Ishikawa opened the door to the video rental. A little jingle ran out from the bell when the door opened and shuffled to close. The lady that works at the store was too busy playing on an SNES to turn and greet him. She was playing Earthbound. There were a few screens above her, one showing the front of the store, another inside, and then a third was static. You couldn’t see much in the front of the store anyway; it was all dark except for one light. Stay With Me was playing in the background.
Ishikawa scoped out the horror section: Scream, Blade, some Chucky movie, though nothing in particular caught his interest. There was Titanic, the Lion King, Fight Club, Matilda was pretty recent. Ishikawa grabbed that and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Then, he went to the front of the store, where the lady was still clicking away. “Miss?”
She didn’t respond. “Miss?”
“Dude, just leave the money on the counter.”
There was a sticky note and pen on the front desk, mixed with an assortment of scrap notes and ink stains. Ishikawa moved them to the side, then wrote his name, the movies he was borrowing, and the date he’d be returning them. He left her a little extra money. Then he slipped the movies in his coat pockets, gave the young lady a quick look, and quietly retreated from the store.
The walk home was dark to say the least. You’d wonder how Ishikawa doesn’t collapse into the darkness with his slow, motionless walk, as if he’s going nowhere, but he keeps moving between each streetlamp like that’s his only goal. Each time he passes through the bright light, it’s like he’s passing through a fleeting moment, that he only exists in, doesn’t exist in isolation of it. He disappears and reappears. He was walking in the direction of the moon, which stared down from the mostly black sky. The moon appeared especially large, perhaps larger than you’d see anywhere else in the world. It was the largest streetlamp, the one that you find yourself following in the night. You’re always following it, no matter where you go.
Dubbed "Ugliest Girl on the Island" by the King
Love Bomb: you must tell the enemy how long it takes for Love Bomb to hit. Disclose the radius of the attack if the enemy is unfamiliar. Only use it on people you love or people who love who you love.
Hades Style studies
In terms of raw power, Anuhea Panena Koko's scream in conjunction with the Jukebox microphone extension makes for the strongest known attack.
Zhuki is a young woman that is part of the Red Deck. Scarlet and Brincopica raised her in her teenage years. She adopted some of their odd traits, as well as their ideology, and preferential treatment for youth and orphans. She has been in touch with space since she was young. She found that Ishikawa fulfils a void she has in her heart, even though she's never spoken to him. She senses space within him that isn't present in any other man, that pulls her in like she's a moon orbiting his heart.
Anuhea Panena Koko: A half fishman, half human. An unacceptable combination, will Ali'i's eyes ever open?... Yes.
In his wish, Ali'i asked for the fishmen. He described their form, their additional ability to transform into a sea creature, to be one with a true body.
A primary antagonist...
And her tool. Michael Murphy has been seeking a chill job that pays well enough for him to focus his time on his writing; however, he ends up working as Ishikawa's peer/assistant in the Paranormal Investigation Division. Although it's an arduous job that takes a bit of a mental toll, he's sticking out because he's never found anything that gave him so much writing inspiration before, and Ishikawa is an extremely interesting character to him. He finds that Ishikawa appreciates him but also knows how to settle him down and bring him back to Earth when needed. Eventually, Rue El-Defeil uses Michael as part of her plot.
Fanart of
Yokaiju's OC, Renho
And a quick animatic I did!
