#yatsukahagi

[yamazakura-shinden]

I had a lot of fun drawing these^^

[indulgenceweave]

#1: Steer

Akane learned long, long ago that it is not the grand gestures that bend fate to her whims.

It is the gentle nudges above all else. The quiet pulls upon forgotten strings.

Time and again has Akane watched the mighty fall. Time and again has she watched the players fumble their winning hands. They swing too wide, aim too high, shine too bright– when all they need is the whisper of the right words in the right ears.

“I am most fond of wisteria, my Lord,” she says to the merchant king, asking her to choose between the wisteria and the cherry blossom.

“No, my Lady,” she says to the wife of a visiting knight, who suspects her husband of an affair.

“Yes, my Lord,” she says to the Oyabun, who asks if she is willing to play seductress to undermine a rival.

“No, my sweet,” she says to the killer, a blade in the night, whose path in life is yet uncertain, who asks if she should leave this place forever.

“Yes, my Love,” she says to the woman by her side, gazing upon her with demonic eyes, who asks if she want to see the city burn. 

The merchant king falls to madness, confusion and ill-health overcoming him; his first clash with wisteria seed poisoning, before he is compelled to consume flame to burn the poison from his body.

The foreign knight is slain in an act of passion, his betrayed bride hanged for her crimes; his warband burning and pillaging the rival clans in a desperate fight for survival.

The rival dies, his men cut down in an ambush, the wrong advisor outed as a mole and executed before the castle is raided and burned. New people, new lands, new wealth makes its way into Akane’s hands, and all she has to do is gaze upon the fire.

The killer stays, and in the heated moments before an assassin comes to take Akane’s head, the killer strikes them down. Their master’s name is picked from the corpse, and the killer delivers a torch to their home the next day. All she has to do is enjoy her drink by the fire.

The city is darkened by the shadow of war, heralding the second Age of Blood. The tides of fate rise and they fall and carry the hopes and dreams and fears of the souls of Kugane with them– and the odds upon which the Queen of Spiders places her wagers. A war is what makes Akane truly powerful among Hingashi’s elite.

That is how she steers fate: a little tug, a little nudge, a little whisper, and she sits by and enjoys the rising of the fire.

[wei75631]

P6 Idea : Jungles and World Trees

"Jungle" in P6 is equivalent to the palace in P5. It is an obstacle that players must pass to advance the main plot, and it is also a turning point for adding new companions. The concept of "jungle" corresponds to the saying "concrete jungle = city". Each jungle is the product of human collective subconsciousness, corresponding to the Kleshas and Three Poisons of Buddhism respectively.

Jungle of Mirrors

This is the jungle created by "Delusion (Moha)", rooted in the subconscious of young people who feel confused during adolescence, and the sport girl breaks in to save her club members. When players go deep into the jungle, they also have to rescue people trapped in the mirror. The boss of Jungle of Mirrors is named "Jabberwocky of Moha". It will temporarily disappear like a chameleon. At this time, players cannot damage it with weapons or physical attacks. Only by using skills can they force it to appear. In addition, it will summon Bandersnatch and Jubjub Bird to serve as its thugs. After Jabberwocky is defeated, it will laugh at the protagonist's futility before leading to death, because if you want to solve the problem, you must catch the mastermind behind it, otherwise this lost world will be filled with many subconscious monsters like it.

Jungle of Webs

This is the jungle created by "Hate (Dvesha)", inspired by the use of cyberbullying by prejudiced people, with spider web elements that also correspond to the computer "web". The advisor boy came here to rescue the navigator boy. As long as he joins his companions, he can rescue people trapped in spider silk.The boss of Jungle of Webs is named "Yatsukahagi of Dvesha". Players cannot directly attack its body and must break its eight legs one by one. In addition, this big spider will spin silk and give birth to spiderlings to hinder players. After Yatsukahagi is defeated, the people of Ragnarok will forcibly take the navigator boy away. From this time on, players must be mentally prepared to confront Volva.

Jianmu the World Tree

Jianmu is not a jungle, but the World Tree in Chinese mythology. There are obvious differences between the World Tree and the Jungle. The World Tree is an indispensable part of Ophion like Dragon Veins, and the Jungle is produced by people's twisted subconscious and must be eradicated. Therefore, every time the player defeats a jungle boss, the jungle will follow the boss. disappeared together, but the World Tree did not. In addition to the previous statement, Jianmu is basically not much different from Separate Shangri-La. Players will still face Baize and Volva.

Jungle of Birdcages

This is the jungle created by "Conceit (Mana)", which is caused by the comparison mentality between companies and people involved in consortiums. Except for replacing the air battleship with a birdcage and avoiding fights with masculine boy, the overall structure of this jungle will not be too different from Clipper of Clouds. The boss of Jungle of Birdcages is named "Vucub Caquix of Mana". Because this big bird can fly in the sky, players can only use firearms to damage its two wings before shooting it down. After Vucub Caquix falls to the ground, it will attack the player with its claws and beak. In addition, it will put its companions in a birdcage as hostages. The player must destroy the bird cage to release the companions.

Yggdrasil the World Tree

Once the player comes to the World Tree in Norse mythology, the plot will take a very obvious turn. In addition, the Volva, which is opposed to the protagonist, has full home field advantage here. Yggdrasil will faithfully represent concepts from Norse mythology, for example, the guard shadows here will transform into the appearance of Norse gods.

The boss here is "Nidhogg of Raga", which is caused by people's overexploitation of nature and excessive abuse of substances. In order to prevent Nidhogg from eating the roots of this world tree, players must try to avoid damaging the roots when attacking this big worm. Nidhogg will burrow into the ground to avoid physical damage, and players must use skills to blast it out. After Nidhogg emerges from the ground, it will forcefully swallow its companions. Players must climb on its head and attack its vitals to rescue its companions.

Jungle of Witches

After the problem of Yggdrasil is solved, players will have to develop several different endings from now on. At this time, the level of community improvement of players and partners must be taken into consideration to affect the development of the ending. The first is Amalthea, she will be the most important key to the ending. If her community is raised to full, she will tell us the truth when she first enters Jungle of Witches, and will continue to accompany players to fight against the mastermind behind the scenes.

Instead, once her community is not full, she enters Jungle of Witches to fight the player, leading to a bad ending where the protagonist and Amalthea are buried in the jungle. In other words, Amalthea is the boss of Jungle of Witches. Her confusion and low self-esteem about her identity make her the only exception among the subconscious monsters, which is "Doubt (Vicikitsa)". The guard shadows here will transform into the appearance of famous demons in monotheistic religions.

In the boss battle, she will fight the player under the name "Amalthea of ​​Vicikitsa", and her persona will change from three bugs to Heidrun. This persona will release milk to hinder the player, and the player must use skills to prevent it. After defeating Amalthea, you will enter the next round of battle. The dying Amalthea will immediately transform into "Shub-Niggurath the Elder Mother", which releases several "Spawns of The Black Goat" to serve as thugs. In addition, Shub-Niggurath will spawn previous bosses to fight players, including Jabberwocky, Yatsukahagi, Vucub Caquix and Nidhogg.

Irkalla and Primordial Sea

Once you avoid the bad ending, you'll end up here, where the mastermind (final boss) lives. Irkalla is part of the Primordial Sea, and different ending developments will still be distinguished here, but I have to give a hint and I will explain the details later.

Once players enter the interior of the Primordial Sea, it is full of organic and body horror style, and the guard shadows will become representative gods from Middle Eastern mythology.

After going deep into the base of the mastermind behind the scenes, the final boss here is Nammu. She is actually the shadow of Gaia's consciousness, just like Ophion is the persona of Gaia's consciousness. Nammu looks like an innocent girl, but in fact her nature is full of pathology and distortion, which also highlights the result of her distortion of maternal nature. The reason for her distortion is the Gaia consciousness caused by the destruction of the natural environment by humans, which has caused everything to be imbalanced. And Nammu is the side (shadow) that Gaia doesn't want to face.

After defeating Nammu, she will transform into the huge "Tiamat the Chaotic Mother" before she dies. This monster, which is like a fusion of aliens and human deformities, will derive tentacles with the appearance of Cambrian creatures on its body to fight. The names of these tentacles are Musmahhu, Basmu, Usumgallu, Ugallu, Uridimmu, Girtablullu, Umu-dabrutu, Kulullu and Lahmu.

I will stop here first, and I will find time to explain the detailed truth later, so stay tuned!

[thenewnio]

Kotori's Secret

A Kakurenbo fanfic revolving around the Child-Taker, prior to her meeting the other demons and Otokoyo being conceived.

Happy Halloween!

---

To be honest, nobody in town knew anything about Kotori Yatsukahagi. It was like she just appeared out of thin air.

When Sumi first saw Kotori in her neighborhood, the latter seemed to be a bit nervous that somebody would notice her. Asking around, Sumi learned that the new girl hadn't done so much as spoken to anyone on her block since she first arrived.

Feeling bad for the newcomer, she had taken it upon herself to befriend Kotori. The first chance she got, Sumi went up to the girl and introduced herself "Hi." she said. "I'm Sumi. The other kids here told me about you."

Kotori looked at Sumi with those large amber eyes of hers, before responding "Oh, yeah?"

Then they got to talking, and pretty soon they became friends. According to Kotori, she had tried to make friends quite a few times before, only for it to turn out that they didn't see eye to eye.

By the end of their conversation, Sumi and Kotori had made plans for the former to come by the latter's house tomorrow night. "Bring a friend along, if you'd like!" Kotori said as they parted for the day.

On the way home, Sumi met her neighbor, Raiji, who had seen the whole thing. "I can't believe you got her talking to you!" he exclaimed, astounded.

"Yup," Sumi nodded. "She even invited me to come over to her house with a friend."

"Well, I guess I could be the one to come along," Raiji scratched the back of his head. "I mean, you two seemed to hit it off well."

So, the following evening, Sumi and Raiji went to Kotori's house at the rural address she provided. They weren't expecting it to be a mansion, simply a 'big house' like she had told Sumi.

Kotori was waiting for them by the front doors. "Thanks for coming!" she greeted them, as she led them in.

Sumi and Raiji were stunned by the interior, which was like the inside of a castle, well-lit and spotlessly clean. Yet, oddly, there was no sign of any servants or staff, in spite of Kotori's apparent wealth.

"I already prepared a meal for you guys," Kotori spoke up. "How's that sound?"

"Great!" Raiji beamed. "I'm starving."

"I figured you'd say that," Kotori returned the expression. "So I'm gonna treat you to the best meal in the world!"

Sumi and Raiji looked at each other in anticipation. Gourmet food?

However, the food was anything but gourmet. When Kotori presented it on a turntable, Sumi and Raiji could only stare, slightly confused.

I was hoping for some fantastic cooking, Raiji thought, But this is just a sundae, a burger and fries, a kiddie lunch, a chocolate cake, alphabet soup and a sushi plate. Just what a spoiled stinkin' rich kid would like...

"I would tell you to dig in, but that wouldn't be fun," Kotori stated. "So let's play a game!"

"A game?" Sumi asked. Well, she did say she liked games...

Kotori explained "We spin the table, and then we all eat whatever's in front of us."

"There aren't any drugs in the food, are there?" Raiji playfully questioned.

Kotori giggled. "Nope! I'd never do that to my new friends! There's actually a wonderful treasure hidden in one of these meals; The person who finds it wins!"

Raiji nodded. "Okay," he declared. "Can I spin first?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Alright!" With that, Raiji spun the turntable, gentle so that the dishes wouldn't fly off their plates, and firm enough to get it into a momentum.

When the turntable came to a stop, Sumi found herself with the cake. Kotori faced the sushi plate and Raiji got...

"The kiddie lunch?!" he exclaimed indignantly. "Really?!"

'We have to clean our plates, Raiji," Kotori told him. "That's the rules. One of us might even find the treasure!"

"Okay, geez," Raiji said, taking a forkful of the kiddie meal. He stuck it into his mouth and chewed, as Sumi shrugged and took a bite of the cake.

"Huh," Raiji remarked. "This ain't half bad."

Kotori just smiled.

The chocolate cake, Sumi found, was delicious, too. She was just about to take her fourth bite when she noticed something off.

Raiji had stopped eating. He looked confused. Then he doubled over.

"Raiji?!"

Sumi got up and raced to his side. He looked up at her. "You have pineapple hair..." he stuttered.

"What...?!"

"I once threw a pickle into the lake..." Raiji seemed to have no control over what he was saying. "Broccoli...!"

The he collapsed.

"Raiji!"

Sumi turned him over. He was frothing at the mouth, and his eyes were rolled back into his skull. He wasn't breathing.

"He found the treasure," Kotori announced. "So he wins!"

Sumi looked at Kotori, aghast. "You... You said you would never...!"

"He asked about drugs, not venom," Kotori pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone, as if Raiji wasn't dying ---or even already dead. "It's not the same thing."

"Venom...?!" She's trying to kill us!

"What's wrong?" Kotori tilted her head.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sumi exploded. "You just killed Raiji!"

"Toys break all the time." Kotori casually exclaimed. "They can be fixed good as new."

"Wh- Murder isn't something you can undo! You're insane!"

Kotori blinked in visible confusion. "You mean..." she asked. "That's not how you humans work?"

'You humans'...?

"Get away from me."

"Huh?"

Sumi backed slowly away from Kotori, then turned and made a beeline for the door.

"Where are you going?" Kotori called after her.

"Home!" Sumi shot back. She opened the door, and stopped in confused shock.

The mansion now no longer looked like it did before. It was decrepit, completely covered in dust and cobwebs.

Behind her, Kotori spoke again, only her voice now sounded somewhat distorted. "I thought you wanted to be my friend," she said. "But you're just like all the others. They said they were my friends, too."

Something huge moved behind Sumi. Instinctively, she turned... and screamed.

Terror-induced adrenaline pumping through her veins, she made a mad dash for the front doors. She could hear Kotori --- whatever she was --- chasing after her.

After what seemed like an eternity, Sumi burst through the doors. Out of fear that the thing might follow her outside, she kept running, never once daring to look back.

Once she was back in her neighborhood and had made sure she'd lost the creature, she collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath. Two other kids she knew, Taita and Nakuro, were playing when they saw her. They came over.

"What happened to you?" Taita asked, concerned.

Sumi tried to speak, but all she could get out was "Kotori... The mansion..."

"Did you just come from that haunted mansion?" Nakuro asked.

At those words, Sumi looked up at him. "What...?"

"Yeah," Taita explained. "That old place's been abandoned for decades. They say it's got a demon living there."

Sumi paled.

"Did that weird Kotori girl wanna go there?" Taita asked.

"Yeah, and where's Raiji?" Nakuro questioned. "Weren't you two going to her place?"

Sumi suddenly felt sick. She vomited on the ground right in front of the confused boys.

---

Besides Raiji's unexplained death, nobody saw Kotori ever again after that. It seemed as though she just up and vanished.

But later, an even stranger rumor began circulating in Sumi's town, stories about a very strange game of hide and seek, played exclusively in a supposedly abandoned city...

---

I hope you enjoyed the fic! I might write about the other demons and/or how they all met and created Otokoyo.

[polyglot-thought]

つち ぐも そう し

「土蜘蛛草紙」 "Tsuchigumo Written Work"

Tsuchigumo Sōshi (土蜘蛛草紙) is a 14th-century Japanese picture scroll depicting the heroic exploits of Minamoto no Raikō in his battle against an enormous spider monster. (Wikipedia)

Minamoto no Yorimitsu (源 頼光, 948 – August 29, 1021), also known as Minamoto no Raikō, served the regents of the Fujiwara clan along with his brother Yorinobu, taking the violent measures the Fujiwara were themselves unable to take. He is one of the earliest Minamoto of historical note for his military exploits, and is known for quelling the bandits of Ōeyama. (Wikipedia)

。。。

土蜘蛛

[つちぐも] ... the name for a race of spider-like yōkai in Japanese folklore. Alternative names for the mythological Tsuchigumo include yatsukahagi (八握脛, roughly "eight grasping legs") and ōgumo (大蜘蛛, "giant spider"). (Wikipedia)

日本(にほん)に伝(つた)わる巨大(きょだい)なクモの妖怪(ようかい)で、別名(べつめい) 「 八握脛(やつかはぎ) 」 「大蜘蛛(おおぐも）」。(ウィキペディア)

伝(つた)わる: (in this context) to be handed down (from generation to generation); to be passed down​ (Jisho.org)

土蜘蛛 also can mean 1. Atypus karschi (Asian species of mygalomorph spider)​ 2. tsuchigumo (people of ancient Japan who were not subjects of the Yamato court)​ (Jisho.org) or 3. The definition previously listed; However, when I was looking at the wikipedia page for Atypus karschi, the Japanese version of the article stated it was named "地蜘蛛(じぐも)" instead of "土蜘蛛". Furthermore it did not list "土蜘蛛" as an alternative spelling although the first characters of both names share a similar meaning.

。。。

草紙

[そうし] 1. written work (esp. a bound text, as opposed to a scroll)​ 2. a text written entirely in kana​ 3. graphic novel (esp. one created between the 12th and 19th centuries)​ 4. notebook (for practicing kana, drawing pictures, etc.)​ 5. rough draft / Other forms: 草子 【そうし】、双紙 【そうし】、冊子 【そうし】​ (Jisho.org)

。。。

Please correct me if I made a mistake.

“Tsuchigumo zoshi”, an important cultural property drawn in the Kamakura period (1185-1333 AD), Japan

[comicparanoia]

Usagi Yojimbo Color Special #2 Stan Sakai & Tom Luth released by Fantagraphics on September 1, 1991

[limitsbroke]

sometimes a ninja can be cute, as a treat

[roninreverie]

Big Mama's Chinese Roots and a Connection to Tang Shen?

First off, to preface... this whole thing started because @caro-rolo figured out that the Mystic Portal Key doohickeys in Rise are actually just some kind of fancy compasses that have North, South, East, and West written in Chinese characters.

Now, the first thought I had to learning this was "Tang Shen" because in the TMNT universe where Japanese influence is pretty heavy, she is notable for having a Chinese name.

She is also the love interest of Hamato Yoshi in many different variations. Though in Rise, that role belongs most notably to Big Mama, with Tang Shen being a blink and you miss it easter-egg credit on the cover of Jistu for Justice:

Mama is also most likely the source of where Splinter got his mystic portal key, and she even has one of her own in her office. Judging by how much control she has over the Hidden City, from the Battle Nexus, to demolition derbies, to train stations, to crime rings, she seems to have a large control over just who all is in her city, and these keys could very well be something she controls directly.

Now, Big Mama has all the set ups for having typical TMNT Japanese roots. Even her home estate seen in "Hidden City Job" has a very Asian look to it inside and out:

Plus, the whole "her being a yokai", makes it easy to assume she is based on some kind of Japanese spider demon like Jorōgumo, Yatsukahagi/Tsuchigumo, or Ōgumo, etc.

But "Yokai" can also be used to describe the Chinese term "yaoguai" which is basically the same definition.

So if Mama were a Chinese spider demon instead, the first one who comes up on a quick Google search is "zhī zhū jīng" or "spider woman". These are 7 spider demon sisters who fight Sun Wukong in Monkey King: Journey to the West.

Here, the spiders changed into seven beautiful young ladies who wanted to eat the flesh of Sun Wukong's master, Tang Seng, which is said to make the consumer immortal and forever young.

"Tang Seng"... "Tang Shen"... sounds pretty similar.

And aren't there also some animation ties from ROTTMNT to Lego Monkey King? Tangent side note, but there's a spider demon queen in that universe too and guess what? SHE'S PURPLE!

And where did Mama and Lou Jistsu first meet? On set of one of his movies "Crouching Shrimp Hidden Tiger Prawn" in 1984. A movie where an actress like Tang Shen could very well have ties to? (We'll come back to this at the end.)

Another chip in the Chinese vs Japanese bucket is Big Mama's Security Team:

At first, I thought their distinct faces represented Blue Japanese Hannya/ Oni masks, but what if they're supposed to be Chinese Nuo masks instead? Not unlike Zuko's Blue Spirit mask in ATLA.

You could also argue these guys are wielding a sort of Qinglong Ji or Fangtian Ji, which are Chinese spear or polearm weapons. (But if anyone knows what those spear thingies are really called, please let me know, it's driving me nuts!)

...

In conclusion, I got sent on a massive rabbit hole because of a fictional compass and regret nothing! 🧭

Now what is Big Mama's connection to Tang Shen? Are they related? (The actress does look a bit purple.) They could be sisters like the 7 sisters of the Monkey King lore. Did Mama seek to get rid of Tang Shen so she could get closer to Lou Jitsu herself? Are they the same person? Is Big Mama based on Japanese or Chinese folklore? Did any of this make any sense at all?

Let me know what you think, and thanks for joining me for another deep dive into another one of my random ROTTMNT theories!

EDIT: (PS- Sorry, if the "read more" messes the order of these up, but the scroll was annoying me in my own tags.) 😅

[princess-of-the-corner]

Japan has various spider Yokai, there’s the Ushioni (also known the Gyuki), the Tsuchigumo (also called the Yatsukahagi or Ogumo), and the spider-lady Joroguma.

These all would have been better than “Anansi,” but then there’s the issue of potential cultural appropriation by giving a non-Japanese person a moniker based on a Japanese myth.

Honestly, just have Nora’s moniker be something like Birdeater, after the Goliath Birdeater, the world’s largest spider.

True! Re: culture, Anansi is from African folktale and there is a specific tale involving Anansi and a turtle.

So that is at least more connected.

And I could see if it was just that the Akuma was referencing this because Nora was tricked earlier so her Akuma form is a trickster god.

But it doesn't make sense that she would choose a trickster god as a stage name for kickboxing.

[wealmostaneckbeard]

12 Ravenloft Realms, 12 quests:

Barovia: A dryad in Svalich woods punched a vampire through his chest, almost staking his heart. In retaliation the vampire severed the dryad's arm and then ran away, he probably died somewhere. The Dryad would like her arm back and is willing to give a reward.

Bluetspur: Welcome to the Dangerous Knowledge Quarantine District, citizen! You will be working alongside Grimlocks to transcribe and find applications for possibly cursed knowledge. This arcane lore could kill the entire illithid psionic network or any foolish mortals, so caution is mandatory. As you were listening to this message, knowledge of a simplified version of Qualith has been uploaded to your brain.

Borca: Ivana Boritsi has a acquired a list of Ivan Dilisnya's sleeper agents and needs them assassinated. These agents are animated toys who look and act just like real people. Nobody else knows or realizes these people are just toys, least of all the toys themselves. Show no mercy for these impersonators and Ivana might just find you interesting.

The Carnival: Redcaps have been soaking their caps in the viscera drawn from Professor Pacali's Hall of Horrors and are undergoing strange mutations. Eliminate them and the Carnival will go to any realm of Ravenloft that you desire.

Darkon: Alcio "Baron" Metus needs an artifact recovered from Castle Avernus in Lychgate. It's a standard cursed glowing sword, can absorb magic or the life force from it's wielder. Grab it and haul ass back to Martira Bay.

Dementliu: No one wants to admit it but visitors have been disappearing from the Bonniville Museum of the Sea. Also, no one wants to admit that the new creatures on display are disturbingly familiar. On behalf of the Lord Governor could you figure out why that is?

Falkovnia: A rumor has been going around that Vladeska Drakov's birthday is coming up and everyone is making plans and gifts for the feared warlord. Either help Drakov stop this party from happening by executing people or join the secret planning committee.

Har'Akir: A band of wandering tabaxi have rolled into Muhar. Everyone loves their music and art. They have crafted a legendary magical musical instrument and will trade it for an urn filled with water from the Red Oasis.

Hazlan: Construction of a mobile stilt-legged refinery has finished in Sly-Var. The magical construct has to be escorted to The Brew where it will extract useful alchemical compounds. The route will be dangerous and non-magical mercenaries are being hired. Some apprentices have muttered that the refinery might have a mind of it's own...

I'Cath: The city is being invaded by Yatsukahagi (functionally Chitine from Volo's Guide to Monster) from another dark realm. Tsien Chiang's is annoyed at having to use her magic, Jiangshi, and wits to combat this threat while her great city still isn't finished. The spider-people believe a fugitive has fled from their realm and has taken shelter somewhere in the city.

Kalakeri: Help some Yuan-Ti purebloods escape Arijani and Reeva's clutches and get them back to Naga Island and their people. These snakeskins happen to have valuable information about Ramya's undead condition.

Kartakass: A trading card game called "Wolves and Deer" has become popular throughout the realm. This irks Harkon Lukas because it's distracting people from his performances. He wants to find the printer making these cards and kill them. Fanatics of this card game want adventurers to stop him.

[heaven4d]

蜘蛛 YATSUKAHAGI 89 https://www.artstation.com/artwork/3oLPqm via @artstationhq

[yamazakura-shinden]

Chapter 7 is up! Sorry for the long wait! I just got this big art and writing block

https://archiveofourown.org/works/59430883/chapters/160829167

Here are the currently planned male cast of Yamazakura

[indulgenceweave]

2: Horizon

Akane checks in on a special project.

It was really quite rare for Akane to come visit the dockside workshops and foundries– which is why whenever she did, it caused something of a fuss. This time had been expected, however; a project was in the works, one that Akane herself had commissioned and funded. Mighty in undertaking and grand in ambition; as were many of the goals of the Queen of Spiders. 

She trotted along one of the catwalks from the workshop entrance that hung suspended above the deck of her project, her heels clacking loudly throughout the hall. Her people waited for her upon the platform at the end of the walkway; all of them clean and in a uniform line, save for one, who hadn’t bothered to do either. At the very least she was clasping her hands behind her back this time.

“Miss Darwall,” Akane greeted, with a slight bow of the head. “How goes things?” Cordalia Darwall nodded her head in a greeting of her own– which wasn’t really a bow but was close enough. The woman cut a rather fine figure in tough leather pants and a thin singlet, despite being stained with grease and ceruleum. Or, naturally, because of it.

“The Chiheisen is comin’ along splendidly, m’lady,” she offered in her Ala Mhigan drawl. “Your people ain’t so good at the mechanical side, so until the folks from Ishgard deliver their blueprints, she’s not gonna fly. But what they can do is shape wood finer than a Gridanian carpenter full o’ so many splinters they’d make a passable porcupine.”

While Akane had absolutely no idea what that meant, she did appreciate how the Chiheisen was turning out. At a little over three hundred fulms, she was indeed a mighty piece of Hingan craftsmanship. Mighty and sturdy, painted and lacquered in deep crimsons and jet blacks, trimmed in gold– and the grim oni serving as figurehead. Were she a sailing ship, she’d easily rival those used by the Confederacy– unfortunately she wasn’t going to go very far until the engine was actually complete. Akane couldn’t pretend to know the specifics of it, but Cordalia had mentioned something about being able to do the broad-scope work with their craftsmen but needing specialists to produce the parts necessary to get further west than Aldenard. 

“Are the blueprints from the Ishgardians the only thing left to resolve?” Akane posited, tapping her gilded claws upon the railing.

“Aye,” Cordalia nodded. “Though even when they get here, it’ll take time to set everything up. It’s a process, y’know? Gotta make sure it all works, make sure it all works safely, make sure we won’t plummet into the sea if something fails, make sure that we’ll float safety if we do need to plummet into the sea–”

“Cordalia,” Akane interjected, “please make sure we don’t plummet into the sea.”

Cordalia could only laugh at that. “Aye, ma’am, I’ll do my best.”

Akane turned away then, trot-trot-trotting her way across the catwalk again. “Keep up the good work, everyone. Before long the Chiheisen will take to the skies, and even the New World will not be beyond our Lord’s reach.”

[bamfas]

New "Clockwork Planet" Visual Accompanies Anime's Latest Developments

New “Clockwork Planet” Visual Accompanies Anime’s Latest Developments

With this week’s episode 8, “Yatsukahagi,” a new visual has been published for the  nime adaptation of Yuu Kamiya, Tsubaki Himana and Shin’s Clockwork Planet anime. Yoshino Nanjō’s Naoto Miura holds central stage with the introduction of Sayaka Senbongi’s Initial-Y series 04, AnchoR.        Blu-ray volume 1, due June 21st     Amazon.co.jp’s bonus series box art   Sofmap tapestry   Animate…

[thekimonogallery]

"Tsuchigumo (土くも) means “ground spider.” It is also commonly referred to as yatsukahagi or ōgumo (giant spider). Its habitat is rural areas, mountains, forests, and caves, but they are found to live everywhere. Tsuchigumo make homes out of silk tubes from prey they encounter. The diet of tsuchigumo includes humans, animals, and anything that it can trap. Some tsuchigumo are depicted as spiders with the face of a demon and the body of a tiger. Historically, “tsuchigumo” was used as a derogatory word in Japanese for renegade local clans. In ancient Japan, aborigines who defied central authority were referred to as “tsuchigumo.” They are commonly identified as people with different customs, manners, and physiological features from the general population. Therefore, using this definition, they are one of the most ancient types of oni (demon)." Text by Caroline Stone

[jpopnation]

New "Clockwork Planet" Visual Accompanies Anime's Latest Developments

With this week’s episode 8, “Yatsukahagi,” a new visual has been published for the  nime adaptation of Yuu Kamiya, Tsubaki Himana and Shin’s Clockwork Planet anime. Yoshino Nanjō’s Naoto Miura holds central stage with the introduction Read More http://dlvr.it/PF9mBL