#//it's more like him looking down on sora rather than actually seeing him as a child

[teeful-corner]

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ How? .ᐟ. . . (THE FUCK ARE YOU ALIVE!?) Lloyd Garmadon x Reader | Gender Neutral Reader

ੈ˳light Dragons Rising (s1) spoilers, reference to previous seasons; Ghosts of the past come to haunt Lloyd in the future, while somehow also quelling a long-term ache in his heart. ੈ˳tags / warning: implied relationship, death (slightly detailed), dealing of lost and angsty Lloyd, Jay and Cole are still not back :(, not proof read! 4.9k words.

"Hey Lloyd!" Arin called from the library, catching Lloyd's attention sharply as he tried to pass by. The call didn't seem urgent, yet Lloyd wasn't going to do anything of particular urgency either, so he decided to peak inside; he was also wondering why (and how) Arin was in the Library. Not that it had been locked, or anything of the sort, yet because the Library somewhere that Lloyd would have thought Sora would be, not Arin. Hmm, maybe scratch that. Arin would probably be in the Library if it meant he could learn anything about the ninja. Good dedication, he had to admit, albeit it a tad weird. "Yeah Arin?" Lloyd called back when Arin didn't turn his attention over to him, still engrossed in whatever he was looking at. When Lloyd entered the room, walking over to Arin to peer at the book from behind, he would soon notice it was an old photo album. Zane, Pixel, and Nya used to keep it up to date with adventures and general family outings. "Who's that? I don't think I ever remember a ninja wearing purple on your team before." Arin asked, pausing for a minute before he added on quite proudly. "And I know more about you guys than anyone should know!"

The photo that Arin was looking at was a group photo, one in front of the Monastery before one of the countless times it got burnt down. Sometimes Lloyd couldn't help but wonder why they didn't rebuild the Monastery out of something that was inflammable; though he guessed Master Wu always enjoyed coming back to a Monastery that hadn't changed. And Lloyd had to admit, it was also a nice change of pace of the constant changing world outside. It felt like a part of the chaotic world was standing still; even if that feeling was usually a brief one. Yet, in the photo, Arin would point at a Ninja who was piggy-backing off of Lloyd back. Well, maybe not piggy-backing. It was more of, at the time of the photo, they had jumped onto Lloyd's back and he was in the process of falling down. Meanwhile, Kai had burst out laughing and Nya was elbowing him, rather harshly, with a snicker. Though her efforts were rather targeted as seeing the rest of the team was already bursting out in bubbly laughter. Lloyd swore he could hear all their laughter echo in his pointed ears, like the day had just happened. But he knew he was wrong. His eyes became saddened as much as he tried to smile; if not to soothe Arin, then to soothe himself. "Ah, well, that's the Master of Crystals." Lloyd began to explain to Arin, who craned his neck back to look up at Lloyd. "...um, shoot. What can I say about them?" Lloyd tried not to laugh at his own short comings, a habit that he was constantly teased for yet he couldn't help. "The Master of Crystals?" Arin mumbled in echo to Lloyd's statement. His eyes filtered back down to the frozen photo, taking in how blurry everyone looked from moving. He couldn't help but crack a smile. "You two seem close!" "We were!... we really were." Lloyd's voice drew off a bit, his eyes glancing to the side as he still tried to wrack his mind on what to say. He knew if he said too much he would start crying, yet he also knew that Arin would want to know as much as possible. Yet how could he sum up them in words? That task, Lloyd thought, was impossible. "I wish you could have met them," Lloyd would find himself mumbling. "They were amazing, well as great as a person can be." Lloyd started as Arin turned to face him again, photobook still supported in his hands. "They were rather talented, some of their paintings are actually hung around the Monastery - well those that didn't burn in the fires. They were. . . wonderful, incredibly funny at all the wrong times. Fearless, in their own way, and yet reckless at the same time. Master Wu always scolded them for jumping head first into situations instead of using their head. "They were rather passionate as well, yet somehow managed to be a total introvert; they would not speak to the press, nor anyone they were uncomfortable with. Always gave one of the Ninja this stare that screamed 'help me'. Social awkwardness, that's the word for it." Lloyd couldn't help but smile as memories began to surface themselves after being dormant for years. Arin kept his eyes on Lloyd as he spoke, only occasionally glancing down at the picture to look of the Ninja that Lloyd spoke of. Arin couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't heard of them before. "They were also kind... maybe too kind." Lloyd paused in his speech, he had been rambling for a while before his words fell short. So much so Arin had noticed that Kai stopped to listen from the doorway; he seemed curious on the conversation, yet soon realized who Lloyd was talking about and grew the same solemn look. "What happened to them?" Arin was compelled to ask when he noticed all the past-tense that Lloyd was using when describing the Purple Ninja; furthermore the solemn look that the two grew when speaking about them. Yet, Arin wasn't sure if those looks were because the Ninja got lost during the merge. . . or if something before the merge happened.

The silence was more deafening than a rock-n-roll concert. Arin's brain was flooded with reasons for the sudden silence, ranging from the simplest answer (they were lost in the Merge) and the most complex scenario his brain could possibly think of. He would gingerly close the photo album and try and place it back into the shelf, "We don't have to talk about it if you guys don't want to!" He was quick to rush out. He didn't want to cause any sort of discomfort, and the silence suggested he had; that or he had just resurfaced some horrible memories that were being shoved away. Arin didn't hear when Kai had came over to the two, jumping when he felt the sudden warm hand on his shoulder, and gingerly glancing back over to Kai. He seemed in a much better shape about the question than Lloyd was. Arin knew Kai was trying to offer some sort of smile to soften the anxiousness that coursed through Arin - yet his smile wasn't very convincing. "They gave their life to try and protect us, kid." Kai explained, ruffling Arin's hair in another attempt to soften the mood. Yet, somehow Arin felt worse in hearing the news, turning to look over at Lloyd with apologetic eyes. Lloyd wasn't facing them.

Sora was quick to pick up on the more solemn mood that Lloyd seemed to be slumped in, not being as attentive during training or flat out spacing out - which tended to cause multiple accidents. Sora knew she wasn't the only one who caught on either. During her training with Nya, the Water Ninja continued glancing back at Lloyd with frowned eyebrows and eyes swimming in worry. Nevertheless, they both saw how careful Arin was around Lloyd, and Sora half wondered if some sort of stress caused Lloyd to crack and snap; she's heard from a few sources that he could have a temper on him. Yet, Nya pointed out how Kai acted around Lloyd and claimed that something happened that wasn't Lloyd snapping at Arin. Something much bigger. "How can something bigger than Lloyd snapping at Arin make Lloyd so. . ." Sora fished for the right word. Distant didn't feel right. ". . .I don't know! Not-Lloyd and Arin so cautious?" Nya glanced over at Sora, lips pierced in a frown, before her eyes returned over to Lloyd, "I don't know, but something did happen. Not Lloyd snapping happen, yet something. I've only seen Lloyd this despondent since-" And Nya stopped, causing Sora's interest to peak. She waiting for Nya to continue, dutifully noticing the rise of suspicion mixed with realization that swirled in Nya's eyes. When Nya did not continue, though, Sora asked with a cocked eyebrow. "Since some big even that caused Lloyd to lose someone close to him, and he somehow still blames himself over all these years?" It was a rhetorical question, laced with some humorous sarcasm, as Sora went back to her work. She was fixing up her mech, trying to add some enhancements on it so it would run smoother. All the while she was also trying to channel her elemental power without Riyu's help. This allowed Riyu to be able to lay in the sun nearby while intensively watching Sora's work, ready to bounce onto his feet if Sora needed his help. Sora noticed the silence from Nya, yet ignored it at first as she tightened a screw. Yet, after the third, the silence got a tad awkward. Sora glanced back at Nya, who was staring at her with a baffled look; almost as though she had seen a ghost. "What. . .?" Sora glanced behind her, seeing if she had missed something. Yet, she only saw her mech and came to the conclusion that she didn't. "How did you?" Nya's posture straightened as Sora glanced back at her. Now Sora was positively confused, "How did I what?" And Nya would roll her wrists, acting like that had carried the answer to Sora's question. It didn't and Sora was left just puzzled. Yet Nya seemed to get the hint that, maybe, Sora didn't know what she was talking about and happened to just take a rather accurate jab in the dark with her rhetorical question. As for Nya shook her head, clearing the baffled look on her face, before actually waving off Sora's puzzled look this time. "Nothing, nothing. I just thought-" And again, Nya wouldn't finish her sentence as her eyes drifted back to Lloyd. Sora would notice as she rubbed her neck, her eyebrows frowning more so than before, and a frown tugging deeper on her lips.

"I LEFT YOU GUYS ALONE FOR ONLY A SECOND!" Kai's shouting filled the court yard as Sora, Arin, Wyldfyre, and Riyu stood away from the gigantic hole in Monastery wall. Kai had gone inside only a a few minutes before a merge portal had appeared right above the Monetary; which both frightened and confused the four, seeing as Lloyd had used the dragon cores a few weeks ago! "It wasn't us!" Arin started, instantly trusting his hands up in the same way a cop would ask you to. Kai gawked at the four before rushing down the Monastery steps as Zane peaked door behind him, confused. Sora was quick to add to Arin's plea for innocence, yet she was cut off by Wyldfyre. "This was not our faults!" Wyldfyre crossed her arms, "Someone just fell out of the sky, crashed, and broke the wall! It was not me this time." Sora resorted just to agreeing with the two at this point. Kai groaned, and Sora wondered if it was out of laziness (for not wanting to deal with another broken Monastery wall) or out of 'I'm going to be killed for leaving you all alone!'. Either way he rushed past the four and over to the wall, but to Riyu's concerned growls, to check out the damage. He drew his sword just encase. "Fell out of the sky? But Lloyd should have stopped the rifts from reopening." Zane said as he walked over to Arin's left, staring at the rubble with confusion before he began to analyze the rubble as Kai began to carefully climb onto of it. "That's what I thought!" Arin shouted, thrusting his hands out at the crashed wall, "but then someone just- FELL FROM THE SKY!" Sora would add, "While being spit out of a rift. Though it disappeared after they got spat out." "Again, none of this was Wyldfyre's fault." Wyldfyre stated again, nodding in agreement to her own statement as though to add value to it. Nya didn't seem too amused as she rushed out with Lloyd to the hole in the wall and the proclamations of rifts and people falling out of them. Kai swore he was getting a headache from listening to Arin, Sora, and Wyldfyre explaining the situation again; not from their voices, yet from the sheer annoyance that these rifts were causing trouble again. Especially when they had all thought that they were taken care of. And just as he thought life was getting back to normal, or as normal as life after the Merge could get, life slaps him in the face. Again! Thanks life, you're really helpful. Yet Kai's sour thoughts towards life didn't stop him from checking the rubble and coming to a quick stop after he noticed a familiar gi lying on top of the white stone. His body froze at an instant, the grip on the Monetary wall tightened, both out of fear and unknowing how to process who laid in front of him. "Lloyd-" Kai called into the flurry of voices that tried to figure out what had happened. Gaining no response from Lloyd at first, Kai tried calling him again despite not being able to tear his eyes away from the person. Finally, "LLOYD!" "What?!" Lloyd shouted back to Kai, turning to face the Fire Master both confused and more aggressive than he intended. Though his stance quickly softened as he noticed Kai's face: pale white. A beat. Lloyd gingerly, yet with as much confidence as he could muster, walked over to Kai and where he stood on the rubble. As he approached behind him, Lloyd called out again: "Kai?" Yet the only response he gained was a shaking hand that Kai pointed towards the rubble. Concerned, and with adrenaline now rushing through his blood like crazy (the held silence from the others not helping his nerves at all) Lloyd climbed upon the rubble to come face to face with a haunting face. In an instant, it felt like Lloyd's world was turned upside down as his eyes flickered over every detail of the familiar body that was no longer mangled or torn, no longer gruesomely defiled in the most repulsive way.

Lloyd could still remember how their limbs hung on like strings, or were disconnected entirely. How their blood stained the concrete road blacker than it had been, how the rotting smell filled the streets before the war had ended and they were safe to burry their friend. The details rushed back to Lloyd quicker than he wanted; more graphic than Lloyd remembered it being. The shock, horror, terror, slight disgust all made him recoil away from the stones wall; it forced him to completely turn his back and cup his mouth in fear of puking. His eyes were wide, his pupils shrunk as he tried to get those horrible, god awful memories out of his mind. The smell he remembered that coated the streets hit him, causing him to hunch over. He knew this was all in his head, old trauma resurfacing to bite him in the ass for never fully recovering from that scene. He could hear the voices, panicked and just as disturbed (mostly from the original Ninja) when they realized who laid in the rubble. Lloyd distantly felt a hand on his back, but his mind swirled and circled as he felt like his gut had been punched. "What's going on? What's happening?" Arin panic sounded so far to Lloyd, and Arin seemed further when Lloyd turned to look at his student. Arin grew fearful as he saw the detailed horror on Lloyd. Nya was trying to calm the situation. Zane was examining the body, trying to make sense of what was happening. He first ran a diagnostic and the only words Lloyd picked up were "Alive", "Breathing", "Vital". They weren't mangled and torn and tattered, they breathed and were whole and alive. That was a wild concept to Lloyd, caused his knees to buckle. His hand slid down roughly on the Monastery wall as he crashed to his knees. He was trying to keep the tears from spilling over, hiccupping escaping his throat as he choked back sobs. "Can someone explain to use what's going on?!" Sora shouted as Lloyd balled his hand into a fist against the Monastery. Sora sounded distressed, Lloyd couldn't blame her. He couldn't blame any of the new students for how they felt at the moment, after all this was slowly turning into a shitshow of emotions. Lloyd could feel Nya trying to snap him out of his engrossing thoughts yet the felt all consuming; It's like Lloyd felt everything all at once and yet, somehow, nothing at the same time. He blanked out at the explanation the students were given. He blanked out for a while. He wasn't sure when someone had managed to move him, yet he now sat in the living room of the Monastery with his fists clenching at his pants and this sickening feeling still in his stomach. How can you possibly explain that the fact that someone who had died, gave their life, to protect something greater than them (yet somehow also meaningless after they gave their life) to students who hadn't heard of them before? Lloyd moved his hand to cup his mouth, trying to control his breathing as his eyes zooned out on the floor. His knee bounced now without the weight of his arm. He could hear Nya next to him trying to explain the seemingly impossible to the three students: "A long. . . long, time ago, during one of our last fights with Lord Garmadon, after Harumi had resurrected him, we were almost cornered." Nya explained, "Well, we had been running from their joint forces for a while, taking refugee in abandoned building of Ninjago, yet this time we had no were to truly run. I suggested we split up, confuse Lord Garmadon and Harumi and Lloyd said we needed to all stick together." Nya would pause, allowing Lloyd to notice how she had rambled a little and how Kai had to place a hand on her shoulder. There was a silent nod that was shared from Kai to Nya, something to reassure her. Nya took a deep breath before she continued, "To make a long story short, the Ninja you saw crashing through the wall was the Purple Ninja, Master of Crystals. . . (y/n). "They had, despite much protest, said they would ward off Garmadon and give us a chance to escape; promised that they would meet us back at the base-"

"Garmadon tore her to pieces." The growl in Lloyd's voice didn't go unmissed as he interrupted Nya. His hand pulled down from his mouth, pulling at his skin a little before he rubbed his neck. "Left her to die rotting on the street, limbs hanging on by threads. . ." His statement was followed by silence, stunned if not horrified silence. Lloyd didn't look up at the three students, who sat or stood nearby. He couldn't bare to catch their eyes, to catch the horror that their mind was crafting after the vague description that Lloyd left hanging in the air. The silence was thick, thicker than Lloyd would have wished. "But... but they seemed.. fine?" Arin choked out, trying to get some sort of positivity back into the room; or at least to get some people to start looking on the bright side. Despite the gruesome topic. "We don't know how." Nya answered, shaking her head. "The best explanation would be that she was fixed when their soul moved on to the Departed Realm? But we haven't seen much trace of that realm in the merged... nor have we seen many traces of other realms for souls, like the Cursed Realm." "Yes, and it is rather odd that she would appear now." Zane walked into the room, cleaning his hands with a cleaning cloth. Attention snapped to him in a unsettling way (from his standards) yet he guessed it was just worry for the Ninja he had just been taking care of. "Especially after Lloyd stopped the MergeQuake. We can only hope that means that the Realms are settling into their new place, and returning people to where they're meant to be. Yet, that would not explain how (y/n) managed to resurrect." Zane noticed how Lloyd didn't look in his direction when he spoke, yet he couldn't blame Lloyd, not after all they've been through. Not after all he's been through; Especially since he was the closest to (y/n). "Well, the only thing we can do now is just wait for them to wake up, yeah?" Sora pipped up after a moment and she would receive a nod from Zane. She made sure to think on her next words, as well as her tone, before she crossed her arms, "So then let's go do something! I'm sure your friend wouldn't want to wake up after being dead for so long to see you all depressed!" "OH!" Arin pipped up instantly. "I have just the thing!"

The smell of some sort of bread was the first thing that came to mind, the second would be the warmth of a weighted cover that was tossed up to my shoulders, and the third would be the softness of the pillow at my head and the mattress under me. The warm and softness coaxed me back to sleep, yet my mind made it feel as though I had been asleep for decades. Decades. A soft murmur escaped my mouth as I rolled onto my side, my brain slowly registering the sounds that echoed from where I laid. The sound of birds nearby, the clattering of pans, the sound of laughter and chatter and talking; Feet on wood floors and sliding doors. The smell of different ingredients mixing with the smell of baking bread or maybe pie. It was like the sweetest dream. I grabbed at my covers and turned again on the mattress below me. It was so tempting to go back to sleep, to let the soft, warm sounds bring me to a dream where I was with everyone again. That was until I had fully registered what was happening. With a quick motion I shoved the blanket off of me, sitting up, and looking around feverously. I stared at the room in front of me, all too familiar and all too haunting. My hands had a mind of their own at they first touched the sheets under me, then my cheeks and face, and slowly my whole body as I began to register something: I was. . . alive? How was this possible? Hadn't I died, oh I don't remember, a few years ago? This shouldn't be possible, it shouldn't-. Thoughts circled around my mind like a storm that could not be tamed, panicked and frightened, terrified and horrific. I tried to remember what I could not, at the time, and my only last thoughts were those of the moments before I had died. The feeling of my bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles all pulling apart are screams ripped out of my throat in a piercing way that still haunting me. The tears that streamed down my cheeks, the pain; oh the unbearable pain, all suffered to make sure that everyone else could hopefully see another day. So Lloyd could see another day. I raised my hand, feeling my damp cheeks. I didn't even realize I had been crying, and I frowned my eyebrows as I couldn't understand whether it was because the memories or the confusion. And I couldn't help but sit on the bed, my bed, as I reeled in all that was happening. I was alive, I was back. Yet was everyone else here? What had happened after I died? Did the resistance work? Is Ninjago City back to how it had been? Is- The thoughts brought me onto my feet and tugged at my gi, taking in a shaky breath as I felt it. My feet guided themselves, my mind in a foggy trance, to the door and out the room, down the hallway of the Monetary while following the sounds of voices and laughter. I was led to the kitchen, were I would stand at the door and look in at the scene: Lloyd, Nya, Zane, Kai, and four people I didn't know; three kids, one frog guy. They all were making Pies, from what I could tell, and they were laughing and smiling and joking. Kai had flicked flour at Nya, who sneezed and glared playfully at Kai. Zane was putting pies into the stove, helping as the kid with pink hair read a book out loud. Lloyd with a kid in orange stood at a counter nearby, seemingly racing to make the pie that the pink-haired kid was shouting. The frog guy stood nearby. I didn't noticed as tears flowed back down my cheeks as I stared at the scene, my mouth slightly agape. Everything seemed so peaceful, so right. I could only guess Jay was in his room changing because there was a massive pile of flour on the floor and on Kai and Lloyd. Cole probably in the bathroom from having eaten too many of the sweets, with all the empty pie tins that laid on the table. Nya was the first to notice me, she was about to throw water at Kai yet paused as her eyes caught a glimpse of me and looked back. I could see the way her eyes widened, realization and relief and overwhelm wash her. All I could give her in response was a small smile, a weak bit of laughter.

There was a brief moment were we just stared at each other, and the next thing I knew Nya had rushed away from her spot and enveloped me in a hug. And I couldn't help but hug her back, feeling tears form in her eyes as I choked on mine. "Oh fuck-" Kai mumbled, and I could only guess he had realized why Nya had not shot him with water and instead rushed towards the door. The room grew quiet, confused then realized, as attention darted over to Nya and I. Lloyd's eyes. Oh, his eyes. Despite the pain that rang through them, they way they scrunched and drew out lines on his face. Despite the way he could only meet my eyes for a few seconds at a time. Despite the way they reddened, looking like he was about to cry. His eyes were still lovely as ever. I tightened my grip on Nya, "What did I miss?" I mumbled softly to the shocked silence. I let out something akin to a airy-chuckle. "Most recently, the ending of MerqeQuakes which occurred when all the realms were merged together into one big realm; before that,-" Zane began to respond yet he stopped himself. He couldn't help but smile, and I swear he was about to cry (if he could). "Actually, that does not matter. What matters now is that you're back... and awake." Nya slowly let go of me, I could feel as she tried to break from my grip and I slowly loosened her. She was smiling, yet she was crying; choking on her own tears. I couldn't help but give Nya one last reassuring squeeze before I slowly moved around her and towards Lloyd. The silence seemed thicker as I reached Lloyd, his hesitance more noticeable as his brows thickened and frowned. A thin frown spread across my lips, I knew what this was about (that much didn't take me being alive for years to know). "Lloyd I-" My voice felt weak as I started, reaching out to Lloyd with my hand yet stopping. I balled it into a fist, seeing Lloyd turn away from me, and slowly dropped my arm back to my side. What words could you say to someone who you betrayed? Nevertheless someone like Lloyd, who's been through so much and the last thing he wanted (I knew) was to see my body on the concrete floor. Blood staining the road. Limps ripped apart by his father. I knew that so much that my last thoughts had been about Lloyd had how he would react when he saw the scene. My mouth twitched as I stood there, next to Lloyd, in silence as my head fell. Sorry was not good enough, it would never be good enough; no apology would be good enough to start trying to make up for the time I had missed. For lying, as I knew that I wouldn't meet them back up. For everything. For leaving him alone and making him bear the world without me for so many years. For not being there for him for whatever he had to go through while I was gone; it had aged him so, I could see the aged pain in his eyes. It would never feel enough. "I'm-" And yet, somehow Lloyd turned to face me. And somehow, he came to embrace me, hugging me tightly as though he were afraid I would die again. And somehow, he managed to be near me after everything I had done. And somehow, I had a feeling, we would slowly get through this. Slowly, I wrapped Lloyd in a hug and gripped onto his gi, just as tightly. I buried my face into his shoulder as he did the same and we just stood there and hugged tightly. And everything felt right, even if it was for a brief moment. Everything felt like it had and how it should here in the Monastery, with Lloyd: It felt like home.

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[twilightmalachite]

Final Ceremony - Chapter 2

Characters: Fuyume, Esu, Hinata, Yuuta, Mitsuru, Tsukasa, Subaru, Ritsu, Mao, Keito, Izumi, Chiaki, Wataru, Nazuna, Leo, Sora, Hiyori, Jun, Ibara, Hiiro, Mayoi, Ibuki, Kanna, Raika, Nice

Translator: Mika Enstars

Proofreader: 310mc

❗️ This chapter was PARTIALLY voice-acted live at the 4piece Final Ceremony Live Event! The scripts for the live event and the in-game story are slightly different.

"Gahhh, I can’t breathe…! Subaru, little less strength, please~!"

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Season: Spring

Location: 4piece Final Ceremony Stage

Fuyume: Yume has an objection.

Why wasn’t Yume, the number one cutest, chosen? The judges must have no eyes to see. Yume would much rather you withdraw from the seat.

Esu: What are you talking abouUUUUT?! The one who should withdraw is you! Are you stupid?! Do you even know what’s going on?!

Aren’t I always telling you to stop causing trouble to the general publiIIIIC?!

Please excuse him! I’m so sorry! I’ll take responsibility for this guy and drag him elsewhere, please continue!

Fuyume: Ow. Don’t pull Yume like that, Esu. You’re too forceful.

Nazuna: Ahaha, aren’t those quite the newcomers~? Though, better to have one that has a strong backbone than one that’s weak, I suppose.

Keito: How incorrigible. These results are being broadcasted, you know.

This 4piece is considered a major event, attracting attention from leading figures from a variety of industries. Standing out in a bad way won’t do you any good.

Nazuna: That is true, isn’t it? Wow~, they might get chewed out later then, huh. You think they’ll be okay?

Mao: Dance Dream Unit…? And they chose me for it?! For real!?

Subaru: Hooraaay! This is amazing, Sally~! Congraaats!

Mao: Gahhh, I can’t breathe…! Subaru, little less strength, please~!

Subaru: Ahaha, sorry, sorry! I’m just so happy your hard work’s been recognized, Sally~! As if it were my own! ☆

…Hm?

Tsukasa: ……

Subaru: You good, Cathy~? Could you be in a state of shock?

Tsukasa: Huh? Oh, no. I was just thinking a little.

Of course, I personally feel a sense of frustration, but… In order to grow, I must accept these results, so I cannot let myself feel down.

And, I am also the Leader of Knights.

As their Unit Leader, I am overjoyed that Sena-senpai and Leo-san have been selected.

And so I was thinking about our Schedule for the future.

I was wondering if our Schedule might require some revisions now that we have Nice Dream Unit activities to consider.

Ritsu: Ooh~, as expected of Suu~chan. You’re starting to act more and more like a dignified “king”~. I’m so proud. ♪

Tsukasa: If that’s what you believe, then I request you to stop praising me like a child.

Ritsu: Hey, Maa~kun. I gave it everything I got, but it still wasn’t enough. Comfort me~.

I’m just such a poor thing, you know~? I deserve some pity and comfort, don’t I~?

Mao: Umm? You don’t look to actually be all that genuinely upset or anything to me, though?

Ibuki: Oh, huh. So I wasn’t selected, huh~.

Well, there’s no point sticking around, so I’mma get somethin’ to eat~.

Chiaki: …I did it! I DID IIIIT!

I’m so happy~! This feels like a victory I achieved together with RYUSEITAI and everyone else who lent their strength! ♪

Mitsuru: I was selected too~! I’m so happy, yanno! ☆

Raika: Chiaki-oniisan, Mitsuru-oniisan, congratulations on your victory! I too am so happy~!

Kanna: Hm? Is that… Hojo Raika-san? He was here too…?

Jun: …I won. I… won against Ohii-san…!

Hiyori: Congratulations. You did not do all too bad, Jun-kun! Things will end differently next time, though!

Jun: Yeah… Thanks so much.

…You’re acting a little unusually modest, huh, Ohii-san?

Hiyori: Because this is quite the inconvenience for me! It’s supposed to be your important duty to be at my immediate back and call to fulfill any wish I may have, Jun-kun…!

Jun: GODDAMN! There’s not a lick of modesty when it comes to you! You just want to make a slave outta me!

Jun: ……

(I’ve set my mind to it, so… I gotta tell everyone about it properly.)

Izumi: Heh. I can even win an audition if I put my mind to it, you know?

I may not have been able to gain as much recognition as I’d like overseas, but… That doesn’t mean I intend to give way to the next generation in Japan either, you know.

Leo: So I’m in the Dance Dream Unit? It doesn’t really feel real yet. But I don’t exactly dislike dancin’, so it’s fine, I guess?

I wonder if they’ve got a song prepared already?

If I’m dancin’ with a group like this, I think I’d be able to write a new song~. Though, maybe dancin’ to someone else’s song will be inspiring?

Hinata: If you were to dance with the winners of the audition, and have it be a song composed by you on top of that, Tsukinaga-senpai… Now that would be a crazy cheat code, for sure.

Ibara: …Yuuta-kun, you don’t seem all too disappointed, even though you were not selected.

Yuuta: Could say the same about you, Vice Prez.

Ibara: Because I can still achieve my goal, even if I am not selected. And since His Highness and Jun have been selected, this will be a perfect advertising opportunity for Eden.

Yuuta: I’m in a similar boat, then. We just prioritized a win for 2wink.

It’s not like I lost from this. I just didn’t get selected this time around.

And so, this place just didn’t turn out to be for me. That’s why I’ll just leave it to Aniki and get my own elsewhere.

Ibara: I don’t dislike that way of thinking. Although, it is one that’s difficult to have recognized.

Mayoi: Hiiro-san, congratulations on your placement in the Vocal Dream Unit.

Your singing really is so wonderful, Hiiro-san. I just knew you would be able to make the most out of this opportunity.

Hiiro: But I feel like it’s such a shame, Mayoi-senpai. How come it didn’t work out for you?

You’re so incredibly skilled, and all…

Mayoi: Oh, no no. I am very much aware of why it didn’t work out for me.

Besides, the valuable experience I acquired in that field is plenty enough for me.

Wataru: Oya oya, I didn’t expect that I would pass.

Sora: …?

Wataru: Oh? What is it, Sora-kun?

Sora: Sorry if Sora’s mistaken, he can’t see all too well right now, but…

Is Dai-shisho~ not happy about that?

Dai-shisho~’s voice sounds happy, even though his words don’t, and it doesn’t match up~. So Sora found it a bit odd.

Wataru: Amazing, you are quite perceptive as ever, Sora-kun~!

I am rather happy. But having an evaluation of that audition makes me feel embarrassed somehow.

So I inadvertently behaved as if it was of no concern to me, or rather, how to put it… I am finding myself responding half-heartedly.

Sora: Sora doesn’t quite understand. If Dai-shisho~ is happy, then Sora thinks he should just let it show~!

Wataru: Ahaha, now that’s not an easy pill to swallow~. Could you let Eichi know that as well?

Sora: ?

Nice: “I understand there are many mixed emotions of joy and sorrow to be felt, but we’re running out of time. It’s due time for us to bring this results announcement to a close.”

“I too am beyond happy to have met you all through 4piece.”

“The children who have been chosen and those who were not, are all so very nice! The future of the idol industry is a bright one indeed!”

[ ☆ ]

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[tobiasdrake]

YES! Digimon Adventure 02, my favorite *starts rubbing hand together* i'm going to be so obnoxious.

Anyway since you're done with Adventure could you rank the Chosen Children up to now? I'm really interested in hearing your thoughts.

Let's see. Chosen Children from Most Favorite to Least Favorite, since I don't actually have any I dislike.

1 - Tachikawa Mimi. I'm sure there are no surprises about that one. Mimi's job is to be the relatable everykid. The one who acts the most like what an actual real-life ten-year-old thrown into this situation would act like. She cries, she screams, she wants to go home.

But she still pulls it together and has a lot to contribute all the same.

All of the kids do a great job of being relatable, honestly. But Mimi has the most interesting journey to me,

2 - Kido "Joe" Jou. You know, as a kid, I adored Yamato so much. He would have been my #2. But as an adult, I can't help but appreciate how hard Jou-senpai worked at the mostly thankless job of trying to be responsible for these kids.

He's just as scared and confused and lost as they are, and in the beginning the burden of responsibility weighs so heavily on him that it nearly breaks him. But he rises to the challenge. Even after they decide Taichi is officially team leader, Jou is always looking out for them, always trying to guide them as their senpai nonetheless.

Jou giving his life to save Takeru is my favorite Crest activation of the lot.

3 - Ishida "Matt" Yamato. He's still up there, just not as high as Jou. Yamato is the most damaged of the Chosen Children at the start, though it may not be immediately obvious. He comes into the series with more baggage than anyone. He's already carrying his parents' divorce on his back and emotionally spiraling down a defensive rabbit-hole before we even know his name.

Yamato isn't capable of being a selfish person, and that much is on display left and right. His kneejerk reactions are almost always for the betterment of the group. He can't help himself but to care about everyone else. But he's so messed up that he thinks that's a character flaw. Who he is and who he wants to be are miles apart, and who he wants to be kinda sucks so that's a good thing.

4 - Takenouchi Sora. Sora's carrying some damage on her heart as well. She's similar to Yamato, in that there's a stark disconnect in her character. Not who she is vs. who she wants to be, but rather who she is vs. who she thinks she has to be.

I love how much attention her dynamic with her mom gets in the Vamdemon arc. Sora has the most interesting and dramatic home situation out of any of the kids.

But it does feel like the show starts to de-emphasize her over time, particularly in the Dark Masters arc where Sora routinely has to be protected or saved and rarely gets to be the one who looks cool. Whether she's propping up Takeru, Hikari, or Yamato, Sora often ends up taking a backseat as the series draws closer to its conclusion.

5 - Takaishi "T.K." Takeru. I didn't actually like T.K. as a kid. He just seemed like an annoying little kid. But that's because of the dub downplaying his growth and his strength. Ironically, Takeru is probably the one of the original seven who already has his shit together the most from the start.

He's innocent, naive, and abhors violence, but he's not a helpless baby either. Takeru is resourceful, strong-willed, and contributes as much as anyone to the children's survival. Which is, itself, a key factor in Yamato's arc as much as his own.

6 - Yagami "Kari" Hikari. Hikari suffers tremendously from entering the series so late. She has very limited opportunities to shine, something that 02 will help her with.

She makes good use of what she gets and has a lot of great moments nonetheless. Granted, she's a little bit deus ex machina-ey, but she's literally the Light of the Eight Gods so we can forgive her for that.

7 - Izumi "Izzy" Koushiro. He made my kid cry.

No, I jest. Koushiro's in a rough spot where, as the computer nerd of the group in the Digital World, he has to try and walk a tightrope between "Koushiro OP plz nerf" and "It feels like Koushiro should be doing more."

It's not a tightrope he walks easily. He gets off to an interesting start as he's building out his understanding of the Digital World. But that kinda reaches a head at Etemon's pyramid and after that he just starts leaning on stuff Gennai gives him.

Once the setting is well-established, we don't get to see him do cool things like writing a program that will display a holographic map of Etemon's pyramid in physical space anymore. Gennai gives him all of his tools going forward and he just... sorta becomes the Pokedex.

8 - Yagami Taichi. He yelled at my kid for grieving dead friends.

That's less of a jest. More generally, Taichi has a lot of good points. He's the one who keeps his eye on the ball during the Dark Masters arc and keeps pushing forward while Mimi, Jou, and Yamato are having their respective crises. He's usually the guy you want to lean on in a crisis.

But wow, can Taichi be insufferable at times pre-development. He's reckless, self-centered, occasionally sexist, and utterly insensitive to the thoughts and feelings of others.

Taichi is a wild card. You never really know if you're gonna get "gets everyone caught by Etemon because he thought it'd be funny to cause trouble" Taichi or "pulls this team back together after they split up" Taichi.

Though meeting Homeostasis near the end and hearing the background of their adventure seems to do wonders for Taichi putting all of this to rest and becoming an emotionally stronger leader.

[dr-futbol-blog]

The Storm/The Eye, Pt. 4

Finally, the Genii arrive at Atlantis with Acastus Kolya at the helm. With Robert Davi acting, it's rather on the nose how much the events of the story follow the plot of Die Hard with Kolya as Hans Gruber and Sheppard as John McClane. And, as I mentioned the polysemic storytelling used by the series, the role of Holly Gennero is played by both McKay and Weir.

McKay and Weir are captured by the Genii almost immediately.

They're clever enough to keep their communicators on so that Sheppard can eavesdrop on the discussion. McKay is clearly frightened, even more so than Weir because he actually has experience of these people from before, but he's not about to give them anything that would jeopardize Sheppard (not even his own name, confirmation of which Sora provides for Kolya). Rodney is a brave little toaster but he's way in over his head. You can see by the minute tilt of his chin that he just entered What Would Sheppard Do? zone, he's trying to navigate the situation the way he thinks John would.

The fact that Weir responds verbally to Kolya's inquiry about his identity and McKay does not but is recognized anyway is exactly how the entire scenario plays out main text / sub text wise. We are verbally told: Elizabeth, from contextual cues we are able to interpret: Rodney.

We actually cut from Sheppard's reaction to what he just overheard to the storm brewing outside. Because if he was frightened of the storm and what it might do to this newly found home at the beginning of the episode, he's now terrified.

In the Genii home world when they were held hostage, McKay and Sheppard both attempted to keep the other safe in their own ways, and they continue doing just that here. Sheppard is using his military training, McKay is using his brain (and Weir is using her skills as a negotiator). McKay is trying to convey information that Sheppard could use by "accidentally" leaning on the communication panel but at the same time, he's letting him know that they are both still alive and unharmed. It's notable that all of the characters are lying to keep each other safe. They are saying counterfactual things in the hopes that the others might be spared.

Also notable: Kolya is smart enough to know that they are lying.

McKay seems to realize that he has no experience in dealing with the kind of sociopath Kolya is but he tries his best. He's being careful not to antagonize them unnecessarily and is also lying about the most important things.

Kolya has figured out that McKay is too important to be there. There must be a reason why he stayed behind. The Genii clearly recognize his importance on a lot of fronts, the least of them not being that he's the one that knows how to use the C4 to build an A-bomb which is something that the Genii don't know how to do. He would go as far as to injure McKay but it's doubtful he ever had intention of killing him.

But even under physical torture, he didn't give up Sheppard. The Genii only learn that Sheppard is in fact in the city through the radio he left in the armory himself. The only reason he gives out the plan to save the city is that he has such faith in Sheppard. This is why he looks guilty when Kolya and Sheppard have this exchange:

Kolya: Your offer is very generous, Major. Sheppard: Yes, it is. Kolya: However, Doctor McKay recently shared with me there's a plan in action to save the city. Sheppard: He did?! Kolya: He did.

Like, McKay overhears this and thinks that he's disappointed Sheppard; as though Sheppard is expressing surprise that he would do such a thing. The last thing McKay wants is to let the Major down. What their exchange is actually about is Kolya letting Sheppard know that he has hurt McKay enough to get information out of him, and Sheppard gets this.

And Sheppard's plan is to rescue them. He hides the thing that he knows the Genii care most about, the thing they can't do without, it being the C4. He's holding the most important thing to the Genii ransom because he hopes that this will be enough for him to get back the most important thing to him. Everyone is attempting to find the leverage and use it.

Knowing that Sheppard has walked into an ambush, even though he is afraid McKay tries to help him the only way he can which is by pointing out that something is invaluable (reminding them that they might break the only thing that can save the city if they start shooting at him). Likewise, Sheppard only went to the grounding station with the hope that doing what the Genii asked would keep Weir and McKay safe. And boy is McKay relieved to hear the Sheppard managed to dodge the ambush:

Note that it's McKay's reaction we get to this, and his alone.

Now, Sheppard makes the mistake of mentioning McKay because he just can't keep him out of his mouth. When you're thinking about something or someone, it's going to come out of your mouth. He tells Kolya that he's going to get "an earful from McKay for" his soldiers breaking the controls to the grounding station, and then this very thing actually happens. What he actually did was to demonstrate to a really intelligent sociopath that he knows McKay pretty damn well. Too well. And that he cares about him because damn, if that didn't signal familiarity between them.

Starting to play hardball, Kolya tells Sheppard "Say good-bye to Doctor Weir". But note that he actually looks at McKay just before he says this, thinking about something. Kolya and Sheppard are playing a game with extremely high stakes.

Now, it seems like Kolya threatening Weir is too much for Sheppard. It's the mention of Weir that throws him off the edge, right? Makes him threaten to destroy to whole city if he hurts her. Weir, and not McKay. Easy, heteronormative reading. That's what they say, after all.

The thing is, we've seen before that Sheppard is both a strategic thinker and (especially in Underground, S01E08) that especially when it comes to the Genii, he thinks that the less information they have about them, the better. He lied about the number of puddle jumpers they have. He was willing to let them know that they have a ship, but not that they have many ships. He stopped McKay from spilling the beans on how much weaponry they have. Each and every one of the characters have been lying through their teeth all through the ordeal to keep each other safe.

Kolya is likewise a strategic thinker. He's trying to figure Sheppard out. He has two hostages and he's trying to find out how he can use them for leverage. He knows all of them are lying.

Some people watch the episode and come to the conclusion that Sheppard cares about Weir the most because Kolya threatens her and he loses it. And like, he doesn't mention McKay so he must not care about him as much as he does about Weir. But it is precisely because McKay is the one he cannot and will not lose that he plays it out as though Weir is the one he cares the most about here. Giving the enemy that kind of leverage like revealing the thing you actually can't live without would be stupid. And Kolya figures it out anyway.

Sheppard tells him that if he hurts Weir, he would rather blow up Atlantis with all of them in it, indicating to him that Weir is the one he cannot afford to lose. Anything you do, just please don't kill her. And yet we end the episode with Kolya telling Sheppard that he is about to kill one of the two, and he's not telling him which. Having just glanced at McKay before he decided to test Sheppard out by threatening Weir by name.

Why would he do that? If Kolya believed that Weir was the one Sheppard cared most about like he indicated to Kolya, why would he not simply use the leverage Sheppard had just (on purpose) given him? Why suddenly be vague about which it's going to be?

Because Kolya can play 4D-chess too. And it's when Kolya tells Sheppard that he is going to kill one of them and he does not know which that is going to be that Sheppard actually capitulates, not when he threatened to kill Weir a moment ago. Notice that Sheppard was still relatively cool and level-headed when Kolya was just threatening her life; when her life was on the line, he was still negotiating with Kolya. But suddenly he loses it.

Note that while he's shouting throughout this dialogue because he's outside in the storm trying to get his voice heard, his tone of voice changes throughout:

Kolya: You killed two of my men. Sheppard: I guess we're even! [flippant] Kolya: I don't like even. Sheppard: I'm not finished yet! [bravado] Kolya: Neither am I. Say goodbye to Doctor Weir. Sheppard: The city has a self-destruct button. You hurt her, I'll activate it. Nobody'll get Atlantis. [still calmly negotiating, able to formulate a plan of action] Kolya: Even if it exists, Major, you need at least two senior personnel to activate it -- and I'm about to take one of them out of the equation. Sheppard: Kolya?! Kolya?! I'll give you a ship! I'll fly it out of here for you myself! KOLYA!! [suddenly desperate]

Sheppard is willing to do anything and say anything to keep McKay safe. The man he's fallen in love with. His home. The person he cares so much for that a stranger he's known for all of five minutes was able to figure it out and use it against him. Threatening Weir wasn't the thing that pushed him over the edge, it was not knowing which one the gun was pointed at and the fear that Kolya had figured him out, had his ticket.

This is when Kolya made himself into Sheppard's mortal enemy. And it's notable that in every one of their subsequent encounters, Kolya knows to use McKay to get to Sheppard.

Continued in Pt. 5

[jamesthedigidestined]

A birthday gift to my wonderful @seventeenlovesthree, thank you for always doing your best for everyone, so please spend today doing your best for yourself too. 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

Koushirou sighed, softly massaging his temples as he looked over the monitor. The low hum of his computer‘s fan haunted him, daring the young expert to rouse it from its slumber and use it to make up for his inability to calculate the formulas necessary for his current predicament. Reminding himself of the last time he tried that, Koushirou sighs again and reclines in his chair, a faraway look in his eyes.

October 15th. What was an average day for 0.27378508% of the population was, in fact, a very special day for twelve of them, especially one in particular. Their shining leader, Yagami Taichi, who despite everything they’ve tried has been far dimmer in recent months. No one could blame him; after all, everyone mourned even the idea of losing their partner, but actually losing them?

Koushirou turns his head to the side, inspecting the smooth carapace of a rather large ladybug curled up on his desk and softly snoring.

… No, he simply couldn’t handle that.

Once again, Taichi had proven to Koushirou just how amazing he was. However, that amazingly bright person was incredibly difficult to gift to. He had a hard time even accepting presents that weren’t food, and food felt... wrong, in a way. Ignoring just how voracious everyone’s favorite orange dinosaur was, food was what you gifted those in mourning. This was meant to be a new beginning for Taichi. However, Taichi needs something he can’t refuse...

With a low groan, the redheaded genius stands up, walking over to his window. The Sun had already begun to set, casting the cityscape in a brilliant mess of hues. He studies the sky, watching the slow descent of the Sun and the scattering of photons, leading to the vibrant strokes of red, orange, and pink.

Wait a minute...

Sora reclines deeper into her bed’s bundle of blankets, a large pillow in her lap as she idly listens to music on her phone. Something loud and dramatic, allowing her the ability to leave all of her thoughts behind and focus on the lyrics. Soon, however, her phone’s performance is stilled by a far more mundane occurrence: someone was calling her.

She huffs, annoyed with the interruption, and puffs out her cheeks into a pout. However, as she sees the caller ID, her features soften, and she smiles gently, beginning to tug on her hair and try to look presentable. That is, of course, until she remembers this is a voice call. Laughing at herself, she accepts the call, still fussing with her hair anyway.

“Hello, Koushirou-kun! You’d better be home resting.”

"Hello, Sora-san, and I’m sorry, I’m still at the office.”

“You should spend more time resting, you workaholic.” She teases sweetly, lying down on the pile of plush as she closes her eyes, soaking in his, albeit indirect, presence.

“You know my brain doesn’t turn off even if I am home. Which brings me to my current situation.” Koushirou begins to lead into the topic. Tentomon softly flew over to stand beside his partner, giving Koushirou silent support.

“Is it... Taichi’s birthday?” Sora asks, her voice noticeably softening. She smiles sadly and stares at the ceiling now, her pink pillow held tightly against her bosom.

“It is… I’m sorry, I know you’re all struggling, but you’re my best hope.” He shuffles his feet, gripping his phone a bit tighter as Tentomon leans against his leg.

“Hope? You’d be better off getting Takeru... Truth be told, Koushirou-kun, I don’t feel like I’m the most qualified to recommend anything for Taichi.” She says, turning back over to face the phone once again. “I do appreciate your faith in me, though. I-it means a lot.”

“Sora-san… I’ve always had faith in you. And I still do now. You and him are far closer than you realize, and I am perfectly capable of filling the gaps. What do you say, Sora-san, will you help me give Taichi a birthday he won’t soon forget?”

Sora, for her part, is at a loss for words. Feeling more complete than she has for a while, all she can do is softly cry and smile, affirming her agreement with a few soft sounds.

Taichi stares at the clock in a mix of contempt and acceptance, knowing his shift was almost over did little to ease the tension in his shoulders. What was a normal day for, uh, some percentage of people was his birthday, and he had to work. Someone just had to call in sick. What a crummy start to the day. At least everything started to slow down for the end of the shift.

A coworker makes their way over to Taichi, waving him down with a clipboard. “Excuse me, Yagami-san? Package for you at the front desk. Sign here, please.”

Taichi, perplexed but not surprised, signs his name, and the coworker walks off. Seeing no reason not to check it out, he makes his way to the front desk, where he’s greeted by a... bouquet? A soft blush immediately greets him, a certain redhead popping into mind.

Shaking free his thoughts, he reaches the counter and basks in the bright glow of the plants. In the center lies a tall, proud stem adorned in bright orange flowers, like flames licking his fingers as he carefully strokes them. Surrounding them is an assortment of purple and red flowers of various types, with a huddle of pink to the side. Some he recognizes, such as the purple lotuses, but most he couldn’t even begin to describe.

Beginning to inspect the flowers, gently wading his hand through to the pink plants, he suddenly recoils in agony. Inspecting his finger, he finds a hole. He was stabbed. Putting the now-injured digit into his mouth, he grumbles as he looks closer at the offending flowers.

“a fucking cactus...”

With a grumble, he begins to now search the pot itself for answers, and like a wish come true, he finds a note tucked under the container. Gingerly moving the pot, he picks up the letter and begins to read it. It says…

“Hey Tai, you big dummy! It’s been a while since we’ve talked. There’s a lot that doesn’t need to be said, but there is at least something that I will say... I’m here. Kou-kun is here. Everyone is here for you. It may be tougher to meet up, but at least me, Kou, and Mimi will be ready for you.” Written neatly in red ink, he could tell Sora’s handwriting anywhere; however, it continues...

“And by 'ready’, she means we’re already at your apartment! Hope you don’t mind? (^\_−)☆“ … Mimi, you b-

“I am sorry, Taichi-san; she so much as heard we were going to invite you out and decided inviting ourselves in would be better. On the plus side, your bed should fit four people comfortably and is structurally sound.” KOU WHAT ARE YOU IMPLY-

“Anyway, Tai, it looks like we’ll be hanging out at your place! We ordered takeout and rented some movies, so I hope we can make it up to you. Sorry for the intrusion. ❤️

P.S. Flip me over! —>”

After doing so, he’s greeted with a short list of what each flower represents. The purple flowers are a mix of lotuses and chrysanthemums, representing enlightenment and loyalty, respectively. The red flowers are a mix of anemones, which mean new beginnings, and sunflower-like gerbera daisies, which... have the meaning scratched out in red. The neat purple letters surrounding it indicate Koushirou wrote it, but Sora must have scratched it out... All that can be made out is an L, so it must mean luck, and Koushirou simply made a mistake. Maybe. Finally, there is the pink cactus flower, which means pain.

Shaking his head and smiling, Taichi folds the note and slides it into his pocket. He checks the clock again and grins, seeing that his shift just ended a few minutes ago. Moving to clock out, he can’t help but notice a flash of orange and the glint of teeth across one of the pachinko machines. You know, maybe today’s going to be a good day after all.

[luneengene2]

r u gonna finish the papa I'm not jinx anytime soon?, I deadass wanna see the plot

Previous Part

• A/N : Finally, I can get back to writing to this Two-Shot. By the way, this section is very short to speed up the update.

Hard thought, Soft thought & request are OPEN

Kei stared straight ahead at the wall where his late wife's photo was hanging. His gaze was blank. His world felt like it was collapsing, his heart was breaking. And this was exactly how he felt seventeen years ago.

"Nami if you have a grudge against me, please punish me only. Don't ask God to take Sora away from me. Give all the pain you experienced in the afterlife to me because I hurt our daughter, but please don't take her with you. Give me a chance to be a 'real father' to Sora. Please, Nami. Don't give me such a painful punishment. I'd rather lose my own soul than lose a part of you again."

Tears flowed down his eyes. Je was in deep shock for days because of his daughter's tragic suicide, and fortunately she was saved. When he first saw Sora's pale condition and the 'equipment' she had on her body, Kei almost had a heart attack. Not only that, he was also almost punched by Euijoo if Euijoo had not been held back by his wife.

"Nami, she's been suffering for seventeen years. You know, I don't mind if she wakes up and kills me right now, it wouldn't hurt me. I would be heartbroken if I saw her in a coffin," Kei shook hard, he squeezed the pants he was wearing. Remembering all the bad memories he did to his own daughter for dozens of years.

Kei never cared whether his daughter was traumatized or not because of his bad treatment as a father. He forgot the fact that his wife died to preserve their beautiful memories. Sora was there as a complement. Not a jinx. Sora is here because of Kei's wishes. Nami died in childbirth so that Kei would not be alone.

But Kei, he actually wasted all of Nami's struggles. Nami's death felt in vain if Sora continued to receive bad treatment from her own father.

"Papa," A soft voice made Kei look up and look to the right. He was shocked to see the girl who should still be lying in the hospital now appear in front of him. Sora. His daughter. His beautiful daughter. His intelligent daughter.

Behind Sora, there was Euijoo. Euijoo slowly pushed Sora's wheelchair to approach Kei.

"Sora," Kei's tone sounded hoarse and also very short of breath. His knees immediately fell to the floor, he stared blankly at his daughter. Sora smiled warmly at her father. Her small hand touched her father's cheek.

"Papa doesn't need to beg, Mama is definitely not that evil to 'take me' away. I live longer because of Papa, I forget my promise to myself. I live for Papa, because I know, one day you will love me. I'm sorry I made Papa sad," Kei shook his head, his nose and eyes were very red from crying. Kei took his daughter's hand that was on his cheek and kissed it softly.

"No need to apologize, Princess. I'm the one who should be apologizing here, I made your life hell for years. Papa doesn't deserve your forgiveness," Kei kink's cry was really sobbing, he was relieved that his daughter was okay. But his guilt was also very big.

"You are my only parent, no matter how bad you are, you are my father. My best father, who always tries to give me a perfect life. You work for my future, and I know that," Kei became even more hysterical when he heard Sora openly say that he was the best father, even though he was far below that. "I can't hate you, you gave me such a special life. I never lack anything, just seeing you smile is enough for me," Without a doubt, this was the first time Kei hugged Sora as hard as he could. Sora felt like screaming because this was the first time her father hugged her.

Kei was grateful, very grateful. God did not give him a very severe punishment by taking Sora's life. God gave him the opportunity to hug Sora for the rest of his life. God gave him the opportunity to see Sora grow up and become a great woman. God gave him the opportunity to be able to accompany his daughter to walk down the holy altar of marriage. God did not make him live alone.

He will be the best father like Sora said. He will make Sora's life much better. He will accompany his daughter until death comes.

If possible, maybe he would accompany Sora until she was old. Sora would be lucky if her father was still around until her old age.

[seventeenlovesthree]

Digi Dynamic Shipping Game

Send me two names among the following 12 and I’ll write a short analysis post about them:

Taichi Yagami | Yamato Ishida | Sora Takenouchi | Koushirou Izumi | Mimi Tachikawa | Jyou Kidou | Takeru Takaishi | Hikari Yagami | Daisuke Motomiya | Miyako Inoue | Iori Hida | Ken Ichijouji

Whether canon provides input on them or not.

Jyou and Koushirou, mostly thanks to their connection to Iori, often get paired together as "left-overs" in official art portrayals; this also happens when "the main fighters" (Taichi & Yamato), "the girls" (Sora & Mimi) and "the angel siblings" (Takeru & Hikari) get paired off as well. At first glance, there isn't much more to it than that (especially because there are also variations of them being paired off with Sora and Mimi respectively too), especially because their roles in the series actually aren't as "tropey" as they appear to be at first glance. But their relationship is still interesting to look at regardless:

The creators of Digimon intended to "throw you off the usual, conventional track" by the way they depict their main characters. Kakudou himself refers back to Jyou and Koushirou to make this clear: "The oldest one would be the most unreliable, and the smartest one would be one of the third youngest." Reading that, you would assume that our studious Jyou, being as keen to become a doctor as he is while dealing with occasional self-esteem issues, would feel rather intimidated by Koushirou. Koushirou, who is depicted as naturally smart and, during one of their first interactions in the Digital World, easily solves a math problem that Jyou struggles with.

However - this is literally NEVER an issue between them. There are exactly two occasions where it's played for laughs: First, in the stageplay, as Koushirou is overall blissfully unaware of Jyou's despair over his grades. Second, in the reboot, but even there, it only happens during their introduction and is never brought up again.

Overall, the series is mostly subtle about their stance towards each other. But Adventure and 02 also make sure that, when they do interact with each other - as rarely as it happens -, you KNOW they are on good terms with each other. It's when Jyou trustfully follows Koushirou through the crowd of Tokyo while they wonder where the others have vanished to; it's when Koushirou tries to protect Jyou from being assaulted by a literal adult and ends up getting thrown down a bridge because of it; it's when Koushirou cries because Jyou willingly sacrifices himself to get him to safety, even if it happens in vain; it's when they call each other for arrangements through the course of 02 because they know they can rely on each other; heck, it's when the English dub makes Jyou shout out things like "DON'T START WITHOUT ME, I WANNA HEAR IZZY'S THEORIES, I LOVE IZZY'S THEORIES."

So you can tell, they are generally valuing and supportive of each other. Tri is, unfortunately, a little bit more divisive in this regard; as mentioned here, the topic of romance is a touchy one for our resident "nerds". Which is, unfortunately, a trope they both have to deal with, as Jyou is involved with a girlfriend we never see and know if she's real - but he still gets kinda boastful about it, so his "advice" towards Koushirou ("At least take a shower or the ladies will hate you") is... Not exactly taken well by him, quite the contrary. Koushirou is stuck trying to save the world while fighting with the girl he has complicated feelings for - thus he seems to be feeling belittled by Jyou and shuts down.

But fear not, the stageplay and Kizuna are here to save the day! The former in particular is excellent at showing us the extent of how much they simply value and adore each other: All comic relief aside, Koushirou straight up voices his delight over Jyou being with them on their camping trip and while he tries to maintain a harsh demeanour towards Jyou being potentially "fake", you can tell that the possibility gets to him. Jyou on the other hand kinda seems to enjoy the little bickering between them to an extent, it's all pretty lighthearted after all - and, most importantly, he is the one who manages to reassure Koushirou during his lowest moment. Telling him that, even if he doesn't believe in himself, Jyou DOES believe in him - and judging by the screenshot above, you can tell that this does something to Koushirou. Overall, it may not be the MOST VISIBLE friendship in the series, but their bond is definitely there - and persists, as Koushirou still seems to manage to stay in touch with Jyou during Kizuna.

Whether I think why and how they’d work.

I'll be real, I am incredibly torn when it comes to the romantic potential between these two. It is fascinating to see them bounce off of each other the way they do - especially if you consider their age difference and that even the little instances of bickering between them still don't feel like either of them feels really inferior or superior to the other in the long run. The potential to have them fight over "intelligence" and "girls" in a typical "nerd fashion" had been there - and I'll give kudos to the writers for not succumbing to that, but instead making their bond incredibly valuing and supportive.

And I'll be real again... The fact that Koushirou's bitter reaction to Jyou telling him to "shower or the ladies will hate you" does have the potential for subtext... Because personally, I still believe Tri in itself is a metaphor for Koushirou trying to figure out his preferences in more than one sense. So despite everything, what if it weren't the "ladies" he wanted to impress - and the reason why he got mad at that statement wasn't so much that Jyou was right, but that he didn't even think about that...

Thinking of Jyou and Koushirou through a romantic lense is both difficult and interesting, because on one hand, their Tri portrayals give off very blatant "bickering bro vibes" while simultaneously trying very hard to push them both in a "strictly straight" direction. And yet - the gentle, fond subtext that Adventure, 02 and the stageplay offered at least gives room for an entirely different set of feelings towards each other. It could be a story of them masking their preferences, being heavily in denial and learning how to overcome their comp-het phases - together!

I have no doubt that they will stay in touch way into adulthood, since both their careers are intertwined with the Digital World and they may ask each other for information and advice a lot. So the opportunity to bond and get closer through that is definitely there. One might argue that they both need more contrasting forces in their lives to pull them out of their comfort zones (such as Mimi, Yamato or Taichi), since we saw Jyou wasn't exactly capable of doing that for Koushirou (yet)... But if they manage to actually listen to each other and get over themselves, they may be able to make it work. Slowly but steadily.

Whether I’d prefer them as platonic or romantic ship.

Not gonna lie, I love to imagine these two as adults going on Digital World strolls with Taichi, moping over adulting and their respective jobs giving them headaches - even though they all love what they're doing and are probably closer than ever. I usually do think of them as complementing friends who trust each other without a shred of a doubt and call each other when something urgent is up - including the moping. While I do believe that Taichi would be Koushirou's and Yamato Jyou's gay awakening respectively, I feel like they could be a solid fit for each other - but like with many other ships, they're more likely to find each other when a lot of other people are "out of the picture". So I mostly prefer them to be platonic, absolutely do not deny the subtle romantic potential though!

[blacklegsanjiii]

OP Rarepair Week

Day Five Season / Festival

The cold season on Kuraigana was full of harsh winds and rain, leading to fires being constantly tended in the castle. Perona and Zoro took to the task of keeping the castle warm, Zoro having to go chop wood and Perona finding the fireplaces and keeping them fed appropriately. The cold and pressure often negatively affected Sora, the remnants and scars of the poison made her ache and hurt and she hates staying in bed so he would bring blankets to the library and the sitting room and kept the tea warm wherever she was.

“Thank you, darling.” She said in Northern to him as he nodded and disappeared again through the door.

“He's rather doting.” Perona huffed as she had brought her own blanket to the sitting room.

“Any reason he shouldn't be?” Sora asked with a cocked brow.

“It just doesn't seem like him.” Perona answered as Zoro agreed.

“Although his public persona keeps you hidden rather well. If there's only a handful of people who know of your existence.” Zora tacked on. Sora hummed her agreement as she drank her tea.

“So what's all this then?” Perona asked, a hand gestured at her as a ghost fed the fire.

“Oh, I was very sick once upon a time, tore up most of my body internally.” Sora waved off. “The rainy season is always particularly rough on me.”

“Oh, and he just does this for you. That's actually rather sweet.” Perona said.

“He is a multifaceted man.” Sora agreed as lightning cracked across the sky outside.

“Why you?” Zoro asked after a moment of quiet.

“I have found both of our answers to be that we don't know. Perhaps it's a good thing because I don't necessarily have anyone to compare to myself.” Sora chuckled. “He's far better than my first husband, though I have a feeling somehow even Doflamingo would be better than him.”

“He's that bad?” Perona mused.

“And worse.” Mihawk answered as he came in with bowls on a tray for supper. A thick and hearty stew for everyone. Zoro downed his bowl quickly and Mihawk sighed. “Are you alright?” Mihawk asked Sora in Northern who nodded lightly at him.

“They're asking why you took me and Sanji in.” She laughed softly in Northern.

“I don't see how that affects them at all.” Mihawk answered in his wife's native language.

“The greatest swordsman which is a title of a death wish, having a wife and doting on her like she's the thing you're scared to lose more than your life.” Sora hummed and Mihawk shrugged to himself.

“Because I am, once you become the greatest you only can look down for so long. If I lose you, I don't see the need in keeping my death wish much longer.” Mihawk answered as the thunder roared and the rain came down even heavier which made Sora shiver.

“Charming.” She mumured as she ate her bowl of stew. Mihawk simply smiled at her softly as he ate as well.

[a-tale-of-legends]

More Jin team thoughts but not Gijinkaverse related. Mainly on the pokemon's bond with Jin + the potential backstories. Again, not Gijinkaverse related, those will have a different backstory for each character.

Esme( Sceptile): Esme is Jin's starter and thus is the closest to them. On the surface, they look like each other's opposite, with Jin seemingly being this angry angsty teen and Esme being this very laid back treecko. Despite this , they both have this tendency to jump into things without fully thinking things through, so they are kinda on the same wavelength in that regard. Esme's laid back nature did help Jin with their anger in their youth- she would help calm them down by resting on their shoulders or , as a Sceptile, gently gnawing their head/ putting pressure on their head ( I need to check Sceptile's height I don't think it's taller than Jin as an adult actually. The point still stands). Jin's determination to do the gym challenge ( up till their dad) and the frustration they would feel whenever they lost badly ( ie, Wattson) was what finally made her start taking her role as leader seriously - she felt that she was letting her trainer down, her team down, by not being as active of a leader as she should be. In a way, Jin and Esme balance each other out, and it's what makes their bond so strong.

Fang( Mightyena) : A rather short one bc Fang got retired from battling at some point. She's somewhat of an outlier among her species: she isn't the type to really be aggressive with other pokemon, moreso staying in her lane. She's also, as far as her species go, isn't that intimidating ( mainly bc she doesn't have that ability). When she was caught, she expected to continue to stay in her lane....only for her trainer to be a kid with a temper and her leader being an unserious treecko, both whom would often get themselves into situations that weren't necessary. So she quickly found herself trying and failing to be the voice of reason. She was never good at commanding an audience ( or so she thinks) so she would often just watch as her teammates got into another avoidable fight. Though, even so, she grew to love them. Even when she realized she couldn't really keep up everyone in terms of raw power, she still liked being part of this weird team she calls family. Jin especially has been kind to her - they like petting her in particular, which she assumes is for her fur ( Tomoko conducts static so they would have to be careful petting her). She was actually surprised when they would enter her in some contests! It honestly flatters her that Jin sees the beauty of the not that scary mightyena. And for that, she's grateful.

Sora( Swellow): If Fang was the outlier of her species, Sora was the Pinnacle of his- which also kinda made him an outcast lol. He's very prideful, both in his appearance and in skill, to the point where he was notorious within the route he was in for starting fights constantly, all to show off his skill and prowess. And then he got caught by Jin after getting beat by Esme. Naturally, this wounded his pride. Jin and Sora are honestly pretty alike, mainly in how stubborn they both are, and because of that, they would butt heads a lot, with Sora not really listening to Jin unless it was something of common interest ( aka, winning a battle to prove a point). Throughout their journey, both Jin and Sora not only chill out a bit, but gradually start to better understand each other. What really helped with this was the shared interest in pokemon contests! I think both of them sharing this, especially with Jin first entering the Cool Contest, effectively helped them get along. By the end of it all, Sora and Jin share a deep respect for each other, with Sora occasionally showing bits of affection to their trainer ( whenever Jin mentions it, he gets huffy though, lol)

Something I thought of just now: Originally, Sora was just going to be a wild pokemon Jin caught. But then this idea came up to where Sora actually used to have a trainer before Jin, maybe multiple? I've always imagined Sora being incredibly skilled, but lacked proper guidance, mainly bc he didn't believe he needed it. So maybe he was a pokemon who used to have a trainer(s), but bc of his pride, said trainer(s) thought he was too much to handle, and would release him back into the wild - which was even more of a problem bc he kept picking fights. I think it would be very interesting, honestly, and would add more layers to why Sora n Jin didn't get along at first. Sora was abandoned before for being too difficult, so why wait for his trainer to give up on him as well? And that would make their mutual respect and affection all the more sweeter.

Vex( Mawile): Vex is interesting bc outside of his rivalry/romance with Sora and his general love for fighting, I haven't fully fleshed him out? I know he's rather cheery, eager to go along with almost anything. He's not energetic per say but he is lively and lax enough to like a good laugh and playful tease his teammates. But even with all that, it's still kinda hard to figure out how he thinks, especially towards Jin. This is a problem given Vex is one of Jin's designated mega pokemon outside of Esme, and in order for that to work, I need to establish a deep bond between Vex and Jin. It's easy to say that they do, but it would be unfair to just not have any details of their dynamic.

I know he likes fighting. I know he enjoys using sneaky tactics to get a win ( fake tears, sucker punch etc). I know he isn't afraid to really go in a fight. But there has to be more than that right? I'm not sure right now, Vex is someone I have to think about more.

Tomoko( Manectric): Tomoko is arguably the one pokemon here that has a good head on her shoulders, at least in comparison to the battle hungry Sora n Vex, or the carefree Esme. Fang too, of course, but unlike Fang, Tomoko commands respect. She is no nonsense, both towards her team and her trainer, and isn't afraid to zap em to get their heads straight. She doesn't do this out of cruelty, but rather bc she can see how this team could work well together,but doesn't. If she's going to be part of a team, she wants to be part of one that's aligned together. I think Jin early one would be frustrated with her boldness, honestly feeling that she's always disappointed in them or their team. Getting scolded by a pokemon in its own language is not a great experience. But again, Tomoko isn't doing this out of ego or distaste. She is rather compassionate and tries her best to understand others, especially her trainer. I think she realizes how she's been affecting Jin, and gradually goes from scolding to simply being a source of comfort for them. Her approach to things can only work so well after all, and while it helped Esme realize that she really did want to be a leader, it only made Jin feel more insecure- something she feels incredibly guilty over.

I think Tomoko gradually softens the more she's on the team. Again, she was always compassionate and respectful, but her strictness with the others could come off strong. She gradually learned to ease up a tiny bit, and let the chaos of her team flow - she loved them for it. She's still not afraid to zap someone if she thinks they're being stupid ( cough Sora and Vex, cough)

Mirage ( Flygon): The baby sister of the group! She's as lovable and excitable as one would expect, she's the light of the party! As a trapinch, she was pretty much coddled by Jin - who thought she was adorable - and liked being carried around when given the chance. While her singing was horrendous as a trapinch, Jin was nothing but encouraging, loving the small Pokemon's enthusiasm and passion. Mirage's desire to battle didn't really come from her trainer though ( well it did, a bit), but rather a new and improving Esme, who was actually starting to take her leader role seriously. Mirage wanted nothing more than to be as cool as her big sis! So she works suuuuuuuper hard for her trainer, even if she loses a lot! Jin encourages her though, and is never angry with her, which is great!

Overall, Mirage is much a needed bundle of joy and positivity within the group. This continues even as she evolves and starts to tap into her dragon side more ( which makes her a bit more difficult to handle, but she's still overall the same energetic trapinch Jin met in Mirage Tower). She is upset that Jin can't hold her like they used to, or she can't perk on Jin's head once she's fully evolved. Though she's gotten into the habit of just flopping on them lol.

Caspian ( Milotic): One of the newer editions of the team, and thus haven't gotten to know Jin all that well. While in game I was able to evolve Caspian rather quickly, I don't think it would be that quick in universe. Caspian was caught as a Feebas, so my best guess as to how him and Jin met was that Jin potentially rescued and healed him? Which ultimately decided for Caspian to join Jin, to repay them for their kindness? I think I'll semi stick to the canon games version of how Feebas evolves- either by beauty stat or via trade. Maybe Lisia actually helps Jin make Caspian feel beautiful - more than he already does, anyway. I feel like Caspian was honestly fine with his appearance before evolving. He didn't think he was the most gorgeous thing ever, but he didn't hate his appearance either. Getting pampered was certainly an experience for the rather modest and somewhat reserved Caspian though - but he would be lying if he said didn't like the gesture.

Upon evolving I think he became the much needed calm and serene feeling the group needed, as Mirage was the more lively addition. Caspian was always soft spoken and gentle, often softly cooing or gently nudging when it comes to Jin. By the time Jin catches Caspian, they aren't like how they were before, but I also imagine the stress of team magma and aqua are really starting to get to them. Caspian as a Milotic is long and cool, so Jin would find themself resting between a coiled Caspian to help ground themself. Caspian, of course, is more than happy to oblige.

Spirit ( name will change) ( Ninetails): REALLY short bc I only used to him a tiny bit and he's very new: I don't really know what his personality and relationship to Jin is just yet! So he's kinda up in the air.

Okay that's it! MAN I'm beat. If you wanna ask questions about these guys or give ideas on backstories n shit ( to be clear again, this is NOT the Gijinkaverse version, just the pokemon as actual pokemon and their lives before and after getting captured), feel free to share!

[bornhollow]

she'd been planning it for a while; ever since she first met him [ truly first met him, now that she'd remembered, ] he seemed almost sheepish when it came to celebrating himself, for all the self-confidence he carried—he was loud and excitable and one of the genuinely happiest people she'd ever met … even if she knew part of that was solely for the kids' sakes. he'd let himself be the butt of jokes and the subject of the kids' annoyance if it meant keeping them happy or distracted from the trauma all of them had gone through so young. he would always give his all when it came to celebrating everyone else in his life, which meant when it was his birthday? it was her turn.

once the kids were off to school, she'd told isshin she needed some medication picked up from ryū at the hospital, ( even texting ryū a heads up after she'd kissed isshin's pout and sent him out the door, ) before she carefully tied her locs back in a loose ponytail in order to set about her task. having already taken some painkillers, reiko made her way around the living room, decorating as much as she could until a rather well-timed text from urahara-san asked if she needed help. [ it was rather creepy how he always seemed to know things— ] creepy or not, though, she accepted his offer to help, and tsukabishi-san and sora-san's assistance finishing decorating was deeply appreciated.

with the house finished, she only had to wait for him to return from his tasks—she had to add a few more on in order to keep him away long enough, as much as his crying emojis broke her heart to see—but finally, he was home, and not only was the house complete, but her gift, too. greeting him at the door, she held out the wrapped box, ( rather conspicuously wrapped in green and white striped paper, ) its contents nestled safely inside atop some tissue paper. once opened, the box revealed the present, an old scrapbook … one reiko had since high school.

the pictures inside, some older than others, chronicled the journey of reiko as she left hakone in 1976 to attend school in naruki-shi—pictures of jinja hime ryokan, her family, her friends, and finally—pictures of her with a much younger isshin in a gigai. the scrapbook continued on, the pictures growing crisper, more modern, as pictures of her and haruto came in, then isshin and masaki, and their respective families—and finally, culminating in the families joining, filled with a seemingly endless amount of photos of the kurosaki and kan'onji families combined. birthdays, holidays, school year starts, spending time at the beach, a perfect representation of everything that had brought them both together after all this time.

standing on her toes as best she could, pushing up on her crutches, reiko's lips met his chin as he leaned down to meet her, smiling softly as she murmured, " happy birthday, love. "

when it came down to it, isshin's birthday was better than anything he could have hoped for. but that's how it was every year, at least since his current family came to be.

when he was young, birthdays were an excuse for more and more responsibility to be shoved on him. every year that passed, his father expected more from him, expected him to grow up and be the man issei thought he should be; the head of the shiba clan, the captain of gotei 13's 10th division, someone prepared to become a husband, to sire more shiba kids like issei had- birthdays were pretty miserable back then.

now? now isshin felt like he actually was the man he was supposed to be- not by issei's standards, but by his own. he was married to the woman he loved (and had memories of masaki to look back on to as well), he had his kids, who he adored more than life itself, and he had a home and a community he truly felt apart of.

birthdays reminded him of how lucky he was.

he pouted through his errands that day, but when he got home, he was delightfully surprised to see the house decorated, and reiko was there to greet him, like she did every day.

he couldn't hide his crooked grin as he leaned down low, kissing her head with warm affection. "you didn't have to go to all this trouble, honey-" before he noticed the gift she was offering him.

his grin turned softer, warmer, as he opened the gift, slowly starting to go through the photo within. he went slow, examining each one, watching them grow from old to newer and newer. watched reiko grow older, watched himself mature- watched them together and apart and then together again, their families growing too.

by the time he finished the album, he could barely see through the tears.

a shiver ran through his spine from the soft kiss on his chin, immediately leaning down to meet reiko, catching her lips in a kiss. sniffling a bit (he couldn't help it), he smiled against her lips, something he could never resist doing.

"thank you, honey. and have i ever told you that i'm the luckiest guy in the world?"

[ecargmura]

Hirogaru Sky! Precure Episode 47 Review - The Two Princesses

In the midst of Wonderful Precure news, this week’s episode of Hirogaru Sky has brought about a lot of twists. I can tell the story is going to reach its end this month as so many things happened in this episode, I don’t even know where to begin.

Let’s start with Elleelain and Ellee. It’s finally confirmed that the Morning Star is Princess Elleelain/Cure Noble and that Ellee is essentially her child in a way—is this virgin birth? Elleelain is Precure Virgin Mary and Ellee is Precure Jesus confirmed. The way Elleelain finally decides to show herself to Ellee and give her the last of her powers was rather sad. There’s actually two on-screen deaths in this episode and Elleelain happens to be the first. That’s crazy. I’m also amazed that Elleelain managed to live until her elderly years before sealing her powers into the Majestic Chroniclon and then became the Morning Star until Ellee’s birth. I thought she died young for some reason… Anyways, what happened after Sora, Mashiro and Ellee got transported back is explained. While there was peace and Elleelain and the Empress had a good relationship, it all changed a few years later as the Underg Empire suddenly ghosted her. She created Ellee a year ago because she was worried that the Underg Empire might attack now that they have so much power.

Ellee is finally a teenager now. She is no longer a toddler. She only changes back into baby Ellee when she is hungry—this honestly makes no sense. If you want Ellee to grow up, then make her grow up! I guess the instability is due to Ellee not being able to control her power in her civilian state right now. It’s honestly weird to see Ellee talk like a normal person and not all baby-like now. I mean, she spent almost 95% of the show as a baby, so to spent the last 5% of the show as a teenager feels like wasted potential. Why couldn’t they do this earlier? Tsubasa and Ellee’s dynamic is going to be hilarious now that Tsubasa is now the shortest member—heck, she’s probably the tallest of the group as she looks a little bit taller than Ageha, the actual adult. Now that Ellee is now in her true state, that means Majesty finally gets a solo move after 15 episodes since Majesty’s debut. 15 episodes without a solo move… Majesty uses Noble’s Magic Hour’s End, if you wanted to know.

Skearhead DIES in this episode. What? HE DIES? That abruptly? WHAT? Sorry about the blubbering, but I didn’t expect that at all. Instead of transforming himself into a Kyoborg, he uses Ranborgs to distract the group and then as a last result, he traps Majesty and Sky into a last resort barrier as he blows himself up. The fact that he did this was super unexpected. I thought he was going to turn himself into a Kyoborg. His actions were all because he loved the Empress. He uses “ai” instead of “suki”, so this means that his feelings for her were deep, but was it romantic or familial? He was her tutor, but it did seem as if the current Empress cherished him a lot that losing him was the start of her break down and counterattack.

Knowing that Cure Noble betrayed the Underg Empire’s trust was quite a twist. It makes me wonder if it was a misunderstanding. Maybe they both saw it differently, that it caused friction between them? Noble didn’t mention the betrayal, while the Empress did. Hopefully, more will be explained next week. I do feel like this episode was a bit overshadowed because of the Wonderful Precure news. What are your thoughts on this episode?

[erabundus]

@curiouskinetic &&. said... It's been a normal, rather uneventful (and frankly kind of boring) day, but one Sora was still content to spend with a friend. Life didn't have to be all big adventures after all, some quiet time hanging out and reading books was nice too. Though she'd finished her book earlier than expected, and found herself at a loss for what to do afterwards. Flopping down at Ren's side she let out a little huff, trying to decide whether or not she should just go to sleep. Until a scent caught her attention, and she found herself leaning towards him and giving him a little sniff. ".... hey, Ren? What's that other scent that's like... always on you?" Hm. That probably sounded a little odd. She should clarify. "Uhm, I mean, it's from a person I'm pretty sure-- someone you hang out with a lot?" Not that she had a burning need to know about all of his other friends, but she couldn't help being curious about one that seemed so important... if only judging by the fact their scent was constantly on him.

he's  fully  preoccupied  with  his  own  book  —  to  such  a  degree  that  the  wanderer  doesn't  even  look  up  when  sora  flops  down  by  his  side.  perhaps  it  stands  as  subconscious  testament  to  what  extent  he  actually  trusts  her;  ren  is  oft  prone  to  erring  on  the  side  of  caution,  even  with  those  he's  known  for  quite  some  time.  it  takes  a  concerted  effort  to  win  even  the  barest  shreds  of  FAITH  —  for  though  his  understanding  of  the  BETRAYALS  that  have  haunted  him  for  so  many  years  has  changed,  force  of  habit  still  has  its  claws  sunk  deep  nonetheless.  it  makes  these  small  moments  of  contentment  all  the  more  precious,  if  only  for  their  rarity.  such  comfort  is  ordinarily  found  in  total  SOLITUDE,  when  he  isolates  himself  somewhere  far  too  deep  in  the  forests  of  sumeru  for  another  soul  to  find  him.

❝  ...  huh?  ❞  predictably, he's  so  distracted  that  he  barely  notices  the  question.  paper  rustles  as  he  turns  the  page  —  only  for  the  wanderer  to  FREEZE  as  understanding  crashes  into  him  like  a  massive  wave.  once  again,  his  expressive  face  stabs  him  in  the  back;  a  myriad  of  emotions  flickering  across  delicate  countenance  at  speeds  nearly  too  fast  to  register.  confusion.  shock.  suspicion.  embarrassment.  the  last  one  is  particularly  NOTABLE,  for  ren  tends  to  carry  himself  as  if  he's  above  the  concept  of  SHAME  —  not  out  of  a  lack  of  self  respect,  but  rather  with  the  confidence  of  one  too  stubborn  to  spare  what  others  think  so  much  as  a  thought.  yet  now,  a  dusting  of  a  distinctly  rosy  hue  paints  his  cheekbones  and  he  stares  at  sora  with  eyes  gone  impossibly  wide.  he  has  a  sneaking  suspicion  he  knows  precisely  who  she's  referring  to;  there  is  only  one  person  who  ren  spends  so  much  time  around  —  and  in  fact,  actively  seeks  out  his  company  at  every  available  opportunity.

it's just a bit awkward to explain. ( his scent? )

❝  uh.  ❞   the  wanderer  turns  away,  pretending  to  fake  a  cough.  as  if  that  alone  is  somehow  enough  to  smooth  over  the  MORTIFYING  display.   ❝  that  person  is  probably ...  ❞  words  trail  off  just  as  quickly  as  they  begin.  he  drums  painted  nails  against  the  cover  of  his  long-forgotten  book,  trying  to  think  of  a  way  to  respond  as  succinctly  as  possible.  when  nothing  comes  to  mind,  lavender  gaze  flicks  to  his  hands.  nose  wrinkles  in  thought.  after  a  few  seconds  of  contemplation,  ren  merely  settles  for  raising  one  for  sora  to  see  —  purposefully  trying  to  draw  attention  to  the  ENGAGEMENT  RING  he  wears  upon  his  finger.  a  bit  messy,  but  with  his  tongue  evidently  taking  the  opportunity  to  rebel  against  him,  it  seems  like  the  most  painless  way  to  answer  her  question.

[twilightmalachite]

Poltergeist - Prologue

Author: Akira

Characters: Madara, Natsume, Tsumugi, Sora

Translator: Mika Enstars

Proofer: Revoltrad

"Trying to solve your mistakes with monEY… That’s a scummy adult moVE…"

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Season: Winter

Location: NewDi Office

ES’ first year of establishment, early January. The first work day following SS—NewDi Office…

Madara: Happy New Yeeeeeear ☆

I’m here to answer your call! Happy New Year! MaM’s Mikejima Madara is here! Time to welcome in the new year!

Hahaha! May you have a prosperous New Year! I wish for our up-and-coming idol agency, NewDi, to experience a bright future this year, too!

That is all! New Year’s greetings are over! I’ve done what I needed to do…☆

Natsume: WaIT, waIT. Were you a bomber aircraft in your past liFE? Can you not just come in shouting and yelling all over the place and then just walk away satisfiED?

Sora: Auauaua~? Auauaua~…?

Tsumugi: A-Are you alright, Sora-kun? Is it your eyes? Do your eyes hurt?

Sora: A-A huge color burst out when Sora let his guard down, so—

Madara: Ahh, that’s my bad. Sorry, sorry. Did you recognize my loud voice as color and feel it through your eyes, Sora-san? That’s pretty interesting!

Here, let Mama give you a New Year’s envelope as an apology for bein’ a bother! ♪

Sora: Yay~! ♪ With this New Year's money, now Sora can buy up all those games companies are shelling out for children for the new year!

Natsume: Trying to solve your mistakes with monEY… That’s a scummy adult moVE…

Madara: Wouldn’t it be more creepy to see a squeaky clean adult~? To live is to become dirty, no~?

Besides, since the conclusion of SS turned out to be a farce laughable enough to make tea boil in your gut[1], those of us idols who participated in the main competition were rewarded accordingly.

The massive amount of money that should’ve originally gone to a single unit has been distributed evenly.

Tsumugi: Yep. As a result, we’ve received more L$ than we know what to do with. NewDi has been struggling financially for a while now, so it’s a great help.

Natsume: As the experiment in SS nears completiON, the profits from SSVRS should be reaching our pockets shortly as weLL.

Madara: Mhm! But if I’m being honest, I don’t know what to do with all the money I’ve gotten!

I’ve attempted to give it out to show my thanks to the friends who came to help MaM out during SS…

Nearly each and every one of them snapped back at me, saying “It’s not like I came to help you for the money or anything!” in some old-fashioned tsundere style—I was completely pushed away!

So now I have way too much money left over. What should I do?

Sora: Does Mr. Giant not have any hobbies? Does he want Sora to recommend a game to him?

Natsume: It’s less that he doesn’t have any hobbies and more that he has his hands full touching grass in the real worLD, rigHT, Mikejima-senpai? You knOW, you’re a surprisingly empty persON.

Tsumugi: Is that surprising?

Madara: Quieeet! What’s up with you guys? The new year has just begun, and you’re toying around with my faults~?

If you’re looking for fun, can’t you just play Fukuwarai or Hagoita?[2]

Tsumugi: No need. Actually, Mikejima-kun, I have some news that should make you happy.

Madara: Yes? What could it be? I can’t recall anything, anything at all, but if you’re lecturing me for something that’s my fault again, then—

Natsume: Just why would you not remembER? Have you been rampaging on for so long you can no longer feel remorSE?

Madara: I’m a no-remorse, no-regrets kinda guy! Which is why I don’t like to be yelled at, because to me, I didn’t do aaaanything wrong!

Tsumugi: Hehe, so basically, Mikejima-kun, you just wanted to give us your greetings and head back before you could get a scolding, huh? You’re like a child who has misbehaved.

Natsume: Aptly pUT. You’re just like thAT, a chiLD, but with a massive boDY.

Madara: He~y, are you messing around with me for kicks again?

Natsume: Oh, not at aLL. RathER, it’s the opposiTE—ActualLY, our presideNT, who is still traveling overseAS, sends his congratulations to yOU.

Madara: Congratulations? Our president, who has a reputation for having too little presence in the company, is giving me what-now?

Natsume: Well you sEE… Thanks in part to SS, NewDi’s managemeNT, which has always been small and weak as an agenCY, just like a little peeping baby biRD, has begun to show signs of stabiliTY.

Thanks to your work in Double Face, obstacles behind the scenes have been eliminatED, tOO.

Developments continues on like sO, so operations are going strongly within the agenCY—

As presideNT, he wants to reward us for NewDi’s breakthrough as its affiliated uniTS… It’s sort of like thAT.

Madara: Is that true? So if we hadn’t been holding down the fort, this small and weak agency would have been crushed and eradicated long ago?

Tsumugi: Maybe so. But through this, we were able to survive.

It’s likely not a gift to us in the spirit of the New Year, but rather… As a way of recognizing our achievements thus far, the president has awarded us a bonus.

Madara: A bonus? More money? Right after I said that I don’t need any more of it?

Natsume: YeAH. That’s about how the rest of us reactED, tOO. The idols within our agency aren’t too obsessed with monEY.

Tsumugi: Ahaha~, which is exactly why we’re losing in this competitive capitalistic society! ♪

Sora: HaHa~♪ When Tsuka-chan in Knights heard he was going to get money, he said “Is this an insult!?” and got all angry for some reason~!

Madara: Hahaha, we’re quite the troublesome bunch, aren’t we? ♪

Natsume: You’re at the top of the liST, you know thAT?

StiLL, if we rejected the bonus like thAT, it’d make the director lose faCE. In other worDS… Seems even the president was a little uneasy about thAT, you sEE?

And so he started saying that it doesn’t have to be monEY, but he’ll grant us anythiNG, anything at aLL.

Tsumugi: He basically said, “Now, make a wish. I’ll make it come true, no matter what it may be.”

Madara: I don’t remember having collected the Dragon Balls.

Tsumugi: Well, anyhow, if you have any wishes, now's the time to tell me, essentially.

Natsume: The president boasted “any wish you waNT,” but this is a small and weak agency in the eND—So your wish can only be so bIG.

Tsumugi: But the president really seemed willing to do anything you’d like. So if there’s anything you have qualms with, please let me know, this might even be your chance to speak out about agency management policies.

Madara: Hmmm…?

Tsumugi: Well, by all means, take your time to think about it. Apart from that, Mikejima-kun, are you free right now?

Madara: Aren’t I always free, whether I like it or not?

Sora: Wanna come with us for Hatsumode[3], then? It was too busy to go during the New Year’s holiday, so Sora and the others were talking about going now~! ♪

Madara: Haha, everyone’s still feeling the New Year’s festivities, even though today’s supposed to be the first day back at work…♪

Madara: (…I wonder if that’s why I’m feeling festive too. I just came up with an “outlandish idea”~. ♪)

[ ☆ ]

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The Japanese saying heso ga cha o wakasu (lit. to boil tea within your navel) is used to describe something ridiculously laughable, comparing one's belly when laughing hard to a boiling tea kettle.

Two popular New Year's celebration games. Fukuwarai is a little similar to “pin the tail on the donkey”, but with players trying to correctly arrange facial features on a blank face while blindfolded. Hagoita, or Hanetsuki, is a racket and shuttlecock game, much like badminton but without a net.

Hatsumode is the first shrine visit of the year, as part of New Year's festivities. Typically done on the first couple of days of the new year. Traditionally, New Year's wishes are made and omamori (good luck charms) are bought. It's also popular to draw an omikuji to receive your fortune; hence the omikuji feature during Enstars' New Year's campaigns.

[sillywebz]

Genuine question: do you think people are more likely to paint sora as (emotionally) naive, rather than a more book-dumb kind of way? like being too trusting of people, that kind of thing

ahaha anon So i kind of accidentally wrote an essayish in response, but it ended up moving on from ur question to expanding on thoughts i have abt characterizations of sora, oopsie 

but TLDR: To answer your question anon, i actually think its about equally both, and i think perceiving him with a lack of emotional maturity can bleed into perceiving him with a lack of intelligence; sentiments like friends as your power and leaving no one behind can seem naïve and irrational if one doesnt think that sora comprehends his odds and still chooses to proceed because his heart believes it is right. while sora does have a ways to grow emotionally, especially in regards to his own feelings, i dont think that he lacks knowledge when it comes to relationships and understanding others emotions, which is actually rather his strong suit. i also think that sora is generally very smart, and just dont quite understand why people portray him as not quite being so

~ the aforementioned ramble ~ ooo good question ! hm. i think more often i notice people characterizing him in a book dumb sort of way, but honestly that could be bc it bugs me more. however, we dont know if sora did well in school or not/what level of education he got, so instead of a strictly textbook smart sense, i see it more as a lacking the characteristics of someone who is book smart sense? basically, people painting him as airheaded, oblivious, or not very eloquent; i think especially with jokes or complicated subjects going over his head. but, if you look at his dialogue (and, while this is more subjective, puzzles and challenges he has to overcome in the gameplay), thats usually not the case? hes delivered plenty of introspective and articulate lines; hes witty, sarcastic, and even sometimes rude; hes incredibly adaptive and resourceful considering the situations he’s thrown into, and hes a quick learner, as shown by his keyblade skills.

however, i think some of these perceptions do come from how he is a very emotionally driven person. he follows his heart and is loyal and trusting to a fault, and that can cause him to take actions that seem impulsive, illogical, and naïve. however, i think sora is very knowledgeable of emotions because of how he connects with people. he’s incredibly empathetic and understanding of others and has made friends with nearly everyone he meets because of that; which i believe is an incredibly difficult accomplishment. while his feelings can lead to mistakes, they are also his greatest strength; he will try his best to fix those mistakes. where i believe he really struggles is in processing his own emotions.

and on that, sora is pretty self-deprecating, and laughs off a lot of things, which sometimes can cover up just how talented he is because even he denies it. i think that oftentimes, sora himself believes that he’s dumb, or lesser in comparison to others, which can lead to people taking that at face value if they dont look deeper

however. sora is still a cheerful and silly guy, and thats an important part of his personality too! he is an energetic, optimistic teenage boy who really just wants to have fun with his friends and thinks that everyone should have a happy ending.

sora has a lot of different dimensions to him, but unfortunately characters that have a seemingly cheerful disposition and noble motivations that come off as idealistic can often get sanded down to being stupid because they’re seen as too naïve to understand the gravity of their situation.

to clarify, i dont think that soras never been dumb. keyboard (and keyblade) smashing is probably not the best idea if a computer isnt working. but, in my opinion, i think sometimes we dont give sora enough credit in our depictions of him, and tend to exaggerate certain qualities of his while forgetting others

[curryfury13]

Hello again!!

I'm back again for the next retrospective of my first ever fan-fiction, True Friends. This time, I'm going through the second and third chapters.

As a reminder, you can click on the banners to go read the chapters for yourself in full. I'll just be giving some commentary about them about where I was as a creator at the time and my thoughts.

Thank you for reading!

Hinata awakens!

And I've realized I had her awaken with brown eyes, rather than golden as she has in the rest of the story. Ah well!

There's little bits of description in this chapter that have still held up for me, but I was still very much to the point and direct with a lot. Still caught up in the, much to do, much to see. Chop chop! It's fun to see at the beginning, considering things slow down soon when I get caught up in the fun of being on Destiny Islands.

I remember when I chose the name Aiko. I thought I was so clever! If any of my old readers are going through this, did I trick any of you with that? I'm certain I didn't. I won't say the spoiler on the off chance someone is reading this that doesn't know, but Aiko is something Hinata still refers to in her current story. It's stuck around even after all this time! Even if I cringe a little bit every time I use it. I will keep insisting on its usage.

And then we get to Kairi and Sora beginning their research about her memories! I liked this concept. I still do in theory. It reminded me a bit of the Twilight Town shenanigans and the 7 Wonders in Sunset Terrace. But, I will be honest, I was coming up with that "research" for Sora and Kairi on the fly and it shoooows in later chapters.

Outlines are important, guys!

"That would be nice," Riku unknowingly said aloud.

A sigh escaped Riku's lips as he leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, thinking about Hinata. He remembered that she looked about the same age as him, and maybe she would end up being in the same grade.

"Excuse me Riku," Riku's History teacher, Mr. Zhoa called; bringing him out of his thoughts and making him look up front at the teacher. "You think that forcing children to do manual labor would be 'nice'?"

----

When I tell you I thought this was hilarious writing back when I wrote it... I thought I was the bee's knees. And who, may I ask, also picks up on the super subtle ATLA reference with Zhoa as the history teacher, soon to also be the sparring teacher? That's right. I was both amusing and with the times a decade ago.

There's so many lines in this series that make me groan now days. That sort of groan that actually aches your soul a little bit, like why did I do this? Ok, maybe that's a little bit dramatic. It's more like when Facebook likes to remind me of a status I wrote when I was in junior high and thought I was hip and everyone just needed to know when I needed a snickers.

In the end though, both those statuses and those silly lines aren't bad. Sure, they might make me groan a bit or snicker, but they are harmless and fun, too. And why can't we all have fun with storytelling?

Moving on with the rest of the chapter, we had Sora and Kairi getting to meet Hinata officially! It was all under the guise of the "research" that quickly led to Kairi's adopted parents also adopting Hinata. Like a domino effect, I guess. There was a cleaner way to do it, but I understand the reason I went with it the way I did. Kairi's family already handled this in the past, they'd be the go-to people for it again. I don't think the research needed to be tangled up in it.

It is also where we first learn that Aiko isn't Hinata's younger sister's real name, but a nickname! This was an interesting concept to me and is why I'm not sure I like Aiko for it. The idea behind it, that I don't recall if I ever really explored in the story, is that Hinata's parents were split on the name for her sister. Mom wanted Aiko, Dad wanted the other name that ended up getting chosen. After she was born, the mother continued using her chosen name, claiming it as a nickname.

In that sense Aiko works. Without that explanation, Aiko isn't like her real name at all and is just confusing as to why it's used. It's my story, so why didn't I put that explanation in from the beginning? It's because I didn't think of that explanation at the time and figured it out later.

Another point goes towards story planning!! And multiple drafts, I suppose.

[freezethunder]

Top 5 dra/sdra2 characters

I'll do both because it seems like fun and I want to differentiate them

Top 5 DRA Characters

1. Akane

As far as supporting characters go, Akane Taira is certianly up there. She’s positive and very trusting of those she hold dear to, which is very heartbreaking seeing how she dull and empty she became at the start of chapter 3. And of course we have to talk about her mastermind personality. I think it is very shocking how someone so close to the cast, especially the protagonist could be the mastermind behind their killing game. It’s like Tsumugi done right! Not much has changed about her from her time with the cast, she’s just very unhinged and incredibly acrobatic to make all those leaps. Look at her go. I like Akane a lot out of the main cast and dare say she even beats some of the canon characters in most aspects.

2. Rei

Female and Better Byakuya. I’m kinda cheating here honestly this list is of DRA characters but I’m also taking into account her time from SDRA2 sooooooooo…..Rei. Like I said previously, obviously a female Byakuya, I mean she even shares some of the same sprites as him as well as the notes. A tall, smart, and stuck-up jerk who constantly berates the crew and doesn’t want to put up with them for a majority of the run time. Golly, where have I seen this before?~ The reason why she is so much better than her predecessor comes down to two factors. One, her growth comes from not finding the game boring or not wanting to participate like long legged lemon boy, but rather; “…..well fuck. These sentiments got to me. Now I have to help” And two, how she behaves when we next see her in other material, primarily SDRA2. She’s a lot more emotional and compassionate, even striking Tsurugi during that shit he pulled in Chapter 6. Like, let’s go girl! Yaaas! Get hiiiim! Queen shit!

3. Utsuro

I want to go more in depth on the masterminds at a later date, so for now I’ll just say I’m very on the fence about. There are some days I like him and some days I don’t. But I will say that the twist of the protagonist being the mastermind was done really here, and in order to get to the true ending, you have to go down the darker path which is a really nice twist and one I can’t say I could have done better.

4. Teruya

Also kind of cheating with this one but uhhh…sue me :/ Anyway, Teruya was one of the comedic goofballs right behind Haruhiko and Satsuki. Single brain cell trio. I also love his growth, from fighting with Haruhiko in Chapter 4 to wearing his goggles the rest of the game, that character design I love to see! And it carries over in the sequel too. Having Teruya be the one with the killing game experience is a neat concept, even if that aspect wasn’t used all that much. A shame what happened to him though(STUPIDFUCKINGPSYCHOCOPTSURUGIIHATEYOUIHATEYOU-)

5. Kanata

Kanata is a sweet girl, nothing more too it than that. But there ain’t nothing wrong with being a simple, polite, short cinnamon bun. And it really was a shame she had to go like that, I would have liked her to stick around some more. And I’m kind of interested to see what really was LINUJ’s intended purpose for her was……..y’know considering another character he made in the sequel, I don’t want to know actually, Nevermind.

Top 5 SDRA2 Characters

1. Sora

I want to go more in depth with the protagonist’s another day too, but let me just say that SORA IS AN AWESOME CHARACTER AND PROTAGONIST! HELD BACK BY THE FACT THAT SHE ISNT ENTIRELY CANON! SHE WOULD DO GREAT THERE! Ahem! …..Sorry. I love everything about Sora, her sassy attitude, her snarky comments, even hints of showing something darker within her. Sora is a top tier character in my book!

2. Mikado

Also want to talk more about him at a later date, but Mikado is my favorite mastermind! Hands down, bar none, literally beating all of the ones from the main cast! Revealing him right from the jump was genius, because then it was the cast constantly hating him and roasting him. He’s so wacky and goofy that for half of the game, you kinda forget he even is the mastermind. From his charming personality to his cool design and powers, Mikado Sannoji carries the entire game on his back along with Sora.

3. Yoruko

A pink haired love interest for the sassy amnesiac protagonist? Where have I seen this before?~ In all seriousness I think Yoruko’s cool. Her angry behavior and yelling at others can get old at times and some are even unwarranted such in Chapter 4 to Yuki, but underneath that facade lies a girl that is trying her best to protect those close to her after some many hardships in the past. Her relationship is Sora is just adorable and it’s crazy that after Chapter 4 and beyond, she’s the most sane person there. Yoruko may be a tsun-dried-tomato, but she’s the best tsun-dried-tomato Ive ever seen. (Can tomatoes be pink?)

4. Hibiki

Before playing the game: Oh wow, a bully character to the shy girl, again?! Oh geeeez! I can already tell I’m not gonna like her.

After playing the game: OH MY GOOOOD! IM SORRY HIBIKI SWEETIE! DID NOT DESERVE ANY OF THAT!

Getting right to it, I think Hibiki should have survived! Unlike Hiyoko who’s only character development relegated to a blink and you’ll miss it moment in the third chapter. Hibiki was trying from the end of Chapter 2 onwards, so why waste the actually, good, DEVELOPMENT?! I guess it is interesting to see a Chapter 3 with only one victim and two killers this time, but there was no need to drag Hibiki down with it. The general consensus is right, this was wasted potential. Go look up some Hibiki lives AU to ease the pain.

5. Iroha

Ahto-Bleh incarnate. Iroha seemed like the overly kind, ditzy sort of character made for comedic relief, and she is. But making her out to be one of the voids was pretty neat I suppose. It does set her up for some development to overthrow and turn her back Mikado to be with her friends and, …wait what? That, that didn’t happen…? ……GOD FUCKING DAMMIT LINUJ! So Iroha just stays this bratty, annoying, and fearful child the whole way through and learns nary a thing in the process. So I have to ask: why even bother?! Now you may be wondering, why is she high let alone top 5 if I have these issues with her. Well for one, I think she’s kind of funny with all her reactions and expressions, plus knowing the identity of one of the Voids in the group builds tension, and her drawing book has helped several times in trials. And it could just be me imagining a better character than what we actually received. Death to the author folks!