Experience Tumblr Like Never Before
Mushishi Posting - Blog Posts
old art from 2021 that i still like! this is a comfort series for me
(Ginko, the brooding but compassionate protagonist from the manga/anime Mushishi, is probably one of my favorite fictional characters. If you have a chance to read or watch it, do eeet. )
It’s so funny how in Mushishi everyone wears traditional kimonos and then there’s Ginko in a polo shirt
Let's Go Fishing!
Adashino x reader x Ginko (can be read as platonic or romantic)
You and the boys take a dip in the river. When you're half yokai and have inhuman reflexes, a few fishes aren't a problem for you.
Summer heat was the worst heat.
Second only to the heat of drought-dried reeds going up in flames and the burning tinder of beloved houses, the summer heat pressed down upon everything, rendering the far-off mountain tops into hazy, quivering mirages. Your yukata stuck to your skin uncomfortably as you shifted from your spot on the wooden floor. The rhythmic pounding of Ginko’s mortar and pestle sounded through the air and you groaned, turning your head to look at him.
“How can you stand to work in this heat?”
“‘M used to it,” he grunted. “One time I went with a guy to chase down a rainbow. This was during that heatwave we had a while ago so we had to travel during the hottest time of the day to catch up to the rainclouds.”
“Yikes,” you muttered. “Can’t imagine doing that at all.”
Ginko tilted his head, one single emerald eye looking at you through the haze of his cigarette smoke. “Then what’d you do during the heatwave then?”
You grinned lazily at him, swiping the sweaty baby hairs off your forehead. “Why I slept, of course! I’d find some river bank, a nice shady tree, and I’d sleep in its branches.”
“Wish all of us would have that luxury,” he grunted, lifting the pestle and tapping it against the side of the marble pestle. Fine golden grains shifted around as he tilted it into a vial, carefully scraping the powder into it with a stiff reed. Once done, he plugged it up with a cork and searched for something around him. Spotting your lazy form sprawled out where you were, he pointed to a stack of labels next to you.
Ginko pointed at them. “Hey, can you hand me those?”
A flick of your fingers summoned a gust of wind, sending the paper fluttering past you and toward the Mushishi. They danced around his form and he deftly plucked them from the air, swiping a brush and ink from his cabinet and popping the ink bottle open. With a deft hand, the mystery vial soon received a label as he wrote it on the paper you sent.
“What’s that?” You hummed.
“Pollen from flowers that the Usobuki frequent,” Ginko hummed. The familiar name was that of the butterfly mushi he told you about, one that would make those afflicted by it fall asleep with it until a false spring started.
It was the same one responsible for the summer and spring that he went missing in when you search until your feet bled and your voice gave out from yelling his name. So hearing that he was dealing with it again made your hackles raise, a dangerous look on your face.
Ginko didn’t notice, too busy tucking the bottom away into his little medicine cabinet. “The mushi itself puts people to sleep but I discovered that if a small dose of the flower pollen is taken with water, it could be an effective sleep remedy, especially for mushi-related problems.”
“I see.” The thought of a sleeping draught sounded appealing because, despite all the jokes you make about naps, any semblance of sleep for you was haunted by memories you’d rather forget. You opened your mouth, almost tempted to ask him for a bit but hesitated.
Ginko glanced at you, a verdant eye picking up the expression on your face. “Hm?”
“I–”
The shoji door slammed open, Adashino behind it using his foot to move the screen. “Drinks here.”
You did a complete shift, hiding your turmoil as you cheered and flipped over to your front, thin yukata riding up to what would’ve been an indecent length if you were an upstanding citizen in society. Adashino didn’t say anything but groaned as he set down the tray and sat next to you. Ginko snuffed out the cigarette, allowing the smoke to waft away so it wouldn’t bother you before shuffling closer. Though it still lingered on his person as he sat down with you and Adashino, it thankfully didn’t bother you like usual.
The dark-haired man took off his lens and began polishing the circle of glass.“I knew it would get hot so I put some amazake in to chill in the icebox. There’s also ice in there too.”
“Thanks, Adashino! Maybe we can have some cold soba later then.” Propping your head up in one arm, you reached for the cups filled with the fermented rice liquid as the other did too. The creamy, sweet taste of the drink filled your mouth as you took a sip and you sighed happily. “Ahh, Ginko, what’s the use of going at each other’s throats about who’s doing what in the heat when it’s Adashino who’s the privileged one? He’s got a nice big house and an icebox of all things.”
“Being a doctor, and living by the waterfronts has its perks,” Adashino replied dryly. “I do say that you two are always welcomed to stay here.”
Ginko simply took a pointed, obnoxious sip of his rice drink, letting the noise draw out in the hazy air. You snorted and Adashino shot a dirty look at you both. Quiet filled the hot air as everyone settled down to enjoy their drinks, accompanied by the sounds of nature around you all. Every breath you took filled your lungs with uncomfortable warmth and you cursed the neverending sun.
The calmness of the summer day brought back long-faded memories of your mother teaching you how to fish in the stream, helping fight off the heat and simultaneously bringing food home for the day. The thought of cooling down made you give a wistful sigh as you finally sat up. “I could go for a dip right now…”
Then the thought hit you and you gasped, sitting up straigh and making the other two look at you with startled–if not slightly irritated–expressions.
You pushed your sweaty hair back from your face, eyes alight in excitement. “The fishermen should be done for the day, right? Then we won’t be bothering anybody if we go to the river to cool off then. You also said you wanted to get some fish for later so I can catch some too.”
Ginko raised his eyebrow. “We don’t have a boat though.”
“I can swim,” you volunteered excitedly. “I would love to be in the water right now.”
Adashino leaned back on his arms, a thoughtful look on his face. “Hmmm… I think that’ll be alright. Besides, I won’t mind spending a little time in the water.”
You popped to your feet excitedly, eagerness overtaking the sluggish haze of the heat.
“Come on! My mom–I was taught how to fish when I was younger. With the fish that the Suiko’s body brought in, I can promise we’ll have fish in no time.”
“The river is calm this time of year…” Adashino agreed. “I wouldn’t mind soaking my feet for a while.”
Both of you turned your expectant gaze onto Ginko, who gave a long-suffering sigh and knocked back the last dredges of his drink before slamming the wooden cup back down onto the tray. “Never say I don’t do anything for you two.”
Cheering, you swooped down to gather up the cups into the tray to whisk them away, prancing ahead of the males as they slowly got up from their spots. The sun beat down upon you again as you moved to the front of the house to wait for them. Thankfully, you stood under the engawa so most of the heat was kept off as you fixed your yukata.
“Hurry up, you two!!!”
“Coming.”
In a few short moments, both Ginko and Adashino joined you, the latter with a woven straw hat on his head as he handed a shallow basket to the white-haired man. The three of you made your way down the path to Adashino’s residence, greeting the occasional villagers who passed by. It wasn’t a long walk to the beach, but the three of you opted for a detour to a more secluded area by the river deeper into the forest. But that meant that by the time you reached your destination, sweat had begun to stain your dark yukata. Maroon was not a good color in the heat, no matter how much you liked the color.
“At last,” you sighed, flopping down on the grass beneath a dappled shade of a tree.
“Tell me why we like to go here when we have a perfectly good beach at a much shorter distance?” Ginko sighed as he set down the basket.
“We’d roast alive if we went out there in this sun,” Adashino replied.
You sat up, sharp eyes scanning the water and spotting the almost imperceptible flickers of scales underneath the surface. A sharp grin spread over your face as you stood up, pulling up your sleeves and rolling them back. “Water’s shallower here and the fishes like to stay in the coverage. I can catch them easier.”
Closing your eyes, you took a deep breath, sighing out deeply as your fingers came up to press over the lids of your eyes. The telltale smell of ozone filled the air as your magic activated. For a moment, your full visage was revealed and you heard Ginko and Adashino shifting behind you. Black fox ears flashed into existence, hung low on either side of your head, a flicker of unearthliness surrounding you. Then they disappeared. With any other person you would not have allowed the thought of letting your true appearance show, but your trust in the two males was unshakable. You knew there was nothing that would make them betray your trust out of their own free will.
A moment passed and then you took your fingers away from your eyes, turning around to blink at the two as the golden glow faded away from your eyes.
“Everyone okay?”
“What did you use your magic for?” Ginko asked.
You kicked your sandals off. “To keep the debris out of my eyes.”
Keeping an eye on the river in front of you, you began stepping into the cool flowing waters. Before you can get far, your shoulder was grabbed and you jolted.
“Wait.”
Ginko had walked in after you, his face serious. A single, piercing green eye looked into yours.
You tilted your head. “Yes?”
“How are you sure it’s safe?”
Realizing his concern for what it was, you relaxed and gave him an easy smile, hand raising up to pat the one on your shoulder. “I’ve gone into this part of the river before during worse conditions. In fact, this part is one of the safest areas of the river, I made sure of it before showing it to you guys.”
You had met a local river yokai around here to help it save some of the members of its family. A grateful family, a game of stone skipping, and a favor later ensured that this area would be in their blessing and be safe for you and those you brought with you.
Despite your reassurances, his eyes roved over the still surface behind you. “Hm.”
“I’ll be fine, Ginko. I’m a very good swimmer,” you said, patient with him as you shared a look with Adashino. Though you weren’t there for the event itself, you had arrived just days after the event with the Suiko had gone down and had heard Io’s story in its entirety. The race to catch a girl who swam with the swamp and bountiful fish that lasted till this day. You were also there in the aftermath with Adashino, seeing Ginko’s haunted looks as he regarded the waters around him.
No matter how hard he tried, he could not hide his demons from one who was considered a half-demon too.
“If anything happens, I’ll shout for you alright? I won’t go far.”
“We can stick in the shallows, Ginko. Just in case,” Adashino said from his spot leaning up against the tree. “There isn’t anything large in these waters so we’ll be the most dangerous fish around.”
Ginko finally let go of you, sighing. “Be careful.”
You short him a reassuring grin, turning to wade deeper into the water. Your dark yukata spread out around you, wine red against the sparkling water. Behind you, you heard the two splashing around against the shore, but they did not follow you. Slowly, the water rose to waist level, and then a bit more. You went out until you reached the middle of the river, treading water as you turned around.
“I’m going down now. Get the basket ready!”
There was an affirmative call and you waited until you saw Adashino fetch the item, giving you a nod from across the bank. Giving the two males a wave, you took a deep breath and dove under the water.
The world silenced, cutting away into the dull, muffled noise of water rushing overhead. You drifted in the peace for a moment before opening your eyes.
Another world greeted you, blue-tinted and sparkling with sunbeams filtering down from above. It fluttered with the creatures down here, a dance of life.
You wondered if this was what Ginko saw when he talked of the Koumyaku, the glittering, living river of light.
A silver streak flashed by the corner of your vision and you snapped your head to it. A school of fish, unaware of the danger now within their mist. A slow grin stretched across your face, teeth losing their human flatness as your heart picked up in anticipation of the hunt.
Thank you for this offering.
Like the silt of the river, your illusion slipped away in the flowing streams of the water. Your dark form sliced through the water, chasing after the fish. Nails, too sharp to belong to a normal human, swiped at glittering, silver-scaled bodies and snatched them up faster than they could react. Once you hand a handful of squirming fish by the tails, you shot off towards the bank. Surfacing with a gasp and a splash, you waved at them with the fish dangling from your grip.
“Hey! I got them!”
“Bring them in!”
You began kicking off towards the pair, slower now that you had to rely mostly on your legs. Adashino and Ginko began wading out to meet you too and a brilliant idea hit you. As your toes touched the bottom of the river, you reared back a fish in hand as the remainings were moved to your other one.
“Catch!”
Adashino’s eyes widened as the fish went sailing through the air. He yelped, lunging forward with his basket to let the fish flop down into it. Thankfully, Ginko’s hand snapped out to grab him by the back of Adashino’s yukata and his quick action prevented the dark-haired man and the fish from toppling down into the water. But unfortunately, that still soaked the entire front of his clothes
Adashino glared at you, front of his blue yukata now dripping. “Hey!”
“Oops–Sorry!” You laughed, totally unrepentant as you waded closer. The rest of the fish–thankfully–was gently placed into the basket. You faced both of them, hands on your hips as you regarded the pair. “It’s only a bit of water, y’know. It’ll help you cool off more if anything.”
A drop of water trailed down your face from your dripping wet hair right after that statement.
“Yeah, yeah,” Adashino grumbled as he moved to hang the basket from the branches so it could trail in the water. That freed up his hands to fix his water-laden yukata, futilely wringing the fabric.
“Heh, heh. You can’t deny it does feel nicer though…” You turned to Ginko, who immediately picked up the shift in your person.
His lidded eye widened, taking a step back.
You launched at him, hands outstretched and water spraying out behind you as you splashed toward the male.
“Hey, hey, hey, hey leave me alone—”
“Adashino catch him! He’s the driest out of all of us!!”
“Adashino don’t you dare.”
Your bright laughter and splashing filled the air as the three off you ran around the quiet alcove meant just for you three and you were grateful to have another day like this with them.
Pickled Plums
Adashino x reader x Ginko (can be read as platonic or romantic)
You loved the noise of cicadas in the ripe summer air.
Gravel crunched beneath your sandals as dappled sunlight filtered down from the canopy of green. It was the apex of summer and the forest was ripe and heavy with life and heat. From your peripherals, you could see the glowing forms of the familiar mushi dancing through the air. They were the same types that often frequented the village, a sure sign that your journey was coming to an end. You wondered if Ginko had yet to see them from wherever he was behind you.
The satchel sitting on your hip alongside the pack on your back was a reminder of the gifts wrapped lovingly in twine and leaves. Gifts for Adashino and Ginko both, picked specifically with them in mind as well as the food carefully preserved by a bit of yokai magic and plenty of salt. The thought of rice and Adashino’s pickled radish made you drool, and you had no doubts that Ginko’s endless stomach would appreciate some food as well.
Cries of seabirds and waves crashing against the shore slowly began to replace cicadas as the forest opened up to show a fishing village in the distance. Your speed picked up, eagerly scattering pebbles at the sight of the clay-shingle roofs. As you passed through the dirt streets, villagers caught sight of you and an excited wind began to catch the sleepy adobes.
Calls of your name began to echo through the air as those living there went out to greet you.
“It’s you!”
“Welcome back!”
“Oho going to see the doctor aren’t we?”
The last one was met with a delighted laugh, your eyes twinkling with mirth at the old man. “Of course! Is he home right now?”
“He should be!” Another woman called, her child waving at you from behind her. “He just finished treating Aoi’s son a little bit ago.”
“Thank you,” you called back gratefully. Turning around to the villagers, you put a finger to your lips and winked. “I think Ginko is arriving soon, don’t tell any of them that I’m here, alright?”
“Cheeky!”
“We won’t,” The old man chuckled. “Good to know all three of you are back in town for a while. We were beginning to wonder when we’d see you two wanderers again.”
You shrugged as your eyes caught sight of a minuscule movement from the alleyway.
“We can never stay for long,” you said. “But we’ll always come back, of course. If you don't mind…” Your head tilted towards the alleyway, indicating your wish to leave.
“Of course!” He guffawed, stepping aside.
“Here, here!” A man said, shoving an earthenware jar into your arms. “For you all. A thank you to the doctor for treating my little Tsumiki last month.”
“O-Oh thank you so much.” You bowed your head, clutching the clay pot in your arms. “I'll be on my way then.”
“Eager huh? I know how it was when I was your age. Ah, younguns…Always have one place or another to be.”
You brushed past them with a smile and a parting promise. “I’ll come back down to visit later.”
“You better!”
“We’ll be waiting, young lady.”
You threw back a wave, attention focused on the alleyway where you saw it. Stepping into the shade, you stopped to listen for the quiet noise of something moving. Your sharp ears finally picked up something.
There. To your left.
“Here you are, little one,” you murmured crouching down and setting the jar down next to you with a soft ‘thump’. Reaching forward, you cupped the spirit in your palms. There was an offended squeak and the flower yokai opened a bulbous, yellow eye in the middle of its petals. Upon seeing your face, its petals snapped back close with a quiver and another squeak. A nature yokai then.
“Sssh, it’s okay,” you soothed, stroking a finger down its body. It was smooth and lumpy, like one of those sea anemones Ginko showed you on the coast that you both went to once. After a moment, the petals crept back open and the yokai peeked back out, its big watery eye staring back at you.
You gave it a soft smile and it quivered before wiggling back and forth before unfurling completely.
“There you are…You shouldn’t be here,” you told it. “It’s not safe for you to be here. Come with me and I’ll bring you somewhere safer, alright?”
You put the yokai on your shoulder, where it snuggled into the shoulder of your traveling yukata. You smiled and picked up the jar before setting off again for Adashino’s house at the other edge of the village. There would be nature there, where it could thrive and survive better than the streets of mankind. Yokais like these ones never survived for long in human settlements, dependent on green life to draw their energy source. Without it, they would wither and fade away. You were glad that you came across it when you did.
Slowly, the slope of the road increased as you reached the edge of the village. Yet your speed picked up all the same. Home was so close, you could almost taste it, that house upon the hill with its shelves of artifacts and rosewood-scented halls.
Brown shingles peeked over the crest of the hill and you grinned, shifting the jar to one arm and placing your free one on the bag at your hip.
“Hang on,” you told the yokai on your shoulder.
An affirmative squeak was given and you broke into a full sprint over the ground, kicking up dust behind your sandals. At the new pace, it took no more than a few minutes to finally reach Adashino’s house. A jump cleared the stones at the foot of his house and you clattered onto the engawa, kicking your sandals off noisily.
“Adashino!!!!!” You yelled, letting your voice echo through the halls.
There was a clatter and someone yelping before Adashino stumbled out from an adjoining hallway, fixing his monocle. “Huh?”
He squinted at you, vision adjusting to the stark sunlight after being inside for so long. After a moment, his eyes widened as it clicked. He said your name sharply.
“You’re back!”
You nodded, shifting the earthenware jar to both your arms and showing it to him as well as the satchel to your side. “And I brought gifts too!”
Adashino tilted his head and moved forward, reaching out to take the vase away from you. “What's all this?”
Shrugging, you relinquished it to the dark-haired man’s grasp. “Haven’t looked yet. Tsumiki’s father gave it to me just earlier as thanks for you treating her.”
He hummed, lifting the lid and you stuck your head over the opening to peer into it with him. Seeing the sight of green in pickling sauce made you gasp.
“Kyurizuke!”
“Ah… It is cucumber season, after all.”
“This could go really well with some of the stuff you have, Adashino!” You turned to him excitedly. “We should make some food! I also brought back some things too! Ginko should be arriving at the end of the day so maybe we can all eat together.”
“Are you sure this isn’t just a ploy to get into my cabbage stock?” The doctor asked you, raising one eyebrow. He startled as he made eye contact with the yokai on your shoulder, jolting back. “Ah–”
“Oh right!” You chirped. “I saw this yokai on the streets heading here. I’m going to release it near the treeline so it can go back to the forest.”
Adashino sighed, stepping aside and flapping a hand towards the back entrance of the home. “Go on do that then. Leave your bags here. I can get started on lunch.”
You grinned gratefully, carefully singing the bags of your shoulders. “Sounds good!”
“Oh, and stop bringing strays back to my house! I keep on having to redirect them away when you’re not here.”
You laughed and departed for the clearing, bare feet slapping against the warm ground, humming a jaunty tune. The yokai on your shoulder swayed along to your movement as you stepped into the shadows of the trees and kneeled down at the base of one. Your hands came up to move the spirit off your shoulders and it was brought to the front of your face.
It chirped and you smiled, letting out an animal-like coo in return. “Be safe, alright? Don’t wander into the human settlements like today, it’s not good for you.”
Your hand lowered and allowed the yokai to hop off, stubby limbs wiggling happily and it hopped into the underbrush. Just before it completely ducked under the leaves, it turned around to wave at you. You waved back and with a final cry, it turned around and vanished into greenery like it was never there. A moment passed as you stared at that spot with a bittersweet smile. Your job was done, fulfilling your duty as the bridge between yokai and humans once more. Like the others, you would never see it again, but there was solace in the knowledge that it was able to live its existence. With that, you quietly got to your feet and padded away.
***
“Come here help me get all of this onto the tray,” Adashino instructed, jerking his head to the various bowls as he picked up his own wooden board. “You wanted to have all these side dishes so you’re carrying them all. Come on, we’ll set stuff out on the engawa in the front.”
You hefted the plate up in one hand, pilling the dishes onto it easily. “On it.”
Adashino gawked and grumbled as you swept past him easily.
The pair of you made a few more trips before settling down at the edge of the doorway, midway between the engawa and the house. Adashino tugged the rag under the miso soup, moving the whole pot into the middle between you two and you rearranged the rest of the pickle bowls around that, the rice, and the cooked fish.
“Ah, hold on…” You said, leaning over to grab your satchel. You flipped the woven lid up and reached in to withdraw several wrapped packages and set them alongside the food. “I got us some stuff from one of the towns I was at.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Oh don’t worry. You should know that I’m well-versed enough in magic to preserve a little bit of food.”
“What’s this about food without me?”
The both of you perked up at that voice, attention snapping to the edge of the yard where a white-haired man stood.
“Ginko!” Adashino called. “Hey!”
You shot to your feet with another cry of his name, ditching your sandals where they were and launching yourself at him. Ginko grunted as you crashed into him, staggering at the force of your collision.
“Geez,” he grumbled, wheezing as you squeezed him in a hug. “Missed me much?”
The smoke of his mushi warding cigarette tickled your nose and you pulled back, sneezing heavily. However, despite the warding affecting you to some extent, it didn’t stop your face from splitting into a wide grin. “Duh. Come on, put your pack down, and let’s eat. No matter what you think, we were waiting for you.”
Adashino made a sound. “Maybe you should be quicker next time.”
“Hmph.” Ginko took his cigarette out, snubbing it and tossing the butt into the shrubbery to the dark-haired man’s dismay. As you pranced back to where Adashino was sitting, Ginko slung off his traveling case and set it down next to your own bags. He settled down with a groan, relieved to be off his feet after a long day.
As Adashino began to portion out the soup and rice, your deft fingers unknotted the twine trying up your first bundle of food. There was an electric crackle in the air that made both men pause, and a snap as verdant leaves opened to reveal pristine triangles of plump rice.
“Your magic?” Ginko asked as you reached to undo the other bundle.
You nodded. “Just a simple one for these to keep as I traveled back.”
There was a second snap and this time it revealed wrinkly dried fruits, the sour smell of pickled plums wafting up to join the other food odors in the air. Both of them immediately knew what those were and Adashino winced.
“I’m not touching those,” Ginko declared, reaching for one of the rice balls from the first bundle. He took a bite from it, not seeing Adashino trying to stop him. “I know that whatever you brought home, those are not normal umeboshi and–”
His expression deadpanned, lips thinning and eye twitching as the flavor finally hit him. Seeing that, you cracked.
“I tried to stop you…” Adashino sighed while you cackled. “But you weren’t paying attention.”
“I was going to say…” You began, trying to find air between your laughter as you scooped up your own rice ball. “I visited the Valley of the Plums. There was a seasonal shop there known for its intensely sour plums, so I got some to take home.”
A massive bite was taken out of yours, you humming in delight as you finally indulged in the treats after so long. Though you favored the sour flavors the same couldn’t be said for either of the men, who stared at you warily as you ate your rice ball with no reaction.
Adashino, fooled by your lack of response, tentatively reached for one of his own. “It can’t be that bad right…?” He picked it up and brought it closer to inspect it. Like he would one of his mushi items,
“Do it,” Ginko demanded.
The man, fool as he was, gave into his temptations and bit into it. His face puckered up, such a comical expression that sent you into another round of raucous laughter and even sparked Ginko to chuckle too.
“By the gods!” Adashino exclaimed once he got his mouthful down. “People eat this? This should belong on the shelves of my collectibles. Ginko why did you tell me to eat it?”
The said man forced himself to take another bite. “If I have to go through it, so do you. Someone has to go through this with me since this one–” he jerked a thumb to you, innocently sipping your miso soup to wash down your finished rice ball, “–is completely immune to everything.”
You smiled peacefully. “There are just the plain plums too if any of you want to eat them with the rest of the food."
“No way!!”