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canmom · 2 months ago

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Animation Night 193 - Harpier cries: 'tis time! 'tis time!

PREVIOUSLY, in the dark halls of ANIMATION NIGHT, you have born witness to such horrors as these...

Animation Night 25: HORROR, featuring Kakurenbo, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Birdboy: The Forgotten Children, and many episodes of Yamishibai

Animation Night 77: Once More, Halloween, featuring Blood: The Last Vampire, Seoul Station, The Wolf House, and Shoujo Tsubaki - and more Yamishibai...

Animation Night 129: Thrice the brinded cat hath mewed..., featuring Hellsing Ultimate, The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb, Mad God, Ujicha's Violence Voyager, and guess what? Yamishibai...

Animation Night 176: The Hedge-Pigge Whin'd, a rather scuffed production which, contra the writeup, ended up just showing the Darkstalkers OVA from 1997. And some Yamishibai of course.

And now, my friends, and now... the witching hour is soon to be upon us once more, and it is time we revelled in the darkness and terror, for tonight is hallow'een, easily the best festival in the western calendar.

Many thanks go to @glitch-critter and @muzothecat, who provided me some excellent suggestions for animated horror that I have yet to see. Not that reruns would be the end of the world, there's some excellent shit on the list above I would be immensely glad to see again.

To begin with, we have the recently-released The Birth of Kitarō: The Mystery of GeGeGe (幾多郎誕生：ゲゲゲの謎). Which provides an excellent excuse to get into the subject of Kitarou. So let's begin our dark and sordid tale... well, it's actually a pretty positive tale, but that's not really in the spirit of things.

GeGeGe no Kitarō is a truly classic manga series dating back to the 60s, created by Shigeru Mizuki. But it's actually older still: the earliest incarnation of Kitarō is in a kamishibai performance written/illus. by Masami Itō and Keiyō Tatsumi back in 1933, called Hakaba Kitarō (Kitarō of the Graveyard). It tells the story of a ghost boy called Kitarō who lives in a graveyard; like many kamishibai it was aiming at straight up horror. Here's a board from the original (photo by translator Zack Davisson, thanks wikipedia):

So, you know yōkai? You're reading this blog, so probably, but just in case, they are the various freaky spirits of Japanese folklore, from kappa and tengu to nekomata and chōchin-oiwa. And the reason why they are such a popular feature of modern popular culture (you all know what a kappa is, right?) is in large part due to this manga.

Shigeru Mizuki, born 1922, had a pretty wild life. He was drafted into the army in 1943 at age 21, and lost his left arm in a bombing the next year; during his recovery he made friends among the Tolai people of New Guinea. He came home after the war, and found work renting out an apartment building and drawing kamishibai on the side; gradually the kamishibai work took over. In 1953, his brother Sōhei moved in after being tried for war crimes (the timeline does not mention the outcome of the trial); in 1957 at age 35 he moved to drawing manga, debuting in rental manga with Rocketman.

Starting in 1960 at the behest of Mizuki's publisher, the Hakaba Kitarō manga adapted the story of the yamishibai, introducing a wider audience to ghost boy Kitarō with his floofy hair and little third eye on a stalk. It proved explosively popular (despite being at first deemed too scary for children), telling the stories of Kitarō's encounters with all kinds of yōkai. The state of English translations is a bit scattershot; some of it is available on mangadex.

In 1964, at age 42, Mizuki debuted in serialised manga in Garo magazine - a name you might find familiar, the avant-garde magazine which also published authors like Suehiro Maruo (ero-guro mangaka, the author of Shoujo Tsubaki) and Hiroshi Masamura (the guy who made the cat manga we looked into on AN188). There, he rebooted the Kitarō manga, starting once again with the story of the birth of Kitarō. Before long he jumped over to the much larger Monthly Shonen Magazine, and retooled Kitarō to be more kid-oriented. From then on it's Kitarō city - and the immense success of the manga gave him the chance to regularly return to the newly combined state of Papua New Guinea.

In 1968, Kitarō arrived in animation land, one of Toei's early projects. It quickly became one of those classic famous Toei anime, you know the type, the kind of thing that every Japanese person of a certain age would have seen on TV. Mizuki himself composed the OP, and it continued to get sequels throughout the ensuing fifty years, with the most recent being in 2018. This is an old and widely beloved anime so there is a lot of it: the 1968 series accumulated 65 episodes, the third series in 1985-88 is the longest at 115, but the others are no slouch either; even the 2018 series pulled out a mighty 97.

As such, it's... perhaps a little daunting! But...

The Birth of Kitarō is a prequel to the 2018 series... and rather than being a spooky-fun kids anime, it's intended as a genuine horror story aimed at adults, presumably adults who grew up watching Kitarō, returning to the earliest Garo-era tone of the manga. Set in the 50s, the story sees salaryman Mizuki arrive in a village in pursuit of a mysterious medicine, where he finds the village ruled by an old superstitious family. Naturally, before long, murders start happening. And a mysterious white-haired man is somehow involved...

Seems like the perfect way to get into Kitarō. I missed the chance to see this film at Annecy this year, but it's already out on nyaa, so let's jump on it.

So that's our first act. What of our second?

Junk Head is a stop-motion scifi film pretty much enitrely solo animated by Takehide Hori who, at age 40, heard about Makoto Shinkai's solo-animated film Voices of a Distant Star (AN44), and was inspired to spend the next seven years working on a stop-motion scifi epic of his own. It tells of a cyborg from a future where humans have lost the ability to reproduce, venturing into a strange underground realm full of freaky creatures that, I'm told, invite comparisons to the art of Giger, Bosch, Escher and Gorey, and the films of Švankmajer (whose Alice we watched on AN50), Gilliam, and the Quay Brothers. del Toro lauded it as a 'work of deranged brilliance'.

Which is to say this is exactly the kind of thing we like to show here on Animation Night. I can't believe I didn't hear of this film before. Sources are not exactly abundant, but I was able to find a hardsubbed 720p version with a few seeds on it, so that's what we'll be watching tonight.

Speaking of the Brothers Quay, who enjoy a remarkably in-depth and thorough wiki page, they have yet to appear on Animation Night, and it's about time we remedied that! A pair of identical twins from the Pennsylvania who moved to the UK in 1969 to study at the RCA, they got their start in illustration before making a turn to stop motion film using bits of dolls and various other materials in the vein of Švankmajer.

They are incredibly prolific as a pair, making shorts in nearly every year from 1979 to 2021 (bar a couple of hiatuses). Most of their films are without dialogue, set instead to the music of Leszek Jankowski and a great many other other composers. They are huge book nerds too, adapting authors from Lem and Kafka to Emma Hauck; honestly there's a ton to dive into here and I will for sure be returning to these guys on a future Animation Night. Tonight, however, our pick will be Street of Crocodiles (2021), a musical piece in which a puppet walks through a desolate realm of "mechanical realities and manufactured pleasures", widely celebrated as one of their best films.

Stop motion seems to be a theme tonight, huh? Somehow, stop motion is just spookier than traditional animation. That theme continues with The House, an anthology piece for Netflix depicting three different stories taking place in the same house. Animated in London, each piece brings in a different director, respectively Emme de Swaef and Marc James Roels co-directing the first, Swedish director Niki Lindroth von Bahr the second and Mexican-British actress turned director Paloma Baeza for the third.

The stories span a few hundred years, from the 1800s to a flooded post climate change future. In each case, the house is the stage for tales of obsession and misguided ambition leading to disaster, whether it should befall anthro rats, humans or anthro cats. Widely praised for its animation and general weirdness, I'm quite excited to see what this mix has in store.

And returning of course will be Yamishibai, the wonderful long-running series of ridiculous cutout-animated creepypasta horror in the vein of old-school kamishibai boards. You know we gotta. And hey, if we're feeling in a really good mood at the end of the evening, I might bring Shoujo Tsubaki out of the vaults too. We shall see.

Animation Night 193 shall begin, with its gruesome course of animated horrors, at seventh hour.... which is to say 7pm UK time, just over four hours from the writing of this post. Be there, or be forever haunted by the ghosts of frames unseen (unless you gotta go trick or treat or something, we understand). The place? Upon the heath... of twitch.tv/canmom!

Hoooohhooohohoohooohooohohoooooooooo!

#animation night #animation #halloween

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taiyaki-translations · 8 months ago

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Murmurs of Flourishing Blossoms - 1

Season: Winter Characters: Kaoru, Mika, Tatsumi, Midori, Arashi, Koga, Hiiro, Shinobu Translator: taiyaki-translations

Kaoru: Hope everyone's doing well... Or um, if you're not, that's okay too...?

(Honestly, why am I so nervous? I’m going overseas with Anzu-chan soon, but it’s just normal work so I don’t need to be so tense.)

Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to make a mistake right at the beginning. Hm? It’s better than making a mistake in the middle of the shoot and having to start over again?

Haha, that’s true. Then, let’s hurry and start filming again.

Yahoo~ Good morning everyone, I’m UNDEAD’s Hakaze Kaoru. Surely us meeting like this is a pleasant surprise for you~?

All of you in front of the screen probably have a lot of questions, but let’s keep up the mystery for a little longer. For now, just follow along—

As you can see, this is the ES Building that was built to support idols and is home to some well known agencies.

When I just graduated, there was a sense of freshness in working here as a professional, but unfortunately, I seem to spend more time doing jobs outside. I came here again today for overseas work.

I’m really looking forward to experiencing the charms of different countries. What will be the destination of this trip and which idols will be accompanying me? You’ll find out soon ♪

Kaoru: Haha, was that opening okay~? There was a small hiccup at the beginning, but I think we got enough material.

Now it’s time to film the gathering scene of the idols. It seems both Takamine-kun and Kagehira-kun are a bit shy, so I’ll need to work twice as hard as a reliable senpai who often appears on variety shows.

Of course, Anzu-chan, you can also rely on me as much as you want. It’s relatively easy for us to finish the filming, but since you’ll also be preparing for the exhibition overseas, you have to make sure you get enough rest.

The exhibition that that photographer asked us to model for is the same one you’re preparing for, right?

A large exhibition held in Paris every year, where various works of art, including fashion and photography, are gathered in one place… You can say it’s a recent hot topic in the fashion and art worlds.

So you want to go there to show the world the charm of idols? Haha, that’s just like you, Anzu-chan.

<Meanwhile...>

Arashi: Mika-chan, I prepared a travel skincare set for you. Jet lag or environmental changes can easily affect your skin. You have an important photoshoot, so don’t forget to use it.

Mika: Ngah~

Arashi: Are you listening properly? Don’t get too excited thinking about seeing your Oshi-san.

Phew, it can’t be helped. I can’t stand the thought of you ruining your face, so I’ll send you a message to remind you later.

Koga: Why is that guy not here yet? How long does it take to film an opening?

Tatsumi: Koga-san seems to really care for his unitmates. You knew that Kaoru-san would be here so you came to see him off, right?

Koga: Ha? Aren’t ya my roommate? Can’t it be me wantin’ to see you off?

Hiiro: The other two members of ALKALOID were busy and couldn’t come, but I’m really happy that I’m able to see off Tatsumi-senpai together with Oogami-senpai! Next time we go for a drive with Tatsumi-senpai, let’s invite Oogami-senpai too!

Midori: I’m so depressed… I wanna die…

Shinobu: Midori-kun, you haven’t even left yet and you’re already wilting! Come on, cheer up!

Midori: Ugh… I’m nervous about going abroad, my social battery is drained, and the atmosphere around me is so intense, it feels like the spirit of Morisawa-senpai is right next to me…

Shinobu: Please don’t call Morisawa-dono a ghost. Morisawa-dono will be frightened.

Midori: Huh? That’s the part you’re commenting on? Oh, Anzu-san is here.

Kaoru: It’s really lively in here. Is everyone packed? The interview segment is starting soon ♪

Koga: The way you’re talkin’ is really gross. We ain’t little kids, why are you talkin’ all gently?

Hiiro: Hmm? Oogami-senpai, earlier you were asking when Kaoru-senpai was coming. Why are you so mad at him now?

Arashi: Ufufu, that’s just how boys are.

Anyway, it looks like filming is going to start soon. Mika-chan, do your best~

Mika: Nnah~ Anzu-chan, are you startin’ with me? What’s the most important thing I’m bringin’ ?

The only thing that I can think of right now is that skincare set Naru-chan kept talkin’ about earlier…

Oh right, I brought along a gift fer Oshi-san! ‘Cause I'm goin’ this time fer work, I probably can't stay fer long, so I haven't told Oshi-san about it yet. Maybe I can give him a nice surprise…!

Midori: The most important thing for me is… probably my mascot characters. If I don’t get healing from them, I might die on the plane…

Tatsumi: Fufu, I recently received a “traffic safety” amulet (1) from my unitmates in ALKALOID, but I didn’t think it would come in handy so soon. This is probably the last thing I would want to lose during my trip.

Midori: (Eh? That amulet… I don’t think that was the reason why they gave it…)

Hiiro: Umu, if Tatsumi-senpai needs more, we can definitely give you as many as you like! How about putting one in your car?

Midori: (It would probably be better to leave it in the car. I think both the driver himself and his passengers will definitely need it…) (2)

Shinobu: Oho, I think Midori-kun’s face is quite expressive, it's interesting to look at.

Kaoru: Hmm… If you want to go abroad, things like your passport and wallet are more important than anything else. In that sense, I’m a practical person.

Koga: I thought you’d say somethin’ like “Of course, the most important thing is myself.” If you had said that, I’d have been angry.

Kaoru: Aww, Koga-kun’s being awfully clingy today. Is it perhaps… me going overseas is making Wan-chan feel lonely?

Koga: Who gives a crap about you!?

Tatsumi: Haha, you all get along well. In any case, we are going to an unfamiliar place, so it will be safer if we stay together as a group.

Arashi: That’s right. Everyone, take care of yourselves, okay? Otherwise, I’ll worry…

Translation Notes: 1. Japanese amulets (or omamori) can usually be bought from Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples and are said to give various forms of good luck and protection if you keep it on your person. Usual types of omamori include ones that promote wealth or good health, helping one get good grades, helping one find love, and of course, traffic safety. 2. A reference to Tatsumi's 4* feature scout story, An Appraiser Appears?

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#ensemble stars #enstars #enstars translation #kaoru hakaze #mika kagehira #tatsumi kazehaya #midori takamine #arashi narukami #koga oogami #hiiro amagi #shinobu sengoku #murmurs of flourishing blossoms

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mirrortouchedsea · 7 months ago

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sending tatsukana waves in ur brain

Combined with a prompt from @agried on discord

HiMERU hated the church as soon as he stepped foot in it. Not only had his younger brother been stuck there for months, the bastard Amagi HiMERU had decided to travel with, would not shut up about trying to marry Shiina. And Kazehaya, on top of all of that, indulged in their shenanigans! Amagi’s whining was almost unbearable but it’s not as if HiMERU could just leave now. He had found his brother, his sole purpose in wandering the wasteland around them, and what sort of brother would he be if he just up and left over something like that?

At the very least, it seemed that the church itself had also stifled some of Shiina’s cravings for food. There wasn’t anything about the building that would make anyone think that it could “cure” zombieism, but it seemed to do just that. At least, while the infected were within the walls, and only if they hadn’t fully turned and passed on.

One night, after Kaname and Tatsumi Kazehaya had squirreled away somewhere (Kaname complained about HiMERU keeping him from seeing Kazehaya during the day, and would always run off at night, much to HiMERU’s chagrin) and Shiina had passed out in the corner with Oukawa, snacks spilling onto his lap, HiMERU was approached by Amagi. This wasn’t an unusual occurrence by any means, the two of them often planning their next day’s travels together after the two younger party members were asleep, but since finding the church the meetings had been less frequent and brief.

“Hey, Merumeru, you got a minute?” HiMERU was sitting outside in the cool night air. The church was stifling in the nighttime.

“He knows you’re going to bother him anyway, so out with it Amagi.”

“So cold!” Amagi sat himself next to HiMERU on the ground. “Well anyway, I know Niki-kun is…I really want to marry him, since we don’t know when things will get…” Better, HiMERU completed in his head. It was always when, not if with Amagi. “I don’t know what I would do if something happened to him.”

The various nights Amagi and Shiina had gone back and forth on that question before arriving at the church, HiMERU and Oukawa could tell Shiina had cold feet about it. Something from before everything, before meeting the two of them, kept Shiina from saying yes. Shiina himself had admitted to HiMERU one of the nights Amagi was out of town on a supply run that he wanted to say yes but didn’t know how.

“HiMERU thinks you two need to talk like adults instead of the children you act like every day.”

“You really think we act like that?” Amagi’s tone was teasing but HiMERU could never let a chance like this slip away.

“The two of you are constantly fighting about the stupidest of things, delaying our movements and making our mornings hell. You can never be honest about your feelings and HiMERU would rather have the two of you sucking face in front of him because then at least you would be quiet and he could get some peace and quiet.” Amagi’s face had turned bright red at the last remark.

“D’ya think he’d be okay with it, then?”

“Amagi, HiMERU cannot stress this enough, Shiina is the only one who would want to deal with you for the rest of their life.”

---

As happy as Kaname was about seeing his big brother, it was a bit…overwhelming seeing him in person all the time. Before, at least, Kaname could lie over the phone about his activities, pretend to be doing everything his brother asked of him and his brother would be none the wiser. But in person, it was hard to escape the overpowering stare of that same brother who was almost detached over the tinny speaker of Kaname’s phone.

It had been several months since they had spoken, so maybe big brothers just got protective when they didn’t know what happened to their younger siblings. The wild guy with red hair seemed to be protective of Hiiro, one of the other people staying at the church, and the two of them looked like brothers. Kaname’s brother’s friend (what a mouthful, but honestly Kaname could never be bothered to learn that guy’s name) was overbearing sometimes towards Hiiro, not letting him go out on dangerous missions, opting to go himself. If Kaname wasn’t…then his brother would probably do the same.

Night was the only time Kaname got any time away from his brother it seemed. He would slip away to Tatsumi’s secret room behind the altar of the church and they would sit and talk. Kaname knew his brother resented Tatsumi, with how he never allowed Kaname to talk to him during the day, but he couldn’t understand why. Tatsumi was the one who saved Kaname, took him in even when he was a stranger to him and fed him. Tatsumi was even able to save Kaname after his…

He hated to dwell on it. Tatsumi’s body was much warmer, Kaname curled up into his side. He would move mountains if Tatsumi asked him to, but he also saw how Tatsumi pushed himself too far. Curling up against him was the only way to get Tatsumi to actually rest some nights. Kaname didn’t want to watch the priest work himself to death. Tatsumi hated to disturb Kaname’s sleep and would indulge in the moment. Kaname didn’t totally understand Tatsumi’s religion, but the little he did know, he wished that Tatsumi could let himself be free. Just for a day.

“Hey, Tatsumi-senpai.” Kaname adjusts his body so his head is in Tatsumi’s lap, staring up at him.

“Yes, Kaname-san?” Tatsumi’s hand drifted to Kaname’s hair and Kaname closed his eyes, savoring the touch.

“You need to sleep more. I’m worried about you sometimes, with those bags under your eyes.” They don’t suit you.

“I’m fine, Kaname-san, but I appreciate the concern.” Kaname hummed and rolled onto his side, facing the wall away from Tatsumi. Ugh, couldn’t this guy just take the hint already?

“Well I think I’m going to have nightmares again tonight so will you sleep with me?” Kaname did sometimes have nightmares and Tatsumi being nearby, especially if they were touching in some way did help ward them off so it wasn’t entirely a lie. A white lie, to get Tatsumi to care for himself.

Tatsumi chuckled. “If it’ll help you sleep, then I’m sure I can take a rest with you.”

Kaname immediately moved to make room for Tatsumi on the small bedroll they shared most nights. “Thank you, Tatsumi-senpai.” This close, Kaname could appreciate Tatsumi’s moles on his perfect face, tempting him to run a thumb over them, leave gentle kisses on them.

Could Tatsumi officiate his own wedding?

Maybe Kaname should ask him on a date first. When this was all over, Kaname could leave the church and they could get ice cream together, kissing the remnants from their lips.

And maybe he should try and be content with sleeping in Tatsumi’s arms for the night until that day comes.

#message in a bottle #transactinides #writing requests #this is so rough but its a good sized warm up to get back into the swing of things #zombie apocalypse au #i got gay married during the zombie apocalypse #<- new tag for the zombie apocalypse au #related to lis and i having a convo about this drabble actually.#ah fuck it we ball with tags #enstars #rinne amagi #himeru #tatsumi kazehaya #kaname tojou #rinniki #tatsukana #niki isnt here but this is about rinniki.

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mamadarama · 11 months ago

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I was going through some posts I missed and came across the “tatsumi is mature but still does 19 year old things” and I just wanna say I’ve never been able to put it into words when my friends ask but like. That’s exactly what I love about this game.

We’ve got scandals and drama and weird crypto currencies and convoluted backstories of implied murder or identity theft or military shit or relations to underground gang activity or so SO much more and yet the writers still succeed in reminding you that this is a game full of high schoolers.

Natume was one of the five oddballs and suffered through so much during the war where it affects him to this day, but he also refers to his tech savvy and love of the occult as magic and loves the junior he “adopted” to death. Despite Aira struggling against every odd to become a real idol he still buys merch and looks on the internet to look for content of the ones he likes. Rinne was destined to become the monarch of his homeland but ran away in an attempt to find happiness and acceptance and is an amazing strategist who uses it to take down corruption, but his sense of humor is entirely made up of sex jokes and romantic teasing like Aira being “hiiro’s little girlfriend”. The amount of characters that assign themselves the mom friend role just because. Trickstar. I don’t think I need to explain Trickstar-

Like this game has made me cry so many times and it has its ridiculous moments but it also has its genuine ones while also being the most teenage shit I’ve seen in my life and I feel like so few media can balance those and still have a decent story like that. Sorry for the long ass post I just have so many feelings about this kind of stuff 😭

YEAH this is exactly what i was talking about in a previous ask when i said i have nothing meaningful to add to the enstars cast that isnt a headcanon . its all very well thought out and the interpersonal relationships are nuanced enough to feel realistic but outlandish enough to be interesting .

worldbuilding and character design is one of my special interests and i say this any chance i can get: the most important part of building a character (and a story in general) is realizing the importance of comedic irony and comedy as a whole regardless of genre or tone. it makes characters feel more 3 dimensional and relatable because people arent stagnant and theres multiple facets to any individuals personality (this is also why some of the most popular animes of all time have filler episodes or funny bits that show the characters personalities, every event hits with 3x emotional impact the more you know about the characters as people but that's a different discussion) enstars does a really good job of this . like for example if wataru were to have had a realistic reaction to eichi starting the war it wouldnt be nearly as good of a story. the fact that eichis ridiculous ass backwards plan to get wataru to fall in love with him actually worked is a perfect example of comedy used to make a story more interesting. another thing similar to this is how sometimes its better to not detail something and let characters do things for a mundane reason or even no reason at all . for example subaru hating chiaki just because he annoys him, or shinobu being on the broadcasting team despite his character not being associated with technology otherwise and therefore having no real backstory on why he likes radio stuff. its all really well planned worldbuilding with an insane amount of subtle details , which is why enstars is one of my favorite stories to analyze . the only thing i could possibly want more out of it is hardcore tragedy but thats entirely a personal preference rather than a critique because im a slut for catharsis and i love sad endings , especially ones where characters die . (don't worry im in therapy)

#ask #anon

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toujokaname · 8 months ago

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Game master / Episode 21

Author: Akira

Characters: Aira, Rinne, Kohaku, HiMERU, Tatsumi, Mayoi

"I'm grateful, I honestly am."

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[ Read on my site for a better viewing experience using Ois~su ♪ ]

Season: Winter

Location: Matrix Stage

Aira: —Hwah?!

(H-Huh? Where... is this?)

(It's bright! My eyes are adjusting after being in the dark for so long, but somehow, after dodging those weirdos for ages, we've stumbled into this wide area!)

(What are these, fireflies? Stars? I can't tell, but there are so many lights floating around!)

(What's this mysterious space...?)

Rinne: Welcome.

Did you have fun with the test of courage?

Aira: Ah, there he is, the mastermind! Look, Hiro-kun, Kohakucchi, the culprit's shown himself! Now beat him up!

Kohaku: Right. But before that, mind clearin' a few things up?

What the hell's all this about?

Rinne: Gyahaha, what a dumbass question! "Teacher! I don't even know what I don't know!" That's literally you.

Kohaku: Shut up. I ain't in the mood to go along with your stand-up comedy, especially after havin' to play tag with those mysterious masked guys 'til just now.

Quit stallin' and fess up already, or I'll roll you up in a bamboo mat and plunge you into the sea, ya halfwit. [1]

Rinne: No wayyy, ever since getting involved with Double Face, my child's turned into a delinquent...

Kohaku: I've been a delinquent from the get-go~... If anythin', I've been gradually becomin' a good kid since then.

Rinne: Yeah. By now you must've figured I'm sketchy, and that Matrix has an ulterior motive, yet you've obediently played along until the very end.

To repay those feelings, I'm gonna show you guys something good.

This is—my real hometown.

Kohaku: Rinne-han's hometown...?

Rinne: What I've shown you so far is only the surface of our hometown.

Think of it like the layer that hides something important, the armor shielding something fragile.

To put it in extreme terms, unless we're talking about a completely different dimension—

Environments completely cut off from the outside world only exist, if at all, within specially treated equipment in a lab.

While our hometown may have a pretense of self-reliance, we still need to be connected to the outside world. For food, water, and other essentials.

Rinne: The Amagi Village you visited is a contact point set up for that purpose—it's nothing more than a bridgehead or a frontline base.

It's a fake Amagi Village, so to speak.

And this space, it's where the village meets the outside world, linked to our hometown—you could call it a gateway.

Look, you can vaguely make out a door in the back, right? Beyond there lies the real Amagi Village.

It's where we're from. After following a long, long tunnel from there, we reach the hometown where we were born and raised

Kohaku: Yeah, I see it. There's this faintly visible buildin' in the distance. Looks oddly modern—is that Rinne-han's real hometown?

Rinne: Yeah. To those expecting a stereotypical backward village from a movie, my condolences, but this ain't exactly the old-fashioned countryside that everyone imagines.

In terms of scientific power alone, we might be more advanced than you.

Making buildings levitate in the air with perpetual motion machines and anti-gravity is as simple as pie, unlike anything you guys can achieve.

HiMERU: Is this a story from a sci-fi novel?

Rinne: It's a story from reality. If I explain too much, even as the monarch, I might be held accountable, so I can't divulge all the details.

Well, mysteries are better in some ways, they let your imagination run wild ♪

Rinne: Maybe we're descendants of aliens who came from outer space. Or maybe we're underground dwellers who've lived in hiding on the other side of the earth.

Or maybe we're the descendants of a persecuted people, defeated by the Yamato Imperial Court and repeatedly driven into distant corners in ancient times.

Our origins don't matter. What matters is that we're intelligent beings who can talk and share our feelings with you.

Unlike insects or animals, we can do the same work as you.

We can live in the same society.

We can even become idols.

Tatsumi: It's clear that you, that all of you, are unfamiliar beings.

But if we share the same aspirations, we should be able to coexist. Isn't that so, Mayoi-san?

Mayoi: Yes, Tatsumi-san. That's why I, too, am shamelessly living here with you all.

Rinne: It's strange, isn't it, underground dwellers? We're people who may have different births and upbringings, maybe even different races, yet we wear the same clothing and sing the same songs.

And so, we can love and be loved by everyone. That's good, isn't it. It's a miracle.

Rinne: There's someone who taught me that such miracles really do exist.

Back in my teenage years, I longed for the outside world so much that I ran away from my hometown. After getting lost for a while, I ended up on some street corner—

And found someone singing and smiling.

It was an unknown idol, to the point where nobody knows his name anymore. Maybe not even Ai-chan, who loves idols so much, knows him.

A long time ago, he couldn't sell anything and ended up retiring.

And yet, that idol, who was nothing special at all and could be found anywhere—at the time, I was just some little kid and looked up to him.

When I seriously ran away from home and pursued becoming an idol, he helped me a lot. He was a kind guy who taught me the basics of how to be an idol.

His producer in charge was Akan-san, and when he retired and she was left with some free time, she decided to produce me too.

She managed to turn me into a proper idol, one way or another.

In the end, during my solo days, I couldn't keep up with the times, and I was left completely stranded when the bigwigs at my agency fell from power with "SS."

Even before that, I hardly had any jobs; I was essentially open for business but had none. That was just the final straw, or rather, the fatal blow.

Rinne: Despite being meant to disappear quietly like that, why is it that someone like me is still able to stand on stage even now?

It's all thanks to my benefactors who taught me how to live as an idol.

It's because of them that I've been able to love being an idol and still not be disillusioned.

I'm grateful, I honestly am.

[ ☆ ]

Kohaku's referring to "sumaki," a term associated with a method of execution. This method involved throwing someone wrapped in a mat into water, often resulting in death. While not a formal punishment for crimes, it was commonly employed in extrajudicial killings by bakuto, the predecessors to modern yakuza.

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#akira #event story #matrix #aira #rinne #kohaku #himeru #tatsumi #mayoi

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akihikoswifey · 8 days ago

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☄. *. ⋆ Tartarus Trips | Akihiko x Reader x Shinjiro | Shadows Between Us

cw: mentions of being homeless and smoking, nothing crazy for once

Link to my masterlist :) This series is also being updated on ao3 x

♱⁺. ⋆˙✧⋆꒷꒦꒷⋆✧˙⋆⊹.♱♱⁺. ⋆˙✧⋆꒷꒦꒷⋆✧˙⋆⊹.♱♱⁺. ⋆˙✧⋆꒷꒦꒷⋆✧˙⋆⊹.♱

The sun had begun its slow descent on Tatsumi Port Island, casting long shadows that stretched across the Iwatodai dorm. You felt the weight of the day slip from your shoulders as you pushed open the door, the familiar creak echoing in the quiet space. The musty scent of the old building, infused with the lingering aroma of cheap ramen from the kitchen, enveloped your senses. After the relentless cycle of classes, the endless gossip and speculation about apathy syndrome, and the unending mass of shadows and Tartarus itself, the dorm had become a place where you could finally breathe. But when you fully entered the dorm, the sight that greeted you sent your heart racing.

There, sprawled comfortably on the worn-out couch, was the last person you expected to see. His presence filled the room with a strange tension, one that sent your heart plummeting and your mind spiralling. Shinjiro Aragaki, was back.

The sight of him hit you like a punch to the gut, freezing you in place. His presence felt unreal—like you’d conjured him from old memories, the kind you’d buried deep enough to convince yourself you’d moved on. But there he was, lounging as if nothing had changed, one arm draped over the back of the couch while his other hand toyed idly with the edge of his jacket. His cap was pulled low, shadows cast over his face, but those unmistakable dark eyes met yours the second you stepped further inside.

You froze for a moment, uncertainty wrapping around you like a tight coil. Shinjiro glanced up, his dark eyes meeting yours with a blend of surprise and something else—was it longing? His gaze lingered, searching your face for the familiar, and it made your heart twist painfully in your chest. The tension in the room was palpable, a silent acknowledgment of the history you shared, the moments that had been snatched away by time and circumstance.

“Hey,” He said, voice low and gruff as ever. The sound of it stirred something deep in your chest, stirring up ghosts of late-night talks and whispered confessions you thought you’d left behind.

“Didn’t expect to see you back so soon.”

You swallowed hard, feeling the awkward weight of nostalgia settle over you. “Yeah… long day.”Your voice came out quieter than you intended, but he didn’t comment on it. Instead, Shinjiro held your stare for a beat longer, his eyes flickering with something unreadable—like he was trying to figure out if you were real, too.

The silence stretched between you, taut and heavy, filled with the kind of words neither of you were brave enough to say.

You finally forced yourself to look away, fixing your attention on the television even though you weren’t really paying attention to it. But you could feel his gaze lingering, tracing the shape of you from across the room.

Your chest tightened. You hadn’t expected to face him like this, not after leaving the way you did. And especially not now, with everything else happening —with Akihiko.

As if on cue, the front door creaked open again.

Akihiko’s footsteps were instantly recognizable, the purposeful stride echoing down the hall. He paused when he saw you, his sharp eyes immediately narrowing as they shifted from you to Shinjiro, sending him a quick nod of acknowledgment.

The change in Akihiko’s demeanor was subtle but noticeable to you. His shoulders squared slightly, his expression hardening into something guarded, something territorial.

“There you are,” Akihiko said, though he kept his eyes on Shinjiro a second longer than necessary. His voice carried that edge you’d grown familiar with— the one he only used when something didn’t sit right.

“Can we talk?”

You hesitated, glancing back at Shinjiro. He leaned further into the couch, pretending to pay attention to the TV, but you weren’t fooled. He was listening, even if he pretended not to care.

“Yeah,” you replied softly, brushing past Akihiko as you followed him into the kitchen.

The fluorescent light flickered overhead as you leaned against the counter, trying not to fidget under Akihiko’s intense stare. He didn’t say anything at first, just crossed his arms over his chest as he studied you like you were hiding something- you sometimes hated how perceptive he was.

“So,” you started, breaking the silence. “He’s back.”

Akihiko’s eyes narrowed slightly, his jaw tightening. “Yeah. He’s staying.”

You looked away, pretending to inspect the chipped tile floor beneath your feet. “For how long?”

Akihiko leaned against the counter opposite you, arms still crossed. “As long as he needs to.”Your stomach twisted at his nonchalant tone, but you forced a small nod.

“He’s joining SEES.”It wasn’t a question, but Akihiko nodded anyway. “Mitsuru made it official.”You bit the inside of your cheek, pushing down the surge of emotions rising in your chest. “Right. That’s… good. We can use the extra help.”Akihiko didn’t look convinced. His gaze sharpened as he stepped closer, the space between you closing in until you could feel the heat of his body, the close proximity reminding you of the intimate times you shared with him.

“Is that going to be a problem?” he asked quietly, voice laced with something heavier than curiosity.

You shook your head, forcing yourself to meet his eyes. “No. Why would it be?”Akihiko didn’t answer right away. His eyes searched yours for a long, agonizing moment before he finally exhaled, his fingers brushing lightly over your wrist—just enough to ground you in place. “Great,” he murmured. His thumb traced a faint line over your skin before he pulled back, giving you space again. “Just… remember I’m always here if you need to talk.” He steadily watched you fidget beneath him. The words lingered between you, heavier than they should have been. You nodded, though something about the stark contrast in his tone made your heart race for all the wrong reasons.

As the evening dragged on, you found yourself back in the lounge. The television flickered, but Shinjiro was gone. It wasn’t hard to guess where he’d gone.

The cool night breeze whispered across the rooftop, tugging at the loose strands of your hair as you leaned against the railing, watching the faint trails of cigarette smoke drift into the sky. Shinjiro stood beside you, silent and distant, his broad frame outlined against the faint glow of the city lights below. The moment felt fragile, like the quiet before a storm—something on the verge of tipping over but not quite there yet.

For the longest time, neither of you spoke. You could hear the faint hum of traffic far below, the world moving on as if the weight of this reunion wasn’t pressing down on you both.

Shinjiro hadn’t changed much. His maroon jacket still hung loosely from his shoulders, his beanie pulled low to hide the way his eyes softened when he wasn’t trying to intimidate someone. But there was something else now—something behind his gaze that hadn’t been there before. A kind of exhaustion, maybe. Or maybe it was resignation.

“I didn’t think you’d come back,” you finally said, your voice barely louder than the wind. Shinjiro exhaled a slow stream of smoke, watching it dissipate into the night. “Didn’t plan on it.” That simple, honest response settled deep in your chest, leaving behind a dull ache. You glanced at him out of the corner of your eye, studying the sharp angles of his face, the scar along his brow that hadn’t faded.

“Then why did you?”

Shinjiro’s eyes flicked toward you, lingering just long enough to make your pulse quicken. His expression was hard to read—somewhere between indifference and something else, something closer to hesitation.

“Akihiko,” he said eventually, though his tone suggested that wasn’t the full answer. “He’s been on my case for a while now. Figured I’d stop by, help out for a bit.” You didn’t miss the way he avoided your gaze after that, choosing instead to focus on the cigarette slowly burning between his fingers.

“Right,” you murmured, tracing your finger along the cold metal of the railing. “Aki can be pretty convincing when he wants to be.” Shinjiro gave a low chuckle, the sound rough and fleeting, like he hadn’t done it in a while. “Yeah… he doesn’t know when to quit.”

You smiled faintly, though it faded as quickly as it came. The rooftop fell quiet again, save for the occasional rustle of the wind or the distant siren echoing somewhere deep in the city. But the weight of everything unspoken hung heavily between you.

You wanted to ask—wanted to press him for the real reason he was back. Akihiko might’ve been part of it, but that didn’t explain the way Shinjiro lingered by the edge of the dorm instead of slipping away like he used to.

Instead, you settled for something simpler. “It’s been a while.”

“Yeah,” he muttered, shifting slightly so he could lean against the railing beside you. His shoulder brushed yours—barely noticeable, but enough to make you hyper-aware of how close he was. You hesitated, studying him from the corner of your eye. “I thought maybe… you weren’t coming back at all.”

Shinjiro glanced at you then, the glow of the cigarette briefly illuminating the darkness beneath his eyes. “I wasn’t sure I was.”Another truth that lingered just beneath the surface. The quiet stretched out, long and tense. You thought back to those late nights you’d spent wandering the streets with him, back when your persona felt more like a curse than anything else. He’d been the one to ground you, to pull you back when you felt like you were spiraling.

And then you left.

You gripped the railing a little tighter, guilt tugging at the edges of your mind. “You could’ve said something,” Shinjiro said suddenly, his voice low but firm.

Your breath caught in your throat.

“I know,” you admitted softly, unable to meet his eyes.

His gaze lingered on you—steady, unwavering. “So why didn’t you?”

You bit your lip, staring down at the city below. The words were hard to find, stuck somewhere between regret and fear. “Because I didn’t know how,” you finally confessed. “I thought… maybe if I just left, it’d be easier.”Shinjiro didn’t respond right away. He took another slow drag from his cigarette, exhaling through his nose before finally shaking his head.

“Doesn’t work like that.”

You forced a dry laugh. “Yeah, I’m starting to realize that.”For a moment, it felt like things had shifted—like you were both standing on fragile ground, neither willing to take the first step. Shinjiro’s cigarette burned down to the filter, and he crushed it against the railing, letting the wind carry the ashes away. “Look,” he said, his voice softer now, “I’m not mad. You did what you had to. I get it.”

Your heart twisted painfully at the sincerity in his tone.

“But,” he continued, his eyes locking with yours, “don’t disappear on me again.”You opened your mouth to respond, but the words caught in your throat. Shinjiro pushed off the railing, stretching slightly before turning toward the door. “Don’t overthink it,” he added, heading for the door.

But you would. Because nothing with Shinjiro Aragaki was ever simple. You watched him as he walked away, the faint sound of his footsteps disappearing into the stairwell.

a/n: WE FINALLY GOT SHINJI IN THE MIX YALL! Excited to see where this goes, jm winging it! Im Planning to turn this into an actual series so stay tuned✨

#akihiko sanada x reader #persona 3 #shinjiro x reader #akihiko x reader x shinjiro

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infernaltenor · 9 months ago

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the third (and... maybe final?) niki shiina analysis

thats a lie there's a nonzero chance i'll do more <- i really like reading into his character

the focus of this is intended to be the foil relationship of niki and mayoi. this is something observable between all members of alkaloid and crazy:b, with clear distinctions between who is meant to be a foil/mirror of who: rinne and hiiro, kohaku and aira, himeru and tatsumi. while i would love to do a full in depth analysis of every member in this particular grouping, i've been avoiding any discussion of events that are out on jp but haven't been on en, if only because i want to experience the stories myself, which is why, for the time being, i'll be skipping the rest of the alkaloid and crazy:b units.

there's a second major factor as to why i'm focusing on niki and mayoi: they have the weakest link. that is to say, everyone else in the group has a clear connection in their pasts. niki and mayoi lack this. while you can extrapolate and make guesses (mayoi living in the basement of es and having a surprising amount of information in the building construction and hidden rooms; niki's father being kicked off the air in preference of idols; my conclusion here is that mayoi's parents probably run es and likely ran niki's off the air. is there proof? no. that's why i'm not counting it.), nothing for them is as explicitly stated as it is for the rest: rinne and hiiro through the nature of being brothers, kohaku and aira's childhood friendship online, whatever the hell is happening with himeru and tatsumi's complicated fucking relationship. niki and mayoi have... none of that. and arguably, that's a connection in and of itself, that they have no past in common, but given the care taken for the rest of the units it feels almost like an oversight.

no matter! i'm not here to discuss what ifs; i'm here to read far too much into the silly goofy character of what is otherwise an incredibly sad and tragic unit (despite their rather goofy construct) because i love him and need his depth to be at the front page rather than ostensibly passed over. enstars where's my niki shiina breakdow-

anyway. with that out of the way, let's start with the most basic parts! game design and character design. for game design, they also typically are in the same spot (spot 4 for the live mechanics), although i'm willing to ignore this due to the fact that kohaku and aira, as well as tatsumi and himeru, do not adhere to this particular criteria. niki and mayoi are the two characters within their unit that have long hair; niki's side ponytail and mayoi's side braid (hey where's the niki shiina hair down car-). interestingly, niki and mayoi's main hairstyles occupy opposite shoulders. while it's something that's easy to overlook, i'm counting it because it's something i think is also an easy way to put differences together, the same way color palette is. and for niki and mayoi, color palette isn't really a concern (the same dictates the rest of the crazy:b and alkaloid pairings, however), but niki's hair is more blue-toned, while mayoi's retains a level of red in his purple (shinobu's, for instance, is way cooler in tone).

but this is all superficial stuff. things you can simply observe. beyond the unspecified parents, where's the digging in way too much?

well.

crazy:b is a unit that is altogether kind of goofy, but the individual characters are by and large, tragic. niki shiina reads as an outlier to this specific set up.

alkaloid is a unit that is altogether serious down to their aesthetic, but the individual characters are largely kind of silly. mayoi ayase reads as an outlier to this specific set up.

as an author's note, right here in the middle of this analysis, i know both units are not so clear cut, and that you can see incredible amounts of angst and silliness in the characters i have decided not to focus on. why i am focusing on niki and mayoi is because of their decidedly obvious contrasting personalities to the larger construction of their unit. niki, more often than not, serves as the crazy:b character who has no indication of what is going on, not to mention how much his personality is driven by his own unspecified condition and his relation to food; mayoi is the alkaloid character who has such a clear indication of his tragedy, as opposed to hiiro and tatsumi, both of whom acknowledge it less, and aira, who does it moreso through inner monologues. i digress.

with both niki and mayoi serving as the contrasting element to their respective units, this does include that they are not always that contrasting element; think, whenever niki puts himself down or reads rinne like a book, or mayoi's clear serious relationship with teaching the other members of his unit.

another aspect that i think contributes to a foil relationship more than the mirroring is the opposite ways they talk about themselves and even moreso, how they think about themselves. niki, by and large, puts himself down as an idol; it's expected, especially since being an idol was never his intention (for fun and profit! and also rinne), so he tends to think of himself (frequently) as someone with less experience. while mayoi's full story (afaik) hasn't been touched on, he shows considerable knowledge to the background and teaching of idols (dropping notes in on unsuspecting juniors, teaching alkaloid the choreography throughout the main story, just to name some off the top of my head), even showing in some ways his mastery of the skills for being an idol. what mayoi lacks for in confidence of himself, he makes up for in being confident in his ability to guide others with advice and teaching. this places niki and mayoi in clear opposite corners of their idol positions. that being said, mayoi hardly does think himself an expert in the industry, but while niki recognizes himself as not being an idol expert, he does frequently call up his cooking expertise, something that cannot be overstated. just with these two skills you can see how niki and mayoi treat their own expertise: niki acknowledges his with frequency, mayoi tries to push people away from knowing his.

niki is a character that tries to stay silly on the surface. to be fair to crazy:b, rinne also attempts this. the difference is that rinne's silliness has been broken clearly before, notably in the main story for the game. niki's character, at the point that i'm writing this post, has not had such a break yet. another aspect of niki is he does try to stay as clueless as possible (try isn't quite the word i'm looking for; he seems genuinely uninterested in the politics of the idol world! this is something i count in contrast to his fellow unit members, as much of crazy:b is focused primarily on that political atmosphere). without such a drastic break, niki's character does read as one intending to be seen as a silly character.

mayoi's character, while being silly in his own over the top reactions to, well, everything (alkaloid and mayoi is bocchi the rock if btr was yaoi, but that's... that's a different post), is probably one i would argue meant to be taken much more seriously in alkaloid. for one, his character does frequently deal with intrusive thoughts, which imo makes his overall character feel more serious. another aspect of this matches him with tatsumi for overall being what i feel to be the more seriously read parts of the alkaloid unit, as tatsumi is shown to be levelheaded often; there are some clear breaks for this particular formula with tatsumi imo, for instance, both his driving and technology usage serve to lighten his character considerably. mayoi's character, i think, due to the heavy usage of self-deprecating language, is meant to be read much more seriously than he sometimes ends up being.

my conclusion is basically... well niki and mayoi occupy (what i think) is an interesting balance for the foil/mirror imagery of crazy:b and alkaloid. their unit structures and symbols, as well as intentions feed into this, as do their character pairs, but due to niki and mayoi's own (mostly) untouched connections, their place in the structure feels much harder to nail down. this doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but it does mean that i can (and more importantly) will tear into this gacha game like its a piece of literature.

#enstars #ensemble stars #niki shiina #mayoi ayase #tenor talks #yeah ill tag mayoi in this. hes in it as much as niki.#you have no idea what a monster of a post this is to write with a headache and currently zero ibuprofen i am holding on by a fucking thread #the thread in question is the scary amount of niki shiina thoughts rattling around in my brain creating actual thoughts that have like meri #i have like three essays im supposed to be doing so i cranked this one out before i fried my brain #anyway. im normal im so normal i didnt just spend an hour digging into characters in an idol gacha game.

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idk6123 · 1 year ago

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Emperor Social Link (Kanji X Male Reader)

Rank 1

Yesterday, Y/N had his meeting with his fellow student council members. There, they discuss the usual stuff, like school events and small problems. However, to his surprise, there is a subject he didn’t expect to be brought up. The infamous student and delinquent, Kanji Tatsumi.

It started off with critiques about him, and only. Saying that he’s disrespectful to the staff, harassing students, skipping classes and failing in all his subjects. Y/N knows him for a while, ever since the blonde joined the team, though he doesn’t know much about him. Still, he can tell that Kanji is a good person, so Y/N was the only one in his defense. Everyone except him thought it is a good idea to expel the delinquent, however, Y/N was heavily against that. One thing let to another, where a deal was made between them. Y/N has to prove them wrong that Kanji is some lazy student that is a menace to the school, or else the council will take action to have him expel.

Starting today, Y/N is prepared to help his friend. Ever since his kidnapping, Y/N knows Kanji is misunderstood. However, everyone doesn’t see it that way. And thus, the student council member walks around the building until he eventually spots Kanji at the practice building.

“Sup Senpai.”

“Hey Kanji. Is it possible that we can talk somewhere?”

Kanji feels there is already a problem if Y/N has to request to talk to him. “Sure thing. How ‘bout the roof?”

And thus, the two got on the roof. Both guys stand around the place where usually the group is hanging out.

“So what’s it? You sound like sumthin’ bad had happened.”

“I had a meeting with the student council yesterday. They were talking about you, specially about your reputation.” Y/N decides to just say it, since Kanji is a guy that don’t beat around the bush. “They are planning to expel you.”

Kanji looks surprised. “What!?” He quickly looks mad. “The hell!? They can’t do that!”

“They can’t, yes. But they can file a complaint to the school, and with enough conviction, they can expel you. But I made a deal with them. I have to prove them wrong about their beliefs about you.”

“Can you?” Kanji looks doubtful at him. “No offense, but there ain’t no way you can look me like sum kinda saint.”

“I don’t have to. What they told, they are mostly complaining about your school performance and your behavior.” Y/N points out.

Kanji still looks hesitate. “Well, whatever I do, people still think I’m gonna kill them. Even if do nothin’. And my grades… good luck fixing that.”

“Look, I know it’s hard. Even if you try, whatever you do, it feels like your failing, but you can’t give up. I know you can do it, and I’m for you.” Y/N reassures with a smile.

Kanji feels a bit better with the support. “That sounds nice and all, but unless ya got some great idea, then ya might as well stop it right there.”

Y/N thinks for a couple of seconds. “How about this? I help you with your homework, so your grades will get better. And about your reputation… I have to think something about that.” Y/N looks back at Kanji. “So, you’re in?”

Kanji thinks about it. He eventually sighs. “It’s not like I got any other choice. Still, you’re right. A man needs to keep trying, even if he keeps failing.” There is a fire in his voice. With his newfound determination, he’s ready to improve himself and his situation.

Rank 2

It’s after school. Both teens are hanging around Junes. They’re sitting at the table, with both of them having their homework out on it.

“So, what subjects are you good at?”

Kanji thinks for a bit. “Gym. And maybe art when I feel comfortable. …That’s it.”

“That’s alright. And where do you fall behind?”

“My Japanese is according to them shit. Don’t understand a single thing about English. Can only do the basics of math. Can’t remember anything from history. I only know where Japan is on the world map. Biology could be better.” As Kanji lists of every class, he looks disappointed in himself. “…So the answer is, everything that isn’t PE and art.”

“That’s fine.”

Kanji doesn’t look convince. “It is?”

“Depends. Do you intend to go to college, or what are you planning to do after school?”

“Damn. Didn’t expect to get so deep when I agreed to this.” Kanji mutters. He begins to think of what he’s going to do after high school. “I’m not sure… Maybe I can work for ma? Definitely not going to college, that’s for sure.”

“Then we should focus on doing the minimum. Let’s see…” Y/N begins to think about the subjects, which best first Kanji. “If we take it that you work with your mother, then we look at the subjects that come handy in your future. English and Japanize is definitely handy, no matter what. Math too, since your working at a business.” Y/N then proceeds to think about the other subjects. “Are you one that thinks visually?”

“Yes? Why?”

“Then it’s worth considering geography. So we focus on those subjects. The ones that are handy in the future and that you can have an easier chance to improve on. And then we allow biology and history to ‘take it less seriously’.”

Kanji looks surprised. He didn’t expect someone like Y/N suggesting neglecting certain classes. “You sure are something else. Every teacher would just yell at me to learn better and not slack off.”

“I’m not saying to you should give up on it. I’m just thinking what’s best for you. I can tell you’re not someone that likes to do homework and even classes. I’m just trying to focus on your good qualities instead of your bad.”

“That sounds smart.” Kanji looks impressed at him.

“Thanks. Now that we have a plan, let’s begin.”

Rank 3

It’s another day of Y/N tutoring Kanji. It isn’t a lot, but he improves. Y/N definitely can tell Kanji is trying his best to understand the subjects. He got often got tips to remember things easier, which he definitely uses. Geography looks to be the most improved, while English, Japanize and math are still a problem.

“And… done!”

Y/N grabs the piece of paper from Kanji. They had an exercise to have the blonde write down his day in English. Not only does he have to write down in a completely different character, but he also needs to remember the correct words and sentence building.

As Y/N begins to read is closely, Kanji begins to look a bit nervously. He wants to prove to his friend that he got better. “And? Did I do good?”

Y/N looks up from the paper. “I can tell what you were trying to say, which is definitely an improvement. You still need to work on spelling and sentence structure. But besides that, you did good.”

Kanji seems to be satisfied with that. “Yes! Man, I’m good.” Y/N can’t help but smile at Kanji. “Before this, the only thing I could write in English was ‘fuck you’. And now I can write more.”

“Hopefully not just cursing.”

Kanji laughs. “Yeah, not just that. Ya knows, I actually feel smarter. I mean, I still feel like a dumbass sometimes, but now less.”

“That’s good. I’m glad you feel better. It’s best kind of motivation.”

“It sure is!” Kanji says with a wide smile.

Rank 4

It’s another day in Junes, with both guys studying once again. This time, Kanji got some good news.

“I got a C in English, Y/N senpai!”

“See! Told you that you can do it.” Y/N is extremely happy for Kanji.

“Thanks man. Without you, I couldn’t done it.” Kanji looks extremely grateful. “I’m really happy you believe in me. For a long time, I felt like I’m on my own. So it feels like to… not feel that.”

“Glad to hear it. I’m happy to help.”

“Speaking of which, did ya got something to help my reputation?” Kanji asks.

“Oh yes! I was meaning to tell you it.” Y/N forgot it after Kanji shared the good news. “I thought real good about it. It’s hard to clear your delinquent status, especially on school. However, I thought of something. What if we don’t purify your reputation AT school?”

Kanji doesn’t seem to get it. “Isn’t that the whole point though?”

“Yes, but I thought of a solution out of the box. So here’s my idea. We’re hosting a charity event at your shop. We even sell your stuff there.” Y/N looks extremely confident in the idea.

“That sounds… amazing.” Kanji seems to be onboard with the idea, but still got some issue. “But… do I really need to let everyone know that I made some of it?”

“Yes. You need to be a part of it, or else it won’t work.” Y/N explains. Kanji looks hesitate, contemplating it. “You alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah… It’s just… You know what happened back in the TV.”

Y/N knows Kanji is referring to. He’s scared that people will make fun of him, just because of the hobbies he’s into. “I understand. I won’t force you to do it if you really don’t want to.” Y/N begins to think of any ways that let Kanji go on with his idea. “How about I contribute? I knit something too.”

Kanji looks shocked. “You are? But- but you can’t even knit!”

“Then teach me! You owe me.” Y/N says playfully.

Kanji laughs. “That’s true. I do owe you.” He thinks about it. “It would make it easier if I’m not the only one that knit.”

“Do we have another deal, then?”

Kanji looks up at Y/N with a doubtless gaze. “Hell yeah! I’m going to make you the best textile worker!”

Rank 5

At the textile shop, somewhere in the back of the shop, the duo is sitting on the floor at the table. Both of them are with all the tools, such as needles, yarn, scissors and other. There, Kanji is teaching Y/N how to knit and crotch stich, one step to another, but Y/N is having some trouble.

“This is harder than I thought, and I already thought it looked difficult.” Y/N comments.

“You just need to take the first couple of steps and focus. You get used to it.” Kanji seems to believe in him like Y/N did to him.

Y/N noticed that Kanji is happier than usual. He keeps smiling, every step of the way he shows to him. “You’re really enjoying this, huh?”

“Yeah. You’re the first person I know that wants to learn this. It’s already rare that others are ok with it, so it’s cool that you actually want to learn it.” Kanji looks extremely happy.

The two continue to knit. One with more ease than the other. Eventually, Y/N wanted a break and requested to go to the bathroom. Once he gets over there and used it, he gets back in the hallway. As he walks back, he spots the mother of Kanji.

“Hello Mrs. Tatsumi.”

“Hi Y/N-kun.” Y/N thought it’s a bit funny that in terms of appearance Kanji is totally different from his mother. Still, Y/N can tell the two get along greatly, remembering that he took care of a motor gang because they made too much of a ruckus that kept his mother awake.

“I just want to thank you for taking care of Kanji.” Mrs. Tatsumi says gratefully. “He was so proud of himself when he got a good grade in English.”

“I’m happy I got to help. He’s my friend after all.”

“I’m glad he has a friend like you. It’s hard to look pass his rough exterior, so not many people have a chance to know him as the kind boy I know.” Mrs. Tatsumi explains with a kind smile. “He talks about you a lot, you know? He keeps talking about how you keep helping him. He was beyond happy when you offered to learn to knit.”

“I have to say, I’m not a natural talent. Still, I’m having fun.” Y/N admits. “Though I wish he could be comfortable with his hobbies.”

“I agree.” Kanji’s mom looks a bit upset. “A natural talent, he is. He’s such a sweet, kind man. I often wish that history could be changed, so that Kanji was never made fun of his hobbies.”

“He got bullied?”

“Yes. It sure is a cruel world that people could make fun of others of the littles thing.” Mrs. Tatsumi continues to look upset, though she eventually drops it. “That’s all the more reason he needs people that supports him.”

Y/N nods. “I have zero intention to turn my back to him.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Kanji’s mom smile. “Anyway, I took too much of your time. You’re here for my son, not me.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Tatsumi. Talk to you later.”

Rank 6

It’s another day where the two knit clothing and plushies. Kanji is going through the textiles and soon made piles of clothing and other products. Y/N is getting the hang of it, but still is struggling a bit.

“You hangin’ in there, senpai?”

“Yes. Could be better, could be worse.” Y/N replies. He looks around for all the products they made. “Jeez, we made a lot, and all of them look pretty good. This charity event is going to be a success.”

“Speaking of which, where’s all the money going to go?” Kanji asks.

“I found one that helps abandoned and abused animals. How about that one?” Y/N suggests.

“We better! I can’t how people could treat them like shit!” Kanji glares a bit. “I mean, how low can you go to hurt animals! They’re way too innocent to deserve that!”

“Yeah. Its ridiculous people could do that.” Y/N agrees. “You sound like a real animal lover.”

“Sure am.” Kanji smiles a bit. “I always wished we got a pet. I especially love the fluffy ones.” Then he blushes once he realized he said it out loud. “I mean, though ones.”

“I like fluffy ones too.” Kanji feels a bit at ease when Y/N shares the same opinion. “I hope one day to get a pet for my own. What would you rather want? Dog or a cat?”

“Dogs. I love how energetic they are. They are also loyal and always happy to see you. Though I like cats as well, as long they don’t scratch me.”

“Me too. I found them so cute!” Y/N laughs a bit.

The two continue working on the products, all the while chatting about their likes and interests, like they’re the bests of friends. Eventually, Kanji begins to look more stoic, which Y/N noticed. He can definitely tell something is bothering him.

“You alright?”

Kanji doesn’t answer instantly. “Hey, I can talk to you about anything, right?”

“Always. Whatever it is.”

Kanji trusts Y/N. Not just because of what he did the past couple of days, but also back at tv. He remembers the stark contrast between Yosuke and Y/N of how they handled it.

“Remember back at the tv? About my other self wanting to get on with… other men.” Kanji looks extremely embarrassed as he explains.

“Yes, I remember. What about it?”

“Well… what do you think about it?” Kanji quickly changes what he wanted to say.

“Wow… that’s just a question that is… a bit broad.” Kanji still awaits for Y/N a proper answer. “Let me think… I need to word this correctly… Okay, here’s what I think. When we rescued you, I honestly felt a bit sorry for you.”

Kanji didn’t expected that answer. “Huh? Why?”

“Well, your shadow just wanted to be accepted for who he is. Even with his outfit, I wanted to give him a hug.” Y/N explains.

“You didn’t get freaked out or anything? About him keep yapping about liking guys.”

“No, not at all.”

Kanji seems to be at ease with that answer. “Even now, you’re not… uncomfortable with me.”

“I could never be uncomfortable with you.”

Kanji smiles a bit. “I want something to share with you, but can you promise me that you keep it between us.”

“I promise.”

The delinquent knows Y/N speaks the truth. “I think I’m into guys, senpai.” Y/N awaits until Kanji says anything further. The blonde certainly didn’t expect Y/N just looking at him. “Hey! What’s wrong? Say something.”

“Oh, sorry. It’s just that… whether you’re into girls, guys, or both. I don’t mind it. You’re still Kanji, and I don’t look at you any different.”

Kanji is surprised by Y/N’s reaction, but he couldn’t be any happier. “Thanks man. That… that makes me feel a lot better.”

Rank 7

It’s the day of the charity. Signs are in front of the shop, saying today is a charity event, with options for donating. Customers are lining up in the store. Usually, Mrs. Tatsumi is keeping the shop running, but now Kanji and Y/N are attending as well. It appears a lot of people like the idea for donating for animals, as a lot of children visits.

After an hour or two, Mrs. Tatsumi insists that both boys take a break, saying she can handle it on her own for a couple of minutes. Kanji, being the man he is, protest to the idea, but eventually gives up after being reassured she’s going to be alright.

And so, the two get to the living room, both enjoying their breaks with some drinks and snacks.

“How many costumers did you already served?”

Kanji thinks a bit. “Honestly, I lost count after my tenth. Nah, wait, probably before.”

“I already counted some of the money we earned. We’re heading to the sextuple.”

Kanji laughs a bit. “Sextuple.”

“It’s a real word.” Y/N can’t help to smile along, despite Kanji’s childish humor. “Anyway, we already got a big sum, and this is just the start. It’s possible we end up around 300,000 yen.”

“300,000?” Kanji looks surprised. “That’s amazing.”

“Well, with the marketing we did, everyone wants to pitch in. Children especially wants to help out. Even Nanako stopped by with Yu to buy a couple of things.” Y/N smiles when he remembers the two entering the store. “I’m pretty sure she bought something you made.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. A couple of plushies and pieces of clothing. I tried to offer her a discount and pitch in some of my money, but she declined. She said it would be better for the animals she gave all of her money.”

Kanji smiles when hearing that. “She’s such a sweetheart.”

“She sure is.” Y/N agrees. “Anyway, with everyone loving what we made and the charity event doing amazing, I expect this will impact the student council.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot that was the reason we did this.” Kanji was already happy enough to raise money for the animals, to the point forgetting there is a somewhat selfish reason behind it.

Rank 8

Back at school, before heading to the student council meeting, Y/N got to meet up with Kanji.

“Is today the meeting?”

“Yes. I tell you the result. Right now though, I want you to remain calm. Everything is going to be fine.” Y/N feels positive about the situation. After proving that Kanji can get good grades and is a good person, even if they still hold their first impressions, they can’t deny that Kanji isn’t the same person that they think he is.

And thus, the two split up, with Y/N getting to the meeting. Once in the room, Kanji stands besides the door. He knows everything is going to be alright with Y/N, but he’s curious, so he listens in.

The meeting starts, with everyone sitting around the room. After many different problems and other noteworthy subjects, they finally speak about the situation about Kanji Tatsumi. The student council president allows Y/N to speak on the matter.

“We made a deal, where I have to prove you wrong about Kanji Tatsumi. You all believe that he’s a delinquent with no care about his reputation, whether that’s school or his social life. However, I disagree. The past couple of weeks, I tutored him, and it turns out with the right kind of support, he’s a good student. Here are all the grades he got ever since I helped him.” Y/N pass around a report card with Kanji’s grades.

“As for his social reputation, not too long ago, he and his mother had a charity event, where they sold their self-made knitting products. Every pinny will go to a charity that specializes in animal care.” Y/N explains. “This is the prove that Kanji is a good man. Even though his exterior is rough, he has a heart of gold. With that being said, I showed you the truth about who Kanji really is, and I demand he shouldn’t be expelled.”

Every student is talking about it to each other. Y/N can’t really hear what they’re saying, but he certainly let them talk about it.

Kanji awaits a bit until something catches his ears, with the only thing he hears right now is muffling. Minutes later, he hears Y/N yelling.

“Excuse me!?”

“We still are willing to proceed us intend to expel Tatsumi. Even though the choice isn’t ours, we believe this is the best for the students.”

Kanji’s heart broke a bit when he hears that. After all the process he made and deeds he did, it all seem for nothing.

“We made a deal. I prove to you all that Kanji is a good person and student, and yet you can’t even hold your end to the deal.”

“We never said we’re not going to file a complaint.”

“I don’t care. It’s about looking at the facts and looking at it objectively. All you’re doing is looking for it through a lens of false expression.”

“Even if it’s false, the average student in the school holds this opinion. Because of this, they can feel unsafe.”

“This is ridiculous! All you’re doing is making dumb arguments just to hold your wrong judgement. I have zero intentions being surrounded with my fellow members who are not looking out for the students.”

Kanji then hears someone storming towards the door. He quickly runs back a bit, so he won’t be caught. Once he hid himself behind one of the staircases, he sees Y/N coming out of the room, slamming the door with anger. His face looks frustrated and upset. Kanji looks with sympathy at him and reveals himself. Y/N sees him walking towards him.

“I’m sorry, Kanji…”

“It’s alright. I-I’m just happy at least someone got my back.” Kanji looks grateful at his friend.

“But…” Y/N sighs. “Maybe we can go the teachers? Hopefully they’re willing to listen.”

“Then let’s go. No need to be upset when we can still fix this.” Kanji shows off a small smile, reassuring Y/N.

“Right.”

Rank 9

After a long day, they manage to convince the teachers to give Kanji a chance to prove himself. With facts, reason and good arguments, they allow Kanji to continue his studies in this school. After their success, they get to the roof. To their surprise, no one is there, except them. They sit down in their usual hang out place.

“We did it!” Kanji smiles widely. “And now there is nothing to worry about anymore. Wait- scratch that, I still need to study for waaay to many tests.”

“True, but I’m here to help if you need it.” Y/N reassures.

Kanji nods. “Right.”

The two look back at the town of Inaba. From the school’s roof, they can see a big chunk of the small town.

“Hey senpai.” Kanji begins to speak up softly. “I’m really grateful that you’re by my side.” He begins to blush a bit. “I-I made you something.” From his pockets, he grabs a soft, dog plushie that looks like a huskie.

Y/N looks surprised by the sudden gift, but quickly looks extremely happy. “Aww, it’s cute!”

“Thanks, man. I was going for that.” Kanji hands over the plushie to Y/N, who begins looking closely at it, though he soon looks back at his friend, who still look awkwardly at him.

“Anything else, Kanji?”

Kanji let out a huff. “Senpai. There is something I want to say to you. I-It’s alright if you think differently, but-” He stops himself from talking. He hesitates a bit before looking back at Y/N. “Y/N, I-I’m thinking fall in love with you.”

Y/N blushes. His eyes are wide with surprise. “Huh?”

“I-It’s alright if you don’t feel that way!” Kanji quickly blurts out.

“No! I mean…” Kanji wonders what Y/N is going to say. “Kanji, I-I feel the same.”

“You do?” Kanji says with disbelief.

Y/N carefully walks over to Kanji and pulls him in for a kiss. It was brief, but both teens can feel the love they share for each other with just that second. When Y/N pulls back, he and Kanji both look extremely flustered.

“Wow… Just- This was my first time I kissed a guy- or even someone.” Kanji looks amazed.

“Me too.” Y/N smiles. “So… do you want to be my boyfriend?”

“Y-Yes!” Kanji says a bit too excited for his liking. “I mean, yes.”

Y/N smiles with wide smiles. “For our sakes, I think it’s best we keep this for ourselves. Not like it was other people’s business. I say we just see how things go and keep it to ourselves. Sounds good to you?”

Kanji nods, happy Y/N thinks the same as him. “That sounds good.”

Rank 10

It’s a sunny day in the town. The newly found couple decided that it would be nice to go on a date. After figuring out their options, they decided to go picnicking out in nature, where no one is bothering them. They set everything up and are ready to enjoy their date.

“So, I had a meeting with the student council today.” Kanji is intrigued with the aftermath of Y/N’s rant. “I wanted to quiet after all that happened… but I changed my mind.”

“Why’s that?” Kanji asks.

“Even though my opinion appears to be none, I still need to be there. I can obtain important info, and because of that, I can help any students in the future.” Y/N explains. “Even though I don’t like it, I still want to help others.”

Kanji can’t help but admire him. “Ya know senpai, I sometimes envy you. Whatever you want, you’re mind is set to it. And it’s not like you’re afraid to be yourself.”

“You may think that, but I honestly think you’re way braver than me.” Y/N comments. “I may be more comfortable with myself, but in the tv, you’re better than me. I think there are some things some people are better at than others. The grass is always greener on the other side, after all.”

Kanji smiles. “I guess so. I really need to stop being a crybaby about the littlest things.” He can’t help but laugh a bit. “Speaking of which, do you ever imagine we can tell the truth about us to the others?”

“To the group?” Y/N begins to think. “One day, yes. Well, maybe some people earlier then others. I doubt Yosuke would be… the most supportive after the camp incident.”

“I think so too. I know I said it to you a lot, but I trust the others well. Even Yosuke, but only a little.” Kanji adds casually. “I even think my ma would be cool with it.”

“I’m glad you think so.” Y/N smiles. “They’re already okay with your hobbies. Not to say our relationship is the same as just hobbies, but still. The group already are open minded with each other’s struggles and respect each other because of that. We learn and grow together, not just us, but everyone else too.”

#Persona #persona 4 #kanji tatsumi #kanji x malereader #PersonaXmalereader

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hyenahunt · 10 months ago

Text

Obbligato: The Punishment of Kaname Tojo - 1

Writer: Akira

Season: Spring, two years ago

Characters: Ibara

Proofreading: Remi + 310mc (JP) & Skyress (ENG)

Translation: Peace

Ibara: Every human being wants to live the correct way in order to survive. That's why if we can manipulate what they view as "right", we can then manipulate them.

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

Ibara: Aha-ha-haa! ☆

I knew it'd be best to ask to speak with "you", Tojo-san.

Despite being right in the thick of Reimei Academy, you haven't once gotten mixed up in the going ons — you've had a bird-eye's view of everything instead. Rather than penning the tale, or playing a part within, you've acted as the reader.

That's precisely why I thought that by asking you what I'd like to know, I'd be able to understand the situation completely.

Nevertheless, I can't say I don't understand why you take that role over any other! It seems quite enjoyable to be part of the audience!

Hm? Isn't this all my own doing? Oh, perish the thought! Though I did give them a nudge here and there for my own benefit...♪

If anything, never did I think that such a plan would go without a hitch... Humans certainly are easy to lead, aren't they?

I suppose it must be because the students of Reimei Academy are already quite used to “living systematically”.

No, it's more that one couldn't survive in this academy if they didn’t.

Ibara: Obey those above you. Follow the rules. Don't oppose either for any reason.

If you break those laws, then you'll be given a hellish punishment in return.

The longer these students attend Reimei Academy, the more these regulations become the "accepted practice” to them. After enough time, it becomes an instinct bound to their very selves.

It's a valuable trait that politicians— that managers can take advantage of when training them.

I'm aware that such training, or rather brainwashing, occurs in other schools just the same...

... But Reimei Academy takes it to an extreme and specializes in it.

This academy is no different than how the military used to work.

Soldiers were told to obey any order given without fail, and the first step towards this outcome started the very moment they enlisted: their self-esteem would be torn to shreds immediately, ground into a fine dust.

And after getting in, the higher ups ensure that each person will thoroughly obey the hierarchy they're to settle into through various methods. This way, they're guaranteed to have obedient pawns— soldiers to make use of.

They don't think for themselves, because thinking is seen as something wrong.

If they decide something on their own, they're rebuked by a superior officer. It doesn't matter how many blows one takes by fist or tongue, the soldier in question won't be forgiven even if they cry.

As a result, it becomes an environment where it's "right" for the superior's judgment to take priority over their own.

Every human being wants to live the correct way in order to survive. That's why if we can manipulate what they view as "right", we can then manipulate them.

That's what I tried to do. By using Reimei Academy, which was once a missionary school by design and, as such, is closed-off with strict rules to follow...

With a little adjustment, I tried to make it a suitable foundation for us to build up a factory that would mass produce such easily led people.

However, strange things began to occur due in part to the appearance of an irregularity in the system: Tatsumi Kazehaya.

Because of his steadfast faith, he was impervious to brainwashing. That peculiar creed of his had been etched deeply inside of him already...

And so it was impossible for us to overwrite it.

Thus, it would be best to remove such a snag in our operations. If a factory comes to a grinding halt, then it's the manager's duty to ensure the elimination of the problem ASAP.

And if you're clever enough to turn a bit of trouble into a ton of profit, then you're considered a fine businessman indeed!

Though the idol industry is in the midst of a great recession at the moment, Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya is a splendid idol. Why, if the times were better, it wouldn't be unthinkable for him to be called a Super Idol!

He's certainly capable enough, and has made plenty of accomplishments to back that claim up.

It's quite profitable for us that he's recognized by both the public as well as potential business partners too.

However, leaving him to live as he does poses a serious danger. Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya disregards the rules. He completely transcends the carefully cultivated hierarchy, which is the foundation of all our plans.

The main issue is that faith of his. If a soldier would rather obey the words of a god, versus the words of his superior officer, then he's a danger and useless on the battlefield.

And so I decided to create a god that would benefit me.

A god who, unlike Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya, would do what I wanted him to do.

We've already laid out the contract details. And "he" seems to be working as thoroughly as I'd hoped.

Yes, while Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya is busy working himself to the bone, while he's continuously rehospitalized due to his failing health...

There is someone who has begun to plunder leftover work, monopolizing it and building up his name as a result.

Yes, yes. I believe you also know his real name, but he seems to go by HiMERU now.

He, Mr. HiMERU that is, takes on the requests meant for Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya as he pleases, and then distributes them to the work-hungry Special Students around him.

By bestowing such opportunities upon them, he then gains their confidence and becomes their representative.

And with it, the taboo that once stained Mr. HiMERU for a time sheds off, and he regains his status as a Special Student in return.

Correct. Just as you'd expect, we're pulling strings behind it all.

When an idol affiliated with Reimei Academy receives a request, it's first sent to a manager such as myself, and from there we distribute the work out in careful doses.

I used to give every job to Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya.

It was the ideal move to make, since his status as such a capable idol would certainly raise the very value of Reimei Academy's affiliates to their uppermost limits.

What’s more, he is someone who doesn’t crave money, nor complains a single bit no matter how much profit he loses out on. All in all, a rather convenient "employee".

However, he grew too large. So much that he began to shake the very foundations of Reimei Academy.

And so, we adjusted the amount of work being sent his way accordingly and let his health decline. We’ve removed him from the board, if only for a time...

But in that span of time, we made our far more convenient Mr. HiMERU come to the forefront.

As long as it’s him, unlike that strange, idealistic thought of Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya's being hoisted for all to see, everyone will surely begin to abide by the Special Student system once more.

For us, Mr. HiMERU is quite a handy attraction. No, a god.

A god who guides all, who influences all he sees... Through him, I'll be the one calling all the shots.

I'll stand above all just by taming and enslaving that god of ours.

✦✦✦✦✦

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#ensemble stars #enstars #enstars translation #hyenahunttl #ibara saegusa #s: obbligato

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