#Aozora no Memory

[manytoonepoet13]

Blue Bouquet — A Bittersweet Love.

A little something that I've come to notice while rewatching the two mvs we have for Blue Bouquet is the theme they surround themselves in and how it correlates with what their continent is supposed to represent; the continent of love.

Collab with: @Insight.

You see, from Aozora no Memory to Key My Notes, the themes, the lyrics, they have been about change, sacrifice, hope, time, strength, and courage. All qualities that comes when loving someone or something, especially when you aim for a better future for them. In both mvs, Cielomort is reaching for a brighter future for his people and ultimately the entirety the world of Fragaria, while Kurode is reaching for a better version of himself that could contribute in bringing a brighter future.

"It is natural to want to protect what is important to you. I'm happy to have more friends. I'll show you the blue sky." — Cielomort.

Cielomort has quite the reputation. The young prodigy he is, with his skills and popularity he managed to build the largest kingdom in the span of three years, all for the betterment of the future of Cinnamoroll's kingdom. That, and as the leader of Blue Bouquet, many major responsibilities have fallen into the palm of his hands.

Responsibilities, as well as what may be considered as the greatest sacrifice within Fragaria.

If you take a look in the mv, you'd see a few things that stands out: Books, balloons, the sky, clocks (I hate clocks) and doves.

Now, books, represent knowledge and wisdom, escape and exploration, desire to learn, truth and judgement, communication and expression. And are probably a tie to Willmesh, especially with the new mv coming out later this evening.

Balloons are a symbol of happiness and lightness of sorrow –> which is what Ciel want to do; make everyone happy.

The sky symbolizes infinity, immortality, and transcendence, or an existence or experience beyond the normal or physical level. While clocks represent almost the exact opposite, it represents time, mortality, the passage of life, and sometimes death.

And dove represents peace, love, and purity. While spiritually, it represents peace, renewal, transformation, and love.

But what do all of this mean? Well, basically, the said sacrifice consists of Cielomort wanting to happiness and lightness of sorrows that were brought by the SEEDS and show the people of Cinnamoroll's kingdom and the entirety of Fragaria the blue sky where they are free of worry.

""Both beautiful and the imaginary, different emotions are swirling around." = Change.

Ciel's sacrifice was not easy, some people look at him in honor, some people look at him in sorrow. His sacrifice is free for interpretation, hence the difference emotions swirling around. Now in relation to sacrifice, the line goes:

"Look for you. I'll become the blue sky."

The reason why I said that his sacrifice is free for interpretation is that sky, according to you can mean infinity. There are an infinite amount of possibilities. So when he becomes "the blue sky" he does not only transcend (descend six feet underground) but he also provides a choice. A choice on how his sacrifice can be seen. And that interpretation is ultimately what impacts change." – @c h a m a l a m.

"I wish to share it all with you, it would be nice if I could be within that "everything". But it's alright if your sky continues to remain blue."

Basically, to everyone around him, his promise and sacrifice was basically "everything". Happiness, peace, "everything". And as much as he'd like to be able to share it with them, he can't, and these lines showed us why:

"The rippling bitterness, just drink it all up quietly."

"Even though things may change during these dizzying days... Leave only your smiles, for I will tuck away your loneliness into those clouds."

"Cut out the cotton clouds and blue sky... for they are the footprints of this waving memory, this memory of the blue sky."

"Even if those clouds that rode on the blowing wind will never return... we'll continue to believe that the future will allow us to meet you again."

It's a journey that he would have to venture through alone. I believe, if the lyrics would serve me right, those clouds are the memories of the first timeline, to cut out the cotton clouds and blue sky, to tuck away your loneliness into those clouds, it meant to shut those bad memories and emotions away to make room for better ones, even if it meant not having to remember those again, to not remember who you are or what had happened back then. Here, this is to preserve purity, to provide contentment, joy, and optimism in defense of the SEEDS' effects. But if you were following my theories, you know that this isn't what's "right" in the long run, how this is them falling victim into the illusion the SEEDS made. Because those memories, they are the truth, they are an integral part of who you are as a person.

That's why in both songs they sang "I can't reach it even if I stretch my hand out." "I'm reaching far, far away... until my hope dies."

Even if they don't actively know, even if they aren't actively aware of these memories, there are fragments of them that lingers within their person, making them remember what had actually happen.

""Inside this heart, a memory that's sincere and eternal."

Everyone has a feeling of those memories being there, despite not being fully aware of it. It doesn't matter which song or which character, the message is clear and reiterated over and over: they have memories. They can feel that they do. But the don't necessarily know about it.New insight: The reason why despite everything the seeds and timelines have done they still recall their memories, is because those memories are true. The truth will speak for itself and does not need to be proven. No matter what happens, it will find it's way to override reality for a sense of balance. After all, they do say that there's no secret that time won't tell.

My new insight (specifically the part: it will find it's way to override reality) relates with the line:

"It may be full of absurdity and even riddled with bugs however I still love this world so much."

Because no matter how flawed and fractured the current world of Fragaria may be, those memories are true, they want to get those memories back. So they have to work with what they have. Let's say fest friend J baked a cake but you don't like cake at all. But it's best friend J's thought to bake you a cake that counts. Because you love best friend J, you still accept it as is." – @c h a m a l a m.

"Before long, that imagination will soon overtake us." –> Imagination = Memories.

"Continue on drawing until you can take grasp of it."

"I'll leave everything up to these intense emotions."

You see, everything up to this point has been centered around emotions, even the SEEDS feed on negative emotions, it's their emotions what brought all of this upon them but it is also their emotions what will get them out of this predicament.

"If only we can be imperfect and not full of deceit."

"Sometimes we can let go of that hand due to weakness."

The knights have been to busy thinking of the "perfect" way to go against the SEEDS that they forgot how to feel to the point where feelings began to turn against them. Look at Hallritt and Merold, because of Merold's "lie", Hallritt became tense, distant, and almost hostile towards Merold, quite similar to how Kurode became towards Merold as well.

Merold and Cielomort are no villains, both of them are merely victims of the SEEDS' illusions for the sake of saving their respective kingdom and lords.

But all in all, I'd say to fix this, they just need to let go and feel even a little bit. Relax and reflect and reach out to one another. Because that's what it means to love, isn't it?

"Let me protect everyone from here..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The knights ask nothing in return for their love."

[l0uterstella]

Cielomort's Death (Aozora no Memory Theory)

ah shit here we go again

Full English translation, Ever Red theory (must read to understand this post)

Last updated: Dec 8 2023

Multiple things point to something happening to Ciel in the past. The lyrics, the MV itself, and his own name. This death could be (at least one of) Hallritt's mistakes in the 1st timeline.

LYRICS

In Ever Red, fruits are what represented memories for Red Bouquet. For Blue Bouquet, it would be clouds.

Cotton clouds in the blue skies are cut out

Unwanted memories are cut out from the mind

All I want is your sky to stay blue

All I want is you to stay pure (and not remember his death)

The members describing something "unexplainable." Louter and Willmesh could be talking about tears. Hold your (bitter) tears in and let it go. Perhaps their memories of Cielomort got erased after his death.

MV

There were a lot of imagery of doves and balloons. Balloons represent freedom, letting it fly to the sky has a sense of letting it go; setting it free. Letting Cielomort go.

There's also a shot of one of the strawberry gems dissolving. The filter makes it hard to tell whose it is, but it's most likely Cielomort considering the other signs.

It could also be Myunna since the filter is yellow but I have nothing to add to that. He's my son and I dont want anything happening to him

How Ciel died isn't known, but one transition shows blue paint (blood?) coming out around his collarbone or chest. Two other shots before it show him with his head below his chest, which could slightly imply beheading.

And finally, do you know what Cielomort means in French?

Here, your heart seems lonely Here, if you feel like crying Softly weep and let them flow to the sky I'll turn them to the blue sky

I went with the blowing wind Even if that cloud never returns I want to believe in the future Just as we met

[coffeelomort]

Fragaria Memories Livesteam 23/04 Summary

As usual, take everything I say with a grain of salt, there's a chance I misheard or mistranslated things!

They displayed some of the newer merch in front of them.

They're running a giveaway campaign on Twitter for a CD set (until 23/04 23:59 JST).

They mentioned the pre-orders for the CDs, and that with the pre-orders you get various bonuses depending on the website you order from, and that you get a chance to attend the fanmeet in August.

They showed an sample of everyone's solos! (The seiyuus were so loud during Aozora no Memory, lol)

(They joked that Chaco's seiyuu got excited like a dog that was told he's being taken on a walk...)

Honestly, I have no idea what's going on in the challenge section. I think they were given prompts to talk about the CDs in a certain time limit? (They all failed according to Louterstella's seiyuu, and they revolted so Louterstella's seiyuu had to do the challenge too. He passed because he's cute according to the fans in the stream chat.)

The first live and fanmeet on 10/08 and 11/08 is called "Wish is"! The seiyuus available for the fanmeet depends on the day and time (for Day 2) you go. They revealed the prices for the tickets; the most expensive being 14,000 yen for additional benefits (extra merch?) and the best seats. The tickets will be available for those that preordered the CDs from 01/05.

Animate Spring Fair brings some new merch. The event lasts from 27/04 until 19/05.

(Kurode's seiyuu got locked out of his iPhone. Twice.)

They mention some information about the Collab Cafe, it's mostly information we already know from what I can tell.

They talk about Knight Link; the next episode will have Hallritt, Puruth, and Sanah as the hosts (so the same as last weeks). They mentioned something about an archive that overseas fans can access again, but I have no idea where that could be. (I pay for radiko and listen live, so...)

The Noir Bouquet watch party livestream will be on 05/10 at 19:30 JST! Which means that's when Noir Bouquet's voice drama will be released!!! Seems like it'll focus on Arupek and Chaco.

(If Kurode's seiyuu gets locked out of his iPhone again, it'll be for 30 minutes.)

[clownjail]

need this song engraved into my spinal cord IMMEDIATELY!

[pekoriamemories]

i watched Day1 of the 1st Live & Fan Meeting 〜Wish is …〜 and i had a great time! i won't post any pictures (for now) but i'll at least mention the setlist for Day1 the 3DCG Live part!

i intend to watch both lives for Day2 but i don't know if they'll mix up the order so we''ll see!

1. ALL SO BAD 2.Haikei, Akatsuki Someru Nijiyo NOIR BOQUET Interlude 3.BUBBLE 4.KEY MY NOTES 5.YOUR MELODY BLUE BOUQUET Interlude 6.Aozora no Memory 7.CHARCOAL WHITE 8.Yotsuba Tsuduri no Rhapsody RED BOUQUET Interlude 9. EVER RED

[sandwitchstories]

After reading @drabblesandimagines heart warming stories about Rei learning about high fives and rock/paper/scissors, this idea popped into my head and wouldn't stop bouncing around like a ping pong ball until I got it out. Thank you for some inspiration! My writers block finally broke!!

I hope you all enjoy it! It is also on my AO3 if you would prefer to read it there! Full story under the read more since its longer than a drabble :)

Jump Around

Rei breached the wall of the Aozora Day Care yard, landing in a crouch before moving quickly. It did not take long to identify the perfect location for him and Kazuki to sit during field day and see everything clearly. 

Kazuki had been very specific in his instructions of what directions their vantage point needed to cover. What he had not been specific about was what precautions Rei should use to secure the position. Rei set up the small area with what he assumed would be ample and acceptable precautions. 

He gave a small smile as he looked at his handy work. He may not understand just what this field day entailed, but he understood clearly that it was important to Miri. He made a mental note to ask Kazuki for more information when he got back home.

As Rei turned to go, an outline on the ground caught his attention. Hopscotch. That was what Kazuki had called it. A memory flashed in his mind.

Rei paused walking as he realized Kazuki was no longer beside him. He turned to find the blonde man squatted down, searching through a dirt patch next to the sidewalk. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to find a flat rock,” Kazuki answered, his focus totally on his search.

“Why though?” Rei cocked his head slightly, moving closer.

“Uh, listen, Rei. There are some unwritten rules in life. One of which is- one does not walk past a Hopscotch grid without playing a round of Hopscotch,” Kazuki grinned up at him as he found the rock he was looking for. 

“What is Hopscotch?” Rei asked.

Kazuki gestured to the crudely drawn chalk outline that Rei had walked over without any consideration. “That is Hopscotch.”

“What is the purpose?”

“It’s just a game. Something kids do for fun.”

“How is it played?" Rei was intrigued. 

"You gonna play a round with me?" 

 Rei shrugged. "Why not?"

“Alright, here’s the gist of it. You toss the stone, starting by landing it in the box with the 1. You jump over the square with your stone in it. Then you jump all the way down to the end and back, picking up your stone on the return trip. You can only place one foot per square, if your other foot touches the ground or you land on a line, your turn is over. Oh, and don’t fall over,” Kazuki explained patiently, knowing well that Rei’s untraditional childhood had deprived him of many basic things such as games like this

“So you just throw the stone to the correct square, jump past it, go to the end, come back and then pick it up?” Rei asked.

“Yup!” Kazuki gave him a broad grin. “Time to unleash your inner child.”

“Inner child?” Rei asked. He had never once felt like a child in any respect. 

“Everyone’s got one. It’s just an expression that means to do something fun or child like, just for the hell of it."

Rei watched as he tossed the stone. Kazuki proceeded to follow the directions he had explained. When he reached the final square with his stone in it, he snatched it up, and jumped with both feet onto the unmarked sidewalk.

“Tada!” Kazuki said with a small bow. He handed Rei the stone. “Your turn!”

Rei gently tossed the stone, landing it in the 1 spot with ease. He jumped on one foot, jumping over the first square. He went to the end, turned around and came back, bending over to grab the stone as he finished his turn.

“So?” Kazuki asked. 

Rei shrugged. “And you do this 10 times?”

“Correct. Whoever gets to 10 first wins.”

Rei considered it for a moment. He gave Kazuki the stone and gestured towards the chalk outline in front of them. “It’s your turn.”

They played for a few minutes, Rei wasn’t really sure what he should be feeling but his chest did feel a little lighter.  He gave a smirk as he landed in front of Kazuki, having made it all the way to 10 and back, while apparently square 5 had a vendetta against the giant blonde. “I won.”

“Beginners luck!” Kazuki huffed. 

“Not luck. You need to work on your balance, coordination and gross motor skills. You’re getting old.”

“I’m not old!” Kazuki glared at him. “I’ll show you balance, coordination and gross motor skills! Best 2 out of 3!”

Rei shrugged. Why not? They had nothing better to do. 

Rei looked around the school yard, once again ensuring that he was completely alone. He needed to get home, he wanted to help with the field day preparations. But, there were unwritten rules in life, and he was no longer letting life pass him by.

Knowing he did not have time to play a full game, he picked up a nearby stone and tossed it. His marksmanship once again came in handy as it landed in square 10. He set off, jumping, all the way to square 10 and back. 

Rei gave the stone a toss, catching it in the palm of his hand before he tossed it back where he found it. That lighter feeling in his chest he had experienced the first time was there again. He headed back towards the wall with a small smile on his face.  Maybe Kazuki was right after all and he did have an inner child. 

[save-the-data]

Okay I've decided that I'm going to do Decade next, but I also want to start episode GIFsets for Super Sentai as well, and I'm unsure to do first Ressha Sentai ToQger or Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger. (Note I haven't watched either in the few years, so it will be like walking down memory lane).

I'm also going to do a throwback to the past with Aozora no Tamago.

This year I want to do some more older Japanese dramas that is my goal.

[everglowstardust]

A Piece of my Life

English Translation:

As the ordinary days go by

They change their color little by little

Countless dreams and countless hopes

Have been held so strongly

The feelings and words tucked away in my heart

I didn’t convey are starting to overflow

Because I had love to give me courage

I’m where I am right now

Blown by the shining wind

Let’s live freely

This era is like a cloud in the blue sky

It’s changing its shape, though

Let’s sing along now

Whatever day, forever more

Because our hearts are close

The flowers of our smiles bloom

And become something precious that connects us

A piece of my life

Everything that makes you angry has meaning, you know

Hey, let’s face them together one by one

Each and every present, each and every future

Everyone is supporting them

Because you know the pain of suffering and sorrow

You’ve grown stronger and kinder, right?

I’ll send my love and encouragement to you

So there’s no need for tears anymore

Bathing in the gentle sunlight

Let’s try living honestly

Even if you get lost and take the long way

I’ll come to greet you

Let’s sing along now

Wherever, however far

Let’s believe and keep walking

Overcoming the time in our memories

Our precious things light our way

A piece of my life

A piece of my life, yeah

Thank you for your love…

Love you back

Blown by the shining wind

Let’s live freely

This era is like a cloud in the blue sky

It’s changing its shape, though

Let’s sing along now

Whatever day, forever more

Because our hearts are close

The flowers of our smiles bloom

And become something precious that connects us

A piece of my life

Romaji Lyrics:

atarimae no hibi ga toki no nagare ni

mata sukoshi zutsu iro wo kaeteku

ikutsu mo no yume ikutsu mo no kibou

tsuyoku dakishimeteita

mune ni shimaikonde tsutaenakatta

omoi ya kotoba ga afuretekuru yo

yuuki wo kureta ai ga atta kara

ima kono basho ni iru

hikaru kaze ni fukarete

jiyuu ni ikiteyukou yo

jidai wa aozora no kumo no you ni

katachi wo kaeteyuku kedo

Let’s sing along now

itsu no hi mo itsu made mo

kokoro ni yorisou kara

egao no hana wo sakasete

bokura wo tsunagu taisetsu na mono

A piece of my life

okoru koto subete ni imi ga aru kara

nee hitotsu zutsu mukiatteyukou

sorezore no ima sorezore no mirai

minna sasaeatteru

kurushimi ya kanashimi itami shiru hodo

tsuyosa to yasashisa sodattekunda ne

hagemashi nagara ai wo todoketeku

mou namida wa iranai

yawaraka na hi wo abite

sunao ni ikitemiyou yo

mayotte moshi toomawari shitemo

boku ga mukae ni iku kara

Let’s sing along now

doko e demo doko made mo

shinjite aruiteyukou

omoide toki wo koeteku

bokura wo terasu taisetsu na mono

A piece of my life

A piece of my life, yeah

Thank you for your love…

Love you back

hikaru kaze ni fukarete

jiyuu ni ikiteyukou yo

jidai wa aozora no kumo no you ni

katachi wo kaeteyuku kedo

Let’s sing along now

itsu no hi mo itsu made mo

kokoro ni yorisou kara

egao no hana wo sakasete

bokura wo tsunagu taisetsu na mono

A piece of my life

[characterswithcolorsnamesfight]

Hello, please excuse me for barging in with a relatively long text. I'm not trying to be rude, but I will probably come across as smart-ass anon. If I'm horribly wrong someone can correct me. I just want everyone to be aware and to watch out and double check when in doubt.

I think, you should be careful with characters named Aoi claiming to mean blue in Japanese. More often Aoi as a name is not blue and even some fandom wikis have it wrong.

But there is a simple rule...

Aoi written with the Kanji 葵 is not blue. It is a noun meaning hollyhock (a plant with very nice flowers!).

Aoi written with Kanji 青い is an adjective meaning blue, blue-ish. The noun for the blue, the blueness, would be Ao (青) without the "i". You can see the colour meaning with Ao (青) more in compound names like Aoyama (青山 green mountain*) or Aozora (青空 blue sky) for example.

So it might be more common to name characters and actual children after a flower. Instead of the adjective blue-ish.

Finally, there is also the Aoi who is not written in Kanji but simply with あおい or アオイ. As here no descriptive Kanji are used, the meaning is open to interpretation and what might more fitting to the character (is the character more a flowery type or a blue type due to hair or clothes? Or maybe both a flowery type with a lot of blue colour theme in the character design?).

*I use green mountain rather than blue mountain in a translation. Japanese doesn't necessarily distinguish blue and green. Ao/Aoi can indeed mean both blue and green.

This is a japanese dictionary for English: https://ejje.weblio.jp/

You can just copy paste any Kanji and it will put the English meaning. It also works the other way round.

I know it's just a fun tournament and it's not meant to be a science. I just wanted to place this here for the sake of fairness. I hope it was at least somewhat informative or worth knowing.

Hi !

As someone who tends to apologize too much in real life, please don't apologize, it wasn't necessary. It didn't sound rude or mean spirited at all and I'll never blame someone for sharing their knowledge respectfully.

I've worked on a tournament before and got more familiar with kanji (including non descriptive ones) then -I'm still not an expert but I understand the system better than I previously did-. That doesn't work that well with non descriptive kanjis but just copy-pasting kanjis in the images search engine also helps. There are two ways of writing Sakura with descriptive kanjis (one is more used in first names and means cherry blossom and I can be wrong but from memory the other one is about warehouse and help and used for surnames)

I knew for the polysemy of Aoi because you all are champions for saying "I know the original meaning isn't xxx but -" but some submitters didn't seem aware of it (well I prefer to think they weren't. This is a silly tourney and honesty is the basis of courtesy)

I didn't know about blue and green, that was very enlightening. I'm glad many more people think green and blue look quite similar (we have a family running joke about never agreeing on colors, especially not blue VS green. "Look how blue the lake is." "What are you on ? Looks green." "More black-ish imo." "Take of your sunglasses. It's blue-green you all" "What do you mean green, it's obviously teal", "Isn't teal a green shade ??" "No, it's blue" "Wait let me check with my phone")

Thank you for the Japanese dictionary, I browsed a few for tourney purpose before but didn't know how accurate they were.

I wasn't planning to accept characters with wrong kanji without and make you all decide about the ones with a good explanation on a case by case basis. I'm also putting explanations for non English names and rarer English names on all the polls. This is comforting me in my choice.

You're welcome to bang on my door and teach me more about linguistics anytime !

Thank you for your research ! Have a lovely day !

[manytoonepoet13]

HERE. AND. NOW. As a proud MEROLD and CIELOMORT stan. Why do you guys love to villainize these two??? ESPECIALLY CIELOMORT I genuinely do not see why they would have some sort of villainous intent.

Merold might be impure, yes. He lies through his teeth just to get what he wants. But what does he want? His lord's happiness. For no one to ever cross My Melody. And yes. I am aware how Your Melody is inspired by Little Red Riding Hood...

“Quote from 4games: While it matches the worldview of "Fragmem", there is also a way of depicting it from a different perspective. I thought that the Lord is "My Melody" and the title of this song is "Your Melody" was very tasteful. Conversely, I would like to hear how the song was created. Murakami: In terms of the lyrics, first of all, there is the choice of words that are inspired by the motif of "Little Red Riding Hood" that you just mentioned. "Whisper" is also an expression that means "don't be fooled by what the wolf says". Also, the repeated phrase "why" in the latter half is a phrase that comes from "Little Red Riding Hood", such as "why are grandma's ears so big" and "why is her mouth so big". We will be depicting what kind of person Merold is in the voice drama, but I wanted to make this song meaningful by releasing it before we know that. I'm sure that the listener's feelings will change as the story progresses.”

While I do agree that the expression that is "whisper" may be suspicious on it's own. If you look at the bigger picture, you may see that the wolf isn't representing Merold, but I'd say his fixation. I believe so because such expression was used in these lyrics:

“The fairytale of that day you told me about... The pleasantly soft and sweet whispers, Just listen to them carefully, don't get flustered now.”

To which was then followed by the line:

“It'd okay to be deceived with an outright lie... because within it lingers a quiet love.”

Further emphasizing the point that he's doing what's to be considered bad things, but for the greater good.

And Cielomort's the same. I would even go as far as to say the reason why he may be acting suspicious is what I like to call my Vessel Theory where Cielomort wants to utilize his body to be a vessel for all the negativity, and the essence of everything each kingdom loves in order to lure the SEEDS to him, therefore allowing him to eradicate all of them at once.

Hints of his impending sacrifice is scattered throughout Aozora no Memory, particularly showing in lines such as:

“Look, for you, I'll become the blue sky.” “I wish to share it all with you, it would be nice if I could be within that “everything”. But it's alright if your sky continues to remain blue.” “Even though things may change during these dizzying days... Leave only your smiles, for I will tuck away your loneliness into those clouds.”

(DOES THAT SOUND LIKE A VILLAIN PLANNING A CONTINUOUS SPREE OF SENDING PEOPLE SIX FEET BELOW???)

Though they don't have villainous attempt (as of now or most probably ever) I can indeed say what they're doing is not good; to deprive the people of truth is akin to a body without a soul.

Even though I'm quite set with this idea, I do want to read your thoughts. Maybe I might change.

But the only thing I'm suspicious of Cielomort is his descent six feet below...

[l0uterstella]

YOUR MELODY: Analysis, Merold's Manipulation

(Parts are still incomplete like the flower language) full english lyrics, Ever Red theory (MUST READ TO UNDERSTAND THIS POST) Updated: Feb 25 2024

MV

Flower Language

(thanks to my friend Lux for finding most of them)

Rimicha - sunflower, birds of paradise Sunflower: Symbols of joy, adoration, and loyalty. There's a story in Greek Mythology of a nymph who turns into the flower after losing her lover Birds of paradise:  Symbols of joy, paradise, freedom, and a sense of exploration

Hallritt - red periwinkle - symbol of purity, everlasting love, loyalty to friends, and hope

Merold - white and pink easter lily, white chrysanthemum, baby's breath, white spider lily, white and pink rose, hyacinth - together as a bouquet, all these flowers symbolize devoted love and loyalty, feelings of strong familial love and homesickness, positivity, happiness and admiration for the receiver, along with "seeking forgiveness/deep regret" with the hyacinths

Mirror flowers: lily, daisy, carnation, 4th still unknown - Together as a bouquet, these flowers represent celebration/hope for happiness, love and connection. Some flowers also share a meaning of rebirth or missing someone

Broken Mirror

Broken mirrors typically symbolize a shattered self-image, fractured identity, and a sense of loss. I'll most likely be covering the voice drama in another post, but in the first episode, Hallritt is seen easily defeating a seed in one hit. Maybe Merold feels like his role as the strongest knight is being challenged? Which is why he accuses Hallritt of being a failure as a knight in the teaser for episode 2. In another scene, these two frames are right next to each other. Instead of the diamond flipping around like it did before, Merold just completely replaces Hallritt.

The MV also had multiple "waves"/glitches, which recently has been a recurring theme of Seed's presence.

ELDRITT/HALLRITT SYSTEM

Hallritt also feels a bit "off" in the MV. It's possible that it's Eldritch Hallritt/Eldritt/The "original Hallritt" currently present. It's a bit confusing to tell which timeline the MV is set in, but it might make more sense with the System Hallritt headcanon. Eldritt formed as a protector and gatekeeper who used to hide the truth from the "current Hallritt", before deciding it'd be beneficial if he knew the truth and did something about it. Following this, the MV is in the 2nd timeline as my timeline theory suggests (with the voice dramas being the 1st timeline), and Eldritt is simply fronting instead of Hallritt.

There's also this scene where Hallritt sings: "As if two hearts are on top of each other, I want to be connected by the same rhythm"

ELDRITCH MEROLD

Merold seems to know about the 1st timeline. He holds a ribbon, which is what represents the memories of that timeline in Ever Red. He is also seen multiple times with a corrupted version, possibly hinting at him having an Eldritch (seed corruption) form as well.

The lyrics seem to have him hinting at the 1st timeline to Hallritt. If you corrupt the future, you echo its dark history.

To summarize: Merold is threathened by Hallritt's strength, yet he also knows the truth of what he did/will do. He wants to get rid of him somehow, or at least keep him in his place. He put up a face to seem trustworthy, but someday, that facade will shatter like the mirror.

BONUS

1. Merold losing his vision? Really not much proof here aside from this quick frame

2. blob people. idk who or what they are yet

3. there's one transiton where something that look like vines turn into (angel? dove?) feathers and another one with a broken crystal. could it be referencing cielomort's death? is it his crystal strawberry from aozora?

(Why? Why?) This heart (Why? Why?) It's fragile (Why? Why?) No matter what, I love you most (Why? Why?) It's overflowing (Why? Why?) These desires A melody just for you

[coffeelomort]

Other news from the Blue Bouquet watch party livestream

Noir Bouquet's voice drama is coming sometime in spring. Apparently it's going to have a very different vibe to Red and Blue Bouquet. More information will be released on Twitter later.

Key My Notes, Kurode's character song, will be releasing on Youtube at 22:00 JST (so like, right now) and on streaming services at 00:00 29/03 locally.

They showed all the goods you can get by pre-ordering the CDs from various websites.

There's a message from Cielomort to Cinnamoroll in the Aozora no Memory CD. The same applies for EVER RED & Hallritt and ALL SO BAD & Badobarm.

The radio show, "Knight Link", will start 06/04, every Saturday night at 22:55 - 23:00 JST on Tokyo FM. The first three on the show will be Kurode, Willmesh, and Myunna. There'll be an archive of it, so people outside of Japan can listen too.

There'll be a collaboration cafe in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya starting from various dates. More information will be released on Twitter later.

[videostak]

27, 139, 147

thanks! :)

27: what is your favorite album not sung in your mother tongue?: Definitely Naughty Boys by YMO!! tied for 2nd are Aozora Hyakkei by Moonriders and 3x3x3 or Me No Car by Yura Yura Teikoku

139: What is your first favorite album based on memory?: Low by David Bowie! would literally listen to it soooo much i thought it was so mindblowing i would listen to it on my discman so much walking to school lol and it def was what got me listening to lots of german rock n eno n stuuuuff

147: which super famous musician do you think is misunderstood?: hmmmm maybe like eno tbh like idk ppl just atleasst in rock/pop circles act like he invented every concept he elaborated on when its kinda easy to trace where it all comes from. i always see ppl get genuinely mad when they hear cluster/harmonia and think eno "ripped them off" when like u can see that they both were into the same types of experimental music (steve reich terry riley john cage etc) and were just adapting them into a rock/pop context. like enos strength was i think his ability to hone in on or elaborate on an idea and to also just be really good with words to describe how it works like how he explained ambient music n stuff. like maybe not much different ideologically from satie or debussy or any of the fluxus stuff but he put it in such clear concise words that ppl will think he invented it entirely.

[cheltranslations]

Nakano Sunplaza！@Nonaka Miki (23.06.11)

Chel here😈💜👾

Thank you very much

For coming to look at my blog！

Your likes and comments

Make me super happy！

☁️🎀Yesterday's 2 choices🎀☁️

Have you seen the 1st episode of Detective Conan

Yes？No？

No

Was the majority、

But lots of people also said yes！

☁️🎀❛ ･ ❛🎀☁️

Sayonara Nakano Sunplaza Music Festival

supported by

Coca Cola Bottlers Japan

Thank you very much！

Nakano Sunplaza

Where I have so many memories ❤️

We all talked lots about our memories during the MC

Which was really fun！

At the last song of the encore was

Aozora ga Itsumademo Tsuzuku Youna Mirai de Are

We all sang it together

Which made me happy 🥺

I teared up slightly 🥺

You've taken care of us for so many years！

Thank you very much！

(T/N News and information has not been translated)

☁️🎀Today's 2 choices🎀☁️

Have you ever gone for ramen alone

Yes？No？

For reading until the very end

Thank you very much！

Please come by again tomorrow ❤️

Nonaka野中 in Nakano中野 Sunplaza！！

Really Really

Thank you very much！

See ya 🐾

[sageywritings]

Home Turf

After what she would call a productive few weeks, Sienna returns home. And besides the barrage of memories, she’s faced with faces both familiar and new.

A loooooong overdue follow-up to the post-fall of Beacon storyline I started years ago at this point. Major shoutout to all of my friends who allow me to use their characters and show me more patience than I probably deserve. Thank you for being a big reason I write. Hope you enjoy, and read Home Invasion and Back to the Streets before this if you haven’t! (check the main blog) 

Auburn Vulpes (mention of Dash Ospreay) belongs to me

Sienna Umberon and Amber Himmel (mention of Riley Currant) belong to @gruntnuker-rwby

Mention of Alex Umberon belongs to @wetsliceofbread

Rin Aozora (mentions of Hikari Izumi) belong to @solar-moon-byul

The desert sand and unchecked factory activity in the air overwhelmed Sienna’s senses with familiarity. She was too accustomed to hearing the alleyways bustling with the usual gang deal that was just waiting to break down. She could vividly remember her brother trying to get her out of those situations. But even with Alex trying to pacify her flames, he couldn’t stop her from learning the streets’ tricks and trades. A smile crept across her face as she remembered using some of those tricks at Beacon, especially on Dash. His arrogance was always just begging for a taste of comeuppance. The only difference was that it was usually Riley that had to cool her flames. The smile quickly faded.

“Like they’d take me back now…”

Sienna stood in front of a corner store, leaning on the wall with head down and arms folded. Her White Fang mask was in her pocket, a plain black hoodie doing the job of hiding her identity instead. After the raid on the Ospreay facility at Izolim, the higher ups granted her some time in Vacuo for what she justified as “scouting purposes”. In reality, she wanted to take the time to get out of the White Fang uniform and take in her old home for the first time in what felt like forever. 

To her left was the Sunshine Estates, a suburban neighborhood built by foriegn dust companies to house their workforce. But, as the natural resources were drained, and the “investors” pulled out, it had been long left abandoned - apart from the gangs that were willing to bribe the guards for access. Downtown was on her right, with Shade Academy towering over everything as the only source of control in the kingdom. Nothing was there to stop the flooding memories. The nights in the JASR dorm she spent keeping the girls awake until 3 AM sharing stories. Seeing them for the last time the night Beacon fell. Standing over a bruised and bloodied Ospreay backed by her squadron. Happiness, sorrow, pride. It rushed her all at once.

Sienna knew she was flawed. Just like Vacuo. But that’s what made Vacuo so special. It made it home. A home that would accept her. A home where if you could survive, you are welcome. She could take comfort in that at least. It’s the place that taught her how to handle anything thrown at her. Including a man almost knocking her off her feet as he raced down the street in a crazed rush.

“The fuck is the hurry?” she said to herself, glaring his direction upon jolting back to reality. Two more ran past, one on each side of her. Both were faunus females who looked like they were in hot pursuit of the man. She zeroed in on the one of the left: wavy brown locks whipping in the wind, fox ears, black leather jacket, chain dangling from her right hand. Sienna’s eyes widened.

“Again? Damn, Bubblegum, what the hell?” Auburn’s voice was an exasperated sigh at reading yet another headline of White Fang activity. Seeing her team leader’s family name as the center of critical media reports was nothing new to her. It almost always solicited from him the same rant of how he was innocent, powerless to stop his company’s ways. Auburn always tried to distance herself from his talk, not wanting to create more friction within their team than their clashing personalities already caused. But for the first time, the news reports about Dash brought sympathy out of Auburn rather than rage.

“I never wanted this. Maybe it coulda been different if I had stood with you. Like I’m supposed to.”

“Hey, I’m... really sorry about your friend. He might’ve been an ass but that’s just not right.”

The voice didn’t serve to snap Auburn out of her haze, but instead to easefully goad her out of it with a genuinely caring tone. She turned around to face the speaker: a husky faunus that stood a few inches taller than her with a mess of black and white hair tied into a ponytail. Heterochromatic eyes looked at Auburn with as much concern as they could offer. 

“Thanks, Rin,” Auburn said softly. 

“The White Fang have always been too shady to be trusted, and now everyone knows. You know I got your back. Us faunus gotta stick together right?” Auburn let out a chuckle.

“Yeah, you’re definitely a good fit for the Leash.” Rin proudly straightened her jacket and fixed the collar around her neck before giving her new “boss” a silly smile and a thumbs up.

“I’m just surprised that you and the others let me join. Must be weird considering we had really just met,” Rin said on a more serious note despite maintaining her smile.

“We don’t turn anyone that’s willing to help. They were especially on board after I told them about what you did at Vytal.” It felt like everyone at the Amity Colosseum knew about Rin Aozora.

It was only because of Sapphire that they had met in the first place. After facing off against Haven’s Team SPHR in the first round of the tournament, she couldn’t resist the opportunity to meet such a beautifully named team. She eventually turned her focus to getting to know their team leader Shiina, leaving Auburn to meet two of its other members, Rin and Hikari. Off the bat, she could tell the two were an inseparable duo. One would pick up and play with the other’s little habits and quirks. Their communication was the best it could be, especially considering Hikari was mute.

While Hikari was off taking pictures of the arena, Auburn got to know the girl under the husky ears a bit better. How she met Shiina before their time at Haven. How comfortable she was having spent the whole day with a group of faunus. And most importantly, the lengths she’d take to protect Hikari. Which became to evident to Auburn very quickly.

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? Say something!” The loud, burly voice snapped both of them to see Hikari backed into a corner, shying away from someone harassing her. Auburn never quite learned the exact details, or anything else the bully said. She only watched and served as unnecessary backup as Rin marched forward, turned the guy around by his shoulders, and nailed him with a rattling uppercut that sent him crashing into a concessions stand. Most of the crowd erupted into cheers, but Auburn was the first to congratulate Rin with her signature rock horns. 

After the dust had settled at the Battle of Beacon, Auburn’s teammates were split up. Sapphire was seperated during the battle, Dash was forced by his family to retreat back to Atlas, and Solomon was placed on a team tasked with repairing the CCT. She stayed on campus as long as she could, even refusing the local huntsmen when they tried relocating her to the Vale refugee site. But, nothing could keep even part of her team together. She hated the idea of admitting defeat, but with nothing and no one left for her at Beacon, the only logical place Auburn felt she could go was home. However, the moment she decided on getting a plane ticket back to Vacuo, she found Rin. She told the SPHR member about her plans, and Rin almost immediately asked to join her, to Auburn’s shock. Rin wanted to see new places, and she figured what better time than now. So, Auburn took her in and brought her into the Leash.

“Hey Snowdog,” Auburn said. “I never did ask. Why didn’t Hikari come with you?” Rin’s expression almost instantly sombered and her eyes darted down to her feet.

“Hikari… always thought she was holding me back. She always thought because she was mute she was always a problem, a burden.” Rin’s eyes downcast to her scroll. She was met with a picture of her and Hikari at the top of Haven Tower, the moonlight illuminating their warm embrace. “When I offered to cover her plane ticket and everything, she still refused. She was so scared she even tried to break up with me. I flat out didn’t allow that.”

“So long distance? Must be hard, even with normally functioning comms,” Auburn said. “My nerd’s working his wizardry I’m sure.”

“I’ve been trying to learn as much sign language as I can. That way she doesn’t have to spend so much time writing down her words and showing me.”

“Wow. I’m so sorry,” Auburn said with ears flattened. She wasn’t even certain why she was apologizing. She just knew in her heart that Rin would not let her relationship disappear, all but confirmed by the husky faunus’ gung-ho thumbs up. Before the Leash duo could share any more, their attention was brought to a cry coming from around the corner. One peek to its origin saw a man waving a stack of lien over a small boy, the latter clutching his squirrel tail to his chest.

“C’mon, whattya need this for? Rats just scrounge for food, don’t they?” the man gruffly guffawed.

“Hey!” Rin yelled, wasting little time in making their presence known. “I know I’m new here but if you’re scared of a little squirrel I don’t think Vacuo is the place for you”

“Really? This again, Lucky? Didn’t learn your lesson last time?” Auburn chimed in.

“Oh shit!” Without any hesitation, the crook called Lucky bolted down the street. Both Auburn and Rin quickly gave chase, their loud footsteps terrifying the crook into not looking back. He tried to use everything on the sidewalk as an obstacle, throwing newspaper stands, trash cans, even people in their way. But, right as she hurdled a trash can, Auburn found her opening. Pulling her chain whip off of her waist, she cracked it at his legs. It wrapped around one of his ankles and tripped him, forcing him to crash hard into the pavement. Auburn quickly pounced on him and wrenched his arms behind his back until he dropped the lien. That allowed Rin to scoop it up and run off to return it to the boy.

“Fuck, the cops really should start thanking me. You assholes never make it easy,” she said while making her way through the small crowd that had formed. Suddenly, the last person she passed grabbed her by the collar of her jacket and pulled her into an alleyway. As soon as they were out of sight from the street and Auburn could fully realize what was happening, she broke free and elbowed her assailant in the stomach. She spun around with a punch aimed at the head, but the hooded figure ducked.

“Easy, easy, Hellfox,” she said in a instantly recognizable voice that caused Auburn to freeze in her tracks. The hood lowered to reveal the same pierced fox ears and bright blue and green hair that joined Auburn in so many escapades at Beacon.

“Sienna?!”

“Miss me?” She could barely say any more before Auburn wrapped her into a bonecrushing hug. Despite her fellow faunus’ strength, Sienna handled the vice grip well and hugged back. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft.”

“Shut up,” Auburn said back upon stepping back and meeting Sienna’s audacity with a light glare. “I get a pass since I haven’t seen my partner in crime for so long. Jade told me you went missing after Beacon, what happened?”

“I did. I… needed some time alone. Take care of things y’know? I would’ve told them, but… it was just too hard. I couldn’t bring myself to say goodbye to them. I doubt they even wanna see me.” Her eyes darted down and her ears flattened, but only briefly before Auburn’s fiery response brought her focus back up.

“Bullshit they miss you! They just want you to come home! Wait, that means you haven’t seen them yet?” A slight shock hit Sienna before she softly shook her head. “Then why are you here with me? C’mon let’s get Team JASR back to kicking ass as a unit!” Auburn had no idea where to find Jade, Amber, or Riley. But, it didn’t stop her from grabbing Sienna’s by the wrist in an attempt to lead her to no set destination. However, Sienna didn’t budge.

“We can’t!” she said sharply. Caught off guard, Auburn let go of her.

“Why not?” she asked.

“Because-” she started before her eyes peered over Auburn’s shoulder to see someone approaching. “Because of something I’d rather say in private.”

“Huh?” Auburn said, turning around to see Rin returning. Unsure of who Auburn was talking to, she stayed back, leaning on one of the walls near the entrance of the alleyway. “Rin’s a friend, anything you gotta say will be safe with her.”

“If you’re a friend of Auburn, then you’re chill with me,” Rin said, giving the leader of the Leash a thumbs up. Sienna wouldn’t even meet them with eye contact. 

“Fine,” Sienna said. A certain gravity loomed in her voice, followed by a long pause. Not used to this coming from Sienna, Auburn’s curiosity and worry simultaneously grew. “Auburn, what do you think of the White Fang?” 

“Are you serious?” The brunette fox faunus was slightly taken aback. Given the weird behavior, she didn’t expect it to culminate into that question. She even lightly laughed it off, not taking Sienna seriously. “I think they need to give me my Ospreay back. No one’s allowed to mess with him but me.”

“Oh. So you’re ok with all these atrocities he’s committed to the faunus.”

That knocked the smiles right off of both Auburn and Rin. Sienna finally looked up again, and her eyes held no jokes to be found. Her ears twitched. Rin stepped up until the point where Auburn extended an arm to keep her back.

“He’s not the one calling shots at the head of the company,” Auburn said.

“Yet he just stood by and let it happen! Not even a word on trying to change anything!”

“He can’t exactly say stuff like that when he’s under his dad.”

“And was Daddy stopping him from talking to us at Beacon? Tell me. Did he ever mention a word to you about wanting to change anything?” Auburn’s crimson eyes glanced downward, the pained expression on her face evident of the truth she did not want to admit. “That’s what I thought.  He’s just as guilty as the rest o-”

“What’s your point? You really gonna side with the terrorist organization that’s making us all look bad?” Rin interjected. Sienna’s ears perked up before she turned fully to the husky faunus. She eyed her up and down and her expression of indignation quickly gave way to a grin creeping across her lips. It was like a hunter first spotting their prey.

“You. I remember you. From the Vytal Festival. That was awesome,” Sienna chuckled. It did nothing to calm Rin. “You’re a Vytal legend in my book, and you didn’t even have to win your match. That’s impressive. But you of all people should know why I fight.” She dug into her hoodie and finally revealed her ornately crafted White Fang mask, a Woodland Recon mask modeled after an ursa. “You know why I struggle more than anyone. Lemme ask you this. Your girl, where is she right now?” Rin’s ears lowered and her previously icy glare softened. 

“Rin,” Auburn spoke up with rising concern. “You know Hikari wouldn’t want you to do this.”

"So you don’t know. You’re separated. You understand where I’m coming from then. And what about you, Auburn?" Sienna snapped her attention toward her fellow fox-eared brawler. "You're one of the, if not the strongest Beacon had to offer. You know it, and I know it! But you also know they're never gonna give you the opportunity to prove it. Not as long as people like Ospreay are in your way."

"I can make my own opportunities," Auburn firmly said. But, before she could go on, Rin stepped forward. Trancelike, she approached Sienna, contemplative to the point of not listening. It took a moment for her gaze to leave her feet and focus on the Fang lieutenant. Then, she slowly extended her hand. Sienna smirked. 

“Faunus like you and me, we gotta stick together, right?”

"I knew you'd see what I see. Don't worry, both you and your girlfriend are both welcome with us." However, when Sienna went for the handshake to finalize the deal, Rin's outstretched hand turned into a middle finger right in Sienna's face. Just like that, Rin thieved the smirk off of Sienna. The burst of laughter from Auburn was the only thing masking Sienna's growl.

"So much for sticking together," she grumbled to herself. Before the laughter had even stopped, Sienna suddenly clocked Rin with a hard punch, causing her to stagger back a couple steps. Where Sienna's fighting capabilities and strength had improved since Beacon, her notorious temper did not. Auburn quickly got between them, perhaps for the first time in her life trying to stop a brawl as opposed to instigating it. Rin stared down the former JASR member while holding her jaw. Then, with one quick jolt of her arms, two elbow blades that ran up the length of her arms emerged. Sienna responded in kind by extending her claws.

"Boss. You're not gonna defend this shit, are you?" Rin said to Auburn. Without a word or a moment’s hesitation, Auburn spun on her heel to nail Sienna with the same treatment she gave Rin. Sienna fell to one knee, but was only kept down very briefly. She snarled as Auburn continued.

"That answer your question? You wanna play Fang Sienna? I'll treat you like Fang. And when I'm done, I'm dragging you back to your team to show them you've lost your mind."

"NO!" Sienna lunged for Auburn with her claws right as the Leash leader was reaching for her chain whip once more. Realizing she wasn't going to arm herself in time, Auburn ducked the strike and went to aim a counterpunch at Sienna's stomach. But, Sienna was too quick. A second slash forced Auburn back. Then, the barrage of punches started to come in. Auburn put up her hands in a defensive boxer stance. It could only do so much to defend herself from Sienna’s fiery claws though, her aura was left to absorb the rest of the damage.

Rin took her chance to launch forward and get in Sienna’s face. The first swing had her blade missing Sienna’s chin by only a mere few inches. The next punch connected to the fire-wielder’s gut. Then, Rin began to start raining in punches of her own. A few connected, most didn’t, but they all kept Sienna on the back foot. Then, with her back pressed to the steel of a dumpster, Sienna quickly pounced back. A wayward miss from Rin caused her to be just off-kilter enough for her to slide between the husky faunus’ legs, slashing both knees as she did so. Rin dropped off her feet right into a knee strike from Sienna that caught her right in the nose. 

However, before a fiery claw could follow up, something yanked Sienna back by the wrist. Auburn’s chain had found its way wrapped around it, giving Rin access to nail a strike to grant her some breathing room. Sienna caught Rin’s next punch with her left hand, then caught one from Auburn she saw coming with her peripheral version with her right. With a primal scream, a ball of flame suddenly burst from Sienna briefly engulfing all three girls. It seemed to do just as much damage to Sienna as it did her opponents. But, she was still first to her feet, catching her breath as she eyed Rin laid out on the ground with her aura flickering.

“You two are only proving my point. You’re both so strong and capable. Imagine what we could do if we-”. A war cry from Auburn interrupted her. She turned around just in time for the Hellfox to pick her up and drive her into a spear tackle. They both ended up crashing through the door of the abandoned warehouse next to. The old door splintered and easily gave way as both the fox bruisers landed on a layer of dust coating the floor that had sat undisturbed for years. Auburn barely had a chance to even roll over and gather her surroundings. Sienna was first to her feet again and sprinted over to aim a penalty kick at Auburn’s head. Eyes wide, she rolled out of the way at the last second.

“Cheap shot! And that’s coming from me!” Auburn remarked, still on one knee with whip in hand.

“Says the girl who sucker punched me,” Sienna snapped back. Auburn again flung her whip into action, this time wrapping it around Sienna’s waist. Forcing Sienna to her, she grabbed her and tried to throw her over her shoulders for a suplex. Sienna was able to tuck and rotate her body enough so her head and neck only absorbed some of the damage. Auburn’s next attack was intercepted with a fist of flame, causing her to growl and wince. Sienna shoved her back with her semblance active.

“Commander, where are you?!” Sienna’s ears shot straight up when her earpiece echoed to life.

“Ambushed! I’m in the old Arashi warehouse!”

“Roger. Sending backup your way!” the voice responded.

“Negative! Prepare an evac. We need to get outta here before we attract more attention. Meet me on the roof!”

“Roger that.” Sienna wasted no time in going for the stairs that led her to a series of catwalks once used to survey the manufacturing floor of this building. By this point, Rin had gathered the strength to give chase once more. She locked eyes on Sienna. Then, she detached both of her blades and clasped them together to form a crossbow. As the weapon whirred with transformation noises and loaded, she icily aimed down sights and fired. An arrow caught a direct hit to Sienna’s calf, causing her to stumble to the floor.

“Auuuugh!” she cried in both pain and frustration. Rin fired another couple of bolts. One whizzed past over her shoulder, another pinged off the railing. But, this holdup gave Auburn enough time to catch up. She swept Sienna off her feet again with a constricting bearhug. She desperately tried to kick and squirm free, but Auburn’s chain was around her neck. Auburn wrestled her to her knees as Sienna grabbed at Auburn’s whip with both hands. Her destination, the fire exit that led to the roof, was a tantalizingly close. It was only a straight run of a few dozen yards.

“Do you have any idea how worried Riley and Jade and Amber are? Do you have any idea how much I’ve worried for you?! We all thought you could’ve been dead!” Auburn cinched in her chokehold tighter as her emotions boiled over. Rin had joined her, standing behind as backup.

“They can think I’m dead. I might as well be,” Sienna said amidst her strain.

“Cut the crap, Sienna,” Auburn fired back.

“This world wouldn’t let me be with Riley! Be with any of them! You heard the things your precious team leader Bubblegum said to me and her at Beacon. So I’m fighting for a world that will. And taking some pleasure at getting back at that little shit Ospreay for how she treated her.” Auburn’s eyes of crimson suddenly widened with flared anger. Even though she was first to start a fight, even she had never felt a rage-induced adrenaline rush like this. Everything around them began to cloud.

“What?”

Sienna scoffed.

“How do you think the Ospreay raid was so successful? They had to have someone that knew the target well. Too well.” Auburn sat there incredulously. She didn’t say anything. “Need me to spell it out for you? I led that mission. I took him prisoner. And I’m making sure he repays the favor for how he treated Riley.” While this was going on, unbeknownst to Auburn thanks to her haze, Sienna’s semblance was kicked into high gear. Auburn’s chain was beginning to melt and twist and warp under Sienna’s grasp.

“Auburn!” Rin’s voice brought Auburn harshly back to reality where she focused in on two armed men clad in White Fang armor bust through the fire exit door. Rin had her crossbow aimed at the two soldiers in return. Then, Auburn’s weapon finally gave way, breaking into several mangled pieces. Sienna elbowed her captor then slashed at her, allowing her to make a break for freedom. The two cronies gave her cover with a hail of gunfire. Acting quickly, instead of pursuing Sienna, she activated her own semblance, Kinetic Armor. An energy overshield formed around her as she rushed to Rin to serve as a bulletproof shield for her. All of the bullets ricocheted off of her, but it kept both her and Rin pinned down long enough for Sienna to disappear into the stairwell. They both chased after her and the other Fang members, but once they reached the roof, there was no sign of anyone. All there was upon first survey was the Vacuo sky beginning to tinge orange for sunset.

“Dammit!” Auburn cursed. She went to the edge of the rooftop and looked down to the street below. The only potential clue left for her was a black SUV speeding southbound. After a moment, she felt a hand touch her shoulder, the same calming hand from earlier.

“Thanks, Auburn. You really saved my tail back there. I really don’t know what to say,” Rin said.

“Don’t gotta say anything. That’s just what faunus sticking together looks like, right?” The pair of newly made partners exchanged smiles then firmly clasped their hands together. It was almost therapeutic to Auburn. A sign of loyalty. Something she valued above all else, something that was in short supply. She was glad to have picked her friends correctly in Rin. Speaking of friends-

“Auburn?”

A familiar voice coming from the street. One that brought Auburn the same wave of nostalgia Sienna’s did, despite this one being much softer spoken than the other fox’s. She peered down to see a girl with bright orange hair with a cat shaped backpack slung over one shoulder. Another friend she had missed from Beacon in another member of Team JASR, Amber Himmel. 

“Amber!” Auburn called out.

“What are you doing up there?” Auburn’s ears instantly slicked back.

“Amber…” she repeated, this time her voice carrying a weight of disappointment in it. Like it was weighed down by something on her mind she didn’t want to share.

“What’s going on?” Amber said one more time.

“We need to talk.”