#03. HEADCANONS — SAIKO

[carminewill]

this is my very rough and ugly chart for main militant dynamics in AiB live action show, By all means feel free to use this for reference or ask me any questions. HERE I'm going to elaborate in regards to my muses but very well may talk about some additional ones.

OBVIOUSLY Aguni is the leader, and all the militants follow him. But what is interesting is that there's a split within the group if the militants aren't all moving as one. We have a squad that is primarily with Aguni and then we have a squad that is almost always with Niragi. Takeya and Noriko are both primarily in Aguni's group while Saiko is always with Niragi.

Niragi is more a DE-FACTO second-in-command as we don't get any canon remark that he is the second, but he definitely operates as such and Aguni doesn't seem to mind. Now within his group, we have Saiko, Jun, and then two unnamed. SAIKO is clearly the leader out of those 4 and might be because she seems to have a VERY SIMILAR to Niragi. She's rather violent and seems to enjoy inflicting harm or mocking others, considering she was grinning and taunting Tatta on purpose just to piss him off and didn't even seem bothered when she was getting punched. Also during the assault scene, she can be seen checking Niragi's reactions & mood compared to the other 3 who are just focused on doing what their told. She's typically looking at Niragi a lot or sharing looks in some of the crowd scenes, like rolling their eyes when Ann tries to keep the peace, and she's the first to start shooting. Plus, she also seems to be the HUNTING DOG of the group, sent to find people while Jun & the glasses guy seem to be the ones who physically drag people to where they're supposed to be. and idk about the striped girl. She's simply obedient and chooses to stick with that team. Glasses guy seems to be the LEAST CERTAIN//LOYAL as he does question Niragi's orders for the 10 of hearts and subsequently gets shot in the chest by Niragi. Jun also questions loyalty after the Aguni reveal of wanting to just kill beach people. SAIKO on the other hand seems 100% fine and she doesn't even move when Niragi goes berserk. ( Interestingly none of the gunfire goes her way either. she's just a niragi supporter what can i say. )

Then we have Aguni's main team. Which is Takeya, Noriko, surfer-guy, breakdown guy, and tiger stripe guy. Aguni's team in general is less violent in general up till the 10 of hearts. Noriko does seem to appear with Saiko at times though, both choosing to be near each other in th initial appearance scenes as well as the Arisu getting caught time. Surfer guy and Takeya are almost always together. They primarily stick with Aguni but DID help with catching Arisu & tying him up after Chishiya set Arisu up to fail. It's the only time though, as they otherwise seem to go rigth back with Aguni. However, all except Noriko expression either initial fear & hesitation to start killing in the 10 of hearts game (i.e. tiger shirt guy and blonde breakdown) or regret during/after but resigned that it's too late (Takeya & the surfer guy). There's no real HIERARCHY within this team like there seems to be with Niragi's, at least to some degree. All 5 in this team seem to operate at the same level with no distinct differences in how they interact among each other.

And Last Boss...honestly he's just doing his own thing. He doesn't seem to have a set dynamic or situation. Shows up when it's the 3 of them but otherwise he seems to be off on his own. Like i said, this isn't the prettiest chart but it is a rough idea of how it seems to be & some quick notes.

[carminewill]

Saiko particularly hates Chishiya because she always feels stupid around him. She's knows she isn't the best with academics,, but she is very people smart when she chooses to be. But around him she just feels especially dumb and the fact threats don't work and he doesn't even bother to acknowledge basically anyone irritates her. Plus she's particularly fond of Niragi and Aguni so his complete disregard and disrespect to them also makes her want to choose violence. She doesn't but god she wants to.

That said, Saiko doesn't like MOST of the other executives for the same reason. The fact they're primarily diamond players doesn't help the situation. But at least they tend to be pretty quiet or boring and she tends to just ignore whatever they say.

Ironically, she doesn't mind Hatter. Despite the whole Hatter's Idealists vs the militants dynamic, Saiko doesn't care for the set up. Her loyalty IS to Niragi & Aguni, so she absolutely will choose them and do whatever they say without hesitation. But in general? She thinks he's pretty chill and doesn't have any issues with him. If he wants to get drunk and fuck around, she doesn't have any issues with it so long as the Beach keeps having electricity and running water. Her list of favorites goes

Last Boss is sort of a weird situation for her. She likes his penchant for violence and 'screw all this bullshit' attitude which aligns well with herself. And the tattoos are pretty cool in her opinion. But he's also a little strange in a way she's not particularly sure how to feel about. Despite that though, her opinion tends to be more favorable to him than not.

[carminewill]

Surviving the Borderlands does VERY LITTLE to change anything about Saiko. Saiko didn't change within the borderlands. She became a bit more extreme, but most of her personality was already how it is within the Borderlands. The situation there just amplified it. And while maybe she's a tiny bit more willing for a connection with others, it's still fairly superficial. She also did have a grand I should be a better person! moment when she woke up and learned she survived. Her reaction was more of a "oh what the FUCK?! " response to learning of what happened. To be honest, I could entirely see her staying in the Borderlands at a citizen. In cases where she does leave, it was more likely because she didn't want to play any more death games than anything else. In the aftermath, she ends up pretty much the same if not a little bit worse with a heightened craving for adrenaline.

Noriko on the other hand has learned she is a lot better with violence than she thought pre-Borderlands. Her parents and herself have stayed in WHITE-COLLAR CRIMES so prior to the Borderlands, she never was involved in anything particularly violent.. She knew of course what clients did, and the consequences people might face. But it was more DISTANT. In light of what happened and her time with the militants, Noriko's more willing personally to get her hands dirty if necessary. It's still not something she takes particular JOY in doing, but she is willing to do it. She's also likely to keep contact with other survivors of the Borderlands and keep the connections she's made.

Takeya on the other hand STRUGGLES THE MOST after surviving everything. His mind tried to block it out longer but the guilt he had from the ten of hearts game plagued him and caused his reminder. PRIOR to the Borderlands, he had just been an AVERAGE, TYPICAL PERSON. So how does he make peace with the fact there's blood on his hands? And it wasn't just one or two, but dozens and dozens of people. He does a lot to try to make amends. As a welder his skill is in especially high demand to help with Tokyo's recovery, so he works a lot, but he also tries to help other survivors (especially the other militants like him who were swept into the pack mindset), as well as volunteer where he can. But he continues to struggle with a lot of nightmares and feelings of guilt and remorse.

[carminewill]

venus - what is your muse ’ s opinion on love ? // for saiko

↳ PLANET THEMED HEADCANONS

Saiko honestly doesn't have MUCH of an opinion on love. She's never been IN love despite being in several relationships. Most of the time those relationships have just been for her gain or for her amusement rather than anything genuinely emotional. ( At best she did like the company of a couple but wasn't INVESTED per se. ) That's not to say Saiko COULDN'T ever be in love. She is capable of it ( i think ). But it has to be the right person. She doesn't like being powerless or weak, and being in love feels vulnerable. Naturally she tends to be rather adverse to that. She would much rather just sleep with someone rather than become attached emotionally. Deep down though? Deep down I think Saiko WOULD come to like being in a genuine relationship, but she tries to deny that even to herself for the sake of being 'strong'. This bad girl doesn't want to lose her heartless bitch reputation after all.

Sometimes she can find it obnoxious, especially with those people who are extremely PDA heavy. That will typically irritate her and have her rolling her eyes. But otherwise she doesn't care too much. For some of the FEW people she actually enjoys having around her, she would probably even congratulate them if they got into a relationship ( although she'd definitely tease them too about growing soft ). And she does enjoy a good romance storyline in media. Romance just...isn't something she puts a lot of effort into when it comes to her own life.

[carminewill]

Saiko HATES to be by herself and you'll very rarely ever find her in such a situation. Despite her taste for violence, she doesn't like to be on her own - even if those around her aren't really people she cares much about. It's better than being ALONE. The only time she'd prefer to be alone is if she one day felt scared or ashamed. But it's pretty hard to get Saiko into that situation. No matter where she is, she usually has people around her in one form or another. Be it following her, parting with her, whatever it might happen to be. Or, on the rare occasion, SHE chooses to tail along with someone else.

In terms of specifically the Borderlands, she wasn't on her own for very long. She ended up finding the Beach fairly early on in her arrival within the place and has been a part of the militants since day one when she arrived with the Beach. She's constantly with Niragi and their little mini-squad within the militants and even when not on duty she's usually with 2 or 3 of them, though it can vary on the day or what she might be doing. ( Especially if she decides to let loose in the nightclub space. )

Saiko isn't AFRAID to be on her own though. She is more than capable of handling herself, and after everything in the ten of hearts game ( and her REASONABLE assumption that Aguni and Niragi died, Jun and the others having been killed ), she stays on her own for the first few days. With time she'd likely find some people to tag along or let follow her ; she's CAPABLE of surviving on her own, she just doesn't like it.

[carminewill]

Post ten of hearts - for those who perhaps want to encounter or just want to know.

SAIKO has more or less ended up on her own. She did originally have the girl with the red and black sweater with her, but when she died during the opening of the face card games, Saiko stuck to herself rather than joining any groups. Not like they'd want her anyways. Now she's often on the move, a loose canon without anyone having any reign on her.

NORIKO strikes out on her own - with the fall of the Beach, she doesn't find it particularly useful to hang around with the others anymore. At times she'll meet up with other survivors and discuss information or ideas and maybe hang out with them for a little while, but tends to often end up on her own again when she goes to a game or splits when the King of Spades gets too close.

TAKEYA is always with other people ; he and several of the remorseful militants have stuck together and they've picked up other survivors along the way. It's a little less lonely when there's more people around ; he often volunteers to be the first shift in the night for keeping an eye out for the king of Spades.

[carminewill]

Saiko is and has always primarily been interested in men. Having said that, she has previously CONSIDERED sex with another women. They were more just passing thoughts that she ended up brushing off due to no interest in the women around her.

It really wasn't until the Borderlands that she decided to pursue that IF someone caught her eye like that. If they might die any day, might as well try it once while she has the chance. If she hates it then hey, never do it again. And if not, if it turns out she does like it? Cool, more people to mess with.

[carminewill]

I'm writing this down so I don't forget to add this information or lose it while I'm doing things.

Prior to the borderlands, Noriko was involved in money laundering while working at a pachinko parlor and has connections with the criminal world, though she's never participated in any violent crimes until the Borderlands.

Takeya on the other hand was just an average person ; he was a well known welder making pretty good money, especially with the growing shortage of welders in Japan. While he's had a couple fights and brawls, he's never been in any serious trouble.

Saiko however already had an extensive history of causing trouble and problems even before the Borderlands, often stirring up drama, getting into fights, and otherwise being that bitch. She worked as a bartender at a popular club in Roppongi.

[carminewill]

Alright we've got something going for now.

SAIKO - PART OF NIRAGI'S GROUP UNDER AGUNI.

TAKEYA - PART OF AGUNI'S MAIN GROUP

NORIKO - PART OF AGUNI'S MAIN GROUP ; OCCASIONALY JOINS NIRAGI'S GROUP