#yes this includes nezuko's pattern

[demonslayedher]

Things that ran through my head while watching this episode:

--Dear Ufotable, why couldn't you had included the second half of this episode in your theatrical release? The One (1) time the Kamaboko boys all combine for one attack deserves cinematic treatment. I. Love. This. Scene. So. Much. They went for it so hard, and so obviously that they even had to poke a little fun at themselves in the Taisho Secret. Speaking of, I wish they would had given us more Taisho Secrets (or Stylish Scruffy Democracy) in Yuukaku-hen as opposed to just rehashing emotions that spoke well enough for themselves, as happens here with Tanjiro. I find it kind of funny how quickly the "To Be Continued" curtain fell as if to be like, "ok, yes, Tanjiro, we get it, time's up."

--Speaking of Taisho Secrets, I'm glad Ufotable has had fun breaking form since switching to FujiTV (and what did we ever do to deserve Butt-Chin Nezuko??), but I kind of miss the consistency of the first season's Taisho Secrets and manga panel BGs and limited movements like they're silly puppets. It makes the breaks in pattern more fun, like Inosuke & Zenitsu gulping in the BG while hearing that they may be in trouble with Shinobu, or cramming all nine Pillars in one Taisho Secret together so they can only move their mouths while stuck in their basic profile poses. Now there is no pattern, so getting a dramatic "no Taisho Secret today, too much drama!" thing is… not dramatic. Good thing they fixed that with Nezuko later doing the complete opposite by breaking the tension with a real Taisho Secret.

--Speaking of set forms and framing, while the animation for Gurenge is great for how it shows overall themes of the series and characters in relation to Tanjiro, this OP really says "this is the Yuukaku arc and this is what you're getting." One of my favorite details (I have a lot of favorite details) is how Uzui looks so relaxed and flamboyantly at ease when he's dodging obi, but doesn't show dramatic effort until he's dealing with Gyutaro's attacks.

--I… don't have strong feelings about the filler of the picnic in front of the grave, I do have feelings about it. I guess I fall more on the side of disliking this filler for how inconsistent the relationship feels between Tengen and his wives, like all that restraint they practice before relaxing because it's so ingrained in them to be subservient to their husband, but then Makio turns right around and calls Tengen out for being unfair. We've also never seen any jealousy between the wives, and however light-hearted, the inorganic way it came about with the cherry blossoms seems to take a nuance that Hinatsuru is the favorite and stretch it to a larger proportion than in the manga. That all being said, Makio sticking a bunch of petals in her hair with that "flirt with me too!" face is adorable. Speaking of flashbacks, I do like how Hinatsuru is the one to propose that they retire and live as normal people once they defeat an Upper Moon, as there needs to be a deciding point for when they'll move on. And the part about no hard feelings if they aren't all together? I love how bittersweet that is, and it feels very in the spirit of Hinatsuru to do that; I don't think it's that she's Tengen's favorite, but that she's the heart of this family. Makio looks to Hinatsuru when she feels conflicted, Suma turns to Hinatsuru first to celebrate their victory. They fact that she almost died would had stung the whole family is a way that doesn't just make them feel the hurt and loss, but feel like a tether has come loose.

--Ok so, I love Suma for being a simple bimbo, but I hope Tengen never feels like he's parenting her. I hope that when she's all "I wanna be a dragonfly" and he's like "that's a nice flashy dream" what he's actually thinking is "this woman is crazy and I am crazy about her."

--So for the amount of time that Hinatsuru was in active danger in Gyutaro's clutches, I feel like I could had watched this on at least double speed to emulate the actual pace at which the action took place. Tanjiro & Uzui just do so dang much thinking in such a quick span of time. BUT!!! Tanjiro, our boy, he's so full of good ideas!! Take advantage of being weak and not as carefully watched as the Pillar! Mix both your Breaths to make the best of them both!! Tanjiro has gone through so many levels of thinking and development over the course of this night that he's probably going to pick up from the conclusions he reached once he later wakes up and writes some letters: "Dear Tomioka-san, It's too bad I'm better suited to Hinokami Kagura and can never get very good at Water Breathing, otherwise my sword might not had broken this time. I got a letter from Haganezuka-san…" (and poor Giyuu would be like, "…what is the (future) Water Pillar talking about?")

--You know who I've missed? UROKODAKI. Urokodaki, it's so nice to see you again. T^T Those flashbacks to Tanjiro's training days are so cute. I missed how often Tanjiro flashed back to training with Urokodaki!

--But you know what's also nice? The fact that Tanjiro's not the only one who has worked his butt off to get stronger in the last four months. Look at all these boys, they've come so far since getting together at Kyogai's house. We know that Zenitsu's been polishing and polishing his one move, but Inosuke's been working hard too, ever since losing Rengoku-san! That's so endearing, for it's the first time in Inosuke's life he's ever gone through a loss that gave him a drive like this.

--It is so, so, so much fun seeing Inosuke being the one who is frazzled and Zenitsu being the cool leader. This is the hero of Legend of Zenitsu!! I'll bet that's how all his lines are written! And then when Inosuke gets the inspiration to focus on charging through the small opening in the middle of the obi, that's so satisfying because it's like the moment when someone breaks out of writer's block, and it's not that he can stop at that he thinks there's an opening, no, he makes up his mind to believe that there is!!

--Tee hee hee, Inosuke playing rugby with Daki's head and jumping out of the way of obi is so much fun---oh---wait---until it's not.

--Well… Inosuke's a goner. Uzui's dead. Zenitsu pulled the self-sacrificing push. Tanjiro's falling and apologizing for all his failures. Here ends my rewatch.

--FOR NOW!!!! THE THEATRICAL RELEASE DEBUTS ON SETSUBUN, BABY!! OUT WITH IN THE DEMON, IN WITH THE LUCK!! FEBRUARY 3RD!!! I'm so stoked--------a-a-a-nd with my work schedule I won't be able to watch it that day. T_T

[kuros-oyaoya]

Another school assignment lol (this time it’s math)

We’ve gotta ask a question with 5 choices and record the data. I need at least 20 answers.

Here’s the question:

Of these 5 patterns, which is your favorite?

-Argyle vvv

-Floral vvv

-Stripes vvv

-Asanoha (Hemp leaf) vvv

-Checkerboard vvv

[mitsungo]

We are already this far! And this has turned into more of an Akaza x reader story 🌸 I’m sorry Kyo— for now it’s just Akaza, patience, patience. Plz excuse any spelling/grammar mistakes! I’m on vacation right now and I have been adding to this when I get inspired! The next part will be the last part which I hope to finish by Sunday! Because we need closure! No cliffhangers! Not here! 🍡 Enjoy for now! Also time is like super super uh 😵‍💫 just stick with the plot okay! 😭

⭑･ﾟﾟ･*:༅｡.｡༅:*ﾟ:*:✼✿ ❄️ ✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑

Y/n was currently working on a kimono, the client was none other Kocho Shinobu, the insect hashira. It was daytime, so Akaza wasn’t able to be visit her, though he wish he could. He was currently down in the cellar of the mansion. Waiting for Y/n to signal him that sundown was already here. Shinobu was a very good friend of Y/n’s, and she personally would check up on her and the baby. Or babies, as Y/n would put it. Something in her told her that she were going to have twins. It was a gut feeling.

“Y/n, you really shouldn’t overwork yourself. Your body is turning very weak lately, I fear that you will fall ill if you continue working yourself too much.” Shinobu said to her one day when she came to check how Y/n was doing. “I won’t fall ill Shinobu-chan. Don’t worry so much, I’m a strong woman. I can handle this. Come now, sit down with me.” Y/n said softly, patting a spot next to her. Shinobu frowned slightly with concern. “Don’t be worried. Like I said, I am fine. Shine me a beautiful smile would you? I hate seeing a frown on your face! It disheartens me!” Y/n teased Shinobu, letting out a small giggle as Shinobu shaked her head with a smile.

It had passed around six months now, and y/n was getting sicker by the day. Her body was very frail and sickly, she couldn’t really walk around anymore either without help. Her aunt and uncle refused to leave her alone anymore but she would tell them that she needed to be alone sometimes. Senjuro and Shinjuro would come around and visit Y/n often, Senjuro more worried about Y/n’s health than anything else. Mitsuri and Shinobu would drop by too, especially Shinobu who would give Y/n medicine to help with her health and pain that she would have at times. Akaza on the other hand would visit rarely for personal reasons as he told y/n. She didn’t argue, as her energy didn’t allow her to do so. But when Akaza did visit, he would hold her and make sure she had water nearby and the medicine Shinobu gave her. Everyone, including Akaza agreed that y/n should not continue working on anymore kimonos or anything that requires work. Y/n also didn’t argue, since she was too tired to even try and everyone would notice it too.

“Y/n? Dear? You have a letter from Tanjiro-kun!” Her aunt said behind the door. Y/n immediately stopped reading the book she had in her hands. Her aunt slid open the door and gently put the letter down next to her futon. “You finished your tea already. I’ll go brew you some new tea for later.” She told y/n, picking up the tray and leaving the room quietly. Y/n smiled softly, grabbing the letter and opening it. Kamado Tanjiro, he was a very kind and gentle boy that Kyojuro had met during his hashira meeting and his last mission. Tanjiro had come by one day to deliver some last words from Kyojuro to y/n, which made her burst out into tears, then proceeding to grasp Tanjiro into a hug, causing the young boy to cry as well. Ever since that day, the both of them wrote frequently to one another, with y/n telling him about her pregnancy, wishing him luck on his missions and other things. Tanjiro would write about his missions, or his day, or how Zenitsu and inosuke missed her and how much he loved reading about how y/n and the babies were doing. Another point to y/n on how she knew she was going to have twins, when Tanjiro visited her one day during her early months of pregnancy, he assured her that she was having twins. Still, no one believed the two, though Zenitsu too assured her that she was pregnant with twins.

A few days later, Tanjiro and Nezuko had stopped by to pay a visit to Y/n. It had been around two weeks since they had last seen her, and Tanjiro was dying to speak to her. As Tanjiro and Nezuko walked to her residence, he couldn’t help but think about how much of a mother figure y/n was to him and Nezuko. She reminded him of his mother, her gentle and soft spoken nature caused him to think of his mother when y/n spoke or laughed. When she hugged him the first time they met, Tanjiro was left in a state of shock, the warmth was that of a mother, a loving and kind embrace. They both arrived in front of the mansion and immediately saw the gate open. It was Y/n’s aunt.

“Oh! Tanjiro-kun! Nezuko-chan! Good timing! I just brewed Y/n some tea! Come in! Come in my dears!” Her aunt waved, yanking Tanjiro and Nezuko in before they could even greet her. “Thank you very much Mrs. L/n!” “I told you to call me aunt! We are like family now! Don’t be shy dear!” Mrs. L/n giggled, putting a hand over her mouth, her eyes closed. “Ah yes sorry Mrs— erm auntie.” How much he missed visiting the L/n residence.

“She’s in her room! You know where it is darlings!” Aunt L/n said, before leaving to go get the tea. “Come on Nezuko, let’s go see Y/n!” Tanjiro grabbed Nezuko’s hand and they both quickly made their way to her room. “Y/n.” Nezuko softly said. “Yeah that’s right—!” The doors to y/n’s room slid open, interrupting Tanjiro. “Tanjiro. Nezuko. I’m so happy to see you both again.” Y/n smiled softly, her arms wrapping themselves around the siblings. Tanjiro’s eyes widened, “You can’t be up mother!” He quickly realized what he said, his face flushed red with embarrassment. Y/n laughed weakly, still hugging the two siblings.

After getting settled and drinking some tea, y/n pulled a small box out from her drawer. “I want to give you both something. As you both have been very kind to me, my family and my children.” Y/n said, pulling out two small handkerchiefs, one patterned like Tanjiro’s haori and the other like nezuko’s kimono. Y/n handed them to the two siblings, Tanjiro bowed his head, taking the piece of cloth and looking at it closely. It was a snowy mountain, it reminded him of his home, the snow, the trees, the grey sky. Y/n was taken by surprise when Tanjiro embraced her, tears falling from his eyes. “I’m—.” Tanjiro started but was cut off by y/n embracing him back tightly, Nezuko joining in, both children nuzzling themselves into Y/n’s hug. “You both, are one of the many greatest treasures blessed to me. I am so glad to have two wonderful children like you both.” Y/n said in between tears, Tanjiro looked up at her, a warm gentle smiling adoring her face as tears fell from her eyes. The two of them cried softly, Nezuko blinking in surprise at why her two favorite people were crying.

When Akaza arrived later that day, y/n was a bit shocked but she quickly welcomed him into her room. Akaza went to give her an embrace but he stopped midway. She smelt different, and it irritated him. Just who the hell was she seeing during the day? He had gotten familiar with a few scents, her aunt, her uncle, three friends that she refused to give the names of, but these two new scents were just unbearable, he had smelt one of them somewhere before, but he couldn’t remember from where. Y/n picked up on his new mood and looked down slightly, preferring not to say anything, as Akaza could easily get annoyed when he is in deep thought. Y/n sighed, pushing a piece of her hair behind her ear. Suddenly, a wave of pain hit her like a rock, she didn’t know what it was but it was almost as if it was a cramp. She let out a small gasp, covering her mouth quickly so Akaza couldn’t hear her, but Akaza had noticed and was already by her side.

“What’s wrong Y/n? What hurts? Tell me! Where is the medicine? Come on! It has to always be near you! You know this!” He cried, looking around for the medicine Shinobu had given to y/n for pain. “It’s in the cabinet. Top shelf.” Y/n replied, putting her hand on her stomach. As Akaza was looking for her medicine, she started to hum a tune, rubbing her stomach to soothe the babies down. “On wintery days, up on the snowy hills, a house not far from the village—.” A few small kicks from her stomach caused y/n to stop singing. She was surprised, her babies have never kicked once. Akaza froze immediately at how silent the room had become, he swiftly took the medicine and was by y/n’s side in less than a few seconds. “What happened?” He questioned, glancing back and forth at her and her stomach. “The babies, just kicked me.” Y/n answered, tears brimming from her eyes. Akaza was in shock, his eyes moved to look at y/n’s, she looked back at him, her eyes now sparkling like the stars. “Akaza-kun, I want you to know something.” Y/n started, picking up his hand and moving it towards her stomach, placing it on top. “I might die, giving birth to the babies. But it is worth my own life, as any other mother would do the same for their children. These babies, will have a life worth living, they will be able to experience what it is to grow, to love and to cry. Even though, their parents won’t be around.” Akaza’s eyes widened at her words, how could she calmly say such things? Does she not fear death? Why is that? How is that possible? No, he could not let her die, not when she had children to live for. “You can not die. You must not die!” He cried, gripping her hands tightly, causing her to flinch and look at him with surprise. “These children, can not live without a parent! They need you! Their mother! Their mother is most important person in the world! That is why you can not die! Their fathers may not be alive when they are born and when they grow up! But they will have you! And you will tell them all about their fathers, their lives and their wills! So you have to promise me….” He paused, staring intently into y/n’s eyes, who’s eyes have started to spill more tears. “…you have to promise me that you will live! For you! And for our children!” Akaza yanked y/n into a kiss, he could not be able to cry one single tear, as much as he wished he could, but y/n knew this, as she was crying much more now. “I will have to leave you. This is my last visit. I only wish. We could have spent much more time together. If only then…if only, no, this is how it must be. I’m sorry. I—.” The words wouldn’t come out of his mouth, he couldn’t say it, he didn’t have the courage to do so. Y/n gently gripped his hands, bringing them up to her heart. Akaza stared in awe, as y/n’s tears finally stopped.

Why did it have to be like this? Why couldn’t they just be together a bit more? Was it too much to ask for? He was going to be a father, after all these years, and yet he had to leave it all behind. His little affair with Y/n, his own child, his love, his kindness, his warmth, it would be all gone. All of this happiness will disappear after he leaves, after he steps foot out of her mansion, the final battle was approaching, and y/n knew it too. Why was the world like this? No, he had a role to fulfill, he must continue fighting, no matter the cost. Akaza was a demon, he ate and murdered humans. He was a monster, a very strong monster too, yet this woman who someone managed to entangle with his emotions, caused him to see beauty in the world just for a little bit. The woman who’s fiancé he had killed with his own hands, he took her only happiness away and still she found new happiness with him. And now, with twins on the way, she would be happy even more. How beautiful. Akaza felt himself stand up with y/n by his side, going near the window in the room, they stood in front of it, hands intertwined together. She kissed the knuckles of his hands, and opened her mouth,

“You are one of the most understanding, kind, respectful and wonderful persons I have ever met in my life. I am thankful for having such a sweet person with me for this long. I owe you so much Akaza-kun. So please take care of yourself.” She reached her hand out towards his cheeks, his eyes widening with confusion, her smile, was the most genuine he had ever seen on a person throughout his entire life as a demon. “Fight with honor, and do the best you have ever done in your entire life, as this is the last blessing I will give you…” Y/n’s hands fell to her sides, her eyes glimmering with passion and determination. He knew this was it, this was their last day together. As he jumped from her window, into the garden, and onto the fence. He looked back one more time to see her, just to see her before he left for good, his heart aching as he heard her words slip from her mouth.

“Akaza-kun. I love you too.”

[mo2k]

Imagine…you meeting the kamaboko squad for the first time♥️. (pt.1)

Note.The kamaboko squad include : Kamado Tanjiro,Kamado Nezuko,Agatsuma Zenitsu,Hashibira Inosuke💗

No.1 : Kamado Tanjiro & Kamado Nezuko

Pairing : Tanjiro or Nezuko (up to you! :D) x [fem] reader

Warnings : none again, just fluff💓 (Ok,does slicing demon’s head count as violent?…If it does-well…might have some violent then -_-)

Note-This two siblings…are just so cute asdfghjkmnz-

Synopsis : You were doing your mission as a demon slayer…which is slaying demons…But there was something-ah no,some unexpected people that you’re bound to meet on that dark day which when the moonlight shone down and the stars were glittering across the black sky…

You were just doing your mission-which is slaying demons as usual.It was raining-hard.And you were standing face to face with a demon you’ve been sent to slew…you were standing all alone in this dark forest with a demon…

You’re panting tiredly…why?Well-if it wasn’t for the battle you had earlier with this hideous creature in front of you who gave these nasty little wounds to you…

You got hurt by some bruises,scratches-but the most hurtful one,was the wide wound on your lower stomach…It draws some blood-you didn’t really care about the blood,but what you care is well,damn-yes,you must admitted that it did hurt much more than you thought…It feels like you were in a slow-but painful torture as the time passed by and as more blood dripped…

Even the demon,was also panting slightly-though you know this wouldn’t last much longer.Its eyes-disgusting eyes,were fixed intently on your fatigued frame…

Its expression look suspicious as if its mind was calculating and guessing your next movement…not to mention that its eyes were also stared intensely-hungrily on your open wound…As if it’s getting more and more desperate to finally savour your flesh and blood…You glared back at it…

Then,you take a quick glance at the night sky,you find it almost impossible to keep your eyes open out of all the exhaustion you felt-It was still dark,which means you still have time…The white-silver moon…shone brightly through this black sky and through the curtains of shadowy clouds along with little pieces of glittering lights called stars…

Though the light wasn’t that much but it still at least-allowed you to see things,which only that is more than enough for you.

When you blinked down to this wretched being again…Its eyes still never leaving you as it hissed and lunged toward you.

In return,you gripped your blade tighter-ready to counterattack as you raised your arms above your head to sliced this demon’s neck.Using (your choice of breathing) breathing style.

The demon snarled widely with its sharp claws ready-dying to finally taste you-and you found yourself holding your breath….

But just as you’re about to swing your blade,the demon’s head has fallen to your feet making you froze for a moment… ‘What did just happen?-but I still didn’t do anything!’ You thought,confused and suspicious-but also,amazed and surprised at the same time.

You could do nothing but blinked several time,puzzled at the the demon’s head between your own feet which start to slowly disintegrate into ashes…

Then suddenly,you heard voices calling in front of you…you quickly shot your head to the owner of the voice all the while-raised your blade threateningly at that person,full on guard if this person happened to be another demon…

Turns out-he was a boy…around your age,his hair and eyes are red…and he wears a checkerboard pattern haori…he also have a quite big wooden box on his back…making you wondered what he was carrying…you observed him silently as you narrowed your eyes at him suspiciously….

“Who are you?” You began carefully,he seems stunned and helpless by your threatened movements as he put both his hands up in defense…that’s when you noticed that he also wears the demon slayer uniform and in his right hand-was a black nichirin blade…that was what make you sheath your sword back into your scabbard…but-you still eyed him suspiciously…ready to knocked him out if he did anything bad…

“I-I’m!um-I’m Kamado Tanjiro from the demon slayer corps!Mizunoto rank!” He answered staunchly while also sheathed his blade back…and your blinked one more time before you start to introduce yourself back, “My name’s (l/n) (y/n),I’m also in the demon slayer corps. (Your rank) rank.” You tell him flatly,he nodded before asked you, “Are you alright?”

There was silent going between you for a while,rain was still falling hard from the sky and as it made contact with your skin…you think you’ve got more torture from the cold and wet feelings…but still,you nodded stiffly back at him

“I’m fine…and thank you for saving me from that demon…” you managed out,though you know fully well that you can handle it yourself.

“Are you sure?…” he asked again,and you forced a small smile to convinced him that you’re fine…even though it hurts like hell…. “I’m alright,maybe you should go back and rest….since it’s already very late.Please don’t worry about me,I can take care of myself…” You tried to controlled your voice to be as normal as you can…but you still didn’t know that even if you don’t speak,he can smell it out by himself…

And as he was scanning your form….his eyes had met with the open wound on your lower stomach…that’s when he know you’re not ok,and he can’t just let you go like this.What if you got hurt more?

You can read his worry expression…so you said, “Oh no-I know what you’re thinking.But like I told you I can take care of myself and more importantly,I’m fine-” “No you’re not” he cut you off sternly, “You shouldn’t even walked,let me help you please and I’m extremely sorry for my bad manners.” He stepped closer and you took a step back,prepared. “Wha-” you started slowly,(like he’ll let you finished your sentence-,of course not,duh 😒) But what he did next has caught you off guard-

He just lifted you up,bridal style.Ignoring all the punches and kicks you threw at him,all your protests and objections.You didn’t have that much strength to push him off from how much you’ve lost your blood and you’re starting to feel dizzy…(He’s a strong boi,pls just let him do what he wants UwU) So he just carried you to the closest shelter he could find to hide from the pouring rain,which was a cave.

-Ooh~Did I have to tell you about how red and flustered you looked?✨Well,maybe not lol😂

When you both have finally made it to the cave,he put you down gently before also put the box on his back down and start to rummage to find things under his haori,probably find some clothes to bind your wound that might help to stopped your blood….

“Why did you do that?” You started,and he suddenly stopped his movement and turn his attention to you. You were staring outside the cave,not even sparing him a glance….“Do…what?…” he answered. “Carried me,or should I asked,Why did you help me?” You turn to look at him,and he blinked before look down “Oh…I…I just…I just can’t leave you like that…” He trailed off,before going back to find things…

You sighed, “You don’t really have to do that,we don’t even know each other” You exhaled. “Sorry…” he answered,his expression fell clearly. “But still…” You started again, “Thank you…for helping me” You smiled a bit at him,at that-he starts to bright up again, “With pleasure!” He cheered, “Oh and here,could I see your wound please?”

You slowly stand up and walked towards him,he immediately run in to help you-though you said almost ten times to him that you’re fine. “You shouldn’t stand up like that!At least give me a word before you do anything!” He scolded you,and you just just laugh. “It’s not funny!” He cried. “Yeah,yeah I know…Whatever,go on.Please help me tend the wound.” You offer him a warm smile,which he sighed-but still returned your smile.

Once you’re sat down and he starts to clean the wound…The wooden bow shook and you both flinched. “What-what was that?” You choked out, “Oh,it’s my sister,she’s a demon” he relaxed, “Oh,a sister…Wait,what?A demon?” You whipped your head from Tanjiro to the box,the box to Tanjiro,until the so called ‘demon’ that Tanjiro called his ‘sister’ came out…

Dear goddesss you almost fainted…His sister,forget the the word ‘demon’. She was so cute and adorable,too much than to be one of those wretched demons.Even with that bamboo tube in her mouth she still looked cute <3.And she just looked at you-to her brother,and back to you.

“Ah-Nezuko!This is my new friend,(l/n) (y/n)!She is a good person,you can trust her.But be careful!’cause she’s get hurt by the demon!And (y/n),this is Nezuko.My sister.” Tanjiro called happily with a bright smile.Nezuko blinked at you and tilted her head to the side,when she saw your wound she immediately rushed in to help her brother tend your wound.She huffed as if she wanna ripped the head of the demon who hurt you and you almost gone to heaven when she did that.

You blinked a few time before smiled at her, “Thank you”.And you can sense that she was smiling back,her eyes were sparkling like she was glad that she can help you.

“Ouch!” You cried out when Nezuko wrapped the cloth a bit too tight around your wound, “Ah!Be careful Nezuko!” Tanjiro stopped and help you. Nezuko,poor baby felt so guilty and sad for hurting you,she’s much more gentle after that…🥺

After tending the wound and your blood finally stopped.Nezuko came and wrapped her arms around you gently while snuggle close to you as an apology for hurting you,careful to not touched your wound again this time,you returned her hug with a warm smile and reassured her that she didn’t do anything wrong and that you’re fine.Tanjiro smiled gently at the sight of you two…

Then,you three sat down close to each other,Nezuko sit on your left as she rests her head on your shoulder,sleeping.Leaving you and Tanjiro talked and relaxing at the sound of rain falling and getting to know each other more…Before you both starting to feel sleepy and slowly drifted off to your peaceful slumber…

But still Nezuko cuddled with you all night until morning came and she has to go back to the box to hide from the sun…She demanded a head pat from both you and Tanjiro before she get in though💞She also hugged you one more time before finally get back in too!Looks like she’s very fond of you~💕

When Tanjiro needs to leave for his next mission, he asks you, “(Y/n),do you want to come with me?-” “(l/n) (y/n) and Kamado Tanjiro!You two must go on your next mission together at the Tsuzumi Mansion!” Tanjiro’s crow suddenly came in and starts to squawking orders. “Looks like you don’t have to ask me now~” You teased him-and he laughed. “You’re right,let’s go on our mission then” He stepped out and start to run to his and your next destination under the bright morning sun,you smiled before you start to run after him…

As you do that…Your mind was racing….you kinda have a special thing for both Tanjiro and Nezuko….What is it?…Damn dear (y/n)….who would you choose?…

Hello!♥️How was it lovelies?Do you liked it?Feel free to comments or give me some criticisms!But pls just don’t be rude ok?💌

Now,now,hope you like it dear @yui-san0 @just-pepperbean and @joykamado (my dear Tanjiro stans😂)

Have a great day and take care pls,ily all so much!💝💓💞✨

-With love,BamBam🦢🌙

The arts are not mine!Credits to the artist!❤️

[sociieties]

inosuke + feral child

for better or worse, all of the interactions that inosuke had in his youth led him to be the person he is now. all of that, although not exactly to the fault of one person in particular, resulting in him becoming what’s most popularly known a feral child ( or a wild child ). this is merely in reference to simply having limited or even no human contact from a young age; this impacts all parts of a child’s life. socially speaking, inosuke’s communication capabilities aren’t what they should be. his vocabulary is much smaller than what’s shown in canon. he’s almost completely incapable of complex conversation. although it’s slight, he would have an easier time following conversations than being included in them ( although not always true ). his speech pattern is best noted for his preference over general sounds to convey his thoughts ( huh? ha? ahh! humph! growling. groaning. huffing. so on and so forth ), closely followed by very simple phases it’s likely he’d heard in the very few instances he found himself around creature ( humans / demons ) that spoke the human languages. much like a child, his go-to statements are things along the lines of yes, no, and mine. inosuke is capable of carrying conversation outside of very simple things, but the more complex the topic, the more likely it is for him to check out of the conversation due to his general lack of understanding. he’s not beyond being able to learn new words and phrases and in the process of him learning it, he will overuse and abuse this word/phrase until it feels ‘right’ for him. he’s very likely to use it incorrectly, pronounce it incorrectly, or both use it incorrectly while mispronouncing it. this is most commonly seen with his inability to get people’s names right. emotionally & morally speaking, inosuke’s further removed from most general human concepts. pretty much anything within the realm of niceness politics is beyond him. while he may understand sharing, he might not feel compelled to do it himself. he is stubborn, possessive, stingy, and more, because it’s what he’s seen and come to learn that such qualities will keep him alive. his ability to bond with people is there, although fairly stunted and underdeveloped. up until he met tanjiro, zenitsu, and nezuko, inosuke only had one bond that he thought to be important enough to defend and care for, which was the bond he had with mother-boar. the bond he had with random grandpa and grandson who lived far off was much less emotional and more so a general means to an end out of everything. grandpa eventually died and inosuke eventually stopped going there ( more so, he actively chose to stop going to that place ) and felt absolutely nothing about it. those people may have taught him how to speak, but he did not consider them friends, nor family. if anything, they were just hairless creatures, much like himself, that stood funny, sounded funny, and most importantly fed him. past that, inosuke’s interaction with whatever human here and whatever demon there ( who so happened to chose to not kill him ) contributed to inosuke learning some things, but never allowing him the full scope of most things (until his true re-entrance into society ). murder is bad, yes, but not to him. stealing isn’t really a concept to him because if you wanted it, you should have either taken better care of it or you should have fought him for it. eating habits; once again, i say: cannibalism... if it really, seriously came down to it and there was no other option... he would... he would and he wouldn’t even think about it. on a fairly less graphic note, inosuke has eating pretty much anything and everything in the mountains that he’s seen. if he’s not eaten it and completely digested it, he’s at the very least put it in his mouth once and never again. he’s eating insects, leaves, dirt, flowers, raw and cooked meat, tree bark, etc. he’s tried eating rocks before. he’s been poisoned before, on enough occasions for him to incidentally build a tolerance for poisons and medicines alike. inosuke hunts and he hunts a lot. sometimes to eat, sometimes for sport. the list of things he won’t try hunting is a very small list, but there is, in fact, a list. he also isn’t exactly a clean eater, fairly sloppy and easily considered disgusting when compared to certain human standards; he eats with his hands, face close to food he’s eating as if it would run away. the idea of using utensils is beyond him, he has no idea what they’re for and he wouldn’t use them. ( the image of him using chopsticks wrong, although sorta cute, sorta funny, simply wouldn’t happen. ) as much as you think he’d talk with food in his mouth, he wouldn’t. not because he understands those sort of manners, but because he’s focused on nothing but the food within his reach until he’s decided that he’s done eating. he can and will steal other people’s food because they weren’t protecting it and he wanted it. mannerism wise, inosuke isn’t mocking and mirroring the actions of animals ( mostly, but not exclusively, boars ) to be cute. he is doing it because it’s what he knows and understands. he does as animals do before he will do as a person might do because he knows animal nature much more than he knows and understands human nature. it’s what he grew up around, it’s what, for the most part, raised him, and he will not be able to shake it so easily. over time he can and will learn to trade some animal action and reaction for those of human ones. he only learned to walk in his two legs instead of walking on all fours as most animals do out of pure luck ( thanks to the people who taught him how to speak. thanks to the demon he sometimes, but not exactly consistently crossed paths with. thanks to whatever person he saw for .3 seconds before accidentally scaring them and sending them hightailing back down the mountain. ). his misunderstanding of pain comes from a blend of perspective coming from demons, people, and animals. his misunderstanding and oversimplification of death comes from the same. his misunderstand of himself comes from the same.

[heyiwrotesomethings]

Among Us

Shinobu Kochou x Fem Reader 

Also Featuring: Giyuu, Obanai, Mitsuri, Nezuko, Tanjirou, Kanao, Zenitsu, and Inosuke.

A/N: Y’all already know what it is. Enjoy this modern, kinda crack, fic.

“Start!” Inosuke screamed in everyone’s ears the second the lobby was filled. “Inosuke, you don’t need to yell!” Tanjirou winced. “I said start! Who’s running this thing? Let’s go! I wanna crush all of you!” Inosuke’s voice boomed over the discord server, his character moving erratically about the lobby space. “Inosuke, just hold on a second. I’m adjusting the settings!” (Y/n) tried to explain over the boy’s howls.

“Oh, hey, guys? Is it okay if I stream this?” Mitsuri asked. “My subscribers have been begging to see me play,” “I don’t have a problem with it,” (Y/n) shrugged, “What does everyone else think? Speak now or forever hold your regret,” A bunch of muddled voices resounded through (Y/n) headphones and she listened hard to pick up any objections. “Sounds like You’re good to go Mitsuri,” “Thanks guys!” “Start! Start! Start!” Inosuke chanted. “Oh my god,” (Y/n) groaned, “Okay, I hope they get you first,” she muttered as she clicked the start button. “What?!” The screen fades, (Y/n) sighs, relieved that she’s a crewmate this round. Imposter is much too stressful. “Oooo I’m so excited!” Mitsuri’s voice broke through as the game began. “Mitsuri, mute,” Shinobu and Obanai gently reminded her before re-muting themselves. “Eep! Sorry!” Mitsuri replied before all was silent. (Y/n) opened her map and decided she’d work right to left for now. She made her way to weapons and saw Nezuko’s little brown bean with bear ears shooting asteroids while Tanjirou and Zenitsu watched. (Y/n) made a mental note of it and continued to navigation for her download and spaceship task. She walked into the empty room and began her download. As the download neared its completion, (Y/n) prayed no meeting would be called before the final file was retrieved, lest she have to do it all over again. When the screen closed, (Y/n) jumped in her seat when she saw Shinobu’s little purple character hovering over hers. “Are you downloading Shinobu, or are you being nefarious?” (Y/n) muttered to herself. She eyed Shinobu suspiciously before moving to complete her spaceship task. When she finished that, Shinobu had moved to stand directly in front of her, the helmets of their little avatars meeting in a kiss. “Nope nope nope, stop that,” (Y/n) moved to get the hell out of nav but before she could, a body had been reported. “I found Inosuke’s body in electrical,” Giyuu spoke. “Zenitsu has been following me everywhere!” Tanjirou shared, “It’s very unsettling.” “It’s because I’m scared, Tanjirou!” Zenitsu cried. “Where is everyone what do we know?” Obanai asked. “I’m in reactor doing the pattern game!” Mitsuri shared. “Zenitsu, Nezuko, and I ended in admin.” Tanjirou supplied. “I was in nav with (Y/n).” Shinobu’s calming voice shined through. “That’s true,” (Y/n) affirmed, “I also saw Nezuko do asteroids so she’s clear. Kanao, where were you?” “Med bay,” came the quiet and precise reply. “Obanai, where were you?” Giyuu asked. “I was in storage filling my gas can,” he replied, coolly. “That’s close to electrical,” Giyuu noted. “Are you accusing me, Tomioka?” “Just making an observation,” “I think Tomioka self reported,” Shinobu sing-songed as she submitted her vote. “Ooo, defense Tomioka-san?” Mitsuri asked. “...I didn’t do it.” “I’ve heard all I needed to hear,” Obanai deadpanned while submitting a vote for Giyuu. “Okay, but I think we should hold off a round, we don’t have a lot to go off on. We should skip,” Tanjirou reasoned. “Just keep an eye on Giyuu. Maybe Kanao too, she could have vented to med bay from electrical,” “I agree!” Mitsuri voiced along with (Y/n) and a hum from Nezuko. The votes were cast with moments to spare. Three votes against Giyuu and the rest were skips. “Zenitsu, why did you vote for Giyuu?” Tanjirou asked. “He’s suspicious and I don’t want to die!” The game faded back in and (Y/n) decided to go to admin to card swipe and finish her upload. Shinobu followed close behind, along with Tanjirou and Zenitsu. (Y/n) began her upload, feeling relatively safe with three other people in the room. By the time she was done, Obanai had joined them as well. Though he appeared to be looking at the admin table rather than continuing his tasks. (Y/n) let him be and went to the card swipe, quickly completing the task before moving on. She followed Tanjirou and Zenitsu to storage and completed a set of wires while the green and yellow characters continued downward towards the right side. When she came out of the task, the lights were out. She moved as fast as her character’s stubby little legs would allow and found Mitsuri already fixing the lights. Soon, light flooded the map once more and (Y/n) checked the upper area and was shocked to find Giyuu standing over a black halved corpse, Obanai. She quickly reported with Mitsuri right behind her. “Nezukoooooo!” Zenitsu and Tanjirou yelled in unison. “Who killed my baby sister!” Tanjirou cried. “Oh dear,” came Shinobu’s sympathetic voice, “she was the only cleared one out of all of us,” “Guys, I’m sad too, but listen to what Mitsuri and I saw!” (Y/n) said, trying to talk over the rowdy boys’ wails. “What did you see, love?” Shinobu’s melodic voice sent shivers down (Y/n)’s spine, but she quickly recovered. “Giyuu was standing over Obanai’s body in electrical,” “He was!” Mitsuri confirmed, “My poor snake-y boi!” “I didn’t see him,” Giyuu claimed. “How could you not have seen him? You were literally standing on his body,” (Y/n) rose her arms in disbelief. “I was doing a task. The spinning circle thing,” he explained monotonously. “I know you’re incompetent Tomioka, but even you can’t be that clueless,” Shinobu chided. “Let’s not forget Obanai accused him of killing Inosuke last round,” “She’s right, I think we need to vote you out, sorry Giyuu,” Tanjirou called mournfully. “...But you don’t vote on seven.” Giyuu replied, seemingly emotionless. “When you know, you know. Sorry Giyuu,” (Y/n) voted, soon followed by the others. “But I have trash,” “Just vote, Tomioka,” Shinobu ordered with a mocking sweetness. A unanimous vote, besides Giyuu who skipped, sent the blue bean spinning into space. “Oh shiiiit,” (Y/n) groaned, as the white text appeared on screen. Giyuu was not an imposter. “A double kill and it’s all over.” As soon as the game resumed, the reactor went off. (Y/n) followed after everyone, counting the seconds until inevitable death. Shinobu and Zenitsu went top reactor so (Y/n) went to lower. There she found Kanao and Tanjirou who had originally headed the pack. “What?!” (Y/n) yelled, not caring if Shinobu could hear her from the living room, because Kanao’s white character with its cute little flower atop its head, just sliced Tanjirou up right in front of her. “I can’t believe I hit the report button before there was a double kill!” (Y/n) spoke quickly, “Kanao, sweet baby Kanao, killed sunshine boy Tanjirou in front of my very own eyes!” “Tanjirooooouuuu!” Zenitsu cried. “Kanao, is that true?” Shinobu asked. “...Yes,” Kanao answered after a short pause. “I have always appreciated your honesty, but you are allowed to lie in this game, Kanao,” “Okay, Nee-san” Kanao replied. “...I didn’t do it,” “It’s a little late for that now, but keep it in mind for the future.” “So wait, we’re voting off Kanao?” Mitsuri asked. “If (Y/n) is to be believed, then yes,” Shinobu replied. “What do you mean ‘if I’m to be believed?’” (Y/n) asked feeling a bit hurt, “I honestly saw her do it,” “You also played a major part in Tomioka getting booted off the ship. In fact, I’d say you and Mitsuri are quite suspicious,” “Hey!” Mitsuri whined, “How am I suspicious?” “You never showed up to reactor,” Shinobu explained, “You left your fellow imposter hanging. I assume (Y/n) only killed Tanjirou because she expected you to attack as well,” “I- I meant to help at reactor, really, but I got distracted by another arrow and went the wrong way!” Mitsuri sputtered. “I don’t know what to believe!” Zenitsu screamed. “Zenitsu, Shinobu, listen to me. I swear it’s Kanao, she admitted to it, remember?” (Y/n) couldn’t believe they were still debating this at all. “I believe (Y/n)!” Mitsuri declared and then promptly voted. “Well, we do need to vote... I suppose I’ll believe you (Y/n). After all, you could have killed me back in nav at the beginning of the game,” Shinobu decided. “Did you come up with that theory before just to spite me or what?” (Y/n) felt her eye twitch as her girlfriend’s melodic laughter rang through her ears. “Perhaps,” Shinobu teased, “I really do have my doubts about Mitsuri though.” “Shinobuuuu, don’t be mean!” (Y/n) could practically hear the pout in Mitsuri’s tone. The votes were soon counted. Everyone had voted for Kanao, including the quiet girl herself, and she was sent into space. The white text confirming that she was indeed an imposter. There were only four of them now, (Y/n), Shinobu, Zenitsu, and Mitsuri. (Y/n) cursed as she glanced at the task bar. It was barely half filled. “I’ll bet you anything Inosuke hasn’t done a single goddamn task this whole time,” she mumbled to herself as she followed Mitsuri’s pink character and the little hamster rolling behind her. (Y/n) stopped at security and did wires while Mitsuri continued downward to lower engine. (Y/n) then double backed to reactor after opening her map and realizing she had numbers to do as well. Once she completed that, (Y/n) only had one more set of wires to complete in the cafeteria. As she made her way up the map, o2 went off. (Y/n) bypassed the wires she needed to fix, and headed to admin where she was the only one around. She opened the task and was about to push the last number when a body was reported. “Mitsuri, care to explain yourself?” Shinobu spoke, her voice eerily calm. “Shinobu, you killed Zenitsu in front of me!” Mitsuri squealed. “It’s a self report (Y/n), I swear!” “(Y/n), would I ever lie to you?” Shinobu asked sweetly. “Yes, yes you would,” (Y/n) replied without hesitation. “You’re a beast at this game. I bet if we played in the same room you could still lie right to my face,” “That’s fair,” Shinobu replied. “Then I implore you to think back to the previous rounds.” “She’s stalling! I swear she did it, (Y/n)!” “(Y/n), when you were in electrical and saw Tomioka standing over Obanai’s body, wasn’t Mitsuri in there before you?” “Yeah, but she was fixing the lights,” (Y/n) recalled. “But how easy would it have been for her to lull Obanai into a false sense of security? Tomioka was indisposed, she probably killed Obanai while he was distracted then quickly turned off the lights, giving herself a cover as she fixed her own sabotage,” “That’s not true!” Mitsuri objected. “Then of course she ran away from reactor when it was in meltdown.” “(Y/n), I know this looks bad but I swear Shinobu is the evil one,” Mitsuri pleaded over the discord. “I-“ “(Y/n), we did a download in nav together at the beginning of the game. I even gave you a little kiss in front of the spaceship task. Does that sound like the work of a murderous space alien, (Y/n)” Shinobu added, interrupting (Y/n)’s train of thought. “N-no, but-“ “Love, trust me,” Shinobu practically purrs as she submits her vote, the sound tickled (Y/n)’s ears and made her become even more flustered. “(Y/n), no! Fight it! You know this isn’t right!” Mitsuri spoke passionately, submitting her vote for Shinobu. “AHHHHH I don’t know!” (Y/n) throws her arms up as the timer clicks dangerously low, she has to vote, one more kill for the imposter means game over. This was the crewmates’ last shot at victory. Then she thinks back to how the game should have ended with a double kill during the reactor meltdown. (Y/n)’s heart speeds up and she’s hit with a rush of premature euphoria. There is no way Shinobu would have messed up that double kill, not with her brutal history as an imposter! “Aha!” (Y/n) cheered, voting for Mitsuri at the very last second. She was practically bouncing in her seat she was so excited. “Nooooo!” Feed my hamster (Y/n), I forgive you!” Mitsuri cried, her voice comically fading out as her pink spaceman floated across the screen. “Isn’t this romantic, just a murderous alien and her human lover,” Shinobu’s sweet voice joyously sang. “Wait, what...? No! No fucking way!” (Y/n) cursed as the defeat message filled her screen. “You fool! I can’t believe you fell for that, idiot!” Inosuke cackled into his mic. “That was unfortunate, if it makes you feel any better I would have believed her too,” Tanjirou comforted. “I told you guys I didn’t kill anyone.” “Shut up, Tomioka,” Obanai huffed. “But, at reactor, why didn’t you do the double kill?” (Y/n) floundered, “Why drag it out? You could have ended it right there!” “And miss out on having my girlfriend and a nice spaceship all to myself? I think not,” Shinobu teased. “Aww that’s so sweet,” Mitsuri cooed. “You do realize that what you are calling ‘sweet’ is what led to you being sucked into space, right?” Obanai asked, his voice filled with more warmth than when he spoke to Giyuu. “Yes, but still.” “Enough pointless chatter! Start! Start another round!” Inosuke demanded. “If you get crewmate again you better finish your tasks, Inosuke. I know for a fact you weren’t doing them as a ghost,” Zenitsu grumbled. “Hmm hmm!” Nezuko agreed, seemingly angry. “Nezuko, are you eating another baguette right now?” Kanao asked. “Eyshureum,” Nezuko paused to swallow and spoke again more clearly, “I sure am.” “Impressive,” Kanao simply stated before going about her own business, moving her little white character in a figure eight pattern around the boxes in the lobby. “(Y/n)! Lord Inosuke commands you to start the next game!” Inosuke commands as his little cyan astronaut with a crown dances over (Y/n)’s character which stood completely still. “(Y/n)? You still there?” Mitsuri asked. “She’s probably still in shock, honestly,” Obanai scoffed, “Hey, (L/n), shake it off and get back in the game, let’s go,” “Sorry everyone, you’ll need to start a new lobby. (Y/n) and I have to go, bye!” Shinobu quickly jumped in out of nowhere. “Wh-“ Shinobu disconnected from discord and the game and pulled (Y/n) further into herself, a prideful smirk on her lips. “You are an evil genius and I totally hate you right now,” (Y/n) gasped after their lips met in a heated kiss. “Aww, don’t be bitter. Mitsuri won’t harbor any hard feelings,” Shinobu murmured, brushing her lips against (Y/n)’s as she spoke. “Besides, you know you love my sadistic side.” “Shut up, and kiss me some more before I change my mind,” (Y/n) frowned and tightened her grip on Shinobu’s shirt. “Happily,” Shinobu whispered, pushing (Y/n) back to lay across the couch. (Y/n)’s frown quickly melted away when Shinobu’s lips met hers once more.

[paperultra]

Hi! May I request a headcannon of zenitsu turning into a demon and having to deal with it? Maybe including a fem S/O! who had been turned into a demon herself a while ago and she helps him along with the changes?

Warnings: (brief) mention of a panic attack

[A/N: hi ! here you go :)]

When he comes to, Zenitsu feels … different. In a bad way

A very, very bad way

You start crying as soon as you meet his eyes, hugging him, and he furrows his brow

“[Y/n]? What’s wrong?”

“You’re awake …!”

He hums weakly, confused and still slightly dazed

Your sound – it’s happy, but it’s also distraught. You look like you want to say something very badly

After a minute of prodding you gently, you finally tell him

“Zenitsu, you’re a demon now.”

He’s a demon.

Zenitsu promptly has a panic attack.

No, that’s not possible. This can’t be happening. Not to him. Demons are the creatures he fears the most out of everything.

Why?

Why?

You try to calm him, but it takes a while until he can speak again

“Where … wh-where am I?”

“Tokyo. I – I brought you to Tamayo-sama after Muzan attacked you.”

Zenitsu’s hands shake in his lap. You had told him about Tamayo-sama before, how she had saved you by turning you into a demon

He had accepted it then, even being grateful to her because it was you

But with him? So cowardly and weak, and now a demon?

He just nods, tearing up again

Eventually, Tamayo-sama comes in to check on him and give a briefing about his condition, though he already knows the basics of it

No sunlight

Though he can regenerate, it takes energy

If he gets injured and/or needs more energy, he can either consume human blood or sleep, as human food no longer has nutritional value to him

You tell him that thanks to Tamayo-sama’s intervention, he won’t go into frenzies over human blood

That is a small comfort

But still. Zenitsu has a very hard time accepting his new self

He cries a lot for the first few days

And he while he does let Tanjirou, Nezuko, Inosuke, and you visit while he stays in his room, and all of you encourage and express your care for him, he still struggles immensely

You do your best to help him adjust to being a demon.

From cooking and tasting human meals with him

To going outside the mansion at night

To holding and reassuring him when the stress is too much

Once Zenitsu gets a little bit more used to being a demon, he’s given an audience with Ubuyashiki-sama, who speaks softly and smiles and asks him to remain as a demon slayer

Zenitsu knows his answer is yes, no matter how frightened he is

He is thus sent to the Butterfly Mansion, where he trains with you at night to get into shape again

You even help him develop his own Blood Demon Art based on Thunder Breathing

(He doesn’t like to use it often, though, preferring to use the human techniques that he learned from Gramps)

You tell him that although he yearns for the day, he can still find beauty in the night

“I don’t know, [Y/n]-chan.”

“Then let me show you.”

After training, the two of you lie in the grass and listen to the crickets chirping, find patterns on the moon, smell the cooler, fresher air

And Zenitsu discovers that you are right.

When he starts going out to slay demons with you and his friends again, he still falls unconscious before fighting

He is more powerful than before, though – faster, more dangerous

Neither of you want to consume human blood, so after a harsh battle, the two of you huddle in a dark room and sleep it off, arms tight around each other and legs tangled together

Which is nice

Yes, Zenitsu would’ve preferred to remain human without question

But as long as you’re by his side, he thinks he can bear it.

[themelodicenigma]

I was talking to someone on in light of my recent post about shipping mindsets (non-blood related sibling shippers), and we got into an interesting conversation about sibling relationships. Basically, what does it REALLY mean to be siblings, outside of the literal, genetic definition.

The way I see it, it’s all about “recognition” and “functionality”, which creates the commentary on how this relationship is presented and identifiable in fiction, not to mention between real life people. “Recognition”, in a sense, happens on the individual level, but can either be funneled through what otherwise is already established in society—this being what makes it something to BE identified by the individual—and/or, it can be gained and tailored by personal experience by said individual.

In other words, “What it means to be a sibling” is going to be dependent upon what can be understood through an established concept and/or an individual’s recognition of this concept’s functionality. 

What? Expecting me to say: “Oh, it’s people who do this and this and this and this together...”? Yeah well, whatever I’d list down, it’d more than likely just be a component of what the “true” answer is, which is going to be interchangeable depending on who you ask and what they essentially recognize as a sibling relationship. It makes you wonder then, is there really a definitive answer? I don’t know if I can truly say yes in a way beyond the literal (especially in having a relationship as opposed to only just being siblings by fact), but what can be observed and compared are the commonalities between people’s recognition of this functionality. Somewhere between that is where a general answer can be noted.

You’ll find this common for most things, whether about romance, siblings, family, personality traits, themes, etc.—how many times have you heard: “well I wouldn’t do that” or “this is totally this” or just simply, “I see it this way”. Be a part of any Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Supernatural, etc.—ANY fandom, really and for more than just shipping. You’ll see this eventually.

Recognition of functionality. If it’s congruent with how someone can recognize it, then that’s what they’ll see it as. “I calls it like I sees it”, and all that.

This can go in a way of even symbolism or subtext that requires “pre-knowledge” outside of the text. These things are used a certain way because people decided it to...well, be understood a certain way. I mean, the color white being a symbol for this or that didn’t just happen out of thin air—this patterned usage and understanding was passed down as a way to be recognized and further utilized a particular way. More simple than that, like for adult jokes—these are purposely written in a way for an adult to understand because they’re expected to have the knowledge available to do so, where a child otherwise normally wouldn’t.

If we’re thinking about how do we get there—recognition—I tend to think about how the world essentially establishes these things as concepts to be understood.

“What it means to be [blank]”

Some societies differ on these things, of course, but even through the knowledge that different parts of the world might have, what you’d say, an “alternate criteria” to define these things—it’s evident to the idea of how our views on things are part of a wider establishment to be understood and recognized in a particular manner.

To break it down, the most basic understanding of what a sibling is comes from the literal—your brother or sister, whether by genetic means or lawful. Beyond that, there lies a function of which this typically happens—you’re reared together as a family, foundationally under platonic connections. Of course these two things don’t always coexist for some people seeing as people can have biological siblings that they weren’t raised with or have an adopted sibling that they’re raised with. But, when these two factors do coexist, then we easily go into what can be experienced within the function of being raised as siblings. The sibling function can even include the mentioned adopted siblings, where they hold the title officially and are reared despite the lack of genetic connection.

That’s where most of if not all the common tropes people think of originate.

But why do you even think of these as “tropes”?

This can either come from personal experience, or that of what you’ve, essentially, been taught through external means, such as media or other people’s experience—this is where establishment happens.

We grow up forming this palette of ideas that we use as a means to recognize the established concept here—which I believe media/fiction is a major influence in how the concept is widely spread to those on a very basic level. In a way, it might even determine the outcome of how people THINK they should act if in accordance to the concept.

“I grew up understanding this is what [blank] means, so therefore not only will it be how I recognize it, but it’ll also be the way in which I believe it should be expressed.”

Most people don’t think about this so intentionally, but if you start to wonder about the reasons as to WHY you think the way you do, this thought will eventually arise in some form or fashion. It’s almost kind of a “chicken or egg” scenario—is the way society thinks about sibling relationships based on the individuals thinking it first, or is it based on what’s represented as a collective and THEN given to the individual to essentially learn?

Ehh, kind of both, really.

For instance, in real life, why would someone get to the point of calling a friend a brother or sister? What would give them the idea to even do this?

One could point to personal experience: what an individual recognizes in association of “family” can be placed on other people, and if that individual has the thought process that has a “criteria” for what it means to be a sibling, they’ll thus place this where they see fit if they can recognize the criteria being met with that friend. It could even be more straight forward through their already existing sibling—if the relationship is similar, then it just naturally falls into place to call this friend of yours a sibling too.

For the second point, media/fiction is well known for painting the picture here:

“Got a friend who you’re really close to and have platonic feelings for [function]? Then they’re like a sibling to you!” 

It isn’t advertised this way of course, but when you see this essentially represented in the information that you consume, an individual will then have that become a part of their palette to be recognized in their own or other people’s relationships. This definitely happens with romance A LOT.

You could have best friend you’re really close to, and maybe they’re like a sibling to you, but that doesn’t seem to stop this annoying kid from pointing out how you “look like a couple” or should “hook up already”. Through either or both of these points, a person can gain the idea to recognize these concepts for themselves, even if by the fact they may be wrong in what exactly is happening.

In fictional material, I believe judging this is typically much easier than it would be in real life. This is mostly due to the fact it’s just so much more...deliberate, whether it’s explicit or subtle, for how a writer does their thing. A writer is just another individual who has their own palette that they’ll express through their work—it either lines up with your own or it doesn’t. What tends to interfere with recognition is context (wooo!), where there lies a flexibility to manipulate the things that otherwise would be identified a different way—symbolism can be a great example, like through the use of motifs that are unique to a story. I never get tired of saying “context is key”, or better yet, “let context be your guiding key”, for my fellow Kingdom Hearts fans.

True love’s kiss? Romantic at it’s core, right? But then Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) comes and uses Maleficent’s true love for Aurora to represent this platonically instead. Frozen does this with with Elsa and Anna for their “Act of True Love”. Hell, I’ve even actually seen the “Jian Bird” representation used to convey the close, existential bond between sisters in a manhwa called “The Gamer”. The key thing is that the concepts here go beyond the connotation it might be widely known for, and thus allows the context to manipulate it for another recognizable meaning. Sometimes this isn’t even really a deviation of meaning—people just sometimes don’t understand how flexible some elements always were in general for how they can be recognized and utilized in fiction or real life.

“Oooh they hugged!! Romance is in the air! OH. MY. GOD. They smiled at each other toooo?!?! It has officially sailed guys.”

....uh, you DO know hugs aren’t limited to that, right? Right?.....Please say right.

Oh boy.

What we know and recognize might not always line up with the context of which the meaning resides, hence why you might have some people shipping characters with a sibling or other platonic relationship—the individuals doing so have found something represented between the characters to be congruent with their personal recognition of romance, even if the actual context is different for the character’s relationship. Sora and Riku, Aqua and Ven, Fang and Vanille, Yuna and Rikku, Noctis and Prompto, Fina and Dark Fina, Tanjirou and Nezuko, Sam and Dean, Ponyboy and Sodapop, Steve and Bucky, Elsa and Anna, Rapunzel and Cassandra—boy, I’ve seen it all and can go on forever. All are examples of relationships that have expressions where a fan might say “hey, I see it this way”, but if what they recognize for themselves is meant to be recognized in a different way via the context....

Conflict breeds catastrophe (Thanks Vision).

Most shipping tension in fandom then comes from whether or not a recognition of something is based on the individual or is based on the material conveying it on its own to be recognized as such. That’s about when terms like “canon” starts being thrown around willy-nilly. What we recognize and what the context is are two things that either line up, or they don’t, and thus we have the pool of interpretations that have a go at each other, some being fierce, meaningless fights and some being pretty great discussions that can often show the flexibility of a context’s meaning. This does line up with something I mentioned before in another post about subtext, and this is certainly related. A big question would be that, if what is in the context is meant to be recognized a certain way, was it REALLY presented in a way to, well, be recognized as what it claims to represent?

That breeds a larger conversation towards the establishment and meaning of all the individual things in question and how either context determines its meaning or if the subject inherently retains a specific meaning. e.g. holding hands or hugging doesn’t mean romance in every context, but confessing you “like like” (lol) someone will “always” have an association with romance or sexual nature...

You know, until someone has the interesting idea to have two people “like like” each other platonically because, you know....recognition? 

There are maybe some things you can count on to mean certain things because, a real life person had to have written it and more than likely has at least some similar recognition patterns shared with their primary audience. Chances are, they wouldn’t be an individual who grew up in a place where their understanding of reduplication is opposite to, well, everyone else. But you never know, I guess. Again, there lies that point about subtext (here is the post, in case anyone is wondering) where you might be able to argue that, pretty much, a writer can make a mistake in their writing and mess up the whole process of recognizing elements within a context unintentionally, where it wouldn’t really BE subtext anymore. 

Other than that, most people’s issues with recognition is interlaced with their ability to identify what these elements are. Between context and what can be understood as “established meaning”, usually the answer can be discerned if the writer is truly creating something to be understood by other people. That’s where authorial intent and THEIR recognition starts to be considered the most by the audience.

Buuuuut I’m gonna stop there.

I’m probably more rambling at this point, but it is an interesting and WIDE subject, so it is to be expected. It’s fun stuff.

[kaibutsushidousha]

What do you mean by ridiculous names ? Is there puns or the name very unusual with fancy kanji/unusual readings for them ?

All of the above. Using older kanji makes sense since the story is set in Taishou, but most names are either unsubtle puns or relatively direct descriptors of the characters, like Gyokko meaning “jade vase”. Unusual readings don’t often all that often, but a great example is 不死川 being spelled as Shinazugawa instead of the more obvious Fujigawa (same kanji as Killer Killer’s Fujigawa btw). 

Not only that, but there also a few examples of names that are straight up regular words with no twist to them whatsoever: Muzan (cruelty), Giyuu (heroism) and Agatsuma (my wife).

Kamado means “furnace gate”, because the Kamado family sells charcoal. It’s an outdated kanji for furnace (竃) to keep that Taishou flavor. Now, Tanjirou is a much more competent and interesting name, one of my favorites in the manga. Depending on whether you interpret its 治 as the 治 in 治す or the 治 in 退治, the meaning of his name could be either “healing son of charcoal” or “demon-slaying son of charcoal”, fitting perfectly with how Tanjirou’s goals involve both killing demons and getting a cure for his sister’s predicament. Not mention a lot of Heian mythology associating slaying oni with curing illness. And the charcoal part is because Tanjirou, of the Furnace family who sells charcoal, sells charcoal. By the did I mention Tanjirou sells charcoal? But anyways, there’s even another layer to this name and which it’s why it’s one of my favorites: it can be sort of a namefication of the verb 歎じる(tanjiru), which means to mourn, reflect Tanjirou’s main trait of sparing sympathy for pretty much every demon he kills.

Nezuko means “shrine bean girl”. Specifically Heian era shrines, so it’s maybe this kanji is too old even for the Taishou era (so old that a lot of people on the internet don’t know to type it or don’t bother the conversion takes too long). But it fits the character since Heian is when we got most of the oni related mythology this series is mostly about. The “bean girl” part is probably there only to sound cute.

Agatsuma, as mentioned earlier, means “my wife”. I already considered one of the funniest I’ve ever seen before I even started the manga and it only better after actually seeing Zen’itsu’s character. Zen’itsu has a cool double meaning like Tanjirou, with 逸 potentially being from 逸する or 逸物, so his name means either “goodness missed” or “goodness at its best”, which fits how Zen’itsu is normally an absolutely terrible person in every aspect but shows himself to be ultimately caring and competent when pushes come to the shove (even if through the power of stress napping most of the time).

Hashibira means “beak flattened”. A rare name I have no idea how it connects to the character. Inosuke’s kanji mean “helper of the elegant” but the intent is clearly a pun on inoshishi (boar). Besides, looking at the meaning feels like a moot point because everyone is “the elegant” compared to Inosuke.

Both Kanawo’s names are antiquated as heck, mainly there for the series Taishou era flavor. Tsuyuri is one of Japan’s most notoriously unusual ateji names (yeah, there are only 3 instances of the manga using real people names and one of them is the name known for being weird), with it’s kanji meaning “chestnut flower falling” and the kana means “rainy season starting”, because chestnut flowers fall in early May, signaling the start of the rainy season. Kanawo’s “birthday” is in May btw. Anyways, the name was probably chosen for her specifically because of flower kanji in the middle and her Breath of Flowers. Kanawo is a katakana name, so no proper meaning, but it overall feels very old because it’s a name that uses “wo” instead of “o”. Taishou flavor, as I mentioned.

I’m skipping Gen’ya to his brother’s section because their names are matching.

Ubuyashiki means “childbirth grounds”. Kagaya had 5 children so it checks. Besides, with their family curse, pretty much all the Ubuyashikis can do is give birth to the next generation as much as they can before they kick the bucket. Kagaya means “radiant!”. Yes, the exclamation mark is part of the name’s meaning. I’m sure it’s a name all pillar agree with.

Tomioka means “wealth hill” it’s a rare instance of a real people name in this series, so I assume it must a reference to some one, but I have no idea who. Giyuu, as already mentioned, is just the regular word for heroism. Military volunteers are actually called “giyuu soldiers” in Japanese even.

Similarly, Kochou is the regular word for butterfly (although not the most commonly used). Shinobu is a hiragana name, so no proper meaning (much like Kanae and Kanawo’s katakana names), but name Shinobu is normally written with 忍 (the shinobi kanji) or 偲 (remembering, but most often in the context of remembering a dead person). The latter has obvious meaning in Shinobu’s relationship with Kanae, but the former might also have an interesting meaning behind it. The shinobi kanji is made with the heart kanji under the blade kanji (insert Monogatari reference here), so a huge cliche in ninja-themed literature is the saying “a shinobi without a heart is just a blade” (surprisingly never mentioned once in Naruto, as far as I can remember). I believe this thematically connects to Shinobu’s central character trait of wanting to have Kanae’s kindness but not being able to bring herself to be that empathetic to demons. She tries to be Shinobu but can’t force herself to retain the heart she lost, so she ends up just being a blade.

Rengoku is the regular word for purgatory, as you probably know from it being also the name of his ninth kata. Kyoujurou means “congratulating son of apricorns”, with father Shinjurou being “congratulating son of yew plum pine” and his brother Senjurou being “congratulating son of thousand”. The pun here is probably with 享受(kyouju; happily accepting something) vs 信受 (shinju; accepting a fact, in a somewhat resignated way). Another possibility less related to the conflicted with his character is 教授(kyouju; professor) since he’s a mentor character.

Uzui means “roof marrow”, but real pun is with uzu uzu, the gitaigo for impatience, a character trait fitting for a character completely centered around rejecting shinobi philosophies. Also reflects how his very first sympathetic moment was him honestly admiting that his impatience to save his wives caused him to make a few bad moves. Tengen is the Japanese reading for Tianyuan, which is the heaven’s energy which composes everything according to some ancient Chinese traditions. You may have heard of it as the “celestial unknown” or the “heavenly element”. Don’t know what it has to do with Tengen’s character though.

Kanroji means “nectar temple” and Mitsuri means “honey lazuli”. The “temple” and “lazuli” part are kanji commonly used in names, so that’s a pretty much just thrown in there to make her name sound more like a name. The real keywords here nectar and honey, since those are two words that can be used as horny words in a very subtle way, but suddenly look a lot less subtle when they are about the Love Pillar.

Himejima means “scream island”, but specifically the sad, crying kind of scream, matching with how Himejima is pretty much always crying out of compassion for others. Also, archaic kanji for “island” because Taishou. Gyoumei means “carita afterlife”. Carita is an umbrella term for all forms of spiritual training in Buddhism. It includes a lot of things we see associated with him in the manga, like sitting under waterfalls, reciting chants, etc.

Tokitou means “time transparent”. Possibly a clever amnesia reference (in the sense of how his past time was invisible to him)? Muichirou means “first son of no”, in a ridiculous match with his twin Yuichirou (”first son of yes”). Yuichirou references that multiple times in his backstory, saying it’s supposed to mean “no worth” or “no point”, only to then say it’s supposed to mean “no limits” in the climax of the flashback.

Iguro means “elegant black”. It’s an obvious anagram on guroi (gorey). Now, Obanai is easily the most incomprehensible name in the series. It means “small banana inside”, which is nonsensical enough for me to know for sure there’s a hidden pun involved, but I can’t find it for the life of me. The closest I can get is a pun with the English word “overnight” (OBAaNAIto), but I still don’t know Iguro’s character enough to know what “overnight” has to do with him.

不死川 would mean “immortal river“ as Fujigawa, but due to ateji it be comes more like “river of not dying“. Like with Kanroji’s names, the river kanji is only there to make the name look more like a real name (note: it’s not working) and the “not dying“ part is what really matters. Sanemi is introduced showing off his chest covered in scars and having Kanroji commenting on how he’s got a new scar in his last mission, immediately conveying to the audience that he’s a dude that’s not dying despite injuring himself a lot. Now Sanemi is a much more complicated name because 実 has dozens of meanings and I had no way of knowing which one is supposed to apply to him until Gen’ya finally came into play. Looking at them as paired names, Sanemi means “more reality“ and Gen’ya means “more illusion“. Can’t say why Sanemi is supposed to represent truth or Gen’ya is supposed represent lies, though. Could be something about how Sanemi knows the truth about how he felt about his brother while was fed Sanemi’s lies in their reencounter, could be about how Sanemi is a true breath user while Gen’ya is a fraud who needs to rely on Breath of Gun or going Kirby on the demons to fight, who knows. On a semi-related note, all of their other siblings had generic unrelated names. I guess their parents didn’t think of going with “more half-truth“ or “more ommision“ names before dropping the naming pattern.

Kyougai means “echoing fanfare”. Two sound related words for the drum guy. Pretty basic.

Rui is a regular word for bad influence, fitting of how he forced others into his abusive family play. It’s written with the radical for thread, so I that’s one of the ones I find more clever than ridiculous.

Enmu, on the other hand, means “nightmare dream”. And if that wasn’t redundant enough, it’s also an anagram for nemu(sleep).

Kaigaku means “sly peaks”. The peaks part is common surname kanji, so only the “sly” part matters. Obvious traitor name, which must be why he was unnamed in Zen’itsu’s first flashback. 

Nakime means “sounding woman”. Very self-explanatory, she’s a woman who plays a biwa.

Daki means “fallen princess”, which is already meaningful enough for her character, but more importantly, it sounds very close to Dakki, the Japanese for the Daji, a famous Chinese monster disguised as an imperial courtesan. Giyuutarou is a name used for courtesan assistants, as already explained in the manga itself. Daki’s human name Ume is plum.

Gyokko means “jade vase”, as I said in the intro paragraph. Competing hard with Nakime for the title of most to-the-poing name in the series.

Hantengu means “half tengu”, because his ability is to split in halves and the tengu is the youkai species he’s themed after. Kinda weird how all oni in Kimetsu are themed after classic Japanese monster but only Daki, Hantengu and Douma get to be named after the ones they represent, I wish that was done more often. Anyways, his emotion bodies all have the kanji for their respective emotion in their names.

Akaza has my favorite name in the series, which makes sense considering everything else about him is also great. His human name is Hakuji, meaning “lion-dog healer” (yes, same ji in Tanjirou, but “demon-slaying” can’t be considered as a possibility for him for obvious reasons). As explained during his backstory, he’s named after lion-dog statues often seen guarding temple entrances. He’s someone who is supposed to be there to protect others. The healer part of his name also fits with how his spent half of his human life nursing his loved ones. And then Muzan turned him into Akaza. Due to its outdated kanji, even Japanese fans find his name a bit hard to interpret, but Akaza is generally agreed to mean “castrated dog sitting on a pit”. Delightfully humialiating name with delicious irony. In the chapter “The Useless Lion-dog”, Muzan turns the lion-dog who failed to guard its two families into a castrated dog sitting on a pit. All his nobility was neutered and he was left sitting still in a pit as he has no home to guard. Before this becomes a full Akaza meta on how he’s a full anti-thesis of what Hakuji swore to be, let’s get back to talk about names. His wife Koyuki’s name mean “love snow”. The love part represents how she’s a love interest of Hakuji and the snow part reflects she always a snowflakes hairpin and how Akaza projects the image of a snowflake on the floor when he activates his compass ability.

Douma means “child exhausted”, fitting his childish nature, especially in how he’s portrayed as a child who still hasn’t developed empathy at the age of 20, and with how his backstory is all about him being exhausted by human emotions after listening to hours of worshippers narrating their own tragedies. But most importantly, he named after Doumahoushi aka Ashiya Douman, the mythological villain he’s themed after. I like how he’s the only oni themed after a human villain rather than an actual oni or youkai like all the rest, but he might be the one oni who understands humans the least.

Kokushibou means “black death pupils”. Pupils as in eye pupil, not students, of course. He has no students, but he sure has a lot of pupils. Also eyes are often used as symbol for envy, which is the main theme of his backstory. Lastly, his name is a pun on kokushibyou aka the black plague, the disease that killed the most people in the world, just like he’s the oni who killed the most people. The 3 Upper Moons all have pretty unironically good names, all things considered. His human family name means “successor country”, probably in reference to how his brother passed down his hinomaru (symbol of Japan, the country) earrings to his next generation all the way down to Tanjirou. His name Michikatsu means “rock winner”. The winner part is obvious but I don’t know the (outdated) rock kanji was picked. His brother is Yoriichi meaning “fated one”, which probably on feeds Kokushibou’s complex harder.

Lastly and most ridiculously, Muzan Kibutsuji. Kibutsuji means “demon dance road”. Yes, the oni kanji is right there on his name, same demon kanji as the demons everyone faces. And as mentioned in the opener, the name Muzan is literally just the regular word cruelty. I’m commenting stuff with a friend as I read and we semi-consistently refer to Muzan as Meanie Demonbroadway because that’s just how stupid his name is. I really love it. Thank you anon for this opportunity to talk about Meanie Demonbroadway in a public space.

[moonlightassassin]

[ID: seven gifs from a scene in Demon Slayer: The Movie - Mugen Train, set inside the cave from Inosuke’s dream. Inosuke is wearing his usual outfit, including his boar mask, while the other three characters are wearing short, sleeveless kimonos with the patterns from their usual clothes. Tanjirō has eyes, ears, and a tail like a raccoon, and a leaf is stuck to his head; Zenitsu has ears, a nose, front teeth, and a tail like a mouse; and Nezuko has ears and a tail like a rabbit.

Inosuke is shown first, swinging his arms as he marches through the cave. Nezuko is marching right behind him, likewise swinging her arms. Zenitsu and Tanjirō then appear on a ledge behind them, striking dramatic poses and speaking. Tanjirō is captioned “Underling 1: Ponjiro”, and Zenitsu is captioned “Underling 2: Chuitsu”. The characters find the Mugen Train, which has multiple pairs of insect-like legs and is snoring, curled around a large boulder. Inosuke points to the train and says, “All right, let’s go! Showdown!” Tanjirō and Zenitsu pose happily in midair and scurry toward the train, saying, “Roger that, boss!”

Inosuke looks back at Nezuko, who is sitting with her knees to her chest and facing away from the train. Inosuke presents some sparkling acorns to her, and she turns her head, interested. Inosuke says, “Come here! Look! I’ll give you shiny acorns! You see?” Nezuko then joins Tanjirō and Zenitsu as they jump into the air excitedly. Inosuke says with a grin, “Attack!!” The characters all charge toward the train, saying, “YES!” End ID]

[The caption reads in plain text, “Inosuke’s dream: Leader of the Cave Expedition Team”. End transcription]

Inosuke’s dream: Leader of the Cave Expedition Team

[demonslayedher]

So there I was, at a different grocery store than the one I usually go to, not far out of my way through. Same chain, but thought I might be rewarded with something new. And I was!! For about 300+ yen, there was a hizakake (blanket to put on your lap because heating of Japanese buildings can be so ineffective) in a pattern totally capitalizing on Nezuko's obi. YES PLEASE, GOT THAT. But then in the produce section I found a bigger surprise. Tara-no-me! Tanjiro's favorite! Something I knew I would snag the chance to try if I ever spotted it, and here it was, in season in this early-early-spring-but-let's-face-it-still-freaking-cold-winter! I meant to make a meal with them in two day's time, but life has a way of getting in the way and I had to push it off a couple extra days. To my horror, though, by the following day after I bought them, one of them in this 300+ yen package had already started growing mold. In a panic, I started doing my research on the little sprouts to see if I needed to toss the whole package or if there was some way to salvage the others long enough for me to get around to working with them. But I wasn't that panicked, because I figured that I'd just grab fresher ones somewhere while running around town over the following days. ...........I want to seven other grocers and never found any more. The day I made the bentou I even went back to the store I found them, and after only finding other mountain sprouts they were being sold among, I asked the staff, and they said, "oh, no, sorry, we don't carry those." No, you did, but either they all went bad or everyone else was like me and thought "Kamado Tanjiro loves these" and bought them up with the same curiosity I had. Tara-no-me producers around the country are probably wringing their hands with gleeful laughter about the Kimetsu Effect on their profits this year.

So anyway. I determined that most of the ones I still had were good enough to give a good try. However...

Also every Tara-no-me recipe was for Tara-no-me tempura. Tempura means deep-frying. Tempura means oil flying out of the pot to bite me. Tempura is something that my fire extinguisher has a whole separate extinguisher for specifically. Tempura is scary. No. No, Inosuke, I'm not making tempura, don't look at me like that.

Besides, with this being my only chance, I wanted to taste the Tara-no-me, not the oil and batter it'd be fried in. I wanted to know what Tanjiro loved! So I found a recipe for how to boil them. 70 seconds, it stressed. After trying everything from 30 to 80 seconds, 70 seconds, it had to be 70 seconds. And I spent most of my meal prep time being afraid of those 70 seconds. So on to side dishes!! Takikomi Gohan and Furofuki Daikon! These are actually pretty simple recipes, they just take a while. My long meal prep time isn't helped by the fact that I'm more confident with weapons than with kitchen knives ('cause like, a naginata is as far as I can get from my own fingers, that's fine), and that I have a single stove stop. I burn with envy when I see my friends' kitchens with two, sometimes even three stove tops. T-THREE!!?? THAT'S LIKE HAVING THREE WIVES!!!! But I digress. I slowly let the daikon simmer and let the rice soak up some flavor before turning on the rice cooker.

Hahaha, look at me, actually measuring things for that miso sauce. It turned out delicious, by the way, I usually shy away from having miso on hand because I just don't use it enough, but the white miso with sugar was so good. I will totally make this for other veggies in the future. I did not bother much with measuring on the takikomi gohan (which is basically just "rice cooked with stuff"), but I figured it would be pretty simple since I opted for a vegetarian version. Most recipes include chicken thigh, but I didn't know if Himejima-san would be opposed to that. Japanese Buddhism has a wide variety of approaches to vegetarianism (or not practicing it at all), so some would not even approve of using carrot since taking the root kills the whole plant, but I wanted to keep it simple. I kept some of the abura-age strips for my miso soup (since I do keep ready-made packets on hand if I feel a meal needs it, but meh, the instant stuff just isn't as good as when people actually know how to make it), and since I was concerned if I'd get enough green in the meal from the Tara-no-me, I also picked up another seasonal green, nanohana. I used some in the miso soup, but mostly saved them for a later meal with one of the shiitake I didn't use. Nanohana is another cousin of many familiar vegetables, and it's like what you'd go for if you can't decide between having broccoli or kale. And why nanohana? Because in spring they grow tall with cheerful yellow flowers, and according to Fanbook 1, those happen to be Makomo's favorite flowers!! I'd love to draw her in a field of them because it'd be so cheerful and nice, but that also sounds like a pain to draw and color. Back to the pain of cooking instead. I didn't stay vegetarian with the meal, though, it went pescatarian. This meal needed a bit more protein than just the abura-age strips, and with how small and sad looking those Tara-no-me were, I needed a little more ~Tanjiro~ in this meal, you know? Aha.

KAMABOKO.

Fish cake, basically. I sliced it up and stir-fried it with some sesame oil, nice and simple. But I was still feeling terrified about those upcoming 70 seconds.

First some other prep! I knew I wanted to make a bentou for the following day, but had concerns the Tara-no-me wouldn't go far, so I picked up a substitute mountain sprout for about the same price, but way more content in the package: kogomi, again ostrich fern.

I am almost certain that our mountain child cast members would had eaten these around the same early-spring-but-let's-be-honest-it's-still winter period. Again, almost every recipe was for tempura. No, Inosuke, I'm not making tempura.

I instead blanched them and added sea salt, and then found they had a bit of a nice surprising kick to them, then I realized I was only tasting the sea salt on an otherwise watery, crunchy green. I gave them a brief stir-fry in sesame oil too, because whatever.

And I... still didn't want to face those 70 seconds while my rice was still cooking, so I made dessert first. Actually, this is only because I wanted a snack after grocery shopping and they had mitarashi dango, Haganezuka-san's favorite. I've made mitarashi dango before, but it's not worth it unless you're making a big batch. Sorry, Haganezuka-san, it's not worth making them when I can buy them easily instead. But I did dress it up with toys and konpeitou, Nezuko's favorite, which is on sale everywhere for the upcoming Hina Matsuri holiday. (Due to life getting in the way of everything all the time, I just ate this array at home anyway the following morning. I wasn't actually going to bring my toys with me to work. My coworkers who don't know by now that I'm a KnY nutcase are very dense, but I am still a coward.)

So anyway. The rice finished. My kamaboko was plated. I had boiling water ready to pour into my miso soup. I had the daikon set aside to reheat in the microwave and ingredients for the sweet miso sauce ready to go with a quick stir on the one stove I have. But first I needed to use that stove for the 70 seconds. The time came to make the Tara-no-me.

The prep all went according to plan, at least for what I had left of them. I added just a little table salt so I could appreciate the full flavor that Tanjiro loves. THEY WERE SO BITTER

Oh, ugh, blegh, it was that kind of bitter that comes back up your throat and gets you twice, pfftt, pffjhakshvd, bleeeeehhhhh Even the recipe I dutifully followed suggested pairing them with very spicy sauce, it must be that drowning them in oil or spice is the only way to make them taste like anything other than their bitter selves. That being said, I ate them all, and the others were as bad at the first bite. In face, the very best one had a very nice, fleshy white center which I had peeled more of the outside skin off of, due to that one sprout being strong enough to stand up to that. That bite was actually something close to, dare I say... enjoyable? It was soft in texture and mellow in flavor, still very vegetable-y but in a nice way.

So anyway, there concluded my Tara-no-me adventure. I hope you were proud of me, Tanjiro. I had plenty for leftovers, and let me tell you, the rest of this made for excellent leftovers. The kogomi and takikomi gohan tasted so good when they soaked in those flavors more, and although the color of the miso sauce didn't look as good the next day, it still tasted just as addictively sweet. And then the nanohana for breakfast over my last Himejima portion size of the rice? SOOOO GOOOOD.

That's enough for now. I do have ideas already for what I want to attempt next. NO, INOSUKE, IT'S NOT TEMPURA.

[demonslayedher]

Ramble on the Limitations of Looking for KnY Interpretation based on Japanese Mythology

One thing I notice a lot in the Japanese side of KnY fandom theories is a lot of deep dives into religious and mythological reasons behind Gotouge's creative choices. It is super interesting stuff, and Gotouge borrows enough and does homage to enough that there is a clearly a solid knowledge base there. While I find historical details handy for interpreting the characters, ultimately, I find that the canon of demons and Breaths can be interpreted in a vacuum without relying too heavily on the uncanny coincidences lurking in deep dives. This isn't going to be a well-supported essay, this is going to be a ramble that may include a bunch of interesting nuggets. (And then she went on to ramble for 3249 unedited words...)

First things first: I'm a nerd. I like to say I broke the weeb scale a long time ago, but I'm not exactly a university professor or anything like that. That said, I do read a lot of stuff from experts who have jumped on the KnY trends to talk about how elements in KnY are taken from, say, the sword making traditions of the Okuizumo region that results in black swords or simply making comparisons to famous swords, or local legends of supernatural encounters that resulted in split rocks, or comparing specific oni with and the heroes who slayed them or at least comparing elements of specific characters to other famous oni legends, or that Hinokami Kagura is based on a specific Shinto legend and has 12 forms based on existing Kagura traditions, etc. And I love reading this stuff, because I wouldn't had learned about some of it without my interest in KnY leading me to those articles, or as I read it I cheer because they're making references to things I already (as a nerd) really enjoy and therefore it strokes my inner echo chamber bias, or I nod along and think, "oh, yes, why of course, that makes total sense, Hinokami Kagura must be based on the dance Amenouzume performed to enticed the Sun Goddess Amaterasu out of the cave, how silly to think it could be based on anything else" but I then also take a step back to think, "...but it also doesn't have to be." For as many similarities as there to existing legends, it feels to me that Gotouge made it a point not to make specific reference to any particular mythological or religious elements. As an example, Gotouge considered titles with reference to a Shinto fire god named "Kagutsuchi" but never made actual reference to any fire god (or sun god) by name in the finalized direction canon took. Granted, a lot of fan theorists have read into that, going so far as to say because Nezuko's fire powers she represents Kagutsuchi, Yoriichi represents Amaterasu, etc., but while I find the idea of borrowed elements makes for highly interested interpretation of canon, one-to-one comparisons really don't work for this series. By not invoking a name like Kagutsuchi in the title or otherwise, Gotouge succeeded in not being boxed in by the canon of any particular deity. (Granted, "canon" for mythology can vary significantly by whatever historical writings you're looking at, with standard interpretations going through many big changes throughout the centuries. It can be as loose as it is limiting, depending on what sort of historical/mythological/religious figure you're talking about.) I feel there's more evidence of this avoidance by never invoking Amaterasu as a deity, despite the emphasis on the power of the sun in slaying demons. Even looking back and trying to figure out who Akeno placed so much faith, it was only called a "god of sunlight" as opposed to a "sun god." It's as though KnY works with a generic approach to religion. Even if the use of Buddhist element, the Nenbutsu prayer is called such, and Himejima's repeated phrases are legit Buddhist practice, but there is a huge variety of Buddhist sects and practices and theologies, and throughout history, many of them didn't get along. Going back to Akeno and wondering if she might had been Buddhist, I went so far as to suspect she was influenced by Nichirin sect philosophy based on its emphasis on the "Nichi" (sun) representing Japan and incorporating Shinto gods into its philosophy, and for its likely influence in the Kanto area in Akeno's time period, and for its encouragement for the salvation of women and therefore popularity among women. I felt pretty satisfied that it was all lining up, but also, none of this is necessary for a quality interpretation of canon. If Gotouge wanted to say specifically what informed her religious conviction, then it would had been said. But that's not what was important, was it? What was important, and therefore focused on, was Akeno's feelings toward her son and wishes for his sake.

While KnY's worldbuilding feels richer with all the clear religious influence, the details are not actually important. If anything, I feel like Gotouge dove into the heart of the elements of, say, Shinto mythology, and played those core elements up. It's different, yet still familiar, to take sun-associated elements and used them in a way that serves the story without being boxed into existing traditions. The sun is clearly important, and once you start looking for it, you find subtle recurring references to it. Like, Akeno's name? The "Ake" is one way of writing "red," and there are all sorts of uses of other ways of writing "red" throughout the series, in everything from the sand used for making Nichirin blades to the way that Haganezuka calls Tanjiro an auspicious "red" child with a very rarely used kanji. Our commoner main characters, though, just use regular old ways of saying "red" when referencing Tanjiro's appearance without thinking deeply into it, like there's something special right in front of them but they don't recognize it. Similar to how something as special as Sun Breathing was hidden right in front of them in Hinokami Kagura, with a name so generic and simple that it's entirely unsurprising that the Taisho era Kamado family would interpret it as "fire god." The very lack of limiting real-life details is what allows Gotouge to sprinkle these deep touches around, cover them up with branches and leaves, and then sit back and wait for readers to stroll through and invitingly pleasant looking field and then trip and fall down a rabbit hole. This is also what I think gives Gotouge the freedom and malleability to work with the sun in a way that serves the story, especially in ways that tie it to fire. While I don't think there's strong ties for this is general Japanese culture, the way canon is written implies a close tie between fire and the sun as being a very closely related element, hence the influence on the Kamado family, Tanjiro's appearance, his suitability for Sun Breathing based on a history of tending fire for careful charcoal burning, and Tanjiro and Nezuko capability as demons to overcome the sun. Here is where I go into a bit of a tangent about the purification element. This, again, is not strictly tied to any particular Shinto canon (and Shinto does place heavy emphasis on purification), but instead is an example of Gotouge getting to the underlying heart of a lot of common religious elements. Fire is associated with spiritual purification in everything from Buddhism to Catholicism, it's very easy to apply Nezuko's fire abilities as something which burns away something evil (demon poison) so as to purify something good (human flesh, or even other physical substances). Maybe lesser known, but very deeply entrenched in Japanese culture, is the purification element of charcoal. While it may be known around the world for soaking up undesirable elements and therefore used in everything from fish tank filters to treating food poisoning, in Japan, there's a bit of a spiritual side to it as well. For something so closely tied to the way of life for citizens throughout hundreds of years of history for everything from cooking to heating the home, it's unsurprising that quality charcoal would receive as much emphasis as good water and rice. Japanese charcoal is especially known for not producing undesirable smoke or odor, making it appropriate for use in a lot of settings. Charcoal farmers have often not just been that; they've been caretakers of the forest. Keeping the right trees, at the right sizes (both for use as charcoal and for how you pack it together when making charcoal), and in the right numbers to ensure you have stock for coming years, requires management of the forest. (Other tangent side note: many of the other names in the Kamado family are references to plants. Sumire both has the "sumi" sound of charcoal and is the word for violet, Kie is in reference to hollyhock, Nezuko is in reference to red beans (and the asanoha pattern of her kimono is in reference to hemp leaf, an

auspicious symbol of strong and quick growth), Takeo is in reference to bamboo (ironically bamboo can be a problematic plant for charcoal farmers, because it may spread too fast and take resources from other trees--stop stealing all the takuan pickles, Takeo!), Hanako is in general reference to flowers, Shigeru is in general reference to (plants) flourishing, and maybe by the time they got to Rokuta they gave up and said "he's our sixth child, let's just call him 'Six-Boy', lolz." BUT I DIGRESS.) That means the Kamado family not only had careful management of fire in the actual days of charcoal production, but of a wide variety of natural resources to ensure the trees were healthy. Natural weather phenomena, clean water, pest control, minerals from rocks getting into the soil, hmm, so many elements to pay attention to. Hmm. These sure sound a lot like other Breaths. And Breaths all stem from Sun Breathing. That means there may be certain elements of Sun Breathing that have been emphasized in each of them, but none of them encompass so many qualities of the natural world. The natural world which Yoriichi saw with such clarity than nature accepted him with open arms, practically, in how well animals took to him. Sun Breathing, while especially using that all-important purification aspect of sunlight which burns evil demons, is like an all encompassing embrace of nature. While being closely tied with fire is hugely important, there's more to it than just flames. While Shinto is very much so closely tied with nature (the extent to which this is emphasized may vary from shrine to shrine, scholar to scholar), what I see in KnY is a clever use of emphasis on spirituality in nature as opposed to emphasis on Shinto mythology. And I think that was a smart move. While stories based more directly on various theologies, mythologies, and religious ideologies often use those building blocks often wind up having very creative takes on them (even and especially with the confines of them), ultimately, the story of KnY is whatever Gotouge wants to do with it, and it does not seem guided by the specific conventions of more specific religious elements. But again, those deeper elements are still everywhere. You know what color Japanese charcoal burns? It's a gorgeous jewel tone red, spanning many of those rare shades of red Gotouge make reference to. And, in wider Japanese culture, red is the color of the sun (as opposed to how other cultures may represent it as yellow or orange or white or so on). (Not as exactly a KnY tangent, just personal: Japanese charcoal is so freaking pretty, I had no idea until I saw it used in the tea ceremony at parts when guests crowd around to enjoy the sight of it as the host prepares it for boiling the water. I can stare and stare and stare, it is so so so so so pretty, but also this element of the ceremony has gotten rarer both as many places have made a more practical switch to electricity, and tea ceremony quality has gotten more rare both due to fewer producers and due to beetle-related damages to the trees used, and I will always state HOW DISAPPOINTED I am that Kanata and Sumihiko are not out there raising charcoal, because charcoal is precious and I'm always so terrified of wasting charcoal in my practices because its so precious, but seeing the amazingly beautiful burn of the charcoal is absolutely one of my favorite elements of the ceremony and this of course gives me an extra soft spot for Kamado Tanjiro BUT I DIGRESS AGAIN, I TOLD you this was going to be a ramble, but SERIOUSLY IT IS SUCH A GORGEOUS RED).

So anyway. My point is, as interesting as incorporating outside elements may be, I don't find them necessary in interpreting KnY's canon. Even if it takes tons of Taisho Secrets to do so, Gotouge presents the details necessary, and that's more than enough to work with. After all, despite all the care taken in historical details in building the setting, KnY takes place in a fictional universe, it can make its own rules when it comes to things that don't actually exist in our universe. Demons, for example, follow a chronology and power system with sources and limits that is unique to a this universe, as tempting as it is due to general cultural familiarity, it does not call for a one-to-one comparison with existing demon legends. Breath as well, as a power system, is very interesting. Again, this is because it has a lot of basis in core concepts of real life physical and spiritual training. It's presented as a method available to anyone who can pick it up, not drawing on a mystical outside power or summoning the actual superhuman elements of nature. Other stories that present their power systems like that are well and fine, but when it comes down to it, this is a story about mere humans doing everything in their limited power to wave swords around and defeat creatures that seem so likely to outpower them. This is a common, relatable basis of stories throughout history, and a lot of analysis I've heard of KnY's success says that it shows how classic this story structure is. Many Japanese demon stories have their origin in epidemics, and some people suggest that the world looks for hope in stories like KnY in times of seemingly insurmountable crises like coronavirus. I think that's an oversimplification of KnY's success, but again, because of Gotouge's use of core cultural elements, it can be applied easily. OKAY BUT ON THAT NOTE we can do some really interesting digging if we want. : D Gotouge does make some highly specific references, included religious ones (granted, not in ways that impact the plot). The example coming to mind is the Seventh Form of Thunder Breathing, the "Flaming Thunder God." In Japanese, this is "Honoikazuchi-no-Kami," the name of a lightning deity who had a very, very brief mention in the Kojiki and who appeared among a handful of other lightning deities named in reference to other aspects/phenomena of lightning, like the sound or the rumble through the ground. Honoikazuchi is not so much the lightning itself, but the fires started by lightning. Stick with me a bit longer, I'm building up to something here. You've probably heard of the twelve animals of the Chinese (poorly translated as) Zodiac, right? Well, the system is way more complex than that, and really, if you want complexity, skip Japan and go dive straight into ancient China. I laugh and cry at myself for having a graduate degree in Chinese studies, the extent of my knowledge is is pitifully small, I know nothing, nothing. Suffice to say, China has its own five element system of water/wood/metal/fire/earth, it's more a philosophical application than a more physicality-based four element system popular in the west (fire/water/air/earth, why hello there, Avatar), with attributes of these elements assigned to every about anything through Chinese culture, from medicine to, you guessed it, the Zodiac animals. Japan saw all this and said "cool, we'll do that too" albeit their sort of mixed and matched a bit and made their own take on it in Onmyodo. An Onmyoji, who keeps track of, like, really any other-worldly matter you might have on your hands as a Heian noble, is someone who is paid to know all this stuff (it was very likely an Onmyoji who told the Ubuyashiki clan, "yeah, you got an evil family member to blame for your curse, squash him"). Yours Truly is not an Onmyoji and therefore will not attempt to go into more detail, save the one that a handful of Japanese theorists in the KnY fandom love to bring up: The Boar is a water sign. This means that, especially in Shinto practice, boars are considered an animal that protects against

fire, hence, a lot of practices to protect against fires were done on days of the Boar, in the month of the Boar, etc. So? So-o-o-o-o-o? You see it? You see it??? Boar = Water, Honoikazuchi = Fire, Inosuke and Zenitsu are basically foils to Tanjiro? Yes, yes, see it, yessss??? Deep dive Kamaboko theory, yes?????? Hahahaha. Naw. It's just a fun coincidence. ^_^ Again, I find these details completely unnecessary, for we are already given so many details in canon to work with on its own, and I think Inosuke and Zenitsu as foils to Tanjiro works entirely well simply based on their personalities, not because of any supernatural elements that require a high level of nerdery to have any hope of appreciating. Besides, once you start reaching too hard for cultural details Gotouge might have used and clinging too tightly to those ideas, there's likely something in canon to make it doubtful. For instance, Inosuke more widely presented as a king of the forest who wears deer and bear hide as well, and the fanbook state that Beast Breath is considered a likely offshoot of Wind Breathing. Even if we rely more strictly on historical detail, there's still the question of, say, what one of the basic Breaths, Thunder Breathing, even was when it was but a thunder inspired sword form not necessarily powered by Breath, you know, back when swords were longer and it would have been harder to make the fast draws katana would later be better suited for. Maybe they called it Thunder because it was practiced by swordsmen who stomped around really hard, and then when they added Breath technique, they figured out "oh dude, we can use our strong legs to go fast"??

Those are the kinds of things I find more fun to play around with in interpreting canon by bringing in little outside details, because as a work of fiction, there are already so many fun details to work with already even when treating it in a vacuum. But, giving Gotouge extensive and subtle use of cultural elements, especially core elements, it sure makes a lot of outside details applicable. Which is all to say, it's all super interesting, and I think the more people realize these things, the deeper they read into it, to an extent more than canon calls for. As much as I like it, and as much as I've enjoyed pulling outside elements in to fanfiction (like Kagutsuchi and lightning god tidbits), ultimately, if Gotouge thought these things were necessary, they'd have been included. Since they are not, I try to stick to canon details and Word of God-touge in answering Asks (lolz, I didn't plan on becoming a meta blog, it just kinda happened). BUT ALSO, JEEZ, I AM SO EXCITED IF PEOPLE TAKE A DEEPER INTEREST IN JAPANESE CULTURE BECAUSE THEY LIKE KIMETSU NO YAIBA, YOU CAN HAVE SO-O-O-O-O-O MUCH FUN PLANNING A TRIP TO JAPAN AROUND KNY THEMES, DO IT DO IT DO IT, GO TO YAGYU AND POSE IN A TANJIRO HAORI AND STICK YOUR SWORD IN A SPLIT ROCK, THE LOCALS THERE LOVE IT, DO IT but also like maybe learn about the tea ceremony and appreciate how beautiful the charcoal is with me k thx bye