Impulse Purchase Haha

Ingo and Emmet, trying to get breakfast before they hop on the E train back to Nimbasa:

really exhausted Castelian (Castellite?) who just wants to put some fucking creamer in their coffee: "God damn not ANOTHER cosplayer. comic con is OVER. Everyone knows the Subway Bosses never leave the subway anyway. They live there."

Poorly drawn Legendary Beasts

My contribution to the silly thing going around twitter right now lmao

Green with Envy

Adashino x reader x Ginko (can be read as platonic or romantic)

Oh dear half-child, how do you feel? Does your sharp teeth scare away mortals with softer features? Is your too-human face too unlike that of your spirit friends? Oh if only you knew how loved you were.

Yokai and humans.

They were both different.

       Though you spent a fair amount of time among the yokai, intrinsically familiar with the customs of a world that laid parallel to the human world, the daily company you kept cemented you deeply into the world of mortals. So long spent among them made you maintain a constant front, dulling down yourself to appear palatable. Thus, it wasn’t hard to forget that you were not fully human.

But then there’d be inevitable moments that remind you of what you were and what you weren’t. Claws not fit to be on a normal person that would leave scratches on Adashino’s precious dark wood doorways. A stamina level surpassing even that of Ginko, the ever-wandering man asking to take a break long before the effects of traveling hit you. But nothing reminded you of your otherness as much as watching Adashino and Ginko interact with others.

Sometimes you loved to punish yourself by forcing yourself to watch things as they unfold.

(Because that was what you did, ever since you were a kid.)

(Watch. All you knew was how to watch)

(Even as your family house went up in smoke and flames and your mother died protecting your father in front of you, all her Yokai glory forever stained by dirt and blood.)

(Even as your father perished, too, at the hands of the village he called his own when trying to get her body back.)

Your throat itched with the sensation of phantom smoke and screaming and you knew that today would be a bad day. A day without words as they would stay locked up tight in your throat no matter how much you tried. Bad days like these used to be common, back when wounds were fresher. But since the arrival of two humans in your life, they’d become few and far in between.

(Few but not gone. And today was going to be one of them.)

The sounds of brass bells being rung and cheers rising up from the streets drew your attention from the dark musings of your thoughts and outwards. From your viewpoint up in the trees and surrounded by their foliage, you had a bird’s eye view of the bustling town market from where you sat. A small festival, that’s what it was. A child had just won a prize for successfully scooping up a turtle with his net. Now the parents cheered as the vendor gave the child a sewn turtle animal. Your gaze stayed locked on the idyllic scene, of a precious family moment.

Oh, how you envied them.

If anybody were to look up at your hiding spot at the moment, they would have seen the golden gleam of slit-like eyes and a dark, blurry shadow among the leaves and nothing more. The weak illusion spell that you managed to cast ensured that they couldn’t see you, despite being so near to others. Festivals like these were rare, the village too small to host frequent ones so when they happened it was a special treat. Both you and Ginko had traveled back for this occasion to be able to help out the townsfolks and enjoy it too. But as the days approached it only got busier and busier. You, when not helping out with the village these past few days, had taken up the mantle of talking to the local forest Yokai. A few liked to mingle among humans during this time, taking in the sights and sounds, and a few appreciated the warnings of more frequent traffic occurring in their zones and it was your job to let them know. 

On the other hand, Adashino, being the doctor and honorary member of the village council, was pulled in all sorts of directions. Budgeting, setup, deliveries form the incoming boats. Even now, he was off helping oversee any problems and keep the peace. And Ginko—

Ginko was passing right in front of your line of sight, deep in conversation with Io.

Ah, Io, the girl who swam with the Suiko. The girl who was saved by the collective efforts of the village. You remembered seeking out the Yokai remedies in the forest to help reverse the effects. A kind, kind girl. Sometimes a bit too selfless, but always eager to help. She had felt indebted to you all, even though all of you had seeked no payment except for her good health and happiness. Despite Ginko’s insistence that he didn't want to take anything from her, she still stopped by Adashino’s to occasionally drop off catches of fish when she had some to spare.

Your eyes tracked the pair as they stopped in front of a stall, Ginko helping Io lift up a case of ice. The slick surface of stray ice under his feet made him slip, almost sending him tumbling down, case and all. His limbs flailed for a moment before he steadied himself. The sight of the usually composed man flustered made Io and some of the locals break into well-natured laughter. Ginko ducked his head, rubbing the nape of his neck in embarrassment as he chuckled.

An ugly feeling flared within your chest at the joyous scene, the longing for closeness making your chest ache. On a normal day, you would’ve been down there already, flitting among the stalls and indulging in the treats. But the work the last few days had forced you to expend more magic than you realized. It didn’t hit you how bad it was until this morning when you nearly ripped a crate apart after getting spooked. Thankfully, only Adashino noticed before you quickly excused yourself to slink away before you could hurt anybody. Even now, as you had dropped the exhausting human mirage in favor of the much easier hiding spell, it still made you twitchy and tired.

Such was your hand deal in life, not enough Yokai blood to wield magic extensively like your brethren but with just enough in you to irreversibly put you apart from all mortal men.

The sounds of goodbyes rose up and you watched Ginko and Io depart back to where they came from. Your feet itched to hop down and pursue them, to join the streams of people moving through the village.

But you were tired.

Tired tired tired.

***

Sometimes, Adashino regretted stepping into such an influential position in the village. Despite there being the officials and the elders who made the major decisions, many of them relied on him for aid. Especially with big events such as these when all he wanted was to spend some time in his archives and organize his collections with Ginko, listening to you chattering their ears off with your tales. 

Don’t get him wrong, he loved where he was now, and if given the chance, he would have done it all over again. He loved being able to contribute his knowledge to the people and help them with everything he could. But he just wished they didn’t make him out to be such an important figure. He was just a humble doctor who liked to collect the unusual, after all.

Well–compared to you and Ginko, he wasn’t exactly humble. But he tried to live an honest life. A life that his parents would be proud of too. It was why he moved out to this village in the first place.

(A desperate fisherman coming to the family apothecary. The village was just beginning to pop up then and was hoping to be able to have a physician who could manage the sickness that had fallen over the town)

His mother had encouraged him to go. Sent him off with a small fortune in his hands left behind by his father. She had reassured him she’d be alright. His father’s time as the most successful physician in their town ensured that landed the family with good graces and good fortune, covering for his wife and two sons even after his death.

(Even now, she continued to send parcels, bigger than before ever since he started mentioning two other individuals in his mail.)

But the responsibilities heaped upon him made it impossible to seek you out after he saw what occurred that morning. It happened so quickly, not even the roughhousing boys who crashed into you realized it, but for a second Adashino’s sharper eyes caught the flicker in your appearance as it slipped to reveal snapping teeth and slitted eyes. He saw the way the crate in your hands began to splinter but as soon as it happened you had shut everything down under tight lock and key, expression freezing over like ice over a winter pond. Nobody noticed as you finished, laughing a laugh with no joy in it towards a joke before you slipped away.

Nobody except him.

And he wasn’t able to grasp a moment with you before you slipped away like mist through his fingers.

A voice called out for him and Adashino cursed his altruistic nature, wishing he had his tobacco pipe in hand. “Coming!”

“....ut it here, Ginko. Thank you for your help, I don’t what I’d have done without you.”

“Anytime.”

The familiar tenor made Adashino stop in his tracks, heading whipping back to seek out its owner. Seeing the white mop of hair, the doctor quickly adverted his course and headed straight for the Mushishi. He skidded to a stop in front of him, monocle nearly falling off. “Ginko! There you are. Please tell me you have a moment.”

Ginko tilted his head, blinking slowly through the haze of his cigarette smoke. “Sure do.”

“Okay good, good. Have you seen–” His eyes flitted to the left as he thought he saw you, uttering your name. “–anywhere?”

“Can’t say I have. Why? Dodging responsibilities?”

Adashino shook his head, worry surging back to the forefront of his mind. Why were you not there? Usually, you’d be among the streets already; if not, Ginko should’ve spotted you in the crowd. But to not see hide nor hair of you this entire time? 

It must have shown on his face because Ginko stepped forward. “Is something wrong?”

Despite the responsibilities weighing down his shoulders, he grabbed the man’s arm and began dragging him to the side. “Come on give me a moment and I’ll explain to you. Can you do me a favor?”

***

Ginko was troubled.

The worried look on Adashino’s face as he left the doctor to resume his responsibilities stuck with the white-haired man as he set off to take a lap around the town, looking for you. Now that the doctor brought up his concerns about you, Ginko couldn’t help but re-analyze the entire day so far, recalling a very distinct lack of your sharp laughter and crimson kimono that you loved to wear for festivals. The entire time he attributed your absence to you being busy helping Adashino but when the doctor had asked him if he had seen you it threw him for a loop. And then the short explanation that entailed, Adashino’s concerns about your appearance–which you usually kept under lock and key–nearly being shown in the middle of the market.

So there he was, trying to seek out a flighty little half-spirit like the way he seeked out Mushi. It reminded him of the first time he met you when you both were younger and less experienced in life. It was a Mushi report that turned out to be a Yokai, one that you were also in the region to deal with, and he had accidentally tracked you down instead of the actual issue. Luckily, you were agreeable enough to aid him in finding the Yokai, and your help was crucial in asking it to move out from the river the village used. The rest was history.

Through the length of time that the three of you have known each other, there were things that were shared among you three that no outsiders knew. Moments reserved only for each other and no one else. You had seen him at his worst and he had seen you at yours and thus he was adept at spotting when you were running yourself ragged.

Usually.

Ginko muttered a curse under his breath as he thought about you in the past few days. The ozone smell of your magic fluctuating wildly when you three spent time with each other at home, how your appetite had waned despite it usually increasing when you used a lot of powers, the way you were tenser around open fires lately. But because of the work occupying you all, he had missed all the signs.

His feet picked up the pace as he scanned the area around him. He knew you were smart and capable enough to care for yourself but he didn’t want you to spend your time alone with your thoughts.

(And Adashino would have his sorry hide if Ginko didn’t find you before the end of today.)

An inquiry from a local made him stop as they roped him into a conversation and he tried his best to entertain it without drawing it on for too long. Thankfully his practice in patience paid off and they soon excused themself to send him on his way. Pulling a cigarette out, he lit it up and inhaled the calming smoke. While the festival was entertaining, he couldn’t wait until it was over so he could actually spend some time with you and Adashino beyond hurried conversations as you guys carried stuff past each other on the street.

(Though he lamented that he’d have to leave very soon after the festival, lest he attracts any unsavory Mushi close to people he held so dear.)

With a sigh, the man took another drag and moved on. 

Now… If he was his sneaky little fox spirit, where would he hide?

***

The sun had shifted to shine directly on your face in the time you woke up from your daze and now your skin felt flushed and tacky. Hot and feverish with heat. Despite your state, you still managed to pick up the sounds of a throat clearing at the base of your tree. You shifted, an eye peering down through the fringes of your hair.

“You’ve been here the whole time?” Ginko asked, hands tucked in his pocket and face upturned to smile at you in his small, signature smile. “How long have you been up there, huh? ‘Shino’s been searching around for you.”

You didn’t answer–couldn’t answer as words refuse to give way–but a deliberate shift making the leaves around you rustle was enough of an answer for the man as he let out a good-natured sigh, stepping up to under where you were sitting and extending his arms out to beckon you.

Ginko called your nickname, short and sweet as it fell from his mouth, arms beckoning you. “C’mere. Let’s go back before it gets dark and Adashino decides to lock us in his shed. I’ll catch you.”

There was hesitation in your actions as you began to untuck from the ball that you’d curled up into, but the endless patience in Ginko’s face and his calm demeanor reassured you. As one leg dangled over the branch, you peered down at him with tired eyes.

“As scrawny as I may seem, I’m stronger than I look. I won’t drop you. Don’t you trust me?”

You did.

Gravity swept you down toward him as you pushed off, clenching your eyes shut in anticipation. Lithe arms caught you with a grunt and you let out a quiet wheeze at the impact. Miraculously, the man didn’t topple under the weight and force of your landing. You clambered off him, ready to head back but the moment your feet touched the ground the consequences of perching in a tree the whole day caught up to you. Ginko saw you toppling and quickly went to support you. 

“Don’t think you can make it back to Adashino’s, huh?”

You pursed your lips, shaking your head. To your surprise, Ginko began pulling away from you. There was a moment of panic as you thought he was leaving you before he crouched down in front of you.

“Up you go.”

A moment passed as you stared at him in confusion. Ginko glanced back at you as he raised an eyebrow after seeing you still standing there.

“Come on. You’re really gonna walk all the way home and up the hill?”

That question helped you make up your mind. Quickly, you clambered up, locking your arms around his shoulders and he grabbed the underside of your thighs.

“You’ll be my medicine cabinet for today,” Ginko said as he stood up. “A bigger, livelier one.”

You gently pat him on top of his head, messing with the hair there.

“I’ll drop you if you don’t stop that,” Ginkgo warned, jostling you jokingly.

A small amused huff escaped you at that, knowing full well that he wouldn't do that, and resting your chin on his shoulder. The walk back was peaceful, with Ginko pointing out a few of the harmless Mushi floating around and remarking on some of the Yokai visitors he saw arrive today.

(Some of them, he told you, asked after your wellbeing.)

With his presence came the feeling of your soul settling down, your skin feeling more right on your body. You weren’t like them, but that didn’t matter. There was still a place for you in their world and them in yours.

You know those anime meta posts along the lines of “I was born with pink hair. The doctors told my parents I was a Main Character and ever since my life has not known peace from demons/spirits/sports competitions/harems who find me”

Well I see that, and I raise you this:

An anime boy whose appearance is, by absolutely anyone’s account, completely and utterly average. Mundane hair. Mundane eyes. Not even glasses to set him the tiniest bit apart. A simple, unmemorable, unrecognizable civilian among a backdrop of millions.

And he has a lot of passions, and a lot of ambitions, which he hones every chance he gets. He’s dabbled in sports and archery and cooking and just about anything you could wrap a competition around. And he’s competed in many of these. Every chance he gets. With all of his passion and all of his might.

He’s crushed by the competition every single time.

Until one day–one day something clicks for him. Something that should have seemed obvious from the start and yet never was–as though everyone, including himself, was unwittingly blind to it. It clicks, when he realizes every kid who’s beaten him in competition, every kid who’s gone on to fame and glory and acclaim, has been some candy-haired gel-spiked ridiculously-dressed fucker. 

There’s some trend there that this Main Character boy can’t explain and can’t understand but he decides, this one time, fuck it. He’ll play along too. He’s got a model train competition in four days, and he’s got nothing more to lose. He hits up the department store, buys the pinkest, noxious-est, fruitiest hair dye he can find, the spikiest hair gel available, and the gaudiest clothes on the thrift rack. He enters the model train competition looking like a bubble gum gijinka.

And he wins.

Suddenly, the other candy-haired contestants notice him. They talk to him. They pledge rivalries. Girls notice him. Judges applaud him. Acclaimed model train aficionados offer him internships across the world. He’s hit on something. 

The main cast expands to cover just about every candy-hair cliche in the book: from the mostly-normal-looking demure school girl with the blue hair to the Naruto-est, yelling-est boy with the red-and-green spiked hair. The cool megane senpais, the purple haired tsunderes, suddenly everyone is interested in him. They’re prodigies and upstarts and underdogs and they truly believe that this main character boy is one of them.

So the main character boy maintains his ruse. He touches up his roots at dawn every morning and carefully attends to his gelled spikes and tells absolutely no one about this great, uncanny, unfathomable secret he’s stumbled upon. He wins his competitions left and right. He racks up the acclaim. He’s hailed as a prodigy of all trades, just now bursting onto the scene, and boils to the top of all his candy-haired peers.

He’s rising up, his every dream within his grasp. Until one day he gets a note under his door, taped to an old picture of his Normal Boring self from middle school, that says “You don’t belong”

writers are creatures that feed on comments by the way. if you want more of your blorbo from them, give them lovely comments. they love that and will most likely give you more fics about your blorbo

Small Mushishi sketch in Procreate

Merry Christmas 🎄

Pros of re-reading your own fic

a good time;

Has exactly the tropes you like and the characterization you want to read;

Gratification: yes you did finish a thing and yes you did do good;

just a very fun time all around.

Cons of re-reading your own fic:

Is that another TYpO

It’s while you’re playing with dinosaurs on the floor that something comes crashing into your grand fight seen. You boggle a moment, caught off guard by the sleek white train that’s now knocked onto its side thanks to your mighty Tyrantrum. But you pick it up, and glance around the room to see who lost their toy.

All the other children are playing on their own. You can see a gaggle playing house, the father loudly scolding the “dog” for peeing in the house, thus sending the rest of the “family” into heaps of giggles. There are a few reading, buried in blankets and pillows as they smile at their picture books. And then there’s a lone boy, stood over by the corner, away from most everyone.

He stares at you, eyes flickering between your face and the train you hold. His smile is tight and looks painful.

You stand, and stride over to him. The boy jumps, head ducking away from your returned stare, only to jolt once more when you offer him the train back.

“Here!” You chirp, happy to have helped. “Your cool train ran into my Tyrantrum and had a big crash! But I’m super cool and smart, so I was able to fix it!”

Shaky hands take the train from you, and your grin wavers at the sight of the boy slowly turning a deep pink. You grow a little nervous, especially with his silence.

“Um, okay!” You say, false cheeriness lacing your words. “Bye!”

You race back to your own toys, shouting at Kevin when he tries to steal your Aerodactyl.

You don’t talk with the boy again, but whenever you glance his way, you can see him staring at you still. Weird! But you try not to mind it.

▽

You’re outside today, which is always super fun. You get to dig your hands into the dirt, piling it up into castles and towers that your imagination can fill with wizards and royalty to have drama amongst themselves. You’re so lost in your little dirt world that you almost don’t notice the shadow that falls over you.

You do notice, though, and glance up to see that same boy. His smile is still tight, but he’s holding something behind his back, the toe of his foot tracing shapes in the dirt.

“Hi!” You greet. “Whatcha got there?”

The boy flushes, but shows you what he’s holding. A small Venipede squirms around in his grip, barely bigger than his hands, so that means-!

“A baby!” You squeal, shocking the boy as you immediately begin to coo at the bug. “Hello! Hello! You’re so cute!”

The boy wobbles on his feet, but eventually sets the Venipede down for you to pet. The bug chitters and whines, leaning into your dirty palms. It makes you squirm with happiness, and you look up to thank the boy for showing you his find, only to see he’s gone.

“Oh.” You say, a little disappointed. But you don’t stay that way for long, as the boy soon runs up, skidding to a stop before you with his hands behind his back once more. “Oh! Yay! You’re back!”

The boy gives a jerking nod, then shoves his hands forward. You tumble back some, surprised to see the small white flower he clutches. It smells sweet, despite being so small.

“For me?” You ask breathily. The boy nods again, so pink you’re worried he’s given himself a fever. But you take the flower from him, smiling as he curls in on himself, fiddling with his own fingers. “Thank you!”

You plant a kiss to his cheek.

“Now we’re married!” You chirp.

The boy faints.

“Oh no!”

▽

You eye the man in the kitchen, chattering away with his brother as they fight over what’s for dinner. Sometimes you miss how cute and shy he used to be, but at the same time, it’s nice to see him grow into someone confident and happy.

Sighing, you close the book on the Venipede entry, safely encasing the tiny white flower pressed between the pages to be looked at another time.