#Maybe I can try doing this for future protags too

[34saveme34]

Symbolism my friends.... symbolism tells me of protag Mr Puzzles

let's look at it a bit....... differently

the first 5 specials we saw, they symbolised something completely different

when 4 appeared, he was always a protag or a coprotag

and well... almost like future foreshadowing, the antagonist in Once Upon an SMG4, which once again, even outside of that, full of beautiful beautiful symbolism, something that could even...... show us where we are heading

I might be a crazy 3 liker, and you have to bare that in mind as you take a ride in my land of imagination........... where I show you a beautiful world I wish would come to life in the actual SMG4 as well

so... you see.... 4 was the antagonist in the PV special this time, similarly to, as I said above, Once Upon an SMG4

where 3 was the protag

and now another one where 4 is an antagonist (I'm not saying villain on purpose here, because they both count as villains in a sense but storytelling wise, as it stands in a vacuum in this episode, it would only be SMG4 although some of you will definitely argue against me on that)

and with Puzzles as the protagonist

and you can consider that hey! Puzzles had been getting.... a lot of attention

you know who else had been getting a lot of attention that people got tired of but probably forgot they got tired of it at this point? SMG3

Do you see where I'm going with this? I think they should team up. Idk if they will but it would maybe make sense

saying maybe because depends when

I still see the plot twist protag thing with Puzzles where he sees that SMG4 is far too gone and a lot more worse than what Puzzles would've expected

you know who else should show up then? SMG3

think about it, what was one of the things 4 mentioned in MEME HUNTERS, also an..... all capital episode (which I mentioned before that after You Used to be Cool the only episodes besides the movie that had all capitals were the episodes where the café failing was mentioned in some way. this makes CEO OF RIZZ important btw "but that doesn't mention it" he was literally shilling out for Boopkins for more people to go to his café, it literally sounds like the start of it is what I'm saying lol)........

3's café failing

I think even....... 3 would feel responsible for what's going on so he would go against 4 as well to try and get him back to normal.......... with Puzzles on his side :3333 I think it would be real awesome

also I think I need to mention this but this was the first Puzzlesvision Mario wasn't inside of, like as in the movie, I do know we see him fly by in the beginning of the episode itself but he never appears in the episode itself

you know, kind of silly to mention, but the only PV episode so far that didn't have Mario by 4's side was ALSO Once Upon an SMG4

Also, a lot of the points making Puzzles even more fitting to be a protagonist next episode

the parody being of Gru, which I would argue is about a villain slowly redeeming I'll be real. but also keeping the morals

the whole making friends with Leggy thing

the conversation he had with 4 where he offered to Puzzles that he could join, almost like foreshadowing for the future or something :3

"I am your-" you know what I think he would've said? "Father" you say. I say.... creator. Hear me out because when you think about it in a meta level, he absolutely is

the fact that he wielded the Good Jedi light saber in the scene with the cute ass Meggy plushie being the base of it, very villanous of you Puzzles

the fact that he get more feelings then being a maniac, something that is STILL present but now along with the tsundere ass "it's not like I think you're useful or anything" he was so close to saying some stupid shit like that I swear

I saw someone saying it and I'm so stupid for not realising but 3 being a RETIRED villain in this, like yes he literally is and HE IS ALSO working together here with Puzzles JUST LIKE how I WISH HE WOULD NEXT EPISODE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLASEPAPLEPAEPLEAPLAPELPALSDPELEPLEPLAPLDPWLEPDKLKSOKDÉ--

I think these points just come to show even more that he could easily become the protag of this next thing, and reasonably so-

but do tell me what you think :3 or if I'm just yapping lol

[finnitesimal]

Ordem Paranormal Quarantena fucking knocked it out of the park it was insane Im grappling with so much I'm so insanely tired

There was a funny bit I was thinking of around the whole second bit where I was going Carol you hallmark protagonist fuck

Because first of all her name. that was the main part it's on the same level as Noel and Nick and Holly but there were also certain aspects of her character that in my delirious mind reminded me of the hypocrisy and drama of the typical independent business lady in a christmas movie as well as the I-can-do-no-wrong mindset of a romantic fantasy shoujo romance protagonist

And I thought. Man. There was a very clear path this story couldve taken with these characters and setting if it were not roleplay.

(note: not talking about the ccs or the actual characters but the Tropes the characters fall into and Could've been in generic science fiction horror)

A plucky new scientist with dreams to make a difference in an evil monster-ridden world and prove her skills despite being underestimated and looked down on by her friends and colleagues, and her direct senior with whom she has a negative relationship with due to his demonstrated lack of practical skill but mysterious higher connections to the board and therefore is ranked higher while she falls behind. She has moments of butting heads with him before the disaster breaks out in the facility and she has to struggle to stay alive and hidden until she's rescued by that same suddenly impressive senior with whom there's multiple tight spaces to be stuck with and convenient makeovers and sudden cold they have to share body warmth for. It's overWhelmingly easy to guess the plot

The plot in which None of the gang are mentioned. Because in this hypothetical B-list horror romance, they don't exist as people, but plot devices and tropes

They're there to provide funny moments and emotional weight as well as conflict to the overdone plot.

You have Luis, tank, everyman strongman with a soft heart and unclear but dangerous living conditions (poor). Probably the backup boyfriend in case the thing with Mikael doesn't work out, ends up sacrificing his life to save her due to some completely preventable situation cause she was too stubborn to listen, and gets a future project (maybe even a baby) named after him.

You have Jeffrey, funnyman, scapegoat, coward with zero friends and terrible priorities, multiple jobs (poor). Kind of useless, constantly infuriating and taking up space and meddling with things he doesn't know Anything about when she could've made a solution if he'd handed it over and dies to the zombies for the crime of irritating our protag.

Diego, hippie allegory, lives out of his backpack he literally calls his home, his life (poor) and has herbs (weedhead) that she'd try to be Fixing and eventually succeed in 'reforming' and sending him back to school due to her natural disposition in helping those in need.

You have Lucie, finally another girl, unfortunately in both horror and tropey romance, we Hate any other woman besides our all-powerful and beloved protagonist, so she's the nerd archetype but not the cute, efficient way our protag is nerdy but in the weirdo unnecessarily jargon-filled and Unappealing (unattractive) way. She dies the same way in the movie.

Benito was Made to be hated. It's the sly evil smirk and sunglasses and a beanie with the unprofessional labcoat and talking about things he doesn't understand like he does and taking her accomplishments and mocking her life as a scientist fighting to save the world and how he always seems to be looking down at her and definitely wouldve been the one to hide an infection and endanger the group he's the character whose death you're Meant to starting cheering for when he's dragged kicking and screaming onto the rusty laden, jagged roof and played with and pounced on till his insides squeeze out of him like toothpaste

Mattias was there so our protagonist could have her badass "I'm not like you I won't take a life because you're a coward" speech before he turns and nearly gets the group

Emi and Anderson were there so we could have a real man-to-man fatherly conversation about what it means to protect the ones you love and to pass on the torch as 'Leader' before he succumbs to the virus and begs to die before he hurts his girl, and so they could have wholesome pseudo-parenthood with a confused but reasonable child who absolutely understands that they're doing the right thing because they're the good guys and calls Carol mom when she's in danger near the end

It could've been a zombie survival plot about two arguably well-off individuals facing the consequences of a project they still believe could change the world and their tag-along group of meatshields to throw at the problem until their glorious melancholy escape where they're hailed as heroes for containing and eventually completing their groundbreaking research

and a horrific experience for a group of people who just wanted to make an easy few bucks till the next paycheck. They could've split those 50 dolalrs and jumped each other in the parking lot they didn't need to go through all that

Carol is driven, she's serious, she's ambitious and believes in the good that her research (the team's research) will bring and she's surrounded by people who don't understand that they're the good guys and are trying to find fault in her So she's willing to make sacrifices so she's willing to take it upon herself to decide who the team needs more she doesn't care if she dies as long as the world knows she saved it she needs to hear anything and everything people say in case it's about her or something she might care about it she's got braided hair and easily breakable glasses

Mikael is keeping things to himself to preserve his level of control over the situation because who knows what these guys are really like and he Saved them by telling them everything they need to know and they repay him by chopping his arm off? they're ungrateful and unserious So he kept himself safe while they had numbers and clues on their side They Managed Didn't They? Aren't they alive right now? they don't understand how important it is that he lives no one understands how important it is that Nidere lives he's got stylish curly hair and a fitted turtleneck

They both have a need to be heroes in a sense, to matter in the grand scheme of things they need to be at the forefront they need to be the ones who saved Everyone. Everybody is Only Alive because of THEM.

It's just really fascinating to me how. A different perspective of things kind of switches their roles as protagonists and cannon fodder

[bowsers-keep]

So because I haven't seen any aus that swap which Protagonist is from which chapter yet I'M DOING IT MYSELF FOLKS! There are so many combinations we can mess with for 8 characters but I'm probably going to be sticking with the one that's funniest to me.

Prehistory - Cube

Imperial China - Oboromaru

Twilight of Edo Japan - Oersted

Wild West - Masaru

Present Day - Lei

Near Future - Sundown

Distant Future - Akira

Middle Ages - Pogo

Sticking Cube into Prehistory is just objectively funny because they go from robot to caveman which is incredibly entertaining. Probably on the smarter side and helps Beru more cause they're nice rather then anything else.

Imperial China was a MIND FUCK to try and commit a swap with, so the prisoner and goemon are also taking the place of the other two disciples here and per suggestion of the discord server (not too sure about this myself but it's OUR BEST OPTION!). As for this Disciple Oboromaru himself, probably has similar origins to lei but his thing is more about learning how to loosen up since he's still a wee bit serious.

Oersted does NOT become an edgy little man in need of therapy, instead he gets his Shinobi arc. Very quiet because I like his stereotypical silent protag schtick and pretty good at his job! Still bit formal as well but a good person at the end of the day so probably pacifist or normal route.

So Masaru gets a gun now, he still punches people! He just also has a gun now! I've given this man too much power that he's been slapped with currently unidentified trauma to balance him out! Still cheerful and helpful because this is Masaru but uhhh he's certainly not at his best. Have fun with the homosexual tension buddy.

Lei/just any of the disciples being present day was probably the cleanest swap here. Lei is just my default for any and all Live a Live stuff. Not much to say about this one in general because of how easy the swap was, just yeah they're now a martial arts savant. Maybe any given one wouldn't actually kill Odie but not sure.

Now this one is the main reason this swap set exists, because it would be unfair of me to only let Sundown have the privilege of seeing what would happen if he were in the other's shoes. For the sake of this I will be using my fanon real name for this man of Austin Garrett although it is not Sundown Kid without the alias and since he's a teenage boy here he probably got the idea from Matsu with the whole Lawless thing. Just dumb stupid teen boy with powers and who may or may not have a death wish. I'm trying to keep backstory details mostly the same where I can so there's still some things I need to work out with this particular swap.

Akira is a little guy robot now, he's still a bastard, but he also dislikes OD-10 for what it's doing to the people that Kato likes (and Kato himself). So he's going to fuck that super computer up. The dynamic between tiny bot Akira and Cooperate Darthe is definitely going to be something that starts off with the two not liking eachother, turned into tentative allyship, before ending in mutal respect and trust. He would also try and take on the Behemoth head on at LEAST once.

Middle Ages Pogo, I quite like this one for the reason Pogo does last longer then Oersted in the not becoming evil field. Unlike Oersted however he's much more akin to a barbarian rather then a knight because I need to keep the unga bunga somewhere in. Very cheerful and no thoughts hear empty, and cares about people very much. Very heart on his sleeve. Eventually however, the tradegy of the middle ages sets in, and a different Odio is born.

Still figuring out the details for the Dominion of Hate in this AU but that may just be in the reblogs or a follow up post.

[wyrmswears]

hey, this is warriors anon. sorry this is a bit late, but snowtuft is one of the dark forest cats that didnt remember why he was in cat hell. like he had no memory of his crimes but was just constantly pushed sround by the others and stuff, ended up helping the protags in the seventh arc. (i assume jay, even if he does have a villain arc, will eventually be redeemed)

AS FOR FIREHEART = LLOYD—

bold of you to assume fireheart didnt fail his apprentices?? like bluestar was obviously less tgan perfect, and both she and yellowfang (who wasnt his mentor but fulfilled a similar role in the story) messed him up quite a bit. but her flaws were mostly about her being haunted by past mistakes and questioning her faith in her ancestors, which id argue is more in line with wu.

but fireheart?? he has a total of three apprentices, all in the first arc. and. he fails them. he doesnt mean to, oh no, he means so well. and he truly does care about them. but he constantly overcompensates. he idolizes bluestar and works so hard to embody what she was to him before her madness took over, and goes about it all in the wrong way bc he cant accept the fact that blue was less than perfect before, no no she was good, not like tigerclaw who is B A D. he sees them through a very b&w lens and when he starts off w/ cinder his method is the complete opposite of tigerclaws w/ raven (which isn’t necessarily bad, he sucked)

but speaking of, hes very encouraging with cinderpaw but not very attentive and doesnt do much to curb her reckless behavior, constantly urging her to try harder snd push beyond her limits (sound familiar?) and later when she has her accident he blames himself. she can never be a warrior and its his fault and hes too sshamed to even go talk to her in the med. den.

hes stricter with cloudpaw, but doesnt really sympathize with him. he distances himself emotionally and later blames himself when cloud runs away. and with bramble he obviously has that initial mistrust that we KNOW causes a lot of self esteem issues w/ bramble bc we get his pov in the next arc.

and its not just his own apprentices, part of it is about failing all the young cats in his clan, despite being extremely young himself. swiftpaws death, brightpaw being mauled by dogs, tawnypaw running away, s n o w k i t

and hes also dealing with prophetic dreams/visions/nightmares while all this goes down?? like bros so tortured???

so we have:

enemy is an evil tiger

idolizes absent mentor (who was less than perfect

prophetic dreams/nightmares abt future

struggling as a mentor

i could probably find more but im honestly tired rn. thoughts????

snowtuft: i didn't realise he had amnesia!! that's so funny you're right he can be jay

firestar: ogh you have made a VERY good point. the part about him idolising bluestar is huge. i didn't remember the details of cinderpaw's apprenticeship before her accident but you're right in drawing the parallels there. i do picture lloyd as a somewhat ignorant character which is inline with firestar's perception of bramblepaw, and bringing it back round to just the general failing of thunderclan's youth has made me really want to reread the books... damn.. maybe after exams...

you've made a really good argument! fine, i am swayed. lloyd gets his main character syndrome after all. (and as another point, i'd say his presence was to fulfill a prophecy; for fire this is 'fire alone can save our clan', and for lloyd it's the green ninja prophecy.)

[purplecritter]

Dragon Age: Vows and Vengeance (Ep. 3)

Official episode transcript here

My notes while I was listening under the cut... Spoilers ahead!

“Another infernal quake” & “The shaking grows stronger” if I had a copper for every time they reference to unrest in the undergrounds in v&v I’d have three bits. Which isn’t much but it’s enough to buy riveting items such as “Cracked Templar Insignia” or “Lace Collar” or “Gallstone” in DA2.

“the elf said to dig here, so we dig here” Solas bestie I hope you know what you’re doing

YUCK the sounds are EW. The description of the Blight from the devs interviews are also disgusting (/positive, I love that it’s gross)

I know, logically, they wouldn’t bring back the Children from DAO:Awakening randomly like this. But I can hope okay. Sooo Spiders? Or fucked up Ghil creatures?

Not too familiar with the inner workings of the Chantry so I checked the wiki: affirmed is a rank of Chantry brother/sister (along with initiate and cleric). Clerics are scholars or knowledgeable in arcane matters; Initiates get essential but probably thankless tasks (meal-prep, cleaning, repairing, etc). Lay brothers/sisters are “affirmed” since they affirm their belief in the Chant of Light, in exchange for a life of contemplation without expectations of taking actual vows.

“Ask forgiveness for our prideful ways!” “Renounce your pride!” yeah Solas did you ask forgiveness to the Maker yet? Maybe if you do your plans would go a little better just saying 

“Really intense eyes, not a hair on his head” lmao

Barkeep sounds nevarran? Or might just be a voice similar to Cassandra I guess

Okay yes give me the food lore. Fruit stews in the Anderfels that smell like shite, Anders fic writers take notes here

“Historically, dried fruit represents–” LET THEM TALK

“If my studies of the Fade have taught me anything,—” oh where have I heard that before… “—it’s that the future always hides in the past.” Hence Solas deciding to destroy the Veil in the near future to go back to the past :)

“Another Blight, but worse” be still my beating heart

Ohh forbidden are in the Deep Roads, always goes well

“Solas? He vanished right before things went bad” uh huh

“You best be yanking my chains” love that

“You stay out of this, little egg, before you get cracked” I know this was said to Drayden but Rook needs a label printer to cover the Lighthouse floor to ceiling with this. For their enrichment and Solas’ annoyance

I love Drayden’s nerd ass

“Wanted for murder, treason, high crimes against the imperium” the basics, really! You’re not really a DA protag if you don’t have “Enemies fear me, Authorities want me” booty shorts

DAVRINNNNNNN

OHHH we’re getting the moment he meets Assan?? 🥺

NOOOO WAIT what if the Darkspawn stole the griffins I swear to ghdfijs. If fucking Genlocks get griffins before the Hero of Ferelden I swear mine is abandoning the search of the cure just to protest

Wardens once again not beating the “I drank the Joining Juice so I will drink literally anything” allegations

“The crumbling face protruding from that cliff. It’s the statue of the Green Guardian” “The way it juts right from the stone, like Grunsmann himself is trying to break free from time’s prison” stop rewind.

HOORAY for random minor character lore reference!! There’s a bow in DAI and this is its description: The Anderfels' "Green Men" warriors began with a hunter of the Merdaine: Grunsmann, who famously saved the people of Hossberg from starvation by crossing darkspawn lines in the First Blight. The order begun in his name leads caravans through the dangerous Wandering Hills to the distant port of Laysh and comprise the best marksmen in Thedas. Fun fact: Laysh is the very last inhabited place that we know of on the western side of Thedas before the Volca sea. It was built specifically to trade with people from across that sea (their ships always had dwarven captains, and no elf was ever with them, and they don’t speak any of the Thedosian languages), they had wares and spices and were interested in lyrium. Until the 4th Age (Black Age, since it’s when the Chantry split in Tevinter), when they stopped coming–none of the ships from Thedas that tried to follow them ever made it back. “Recently” some of these people (Voshai) settled in Laysh because of an unspoken cataclysm that made them flee their homeland. ANYWAYS

“According to the writings of Ferdinand Genitivi,” RETURN OF THE KING 🎉 “not even insects and worms can survive these lands. A body would never decay.” Uh. Blight really did a number on the Anderfels

Nadia not wanting to think too much about the people who aren’t alive feels like foreshadowing. Bestie I don’t think you can evade that for long no matter how good a rogue you are

Davrin is COCKY in battle! Okay!!

I always do a double take whenever people act like “The Dread Wolf” is so unknown, but I guess unless one was Dalish or had experience with ancient elven lore, average people wouldn’t really know about their deities? It’s just that our player characters have always been really “traveled” by Thedas standards and I need to forget about the meta.

Oh Drayden shamelessly thirsting after Davrin was not on my bingo card but. It’s incredibly funny if only for the people who think Drayden is Solas in disguise LMAO

Harig: “I only want what's coming to me.” Davrin: “Men like you will always get what's coming to them.” TELL HIM!!!!

I wonder how different the beginning of DATV would’ve been if our Inquisitor did a major information campaign re: Fen’Harel. Like, absolutely plastering every wall with posters “Bald mage with wolf-jaw necklace approaches you? Beware, the Dread Wolf seeks to destroy the Veil!” Especially if they didn’t disband, the wording in Trespasser made it seem like they’d be more obvious as to why they’re still around (apart from being the “personal guard of the Divine”)

Not the water dripping sound 💀

“Snailroot” as a makeshift pain-killer, whump writers write that down. It apparently tastes like boiled ass water (quoting)

You can tell that Nadia is the protagonist because she has main character headaches. Let’s take ibuprofen together 

Ohhh Drayden’s fear being “ironically, spiders”

Lord of the Rings references my beloveds

Every time they encounter a creature bigger/nastier than usual I think of Ghilan'nain and I wonder how much influence on the waking world the trapped Evanuris had before being released

UH OH Davrin is TOO COCKY in battle! Bestie did no one tell you “regrets” is the theme?! Don’t risk hubris please!!

Moment of silence for yet another mentor Warden lost early in the mentee Warden’s character arc

Davrin continuing the Inquisitor’s tradition of blocking creatures in the Deep Roads by using flimsy collapsed tunnels 

MOSAIC WITH WOLVES!! EVERYONE STOP WE’RE TAKING RELIEFS OF THESE. “This is no ordinary mosaic. Look at the way the circle is split down the middle. The top half is onyx. It's like a mirror! Look close. You can see your reflection in the darkness” = classic Fade “And this portrait below, the figures are upside down and pointing to the stars” “Ah, see those small wolf totems? Those are just like the ones the Dalish place in their camps in Arlathan. They're for the Dread Wolf” the people of Thedas want action figures too

+ ancient elven dialect “Guide me on the path that splits the land between sun and moon”. Andruil is called “Sister of the Moon” in a codex, while the sun is usually associated with Elgar’nan (or his “father”), but it’s also worth mentioning that the same story that describes Elgar'nan fighting the sun and chucking it into the Fade describes the star as the remnants of the sun’s lifeblood. Given the prominence of the eclypse iconography in DATV, I am so looking forward to learn more of these celestial bodies’ origins or symbology 👀

Don’t think I didn’t miss the fact that Davrin knows an ancient elven dialect enough to read it and translate it on the spot 🧐

Random eluvian activated by pretty mosaics is fun idc

“may Andruil guide you on your path” I’m gnawing at my enclosure’s bars. Pretty sure they didn’t want to talk too much on Davrin’s relationship with his clan during marketing but they did say it’d be different from Bellara

Marvel Cinematic Universe reference 💀

Nadia and Drayden's dynamic is growing on me with every episode. Boy I sure hope nothing bad happens to either of them 🙂

[onebraincell-itmiebcraft]

Liveblogging real life part 2: Joel (it's been 12 13 days) (already watched)

Okay so maybe we'll do the liveblog-every-five-minutes-unless-something-crazy thing also idk if I should link this up to my intro post (idk how) or reblogged my og one with this oh well we'll figure it out why am I eating AGAIN doing this

I got inspired after rewatching secret life my beloved for the umpteenth time :P

Okay ep. 1/finale is hilarious and new "series" 😭

Joel why did you point out the cursor I can't take my eyes away

First batch

Joel jumping then immediately keeling over in nausea:

Idk how to respond to that but it struck a chord within me, how true

BigB wholesome waving but it also looks like his arm is BENT I can't get over VR arms man 😭

Punching BigB because he's so tall is so real tbh + love the smash cut to Gem being salty

Headpatting + baby-ish voice "little gem/Ren/skizz" what a gentleman makes me think of the try not to cry challenge or Jimmy's crazy christmas series where he says Joel is a crybaby and Gem says he's a romance guy in a mental gymnastics train of thought

Grian throwing his head back from the outside?! Cryptid behaviour

The real life vids don't make me motion sick but Joel making retching and vomiting sounds does NOT help it makes me sick by proxy or something I hate being disoriented and nauseous too buddy

There's probably a video out there of someone comparing regular mc to vr because vr just hits different like proportions wise

Joel noises

Love this Joel-Gem duo already idk how to describe it just fun

Also Joel having to process out loud he won't throw up on Gem I remember playing Richie's plank experience or whatever years and years ago shit was REAL

Joel's inventory becoming disorganized with things that can be stacked together :(

Hey what gem said kinda reminds me of what grian said :D at the end of his episode awful :DD

Poor Joel he's battling his height complex alongside his motion sickness (rip bozo poor little meow meow)

I think almost everybody had the problem of facing the wall dude, it's okay it's very silly

Water foreshadowing (he will swim with his future gang and become incredibly sick)

Geminislay that pig

Wait till Joel learns about lying down‼️‼️

JOEL STOP MAKING NAUSEOUS SOUNDS I'M GONNA FROW UP 👹

"...Falling in powdered snow" kinda reminds me of this short story I read in grade 9 English class "The Bamboo Trap" protag fell in The Bamboo Trap™ and got bitten by big ass spiders or something the idiot, also I think got published in the same anthology as the most dangerous game 👊

Joel admits to weakness

Weird ass snow, someone built this or something?

Joel with his arms out looks so silly, so does gem

Oh gem how graceful with the figure skating history 👊👊👊✌️👉✌️✌️🤜🤛🤛🤜🙏

Lol they learn about the wrist chat

Second batch

Jimmy, oh iconic Timmy

Shield (why did I write this again?)

Bi shoes, love seeing gem's skin wearing the bi shoes I forget about it every once in a while and when I see it again it's a pleasant surprise

Vr players learn to pvp

When you use the shield to block in first person it looks kinda stupid dude

Campsite vibes tbh, I really like it.

Bee spotted 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 what is it doing

Shaky controller cursor over top chest plate I feel you

Falling irl indeed (recursive mention about plank)

LOUD holy moly Joel is loud (not negative)

Healf being something people can't look at at all times is actually a kinda funny mechanic

Smajor friendship aww when will they team up (did I forget about a series)

The poor beg for bread, we live in a society ✊😔

Grian killing??? Since when??? (Sarcastic)

Batch three

Peace and love is why they haven't died yet 😘

Arms again! Weird looking things

Hand gesture reminds me of that one diamond scar short with etho's greedy "I want the diamond" voice

Flint and steel? Weird looking thing

Omg red club looks like bugs, the way the trio gossips about them ♥️

Right no out messages...

Can't believe the most motion sick man gets in the water not once but TWICE this ep

Does he know

Where did the horse thing come from

Can't remember if I mentioned this but when the sword swings without critting in VR it looks so silly it pokes

A bugs life: the sequel

Club: deadly euphemism

Sword 😐

Something about jimmy doesn't get burnt...

Why is Jimmy jiggles the only one with a wooden sword???

Strong words from a man on the verge of mania 👀

Lol knowing impulse breaks the ground under Joel big brain man going for the kill

Something about the disappointed way Joel says "scar!" And scar stabbing him in the first caused this

Tim is so British he says "get in" so much

Joel, again exasperated, cries out "where's all my stuff?!"

Funny Minecraft men, my favourite funny Minecraft men

My god seeing from Joel's perspective his second death is from zombie

I think Joel was about to saying bluming + the cover behind house + the constant begging for his stuff back + violence as an answer (he hits men)

4

Oh scar up to no good again

JOEL GETS IN THE WATER AGAIN!!! MOTION SICKNESS WIN!

Joel and scar just did mitosis stop being scared of biology 🙄

What was Mr solidaritygaming doing in that hill and said yes to did he finally get iron?

Aw the silly arm motion I love greeting people with spirit fingers reminds me of that

GOON SQUAD?! (neuron activated)

Famous moment

Oh more famous moment here comes the smallidarity kiss

Love Tim's body language once again the sharp smooth head turn to grian he's like a cartoon character

(what grian mean they are suited and booted he cut this part out I don't remember the other povs 😢)

Leave it to solidaritygaming himself to be the most homoerotic straight man there is of course + Joel is still patting him on the head? + Timsel being cringefail needing to jump multiple times on ONE BLOCK + Joel did NOT need to lean that much he looks like he's powered by springs + Jim's arms always being so tight together. Makes him. Look like. An old granny??? + Joel IMMEDIATELY checking his wrist afterwards like it's a Tuesday and he's on break + homophobic GRIAN + impulse's dad delivery one liner

The more I watch smallidarity kiss the more bizarre and asinine it becomes to me 😀

When did Joel learn to button jump (he WAS mental for jumping irl irl)

Okay Joel cut out that canary comment why don't you 🙄🙄🙄

WHACK 💀 SHAKE YOUR HANDS REAL FAST 💀💀 JOEL SCREAM #3997 💀💀💀

Fond of Joel's cadence of saying "hello guys!" And "I'm coming in boys!" And "HAHA!" oddly musical

Okay aaaaaaand he dies worst ranking ever good for him the end

Idk if I should liveblog scar next or watch Ren because I've already watched up to skizz + me 'ead 'urts oh well

[danggirlronpa]

What are your thoughts on Yui Samidare? She's one of my favorites!!

Disclaimer: I feel really bad trying to give a thorough answer to this, because I struggled so much initially with reading the English DR Kirigiri translation I ended up reading in depth summaries instead. I probably should give it another try now that it's been a few years and I've gotten used to the light novel style of writing. Maybe I'll read aloud an audiobook version or do a book club or something when we hit a follower milestone! We're coming up on 500 soon.

That said: I LOVE Yui. I love having an "everyman" who in fact has a complex backstory and is extremely talented in her own rite. I love her drive for justice and the impossible choices she's forced to make in pursuit of it. I love tragedies so much - I find them very cathartic - and, of every character in DR, I would argue that Yui has the most poetic, most self-fulfilling tragedy of them all.

DR is a game series with Big Personalities. The in-game protagonists, while they have meaningful characters, are often overshadowed by their companions. Hajime, though beloved, is never going to have quite the presence of Gundham Tanaka, Dark Overlord of Evil. But the written protags are all certifiably nuts. They're The characters of their stories. Kanon is attempting to destroy the entire Future Foundation using skills she gained training to hit a baseball at 100 MPH for a boy who canonically rejected her 3000 times. That's NUTS. That's QUITE A PERSON.

And all of the written protags are like that!! They're all grade-A, certifiably The Weird Guy In The Room. Look at Ryoko! Look at TAKUMI. There's so much going on for all of them. And Yui really inhabits that space too, but from a heroic standpoint. Yui is a character who believes in and pursues justice and a better world, and who does her best to take care of the middle schoolers who have come under her care out of genuine affection for them. AND she can do a six foot vertical leap, which she uses to sneak into Kyoko's house and kick her dead grandfather. What a girl. I love Danganronpa's female protagonists.

[loosingmoreletters]

1. Thank you and That One Anon for making the English speaking fandom for Weapon Creator!

2. In the name of bullying Yun Taeheon, I need his reaction to Mun Doyun- aka the B rank assassin that was Shin Junseo’s guild leader. Cuz objectively, Yun Taeheon knows a lot can happen in a year and stuff, but also he’s an S-rank leader of a top guild that is willing to give Shin Junseo just about anything and he still cannot recruit him. And then there’s this B-rank nobody (to him) who specifically hired Shin Junseo - as a D rank weapon creator who could only make an average knife every 20 seconds - BC HE HAD A SKILL THAST DESTROYED THE BLADES HE USED. Literally the same reason!! But no, somehow Yun Taeheon is losing this race.

Even better if he somehow gets more backstory or through some time shenanigans he meets the other Mun Doyun, who is basically the reason Shin Junseo is even as good as he is. Like, the reason sjs learned all he could and stuff. Anyway, yth being objectively, obviously on a higher level than this dude and yet still absolutely seething at the very idea of how much he apparently is not measuring up. How do you think that should go?

also, looking at the firsts chapter and think the first chapter and I think Sjs could be the little kid at the very beginning? Meaning that he has grown up in he world of hunters and gates, giving some cool world building to how this is a whole generation of ppl growing up with gates and magic.

However, for the sake of getting more of your sugar daddy au, I am ignoring that. Or maybe it could be incorporated, like- yth was trying to figure out how to ask sjs for just, an actual relationship. And sjs had stopped their contract after signing onto the guild. Extra tension!! Cuz obviously yth wasn’t gonna reach out and be like, “Hey, so that didn’t work out…”

glad to be of service!!!!! taking it from the bottom here, you mean this kid?

Huh! Now that you mention it, that could track! Would be rather interesting too as I'd put this kid somehwere between 8 and 12, which implies dungeons have been a thing for much longer than just a couple of years. Tho I assumed the adult in the next panel was YTH, so hmmm. But also what does this say about the state of his family. where the fuck are they. I need answers. And also I'd love some worldbuilding around growing up in such a world. In SCTIR, one of my fave things is to linger on like, the first weeks after the dungeon breaks. how did legislation change, the government, the way people reacto to this-

"In the name of bullying YTH" man we really all just took a look at this guy, who is probably meant to be like a cool badass character and decided we shall treat him like our sibling's new boyfriend and thus make fun of hinm. huh. god given right to bully the man.

But yeah, do you think YTH assumed just a little bit that SJS had like weird trauma. and also like- okay full confession time. when I started reading this, I assumed this guy would be our love interest second protag. I mean. look at him and SJS reaction to praise

and the way SJS also thinks of this guild in the future memories he receives? a place where he was accepted, found friends, where they kept pushing forward together- Listen. also the way it lingers on MDY's body there. I'm just saying, the vibes are accurate. to me.

Anyway, YTH does have the vibes of somebody who is incredibly understanding but privately also has beef with a dead man. he knows it's unfair and stupid, but also he could buy SJS a god damn pent house apartment. he would. that and any item he wants. actually I just realized while typing this would've been really fucking great to insert into my little soulmate fanfic given I did toss in like one sided bonds existing there. something to consider for the future.

But man, I think it would be interesting if SJS is confronted with him again also in the context of like, SJS not recognizing MDY's brother despite his future memories, which sure has some implication. I told a friend that like my assumption is that Mun Dojin died in the other timeline and I desperately need him and SJS to talk because even if the memories SJS has never actually existed here, that still sort of makes him the only person MDJ can talk to.

actually, man. this would make anything SJS/YTH even funnier. here's your crush. there's your crush's vampire familier and his ex guildmaster's (former bf's??????) little brother. god I need MDJ and Elizabeth to show up more often. slkdfhsldkh sorry got entirely off track here.

OKAY BACK TO SUGAR DADDY AU- I just realized how fucking hilarious this would also be because like. SJS manages to bag one man and it's this big shot guild leader. and instead of signing up with his guild, he goes to these small nobodies. like, it probably just makes sense to SJS. This was a job, now here is another, newer job. Life goes on.

YTH meanwhile is the math meme. Min Huisu told him to get a social life. he paid someone for that, but the guy turns out to be actually cute and fun, so he'd like to have a relationship that is not just superifical. and this guy just. mcfucking signs on to a guild he hasn't even heard of. f in the fucking chat

[nyaagolor]

SV PMD AU!

A few people asked for more details on this so I threw down some basic plot stuff

Some context up front: My version of the SV protagonist is a girl named Violeta who happens to be a Faller, so this is not the first and not the last dimension she gets yoinked into. Other than that it’s pretty standard fare for a PMD protag— she wakes up as a Pokemon (Sprigatito) with no memories except her name, finds another Pokemon (the ‘raidon) and is tortured with assorted visions as she levels up her exploration team and achieves various plot related milestones

The ‘raidon has a past / future way of speaking and is embarrassed about their accent— combined with the trauma of being attacked by the other ‘raidon leaves them selectively mute and extremely shy. I haven’t really thought of much beyond that for the raidon so uh. That’ll happen eventually

In terms of worldbuilding, there are actually two guilds instead of just one. The first is for kids / novice adventurers (aka a parallel to the academy) and run by Clavell (a drampa). The “teachers” are just upper level guild-members who spend time with and train new recruits. They’re all capable in their own right and often team up to go on missions and whatnot, but feel strongly about teaching and want to help nurture the new generation of explorers, so they’re full-time guild employees / members. 

By contrast, the second guild is a parallel to the League, and consists exclusively of high-level adventurers who have proven their worth and gotten admission approval from the guildmaster Geeta. Most (the gym leaders) are part-timers, doing their regular jobs in the town for most of the time and going on missions when instructed to by the League. The strongest among them are the Elite Four, who also run a gauntlet of battles to test whether an explorer / team can reach “champion rank”. They have considerably more work than the gym leaders and go on way more missions, being practically full time

Just like SV I imagine this AU having three “storylines” corresponding to the three paths you can take in the game:

Victory Road is all about the protagonist trying to keep up with Nemona, a champion-ranked Pawmi explorer who strangely doesn’t have a partner. She begs the protagonist to join her exploration team, which everyone around them seems weirded out by, and after talking with Clavell you learn Nemona hasn’t been able to keep a team member for more than like A Month because of her… everything. She’s extremely powerful, but also reckless and oblivious, so every one of her partners has either gotten overwhelmed by her and quit for gotten injured while they tried and failed to keep up with her, quitting afterwards. She’s more or less cycled through everyone in the academy, unable to hold down a proper team because everyone thinks she’s Too Much. Also she’s an electric type so she zaps everyone and everything around her if she gets too excited which is always. Clavell expresses hope that the protagonist can match her pace and maybe bring the both of them to greater heights— if the protagonist doesn’t get fed up with her and quit like everyone else. 

Path of Legends is about Arven, a (shiny) Poochyena trying to heal his uncle figure, Mabosstiff, who was hurt protecting him when the two went into a dangerous dungeon called “Area Zero” looking for Arven’s missing parents. The protagonist soon learns that Mabosstiff is a former outlaw who has since retired, so Arven can’t risk asking anyone in the guild for help without Mabosstiff getting arrested or worse. He enlists the protagonist to travel with him to dungeons and fight the Titan pokemon guarding the Herba Mystica on each dungeon’s final floor so they can hopefully heal his buddy. As they travel with the ‘raidon and eat the delicious sandwiches Arven whips up from the herbs, the ‘raidon gains more abilities and the protagonist gains more memories as the visions get clearer. ~The Plot Thickens~. I have literally zero ideas about The Way Home or how the professors fit into this so not sure what those visions or plot things are quite yet

Starfall Street is all about the protagonist taking on outlaws from the devious Team Star, a group of unknown criminals named after constellations who take over mystery dungeons, steal jobs, and snag items before guild members can get to them. A mysterious newcomer named Clive joins the protagonist along with Penny, a strange vigilante Eevee who isn’t part of the guild but wants to provide support to the protagonist in the form of items and other goodies. When the reach the first outlaw, however, and “Segin” is revealed to be a Murkrow named Giacomo who is no older than the protagonist and Penny, Clive and the protagonist starts to wonder what exactly is going on with these strange band of criminals— or if they’re even criminals at all. To get to the bottom of it, they vow to defeat and get the real story from each of the five bosses, untangling the mystery and making it all the way up to the Big Boss themself, Cassiopeia. 

I have no ideas for No Way Home ngl. Wishes are going to be a big part of it I think but honestly I got nothing atm. No idea how I’m going to incorporate the gym leaders into Nemona’s plot or how I’m going to end that either. Gyms don’t really lend themselves well to PMD so I’m at a bit of a loss with her. I’m also not super sure if I want the rivals to be present for just their storylines or not. On one hand the ‘raidon being the partner kinda works and the rivals shuffle out to keep from crowding things but on the other it might be cool to have all of them join so the protagonist has this big ol RPG party. 

The only route I have an ending for is Starfall Street. It’s revealed the now-admins of Team Star used to be part of the guild, but bullied a lot but other members. They eventually dressed up in their silly little costumes and challenged their bullies to battle in a whole theatrical performance, but the bullies were so scared they abandoned the guild to move to another, stealing / destroying some things on the way out and pinning the blame on the admins as a last-word kinda revenge. Team Star was accused of driving out the missing members, property destruction, and theft— and as such were ousted from the guild and labeled outlaws. The previous guildmaster eventually did realize Team Star was falsely accused, but fearing the truth would destroy the academy guild’s reputation, he erased all records of who Team Star was outside of species / hideout location and then resigned, leaving the new staff and guildmaster clueless as to what was really going on with Team Star. Clavell and the rest of staff didn’t realize that the admins’ “takeover” of different areas was just making the dungeons into a place to sleep, and that they were actually doing the “stolen jobs” to make money and get food so they wouldn’t go hungry. When Clive finally gets to the bottom of it all, he reinvites Team Star back into the guild and shares the truth with the rest of the guild’s students and staff to help make up for it. 

This is super open-ended so I’m very open to suggestions about it :) 

A very unsure pokemon list atm:

THE IMPORTANT ONES

Protagonist: Starter (I have my protag OC Violeta as a Sprigatito but tbh it doesn’t matter much)

Nemona: Pawmi

Arven: Shiny Poocyena

Penny: Eevee (debating on making her shiny as well bc of the grey)

Sada: Mightyena

Turo: Houndoom

TEAM STAR

Giacomo: Murkrow

Mela: Charcadet

Atticus: Grafaiai

Ortega: Dedenne

Eri: Riolu

TEACHERS

Clavell: Drampa

Dendra: Mienfoo

Raifort: Zoroark

Miriam: Audino

Salvatore: Alolan Raichu

Tyme: Midday Lycanroc

Saguaro: Granbull

Jacq: Xatu

GYM LEADERS:

Katy: Ribombee

Brassius: Servine

Iono: Minun

Kofu: Whiscash

Ryme: Midnight Lycanroc

Tulip: Meowstic

Grusha: Alolan Ninetales

ELITE FOUR:

Rika: Krokorok

Poppy: Mawile

Larry: Pidgeot

Hassel: Druddigon

Geeta: ???

[tulipsnflowers]

Okay! Let me actually ramble for once, alright:

Let's firstly see about Deena, in n3.

I don't this will happen but I'll go insane if I don't talk about it:(features data mined dialogue)

Okay so, first of all let's just say something

I'm about to say a lot of accusations, but unless proven otherwise by JV himself, I believe Deena does really care about her kid. She does!

Her actions of trying to be edgy n badass in n2 are just because of the guild and to not get too attached (she failed that almost immediately). But she does care. It's seen in some of her sprites she's still Deena.

And after you defeat Vados she actually smiles! To you! And just in general! She doesn't ever smile beforehand. She cares, okay?

.... Now let me go into detail about why I think she's gonna be evil in the future.

First of all. She's the whole reason this whole thing is still running. If she didn't go against Omnicron who knows if Ulzar would've stood a chance. If she didn't help n1 protag their nexomon would've turned on them(Omnicron himself even says that she's helping in the second fight!).

In n2 she and solus are the only reason things are remotely okay. And she then dies for it.

Like, if we're going down this path then in n3 she's going to like, actually die for this cause. Speaking of which, JV is even hinting Solus might be dead in n3! Which! Deena my god-

So, that might be a bit of a sore spot, but now let me do something I don't usually do, let me show you an unused piece of dialogue:

This was gotten while data mining in n2 and it is translated in all languages

This text file is called "deena_tenebrae" or something the like, I thought tenebrae is a name but it means darkness.

Meaning this is a dark screen interaction, and the text file before this just says "You feel a dark aura surrounding you... " or something so this checks out.

Now! Now this. Deena. Deena do I need to call your siblings. Deena-

Elephant in the room, not even I know who this bastard she's talking to is, it says so nowhere and before anyone says anything I highly doubt she'd call her brother "sir", especially her younger brother

Deena, I think, would maybe, I dunno, say something to the whole "[Playername] pawn" comment. Ya know, as I already discussed.

... On top of that you're telling me that after doing this whole song and dance with Omnicron she would turn around and be like "Ah yes. Let me serve someone again this can only go well"?? I think she learned a lesson??

... Also what's with all the 'sir' mentions Deena. Blink twice if you need help.

What I am trying to say is this, I dislike this. This is one of those "She would not say that" kind of moments.

One of my friends mentioned potential mind control before of this and I-

... We did say Omnicron can control all Nexomon so that already exists in the world. And with the theme of Abyssals quite literally being controlled by their master

.... Mmmmm

[fictionfixations]

belphegor: humans cant be trusted. i cant trust [MC]. they've been lying to us this whole time!

also belphegor: appears all haha blushy as a special guest the fight right after💀

out of everyone it couldve been lmfao.

tbh im not attached to the demon boys (i do care about them but fhsui) so it doesnt really hurt me. like. i mean i can understand the sadness that comes with time traveling and seeing people youve known before but who dont know you and who also arent the same people you knew. i literally recently read a fic just like that and the way i sobbed when this character who we see as a father figure threatened to kill us (protag. i just say us from pov i read from) because he doesnt know us hasnt had that attachment and just my heart hurt. and im not over it.

but also thats come from being in that fandom and consuming a lot of media related to it for like months often. ive been on and off obey me so like i care but i dont have any emotional attachment?? like i mean i want them to get better and be better versions of themselves, but tbh its less i wanna romance them and more i want them to get better. to not have unhealthy coping mechanisms and stuff.

..now if it was simeon itd be a different story cause i would like to romance him

anyway thought i had regarding stuff. isnt it wacky that angels are meant to like care for and guide humans. except oh no they can't love them SO much that they want to be with them romantically, no no thats TABOO ?????? so like angels need to care about humans (or maybe they treat humans like infants so its less about caring and more that they believe humans cant do shit without them?) but not too much, no thats bad why. thats. so dumb.

and then what happens if humans prove that they can take care of themselves?

like later solomon said about how he wants us to be on the humans side if anything happens because otherwise itd be like being okay with how it is right now where humans are thought of as inferior and need an angel or demon's guidance to do stuff.

like. like okay so if humans prove that we can stand on the same footing as an angel and a demon, then tf do angels do? so they guide humans. okay what else? what if we dont need your guidance? what if we just want to live our own life even if we make stupid decisions???

would it be okay then? or would humans be looked down upon for trying to gain independence?

im just trying to understand

i really dont want to be their enemy cause itd suck and i dont know if we could be friends after

(me when one of my favorites is literally the demon who hates humans and has not gotten over it because of what they've done. why do i do this to myself)

and lets be honest idk what the protagonist has outside of the demon brothers, and like maybe the angels and solomon

..tbh i never finished the obey me (the other one)'s story so idfk if we can even do magic without taking magic from the demon boys so

???

but so like. what are we without them?? do we have a reason to do anything? a motivation?

i feel like. if we lost them that we'd lose a purpose in life. sure we have solomon and we have the angels but its not the same yknow?

also belphegor being all mad at us and its just like. sorry i kissed you in an earlier chapter 💀 i did the hug one first cause its never really felt appropriate to do romantic stuff during emotional times but if you know me i also go back to do other options so.. sorry for kissing you while i was of a species you detest ??? my bad

anyway wonder how we get out of this one when we cant tell them that we time traveled.

i dont really understand how it works but would it mean that there'd be a point where we do actually have to like leave leave them

with the idea that our past self would then appear when we do in the other game

and then us our future self would then appear in the 'present' who used to be our past self and we'd be back to the time it was in the last game

since nightbringer is clearly taking place after the first game except we just time traveled is all??

but then what about the demon boys memories? or would those memories be taken and then implanted into our future/present demon boys from the first game while we are also back into our present self while at the same time letting it continue as if the demon boys never met us so timeline doesnt get fucked but ALSO that the demon boys remember what happened in the past and what happened in the present so they're still the same-ish?

idk im bad at thinking about time stuff.

but i feel like if they remembered us from the past then something would happen, maybe not for the better. like if they changed the future then which couldve meant that we never then went to the past to meet them and then i guess paradox?

tbh i dont even remember how we got here its been way too long

also i forgot to make a post about it but nightbringer has gotten title dropped a few times, who is seemingly the guy who made us time travel

..why.

like before this did we get told of the scenario why? or ?? cause if we did iforgot

like. were we in danger? were the boys in danger??

idk man i feel like im going in circles

[tisorridalamor]

OC-tober Day 11: Symbolism / Themes:

My most rambling post yet~ please enjoy!

Main girls link

Lark: Swords are cooooool but they are also A Weapon. And you should really decide if you want to be A Weapon or not. Growing up has you realizing maybe the things you wanted weren't what you thought they were - some things can only be learned through experience.

Cadence: University is scary but friends make it worth it. It's obvious her story has to do with social anxiety, impostor syndrome, and education but I have a lot of things to say about that. I think it's fun to tie in the whole "magical girl" aspect in with this since being a magical girl often involves making friends and growth in a school setting.

Kama's story: Extremely obvious fire and ice symbolism. But beyond that her story focuses on what people do after a crisis in their community. She grew up fleeing natural disaster, then her new home is taken away from her again along with her lover. It's not just about her fighting to save the man she loves it's also about bringing peace to her home and rebuilding what they once had. She literally gets pheonix powers AKA rebirth and a second chance idk what else to say lol...

Micha: It's never too late to forgive and better yourself!! Micha is a piece of work but I want her story to be about taking responsibility and learning to do something with her life. Depression, regret, and fear of growth are major themes as well as her involving herself in the world outside of herself.

Delta: A "delta" (Δ) in physics / engineering is the symbol for "change" in a variable, usually how much something has increased or decreased from one time to another. She's supposed to be an average gal dropped into a world and forced into a "judge, jury, and executioner" position but her role as "mystery vn protag" means she can't just accept the rules that she's given because there's always more than meets the eye. I want her story to be one where you can look back from the beginning to the end and marvel about how much has changed!

GG: Obviously I'm trying to make parallels between how much history we've lost today and how much harder that could be literally thousands of years in the future trying to imagine life on one tiny planet. Time changes but does humanity? It's fun to think of a sci-fi story focused around a distant past.

Rook: Robots are programmed and built for a specific task. Humans / people can make choices about themselves and how they interact with the world. Rook's journey is about learning what she actually wants to do with her life and how to share it with others. Self discovery and balancing your own needs with the needs of the community <3

[nic-liveblogs]

those mk & lloyd parallels got HANDS, any new thoughts on that or their interactions? (maybe save this ask till after the special, cuz uh... something occurs)

i hear you and i see you ok 😭😭 its just that these past 2 weeks have been incredibly busy for me and also lack of motivation 🫠

but i just got covid so perfect excuse to finally think about this 😭 problem is that i mightve forgotten alot about lmk at this point so bear with me 💀

i think this mightve been mentioned in like previous posts but lloyd and mk just training and like talking about life would be very special to meeeee!! id love to see how our 2 protags of east asian inspired lego shows would interact!! idk they could go get therapy together because they are both very messed up theyd ask each other to seek help and then say nooo im fiiinee, bonding over secretive mentors me thinks like why do they do they keep secrets all the time!!! like idk id love a swap au between these 2 they r very interesting to me.. also both of them getting betrayed suckss. they could learn somthing from each other like lloyd is more wise in like the master wu sorta way and i think mk could teach him to let loose a little.. also they can both go apeshit mode hehehehehe i think ive already mentioned this in like another ask

..

i think red son would remind lloyd alot of him when he was younger like idk they try so hard to be evil but they got that goodness in them yk 😔😔

i think that applies to kai in the hotheaded sense like hes grown so much since he was 15 and i think hed want to help red son in the way he helped wyldfyre as well

..

lloyd: so yeah my great grandma is like a dragon..??

nya: and i turned into a dragon once!!

mei: thats sooooo cool my great great great great great great thousand times great grandpa was a dragon too!! do you guys wanna see my dragon!!!!

*lloyd and nya expecting some tiny dragon like riyu or chompy*

and then mei whips out her totally cool kickass dragon and they are both in awe like teach me how to do that!!!!

..

im pretty sure sandy is the builder of the time right?? there are so many builder characters in ninjago like pixal, jay, nya, sora, zane and i think they could probably geek out about it hehe

zane probably also knows about jttw since he knows like everything about everything yk i think he would listen to tang talk about it zane's sweet like thattt and tang can finally talk to someone who knows the full story 😭

..

one time someone asked about morro and macaque and like i still dont really know how to answer that like theyve both died ig thats cool 😭 shared trauma on dying lol, and also they were both like evil at one point and i guess reflecting back on it theyve both been like what was it all really for

..

ive said this before and ill say it again jay, mk, mei and maybe wyldfyre would totally go do some dumb shit together and get in trouble together 😭

..

and thats all i have maybe i'll think up something in the future? who knows!

[kiraiberry]

Idia x Silver [Twisted Wonderland]

Doom Flag

Reverse comfort, fluff, Silver x Idia, Sildia

Lilia was leaving. If it wasn't the most obvious thing in the world. Lilia had announced it himself at the third years' initiation conference where everyone had gathered to discuss their plans for the future, which was kinda something Idia hadn't exactly, well he hadn't liked the idea of it at all in the first place, and the other third years had made a huge ruckus about him being employed at Olympus. With Idia being the Keeper of the Underworld, family business and all that, it was only for a short term anyways, so he didn't see what they were so excited about. It wasn't anything of an achievement to speak of. His thoughts revolved more around his boyfriend, Silver.

 Lilia was his father, Silver had revealed that to him. Silver often talked about Lilia, and the childhood days spent with his loving, sometimes teasing fae father in the forest. Idia had only met Lilia a few times, and he reminded Idia of someone he knew fairly well online- no way, Muscle Kurenai and Lilia could never be the same person. Could they?

Muscle Kurenai had left gaming and all Idia wanted was to coop himself up in his room and cry, but then he thought of Silver. About how it must hurt him, the excruciating pain he must feel about his father leaving. Idia had never been close to his parents, but he knew Silver must be hurting. A lot. Silver just didn't show it. He had his usual stoic expression and understanding responses on default mode the whole time, but Idia could tell that he had the slightest of tears in his eyes. No one could really tell these small things about Silver, given that the prince-like boy always had the same, poker face almost everytime he spoke. His surprised expression, his happy expression were only shown with a slight widening of eyes or a small curve of his lips upward- things Idia never failed to catch. Silver had him head over heels for him, and there wasn't a thing about Silver he didn't know. At least he thought. 

Crap, I sound like some kinda shoujo protag rn, bye. 

He swerved around slightly on his gaming chair and stared at his computer screen, tears still fresh in his eyes as he ran his fingers over Muscle Kurenai's goodbye message. He wished he could meet him. Oh wait, even if he did, Muscle Kurenai wouldn't ever like him anyways. He was a useless, weird looking, lame, gloomy shut-in. 

Silver's words rang in his mind. 

You're not useless at all, Idia. You're very kind and have strengths of your own. I admire you for all of those strengths of yours. Do not put yourself down. 

Silver who needed him now. 

Idia, I love you. 

Silver who was on the verge of tears, back in the cafeteria, though he didn't really show it. 

If you are feeling down, I suggest we go for a walk. My father said it often helps. Don't worry, I know a place where people don't often go. I could perhaps introduce you to some animals? If that would help you. 

Silver who was trembling ever so slightly when his father revealed he was leaving forever, but regained his composure. 

I made you some coffee- don't push yourself too much. 

Silver needed him. Idia was down, sure he was, but more important than that, was the one person who always cheered him up when he was down. Idia knew he couldn't do it, he'd never talked comfortably to someone irl before Silver came along, and consoling someone was super ooc for him- but this was Silver he was talking about. He had to try. Silver always put his troubles aside and prioritized helping Idia. If he put Silver aside to prioritize himself, that'd make him the laughing-stock of the decade, maybe failure of the century. 

"Nii-san?" Ortho's worried voice reached his ears, a hint of concern in his eyes, but Idia didn't respond as he fidgeted with the sleeves of his oversized hoodie, eyes fixated on the screen. It was only after a long silence that he spoke. 

"Ortho, can you detect Silver on the campus for me?" Idia asked. Ortho immediately complied with his request and started a scan for Silver on the campus. 

"Target detected, 130 m away from the school main building." Ortho replied mechanically after a few minutes. He turned  to his elder brother for a possible response as to why he'd made Ortho detect Silver. 

"Thanks." was all Idia offered before he wiped his tears on his sleeves and dashed out. Ortho had almost never seen his brother like this, and it was quite surprising to him, concerning even. He just hoped nothing was wrong. 

–

It took Idia a while to find where Silver was, given that he'd dashed off without his tablet or Ortho in a hurry, which was a stupid decision, maybe most stupid decision of his life, okay maybe not most since he'd done plenty of cringe things in his life. His legs were giving out from all the running, and as if that wasn't bad already, it started snowing. Where was Silver, for the Sevens' sake?! Frustration etched itself onto Idia's expression, but faded away as he heard low whimpers. 

"S-Silver??" Idia made his way carefully towards Main Street where Silver sat, stifling tears as he stared with blurry eyes at the white snow gathered under him. The snow was a pure and ethereal colour, just like Silver's soft hair, that Idia always liked to run his hand through, feeling Silver nuzzle into his touch as he slept on one of the many days that the knight slept over with the Ignihyde housewarden. 

"Idia-?" Silver's voice was shaky as he lifted glazed auroral eyes to look at him, as his arms trembled, from the cold or the pain, or maybe both. Idia felt his heart crack at the sight of Silver's tears, his heart wrenched as Silver tried to stop his tears. "I-I'm sorry about your online friend-"

"Stop." Idia placed a hand in the air to silence Silver then placed a hand on his cold, pale cheek. Silver seemed to ease up under his touch as more tears spilled from his eyes. "My online friend- I'll be emo over that later, kk? You need me rn and I'd be stupid to not notice that." Idia carefully pulled Silver into his chest, in a warm embrace. 

Silver leaned into him and wrapped his arms around Idia's waist. A warm feeling crept its way into Idia's heart as he ran his hand through Silver's hair, rubbing Silver's back with his other hand. 

"H-He's leaving-" it was rare to hear Silver stutter, and it absolutely crushed Idia's heart. "I-I was planning to repay him with m-my life- he'll be gone- Idia- what do I do?" Silver looked up at him with a mixture of inquisitiveness and hopelessness in his eyes, as if he were lost in a dream and wanted to wake up. Usually it was Idia who asked Silver to comfort him, not the other way around. He'd read lots of mangas and reverse comfort fanfics- but it was always puzzling to Idia, he had no idea what to say. What if he ended up saying something that'd hurt or annoy Silver?

Don't give up before you try. You can do it. 

Silver's soft voice reverberated in his heart. The very Silver who was crying now. Who was in so much pain he felt hopeless. Idia kissed Silver's forehead then placed his own forehead against Silver's, looking down at their intertwined hands as he ran a thumb across Silver's slender, bruised fingers, rough from training. 

"Honestly, idk either. I know you loved Lilia-shi a lot, and he's kinda my father-in-law too, technically. It hurts for me too, since Muscle Kurenai left. So, I'm prolly of the same mind as you. I mean, someone important leaving, thats literally a doom flag." Idia knew he wasn't helping at all. He was dumb. A dumb, stupid idiot. Still, Silver kept listening carefully to him, hanging on to each word. Oh, how Idia loved his prince. That gave Idia the strength to continue. 

"But, y'know, we can't exactly change things. Whoever's gonna leave, ends up leaving. We feel like we're useless and all that stuff at the time but- we didn't sign them up for the angst genre. Nor can we actually convince them to stay. And sometimes, maybe ig, [THIS LINE IS OVERUSED, IDIA SWEARS], we should let them go if we love them. And all that stuff. And we should be happy and move on," Idia tucked a loose strand of Silver's hair behind his ear. "-cause thats what they would want too." Idia managed a small smile, which hopefully wasn't his usual SSS tier creepy one. 

"Mm." Silver's grip on him slightly tightened, but never too much. Silver had enormous strength, but he always treated Idia gently, so as to never hurt him or overwhelm him with too much physical touch. Which added to Idia's long list of reasons about why he loved Silver. Idia wiped a stray tear from the corner of Silver's eye, his beautiful eyes that captivated Idia whenever he looked into them. Idia leant in bravely and kissed the corner of his boyfriend's eye, something which made Silver's eyes widen and a slight blush spread across his face as a grateful smile tugged the corners of his lips upwards. 

"Thank you, Idia." he murmured as he embraced Idia again, tears now at bay. Idia gently rubbed his back in silence. "I love you." Silver whispered, at which the tips of Idia's hair turned a shy pink. 

"I love you too." Idia felt his face heat up as he wrapped his arms around Silver, who had started to fall asleep in his arms. 

"Hold on, I'll get an umbrella or smths- I've got something else to bring too." Idia grinned. A warm drink would cheer Silver up. They'd gaze at the wintry sky together. It'd def cheer Silver up. Silver nodded slightly, then tugged Idia down by the sleeve wordlessly. The taller male glanced at him curiously, but not for long. Idia's eyes widened as Silver's cold, sweet lips fell on his in a gentle kiss, a quick one, but one that lingered on his lips long after it faded. 

"I'll wait for you. At the-" he paused for a second to keep his tears from spilling out again. "-farewell party." 

"Yeah." Idia smiled. Not exactly what he'd planned, but well, maybe the party would cheer Silver up. He didn't wanna go, but for today, he was willing to throw himself into any kind of  impossible event or tedious grind irl- he just wanted to be there for Silver.

Little did he know that they wouldn't meet for that promise. 

[dancegender]

Organizing my thoughts and theories on Murder Drones episode 3

Under the cut!

Thoughts on Doll

I don't necessarily think Doll is on a "Kill all the disassembly drones" spree. When she realizes Uzi's infected with the solver too, she says that she feels sorry for Uzi and that she'd help Uzi if she found what she was looking for. In my opinion, the plot to kill V wasn't the start of Doll's plans; it was just a prerequisite. She wanted swift and easy revenge for her parents before she started her search.

What's Doll looking for? Based on the aforementioned interaction with Uzi, it's definitely something solver related. Maybe a cure of some kind?

Thoughts on Uzi

I don't think Uzi fully understands the solver, at least not as much as Doll does. She doesn't ever activate it at will; it activates itself as a means of self defense.

Thoughts on Nori and Yeva

There's a chance they could've been related, but either way, it seems they both passed the solver down to their respective daughters.

Thoughts on the story as a whole

If Uzi and Doll are both infected, why does Doll know so much more than Uzi? Well, it could just be th differences in their parents.

Try this hypothetical: There was a certain age both Nori and Yeva wanted to start training their daughters to use the solver effectively. However, Nori died before Uzi was old enough to start training. Doll gets taught some of the basics of solver usage, but then Yeva dies, too, and Doll's training remains unfinished.

The girls' relationship with the solver

Uzi doesn't know anything about the solver; Nori died before she could teach Uzi what it was. Khan, a little scared of the solver without Nori there, decided against trying to teach Uzi himself.

So why doesn't Uzi's solver show itself sooner? It might have to do with her relationship with Khan. The strain on their relationship was probably stressful for her, which was suppressing the solver. Once she left at the end of the pilot, she found herself relaxing; and her powers relaxed with her.

Doll, on the other hand, was able to get a little bit of training before Yeva died. She probably learned the basics: some of the stuff we see Uzi struggle with (look at this mirror without breaking it, discard this projectile in a safe manner). Even after Yeva passed, she had enough basic knowledge to continue to expand on her powers by herself, albeit not in the most healthy way, using them for murder/cannibalism.

Other notes

Is Lizzy going to be an ally in the future? If she and V can make up, it looks possible for her to be Uzi's frenemy, at the very least.

WHAT DOES V KNOW?? I didn't touch too much on whatever N and V have going on, mainly because their wasn't much information in this episode, but I'm curious as to what V's keeping from the others.

Where was Thad :( I miss him :(

Khan got some character development! Ya love to see it! Maybe their relationship gets less tense as the series progresses.

WHY was Doll eating the other workers? Is it the same impulse that made Uzi want to try the oil?

I hope J gets betrayed. Maybe the protag squad lets her join them after; maybe they tell her to go kick rocks. I don't care, but I want the company to leave J for DEAD. They don't deserve her dedication.

[ninjagirlstar5]

Protag Teruya AU - Prologue Part 1 - The Beach Episode

Wrapping up part 1 of the Prologue, wooo.

No TWs apply to this current post.

The Beach (The Beginning) | The Mart (Part 2) | The Park (Part 3) | The Tower (Part 4) | The Cottage (Part 5) | The Boardwalk (Part 6)

Prologue Part 2 Beginning

Disclaimer: While Sannotori is problematic, it’s a thing in this AU/fic and the dynamic is not the same as it is in canon.

The Protag Teruya AU was inspired by @/anotherprofessional’s post! Beware of Void spoilers though!

It didn’t take long for them to reach their destination, his shoes hitting the warm sands of a beach. He was shaking badly from the impromptu flight but he managed to hold his ground.

“Hmm…it seems we explored everywhere we could.” Mikado then huffed, crossing his arms. “Augh, to think the Kagarin heir would be so slimy. If punching him didn’t result in being blacklisted in future companies, I’d have done it in a heartbeat.”

“K-Kagarin heir…?” He asked, trying to catch his breath. Mikado looked at him.

“The Kagarins are a conglomerate that specializes in technological advancements, specifically for astronomy. I did some freelance work for them in the past before coming here. I didn’t think the heir would be here though…” The mask frowns. “But that’s besides the point. Why don’t we go over everything we know to organize our thoughts?”

“Yeah, sure…Just, haaa…let me calm down.” He said, taking deep breaths to calm his racing heart. The moment he calmed down, he stood up straighter and spoke. “There are…a lot of different people around. And there’s at least fifteen of us, right?”

“Right. But unfortunately, we couldn’t find any clues that could narrow down our hypotheses. All we have are guesses to what’s going on…” Mikado said, lifting his hand up to his mouth in thought.

“Yeah…and almost everyone is calm about this…” He hesitates before turning to his friend. “Do you…Do you think we’re taking this too seriously?”

“A decent dose of skepticism has kept me safe for years, my dear. There’s nothing wrong with being too serious.” Mikado crosses his arms with a sigh. “And if I’m wrong, I’m wrong and we can simply move on.” He remains quiet for a while before slowly nodding his head.

He still had a bad feeling nagging at his gut, but he tried to push it down as he checked his watch.

“…Wow, it’s been two hours already. Maybe now is the time to gather everyone?” Mikado tilts his head before nodding his head.

“Yes, I believe so. It’ll be good to discuss everything as a group.” Mikado said as he started to float away. “I’ll go east, you go west. We’ll be able to cover more ground that way.” He gave the wizard a thumbs up before turning on his heel and jogging onto the pathway. He barely heard Mikado fly off, the flap of his cape disappearing in the blink of an eye.

It didn’t take long to gather everyone. While some of them needed convincing (mostly Yuri and the guy that refused to give them his name, if the displeased look on Mikado’s face was any indication), they were all there. Not a single person is missing from the group.

It was somehow relieving to know that.

“So, we’re all here now…” Yuki was the first to speak up. He looks around the group of teenagers, all very different in personality and talents. Except for the one amnesiac that didn’t have any memory of who he is, let alone his own talent and name.

He can’t help but feel like he stands out in the group. It makes him feel a little anxious...

“Hey, hey, why’d we all have to gather? I wanna explore the island some moooore….” Hibiki complained barely a second later. He tried to ignore her.

“Well, there are a couple of reasons why we called you all here.” Mikado starts, raising his hand. He can already see one of the students, the unnamed guy, dozing off underneath a palm tree. The wizard starts counting on his fingers. “The first is so we could all gather together and get to know each other better. And the second reason is-”

“Regarding our current situation, I presume.” Kokoro interrupted. Mikado’s mask flattens its expression.

“Yes, that.” Mikado huffs as he scratches the back of his head. “We need to discuss the possibilities of what’s going on and how that could affect us as a group.”

“Yeah, we need to talk about that.” Yoruko spoke up with a smile, playing with her scarf. “Glad to see we have at least some regular people here.”

“Wait, so you’re telling me the fucking wizard is one of the normal ones?” Nikei said with a hand on his hips. He seems to have taken some mild offense to that.

“What situation? What are you guys talking about?” Shinji sweats as his eyebrows rise. He put a hand on his hip as he raised his other. “Isn’t this just the entrance ceremony?”

“I, uh, wouldn’t call waking up on an island with no memory of where we are or how we got here an entrance ceremony…” He said, if only because he really didn’t think now was the time to be all relaxed about this. For all they knew, they were kidnapped and brought to this island for nefarious reasons.

“Thank you.” Yoruko waves her hand, closing her eyes in annoyance. “At least someone is proving my point here.”

“After speaking with all of you…” Mikado quickly moves the topic back on course. “…it feels like there’s something suspicious about this.”

“I agree.” He chimes in, pressing his hand against his chest. “I’ve been getting a really bad feeling since I woke up on this island, and I’m just…waiting for the other shoe to drop.” No one responded to his words, almost as if half of them were finally realizing how wrong this all feels.

“…I’m honestly more amazed that there are people like you who are perfectly calm about waking up on a random island.” Yoruko turns her attention to Setsuka, who immediately raises her hands with a shrug.

“Now, now…No need to be so serious, Pinkie Pie.” The billiards player said with a tease. Yoruko sighs as she looks away.

“It’s Yoruko Kabuya. Please get it right, Setsuka.”

“Okie dokie, I guess you didn’t like that one, Yuko.” Setsuka puts her hand on her hip and points upwards while Yoruko gaps at the sudden change in nickname. “But what’s the point in getting all worked up? It’s probably just a school event.”

“Uh…maybe?” It was Hajime this time, having his own hand on his hip. “I have heard that Hope’s Peak has done some crazy shit from time to time, since it’s so huge.” Somehow, he found himself agreeing. It did feel like a famous place like Hope’s Peak would pull off a crazy stunt just for their Ultimate students.

It still didn’t make it right. They should’ve at least told them about this island field trip in advance before whisking them away without warning.

“Well, they do say that this school randomly has stuff like puppies growing ten stories tall, or buildings suddenly exploding…” Iroha said with an awkward laugh. He blinked at her with wide eyes, not really expecting that kind of response.

“What is the deal with this school…?” Shinji asked, dropping his arms while sweating. Honestly, he took the words right out of his mouth.

“But if those stories are true, then it’s possible that this is also some kind of event.” Emma chimed in, before closing her eyes and basking in the breeze with open arms. “A beautiful, tropical island…a once-in-a-lifetime opening ceremony caressed by a warm breeze…An image forever engraved in your memories!” He presses his lips together into a tight line, hesitating.

The more they talked about it, the more this situation started to feel less abnormal and more…typical? As if his gut was telling him that what they’re saying wasn’t wrong and that the school was probably just as eccentric as they think it is.

Maybe his suspicion is wrong then…?

“Let’s not be too relaxed.” Mikado cuts in, almost as if he was on edge. “Even if that’s true, that still leaves the issue that there isn’t anyone else but us on the island. And the school has yet to contact us in any way.”

“Honestly, I’m like eighty percent sure that this is a kidnapping.” Yuri said, subtly agreeing even if he wouldn’t say it out loud with Mikado being a guy.

“Ehhh?! A kidnapping?!” Iroha yelled out, immediately becoming scared at the thought of the situation being a lot more serious than she thought. She wasn’t full blown panicking just yet but it looked like she was on the edge of it.

“My kidnapping sense is tingling.” Yuri raises his hands with a big smile, talking like this was a normal thing. He was probably happier to turn his attention to a girl, being the misandrist he is. “As a veteran of being kidnapped, I’ve got a feeling that this must be a kidnapping on a grand scale!”

“The hell do you mean, ‘kidnapping sense?!’” Shinji put his hands on his hips. It looks like he’s also growing nervous as well. Emma crosses her arms and looks to the side, still relatively calm but considering now.

“Hmmm…If this is a kidnapping, the culprit must be quite daring if they chose to target all of Hope’s Peak’s freshmen.”

“Wait a sec!” Hibiki cuts in with a point of her finger. “If we have been kidnapped, shouldn’t we be tied up or have somebody guarding us or something? I’ve never heard of a kidnapping where the kidnapper just let their victims run around an island willy-nilly!”

“I…don’t know about that. Just because we aren’t locked up doesn’t mean that the situation is any better.” He speaks up, trying to calm himself down as he recalled Mikado’s words from before. “If our kidnappers are allowing us to roam freely, they might be confident enough to think we won’t be able to escape that easily.”

“Except there’s a boat sitting on the shore.” Setsuka steps in with a raise of her hand. He opens his mouth to retort but the billiards player stops him. “Sure, the door is locked, but it does mean we have a way to leave.”

“Well, I guess that is very different from your average kidnapping.” Yuri said, almost stepping down from his idea instantly.

“I don’t think it’s that serious.” Hajime said, who is a lot more composed than everyone else in the group. He almost felt a little jealous for his calmness. “The world ain’t all that bad, and it’s not easy kidnapping all of the new students of a government-run high school.”

“Oooh, this is gold. ‘Nefarious Crime or Scholastic Event?’ Yeah, that would definitely be today’s headline.” He can hear Nikei from here and turns to see him writing something down in his notepad. He licks his lips, feeling as though everyone was starting to lose the seriousness of the situation.

“But, um, even if this was just a school event, it’s not…There’s a lot of issues with it. They never told us about this field trip and none of us remember how we got here. It’s just…so suspicious!” He felt his voice raise a little bit, nearly cracking at his own tone. Everyone turns to stare at him, which only makes him feel even more tense. “It’s been several hours since I’ve woken up on this island. Shouldn’t something have happened by now?!”

“...It is a bit disorganized, I admit.” Setsuka rubs the back of her head awkwardly. “Like they have no idea what they’re doing…”

“But, like, what should we be doing…? It’s not like we can stay on the boat right now…” Hibiki said, looking a bit more worried now. Mikado’s mask slowly blinks before rubbing his chin.

“We don’t know enough about what’s going on right now, so why don’t we stick together instead of splitting up?” Mikado suggested and everyone started to nod in agreement.

“I think that’s a good idea. We’ll be able to look out for each other if we stay close!” Yuki said. Shinji smiles as well with his hand on his hip.

“Yeah, I agree. Sitting around bickering isn’t going to solve anything.” He chimes in.

“Roger. So we stay here until something else happens.” Nikei raises his hand with a grin. Iroha holds her sketchbook against her chest, seemingly cheering up now that the situation is starting to lighten up.

“Oooh, how about we talk to each other some more! I’d love to get to know you all.” Iroha happily walked up to the nearest person, who happened to be Setsuka. Before anyone could say anything else, though, the unnamed man seemed to have woken up at some point and started chuckling. Even from here, he can see the arrogant smirk on his face.

“Huh? What’s up with that look?” Shinji asked, narrowing his eyebrows but still having a genial smile.

“So you dragged me here just to talk about this shit. Ugh. Precious seconds of my life, down the drain.” The guy said, cleaning out his ear with his finger. He felt himself become defensive but Hajime was the first to reply.

“Hey, no need to be a jerk. It’s true that we haven’t solved anything yet, but we’re at least trying to figure out the situation.” The boxer said with a raised eyebrow. The messy guy only shrugged his shoulders, uncaring but still having that smarmy grin.

“Whatever. Only reason I showed up is ‘cause I was morbidly curious about you brats.” He then drops his smile and puts his hands in his pockets, turning away. “Can’t see what I’d gain out of getting chummy with you people, so I’m just gonna pass.” He feels his heart sink a little at the casual admittance.

“Wh-What?! Hold it! You can’t just talk trash out of the blue and leave!” Yoruko yells out as she clenches her fists. Her voice falls on deaf ears, though, as the guy walks away without another word.

“....Aaaand he’s gone. That guy has some kinda grudge against the world or something?” Nikei asked, although he suspects it was more a rhetorical question than anything else.

“When I tried to introduce myself to him, he’s the only one who didn’t tell me anything…” Iroha said. It barely made him feel better, knowing that he and Mikado weren’t the only ones that got rudely dismissed.

“Ewww, I have to go to school with a guy like that?! No way! He looks like an old fart!” Despite Hibiki’s loud complaints, he couldn’t help but snort at the way she worded herself.

“Well, like Iroha said, it can’t hurt to get to know each other, at least.” Emma said, calm and maybe a bit hopeful.

“Ooh, since we’re all sticking together, I have a great idea.” Setsuka speaks up with a smile, pointing as she puts her hand on her hip. “We’ve got sun, sand, and surf. Why not go for a swim?”

“What?” He said without a second thought. Setsuka just gives him a nonchalant grin as she shrugs.

“That store over there has some swimsuits. I didn’t see anyone working there, so I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if we borrowed a few for a bit.” Setsuka said, looking like she wanted to go and do it, regardless of what anyone said. Yuki, however, seemed to be against the idea.

“But that’s not what we’re here for!!! We’re supposed to be figuring things out, not messing around!” Yuki raises his hands, curling his eyebrows as he gapes at Setsuka.

“I agree. Even if this is a school event, what are we gonna do if the teachers show up?!” Yoruko said, once again being the voice of reason amongst the group. However, the moment Setsuka dropped the idea into everyone’s heads, it seemed like most of them had taken to it like a fish to water.

“Let’s hurry up and swim!” Yuri said, jumping onto the bandwagon with a huge grin on his face.

“Wooooo! Swimming is awesome! Can’t remember the last time I had a beach day!” Shinji yelled out, his energy suddenly skyrocketing once again as he raises his fists. Mikado cringed at the yelling, nearly taking a step closer to him again.

“Wait-” Yuki was still resisting the idea but Iroha steamrolls him with her words without a thought.

“Oooh! That’s totally what they’d do at a school event!” Her eyes shined like gemstones, excitement radiating off of her. “Come on, let’s all go pick out swimsuits!”

“No way I’m gonna miss out on swimming! Let’s go, Kanade!” Hibiki cheerily joined in, but her sister seemed to be a bit more apprehensive.

“U-Uh…?! S-Sis, I don’t really want to swim…” Kanade tries to resist but her sister is already dragging her by the hand.

“Oh, whatever. What’s the worst that could happen? Count me in.” Hajime chimed in with a shrug and a hand behind his head.

“Let’s go!” Nikei said, almost taking the lead as the group leaves. Only Emma, Kokoro, Yoruko, Yuki, Mikado and himself were left in the dust. They all just stand there, either accepting the outcome or simply being dumbfounded.

“They all just…left.” He said, unsure of what else he could say. Mikado merely nodded. Yuki just stood there for one more second before finally snapping.

“Ugh, I give up! These Ultimates are used to doing things their own way!” Yuki tosses his hands up in the air before lowering himself close to the ground. He wasn’t sitting down, exactly, but he might as well be hugging his legs. Emma simply laughs but makes no move to join the others. It seems Kokoro was too busy with her tablet to care at all. Yoruko just sighs, also giving up. On the other hand, he…was a bit more hesitant. Should they really move on from their discussion of the situation? The lack of information was really driving him up the wall.

But when he glances at Mikado, he seems to have caught his eye and shook his head.

“There’s not much else we can do, my dear.” Mikado said, seemingly calmer than he was before. He wavers before finally caving in and nodding. He couldn’t think of any better ideas and it’s not like they can break into the ship anyway.

“I’m…I’m gonna go join them!” He exclaimed, deciding to commit to this decision. He didn’t want to keep worrying about the situation. If he can have fun and make new friends, then why not? It’s not like they had any other information to work with and it’ll help pass some time before they have to seek shelter for the night. The pier with the lodge houses would take care of that easily if the cruise ship doesn’t open up by the time they're done. But that does leave the question of food…No, no, he didn’t want to worry about it so he shouldn’t!

“What?!” Yuki shot to his feet with his jaw nearly dropping. “Not you too! We could be in a dangerous situation!”

“A-And you’re right! We could be!” He raises his hands, trying to placate his fellow student. “But maybe we are worrying over nothing. Maybe the staff and teachers are just…hiding out on the ship, which is why it’s locked. Maybe they’re just letting us…do our own thing, to see if we can develop our talents…?” He was just spitballing random ideas to wave away the suspicion. But it was clear that everyone nearby wasn’t buying it, not even Emma who was the most easy-going out of their current group. He slumps over. “...I know that’s just an excuse. But I just…don’t want to be anxious about this whole thing. Especially if it turns out to be nothing after all.”

“...Well, constantly worrying isn’t good for your health.” Emma said with her arms crossed. Her tone was amicable and she was giving him a gentle smile. “If you think joining everyone with swimming will help calm yourself down, I say go for it!”

“I still think everyone is too relaxed about this whole situation.” Yoruko closed her eyes in exasperation, but she had dropped her arms like she didn’t want to try and stop him.

“...Go on ahead. It’ll help you alleviate some stress.” Was Kokoro’s response, tapping away on her tablet. Yuki pouted at him, seemingly pleading with him through his eyes. When he glances at Mikado though, his mask has gone back to its big normal smile.

“I’m afraid our only option right now is to wait and see. If you wish to have some fun in the meantime, I will not stop you.” Mikado said, almost shrugging his shoulders. Yuki stared at him as if he’d been betrayed but his words were enough to give him a boost of confidence in his choice.

“Yeah, okay…I’ll be right back with the others!” He said, and before anyone could convince him otherwise, he ran off towards the store.

It didn’t take long for him to enter the store and just in time, too. It looked like everyone was finished picking out their swimsuits. They all turned to look at him, and it was Hajime who had spoken up first.

“Hey, joining us at the last minute?” Hajime called out. He takes a few breaths to regain his stamina before straightening himself out.

“Y-Yeah…Where are the swimsuits?” He asked. Setsuka immediately waves him over.

“Over here! There should be one in your size, big guy!” She said, lowering her voice in a sort of playful way. He just rolled his eyes before walking over to the shelf where almost everyone was at. It seems like some of them were starting to leave, though. Probably to find a place to change in private. There were a few rows of some decent swimsuits for both guys and girls. Bikinis, one-piece suits, tankinis to name some for the women but he brings his gaze over to the men’s wear. Swim trunks, board shorts, leggings…none of these caught his eye until his eyes landed on one that was hidden away between two other pieces of swimwear. The only reason he managed to notice it was thanks to the bright colors it had and he pulled it out to see it.

It was a rainbow speedo and he couldn't help but immediately gravitate towards it.

“Whoa, looks like someone is confident in his body.” Hajime said, raising an eyebrow at the choice of swimwear. He sputters a little, feeling his face blush.

“I-I mean…I really like the rainbow…and I don’t mind showing a lot of skin.” He said, holding the piece close to himself.

“Hoho, I look forward to seeing you in that piece.” Setsuka freely admits, which only made him even more embarrassed.

Which was exactly the moment Iroha noticed the swimsuit in his hand and decided to make her thoughts known.

“Wh-Why did you choose a speedo!? Are you a pervert??” Iroha said, her face turning red as she gapes at him. If his face wasn’t red before, it certainly was now. Hajime cringed at the painter’s words while Setsuka laughed, albeit slightly awkwardly.

“I-I am not!” At least, he hopes he wasn’t before coming here. “I just…thought it looked nice!”

“Yeah, come on, Iroha. Just because he’d be wearing a speedo doesn’t mean he’s a pervert or anything.” Hajime said, dropping his arms with a small frown. “...although I didn’t expect you to choose a speedo. I was thinking you’d choose swim trunks or something…”

“Er…sorry.” Iroha pulls her sketchbook up to her mouth, clearly embarrassed now. “I just…I’m having a hard time imagining you wearing that, is all…!”

“...Are you?” Hajime raised an eyebrow. Setsuka whistled, her smile growing a bit wider as if she put together something a lot more interesting. Iroha sputters, looking like she was going to try and defend herself when-

“H-Hey, there’s nothing wrong with a speedo! He probably just…liked the design.” It was Shinji, who looked a bit embarrassed but was approaching them cautiously. Huh, it’s weird that he seems to be getting all shy now. He looked at his arms…

…and realized he also had a speedo.

“Same swimwear?” He said without thinking. Shinji gave him a bigger grin.

“Same swimwear.” The firefighter showed off the black and yellow speedo in his hand. Which only made Iroha’s face turn a brighter shade of red. Even with his sunglasses on, he could tell that Hajime was giving her a stern stare with the way he crossed his arms while looking at her. The painter just turned her back on them.

“...I’m going to die.” He barely caught her mutter before she ran out of the store with the rest of the group. He watched her go with wide eyes.

“Don’t worry about her. She’s being dramatic.” Hajime said, rubbing his head.

“Oooh, I feel bad for her. It seems Ro-Ro can’t handle herself around some hot guys and girls.” The billiards player giggles and it was only then that Iroha’s reaction started to make sense. And it seemed like Shinji also connected the dots as his face immediately turned as red as his hair again.

“S-Stop…Can we focus on getting r-ready for our beach trip?” Shinji grips his shoulder and waist, embarrassment flooding his face. “Th-There’s changing rooms behind the store. We can use those.”

“O-Oh, great! Let’s go, then!” He immediately backs up Shinji, wanting to move on from the idea of Iroha’s indecent thoughts.

“Fine by me! I should check on how the girls are doing anyway.” Setsuka said, taking her own black bikini with her as she left. That left the only three guys left in the store, and none of them had anything else to say on the matter of their choice of swimwear.

“...Well, let’s not stay here any longer. We got what we need, right?” Hajime asked, pulling up a red pair of board shorts with a white star on it. He gave a thumbs up while Shinji immediately led the way to the changing rooms, which were split between the women’s and the men’s. It wasn’t very hard to find as it was right around the back of the building. Which made sense since the pathway to the beach wasn’t very far either. Surprisingly, Yuri was already finished changing and was sitting on a bench outside. He was wearing a space pattern button up with short sleeves and a few buttons undone to his sternum and camo board shorts. He was wearing teal sandals and had a bag on his lap, crossing his arms as if he was waiting for something. Hajime let out a sigh before leaning over to whisper to him. “Oh boy, do you think we can walk on by without him noticing?”

“I heard that.” Yuri snapped with a pout, his gray eyes locking onto them like a sniper’s lens. He can’t help but flinch at the stare. “The ladies sure are taking their time. You best not have any vulgar ideas, as detestable males.”

“We were not-!” Hajime started defensively, only for another voice to call out from the women’s side of the changing rooms.

“Yeah, right! Like you weren’t thinking of it by standing right outside!” It was Hibiki who spoke, which immediately made Yuri flustered.

“I was not! I was just asking if you ladies need anything.” Yuri protested, which only made him suspicious in his eyes. Even Shinji was raising an eyebrow at him.

“Y-Yeah…no thanks.” It was Kanade this time around, and her words alone were enough to make the astronaut slump over. He decided it was time to move on from this slightly flustering conversation.

“We’re just going to get changed now.” He said, walking past Yuri. He didn’t even bother to respond to him, probably because he decided to give him the cold shoulder. Which was fine by the rest of them, as he, Shinji, and Hajime enter the changing room. Just in time to meet face to face with Nikei, who was carrying his own bag filled with clothes.

“Oh, hey! You three definitely took your time getting here.” Nikei grinned at them, wearing a blue and black swim jammer with, somehow, a pencil logo on it. “I’m gonna go on ahead. I’ll meet you there?”

“Yeah, sure. Oh, and try to take Yuri with you? Before he earns the ire of the girls…” Hajime asked with a cross of his arms. Nikei just gave him a flat stare but Yuri spoke before he could give his own opinion.

“No way. Like I’d let a man move me from my spot!” Yuri snapped, clinging to his bag. Nikei twitched at the comment.

“...I’ll try my best but I make no promises.” He grunts before stepping out of the changing room.

“...Let’s hope they don’t try to kill each other while we’re changing.” Shinji said it as if it was a joke but he couldn’t help but feel a little bit uncomfortable at the thought of murder.

It was probably just his paranoia.

“Then maybe we should be quick?” He offered and the two of them agreed without another word. They all took changing rooms for themselves and locked the doors.

“Hey, is Mikado not joining us?” Hajime called out to him. He sets his backpack down, slipping off his flats as he puts down his swimsuit.

“Apparently not. I don’t think he was interested in swimming.” Mikado didn’t give him a reason, but perhaps he was simply content to stand on the sidelines and watch. Or maybe he was still worrying over the situation but choosing not to burden him with his thoughts. Either way, the wizard didn’t have to give him a reason if he didn’t want to say.

“That’s a shame! Everyone should have a good swim every now and then.” Shinji said, the sounds of clothes hitting the floor reaching his ears. He snorts before taking off his accessories and putting them into his backpack. He might as well use it to store the clothes he has.

“I’ll say. You can’t always have a nice swim like this unless there’s a pool around.” Hajime replied, the sound of a door unlocking nearby. It seems the boxer had already finished, which made sense since he was wearing the least amount of clothes in comparison to himself and Shinji. “You guys ready?”

“Hold on, I’m still changing!” He called out, folding his jacket into the backpack. He pulled off the rest of his clothing (which included rainbow briefs apparently) and folded them up, that way there was still plenty of room in the backpack. Once he was done with that, he took his speedo and put it on, just in time to hear another door unlock to signal that Shinji was already done. There wasn’t a mirror in the changing room, so he couldn’t check to see if it looked good or not. He’ll have to ask Shinji and Hajime their own opinions.

Still…Shinji had complimented him on his athletic skills earlier that day, but he didn’t realize how toned he really was. Despite how thin he was, he had pretty large muscles and even a six pack to go long with it. He must’ve been one hell of an athlete if his body was any indication. However…

What’s with this strange star-shaped scar on his side? It was just above the pelvis, almost looking like it was somewhere around his kidney but with no signs of a surgery. At least, not one that was very deep anyway. He almost didn’t notice it if it weren’t for the fact that he was changing into a swimsuit.

And now that he was examining his body a bit closely…it looked like he had other scars too. Most of them were thin and hard to notice but they were definitely there if you knew where to look. Most of them seem to be cuts, a few on his side and stomach but otherwise old and faded. Others might be from surgery as well with how thick some of them were. There was even one on his leg too.

…Just what kind of situations did he land himself in?

“Hey, are you coming or what?” He jolts upon hearing Hajime’s voice.

“Uh, yeah, I am!” He took off his goggles and tossed them into the backpack, closing it up. He can worry about what kind of past he had later. Right now, he was here to relax and have some fun. Carrying the backpack by the handle, he unlocked the door to the changing room and stepped out. Both Hajime and Shinji were wearing their swimsuits, with the former having put away his coat and bandages but still wearing his sunglasses. Their swimsuits definitely suit the both of them and he can’t help but blush a little at the amount of skin they were showing, especially Shinji. “Um, how’d I look…?”

“Pretty great, not gonna lie.” Hajime said with a whistle. He gave him a grin. “You definitely look like you’ve been in some scuffles. Did you get into trouble a lot?”

“Who knows? Certainly not me, haha…” He laughs a little as he rubs the back of his neck. At this point, he might as well joke about his amnesia. It’s not like he can do much about it anyways. All he can do is wait until his memories come back to him or he gets back to the mainland to investigate where he came from. He starts to turn towards the exit. “Let’s catch up with the others-”

“Whoa!! What happened to your back!?”

“Huh??” He tries to turn his head at the sound of Hajime’s voice. But it was near impossible to see what he was talking about. “What’s wrong with my back??”

“There’s…There’s a really big scar on your back. It…It looks bad.” Hajime explained, gripping the side of his head as he pointed at him. He gulps, feeling his anxiety spike up a little as he silently turns his back towards Shinji to get his opinion on it. His eyes immediately go wide at the sight.

“Oh…that’s…Yeah, that looks pretty nasty.” Shinji lifts up his hand to touch him but he steps away. He didn’t feel comfortable with touch at the moment. Thankfully, he gets the message and drops his hand. “Looks pretty fresh, too.”

“Really…?” He tries to crane his neck behind him one more time but to no avail. “I can’t really see it for myself.”

“Hold on. There’s phones in the store. Let me go grab one so I can take a picture to show you.” Hajime then left the changing room before either of them could say anything. It was awkwardly quiet between the both of them, Shinji seemingly at a loss of words while he…didn’t know what to do. Nor did he know why he had so many scars.

“...Fuck. I guess I really was in some kind of accident.” He said, if only to say something to break the silence. Shinji stared at him before glancing down at the floor. He laughed, empty and distraught as he rubbed his head. “I mean…of course I was. You don’t…you don’t just wake up with amnesia for no reason, right? But I…I can’t remember anything before coming here. Not a hospital or…or anything. Just nothing, you know? What am I…what am I supposed to do?”

“...I don’t know.” Shinji replied, a lot quieter than he usually was for the short amount of time he knew him. But then he put his hands on his hips with a smile. “But what I can tell you is this: keep moving forward. Your memories may be gone now, but you’re not alone. Your Big Bro won’t allow it!” The firefighter’s voice rose but it wasn’t distressing. If anything, it only made him snort.

“Thanks, Shinji. I…I guess I’m more worried about what I’ve been up to before losing my memories.” He rubs the back of his neck, averting his gaze. “I don’t even know where I got these scars. Let alone the one on my back. It makes me a little worried.”

“...If it makes you feel any better, you’re not alone in having scars.” Shinji said, and before he could respond, he suddenly turned around. His eyes go wide upon seeing Shinji’s own scar on his back. It was clearly an old scar, but it was chaotic and red, stretching over his back and shoulder blades and stopping right above his tailbone. He can’t help but hiss upon thinking of how painful it must’ve been to get a scar like that. “Remember when I mentioned an injury?”

“Y-Yeah, I remember. Does it still bother you?” He couldn’t help but ask. Shinji turns around, his grin only growing wider.

“Not anymore. I mean, I still have to be careful with it in case it gets worse from overworking. But I went back to work no problem.” Shinji said, crossing his arms. “Being a firefighter is one of the most dangerous jobs out there. Sometimes you get injured for trying to save as many people as possible. But I love this job! I’m proud to work as a firefighter, and I will do everything in my power to save people!!” He takes a moment to pause in his yelling before leaning over. “And maybe, the scars you have aren't as bad as you think it is. It’s possible you just had a job that put you in a lot of danger in exchange for protecting the innocent. And if that’s true, I’d say that’s something to be proud of.”

“...Wow, um…” He gulps, moved by his classmate’s words. He can’t help but smile. “Thanks, Shinji. You’re right, maybe I was doing something good before getting injured. I mean, I still lost my memories…but I’m here now, right?” Shinji’s smile becomes smaller but he can tell that he was still happy. His energy just lessened a bit. A thought suddenly hits him and he hesitates. His smile falters as he decides to take a plunge anyway. “If…you don’t mind me asking…What happened to get you that scar, Shinji? Obviously a fire, but…”

“Oh, uh…” Shinji sweats, the bravado he had mere seconds ago suddenly disappearing. He looks down at the floor. He suddenly feels bad for asking. “Well-”

“I’m back!” It was Hajime, who thankfully had the perfect timing to interrupt the depressing topic before it could get started. They both sigh in relief as the boxer enters the changing rooms. He waved the phone in his hand. “I found one that is working. I mean, considering Kokoro got herself a tablet from here, it really shouldn’t be a surprise.”

“That’s great! Uh, I guess. Take a picture and show me.” He immediately turns around to show his back, glad to drop the subject of Shinji’s scar. Shinji took a step back to let Hajime get a clear view before the three of them heard the snap of the camera going off. “How does it look?”

“I don’t usually take pictures but I’d say this is probably one of the better ones I’ve taken.” Hajime said, and the amnesiac turned back around. “Take a look for yourself.” He inhales before setting his backpack down and taking the phone from him.

Like the two of them said, the scar looked bad. It was clearly fresh as Shinji said, with how bright in color it was. It was also just as chaotic in shape as Shinji’s scar, but this one stretched as far as to his neck, down below his tailbone and almost reaching his shoulders, with thick lines of surgery keeping the skin together. When he reached behind himself to feel it out, it felt a little flat but still hard to the touch and he shivered at how sensitive it was. It wasn’t too painful, thankfully, which explains why he never noticed something was wrong despite wearing clothes. If Hajime hadn’t pointed it out, he likely wouldn’t have noticed he had such a scar.

“Holy shit…” Was all he could say upon staring at the photo.

“Yeah.” Hajime rubs the side of his head, unsure of what to say. “Like I said, it’s bad.”

“Does it still hurt? It looks like it hasn’t ‘matured’ yet.” Shinji asked, which he shakes his head on. It felt like his nerves were tickling but it wasn’t that bad. He can pretty much ignore it. “Well, alright. Let me know if it gets worse, though. Actually, I should share some tips on how to manage your scar.”

“Thanks, Shinji.” He turns the phone off. “...What do you guys think happened?”

“Professionally speaking, it was probably a fire. Only burn scars can look as chaotic as that.” The firefighter pauses before raising his hand and putting his hand on his hip. “Although…There seems to be other bits that look a bit too sharp to be from a fire. Maybe from shrapnel? There’s even lines of surgery so there must have been some broken bones…”

“Hard to say. I’ve never heard of anyone getting amnesia from a fire but I’m just a boxer. I wouldn’t know much about the medical stuff.” Hajime said, grimacing. “But enough talk about all of this. Why don’t we head down to the beach? Everyone already went on ahead.”

“Y-Yeah, sure…” He hesitates before opening his bag and putting the phone inside. “Before we do, are there any shirts I can use? I don’t think I’m comfortable showing off this scar…”

“If you like Hawaiian shirts, they’re right around the corner of the swimsuits.” Shinji said, looking like he completely empathized with his feelings. He smiled and thanked him before leaving the changing rooms with his bag in tow. Yuri and Nikei were nowhere to be found, which made sense if they had already left to play at the beach. It didn’t take him long to find where the Hawaiian shirts were and there were even fake flower necklaces next to them, a name that was unfortunately escaping his mind. He didn’t let that bother him though as he took a pale yellow shirt with orange and magenta floral pattern and a pink, red, and yellow flower necklace and tossed both on. Once he was ready, he put his backpack on and left the store to catch up with both Shinji and Hajime.

And so, he joined his classmates at the beach.

Almost everyone was hanging near the sand of the beach, none of them going too deep to swim out just yet. But that didn’t stop them from having fun: they were all splashing each other with water, or chasing each other around the beach. Setsuka was in the middle of splashing Iroha, who laughed as she tried to cover her face. Shinji was chasing Nikei with the plan of tossing him into the deep end, much to the journalist’s fear. But he was laughing with a big smile on his face, so he knew that Nikei was taking this all in jest. Hibiki and Kanade are the only ones who stayed on the edge of the shore, with the older twin looking down on her younger twin as she sat and played with a crab that was scuttling by. Hajime was trying to get Yuri to talk about his workout routine, but it was obviously going nowhere thanks to his misandry and lack of interest in general. Hell, he heard that the astronaut said that he usually uses an escalator as “training,” which clearly disappointed the boxer.

As for him, well…

“GAH?!” Hajime jumped just when the amnesiac poured cold water onto his back. The boxer turns around to try and splash him but he just manages to get out of reach. “Oh, you’re on! Come here, you!” Yuri immediately gets out of the way, seemingly happy to be out of a man’s reach.

“Nope! Can’t catch me, haha!” He runs off, managing to avoid Iroha as she tries to take down Setsuka into the water with her. The billiards player laughs before suddenly pulling the small painter into her arms and starts giving her a noogie.

“Aaaack! Nooo!” Iroha struggles but is unable to get out of the young girl’s reach. She immediately caves in and reaches out for the nearest person, which was… “Hajime!! Hajime, help me!”

“Oh, for the love of - I’m coming, Iroha!” The boxer immediately switches tactics, deciding to help out the painter instead of getting revenge. He stuck his tongue out at him, which only seems to motivate him as he tugs Iroha out of Setsuka’s reach. She raises her hand placatingly before running off to join Hibiki and Kanade. Before Iroha could thank him, Hajime suddenly picks her up and puts her on his shoulders and she squeals. “Come on, Iroha! Help me push this guy into the water.”

“Oh, hehe! Okay!” Iroha agrees without a second thought, raising her hands in what she thought was a threatening gesture. Really, she was just wiggling her fingers around as if she was going to tickle him instead. “Come here, come here!”

“Uhh, nope! Pretty sure two against one isn’t fair.” He said, backing up but the smile didn’t fall off of his face. Before he could try to run off, he accidentally bumps into someone and he yelps. He was about to apologize when two big pairs of hands grab a hold of his sides and suddenly lift him up with ease. “Ahh?! Wha - Shinji?!”

“Don’t worry! Your Big Bro won’t let you get taken down that easily!” Shinji’s yell was practically heard by the entire class and he was lifted onto his shoulders, his long legs dangling over them. When he looks behind him, he sees Nikei floating in the water on his back, resigned and yet content. Looks like Shinji managed to toss him into the water after all. “Come at us, Hajime, I-Iroha!! SHOW US WHAT YOU GOT!”

“Is that a challenge?! Cause you’re definitely getting taken down!” Hajime immediately took the challenge like a fish to water. Iroha, on the other hand, looked a little bit apprehensive.

“O-Oh boy…Uh, I mean, yeah! You can’t take us d-down!!” Iroha said, trying to fire herself up even though the poor girl was sweating bullets. He can feel Shinji falter underneath him, which he quickly gives a pat on his hand. As determined as both of them were to take the other challenger down, they knew they should be careful with Iroha as she was the smallest and probably frailest compared to the rest of them. Let alone the entire class.

“Geez, look at them go.” He can hear Hibiki comment on their two-against-two swim wrestling. Or whatever the heck this is called. “I guess boys will be boys no matter where we go.”

“W-Well, they definitely look like they’re having fun, Sis…” He barely caught Kanade’s words as he tried to push Iroha off Hajime’s back. But his grip was tight and the painter was surprisingly fast with the way she tries to (weakly) jab him.

“Bwahaha! I don’t know about you, but I’m certainly enjoying the view!” Setsuka called out very loudly, which was enough to make Shinji trip over his own two feet and almost make the both of them fall. Thankfully, he manages to right himself before Iroha could try and take advantage of it and push him off of the firefighter’s shoulders.

“Ha…” Yuki’s sigh was carried across the wind and reached his ears. He tries to perk up at the conversation to try and listen in, even as most of his focus was on the game before him.

“There’s no talking to them when they’re like this…How can they be so relaxed?” He glances at Yoruko for a moment, which was enough for Iroha to try and push him hard. It nearly catches him off guard and he was only able to stay on Shinji’s shoulders thanks to his tight grip. It wasn’t enough to pull him out of his eavesdropping and decided to make it known.

“Hey!! Are you sure you guys want to sit out on this?” He calls out to them and waves his hand. Both Yuki and Yoruko pull their gazes over to him. “If you want to swim now, you better grab a swimsuit!” He can see Yuki hesitate before turning to Yoruko. They seemed to lower their voices for the time being before Yoruko replied.

“Nah, I’m fine. I’m not a fan of noisy stuff anyway. Honestly, I’m feeling a bit dizzy, so I’m gonna sit down for a bit.” Yoruko said with a sigh, finding a rock and sitting down on it. That was when Iroha tried to push him one more time. This time, he was prepared and retaliated with a shove of his own. Iroha tips back so far that Hajime had no choice but to drop her lest he falls over as well. The painter sputters and flounders before getting to her feet before Hajime could help her up.

“Augh, bleh!! I think I got salt water in my mouth!!” Iroha spat out, trying to get rid of the taste. Hajime pats her back comfortingly and that was enough of a signal for the rest of them to stop. Shinji sets him down and decides to run off somewhere to do some swimming. His face was red again and he can’t help but raise an eyebrow at how much the firefighter has blushed throughout the day.

“Ah, forget it!” Yuki’s voice calls out among the group. He turns to see his fellow classmate clench his fists as he steps forward. “Guys! Count me in!” He immediately grins while Setsuka turns around with her own smile.

“Great, the more the merrier I say!” She said and he walked over onto the beach. He still felt uncomfortable around Yuki but he was also happy to have him join them. He wanted to get to know him better and this is probably one of the best ways to do it.

“I’ll go with you, Yuki. We can swim some laps together once we get you a swimsuit!” He said, which somehow embarrasses the shorter boy.

“I-I can pick out a swimsuit on my own!” Yuki exclaimed, which only made him laugh.

He can’t remember anything. And yet, there was still a feeling of nostalgia in his chest. Classmates running around on the beach, laughing and playing like the carefree teenagers they were. Spending time together and having fun as they get to know each other. It made a warm fuzzy feeling form in his chest, almost washing away the anxiety he’s been dealing with all day. It almost felt like he had longed for days like these.

For a moment, he felt as though there was nothing to worry about at all.

And in just that moment, the normalcy shattered like glass.

Ding dong bing bong!

They all freeze, the sounds of laughter and casual conversations coming to a grinding halt. The strange bell-like noise made him froze up, the smile falling off his face instantly as alarm bells rang in his head. It felt as though someone had dunked him into cold water and screamed at him, ‘This is wrong, this is wrong, this is wrong.’

“Is…that an announcement?” Nikei was the first to speak as static can be heard throughout the island. He tried to breathe but he felt as though he had choked on air.

“I-I did see a speaker pole, but I couldn’t find where it came from…” Kanade spoke up, her stuttering voice being much too loud in his ears even though she was only a few feet away. He gulps, managing to take in a deep breath this time, and was about to give out his own thoughts. Perhaps it was a teacher from the Monocruise. Perhaps it was a staff member of the island. Perhaps it was just nothing at all.

Except it wasn’t nothing.

It was something far, far worse.

“A body has been discovered!”