Mattlindel - Babayaga

LGBT Musicians

70s-early 00s

alix dobkin - lesbian

alix olson - lesbian

ani difranco - bi lady

athens boys choir - pan trans man

bitch and animal - lesbian duo

cris williamson - lesbian

disappear fear - wlw

doria roberts - lesbian

ember swift - wlw

gina young - lesbian

god is my copilot - bi

holly near - wlw

indigo girls - lesbian

jamie anderson - lesbian

janis ian - lesbian

janis joplin - bi lady

jen foster - wlw

judy small - lesbian

k.d lang - lesbian

laura nyro - lesbian

lavender country - gay/lesbian

lesley gore - lesbian

lucie blue tremblay - wlw

melissa etheridge - lesbian

melissa ferrick - lesbian

pansy division - gay

sophie b. hawkins - pan lady

teresa trull - wlw

the butchies - lesbian

tracy chapman - lesbian

tribe 8 - lesbian

two nice girls - lesbian

zoe lewis - wlw

alternative artists

adult mom - nb

ani difranco - bi wlw

courtney barnett - wlw

cyberbully mom club - wlw

ezra furman - bi mlm

frankie cosmos - wlw

girl in red - lesbian

grace petrie - lesbian

jamie anderson - lesbian

jasmine kennedy - lesbian

jay som - wlw

jen cloher - lesbian

jen foster - wlw

k.d lang - lesbian

lowell - bi wlw

mabel ye - wlw

mal blum - pan nb

marika hackman - wlw

melissa etheridge - lesbian

melissa ferrick - lesbian

miki ratsula - wlw

nicole dollanganger - wlw

parker millsap - gay

shamir - nb pan

thao nguyen - wlw

the greeting committee - wlw

woodkid - gay

asian artists

alextbh - malaysian mlm

awkwafina - chinese & korean-american

bif naked - indian-american wlw

doris muramatsu - japanese-american

harisu - korean trans lady

hayley kiyoko - japanese-american wlw

holland - korean mlm

jake zyrus - filipino trans man

japanese breakfast - korean-american

jay som - filipino-american wlw

ki-yo - japanese mlm

klark - chinese mlm

lady - korean trans ladies

leon markcus - singaporean & bi mlm

leslie cheung - chinese mlm

leo kalyan - pakistani-british mlm

mabel ye - wlw

maman - japanese wlw

margaret cho - korean-american wlw

mrshll - korean mlm

of methodist - singaporean mlm

poppy ajudha - indian & st lucian-english

qiao qiao - chinese wlw

rina sawayama - japanese-british wlw

saintraja - malaysian mlm

secret guyz - japanese trans guys

sofya wang - chinese-american wlw

sook-yin lee - chinese wlw

thao nguyen - vietnamese-american wlw

tommy genesis - indian-canadian bi wlw

utada hikaru - japanese-american wlw

vardaan arora - indian mlm

vivek shraya - indian-canadian trans lady

yaeji - korean-american wlw

bands/duos

a great big world - gay

against me! - trans

aye nako

bad bad hats - bi wlw

bikini kill - wlw

bitch and animal - lesbian

black dresses - trans

brockhampton - gay

bronksi beat - mlm

cub sport - mlm

destroy boys - wlw

disappear fear - wlw

dog park dissidents - mlm

dream wife - wlw

dyke drama

fatty cakes & the puff pastries - wlw

fit for rivals - lesbian

girlyman - queer

go! child - trans

god-des & she - lesbian

god is my copilot - bi

gossip - wlw

grace petrie and the pc brigade - lesbian

hercules and love affair

hurray for the riff raff - wlw

hyphen hyphen - wlw

imperial teen

indigo girls - lesbian

it was romance - wlw

joey fourr

kadie elder - mlm

larkin poe - wlw

lavender country

le tigre

lesbians on ectasy

lipstick homicide - wlw

lipstick jodi - wlw

lovers - wlw

muna - wlw

neon trees - mlm

nero’s day at disneyland - trans

of montreal - mlm

palehound - wlw

pansy division - mlm

partner - lesbian

pwr bttm - nb

pvris - wlw

scissor sisters

sequin sally - wlw

sisters

superfruit - gay

t.a.t.u - bi wlw

team dresch - wlw

tegan and sara - lesbian

thao & the get down stay down - wlw

the b-52s

the blow - wlw

the butchies - lesbian

the cliks - trans

the degenerettes - wlw

the ditty bops - wlw

the dollyrots - wlw

the greeting committee - wlw

the hidden cameras

the internet - lesbian

the irrepressibles

the regrettes - wlw

the scary jokes

the sounds

the queers

tribe 8

two nice girls - lesbian

vampire weekend - gay

wyvern lingo - wlw

years and years - mlm

bisexual artists

amanda palmer - wlw

ana carolina - wlw

angie - wlw

ani difranco - wlw

azealia banks - wlw

bella thorne - wlw

billie joe armstrong/green day - mlm

caitlyn scarlett - wlw

clairo - wlw

david bowie - mlm

dodie - wlw

ezra furman - mlm

halsey - wlw

janelle monae - wlw

janis joplin - wlw

kesha - wlw

lady gaga - wlw

lights - wlw

lowell - wlw

lzzy hale/halestorm - wlw

maggie lindemann - wlw

meshell ndgeocello - wlw

missy higgins - wlw

princess nokia - wlw

rita ora - wlw

sara ramirez - wlw

sia - wlw

sir babygirl - nb

sophie b. hawkins - wlw

taylor bennet - mlm

tommy genesis - wlw

tove lo - wlw

black artists

1.8.7/jordana lesesne - trans lady

ah mer ah su - trans lady

amandla stenberg - wlw

anye elite - mlm

azealia banks - wlw

be steadwell - wlw

big freedia - mlm

black cracker - trans man

bre-z - wlw

bronze avery - mlm

cakes da killa - mlm

chynna - wlw

cj run - nb

dizzy fae - wlw

doria roberts - wlw

domo wilson - wlw

drebae - mlm

frank ocean - mlm

halsey - wlw

iamddb - wlw

ilovemakonnen - mlm

janelle monae - wlw

kaytranada - mlm

kehlani - wlw

keiynan lonsdale - mlm

kelela - wlw

kele okereke - mlm

kevin abstract - mlm

kodie shane - wlw

le1f - mlm

melange lavonne - wlw

meshell ndegeocello - wlw

mnek - mlm

mykki blanco - mlm

nitty scott - bi wlw

princess nokia - wlw

quay dash - trans lady

rico dalasaam - mlm

rupaul - mlm

serpentwithfeet - mlm

shamir - nb

shea diamond - trans lady

siya - wlw

starley - wlw

syd/the internet - wlw

tt the artist - wlw

taylor bennet - mlm

temper/aina brei’yon - wlw

theesatisfaction - wlw

tiara thomas - wlw

tiffany gouche - wlw

tinashe - wlw

todrick hall - mlm

toshi reagon - wlw

tracy chapman - wlw

tyler, the creator - mlm

tyra b - wlw

vincint - mlm

young m.a - wlw

zebra katz - mlm

european artists

Ängie - swedish bi wlw

alexander bard - swedish mlm

aurora - norwegian wlw

beatrice eli - swedish lesbian

bright light bright light - welsh mlm

christine and the queens - french wlw

electrosexual - french mlm

girl in red - norwegian lesbian

ji nilson - swedish lesbian

julia volkova/t.a.t.u - russian bi wlw

maja lvarsson - swedish wlw

ola salo - swedish bi mlm

oscar zia - swedish mlm

saara aalto - finnish lesbian

silvana imam - swedish lesbian

sliimy - french mlm

smoothboi ezra - irish nb

soko - french wlw

sophie - scottish trans lady

steve strange - welsh mlm

tender forever - french wlw

the singing nun - belgian wlw

the spook school - scottish trans

tove lo - swedish bi wlw

gay artists

adam lambert

alextbh

andrea di giovanni

anye elite

arca

baths

big freedia

cakes da killa

drebae

geo louis

hercules and love affair

holland

ieuan

ilovemakonnen

jesse saint john

joey graceffa

kaytranada

kele okereke

kevin abstract

ki-yo

le1f

leo kalyan

lil phag

lontalius

m. lamar

matt alber

matt fishel

mika

mnek

mrshll

mykki blanco

of methodist

olly alexander/years and years

parker millsap

perfume genius

rostam batmanglij

rupaul

sakima

saintraja

sam smith

steve grand

superfruit

todrick hall

tom goss

troye sivan

tyler glenn

ty herndon

vardaan arora

who is fancy

zebra katz

genderqueer/nb artists

a.w

adore delano - gay

adult mom

aeon fux

aja

amandla stenberg - lesbian

angel haze - pan

babeo baggins

binary breaker

body betrayal

cayetana/allegra anka

chris pureka

cj run - bi

courtney act - pan

drowned in vomit

falter

imaginary hockey league

imbi the girl

in love with a ghost

jake edwards

jinkx monsoon

kieran strange

king princess - lesbian

le tigre

mal blum - bi/pan

mothpuppy

ness nite - lesbian

openside

pwr bttm

rachel maria cox

rae spoon

recurse

sam smith - gay

schmekel

shamir - pan

she king/shawnee

sir babygirl - bi

smoothboi ezra

sons of an illustrious father

spoonboy

ty greenstein

tylan

worriers

indigenous/native/aboriginal artists

cris derksen - two spirit

dio ghandih - queer two spirit

fay ball - lesbian

iskwe - queer

melody mckiver - two spirit

shawnee/she king - two spirit

tony enos - two spirit

jewish artists

adam lambert - gay

ari gold - gay

athens boys choir - pansexual trans man

babydaddy/scissor sisters - gay

bria & chrissy - lesbian

brooke candy - pan wlw

dana international - trans woman

ezra furman - bi mlm

frankie cosmos - wlw

god-des & she - lesbian

janis ian - lesbian

japanese breakfast - wlw

jinkx monsoon - nb

k.d lang - lesbian

laura nyro - wlw

lesley gore - lesbian

mykki blanco - gay

peaches - bi wlw

troye sivan - gay

woodkid - gay

yeho - gay

lgbt rappers

aja - mlm

angel haze - nb

boyfriend - pan wlw

bre-z - wlw

brooke candy - pan wlw

brockhampton - mlm

cakes da killa - gay

cazwell - gay

chynna - bi wlw

cj run - nb

cupcakke - wlw

dai burger - wlw

domo wilson - lesbian

drebae - gay

frank ocean - mlm

god-des & she - lesbian

iamddb - wlw

ilovemakonnen - mlm

katastrophe - trans man

kaytranada - mlm

kevin abstract - mlm

kodie shane - wlw

lady sovereign - wlw

le1f - mlm

lil phag - mlm

melange lavonne - wlw

meshell ndgeocello - wlw

princess nokia - wlw

rico dalasaam - mlm

silvana imam - wlw

siya - wlw

taylor bennet - mlm

todrick hall - mlm

tommy genesis - bi wlw

tt the artist - wlw

tyler, the creator - mlm

young m.a - wlw

zebra katz - mlm

latinx artists

(me llamo) sebastian - mlm & Chilean

adrianne - wlw

adore delano - nb & mexican-american

ana carolina - wlw & brazilian

arca - gay & venezuelan

banda uo - mlm, trans lady & brazilian

celeste carballow - wlw

dani umpi - mlm & urugauyan

dj keoki - salvadorian mlm

ellen oleria - wlw & brazilian

entropica - wlw

francisco victoria - mlm

frankie simone - wlw & puerto rican-american

ga31 - lesbian & brazilian

hurray for the riff raff - puerto rican

kehlani - black spanish-american wlw

lauren jauregui - cuban-american

linn da quebrada - trans lady

manitas nerviosas - trans lady

mc trans - brazilian trans lady

miss bolivia - argentinian wlw

nina dioz - mexican lesbian

nitty scott - black puerto rican-american

nomi ruiz - trans lady

pabllo vittar - gay brazilian

precolumbian - genderqueer

princess nokia - puerto rican-american

sara ramirez - mexican-american bi wlw

reyna - mexican & lesbian

rico dalasaam - black gay brazilian

rubby - dominican mlm

sailorfag - mexican & gay

siya - black puerto rican-american lesbian

young m.a - jamaican & puerto rican-american

lesbian artists

alix dobkin

alix olson

ally hills

amandla stenberg

beatrice eli

chely wright

cris williamson

courtney barnett

doria roberts

girl in red

gina young

grace petrie

god-des & she

hayley kiyoko

indigo girls

janis ian

jamie anderson

ji nilson

julien baker

kaki king

k.d lang

king princess

lady sovereign

lauren ruth ward

lauren sanderson

lesley gore

lynn gunn/pvris

mary lambert

melange lavonne

melissa etheridge

melissa ferrick

mirah

nakala

ness nite

partner

ria mae

saara alto

sara renberg

sateen

shura

silvana imam

siya

sofya wang

syd/the internet

tegan and sara

tender forever

teresa trull

torres/mackenzie scott

tracy chapman

two nice girls

young m.a

zolita

middle eastern artists

dana international - israeli trans woman

ferras - gay jordanian-american

harel skaat - gay israeli

ivri lider/typ - gay israeli

mashrou leila - gay lebanese-american

mika - gay lesbanese-english

pollyanna frank - israeli lesbian

rona kenan - israeli lesbian

rostam - gay iranian-american

yael deckelbaum - israeli lesbian

yeho - gay israeli

yehuda poliker - gay israeli

yehudit ravitz - israeli lesbian

muslim artists

ajah uk - lesbian

leo kalyan - gay

mashrou leila - gay

shamir - nb (raised muslim)

pansexual artists

angel haze/roes - nb

athens boys choir - trans man

brooke candy - wlw

brendon urie - mlm

boyfriend - wlw

christine and the queens - wlw

courtney act - nb

janelle monae - wlw

kailee morgue - wlw

miley cyrus - wlw

nick monaco - mlm

rina sawayama - wlw

shamir - nb

sophie b. hawkins - wlw

yaysh - wlw

plus sized artists

anohni - trans woman

beth ditto/gossip - wlw

fatty cakes and the puff pastries - wlw

god-des & she - wlw

mary lambert - wlw

pop artists

a great big world - mlm

alextbh - gay

anne-marie - wlw

angie - wlw

aurora - wlw

beatrice eli - lesbian

bec sandridge - lesbian

car astor/see - wlw

cub sport - mlm

christina aguilera - bi wlw

fletcher - wlw

frankie simone - wlw

gia - wlw

girl in red - lesbian

girli - bi wlw

halsey - bi wlw

hayley kiyoko - lesbian

janelle monae - pan wlw

jesse saint john - gay

ji nilson - lesbian

kadie elder - mlm

keiynan lonsdale - mlm

kesha - wlw

king princess - lesbian

lauren jauregui - wlw

leo kalyan - gay

lights - wlw

maddie ross - wlw

mary lambert - lesbian

matt fishel - mlm

mika - mlm

miley cyrus - pan wlw

muna - wlw

of montreal - mlm

perfume genius - gay

rina sawayama - pan wlw

rita ora - bi wlw

sam smith - gay nb

saintraja - gay

sakima - gay

sir babygirl - bi nb

sizzy rocket - bi wlw

sofya wang - lesbian

starley - lesbian

superfruit - gay

tegan and sara - lesbian

todrick hall - gay

tove lo - bi wlw

troye sivan - gay

the veronicas - wlw

vardaan arora - gay

who is fancy - gay

woodkid - mlm

years and years - mlm

zolita - wlw

queer/unlabelled artists

aurora - wlw

charlotte day wilson - wlw

coeur de pirate - wlw

dizzy fae - wlw

ember swift - wlw

frank ocean - mlm

frankie cosmos - wlw

japanese breakfast - wlw

jay som - wlw

kehlani - wlw

keiynan lonsdale - mlm

kelela - wlw

kodie shane - wlw

miki ratsula - wlw

muna - wlw

nicole dollanganger - wlw

st. vincent - wlw

thao nguyen - wlw

tiara thomas - wlw

yaeji - wlw

rock artists

Against me! - trans wlw

bif naked - wlw

bikini kill - wlw

cw/a - lesbian

destroy boys - wlw

dream wife - wlw

dyke drama - wlw

ezra furman - bi mlm

fagatron - mlm

fit for rivals - lesbian

g.l.o.s.s - trans women

gina young - lesbian

god is my copilot

gossip - wlw

grlwood - lesbian

halestorm - bi wlw

it was romance - wlw

kate nash - wlw

larkin poe - wlw

lauren ruth ward - lesbian

life of agony - trans woman

lipstick homicide - wlw

lipstick jodi - wlw

melissa etheridge - lesbian

pansy division - mlm

partner - wlw

pwr bttm - nb

pvris - lesbian

the butchies - wlw

the degenerettes - wlw

the regrettes - wlw

tyler glenn - gay

smaller/indie artists

adult mom - nb

black dresses - trans wlw

caitie inson - wlw

cj run - bi nb

cyberbully mom club - wlw

destroy boys - wlw

fatty cakes and the puff pastries - wlw

fly bye - wlw

frankie simone- wlw

girl in red - lesbian

grlwood - lesbian

lipstick homicide - lesbian

lipstick jodi - lesbian

lovers - wlw

mabel ye - wlw

marika hackman

maddie ross - wlw

miki ratsula - wlw

nakala - wlw

ness nite - genderqueer lesbian

palehound - wlw

phem - bi wlw

saintraja - gay

sapphic lasers - lesbian

sara renberg - lesbian

sequin sally - bi wlw

sir babygirl - bi nb

torrey mercer - bi wlw

whitney lindquist - wlw

trans lady artists

1.8.7/jordana lesesne

against me!/laura jane grace - bi

ah mer ah su

anohni

axis of awesome

black dresses - lesbian

bulldog eyes

dana international

genesis p-orridge

giant kitty

girls rituals - lesbian

g.l.o.s.s

go! child

harisu

hirs

just fern

katey red

kim petras

life of agony/mina caputo

mc trans

miss blanks

miss white

namoli brennet

native cats

nervus

nero’s day at disneyland

peppermint

quay dash

sateen - lesbian

she/her/hers

shea diamond

sophie

steam powered giraffe

the scary jokes

too attached

vivek shraya

trans man artists

athens boys choir - pan

black cracker

coyote grace

jake edwards

jake zyrus

joe stevens

katastrophe

laith ashley

lars randa

lizzy’s husband

lucas silvera/the cliks

ren stedman

ryan cassata

skyler kergil

12K notes View Post

mattlindel

5 years ago

91K notes View Post

mattlindel

8 years ago

Broke af?

But still interested in feeding yourself? What if I told you that there’s a woman with a blog who had to feed both herself and her young son…on 10 British pounds ($15/14 Euro) per week?

Let me tell you a thing.

This woman saved my life last year. Actually saved my life. I had a piggy bank full of change and that’s it. Many people in my fandom might remember that dark time as when I had to hock my writing skills in exchange for donations. I cried a lot then.

This is real talk, people: I marked down exactly what I needed to buy, totaled it, counted out that exact change, and then went to three different stores to buy what I needed so I didn’t have to dump a load of change on just one person. I was already embarrassed, but to feel people staring? Utter shame suffused me. The reasons behind that are another post all together.

AgirlcalledJack.com is run by a British woman who was on benefits for years. Things got desperate. She had to find a way to feed herself and her son using just the basics that could be found at the supermarket. But the recipes she came up with are amazing.

You have to consider the differing costs of things between countries, but if you just have three ingredients in your cupboard, this woman will tell you what to do with it. Check what you already have. Chances are you have the basics of a filling meal already.

Here’s her list of kitchen basics.

Bake your own bread. It’s easier than you think. Here’s a list of many recipes, each using some variation of just plain flour, yeast, some oil, maybe water or lemon juice. And kneading bread is therapeutic.

Make your own pasta–gluten free.

She gets it. She really does. This is the article that started it all. It’s called “Hunger Hurts”.

She has vegan recipes.

A carrot, a can of kidney beans, and some cumin will get you a really filling soup…or throw in some flour for binding and you’ve got yourself a burger.

Don’t have an oven or the stove isn’t available? She covers that in her Microwave Cooking section.

She has a book, but many recipes can be found on her blog for free. She prices her recipes down to the cent, and every year she participates in a project called “Living Below the Line” where she has to live on 1 BP per day of food for five days.

Things improved for me a little, but her website is my go to. I learned how to bake bread (using my crockpot, but that was my own twist), and I have a little cart full of things that saved me back then, just in case I need them again. She gives you the tools to feed yourself, for very little money, and that’s a fabulous feeling.

Tip: Whenever you have a little extra money, buy a 10 dollar/pound/euro giftcard from your discount grocer. Stash it. That’s your super emergency money. Make sure they don’t charge by the month for lack of use, though.

I don’t care if it sounds like an advertisement–you won’t be buying anything from the site. What I DO care about is your mental, emotional, and physical health–and dammit, food’s right in the center of that.

If you don’t need this now, pass it on to someone who does. Pass it on anyway, because do you REALLY know which of the people in your life is in need? Which follower might be staring at their own piggy bank? Trust me: someone out there needs to see this.

438K notes View Post

mattlindel

2 years ago

Quick! Youre on chopped, the basket ingredients are

Proscuitto, pirate berry cereal, smoked white cheddar, and nyquil. What do you make?

110K notes View Post

mattlindel

7 years ago

Princess Kaguya of the Moon

so while i was in japan i stumbled upon a pop up alien and space museum/art gallery (if you can’t find a thing in tokyo, it probably doesn’t exist) and there were these gorgeous feudal paintings of the tale of the bamboo cutter and it’s a very good story but

what if

it went

a little

differently?

kaguya is the princess of the moon. she is a young child, gangly thin limbs and a plump mouth permanently set in a stubborn pout. she is a beautiful child, even by the moon’s standards, with her cold opal eyes and hair the same deep black as the void of space. she is an unruly, irritable child. she runs from the priestesses who attempt to teach her her duties, and steps on the feet of little princes from far away stars that her parents parade in front of her. she can’t be soothed by sweets, by soft toys, by pretty songs. she is a being of constant want, and nothing in the whole of space seems to satisfy her.

kaguya does not love the moon as she should. she does not find beauty in it’s silvery, iridescent ground, nor in the pools beneath its surface that glint like mercury. she finds her citizens stuffy and annoying, and all the people from the stars think they’re better than them just because they shine a little brighter. it makes kaguya cross – the sun shines brightest of all, and the only beings that still reside on it is a great monster of a dragon that no one dares cross.

the priestesses try to entice her to learn this portion of her duties at least, but she runs from them and plugs her ears and does not listen. there are times when the sun and moon cross paths, and when they do the great dragon of the sun attempts to gobble them up whole. it is only by praying to the god tsukuyomi and erecting a barrier that the royal family can protect their home from the sun dragon.

it is kaguya’s most sacred duty, and she has no interest in it.

she’s simultaneously bored by her home and insulted when others find it lacking, and this contrary rational might be distressing to the logic of an adult, but kaguya is not an adult. she is a child, and being contrary is her prerogative.

she is walking through in the courtyard behind a palace when a shooting star passes her by, then circles back again. it’s s such a little thing, it must have been traveling for a very long time, because it’s burned down so it’s only about half as big as kaguya. this means the star is very old. “child,” the falling star says, voice ancient and crackling, “why are you sad?”

“i am not sad,” she answers, but as soon as she says that she knows it’s a lie, and tears prick at her eyes. “i am always lonely, though i am surrounded by people. i am always bored, though there are many things to entertain me. i am always angry, though there is nothing wrong. i am sad because i am a piece that does not fit.”

“maybe you are simply a piece that belongs to a different puzzle,” the falling star says, “come, climb onto me, and i will i take you somewhere new.”

“will it be better?” she asks.

if a falling star could shrug this one would, but it can’t so it doesn’t. “it will be different.”

different sounds better to kaguya. she agrees, not bothering to say goodbye to her parents or her people, does not take one last look at the beauty of the moon’s surface. instead she climbs onto the falling star, her skin thick enough that she does not feel its burn, and rides it all the way down, until it is a star no longer and only a falling rock, until she goes tumbling onto a whole new planet, and as she falls she thinks that this new planet looks very green.

there is an old man called taketori no okina. he lives alone in a great bamboo field, and every day he wakes up at dawn and cuts bamboo until dusk, then he goes home and eats and sleeps and wakes up in the morning to do it all again. when he was a young man, taketori no okina fell in love with a samurai who had laughter lines around his mouth and strong hands, who taught him how to wield blades with a strength and skill that could cut down the strongest soldiers. but taketori no okina only uses it to harvest bamboo. the samurai was engaged to the daughter of a respectable family, and so he left. he left his village not long after the samurai, unable to be there alone in the place where they used to be together. taketori no okina’s heart was so full of love for his samurai that he could not bear to love another, and so he never did.

he is awoken in the middle of the night by a bang that shakes his home and nearly deafens him. he stumbles outside, and a couple miles into his field he sees smoke. he goes running for it, concerns about fire and war – they’re in a time of peace now, but they weren’t always – rushing through his mind as he stumbles through. when he reaches the source, it’s to find his bamboo flattened in a ten foot wide circle and a little girl lying in the center. he falls to his knees beside her and carefully picks her up, cradling her in his arms. she’s pale, like she doesn’t spend enough time in the sun, and has long black hair. her thin chest rises and falls with her deep breaths, and he is relieved that she’s alive. “little girl,” he says, “you must wake up and tell me if you are all right.”

she opens her eyes, two pearls set in her delicate face. “i am well,” she says, and smiles at him. she curls into him, setting her head against his chest, “you are warm. i will stay with you, for you are warm and have a kind face.”

she falls asleep once more, a hand clutching something laying across her stomach and her other hand fisted into his robe. taketori no okina looks at this little girl and feels his heart expand, until it’s straining against his rib cage. he loves his samurai as much as he always has, but now his heart is bigger. it’s made room so he can fill it with love for this little girl, and so he does.

he carries her to his home and settles her into his bed. it’s a small bed, meant only for one, and she is a little thing, but he does not wish to crowd her, so takes the floor. tomorrow he will build her a bed and take her to market and show her the hot springs near the mountain. for now he falls asleep listening to her soft breathing with a smile.

the next morning he wakes up to her sitting on the floor by his side, running her fingers over a pockmarked stone. “what is that?”

“it is all that is left of my friend. she was once a great star but she fell, as all great stars must. she carried me here because i was sad. but now i am sad that she is gone.”

“that’s all right,” taketori no okina says, and she blinks down at him. no one had ever told her that it was okay that she was sad before. “she was very special, so we must put her in a very special place.”

he gets up and builds a ledge across the window with a platform just big enough for the stone to fit. he lifts her up so that she can set what’s left of her friend on it herself. “now she can see you and sky she came from at the same time, and you will always be able to see her.”

“she cannot see anything anymore,” she says, but she likes the idea of it, the sentiment. she feels less sad at her loss now, although she can’t say why, since nothing has changed.

once he has set her back on her feet she looks up at him and says, “i am kaguya. what shall i call you?”

“they call me taketori no okina,” he pushes a lock of her dark hair behind her ear, “you may call me whatever you like.”

she wrinkles her nose at that name. it is too long, and too formal. if she is to call him that, then he might as well call her princess kaguya, and she might as well not have left the moon at all. “i will call you oyaji,” she declares, and it’s not a term she’d used even with her father on the moon, but for this old man who built her a shelf and carried her home and had large, rough hands that touch her gently, she thinks it fits.

kaguya quite likes the new planet and her new father. he is man who’s spent a lifetime working and doing little else. he has a tidy savings that he cheerfully depletes on her; he buys her colorful kimonos for her to wear when he walks her to market, and functional kosodes for the days she spends playing in the river and darting through the bamboo forests. he tells her stories at night, of his samurai, of the emperor, and when he exhausts his reservoir of stories about this land, he tells her the tales of other ones – the fire-rats of china, the buddha of india, and when he even those run out he tells her of dragons, of a magical island called horai.

she loves these stories, and she loves him. there are days when she is sad and cross, and on those days oyaji kisses her forehead and tucks the blanket around her shoulder and brings her something spicy from the market for dinner. oyaji just lets her be sad or angry when she wants to be, and because of that kaguya finds that now she gets sad less and less, that more often than not she’s …. happy.

she notices the special care oyaji takes when he talks of samurai, and sees the strength and power in his limbs when he cuts bamboo, and decides she would like to be strong like the samurai in his stories, like oyaji is himself. so she asks and asks, and he’s worried that it’s too dangerous for her. but oyaji loves her like she’s his own flesh and blood, and is unable to deny her anything.

kaguya grows up. she grows up on stories of far off lands and magic, she grows up on warm, simple food made by someone who loves her, she grows up learning to wield blades with the same brute efficiency as oyaji. kaguya grows up beautiful. her skin is darker now that she dances in the sun’s rays, her hair is long and fine, and her eyes are as they’ve always been – pale and beautiful, small versions of the moon she was born on. she moves with a steadied grace that only a deadly woman can master and has the whipcord strength of body from days working in the bamboo fields alongside her father, but all the delicate features of the princess she was born as.

they were left alone when she was a child, when oyaji took her hand and guided her to meat stalls and cloth sellers and bought sparkly combs for her to wear in her hair. but kaguya is a child no longer. she is a young woman, and tales of her beauty spread far and wide. just as when she was a child and princes from far off stars came to court her, now princes come from far off lands. as a child she stepped on their feet, and as a woman she wishes to take her shiny blades and cut them from navel to neck. but she is not a princess here, she is the poor daughter of a poor bamboo cutter, and must act accordingly. she can’t go slicing up arrogant suitors who believe they are entitled to her, no matter how much she would like to.

the most persistent are five princes from lands far from here. she requests a betrothal gift from each of them, and says she will marry the first to return.

from the first prince, she requests the stone begging bowl of buddha.

from the second prince, she requests a jeweled branch from horai.

from the third prince, she requests a fire-rat robe.

from the fourth prince, she requests a cowry shell born of swallows.

from the fifth prince, she requests a colored jewel from a dragon’s neck.

off they go to fulfill her impossible requests, and kaguya rests easy knowing that they will not return, or if they do they will return empty handed.

but this is not the end.

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