#yuzu is literally my beloved

[sugakoni]

sunflower. (keiji shinogi x fem!oc)

being forced to go to a flower shop by his therapist wasn't something keiji thought would happen, but he would be damned if he didn't say that it was the best thing to ever happen to him. meeting the personified equivalent of sunshine and sweetness, he regrets not trying to find her sooner.

-------

warnings for this chapter: halucinations, agoraphobia, therapy session oops because keiji is traumatized, small mentions of the death game but wont really delve in till later in the series. also, no one died. i cant handle that shi.

wc: 3408 | archive of our own

(a/n) hey yall.. so i am writing again, woot woot! i am really digging your turn to die and hazbin hotel right now, but as of lately yttd has been consuming every single bit of my writing brain TuT. This is an oc fic, sorry about that yall but Yuzu is my baby and I hope you all grow to like her as much as Keiji does in this fic lmao. This is chapter one, and as more chapters go out, there will be edits on this post. as always, thank you for your support for the last 3 years and im glad to be back <3

(chapter under the cut!)

It wasn't like Keiji to leave his apartment much. Sure, he would go out if the others begged him to. He would go to his therapy appointments, but soon go home to try to find his own form of solace while his thoughts slowly but surely consumed him. He wasn't alone by any means most of the time, a red, painstakingly familiar man would always appear in the corner of his eyes. It got better though, medication, therapy… but that sense of self loathing for what he had done, what he could've done differently, always loomed over him like an unwanted cloud on a day you really want the sun to shine.

But, alas, today was not one of those days. Keiji Shinogi, at his therapy appointment that day, had mentioned that there was a new flower shop that had opened near his apartment that offered painting lessons. He was intrigued by it, to say the least, that a flower shop would be offering something like that. His therapist just chuckled, saying that maybe it was his subconscious telling him to go out and try something new. 

And now…

He was standing outside of this tiny flower shop, his anxiety clawing at him as if he was doing something either incredibly stupid or incredibly wrong. He sighed, moving to rub the back of his neck before he opened the door to the shop. It was empty… well, except for the vibrant colors of flowers displayed on multiple tables in the front room. Sunflowers seemed to be the main display for the day, and the sunlight captured them beautifully.

“... Helloooo?” Keiji hummed out quietly, hoping he didn't just intrude if the flower shop wasn't opened at all and he was making it up in his head. After a few seconds of his mind trying to pry him away, a short woman who looked awfully familiar to someone he was close to stepped out from the back.

His eyes lingered on her for a moment, heart racing a bit as he took her in for a second. Why was he feeling like this? Why were his ears feeling hot? Hands clammy? Keiji wanted to leave, but he stayed glued to his spot. And that is when she smiled and his own brain lit up.

“Oh, hello! Welcome to Kirigami’s, your local… uh… flower shop?” she said kind of confusingly, moving to play with a strand of her wavy hair. “S-sorry… you're the first customer of the day…”

Keiji blinked, hands going to his hips for a moment as he stood in thought. “Uh, thank you?”

The girl's face immediately went into a pout, biting at her lip and that face looked so familiar. Keiji was near losing his mind. 

“My name is Yuzu! Don't be a stranger, you can move from your spot you know!” Yuzu teased quietly, beckoning him to actually take another wide step into the shop and he happily obliged. Sweet. Too sweet. Why was he over analyzing a girl who ran a flower shop?

“What brings a man like you into a place like this?” She then added, her hands going to grab a pair of scissors while she tidied up some dead leaves on some of her plants. Keiji pursed his lips together.

“Jus’ wanted to see what ya had, I guess,” Keiji explained, a small smile creeping up on his face. God, she was cute.

Yuzu hummed to herself, smiling wide again as she turned to look at Keiji. “Trying to look for some flowers for the miss’s? Any kind in particular?” She asked, her smile faltering a bit as she said the word miss’s. Keiji noticed the change in her demeanor but didn't press it.

“Ah, unfortunately no miss’s for me… just have a certain liking towards… uncharacteristic things?” Keiji spoke and Yuzu gave another giggle, placing her scissors down and moving to take the apron she had off. Keiji watched as she moved to straighten her headband, his arms now crossing in front of him.

“No miss’s? You look like quite the catch! And, ‘uncharacteristic’... pfft,” she joked, her chest now slightly puffed up as she felt the need to be more professional. Sometimes Keiji wished he didn't join the police force so he could see people just as normal people.

“Anyway, I told ya my name, what's yours?”

Keiji’s eyes widened a bit, feeling bad now that he didn't even introduce himself to her when she did to him. “Sorry about that. My name is Keiji Shinogi… Local forensic specialist,” Keiji hummed out and Yuzu gave another smile. Was she always this cheery?

“Last name, huh? Guess it's only fair I tell ya mine. Tazuna, Yuzu Tazuna. If that means we are on a full name basis,”-Keiji desperately wanted to be on a first name, even a nickname basis- “Sorta professional for a flower shop, huh?”

Keiji snapped out of his thoughts for a moment when she said Tazuna. Now that is why she is familiar. Possibly an older sibling to Joe, who… he unfortunately met in the death games that still lingered in his mind. He wondered how Joe was doing now, especially since it had been about two years since he had seen most of the people from the game, minus Reko, Nao, and Gin.

“Hello? Earth to Keiji Shinogi?” Yuzu asked with a giggle and a hand wave, and Keiji let his eyes shift into focus and look at her. Yellow suited her.

“Sorry, just got lost in thought… ya have the same last name as someone I know, wasn't expecting that to be completely honest…”

“Ohh! You probably know Joe, I'm assuming?” Yuzu asked, her smile faltering a bit. “Or my dad? Did you even work with my dad? Surely not, you look very young! Oh, sorry, I'm rambling.”

Keiji’s heart tensed a bit, letting out a sigh afterwards as his eyes went back to the sunflower that was beside her. Yuzu hummed to herself.

“No, it's Joe that rang a bell… haven't seen him in years… hopefully he is doing well?”

“He's doing great! He got into a good college, and he has the sweetest boyfriend!” Yuzu chirped and Keiji gave a nod. Boyfriend, huh? Joe never pegged him as the type…

Keiji watched silently as Yuzu began to move around her shop, just idly looking here and there at spots on her flowers. He bit at the inside of his cheek, seeing the looming figure again that he desperately didn't want to see. It was standing right beside her though, and he couldn't help it.

“What brings you here though, Keij? Just pokin’ around?” Yuzu broke the silence, and he snapped out of the hallucination just like that. Her voice was calming, like she genuinely cared. And that was enough to break that bit of fear he had.

“Yep, ya caught me. I live right down the street, saw ya all working on getting this set up. Just wanted to see what was up,” Keiji lied, not really wanting to admit that his therapist put this shop as one of his to-do lists for his bit of agoraphobia he had after everything he had been through.

And God, he was thankful they did.

“Well! I sure do love the company!” She gleamed. Keiji gulped, he sincerely felt out of place like this. But a thought soon came to his mind.

The people who were in the death game were all planning on some sort of meet up that night. Mostly, that was one reason why his therapist wanted him to step out of his comfort zone before the meet up, so his agoraphobia didn't act up so much while he was supposed to be having a relaxing time with people who all knew and had dealt with the trauma he had just the same. Since Yuzu and Joe were siblings, surely it would be fine to ask her if she would like to come over-

“Since you and Joe are related, I’m assuming that you wouldn't mind if I asked ya to hang out with us and our friends?” Keiji blurted out, immediately facepalming mentally afterwards. Yuzu blushed, playing with her fingers for a moment as she considered.

“I'd love that… typically strangers don't ask me to go do things immediately, but, if Joe knows you he must trust you, right?” Yuzu asked, Keiji giving a small nod in agreement. “Well, alright! Here,” she moved to write down her number on a sticky note from the front counter. “Just text me the details, and I'll head over there after I get done here!”

Keiji moved to grab the sticky note offered, and his fingers brushed slightly against her’s. His facade was almost breaking, and he chuckled at the bright flash of red that overtook the sweet girl in front of him’s face.

“Okie-dokie. I'll text ya the info once I get back to my apartment… hope to see you there, Tazuna~” He cooed lightly and Yuzu rolled her eyes playfully. 

“Wouldn't miss it for the world, Shinogi.”

—------

Yuzu was excited, truly, to be going out and meeting new people. Especially Joe’s friends, and she trusted the people Joe had connections with. They always seemed to be down to earth, and Yuzu enjoyed that about them. After meeting Shin, albeit she met her brother’s boyfriend at a… stupidly inconvenient time, she enjoyed his company and was glad to have him in her life as well.

She tided up what she needed to at the shop, always having an extra change of clothes just in case dirt, water, or paint had gotten onto her during the day, and changed into them. Contrary to what she normally wore, it was a pair of jeans and a nice shirt, still wearing her sneakers that she had on during the work day.

Her phone was now in her hand, rereading the text that Keiji had sent her about an hour prior to her shop closing. She blushed, rolling her eyes again as she read it.

‘Here’s the address. Hope to see you there, sunshine.���

Yuzu couldn't help but admit that Keiji was an attractive man. He was alluring, and his personality seemed a bit closed off. She wondered what was under that exterior… she wondered how his hands felt, how soft his hair was. She had only met him today! She had no idea why these thoughts loomed.

You like someone again, huh, Tazuna? 

That annoying voice was ringing in her head again, and she felt her heart start to race. She glanced up from her phone, being met with the blood stained silhouette of her best friend. 

I wonder what he would think if he knew what you did to me.

You don't deserve happiness.

You got me killed, remember?

Do you think someone like you deserves that?

“Please… Himadi… leave,” Yuzu gasped out, squeezing her eyes shut and moving to run a hand through her hair. When she opened her eyes again, tears fell but her surroundings were normal. No Himadi in sight.

“Anyway…” she muttered to herself, sending Keiji a text that she was on her way and moving to leave and lock up her shop. Yuzu began her walk towards the apartment number that Keiji had sent her, hoping that it was his apartment number, since it was so close.

After a ten minute walk, she finally stood at the door to the apartment she was sent the address to. A few cars were parked on the curb in front, assuming that everyone was already there. Yuzu knocked gently on the door, her little body shaking as she felt her anxiety creep up.

A few seconds went by and the door was opened, but she was met with no one. She then glanced down, being met with a boy who was donning a cat like outfit. Her heart swelled.

“Myaaa, Joe’s sister?!” The kid exclaimed, his eyes widening a bit. Yuzu raised an eyebrow. “Gin, what?!” The familiar voice of Joe rang, and soon she was met with her brother standing at the door.

“Yuzu! Holy moly, what are you doing here?”

“I invited her,” Keiji’s voice rang from behind them. Joe snapped his head back momentarily, before looking back at Yuzu with a soft face. 

“Can I come in…? It's kinda chilly out here, ya know…” 

“Oh! Yeah, sorry sis,” Joe spoke and moved Gin out of the way, opening the door more for Yuzu. 

She thanked him quietly, moving to walk into the threshold of the apartment and being met with a few familiar faces, and a few unfamiliar. Yuzu bit at her lip.

“For those of you who don't know, this is my sister Yuzu. Yuzu, meet Reko, Nao, Qtaro, Kai, Gin, Kanna, and Mishima,” Joe rambled, pointing at everyone respectively as he introduced them. Gin was looking up at Yuzu, his eyebrows crinkled in confusion.

“Joe-Joe, your sister is very short, meow! Must be a family thing, woof!”

Yuzu giggled while Joe moved to nuzzle Gin’s head, causing the kid to groan in distaste as his hair was messed up. She continued to giggle quietly, her hand gripping at the strap of her purse. She still felt out of place, even with the calm atmosphere that surrounded her. 

“C’mon,” Keiji hummed out, patting a spot beside him on the couch. Yuzu blinked, glancing over at him and feeling her face begin to heat up. She obliged, however, moving to sit down beside Keiji and placing her purse down at her feet. The group talked amongst each other, which Yuzu began to drone out as she looked at a small, obviously fake plant on the coffee table in front of her. Gin began to inch closer to the girl, sitting in front of her criss crossed and his green eyes looking up. 

“Meow, are you Keiji’s girlfriend?” He asked, Yuzu’s eyes widening. Keiji coughed harshly, choking a bit on the water he had in his mouth as Gin’s eyebrow perked up.

“No, no! I mean, haha.. Uh… I met him today actually, at my flower shop…” Yuzu replied, and Gin’s eyebrow was still raised in suspicion. Yuzu’s back felt rigid, sitting up straight as she adverted her gaze from the small boy in front of her. “Why is your face red then, woof?”

Yuzu chuckled hesitantly, moving to fiddle with her fingers as she felt a hand placed on the small of her back. She kept her face from making any expression, but the heat lingered. She glanced, realizing Keiji had put his hand there, and her mind started to go a million miles an hour.

Why are his hands so big? Why is he so big? How is he this nice? Is he trying to comfort me? Kids ask stupid shit all the time! Shouldn’t be a big deal, right? 

“Calm down,” Keiji whispered, Gin’s attention span already receding as he moved to go towards Joe and Sara, sitting down in the red haired girl’s lap and practically stretching out like a cat. Yuzu moved to look at Keiji, who had a smug grin on his face, causing her to slap his shoulder.

“You thought that was funny, huh? Jerk,” she mumbled, his fingers now moving gently against her back.

“You’re just so darn cute.”

Yuzu rolled her eyes, moving her hands to her cheeks to cover up the obvious blush that had made its way to her skin. Keiji chuckled, leaning back into the couch once more and his hand leaving the small of her back. Was it weird that she wanted it to stay? She was a mess, for a man she had just met, and it was not something she was used to. Feelings weren’t something she was used to.

Keiji admired how he could make Yuzu feel, validating his own feelings in the process. This girl was someone that he wanted to make his, no doubt about it. There was no anxiety in the thought either, just the want for the woman that sat so close to him on the couch. Watching as her delicate hands played with each other, how her face scrunched up in a laugh as she listened to jokes from others in the group. It made his heart swell in a way he hadn’t felt in a while, and if he didn’t believe in love at first sight, he would be damned to ignore the obvious signs that this was.

Q-Taro was currently ranting about something that happened in a baseball match of his, his southern accent booming in the tiny space of Keiji’s apartment while everyone laughed and snickered at his theatrics. Keiji watched as Yuzu began to feel comfortable, glancing as she leaned back on the couch and scooted closer to Keiji involuntarily. His hand went to cover the lower half of his face, elbow on the arm rest of the couch as his gaze adverted. So small. So cute. 

Yuzu’s hands were now on her lap, not picking at her skin as she usually did when she was in an unfamiliar environment. Her shoes were kicked off, knees pulled up to her chest as another giggle left her at Q-Taro getting told off by Kai for being too egotistical about a game of baseball. She felt content, even with not having known anyone, she felt at home. At ease, more or less.

The night soon drew to a close, Joe and Shin calling it a night before anyone else did due to the fact Kanna ended up passing out with her head on Kai’s lap. Gin let out a big yawn, which signalled Sara that it was about time for them to leave as well. Yuzu’s eyes felt a bit droopy, and she moved to get up about 15 minutes after the other 5 had left.

“Thank you for inviting me over, Keiji, truly. I enjoyed meeting your friends, and seeing Joe,” she hummed, tiredness lingering in her voice. Keiji glanced up at her, a small smile on his face as he watched Yuzu rub her sleepy eyes. “No worries, Yuzu. They seemed to like you a lot, sunshine.”

Yuzu’s face grew a bit red at the throw of the nickname again, and Keiji wondered if that was how she reacted to the text message. She yawned herself, saying goodbye to the other two who were now sitting on the floor across from the couch, Q-Taro and Kai already out the door. Reko and Nao said their goodbyes, telling her not to be a stranger, and with that, Yuzu made her way home.

“Keeeeeijiiiii,” Nao’s voice rang teasingly, and Keiji’s eyes went to the girl with pink fluffy hair. 

“What’s up?”

“You liiiike her,” she teased again, and Keiji rolled his eyes. There it was. That anxious feeling that he knew would come and bite him in the ass. He felt his ears become hot, eyes now adverting the gaze of the two who were being relentless about his crush on the girl who walked in. His own personal sunflower.

“Keij, ya gotta let yourself loosen up a little. It was nice to see you that open with someone new again,” Reko patted his knee respectfully, moving to get up and helping Nao up right afterwards. Keiji sighed out.

“It’s just… I am not the type of person she should have to deal with,” Keiji groaned, moving to run a hand through his hair. Reko let out a ‘pfft’, Nao’s face in a pout as she watched her friend start to talk down to himself.

“You’re a great guy, Keiji! We all have our own traumas, genuinely, but don’t be afraid of that! As your therapist said, you have to do things out of your comfort zone. And even then, she seems to make you feel comfortable,” Nao rambled.

“And she is really fuckin’ cute,” Reko piped up. Keiji’s eyes widened at that, and Nao let out a giggle. “Just don’t let those demons stop you from being happy, Keij. You deserve it more than anyone.” 

And with that, they were both making their way out of the house. Keiji started to recede back more into the couch, letting out a sigh as his fingers went to unbutton the top two buttons of his shirt. Hand running through his hair again, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and clicked on Yuzu’s contact.

‘You, me… dinner on Saturday, Sunshine?’ 

[yetanothershore]

Wanted to at least finish this before the month’s end…..happy birthday Yuzu

[justasillylittlegirly]

ive got even worse news

this is a fucked up thing to see on a youtube video

[diavolito]

You don't need to catch a star, you're a sky full of stars yourself ✨

[captain-hawks]

Dee my beloved!! I missed you so very much these past couple of weeks! I have post notifications for you turned on so every time I got a lil notification from you I would be like c: when I saw your url and then :c bc I was usually too distracted/busy to come on here esp bc I need a laptop for the level of word vomit I usually conjure up for your precious thoughts and words.

I hope you're feeling better, so sorry to hear you were sick. I spent 20 hours making over 2 gallons of noodle soup and all its accoutrement for my bf's surprise bday party so I'm virtually sharing it with you. It's a bun rieu with plenty of Dungeness crab topped with lots of fresh veggie and herbs and homemade crab meatballs and herby fish paste and lil porky meatballs.

Did you do anything fun over labor day/are you prepping for fall in any way? I'm switching out my candlessss even though it is still a hellscape where I am and will feel like living on the surface of the sun until November.

I missed your AMA so can I ask now? What's the most embarassing thing that's happened to you in recent memory? Bc I flew home for a wedding and although it was for the son of beloved family friends (the son i also consider a brother figure), some people should not get schwasty in public bc the father of the groom came over loudly proclaim/lament that he wished *i* was becoming his daughter in law instead. At his son's wedding to a very sweet lady I adore. Five separate times. With people all around. I wanted to return 2 the sea. I wanted to be left alone in a corner with the 6 ebooks I had downloaded. I literally hid in a restroom for 75 minutes and risked everybody thinking I had The Shits just so I could get some peace to myself.

Anyways, before I go I am going to leave you with some of the final product of the cake I was telling you about that I was testing different components for. I really wish I could actually share with y'all instead of just telling you and cate about it in chats but until wonkavision is invented I'll pretend sending a pic is the same thing. I settled on double vanilla brown butter cake/pickled cayenne strawberry compote/yuzu and lemon curd liquid cheesecake/graham milk crumb. The layers didn't come out as cleanly as I'd hoped but I might try another one with white and yellow peaches (macerated? Cooked into a jam or Japanese style syrup?) and a Mango curd to squeeze every last bit of summer fruit season out.

If kita-non is around and for some reason bothers to read my inane prattle can i pls share a slice with u too. The couple times I got to skim your thoughts these past few weeks I was spending time offline I wanted to give your brain a big ole squeeze. Just lookin' at the pair of you with hearts in my eyes like look at u guys go torturing us with sweet sweet kita thoughts. We can pretend he supplied the fruits used in the cake ❤

I'M SO HAPPY YOU'RE BACK 😭🫶!!!!!

i was still feeling quite cruddy over labour day weekend, but i DID go hunt down the CVS puffer jacket snoopy plushie....a personal accomplishment 😂 (he was hard to find!). also i’m planning to bust out my giant totes of halloween decorations this weekend!!! my fall candles are staring at me adoringly from the closet ready to take over.

I AM SO SORRY FOR YOUR MISFORTUNE????? i cannot believe. i, too, would have called the bathroom my new home to never be perceived again. (has anyone informed sober!dad of his big drunk mouth????)

so this is secondhand embarrassment until i come up with a better story BUT i was on a zoom meeting at work today, and a man was pitching software to my boss & i. said man realized 40 minutes in that the software actually isn’t even available in my geographical region and thus he had completely wasted our time. i watched his soul leave his body through the screen. the most awkward goodbye followed.

also if i magically appear in your pocket at some point like a tiny creature with its hands out begging for food, it’s because every time you describe something you’ve made, i yearn like no tomorrow. that soup sounds divine?? AND THE CAKE!!!!! THE CAKE!!!!!!!! it’s beautiful. it puts other cake to shame. i will dream of this cake. it will haunt me.

[merryfortune]

my favourite thing, your voice

Written for Mini's Femslash February 2024

Day 25. Your Voice

Title: my favourite thing, your voice

Ship: Dancingdivashipping | Asuka/Yuzu

Word Count: 

Universe: Arc V

Rating: T

Tags: Alternate Universe - Careers, Established Relationship, Secret Relationship, Inappropriate Workplace Relationship, Fluff, Affection

   Yuzu sat in her chair nervously. Her hands in her lap, her shoulders taut. Asuka, meanwhile, was nonchalant as anything as she got Yuzu ready for her big debut.

   All her life, Yuzu had a singular dream: to sing on stage.

   When she was little, her stage had been the living room floor with an audience consisting of her father and an assortment of stuffed animals or other dolls. Her father would clap and cheer and delight and it made Yuzu feel as though she were more important than the sun.

   When she got older, she tried other stages. Other audiences. She learned to sing properly, whether it was for a school play or a similar community production, Yuzu put in her all and did her best. She was beloved by mentors for her work ethic and often the ire of those who thought they deserved the top spot more.

   Lately, ever since being accepted into the most prestigious studio for musicals and other stage productions, Yuzu felt her critics knew better than her fans. That the latter were just being nice to her, that she didn’t truly deserve her place amongst the cast. 

   She had never been more aware of her inexperience than until now. What was the old saying? Big fish in a small pond? That was exactly what Yuzu thought she was. 

   Yet, somehow, she had been made the lead role.

   Yuzu had sung her little heart out at auditions. She danced and she followed orders. She never invited any slack, she did her best and there was something more to it, as well. A sparkle, a shine, a certain je ne se quois that her fellow recruits simply lacked and yet by some miracle, she had in spades.

   It was harrowing and yet, when Yuzu got the call and saw her name on the list, her whole world changed. Completely and utterly topsy-turvy and it was all because of her mentor, she was sure.

   Enter, stage left: Tenjoin Asuka.

   Tenjoin Asuka, wow, what a woman. She who would not get on stage but instead created darlings of the stage. She was all practicality and no-nonsense, hard work all the way and yet, there was a warmth. She didn’t want to break her pupils, merely fix them. She, like all the other peer leaders, were assigned their proteges in a process of matchmaking at the beginning of the recruitment arc.

   The best got the best, or so it went allegedly. Favouritsim? Nepotism? The whole system was corrupt but when fortune favoured you, it's hard not to love.

   Thus, it all too little surprise, that Yuzu was put under Asuka’s mentorship but there was something about Asuka which had Yuzu enamoured even beyond learning Asuka’s reputation. There was just something about her aura, her helpful advice and her kind smile, her bright eyes. Everything about her amazed Yuzu and she learned so much from Asuka.

   Though Asuka was a tough love mistress.

   She put Yuzu through all the drills from the ground up. Forced her to scrap everything that she thought she knew and started over. It was literally the worst thing in the world for a girl like Yuzu who was more pizazz and talent than hard work but it was worth it in the end.

   The night before the audition, Yuzu sang once more for Asuka and it was far more special than any other barking match they had ever had. She sang until she feared she couldn’t sing at all tomorrow. Her notes carried heart and soul, her pitch was clear and perfect, her lyrics memorised and executed with admiration.

   Yuzu panted when she finished and she felt… Empty. Satisfied and full and yet empty. Devoid of breath and energy but she had done so well, it caused her shoulders to slump forward loose as all she could muster was:

   “I did it. I really did it.”

   Asuka bounded to her feet and applauded her, “I love it! I love it so much!”

   Yuzu blushed, “Aw, gee, thanks…” She couldn’t help but to be humble as she had the praise of such a wonderful woman. She felt as though she could faint.

   That was the one thing Yuzu was sure would never change about her. Wouldn’t matter how big or small the role, how fancy the crowd and how big her cheque would be, all she wanted was to sing on stage for a crowd.

   There was no crowd she wanted to please more than the ones she loved and Asuka embodied a unique niche in Yuzu’s heart. More than friends, more than a mentor and mentee. It was oddly natural despite how unnatural it was to blur such lines between colleagues but at the end of Asuka’s training of her, they were more like equals.

   At least on the inside they were equals. The outside wasn’t ready to know that their mutual fondness and requited passions weren’t strictly professional. 

   Which led to moments like this.

   Small moments where it was just them. Halcyon, redolent. Sequestered away from gossip and prying eyes.

   Backstage was quiet. Especially this far into the bowels of it and when Yuzu, leading lady, was given a changing room all to herself. She was told it wasn’t that big but it was bigger than all the changing rooms combined in the community theatres that Yuzu had performed in previously.

   The walls were cream yellow with white lattice. The desk in front of her had the cliche mirror stickered with platitudes and light bulbs which were lit up softly. More makeup than Yuzu knew what to do with was set out in front of her but luckily, she didn’t need to know what to do with it.

   That was Asuka’s job.

   Yuzu did her best to stay still as Asuka swiped and swabbed, dabbed and stabbed. Makeup was a messy process but it wasn’t one which Yuzu hated. By the end of it, she felt like a princess but those spoils came with a wracking nausea, too.

   The more she transformed into the leading lady, the more Yuzu wanted off this ride. All that was left to do was her hair and for now, Asuka was running her fingers through Yuzu’s pastel pink locks and then again with her brush. She was under strict orders from the makeup department on how yuzu was to look and Yuzu had faith that Asuka would deliver but even so.

   She was nervous and Asuka could tell.

   “You’ll do great, I promise.” Asuka whispered.

   She leaned down and lifted her hand simultaneously. She kissed the strands of Yuzu’s pink hair through her fingers, through her knuckles and closed her eyes. Yuzu was perfumed with the scents of citrus and roses, it made Asuka smile as she held this token of affection for quite some time.

   More than enough time to make Yuzu even more nervous than before but giddy, too.

   Asuka sighed then pulled back, satisfied, she smacked her lips together and emanated the confidence only a veteran star could.

   “Now, go out there and break a leg.” Asuka said. “I want to hear it, my favourite thing, your voice.”

[yuuzuforia]

ITS DEADASS LIKE:

yingxing: dan feng, can u train with me

dan feng: no😐

*reader walks past without even saying a thing*

dan feng: omg my love, do u need some help🥺 i can help u🥺 someone as kind as u shldnt be carrying all these things by urself 🥺

reader: my brother in christ, its just a book-

dan feng: nono! as my beloved, u need to let ME carry it for u!

yingxing:

im going to say it (okay yuzu what r u going to say)

the only thing dan feng passed down to dan heng is being an acts of service boyfriend. THERE. I FUCKING SAID IT /lh

100% acts of service boyfriend u are SPOILED WITH DAN FENG yeah sure yingxing is his work wife but you? his beloved? nonono you succeed the title of work wife, dan feng will literally die for you if needed you dont even need to ask for it he WOULD willingly do it

i want a yingxing who points and laughs bc dan feng is all “no wtf i don’t like them like that i just respect them a great deal” one minute the reader walks by with a plate of fruits and yingxing who remembers dan feng saying something along the lines of ‘the apples aren’t in season yet so i don’t want them rn’ he just sits there staring at him as dan feng clears the plate.

“…the apples aren’t in season, huh?” yingxing gives them a knowing look. dan feng’s ears twitch just a little. a little.

dan feng who is licking his fingers clean, pouts and looks away as you happily walk away with the empty plate. “oh shut it.”

[goldenworldsabound]

🌦️🛌👀 C L A Y M A N

THANK YOU tbh I'm gonna answer all of these for Clayman at some point hehe

🌦️: Would you be accompanied by mostly fluff or angst fanfics? Both? Explain why.

Both. There's so much angst to lean into - Clayman's death in the main timeline, and his grief in thinking he got Wendy killed when he wakes up in the REVENGE timeline. I think some folks would find the source material didn't cover this enough and would want to expand on it.

I think there would also fully be an equal faction that's like NO SADNESS NO DEATH ONLY HAPPY ENDINGS FFS and would write a lot of fluff to cope so fkdjsahfkjds

🛌: What tropes show up in fics involving your ship?

childhood friends to lovers is a must have for AUs because the ship is literally that

also forbidden love/secret relationship (hiding it from Kazalim)

and unbalanced power dynamics for sure

also battle couple

👀: How does your ship with your f/o influence both of your characterisations and the world? Would there be any interesting metas written about your dynamic?

It makes it even clearer from the beginning that Clayman is not his usual self in the beginning of the story. At the same time, it emphasizes that the loyalty Rimuru has from his subordinates repeats itself - Wendy is so loyal to Clayman, they don't hesitate to die for him, despite the evil things he's done, many of which they haven't agreed with.

My SI specifically also brings grief to the forefront. Rimuru experiences grief (though he manages to bring all his friends back to life so it's quite temporary), but my SI doesn't. They have to grapple with it. That's the difference between them and Rimuru - Rimuru is strong, and he can fix the bad situation he was given. My SI cannot, and cannot even seek revenge for it.

There's also Yuzu, and Yuzu being the reason SI decides to keep living. To find meaning in family - reemphasizing what seems to be a focus for the Moderate Jesters in general. Family is of the utmost importance - and in this case, family is what enables SI to move forward from grief.

And of course in Clayman's REVENGE they allow us to see the soft sweet loving side of Clayman. It's clear he cares about his family, but this would make it even clearer.

I think there could be a lot of interesting meta written about the processing of grief, as well the depths of loyalty Wendy has to Clayman.

[jordanprice]

June 16 - Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and Iwatayama Monkey Park

Today we went to the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and the Iwatayama Monkey Park. We started off by heading to the bamboo forest. In the train station, we ran into this silly little robot guy just vibing and going around the station.

It took like an hour total for us to get to the bamboo forest. Emily and Ana had gotten there early to rent Kimonos and I have no idea how they managed to and survived hiking in them. Absolute troopers I tell you. The bamboo forest was cool, but it was way overhyped in my opinion. It was kinda just a path through bamboo with a million tourists shoving you forward and cars that drove through the crowd practically. The experience would have been exponentially better if it weren’t for all the people.

After the forest, we then walked down to the river. It was very hot outside and people were remarking on how refreshing the water looked and how they just wanted to go jump in it, and I cannot say I disagreed with them on that. The river indeed did look very pretty and quite refreshing.

We then broke for lunch, and some of us went to this one vegan place nearby. We had to split into groups, and Lauren and I ended up getting seated alone. Okay, so I’m not even trying to be dramatic when I say this, but it would be better to starve than to have to eat the food there. I got cold noodles, which was my first mistake. I did not realize they were gonna be cold, and I must say that I have no earthly idea how literally anyone enjoys those. It was actually sickening to me. Noodles must ALWAYS be served at the very least warm, if not hot. The rest of the little side dishes it came with were also not edible. ESPECIALLY this one pudding type thing with soy sauce on it (see top middle of the picture of the plate). I took one little bite of it and genuinely almost threw up it was that bad. Lauren said she wanted to try it, then quickly changed her mind. I wouldn’t’ve allowed her to suffer through that regardless. Also, Lauren, who is vegetarian and eats vegan food often, agreed that it was literally not edible. She had gotten like a rice dish and could not eat it. The food was so terrible I cannot express. So we basically didn’t eat lunch. At least we got ice cream though. Lauren got Sakura ice cream and I got vanilla with yuzu honey which was pretty good.

We then walked to the bridge to meet up with the group before hiking to go see the monkeys. While waiting there, a group of university students walked up to us to ask us to participate in a survey for them. It was on our views of caronavirus. They were really nice about it and both Lauren and I participated. I found it kinda funny that out of our whole group, they only asked Lauren and I.

Next, we hiked up to see the monkeys at the Iwatayama Monkey Park. My favorite part of the hike up is that they had a rest area partway up that had like a playground, and the best part a slide that was, and I quote, “out of order.” Bro, how’s a slide gonna be out of order??

Eventually we made it to the top, and immediately when we got up there, we saw a mother with her baby walking by, which was quite cute. The view from the peak was my favorite view we got of Kyoto on the trip. It was very beautiful, especially since you could see Kyoto Tower my beloved.

I liked that the workers at the park had monkey friends that would hang out with them as well.

You could then also purchase apple pieces and peanuts to feed the monkeys through fencing. Everyone wanted to feel the babies of course, but the mom would just steal all the food. One thing that Lauren and I found hilarious is that the one mom would let her baby walk freely around, but the second it rounded the corner of the feeding area, she would chase him down and bring him back. Also, this entire time, and I’m talking the entire time, Lauren and I were going on about my “sir” bit. It’s something I started doing a while back where you just go like “sir, a moment of your time sir, a handshake if you will sir, sir it would mean the world to me for just a moment of your valuable time” and so on like that. I’m so glad Lauren likes that bit so much, as it’s one of my favorites and no one else has ever really seemed to appreciate it until her. It’s just something about saying it to like animals or like characters in video games or like statues even that absolutely cracks me up.

Feeding the monkeys was cool, but they had a limit on how much you could feed them. The monkeys very much preferred the apples over the peanuts, and it showed. Another thing that Lauren and I found hilarious was that the one mom would just drop food and crumbs on her baby whom she was holding. She wouldn’t share any food with the baby, but she would like crunch peanut shells over it’s head and it was really funny. We compared it to like using a baby as a lap napkin in a nice restaurant and dropping food on it.

On the way back to the hotel, Lauren and I got two different strawberry cakes to compare, and I got an Italian lemon soda in a glass bottle. We both agreed that the slightly more expensive cake was a lot better in every way, and I really liked my soda. Lauren tried the soda, but it was too sour for her taste.

For dinner, we got Emily to join us in going to a vegan place that had like pizza and pasta and burgers and stuff. I thought it was pretty alright, but they both seemed to really enjoy it which I was happy about. It’s been difficult for them to find good food on this trip, especially Emily who had said it was her first real meal in three days. Lauren and I then decided we would drag Emily to more meals with us for the rest of the trip so that she could eat.

Academic Reflection

Today I learned about the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. It is an extremely popular tourist destination in Kyoto, and has over 10 million visitors per year. The land is protected, and houses a ton of bamboo, as well as cherry blossom trees, red pines, and others. Beginning in 1870, the Japanese government implemented a new forest management system focused on maintaining the ideal landscape and or function of different areas of forests. Under this legislation, the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest is protected due to its landscape. Seeing it in person, it honestly didn’t live up to the hype in my opinion, but it was still cool to see the bamboo forest and I understand why it is protected.

I also learned about The Tale of Genji and The Shrine in the Fields. In The Tale of Genji, Prince Genji and Lady Rokujō have an affair. Somewhere along the lines, Lady Rokujōs jealousy leads to the death of Genji’s wife. At least that is how this version of the Nō play depicts it. The Shrine in the Fields differs from this in the sense that Lady Rokujō is treated with sympathy and there is no notion that she caused Genji’s wife’s death. I find it interesting how different interpretations can arise from the same story. We unfortunately didn’t see any Nō performances on the trip, but it could’ve been cool if we did.

[sanchoyo]

i started watching arc v! finally. after years of saying Im Gonna. its Happening. (i've tried to twice and cant recall what eps i got to in those attempts, because I literally dont remember anything at ALL LMAO) I'm like, 15 eps in and may I just say some Things. ep 1-15 thoughts below the Cut

-yuzu best girl immediately my god shes already been done dirty tho. she shouldve gotten to fight shingo! fuck emo yuya for stopping it and stepping in! (altho yaaaay xyz :3 my beloved) and also she loses the first duel we see her get to do? when her dad is literally the owner of a duel school?? and his school was at stake?? bc she was distracted thinking of Not Yuya? no. fuck off with that lol I'm picking her up and mentally rewriting all that. the girl she dueled against was super fun tho, I ship them tbh.

-yuya is finally the canonical clown ygo protag I needed. he dresses as a clown in ep 1! he has! a circus deck! thats so fun! hes a LOT more melancholic/prone to moodiness than I expected...the goggles as a mood indicator is fun. also seems to care VERY much what ppl think/need lots of applause and praise or he gets upset quickly which. like, wanting to put smiles on ppls faces with dueling is a sweet goal, but a lot of it feels self-serving, too, which is Inchresting for a protag...I LIKE it and want to see where it goes

-and the whole 'laugh when you want to cry' is, ngl, very Bad and Unhealthy and I cant imagine we're going anywhere good with that. (seriously, dont recall what ep, maybe 4 or 5, when the kids and yuzu were in danger he started LAUGHING trying to imrpove his own mood and i was like DUDE. UNNERVING STOP THAT.) let him feel his feelings guys. or this is going to go severely Bad I Think

-dont trust sora but also no shit? his intro is him being sus, basically outright saying 'ya where I come from everyone does fusion, nbd' yeah hes some kind of spy or SOMETHING for that academia that emo yuya was taking abt. and his deck is very cute but also has a dark side/creepy cute thing going on and this is ygo where Decks Indicate Personality, so. just kinda Waiting for him to Stab Backs. hes already kind of a little shit

-he 100% shouldve been dueling that guy gongenzaka had to duel! gongenzaka doesnt even GO here and ms Chairman said someone from this school had to duel her school students! if you want to fake being friends with yuya! you need to fucking put in some EFFORT!!! and at least pretend to give a shit dude, this is the school the guy you supposedly admire attends!!! it comes off as u not giving a fuck abt anything besides pendulum/yuya-related stuff which is gonna make yuya less inclined to wanna be ur friend bc u look like a brat! (I know the meta answer is that they wanted to give gongenzaka some screentime to convince me hes yuyas bff or w/e but. in my mind its been 10 or so eps by this point, yuzu is yuyas bff in my mind lol. )

-anyway that aside soras deck is SO cute. the BEARS!! ARE IN!!!! the 'acting younger/cuter than u are' shtick is already kind of annoying tho. I do like his chara design tho (at least his hair/face? Id redesign his outfit ngl if hes going for a cutecore/sweets theme why not go ALL in yk)

-gongenzaka's whole 'no spells/traps' and standing in one spot during an action duel is objectively really funny

-action duels in general are SO FUN!!! i want to ride my monsters too..i kno theyd be soft. pls.

-really wanted to see more masumi or her vs yuya!!! so sad reiji stepped in. pls let the girls DO MORE!!! i love that she used gem knights!! I love gem knights!!!

-didnt know reiji used d/d/d cards, immediately broke out into a cold sweat upon seeing them. those decks always destroy me in duel links in like 2 turns jkasfkjjn.

-its so funny theres entire classes just for synchro and xyz and most ppl in this world can just Do One of them Only. like everyone being SHOCKED reiji can do All of them LMAO.

-surprised at how much I like reiji actually from just what ive seen up to this point, I mean I Like the other ygo rivals and all but usually they have an Attitude...but hes very polite to yuya and him saying he respects yuya's dad is REFRESHING compared to everyone else calling his dad a coward (for?? seemingly going MISSING??) his fashion choices leave a lot to be desired tho. but otherwise him and yuzu are my favs so far I think...we'll see if this changes!

-I KNOW charas from other series get involved, dont know WHEN thatll be, but I am Excitedly Waiting. give me The King Jack. Give me Kaito. I dont know who all besides those two shows up Actually But Im WAITING AAAA.

[stonesparrow]

Ch. 223

procrastinated this for a while but here we go, new year is gonna hit me like a truck

And they’re headed to space! Stanley looks really funny in that puffy space suit not gonna lie, and it’s nice to see Ryusui and Stan acknowledging each other with that fist bump through the tunnel.

Honestly not a fan of Luna’s segment in this chapter. Her character had a lot of potential but she’s been effectively reduced to a really...sad joke, in my opinion. Luna’s not totally socially stupid, and it’s been years at this point, so I find it really hard to believe and also kind of boring that she would hold onto a crush that everyone knows is going nowhere. I think she deserves better.

Taiju and Yuzuriha my beloveds...I kinda wish they had more scenes with Senku because aaaaaaaa the emoooootions! I love Yuzu’s little >:3 - it looks like she’s trying not to cry too much? My heart-

Honestly my favorite panels in this entire manga are when Senku gives Taiju a Look, like hhhhhhhhhhhhhhh platonic love???? Bros being dudes???? They care each other so much, guys...

Yaaay Kaseki and Joel finally met...though it would have also been cool to see them meeting during the rocket building phase, it’s a nice little nod.

Xeno and Stan gay on main again wow

I like the little nod to the Senku, Taiju, and Yuzuriha dolls floating in space, that’s so cute!

Aaand it’s off to the moon! What awaits our heroes? I have literally no fucking clue goddam Sunday can’t come soon enough

[fectless]

(This is technically in response to the post right below this one, as world building totally counts for it, right?)

Anywho, more fandom thoughts, but for BLEACH this time. I recently started rewatching the anime again for the nth time as part of my language practice (and having the Japanese subtitles on while watching it in Japanese is an experience) and reached that episode where Aizen and co. get rescued by Menos Grande after declaring their intentions to Soul Society. And then a few things hit me.

The first: Rukia says, the first time Ichigo sees her sending someone on via Soul Burial, that one neither feels hunger nor gets sick in Soul Society. We know that this is false for a few reasons.

Those who can become shinigami definitely need to eat and all souls need water which implies that they can suffer from thirst (and perhaps heat exhaustion).

Captain Ukitake is suffering from an unknown disease that makes him literally cough out his lungs. I’ve read something about it being a defect in the make up of his soul that is only not killing him because of the pact with the Soul King’s arm, but I cannot recall if this was canon or fanon (as the Blood War arc was just like that). If so, does this mean that sickness does occur in Soul Society, but so rarely as to not be mentioned? Or does it occur more in the outer districts? Why does it occur?

Hisana died from a sickness as well. Yes, it’s stated to be exhaustion, but I feel like that doesn’t make sense? Like, the flashback in the anime has her abandoning Rukia after she collapses while carrying her around. And she collapses later when she regrets this and goes to look for her sister. And then she dies.

Seriously, why does it occur? It’s weird. And it cannot be an Aizen thing as I’m pretty sure Aizen is younger than Ukitake. Is it because of what happened to the soul king? Does it have something to do with when people get sent on (like if they were close to being a hollow)? Is it because they died while sick? Is it because of their resolve?

...Do we never see sick souls in Soul Society other than them because they usually just. Die pretty soon after arriving?

And if spiritual power leaking is what causes spiritual pressure, and the “vents” can be closed... do people in the districts sometimes close them by mistake and then blow up? Is spontaneous combustion a thing in the afterlife?

The second: I’m pretty sure “Ichirin no Hana” is a love song that Byakuya is singing to Hisana’s memory.

Someone has probably stated this before, but the lyrics of the song literally say how some one, a “single flower,” is precious and can’t be replaced. How that flower bloomed despite being stuck somewhere dark and how they looked lovely but like they were about to wither away. And that the singer would accept all of their pain if only that person would smile and stay with them...

The title of the song also matches the title of the chapter in which Byakuya reveals to Rukia the secrets he’d been keeping from her about Hisana. He uses the same words, “ichirin no hana” to describe the season in which she died

Literally his whole dilema during this arc, the entire way he interacted with Rukia up to this point, was that he was conflicted between his sense of duty (to his parents, his wife and keeping his word) and his feelings for his beloved Hisana. Rukia’s physical resemblance to her sister is almost uncanny and the lie she is told when she asks why she was adopted was, “You look like Byakuya’s late wife.” How much must he have hated that? A person whom he had sworn to protect that, had she arrived two years earlier might have saved his wife’s (after)life? A person that looks just like his beloved, who reminds him of her every time he sees her (for those first 50 years), but is not and never will be Hisana. And then. To know that she’s going to be executed for crimes, that she felt she could not rely upon him enough to even let him know she’d encountered trouble in the human world when he’s been doing his best to ensure she’s safe (because that is one of the few reasonable explanations for why Rukia hadn’t been promoted yet, and then was promoted during the 3 year gap)? To see her stripped of her rank, her strength even (with that collar and the stone of the prison tower). To see a small form who so resembles his beloved all listless and soon to die, wearing a white yukata like his wife had in her last days...

Watching it again made me feel things, okay? Like yeah, it seems like it’s a stupid dilema from some perspectives. Especially considering Central 46 had a run in with Aizen by then, but. Byakuya was raised in the Seireitei. He was raised knowing that his life was the Seireitei’s tool. That his duty, his reason for existing was for the sake of his family’s honor, so he must be composed, must act as the family and Soul Society bid him. That’s some mighty powerful brainwashing/indoctrination right there. And he broke it once already to marry some nobody from the slums. He did something not only against the norms, but something selfish. Maybe if she’d had high spiritual power this would have been accepted, but she was sickly and likely did not. He went against the clan elders who had probably instilled obedience in him since birth and was afraid of doing it again.

(And if you count the filler arcs, you can bet that they held that one Kuchiki who went traitor against him too. Like: “he married that Hisana girl against our orders? What next? Will he betray Soul Society too?”)

And maybe I’m making a bigger deal out of his upbringing than I need to. Maybe it wasn’t really like this. But I feel like it really was. (Moreso with the filler arcs and what I’ve heard of the light novels.)

Also, this song and the way that the opening animation fit together really solidifies the whole “Ichigo and Rukia were always meant to have a tragic romance” vibe that I kept getting the first time I encountered this series.

The third: Rukia was likely younger than six months (physically) when she was abandoned, but I’m pretty sure that she was older than three months when she and Hisana died.

Her blanket was pink in the flashback.

Sure, the above might not seem to have much significance but it’s been proven in canon that clothes are part of oneself. I reblogged a post a while ago that went into detail, but to sum it up, clothes are part of your self image and your self image determines a bit about what you look like when you die.

Babies are usually no longer swaddled by the time they’re six months old, and some places recommend that you stop by the end of their second month.

Babies have pretty bad vision when they’re born. They take four to six months to reliably track objects in motion and use binocular vision decently. They take about four months to see across a room, and about two months to see farther than maybe 30 cm away. And around the three month mark, they start having decent color vision. Around then is when babies supposedly start showing color preference.

Babies tend to have poor long term memory. (To be fair, they’ve got a lot going on compared to being in the womb and sensory overload sucks.) Their memory by the age of six months is only a few weeks. Two months old had a memory span of a few days.

If she’s been consistently wrapped in a pink blanket, then by the time she’s old enough to see color, she would be old enough to remember what color her blanket usually is— or if it was a different color that particular day.

The fourth: when Gin raises his spiritual pressure on Aizen’s orders, Chad remains standing. This raised a bunch of questions as Gin is stronger than Yammy (to the best of my memory).

Chad remained standing. Yes, his whole fight with Captain Kyouraku was about his resolve and how he would stand by his friends and fight for their safety/ideals but. Like. Earlier that year, his spiritual strength was on par with Yuzu. He’d been friends with Ichigo for years which was why he was even that strong. He’d been in a Hollow attack maybe three times before Rukia was arrested and could only barely see them the time Ishida pulled a stupid and used Hollow Bait. Sure, he has experience fighting and he’d trained under Yoruichi, but it feels sus considering how the others fared.

Orihime fell to her knees pretty quickly after Gin turned up the pressure. She’d also fought against high-ranking shinigami at that point, and trained under Yoruichi, and fought off Hollow (alone even! And she was the reason why Sora moved on, despite Ichigo’s Blade purifying him) before. And yet... It could just be a lack of resolve, as that had come up in earlier chapters but it doesn’t feel right.

Ishida is excused from this due to circumstances.

Tatsuki has been friends with him for ages. Sure, it seems like they weren’t as close after his Mom’s passing, but by then they’d already known each other for quite some time. I’m pretty sure that they were hanging out semi-regularly through junior high/middle school, at which point he got close with Chad and she got close with Orihime. She also has experience fighting (admittedly in martial arts rather than the street fights Ichigo and Chad get dragged into). She experienced at least one hollow attack during Ishida’s Stupid Day. But she collapses as soon as Yammy shows up? That feels off.

In contrast, Ganju was struggling about the same amount. He was born to a noble family— who are known to typically have decently high spiritual power, like his older brother Kaien and his cousin/uncle Issin. He was raised in the Rukongai, meaning he likely came across Hollow attacks. (And those definitely occur.)

Makes me wonder things about Karin’s strength. Like, she managed to escape from the hollow who attacked their house to run for Ichigo’s help (manga) or lived long enough while alone with it that Ichigo and Rukia could come save her (anime), both of which are quite impressive for an eleven year old. She also kept up with Hitsugaya when they played soccer and he’s a captain. Based on Ichigo’s experience, it’s likely that she too will become stronger as she grows up. And does she have an inner hollow too, or is that Ichigo only? If White was simply a parasite and decided to stick to Ichigo I could accept it. But as a hollow Ichigo is a Vast Lorde, and hollows of that level can split into parts (like Starrk and Lilynette).

Does Yuzu not really have any spiritual strength because she inherited more of the Quincy genes from her mom and the hollow genes she inherited don’t balance out that same way it does in her siblings...? Food for thought.

TLDR: how and why is sickness as thing in Soul Society? Byakuya listens to rock music and I’m p. sure the third opening song is him angsting over his wife’s death; it also gave me strong feelings about how he was prolly brainwashed growing up so his angst over Rukia’s fate is not actually stupid. I continue to have IchiRuki feels. Rukia and Hisana died when Rukia was about 3 months old. And I am more confused now about how spiritual power works than I was before I started rewatching the anime for language practice. Also, more questions have arisen about hollows.

[sugar-petals]

Can u introduce yuzuru to us the caro way?👀

so you want to know about the one and only. ♡😌

yuzuru hanyū (25) of sendai, japan: the most beautiful ice prince with a heart of gold.

….an artist clearly not of this world, he’s been sent to us from another realm. 19 world records, two olympics won, dubbed the greatest figure skater of all time. and the most precious bean on top of that.

but let’s start from the beginning, shall we ♥︎

so, want to spot yuzu on the ice? use this checklist. slender silhouette, an even slimmer waist, feather-like outfits (he sketches those himself; the fandom lovingly calls him swanyu), soft blushy face. he has great androgyny.

outside of performances, you see him either with a deer’s gaze or the brightest, biggest eye smile. also, he’s usually found sitting with his wife: 

which is the ice 😄 these two are together forever. you can discern yuzu from a mile away by how he treats his working ground. 

there is a purity to him. you’d not guess that this is one of the most ardent athletes if you didn’t see what’s around his neck after competitions. the guy’s cuteness is as compelling as his skating technique.

look for it: yuzu’s face is super suave and rosy up close, even after his most energetic performances. some men are handsome, others pretty, he is both. 

even acoustically, he’s hard to miss. applause is all around, and he’s highly expressive. if you see a crying young man getting the high score, that’s yuzuru hanyu. you’ve not seen more beautiful happy tears.

and score reactions, anyway:

so, aye loves, the rumors are true. a cutie-pie off the ice, animated, a real unabashed meme — yuzu is easy-going, talkative. cheery, cheeky, one of a kind. his facial expressions are a league of their own.

if you thought this is the sort of guy who watches cat videos, you are correct 😄

yuz-uwu hanyu, everybody:

his undoubtedly feline behaviour is often unexpected, it stands out with its adorableness, too. a sweetheart par excellence. 

and, how else could it be: vice versa, the big beast on the rink. he’s cutesy, dorky, very well-spoken in daily life, but when it comes to skating, his seriousness escalates. you blink once and suddenly hanyu is a bedazzling, strutting lion :’D his performances stun with confident elegance.

he becomes full of ardor, drama, and focus. you’d never suspect so much fire burns in him. a showman and ambition icon, hands down. 

his skating is dynamic, perfected, and emotional. if you want to see art and the extra mile, tune in when hanyu competes.

the downside is; more light, more shadow. it leaves him crawling on the ice afterwards. yuzu performs so hard, it’s worrying.

he delivers it all. you won’t believe it:

this guy is an asthmatic.

the symptoms aren’t as bad as they used to be, but there are still regular attacks. he said that he’ll never take it as an excuse and often recalls how he started skating because of it. he’s a badass, extremely inspiring. yuzuru defies all limits, including gravity. his jumps have legendary status. 

off the rink, you guessed it: he turns into a wholly different person. 

it all dissolves completely when he’s dorking around again. 

don’t let it deceive you, he’s the no other option than first place type. he could not be any more decorated with titles, he achieved the grand slam in all competitions as of 2020. and still, king of sportsmanship hanyu is respectful and smiley towards all colleagues and never lets anyone feel left out. especially when it comes to his juniors (e.g. yuma kagiyama, 16, below) which says a lot about him.

he bows in every direction before an audience, too. lower than a 90° angle, even. this is more polite than any existing formality in japan.

talk about audience: i introduced fellow japanese skater shoma uno last week, who’s more uncomfortable with social contact and aggression. yuzu, extrovert he is: the exact opposite. he withers away with no people and competition. he’s befriended rivals, had crises over not having someone who could challenge him. when a competitor retires, he’s the one crying in their arms (e.g. with team mate and bff javier fernandez from spain below).

beside his competitive spirit and princely wow factor, hanyu is popular for his winnie pooh tissue box that he caresses, squeezes, and carries everywhere. he loves good luck charms & rituals, pooh is the most important one.

fans throw pooh plushies on the ice after his performances because of it. since it’s gotten so intense, yuzu recently started cleaning them up himself on top of the flower girls for the upcoming skater who could get delayed otherwise. (more about what happens with the piles of plushies later.)

so, the burning question is. 

what made yuzuru hanyu emerge so outstanding an entertainer? how does someone causing so much uproar become like that? it’s not just what kind of appearance he was given, although he really looks his part to a T. you don’t have to be an insider to see it right away.

like literally to a fault. and you can tell the way his blades sound on the ice is different. it’s soft even if he does the most hardcore quadruple jumps. i think it’s because his drive to do this is a higher one, hanyu has an altered relationship with the ice. where his devotion comes from has a more severe reason so, massive trigger warning. 

this is no exaggeration: yuzuru is considered a hero to the japanese. a survivor of the earthquake 2011, he narrowly escaped the collapsing rink in his hometown on that very day. he’s often talked about how the ice shattered underneath his feet and it was the moment that defined his life forever. he could have been dead by the age of 16. his motivation has been set ever since. this man is compelled by something bigger, that’s why you hear it and you feel it. he wants to skate not just for himself but others and seize every day. 

much of his copious charity work — that’s where all the pooh plushies go — went to mend the consequences of the tsunami ever since, he’s looked upon as a great hope in japan. the minister gave him the people’s honor award in 2018. 

now you know why yuzuru has such a fanbase and treats the ice as sacred, you see it in every gesture. his manners are without a single flaw, he helps staff repair the ice after performances. 

you might think it’s odd, but he honors the ground. he’s invested in the integrity of it. that’s why he’s the best skater. it’s gratitude and the will to live fully.

he hates to fall on the ice, he hates to damage it. alongside his feathery weight, that’s why the sound he makes while gliding along is so tender. 

i think that’s also why hanyu’s signature element is the ina bauer. it doesn’t rely on brutal force, instead this element slides across the rink like a swan. yeah, oh my god.

it’s his most well-known dramatic move. the way he surrenders into it. 

hanyu’s back arch and perfect split allow him to do elements no other male skaters can. his biellmann spin, for instance. i know, it’s ridiculous.

and those are just two elements of dozens and dozens. hanyu is a kinetic wizard. i highly rec this record-breaking delivery of his olympic program. in front of his home crowd! he’s just… mind-boggling. i live for his smiles here.

exceptional skater, exceptional mentor: it’s time we look at another puzzle piece that made yuzu the way he is. the masterful brian orser is hanyu’s beloved coach. missing gold by just one mistake at the olympics 1988, brian is now committed to give others what he couldn’t have— successfully so.

orser took the ice prince to gold twice, this hasn’t happened in 66 years. brian is the nicest and most supportive pooh carrier and yuzu’s utmost rock. hanyu’s talent rests safely in these hands.

he gets strict about punctuality lmao! but other than that, his guidance is gentle. canadian he is, brian’s courteousness mixes well with yuzu’s politeness. their bond is strong. as. hell. 

brian picked up yuzu from rock bottom several times. most fateful being hanyu’s accident with a fellow skater during competition warm-ups nov 2014. they collided at a high speed, it was unspeakably nasty. yuzu got knocked out for half a minute and had grave breathing problems but still decided to skate on with what later turned out as an almost-concussion. brian was the most worried ice dad in the world that day.

yuzu cried and crouched and bled like mad and my heart has been broken ever since. i hope he never suffers like that again. promise me you don’t search up the video, it’s a harrowing watch like a stab to the chest. sadly enough, hanyu’s body has still been a notorious wreck, esp. ankle issues regularly give him a hard time 😔

it hurts like a bitch with every jump landing but he takes meds and still manages to win, god knows how. sometimes even with crutches on the podium. at his worst, he’s still the best, it’s a tragedy.

he’s been recovering, or always is, but he pushes himself through injuries. his ambition and perfectionism are boundless. the cause is more important to him than his well-being. this is not an easy guy to stan once you see how he sacrifices and self-destructs. so, it’s good someone protects him. 

mostly from himself because nobody has profoundly surpassed hanyu. he has let himself no choice than to contest himself. not even health, only age can stop yuzu. i think that brian understands this ‘curse of a genius’ effect. his mere presence can make hanyu say these rare words:

his two other coaches contribute to that. tracy wilson (left) has proven to understand his playful side the best while ghislain briand (right) helps yuzuru deal with his fears. so you got 3 people taking care of the golden boy. brian once said: “he is very sheltered” and you can see it’s true.

yuzu eased into learning english and communicates well with his coaches. like with everything, he studies hard and often forces himself to speak during interviews to practice. his skills are astounding. his speaking voice is also very soothing, very amicably low and high alike. yuzu is highly intelligent. he always says something eloquent and interesting.

now, privately, hanyu is very much like you’d expect someone so devoted to skating would be like. he doesn’t go out, has no social media, can’t eat nor sleep very well. no cameras allowed during practice. it figures he is attached to winnie pooh, think about it. in the cartoon, pooh is someone who sleeps, eats, and engages with friends plenty. 

these are the things hanyu can’t do, doesn’t have time/energy/incentive for. he is barred from balance in life but can at least admire this little carefree plushie for it. especially because pooh represents eating lots while yuzuru doesn’t have a good relationship with food (he says it doesn’t go well with jumps etc.), hanyu lives vicariously through him. 

what’s more, you have to see how he throws himself onto others and never wants to let go, yuzuru is extremely cuddly. 

to the degree that mere social customs can’t meet how much he really needs. so, what else can he resort to, he loves mascots and plushies. it’s how the tale goes in japan generally, tough work ethic, high responsibility, high pressure, so people turn to cute fluffy things.

he always fondles pooh’s head, even pretends he’s come to life so he has someone to snuggle with. i think that his isolated lifestyle doesn’t help. so, he gets his affection at least there, you can see how happy it makes him. and again: he does this all for charity.

that’s why fellow skaters are so important to hanyu. it really brings out his social spirit and comforts him best, it’s so wholesome. i’ve not seen someone react so relieved to being embraced, like he’s not been touched for months. skating this, skating that. at the end of the day, hanyu wants love.

as he once said, what motivates him is to express himself in the first place. hanyu is a romantic. it’s written all over him. it reflects in his music choices, his elegant motion, how he designs his outfits:

… and how thoughtfully he talks about marriage. he has big plans for starting a family and coaching after he retires. i won’t be the only one squeezing lucky charm pooh in my imagination so it turns out well for him. please make this heart of gold heal and see all his wishes come true ♡🐻

[awildhanmonster]

More Ado about Characters:

Alright, now for round 2!  The following characters are all more one-offs and have no direct relation to each other quite the same was as Nell/Leonora/Barnes do, so let’s see if I can keep this under novel length.  

Remy Green, aka Remy:  17 years old in current canon, and still in the last leg of high school, Remy is, for lack of any better term, a reverse werewolf: perpetually stuck in the form of a gangly wolfdog monster on all nights save the brightest of full moons.  Originally just a “normal” human kid just trying to survive through graduation, her entire life wound up turned on its head when an out of control werewolf attacked and bit her while out with friends one night.  He was subdued and arrested, even later charged for the negligence and violent assault, but the damage had been done and the virus passed on— in the worst ways.

Remy essentially suffered the equivalent of a severe allergic reaction and anaphylaxis during the first shift, which took hours (normal were shifts should be minutes) and resulted in her parents frantically driving her to the ER in tears.  She survived, though the diagnosis— for a fragile kid with shaky self esteem— was, at the time, seemingly a fate worse than death.  Despite her form, she never seems to suffer the loss of mindfulness or weakened inhibitions of most werefolk during “peak” moon periods.  

Remy has since started learning how to cope with life in a new form she didn’t really want or ask for, and she has the full, unwavering support of her parents, though it’s still a lot for a teenaged kid to handle.  I’m pretty sure she wound up being pulled from high school and is trying to finish out her last year and a half or so at home, though she could really use some friends she doesn’t think are “obligated” to love her like her parents are.  I think she’s pretty lonely and dealing with a lot of depression issues.  Luckily she’ll fall in with Wayne at some point, who’s like a sweet (greasy stoner) older brother, and he and the rest of the Losers can adopt the hell out of her as a little sister and teach her how to not give a fuck about what humans think when you’re a weirdo.  She’ll earn her happy ending eventually.  

Rose Lund:  Absolutely 100% a retooling/transplant of one of my dearest, most beloved, super shitty/earnest self-insert characters as a 12 year old on Neopets and I have NO SHAME AT ALL.  Rose is a human mage (they do exist!) around 30 or so, a pale/skinny English-Caucasian mutt with green eyes, straight brown hair, and a penchant for fancifully extra looking dyed bang fringies because she’s stopped giving a fuck.  She’s one of those rare people who can strike up a conversation with just about anyone, blessed by a very… unique way with words that’s unintentionally contributed to her internet fame as a slice of life blogger about the day to day trials of pet dragon (well, wyrm) ownership.  

Rose has been passionate about rare and magical exotic creatures since she was a wee girl, and developed an obsession with dragons (‘wyrms’ being the correct term for all non-sentient varieties) before she was out of grade school.  In college she double majored cryptobiology and spell artistry, then upon graduation, acquired a pair of rare pygmy wyrms— from temperate and tundra subspecies— respectively, as pets, both for personal reasons and to aid in her pursuit of a master’s degree in cryptobiological husbandy.

Pygmy wyrms, it should be noted, are generally terrible pets.  While only growing to approximately the size of a house cat (10-12 pounds on average) and sporting the appearance of beautifully miniaturized mythological six-limbed dragons any fantasy nut would fall in love with, they are far from domesticated, exasperatingly precocious, and have the charming habit of expelling flammable gas from a myriad of orifices when startled.  They have a distinctive, vaguely musky sulfurous smell about them regardless of cleanliness and are just clever enough to ignore training commands when convenient.  Imagine giving a very ornery, very clever raccoon flappy wings with a several foot wingspan, feeding it rotten eggs, and strapping a flamethrower to both ends, then rigging it all with an excitable hair trigger.  That is a pygmy wyrm.  Rose owns two in an apartment complex: Ice Pack (Packy), who is a pale milk white/ice blue, and Sharky (Sharkbite), who is black and burgundy/red.  

Needless to say they’re the loves of her lives and she revolves around them, having garnered a massive internet following thanks to her daily posts about their antics and the realities of exotic pet care.  They’re harness trained now and reasonably polite, though this is only due to years of hard work and constant reinforcement.  She hopes one day to breed more biddable specimens and help contribute to the conservation of the species worldwide.  Also, they’ve made her very good at anti-flammability hexes.  

Shun —: known only by her first name, a kitsune who moved into the apartment complex fairly recently with her pet pipe fox, Yuzu.  It should be noted that kitsune are particularly long lived among mythicals, though how long exactly that is tends to be hotly debated and unknown by all but the foxes themselves.  What is known is how they are extremely slow to age after reaching their peak maturity/fitness, with certain individuals reported over 500 years old and, apparently, showing very little of their age beyond a massive swath of grown tails (nine being the highest on known record).  Kitsune typically grow to around 30-40 lbs, outwardly resembling a much large. leggier, more willowy silhouette than traditional foxes, and will begin life with a single tail that splits or “buds” and multiplies over time.  

Neurologically they are fairly unique among mammals, possessing a kind of distributed intelligence throughout the body that can give the tails a “mind of their own”, so to speak, in much the same way as octopi or other related cephalopods do.  In fact, due to the extremely slow rate of cell death/turnover, a severed kitsune tail will continue to move and attempt “functioning” for weeks, even years by some reports, under correct conditions.  Which I’ll get into shortly.  

Swerving back to Shun herself, she’s an artist by trade who zigzags between traditional and digital freelance work for a living.  Conservation of mass is still in place for humanoid shifts— which all kitsune can voluntarily assume— with predictably small, delicate, androgynous bodies that rarely get above 4’5’’ or so in stature.  Features like pointed ears or slit pupils/exposed tails can be morphed or shown as desired, though the chronic perception of being childlike or “cute” regardless of how old they are is a pretty common occurrence.  Shun is no stranger to this either, and hates shopping for clothes at non-mythical-specific places because she has to do so in the *really* young children’s department for anything to fit.  

Back on the subject of pipe foxes, though— Shun is a kitsune with 3 and 3/4 tails.  She had an unspecified accident several years ago in which she lost the final quarter of her fourth tail, but managed to retrieve the piece after several weeks of searching, at which point it was already trying to become a pipe fox.  Pipe foxes (at least in this world) are the result of a severed kitsune tail’s survival instincts going horribly wrong (or right) and attempting to restructure themselves for survival, and the amount of tail there (i.e. how much was separated from the body) will determine what becomes of it, though the “starting” process is pretty identical no matter what you do.  

If a severed piece of tail has no food, eventually, with time, it will die.  If, however, you keep it somewhere safe (like a drawer) and you present it with food (which could be, I don’t know, a chicken leg), it will sense it, and you will see the start of a small, gaping fanged mouth begin to grow from the stump.  Once this has formed, the tail will wriggle itself to its prize and devour everything it can, sustaining it.  Keep feeding the tail and it will continue to grow legs, organs, features, and a face— though not necessarily in that order.  Eventually, you will have a small— usually mouse to rat sized— beautiful white magic fox, prized heavily by black market collectors for its splendor and apparent luck giving properties.  A true quarter-tailed pipe fox will live somewhere between 5-40 years, unpredictably.  The distributed intelligence of the tail will reform/conglomerate into a brain relatively on par with a modern pet dog, possibly smarter (or much dumber) depending on your luck.  

If, however, there is MORE than roughly a quarter tail chopped off, with more of the nervous tissue and mass intact, the pipe fox resulting may appear larger and more robust.  Many exotic buyers have been lured into purchasing these creatures from traders without realizing, and years later the unlucky recipient will find their precious fox’s skin suddenly flaccid on the ground like a shed cocoon, having erupted into 75 tinier pipe foxes that will summarily swarm the accessible property to spirit off with literally anything they decide is valuable, never to be found again, often raging like an infestation for days or WEEKS before vanishing forever.  

Rumor has it that feeding an entire severed tail will result in 75 tiny pipe foxes bursting forth from the cocoon shell that will each burst into 75 more bug sized foxes each, resulting in a plague of nigh biblical proportions.  But that’s never actually been confirmed on record.  

Needless to say the kitsune have a lot of protocols for dealing with severed tails and will usually destroy half-formed pipe foxes of unknown origin on the spot.  Shun keeps Yuzu as a pet due to being intimately aware of the little rat-sized creature’s origins, and she still had to sign SO many extra insurance papers and wavers before the complex would let her move in.  

I am not good at keeping it short, am I?  Wow.  Well, there you have it!  I’d be happy to answer any extra stuff I forgot too if someone has a question.  I do love these nerds.  

[a-most-peculiar-mademoiselle]

For headcanon meme, pidge hunk and/or lance

hello, gentle anon! thank you for dropping the note! I’m feeling ambitious today, so I’m gonna answer all three of ‘em!

Pidge:

2-4 songs that are probably on their iPod: “The Genius Next Door” by Regina Spektor; “Aerodynamic” by Daft Punk; “Right?” by Xenia Rubinos; “Brass Goggles” by Steam Powered Giraffe 

the one place they sometimes end up falling asleep — where they’re not supposed to: the bridge; she gets so caught up in looking at all the stars and constellations that she forgets to head back to her room before zonking out from being tired after a hard day’s work.

the game they’d destroy everyone else at: Cards Against Humanity. although she may appear innocent, Pidge somehow ALWAYS gets the best hands dealt to her when she plays CAH and her answers are SAVAGE. 

the emoticon they’d use most often: •̀.̫•́✧

what they act like when they haven’t had enough sleep: simultaneously slap-happy and grouchy. make sure she gets plenty of water, well-fed, and that she gets enough sleep that night, otherwise it’ll be baaaad news.

their preferred hot beverage on really cold nights. or mornings. or whenever: black coffee. the darker, the better. death before decaf. it doesn’t matter what time of day it is; if she doesn’t get at least 4 cups a day, may Space Jebus have mercy on your soul…

how they like to comfort/care for themselves when they’re in a slump: taking a bubble bath, doing jigsaw puzzles, listening to the sounds of ocean waves, stimming by flapping her hands. 

what they wanted to be when they grew up: computer network programmer

their favorite kind of weather: rainy! perfect weather for reading the hoard of books that’s been accumulating in her room, nesting herself in a pile of blankets, and listening to the sound of rain hitting the roof 

thoughts on their singing voice (decent? terrible? soprano? alto?): she’s not *terrible*, but she’s not necessarily the best, either. it’s somewhere between mezzo-soprano and alto, and it does have a tendency to be a bit creaky. there are moments where she REALLY shines, and that’s when she sings stuff from Janis Joplin and Loretta Lynn

how/what they like to draw or doodle: her beloved Rover (RIP), clouds, swirls, cubes, and pyramids

Hunk:

“Happy” by Pharrell; “Dog Walkers of the New Age” by Breathe Owl Breathe;  “Look For the Silver Lining” by Leslie Odom, Jr.; “All This and Heaven Too” by Florence+The Machine

the Castle library. Hunk gets so absorbed in finding out about Altean history that he often spends hours in the library poring over the hundreds and thousands of books that he ends up getting drowsy and falling asleep face down in a book

Once Upon a Time; Hunk is MAD good at storytelling and using all of the story element cards that are given to him in each round. the stories that he wins are often the funniest ones, but they often keep the other players on the edge of their seats ‘cos of all of the twists and turns he uses throughout.

(๑´ㅂ`๑)

an overly-emotional mess, tbh. who let him stay up all night?! you know he gets weepy when he doesn’t get enough sleep! my god, just let my poor boy sleep for however long he wants! 

yuzu-ginger tea, with a little bit of honey

yoga, baking one of his favorite desserts, face masks, going for a run

pastry chef

sunshine, ‘COS MY BOY IS LITERAL SUNSHINE, OKAY

his singing voice is VERY good. before he joined the garrison, he was the best baritone in his high school choir. one of his favorite styles of music to perform was showtunes, particularly stuff by Stephen Sondheim, such as “Sunday in the Park with George” and “Into the Woods”

he likes doodling pictures of things from nature, like mushrooms, storm clouds, trees, and birds

Lance:

“I Like It” by Enrique Iglesias; “Horseshoe Crab” by Slothrust; “Starman” by David Bowie; “Very Few Dancers” by Sons of an Illustrious Father

if there’s a couch somewhere, don’t let him lay on it and close his eyes for too long. there’s a good chance that he’ll be out like a light in like 5 minutes time…

Cluedo; this boy is the ultimate sleuth! he’s very good at deducing which cards are in the envelope, based on the ones the other players put on the board. each game lasts for only about 10 minutes, much to the confusion of the other paladins

( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)

trying to get ANYTHING out of this boy is damned near impossible. if Lance is lacking on sleep, he’s basically nonverbal. also, he tends to get a bit overwhelmed by sensory stimuli. overly bright lights in particular are hell for him. 

hot chocolate with big, fluffy marshmallows and a few chocolate shavings on top

long, hot showers, charcoal face masks, SOFT EVERYTHING (slipper socks, bathrobes, sweaters, you name it!), coloring books, listening to soft jazz

his career goals were all over the place, depending on what his special interest was at the time. first he wanted to be a painter, then he wanted to be an architect, then a fashion model, and then a zookeeper. the list goes on and on, really… 

he likes his weather hot, but NOT humid. if it gets too humid, he gets very cranky and holes himself in a room with air conditioning

 his tenor voice doesn’t turn heads very often, as Lance is surprisingly quite shy about his singing voice. when he does sing, his favorite styles of music are jazz and bachata 

BOY IS A GOSH DARN WEEB. he likes drawing his friends in a decidedly anime-like style, especially Allura and Keith, who are the ultimate bishojo and bishonen in his eyes