Even in Darkness, There is Hope.

Retired roleplay blog for the Kuroda clan. I write stories. Other blogs: talesofmino

[talesofharima]

All the character pages are done! What does this mean?

If the character has a character page, you may ask them questions using my askbox and I will answer in character. 

Edit: Navigation for mobile users.

At this time I have no intention of holding RP threads of any kind.

[talesofharima]

Tumblr are you ok?? I KNOW this post isn't from 2 days ago, you're just trying to confuse me!!! I haven't seen this person since like 2018. That being said. Thanks @thekingofsadness for the positive feedback from whenever this was. It's been a long time since I've written publicly. A LONG time haha. I hope you're doing well. Maybe you'll also get this ping 7 years later.

Edit: the biggest whiplash was the use of a username so old I spent 5 minutes figuring out where MY ping was. LOL

[alphawave-writes]

Wow an actual blast from the past. And LOL I'm still here just on a different blog, doing fanfic stuff (but Liu Shan still keeps a precious place in my heart, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was something related to him LOL). Don't ask me why I still keep this blog despite never writing in it until now, I guess it's sentimentality reasons, and also just a banger name.

Hope you've been doing well!

[talesofharima]

Omg! I also have such a special place in my heart for the characters. I miss it but adult life is hard. Glad to hear you're doing well!

I'm doing well enough for myself. Just a lonely potato.

[talesofharima]

Tumblr are you ok?? I KNOW this post isn't from 2 days ago, you're just trying to confuse me!!! I haven't seen this person since like 2018. That being said. Thanks @thekingofsadness for the positive feedback from whenever this was. It's been a long time since I've written publicly. A LONG time haha. I hope you're doing well. Maybe you'll also get this ping 7 years later.

Edit: the biggest whiplash was the use of a username so old I spent 5 minutes figuring out where MY ping was. LOL

[talesofharima]

Okay but I just want to make an announcement that the inspiration for me picking that plot back up was...

Watching a documentary on TB on YT. LOL I didn't know where I wanted the plot to go because... well let me not give all my ideas away. Back to gaming!

[talesofharima]

Arioka Castle Part 3

Hello. In case anyone is reading this, this does have a POV swap in the middle. I wrote the last bit in what, the spring? Bruh I don't even remember what happened in part 2. Take this at face value.

The sweet chirping of birds woke Atsushi the next morning.. The sunrise glowed warmly through the paper doors and rays of light peeked through the windows. With a big yawn and stretch, he sat up, but when he dropped his hand, he came in contact with something warm.

"OW!" Hakata jumped upright, holding his nose with one hand and batting Atsushi away. In his waving, he hit Atsushi in the face.

"Hey!" He shouted defensively. "It was just an accident!"

Hakata squinted, unable to see without his glasses. "Ah, sorry," he said sheepishly. "I didn't know it was you."

Atsushi facepalmed finding Hakata's brightly colored glasses. He put them on for him, and Hakata blinked his eyes into focus. They smiled at each other, but Atsushi quickly remembered that this wasn't their citadel. He looked the room over again, spotting the other two boys who shared space with them. His former master's son, just old enough for a sword of his own, and their host's child. Somehow, Shigekado had wound up basically on top of Nagamasa, the way he laid on his back and his arm and leg rested over him. Once more, Atsushi met his brother's eyes and they nodded. They crawled out of bed and tiptoed around the sleeping boys.

Atsushi carefully opened the door, peering out into the main room of the home. The room looked more spacious in the light, but was still cramped by the number of people moving around. Everyone was quietly shuffling around, cleaning and preparing the meal.

“Oh, when was the last time we had so many visitors…” Toku thought aloud. “Not since the last time my father visited.” She tapped her chin, standing over a jar of uncooked rice; likely their stores. Her sleeves were tied back, and she held a wooden spoon in her hand.

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Kyusaku crossed the room just to help her with measuring the portions. “It means it’s been peaceful here.”

“Near or far, war is war,” she bapped him on the head with the spoon. “May as well cook the rest of that jar.” Toku frowned, but Atsushi couldn’t tell what she was feeling. 

“I can help you,” Atsushi bounced over. “I’m used to helping cook for a big family.”

“Don’t trust him with the fire, though,” Hasebe chimed in from outside, appearing with a basket of vegetables.

Atsushi pointed as he shouted, “That was one time Hasebe, and it wasn’t even me!”

“Sure, sure,” Hasebe chuckled.

He was messing with him. He absolutely was. Atsushi shrugged it off and soon they were off to their jobs. A big meal required many hands, but too many cooks in the kitchen would indeed start a fire. As a result, most of them were sitting in the big room again, the doors open to allow the fresh air in. Atsushi was charged with dressing and delivering plates to everyone. Through his work, he could hear some bits of conversation. Mostly just bits and bobbles about what it was like to live here, their childhood antics, and the most delicious dishes they could think of. All of the light heartedness masked the true weight of what was at hand. At some point, the children woke up, joining the adults and toudan for the meal. 

As they ate, eager to keep conversation going, Kyusaku grinned, “Brother, you’re looking more colorful today.”

“Ah?” Hanbei touched his own cheek, as if it would help him see. “See, I’m not a ghost after all.”

“Are you sure?” Toku shot him a playful look, but Hanbei froze up. Their eyes met awkwardly, as Hanbei seemed to doubt his status as ‘not a ghost.’

“PAPA IS A GHOST?!” Shigekado, who’d been sitting next to Nagamasa, jumped up and ran across the room at clumsy child speeds, tripping just before his father. “Oof!” His parents leaned in to check on him, giggling at the poor boy.

“I’m not a ghost,” Hanbei patted his head, though quickly had to cover his mouth for the excitement brought up the nasty cough again. “Yet.”

“Don’t start with that,” Toku pinched his shoulder lightly. “I’ll not have a ghost haunting this home.”

“But if I haunt you then you’ll,” Hanbei pauses to cough and laugh at the same time. “Then you’ll see me every day.”

“Well…”

“Papa, are you gonna be a ghost?” Shigekado tilted his head. “I thought ghosts were scary.”

“I’ll be a nice ghost,” he promised, still coughing/laughing into his sleeve now.

“Like them?” Shigekado pointed to the Toushirou boys. Hakata had been so caught up in his food Atsushi had to nudge him.

“We’re not ghosts, remember?” Atsushi puffed his chest. “We’re tsukumogami!”

The house servant who hadn’t heard the conversation last night gasped audibly. Right, he’d forgotten they weren’t supposed to be announcing their business to the world. Having these two figure out on their own made him far too comfortable.

“Atsushi!!” Hakata smacked him on the back of the head. “Don’t tell crazy stories at breakfast.”

“Ow!” Atsushi leaned over. “Fine, fine.” Hakata winked at him, showing off his good save. Even then, the poor servant was looking like she was a ghost, or looking at a ghost, honestly he couldn’t tell. 

“If I become a ghost, do you think I’ll look like this forever?” Hanbei looked at his hands with genuine curiosity. 

“You’ll look like an old man!” Shigekado smacked his father’s hands and giggled. “An old, old man! And you’ll be real tall!”

“Sure,” Hanbei smiled, once more petting the boy. Unfortunately, they were the only ones holding the smile. Toku hid her face, Kyusaku looked up at the ceiling, and everyone else nervously glancing around the room.

“I always wondered what you’d be like if you were taller than me,” Kyusaku said mindlessly. “You’d finally look like the older one.”

“Uncle!” Shigekado turned with a smile. “You’ll be a short ghost!”

“Eh?!”

“You’ll be this tall!” Shigekado held his hand just above his own head. “Like a baby ghost!” This time, his giggle was infectious. For now, it seemed he was still unclear how ghosts worked. He made it extremely clear when he went around the room announcing everyone’s future as a ghost. The thought started to give Atsushi chills. Oh what it must be like to be an innocent, naive child…

--------------------------

The breakfast ended, and the two boys were sent outside with the Toushirou brothers. Looking young meant they had childcare duty, much to their dismay. Nikkou couldn’t help but feel bad for them, for this meeting pertained to all six of them. They could be filled in later, at least. The servant left as well, leaving Hanbei’s family and the four toudan in the room.

“You really want to leave today?” Toku stared at her hands. She knew the answer already. They all did.

“Toku…” Hanbei paused, uncertain of his words.

Nikkou knew this couldn’t continue like this, so he took a deep breath to bring attention to himself. “There is the matter of our team. If I may,” he looked to Nihongou for clearance.

“Sure,” Nihongou nodded.

“Because we don’t know the movement of our enemies, it may be pertinent that our team splits up.”

“I thought you’d say that,” Hasebe shifted, sitting on his feet. “I assume you’re thinking what I am.”

“They won’t like it,” Nikkou replied. “That’s why I think I should stay with them too.”

“Stay back just to appease them?” Hasebe raised an eyebrow. “Any one of us could do that. We just have to consider who we have. You wouldn’t do well if you had to fight indoors.” Hasebe gestured to Nikkou’s sword. “I have a feeling the boys aren’t the target.”

“Nikkou has a point,” Nihongou chimed in. “Plus, we wouldn’t be here if they weren’t part of the big picture.”

The three of them looked between each other, a silent conversation being held. There was a bigger picture here. Nikkou ran it over in his head again. Hanbei’s fate was sealed no matter what the HRA did to him. The children though; they had a large future ahead of them. The only lead they had that Hanbei was the target was being told that this was about Harima. Their destination. It was tough to decide if any of them should stay back. But eventually, he realized that Nihongou had the final say. He didn’t want to bring up any other verbal argument, lest their knowledge become too clear.

“If the children are in danger, I’d rather you…” Hanbei coughed, “not hide it from us.”

Nikkou once more looked to his leader for support.

“I assure you Lord Hanbei,” Nihongou bowed his head, “if we keep anything from you, it won’t be to harm you or your family.”

Hanbei nodded, “Sometimes it’s best to not ask questions.” Toku looked far from happy to hear this, but she held in whatever frustration she had for his sake. Of course he noticed and took her hand.

“That being said,” Nihongou sat up to look at Nikkou, “I think you should come with us, for the reason Hasebe stated. Hakata and Atsushi are the only ones suited to the job.”

“Yes sir,” Nikkou nodded in acknowledgement. With that settled, the preparations began, and less than 24 hours from their arrival, the party was ready to go. As expected, Hakata and Atsushi were not keen on being left behind, but took their duty in stride. 

They gathered in the courtyard in late afternoon. The logic was to put space between them and their home before the HRA returned. Without enough horses for such a large party, they would trek on foot, with just one horse for Hanbei and another to help with supplies. With Hanbei was his brother, Nihongou, Nikkou, Hasebe, and Samidare. Remaining behind was Atsushi and Hakata with Toku, Shigekado and Nagamasa.

Although the humans didn’t know the future like they did, Nikkou could feel the weight of their final goodbye. It’s as he thought before. Hanbei’s fate was sealed, and you’d have to be a naive child to not understand it. How do you say goodbye to someone for the last time, knowing it’s just that?

“End this war,” Toku said sternly. “End it, so nobody has to feel this way again.”

“I’ll do my best,” Hanbei smiled gently. 

“I don’t want you to go,” Shigekado pouted, rubbing his eyes.

Without missing a beat, Hanbei replied. “Someone has to end the war.”

“Papa will be a hero!” Shigekado looked at Hanbei with tears in his eyes.

“The sidekick,” Hanbei winked. “Lord Hideyoshi is the one to watch out for.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Nihongou glanced at him. “What’s a hero without a sidekick anyway?”

“Lost,” Hanbei punctuated his sentence with a few coughs.

“Exactly,” Nihongou grinned widely. “So let’s find our hero of the ages and end some wars!”

Everyone cheered in agreement, and so they went off to war, never to return.

[talesofharima]

Played enough samurai warriors to want to write again. Absurd but whatever works I guess.

I'm interested in the dynamic between Mitsunari and his adopted brothers. In the game they never refer to them as brothers, preferring to use protege as the translation even though Nene clearly treats them as her children. They be old she's still like "THAT'S MY BOY RIGHT THERE!!!"

I want to express my amusement of the two (2) battles they would have fought with Nagamasa but the game is afraid to put him in a fight where he doesn't want to smack Mitsunari LOL. Then my dumb ass almost died in game snapping a picture of them together.

Play the game with both hands and don't take pictures of your tv. That's bad. Anyway I was tickled by this battle and I wish I didn't have to beat them up.

What was the point of this again? Who knows.

[talesofharima]

Writing Prompt: Fatigue (jk there wasn’t a prompt)

Characters: Nihongou, Hasebe (This is shippy please read at your own risk)

Nihongou fluffed up the blankets, preparing the beds for the night. As he rolled out the second, he smiled gently as he thought of what had become of his life. Only a few days before, Hasebe had begun to share a room with him, and while he loved it, there was a level of awkward about it. Hasebe woke up earlier, went to bed earlier. He was shy about snuggling sometimes, especially in the mornings. And! He was so picky about when he wanted to be touched. Honestly, earlier in the day he'd wondered if it could still work out, but as he laid out their beds, the love he had for Hasebe came flooding back.

"I'm home," Hasebe said in the doorway. He'd been on sortie, training with a few others. Dark circles appeared under his eyes, a bit of sweat and dirt on his brow. His shoulders weighed heavy and his sword hung loosely in his hand.

"Welcome home," Nihongou stood and clapped him on the shoulder. "I'm glad to see you're ok." He took his sword from him. "You should take a bath."

"I'm sorry," Hasebe stepped closer and leaned his filthy forehead against his chest. He couldn't be mad. Fresh clothes waited in the closets, but a chance to comfort Hasebe was rare at best.

"You look horrible," Nihongou chuckled, petting his hair. He expected Hasebe to be mad, but instead he gripped the cloth over Nihongou's chest.

"I'm tired," he said simply. "I just want to sleep."

Nihongou gently pushed him away, ran a finger down his jaw to his chin and lifted it to meet his eyes. "At least get the dirt off your face."

Looking away, Hasebe blushed. It was... so cute he just wanted to kiss his cheek. He leaned down to kiss the edge of his mouth, then without warning, he reached down to grab him behind the knees to pick him up. With Hasebe slung over his shoulder he said, "I'm not snuggling with a dirty man. Let's go."

"Put me down!!!" Hasebe smacked his shoulder, but his hits were weak. Damn he must have been exhausted.

"Save your energy," Nihongou adjusted Hasebe to a more comfortable position.

"Ughhhh," Hasebe groaned but conceded, relaxing as much as he could with a sigh.

The bath was straightforward enough. Nihongou helped and Hasebe complained about 'not needing help' but accepted it anyway. It seemed they were always like that, not that Nihongou minded. Once clean, Nihongou went to dry Hasebe's hair by sitting across from him with a towel.

"Better?"

Hasebe sighed. "Depends, are you satisfied?"

"Yes," Nihongou grinned then leaned in to kiss him, this time on the lips.

Although Hasebe returned it, he complained, "Must you do that in public?"

"Nobody's here," Nihongou reminded, stealing another kiss.

"You can have plenty when we're alone," he said flatly, standing up to leave.

Tossing the towel over his shoulder, Nihongou joined him, gently taking his hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. This time, he didn't complain, and simply let it happen. Once alone, Nihongou sat cross legged, grabby handing at Hasebe. Again, no complaints as he settled into his lap, back against Nihongou. His big, strong arms wrapped around Hasebe's much smaller frame, holding him in a comforting embrace. As Hasebe drifted off to sleep, Nihongou hummed a song their old family used to sing to their children to help them sleep.

Soon, they were snuggled in the same bed, sleeping soundly...

[talesofharima]

According to my notifications this blog just turned 7 lmao.

[talesofharima]

Writing Prompt: not leaving the other's side 'just in case'

Characters: Hakata Toushirou, Takenaka Shigekado (child)

Context: (I need to write a transition story), Hakata and Atsushi are assigned to stay behind with the two younger boys, for the HRA’s movements are still a mystery. While some may see it as simple babysitting, the two are quite happy to treat them like their own family. Each one is assigned to watch each boy, just in case the HRA decides to strike.

Hakata swung his feet off the edge of the engawa, watching the young Shigekado poke and prod at the dirt of the courtyard. The boy had been cooped up all day, refusing to move on account of his father’s departure. With much pushing and prodding (and perhaps a little bit of carrying), the boy was outside, for better or worse. He was curled up, his pokes and prods turning into letters.

Hakata hopped down, curious, “You’re learning how to write?” 

Shigekado simply nodded, unwilling to speak. Perhaps his father was the one teaching him. He started to write what looked like his name, but Hakata soon noticed a mistake.

“Wait, that one goes like this,” next to it, Hakata wrote his family name in the sand. Shigekado leaned over, brushing his mistake away. He stuck out his tongue just a little bit, mimicking the shapes. Hakata shook his head, “In this order, here, do it with me.” The two wrote the letters together, and once finished, Shigekado smiled.

“Thank you, Hakata-san.”

“S-san,” being small as he was, he wasn’t used to someone talking up to him like that. He rubbed the back of his neck. “No problem.”

“How do you write your name?” Shigekado tilted his head.

“Let’s write it together,” Hakata grinned and the two erased Kado’s name to write Hakata’s. 

“Where did you learn to write?” he smiled with his precious little voice.

“A businessman is born knowing how to write!” He puffed his chest and slapped his fist against it, eyes sparkling. 

“Business..man?” Kado tilted his head, struggling a little with the word.

“Right, uhh,” How did he explain that one? “If one wants to make money, one must be able to read and write!”

“Oh!” Kado’s eyes began to sparkle. “Will you teach me?”

Hakata stood suddenly, fist in front of him, eyes still sparkling, “I’m always ready to teach the new generation of businessmen.”

Kado’s eyes sparkled too, but Hakata would never know how confused the boy actually was. So, they spent some time learning the names of major trading cities in Japan.

“Oi,” Atsushi appeared in the doorway, hand on his hip. “What are you doing?”

“Writing!” Kado jumped up, running towards Atsushi.

“Of course,” he chuckled. “Hakata’s the right person to ask. You ready for dinner?”

Kado hummed an agreement with an enthusiastic nod. Thus, the trio went to enjoy their dinner with the other members of the household.

[talesofharima]

I’m back and in search of family fluff topics for some drabbles. We’ll see what I’ll find.

I’ve realized that I went back to FF14 for some unknown reason and immediately stopped writing and drawing. I’m devastated, and it hurt my relationship in the process. I don’t know how to play this game a healthy amount so I’m leaving it again. Now I”m trying to pick up the energy of my stories where they left off. I have some ideas, but it may be different. I suppose it doesn’t matter since it’s for two sets of eyes only right now. (Bless you friend)

[armeleia]

Reminders for the Anxious/Depressed Creatives

You’re more than what you make.

Your productivity does not determine your value.

It’s okay to do nothing sometimes.

Not everything you do has to result in a product.

Not everything you make has to be important, significant, or even good.

You can make things just for yourself.

You can keep secrets for yourself, whether it’s not posting some of your projects or not sharing your techniques.

You’re allowed to say no.

You’re allowed to rest.

[armeleia]

2023 Updates:

Inspiration doesn’t cure burnout. Rest cures burnout.

People will wait for you; take your time and come back when you are ready.

It’s okay to scrap projects that no longer excite you, even if other people like them.

It’s delightful and excellent to be openly proud of your work.

Afford yourself the same gentleness that you would afford another creative - negative self-talk is counterproductive and frankly cruel.

Self-indulgent creations are satisfying to others as well; don’t apologize for your own pleasure.

Actually, don’t apologize for your work at all.

[parliamentrook]

yes yes yes yes

[talesofharima]

I don’t know if I ever wrote headcanon about Mouri’s personality that involved Terumoto, but I want to brain dump it in case it inspires me to get writing again.

I mentioned in Mouri’s bio that Terumoto became head of the family at age 10 and was completely reliant on his uncles for guidance, meaning he only led in name. I don’t quite know how to articulate it, but I feel that Mouri’s odd obsession with children comes from this. If he was given to Terumoto when he was still a child, it could show that Mouri simply loved his master and how adorable he was back then. It’s good that he doesn’t hold those inconsistent tendencies, but also I think it makes him good with people. He can have lots of empathy and love!

Another piece of that, is his ‘special technique’ does have to do with children. I just really think he embodies the young Terumoto. He wants to show that children can be strong too, even if others don’t think so.

Anyway that was my braindump for the day. I hope it makes sense.

[talesofharima]

I realized the other day just how short Hakata is! My friend said he was average but he's shorter than over half of the tantou lol.

Anyway fun headcanon for him is he has a precious trait of enjoying hugs. A lot. Kind of like how Kado does as a kid, he'd love to climb on other's backs to hitch a ride, especially his tall friends like Nihongou and Nikkou. Nikkou isn't the biggest fan but Nihongou doesn't mind.

When Nikkou carried my tantou party through my first wte to unlock kiwame i imagined him literally carrying them when they got fatigued because he certainly never did. I guess the short version is they're a big touchy feely type family.

Also, Ame loving children gives me life.

[talesofharima]

I return! I am overworking myself!!!! Hahahahah haha h--

[mithrilhearts-deactivated202508]

THE LORD OF THE DINGS: RETURN OF THE PORN BOTS (2023) ↳ dir. @staff (like, please, someone make this stop)

[chained2012]

thinking about how peoples blorbos tend to be men on here (makes sense with the trends in fandom of men being prioritised etc etc) SO please reblog and tag your female blorbo(s). this is NOT the post to be like “[male character] becuz he’s a woman to me” i Will come to your house and bite you. anyway i’ll go first mine are susie and julie from dbd and carly jones from house of wax 🖤

[talesofharima]

😂 come on bots. Why are you following me? Is it because of some key word in my last chapter??? It was just a jacket 😭. I'll remember this !