#yusuke and his nanny

[milaisreading]

CD!YN does that accidental rizz all the time to the boys. They trip and she catches them. Stray football flying towards them? She blocks it. They twist their ankle? She carries them princess style to the infirmary.

🌱🩷: Here it goes! Hope you like the fic and thanks for the request!

Warning: Reader uses she/her, but since she is crossdressing the boys use he/him. Requests are open

⚽️Blue lock belongs to Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura⚽️

"Isagi. Rin. Stop arguing, you two. We are not going anywhere with this and we still have to practice." (Y/n) called out as her, Aryu, and Tokimitsu watched the two bicker about God knows what now.

"He started it! If he stopped being in my way I wouldn't be arguing!" Rin said as Isagi pouted.

"In your way?! We are practicing together here!"

'They act like kids.' (Y/n) looked at them in disbelief as they continued arguing like nothing happened.

'Ok. That's it. This is worse than when I had to teach Reo and Nagi.' She thought as she walked to one of the abandoned balls and kicked them in their direction.

"Watch out!" Tokimitsu yelled as Aryu looked at (Y/n) in surprise. Luckily, Isagi and Rin noticed the football and moved away, so the ball just flew between them and into the wall.

"Huh..." Isagi gulped as he looked back at (Y/n) while Rin silently backed away as she gave them a tight smile.

"You two... What did I say about arguing for no reason?" She asked cheerfully, walking closer to them.

"To... to not do it." Isagi said back.

"And what did you two do?"

"Argue for no reason." Now it was Rin's turn.

"Exactly. 20 laps around the training grounds. Now."

"What?! Since when do you have a say in this?" Rin asked as he shook a little in fear.

"So 30, then?"

"I-"

"40?" She interrupted Isagi, causing the two to quickly shake their heads.

"We will run! We will run!" They said as (Y/n) nodded her head, unaware of Tokimitsu's awestruck look and Aryu's swooning.

'Amazing! He is so brave for that!!' Tokimitsu thought while blushing.

'What grace and dashing confidence! I like that!' Aryu thought in return as (Y/n) looked back at the two.

'Do they have a fever?' She wondered in worry when she noticed their red faces.

⚽️

Now, (Y/n) wasn't familiar with friendships and their bonds. Her whole life she mostly spent her time playing football, studying, or going to some random gatherings with her family. The most she got of the experience of friendships was from Reo and Nagi back in Hakuho, and even that wasn't much. But, if there was one thing she knew, it is that you shouldn't ignore someone in distress. Especially when it was someone she could consider her friend. That's how she found herself walking up to Niko when she noticed him walking back and forth one night after it was already past everyone's bedtime.

"Are you ok, Niko? Why are you up so late?" She asked in worry as the youngest contestant looked at her in surprise.

"Oh... I am fine. I just couldn't sleep." The boy admitted, causing (Y/n) to rise an eyebrow.

"And why is that? Today's exercises would have made anyone fall asleep." (Y/n) argued back as the boy quietly looked down.

"You know, you can tell me if something bothers you. I don't mind listening." She offered, her tone softening a little as she leaned her back against the wall, something Niko copied soon after.

"Well... I just don't know if I want to be here anymore." Niko admitted, surprising the girl.

"And why is that? You are holding up very well, and your skills are great, too."

"It's just, I remembered something. It's all." The boy said, not ready to confess that the words of his high school bullies were haunting him. (Y/n) kept on looking at the boy, wondering what to do or say.

'I always felt at peace when my nanny or mom would pet my head. Maybe that works here as well?' She thought, slowly moving her hand on top of Niko's hair.

'It's so soft!' She thought, mot noticing the boy tense up or his face turn red.

"Whatever is bothering you is normal. We all have our doubts here, but don't let them control your life." She said softly.

"A-alright." Niko stuttered out. Noticing his nervousness, (Y/n) panicked a little and tried to move her hand a way.

"Sorry about that! It's something my mom used to do-"

"It's ok! I like it!" Niko quickly said and grabbed her hand, moving it back on his hair.

⚽️

"Chigiri? Are you doing alright? You seem quite out of breath." (Y/n) asked in worry as the redhead looked back at her, quickly nodding his head.

"I am fine! Don't worry! I can still stand! My leg is alright!"

"I never asked about your leg." (Y/n)'s words caused Chigiri to flinch and he looked down on the ground as (Y/n) walked closer to him.

"Your ankle hurts, I am guessing." She said, not getting an answer in return, which pretty much confirmed her suspicions.

"Look, I am fine. I can handle this, let's just continue on with our practice." Chigiri argued, a little bit embarrassed by the whole thing. (Y/n), being more stubborn here than he was just sighed and walked up to Chigiri, quickly picking him up.

"Huh?!" The redhead let out surprised, looking back at (Y/n) with a red face.

"What... What are you doing?!"

"Taking you to the infirmary, and then you will rest. You already did enough for the day." (Y/n) answered simply as the boy started protesting.

"But we need to practice-"

"Your well being comes first, Chigiri. Please don't argue with me over this." (Y/n) warned as she continued to carry Chigiri down the hallway. The boy could feel his heartbeat quickening as he looked back at (Y/n), not saying anything for a minute or two.

"Why do you care so much?" (Y/n) looked back at Chigiri in confusion.

"I just do. I don't like seeing you hurt... or anyone else on that matter." (Y/n) stated.

'He cares for me that much?!' Chigiri thought happily as his face got redder.

'Another fever?!' (Y/n() thought in worry as she noticed that.

⚽️

"Food! Finally! Its been so long since I ate!" (Y/n) exclaimed as Karasu, Otoya, and Yukimiya looked at her in amusement.

"You say that like you are getting starved here or something." Karasu teased, poking (Y/n)'s cheek. Yukimiya chuckled and put and arm around the excited girl's shoulder.

"Leave him alone. It's kinda cute when you get like this, you know." Yukimiya said while winking earning an eyeroll from Otoya and Karasu.

"Huh? Like what? Also, what do you all think we will get for desserts today? It is a Saturday, after all." She wondered, oblivious to Yukimiya's words, which caused Otoya to laugh a little.

"Your flirting skills are so mid, Yukki."

"Whatever." Yukimiya sent Otoya a side-glare, but still kept his arm around (Y/n)'s shoulders.

"Let's just get him some food." Karasu argued, pinching (Y/n)'s cheek as she protested at that behavior.

Once they were in the dining hall, the group walked to an empty table with their meals in hand.

'Delicious!' (Y/n) thought while munching on her food, too lost in her thoughts to notice the trio looking at her while blushing.

'So cute!' Yukimiya sighed.

'I bet it would be even better to pinch his cheeks now...' Karasu blushed while fighting back the urge to grab the other player's cheeks.

'So adorable! I can die happily knowing I witnessed this!' Otoya thought as he put some of his food in front of (Y/n).

"Take some of my food as well." Otoya said, surprising the girl.

"But, it's yours-"

"No! Take mine! The grilled chicken us way better!" Yukimiya argued, pushing Otoya's food away.

"No! Here! These veggies are way better." Karasu argued as the trio glared at each other.

"Ahh... I am fine with the food I have." But her words were ignored.

⚽️

It was one of the rare few days when the Blue Lock team could go home and relax for a bit. And on this day in particular (Y/n) had agreed to meet up with Isagi to watch a movie that recently came out.

"Isagi!! There you are! Sorry, I had to get ready and I didn't notice how late I was." The blue-eyed boy looked away from his phone and towards (Y/n), freezing up for a moment before slowly shaking his head.

"I-it's alright. I arrived here a few minutes ago as well..." The boy said back as his face slowly turned red the more he looked at (Y/n).

"Oh, thank God. Sorry, I had to figure out how this eyeliner worked, it's my first time putting it on."  The girl explained taking in a few breathes and looked back at Isagi. The girl and boy kept looking at each other in silence for a few minutes, which caused her to grow self-conscious.

"I... It looks ridiculous, doesn't it?" She gulped nervously as she looked down at her dress. Isagi quickly shook his head quickly and started speaking with a red face.

"You look great! You look great! The dress suits you. And the make-up as well!" (Y/n)'s face turned dark red for a moment and she slowly nodded her head.

"O-oh... You think?"

"Yep! Beautiful." Isagi said quickly.

"Th-thanks. I am glad. You look nice as well." She said back as they stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"S-so... should we go?"

"Yeah! Absolutely, we should go and get our snacks as well."

'So pretty!' Isagi thought as they walked towards the cinema, glancing at the girl a few times.

⚽️

"Bachira, no."

"Bachira, yes."

'What am I even looking at?' (Y/n) thought as she looked between Reo and Bachira, who were arguing over something stupid, probably.

"What are they arguing about now?" She asked Nagi, who shrugged his shoulders and leaned against her shoulder.

"Bachira had an idea for a new trick him and Reo could perform during the U-20 match and, well, Reo isn't all too happy with the idea." Nagi explained, resting his head on her shoulders.

'He smells really nice.' Nagi thought with a small blush, which the girl ignored.

"Arguing won't get us anywhere now." She rolled her eyes and walked over to the duo, to which Nagi pouted and followed right after.

"You two, we need to practice. You can argue after we are done with the match." (Y/n) said, catching the attention of the two.

"But, my plan is fool-proof! Tell Reo to listen to me!" Bachira pouted as Reo chimed in.

"It's stupid as hell! I am not taking part in it!"

"Coward."

"What did you just call me?!"

(Y/n) looked between the two while Nagi silently leaned against her again.

'What to do... what to do... Maybe bribing will work?!' (Y/n) thought as she cleared her throat, catching the arguing duo's attention.

"Ah! I will give you two my lunch if you stop arguing!" This statement caused Reo and Bachira to stop arguing and blinked at her for a while.

"You will give us..."

"...your food?" Bachira and Reo said at the same time, seemingly in a daze at first, but quickly got out of it as (Y/n) nodded her head.

"Ok!"

"Sounds like a plan!"

The two cheered as Nagi tugged on the hem of her shirt.

"I want food from you as well."

"Uh? Ok." (Y/n) said in confusion, unaware of the satisfied smiles on Bachira and Reo.

⚽️

"I know this isn't much fun, but I hope you like it here." Gagamaru said quietly as (Y/n) looked away from her grilled fish and at him.

"What do you mean?" She asked as she took a bite from her food.

"Well, you probably didn't want to spend your weekend camping when you agreed for a hang out."

"Huh? I don't care about that. Besides, it's nice to get out of the city once in a while."

"Hmmm...." Gagamaru nodded his head slowly, unsure if he should believe her or not. The noticed it and silently ate her fish, trying to think of a way to cheer him up. The quietness stayed like that for a few minutes until she patted his back and spoke up.

"You are fun to hang out with, Gagamaru. And I am enjoying my time in the forest with you. Don't think too much about that." The boy tensed up and looked back at her.

"Really?"

"Really. Don't cut yourself short." She smiled over at Gagamaru, who slowly nodded his head as his face heated up.

"Th-thanks!" Gagamaru nodded his head as he quickly ate his food again.

'Is he sick now as well?!' She thought in worry.

⚽️

"Can I have some of that?" Kunigami wondered, pointing at (Y/n)'s stake. The girl stopped eating and looked at the orange-haired boy, who was giving her puppy eyes.

"Oh, sure-"

"Get your own food, hero. That's (Y/n)'s." Barou interrupted before she could finish, which caused Kunigami to roll his eyes at him.

"I just wanted one bite-"

"I don't care it's kot your food." Barou said again as (Y/n) tried to interrupt their arguing.

"It's ok. I don't mind-"

"You should really learn to mind your business, Barou."

"Right back at you. Why are you even sitting with us here?"

The girl felt a headache come up and she cut up two smaller slices of her stake. One she fed to Barou and the other to Kunigami.

"There. You can leave the argument behind now." She said, going back to eating as the two stared at her with red faces.

'He really fed me his food! Take that, Chigiri!' Kunigami thought as Barou stared at her in a daze.

⚽️

"Kaiser, I swear to God, if you don't shut up I will kick a football in your face."

"What was that, princess? Was that you saying you are finally devoting your skills to me?" Kaiser smirked at the agitated girl. The duo continued arguing as Kurona and Hiori stared at them with confused and amused looks.

"I am happy (Y/n) is feeling better today. That fever yesterday scared me a lot." Hiori said as Kurona nodded along.

"I am, too. If only Kaiser would stop provoking him now." The rehead said as Hiori silently agreed. They were both pretty much agitated by Kaiser stealing her attention from them.

'Arrogant asshole.'

'Loud mouth.' Hiori and Kurona thought, completely forgetting that some players were practicing behind them. Sadly, they only remembered after they heard Gesner yell at them to.move away. Hiori and Kurona turned around, only to notice a football flying fast their way. Closing their eyes, the boys stayed still, waiting for the football to hit them, only for it to never come.

"Huh?" Hiori muttered, slowly opening his eyes.

"What happened?" Kurona wondered as he opened his eyes as well, only for the both of them to see (Y/n) panting and holding the football in her hands.

"Are you both alright?" She asked, looking at the duo in worry, the two slowly realizing what had happened.

"I am fine." Hiori swooned and nodded his head.

'He really ran all the way so I won't get hurt~'

"I am fine as well. Thank you." Kurona said as his cheeks turned a soft shade of pink.

'He is the best! I love him.'

"Nothing to thank me for." (Y/n) quickly answered and put away the football.

⚽️

"Here." (Y/n) said as she pushed a piece of cake in Rin's direction. The sulking boy stopped whatever he was thinking and looked at the piece of cake and then at (Y/n), who was sending him a smile.

"What is this for?" Rin asked with raised eyebrow as the girl shrugged her shoulders.

"It's for you. You looked a little troubled and a little bit of cake always helps people out. Don't you think so?" She said playfully. Rin was dumbfounded as he stared at her and slowly nodded his head, still trying to understand what she just did for him.

"Great! Enjoy the cake and don't go too late to bed." (Y/n) said as she waved at Rin while leaving the dining hall.

"Of...of course." Rin said as he waved back numbly, his own face turning redder and redder.

'He gave me some cake... (Y/n) gave ME some cake...' He kept on thinking while slowly eating the piece.

[yusuke-of-valla]

Also Shujin Kosei and Akechi's schools are "elite" schools. I don't believe anyone on the team is poor except Yusuke who's at Kosei on a scholarship, they're all middle class at least and I'm pretty sure Ann and Joker are upper-middle to rich

Oh yeah, Ann’s family has enough money to hire her a nanny and travel abroad a lot so probably.

Idk how much money a prosecutor makes but like. It’s probably a lot, Makoto and Sae have a nice apartment

I… actually have no clue about Ryuji but also I think Sumi was mentioned to be on a scholarship and he sure as HELL ain’t so yeah his mom is probably making BANK raising him on her own. Certified girl boss

We know Goro’s rich bc Detective Prince + celebrity stuff but he’s probably got a slush fund from Mementos in case the murder plan didn’t work

Joker also has access to so much money via Mementos but considering they were able to send him all the way to Tokyo, you’re right that his family is probably well off.

Sumi as I said I think has a scholarship but her dad’s like the head of the news station? And I think that gets you a lot of money

Yusuke, tragically, probably should have grown up well off but Madarame sucks and I don’t believe you end up with his eating habits and completely unaware of all the red flags if you didn’t grow up without a lot of food and being told it was normal. Assuming Madarame doesn’t get stripped of his assets when all his pupils Sue him, Yusuke’s probably getting everything in the will? He fucking better at least. In the meantime he will mooch off his friends

Futaba’s rich but crucially it’s mostly through wire fraud and other financial crimes so idk where that falls

[n3on-graveston3s-calling]

Jaws of the Snake: Chapter I

Enter the snake den.

Rating: T Word Count: 4, 368 Characters: Fujihara Kiyomi, Fujihara Kiyoko, Fujihara Junpei, Fujihara Mizuki, Fujihara Daisuke, Fujihara Daiyu, Hirako Shinji, Aizen Sousuke, Orotibashi Rose Author's Notes: And here we have the beginning of Kiyomi's story! A bit of a background: Kiyomi is an original character I've had for a few years that I hold near & dear to my heart. This is her essential story- along with her siblings and her family. This first chapter, you'll get a glimpse into the Fujihara- the Third Noble Family of the Soul Society, as well as some lore building and history for Bleach itself. TW: there is a scene of mild abuse towards the middle of the piece. Nothing graphic is present, but it is- sadly- necessary for this story to unfold. Now, one hundred and thirteen years ago...

113 years ago, Fujihara Compound East of the Shihōin Compound; North of the Kuchiki Compound.

The Fujihara compound was always a sight for sore eyes, even more so as the years have passed. Nothing could ever surpass the Shihōin Compound in terms of royal stature, but the Fujihara compound was just as remarkable. Often referred to as the Royal Serpent Den, the compound itself was built in a circle. Servants would reside within the outermost ring of housing, followed by guards hired by the family (more often than not, extended family), then the branches, and finally, the main house within the very center. What made this compound confusing was that the “circle” was set in the way of a maze. Walls bled into hedge gardens that stood taller than most men, which bled into open plots before the walls would come back together, over and over again.

To an outsider, it would mean being lost for hours before someone would take pity upon you and lead you further in. From an aerial view, it would often be compared to a pit of vipers coiled together, the pattern nonsensical and made to create confusion within enemies, should any attempt to enter. As children, they were taught how to find their way around by being guided by their nannies at first, before getting dropped off in a random section and being told to find their way to the center garden. Normally, the trial would take only a month to master. After the first success, one would then be blindfolded, left outside of the compound, and then directed to enter and find their way to the large willow tree in the garden. If failed, they would repeat the process again, and again, not allowed to stop or sleep within their quarters until they could find their way in without problem.

The patriarch and matriarch of the Fujihara, Daisuke and Daiyu, had made sure that this tradition continued on. Daisuke- along with his younger brother, Yusuke, and younger sister, Ayame, had been brought up to follow this tradition. To Asahi Fujihara, their father, this was the only way to guarantee that his children would succeed as Shinigami. And succeed, they did: Daisuke had joined the Eighth Division after graduating from the Academy, being granted the Fifth seat (though not out of talent, but rather, name; Daisuke was a rather unremarkable Shinigami); Yusuke joined the Eleventh, gaining the moniker of Constrictor due to his particular method of merely crushing his enemies to death between his arms or legs; Ayame settled within the Twelfth, following her grandmother’s footsteps in the path of scientific advancement. She was offered the sixth seat, of which she took after proving herself in a fight against her captain, Hikifune Kirio.

Daisuke had retired from his life as a Shinigami after being a member of the Eighth for nearly thirty years before his father, Asahi, had passed on. Thus, the mantle of patriarch was passed down to him. He wed Shutara Daiyu, the cousin of the Weaver herself, Senjumaru. Though unlike Senjumaru, Daiyu’s reiatsu never peaked high enough for her to be considered worthy of attending the Academy. She, instead, was placed within the Fujihara house as a maid- a gift of gratitude towards the Fujihara for offering the Shutara aid and protection. The Shutara family, much like the Feng, were indebted to the Fujihara; a bond having been created nearly six hundred years prior, yet to be broken. Together, Daisuke and Daiyu would have five children: twin girls as their first borns, a son, and two more daughters. Daisuke would take on the mantle of patriarch after his father, Asahi, had passed away due to an old wound. He retired from being a Shinigami of the Gotei 13 after thirty years, much to Daiyu’s disdain.

Kiyomi and Kiyoko mastered the maze of the compound in fourteen days, seven hours, twenty-nine minutes when they were still children. They had started at opposite ends of the maze, they both found their way in simultaneously, without running into one another. Perhaps that was the first inclination that the children born into this new generation were certainly different compared to those of previous generations. Having grown comfortable, too soft in their lifestyles of retirement or seated positions within Central 46.

There had been an offer made upon the twins by a prolific okā-san of an Okiya within the Second District of the Rukongai. The “higher-class entertainment district” that catered more to the wants and needs of the noble houses, seated officers, and members of Central 46. The okā-san had commented on the girls’ beauty- such distinct features between the rosiness of their cheeks, the inklike color of their hair, the jade tone of their eyes. Daiyu pitched an argument that they only needed one daughter, really; two would be difficult to raise. Daisuke relented, and sold Kiyomi to the Okiya known as the Sakura House. There, Kiyomi began her training as a maiko- and would remain for three years before an altercation changed her life.

For the better, in Kiyomi’s humble opinion.

“Surprised you showed up,” Kiyoko teased her twin as Kiyomi entered the courtyard of the main house, hopping down from the top of the wall. “I didn’t expect to see you this time!”

“And miss a joyous family meeting? Never!” Kiyomi retorted with a roll of her eyes, reaching out to take her sister’s hands in her own. “I’m sorry I haven’t been by recently. It’s been busy, you know? The old woman’s finally talking of retirement. I think the Lieutenant will be taking over.”

“The one you have a crush on?” Kiyoko snickered as Kiyomi yelled, smacking her arm gently before taking hold of it, looping her own through. Unlike her twin, Kiyoko wore no shihakusho, for her own abilities never came to light. She liked to joke that Kiyomi took them all in the womb for herself in a greedy manner. Instead, she wore an emerald kimono with a silver snake coiling along its length, the head settling between her shoulder blades. Informal, perfect for the summer months. “Oh, Rojurou!”

“Shut UP!” Kiyomi hissed, shaking her head fiercely. “You’re awful!”

“Omi!” Junpei called as the doors opened, revealing her younger siblings. “You’re here!”

“There’s my boy!” Kiyomi grinned as her brother jogged over, followed by Mizuki toddling along on her chubby little legs.

Kiyoko stooped down, picking up the child.

“Oh, look at you!” Kiyomi sighed, running her hands through Junpei’s shaggy hair. “I’m surprised they haven’t made you cut it short in the Academy, yet!”

“You and me, both.” He pulled her into a hug, a kiss pressed to the top of her head. Even now, he was taller than she was. “Mother’s in a mood,” he warned softly, offering another squeeze. “She’s upset.”

“Why?” Kiyomi whispered back, arms wrapped around his middle, swaying side to side. “Who pissed her off?”

“You.” Kiyoko answered as she stepped closer. Mizuki hummed a soft lullaby to herself, working on creating a braid in Kiyoko’s hair. “She’s still angry that you gained a seated position higher than father ever achieved.”

“That’s his fault! Not mine. If he has such an issue with it, take it up with Captain Yamomoto,” Kiyomi grumbled, pulling back from her brother. She stiffened, prompting her siblings to move quickly as their parents stepped out onto the porch. Kiyomi stepped forward, her role as eldest daughter settling upon her shoulders once more. “Mother, Father. I am pleased to see you both,” she greeted, bowing low at the waist.

“Daughter,” Daisuke cooed as he stepped down, his smile saccharine sweet yet never meeting his eyes. “It is a delight to have you home once more!” His arms wrapped around her in an embrace too tight; she hid the wince that threatened by burying her face in his chest, her own arms wrapping around him loosely. “We’ve missed you.”

“I apologize for not coming home sooner,” pulling back, she stepped to the side to be able to address both of her parents simultaneously. “My captain is retiring within the year, so my Division has been busy making sure that the transfer of her position to our lieutenant is smooth.”

“No missions?” Daiyu sniffed, settling down on her knees in a proper seiza position, hands folded atop one another as Kiyoko hurried back to pour tea- though Kiyomi beat her to it, shunpo aiding her as she settled beside her mother suddenly, already reaching for the tea.

She was the guest, here. It was her job to pour the tea for the family, and then herself. Not Kiyoko. “Missions, yes. Though, the World of the Living is quite… Interesting. Things are changing rapidly.” Her gaze flickered to Kiyoko; a hidden wink promising gifts, later. “They keep me busy.”

“Good.” Daisuke nodded as he eased himself down with a grunt. It was like walking on broken glass, here. “Have you seen your uncle and aunt?”

“Occasionally. Due to where the Third is, I don’t get to see either often unless our Divisions are sent out together. But I do get to see them during our down time,” three glasses poured; she poured Junpei his own, followed by Mizuki, and at last- herself. “This is the first time I’ve had an actual, full day of a break in months!”

“Shame.” Daiyu muttered, gaze full of ire and scrutiny as she surveyed the manner of which her daughter dressed. “I do wish they wouldn’t make you wear those garbs.”

“Uniforms, mother,” Kiyomi sighed, shaking her head. “I’ve customized my own as much as I am allowed.”

“It makes you look fat.”

“Daiyu,” Daisuke hissed, a look of hidden anger flashing across his face. “Cease.”

Silence settled across the family as they sipped their tea. This was how it always was. Mother would make rude comments and sniff; father would pour sake into his tea. It would last all of ten minutes before Daiyu would make some excuse to leave. Daisuke would fall asleep on the porch. Jaw clenching, Kiyomi set her teacup down. “I’ve been told that Ayame and Sho are trying for another child.”

“They are!” Daisuke grinned at his daughter, nodding enthusiastically. His baby sister, her aunt. “Mai will be entering the Academy in a year. They believe Jun’Ichi will show his strength soon, as well.”

Clapping her hands together, Kiyomi grinned. “How exciting!” That would put at least three more Fujihara into the ranks of the Gotei, as long as they survived their years in the Academy.

“I think Mizuki will be entering early.” Daiyu’s lips curved into a cold smile as she glanced towards her eldest, gaze dark. After the kidnapping a year prior, Mizuki’s reiatsu had spiked to an almost dangerous degree. The force alone had killed the men who’d taken her. The incident had been swept under the rug, though rumors still surrounded the family even now. That it had been a ploy to get Mizuki to show her strength sooner, that the family was attempting to overthrow the Kuchiki… What nonsense.

Clearing her throat, Kiyomi glanced towards her youngest sibling. “Is that a good idea? She’s still a child-”

“You were her age when I sent you to the Okiya.”

“When you sold me, you mean.” She snapped, head tilting; a brow raised as she studied her mother, watching the way she stiffened beneath her gaze like a field mouse trapped by a rat snake. “Or is your mind failing you?”

“Kiyomi!” Daisuke snapped, hand slamming down upon the wood of the porch. Silence fell immediately as Daisuke reached over, grabbing her by the back of her neck, forcing her head down into a bow. Kiyomi yelped, hands pressing into the floor to keep from smashing her face against it. “Apologize to your mother!”

“I’m sorry!” She yelled from between gritted teeth.

Daiyu laughed, the sound loud and annoying, like those cheap wind chimes they sell in the lower Rukongai districts. Rising to her feet, she took her cup of tea and poured it off the side of the porch before dropping the cup. Quickly, Junpei reached out, grasping it before it could hit the ground.

“I’m going to my rooms.” With that, the Matriarch left, the sound of her tabi sliding against the floor the only sound. Only when she left did Daisuke release his daughter.

His lip curved into a sneer; Kiyomi remained bowed, her shoulders shaking. “Disgraceful.” He spat, turning to follow his wife.

“... He’s gone.” Kiyoko whispered, watching as her twin sat back up. Tears glinted within her gaze before she blinked them away. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” Kiyomi shook her head, ignoring the flare of pain that traveled with the movement. She reached into her shihakusho, pulling free the small gifts she’d brought with her for her siblings. “I need to leave soon, but I want to give you three these before.”

“Oh!” Kiyoko gasped, a hand covering her mouth as she took the smooth black box from her. “Oh, Omi, you shouldn’t have!” Gushing, she quickly opened it to find a pair of emerald earrings. “You really shouldn’t have!”

“You deserve nice things,” a shrug as Kiyomi turned her attention to Junpei, handing over a sack of candy. “From the world of the living. They call it salt-water taffy. It’s good!”

“You feed my sweet tooth too much,” he mumbled, cheeks flushed but grin wide as he leaned over, giving her a brief hug. “Thank you.”

“And for you,” Mizuki scooted closer on her knees, eyes bright, grin small but growing by the minute. Eager, as children often were. “I was in Tokyo recently- and I passed by a shop with the cutest dolls! I saw this one, and I thought- I know a girl who would love her!” Kiyomi held up the porcelain doll for Mizuki to see. “She’s fragile, not meant to be taken outside, okay? She stays in your room.”

Nodding quickly, Mizuki took the porcelain Geisha doll between her hands carefully, eyes wide. She held her to her chest like one would hold a kitten- with all the tender care in her little form. She leaned up to press a kiss to Kiyomi’s cheek in lieu of speaking.

“Now- I need to go. I’ve overstayed my welcome.”

“Let me walk you out?” Kiyoko rose, dusting off her yukata. “Junpei, can you put the tea away?”

“Got it.”

“Thanks.” Turning, the twins began to walk out of the garden, arm in arm. “They’re talking about another child.”

“Again?” A grimace; there were four of them, already… “Will it be their last?”

“I think so. They want another boy. Daiyu wants another boy.”

“Of course she does,” a grand roll of the eyes as Kiyomi turned them. The maze was ingrained within her mind; where hidden doors were, where false exits lay. “I think Ayame intends to retire soon- or, at least, attempt to step down from her position to a non-seated position.”

“She should, it’s dangerous work for her to continue while trying for another child,” Kiyoko sighed, leaning into her twin. “I miss you.”

“I miss you. I don’t miss our parents.” Kiyomi paused their steps, turning to face her sister with an oddly serious expression. “One day, you will become the Matriarch. I know it.”

“If they don’t marry me off first.”

“They won’t.”

“You sound so sure!” A laugh pulled free as Kiyoko pulled away, walking ahead of Kiyomi. “Being a Shinigami’s made you so serious!”

“No, it hasn’t!” Arguing, she jogged ahead to catch up with her sister, the pair dissolving into a fit of laughter. The exit loomed ahead, the carved snakes twisting along the archway. “I’ll write more. Have it sent by one of the other members of the Division.”

“Please. I need someone who understands this nonsense. Junpei’s not here often, and Mizuki is-”

“A child.”

“A child…”

Turning, she pulled Kiyoko into a hug, offering a squeeze of reassurance. “Things will change. I don’t know when or how, but they will.”

“If you say so…” Pulling back, Kiyoko sighed as Kiyomi backed away. “Go spy on your crush!”

“Fuck off!” Kiyomi laughed, turning away to begin her trek back into the Gotei 13. Even with the usage of Shunpo, it would take over an hour to get back beyond the gate. It gave her time to think, for her mind to wander. It seemed that Daiyu and Daisuke were getting worse each year, growing gradually more insufferable and mean spirited. She worried for her siblings.

Her lips pressed together tightly as she passed through the gate, the subtle thrum of distant reiatsu from Captains settling across her skin. The Gotei was made up of Thirteen Court Guard Squads, as well as the Kidō Corps and Onmitsukidō. The Onmitsukidō was created by the Shihōin Family and overseen by its ruling head- which was Lady Yoruichi, currently. But the members of the family weren’t in the Onmitsukidō- but rather, the members of the Feng family, as well as any shinigami who was able to test into the Onmitsukidō. Like Urahara Kisuke; he wasn’t an official member of the Shihōin family, but he had been raised alongside Lady Yoruichi and was a member of the Omnitsukidō. How, she wasn’t sure. She’d only known them when they were all growing up, before she became the figurehead of the family. The Kidō Corps were overseen by Tsukabishi Tessai- an incredibly talented and strong Kidō user.

Each of the thirteen divisions hold over two hundred members and twenty seated officers. The lower the number, the higher the rank. Herself, for example: she was the Fourth Seat of the Third Division. Above her was the Third Seat, Togakushi Riku, and above him, their Lieutenant (who would soon become their Captain), Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi. Some Divisions were specialized in what they did; the Second with the Omnitsukidō, the Fourth was their medical ward and specialists, the Ninth handled communications, but was also the essential security for the Seireitei. They were on standby at all times. The Twelfth was for research; what kind, she wasn’t entirely privy to, but she did know that her aunt, Ayame, was a researcher for different types of toxins that could be used in battle against Hollows.

A huff escaped Kiyomi as she leapt onto the roof of a Thirteenth Division barracks, taking a moment to catch her breath. The sun was beginning to set at last, no longer beating down upon the polished white stone that had been used to create the Gotei 13’s Divisions. Her gaze tracked across the horizon, landing upon the tower that served as the First Division’s barracks. The First Division was where the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 resided- Captain Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, and his Lieutenant, Chōjirō Sasakibe. Two of the strongest members of the Soul Society- as well as the oldest. Though, she was certain that Captain Unohana Retsu was older than Lieutenant Sasakibe. She had an odd air about her, one that she’d not been able to place in the time that she’s known her.

Like death.

Perhaps that was due to her being a medic. Shaking her head, she continued on her journey, using shunpo to traverse across the rooftops a touch faster. The thing with the Gotei was that none of the divisions were in order; it was nonsensical, truthfully. The sound of yelling to the left; the Eleventh was celebrating something. A laugh spilled free as she turned, foot landing on the roof of the Fifth Division barracks.

“Stop runnin’ on my roof.” Captain Hirako Shinji ordered, giving Kiyomi a startle.

Nearly slipping, she turned on her toes and regained her balance. “Sorry, Captain!”

“No, ya ain’t.” His lips curved into a smile as he motioned for her to follow. “C’mon down. Did you visit yer family?”

“Yes,” carefully, she clambered down off the roof, hanging on the edge for a moment before releasing to fall into a crouch with a soft oof. “Is there something you needed, Captain?” Curiosity piqued, her gaze flickered about the mostly-empty courtyard, though her gaze caught sight of mousy brown hair turning the corner.

Lieutenant Sosuke Aizen. “Ah, Fourth Seat Fujihara! What a surprise!” He greeted, smiling as he approached. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, sir. Everything’s fine! Just getting scolded for taking a shortcut by Captain Hirako.”

“Hey, now,” Shinji grumbled as he retreated into his quarters for a moment before returning with a parcel. “Give this t’ Rose.”

“... Why can’t you give it to him yourself?” The attitude slipped into her voice before she caught herself. Though, she didn’t gasp- didn’t apologize. “If it’s something from you-”

“It’s not a gift. Something he needed from the World of the Living.” Shinji placed the package into her hands, snickering at the way her lips pursed. “Thank ya, Kiyomi.”

“Of course, Captain,” she muttered through gritted teeth, turning on her heel.

“I’ll walk with you? I need to bring some documents to the Seventh.” Aizen offered, watching as Kiyomi brightened a touch. “If that’s alright with you, Captain?” A glance over the shoulder, watching the way Shinji’s gaze narrowed slightly.

“... ‘s fine. Dismissed.” Turning on his heel, Shinji retreated into his quarters, though he paused just out of Aizen’s line of sight to listen to their steps retreat. His new lieutenant… Something was there. Under the surface, lingering like a parasite.

Kiyomi hummed as she walked, package tucked under her arm. The contents felt soft, like a shirt of some sort. Or perhaps a new formal yukata for the upcoming celebrations? “Are you settling in well?” She asked her companion, breaking the silence. He startled beside her, eyes widening before resettling.

“I- yes, I am. Thank you.” He smiled, head dipping a touch. “How long have you been part of the Third?”

“Ah, lemme think… A little over a year? Yeah- I was part of the Eighth for a few months before transferring over.” Having two of the four noble houses of the Seireitei in the same Division? Oh, that had ruffled some feathers. “I like the Third more. Suits me better, I think.”

“Does it? That’s nice.” Aizen’s gaze studied her back curiously; her hair was long, reaching her waist, and cut in a way so that the longest strands were in the center, ending in a ‘V’, much like her bangs. She didn’t wear the traditional sandals, either, but rather, a pair of Geisha geta. How peculiar. “Is it hard to walk in your shoes?”

“These?” A laugh- surprisingly loud- escaped. “Nah. They’ve got better balance and grip than the sandals they try to make us wear. Blame Lady Senjumaru for that.”

“Senjumaru?”

“The Great Weaver- she’s the one who created our uniforms! Didn’t they teach you all this in the Academy?” She asked, tilting her head back to watch the confusion dance across Aizen’s face. “Huh. Well- Senjumaru Shuutara created our shihakusho. She’s the one who makes all the uniforms for us- or, at least, she laid the groundwork.”

“You speak as if you know her,” curiosity entered his voice as they turned, the gate for the Third coming into view. “Do you?”

“Distant relative on my mother’s side. I’ve met her once. She works with the Twelfth.” Evening had fallen across the Seireitei; lanterns began to ignite one after another, flames spluttering to life. Kido work. “Have fun visiting the Seventh, Lieutenant!”

“Thank you. Have a nice night, Lady Kiyomi.” Aizen bowed low at the waist before turning.

Kiyomi watched him walk, her smile vanishing, mask dropping for a moment. Something was strange about Aizen; perhaps the way he spoke so formally? She wasn’t quite sure, not really. Shrugging, she retreated into her division. The package… Fingers drummed against it. If he was in his office, then she’d talk to him. If he wasn’t, then she’d leave it on his desk and leave. Yeah!

Nodding, she wandered through the garden that led away from the training field. The garden had been planted when the Third was first brought to life, nearly a thousand years ago. It had flourished, tended to carefully; while no fruit nor vegetable was present, hundreds of flowers were. Roses, dahlias, chrysanthemums; this garden was nothing like the trimmed, orderly rose and hedge gardens of the Fujihara compound. Within the center lay a koi pond- a more recent inclusion. Lily of the valley had been planted around the pond, the Division’s signature flower.

Captain Iba’s quarters were dark; she’d already retired for the night. A glance across the way revealed that her lieutenant’s office was also dark; he must have gone out for the night. Quiet steps drew her to the edge of the porch. A jump up landed her on the ledge of the railing. Stepping off, she glanced about before quietly slipping into the office space. Her heart was a drum in her chest as she quietly tip-toed further in. The space was so distinctly Rose, from the elegant paintings hung on the walls to the sheet music scattered to the side. A small, girlish smile curved her lips as she set the package down atop his desk before turning. One last lingering look- before she quickly, quietly slipped out, closing the door behind her before walking towards her own quarters across the courtyard.

Turning the corner, Rose paused; head tilting as he watched the back of the Fourth Seat cross the courtyard, the light of the moon shining upon her hair, casting silver highlights through onyx tresses. His mouth opened, making to call out to her- only for it to shut. She looked to be in a rush, and it was rather late; she’d been outside of the Gotei for the majority of her day, visiting family. Well, no matter. He returned to his office, pausing at the lingering scent of… Amber, vanilla musk, and cinnamon. Had she been at his office? Had she been looking for him? Opening the door, he paused as the lights lit themselves, answering to his reiatsu. A package sat on his desk; even from here, he could recognize Shinji’s handwriting. Good! His clothing.

Humming to himself, he closed the door for a touch more privacy so that he could eat his dinner in peace. Tomorrow, he would meet with the other seated officers to talk of his transition.

[maiji]

[alt text for image: Brush pen ink illustration of Hokushin from Yu Yu Hakusho and various scenes of him interacting with Yusuke: carrying an unconscious Yusuke slung over his shoulders after Yusuke has been knocked out from an encounter with Raizen while the other monks comment "Oh, again?"; bandaging a swearing Yusuke up after another encounter; following Yusuke charging into battle with medical supplies; looking over at Yusuke while the latter falls asleep against his shoulder. A banner at the bottom left reads "By official decree - royal nanny". Two additional images show details of the expressions in various parts of the drawing.]

Repostober commentary: I think this may possibly be my earliest illustrations of Hokushin. It is only as an adult that I attempted drawing him; I can't recall trying when I was a child. Drawing people without bangs was hard enough for elementary school me (most of the time I drew Yusuke with his hair down instead of his gelled-back hairstyle for this specific reason), and older male characters felt absolutely impossible. I levelled up!

"More love for this character please" - Dear past me, I have fulfilled your request with well over 500+ pages of fanfiction, fanart and fancomics, flooding the Hokushin tags on tumblr, AO3, pixiv etc. etc. You're welcome but also THIS IS YOUR FAULT

Hokushin and Yusuke from Yu Yu Hakusho~ My kanji writing is … (／。＼;;;)

Rambling follows~ Note that my comments below pertain primarily to the manga, which I’m most familiar with.

Ahh, Hokushin. I like him a lot. I kinda think of him as Yusuke’s nanny, following him around and cleaning up after him hahaha

As Raizen (and then Yusuke)’s right hand man, he’s an adviser/confidante, conscience and sober second thought. For Yusuke, he’s not quite like family in the way Genkai was, but not quite a servant either (hence, nanny lol).

As with Kuwabara, I didn’t fully appreciate Hokushin till I got older. He’s basically created as a counter for Yusuke to play off of, but he has a lot of great merits on his own. Cool-headed, intelligent, loyal, an excellent fighter who can beat S-class demons even when he’s lowered to a D-class (well OK, noob S-class demons) … I also really like how Togashi draws his face. He always looks so calm, and somehow almost gentle, even when he’s being stern and serious (except maybe when he’s flipping out at Yusuke for doing something crazy rofls).

Hokushin also plays significant roles in many of my favorite scenes of the Three Kings arc (probably largely because they’re responses to Yusuke’s shenanigans). For example:

1. The infamous “BOIL UP A KETTLE OF TEA YOMI” scene

2. The Demon World Unification Tournament proposal. Hokushin’s uncharacteristic freakout and expressions totally made the moment a million times more hilarious: “YOU CARVED UP OUR KINGDOM’S PRICELESS ROYAL GEMS WHAT THE HELL IS GOING THROUGH YOUR DUMBASS HEAD (your majesty)” rofls

3. Raizen’s funeral, when all of Raizen’s old friends and fighting buddies reunite to pay him their last respects. Near the end of it, Yusuke confides in Hokushin his feelings on this. In the manga, you can’t see either of their faces while the conversation is taking place, and that on top of the fact that it’s being said out loud and not some internal monologue made it so much more poignant to me. (Wonder if Yusuke was reminded of his own funeral …?)

And of course that Hokushin still supports Yusuke after the guy effectively dissolved their whole kingdom and turned their world upside down on a crazy path to demon realm democracy lol. Even if much of the time it was Yusuke going “HEY YOU GUYS STOP TRYING TO RIG THE TOURNAMENT THAT’S CHEATING HEY D:<” and Hokushin being all “You’re not our king anymore! You can’t stop us from trying to make you king!! O:<”

ANYWAY that’s my longass post accompanying my dumb drawings of Hokushin (and Yusuke). Sadly I don’t see much fanart or mention of him in general. Perhaps because he’s introduced so late in the series … or is it because he has no hair???? {{p´Д｀q}} sob sob

More love for this character please!

[jesterofinaba]

“I don’t want to go, I’m calling in dead. I’m so tired that I’m dead. I’m calling in dead.”

Shit I’ve Said and Heard While Nannying - No Longer Accepting

"I think you should stay if you don’t want to go. Go back to sleep after you call in. You go to a fucking art school, right? What kind of homework are you going to have? Advanced fingerpainting?"

Adachi scoffs and flops down on the sofa, then turns so his head dangles off the seat to look at Yusuke upside-down.

"Maybe try and be a little more subtle about your excuse, though. But I know subtlety isn't exactly a strong suit of yours, Hokusai."

[bastarddadsinc]

(( I realized that I never actually posted this but here are some of my thoughts on the types of abuse each of the dads on this blog have engaged in

This is really long...names are bolded if you want to read a specific muse’s section ))

Disclaimer: I want to start by saying I am writing this from the perspective of someone that has not experienced parental abuse of any kind. I do have a bachelor's in psychology, but it wasn’t clinical track and abuse was not my area of concentration. Neither was child psych.

There are seven main types of parental abuse physical, mental, emotional, verbal, financial, sexual and spiritual. I don’t think ANY of my muses have engaged in sexual abuse against their children. Against others, possibly, but not their children. You’re free to disagree with me and have your own headcanons on this matter, but for the purposes of this blog no sexual abuse was committed against their children. I also don’t believe that spiritual was a component either.

If I am mistaken or forgetting something please let me know.

Gabriel- Mainly neglect/ignoring. He has very few interactions with Adrien and those he does are brief and generally not positive. Gabriel doesn’t acknowledge or reward Adrien’s successes or even discuss his life on a day to day basis. But there’s also lots of emotional, mental and verbal abuse. Isolation is the most extreme. Adrien had to beg to be able to go to school like the rest of his peers and even after he starts attending the rest of his schedule is strict and Gabriel is in complete control of it. Also controlling when Adrien is allowed to leave, rarely letting him out of the house for anything he deems ‘not important’. There is also very little physical warmth any time Adrien hugs his father Gabriel is extremely uncomfortable. I previously thought physical abuse was not present, but after Chat Blanc I have to question. He knew Cat Noir was Adrien and still hit him across Paris, sure he knew it wouldn’t kill his son...but still. I imagine physical was probably a last resort. (A slap)

One thing I don’t think people think about much is I truly believe Gabriel sees Adrien as an extension of himself. He can also fence, speak Japanese and play the piano. Adrien doesn’t seem to have any interest in these activities but performs them anyways.

Madarame- Financial abuse is the most predominant. Consistently he didn’t tell Yusuke what his art actually sold for and likely did this with his other pupils as well. He also probably gave Yusuke very little money for food, essentials and supplies while leading him to believe that they were truly struggling. That just giving him that was already asking for a lot.

We know that Yusuke was aware that something wasn’t right with the other pupils so I imagine that he witnessed arguments between Madarame and the others. Considering how long he “turned a blind eye” I imagine Madarame may have gaslit him and lied about the argument. I don’t believe physical abuse was present. It was much easier for Madarame to play on Yusuke’s sympathy and fondness.

Okumura- Exploitation is big here. He clearly only saw his daughter as a tool. To be married off for his own gain. He was at least aware that Sugimura wasn’t a good person and didn’t care. Whenever something happened between Haru and Sugimura he always blamed her and said that she had to apologize. He truly doesn’t care what Haru wants and lied to her about the consequences of refusing to comply. Okumura is very dismissive of Haru and talks over her.

Shido- While he wasn’t part of Goro’s life up until age 16 and wasn’t aware that Akechi was his son I don’t feel that him knowing would have changed anything. Even in the capacity of being Goro’s employer, he’s extremely manipulative. Constantly demanding Goro perform heinous acts for him. I wouldn’t doubt that he consistently threatened to expose Goro’s crimes for failure to perform/obey, but also promised rewards for compliance. He also demands that Goro put his requests above anything else.

I have written an au where he did raise Goro (though a nanny handled most of his care) where physical abuse occurred frequently with the mentality that he truly wouldn’t learn without it. He also basically raises Goro to be exactly like him. He keeps his son to an unattainable standard of behavior, dress, speech, and achievement. Nitpicks and gets him to ignore interests and socializing in order to receive praise. He also denies that Goro has any lasting mental trauma after his mother committed suicide and refuses to allow him to see a mental health professional.

Jack- A little bit harder to define here. A combo of physical and financial. He was using Angel to further his own goals which did physically hurt her to the point where death was preferable. However, I believe that Jack felt considerable guilt over it. That he never truly wanted to hurt his daughter. It is revealed that one reason behind keeping her contained was that Angel did not have excellent control of her Siren powers after they manifested. He is furious after she’s killed.

Odin- The main problem here is favoritism. Thor was always put on a pedestal, but Loki never measured up. Thor received all the praise and affection from Odin while Loki got very little if any. Likely Loki felt extremely unwanted for most of his life and in order to gain his father's attention started acting out. Odin consistently makes jabs at Loki and put down talents that Loki prides himself on. There’s always comparison between Thor and Loki though he claims to have treated them equally. Even behaviors that were praised for Thor were criticized for Loki. The desire to rule and conquer.

He also just ollies out with Hela like “You handle my failure.” Which is an avoidance of responsibility. He even outright says to Loki at one point “Your birth rite was to die” and that he is the only reason Loki is still alive. Odin really only views Loki as an unwanted child that never stopped acting out.

AFO- There is a prevailing belief that All for One lied to Tomura about how his family died. As the chapter about Tomura’s backstory is titled differently than the other villains. If this is the case then there is severe memory manipulation and gaslighting. Tomura was originally a pretty sweet kid. He liked to play heroes with other kids, so in order to create a successor, AFO had to destroy that. To twist him into the angry and vengeful adult we see now.

AFO definitely sees Tomura as an extension of himself and thus why he’s willing to offer so much for the other to succeed. One thing I do find odd is how accepting of failure AFO is. Any time Tomura fails he simply encourages the other to try again.

Enji/Endeavor- The biggest physical abuse perpetrator. By nature Enji is a very intimidating person, he prides himself on being large and imposing if he’s willing to use that against villains then he likely also willing to use it against his family. We know for a fact that he was “training” Shoto and we believe Toya as well. I imagine that he would go as far as to trap them in the training room until he felt their performance was satisfactory. Withholding food was a possible punishment when his expectations weren’t meant.

Enji is very easy to enrage. I imagine that his anger and voice were big pieces of the abuse. Fuyumi always seems to be treading carefully whenever she speaks to him.

He also isolated Shoto from his other siblings the “failures”. So there were some elements of mental, emotional and verbal abuse as well. We see the effects of that label on Fuyumi and Natsuo well into adulthood. Sources

https://pro.psychcentral.com/exhausted-woman/2016/12/7-types-of-parental-abuse/

https://sociopathicstyle.com/emotional-abuse-by-narcissistic-parents/

[sailor-cresselia]

Zi-O Ep 42: OKAY THEN

Just as an aside, with this episode, I’ve officially begun my sixth document for writing these liveblogs. I may have gotten in over my head.

When last we saw our nominal heroes, Sougo’d been dropped into an altered timeline, where Kakogawa Hiryuu is basically ruling as Another Zi-O II. The ‘II’ is significant, because he’s gotten an upgrade. Also, Decade’s here!

Now… on with the show!

-

:whimper:

Okay, so. Geiz is pissed – justifiably so, since he’s lost a lot of his comrades in battle. If defeating Zi-O will help him avenge them, then so be it.

Sougo doesn’t fight back. Drops his transformation, even. After all…

As we see in a flashback, with the orchestral version of Toki no Ouja playing, When they started truly working together, Geiz promised that if Sougo ever went evil, he would make sure to stop him.

Not as a threat by then, but as a reassurance. That he wouldn’t let his friend, even if he wouldn’t put it in those terms yet, become a villain.

(As an aside, that scene? Back in episode 16? Was immediately before the first time we heard Toki no Ouja, making its use here super appropriate.)

So of course Sougo is willing to let him do this. Even if he isn’t the same Zi-O that’s ruling this time… he’s still at risk of going that path. He wasn’t able to stop Oma Zi-O – couldn’t even dent him – so… if this will keep him from rising to power, even in this altered timeline where Hiryuu is in charge…

Then so be it.

And Geiz was going to do it, too. He was flat out aiming to kill Sougo – for the second time in two episodes, because of that whole situation where Sougo nearly got decapitated last episode.

And once again, someone stopping time is what saves him.

This time, it’s Tsukuyomi… with a red cloth around her arm. The same type that Tsukasa has around his, and that Geiz has around his leg.

We know that Geiz and Tsukuyomi are part of the resistence, and said resistance has access to weapons. Tsukasa showed up last week with a LITERAL ASSAULT RIFLE.

For the record? HOLY SHIT, TSUKASA. And stop lurking over around that corner, you’re making everyone (read: me) nervous!

…

Well, he did stop lurking. If only to start walking toward the trio, and say “good going”. Or “that’s it”, in a ‘that’s the way’ type of phrasing.

Just last week, he said that Sougo needed to rely on his friends. Okay, not in those exact words, because he wouldn’t be Tsukasa if he wasn’t a cagey, snarky, asshole, but still. He implied that Sougo needed to rely on his friends.

Natsumi, Yusuke, please come pick up your photographer.

…Oh, and could you also pick up your thief, while you’re here? He’s up to something. Again.

Saying something about how since this world has changed, he can get something nice.

…Having watched Decade now, I definitely like him better with darker hair.

Swartz walks out of the mansion, the one with the statue of Hiryuu in front, and smirks.

-

After the OP, we return to the former 9-to-5 shop. Clearly, a strip of red fabric is the sign of the resistance, because everyone in here – Junichiro included – is wearing one. Heck, even the radio has a band of red wrapped around the base!

Junichiro’s most worried about if Sougo’s the overlords minion – or possibly the overlord himself – because this is an aid house. There are wounded people here – are they in danger?!

He’s so nice!

(I still wonder how much he knows in the normal timeline, but… well, that’s a moot point at the moment.)

Okay, so Tsukuyomi and Geiz don’t know Tsukasa. This implies that the outfit is what he was assigned, and that he’s not technically part of the resistance. And needs to stop doing whatever that is he’s doing with the bread, back there. Seriously, dude, cut it out. Are you just. Picking it apart? Why?!

… … Ah. Junichiro trusts that they didn’t bring the overlord here, because he knows that they know he couldn’t defend the people in the base. He’s not very strong, after all. He used to be a clocksmith. (That past tense hurts so much, guys.) But his next line is. Worrying.

“Time’s always been with me.”

Come on! I like you now! Please don’t do this to me!

And when he repeats that line, it overlaps with Tsukuyomi saying that time’s been rewritten.

Sougo’s explaining how he used to fight along with them, and with Woz.

This is all okay and fine, except for the part where Geiz and Tsukuyomi don’t know who Woz is, either.

Naturally, Sougo has a bit of trouble answering exactly who they’re all fighting against, seeing as technically they’re fighting him… But Tsukasa has exactly zero trouble saying that Sougo’s technically supposed to become the overlord, because he’s an asshole. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy watching Tsukasa, but. Well, there’s no denying it.

Geiz, being Geiz, immediately tries to go on the offensive, only to be stopped by Tsukuyomi, who, being Tsukuyomi, wants to try and trust Sougo.

The more things change, huh?

So, Geiz storms out, because he’s going to stop Zi-O, damnit, no matter which Zi-O it is. For the moment, he’s going to focus on Hiryuu.

Tsukasa, munching on bread: Wow, he’s stubborn, isn’t he?

Sougo, having had about enough of this: You’re actively making this worse!

…oh no, seeing everyone in the front room, including his uncle, terrified of Sougo…

My heart.

-

Now, back to the mansion and it’s throne room, with Hiryuu going to sit on his throne. Interestingly, Another Ghost and Ex-Aid are standing as guards. Huh.

…! HUH! So, Woz’s book? You know how in the opening, we have him showing it to us, and it basically plays a video?

He shows Hiryuu a video clip of Oma Zi-O with the book. Nice.

And here’s Hora, bored and sick of being Hiryuu’s watchdog/nanny/minder, with a red drink. Again, I feel I should note, because when the Time Jackers have downtime, she winds up with one of those a lot. She doesn’t really care so much that times been rewritten, or how Hiryuu watns to take Sougo’s future of becoming Oma Zi-O, but seems to think he’s being a little… hasty. You know, since several of his Another Riders were defeated.

He says he’s just getting started, and that he won’t stop, even with their deaths. This is worrying for a number of reasons.

First, Hora didn’t say they died. Hiryuu did. That’s not a translation thing, either, I don’t think; the phrasing they both used was different, and I’m pretty sure I heard Hiryuu say ‘die’ in there.

This implies that he won’t be able to summon the recently defeated Another Riders again.

So! That’s ‘a little’ worrying!

And the fact that he’s not going to let it stop him, either; that he’s just going to keep using his power to rewrite time. He says this while practically fondling the Another Zi-O watch, holding it reverently in his hand.

…What could this boy have been, if he had never been given this watch? If he hadn’t been soured so badly that he’d be so willing to use it like this?

Woz looks down a bit when Hiryuu makes his ‘I’ll use my power to rewrite time’ comment. Not sure if that’s a ‘distressed’ looking down, a ‘sure you will’ look, or what. But it’s definitely some sort of doubt.

Hi, Daiki, what’re you doing here?

Shooting out the chandeliers? Cool, cool.

Saying that the power to rewrite time sounds super nifty, and that you want to take it?

…Okay that MIGHT be a bad idea, I’M JUST SAYING.

…Last time we saw you, you were giving the Future Note to Oma Zi-O. … …

Oh my god I might not have been as far off as I thought with my “Oma Zi-O is technically Another Zi-O” theory.

I figured it was shot to hell when we almost immediately went into an Another Zi-O arc after I came up with it, but maybe not!!!

(Heh, shot. And we’ve got Diend here.)

Daiki, you’re the best right now.

Not only does he summon Specter and Brave to fight off Another Ghost and Ex-Aid, he uses Blast to just. Shoot the Another Zi-O watch out of Hiryuu’s hand before he can use it.

I love tracer shots, especially when they just nyoom right around the other combatants, and manage to angle the watch right to Daiki’s hand.

Also, Specter and Brave took out the Another Riders, allowing Diend to just take the watch and run out of the room.

UNFORTUNATELY, Swartz is RIGHT outside the door, just lounging around, and freezes Diend. Because of COURSE he does.

The purple bastard takes the watch, and gives it back to Hiryuu, saying that since defeating Sougo is his wish, he’ll leave him to it, and to let him take care of this situation. Hora’s not happy about being sent off with Hiryuu again, but she does still go along with it.

And THEN Swartz freaking telekinetically throws Diend into a WALL, knocking him out of his transformation.

Why is this guy so effective against actual veteran Riders?! I mean, escalating stakes and all, but both Tsukasa and Daiki have been in serious pain after he attacks them. Daiki can barely talk.

“Oh, you like treasure, huh? I’ll give you something good, then… but you’ll have to do something for me, as well, and I’m not giving you a choice.”

He then proceeds to grab Daiki by the hair and send waves of purple energy through him, WITH DAIKI SCREAMING IN PAIN!

Woz looks on with a somewhat… disapproving expression.

-

Geiz. Geiz, sweetie. You do know Sougo, just. You’ve been whammied by temporal distortions, that’s all.

(You know, kind of like the team was doing to the Riders in the early part of the season.)

(Just saying.)

(Even if they weren’t faking it, please let them remember and have gotten their histories back after HeiGen Forever. Come on, Toei, give us that, at least.)

Sougo, depressed: Can we talk?

Geiz, sulking: Screw you.

Tsukuyomi, tired: If we work together, we can defeat Hiryuu-

Hiryuu, asshole: lol no, I’m the only Kamen Rider Overlord we need around here.

Hiryuu: I’m going to replace you as the evil overlord.

Sougo, incredibly depressed: I’m actively trying to not be the evil overlord, okay? You’re going down.

This is not the type of joint transformation I usually like to see, but it’s a really good one! You don’t usually get two forms of the same rider transforming, but Hiryuu is Another Zi-O II, and Sougo is going into the normal Zi-O II form.

Mirror matches are really fun.

… FFS Geiz. “I’d be okay with them killing each other.” STOP THAT.

Sougo, somewhat outmatched by Hiryuu’s ENGERY PUNCHES, pulls out the Grand watch.

Daiki thinks that sure does look nifty. He’s honored that Sougo remembers him.

(Memories were a bit of a ‘theme’, back in Decade.)

He hopes that Sougo will be able to remember his new power.

(Memories wound up being a powerful thing, back in Decade.)

He extends his hand – and both Zi-O’s are paused in time.

Oh No.

Hora and the others aren’t frozen, though – you can see Tsukuyomi’s hair blowing in the wind – and Hora’s not amused that Daiki’s got Time Jacker powers.

“Wow, this is the easiest treasure I’ve ever gotten!” (taps Sougo’s helmet on the forehead) “Sweet. Later!”

Daiki’s ‘Knife Cat’ energy has leveled up since Decade, I see.

…Daiki, Tsukasa, what’s with you two and tapping the kitty on the face? Because you’ve both done it, now. It’s a little weird. I know neither of you are skilled at flirting like normal people, but he is 19 and you guys are coming up on or are in your early 30’s. Cut that out!

So, Sougo tries to go after Daiki, but to no avail, because Hiryuu really wants to end him. Tsukuyomi readies her Faiz Phone X, but-

But Geiz says he’ll handle it.

He leaps in, with Revive Typhoon, knocks Hiryuu off of Sougo, and proceeds to fly right on out of there, carrying Sougo with him.

Swartz says that Hiryuu lost, Hiryuu says that Sougo just ran away.

Swartz: Are you sure he ‘ran away’? Ah well. Maybe we can make use of her…

He looks up at Tsukuyomi.

TSUKUYOMI, RUN!

-

Geiz and Sougo land on a rooftop, dropping their transformations.

Suuuure, Geiz, say that you only saved him because it was a pitiful excuse for a fight. We’ll believe you, no problem…

Sougo clearly doesn’t buy that either, but thanks him in any case. And says that he’s acting like the Geiz he knows.

…Geiz asks what ‘he’s’ like.

…Your memory of the regular timeline is coming back right now, isn’t it? (Please?)

So, Sougo describes his history with his Geiz to this one, while the piano for Over Quartzer plays in the background.

When they met, Geiz was already trying to do him in, and they were always fighting. But eventually… they were both fighting to save the future, and every time they fought, either against or alongside each other, they grew closer together. Though, Geiz hates being called Sougo’s ‘follower.’

Geiz reacts to that bit of news by yelling about why should he “have to be your follower”, and grabs Sougo by the collar.

Sougo: Yeah, just like that! :)

There’s some incredulous looks from Geiz, a scoff, aaaand the mood is killed by the stupid ringtone for the faiz phone.

And then said mood is immediately made worse by the fact it’s Tsukuyomi calling for help.

-

She’s running along the shipping docks, and is caught by… the slow, lumbering Another Build, and the suddenly appearing out-of-nowhere Another Kabuto. Not the matchup of Another Riders I’d have expected, but okay. I guess it makes sense; use Another Build to drive her into a corner, lure her into thinking that there’s only one after her – and then have the speedster zoom in, and disarm/disable her before she can react.

So Hiryuu’s plan is to use her as bait to lure Sougo in, which would definitely work… if Another Build and Kabuto didn’t proceed to get shot.

By Tsukasa “I won’t hesitate, bitch” Kadoya.

With a literal damned pistol.

What the hell is going on in this timeline, and where the hell is Tsukasa getting these guns if he’s not actually part of the resistance?!

Hiryuu – who needs to look up some Rider History, apparently – asks who Tsukasa is.

There’s really only one answer he could ever get.

“Just a passing-through Kamen Rider. Remember that.”

KAMEN RIDE

“Henshin!”

DECADE!

OOOOO, now there’s a nice touch! Not only does the Decadriver have the more recent emblems on it now, but the ring of emblems that appears around Tsukasa as he transforms has them all added in, too!

Decade tells Tsukuyomi to run for it – and, of course, Hiryuu sends his Another Riders after her. Another Build, being the worst of the Another Riders, tries to jump over some boxes, but fails miserably. Looks like his early installment weirdness and overall lack of skill stuck around.

:cackling:

When. When Geiz and Sougo make it to the scene, and they see Decade fighting Another Zi-O II.

Geiz asks who the pink one is.

Sougo: “Kadoya Tsukasa. And it’s actually magenta.”

Sougo: He gets very particular about his color terminology, so you should probably remember that.

… wait gfdi I didn’t realize until right after I typed that line that I used ’remember that’ what is wrong with me? I could have planned that, but noooo…

Geiz tells Sougo to go after Tsukuyomi, that he’ll handle Another Zi-O.

He and Decade argue a bit over who’s helping who, which is adorable.

…oh dear, I don’t believe we saw that Another Zi-O II has a sword until now, did we? Because he has a sword now. Or, well, a long staff that’s probably bladed, and is making energy clock projections every time he spins around.

-

Tsukuyomi runs into a back lot, and freezes Another Build and Kabuto… only for Uhr to unfreeze them. That’s a Time Jacker power, and he’d like to know where exactly she learned it.

And he’s good enough with it that he could freeze the blast from her Faiz Phone X along with her! Dang!

Woz, showing up right after Sougo, says that he’ll take over that particular fight, to which Uhr…

Summons…

A swirl of energy…

That becomes a cable, tying Tsukuyomi up.

… THAT’S NEW.

ALSO, I’m not fond of you pointing that gun at her while you drag her off, young man!

… HUH. Interesting.

Woz says he serves ‘the new overlord’, presumably meaning Hiryuu, since that’s how he referred to him when Daiki busted into the mansion. He tells Sougo to stand down, or he will kill him.

I can’t tell if that’s my imagination or not, if I’m actually seeing his hand tremble in the ‘over the shoulder’ shot of Woz holding the Ginga watch.

Sougo doesn’t want to fight… and neither does Woz. His duties still stand, even in this situation. He lowers the watch, and walks away.

…which duties, Woz? To Oma Zi-O? To Kamen Rider Zi-O? To the Quartzers, whomstever the hell they actually are?

Please explain in the show, because we don’t want to have to wait the six months for the movie to be subbed!

-

Daiki, the Grand watch is not a t-

Okay, well, it is a toy, but in-universe, it is not a toy, so you should really stop tossing it up and down like it is one.

Hora wants to know where he got those new powers.

Turns out… whatever Swartz did, was apparently him giving them to Daiki.

-

Uhr was instructed to bring Tsukuyomi to the mansion, apparently, most likely by Swartz.

By Swartz, who is willing to answer any questions Tsukuyomi has.

Any questions that his little sister has.

Heure clearly did not see that coming, given that he was holding the blaster-mode Faiz Phone almost directly to Tsukuyomi’s head, only to immediately lower it, with a matching stunned expression to hers, as soon as he hears Swartz call her that.

I mean, we’ve seen her being related to him coming for some time now, since she first used her time stop powers, but apparently nobody else did. They were too focused on how she got said powers.

-

In the preview…

Sougo gets Grand back at some point, we’re going to have a massive fight with a whole bunch of Another Riders, presumably against the four in the lineup we see – Woz, Sougo, Geiz, and Tsukasa, in that order – and Decade and Diend are going to have it out again.

But also.

Swartz says the throne will be his soon, over a shot of a very much in pain Woz on the floor – with a decent amount of debris around him, implying he just got thrown into/through a wall.

Uhr’s finally realizing that him and Hora have been being used.

Frankly, he should have caught on after his stint as Another Kikai, when I started telling him to GET OUT OF THERE, but the shot of him trying to back away, dragging a limp Hora, really seals the deal there.

AND THAT’S THE EPISODE.

THIS IS FINE.

I’m lying I’m super worried but also super hyped.

Zi-O is WILD.

[dreadhaus-literature]

{A/N} Waiting on the Sun to Rise.

Oh how I wish that ol’ sun would rise~♫

I wrote a bit. {Points down.} It’s nothing special, 2nd POV just ‘cause idk what’s going on with anything again and it feels weird to try and write dedicated pieces when stuff’s off. {Waves a hand in a circle.} Said it before, but this time I’m trying not to let it keep me from writing. Used to use that as an excuse to not write or do anything but I keep saying if I keep that up I’ll literally never do anything and I’m in my 30′s, now.

I’m ready to do stuff. And so I’m gonna do stuff.

I’ve been reading “The Writer’s Process” by Anne Janzer, which was recommended to authors who want to know how to prep for writing seriously, sort of like a “how to get started writing novels” 101 book. It had really good reviews on Amazon and I’m on Chapter Five right now. It’s only about 200 pages long, if that, but it’s honestly really useful. It’s got good tips on balancing work/personal life with trying to write (like you have to actually dedicate time to write, can’t just expect to write a novel on wishful thinking) or how to help stimulate creativity. It includes tidbits and tips from psychologists who have done studies on the best way to tackle creative processes like writing so you can get the most out of your writing; it’s really been a helpful tool. The chapter I’m on right now talks about tackling procrastination, lmao, and how to self-discipline--which I have said is one of my biggest problems. I make excuses, I find reasons to not write, I let myself get distracted, but I’ve been saying all year I’m tired of looking back on the year before and spying all the wasted time and just sighing @ myself.

There’s no excuse other than me being lazy and/or making excuses. The older I get, the less forgiving I get with myself about it.

My 20′s I am now realizing was really not a good time for me to try and get published, I’m sort of allowing myself a pass because now that I’m out of that decade, I realize I was working through a lot of shit. I was still dealing with abuse into my late 20′s and while no one’s life is perfect I recognize that I wasn’t in a good enough headspace to dig deep and write well. My emotions are 97% of my writing and they weren’t right. Now that I’m in a better place in all aspects (still working on the living situation, but got less than a year to go, there) I can shelve the self-reflective work and start trying to make something of this talent and imagination I’ve got.

I don’t really know where this aggressive, “I am going to write.” mojo has come from. I mean I’ve always, always known I wanted to be an author but it was sort of a hobby more than a career. I wasn’t taking it seriously and there’s probably lots of reasons for that--

1. Was dealing with depression and teetering on finding any self-worth enough to try to make something of myself. 2. Been told from a young age that I was not good enough and to give up/not bother trying because I won’t make it. 3. Afraid of failure and the resulting, “I told you so”‘s.

So yeah. I just hid behind fanfiction and sprinkling my OC’s and plotlines through fandom work, which allowed me to express what I wanted to express without fear of failure or putting myself out there. But that’s not enough, at least...I don’t know. I’ll always have a heavy preference for writing for FL and Monica and stuff, but I treat that like...hm. Almost like a treat? It’s a treat for me. To give something of myself to someone I love very much. Her reactions will always be my favorite.

Stepping outside of that, though, fanfiction stopped being enough for me a number of years ago. It was too confining, I had so many ideas and characters and themes and stuff I wanted to put out there that I didn’t want to work in a confined space anymore. Y’know that saying, “Of course you’re uncomfortable and unhappy where you are--you’ve grown, you’ve changed, you are no longer that person. It’s time to move on.”

I feel that.

It was like wearing a pair of shoes that were too small. Yes, I could wear them and get somewhere, but not the distance I needed, and wanted to go. My hopes of being published haven’t gone away. I’m scared to try still, lol, I know my writing’s good, it’s the one thing I know I’m good at, but the way I want to do it is different than the norm. In a way, selfishly, I feel like Christine. She was one of the only people writing paranormal romance when she started, and she’s said how she had to push and push to get her publisher to take a chance on her work, that she knew she had something good and she didn’t give up on it. And now, we have the Carpathians. ♥ I’m somewhat in the same boat with wanting to write 2nd POV. I’m totally capable of making a heroine and giving her a name and backstory but I know what I like to read when I read fanfiction. 2nd POV. It’s more personal, it resonates, and tbh it helped me through some really difficult parts of my life. I want to return that to my readers. To give them that personal immersion that 2nd POV provides. But those aren’t the books that are published.

I’m getting ahead of myself. I don’t have a novel finished or anything, lmao. I just, it’s one of my fears. That I’ll write this novel in 2nd POV and not be able to get it published...but I suppose I should cross the first part of that particular problem before anything else. Can’t fret about being published if there ain’t shit TO publish, DOT.

I’ve got a few novel ideas. Milano hasn’t gone away, lol. He still lurks about, like he’s just waiting for me to get my ass in gear and actually write his book properly.

...I really did sort of just use Yu Yu Hakusho to sort of write my own practice novel of Milano’s, lmao, if I’m being honest. I mean I did also want to go the hipster route and write for Yusuke because he was so under-loved in the community and I wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t subjugating favoritism but truthfully I wanted to let Milano loose. I was proud of him, proud of the story and world I’d created around him, and I needed an outlet for it and was too young to know what to do with what I had. Was fucking 18 years old, fresh out of high school, and in way over my head honestly. Now that I’m matured, older, and my ADHD isn’t kicking my brain around like a pinball machine, I think I can do him proper justice.

So yes, Milano, I will still be writing your novel. Just uh, don’t ask me when. Baby steps.

I also have Bram’s story that I wrote 20 some odd pages of outline and prep work on, that I fully intended to novelize. And I still think I have something there, so hold onto your obsession, Bram. You’re up on the board, too.

The most recent idea I had was for a series of novels, called Help Wanted. It actually started from the most recent story I wrote for Monica, where she delivered those specialized herbs to Milano. I essentially work in a service industry and it got me thinking about how I like to take care of people, that you don’t typically see that in romance novels. Usually the heroine is the one being taken care of and while I won’t object to that, I also like to do the taking care of. And it’s not an itch I get to scratch a lot, when I read. So I have been tossing around this series of novels where the heroine of each book is a caregiver of some sorts, taking care of the love interest in some way, shape, or form.

For example, the idea I came up with today was for a human nanny (the reader) who gets hired by a vampire to take care of his child after his wife was staked/murdered. The vampire is hopeless as a father and needs all the help he can get, and his child needs a proper caregiver. The nanny comes highly recommended and to make matters worse, when shown a list of potential caregivers the child picks her out of all the other candidates. The vampire is wary of allowing a human in his home but he’s rewarded when his little one flourishes under the love and attention the new nanny brings. Can the vampire come to trust and love one of the very same who killed his late wife?

Another idea I had was for a bubbly housekeeper/caregiver who comes to care for a depressed zombie/undead. The undead can barely take care of themselves and the caregiver was hired by a Wellness Committee, who keep tabs on supernaturals (think like child or elder protective services). The undead wants nothing to do with life but can’t die--but maybe, just maybe, with a little bit of TLC from their caregiver they can learn to live again. Happily, with the one who truly saved their soul.

Obviously don’t judge me too harshly, I’m literally like two days into this idea, lmao. It’s rough around the edges, like super rough, but it’s something that speaks to me. It’d be sort of like the Carpathians as in like, a shared universe, with all sorts of different love interests per novel--it’d be paranormal so there’d be monsters and demons and ghosts, weres and mers and just--maybe even superheroes! Or that could be a spin-off series or just--

See it’s just a lot and it’s all brand new and I’m still working all this out.

BUT! What’s exciting to me is that I have ideas, still. I still want to write, I’m still living in this creative, imaginary headspace and I’m still wanting to share that world. I think I’ll just always be this person, and that’s not a complaint. I’m glad. Imaginary places got me through my childhood and tbh it’s what’s getting me through this hectic shit we call adulthood.

I’ve been saying, all year, that I’m going to keep going and I’ll probably keep saying it. I’m still working a lot of stuff out, still figuring out my writing process and I need to get back to writing every day (I did it for the first three months of the year so I know I can do it) so that when the time comes for me to sit down and write for Milano, for Bram, for Help Wanted--

That I’ll still be ready to go. 💕

[blitzvan]

Yu Yu Hakusho Headcanons (Kazuma Kuwabara) (Best Friend/Female Reader)

(Kuwabara really doesn’t get enough love)

•You’ll have to help him study a lot •So you’ll be spending a lot of time at his house •(or him at yours) •You’d have to be a cat person •Or he’ll act like you just murdered his entire family •This goofball honestly acts like a bit of a brother figure •As his best friend it’s kind of necessary that you be a part of his little group •But he doesn’t really like you getting involved in any fight •Even if you can hold your own just fine •He has a code on fighting women, he’s not gonna like other gangs trying to fight you •Shizuru really likes you since you help him study and he gets in a little less trouble when you’re around since he tries to keep you out of fights •It’s a given that you’ll be exposed to Yusuke early on •He’ll totally flirt with you when he’s not dating Keiko •Kuwabara is not pleased •Which only makes Yusuke do it more •As much as you love the goofball it is kinda funny to see his reaction to it so you play along sometimes just to mess with him •(it seems like everyone but him realizes this) •Once it’s established that it’s just good fun, Keiko will let it slide when she’s finally with Yusuke •He’s not very good at hiding things from you so you’ll find out about the Spirit Detective business pretty early •I mean you’d already have to know about the paranormal since Kuwabara’s pretty spiritually aware •I feel like you could only get to the BEST friend level if you were spiritually aware too •That’s the only way he’d really confide in you about all his vibes and whatnot •Because he knows you won’t think he’s crazy •And he really likes it when you confide in him too •He doesn’t want you on the Spirit Detective team •(but honestly it’s more Yusuke’s call so if you’re really wanting to get in on it then he’s the guy to talk to) •(which he’ll most likely let you, as long as you can actually hold your own with them) •If you do join the team then Kuwabara will be just a little sore about it for a bit •And Hiei will probs give him shit for it •'She’s perfectly able, idiot. Why do you insist on acting like her nanny?’ •(or something like that) •(my hiei impression is shit) •(but speaking of that lil devil) •His and Kuwabara’s antics are really entertaining for you •Sometimes you’ll make jokes about them with the others

(This is all I can think of right now)

[ffamranxii]

CHALLENGED ACCEPTED.

(Spoilers for all games.)

P1

Naoya’s mother tried to strangle him as a child after his twin brother’s death. His father is never mentioned.

Maki’s mother is a workaholic and often absent while Maki is hospitalized. Her father is never mentioned and one of Maki’s other selves was born solely because she yearned for a father figure.

Nanjo was raised by his butler because his parents were outright stated to be too busy for him.

Masao’s parents are not mentioned in game but he moves to New York to study art after the events of P1 and his mother calls him often. She also has a nickname for him, Makun.

Reiji’s father cheated on his wife with Reiji’s mother and then left her. His mother was noted to be kind.

The parents of Brown, Eriko, Yuka, and Yukino were never mentioned.

P2 (IS&EP)

Tatsuya had no relationship with his parents, being ashamed of his father and disappointed in his mother. It’s not known what Katsuya’s relationship was, but he felt strongly enough about their father to give up his dream of being a pastry chef to become a cop to clear their father’s name.

Maya possibly had a good relationship with her father. She originally made her iconic stuffed rabbit for her father before he left on a trip as a war correspondent. After he was killed, she kept it. Her mother is never mentioned.

Lisa’s relationship with her parents is strained, especially her father.

Eikichi’s relationship with his father is strained and implied to be abusive. He is not allowed to even look the way he wants at home.

Jun’s mom neglected him and spent most of her time fighting with his father until his death. His father ended up possessed by Nyarly, and Jun didn’t even notice.

The parents of Ulala and Baofu are never mentioned.

P3

Minato/Minako’s parents died in a horrific car accident.

Yukari’s father is dead and her relationship with her mother is strained.

Junpei’s father is an abusive alcoholic. His mother is not mentioned.

Akihiko is an orphan and also lost his sister in a fire.

Shinjiro is an orphan.

Ken watched his mother die, and his father is never mentioned.

Mitsuru’s father dies in her arms. Her mother is never mentioned.

Fuuka requests to live at the dorm because she doesn’t want to be home. Her parents have given her an inferiority complex.

(Aigis and Koromaru don’t technically belong here, but Aigis’s creators and sisters were all killed; and Koromaru’s original owner died.)

P4

Yu’s parents work abroad for a year and don’t contact their son once.

Yukiko’s relationship with her family is strained due to immense pressure to inherit the family inn.

Kanji’s father is dead, and Kanji interprets his last words as a snide comment that Kanji isn’t a real man (due to his feminine hobbies). His relationship with his mother is never mentioned but it’s at least neutral.

Rise mentions that as a child nobody in her family had high expectations of her. When she retires from idol life, her parents do not contact her and she lives with her grandmother.

Naoto’s parents are dead.

The parents of Yosuke and Chie are never mentioned, and being a Shadow, Teddie doesn’t have parents.

P5/P5R

Ren’s parents send him to live with Sojiro and don’t contact him all year.

Ryuji’s dad was abusive. He seems to have a good relationship with his mom.

Ann’s parents left her to work all over the world. Ann was raised by nannies.

Yusuke’s mother died when he was two and his father is never mentioned. His father figure taught him to paint solely to use him as a cash cow.

Makoto’s father is dead, her mother is implied to be dead as well, and her relationship with her sister is strained.

Futaba’s mother is dead and her entire extended family blames her for it. Her father was never present in her life, and for a time she lived with an uncle who wouldn’t even allow her to bathe.

Haru watched her father die on live tv. Her mother is never mentioned.

Goro was born to a single mother who turned to sex work to survive. She died when he was young and his father had never acknowledged him. His father is a psychopath on a powerful who groomed him, taught him to murder people, and had planned to kill him.

Kasumi/Sumire’s parents are heavily implied to have encouraged Sumire to dress and act like her sister after Kasumi’s death, which further hindered Sumire’s ability to process and accept it.

CONCLUSION

To answer your question: No, no there isn’t.

Real talk; is there anyone in any of the persona games who doesn’t have some kind of parental problems???

[maiji]

On writing Hokushin 

(unrelated: WOW I just realized I can do headings in tumblr! WOw!!!)

I’m on a roll avoiding other work I should be doing lolll! Lately I’ve been super fortunate to have some great conversations with multiple lovely people about characterization of Hokushin. To probably no one’s surprise, I already think an embarrassingly lot about this and try to convey it in my fanworks, but I actually haven’t really sat down and articulated in depth. Shocking, I know. So here are some cleaned up/slightly more coherently organized version of thoughts!

Below the cut I basically ramble for a long time about understanding Hokushin's character with cultural/historical background and his relationship with Yusuke (and by extension Raizen). And some misc other stuff. I tried to break it out by topic, but a lot of it overlaps. One thing I don't really get into here is specific aspects of Mahayana (Zen) Buddhism, but it has an important underlying relationship with a lot of what l talk about below, and forms a significant part of Raizen and therefore Hokushin's narrative, how their characters are portrayed and framed, aaaand this is already really long. 

With all that in mind, this is one person’s interpretation! I’m no expert, I mostly just read a lot of stuff when I get obsessed with it (usually for storytelling/comics research, and then forget everything soon after lol). In any case, it'd be boring if my ideas on Hokushin were the only ones that exist, and the point of fanworks is to create for personal enjoyment/fulfillment, so please make of it what you will! All I hope is that this was at least somewhat interesting/informative and helps give people more material and more love for Hokushin =D

The loyal retainer archetype

Hokushin's character is very strongly tied to the perceived classic Japanese archetype of the loyal servant/retainer and samurai (bushi/warrior class) ideals. They come with a very distinct paradigm and set of principles. Here’s a simplified summary. 

Purpose, honour and thereby happiness comes from selfless loyalty and servitude. The fulfillment of your existence is to serve the will of your master. 

The ideal/collective whole is prioritized above an (your) individual existence. There is a greater goal that you are merely one small aspect of, and you may not even expect to understand it.

Death is not necessarily perceived as a worst-case scenario, and can be viewed as the most honourable alternative to violating your own or someone else's principles, particularly that of your master. And in some cases, it may even not be an alternative. Death is not an end, but a means to an end usually to support the beliefs held in the previous two points.

We can reference the 8 virtues of bushido - the way of the warrior, sometimes called the samurai code. Now, bear in mind nobody necessarily went around going “I’m a samurai, and this is the code I follow.” This is a list formalized in the late 19th century by writer Nitobe Inazo to explain a concept of bushido and Japanese culture for a Western audience, and then it basically got absorbed back into Japan. Thus, bushido is a pretty heavily romanticized thing, and... anyway that’s beyond the scope of this post lol. The virtues are:

Righteousness (also rendered rectitude, justice)

Courage

Benevolence/mercy

Politeness

Honesty/sincerity

Honour

Duty/Loyalty

Character/self-control

BASICALLY A HOKUSHIN RECIPE, AMIRITE?? There are also particular aesthetic sensibilities to the execution of this archetype partly based on how Japanese history and culture evolved. Bearing and sensitivity matters, more is said in what is not said, there’s stoicism and elegance and refinement and poetry etc. Mono no aware and transience of life and all that stuff.

Essentially, even if such a character disagrees fundamentally with their master's reasoning, it's not unusual for a "true" servant to still abandon their family or their lovers and follow or even precede their master to death in order to uphold their master’s principles. 

In the series, Hokushin says that he doesn't understand the king's reasons for his self-imposed abstinence, but that he still supports the king’s will. Later in the arc, he demonstrates the truth of his statement when he obviously doesn't agree with Yusuke's outrageous tactics regarding the future of their kingdom and the entire Demon World, but upholds it regardless. (As I noted in One and a Half Revolutions, the most "disobedient” Hokushin gets is when he plots strategy with the other monks for what they should do if they end up fighting each other during the tournament, and Yusuke is like YO KNOCK IT OFF NO THROWING FIGHTS. AND ESPECIALLY NOT TO MAKE ME EMPEROR. And Hokushin’s like, well you said you’re not our king anymore, so we don’t have to follow you and can do as we wish. And what we wish to do is make you Emperor. So what’s your issue. And Yusuke is like THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT)

This archetype is also NOTORIOUS for assuming a huge burden of responsibility and/or shame on behalf of their master, often in secret, for maximum service/honour value (and narrative/dramatic impact). The legendary Ako incident (the 47 ronin) is a famous historical example.

This intense commitment can be tricky to depict because you have to finely balance outward stoicism and emotional resonance, and you also want to temper things to make a character more nuanced and not just a flat stereotype - e.g., a "you say jump, I jump" personality or have readers going "omg why is this character so spineless/stupid", ridiculous levels of melodrama, etc. You still want people to be able to empathize with the character and to really feel for them when they make decisions that may otherwise seem extreme or incomprehensible. (Although in many ways there's an Eastern/Western philosophical difference in the perception and understanding of this. A simple modern example that comes to mind is in Pacific Rim, when Raleigh asks Mako why she's so obedient to Pentecost and she replies (paraphrased from memory), "It's not obedience. It's respect.")

The Hokushin decision-making flowchart

I use this very rough mental outline as a general guide if I’m struggling to decide whether or not Hokushin would do something significant. Bearing in mind interesting opportunities are usually not black and white, so “yes” and “no” below are usually more like, “yeah pretty much...” or “no, kinda not...” lol

Is it in accordance with his values? * If yes: go for it. * If no:

Is it in accordance with the will/principles of his master (Raizen, Yusuke, or whomever he’s committed to serve)? * If yes, go for it. * If no:

Does it ultimately aid the endgoals/ideals of his master? * If no: forget it. * If yes:

Can any negative consequences be minimized to affecting Hokushin only or mostly (e.g., punishment or humiliation or capture or whatever) with little to no long-term effects for his master? * If yes: DO IT!!! * If no: FIGURE SOMETHING OUT TO MAKE THIS ANSWER YES!!!!  

Situations of deceit must be handled carefully, especially as honour is a major element of this archetype. The above flowchart can sometimes help... That said, deceit can be particularly challenging to contrive within the master and servant relationship. While we don't see Raizen and Hokushin directly interacting in the series, there's extremely strong implied trust between them. We can see this from how they speak of each other to other characters, namely Yusuke. We can also extrapolate aspects of their relationship from how Yusuke and Hokushin interact, because it's repeatedly emphasized that Yusuke and Raizen are quite similar fundamentally, and Hokushin clearly assumes Yusuke will succeed Raizen.

Yusuke and Hokushin: the initial meeting

In their first meeting, Yusuke’s absolutely furious at being misled by Hokushin. The beautiful thing about the setup of this deceit is how it:

Allows us to see the values and personalities of both characters.

Enables Yusuke and Hokushin to evaluate each other.

Establishes and enhances the dynamics of their relationship.

The above lies in Yusuke’s reaction to a particular piece of information being withheld, and how Hokushin handles the situation after being called out. Remember:

Lying is generally not in line with the loyal retainer/Hokushin’s values.

Honesty and straightforwardness are also big for Yusuke.

With point 1, Hokushin deceives not by lying but by leaving out significant information: that he - and potentially by implication, some % of Raizen’s followers - still eats humans so that they don’t get weak and die. His rationale for doing so is that Yusuke, being formerly human and having lots of people close to him who are human, would have a hard time getting past that fact if he learned this on their first meeting, and would not be willing to follow them to the Demon World. Totally reasonable assumption. If Yusuke doesn’t know, he’s more likely to be receptive to joining their kingdom, which protects the interests of his king and the safety of his people. This passes our flowchart with flying colours. (I elaborate on this a bit more in A Song on All Sides.)

However, when Yusuke figures out what happened, point 2 makes this especially problematic for their relationship. We know Yusuke is all about gut feelings and first impressions, so this could’ve been an awful miscalculation on Hokushin’s part.

When I’ve talked about this scene in the past, I usually focus on how in the next few moments Hokushin’s actions allow him to pass Yusuke’s assessment of whether or not he’s trustworthy. But what’s especially great about it is that judgement is actually going both ways. Before Yusuke explains his position, Hokushin’s politeness is his professional courtesy - he’s doing his duty as Raizen’s retainer. As Yusuke speaks in both manga and anime, you can see the exact moment when Hokushin decides Yusuke is a worthy successor. When Yusuke finishes talking, Hokushin’s manner changes - I’d say subtly, but since he essentially gushes about how much Yusuke resembles Raizen for several lines that’s not really true lmao.

In any case, now that Yusuke’s been deemed worthy, Hokushin steps up immediately to rectify his mistake. And merely admitting an error and explaining himself isn’t gonna cut it in meeting Yusuke’s values - that’s just the bare minimum. A good retainer must know their master so well that they anticipate and go beyond what is merely being requested.

So when Yusuke asks for honesty, not only does Hokushin give that, he takes it one step further with his very succinct, very personal answer to Yusuke’s question of why he follows Raizen. (Paraphrased) "Because King Raizen is like you. Fighting at his side makes me happy. That's everything to me." I can't think of a more perfect reply to mollify, impress and intrigue Yusuke as quickly as that. And in both manga and anime they give Yusuke this little pause as he takes it in - the animation team makes this even more exaggerated than what Togashi did. What I also love is that the dialogue in this scene strongly implies that Hokushin knew how to respond because he knew Raizen so well.

Obviously more stuff happens in the year and a half they spend together in the Makai. Whatever happens, it's clear Yusuke comes to trust Hokushin a lot. He even tells him private, personal things of a nature we don't see him sharing with any other characters. To me, this signals that Hokushin did what a good loyal retainer does, which is to get what makes Yusuke tick and not repeat the same mistake again. (Which is why I always get annoyed at that unnecessary scene they added in the anime version of the tournament... ANYWAYS lol)

Yusuke and Hokushin: the duty of the master

Yusuke starts the series as a solitary delinquent. He despises convention and authority, and dependence on others is a pain. He generally puts on a disaffected attitude, and he often downplays serious emotions with distracting and emotionally shielding tactics like sarcasm. For a character like him, it’s pretty easy to imagine him being all “What the hell, I don’t want to be king! I don’t need a servant!! Go away”. To reject Hokushin’s presence or role totally wouldn’t be out of character. 

One of the things I love about the dynamics between Yusuke and Hokushin is that Yusuke clearly gets Hokushin's mindset, and because of it, steps up in order to be able to reciprocate the relationship. In the classic ideal, the existence of the master gives the retainer’s existence purpose. A warrior without a master is considered ronin, which is a very shameful status. The master’s duty is to be(come) worthy of the loyal retainer’s devotion and to recognize the latter’s value and loyalty, often in unspoken ways.

Yusuke doesn’t want to be king - he outright says that he doesn’t think himself smart enough to take care of everyone in his kingdom. But he accepts the responsibility of his role in his relationship with Hokushin.

Yusuke’s conversations with Hokushin tend to be discussions that are not only honest but also mature. He takes good opportunities to rely on, and to acknowledge, Hokushin as a retainer without hesitation and without pretending complaint. He actually behaves a lot like a lord in the classic relationship in terms of conveying authority, direction, and intimate concerns (in his Yusuke way lol). 

In the meeting with Yomi, Yusuke’s use of the rurimaru is shocking to Hokushin, but when you watch the way the scene is carried off, he bears himself really well in his role. He didn’t carve the rurimaru just because he couldn’t find paper for his lottery names - he specifically chose to do it to the rurimaru, and their value is clearly taken into consideration for his purpose. He also doesn’t crack jokes about having vandalized the gemstones, which, again, would not have been out of character for Yusuke. Instead, he merely presents them exactly the way they should be - as a gift - to ensure he gets Yomi’s attention about his proposal. His body language is dead serious, and he also doesn’t address Hokushin's shocked reactions through the entire scene. He only addresses Yomi. This is totally appropriate form as one ruler to another. 

And even after the kingdom is dissolved, Yusuke doesn’t abandon his people, nor shoo Hokushin off. Hokushin is nearly always at his side throughout the tournament. If we look back at the principles of the loyal retainer archetype, one of the things worse than death is to be told by their master "I don't want you for a servant. You’re a useless burden to me". Of course, another aspect of the archetype is that actions speak louder, so the worst would be actually doing things that reinforce/confirm that statement, but it would still be extremely wounding.

A very clear demonstration of the above is when the two of them arrive at the edge of Yomi's territory. The conversation is basically as follows.

Yusuke: OK thanks for guiding me here. You go home now. Dangerous I go alone you know the drill. Hokushin: No, I'm coming with you. You’re my king. It's my duty to protect you. Yusuke: *after a pause* OK fine behave yourself.

with no further argument from Yusuke. No complaints about being called king, no sarcastic remarks about having a tagalong, nothing. Which is not something we usually see or would expect from him. The emotionally downplayed way the entire conversation happens is also very typical. In light of his character and the dynamics of the master-retainer relationship, Yusuke’s behaviour is extremely thoughtful and kind. 

Yusuke and Hokushin: the duty of the servant

So Yusuke weighed Hokushin’s response and knew there there was no way Hokushin would have let him go into enemy territory alone. So? It’s not like it’s the first time he’s ever disagreed with someone over how something should be done. So what’s different about this situation, compared to how things might have gone down with any other character who is very close to/invested in Yusuke and has previously confirmed they WOULD be willing to risk death for him - Keiko or Kuwabara, for example?

The difference (aside from the fact that they’re civilians and Hokushin’s a warrior, and Hokushin’s obviously a lot stronger and more likely to survive in most situations) is that Keiko and Kuwabara are Yusuke’s friends. Or more, if you want. But even for other people close to Yusuke who ARE warriors, the biggest difference is that they are not bound in servitude to him. Again, the keyword here is duty - and that concept is huge. Yusuke’s friends want to help him. Hokushin wants to help Yusuke too, but not only that, he MUST help Yusuke. His very existence is an obligation to do so. In some cultures, especially modern ones where the emphasis is on the individual, this can be difficult to appreciate and/or seen as an illogical insanity, but it’s a matter of fact for the loyal retainer. They see themselves as an extension of the will of their master.  

Keiko and Kuwabara and any of Yusuke’s other friends mentally would have a normal person pause of “This is ridiculous, stupid Yusuke, you’re crazy!!” and still try to do self-preserving-type things in most instances. To some degree, there’s still an aspect of their decision-making that is not only about Yusuke. They still have a sense that in their relationship with him, they have roles of similar or equal value/weight.

That’s absolutely not true for the loyal retainer. The servant is not equal to the master and the servant firmly believes this because that’s what their existence is defined by. Plus those ingrained principles. For Hokushin, there’d be no normal person pause. We’d zip through that flowchart and he’d be like “You’re crazy. But you’re my king. Guess I’ll die” and like jump into an active volcano or whatever. He would be completely and unhesitatingly willing do something, whether it’s spur-of-the moment or deliberately planned, that would result in death if he thought it’d help safeguard Yusuke/achieve Yusuke’s endgoal. And obviously that's the last thing Yusuke wants.

With this character archetype, this is where a lot of stories end up going for the “and then one of them pretended to let the other person have their way before SURPRISE KNOCKING THE OTHER PERSON UNCONSCIOUS TO PROTECT THEM, and then they went on to do their selfless ‘getting killed in your place’ thing” which I’m super glad Togashi never resorts to. Since all the above builds up to a huge part of what makes the reveal of Yusuke’s gift to Yomi extra effective - Hokushin’s reactions. This is largely why the scene is so comical, because Hokushin’s manner grows more and more freaked out - and entertaining, being in direct contrast to his stoic retainer archetype. Meanwhile, as mentioned previously, Yusuke’s bearing (if not his manner of speaking...) is exactly as a lord in the midst of negotiations would be. (My favourite part is where Hokushin still tries his best to address Yusuke properly as king, before losing it when he finds out Yusuke vandalized the rurimaru. In the manga, his expressions are beyond hilarious. In the anime, his scramble to recover the appropriate body language is really cute. His constantly shifting expressions throughout the background of this entire episode are great too. I always really like the faces in the episodes directed by Enomoto Akihiro.)

Finally, food.

One more challenge with Hokushin is his diet. He needs to eat humans or will suffer from the same malnutrition that is sapping Raizen’s energy and killing him. At the same time, he’s depicted as a character of integrity and compassion, so I always feel obligated to think carefully about the topic of procuring a human for food. I take a stab at an idea in the prequel Mirror Most Dark. However, the approach isn’t very feasible for the time period of actual Yu Yu Hakusho.

From a writing perspective, the problem is one of scale. It goes beyond Hokushin as an individual to the situation of a reliable/sustainable food source in Raizen’s kingdom for the % of Raizen’s population that needs it. And whatever it is, Hokushin is likely highly involved as the main instrument of Raizen’s will. I have some ideas but haven’t really cared to flesh (haha) them out to a point that’s satisfactory to me yet, so it’s only barely touched on in One and a Half Revolutions. This is far less of an issue after the series ends, when you can easily come up with ideas on how they’re looking for or have found alternatives, but during the time period of the actual series your options are more restricted. 

I have lots more stuff around these themes and ideas planned for North Bound too I JUST NEED TO GET AROUND TO DRAWING THEM

In conclusion, thank you for reading this mess lmao.

[maiji]

Can’t remember your place in the book you were reading? Never fear, loyal retainer Hokushin is here~!!

Download the print-ready file here

I couldn't decide whether to do stretchy neck or stretchy arm so I drew both. Feel free to print these and make bookmarks for yourselves! Please do not sell him nor remove the artist name/signature/url.

I suggest laminating him so that he’s stronger and lasts longer, but you can just use him as-is too.

If you do make him, I'd love to see photos! lol

[maiji]

Rurimaru

Doodling at Bit Bazaar~

[maiji]

Continued from the comic “Discovery”

I love Hokushin so much <3

[maiji]

I got a fude pen recently and am still figuring it out (the stroke thickness varies greatly depending on the angle of the pen). So here’s a quick mindless perspective-and-proportion-problem-riddled doodle while waiting for files to upload. Also birds look weird from the front haha  

[maiji]

"OK, what did you do NOW."

happy birthday to meee please enjoy this totally gratuitous doodle ^3^ 

EDIT: Fixed Yusuke’s hair haha...