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tomiyeee · 11 months

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donnie had. SO. much concept art lol. i really enjoyed the whole design process though. his base design is very difficult to work with because of the battleshell, but it gave me a lot of chances to get creative and i'm happy with the results :)

(also as a disclaimer so i don't get asked about this: i don't have motivation to finish raph or the wish art for donnie, so i'm just posting what i've got)

i didn't annotate these as much since there'd be a lot to write, but i'll write out some of my thought processes and go into some detail about his final design below the cut if you're interested! (it's long. i'm talkative 😔)

1st row - first iteration; much more literal 1:1 translation of his design into a fantasy setting. very steampunk-y. ended up completely scrapping it because, simply put, he looked more like an npc than a playable character. obviously, several features did still carry over throughout the design process :3 also wanted to imagine his attack pattern cuz i thought it'd be fun to incorporate his spider arms.

this was actually the first design of any of them i'd come up with! i've definitely learned a lot about genshin's character design style since then and i think it shows 😂

2nd row - playing around with the idea of a floating battleshell (rather than a backpack-like one in the the show & first version), inspired by nahida's cape. also hard light constructs/attachments. was leaning too into the sci-fi and rectangular motifs with the design, but i liked the idea.

3rd/4rth rows - concepts for his final outfit and shell designs (the colored/more-detailed pics are the more finalized ones). took a lot of inspiration from sumeru this time around. it's a lot sharper, shinier, and less rectangular than his og aesthetic, but i think it's more in-line with genshin's design philosophies.

5th row - not entirely sure why i went through all the trouble of making a 3d model for this. i mostly just thought it'd be fun and good for reference. i was right, but i don't know what to do with it now lol. can't be bothered to be a perfectionist about it though, so don't look too closely at it 😭

6th row - incomplete thumbnails of his burst/wish art. not super sold on that "wing" design in particular, but i do like the idea of his shell splitting and deploying hard light weapons/rocket launchers/etc sort of like in canon.

battleshell/misc notes - i'm thinking his battleshell is controlled using the pink sensor on the back of his coat, possibly in combination with his headset. it floats behind him by default and is sturdy enough to protect his back, but he can also freely fly it around like a drone if he wants. the holes on the side are mainly for the spider arms and the banners(?) and handles(?) with the blue/pink gradient are made of hard light and only appear when the shell is in use.

i imagine like in the series, his tech here isn't necessarily very reliant on his vision/powers; much of it he likely made himself long before he received a vision and he just uses his vision to enhance it.

his burst is a barrage of missiles from his shell that lock onto an enemy and deal a large burst of electro damage in an AOE. not sure if i want his skill to be a deployable or some sort of electro-infusion/boost 🤔 maybe something that involves deploying his shell to boost his damage while leaving him vulnerable, like a glass canon? though i'm not sure he'd be that sort of risk-taker... 😅 dunno! his signature weapon would totally be his tech bo though.

that's about all i can think of. thanks for reading!

#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt au #rise genshin au #rottmnt art #my art #mangastudio #3d #art #process

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kathaynesart · 5 months

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Replica Holiday Special Winners!

Happy Holidays everyone! It's that time of year and you know what that means! Time to announce the winners for the DTIYS Replica Holiday Special Cover!

I received so many wonderful submissions. Far more than I had anticipated! They were all so unique and creative and it was an absolute joy to look at each and every one of them! I really underestimated however how difficult it would be to choose with them all being so unique from each other. In the end, I decided to gauge the top picks on how well their cover captured the "essence" of what this Special is going to be like! Without further ado, here are the winners.

HONORABLE MENTION - @matchstique

Buddy! I love this piece so dang much! It has so much character and perfectly displays the wacky hijinks we can expect as well as the huge amount of stress our poor boys are under during these trying, pregnancy times. The movement and colors work so well and make me excited for what comes next! Seldom do I see pregnant females shown as the badasses they are, but you have gone and turned Cassandra into an absolute icon with this piece! Bless you!

3RD PLACE - @thegunnsara

Sara, the shear amount of craft you put into your art is STAGGERING. Every scuff on Raph's shell and wisp of smoke screams of a quality I can only hope to attain someday. I literally want to be you when I grow up! That said, the concept of this piece is also fantastic. One of the things I'm must excited about for this Special is getting to see Raph and Casey as they were and witnessing the strong bond they share. I love them dearly and this cover captures their strength and tenacity so perfectly. Gods among men.

2ND PLACE - @cupcakeslushie

Slushie, this cover is so damn fun and dynamic that I can't stop looking at it! Your attention to detail and composition are masterful and the fact that you could fit such a bombastic battle into such a limited space speaks to how crazy talented you are! You also do a wonderful job of retaining both the intensity of the apocalypse but also that playful edge that Rise always manages to retain! It's definitely the cover that would catch my eye on a shelf and make me want to turn the page to see what happens next!

1ST PLACE - @abbeyofcyn

Cyn, the moment I saw this cover, I gasped! It's funny because this is both a piece I could have totally seen myself doing had I done the cover, yet crafted in a unique way I could have never come up with on my own! On top of that, this slick composition scratches my little designer brain juuust right. The use of the hands motif is such a great element because to me, it encapsulates the conflicting themes of family/parenthood with the drama of what it means to be human. On top of that, having each character as one of the digits both connected to and encircling Casey is such a wonderful touch that really drives the symbolism home. Somehow, you managed to peer into the future and perfectly capture how the finale of this special is going to feel. Thank you so much Cyn for such a wonderful piece!

~~~~~~~~~

Now that I think about it, looking back on these winners as a set, all four them actually do an amazing job as individual covers for each of the four "acts" that will make up this special. That was not at all my intention, but it kind of worked out perfectly for that. Gets me all emotional!

I also definitely want to put a spotlight on the other amazing submissions, many of which made it SO close to the top slots! I was going to post these pieces individually but I was worried people wouldn't then go to their blogs to view the covers, so instead have a compilation and links to the full versions! Please check out everyones amazing covers and give them some love. They all worked really hard and it means so much to me. Thank you everyone!

@dreamundraws - LINK @honeylief - LINK @gemini-forest - LINK @memorydarkness - LINK @skullythefriendlyskullface - LINK @v-albion - LINK @its-wabby-stuff - LINK @yris-latteyi - LINK @reagi-df - LINK @chaoscontrol50 - LINK / LINK @murasakibonnet - LINK @hitwiththetmnt - LINK @xandriagreat - LINK @karonkar - LINK @sunydays - LINK (sorry my dear, yours did not appear on my hashtag reference at first! D: But still love it!) @quailaz - LINK @delicatechildwitch - LINK

Thank you again all of you! You all did such an amazing job!

#replica dtiys #replica #rottmnt replica #holiday speical #rottmnt #save rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #not my art

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curekibouka-writing · 8 months

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Analyzing the lullaby motif in book 7 (+translation of lyrics)

MAJOR SPOILERS for book 7 chapter 1-5

I hope everyone remembers the lullaby Malleus sang for everyone when he overblotted because that motif came back FOUR times in chapter 5 and I am going to analyze them all because they make me way too emotional 😭

Please feel free to find the lullaby motifs in this post and this post if necessary (although one of them is not included).

Translated lyrics of the lullaby:

A warm cradle

Starlight and joy

My eyes are watching over you still, let's be together

With no fear, even if we wake from this dream

Sleep, sleep, my beloved child

In dreams, I pray you would be guided to walk toward the light

(Analysis begins under the cut:)

The melody of the lullaby has been used 5 times at least in the story, they include:

When Malleus hummed it to everyone he put to sleep during his OB

When Meleanor sang it to Malleus

When Lilia sang it to Silver

When Malleus sang it to Silver

In the bgm when Sebek was helping come out of the darkness

The themes of this piece of music are love and farewell.

Motif use 2 is chronologically when the lullaby was first sung, it’s a song of love from a mother to her child when she knows they must part. I believe that when Meleanor sang this lullaby, she had already made up her mind to fight and let her guards escape with her child. She was taking the last moments she had with her child to name him "Malleus" and sing him this lullaby (7-75). Lyrics include sth like “I will be watching over you even if we wake up from this dream” and “may you be guided and walk towards the light”. But the beauty that comes with the theme of farewell is the theme of legacy. Because even though Meleanor is now gone, her song, and thus her love, never died.

Because Lilia remembers it. Motif 3 is Lilia singing it to Silver, and he’s also sung it to Malleus before. In a musical story, even if the characters lie or don’t have perfect information, the music never lies. Even if Lilia once doubted whether he could love Malleus and hatch him properly (7-77), and even if Lilia may still doubt whether he could love Silver, a human, properly (7-81), the motif symbolises love which tells us the truth — Lilia is capable of giving love. And the legacy is not just that Lilia passed the song to Malleus, it’s that Lilia internalized the song and sang it to his own son. He has seen what kind of mother Meleanor was, and he’s learnt from her kindness, her pride, her love and he has put that into how he raise his own child. Lilia has Meleanor’s legacy too.

And then to address the two Malleus motifs. First of all Malleus never sings it with lyrics, which would imply Malleus himself doesn’t fully know the true meaning of the song. However, he knows that he’s felt happiness and protection from hearing this song, so he sings it to Silver when Lilia asks him to as motif 4 (7-81). When he sang it to Silver he sounded confused, it must’ve been a long time since he’s heard the song. But he still remembers it, which means Meleanor’s love never died because Malleus remembers it all the same. It’s still in Malleus. It’s still there.

But when Malleus overblots, the song gets twisted a little bit (motif 1). However, in Malleus’s mind, it’s still a song of happiness and protection, because he overblotted trying to protect everyone’s happiness forever. But the music sounds creepy to show you the true nature of the song is not like this. The nature of the song is that "even though I cannot be with you always, I will still love you and wish for your happiness". This is the part that Malleus did not understand and did not cope with. It’s also interesting to note that Malleus sang motif 1 with a smile and no hesitation, he was completely confident and sure in what he was doing. Meanwhile, in all other three sung versions, each singer had their own different emotions in their singing, and those emotions were a lot softer, a lot less certain.

And the fifth and final use of the motif is used in the bgm when Sebek yells at Silver for him to get a grip (7-86). The song is arranged into a victorious piece with certainty and assurance. The use of the motif reminds us of the themes: love and legacy. It calls attention to these themes and entrenchs the truth that Silver IS Lilia’s legacy, and that’s only possible because of the love that Lilia has given him. The exact part where the bgm starts playing was when Silver said "Even in the darkness, I could always hear it. 'Stand up' 'Don't give in' 'Live'... it's father's voice. [...] All that he taught me, that's the proof that he had loved me. It's not a dream and not an illusion... it's true love." (I'm serious he really said "true love" for real this IS a translation T^T). When Silver saw Lilia's memories of the song, he denied the love, he said he should not deserve it. The motif had to come back because this is the moment when Silver can finally realize “Ah. This song is full of love and father sang it for me.” The motif HAD to come back because Silver has to come to accept it.

But the bgm arrangement is also made for Sebek. The bgm is full of certainty because Sebek has no doubts in what he’s telling Silver. Sebek, who has grown up alongside Silver, has witness all the love between Lilia and Silver. He KNOWS Lilia’s love is true and he’s conveying that to Silver with certainty. This bgm summarises what Sebek was doing so well, Sebek sees the love Lilia has for Silver and was literally blasting it in Silver’s ears.

As Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959) puts it, "true love conquers all". And we've been shown that there's love in every direction among our Diasomnia found family. Let's hope that, soon enough, Silver and Sebek would wake Lilia up, and they can finally show Malleus the true meaning of his mother's lullaby and the wish she entrusted to it — that he would walk towards the light, even if she cannot be the one guiding him...

#twisted wonderland #twst #twst spoilers #twisted wonderland spoilers #twst ch 7 spoilers #twst chapter 7 #lilia vanrouge #silver #twst silver #sebek zigvolt #malleus draconia #mallenoa draconia #meleanor draconia #twst book 7 #twst translation #twst analysis #diasomnia

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moons-of-dewclan · 5 months

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Info! (PLS READ BEFORE SENDING ASKS)

FIRST, i'm completely happy to have anyone do style studies, do a comic inspired by Dewclan in any capacity, make a clangen comic in the same style, reference poses from the comic, reference designs from the comic, layout of the comic etcetc. BE FREE BE FUNKY!! (just pls show me i wanna c) 1. A frequently asked question is, 'How did you start with just 2 cats?' The answer is, I started with a full clan and manually killed them all on the first moon! You can kill or exile cats in their profile section. :3 I play expanded mode! I downloaded the latest version of the game from here. 2. All clan names, cat names, designs and events are randomly generated, created in and by the Clangen game! BUT! • I take liberties with designs mostly just to simplify them or add fancy things, like Lyrestar's star shapes irises and the forehead star mark. i think it's C00l to give leaders star motifs. Lyre wasn't born with the star shapes, he got 'em when he became leader! • Some events are given additional flavour and context

3. BE PREPARED for style changes. I'm getting more and more used to stylizing and figuring out how i'm gonna do this comic.. UPDATES are tagged 'AnotherMoon' ASKS for me are tagged 'kAsks' ASKS for Dewclan, are tagged 'AskinDewSomething' CLANGEN REBLOGS are tagged, 'SATURDAYSHARES' (i'm gonna reblog a clangen page every saturday for to share a funky comic or 2)

ALSO IMPORTANT!!

#kasks

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randomlonelymusician · 9 months

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Lacey's Petshop Theory/Analysis (So Far)

So Lacey's Petshop dropped a couple of hours ago, and here's my thoughts so far after watching the video twice and doing some rough transcriptions.

Illegible text transcriptions HERE.

Warnings for disturbing imagery, abuse, blood, and animal death. Also spoilers.

So here's my overall takeaway from this entry:

There are two stories going on. The story of Lacey, who represents Rocio Yani (Lacey Game's cofounder), and the story of how the games came to be. They're very heavily connected, but not everything we're shown in the Lacey games is exactly what happened to Rocio.

In Lacey's Petshop, Lacey's uncle kills her dog. After years of abuse from him and him killing this one bit of happiness she has in her life, she kills him. She hides his remains under the bed, and is afraid to leave the room after this.

Lacey seems to be a sort of stand-in for Rocio, who has clearly suffered similar abuse. There are two directions that Rocio's connection to the "bad versions" of the Lacey games could go: they were vent pieces to she could express her trauma, or she is literally connected to the games, living out a 2000s-esque life while her trauma seeps through in the bad endings.

Now, for further explanations.

I think it's pretty evident that Lacey's uncle killed her dog. With how she constantly mentions him "taking her angel away", and how the dog's face appears while a mutilated leg/bloody eye flash on screen.

The motifs connecting the image of the dog to animal death and distress go even further:

I believe that Lacey killed her uncle after this mostly due to how images of a mangled/rotting foot and a bloody eye when she is talking about how "he is still under the bed" and that she "can't leave"

The lines about her not being able to leave also could imply some sort of guilt. The mirror scene could also reinforce this, since she sees horribly distorted versions of herself.

I also don't think every game is a direct representation of her trauma, since the timeline get a little messy if they are. Especially Lacey's Wardrobe. That's the one that sticks out as different from Lacey's Diner and Lacey's Petshop, which both focus on the abuse from her uncle. Both Lacey's Diner and Petshop do both show that she killed him, with in Lacey's diner she is cooking him and her trauma into the food and serving it to others (a representation of what what is doing with the games, maybe?"

BONUS NOTE: After you click the... substance on the left, it shows this image, which features Rocio's name.

As for what's happening in the real world. I'm actually going to go with the theory that Rocio is literally connected to the game as Lacey, and that's why there's bad endings that didn't used to be there. Everyone in the story remembers how they used to play Lacey games, and never seem to remember anything disturbing. But now that Rocio is connected to the game, her trauma is infecting it.

I think that her being connected to the wires is more literal than some may take it.

Forming a bit of a timeline, Laceygames.com / Yaniasogames started in 2004, and from the interview with Grace Asop confirms that they parted ways in 2010. This means that the "infections" were more recent, which is why no one has been discovering them until now.

Lacey / Rosio just wanted to have a normal life, so she connected herself to 2000s-esque flash games to make that a reality. But her past traumas ended up seeping into those games, creating the grotesque imagery that we now know.

I think that's all I have so far. Here are my favorite screencaps from this episode that I didn't get to use:

If anyone has any comments, ideas, or additions, please add them! This series has brought me back into the analog horror community, and it's really fun to discuss!

#lacey's flash games #lacey flash games #lacey games #lacey's petshop #lacey's pet shop #lacey's diner #lacey's wardrobe

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creativepromptsforwriting · 10 months

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What is... a trope?

A fictional trope can be described as a recurring theme or a frequently used plot device. This can occur in all creative forms.

To give some examples, a bad boy falling in love with a good girl is a trope. There is also the one bed trope, where for various reasons the characters end up with only one available bed. The typical misunderstanding in romance stories that separates the couple shortly before they are reunited and get their happy ending is a trope.

Tropes are sometimes seen as clichés, but I would make a distinction there. Both are motifs and themes that are already familiar to the audience, something they have seen or read before. But tropes do not have to be a cliché that is overused and unoriginal. You can take a familiar theme and then create your own original version around that trope.

Tropes are also useful to summarize the story and to draw in an audience that likes that particular trope.

Here are two lists with tropes: Favourite tropes + Tropes of the day

#what is wednesday #what is a trope #fictional tropes #writing advice #writers on tumblr #writeblr #writing community #writing

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kozachenko · 8 months

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So last night I got the idea to do my own design of Doremy Sweet and I am so happy with how it turned out omg.

Artists note below:

My main sources of inspiration were dreamcore aesthetics, Rayman (never played the game but I like the design of the main character), the ENA series on Youtube (tbh IDK how much that influence did show in the design, it's more of the general vibes of that series) and by proxy a lot of Oliver Bucklands music which I listened to while drawing this. As I was doing the hands, I was also reminded of Welcome Home, mainly cuz they were soft round muppet hands and I kinda liked that. Much like what I did when doing my own design of Hisami, I made Doremys features very simplified, giving her a simple line for her nose and blacking out the eyes. I think it gives a really neat inhuman/alien like quality to a characters face. I wanted to lean into rounder and softer shapes with Doremys design. I would definitely say that this is a mix between her LoLK design and her AoCF design, as I really like the shapes present in her AoCF design so thats the one I took the most inspiration from (also the comically large hat), but I also like some of the details in her LoLK design. I noticed that a reoccurring motif in dreamcore aesthetics are eyes, eyes everywhere, heck even in the beginning stages of the design I knew I wanted to make the little pom poms on her dress eyes. It adds a little bit of irony to the design where the character associated with dreams and sleeping has a bunch of open eyes on her dress (lol). Also, I wanted her tail to sort of extend out and wrap around the bottom half of her hat cuz I thought that was cute. I wanted to detach the hands and feet to once again bring in an etherial feeling into the design. I also found a really nice colour pallete that I wanted to use, but the red of her hat was an addition by me to bring back an element from her original design. I also did two versions of the drawing where one of them has shading and the other doesn't.

Fun fact, when I introduced a friend to Touhou, they wanted to play the hardest game first (which was LoLK) and now they are terrified of Doremy :D

Also this is in complete contrast to the last drawing I did of Doremy Sweet lmaoooo

#touhou fanart #touhou project #art #fanart #touhou 15 #doremy sweet #alt design #touhou #legacy of lunatic kingdom

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myheadphonesareneverloudenough · 2 months

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Nerdy Prudes Must Die; musical motifs

i have so many thoughts about Nerdy Prudes Must Die and specifically the musical motifs used throughout. so buckle up, i want to talk. (theres a whole breakdown under the cut.)

so, if you didn't know already, Jeff Blim is a musical genius. and in the Hatchetfield universe, theres so many musical motifs that get used in every show. but there's one in particular that i don't know what to call it, but i'm gonna say it's 'the nerds' theme'. it's this one right here;

i've heard some call it Pete's theme, which is wrong. this specific melody is the theme of Pete, Richie, and Ruth's self worth and their inescapable tragedies. when we meet the three friends, it's very obvious that they see themselves at the bottom of the high school food chain. the nerds have accepted that they are worthless and will amount to nothing in school, because that is where society has placed them. it's as simple as Pete's song Cool As I Think I Am. he very literally does not see himself as valuable as the other students. but when that idea shifts from Cool As I Think I Am to Cool As She Thinks I Am, suddenly we have Pete realising his self worth, and the motif shows up;

and right after that, Pete is beat up in a parking lot by Max Jägerman. Pete's own self worth can only go so far when you have people like Max denying it constantly.

so now there's lyrics to this motif, and yes, Pete is the first one to sing it. But that doesn't make it any less Ruth and Richie's.

just like Pete, Richie finds his self worth in the acceptance from others. Once Max is gone and Richie makes friends with the football team, he realises how great it is to be alive. he realises that he deserves to be alive.

when Max comes to kill him, Richie justifies his self worth with the motif that returns for him this time, not Pete;

now they're not his final words, but Richie dies after declaring, "I'm Not A Loser". when he finally gets some self worth, he is murdered and never gets to fulfil that worth.

Ruth's self worth is a little different. she views her worthlessness as unfair. she believes that if she was different, she could be something great. unlike Pete and Richie, Ruth really shows that she has bigger dreams. Ruth wants to be the star of the show. she wishes to be appreciated, and her ungodly horniess can honestly be seen as a metaphor for wanting to be loved. Ruth sings about her self worth in the most Ruth way, with her own number in the BBQ Monologues.

the climax of the song (which Lauren kills, btw) the motif comes back again in the background. This time, it's for Ruth and her self worth;

does the fact that Ruth's version of the motif doesn't include the 'im not a loser' lyrics have to do with Ruth having more belief in herself? that she doesn't need to explain she isn't a loser because she knows she isn't a loser and deserves to have a chance in the spotlight? i sure as hell think so.

but Max kills her immediately after. he stops her from ever living out her big dreams of being a star.

the motif comes back again, obviously, in the reprise of Cool As I Think I Am;

the lyrics change this time around, and Pete sings 'you have to do it', which is him telling Steph that she has to be the one to kill him. despite Pete learning how to have self worth throughout this whole show, he still views himself as expendable. could this be justified with the fact that his two best friends just had their hopes and dreams shattered in death? probably. the point is, at some point during Max's killing spree, the death of his best friends, and the summoning of the Lords in Black, Pete has managed to convince himself that he's worthless again.

now. in the end, it feels like a happy ending due to the nature of The Best of You, but there are still a lot of loose ends to be explored. and on top of all that, the Nerds' motif comes back one last time;

because Grace kept the Black Book and continued to use it, and the Lords in Black are far from fair, i think Pete's torment and tragic narrative is not over by the end of NPMD.

so yeah. Pete, Richie, and Ruth are 'doomed by the narrative', as are most people in Hatchetfield. but these three characters are specifically doomed by their own self worth, and the narrative will never let them truly become their true selves.

and Jeff Blim wrote a banger melody to tell that story.

#im so normal about these 3 nerds #this is totally neurotypical behaviour #nerdy prudes must die #npmd #pete spankoffski #richie lipschitz #ruth fleming #j screams #a lot #hatchetfield #starkid #jeff blim

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anonimusunnoaniswriting · 2 months

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𝙺𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚊 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙺𝚊𝚗𝚣𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚒

✿ 𝓡𝓪𝓫𝓫𝓲𝓽𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓦𝓱𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓒𝓪𝓶𝓮𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓪 ✿

𝑴𝑫𝑵𝑰 🎀Age in bio or blocked🎀

Pairing: Yakuza!Nanami Kento x Geisha!Reader

Genre: MafiaAU, GeishaAU

Word Count: 3124

Warnings: mentions of blood and killing. Its a mafia au what do you expect. No smut, fluff if you squint.

Summary: You've just started your life as a full fledged geiko and one evening with a man you meet might just change your life.

A/N: I wrote this as a seperate fic for a friend for her birthday and liked it so much I waned to make a Nanamin version so here y'all go! :)

Part One

You sat at the table, your elder sister diagonally opposite you as she laughed and entertained one of the most respected and well-known gokudo leaders in Kyushu. A sharp man who regularly travelled down to Kyoto to sit with her and drink tea that she didn’t even brew, only poured into a cup for him. If only you could be like that; gain a danna so young and attentive and not to mention, a treat for the eyes.

The kimono you had been made to wear for tonight had special motifs on it. It had been gifted to the geisha house by a man – who if the hushed whispers circulating the hanamachi were to be trusted – more dangerous than the head of the gokudo himself. Not someone to be trifled with. Stories of his exploits – single-handedly taking down a small army sent by the National Police Agency; slitting the throats of young and foolish kobuns who sold the family secrets to make a quick buck; and being a life-risking loyal dog to his Aniki – had already been spread among your sisters like hot oden selling out on a cold winter evening. You had listened to all these and soaked in the knowledge. Knowledge that now came flashing up into your mind as you carefully poured out the hot tea, just as you had been taught and served it to your kimono gifter and his dark-haired friend. Your kimono, a pale blue silk, artfully decorated by the white camellia that flashed in the light of the lamps.

You thought back wondering why you of all people may have been chosen to entertain this very esteemed guest. Sure, your dance was good, but it wasn’t that it stood out beside your sisters. You could play the shamisen relatively well, but not like the masters did. Why had you been chosen, fresh out of your training period having just had your mizuage…

The only conclusion wracking your brain could lead you to was that perhaps it was because you, of all the maikos and geikos around you, were able to refrain from spreading the circulating rumours. Partake you did – but only so much as to listen…

Thankfully your sister had done most of the talking, leaving you to smile and pour the tea and ponder the meaning of what your Okasan had said earlier when she had come with the younger girl Hana to help you wear your make-up and jewellery.

The cool wet brush that painted your skin white, helped calm your nerves and when you looked in the mirror, you barely recognised the beautiful woman staring back at you with her blood-red lips and darkened lashes. As she had been painting, Hana had looked like she wanted desperately to ask you something but a sharp glare from Okasan quieted her eagerness; she continued to help pick out appropriate jewellery for your new kimono.

When she was happy with how you looked, Okasan made you stand and turn once so she could see all of you. An approving nod and then a sigh, “A white camellia, I see. Who knows what these men think…”

***

The pressure you felt to be perfect was unbearably high, and you were glad to have your elder sister there to help ease you into the conversation. There had been times that you had gone to the tea house before, but it was only to watch from behind the screen and learn from your elder sister; one of the most sought-after geisha in Kyoto. You had admired her smooth movements and the grace with which she carried herself – entranced by her much like the men she was there to entertain. This time, however, it was you dancing and entrancing while she played the music.

The men you had been called to spend this evening with had already been seated at a large square table. There were four of them. Geto-san of course whose eyes kept getting drawn back to your oneesan. It was always her company he valued more than that of any other geisha in the karyūka. To his right sat the aptly nicknamed right-hand man, Gojo-san. These two men you knew; were acquainted with even, but opposite to Geto and Gojo were two new men whom you were seeing for the first time. A tall man with a large hooked nose and tired eyes that seemed to carry the weight of the world, faced Geto. And between them a man with soft blonde hair and warm brown eyes.

As the night went on, you poured tea, giving way to pouring sake, and batted your lashes smiling with a practised ease. You couldn’t help but notice that the man beside you was drawn to you much in the way that Geto-san was drawn to your oneesan. He had been introduced to the two of you as Nanami Kento-san. And the taller, to your other side, Higuruma Hiromi-san. “Part of my organisation.” as Geto-san had put it. They were, no doubt, as close to him as Gojo-san was.

You felt those brown eyes on you as you poured the warm sake. Specifically on the stripes of bare skin left unpainted on the nape of your neck. Upon tuning – to hand Nanami-san the cup – you confirmed. It hadn’t been your imagination. He had been looking. A keen gaze that now pierced your eyes. An odd feeling in your stomach, made you blush and look away.

Geto-san’s voice suddenly pierced your reverie! “Kento-kun seems to have taken a liking to you my young geiko!” there was a smile in his voice that translated to his face too.

You look at him confused. What did he mean? You had just met! You looked at the man, a soft smile on your face, and hoped he would give you an explanation but he simply looked away, now turning beet red. You felt your cheeks heat up as well and looked down at your lap, focusing on the white camellia on the pale blue of your kimono.

Your oneesan laughed. “Don’t tease her Suguru-san! She’s still quite green!” You felt your face burn. What she said was true but you wished she wasn't telling him about it either way.

“Do you know what the white camellia means?” asked a tipsy Higuruma-san from the other side of you. You shook your head. No. You didn’t… Even though it evidently was apparent to all others who saw it.

“Yearning. It signifies yearning!” drawled Geto-san from the other side of the table chuckling. Seemed like the man had been poured quite a bit of sake already. Thankfully your sister chose this moment to intervene and promote your dancing to him which in turn had you getting up and away from the table while oneesan presented her shamisen and played and sang so you could dance.

When the night came to a close you still hadn’t quite understood what everything had meant and yet the fatigue pulled you under, helping you sleep quickly and without time to think long upon the night’s events…

“You have been requested for an evening out by Nanami-san!” Okasan squealed, barely hiding her happiness. Your jaw dropped open. It had been a few days since you had spent the evening entertaining the four men of the gokudo with your sister. The events of that day had stuck with you as you kept wondering what Geto-san had meant when he said “Kento-kun” had taken a liking to you. Okasan continued, “He has sent another kimono for you. It seems he has taken a liking to you!”

There it was again. “A liking to me? Already? What does it mean, Okasan?” You inquired.

“It means your training has been going well.” and that was all the elder lady offered.

You thought about it as your kimono was tied for you. This time, a soft sakura blossom pink all down to the feet where it deepend into a darker shade. The sleeves showed two rabbits bounding along playfully.

“Oh look, it’s devotion and intelligence this time,” Okasan joked. “This man and his kimono choices…”

You could not fathom why Nanmi Kento had such fondness toward you when you had not even met him before… Perhaps tonight, you could weasel the truth from him without it being too forward of you.

The tea house was bustling, you had been shown to a private room where Nanami-san waited. Although you were fresh out of your apprenticeship, he’d chosen you alone to accompany him for the evening, and you felt a nervousness upon entering. The Okiya rarely allowed geiko to entertain alone, such a luxury was reserved only for very respected customers, who of course, also had adequate coin.

You were equipped with your shamisen, in case he wished for music, but if he asked you to dance you would have to ask one of the staff at the tea house to step in and play for you. However, Nanami-san did neither. He only asked you to drink tea with him. You made sure that his cup stayed full, as you were trained. Along with the tea, Nanami-san ordered all sorts of wagashi. He only really spoke to tell you, “Here, eat some more of this.” or “Try the dango. It’s delicious.” in his warm baritone. There still hadn’t been an opportune moment for your question however, and this kept you feeling nervous.

As the night deepened, the tea turned to warm sake. You refrained from drinking too much as was custom, but the alcohol loosened your benefactor's tongue and he began to talk.

“I hope that you are enjoying this evening, Fukuhina-san.” You still weren’t used to being called by your chosen geiko name. Taking part of your oneesans name – Fukuhana – your new name was supposed to give off the appearance of how you were essentially a younger version of your oneesan.

“I am…” your voice trailed off as you wondered about the question that kept surfacing in your mind. You bowed your head to look at your lap not wanting to show the hesitation that was no doubt splayed on your face at the moment.

Nanami-san frowned, "If anything was not to your satisfaction you can tell me you know... You deserve the best. Only the best…”

There it was again. The strange – almost devotion that he seemed to have for you, coming up stronger now. His empty cup beckoned you so you took a moment to think while you poured more of the warm sake out for him. As the clear liquid overtook the cup you considered how best you could broach the question.

“Please do not worry, Nanami-san… Th- there was nothing that troubled me.” His admission of only wanting the best for you had you thinking further.

He hummed, "Troubled you no... I want you to enjoy yourself.... With me." He turned his head to properly look at you... "That kimono looks beautiful with you in it."

“I am told you sent it as well. I must thank you for your generosity and commend your choice, Nanami-san.”

You gather your courage and try again. “Nanami-san, I- forgive my impudence – but I must ask, What did Geto-san mean when he said that the other day. And Higuruma-san… pointing out the white camellia. And these rabbits… Okasan said they mean something – devotion and intelligence…?” Now that you had started, the questions poured out of you with no restraint. Almost everything you wanted to ask rushed out, but you quickly managed to cull the last one. Why are you being so nice when we have only just met each other?

Despite the dimness of the light in the room you could see how the man’s cheeks heated in front of you. He took a swig of his drink, emptying the cup – you filled it again, only to have it downed promptly. When you went to pour more he covered it with his free hand, then set it down and turned to look at you.

“Fukuhina-chan – may I call you that?” he continued after your nod. “Fukuhina-chan, there is a tale that is whispered among those of the gokudo, a tale that has spread all over Japan. There belongs to Geto Suguru, a tiger. A vicious creature that when it has sunk its teeth into its prey does not let go.” Nanami-san lifts his kimono sleeve to show you the snarling tiger tattooed across his arm. Its eyes seem to glow in the fire light. His muscles rippling under his skin make the animal look almost alive – ready to pounce.

“I am a fierce man. I will admit, I have killed many men – women too. I have more scars than that which I can count. Aniki regards me as his most trusted brother, right alongside Gojo and Hiromi.” you are taken aback at his confession but he continues, “But I am not a man without reason. What I do is thought out and done. What I say I think and say. So believe me when I tell you, I have not fallen for you on some boyish whim…”

He takes a deep breath, “You do not remember I am sure, but, it was about a year ago, I had been in a terrible shootout with a Kyoto gang and was injured. It was the coming of winter then as it is now, the streets were almost empty save a few stray cats and drunken men who were stumbling home. As I lay by the side of the road, I was certain that if they weren’t chasing after me with their guns, the blood loss would surely take me before my exhaustion did. And then there was a light…”

As he spoke you realised there was a certain familiarity in his story.

“I lay there, broken, bruised, a pool of my own blood forming around me. Whatever locals walked past, avoiding me like I could and would at any moment snap and take off their ankles. I was not ready to die – full of regrets.” He paused and took a sip of the cup only to remember it was empty as he had stopped you from refilling it. So he took the bottle from your frozen hands and poured himself a drink, and then, one for you, and continued.

“You came to me, out of the dark, holding that shamisen, very much in the same way that you did today walking into this room. Unafraid of how I looked. You, in that pretty blue kimono, your hair tied up and your face free of this makeup.” He gingerly touched your cheek. “And you pushed your little handkerchief into my hand and said to me, ‘stay alive, I will send help!’”

The memories came rushing back to your mind. That chilly evening, onee-san’s show which went on till late. You who played the shamisen for her to dance to, returning to the okiya with the instrument in your hands, stumbling upon this sorry-looking figure. Rushing to the nearest doctor's house and crying up a storm for them to go help the man! Even promising to speak to Okasan for some payment money but the request had never come and you now understood why! The man – then – had been smaller, sure and beaten up so badly that you didn’t recognise that that man and the one sitting before you now were one and the same, but you realised that the very aura that enveloped him then and drew you to him did so with you here as well. A commanding, yet gentle presence.

“The doctor and his helper arrived soon after that. They took me to his house, patched me up, and when I asked them how they knew, they told me of the young maiko who cried at the door in desperation, pleading for help and making promises she probably couldn’t keep.”

You felt yourself blush. “You didn’t owe me anything Nanami-san…” you mumbled.

“On the contrary Fukuhina-chan, I owe you my life. After that day, I worked harder than ever. At the time I wasn’t so high up in the ranks, but I worked and rose up among the gokudo to sit at the side of the most powerful yakuza leader in all of Japan – and make enough money to become your danna…” You gasped. It was one thing to be a respected patron but another altogether to become a geisha's danna! “That is, if you’ll have me…”

You could only nod your head, not daring to speak because of the lump forming in your throat. Your danna! That would mean the debt you needed to pay to your Okiya would be taken care of faster. That would mean you could become independent like Fukuhana-neesan was.

“I am glad you have said yes Fukuhina-chan as I want to lavish you with the opulence you so rightly deserve.” His hand brushed against your cheek again, the cold fingers, a stark contrast to how hot your face felt.

“Nanami-san.. I don’t know what to even say…”

“Well, you don’t have to say anything right now, just answer me this, when everyone was lowering their heads and quickening their gait, seeing me dying there, what made you stop? Why did you help me that night? I could have been a danger to you or you could have gotten in trouble with your Okiya…”

It is true, you had dreaded the doctor coming to ask for his payment, not really knowing what to say to you Okasan about why you had called the doctor for an unknown yakuza. In your desperation to see him saved you hadn’t thought that far but what drew you to save him?

“It was the way in which you held yourself… Even though you were almost dead, your head was high. And you were looking to the stars, not the people around you. You seemed to be wishing you could have done more, and I didn’t want to let you lose that chance.” In the silence around you even this whisper was deafening…

When Nanami Kento left the tea house that evening, stumbling back to the room he had booked at the inn, his mind was consumed with only one thought. How much he now wanted to kiss your lips. The ones that recognised who he was even before anyone else had.

Geisha are performers first and foremost, to kiss you and hold you, he knew, he would be asking a lot. But he wanted to show you that to him, you were the only thing that mattered now. He would woo you, and if luck happened to be on his side once again, he would be honoured to become more than just your danna.

End of Part 1

End of work A/N: I do not claim to know everything about geisha or yakuza as institutions/people. My understanding is a base level one and there may be things which are not so accurate here. Please allow me some leeway when reading and note that I am not an authority on these subjects. This was written for fun with a little research.

ᴍᴀsᴛᴇʀʟɪsᴛ

#anonimuswritings #anonimusunnoan #jjk #fanfiction #fanfic #nanami kento #kento nanami #mafia au #mafia nanami #yakuza #geisha AU #geiko #part 1 #nanami x reader #jjk nanami #jujutsu nanami #yakuza nanami #jujitsu kaisen #slow burn

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completeoveranalysis · 4 months

Text

[2]

NEW FAVOURITE COVER?

NEW FAVOURITE COVER!

Chapitre 201 - The Truth from within the Ruins

Oh this is just beyond gorgeous. Who can stand against the pure concentrated adorable that is Tsubasa Babies Family Photo? Now with all four of them!

I’m in love with all the tiny details that they clearly spent so long on - all the lovely folds of Sakura’s dress, the intricate detailing on Fai’s robe and staff. Lava Lamp is in his ceremonial garb, and tiny Kurogane IN HIS FANCY LITTLE OUTFIT. (AND HIS POSTURE? GET OUT. Incredible)

Kurogane doesn’t have Ginryuu yet (since this is Happy Childhood AU, so his father will still have it. Still has the moon though!) but Lava Lamp has the Syaoran Family Sword all ready to go. His outfit would be incomplete without it - they’re all wearing clothing from their home worlds, or maybe their families? I’m technically not sure which world Lava Lamp comes from, but his outfit is Family Legacy all the way down. I’m dying to know if Fai’s outfit is in the style of Seresu or Valeria - I don’t think they’re all that different, but I think I would put my money on Valeria based on the position of the fur and the curl motif. In which case it’s fun for me that his Happy Family AU is in Valeria instead of with Ashura. (sorry not sorry Ashura get fucked)

I suppose in this version he never had reason to leave Valeria in the first place, so it’s a very nice touch that the outfit doesn’t immediately resemble the clothing he wore in his backstory, since that’s all so closely linked to the death of his twin, who would be alive here. Very nice visual choices all around, especially with each of them in their own unique colour pallette. Oh, and even with the colour differences they all have bits of yellow somewhere on them, showing their connection.

The left/right split between them is really fun too - sword wielders on one side, phenomenally powerful magic users on the other, cats vs dogs, unique child/parent pairings, etc. It’s very funny to me that they found a super fancy chair for Sakura and a cushion for Kurogane, but nothing for the other two. But Fai draping himself over the chair is such an incredible piece of character flair, which I am in love with, but also, the TOUCH? The little touch of tiny hands? Sakura reaching back to put her hand on the back of Fai’s? Tiny Lava Lamp’s little grip on Kurogane’s arm? OH it’s so touching.

And behind them all? THAT WINDOW. Such a clear symbol positioned directly in the centre frame. At first I thought it might be an eye, but this is Happy Family AU so there should be no Evil Wolverine to spy on them. What I’m voting on instead is CLAMP playing with Tarot symbols again and this being the Wheel of Fortune, or a similar idea of a wheel of destiny. They use the latter idea a lot in their earlier works (RG Veda and X/1999 say hi), but I think the tarot symbol in particular really shines through with the ideas they’re playing with in Tsubasa/xxxHolic, and has a very strong parallel to the idea of hitsuzen.

After some much safer googling it looks like the “Wheel of Fortune” in Tarot can mean change or cycles or inevitable fate, but on the flipside could also be lacking control. I think the reversed meaning of the card really speaks to me the most about their situation in general, as it describes bad luck and misfortunes thrust upon you from external forces, that you are fighting to take control back from an unwinnable situation. That fighting it is impossible, that continuing to fight it can only bring more suffering, and that the only option is to let it go. To stop blaming yourself for the thing you did wrong, or the thing that you think was your fault. To forgive yourself, to accept it all, to let yourself move on, to accept that change is inevitable, and to finally be able to move forward and just let everything happen.

Because if that’s not exactly the whole situation we are in I don’t know what is. It’s a mirror for the things that Fai and Kurogane have already been through, and for what Lava Lamp Guy is still currently fighting, and CLAMP love to do drop these symbols all the time.

And this is a bit of a tangent but who’s gonna stop me? Clamp LOVE their tragic destiny pairs, especially in their early works - the couples deeply love but also cursed by fate, like Kendappa and Souma, Ashura and Yasha (flavoured differently in RG Veda, but still fitting this cycle again in Tsubasa), Subaru and Seishirou, Sorata and Arashi (unfinished), Kamui and Fuuma, etc. The characters who are so different from each other, so diametrically opposed, but in love still, and it burns so strong that they either have to kill each other or let the world burn around them - or both! They’re always fighting destiny, just like the reversed wheel of fortune, and they fight it to the point of obliteration.

AND THEN we have Tsubasa, and I think it’s so endlessly interesting that they took the same pattern and turned it around. Syaoran and Sakura definitely fit the theme (and wild that they took the Cardcaptor Sakura happy couple deliberately to make the most universe shattering tragedy out of it, but I still haven’t seen how their story ends, whether one will have to tragically die to save everything or whether they’ll get out somehow). But what I mostly want to talk about (surprise surprise) Kurogane and Fai, who fit the pattern exactly. Complete opposites, diametrically opposed, set up as antagonists and destined to kill each other but fall in love instead. That they both fight against the tragic pasts that defined them and eventually change their mind. Eventually, slowly, they accept love again and realise that they can actually live with themselves and each other if they let it all go.

And I think what really gets me is that if this was an earlier Clamp work they absolutely would have tragically died - they would have killed each other in the climax of Seresu and it would have been beautiful and terrible and no-one ever would have ever emotionally recovered from the complete and utter devastation.

BUT THEY DIDN’T.

CLAMP spend all of Tsubasa revisiting all their old works, taking us through a parade of the various tragedies they’ve sung across the years, all leading up to them ultimately breaking their own pattern and letting Fai and Kurogane save each other from the same Clamp fate that claimed every tragic pair before them. They choose each other and get out alive. They stop blaming themselves for the unchangeable parts of destiny and finally forgive themselves. And it’s just very emotional to me that it’s these two that make it, these two that get to recover and choose each other and live their lives inseparable from this point on. The two that had arguably the most tragic backstories also get to face their trauma, survive, and live.

And it’s just so beautiful to see how the CLAMP storytelling method has changed over the years, and to find out that after all these years, the big destiny story they really wanted to tell in their longest and most detailed work was about the two men who fell in love, against all odds and saved each other. Despite absolutely everything saying that it should be impossible, it’s Kurogane and Fai that finally flip the tarot card back around and live.

And I’m extremely interested in what this means for Lava Lamp and Not!Sakura.

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