Just letting ya'll know that I'm working on the next chapter. 2 weeks maximum, I finally set up a patreon so now I have to actually stick to a schedule.
Even though i would like an update chapter of your fics more than once a year, i also concur that Quality over Quantity........but seriously could we get things shortened to at least once every 5 months?
Even though i would like an update chapter of your fics more than once a year, i also concur that Quality over Quantity........but seriously could we get things shortened to at least once every 5 months?
If forcing yourself to keep a schedule like that helps you go for it, but I really hope you don't sacrifice quality to try and meet an impossible schedule.
It's not necessarily updates to Constellations? But it's close to the end so I predict a number of updates in the next couple of months.
I set up my patreon with a poll to determine reader interest as a guide for what to update next, but it's not an exact science (case in point: currently working on Constellations and Trailblazin').
It's not necessarily updates to Constellations? But it's close to the end so I predict a number of updates in the next couple of months.
I set up my patreon with a poll to determine reader interest as a guide for what to update next, but it's not an exact science (case in point: currently working on Constellations and Trailblazin').
This is something i have been thinking about since 2018, we all remember the box with the chinese zodiac engravings that Taylor and Ammy are using to keep the beads that they are gifted. I think that once all the spots are filled we will either get:
A. Taylor and Ammy get the String of Beads, you know, the Stupidly powerful item that gives Ammy infinite ink and solar energy, allowing her to punt Zion out of earth and into the Underworld where he belongs, along with his wife.
B. The Brush Gods awaken, selecting the ones who made the offerings as their representatives, like Taylor is for Ammy, allowing them to join the fight. The String of Beads is created and, after a heartfelt speech, they all punt Zion into oblivion.
C. Shonen anime fight where Sunny tries to fight off Zion but he overpowers her and, somehow, does what Yami did, cutting off Sunny's access to the Brush gods leaving her defenseless.
Taylor obtains the last beads and completes the String of Beads, and appears in a dimension where Chibi hands her the Thunder Edge, Solar Flare and the Tundra Beads to give to her mother and gifts Taylor with a reforged Tsukiyomi for her to use and a beautiful brush, a Celestial Brush that can only be used by the heralds of Amaterasu.
Taylor gets the String of Beads gets to Sunny and they kill Zion once and for all before sealing the remains so no one can use them.
Please note that this is all speculation and wishful thinking created by my love for shonen final fights and Okami.
"Oh! Uh, not quite. It's close, but that was for success in endeavors, basically. This one is for academics." He dragged over her school bag, and Taylor handed him the book of ofuda to flip through while she picked out her ink and one of her special brushes. "It's actually for my cousin. Finals are coming up, and she's always stressing about every test she takes."
"Sure, I've met a few like that. She go to Winslow?"
Haru shook his head. "Nah, she's in college. Graduated high school early and went up to Cornell." He grinned suddenly, then laughed. "She's not really the mystic type, being an engineer and all, but even if the charm does nothing to help it'll at least give her something new to call my mom and complain about."
Grace blinked as a heavy envelope landed in front of her, obscuring her view of the physics textbook that she'd been staring at for... she rubbed her eyes wearily before fumbling at a pile of notes to unearth a cheap LED clock... holy shit - five hours?
"Um. yeah, thanks Angie" She called after her roommate as the other girl flopped onto the bottom mattress of the bunk bed they shared.
Her response was a floppy arm wave, signalling a magnanimous acceptance of her thanks, followed by a mumbled, "Yeah yeah, just don't spaz out too much this time studying. I don't wanna wake up to you muttering dark incantations while walking in circles again.".
"Those were just Physics equations I was trying to memorize!"
Another arm flop, "Physics equations, dark verses trying to summon the shade of beelzebub, 'bout the same as far as I'm concerned. Just relax. Or at least go explode in the library so I don't have to clean bits of Grace out of my hair."".
Grace snorted, "Easy for you to say, you're done with exams already. And you don't have any grants on the line.".
Not even an arm twitch this time, Angela was either asleep, or feigning it and she was good enough at the pretense that Grace couldn't tell at first glance. A moment later an overly dramatic snore confirmed that it was definitely the latter. Grace rolled her eyes.
Sighing faintly, she looked at the fat envelope from... Haru? That was a bit of a surprise, she actually did keep in contact with her cousin every once in a while but snail mail wasn't something that actually happened. Curious, she rather indelicately tore the envelope before shaking its contents out onto her desk and...
A charm? Really? She rummaged around in the envelope before pulling free a short note that read:
Grace narrowed her eyes at the note, a faint smirk playing on her lips, she'd have to.... chastise Haru the next time she was in town for using her as an excuse.... Either that or figuring out the exact right time when he was talking to this Miko of hers then.... boom, embarrassing older cousin.
She glanced at the charm itself and well, she had to admit, it was pretty well done. A nice mix of almost professional brushwork on not-quite-commercial paper that gave it a nice authentic feel. After a moment, she took a bit of tape and hung it up just above her desk.
After looking at it for a few moments, she sighed and flipped her physics text closed. Maybe she'd call her Aunt and vent for a bit. Angie and Haru might be onto something really.
It wouldn't do to just... Explode before Finals after all.
------
Man, I really need to scrape some rust off my writing.
It's not exactly canon, but @UnwelcomeStorm also said that the beat way to defuse Bakuda basically ensuring she didn't triggered, 'armed', at the first place.
So, I finally quit my job due to Covid, and have decided to try out the self-employed thing and start up a patreon. I'll be updating more frequently from here on out.
51
Sunny brought the zodiac box out from the honden, and nosed it open for her. Purity-- rather, she supposed it was just Kayden, now—was assigned to the Ox with a gentle touch of Sunny's paw, and Taylor folded the necklace into the small space. Then, with another almost-guilty look, Sunny touched the character belonging to the Horse. Exhaling a shaky breath, Taylor reached out her hand and forcibly uncurled her fist, letting Emma's earrings drop into the box. When she turned her hand over, her palm still had imprints from how hard she'd gripped them.
Sunny's tongue eclipsed the marks from view as she gave Taylor's hand a reassuring lick. Taylor rubbed the wolf's chin in response. "Thank you. I'll be okay."
The next morning, everywhere on the news were reports of the Protectorate launching a successful raid against the E88. The few nazi capes left in the city had been captured.
The Empire had fallen.
* * *
Taylor bent and shoveled another small portion of snow and slush away from the Shrine's main pathway. The place was looking good today, even if the unpainted exterior of the nearly-finished onsen she could glimpse through the barren trees was a bit of a startle, still. Dad's Pawns could seriously get stuff done fast, powered by the cruel irony of a Union man having an infinite source of unpaid labor. In what felt like a very short time period (actually about a week since they'd begun) they'd gotten the foundation dug, the walls up, the baths connected, all that. The inside was still empty, of course, with Taylor opting to let the old Dockworker crews finish with the plumbing and electricity before she started moving in amenities and decorations. With Sunny already browsing online stores for what she wanted, that shouldn't take very long at all. They were on track to open the baths for the new year. She'd have to start painting some more membership slips.
Taylor finished her task, then took a moment to catch her breath and just look around the Shrine's grounds. After a few moments, she turned her head towards where Sunny was relaxing in the entryway of the haiden. "Sunny? Is it just me, or are there an awful lot of sparrows around lately?"
Sunny shrugged her shoulders, but her canine grin ruined any illusion of nonchalance she was trying for. Taylor pursed her lips and looked back out at the birds in question, hopping here and there atop the snow. Now that she was looking at it... was that a pile of birdseed next to the cleansing fountain? There weren't any feeders at the Shrine, why did they even have birdseed? It took Taylor a few minutes of thinking before a vague memory of buying several bags last summer, at Sunny's insistence. In the warmer weather when the Shrine was still getting set up and established, the wolf had liked to feed the nearby mice and squirrels and such. It had been long enough since she'd seen her friend doing it that Taylor had forgotten.
Well, that was fine. Taylor liked sparrows well enough, they were cute and sounded nice to listen to. Her mother had called them 'flying mice' on more than one occasion, which was honestly accurate. With Sunny presumably scheming something it meant there were Shenanigans afoot, but Taylor would worry about that when she inevitably stumbled over them. In the meantime, she'd look into picking up some actual feeders and maybe a birdbath for them.
* * *
Lung retreated to a bar he favored after a rough day of dealing with the peasants. Normally, he'd opt for somewhere more private and luxurious, but after two hours of negotiations with the new steel-spined Madame of the newly-reformed brothel being run by the ABB, he was thoroughly sick of high class furniture and pretentious expectations. He just wanted a damn drink. Thankfully, almost as soon as he'd sidled up to the bar at one of his more favored hole-in-the-wall establishments, the bartender had slid a cold bottle over to him without a word needed.
He let the world narrow down to just his thoughts and his beer, and barely took notice when another patron occupied a barstool near him and tossed a silk pouch full of coins onto the bar. Lung did notice when the bartender exchanged those coins for some sort of fruity cocktail... served in a bowl. Lung turned his head and watched Good Dog lower her head and start lapping at her drink. Lung turned away and looked at the bartender, then at the sparse other patrons, then back to the wolf. A sense of vertigo overtook him, as it felt like the world was tilting on an axis he didn't share. There was a wolf at the goddamn bar, buying a drink, why wasn't anybody saying anything?!
No. No. Lung drained his remaining beer in a single swig and left. He wasn't playing these games, today.
Unfortunately, it seemed like the kami was very interested in playing games with him.
For the next several days, anywhere he went, the kami was there. It was waiting on top of his car when he exited a meeting of his lieutenants, as they made plans to cautiously expand into territories once held by the Empire. It was glimpsed across the street from his apartment. It was even at a damn strip club, with a paw full of dollars and two women cooing and fussing over its soft fur. And every time he had to evade the kami, Lung felt himself getting more and more tense, an affliction not helped by the fact that the damn wolf was now haunting all of his usual relaxation avenues. This seething tension continued until Lung tossed his jacket onto the couch in his apartment, and something fell out of it with a light clatter on the coffee table.
Investigating, Lung found a painted wooden strip with the image of a tiger. He stared at it with a suspicious eye, before eventually grunting and picking it up. It was the bath membership token the Miko had given him; she'd mentioned that he was the first one to receive such a thing. Lung mulled the forming idea over for a little bit. He'd seen the building was nearing completion. More importantly, the kami was demonstrably concerned with propriety: Lung highly doubted the wolf would interrupt him in the bath. And a hot soak did sound relaxing...
Lung sighed, and retrieved his jacket again. It was worth a try.
The Miko seemed surprised to see him, and even more thrown off-balance when he inquired about the baths, but Lung held up the token and the girl was caught in her own rules of courtesy. As she'd warned, the insides of the bath were bare of decorations or towels, but the large tubs were full of steaming water and the air was thick with the scent of minerals. Lung shed his clothes and mask, tossed them aside, and sank into the bath.
He had to give the kami this: it had arranged for something quite heavenly. The hot water set to easing his muscles immediately, leaving Lung to tilt his had back and just bask in the feelings of peace and rejuvenation. Some pleasant decorations and soothing sounds would make this onsen an incredible draw for tourists. But for today, it belonged only to Lung. The only thing that could make it more perfect would be--
A sudden chirp to his right made Lung's eyes snap open, then widen in disbelief. Sitting next to the bath were now two folded towels, a large mug of beer in a frosted glass, and a sparrow.
The sparrow looked at him, tilting its head a little. When Lung said nothing it chirped once more, then flew away in a sudden flurry of tiny wings. Lung stared first at the empty hallway to which it had fled, then at the beer. He poked the glass; it was real enough to feel cold.
The kami did not interrupt him in the bath. It had no need to. It had servants everywhere. There was no escape.
* * *
Lung reemerged from the onsen a little over an hour later, and made a beeline for Taylor who was busying herself stringing together some of the non-boxed beads that had been donated so that she could hang them on the Wishing Tree. She caught sight of him walking across the grounds with a hurried step and put aside her work, an uneasy frown settling on her face. Had the baths been unacceptable? Was he going to complain to her, or--
Lung stopped a few feet in front of Taylor. The awkward silence didn't have much time to grow before Lung suddenly lowered himself to his knees, then bowed his head until his mask touched the ground.
"I surrender."
"...what?" Taylor blinked. Whatever she had expected, it wasn't this.
"I surrender to the kami. I give up. What do you want from me?" The gang leader's voice took on a desperate strain at the last question, and this time the silence did stretch. Taylor glanced around for Sunny, but the wolf was nowhere to be seen. She was on her own for this one. Tentatively, Taylor shuffled forward, then lightly touched her hand to Lung's bare shoulder.
"I would like for you to start wearing a shirt."
Lung kept his head to the ground, mind racing. A shirt? What was that supposed to mean? She wanted him to... conceal himself? Erase his presence from the new territories and businesses, keep his gang out of sight, let the world think these lands did not belong to Lung?
"Never." Lung lifted his head from the bow to spot the irritated scowl on Taylor's face. At least this, the kami could not take from him.
Taylor sighed. "I knew it was a long shot... where did this sudden question come from?"
Lung stood back up, now that they were speaking more as equals. "The kami has been following me for days. I do not know what it desires from me."
"Oh, I see... well, if Sunny's hounding you, you could bring her some beads." She gestured at the strings she'd been putting together. "Or anything small that can be strung up, I guess. She's been collecting them, maybe she wants some from you."
Lung stared at her in silence for a moment, before growling out an acknowledgment and stalking away.
The next day, Lung returned, and he did indeed have an offering. Instead of beads, he dropped a few small silver scales, already prepared with a small bored hole, into the collection basket. Sunny actually woke Taylor up with her excited barking, dragging the girl out of her temporary office home and into the shrine proper to take care of Lung's offering.
It was a familiar ritual by now, and Taylor couldn't keep an amused smile off her face as Sunny excitedly tapped her paws against the character of the Tiger.
How many aspects of the zodiac (plus 1) have been completed/achieved now? I can't remember all the ones that have happened so far unfortunately, been too long.
This was a hilarious chapter, sorry to hear you quit your job if that wasn't what you wanted. If it was what you wanted though, good on you. Still looking forward to seeing more of this in the future.
Lung's internal monologue makes it sound almost reasonable, but I'd just like to repeat for posterity how that must have looked to Taylor or any Outsiders.
Lung: "I give. I am a kami-fearing good boy now. What the hell does it want from me?"
Taylor: "Wear a shirt, please."
Lung: "Never."
Lung's internal monologue makes it sound almost reasonable, but I'd just like to repeat for posterity how that must have looked to Taylor or any Outsiders.
Lung: "I give. I am a kami-fearing good boy now. What the hell does it want from me?"
Taylor: "Wear a shirt, please."
Lung: "Never."
Try turning that around and seeing how Taylor looks from Lung's perspective.
Lung: Who are you?
Taylor: Me? I'm nobody.
Lung: *stares in disbelief*
Taylor: Okay, I get that look all the time. Sunny is the one with the powers, not me! I'm just a regular teenager!
Lung: *carefully avoids looking at the patron kami of the "regular teenager" that is lounging nearby*
