#��but something like this will only appear in my delusions huh~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[deus-ex-mona]

pretty minor thing to think about, but i find it interesting how chapter 7 is the first chapter illustration to show chizuutan as chizuru (instead of chuutan)

like, i get it’s a flashback chapter, but we hardly got to see her as chizuru in the previous few chapters thus far… maybe we’ll get to see more of her as her true self after the hiyori fight/make up? only future chapters may tell, i guess…

[ittybittyfanblog]

Error 404: (Self-Aware!AU, Sylus Edition) – Pt. 2

Summary: A LADS self-aware!AU featuring Sylus and a–less–oblivious player. That’s it, that’s the plot. A/N: Ok, I’ve decided to make this by series, so this one’s just going to be purely Sylus. I hope nobody minds the specific names/places/etc. I wanted to create a personality for the “player” and add a bit of backstory work (loosely based on yours truly lol) for the sake of storytelling, but there won't be any distinct description of the player’s physical appearance <3 Tags: player!reader x sylus, fem!reader x sylus, reader x lads, self-aware!au, suggestive language, bouts of delusion

Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

Riiiiing– RiiiNGGGGG––

“Huh… whazat—?” 

A shrill – earsplitting, headache-inducing, completely fucking loud – noise wakes you up rather rudely from your peaceful slumber at… Jesus Christ, what time is it? 

You blink your bleary eyes open, once… twice–fuck, all you know that it’s too goddamn early for all this ruckus. Groaning, you clumsily try to find the source of the unexpected wake-up call – quite literally in this case. 

Your hand bumps the vibrating phone straight off the edge of the mattress – along with the charger cord still attached to it – and you cuss up a storm when you hear it clatter on the hardwood floor.

The ringing finally stops, and you’re perfectly content to just leave it there and fall back to sleep when, not even ten seconds later, the blasted thing rings back to life, taunting you awake. 

Angrily, you wrestle against the threadbare blanket wrapped around your body like a warm cocoon, pushing yourself out of bed with all the rage of a sleep-deprived insomniac who’s been up til the buttcrack of dawn to grab your—huh, relatively intact—phone off the ground, while the charger cable swings haphazardly from the weight of the power brick on its tail end.  

Without checking the caller, you swipe right to answer. “What?” 

“Don’t use that tone on me, young lady,” Your mother grouses on the other end of the line. “It’s almost noon! Did you just wake up?” 

Barely five hours of sleep. Pinching the bridge of your nose, you shut your eyes and sigh. “No, mom. Sorry, just had a late night,” you clear your throat in an attempt to sound more composed. “What’s up?” 

“Oh, dear. Is it because of work again?” Something akin to sympathy replaces the sternness in her voice, and you dread the all-too-familiar spiel that comes next. “You know, honey, there’s a job opening for a– what was it again? I have to double check, but it’s where your Auntie Helen works. You know your Auntie Helen—” 

“Mom,” you interrupt, before she could go off on a tangent. “Work is fine, don’t worry. Why d’you call?” 

“Should I need a reason to call my only daughter who's living by her lonesome, a country away from—” 

“Mom!” 

“Oh, alright,” she finally relents, sounding slightly exasperated. “Were you able to book me and Jodie the roundtrip flight to Orlando? Your cousin’s wedding is barely a month away and I want all the documents ready by now, sweetie.” 

Shit. “Ah— yeah. I’ll email you the flight itinerary in a bit, I’m just–” you catch sight of your protruding hamper, innocuous but an eyesore nonetheless, right by the doorway of your humble studio unit. “I mean, I just left the condo. To do errands and stuff. I’ll send the details to you when I get back home, okay?” 

“Okay, honey,” she sighs. “You stay safe outside now. Don’t talk to strangers.” 

“I am a perfectly responsible adult—” The call disconnects. “Hello? Great.” 

You rub away the remnants of sleep from your eyes, fully aware that your day’s already started, despite your reluctance. Might as well get a head start on today’s agenda.

First thing’s first– brunch. Oh, it’s almost one. Lunch, then. I could maybe grab a hotdog from the corner store before heading to Landers. Oh wait, your laundry– gotta pass by the laundromat downstairs, too. Ugh, c’mon, chop-chop. 

Just as you’re about to stand up from your supine position on the floor, another ping! pulls your attention back to your phone. 

“Mom, I swear–” 

Ah, you’re finally awake. You’ve had a very long night, kitten. Take it easy for the day – make sure to get enough rest between errands.

I’ll know if you don’t.  

Your heart skips a beat.

Oh! Um. That’s… new. 

… Apparently another one on the growing list of “new features” from the latest update. It doesn't sound like an invitation for you to open the game, strangely enough. It's not a call to action to claim your daily stamina, nor a prompt for you to check your Galaxy Explorer rewards. 

It’s nothing more than a greeting, really. Just one that’s particularly targeted at you, with unnerving accuracy.

You recall the weird (?) events from last night, and the now-erratic beating of your heart suddenly picks up a notch. From the unexpected dialogues to the outrageous amount of dias you’ve somehow ended up with—something you still think is some kind of glitch in the system—you can’t shake the feeling that you’re living out the plot of a Black Mirror episode, as fucking dumb as that sounds. 

Not to mention during Quality Time, Sylus_v2.0 (as you so lovingly dub this version of him in your mind) had been acting more aware of you.

And you’re not talking about the pre-programmed glances that you usually get. No– it’s like he actually hears you. 

He doesn’t say anything. But whenever you make a comment, or utter something under your breath, he reacts with a huff or a hum–depending on the context. If it’s a slew of expletives aimed at your boss, the reaction you’re met with is one of amusement. A snort; sometimes a quiet laugh, if you’re lucky. When you say something self-deprecating, however, it elicits the heavier sighs, the sharp clicks of the tongue. 

At one point, you heard him make a low sound of dissent, something close to a... growl, almost, after making a casual joke about being just another cog in the machine and how offing yourself wouldn’t really matter in the grand scheme of late capitalism. As you oft do. 

Your eyes met, and for a split second, it felt like you weren’t looking at just pixels. His gaze weighed heavy on you–almost accusatory. 

It made you feel… naked, somehow. Perceived. 

You recall how quickly you averted your eyes from his, face flushing hotly from a feeling you couldn’t put into words. 

Bone-tired from last night’s (morning) overtime, you didn’t have the time to look up the news on this recent version update – although you really don’t remember any notifications in-game – so you quickly Google, “sylus acting sentient in rcent update loveamd Deepspace???” on your phone browser.

You scroll down for a bit, but none of the search results yield any relevancy, nor are they in any way similar to your current… predicament. 

(Okay, so calling it a predicament is a little unfair. You’re not exactly complaining about anything per se. No complaints from you. At all.)

Deciding that you’d do a deeper dive on Twitter (X) at a later time instead – probably tonight when you do your daily login – you briefly press the side button to lock your phone… not without a final peek at the banner notification from Sylus. 

You press your lips together in an effort to hold back the stupid giggle bubbling in your throat. 

Unfortunately, all the self-control in the world can’t help you and your need to have the last word – girl, from what even – so you ask aloud, to no one except the person you've deluded yourself into thinking is a valid recipient of your one-sided conversation: 

“... Yeah? And what if I don’t?” 

You’re not really waiting for a response (or were you?), but the nervous flutter in your stomach betrays the impatience you're trying to mask with casual indifference. It’s small, unassuming– but there. 

Impatient for what, exactly, you’re not sure. But maybe, just maybe—

Feeling a bit braver now, are we? How bold. Care to say that to my face, sweetheart?

Oh. 

Oh.

An inhuman noise escapes your throat, embarrassingly loud, almost a keen, and you fumble with the device in your hand; the new banner notification still in full view—taunting you. 

You don’t know what to think, you don’t know how to feel. You–

Spring up, like an agitated jack-in-a-box, and the sudden rush of blood in your head leaves you dizzy. You’re a molotov cocktail of emotions; one more bombshell dropped on you and you might just blow. 

“I’m– later, okay? Uh,” Whew, girl, keep it together. “I need–I need to go.” You almost stumble as you speed walk towards the bathroom.

-

-

-

If you didn’t switch your phone to silent, didn’t make the conscious effort to ignore any incoming messages, notifications, and whatever else, in a rush to get dressed and go about your day as if it's just like any other weekend–nope, nothing unusual here–you would’ve seen one last cheeky reply:

Of course, sweetie. You take care now. 

Don’t talk to strangers. X

Endnote: This one's pretty short, but I’m world-building, trust. 

Thanks for reading! 

[sanjiismystinkybaby]

⚠️This f/o imagine is mainly for Nonsharing Selfshippers/Yumes who struggle with seeing dupes of their partners. If you know anyone who struggles with this recommend them this post.⚠️

Picture this: you’re scrolling through the internet, minding your own business, when—bam! Another dupe of your F/O pops up. Your heart races, but not in that dreamy, butterflies-in-your-stomach kind of way. No, this is rage mode activated. Someone else claiming to be with your love, acting like they’ve got what’s rightfully yours. The audacity! You feel that familiar sting in your eyes, the tell-tale sign of tears—are you sad? Angry? A cocktail of both? Before a single tear escapes, your F/O appears out of nowhere, gently wiping it away.

“What’s wrong, Y/N?” they ask, their voice laced with concern.

Wordlessly, you hand them your phone. They scroll through the post with a raised eyebrow before setting the phone down with an exasperated sigh. “Another one dating one of my clones, huh?” they mutter, shaking their head.

They turn to you, their gaze softening as they take your hands in theirs. “Listen, no matter what you see online, no matter what anyone claims, they’ll never be with me. The person they’re dating? That’s just a knockoff, a bargain bin version of the real deal. Probably malfunctioning, too.”

You can’t help but chuckle through your tears as they pull you into their arms. “You’ve got me—the original, the one and only. And you? You’re the one I chose. Always have, always will. Those other people? They’re just confused. They think they’ve won, but they don’t even realize they’re stuck with a cheap imitation.”

You melt into their embrace, their words settling deep in your heart. The noise of the internet fades away, replaced by the warmth of their love. They hold you close, and for the first time in what feels like forever, you feel completely reassured. You’re the one with the real F/O, the one they’ve loved all along. And those other people? Let them live in their little delusions. You’ve got the original, and that’s something no one else can ever take away.

This is my little method for if I see someone have the same f/o as me. Consider their version “fake” and me with the real one. And if they’re a really bad person I’ll consider their fake version extra malfunctioning and broken. Boom. Yes I know it’s kinda rude but it’s how I cope and maybe some of you guys could use this method to help you cope as well. It’s tough being a non sharer especially one who’s insecure. 🫂

Might make a version with less dialogue in case the way f/o spoke here didn’t match your f/o. You guys can let me know!

[forkloverr]

i started catching up on mha again bc im tired of getting spoiled💔 MEANING DABI BRAIN ROT HAS RETURNED MWAHAHJA

i came up with this random scenario. something like reader getting cut, idk by what, tho. some kind of accident. and dabi takes care of her wound. maybe he says something along the lines of "u have to get used to ur scars." IDK THIS WAS JUST A SHOWER THOUGHT😭😭 I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS A CUTE LITTLE SOMETHING SOMETHING

'you drew stars around my scars' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

warnings: mention of severe injury, fluff, names such as 'sweetheart' are used, dabi is probably a bit ooc but let a girl have her dreams LOL word count: 2,407

Rain swallowed your aching body. How long have you been running now? No, there was time to look behind, just run, run. The grey folder in your hand threatened to melt into sopping nonsense, once important intel now no longer legible. How sloppy had you been? You did everything you were supposed to, but one mistake, just one dire mistake, had led you to be running from the cops. How embarrassing you thought. Now the league is really going to doubt your abilities as a valuable member. They chose you to retrieve new information about the heroes, and now here you are. Scratch that. Focus on the now. That doesn't matter if you’re caught, or dead. The muscles in your legs pull and strain, pushing again and again and again until fire spreads all over your nerves. Maybe it's just the adrenaline, but you were sure you would have already fallen apart by now, pieces to the ground like a broken puzzle.

Crap. The rain turned into an intense downpour, practically draping the world in a dark grey blanket. You’re barely able to see what's in front of you, everything is a blur of rain and wind. Where was that street again? Maybe you already passed the hideout, or maybe- A bloodcurdling scream escapes your shaking lips, you trip and fall to the soaking ground, the impact harsh and rough. You feel hot rain running down your leg, but why is it red? Blood. Its blood. You’re used to that. But that's not someone else's blood. It’s yours.

All you see is a river of yourself pouring out but you can't stop. Not yet. Must keep running- You stop to look at what caused this, and it’s a piercing metal fence post you had failed to see. You try and lift yourself up to continue running, but your head pounds with excruciating pain. Running isn't an option anymore. Are they still behind you? You have to get back, you have to. You’re especially vulnerable now. Screeching pain escapes with every limp as you attempt to continue. How could someone as careful as you not only be caught but then also injured? Stupid mistake. You struggle on the slick road, grabbing onto anything you can for support. Then, you see an opening between the buildings, an alleyway. That's good. Maybe you can sit and recover until this all passes over. You start to approach the alleyway, but the closer you get, the more intensely humid it feels. The closer you get, the more… blue.. it glows. Right as you get to the entryway, a leather-coated arm snaps under your arms, grabbing you like a wet cat into the darkness.

“You're bleeding, you know.” A deep voice whispers in your ear. Huh, why is that idiotic tone familiar to you? “Are you an angel?” You squint your eyes, delusion and pain overriding your common sense. Only a dry laugh in return. ‘Far from it, sweetheart.” You slowly move your eyes to his face to discern whether or not you should punch this “stranger” for harassment. You start to piece together the blobs of purple, silver, and black appearing before you. Then it all makes sense. “Oh my god. Dabi what the heck.” A stupid cocky smirk is painted all over Dabi’s lips. He sets you down, moving his hands to rest on your shoulders to keep you from attempting to move, pulses of pain still moving through your body.

You and Dabi had a weird relationship. You both entered the League around the same time, but that was about the only thing you had in common with the man. He was a complete enigma. He was overly confident, sarcastic, petty, and almost childish. But for some reason, it felt as if he has a soft spot for you. He doesn’t treat you too differently than the others, but with Dabi, even the smallest of details matter. Everyone knows how reserved he is with his feelings. So when he does act ‘out of character,’ you notice. “Saw you needed help, quite the escape you made.” You reply with an annoyed growl, not appreciating the situation you’re currently in. Your brain then takes a moment to fully process his words. “Wait, how did you know I needed help? Unless you… YOU FOLLOWED ME?!?” A quick scoff. “Can a guy not have a hobby nowadays?” He teases. He continues, “Nah, I just-”

“You were worried about me, weren't you?” Surely he wasn’t actually, you were merely teasing him back. But something in his gaze shifts, for just a moment he moves his eyes to the side, avoiding yours. Odd. “I'm offended that you would insinuate that I feel anything more about you than you just simply being my ‘coworker’.” He rebukes. “If my legs worked, I would kick you so hard right now.” You seethe, squirming around in his tight grip. “I bet you would, sweetheart.” He gently puts you down and drops one hand to graze your injury. A sharp hiss escapes from behind your teeth. This is all just so amusing to him, isn't it? “Well, what are you going to do with me? Torment me some more? Tell me how stupid I am?” God, he’s so close you can practically taste his cologne. Messy staples shape into a grin, the kind of dirt-eating pearly grin that ticks you off every time he dares to show it. “Turn you in.” “WHAT.”

He cracked himself up, cynical laughter echoing through the alley. “Calm your pretty self down, I'm going to take you back to the league. Looks like you got yourself a pretty deep wound.” “Wait what did you say-” “No time for chit-chat.” He swoops you up bridal style. Normally he’d throw you on his shoulder like a bag of potatoes- however, he doesn't want to risk making your injury worse. Or that's at least the excuse he’ll dig up if he’s questioned. Entering back into the unpleasant rain is not a feeling you missed. Despite having a fire quirk, Dabi’s body is surprisingly cold. So that just made it worse. But for some reason, your own body temperature has risen by quite a bit. And actually, now that you think of it, your heart is still going 90 miles per hour. Weird. Must be the remaining adrenaline. Your body shifts to try to relax, feeling weightless floating amidst the smooth fall of the rain. You start to feel a bit too relaxed. Once panicked breaths now turn into rhythmic ins-and-outs, almost in sync with the same rhythm of Dabi’s.

---

The next thing you remember is a strange poking sensation on your cheek. Frankly, it's quite annoying. “Mmm…. what do you want.” You peak open your tired eyes to see Dabi struggling to wake you up. “We’re here. Don't make me drop you.” Where exactly is ‘here’? This doesn't look like any part of the league’s hideout you’re familiar with. Must be Dabi’s room, you reason. Dabi then walks over and hovers over his bed, setting your back to be up against his pillow. “Stay there.” He grumbles, his footsteps trailing to the other side of the room. The deep thumping of your heart returns. 

You know Dabi, but you don't know him. He likes to keep things hidden, that's for sure. Motives, feelings, his past. How much can you truly say you know about his character? All of that makes your head pound, can you trust him enough to be in a room with him, alone? Maybe he’s looking for an easy kill, you would never have a chance at escaping. You’ve become a fly caught in a charming fly-trap. Maybe that explains his strange placement of attention on you, scouting you out for the perfect opportunity to remove you. Your thinking stops when Dabi turns back holding a white box. He stops at the side of the bed, pausing and opens his mouth like he was going to ask if you mind about him sitting next to you. Of course he was going to anyway regardless of your reply. No need to waste the words. The mattress dips as he positions himself to be close to your injured leg. Your nerves shifted from being on fire to those of fear. Your eyes shakingly move up to Dabi’s, searching for any expression of enjoyment or even anticipation of his new kill. All you get in return is a stern yet calm look from Dabi. “You look scared.” He grumbles. “Do I… Do I scare you?” His voice is low and gentle.

For a second, the intimidating man in front of you reminds you of a small child. You’ve never seen or heard Dabi like this. Even if it really is the bare minimum of emotion, it almost makes you feel guilty for questioning his motives, even if it was rightfully valid. You shake your head no. It's not a complete lie, maybe this tightness in your chest is something other than fear, something you haven’t felt in a while. A suppressed tidal wave of emotion that had always been pushed to the background. Nevermind that. “...Good.” He sets the white box down, carefully opening to lid to reveal what's hidden inside. Bandages, disinfectant, cotton balls, and more are organized into little sections in the box. It’s a first aid kit, although more suitable for severe injuries. Almost like he can read your mind, he breaks the silence.

“I always keep one in here. I have my.. fair share… of injuries.” Dabi lowers his gaze. Part of you realized that those scars aren't just a scary villain facade. No, it was something Dabi was ashamed of, a bad memory forever etched into every crevice of his skin. “I’m sorry.” You croak. Dabi ignores the apology, it's not your fault after all. It’s daily life to him now, a new normal. And it has been ever since that night. But you didn’t need to know that, no one did. This was the real and raw Dabi, even if the name “Dabi” is also a false pretense. “Well, how bad is it?” You nervously ask. Dabi sucks the air through his teeth. “It’s a pretty deep wound, probably will leave a scar.” Immediately you recoil. Not that looks are all that matter, but having a giant deep scar on your leg for the rest of your life is pretty jarring. Especially a scar earned in such an idiotic way. Every day after this will be a constant reminder of your stupidity every time you look at yourself in the mirror. Dabi can sense your muscles tense up. He places a hand on your good leg and looks up at you. He opens his mouth to speak before hesitating,

“You.. you have to get used to your scars.” A melancholic expression is painted on his face. You can tell he really means it. His hand then hovers above your leg with the antiseptic and a cloth from the kit. He pauses again. “I’m just going to be honest with you, this is going to hurt real bad.” “This is just how I wanted to spend my night.” You sigh, trying to hide how much you were dreading the next minute. Dabi takes a moment to reply. “Uh.. not trying to make it weird or anything, but are you ok with me touching you?” Dabi tenses slightly out of embarrassment. Why is he acting so weird? you wonder. Dabi is all about barking orders and never stopping to ask anything. So what if it’s going to bring you pain? Doesn’t affect Dabi. So why should he care so much to even ask? 

“Oh, I don't mind, I feel like you know what you're doing.” You shift slightly in anticipation. He grunts an ‘ok’. Lowering his head back to the bloody gash before him. Immediately after he pours the liquid on your injury you clench your jaw and hold on for dear life on the bed. Muffled curses hide behind your lips as you resist completely losing your cool. You can take this, you’re a grown adult, right? Dabi amusingly looks at your face, chuckling to himself. “You look really funny right now.” Through gritted teeth you grunt, “At least have some compassion!” Dabi then cleans up the wound with the rag, for such a rough-looking individual his touch is rather soft and gentle. He gingerly presses on your wound, working all the way around it. He turns back to the kit and gets out a roll of white bandage. “Lift your leg up.”

You try your best to follow his orders, but your muscles are stiff and are screaming in pain. Dabi sees your straining expression and lets out a sigh. “Stop. I’ll do it.” In quite the coy manner, Dabi slips one hand under your thigh, and moves the other to be by your knee. You feel the heat rising to your cheeks, a dusting of pink. He then begins to lift your thigh up and bends your knee until your leg is a triangular arch. Dabi unwraps the bandage with his teeth, then secures one side under your thigh to begin wrapping your leg. Holding the beginning of the bandage, Dabi carefully covers the entire wound, making sure the bandage has a secure grip on your skin, but not tight enough to hurt you. Surprisingly enough, Dabi wasn't done. He opens his black leather jacket to dig in one of the inner pockets and retrieves a hot pink Hello Kitty band-aid. You can't help but stupidly grin. “Dabi, why do you of all people have a Hello Kitty band-aid in your jacket.” Dabi returns your smile. “Toga.” One name explains it all. Toga had a habit of gifting cute things to the league. Because everything is “so bland here.”

He unwraps the bandaid and places it in the center of the bandage. “Thought you’d like it. More than me anyways.” He coughed. “Who knew the elaborate Dabi was such a softie.” You giggle, shifting around to sit next to him on the bed. “Hey, Dabi?” “Mm.” “Thank you..” Dabi turns to look at you, then stoops down and softly kisses the spot where the band-aid was. You can feel your stomach tickle with butterflies. “W-what was that for?!” You gasp, feeling your heart practically jumping out of your ribcage. He smirks. “What, you’ve never heard the expression ‘kiss it to make it better?’”

[homunculus-argument]

Have you ever had one of those things happen that just straight-up sound like something that'd only go down in a badly written sitcom?

This one time a few years ago, I had nothing to do in the middle of the day so I went out to wander around the city, and encountered one of those christian missionaries of some sort - not mormons, some local finnish-speaking one, probably Jehova's witnesses, I can't recall - who addressed me first. Having only gone out to kill time I figured I'd stop to see what he had to say, this might get interesting.

He started talking about sin, and I told him that I don't think that's real, humans aren't inherently bad creatures that need to be goaded into not doing evil by an outside force. Apparently taken back by my confidence about this, he asked me why I think so. And while I was absolutely not this eloquent about it while talking as I am typing it out now, I explained that if doing good didn't come naturally to people, it wouldn't feel good to do it. There's been studies about that - it makes people feel happy to help others, even when they gain nothing from it, or even at a cost to themselves sometimes.

Doing good things feels good for the same reason as eating, sleeping and having sex feel good - because we're supposed to do it. It doesn't matter to me why that is - either there's a god who made people with inherent goodness to them, or natural selection of the cold uncaring universe saw this behaviour as beneficial for survival. People want to be good to one-another just like migratory birds want to fly south for the winter.

He gave me his best annoyed "alright, fair enough"-shrug and was clearly trying to think of how to disagree with that when we were interrupted. I have no idea how a person that large and entirely indifferent to concepts like subtlety, stealth or an indoor voice even can sneak up on people, but we were both startled when someone I had briefly met appeared out of apparent nowhere, loudly going

HEY AREN'T YOU THAT TRANNY FROM THE PARK

addressing me. I used to go drinking at the park quite often back then, and while I did meet a lot of people that way and my memory is the first thing to disappear when I'm drunk, someone that loud, tall and broad-shouldered, covered in tattoos, with long hair, braided beard and electric blue eyeshadow isn't someone you easily forget. I was, indeed, the tranny from the park and I had been the person who had explained the concept of "nonbinary" to them.

My acquaintance here was somewhere between 30 and 50 and not exactly up to whatever the kids are doing these days, and their reaction to this information was roughly "oh huh so there's a name for the thing I'm doing". As they only spoke finnish, I can't say that I would have been the one to explain the concept of gender neutral pronouns to them, but they had been fascinated to discover that other languages have gendered pronouns in the first place.

Refreshing my memory of the encounter - and apparently unintentionally also recounting it to the missionary who was still silently standing with us - they proceeded to explain that they've never really felt like a man or a woman. And sometimes not really even like a human, but more like an alien who had just been dropped off here from a spaceship - but not like in a psychotic delusions sort of way, but just the vibes, you know? They then proceeded to tell us about some other fascinating epiphanies that they had had while on psychedelics.

As they went on, the christian missionary next to us was drifting backwards so slowly that I don't think I noticed him actually take an individual backwards step, just silently sliding gradually further away from this situation, with apparent mild concern. And while my happenstance acquaintance - whose name I either never heard or couldn't remember hearing - was talking, I noticed I had gotten a text message from a friend, who asked if I'm around and whether I want to come hang out.

So as the nonbinary giant self-appointed alien was finished with their story and took their leave - telling me that they'll probably see me around, and as I was around a lot, I reassured them that they would - I turned to the missionary and told him that while I'd love to carry on with what we were talking about, I actually have people to see now, and bid him good luck with whatever he was trying to do.

It's been like five years between that day and today, and during that time I moved to a different city and back here. I don't think I've seen the nonbinary giant again even once during this time, and wherever they are, I hope they're doing ok and no longer doing any weird drugs. Or if they are, that at least they're having fun.

[iid-smile]

complicated communication , shinazugawa sanemi

x fem!hashira!reader ! includes mentions of obanai and kanae, like one swear, based on s5, not proofread

author's note: this is the first thing ive written, and ive been bored to the point of overcoming my wattpad era from years ago and entering tumblr! yayyy! may be kinda bad, since it was a quick idea, but i hope you enjoy! <3

─────────────୨ৎ─────────────

it was a cold evening.

on this rare occasion, you decided to stay awake to witness some hashira training with your own eyes. it's not often you spare the little (actually, quite lengthy) sleeping time that you have, but the junior slayers you train are pretty well behaved in your estate, especially when it comes to routines.

surprisingly, sanemi is a punctual person. perhaps it's his eagerness to get into some "real hashira training", or perhaps, mixed in with a little of your delusion, it's a chance for the two of you to get some alone time. no, you're not dating each other. yes, you do have a fat crush on him. pathetic, really, because you seem to be the only woman out there that he doesn't respect.

and here, the two of you sit on the steps leading up to the open training grounds. there's got to be at least a two metre gap between the two of you.

"how's genya?" of course, you strike up the worst conversation possible, which is typical (then you wonder why he doesn't respect you?), not so typical for him. at all.

you hear him grumble, alongside a noise of shifting fabric. "i don't want to talk about him."

as if you were surprised, which you weren't, your eyebrows raise a little. you turn your head to look at him rather than the mirroring trees in front, only to see that he was not looking back at you. "why?"

"tch." it's a harsh sound. his eyes remain down on the ground. "you know why." he mutters, his voice remaining low. just for a moment, his gaze raises to the scenery, taking in what he can and can't see. "if you wanna know so bad, how about you ask him yourself?"

ah, dear, dear sanemi. always so rash with you. "i don't see what's wrong with asking his brother about his condition–"

he cuts you off. "he's not my damn brother."

as expected, their relationship hadn't gotten any better, but you remain hopeful. a small smile appears on your face, and you drop the topic. sometimes, you would push on it, but not today. it's not the right environment.

silence.

from time to time, you shift positions. maybe moving a leg, or crossing your arms, uncrossing them, and resting your head in your hands. also, every now and then, you would sniff, a ghost feeling of something dripping down your nose happening too frequently for your liking. you sniff and sniff, but every time you try to wipe, it's like nothing's there.

"here." you turn to look over at him, midway rubbing your nose for the umpteenth time, and lo and behold. a handkerchief in his hand, stretched out to you.

"thank... you..." you say awkwardly, reaching over to take it. before you used it, you took the time to examine it, and... it's his personal handkerchief. you could tell by the "S.S." initials sewn into them. "are you sure?"

"just use it. i'll clean it when i get back to my estate." a harsh tone again. okay, wow. for someone who went out of his way to help you out with his handkerchief, he's having quite the attitude. still, you're grateful. it's not often he does kind gestures, or ever.

it was a bit of a slip of the tongue from you, but he heard it. "quit giving me mixed signals..." you mumble, the words coming out nasally from your nostrils being closed as you wiped your nose. this wasn't even a signal, so why does your heart still ache at the thought?

"huh?" you lower the cloth and look over, only to see a scowl on his face. "the fuck are you on about?"

for once, your stare falters, and you look down at the handkerchief, laying in your cupped hands. "there's no point. i'll be nothing like her."

sanemi can't help but raise an eyebrow. "like who?"

you were nothing like the late kanae kocho. extremely kind, extremely beautiful, extremely graceful. you felt you were none of those things, and it showed. it showed most through the difference in behaviour from him. that gentle affection that you craved from him really wasn't possible.

so, you cower out of it. "nevermind." you nearly whisper.

you can't see it, but there's an unreadable expression on his face as he watches you. like he's reading you, like he's figuring you out. before he could get another word in—

"i'm here." obanai's voice rang out.

you don't say anything else, only quietly standing up and ascending the rest of the stairs.

sanemi doesn't miss the way your hand fiddles with the hem of your haori, and the way your hand seems to desperately clutch at his handkerchief.

─────────────୨ৎ─────────────

[ladykailitha]

Well Met By Moonlight Part 19

I can't believe it, there is only one more chapter to go after this one and it'll be done. I'm really sad to see this one end. But as I've said in the past, I think it potential to be something more, so I'm having a good friend of mine read the story and let me know what she thinks.

We've got a lot of reveals to get through and a lot of twists to untwist. Buckle up, because the bumpy ride is ramping up.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18

~

“Hello, Murray,” Billy said stepping out of the shadows of the woods into the small clearing. “Are you going somewhere?”

Keith hurried out of the trees to stand close to the Dominus.

“Billy!” the bald little man cried out. “Hey...so you survived. Again.”

Billy tilted his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m special like that. Someone’s been a bad dog. Am I going to have to get the newspaper?”

Keith giggled next to him.

Murray smiled tightly. “Uh-huh. Dog jokes. Very funny. Now if you’ll pardon me, I’ve got places to be and can’t stand to chat.”

Billy chuckled darkly and walked up to Murray. He picked the man up by shirt collar. “You think you frighten me? I have survived your little machinations twice.”

“You should be afraid of me,” Murray huffed without even batting an eyelid at Billy’s rough handling. “I’ve been pulling the strings in this town for almost two decades. You are who you are because of me.”

Billy threw back his head and laughed. “You think you gave me this unlimited power, this beautiful body, this charm? Because that’s what got me where I am today. Not you weakening this town until it was ripe for the taking. Because I could have taken out Dr. Brenner without all of that.”

Murray wriggled out of Billy’s grasp and straightened his shirt. “You’re just some washed up beach bum with delusions of grandeur.”

Billy transformed. His bat form large and imposing. His chest expanded and wings sprouted from his back. His feet and hands became clawed and terrifying. His eyes were black and his fangs extended below his lips, glinting in the low light.

Billy roared, but before he could leap at the cocky werewolf, the manticore leapt from behind Murray and straight for his throat.

Billy and the manticore fought, ripping and tearing at each other but before Keith could leap into action Murray stabbed him in the back with a yew stake.

“This was a little gift from my benefactor,” he whispered as blood pooled from Keith’s mouth. “I could only use it the once, but I think you’re perfect for its use. Don’t you?” Keith fell to ground, the yew stake evaporating like dust on the wind. “Of course you don’t.”

A small white cat appeared at Murray’s feet, entwining itself among his ankles.

Murray looked down at it. “Why are you here, Sorcha?”

The cat sìth leapt to his shoulder to watch the battle.

“Fine,” he huffed, “don’t tell me.”

Far too soon in Murray’s opinion the manticore ripped off Billy’s head clean off. The body of the Dominus slid to the ground as the manticore tossed his head behind it.

“Wow,” Murray said impressed. “That was actually grotesque.”

Sorcha jumped down and walked up to the head. She opened her mouth and inhaled. A silvery mist came out of the mouth of the corpse’s head into hers.

“It is done.”

Murray blinked at her and looked around in confusion. “What the fuck? What’s done, Sorcha?”

She ignored him and walked up to the manticore. “You have held up your end of the bargain and we will hold up ours. May the road rise up to meet you.”

“And to you as well,” the manticore growled.

“You both can talk?” Murray asked, rearing his head back in shock.

“Will you explain it to him?” Sorcha purred. “I must return home. I grow weak in this magic wasteland.”

“Of course,” the manticore grinned. “Well almost all of it.”

Sorcha chuckled. “But of course.” And then like she was mist herself, she dissolved and was gone.

“What the fuck is going on?” Murray asked in fear. This had really slowed down his getaway. Alexei was waiting for him at that drug lord’s house.

“I will explain on the way,” the manticore growled. “The alpha has scented the battle.”

Murray’s eyes went wide and he grabbed his things, moving toward path that would take him to his mate.

Once they were far enough away from the clearing the manticore spoke.

“Billy isn’t a true vampire no more than you are,” the beast growled.

“Just how does that even work?”

“There are only two ways to become a vampire,” the manticore explained. “Either have the good fortune to be born as one or be bitten. To die a painful death to never breathe again. To have unlimited power but to never reproduce or enjoy the fairer aspects of life.”

Murray’s expression twisted in disgust. “Yuck.”

The manticore chuckled. “Yes, Billy felt the same as you, but he wanted the power that came with vampirism. Weres don’t live long enough to tempt Billy Hargrove. Oh no.”

“Sounds like he was fucked,” Murray muttered, scenting the air. There was no smell or sound of anyone near them, but he couldn’t put away his unease that he was in danger.

But that didn’t make sense. The manticore was bound to him. The beast couldn’t even break a sweat without Murray telling him to. But the sense of danger only heightened with each step.

“He knew something most people in this modern age had long forgot,” the manticore said with a hint of laughter in his tone.

“Yeah, what’s that?”

“That real magic exists,” the manticore hissed gleefully. “He made a deal with Queen Titania. Serve her for one hundred years and he would be granted his wish. But Billy had no desire to actually be her slave. He managed to convince her to make him vampire first and then he’d serve her. He didn’t want to come out of the Seelie court in the year 2085 and not know anything.”

Murray shrugged. “Makes sense to me. I wouldn’t want to waste my life away in some Fairyland either.”

“Yes,” the manticore agreed. “But as soon as he got his power, he ran off to America outside of her power.”

“So she sent the cat sìth to hunt him down,” Murray guessed.

The beast nodded. “But by the time Sorcha found him he was too powerful to dislodge without some help.”

“So she enlisted you,” Murray concluded. “So what do you get out of this deal?”

The manticore merely grinned. “We’re here.”

Alexei popped his head up to the window and when he saw who it was, came running out, into Murray’s arms.

“We’re almost safe, my love,” Murray whispered. “Do you have the hostage?”

Alexei nodded. “She was too easy to catch.”

Murray chuckled. He had to give Steve props for tightening security but it’s a little hard to guard something you didn’t know could be taken.

“Go get her and bring her here,” he muttered. “I think we’re about to have company.”

Alexei nodded and trotted back to the boathouse. Murray pulled out a gun from his bag.

“Savage,” the manticore groused.

Murray chuckled. “I wouldn’t expect a beast like you to understand. You can’t change, you will always be what you are. A monster. But me? I use all the resources I have available to me. And that means guns and hostages.”

Murray grabbed the girl from Alexei’s grasp and pressed the barrel of the gun to her temple.

Then crashing out of the woods were Steve, Hopper, Jonathan, and Gareth. On Steve’s back was Tommy.

Tommy immediately leapt from Steve’s back as he suddenly transformed.

“Robin!” Steve called.

~

Once the fire had been put out and they took stock of who was wounded and who was just covered in someone else’s blood, Steve turned to find Tommy standing there, looking sheepishly at his feet.

“What are you doing here?” Steve growled. “I mean other than the obvious, spilling pack secrets.”

Tommy’s head shot up in shock. “You knew?”

“Since the town meeting.”

Tommy blinked at him a moment. “You never intended to mate with that vampire, did you?”

Steve scoffed. “It’s biologically impossible. You really should have paid more attention in school, Tommy.”

“Oh.”

He cleared his throat and then kicked at the dirt. “I actually was trying to warn Billy that they were going to attack, but I was too late.”

“Explain,” Steve growled. “And be quick.”

So Tommy explained everything. The deal he made with Billy, the information he had sold to him, and the puppet master and all his machinations.

Just then Hopper and Jonathan came tearing up to them, Gareth easily keeping pace behind them.

“Robin’s been kidnapped!” Hopper bit out, panting for breath.

Steve stood up straight. “Where would he go?”

“The clearing I spotted them in was near Lover’s Lake,” Tommy said. “Maybe they have a safe house near there.”

“Reefer Rick’s,” Hopper said gruffly. “He’s the closest thing Hawkins gets to a drug lord, but he’s got a house out there on the lake. He gets supplies air dropped on the lake and then goes out and scoops them up.”

Steve nodded. “Let’s go.” He turned to Tommy. “You’re coming with. You’re the only one who’s scented the mate. Hopper, lead the way.”

The old wolf nodded and waited for Steve to transform. Jeff helped the keeper onto Steve’s back.

“I’m going to find out what’s keeping Eddie and Wayne,” Jeff said. “They should have been here by now. We’ll all meet up at the lake.”

Steve nodded and waited until Jeff had taken flight before the three werewolves and the gwyllgi took off, heading for Lover’s Lake.

~

Robin was struggling to stay on her feet, her height far greater than that of her captor caused her to almost have to kneel to avoid being choked by him.

“If Hopper had just removed Alexei’s banishment none of this would have happened!” Murray screamed. “He didn’t do anything wrong. Those weren’t kids they were Hunters!”

“He tore them to pieces, Murray,” Hopper said, shifting into a human. He held out his hand, trying to calm him. “It doesn’t matter who they were, or what they were planning. He should have gone to his alpha told him about the Hunters. Let the alpha deal with them. But he didn’t.”

WHOOSH!

The three vampires landed deftly behind the ring of Shifters.

“It was sadistic,” Wayne said with a sneer. “They were played with. Alexei isn’t well.”

“He didn’t have a drop of blood on him!” Murray protested.

Hopper stepped forward and Murray tightened his grip on Robin. “If you take one more step, Hop, I’ll blow her god damn brains out. I swear I will. If you move, her blood will be on your hands.”

Something thrummed deep inside of Steve. That was a call back to what he had told Hopper when Eddie had to use force to get Steve to come out of the compound all the way back to when this all started.

“You sent the Hunters after me,” he said coldly.

Murray sneered. “You alphas are always the same all brute and no intelligence. Yes, I did it all you dumb mongrel!” He pulled on Robin’s hair causing her to scream in pain. “All of it! Sara’s death by having Alexei tamper with her chemo, getting Hopper on as many drugs as possible, the murder of your grandfather and parents, Hopper’s kidnapping! But still you stupid alphas refused to see the truth! Alexei had been framed!”

Then a sleek, dark brown wolf oozed out of the forest, all danger and cunning. Nancy was one of the most beautiful purebred werewolves Steve had ever laid eyes on. She was everything that humanity had ever written on the subject of werewolves. He still loved her, because how could anyone not, but god he was glad he had Eddie now.

“He hasn’t been framed, Mr. Bauman,” she said her transformation even more fluid and graceful than Hoppers. “Not in the way you think. You two don’t belong here.”

“Nancy?” Wayne asked stepping forward. “What’s going on?”

“I belong here, you witch!” Murray screamed and Hopped instinctively took a step forward.

They all watched in horror and slow motion as he pulled the trigger, the muzzle flash, and the bullet striking Robin’s temple.

Then falling harmlessly to the ground.

Robin blinked a moment. “You aren’t using silver bullets?” she asked sheepishly.

Everyone was staring at her in shock, all but Steve who was chuckling.

“I wouldn’t use something that would accidentally get me killed!” he protested. “I’m not stupid.”

Robin grinned and then leapt out of his hold, bright and golden. A bitten werewolf. She turned in the air like she was made to be a werewolf. She was stunning.

She bounded straight for Murray’s throat and the gun went flying. She tore off a necklace he had around his neck and it too went flying the other direction.

“No!” Murray screamed. “Not that! You don’t know what you’ve done!”

The scorpion on the necklace began to pulse. Then it shattered in a blinding flash of light.

Standing in its place was the manticore. In all its freaky glory. The face of a human, the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion.

The manticore stretched out its lithe body. “The cat sìth made good on their word. I will have to thank them.” He turned to the crowd. “After I eat all of you, of course. It’s been so long since I’ve had such a buffet of delights.”

But as it leapt into the air, another creature appeared in the air behind it. It too had a human face but the body of a bird.

It began to sing about being still and quiet and everyone froze. The manticore crashed to ground in a crumpled form.

The siren grabbed the manticore by the mane and lifted it up into the air. He tossed it into Lover’s Lake like a rag doll. The beast howled and snarled as it was ripped apart by...

Seals?

Blood soaked the top of the water turning it dark red. Then one of the seals stepped out of the water and pulled back the seal’s head like the hood of a cloak. It revealed a red-headed girl with bright green eyes and freckles. Next to her the siren transformed into a chubby young man with wild hair.

“Barb?!” Nancy called out in amazement just as Jeff called out, “Brian!”

~

DUN! DUN! DUHHHHH! Hehehe. Cliffhanger!

Part 20

Tag List: THIRTEEN SPOTS REMAINING

1- @mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog

2- @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @goodolefashionedloverboi

3- @fullpoetrybread @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @bookworm0690 @littlewildflowerkitten @just-a-tiny-void @potato-of-the-lord @thelittleclare

5- @goosesister @tinyplanet95 @she-collects-smut @irregular-child @y4r3luv

6- @fairytalesreality @anaibis @papergrenade @ravenfrog @blondie1006

7- @thedragonsaunt @sadisticaltarts @kultiras @blackpanzy @disrespectedgoatman

8- @kal-ology @w1ll0wtr33 @dreamercec

[hanamukes]

[Translation] Kanon Takao and Rico Sasaki's Animate Times interview (April 2024)

Animate Times put out a series of three interviews, conducted with Kanon Takao (actress of Sakiko/Oblivionis) and Rico Sasaki (actress of Uika/Doloris). In them, they talk in great depth about their characters, their love for the band members, Ave Mujica's concerts, aspirations they have for the band, the upcoming anime, and more!

For ease of reading, I have compiled all three interviews into one post, as they were only published days apart from each other.

If you're interested in Ave Mujica, be sure to check out the directory I compiled of all of their content, including more interviews like this!

Total word count: 6600

Ave Mujica is noble, beautiful and bewitching. They put on shows that resemble musicals, both mysterious and gothic. On January 27th, 2024, they held their 1st LIVE Perdere Omnia, which was a roaring success.

Ave Mujica is a new band under the BanG Dream! project, debuting on April 10th, 2023.  Through a series of images and social media posts, they had their users solve riddles, and drew attention with the way they bend one’s sense of reality and delusion. They debuted as a band in the finale of the anime BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!!. Next January, they’ll be getting a sequel anime focused on them in the spotlight, BanG Dream! Ave Mujica.

We interviewed Rico Sasaki (guitar/vocals, as Doloris/Uika Misumi) and Kanon Takao (keyboard, as Oblivionis/Sakiko Togawa). Over the span of three parts, we had them discuss their path with the band.

…Welcome to the world of Ave Mujica.

Translated by Seine (@hanamukes)

To think she’d call him a trash father

――Takao-san, your character Oblivionis/Sakiko Togawa is a key character in Ave Mujica, as well as in the anime BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!!.

 Takao:  Sakiko is the girl who put all the stories into motion. Even CRYCHIC was a band Sakiko started, but something happened and she dropped it. Then she brought about the formation of Ave Mujica. She’s always the one who gets all the gears turning, so she truly is the type of character who puts the story into action.

――She both puts things into motion as well as drives all those around her mad, wouldn’t you say?

 Takao:  Bring about the destruction of the beginning, bring about the destruction of the beginning… Her heart is under a lot of distress, and the sequel anime will shed light on this. It goes over how she felt during various moments, so I hope everyone’s looking forward to it. I really want everyone to see it!

 Sasaki:  Same here. I want to talk about it so badly!

――I’m dying to know myself, but I’ll just look forward to the day it gets revealed (laughs). Do you mind if I inquire about how you two approach tackling your characters?

 Takao:  For me, I’d never voiced a character like this before in an anime. At the start, Sakiko is a pure, kind, warm, proper girl, but midway through something happens and a shadow is cast over her. She starts saying harsh things to those around her and even I was taken back by it.

I did my acting as the “light” Sakiko pretty straightforwardly, but “dark” Sakiko is strong-forced, fragile, angry and sorrowful. I tried to capture her with the nuance of her wearing a mask, which conceals the truth of her heart, and all the little nuances that come with the gap between her outward appearance and how she feels deep down.

――Did you know about Sakiko’s change when you auditioned for her?

 Takao:  No. Rather, I didn’t know she was supposed to be a bright girl at the start. What I saw when I was first shown her character was the Sakiko we know today. When I started recording, I thought, “She really used to be so pure, huh?”

――You didn’t know about the “I’m home… you trash father.” scene either?

Takao:  Sure didn’t (laughs). I really knew nothing at the start. I was as shocked as everyone else about that line. When I first received the script, I looked at that line and wondered “Whose line is this?” and when I saw “Sakiko” written beside it, I went “She says this?!”

――Sasaki-san, could you talk a bit about Uika Misumi?

 Sasaki:  Uika Misumi is a girl still shrouded in mystery. I find her complex, but I also share a lot in common with her, such as my love of the stars and music. In BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!!, she tells Tomori “You can convey a lot in singing. You can even convey the things you can’t put into words,” and it resonated with me a lot too. She holds memories of her friend Saki-chan close to her heart, and being able to interact with her saves her in a way. She’s also busy with her idol work and being a student, so she’s a hard worker. However, she has a lot of dark sides to her too, and I just want the sequel anime to air already.

I think Uika and Tomori can connect their hearts a lot as two vocalists. Though Tomori-chan approaches it with the idea that “I can’t become human unless I sing”. With Uika, she portrays this sense of “when she sings, the monster known as Doloris emerges”. There’s still a lot we don’t know about her, so I hope everyone will wrap their heads around the mystery that is Uika until the anime airs. When rewatching the anime, you can look at her expressions and make your own assumptions about her and such. The sequel hasn’t aired yet, but their story is being told in our concerts, so make sure to watch those and let your imagination go wild.

――So you’ve been coming up with your own theories about her too?

 Sasaki:  Correct. I wonder just when we’ll get more about her backstory…

 All:  (laughs)

 Sasaki:  You just can’t help but want to know more about things you’re kept in the dark about. Whenever I go in to record, I’d ask the director about that regarding her, and every time I’d get told “I can’t tell you yet, sorry!” (laughs)

 Takao:  Right! They won’t tell me anything either!

 Sasaki:  We’re always shocked whenever we read the new scripts.

 Takao:  They just don’t know how to tell us.

 Sasaki:  I’ve never seen an anime quite play out like this before. Please look forward to it.

Sasaki-san’s notebook, which she updates daily

――You held your 0th Live, Primo die in scaena on June 4th, 2023. You performed on stage with masks and robes on, shrouded in mystery. How did you feel during that time?

 Sasaki:  We couldn’t talk about anything so it was a weird feeling. But we could feel the enthusiasm from the audience, so I was happy about that. Our “voltage” gradually rose, and we talked amongst ourselves about what we wanted to convey on stage, and what kind of band we wanted to make this. We talked about all sorts of things about our future, and that got our spirits up a lot.

 Takao:  Ave Mujica started out hidden behind masks and riddled with mystery, which was unseen before in the Bandori project. I was worried about whether the fans would accept us. But Ave Mujica is a band where we put trust in each other’s skills and efforts, and from the get-go we’ve felt confident that with the five of us together, everything would turn out alright.

 Sasaki:  Our bond has grown so strong, it’s out the roof! (laughs)

 Takao:  I’m almost scared to know the full depths of how much we could love each other!

 Sasaki:  We have so much trust in each other, this band fills me with the feelings of “I love having people who uplift me around,” and “being in a band is so much fun!”

――When did you start feeling such a closeness?

 Takao:  (looks at Sasaki) When did we?

 Sasaki:  I almost want to say from the very start (laughs).

 Takao:  It really did just happen without us realizing it. Though Ricochi joined us a little later.

 Sasaki:  I was nervous at first if I’d be welcomed in, since the four of them were already really close by then. It was the first time I’d ever properly been in a band, so I did some looking into everyone before I joined.

 Takao:  She has all of our profiles jotted down in a notebook.

――That’s amazing!

 Sasaki:  I do. I was just so excited to meet everyone.

 Takao:  It didn’t take long for us to think “Ricochi fits in absolutely perfectly!” Whenever she sings Kamisama, Baka (T/N: God’s a Fool), I just think “Oh God is anything BUT a fool for the blessing that is Ricochi being our vocalist!”

 Sasaki:  I’m so glad to hear that!

――What kinds of things do you have written down about everyone?

 Sasaki:  Let me start with Kanon Takao (laughs).

 Takao:  That’s embarrassing! (laughs)

 Sasaki:  I have her likes, dislikes, personal history…

――You’ve got a whole analysis on her!

 Sasaki:  All five of us are good friends even in private and we hang out together a lot. I always write down the new things I learn about them from those interactions.

――So you update it in real time?

 Sasaki:  I do. For instance, Akanen (Akane Yonezawa, who voices Amoris/Nyamu Yuutenji) told us she grew a little bit, so I jotted that down. I’ve already filled half the pages in the book. Whenever we do stuff as Ave Mujica, whether for recordings or concerts, I have the book glued to my person.

 Takao:  Whenever we go out to eat together, we’ll talk about things we want to do together and songs we want to sing, and she’ll always immediately jot it down in her book.

 Sasaki:  I even have our song lyrics all written down in it. I use it for everything.

――You’re like Ave Mujica’s secretary.

 Sasaki:  While staring at our song lyrics in it, I’ll jot down notes of how I want to move around during the instrumental breaks, and we’ll try them out in our rehearsals.

 Takao:  We all gather around her notebook.

――Your notebook is like a compass for the band. Is that correct?

 Takao:  It really is. We all hold a lot of love.

 Sasaki:  Nontan bought all five of us matching sweaters, and I bought us all matching rings.

――Is it the ring you’re wearing today?

 Sasaki:  Yes! It’s in the shape of a treble clef, and I thought they felt very Ave Mujica-like.

 Takao:  I should have worn mine, too!

 Sasaki:  I’m just happy knowing everyone else owns one too.

 Takao:  She gave us the matching rings when she joined the band. That got me thinking “it’s fun to have us all wear the same things!” so I’m always looking for things with moons on them to buy for us all.

 Sasaki:  I get you (laughs). I made my phone case Ave Mujica-like too. I just end up gravitating towards these things. Actually, with the rings I wasn’t sure if I should actually hand them out to everyone, but my manager talked me into it.

 Takao:  Is that so? (laughs)

 Sasaki:  I thought “but isn’t that kinda pushy of me?” (laughs) But everyone seemed to love them and they all put them on, so that made me happy.

 Takao:  When I got it, I thought “she’s such a nice person,” and it made me fall in love with you on the spot.

 Sasaki:  I’m so glad you all liked them!

The band itself is dark, but the members themselves are bright as can be

――You all hold a lot of love for each other, don’t you?

 Sasaki:  We really do. Nontan’s always making videos of us together.

 Takao:  I pull up pictures we all took together and compile them and make edits. Then I send them to everyone on our birthdays, or before our concerts in order to cheer them on.

 Sasaki:  The quality is so high, I almost wish she’d share them in public. They’re our Mujica Movies, full of love for everyone.

 Takao:  Also, the other day I visited a Shinto shrine and wrote a prayer on one of the wooden tablets. I wrote, “I hope that Ave Mujica will forever be friendly, full of life, and maturity.”

 Sasaki:  The worldview we portray is dark, but us cast members are very warm.

 Takao:  Everyone is so very kind.

――You seem blessed with such kind members.

 Takao:  It really feels like a miracle!

 Sasaki:  I couldn’t imagine us with even one of us not here. I’m so proud of us.

The movements are as important as the music itself

――In what ways did you prepare for your 0th live, Primo die in Scaena?

 Takao:  I remember us gathering around Ricochi’s notebook together.

――The same notebook you discussed in the previous part, yes?

 Sasaki:  We put a lot of thought into the concert while we all went out to lunch together. Though at the time, we were still wearing robes, and we really needed to convey the worldview of the band in quite an intense way. We took our rehearsals as seriously as the actual concert, and I remember us borrowing all sorts of advice from the staff.

I’m still quite nervous and anxious even now, but during 0th, it took everything for me to be able to act. When I looked back at our footage, I thought “I wish I’d done more to engage with the other bandmates, and been a bit more confusing”. When we performed as the opening act for Roselia’s concert and of course during our 1st live, I put in a lot more movements to convey the world we’re creating better.

 Takao:  It’s true that during 0th, we were all quite focused on our own instruments. I think that also portrays our worldview in its own way, but still, we talked after about how we wanted to focus less on just the music and more on the movements as well. Whenever our concerts end, we think “let’s become even better performers”. We’re always growing more after each concert.

 Sasaki:  We really want to make Ave Mujica an even bigger band.

【公式ライブ映像】Ave Mujica「Mas?uerade Rhapsody Re?uest」（Ave Mujica 0th LIVE「Primo die in scaena」より）

――So you band members enjoy Ave Mujica as much as the fans do.

 Takao:  I think even in a world where I wasn’t in Ave Mujica, I would still become a massive fan. I like to enjoy Ave Mujica both in the perspective as a band member as well as a fan myself.

――It’s hard to picture Ave Mujica without you.

 Sasaki:  Exactly! I’d want you here no matter what.

 Takao:  I’m not going anywhere now that I’m here! I promise! (laughs)

――I see though. That really goes to show how appealing Ave Mujica and its world are.

 Takao:  Yes. I love it so much!

A world that is one of a kind. A band with no limitations to it

――In regards to Ave Mujica’s world, it really is quite unique within the setting of Bandori.

 Sasaki:  It truly is unique. It’s one of a kind, really. It’s almost like rather than showing everyone how it develops, it’s showing an already completed world to the audience.

 Takao:  There’s always this pressure of “we need to keep the audience’s expectations high”.

 Sasaki:  That’s true. Whenever we perform live, it’s like the world is being completed.

――In the previous part of the interview, you claimed you weren’t sure if Bandori’s fans would accept Ave Mujica because of how different it is. We interviewed MyGO!!!!!’s Rin Tateishi and Coco Hayashi and they expressed the same sentiments of feeling nervous.

 Sasaki:  We really all were worried sick about this.

 Takao:  MyGO!!!!! also started holding concerts without showing their faces on stage, as we did.

――In a sense, MyGO!!!!! and Ave Mujica really do contrast each other. What are your thoughts regarding this?

 Sasaki:  While watching the anime, you can really see how MyGO!!!!! also goes through a lot of struggles of their own. But even within that, you can see some sort of sparkling image from them. It’s almost like how after it rains, puddles on the asphalt will sparkle and shine.

To contrast that, Ave Mujica is like a black hole. It’s as if there’s some sort of shining light within a black void. Musically, we have the impact of being uniquely theatrical and suspenseful.

――You’re very gothic and metallic.

 Sasaki:  This band was the first time I tried playing heavy metal. I never realized how much fun it was! You pour your soul into it, and there’s a lot of specific technique involved but it’s not necessarily “uniform”. It’s quite unconventional, and there’s some pretty absurd techniques involved in each and every person’s part. We’re all trying our absolute hardest with it, and now that we’ve actually made this world, we want to continue to polish and refine it.

 Takao:  MyGO!!!!!’s story is one of youthful experiences. When you think about everyone’s skill levels in it, in a good way I think it accurately represents humans and their weaknesses. Sakiko has bonds with CRYCHIC of course, with Tomori’s songs as well as her bonds with Taki and Soyo, and she looks at MyGO!!!!! fervently.

On the other hand, Ave Mujica is unrealistic, and it tells the story of an experience that you’re not intended to have ever experienced before. It’s like looking at a work of art, and also in a good way I think it’s a band that does not accurately represent humans and their weaknesses. The overwhelming world Ave Mujica presents is its strength. Ave Mujica doesn’t hold your typical concerts, they incorporate stage plays into it. The setting is reliant on it being like a drama, and I think it’s a band you can enjoy both visually and audibly.

 Sasaki:  The setlist for our 1st live was based around the story parts, so during rehearsals we would all discuss in depth where to put what songs in the order and tried all sorts of ideas out. Ave Mujica’s songs all have their unique quirks to them, so it makes it hard to come up with the perfect setlist. We talked with the producer and came up with ideas on how to play the songs while coming up with the right facial expressions and movements to match.

For instance, even if I smiled during a specific song in previous performances, if the setlist for this concert had me follow that song up with a darker one, I tried to be more on the cooler side in anticipation of that. While it’s not easy by any means, I love how much depth there is to the musical expression for this band.

 Takao:  The sky is really the limit for us.

 Sasaki:  It’s really fun making our own world completely unrestricted. There’s times where we come up with crazy requests for the staff and it causes all sorts of mayhem and trialing, but I find even that to be such a joy.

 Takao:  I love how it feels like we’re coming up with this ourselves. Afterwards, I’ll see all sorts of theories in our Twitter tags being made about us, like “Oh, so did this mean that I wonder?” and I’ll always go “Yes!” (laughs)

Like with the drama parts for our 1st live, our lines were pre-recorded and we just moved our bodies without opening our mouths to lip sync or anything. That was something we came up with while discussing with our producer; that because we’re supposed to be dolls, we wouldn’t move our mouths to express ourselves. There were fans who caught onto that, and I was so excited I sent stuff about it in Ave Mujica’s LINE group chat (laughs).

 Sasaki:  She’s always sharing stuff she finds like that.

 Takao:  I send things like, “Look! Everyone caught on to how we meant to portray this!”

 Sasaki:  When people first experience our concerts, they wonder “what is this band trying to portray?” but then they pick up on what’s going on and they enjoy both the play parts and the song parts. In a way, it feels like our audience is helping make the world with us.

――It’s like the audience is another part of Ave Mujica.

 Sasaki:  Yes. They’re our witnesses and accomplices after all.

From the 0th live to the 1st one

――What kinds of things do you consider when performing as Ave Mujica?

 Takao:  With Sakiko, I think hard about what motions she would make and such. She grew up as a proper lady, so I try to make her still feel elegant when performing. I also try to really portray that she is the founder of Ave Mujica in my performances of her, so I’ve been rehearsing that plenty.

 Sasaki:  When I perform, I try to convey that I’m Doloris, and no longer “Uika Misumi”. I try to keep in mind that Uika is being possessed.

 Takao:  In the anime Sakiko makes a lot of fierce expressions, but when she’s on stage, she smiles a lot. I was surprised at first when I realized that. So I try to have Oblivionis have a bewitching aura to her. I really try to make it seem like she’s enjoying herself on stage, and I keep that in mind with my movements and gestures for her.

――Is it like you’re also being possessed by your role, Takao-san?

 Takao:  I like to look back on the anime before performing, because if I can’t get into portraying Sakiko or Oblivionis properly, I won’t enjoy it myself. So I guess I would say I’m possessed by my role. Ricochi, what about you?

 Sasaki:  (Doing an Oblivionis impression) Down to my fingertips.

 All:  (laughs)

 Takao:  She’s always doing impressions of her (laughs).

 Sasaki:  I think Nontan’s really impressive for how much subtle nuance she puts into portraying her character. During 0th live, all I had in mind was “I just need to move”.  When looking back at the footage, I thought “I really didn’t represent our world well enough,” and seeing how Nontan acted, it was like she’s elevated out of the concert hall to her own world. I swear I saw a halo above her head (laughs).

 Takao:  (laughs).  Take Choir ‘S’ Choir for instance. I play it as if I’m in a grassy field. In my head, I imagine myself in different places as I play, and it’s almost weird to put into words.

 Sasaki:  I can always tell!

 Takao:  I’m so glad!

 Sasaki:  I can also tell “ah, that note she played felt so solemn,” and “she sounds like she’s having fun over there”.

 Takao:  I always try to convey my feelings into my sound and movements, so I’m glad it gets across. Though whenever I see Doloris, it really makes me feel like I’ve entered Ave Mujica’s world for real.

 Sasaki:  Aw, I’m so glad!

 Takao:  It’s neither Ricochi nor Uika Misumi. It’s Doloris. When I see you turn into her, I also feel something click within me.

 Sasaki:  It’s like we flick on a switch in each other.

 Takao:  I feel that when I look at the other members as well. I think something else fun about the band is by watching our movements and interactions, it makes you ask all sorts of questions about the characters and their relationships with each other.

 Sasaki:  We touch hands with each other and look at each other while singing and stuff. We come up with those things after a lot of discussion amongst ourselves. I think 1st live really opened the breadth of Ave Mujica’s musical expression.

“We always sing by going with the flow”

――What kinds of discussions did you band members have in preparation for your first live, Perdere Omnia?

 Sasaki:  Around New Years as the concert drew closer, we started doing video calls with each other to share our ideas for how we wanted to move during it.

 Takao:  The camera of course reverses the shot, so it was quite difficult to explain things to each other using it (laughs).

 Sasaki:  We were fine-tuning things right until the last minute. For our 0th live we wore robes and I used a standing microphone, but for this one I switched to using a headset mic. That really changed a lot. I was able to get closer to the other members while singing, and in general I was able to move around much more.

There’s hand mics too, so there’s all sorts of ideas to try out. I think singing while holding a mic in my hands would be fitting for the stage play aspect, while there’s other songs that work well with a standing mic. With a headset mic I get to go closer to everyone else, or who knows where else… (laughs).

 All:  (laughs)

 Takao:  The headset setup is really good, because whenever I see her having fun singing with it on, it makes my tricky parts in songs turn into really fun ones. Her enjoyment is contagious. I always think “Ricochi is so powerful!”

 Sasaki:  I could say the same about you! Hearing you all playing alongside me makes me able to put more power into my voice. There’s moments where I’m so absorbed in our world that my head starts to go fuzzy. When that happens, I’ll listen carefully to Nontan’s piano and Doloris comes back in full swing. I’ll also purposely turn up Yuzumoon’s guitar playing so it’s louder in my better ear monitor, and I’ll listen closely to when we match up perfectly. I do this with the bass and drums as well; I use all five of my senses to feel everyone else’s playing as I sing.

――What’s a song you feel that most strongly with?

 Takao:  It’s Angles for me. Not to go back to this, but during our 0th live, expectations were high for us, and then the anime aired and we performed as an opening act for Roselia, so the fans were going wild.

That pressure was definitely felt during our 1st live. I thought “we really need to put on a show that proves we’ve leveled up,” and I felt much more nervous than usual. Ricochi and Yuzumoon’s guitar teacher would always watch in on our rehearsals, and they pointed out “whenever you get nervous, you tend to not look at the other member’s eyes. If you get nervous during the concert, why don’t you look the other’s in the eyes as a sort of amulet for yourself?”

――That’s some good advice! Those words alone can be an amulet of its own, too.

 Takao:  I remembered it right before the concert started. Personally speaking, among the setlist I was most anxious about Angles, which starts with singing and my piano. I asked Ricochi “during Angles, please look me in the eyes”. During the concert she really did make eye contact with me, and I was able to enter Ave Mujica’s world safely. 1st live made me realize that making eye contact really is an amulet for me.

 Sasaki:  Actually during rehearsals, I was looking at her a little too much. I was scared I was overdoing it, so I tried looking for a good balance of how much to stare at her. If I was in her shoes, I feel like I’d be unable to focus on my playing, being stared at so much. But when the day of the concert came around, she told me “please look at me,” and that made me happy. I looked at her very comfortably during it.

 Takao:  Comfortably? (laughs)

 Sasaki:  Seeing Nontan play her instrument so full of passion made me able to match up my singing to that same extent. With passion in my singing and the two of our hearts matched up… that’s how Angles is born.

Ave Mujica - Angles (Official Music Video)

――You could really feel the tension at the start of Angles.

 Takao:  All I could think is “I’ve never had the spotlight on me this much before”. When I saw the footage of the livestream after, the camerawork on the two of us was incredible.

――Sasaki-san, how did you feel during that part?

 Sasaki:  The biggest thing was acknowledging the song takes place in Doloris and Oblivionis’ world, just the two of them. Of course I thought about how we were in concert, but all I thought of as I was singing was “this world only has the two of them”. I don’t recall being very nervous during it. Oblivionis’ playing was so reassuring and bright, so I really felt confident, and that everything would be okay.

 Takao:  Amazing!

The insane riff master, and the stressful arpeggio

――Sasaki-san, so there’s songs that you find hard, but having the other members by your side makes you feel confident?

 Sasaki:  I have to sing while also playing the leading guitar part, so there’s times where I feel like I’m going to snap. Though Yuzumoon also plays along with me. She’s an “insane riff master”.

 Takao:  (laughs)

 Sasaki:  Rhythm guitar is not easy. I’m sure Yuzumoon was so nervous during her ending arpeggio during Angles.

 Takao:  She really did it perfectly during the concert!

 Sasaki:  Yuzumoon would never admit in conversation how much she’s grown. She just demonstrates it in her playing. I always feel that potently whenever we do rehearsals or concerts together. During 1st live, while hearing her arpeggio that’s filled with blood, sweat and tears, I came in and did my own solo at the end. Our producer who came up with this was a genius.

We both had hard parts, but we can both feel that if we play together, no matter how hard it is, we’ll do our best. Without needing to actually say anything to each other, we speak through our playing.

It’s a magnificent world, however, it’s nowhere to be found

――You also performed Subarashiki Sekai, Demo, Dokonimo Nai Basho for the first time.

 Sasaki:  Our 1st live had the story of “the discarded dolls destroyed the world and created a new one,” and Subarashiki Sekai, Demo, Dokonimo Nai Basho was the first step in that plan. The D-melo was like a wielded guitar, in a way.

 Takao:  Like a sword.

 Sasaki:  Exactly. I sang and played the song with the image of destroying the world.

 Takao:  For me, I played thinking of Oblivionis as “the world’s envoy,” so I tried not to move too much during the song. In my head Oblivionis plays the song while standing frigidly, playing with both hands, staring forward without looking at her keyboard.

 Sasaki:  You say it like it’s nothing, but that really is crazy. It’s like she’s no longer human (laughs).

――(laughs) Could you talk a little about the song itself?

 Sasaki:  1st live really came together beautifully. “Perdere Omnia” actually means “destroy everything”. Subarashiki Sekai, Demo, Dokonimo Nai Basho has the lines “destroy it, destroy it” within it, so the song is about creating a new world from its ruins.

It’s really the essence of Perdere Omnia. The song is about destroying everything and starting from scratch, and I sang and played my guitar while keeping Doloris’ determination and preparation in mind. Listening to it really gets me in the mindset, and I hope the audience feels the same way. As our accomplices, they destroyed the world together with us and we brought them to a new one. I kept that in mind during my recording for it.

――It’s an easy song to listen to.

 Takao:  Even though it’s about destroying the world, Ricochi’s voice is so smooth during the chorus. I love that part…!

 Sasaki:  Thanks!

Saved by BanG Dream! Ave Mujica

――Could you tell us as much as you can about some highlights regarding the upcoming anime, BanG Dream! Ave Mujica?

 Takao:  I put everything into Sakiko’s acting right from episode 1. After I finished recording episode 1, the director, Koudai Kakimoto told me “your acting made me cry”.

 Sasaki:  I want to watch it already!

 Takao:  That’s how passionately I recorded it, and the staff all had a high level of empathy while working on the sequel. I think it’ll really live up to expectations. Even episode 1 alone will make you cry (laughs).

 Sasaki:  It showcases each and every character, and we’ll see new sides to girls that we haven’t yet. I’ve finished my recording for it by now, and all I can say is it’s saved me, in a way.

 Takao:  Same here! I feel saved by it.

 Sasaki:  Everyone will have their own views on it, so I can’t wait to see everyone’s reactions. I can’t say much about it, but it has the same kinds of twists and turns that the MyGO!!!!! girls went through. I think the warped emotions, and the relationships being twisted are all beautiful. I don’t think that beauty only exists in “pretty” things, and that there’s a shine and beauty in the ugly.

 Takao:  After I finished recording the last episode, I thought “Ave Mujica really is a ray of light”.

 Sasaki:  It’s hard to talk about it without spoiling stuff, but we got to record together and it was a lot of fun.

 Takao:  In BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!!, it revealed that Uika and Sakiko were childhood friends, but the sequel shows us even more of their relationship.

 Sasaki:  We threw in a lot of ad libs in our acting.

 Takao:  We really did!

 Sasaki:  There’s fun scenes as well as tense ones.

 Takao:  I hope everyone will watch it to the end.

――Now that you’ve finished recording for the sequel, is there anything you’d like to reflect on regarding the finale of BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!!?

 Takao:  My feelings have changed in all sorts of ways. After watching the finale for the sequel, rewatching BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!! again has me feeling like “oh, so that’s what was happening here”.

 Sasaki:  BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!! was full of mystery still, so it definitely deserves a revisit, and make sure you pay close attention to everything in it, because there’s a lot of moments where you’ll start to connect the dots.

TVアニメ「BanG Dream! Ave Mujica」解禁PV

(Subbed version)

Looking towards a magnificent future

――You’re currently putting out one song per month for five months.

 Sasaki:  The anime hasn’t even aired yet, so it’s such an honor.

 Takao:  We don’t actually know what the songs will be like yet.

 Sasaki:  Yes. I’m so excited to have and be able to sing five new songs that showcase Ave Mujica’s world in their own ways!

 Takao:  It’s like, “Ave Mujica, you made too much of your world!” (laughs). I wonder in what ways they’ll form the world? The possibilities are endless.

 Sasaki:  I’m sure they’ll each have their own story to them. We’ve been dolls up until now, but I hope in the future we get to try other ideas.

――I can’t help but wonder how high the bar for your new songs might end up being…

 Sasaki:  I’m ready to take on anything! I’ll be playing with everyone else after all, and I’ll be sure to absolutely cherish each and every line in the songs.

――Your Blu-ray feature for your 1st single contains footage of your 1st live. I hope people will watch it and go to your concerts. I look forward to what your concerts will be like after the sequel anime airs.

 Takao:  Me too!

 Sasaki:  What will they even be like?! (laughs)

 Takao:  I imagine there will be some sort of change by then. I’m sure the direction for them will shift.

 Sasaki:  The staff has so much fun coming up with ideas, it makes me happy.

 Takao:  I trust them all wholeheartedly!

 Sasaki:  The members and staff are both just wonderful.

――Your 2nd live will take place in June and July. Is there anything you can say about it yet?

 Takao:  We don’t know what the setlist or direction, or what new songs will be performed at it are yet. I just know the concert will show everyone a new world to Ave Mujica, so I hope everyone comes to watch us in all of our newness.

 Sasaki:  The possibilities for what we’ll come up with are endless, and we’ll do our best to discuss among us five members on how to create that new world together. To our audience, Ave Mujica is still wrapped in mystery and not a lot is known about us, but I hope they’ll gladly let Ave Mujica engulf them in its darkness. We’re all villains of the same stripe, after all. I hope you’ll enjoy the world of Ave Mujica alongside us.

[yuyan]

The art of love pt. 2

Fluff, hurt/comfort

Kaveh x gn!reader

Tags: academic rivals to lovers, cliche confession during arguing in the rain scene don't look at me, mild cussing (not at each other), highschool au

A/n: the comfort part of this. I hope it doesn't dissapoint, I tried to do this as fast as possible so I wouldn't keep anyone waiting!

Part 1 || Master list || Requests: open

Half an hour after school and you were stuck cleaning the art room on the last day of school with Kaveh. Honestly, the only reason why it was only the two of you were cleaning the art room because the art teacher was still mad at the time you two made a huge disruption in class. It was 3 weeks ago though. Who would even hold a grudge for that long? For something they weren't even really involved in or affected by it too. At least you were almost done.

"Ok what's wrong with you?" Kaveh asked, his voice laced with concern.

"Whats wrong with me?" you asked back, the anger in your tone contrasting his.

"Yes what's wrong with you, anger is practically seeping out of you!" Kaveh said, raising his voice. "Does my prescence annoy you that much!"

"Well, apparently mine does!" you shouted, "especially when I'm trying to help you apparently!" Throwing your broom, you grabbed your bag and stormed out, slamming the door behind you.

"W-what? Huh?" Kaveh stuttered out, watching you leave.

~

The sweet final week that Kaveh had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity didn't have that usual sugar coat. Now it was just a bitter pile of food that Kaveh pushed aside. No one could ignore it forever though.

"They're just so frustrating and annoying and nitpicking everything I do and oh my gosh, do I hate them so much!" Kaveh ranted while Alhaithem was seriously contemplating why he walks home with Kaveh.

"Don't you like them though?" Alhaithem asked, "they gave you a note, just go talk to them."

"Whatever, Its fine!" Kaveh shouted. "It's not like I love them anyways!" Kaveh shouted, again but his shoulder shook slightly and it felt like a piece of him died when he said that. "...Plus! They're always..."

~

"Ah, please don't go," Kaveh whispered and took of running.

You approached the entrace of your school. The sounds of heavy rain rang through your ears, making you furrow your eyebrows and your frown etch deeper into your face. "Fuck! I can't think!" you screamed. Hot, angry tears blurred your vision and made small wet patches on your uniform. Teachers and students alike had long left due to the heavy rain and it being the last day.

Silently, you pulled out your umbrella and hovered it over your head before step out into the rain. Rain slightly flooded the area and each step was like stepping into a puddle. Your emotions were a mess and the rain did nothing but anger you further as your tried so desperately to sort them out. The rain could've been calming if it wasnt for your violent urge to kick and scream to your heart's content. Until you had no energy left but to cry silently in your cold, empty bed.

"Wait!" a voice called out. It felt more like a delusion though considering how drowned out by the rain it was.

It wasn't until a tall blonde boy in the same uniform as you, umbrella in hand appeared Infront of you that you registered it as not a figment of your imagination.

"I-...So what if I said that!" Kaveh started and immediately you knew you didn't have the time nor energy for this. You side-stepped him and started to walk away before he turned to you and yelled, "What does it mean to you!?" It came out a little desperate and was followed by heavy breathing.

Turning around, you said,"what does it mean to me? I helped you because I wanted to yet afterwards you ignore me even though I said I wanted to talk and then decide to rant about me to your friend when I hadn't done anything for weeks!"

"Well, what an I supposed to believe when every classmate of ours tells me and gossips about how you must hate me so much that you don't even want to argued with me anymore!"

"I left a note!"

"Your friends are notoriuous for meddling in your business! How am I supposed to know if it was truly from you!"

"But-"

"And if you really cared you would've I don't know, say something along the lines of 'you don't have to promise me that, asking for help is enough' or I don't know!"

"Well, I didn't expect to fall in love with you!" you shouted. Kaveh had to stop himself from dropping his umbrella in shock. "Plus, if I didn't want to help, nothing you offered would've been enough," you mumbled.

Despite the pouring rain making it harder for the two of you to speak he heard and clinger to every word you said.

"Wait, I, did I say?" you fumbled, pink invading your cheeks as you backed away from him.

You could've turned and ran, if it wasn't for his hand. That damn hand that secured tightly around your wrist. That hand that kept you in place as he stumbled forward. That hand that pulled you in as his lips met yours. Your umbrellas had knocked against each other as he leaned forward to kiss you. His lips were soft but slightly chapped despite the humid weather, kissing you slowly, like any wrong move would hurt you.

Backing away, he saw your half lidded lips open up a bit more, your cheeks glowing a brighter red.

"I-um, we're far from perfect but I think we'd be a good couple so I'm be my lover?" Kaveh asked, sounding a little unsure but you just smiled and nodded, giggling a little at his flustered expression. "Ah! Well ok Let's meet up on the holidays, you have my number!" Kaveh shouted over the rain, running off.

You waved with your free hand, watching him run off into the distance. Touching your lips, it contorted into a soft smile. He tasted like strawberries.

A/n: I've never written a kiss scene so um getting out of my comfort zone today. 😀👍

Also I headcanon that Kaveh loves strawberries cause he just such a cute pretty boy who'd probably like strawberries ok I'm not weird ok goodbye! (^o^)／

[jumping-joey1104]

Ej hcs?

Love him, for me EJ is more demonic. I first really started learning about him when people made him more demonic than just a normal grey dude in a mask with bad eating habits.

EJ HEADCANONS

Ok, like I said further up, EJ is more demonic to me. Having Digitrade like legs and more claws. One of my favorite headcanons is that he can be very… uncanny.

EJ himself is uncanny, he gives off human, he looks human, acts human. But there’s just something…. Off yknow? Other than the werewolf legs and razor sharp teeth.

Whenever he isn’t wearing his mask (that thing needs cleaned and fix so often, but it’s still more rare to see him without his mask) he keeps his eyes closed. Without actual eye balls behind his eyelids his eyes are a lot more sunken in. And whenever he opens them that black tar drips out much faster because of build up.

Speaking of his eyes, his vision is there (gods know why??) but it’s very similar to having very bad cataracts. Everything is so blurry for him that he depends on scent and echolocation to find stuff.

With a hand over their mouth they could only pray that their heavy breathing was stifled enough. They didn’t even know who they were praying too, after tonight they didn’t know if there was a god that could hear them. The sound of feet hitting the ground makes them jump as a tall figure appears in front of them with his back turned, sniffing the air before smiling. He could smell them… with a grin under the bloody mask the being makes a clicking noise with his tongue. The blue mask looking around the area before getting closer and closer before it meet the persons face with a final click.

That kinda thing, pretty scary huh?

But one thing this guy is desperate for is something human, not for dinner. He craves his own humanity like a wounded child craves their parents. The thought of even looking in the mirror makes him go into a silent rage.

To EJ he’s still human, all those people he’s eaten and torn apart like paper… those are just bad dream. He forces himself into a delusion that it’s all just a bad dream, even though he remembers every part. He’s just a college kid with bad dreams.

He’s so desperate for that humanity that he’ll grip onto anything that reminds him of that. Normal food makes him sick, too sweet too salty. He can’t eat anything other than meat without wanting to throw up. But he still does it, remembering the morning he’d stop by the local coffee shop before classes for a bagel and coffee as he forces himself to swallow down what tastes like mud and spoiled milk.

Like I said earlier, he’s a very uncanny person. I like to head canon that he can dislocate his jaw if he needs to. Making sickening pops as the victim sees the sharp teeth lining his mouth. Sometimes he’ll hunch over with teeth bared. Not like a dog, but like a cat. While dogs are more prone to pounce and bite, EJ is one to slice people to shreds with his claws.

But he’s still a gentle giant (when he isn’t hungry). Those that he sees as friends quickly become family, even if he doesn’t say it he’ll put his life on the line to give his friends a chance to survive. He has nothing else to live for if he loses them.

He only has a few items he treats the same way, audio books he’s snagged and listened to over and over again. CDs filled with music from god knows where. I like to think that he still likes flowers, the scent of them in spring. He has bundles of dried flowers and weeds in his room. Falling apart with every touch but he keeps them, not wanting to give up that little bit of peace he has.

Everything that he’s had to let go of is covered in claw marks.

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Great Hunt! Chapter 19: Beneath the Dagger

Do you still remember the deal? Probably not, huh? It goes like this: this reread has spoilers for the whole dang series. Spoilers for book 1 (kind of expected), book 2 (not uncommon), book 8 (I already ran out of parentheticals), book 10 (just kidding nothing happens in this one), and even book 15 (the one that only super special fans get to read). If you don't want that, don't click Keep reading.

The icon for this chapter is the Horn of Valere as it is the object of Rand's quest and his prize. It's also what our favorite lady in white gets fixated on. They're all very straightforward.

Every day they had been there on the mountainside, watching the place where Hurin said the trail had been, in that other world—where Selene said the Darkfriends would surely appear in this world—he told himself it was time to leave. And Selene talked of the Horn of Valere, and touched his arm, and looked into his eyes, and before he knew it he had agreed to yet another day before they went on.

I suspect that Selene is using Compulsion here and that it's working as much because this is what fate needs to happen as it is what Rand wants to do anyway. He thinks this is all nonsense and a complete long shot but in his gut he knows it's the only way to keep Mat alive, so all Selene is really accomplishing is pushing his surface thoughts out of the way of his true nature. It's borderline therapeutic!

I was happy then, I think, even running for my life. Playing the flute for my supper.

That is not remotely how it was, Rand. You were stressed and exhausted and for every place you got to play for your supper there was another where you got scammed or threatened or worse. It's quite interesting how we romanticize our memories though. One of Rand's bigger problems is that eventually he gets to a point where there's nothing to work with for this delusion, so all the "despair debt" as it were catches up with him in a lump sum.

In the moonlight he could see the shape of Selene, bending over his saddlebags, her hands on the buckles. Her white dress gathered the faint light.

There's something intensely metaphorical about the fact that the woman who has betrayed both sides of the metaphysical conflict at play is herself betrayed by the things that she does claim loyalty to.

“It came to me,” she said, “that I’ve been wearing this dress too long. I could brush it, at least, if I had something else to wear while I did. One of your shirts, perhaps.”

Points to Lanfear though for always having a back-up plan to work her angles.

Her soft laugh sent a shiver down his back, as if she had run a finger along his spine.

Rand doesn't mention goosebumps specifically in this sequence but I bet she really is running weaves of Air around him. Makes her creepier.

“Think of the glory that will come to the one who finds the Horn of Valere. How proud I’ll be to stand beside him who holds the Horn. You have no idea the heights we will scale together, you and I. With the Horn of Valere in your hand, you can be a king. You can be another Artur Hawkwing. You. . . .”

Honestly if Hurin hadn't interrupted her here Rand probably would have rebuffed her pretty hard anyway. Glory is the least of this boy's interests and Lanfear literally can't bring it up without going into this long-winded rant which she almost certainly plans to cap off with "topple the Creator and the Dark One". It's not even all that likely that someone with the Horn could pull off Hawkwing anyway - the world is too divided and the Heroes won't be happy being used for petty political warfare.

No reason to be angry with her.

Here's some other Compulsion Selene pulls off successfully, though the stakes are super low. There's plenty of reason to be mad Rand, even with just the info you have! It's weird she's digging around in your stuff in the middle of the night instead of talking to you about it. It's weird that she's sexually harassing you instead of respecting your boundaries. It's weird that she's clearly lying to you about Portal Stones!

“You don’t know you cannot take it. How many followers does this man have? You don’t know that, either.”

I will give Lanfear credit for actually providing useful tactical advice. Even if her "Get the Horn now!" routine is based entirely in her delusional self-importance, she's not wrong to point out that they should be learning about the enemy camp while they have the chance and the element of surprise. Rand's really more of the big picture strategist in warfare than this kind of skirmish.

“I am capable of guarding myself, until you return to protect me. Take the alantin.”

Nothing suspicious about any of THIS at all. Literally any other Ogier in the world would have called out someone calling them an Old Tongue name only, I think. Loial just doesn't do it because he's so naive.

“Remember the glory,” she said softly. “Remember.”

I think it's pronounced "Memento mori", Lanfear. Someone really should have been whispering that to you.

He wished he could stop thinking, and before he realized it, the void had formed within him, making thoughts distant things, as if part of someone else. Saidin shone at him, beckoned to him.

Being caught between Lanfear and the tainted saidin makes rocks and hard places seem like vacation destinations. But being able to use the void at all means that Tam's training saved Rand from quite a lot of Lanfear's influence I think.

Loial’s huge hand settled over Rand’s mouth, and a good part of his face besides.

This is far funnier to me than it has any intention of being. Breaks up the tension of the scene, which is quite effective but difficult to quote because it builds up over time.

Tam had told him Trollocs were lazy, apt to give up any task but killing unless fear kept them to it.

Really just another demonstration of how the Shadow without the Light is entirely self-defeating.

The Horn of Valere and the dagger Mat needed, both almost within reach of his hand. Selene’s face drifted with the chest. They could follow Fain’s party in the morning, and wait until Ingtar joined them. If Ingtar did come, if he still followed the trail without his sniffer. No, there would never be a better chance. All within reach of his hand. Selene was waiting on the mountain.

Again, points to Selene (from the Light's perspective) because Rand would have utterly wasted this opportunity without her guidance. It really makes me wonder how she got to rise through the ranks to Forsaken at all considering how little she does for the Shadow's agenda. Literally less than the Trollocs and I just got done roasting them.

His hand touched something else, on the lid. The dagger, bare-bladed. In the dark, his eyes widened. Remembering what it had done to Mat, he jerked back, the void shifting with his agitation.

Lucky he didn't cut himself on it. Or perhaps unlucky; if he had cut his hand on it maybe Ishamael would have given him a matching wound there as well instead of any side wounds and it would have been much less miserable in the long run what with Semirhage's post-cleansing amputation of the poor boy.

Even in the night it was plain Loial’s eyes were as wide as they could go; they looked as big as saucers in the light of the moon.

It's these subtle touches that do a good job of emphasizing how uncommonly brave Rand is. Loial is absolutely a trooper for making it this far but even he's got limits.

“I know it is you, al’Thor! You’re hiding from me, but I know you are out there! Find him! Find him! Al’Thoooor!”

It's funny how in this book, which is mostly moving well away from the LotR inspiration that all 80s fantasy novels needed to have, Fain is acting more Gollum-like than ever before.

Rand moved without thought. He was one with the blade. Cat Dances on the Wall. The Trolloc screamed as it fell, screamed again as it died.

Frankly, CDotW sounds less like a standard sword form and more like what mentors joking call it when the new guys start panicking and waving their sword everywhere in a panic, but I guess it works.

The Courtier Taps His Fan. No scream, this time.

In contrast, this particular form sounds much more dignified and controlled. Jordan using these names to describe the action without describing it was a really great touch.

Lizard in the Thornbush. He rose smoothly from one knee as the second toppled, horns almost brushing his shoulder.

I like sword forms okay?

Fain was there, and Darkfriends, and more Trollocs. Too many to fight. Too many to face and live.

As awesome as the forms are, I do have to point out how unbelievable it sounds that Rand just single handedly killed eight Trollocs and is worried about fighting more. Like obviously he will eventually get exhausted but it really feels like he burned through a good chunk of the enemy forces. I'm not really sure how many there are at this point anyway and I'm not sure if that's the text being vague for tension or if I just forgot from earlier chapters because of the break.

“Sometimes I do not understand half of what you say,” Loial said. “If you must go mad, could it at least wait until we are back with the Lady Selene and Hurin?”

Again: Loial is painfully naive. Any other Ogier would have been well aware of exactly how alarming Rand's confession of going mad would be. I'm just gonna say it outright: the Elders were lowkey right not to approve of Loial wandering around in the world on his own. Look at the company he keeps.

As she stretched on tiptoe to put a hand inside, Rand reached over her shoulder and lifted out the Horn of Valere. He had seen it once before, but never touched it. Though beautifully made, it did not look a thing of great age, or power.

Normally I don't approve of tall people using their height to thwart shorties but for Lanfear I must of course make an exception.

And also, I'm sure again: how fucking old IS the Horn anyway? It can't possibly just be going through the whole of the Wheel over and over. Who made it? Why? When? What parts of interacting with the Heroes that the cast just assumes is the natural order of the worldl are in fact only possible because the Horn exists?

“You misunderstand me, Rand,” Selene said. “You cannot go back, now. You are committed. Those Friends of the Dark will not simply go away because you’ve taken the Horn from them. Far from it. Unless you know some way to kill them all, they will be hunting you now as you hunted them before.”

Ugh and now she's made another good point, even though again it's only in her self-interest. Lanfear you are supposed to be crazy. Stop challenging that by actually being helpful.

“Be careful,” Selene said. “Do not cut yourself.”

Once again, one has to wonder how the Forsaken are so familiar with something that was never contemporaneous with any of them except ol' Ballsac.

I am also now struck by the wondering if Lanfear's behavior makes her some third flavor of evil that might also be destructive against the Taint if it only existed in larger qualities than her. Probably not, but... she's closer to pulling it off than anyone else.

“The chest will surely shield us,” Selene said in a tight voice. “And now I mean to finish what is left of my night’s sleep.”

Since the chest is a stasis box, Lanfear is of course quite pissed that Rand has accidentally found a valid solution to their problem.

He gestured to the first Trolloc that had brought him word al’Thor was not to be found. It still snapped at ground muddied with its own blood, hooves scraping trenches as they jerked.

Poor Trolloc. Nobody deserves Fain.

“I am a dog no longer. A dog no longer!” He heard the others shifting uneasily around the fire, but he ignored them.

A fun contrast. Rand protests he will not be made a puppet and aptly demonstrates this by making his own choices whenever possible and wise. Fain protests that he's not a dog even as he plans to follow Rand's metaphorical scent, then he goes barking mad. The Shadow: Not even once.

That wraps up another chapter. Lanfear doesn't deserve any points so I'm taking them all away from her before the chapter break. She's back to 0, tied with virtually every other character! Next time: Fewer points awarded to Lanfear, hopefully. Also: saidin.

[sonadowlesbian]

small cringe sonadow brainrot fic under the cut; please do not critique, i got possessed while writing this.

it’s nighttime; shadow is seen at atop a building, sitting on the ledge of it, staring at the moon. he seems to be lost in thought.

in the same moment, sonic just so happens to be running on buildings in the same town. he stops in his tracks as he sees an old friend; the dark, brooding hedgehog’s ear twitches at the sound of rubber squeaking behind him. he looks at the blue hedgehog, wincing a little, and looks down at his own feet; he appears troubled.

“hey, faker! what are the chances we’d meet in the same town! this kind of thing never happens!”

shadow playfully scoffs at sonic’s sarcastic remark, but his smile quickly drops to its usual position. sonic mirrors this expression, questioned and concerned at whatever’s going on in that guy’s head, like usual. he can’t quite explain how, but sonic can sense shadow’s motionless invitation to sit with him; he slowly walks toward him.

“uh.. hey bud? is there anything you need to talk about?”

sonic stands to the left of shadow, who’s not making a peep; he sits down and stares at the moon, mirroring shadow.

the moon is taking up the sky, outshining all the stars. it glows a cold, but comfortable feeling. the night sky is sonic’s favorite part of his adventures; it looks the same to him no matter where he goes. the familiar presence reminds him that he’s never far from anyone.

“you see that dot? right next to the moon?”

sonic jumps at the sound of shadow’s voice first leaving his mouth, shadow’s face is the same, but somehow softer,

“that’s the ark. cycle is very similar to the moon’s. sometimes they aligned perfectly, if you’re there at the right time and place”

sonic smirks,

“heh—yeah, i’ve seen it, myself! hey, uh.. not that i mind, but why so chatty?”

shadow flushes a bit, just fully realizing who exactly he’s talking to,

“i just—…”

shadow doesn’t know how to respond. sonic scoots in a little closer,

“dude. i don’t even feel empathy and even i can sense something’s up. chat up.”

shadow sighs, it’s hard to tell if it’s of relief or annoyance; maybe both,

“do you remember how when we met there was a big focus on our… resemblance? like how we looked compared to each other?”

shadow takes a good look at sonic,

“do you… still see it?”

sonic hesitates; he realizes what he means. they really… don’t look all that similar. the shape of their quills, face, everything… did they ever bare a resemblance in the first place? sure, there’s some things that could be understandable to mistake from an outside perspective, but overall… they’re their own hedgehogs with their own lives,

“not really. i don’t think i ever truly have.”

sonic and shadow are very similar in their own ways; preferring aloneness, their speed, hunger for achievement; they’re like-minded. they’re the only ones who truly get each other; they know exactly what do to to creep in the other’s heart’s, they’re basically are star-crossed in that way. they both realize this. in whatever life they were supposed to live, they were meant to meet.

“me neither.”

refusing to make any eye contact with sonic, shadow’s smiles returns at the thought of how ridiculous the whole thing is. for the longest time he felt as if he needed to top sonic’s strengths and abilities when there’s no reason to, to begin with. this whole time he could’ve had a friend with similar attributes, but instead concocted his own delusion of a combative rivalry. is it too late to… start over? would that be wrong? his grin drops a bit,

“i— …i’m sorry.”

sonic returns the statement with a look of confusion; he smirks,

“for…?”

shadow’s face roses up,

“ugh! i don’t know!! for… fighting you all the time???”

sonic blankly stares for a second, but quickly gets sent into a laughing fit,

“HAHA! HUH? what’re you on?? i have fun fighting you!”

“WELL—“ shadow sighs “i dunno— how you uh— interpret my attitude while it occurs..?”

sonic softens just a little bit

“well, you seem to have fun, don’t cha?”

shadow gives sonic a genuine smile and quickly looks away,

“well…. i more meant—! you know how there times where i—? ugh idk i feel like i could be.. rough sometimes?”

“heh. i think it’s kinda fun getting you like that….”

shadow squeeks at the statement; he wasn’t expecting it. he knew sonic liked teasing him, but never expected him to admit it like that,

“you— ughh..”

as shadow puts his head in his paws, sonic, delayed, realizes what he just said; he panics,

“I DIDNT—!! WHAT I MEANT WAS—!!! I MEAN THAT I LIKE—!! UHHM!!”

a loud silence fills the air; the two pathetic and overly dramatic hogs readjust their composure. this whole time the two have been friends, having fun, sharing experiences, and they never even noticed it. everything they been through put them where they are today.

shadow scoots closer to sonic, and looks at him,

“i think we should bump into each other more often.”

sonic’s heart skips a beat,

“heh, our regular, unexpected appearances’re not enough for ya?”

shadow smiles; for once in his life, for whatever reason, he feels… safe. what he was missing was there right along, a connection. shadow bumps his head into sonic’s, resting himself,

“i guess not…”

sonic’s face turns bright red. for whatever reason, he, too, feels as if whatever was missing from him clicked into his brain. for the first time, sonic didn’t get drained by a presence; it was as if there were no one there at all, but he didn’t feel lonely. he loosens himself for the first time in a long time.

OKAY NO MORE CRINGE FAIL MOMENT I CANT WRITE BUT I HAVE SO MCUH BRAINROT

[gunsli-01]

just wanna say since I've been away from fixating on milgram for a month or so and came back for a skim (I got my therapist hooked, so its on the mind).. I wanna say how the fuck did this happen but I've similar enough that like, I hope you're taking care of yourself, congrats on the marriage (thats recent right?), your posts are always nice to see, I hope Organ Thief's Dance Party is entertaining for you too

I got so carried away beneath this cut that it's just a new Mu post I'm sorry in advance! Before any of that though I'll try to answer your points to the best of my abilities!

I'm so happy to hear about the therapist thing! I hope more people can enjoy Milgram so many that getting to a million views is pretty much immediate during trial three!

I think conflicts appearing in the fandom in and of itself isn't a bad thing it just means people care about the material, but I hope people can do that in a fun and respectful way. Not only to make the environment comfortable for old fans but newcomers as well. I don't believe it's good for fandoms to become exclusionary or too closeknit since that can lead to terrible forms of conflict down the line.

A fandom should be full of various people and opinions. So, I always wanna remind people to look at the views of others outside of mine since it helps form a more well-rounded opinion. It's even helped me better reflect on my own biases. I do like passion, but too much of anything in one direction can be bad, and I want more and more people to like and watch Milgram! So, regardless of what happens, I want people to see the fun in it not just from the content but its fans who do great things in a passionate way every day.

I'm taking care of myself and my dad to the best of my abilities he surgery went smoothly too! I'm still very much enjoying Milgram all the way! I hope none of what I said about the fandom comes off as pretentious or too serious because I know it'd be easy to read it that way. When it comes to the marriage, I assume you're referring to my blog description.

Ah, Star and I have known each other since late 2013! We met through Tumblr actually. That's why I was so upset to have my blog shadow banned because it has a lot of sentimental value and I'd hate to lose it. We started dating maybe three years after and we got engaged two to three years after that. Though, since we live in different countries, we haven't officially tied the knot yet. She's my best friend, confidant, and we hang out often. Even meeting up in person whenever we can manage/afford to.

Actually, she's the reason anybody even gets to see me talk about Milgram at all right now. She introduced it to me! She wanted me to look over the entire series. Because she was very well acquainted with my penchant for deductive reasoning and love of solving mysteries. Because of thar she wanted to know what I would think was going on based off the trial one music videos alone. I was a bit miffed at her at the time, so I was like, no, I don't wanna.

Though she went if I didn't want to watch all of it then she'd at least like it if I looked at Mahiru's song. Causing my response to Mahiru's first trial song to pretty much be you trying to say something about me, huh?! However, I really loved it and pretty immediately went okay I'll watch the rest. However, that was only after she asked what I thought happened and the only thing I could think was with the focus on food, probably poisoning, but other than that I'm unsure.

So, I'm very nostalgic when it comes to Mahiru's song since it's related to a person I love.

If you don't want all the personal stuff here's the Milgram stuff!

I think the thing I'm looking most forward too is hearing Shidou's cover of Delusion Tax given how the VA handled Liar Dance! Shidou's voice tends to be more reserved when it comes to singing his original songs but go hard in his covers. Mu is the exact opposite, her voice being stronger in her original songs but going to a gentle whisper in her covers.

Showing the dichotomy between how she presents herself and how she may be inwardly. That outward appearance of dominance breaking into a soft-spoken stint. While Shidou's soft demeanor breaks way into a more domineering tone with hard enunciation that's so good to hear. So, I'm really curious if that will stay in Delusion Tax just like it stayed for Mu with MKDR.

I like Mu's covers far more than her original songs because of that vocal change and the subtle gentleness like holding porcelain. Especially the scream here and how it directly contrasts with the one here. Her covers really highlight that similarity between her and Futa of putting on a tough front but having an incredibly soft interior that needs a lot of nurturing from their environments.

Something also highlighted by her being represented as Parasitic Wasp in It's Not My Fault.

One of the insects that build cocoons on a host and use the nutrients off them to feed their young. Meaning It's Not My Fault we are literally seeing an artistic rendition of a Parasitic Wasp nest being built on a beehive.

Explaining why Mu is so large in comparison to the others. It's a literal hostile takeover until she gets enough of what she needs and leaves.

This also explains why she's so quick to leave and nothing remains when she does in the end. Since they eat everything and go. Yet, it has another meaning too! Mu being a parasitic wasp can be read as her leeching off of a society of course but it can also be read as her needing external validation to support her own beliefs. Showcasing that she lacks the mental fortitude necessary to defend or rationalize her own behavior or past actions.

This is highlighted in After pain when she's literally drowned in her own negative opinion of herself. Something that used to be feeding her is now eating away at her. Because it doesn't come with that sweetness of external validation. No one else is saying that she's right so she'll always wonder if she's wrong on some level. Because she's incapable of validating her own behavior this is even shown in It's Not My Fault when she basically begs the viewers not to hate her or even look for her bad side the source of her pain.

In a, "Just keep liking me, keep feeding me, I can't do it I can't take it on my own." In a way, reminiscent to the way Mikoto freaks out when everybody, but Kotoko wishes him a happy birthday. It also feeds into why her victim ignoring her bothered her so much and she couldn't let it go. The reason she's behaving this way is perfectly illustrated at the end of It's Not My Fault where she's literally reformed by the previous verdict and breaks away from her host, in this case the hourglass.

Something that very much comes through in the tone of her cover songs. While Shidou- Ah, his are so full of that usually restrained animosity of his that I just love! So, that mixed with Delusion Tax may just get me.

[abyssmalice]

Profile - re. mobile / the 11th ;

Name: “Tartaglia”

Real Name: Tonia Agafonova

Age: 14 (15-16)

Species: Human / Iriminsul-Human Hybrid

Vision: None / Cryo / Dendro / ??????? 

Delusion: Electro

Weapon: Polearm

Constellation: Dormitator (The Somnolent)

Affiliation: The Fatui / The Irminsul

Titles: The 11th Fatui Harbinger / The Noble Daughter / Listener of the Leylines

FC: Anissa de Lagrange (temp.), Aisha de Elmir (temp.) 

Appearance

A young girl with plain looks. Dull blue eyes complement dull brown hair that tends to be tied into twin braids, while her face is adorned with a prominent splash of dark freckles.

Her typical wardrobe features a white dress with a vested corset matching in color with her dark boots. This tends to be accompanied with a capelet dyed and branded in the blue-gold colors of the Fatui. Accessory-wise, she is hardly to never seen without a pair of dark gloves, a red mask on her head, and a (fake) Cryo Vision pinned to her clothes.

When utilizing her Delusion for a long period of time, her hair will become undone and turn white.

Personality

If you were to take a volatile fourteen year old girl on a years-long road trip without asking her whether she even wants to be on this trip - that would be Tartaglia.

A young girl by every means of the word, who just wants what most teenagers would want in this period of their life - love and freedom and a contentedness that is normally hard to put in words, but Tartaglia knows what it looks like and it is not the stifling chains of the Tsaritsa’s command nor the grand responsibilities of being a Harbinger.

Really. She just wants to go home, care for her loved ones, and be happy living an utterly peaceful, simple life. None of this god-killing, scheme-pulling nonsense!

—Well, not that taking down Celestia is a bad thing - just not at the expense of herself and her time!

Regardless, no one really agrees with her thoughts, even if some do nod sympathetically to her rants. And only just nod. If that’s how it is, then fine - she’ll just make such a nuisance of things that they will have to do more than just smile and frown and nod and say pitiful and indifferent things to her.

(And if the whining and the yelling is just a defensive coping mechanism for how she really feels, deep down? Well, that’s just going to have remain an eternal secret between her and Ajax.)

Profile

“Huh? You wanna know more about Tartaglia? What would I know that you don’t? No, seriously - tell me, what do you know about her, because I’m pretty sure I’d give the same answer if anyone asked.

”…haaah? Battle-hungry? Fearsome? A young man? Did you hit your head on the stairs this morning? For starters, Tartaglia’s a young girl, sheesh!

“Fine, seeing as you seem to have legit lost your marbles right now - Tartaglia is the 11th Fatui Harbinger, the most recent and most youngest of them to date. Honestly, no one knows where she came from, she just popped out of nowhere and was appointed by Her Imperial Majesty with the title and everything it entails. Whoever knows the truth won’t fess a thing, and anyway, who would question the Tsaritsa’s decisions?

“Okay, okay, fine, a lot of us question it, but again, who would question their Archon about this? No one, right? Yeah, I thought so. That being said, doesn’t stop the whispers and the rumors that go around the place every so often. Some people say she must be the Tsaritsa’s secret daughter or something, for a mere child to be given the position of a Harbinger - but there’s plenty of people who think that’s the stupidest theory on Teyvat, considering Tartaglia looks nothing like Her Majesty. Hells, I’d say she looks more like my aunt’s cousin’s brother’s sister-in-law’s niece from Morepesok or somewhere just as backwater.

“—Kinda infuriates me, to be frank. I mean, if it weren’t for her title, she would probably just be some random kid. But because she has rank and authority second only to Her Imperial Majesty, we have to listen to her and bow to her every whim. To a kid! Don’t be fooled by her face - she’s a brat and a troublemaker and her title is probably the only reason she hasn’t been executed for mutiny yet.

”…You think I’m being too harsh on her? Because she’s just a kid? Oh sheeeeesh.

“Look, you’re new, so it’s only natural you would think that. But I know you’re not that new either - you must have heard those rumors that Tartaglia regularly tries to commit regicide, right? You haven’t? Well now you do!

“And by the way, they’re a bit exaggerated, that’s true, but fundamentally, no. The 11th Fatui Harbinger is a moody child who likes to cause chaos when no one expects it, who makes everyone question why Her Majesty would keep someone so unfaithful by her side, and honestly, if some people didn’t say she was good with her Vision, I would be questioning that too. She has a hellish habit for picking fights, but most of her fights just sound like childish tantrums from what I’ve heard.

“I think we’d all think differently about her if she were, how did you describe her at first? Some bloodthirsty war hound? Then again, no one can be a Harbinger without having some form of merit or power to their name… and if she can use a Vision blessed with the power of our own Archon, then, I guess… Ah, whatever.

“Point is, ultimately, just keep your head down and do your work. And try your damn best to stay out of her way. You really don’t want that girl’s attention on you, seriously.”

[bills-bible-basics]

HUH??? -- a poem by Bill Kochman A poem by Bill Kochman. Visit my poetry page at https://www.billkochman.com/Poetry/ to see all my poetry, along with related Bible study resources, all in one place, and organized by poem category. Thanks! To see other poems related to this one, please go here: https://www.billkochman.com/Poetry/index.html#Hard-Rock-Music Excerpt from my article entitled "God's Golden Teeth, or Satan's Delusion": ----- Begin Quote ----- In like manner, some of the Christian music which fills the airwaves today is indeed inspiring and uplifting; although personally, I never really listen to any of it; partially because I require a quiet environment in order to do my work for the Lord, and also, because I do not like all of the commercials and doctrinal programs which fill up the time slots in between the good music. At the same time, I must also tell you that after paying closer attention to some of the song lyrics on some of the radio shows which are geared towards young Christians, that is, when you can even hear them through the "music", I have to conclude that some of it is not only a far cry from the beautiful Psalms of King David, but it is downright unchristian. It is no better than the hard rock, worldly music that I used to listen to as a young teenager before I began to follow the Lord. It is a deceptive mixture of Satanic noise, with the words "Christ", "Jesus", "Lord", "God", etc., lightly dispersed throughout the song, in order to give it a somewhat "Christian" flavor. This so-called "Christian rock" music reminds me of one of those vanilla ice cream bars which you eat on a stick, which has a thin chocolate covering on the outside. It appears to be one thing, but you quickly discover that it is something entirely different once you bite into it. It is truly sad, because you see, just as some of their parents are being deceived by the sights, sounds and thrills of all of these so-called "manifestations", which are being performed by the ringleaders at their spiritual circuses, the children are doing the very same thing when they attend these "Christian rock" concerts. Both parents and children are getting excited and emotional in the flesh by these things, but it is all just Satan's deceptive counterfeit. Once a person leaves the Christian rock concert, or the fellowship filled with all of these "manifestations", the temporary thrill wears off; and for the next six days, they live their ho-hum existence, until they can go back for a refill when the next weekend arrives. This is not what true Christianity is about. ----- End Quote ----- "Joyful Noise to the Lord" KJV Bible Verse List: https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/verse042.html "Worldliness" KJV Bible Verse List: https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/verse078.html "No Peaceful Coexistence Between Believers and Nonbelievers" KJV Bible Verse List: https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/verse361.html Article: "God's Golden Teeth, Or Satan's Delusion?": https://www.billkochman.com/Articles/goldtth1.html "Our True Spiritual Temple" KJV Bible Verse List: https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/verse056.html https://www.billkochman.com/Blog/index.php/huh-a-poem-by-bill-kochman/?feed_id=32837&_unique_id=6404baeca62e5&HUH%3F%3F%3F%20--%20a%20poem%20by%20Bill%20Kochman

[amnesia-collection]

AMNESIA Drama CD ~Meido no Kuni no Amnesia~ 6

6th track out of 8

Translation by gardenofmelodies

Track 6 – Heartbeat☆Underworld School

Waka: Eeh, then because of this, from tomorrow on, there’ll be final exams. Be sure to not come late. Especially you, Shin, be careful since you have a habit of being late. Toma, I’ll leave Shin with you. Then, the today’s classes ends here. Everyone, go home early.

Sawa: Haha, Shin got told off the teacher as expected~

Mine: Geez, you’re only always late because you come to school riding your motorbike. It suits you though.

Rika: Nowadays, being a delinquent is not really popular. Be sure to not give problems for our library president, Toma-kun. Then, I’ll be on my way to the infirmary before going home, so farewell.

Sawa: Ah! I’ll go too!

Mine: Me too!

Shin: Hey… Why am I in the class delinquent position?!

Toma: This world is a school world, right……… I didn’t think we would come here, tho.

Ukyo: Me too. I would have never thought of wearing a student uniform at this age…

Kent: I have something to say about that too. Why am I wearing an school-uniform?! And a gakuran one!

Toma: Huh… Kent-sam, your visual appearance didn’t change that much from your usual one.

Shin: That’s true. You look normal.

Ukyo: That dark coat seemed a gakuran, after all…

Kent: My coat isn’t a gakuran-style! Besides, I’m not even a teacher, but a student?! On top of that, this Student Council armband!

Toma: Then that means Kent-san is the Student Council President?

Ukyo: Then, Waka-san is the homeroom teacher, Kent is the Student Council President, Toma is the Library Comittee President, Shin the young denlinquent…. These are the girls’ delusions, I guess

Shin: Huh? Then, what about Ikki-san?

Rika: Hihihi. Well, that’s because Ikki-sama is skilled.

Ikki: I didn’t say it to receive something back. It’s true. These uniforms really suits you three. It’s cute to the point that makes me want to take them off.

Sawa: Uwah… I’ve been called “cute” by Ikki-san…! This is dangerous, my heart…!

Mine: Sawa-senpai, this is not fair, you said you didn’t have interest in Ikki-san, so you can’t!

Sawa: Buuut! This white jacket really suits Ikki-san!

Kent: Ikkyu!

Ikki: Aah, aren’t you too late, Ken? I’ve been tired of waiting for you.

Toma: Keh- Ikki-san is the nurse?!

Shin: I don’t know whose dellusion is this, but this is way too dangerous!

Ikki: You’re really rude. What do you think I am?

Ukyo: Well well! Ummm… She is not in this world either, I guess?

Orion: Yes, she isn’t. Sorry…. Neil-sama is also searching for her, but… This world is based on the girls’ desires. It seems they talked about something like this would be fun.

Ukyo: Ah, then, that means I’m just a normal student… Who doesn’t have any special role… My existence has such a low value…Sorry, I’m going to cry a bit.

Kent: Then, let’s bring back their conscience to these girls. Ikkyu, okay?

Ikki: Yes, yes. Then, Rika, and Sawa-chan and Mine-chan. Can you look at me?

Sawa: Ah…

Mine: Y-yes…

Rika: If I look at you like that, even me, who should’ve been used to it…

Ikki: It was really fun being here playing a “as if” we were in the school. If we could, I’d like to stay like this forever, but… But you know, we need to search her.

Mine: She…? Who is she?

Ikki: Hm, that’s something I don’t know yet, but I can feel that she disappeared. That’s why we’re searching her to go back to our original place. This one is a world created by your desillusions, so, could you come with us?

Rika: If it’s Ikki-sama’s wish, of course we can. I would travel all the world just for you!

Sawa: Ah, me too! I’ll go with you!

Mine: I’ll go too!

Ikki: Thanks, you three.

Toma: Can you really say they are back to their original selves with this, I wonder?

Kent: Let’s give up. I never met girls around him who could stand up to him…

Shin: Besides her, right?

Ukyo: Where is her…?