winter mornings

Sugeta: Winter things like kotatsu and oranges...the number of times nabe is on the dinner table has increased, right?

Konno: In our home, we either have kimchi nabe or curry nabe.

Sugeta: In our house, my younger brother is bad with spicy food so we don't have kimchi. Even though kimchi is not that spicy. The staple in our house is the nabe where you eat the meat with ponzu.

Sasaki: That's mizutaki. Oyster nabe is delicious too. But, our family is on the oden side.

Konno: This is a winter thing that is personal, during winter, since I wear long trousers when I sleep, I feel hot after. Once in a while, I unconsciously take it off.

Sugeta: Why don't you just wear shorts from the start?

Konno: That's bad. I always insert my legs into the comforter when I sleep. In doing so, half of my body is under the comforter, and the other half is out of the comforter.

Sasaki: I understand, I understand! LOL in doing that, you'll get just the right temperature.

Konno: I feel at ease with that position.

Sugeta: I also have a thing that I do in winter. Until around 2 years ago, I go to sleep wearing my everyday clothes.

Sasaki: Then you're gonna wear that the next day too?

Sugeta: I will wear the washed clothes after taking a bath and I'll go out with those clothes the next day. In winter, the clothes we wear feels cold, right? Like jeans and such. I don't like wearing those for that period.

Konno: I don't like it too. I heat my pants in the dryer first before wearing it.

Sasaki: I also remembered something. During my elementary days, I go to sleep wearing a warm innerwear and tights the day before my morning training. It's a situation where you just have to wear a t-shirt and pants on top LOL.

Sugeta: Everyone is sensitive to cold LOL. Thinking of being compatible like kotatsu and orange, who do we think are best combinations in Johnny's?

Sasaki: This is a victory of Kishi Yuta-kun and Sato Shori-kun. I think they are really good friends. Their conversations are interesting too.

Sugeta: Tsukada (Ryoichi)-kun and Goseki (Koichi)-kun who do "cafe au lait brothers" in radio. The coffee is Tsukada-kun and the milk is Goseki-kun. They tried letting them do that and it trended in SNS.

Konno: Rinne is wandering looking for a partner for combination, right? LOL Your combi (combination/partner) right now is (Takahashi) Yuuto, am I right?

Sugeta: Yuutorin. I have other combinations too, but now this is my combi.

Konno: I give my support to Yuutorin. Since I want you to go for it LOL.

Sugeta: Thank you. Well then, I will desperately get involved with Yuuto LOL. (Desperately following/talking/hanging out with Yuuto)

Konno: Which reminds me of the Johnny's Island last 2019, (Iwasaki) Taisho and Taiko keep following Nagase-kun. His face looked so heavy.

Sasaki: We asked for favors and also got clothes from him! He treated us to yakiniku too.

Sugeta: Because if he didn't do those, he will be followed!

Sasaki: Because that's what Nagase-kun wanted.

Sugeta: He totally didn't want that! LOL

Sasaki: The people who we are following, they all want to be followed LOL. This has a strategy the same with love. First, we will bother that person, then we will do nothing next. In doing that, everyone will end up wanting to be followed. They will be happy when we follow them!

Konno: You mean you two exhaust those people who like to be followed LOL.

Motodaka Katsuki x Nakamura Reia x Yabana Rei

We walk alone in the middle of illumination LOL

Nakamura: Before sleeping during winter, I stay first under the kotatsu before lying down on my bed. Since it is cold to enter the comforter at once. But I cannot get out from the kotatsu since it is so warm so I end up sluggishly staying there.

Motodaka: I understand. In winter, we can't leave from a cozy place.

Yabana: And when you lie down on the bed and fall asleep, you cannot get out from it in the morning LOL. You'll say like "I want to sleep in this warm place forever"

Motodaka: It is a thing in winter.

Nakamura: I think the feeling of wanting to have a heart warming love is also a thing in winter.

Yabana: I understand~ there are now more love songs in the songs that [I] listen to. Also, the illuminations in streets are pretty around this time, right? That also accelerates the feeling of wanting to fall in love, right? LOL

Motodaka: The vicinity of places like Imperial Theatre is pretty. But it is full of couples.

Nakamura: Meanwhile, we are trudging going back and forth to Imperial Theatre LOL.

Yabana: Yeah yeah. I am thinking "why are you flirting out there" and I am learning the dirt in my heart LOL...let's change the topic because I'm becoming sad LOL.

Motodaka: I wonder if nabe is a winter staple, I had a burishabu which I made yesterday too.

Nakamura: Nabe, that sounds good. I like motsunabe. Tripe and guts portions of various types of meat make good impact that makes me want to eat it.

Yabana: As for me, what I want to eat right now is tsuufuu (gout) nabe.

Motodaka: You'll only put ingredients rich in what we call "purines", right?

Yabana: Yeah. Since I have woken up to the tastiness of shirako recently, I'm thinking of dropping those [to the pot] in large quantity then I want to eat those.

Nakamura: But that might be kinda difficult to eat during a date LOL.

Yabana: But on the contrary, I will be happy if we could together say "this is delicious" and have them.

Motodaka: A person who matches with your fave food. Certainly, that is important.

Nakamura: ...ha~ I want to fall in love LOL.

Yabana: In the end, that's the conclusion you came up with LOL. Other than food, what do you think are the other important things for compatibility?

Nakamaru: I'll be happy if our hobbies match to an extent. Or perhaps I should say that a person who won't get mad at me even if all I do is playing games would be nice LOL.

Yabana: For me, of course I will be happy if our hobby in music match, but I am not thinking that I want to force things to her. Rather, my partner being my partner, I want her to do the things she like.

Nakamura: Ah, that's nice. Having a partner who you both can spend your own pace might have the best compatibility [lit. most compatible] after all.

Motodaka: It's nice to share the same hobby but we don't want to force things, right? By the way, who would you label as the best combination that has the same level as the combination of kotatsu and oranges?

Yabana: I would give it to Uchi (Hiroko)-kun and Ishigaki (Daisuke)-kun. They have really good vibes.

Nakamura: They give the feeling of being "adult companions," combination, right? I, after all, like the combination of Nakajima Kento-kun and Kikuchi Fuma-kun.

Motodaka: I will say "I like that combination too" but I think everyone in our generation loves that combination.

Nakamura: "fumaken" is the strongest theory!

Motodaka: No objections!

Q. What do you want to ask from Santa?

Konno: I like accessories and clothes so I want for Santa to buy me those. I also want a bag. The clothes are in range of black color. Please understand my preferences and give me set of outfits that would last for a lifetime.

Sugeta: Ueda (Tatsuya)-Santa-san, I want a wallet. When I told about this to him the other day, I have been rejected by him replying "Are you a girl!?" LOL but I am waiting ❤ A new one or a hand me down from Ueda-kun is fine with me.

Sasaki: Please give me a lot. I ask for this every year but a lot with a wide space where you can build a mansion (condominium building) would be nice. With that, I want to study economics. If you like, shall I ask a land with a mansion (condominium building)? LOL.

Yabana: I want to be B'z-san's support member. I am going pratice like hell! When I watch B'z-san's live streaming, I once again thought that bass is cool. I am okay with recording only one song too!

Motodaka: I want a huge tuna LOL. Please leave it on my bedside on Christmas morning LOL. I think it is going to be fishy but my happiness wins so I will use it as a body pillow.

Nakamura: Since I buy that I like on my own, I don't need a thing. Because our stage play is starting so we are going to be busy everyday, I ask for a time in day where all of us [7 MEN 侍 members] can go to onsen to have fun ⭐

Recent Happening

Konno: Talking about the recent stage play 「The Happy Prince」where you only express using words, I challenged a performance that is more difficult than what I normally do. I think I was able to grow and it became a big experience for me. Since it has ended, I want to not neglect my body for it not to collapse. For that sake, I am sleeping a lot! LOL

Sugeta: I went to eat beef cutlets with Ukisho (Hidaka)-kun and Taisho. It was delicious and I had fun 🎶 Acutally on that day, Konpi also planned to go with us, when reached until the front of the restaurant, he suddenly went home for some reason. That is a mystery! LOL

Sasaki: I am attending driving school. I even passed the exam for temporary license. Since I am bad with travelling by train, it would be nice if I can travel by private car. Once I get my license, I have already decided which car to buy someday. Since I heard that that car looks cool and easy to ride.

Yabana: In this time's live of Uchi-kun, I was able to take part in the production more than the usual. The production reflected in my suggestion "How about doing stronger phrase in in the intro?" I could think "I did a band!"

Motodaka: In the dressing room for the stage play 「The Happy Prince 」(the play ended), Konpi (Konno) was watching many times the video of a person who is talking on the phone while riding on the vibrating diet machine and he laughed over the video. I was laughing everytime [he was watching the video] because Konpi's reaction was funny LOL.

Reia: Since I suddenly had a free time, I unexpectedly went to a dinosaur museum. I have always liked dinosaurs, I got excited just by seeing the bones that are displayed. Dinosaurs are dreamy after all. I want to find time to go there again.

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kuromikoneko · 5 years ago

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URL Song Tag Game

I was tagged by @doctorbeverlycrusher; thanks so much! K was VERY hard, hence 2/3 are Japanese/anime related. I tried not to take too long in deciding when my iTunes library had a LOT of options; went with first strong pull while looking through)

rules: spell out your url with song titles, then tag as many people as there are letters in your url!!

Kandatsu by Ooshima Michiru from FMA 2003 (Izumi confronting the brothers)

Until the Day I Die by Story of the Year

Raise a Little Hell from Bonnie and Clyde the Musical

O Death by Amy van Roekel from Until Dawn game

Magnum Bullets by Nightrunner (ft. Dan Avidan)

I Feel Everything by Idina Menzel

Kelas (Let’s Dance) by Ooshima Michiru from FMA Conquerer of Shambala

Odore, Dore, Dora Doraemon Ondo from Taiko no Tatsujin (drumming game)

No Good Deed by Kerry Ellis from Wicked

Every Heart (og by BoA) + Fukai Mori mashup by AmaLee (prefer ‘not at gentle YET)

Knock Knock by Ramin Djawadi from Person of Interest (Reese’s Theme)

Of Wolf and Man by Metallica

Tagging: @broadwaybaggins @halethebop @liho907lilo @canadianwheatpirates @wapwani @damelola @musetotheworld @unicyclehippo @inspectorboxer @hufflepufflovespizza @villanevening @thatoneuniverse

And of course, anyone else who wants to do this and tag me to see your song selections!

#miko things

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ridiasfangirlings · 7 years ago

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Title: Moon in Water 6/6

Fandom: K Project

External: AO3

Ratings/Warnings: T

Summary: A run in with trouble on a dark night lands Yata on an island that shouldn’t exist, with the first human he’s ever seen in his life. Except that everything about Fushimi is different from what Yata’s heard humans should be…

Notes: I started this for Sarumi Fest last year, so fittingly I’m finishing it for the fest this year. Please enjoy the final chapter ^^

“I’ll come back for you, all right?”

“You can’t, Misaki.”

The moon cast long shadows on the ground and Yata glanced back at the figure sitting on the rock. The small glowing blue gem on the bracelet gleamed softly, a light on the dark. Yata had held onto that wrist all the way through the forest, past danger that he knew he couldn't even fully grasp the shape of. They had emerged from the dark of the trees largely unscathed in the end, aside from a few small scratches and cuts. There was nothing but open sky between them now, and even so Yata felt as if he wanted to reach out again, keep hold of that thin wrist and make sure this person stayed in the light.

“Why not?”

“You saw him. That guy.” Hunched shoulders, fingers playing with the shining beads. “Everything that’s mine gets…”

“Gets…?” Yata prompted but his companion looked away instead, biting his lip.

“It’ll all be destroyed. He’ll be here soon, and he won’t—you can’t stay with me.”

“But…aren’t we friends?” Yata reached out a hand, fingers spread wide. “I want to play with you more!”

“Friends…” A shake of the head. “I don’t have any friends.”

“Yeah you do! I’m your friend!” Perfectly convinced, and wide eyes stared back at him. “If there’s a bad person after you I’ll rescue you! I’ll take you super far away and he won’t ever find you!”

“Take me far away…” There was something wistful in that tone that made Yata almost want to cry even though he wasn’t certain of the reason why. “You can’t. He…has something that’s mine. I can’t leave without it.”

“Then we’ll get it back! I know lots of good tricks for finding things. And if it’s you and me we can do anything!” Yata believed it completely. Hadn’t they made it the whole way through the forest together, made it safely away from the uwabami and hidden from the scary man with the shadowy monsters? If it was the two of them, Yata was certain they could take on anyone, no matter if they were small and weak. Together, they were strong.

“You can’t. Even if it’s us…it’ll all break.”

What will break? Yata was confused but didn’t ask, because he wasn’t sure he’d get an answer.

“But if I leave we might not see each other again.” The idea made Yata scrunch up his nose. Just when he’d found a friend, and now…

There was a sound from above them, wind whistling by, and they both looked up. A figure could be seen silhouetted against the moon, wide feathery wings and familiar braided hair.

“Mama!” Yata waved his hands and wondered if she could see him even in the dark.

“Here.” The bracelet was held out to him and Yata looked at it curiously. “She can see you when the stone shines.”

“But isn’t it yours?”

“Yeah, but…” Kicking at the dirt. “It’s not important. He’ll break it eventually anyway. So you keep it.”

“All right…” Yata held out his hands and the bracelet was dropped into his open palms. A bright smile lit up his face as he held it close, the gem glowing blue against his skin. “It’s pretty! The color’s like your eyes.”

The blue eyes widened again and Yata reached for his hand.

There was another gust of wind and Yata looked up, waving the bracelet in the air. He could see his mother’s shadow stop and then turn, arrowing straight towards him.

“Misaki.” Yata heard the voice behind him, soft and sure. “My name — my true name is —”

“Look, she saw us! I’m sure if Mama’s here we can—” Yata whirled back to look at his friend, hand still outstretched, but where his companion had been there was only a small pile of leaves. “H-hey, where…”

Before he could say anything more his mother’s wings folded around him and he was pulled into her arms, her head against his and a grateful sigh in his ear.

“Misaki….!”

–

“Misaki. Misaki.”

The soft but insistent voice dragged him from his dream and Yata’s eyes blinked sluggishly as he tried to remember where he was.

“I’m up, I’m up…” He shook his head, trying to erase the remnants of the dream that he could still feel lingering on the edge of his mind. Unconsciously one hand touched his bare wrist and a different memory came rushing back, blue stones falling into the grass and a shadow in the water. Yata’s face twisted in a grimace as he sat up, trying to stretch out his sore cramped wings. He’d fallen asleep in an awkward position against some of the taiko drums Totsuka had set up for the ceremony, wings draped carelessly around him, and there were flower petals in his hair.

Anna was staring back at him with an odd expression, her hair braided and plaited atop her head and decorated with flowers and kanzashi. The tips of her white wings had been dipped into some kind of gold dye that Kusanagi had received as a special offering and the red sigils that had been drawn on her forehead and cheeks stood out starkly against her white skin.

“A-Anna…” Yata sat up straight, swallowing a curse. “S-sorry, I fell asleep…” He laughed sheepishly, looking down at his hands.

It had been three days since he’d last gone to see Fushimi. He’d returned to Home Nest after their last talk angry and confused, going straight to his own nest and sleeping without a word to anyone. He’d spent the last few days throwing himself into the preparations for Anna’s ceremony, helping Totsuka and Kusanagi prepare everything while avoiding Anna herself, who seemed to be staring at him in concern every time he caught her eye.

The ceremony had finally begun that evening, just as soon as the sun had set, and per tradition was to last until sunrise when Mikoto would officially hand over control of Homra to Anna. Though the moon was still visible above the sky had lightened considerably since Yata last remembered looking, and it was clear that he had been asleep for several hours when he should have been celebrating with everyone else.

“Misaki has been tired lately.” Anna sounded concerned and Yata gave her a shaky smile.

“Well, we’ve been real busy and…and it’s not just me, Kusanagi-san’s been working hard, and Totsuka-san too, so I can’t slack off!” He laughed and it sounded painful and fake to his own ears. There was a small jangling of jewelry as Anna reached out and placed a hand on Yata’s wrist.

“Misaki is troubled.” Her eyes were half closed and her hands pressed together as if rolling dough, fingers entwined, white skin along white skin, and then a small hint of red as a tiny marble formed in her palm. She held it up to her eyes and Yata had to stop himself from stepping back as she turned her gaze on him. “Something painful happened?”

“Anna, you don’t have to—” Yata started to protest and Anna lowered the marble, staring at him with an open expression.

“Tatara says if something hurts you should share it with others,” she said quietly. “So it doesn’t grow big inside your chest, like a walnut that becomes a tree.”

“Ah…” Yata’s expression shifted, eyes lowered and his mouth a thin wavering line. “It’s—I thought somebody was my friend but they were lying to me all this time. Or…I guess he was? I mean — we haven’t known each other long but it felt like — like I should know him? Or like we’d been friends forever even though we only talked a little. He always acted like a jerk but then sometimes he’d smile at me, you know? And I felt proud because I made that guy smile. So I don’t get it. He couldn’t have meant that he was — but then what the hell was he talking about? If he’s in trouble I could help... but that guy isn’t the type who asks for help when he needs it.” Yata clenched a fist. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Misaki knows.” Anna’s hands closed over Yata’s fist, gentle fingers on taut skin. “That person has something important of Misaki’s, right?”

“Wait, you mean…my name? You could tell that?”

“Not that.” Anna shook her head. “He gave it back. Misaki’s been missing part of it since the first quarter moon. But now it's whole again.”

“He…gave it back to me?” That didn’t make any sense either. From what Fushimi had said, and from what he and that asshole Munakata had shown, just holding Yata’s name would have been enough to control Yata any way he wanted. If Fushimi had really been planning something — trying to eat him, or toying with him — it didn’t make sense that he would give the name back after everything.

“I can see it.” Anna held up the marble to her eye again. “Misaki’s name is whole. But the red string hasn’t faded. It connects here.” She touched a finger to his chest, above his heart. “A very old, almost forgotten feeling. But it remains there, strongly knotted. Tied to that person.”

“To…Anna, so—so you remember I told you about Fushimi, right?” Yata asked quietly.

“I saw a dream.” Anna moved the marble from palm to palm and it grew bigger with each passage of her hand until she needed both to hold it. “There was a name written on the moon. Someone was chasing after it and it kept shedding pieces and growing smaller, like a vegetable being cut. Finally that person’s hand managed to reach it, but it was too late. A monster rose up from the ground and swallowed the name and the moon. Without the moon there was only a long, long sleep. A red moon ate the sun, and the sun ate the moon, over and over. A sleeping child grew claws and teeth and tore at the earth, but he could not grasp what had been taken from him. That person cannot take back his own missing piece. It must be given.”

“I don’t get…” Yata’s voice trailed off as the memory of a familiar sullen voice seemed to echo in his ears, as clear as if Fushimi was right beside him. “There are things that are part of you, and that the world sinks into you. Your name, the wind blowing your face, the moon shining its light on you. If you lose it, you can’t be yourself anymore.”

Of course. Of course. Yata felt like an idiot for not having figured it out on his own, from the moment he’d seen the reflection of the nue in the water of the pool.

Someone had taken Fushimi’s name.

“Anna!” Yata’s head shot up, face determined. “How do I get it back for him?” Anna closed her eyes, shaking her head.

“The words were written on the moon,” she said quietly. “That was all I saw. I hoped…Misaki might understand the rest.”

The moon…? Yata’s mind flashed back to the dark pool again, to the white moon that had been reflected where a red one should be. Then…is that where his name is? In the water?

There was no way to be sure, but…it was the only idea he had, the only thing he could think of. If he could get Fushimi’s name back that would break whatever spell or curse had turned him into the nue, and then Yata could kick his ass for being such a stupid idiot who had to push Yata away instead of just fucking asking for help like a normal person.

“But how am I supposed to get the reflection of the moon out of the water?” Yata murmured to himself and Anna reached out and took his hands in hers, tugging him lightly so that found himself lowering down onto one knee.

“Misaki will find a way.” She leaned up, wings flapping a little to help keep her balance as she pressed her forehead against Yata’s. “Something precious was left behind. That person has been clinging to it all this time.”

“Is it…okay?” Yata asked quietly. “I mean, it’s your induction ceremony, and…”

“If Misaki is needed there, you should go.” Anna smiled gently. “So you won’t have any regrets.”

“Right.” Yata gave her a shaky smile. “Thanks, Anna. I’ll be back soon, all right? And I’ll have that guy with me.”

Anna only nodded, a thoughtful expression on her face, and Yata finally turned away from her, spreading his wings. In moments he was in the sky again, flying towards the island whose location he already seemed to know by instinct, as if some beacon there was guiding him back like a lighthouse in a storm.

–

The sun hadn’t risen yet by the time Yata reached Fushimi’s island and as he circled the pool Yata could still see that white moon gleaming in the water, bright and full despite the way the actual sky above was starting to lighten.

How do I get it out? Yata dipped a hand into the water just above the reflection of the moon. It rippled under his touch and there was a strange tingling feeling that spread throughout his body, as if he’d stepped inside a ringing bell, but once Yata raised his hand the water steadied and the reflection still remained, full and whole as always.

Yata glided low and then landed right at the edge of the water, staring down. The pool was deep and dark and it was impossible to tell how far down it went. Yata felt a surge of frustration — how the hell was he supposed to remove a reflection from the water? And even if he did, who knew if that really was where Fushimi’s name was hidden, or how Yata gave that back. Fushimi had said it himself, hadn’t he, and Munakata after that: name magic wasn’t tengu magic. Even if Yata had been someone with powers like Totsuka or Anna, trapping a name was beyond him.

“Misaki. Didn’t I tell you never to come back?” A cold voice made him turn. Fushimi stood directly beneath the torii gate, arms crossed, an almost weary look on his face.

“Why didn’t you tell me, you asshole?” Yata snapped back. “It’s your name, right? That’s why you transformed. Something stole your name.”

A momentary look of surprise crossed Fushimi’s face before it twisted into a frown as he gave a harsh bark of laughter.

“So you figured it out? It’s not hard if you know how magic works, Misaki.” Fushimi shrugged, taking a step forward. “This doesn't change anything. A sacrifice is still a sacrifice. Now that you’ve found out the game you’re no use to me anymore.”

“That’s not why I’m here.” Yata moved forward to meet him, refusing to lower his gaze. “I came to save you, Fushimi.”

“Save me?” Fushimi scoffed, shaking his head. “That was broken a long time ago, Misaki. Just like everything else. And you don’t even remember, do you? Even though to me it was the only good thing in the world. To you, it wasn’t even important enough for a memory.” He opened his hands then, and Yata saw the small familiar blue beads resting in Fushimi’s palm for just a moment before Fushimi tossed them away. “The sun is rising, Misaki. If you don’t want to be eaten, go away.”

“I’m not leaving,” Yata said firmly, bending down to pick up the fallen beads. They were still shining faintly and Yata's fingers clenched around them. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, and I don’t care. You’re my friend and I’m going to save you whether you want me to or not.”

“But…aren’t we friends?” A soft whisper on the wind, something rising from the depths of his memory for just a moment and then it flew away again, drawn out by invisible fingers, and Yata couldn't recall when he'd said those words, who he'd said them to.

“You’re going to die.” Fushimi’s voice was fierce and cold but there was an undercurrent of something like desperation that was impossible for even Yata to miss. “I won’t leave so much as your bones behind, Misaki. I’m going to destroy it all on my own. Bad luck, everywhere. So get the hell out of here and forget about me. It’s what you do best, after all.’

“Why the hell are you giving up so easily?” Yata reached forward then, roughly grabbing onto Fushimi’s thin wrist and holding tight.

“Let go of me, Misaki!”

“I’m not giving up on us, Fushimi,” Yata stated. “Let me help you, okay? I know you’re a stupid stubborn jerk, but you’re my stupid stubborn jerk and I want to save you. You know it’s time for our new King’s induction ceremony, right? And I left it. I left my flock during the most important time because right now there’s nothing that’s more important to me than fixing whatever the fuck is wrong with you!”

“You’re too late.” Fushimi’s voice was like a funeral bell, thick and heavy as he tore his wrist from Yata’s grip with an almost supernatural strength. Mist suddenly seemed to be gathering close around them and there was something pale and translucent about Fushimi’s skin. “Too late, Misaki…you’re far far too late…”

And then Fushimi was swallowed up the clouds as the sun burst over the horizon and bathed the entire island in bright yellow light.

“Fushimi!” Yata choked on mist that suddenly clogged his lungs as if it were thick smoke, his entire line of vision obscured. Yata swore and spread his wings, flapping hard in order to create a wind strong enough to blow the mist away, at least enough that he could see where he was standing. In the half light of the morning he could see that the island had already begun to change, just as he’d noticed when he’d come here the first time in the sunlight: as the mist poured out over the terrain everything suddenly grew more cracked and worn, as if years of disuse were catching up to it all at once. There was no sign of Fushimi whatsoever but the clouds still hanging low around him told Yata that Fushimi was probably nearby — the nue Fushimi, at least, and Yata took a careful step back towards where he knew the pool had to be.

He needed to figure out a way to get Fushimi’s name out of the moon and the moon out of the water, he knew that much, but Yata had no idea how to do it. If he just reached his hand in now, in the light, would it come to him? Or…

The prospect of diving in made him bite his lip, recalling how he’d almost drowned the first time. Water was an opposing element for tengu, and swimming to the depths in search of something that might not even be reachable was a poor plan even by Yata’s admittedly thin standards.

A sound cut through the mist, the high lonely bird’s cry that Yata recognized immediately, and he barely took to the sky in time to avoid Fushimi’s claws as the nue jumped at him. Fushimi’s eyes were glowing red, staring at him as though he was nothing more than a piece of meat, than prey. They weren’t Fushimi’s eyes at all, and the thought had barely crossed Yata’s mind before Fushimi attacked again, the thick striped legs and sharp tiger claws scoring deep gashes in the ground where they just missed ripping through Yata’s limbs. He cursed to himself as he pulled the wooden spoon from where it was still strapped against his back, lengthening it into a staff just in time to parry another attack.

“Fushimi!” Yata tried desperately, staff still held up in a defensive position. “Hey! It’s me, you idiot! I’m trying to help you!”

There was the bird call again, echoing and haunted, and all of a sudden the mist started swirling around Yata fast and thick, all but pinning him inside. Yata swung his staff once to disperse it and then jumped into the air, settling on the worn torii gate out of reach of the nue.

The nue, which was now between him and the suddenly clouded pool.

Now what? Yata thought, fingers clenching on the staff. He needed to get to the pool but he couldn’t do anything while defending himself from Fushimi, who was as fast and agile as he’d been the first time Yata had run into him, before Yata had known who the nue really was. He could try and lose Fushimi in the woods but Yata knew he couldn’t waste too much time on running around — he didn’t know how long it would take to retrieve Fushimi’s name and the possibility of being waylaid by who knew what else was hiding on this stupid island was high.

Suddenly the gate lurched and Yata gave an undignified squawk, clinging to the wood as he glanced downwards. Fushimi was slamming his body against the bottom of the gate, as if trying to bring it down. Another powerful slam was enough to make Yata lose his footing entirely and he opened his wings awkwardly as he half-flew, half-fell to the ground just along the slope of the hill. Fushimi was already approaching him, slow and predatory like a cat cornering a bird, and Yata couldn’t help but glance helplessly beyond him at where he knew the pool was.

He was being herded away and he didn’t know how to stop it. At this rate he would have to give up, and then Fushimi…

No. Yata’s hands tightened on his staff, teeth clenching. He didn’t even know why he was so determined — it wasn’t like they’d known each other long, and Fushimi had been in turns frustrating and annoying, mood swings and mocking words, and even in those few moments they’d connected Yata had always felt as if there was something…missing, in their interactions, as if he was constantly stretching for something that was always dangling just out of reach. But even so he wanted to keep holding his hand out, wanted to grasp that invisible thing between him and Fushimi, wanted to talk to him more, to see him smile again, to make him laugh. If he retreated now, they might never see each other again.

A thick dark cloud suddenly descended on him from above, obscuring his vision, and it was only instinct that allowed Yata to sweep his staff up in time to block Fushimi’s next attack. As it was he still found himself sent reeling, again rolling down the hill and banging his knees against hard cracked stone. He had barely managed to get to his feet when Fushimi was there once more in front of him, eyes burning, not a single sign of recognition in the monstrous face, and even as Yata reached for his fallen staff he wasn’t sure if he could parry the next blow in time.

“Misaki!” He heard the familiar voice in his bones, almost, and the moment Yata looked up a sudden burst of flame lit up the dark mist surrounding him. Fushimi hissed and dived back, muscles taut and still clearly on the hunt, eyes never leaving Yata’s as Yata stumbled to his feet and followed the source of the flames with wide eyes. Through the thinning mist Yata was able to make out a handful of figures descending towards him.

“Mikoto-san!” He recognized the flame red wings instantly — Mikoto and Kusanagi, and half a dozen other Homra members flying towards him, landing between him and the now wary Fushimi.

But…how? Yata’s throat felt dry even as his heart leapt with relief. Fushimi said you couldn’t find the island without knowing where it is…

“Misaki!” A rustle of beads and feathers and Anna landed beside him, a black fur stole wrapped around her shoulders.

“Anna…it’s not safe here, what are you—”

“We came to help Misaki.” Anna’s face was tired but determined, and suddenly Yata remembered how she’d pressed her forehead against his before he left.

Anna was a Diviner, and Yata was part of her flock. Of course she would know where Yata was, even if that location was hidden from the eyes of every other person in the world.

“I don’t know what to do,” Yata admitted breathlessly, eyes not leaving the figures of Mikoto and the others as they kept Fushimi at bay. “I know his name has to be in the water, but…”

“It can only be retrieved by hands that are truly willing to reach for it.” The voice came from Anna’s coat and Yata nearly jumped at the sound. Now that she was beside him he could see that it wasn’t a fur stole at all around her shoulders but a thin wiry fox, nine tails waving even in this form.

“Reisi knows this magic,” Anna said by way of explanation, and Yata furrowed his brow.

“Willing to…what the hell does that mean?”

“If it is trapped in the water, you must dive in.” Munakata’s voice was calm, despite the chaos around them. “Unless you are too afraid, Yatagarasu-kun?”

“I’m not—” Yata shook his head, steeling himself. “Anna…make sure they don’t hurt Fushimi, okay?”

“Mmm.” Anna nodded, touching his hand. “I gave an order, not to burn anything that doesn’t need to be burnt. So Misaki can go save his friend.”

“I-I’m off, then.” Yata spread his wings and leaped into the air without another word, arrowing straight for the pool. His wings flattened as he rose higher into the air, clearing the line of smoke and mist, and the pool below was murky and clouded. But even so Yata could just make it out – a wavering image of a pure white moon, deep within the water.

Fushimi… Yata swallowed, glanced back once, and then down again at the pool. You better be grateful for this, you asshole!

Yata drew his wings up close to his body and dived straight down into the water.

“What are you doing, little monkey?”

The words burned in his ears and his body tensed as he looked up from where he’d been drawing a sign in the dirt with a stick. A man stared down, teeth bared in a smile, white and sharp, and it made his entire body shake all the way from his ears to…

(Not mine, Yata realized, because it wasn’t. He was looking at things from Fushimi’s eyes, listening to Fushimi’s thoughts echoing in his own ears — his body was nothing but a thought, limbs he couldn’t feel, wings that were like a sketch of a thing that once existed along the back that wasn't there, he couldn’t ruffle his feathers or speak or breathe—)

(But he didn’t need to, because he wasn’t drowning. There was a moon shining just out of reach, and all that Yata was had been enveloped by the echoes of Fushimi’s memory.)

“I wasn’t doing anything.” The voice was dull and sullen, exactly Fushimi’s usual tone, but there was a noticeable tension along his shoulders, Yata could feel it, and his — Fushimi’s — feet shifted slightly, the smallest hint of nervousness. The man in front of him — Niki, the memory whispered, like the smooth hiss of a snake — smiled wider.

“Do want to play a game?” Niki clenched a fist and Fushimi gave the smallest yelp, involuntary, and Yata could feel the rush of irritation swelling in on him from all sides at the slip. There was a burst of pain and Fushimi’s hands and arms seemed to move of their own accord, wiping out the sign easily.

“Go away!” It was like the bark of a desperate kit abandoned in the snow, and Niki laughed.

“All right, all right, we’ll play!” Niki opened his hands, and small floating fires appeared there. “Let’s see if you can outrun these. All right, (—)?”

(It was like a sudden buzzing in Yata’s ears, something that had wiped out the name that had been spoken from even Fushimi's own mind, from his own memories.)

Fushimi’s whole body jerked up at the sound of it, eyes wide, breath catching not of his own accord, and Niki laughed.

“I’ll give you a head start. What do you say?”

Something like terror welled up in his throat, terror and hatred and a bone deep chill like Yata had never felt before, and Fushimi ran.

The fires followed, and burned marks deep in his skin that didn’t disappear for weeks. Niki laughed.

Then Yata was himself again for just a moment, water washing over him and he could almost see his own hands outstretched in front of him before Fushimi's memories swallowed him up again.

He was ill, shivering on top of the cold offering stone. Someone had left plants there — herbs, Yata thought for a second, before Fushimi’s memories corrected him with poison ivy leaves and hemlock — and his head was spinning.

Figures moved around him, in and out of the shadows. Yata and Fushimi could both hear them, dimly, though only Yata could really make out the words.

“That’s his child.”

“Don’t touch him.”

“We should have known better than to let them stay here. That kind brings only bad luck and tragedy.”

“Where is he? He’ll come back as long as the child’s here. They aren't our tribe, we can't allow them to stay.”

“We should have cast him out long ago, the moment we learned what he really was.”

“You do that. I’ll watch. That one is too strong.”

“Has always been too strong. Even the child…”

“The child has your blood, doesn’t it?” This last directed to a woman, with cold eyes and sharp claws, and she turned away without even looking at the figure on the stone.

“Not mine.” Her voice was colder than the rock Fushimi lay on. “Even I couldn't break that illusion, that's all. Look at his color, his blood is all one with that man. No part of him is mine.”

Midnight, and Fushimi managed enough strength to crawl to the woods and vomit. Something tugged on him, pulling him back like a dog on a leash, and Niki was there reflected in the moon, watching.

“You’re no fun today, monkey. Hey, (—) aren’t you angry? They left you to die. Only Daddy came back for you. Daddy will always come back for you.”

Niki leaned in, whispered in Fushimi’s ear.

“Go warm things up for them.”

Something painful again, a sharp pull like a noose around his neck, and Fushimi stood.

A rush of images ran together, fingers dancing with flames, the sound of screams and a shrine bathed red and orange by fire, until finally there was only Fushimi standing there, alone.

Alone except for Niki, who stood beside him and smiled.

“Don’t worry. Papa will be with you forever. Isn’t that nice?”

Yata felt himself flailing a little under the water, lost for a moment, body tumbling helplessly down and he had the briefest glimpse of something white and shining before he was dragged back under into Fushimi’s memories.

Everything broke. Any toy he found, left for him in pieces. Any friend he made, chased away with fire and illusions and monsters set loose.

Fushimi wandered alone along the forest path, feet bare. Niki wasn’t around, but that didn’t mean anything. He would be there eventually. He always was, and there was no escaping that.

Something small and glowing caught his attention and Fushimi knelt down. There along the side of the path was a tiny glowing blue stone set in a bracelet. It had likely been left behind after the last one of Niki’s fires — another tribe had taken shelter in the old shrine again, and had stayed there for over a month before Niki chased them off laughing. A couple of them had smiled at him when they’d spotted him hiding in the trees, not realizing that just by Fushimi seeing them their fate had been sealed.

He reached down and picked up the bracelet, staring at the glowing stone. It felt cool against his skin, and the light was a little soothing.

Niki would break it, of course, so there was no point in getting attached to even something as small as this.

Even so, Fushimi slipped it into his pocket anyway.

(But that’s — Yata recognized the bracelet, hands he couldn’t see but still knew were there moving on instinct to touch his invisible wrist, the place where that bracelet had been for years until he’d given it to Fushimi. But the bracelet itself had been given to him by —)

(By —)

(By—)

Yata felt water entering his lungs and his body was heavy like a stone, pulled down further and further, and he could see the bottom of the pool at last — a great dark plain dotted with destroyed statutes and lit by a single pale moon. His feet hit the lakebed and dust billowed up around him, and made shapes like letters that floated away from Yata’s outstretched hands.

“I’m — ! I’m six years old.” A warm laugh, a warm smile. “Do you live in a bush?”

(The memory was dim and faded over, stretched thin like animal hide over a rock, and Yata felt it bubbling between his own fingertips, just out of reach.)

“But…isn’t that lonely?”

[It’s not.] The words echoed, Fushimi’s thoughts filling the entire space of the world. [I’m not lonely. I’m fine on my own. I’ve always been fine on my own.]

“The most amazing guy I’ve ever met.”

[Not that amazing.] Heavy thoughts, a millstone dragging him down. [I’m not. I can’t even hold onto —]

“I can’t leave you by yourself!”

[Why not?] True confusion, so strong Yata could feel it bubbling in his veins like blood. [Everyone else has. Everyone always does.]

“But…aren’t we friends?”

[I don’t have any friends.] Desperate now, as if Fushimi himself didn’t even believe those words.

“If there’s a bad person after you I’ll rescue you! I’ll take you super far away and he won’t ever find you!”

[You can’t.] But there was a sensation building up in Fushimi’s throat, hope and loneliness and longing, the desire to believe those words were true. Words no one had ever said before, not to him. No one ever came back for him except that guy. But bright eyes were shining down on him, a smile and a promise, and Fushimi took the bracelet from his wrist and held it out.

A flutter of wings, and Fushimi looked down at the small red feather left lying behind.

“W-wait, that’s—” Yata spoke without meaning to and water immediately filled his mouth, suffocating and cold and the world around him had gone bright bright white, the pale moon swallowing up everything around him.

“What did you find, little monkey?” Niki, smiling down at him, and Fushimi remained perfectly still.

“Nothing.”

“You were gone so long, and Papa couldn’t find you. The sarugami all killed each other before you could play with them.”

“I wasn’t doing anything. You know I wasn’t, or you would have made me come and play, right?” Almost a challenge, and instead of being angry Niki laughed.

“That’s right, (—).” He raised a hand and Fushimi’s body jerked as if held by an invisible leash. “Hey, monkey, where’s that bracelet you’ve been hiding?”

“I lost it in the water.” He kept his voice flat, and Niki laughed.

“Is that so? My poor monkey lost his prized possession in the water. Want to go look for it? I found an onamazu the other day and let it loose in the pool, you two can play!”

Niki laughed and Fushimi kept his head down, following obediently as Niki began to ascend the temple steps.

Behind them, hidden under an offering stone, was a small blood-stained handkerchief and a single red feather.

It wasn’t like drowning. Yata was still falling now, but falling up — not through water but through something else, dust coalescing around him still in characters that flew by too fast for him to hold onto, and there was a word he couldn’t read carved into the surface of the moon.

[I have to leave.] Fushimi was digging beneath a rock, desperate. His hands were red, and in the distance Yata could hear an odd sound that reminded him of the time he’d spotted a mountain beast eating a goat while searching a mountaintop. There was the vague feeling lingering in Fushimi’s memories that was almost like guilt and almost like relief. [The nue will eat me next if I don’t get out of here.]

Niki had thought he could control it. Another one of his tricks, dragging something onto the island that didn’t belong there. But it had slipped out of his grasp this time — the wrong name, he could almost laugh — and there was nothing left of that man now except memories that Fushimi was all too ready to forget.

[There.] He moved the stone aside and it was still where he had left it, his treasure — the handkerchief and the feather, both old and dirtied but still there.

[I’ll find him.]

[He said he would come back.]

[Together, we can—]

He was running up the hill as fast as he could go, clutching his treasures to his chest. If he used the feather and the name, and called — surely that person would answer. That person who had held out a hand to him, who had smiled at him, who had burned brighter than anyone Fushimi had ever seen. He only needed to call, and finally he’d be able to leave.

The moon above was growing larger the higher he walked up the hill, and the torii gate seemed small beneath it. He didn’t notice, white hands on red cloth.

[I don’t need anyone else. As long as it’s us two together—]

The moon began to laugh.

Fushimi stopped, stumbled, cutting his knees on the stones. The handkerchief in his hands writhed, turning pitch black as it slipped from his grasp and moved like a snake along the grass and stones, growing larger and longer, a shadow stretching beneath the moon that was too too large and the feather fell to the ground—

Fushimi cursed, fingers digging into his palm, and the rest of the world was drowned out by familiar laughter.

[A trick — I should have expected, I’m such an idiot, of course he knew—]

Everything seemed to be happening too quickly, so quickly that Yata could barely catch the pieces of memory that were glowing bright around him. Niki’s shadow, hands outstretched and laughing, still laughing — and then the grass beneath Fushimi’s feet began to glow and Fushimi whirled, something large on the horizon behind him backed by storm clouds — the shrine shook and crumbled, stones crashing into each other, statues falling to pieces into the crystal pool that had gone deep red like blood — and there were words written on the moon, words that slipped through Fushimi’s fingers as they were torn away — taken away, from everyone, his own mind gone blank with the name he hated so much and now couldn’t recall and his fingers were changing, skin peeling back to reveal white bone and behind him the nue opened its mouth wide—

And all in a rush, Yata remembered.

“I’m Yata Misaki! I’m six years old.”

Alone in a forest, lost. Blue eyes peering out of the bushes.

“Yeah, you don’t have wings! But I bet I could carry you!”

A small sullen face that looked like it never smiled, like it didn’t know what smiling was.

“Don’t worry about it. Just…don’t give your name to anyone here but me, all right?”

And hadn’t he been warned, then? The only protection someone like Fushimi could offer: “Don’t give your name to anyone here but me.”

“I can’t leave you by yourself!”

He hadn’t wanted to. It was rushing in on him from all sides now, memory after memory, his own feelings and Fushimi’s crashing together so hard it was almost painful, and in front of his eyes there was nothing but a sea of stars. He’d always planned to come back eventually. To see this person again. His first real friend.

“If there’s a bad person after you I’ll rescue you! I’ll take you super far away and he won’t ever find you!”

A promise. He could feel Fushimi’s emotions again, a surge of longing and hope and something so like pain it made his eyes water. All this time, Fushimi had been waiting on him to come back, and Yata had forgotten it all.

He could see the words again, the characters of Fushimi’s name slipping between pale fingers and suddenly Yata’s own hands were reaching too, grasping helplessly for the memories that had been torn away from even his own mind, swallowed up by the moon and the water — the final curse that had taken Fushimi’s name and erased it from everywhere, everyone, that had taken away those precious memories so swiftly and silently that Yata hadn’t even realized what had been stolen from him until now.

Yata’s head broke open the water’s surface and he gasped, dragging himself onto the shore, and looked around.

He was still on the island and yet he wasn’t. The entire sky was pitch black, not even a single star to be seen. The pool was glowing softly, the reflection of a red moon and a bright sun side by side in the water. The grass beneath Yata’s feet was cool and damp and sludge gray. The forest in the distance was a mass of black ghosts, branches outstretched like claws, and the torii gate loomed large above his head, stretching up into infinity beyond the atmosphere.

On the grass beneath the gate was a small boy of about six, with sad blue eyes and a thin frame, holding a temari ball that glowed softly with moonlight, embroidered with characters that Yata couldn’t make out. The threads seemed to have been smudged somehow, and there were sharp needles poking out from various places, piercing the child’s hands so that blood dripped down. Despite that the child didn’t cry, only stared at Yata with those too-familiar eyes.

“Fushimi.” Yata took a step towards him, and the child Fushimi stepped back. He looked just the way he had in Yata's memories, untouched by the curse of his father and the nue, not a mere human any longer. “Hey, it’s all right. I’m here now, okay? Sorry it took so long.”

“Go away.” The words were hollow, echoing in the unnatural stillness of their surroundings.

“I can’t.” Yata shook his head. “You’re the kinda guy I can’t leave alone, you know? We’re gonna go back together.”

“Can’t go back.” Fushimi’s eyes were dark, and Yata could see the reflections of the stars whirling inside them. “Can’t go forward. I have to stay here.”

“That’s wrong,” Yata said, forceful. “You can’t stay in one spot forever. It’s time to move forward.”

“I’m lost,” Fushimi said, and a cold wind blew past. The torii gate seemed to glow in the darkness and beyond it there was no longer forest but something else — a great dark silhouette that swallowed up everything in its wake, and a pair of glowing red eyes. The shadow of the nue growled softly, and Fushimi took a step back towards it.

“That’s not the way.” Yata reached for his arm and Fushimi stepped back, further under the gate, keeping his distance. The temari moon in his hands glowed softly, and the threads shifted and writhed like snakes.

“It’s the only way out.” Empty words, empty eyes, empty sky above. Fushimi’s body seemed somehow weary suddenly, like a child of famine staring at the desert around him.

“It’s not. Let me show you.” Yata took a careful step forward, and Fushimi took another step back.

“He’ll eat you. That guy…everything gets destroyed. Everything that’s mine, he takes and twists until it breaks. Because he named me, so my name belongs to him. I belong to him, forever.”

“He’s not here anymore,” Yata said. “I saw your memories. That guy’s dead. This is just a trick he left behind.”

“Even if he’s not here, I’m still his. There’s no way out for me.” Hands tightening over the moon, and more blood dripped down.

“Fushimi…” And the name sounded wrong somehow now, as if it wasn’t the one Yata should be calling. He found his eyes drawn to the moon again, to the twisted threads moving steadily beneath its surface, Fushimi’s blood staining it red. The stains faded after only a moment, swallowed up by the threads, and the moon pulsed with an eerie light.

“He…has something that’s mine. I can’t leave without it.”

Something was wrong.

It didn’t look right. Fushimi there, small and scared with blood on his hands and the moon with its hundreds upon hundreds of moving threads. The water beside him rippled, and Yata looked into Fushimi’s eyes again. Reflected in them he could just see it — twin moons, shining. Yata found himself reaching into his pocket and wrapping his fingers around the item he found there.

Small blue stones, still glowing with faint light.

“And if it’s you and me we can do anything!”

And then he was small again, a tengu just growing into his wings, six years old and still a bit shorter than the boy standing in front of him. Yata held out his palm, showing Fushimi the stones shining bright, the remains of the treasure he had held on to all this time even though the reason why had been stolen from him.

“If you’re lost it’s best to stay with someone else, right?” Yata grinned. “This time, I’ll show you the way!”

Fushimi’s eyes widened, breath catching, and another gust of wind blew by, so strong that it nearly blew the moon from out of Fushimi’s grip. The beast in the darkness behind him growled again, a distant rumble of thunder, and somewhere far far away was the faintest sound of mocking laughter. Fushimi’s ears twitched, body stiffening, but Yata remained there firm, wings braced against the wind, and hand outstretched.

“Let me take you home, okay?”

The wind rose around them, an angry howl, tearing at both of their clothes, but Yata didn’t move. Despite the gale the stones in his palm didn’t shift so much as an inch.

“Misaki.” The word tore itself from Fushimi’s throat like a cry and suddenly he crossed the space between them, one hand reaching for Yata’s as the other let go of the moon — which turned dark red as it hit the ground, now nothing more than a frayed bloody handkerchief and it didn’t matter because that wasn’t what Yata had been looking for, wasn’t what he’d come here for at all, and Yata wrapped his arms around Fushimi and held him close as the world was swallowed up by a blinding white light.

And then he was standing there in front of the now clear pool which no longer reflected anything but the exact sky above, the sun still bright and the sky cloudless and blue. Yata opened his hands and a sprinkling of stardust fell from his fingers, scattering into the wind. Even so, his hands shone with a soft blue light.

“Sorry I took so long, Saruhiko.”

He took a step forward and then another, half running and half flying as he rushed down the hill where Fushimi was penned in at the very edge of the forest, the rest of Yata’s flock surrounding him. He saw Mikoto look up as he came close, eyes darting first to Yata and then to Anna still standing back at the top of the hill below the torii gate. He gave a nod of his head and suddenly the flock scattered, feathers raining down, and then it was just Yata, face to face with the nue.

Fushimi gave a low growl, that lonely keen of a bird again, and this time it made Yata’s heart ache just a little as he took a step closer, hands spread wide.

“Hey. You were here a long time, huh? You should’ve just said something.”

Clouds were gathering around him, obscuring the landscape and everything else around them, until it was just Yata and Fushimi, face to face. He could sense it in the back of his mind, a soft sound like the ringing of a bell: Anna’s presence, reminding him that she was there. If he called for help she would have Mikoto and the others by his side in an instant, to help fight off the nue if need be.

Yata smiled a little ruefully, another step forward. It was weird, wasn’t it…all this time he’d been worried, that there was nothing to him but what his fists and his strength could do. But here he was, face to face with a monster, and he had no intention of fighting.

“I said I’d be back for you. Saruhiko.” The nue seemed to pause at the sound of the name, the red eyes dimming just a little. Yata took another step forward. “I know it kinda took me a while. You were here all this time, by yourself, waiting…but I’m here. That guy didn’t destroy us. We’re friends, right? The first friend I ever had. You don’t forget people like that.”

He was nearly within arm’s reach of the nue. Fushimi growled again, not the bird call but something low and guttural, like a wounded beast. Even so, Yata kept advancing, arms opened wide and palms flat.

“You’re the kind of guy who never says anything honestly, huh?” Yata smiled. “You could’ve just asked for help, you dummy. You didn’t have to chase me away. Nothing here is strong enough to break us. Even—even if I forgot…I’m back now. So don’t you dare disappear on me this time, you stupid idiot.”

Fushimi was backing up this time, closer and closer to the forest edge, but Yata didn’t stop approaching. He held out a hand, and he could almost see small letters dancing on his palm, tiny flecks of stardust glowing in the haze of the clouds.

“Come on, Saruhiko. Come back to me. We got a lot to talk about.”

The nue’s fur bristled like a frightened animal and suddenly it ran at him, mouth open, eyes burning, claws silver-bright even in the darkness.

Still, Yata stood his ground.

The characters in his palm suddenly began to grow brighter and brighter, so much that Yata had to throw up his other arm to cover his eyes, and he heard a sound like thunder in his ears—

—the sound of something unraveling, shattering, the cry of a bird and then—

—that hint of mocking laughter again, slowly, slowly, fading away.

When Yata opened his eyes again he was on the ground, having fallen to his knees without even realizing it. His palm was empty and the clouds had burned off, leaving him sitting alone in front of the forest that was suddenly growing green and verdant in front of him.

Something shifted in his lap, and Yata looked down.

“Saru…hiko…?”

“I didn’t say you could use my first name, Misaki.” Fushimi seemed unsteady on his legs as he stood, gray fur tinted with starlight as he shook himself off. Familiar blue eyes stared back at him and Yata couldn’t help but grin at the thin fox standing in front of him.

“You gave it to me, didn’t you?” Yata laughed. “If you didn’t want me to use it you shouldn’t have said anything. I mean…it was dangerous, wasn’t it?”

“As if an idiot like you could do anything even with my entire name.” Fushimi shook again and there was a small fall of stars as his body shifted, no longer a fox but the humanoid form Yata was familiar with — but this time there were black-tipped pointed ears on his head, and four tails waving behind him.

“You got more,” Yata said, looking at him. “You only had three tails last time.”

“Of course, moron, just because I was sleeping doesn’t mean I couldn’t age,” Fushimi snorted. “It took you long enough to get back here, Misaki.”

“Yeah, I know.” Yata couldn’t stop the fond smile crossing his face. “Sorry I made you wait, Saruhiko.”

“Tch.” Fushimi clicked his tongue as if annoyed but Yata thought he could see the faintest hint of red on his cheeks.

“Misaki!” Anna’s voice made him turn, waving his hands as he saw her and the rest of the flock flying down towards him. She took hold of his wrist as she landed, looking him over for injuries. Yata noticed that Fushimi seemed to tense a bit as the flock surrounded them and Yata moved a little closer to him.

“It’s all right Anna, I’m okay,” Yata assured her. “It takes more than a guy like this to take me down.”

Fushimi clicked his tongue again, crossing his arms, and Yata gave him a playful nudge in the ribs.

“Oh? So this is your Fushimi-kun.” Yata looked up and scowled as Munakata approached them, also back in his humanoid form with all nine tails displayed proudly behind him. He was looking at Fushimi with a keen-eyed expression that made Yata suddenly want to hold Fushimi even closer, just to make sure this bastard knew who Fushimi belonged to. For his part Fushimi was watching Munakata warily, clearly confused but on his guard. “A nogitsune. It’s been some time since I have met with one of your tribe.”

“Tch.” Fushimi clicked his tongue, tails waving, and he seemed to be moving a step closer to Yata without even quite realizing it. “Having a nogitsune in a fox tribe is bad luck, isn't it?”

“Only to those who believe such things.” Munakata's smile was thoughtful and interested, and Yata scowled at him, hand reaching for Fushimi's.

“H-hey, you haven’t seen the sun in a while, right? I mean, as you.” Yata smiled brightly at Fushimi, who immediately turned his gaze from Munakata back to Yata, ears swiveling with the movement. “Come on, I bet we can get a good view from the top of the hill.”

He tugged on Fushimi’s wrist and even though Fushimi clicked his tongue again he stepped forward anyway, eyes only on Yata, and there was something soft in his expression that made Yata's face feel warm.

The sun shone brightly down on them, and Fushimi’s hand closed tightly over Yata’s.

#sarumi fest 2018 #Fushimi Saruhiko #Yata Misaki #sarumi #K Project #fic #I know this took a long time I'm sorry ;;#but I finished it!#I hope any of you still reading enjoy the last chapter :)

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