Sushi, Sake, and Tanuki: Love and Leaving 5

"Are you really going that far?" The captain asked in disbelief. "Do you really expect me to lend you space on my ship to go that far? Do you really think I would risk my ship on such a venture?"

I made sure that I was calm before I answered him. "I can pay you very well."

The captain shook his head. "The point is that my business puts my ship's priority above everything else."

Yomosa turned to me as if my powers extended to controlling minds. I shook my head and tried to think of anything that I could say to this captain.

"I am sorry to waste your time." I replied and bowed.

The captain bowed and we parted ways.

"It doesn't seem anyone is going to let us use their ship." Yomosa said quietly when the captain was out of earshot.

"Yeah, guess I must have lost my charm." I said and smirked. I didn't smirk because I was happy or the situation was amusing. I smirked to try and make her feel better. She finally replied with her own small smile but it quickly faded away. Asking for a ship was a hard venture for two 'common people' that asked for a lot. This task was affecting us both.

"But you'll be able to find one." Yomosa replied confidently.

"Or we'll have to resort to another plan."

"And that would be?"

"You'll see it if I ever have to use it."

I entertained the notion that one captain would agree to my request. That one captain would allow us our very odd desires. Turning to look at Yomosa I saw that she still had confidence in me, but that she wasn't blind to the facts. The facts being that I would most likely have to resort to another plan.

"Just don't kill anyone." She whispered in my ear.

I understood the reference. Don't kill anyone like I had killed her intended husband.

For the next few hours we went asking the rest of the captains for the use of their ship. But they were all turned off when they found out we wanted to leave Japan and it was a journey no ship would likely return from. So the captains rejected us. One by one they said no.

Finally the last captain walked angrily away from us. I stared at the open ocean. A sight I had been used to seeing as a wall, not as something you could go across. I had freed myself from Hijunaki. I had freed myself from Katashi's teachings. But I hadn't yet freed myself from the notion that the whole world wasn't the part I had grown up in.

"It's scary for you, isn't it?" Yomosa asked as she put a hand on my shoulder. I didn't look at her but continued to stare at the ocean.

"Yes, I think it's scary for you too." I replied.

"It is, but I can't let that get to me. If I did, I'd regret it my entire life."

"Because you gave me up?"

"Partially. But also that I let fear get the better of me when I've been fearless for so long."

"I wouldn't blame you if you left me now."

"But I would." She said and squeezed my shoulder.

I finally decided to look at her and I was ashamed at asking her for so much. But also proud that both love and a desire for bravery were having her go along with me.

"Do you want to hear the backup plan?" I asked her. Yomosa's smile was the only thing I needed to continue speaking. "I take on the form of an Eastern Dragon and fly us to our new destination."

"How long will you be able to fly?" She asked.

"Long enough." I said and Yomosa nodded.

We then walked away from the harbor like we were going to spend personal time together. Time when groans and moans would be things best left to only us two. No one looked at us and the captains seemed glad to see us go.

Yomosa and I made our way to where the corpse of the Eastern lay. No one had yet been brave enough to look for it and other animals were only beginning to eat it. A dragon was something to be feared, even by things that couldn't fully comprehend them.

I focused and felt myself changing. It was a normal thing for me. Something I had been born to. My main human male form shifted to become larger so that the form of an Eastern Dragon could be accommodated. My skin then broke out into scales and my hair stayed on my head but then went all the way down to a few inches beyond the tip of my tail.

After a few more changes I was an Eastern. I went down to allow Yomosa to climb aboard me. She kissed my head and then found a place to sit comfortably. Or at least a place she wouldn't fall off from.

"I love you more than I have loved anyone before." She told me. "And you have changed more than I thought possible. Just wanted to say that in case this is the last conversation we are to ever have."

"You have opened my heart in ways I didn't think possible." I told her and then I was swimming through the air to a fate, as of yet, unknown.
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Sushi, Sake, and Tanuki Links

Doctor Who (Season 7)

Show: Doctor Who

Season: 7

Episodes: 14

Showrunner: Steven Moffat

Released: 2011-2013

Rating: 4/5

Basic Plot: The further adventures of the time traveling alien adventurer and his companions.
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The Mystery of Clara
The Doctor is introduced to Clara in the episode "Asylum of the Daleks". Not much of a mystery about her as she's clearly killed by the end of the episode. The thing that got people talking was the fact that the same actress was to reprise her role as the new companion in the 2012 Christmas Special. For the first half of Season 7 there is no real mention of Clara aside from "Asylum of the Daleks" as the focus for that part of the Season was the remaining time with the Ponds. With the second half of the Season underway, Clara takes center stage as 'the impossible girl'. There were so many theories going around of who/what she really was and it made me love my fellow Whovians for being so clever (though the good majority turned out to be wrong). Finding out who Clara is makes sense and gives some great callbacks to the Classic Doctor Who Era. Well...not so much callbacks as using clips from the Classic Doctor Who Era.

Letting go of Amy and Rory Pond
Amy and Rory were my first two companions of the Doctor. Yes, I watched other Seasons where there were different companions. But when I started to watch new episodes of Doctor Who they were the first ones I traveled with. I knew this Season would see the end of them and I was worried. When they left the show I needed a couple of tissues. The episode was very well done and it gave the duo a proper farewell. It highlighted Rory's love of Amy and Amy's love of Rory. The fact that they couldn't stand to be apart from each other, even when staying together meant death. The episodes building up to the duo's farewell were very well put together. When I cried that they had left it was a good pain. Not happy or giving me peace of mind. But a good pain nonetheless.

The Christmas Specials
The first of this Season's Christmas Specials ("The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe") was a poor episode. I don't like saying this, especially when I made a big deal about watching it with my fiance (well he slept during the good majority of it, he's not a Whovian poor soul). It didn't really capture me but I was pleased when the Doctor reunited with Amy and Rory at the end of the episode. The second Christmas Special of this Season ("The Snowmen") was much better. Besides bringing back the Great Intelligence (I've heard the same 'being' was in Classic Doctor Who), it also introduced us to Clara. Both would play a large part in the second half of this Season.

Final Thoughts
Overall this was a good Season. Long time companions were given a proper farewell and there was a mystery about the new companion to explore. Madame Vestra and Jenny were great to see onscreen together. They are lesbians (though they are also different species) that are married. "The Crimson Horror" showcased how well a spinoff of the pair would work. This Season pulled at all the right heartstrings and ended with a cliffhanger that won't be answered for many months. While "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" wasn't a good episode, there were more good than bad episodes. "Asylum of the Daleks" and "The Angels Take Manhattan" being two of them.

Supernatural (Season 8)

Show: Supernatural

Season: 8

Episodes: 23

Created By: Eric Kripke

Released: 2012-2013

Rating: 3.5/5

Basic Plot: The Winchester brothers attempt to close the Gates of Hell forever.
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Ending a Let Down
I'll start off by saying that the Season 8 Finale was wonderful. Had its ups and downs but, overall, was good. However, the main plot of this Season was closing the Gates of Hell. I won't say here if the brothers managed to close them or not. What I will do is bring up Season 5 of Fringe and how important the device (that the Fringe Team spent all Season getting parts to build, around half of the time not even knowing what it would do) was at the end. That's about how I felt when the closing the Gates of Hell plotline was concluded.

Sam and Dean's Relationship
The whole of Supernatural is based around Sam and Dean's brotherly relationship. If they weren't working together, there would be no show. Yes, there might be stuff happening, but the show known as Supernatural would be no more. This season has the two brothers seeming to take their relationship to an unhealthy level. I don't mind Sam getting a normal life during the beginning of the Season, what I have a problem with is that he never looked for Dean (who had been sent to Purgatory at the end of the previous Season). This caused the brothers to be farther apart than before and it was painful. Mainly because it seemed Sam had been written out of character for it to happen. Sam ends up making Dean lose contact with a friend and Dean texts from Amelia's phone to stop Sam from interfering with a job. However, only what Dean did is shown by the other characters to be wrong while what Sam did is okay. Luckily, by the middle of the Season their relationship is back to normal. The too close, co-dependent Winchester normal. Though the Finale brings back the fact that Sam seems to have a need for Dean to care only about him (which is unhealthy as sibling love is a great thing, but it shouldn't stop other relationships from forming). All in all, though, the Season ended with the Winchester brothers having a much improved relationship from the start of the Season.

Meg's Death
Now I do ship Megstiel, but that isn't the reason Meg's death bothers me. Meg is a character who is female and has survived many odds. Odds where other female characters have failed. So the death of such a long running character had to be handled with delicacy. Right? Nope. Now, Castiel not knowing that Meg died loving him is a good pain. That's a pain that hurts and burns, but is still a good pain. What isn't good is that Meg is basically tossed aside with neither Sam nor Dean having a word for her. I can understand the brothers not liking her, as she's been a villain in the past, but not acknowledging the one who saved your ass is unforgivable. A long running character needs a good death scene.

Final Thoughts
This was the first Supernatural Season I kept up with. In other words, I dvred each episode and watched them as soon as I could. I would've done this last Season, but Fringe and Supernatural came on at the same time. And I like Fringe more. So I went into this Season with no knowledge of how the Season would end. It was a great ride and when the Season Finale came up I was jumping up with fangirl glee when the "Carry on my Wayward Song" portion came up in the beginning. While there were some great moments of this season (Charlie getting a backstory that had nothing to do with her being a lesbian, the Winchester brothers getting a secret lair, and the Trials among other things) there were also some bad things (Meg's death, Sam being written out of character during the beginning of the Season, and the episode "Bitten" [don't believe I did a vlog of that episode, suffice it to say it's my least favorite Supernatural episode so far] among other things). With the Finale there is some hope that next Season will be full of lovely pain.

Sushi, Sake, and Tanuki: Love and Leaving 4

For a few minutes I looked at my kill. I was glad that the Eastern was dead and Yomosa was now safe. Probably not forever, but for now she could have some peace. She climbed off of me and looked at the dead dragon. I wish I knew human expressions better so I could decipher why her muscles were reacting like they were.

I shifted back into my main human male form and then walked over to my love. The Eastern looked very different from this level. It was not merely a foe and could be mistaken for a demigod. Humans were very different in so many ways.

I put an arm around Yomosa and she put her head onto my chest. I let her have a few minutes of looking at the Eastern before I started speaking.

"It won't come for you again." I told her.

"I know it won't." Yomosa said softly. "But there will be others, won't there? Things much worse than this?"

I wanted to tell her that this was as bad as it was going to get. There would be nothing else that would be worse. But Akumie was a goddess and I couldn't lie to the woman beside me.

"Yes." I replied simply.

I kissed the top of Yomosa's head to try and calm her. I was better equipped to fight the forces of Akumie than Yomosa would ever be. But my lover had shown herself to be brave and remarkable on her own. That wouldn't change the fact that she had been thrown into a new lifestyle quickly. A lifestyle that meant fighting and facing your fears so that death wouldn't claim you. It was understandable why Yomosa was nervous now.

"Is the Akumie you mentioned the same one that this creature meant?" Yomosa finally asked.

"Yes." I said and was about to stop there but had to continue. "Its and my Akumie are one and the same. She was angered that I used her for sex and she has never forgiven me since. Only now is she coming after me."

But had it only been for sex or had there been something more? Something that I had ignored because Sajoki's ghost had still haunted me back then?

"Why won't she come after you personally? Is she too frightened of you?" Yomosa asked.

I let out a small chuckle at the thought. A goddess being afraid of an obake would be a sight to see.

"No, there must be another reason. She must be banished from Japan or something else must be keeping her from attacking us directly." I answered.

"So if we leave Japan there's a chance we might have to face Akumie ourselves?" Yomosa timidly asked.

"Yes. Do you still want to follow me?"

"Until the end of time." She answered and we embraced. I enjoyed feeling the warmth and found it a comfort. Even if I were to die in a second I would face death with the knowledge that someone had loved me in life. That someone was willing to die by my side.

We finally ended our embrace and stood in silence looking at each other. I didn't know how I looked to her but I knew how she looked to me. A strong and loyal woman that I had ripped from her intended husband, given to Hijunaki, had killed Hijunaki to keep safe, and now loved me like I didn't deserve.

We nodded and walked side by side down to the harbor. She stayed a foot away from me so I would have room to attack if need be. Any joy that could be found racing each other had been taken away.

Upon arriving at the harbor we were glanced at by uninterested eyes. By the expressions of the people there, they hadn't noticed that I wasn't human and just that two Easterns had attacked each other. They didn't look to be questioning why but just trying to get back to business.
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Hannigram (Everything You Want)

Series: Hannibal (tv series)

Pairing: Hannigram

Plot: Hannibal Lecter is a complicated man. On one hand he is perfectly fine with the life he is living. On the other hand Will Graham represents the man he wants to be and yet doesn't care to be.