#also his weird crush on narukami what was going on over there

[parasitoidism]

Persona 4 lgbt discourse is mostly unbearable and tired but I will always find it so funny that absolutely nobody ever brings up teddie being basically textually bisexual because it’s fucking teddie and nobody wants him on their team

[canarymemories]

such a fleeting, precious time

rating: general audiences archive warning: no archive warnings apply relationship: narukami arashi/sakuma ritsu additional tags: fluff, kissing, first kiss, mutual pining, i've been thinking about them so much lately, and i feel like it shows ksdgh, happy naruritsu week date published: 2023-09-11 word count: 2031

summary: instead, “kiss me,” comes out of her mouth.

for naruritsu week day 2: kiss

here on ao3

readying her nails to be painted, arashi hums as she files them. she pauses briefly, running the pad of her thumb along the edges of her nails until she finds a small bump and returns to filing. it’s better to find the little imperfections now, after all.

“nacchan,” ritsu says, sitting at the head of arashi’s bed. she’d painted his nails a nice glossy dark purple before she set to start her own. they should be dry by now she thinks.

“hm?” arashi doesn’t look over at him, instead checking once more to if the bump has been filed away. it’s then that arashi feels a slight warmth on her cheek, fleeting before she can even properly recognize it as ritsu’s lips.

she does look over at ritsu then, who stares innocently back at her. the only tells he gives are a slight twitch of his lips and the amused glint in his eyes.

the two of them flirt all the time, ritsu leaning into it far easier than she does. sometimes arashi wonders if there’s more to it, wonder if it’s weird that she wishes there was. she’s had plenty of crushes, but none of them were reciprocated. at least not in the way she wanted them to be.

but now, she can’t be sure where they stand.

heart racing in her chest, arashi whispers, “ritsu-chan?” 

they flirt plenty, hold hands and lean on one another when they sit next to each other. ritsu sleeps in her lap more often than not, but that kiss felt different than their normal antics. it’d felt different, too, that time arashi had gotten so excited that ritsu had somehow found some items from a makeup collection that she’d grown fond of shortly before it was discontinued and given them to her for her birthday. she hugged him tight and kissed him firmly on the cheek. she’d been caught up in the moment, letting him go so she could sort through what all he’d gifted her, and the kiss hadn’t hit her until she was back in her dorm.

they’d continued on after that, seemingly pretending that it didn’t happen, which only made arashi more confused about what exactly they were.

ritsu looks at her curiously, maybe a bit concerned too at her reaction to a little cheek kiss.

arashi searches for what to say. should she ask if ritsu feels the same way she does? would that cross some sort of unspoken boundary between them? she doesn’t know. she could play this off as just a friendly little kiss, but she thinks she’s too far past that now. plus she’s been meaning to figure this out for a while now.

instead, “kiss me,” comes out of her mouth and despite not meaning to say it, she doesn’t completely regret it.

ritsu freezes them, eyes widening.

arashi tries her best to backtrack, feeling silly for having said that. she waves a hand in the air dismissively, a giggle pitched a little too high to be believable accompanying it. “ah, sorry,” she says, refusing to meet his eyes as she goes back to staring at her hands in her lap, one loosely wrapped around the file. “just ignore that, ritsu-chan.”

one of ritsu’s hands come into her vision, resting on her. she can hear him shift closer to her and part of her wants to shrink away, to laugh all of this off. it’s unfortunate she can’t say she has some prior engagement she has to go to and take the chance to run off; they’re in her dorm so she doesn’t have anywhere to hide out until the embarrassment of all of this wears off.

“nacchan, did you mean it?” he asks.

arashi bites her lip. she could say no and let this moment pass by and they’ll never talk about it again, but that also means they might never have a moment like this again. maybe ritsu would back off on the flirting after this. after all, who gets so flustered over a cheek kiss of all things? not wanting to regret her decision later, arashi gives a shy little nod, not quite trusting her voice to respond, not knowing what else might come out on accident.

with that, there’s a gentle pressure — ritsu’s fingers — turning her head to face him. arashi doesn’t have much of a chance to gauge his reaction to any of this as there’s a mouth on hers.

her eyes flutter shut as she leans ever so slightly into the kiss. there’s a strange sense of relief she feels as ritsu kisses her, his lips moving against hers slow and languid. as her stomach does flips, arashi’s hand finds ritsu’s arm. her fingers curl into the sleeve of his sweater to ground herself in the moment. it doesn’t feel real as she kisses back.

when ritsu breaks the kiss, arashi keeps her eyes closed, worried that she’ll wake from a dream. she focuses on the way her lips tingle, the way their fingers are laced together, though she isn’t sure when that happened.

there’s a light bump on her forehead that makes arashi open her eyes. she stares back at ritsu as he pulls back from having pressed their foreheads together for a brief second.

“you’re beautiful,” ritsu murmurs.

with that, arashi surges across the small distance between them, her hands cupping his cheeks as she kisses him herself this time. however, she puts a little too much force into it and she can feel one of his teeth poking her bottom lip. “sorry,” she says against his mouth. feeling the way his breath hitches as their lips brush gives arashi some courage, careful to kiss him more gently this time now that she’s already so close.

ritsu lets her lead this time in a kiss more eager than the first. arashi vaguely notes the hand he sets on her waist, too distracted by him kissing her back and how he’s trying to match her enthusiasm. 

he lets her press a peck and then another to his lips as she reluctantly pulls back. ritsu gets a quick one on her in return before she’s fully retreated.

arashi’s hands fall back to her lap, uncertain of what to do with them now. ritsu’s cheeks are faintly red, lips tinted slightly darker from them kissing. the thing that gets to her, though, is the barely there sheen on and smudged slightly around ritsu’s mouth having been transferred from the gloss she has on.

it’s then that the last couple of minutes click for her. arashi feels hot and she hides her face in her hands. “oh my god,” she whispers. she’d forgotten for a moment that all of this is real and truly happening, that the two of them are sitting on her bed in her dorm, and she’s not having some hyperrealistic daydream.

after some shifting on the bed next to her, a knee bumping against her leg, a pair of arms loosely wrap around her waist and a head is tentatively placed on her shoulder. she’s all too used to ritsu holding onto her like this, using her as a crutch in his early morning sleepiness, although this time is more cautious than normal.

“i’ve wanted to kiss you for a while, nacchan,” ritsu admits after a beat.

arashi’s hands drop from her face as she turns to look at him, only to be met with a face full of his hair on her shoulder. “what?”

“i’ve wanted to kiss you for a while,” he repeats, turning his head so his chin brushes against her shoulder, hovering just enough above it so they could look at each other.

she stares at him. “really?” arashi, of course, has been hoping that whatever was going on between them is mutual, but with having confirmation of that, she doesn’t know what to do, what to make of it.

“did you think all the flirting was just for fun?”

arashi splutters at that. “ritsu-chan, that’s not fair. don’t make fun of me.”

his hold on her shifts as one of ritsu’s hands come up to trace her cheekbone. “but you’re so pretty when you’re all red, nacchan,” he says, a soft chuckle in his voice.

she bats his hand away with a huff. “i didn’t think you would…” she trails off. arashi had been scared about not being loved for who she is, though those concerns have been slowly lessening. she'd, of course, worried about the same thing with ritsu, but that passed quick with all of the kind words and compliments that got her into this whole questioning if her feelings were reciprocated mess. she knows he likes her as a friend at the very least and now... it seems like maybe it really wasn't one sided at all. “that you would want to kiss me.”

“hm? does that mean nacchan wanted to kiss me too?” ritsu rests his chin on her shoulder. the playful shine to his eyes and slowly growing smile lets arashi know this won’t be the end of hearing about this.

arashi turns her head the other way, crossing her arms over her chest. “you already know the answer to that. now stop or else i’ll toss you out.”

ritsu laughs, a pretty little sound, as his arms tighten around her. he nuzzles into her side, his head making its way to her neck where his nose rubs along the side of it. “i’m sorry, nacchan, don’t kick me out,” he says, hardly sounding apologetic.

arashi sighs, one arm lowering to rest on ritsu’s while the other goes up as she pats ritsu’s head. “fine,” she says. “i guess you can stay.”

ritsu hums happily, leaning into her touch as her fingers run through his hair. they sit like that for little longer. he pulls her closer and arashi lets herself lean against him, ritsu’s arms wrapped around her tight but not uncomfortably so. arashi thinks that there really was nothing to worry about.

she’d spent so much time fearing their friendship would be ruined if she ever said anything about her feelings. spent a few too many times burying her face in her pillow and making a variety of noises as she ran through something ritsu had done earlier in the day in her head. she’d even consulted nyanko about this all, only receiving a flick of a tail and a meow.

but seeing that arashi is fairly certain ritsu is falling asleep on her now, there was no reason to be so worried. they’ve stuck together through so much already, so some feelings wouldn’t have pulled them apart in the first place.

but where does that leave them now?

she decides that they’ll figure it out later; ritsu is definitely falling asleep on her and she doesn’t want to be stuck as his pillow just yet. “ritsu-chan, don’t fall asleep on me. i still have to paint my nails.”

ritsu grumbles. “i was hoping you wouldn’t notice.”

arashi laughs, ruffling ritsu’s hair as he starts to move away from her. “it’d be hard to not notice, ritsu-chan. we don’t have much longer before tetora-kun will be back.”

after yawning, ritsu huffs. “why can’t we kick him out when he gets back?”

“ritsu-chan,” she scolds, standing to look through her nail polish collection to choose a color.

“what? it’s my nacchan time and i don’t want to be interrupted.”

arashi rolls her eyes, ignoring the fuzzy feelings she gets from him saying that. picking a color, she returns to her bed. ritsu reaches out towards the little bottle.

“let me do it,” he says.

“are you sure?”

ritsu nods resolutely, so she hands it to him. while he’s busy with that, arashi shifts to sit facing him. he looks up at her once the bottle is open and holds a hand out. she offers her right hand right and rather than beginning with her nails, ritsu leans in and kisses her again a little too long to be considered a peck.

with a proud little smile, ritsu starts on her nails.

it looks like she’ll have to get used to him kissing her. not that she minds.

end notes: title from jewel stone, the full line is "telling jokes, flirting a little, such a fleeting, precious time" which,, certainly fits happy naruritsu week everyone 🥺🥺 they're so silly (just wait until my day 6 piece)

[thecottageinthedark]

Sorting Persona 4

Here again with another Sorting Hat Chats post! This one’s for Persona 4. Full disclaimer; this is based just on the game, not the anime. Also it’s behind a cut cause it is LONG. And has spoilers.

The system I’m using is explained here by @wisteria-lodge.

The Persona 4 MC, whose name is either Souji Seta or Yu Narukami depending on which supplemental materials you go by, is a really REALLY loud Badger secondary. His power is based on making Social Links with NPCs and shifting to become whatever they need-and also on patiently grinding to level up his attributes. And because he lives so much in this secondary-plus the fact that on a meta level he’s kind of a stand-in for the player-his Primary is hard to see.

But where it gets revealed in the end is the decisive moment when the ending you’re going to get is decided. The Investigation Team have discovered that Namatame’s been putting people into the TV, and thus are assuming he’s the murderer-and it’s become horribly personal, because one of the people he did that to was Nanako, and even though she’s been rescued, she’s deathly ill thanks to the TV World’s poison.

And now you-and the MC-have a choice. The IT are baying for Namatame’s blood, ready to kill. One Badger Primary method would be to appeal to the fact that he’s a person, you can’t just kill people….but nobody’s listening. Another would be to dehumanise him and say, he’s a murderer, he needs to die for the sake of everyone-going along with all the fury of the group. A Lion would lash out too-less because everyone’s doing it and more from their own gut feeling, but that would still lead to dead Namatame. A Snake might kill Namatame because he hurt Nanako...or, in the Golden remake, if they’ve done Adachi’s social link, they might cover for him. Either way, they’d be prioritising an inner circle member.

And all of those get you bad endings. Especially the Snake choice to cover for Adachi.

What gets the good ending, the happy ending where the MC is fulfilled and at peace, is to ignore all the emotion that’s running so high, and order everyone to step back and take time to think about whether the theory of Namatame being the killer makes sense. Pounce on the niggling little detail that doesn’t fit, and realise that the assumption everyone is labouring under isn’t true. And then prioritise the actual truth over personal loyalties or emotional reactions.

Bird Primary.

Because of course. This is a detective story. Your party are called both the Investigation Team and the Seekers of Truth. Even the title song hints at it; find the truth (Bird) by getting together with others (Badger).

Yosuke Hanamura’s a young, immature Snake Primary at game start, with the selfishness typical to that. His Shadow throws that back in his face, and he realises he doesn’t like being an asshole whose secret gut reaction to murders happening is ‘well at least I’m not bored anymore now something is happening in this dead-end town’.

So he does two things pretty much at the same time; he widens his inner circle to let in first Souji and then the rest of the IT, and he adds a model on top to let him care about things outside that circle. I think it’s a Lion model-a young Lion, just like his Snake, that edges into Glory Hound, but keeps hold of the idea that you should do certain things because they’re just right.

(It’s not based on the MC, though the MC is undoubtedly his most important person, who he even calls his partner. But then, as I said, the MC’s Bird is very quiet, so it’d be hard for Yosuke to perceive it well enough to mimic it. I think it’s actually based on Chie, who is after all the inner circle member he has known longest!)

And his secondary? Yosuke’s a support guy. He lifts his friends up. His family run Junes, and he leverages that connection to create a base location for the IT and secure a portal into the TV world that’s big enough to be usable. When Teddie comes to the human world, it’s Yosuke who gives him a place to stay. He’s a Badger secondary, and again, this makes perfect sense. The Lover sorting. No wonder so much of the fandom ships him with the MC.

Chie Satonaka is LOUD and BRASH and if you are a jerk she will KICK YOU IN THE FACE. She is so goddamn Lion Secondary, and utterly unapologetic about it.

Her primary, I think, is Lion again. The reason she has gotten possessive of Yukiko (as her Shadow calls her out on) isn’t that she wants Yukiko to be just hers-it’s that she wants to be Yukiko’s knight. Saving the princess is actually a textbook Lion cause. It lets her feel heroic and brave.

But that’s not good for either of them. Damsel in distress is a shitty role, one that doesn’t allow Yukiko to be strong and capable herself, and Chie pushing Yukiko into that role is really straining their relationship. It’s also something that Chie herself knows is wrong-that’s why her Shadow accuses her of it. (“I am a Shadow, the true self...”)

So instead Chie changes gears, because oh look a new Cause just popped up! Find the killer and bring them to justice! And on top of that, there’s always sexist prats to kick.

Yukiko Amagi models Badger Primary, because it’s expected of her. Running an inn is a really Badger kind of job. She also models Badger Secondary, for the same reasons. She feels this is who she’s meant to be; sweet, gentle, socially adept, community-focused and hard-working. The traditional Japanese ideal of womanhood.

But it chafes. The weight of societal expectations feels crushing. She doesn’t want to do stuff just because she’s meant to, because people think she should. She’s an Internal Primary, and needs to follow the voice of her own heart.

And where that heart leads her...is back to the Amagi Inn, except now she’s decided that she’s doing this for herself. She needed to feel that she could actually choose to not inherit the inn, before she could realise that she wanted to run it. She’s a Snake Primary, and the inn is important to her because it’s hers.

Her secondary...actually I get the feeling she’s like Toph Beifong of Avatar, a Snake who likes to spend most of her time in neutral. She is delightfully quirky and weird, and owns that, but she doesn’t charge like a Lion and she’s comfy with wearing masks when the situation calls for it.

Kanji Tatsumi panics at the idea that he might be gay, and caretakes like a boss, and that might look at first sight like a Double Badger who’s scared that he might be one of the people he’s used to dehumanising. His Shadow screams that it wants to be accepted...but what calms it is when Kanji himself accepts it, and says that this resolution is about being true to himself. Kanji’s a Double Lion who burnt his primary because being given shit for the feminine, queer-coded parts of himself made him lose faith in his internal compass, worrying that it was leading him somewhere that he viewed as bad. Internalised homophobia’s a bitch of a thing.

Accepting his Shadow is the start of Kanji healing his primary-letting go of shame for being an oddball and telling the world to go fuck itself if it thinks it can make him conform. He does model Badger Secondary-as I said, he caretakes like a boss-but that’s more a thing he does as a gift to others. When it comes to solving problems, he charges in swinging, ready to beat up anyone from biker gangs to otherworldly monsters.

Rise Kujikawa is a cheerful, shameless Snake Primary, loving and ambitious. She became an idol to make friends, and enjoys the fame it gets her. And when she needs to take a break for the sake of her mental health, she has no compunctions about doing so.

But she needed that break because the idol life was stressing her out-unsurprisingly, it’s a really intense life. And the particular problem she had was to do with the conflicting expectations the public has of celebrities. Perfection is demanded...but so is authenticity.

Rise realised that she was face-shifting as an integral part of her career, and this knowledge sent her into a tailspin. The fans don’t like the real Rise Kujikawa-they like Risette. But who is the real Rise Kujikawa? She doesn’t know! It’s frightening! What if she’s just made of smoke and mirrors? How does she find out what’s underneath?

And the answer she comes to is that there is no real Rise Kujikawa...which is the same as saying that there is no false one. Rise is Risette is Rise, it’s all just her, adapting to the context as she needs to. She’s a Badger Secondary, and the act of performance is the true self.

And for her, that’s a good answer-it brings her peace. But now we need to talk about Teddie.

Because just hearing Rise say ‘there’s no real me’ sends Teddie into a Shadow crisis right there.

He completely fucking loses it. He’s a denizen of the TV world-he’s been immune to it all this time, never manifesting a Shadow, but this is what breaks him. And that just screams Bird Lion. It’s his Buzz Lightyear moment-or rather his first Buzz Lightyear moment, because there are two. This is the first, and he survives it by retreating into his Secondary. It allows him to bring Shadow Teddie under control...but this isn’t sustainable. He’s realised something terrible and can’t avoid that knowledge indefinitely.

And soon enough he admits it to himself (and to the MC). He is a Shadow, that somehow became self-aware. His Truth was never true. He can’t handle it, he has no idea how to even exist, and he outright tells the MC that he intends to commit suicide.

He recovers, though-and he does so because the MC tells him Nanako survived. That’s the first thing that gives him a glimmer of hope, because his Truth already had some Snakey elements in there about chosen people and ambitions. He comes back from the brink, reshapes his system to centre those Snake principles, and returns to the side of his friends.

Lastly, Naoto Shirogane, our other queer-coded character. (I’m using she pronouns for the sake of canon here-but I’m a firm believer in nonbinary Naoto, for the record.) I think she’s a Bird secondary-the only one of those here, jeez. She’s just so analytical. She’s a rapid-fire Bird too, Detective Prince working on a case, squarely in the middle of her comfort zone. But push her out of it-into a normal teenager social situation, say-and watch her squirm!

She has a Bird Primary performance, too. But performance is the operative word here. She’s trying to look adult and smart and collected, in order to be taken seriously by the police officers she works with. And she is smart, mind you, but that’s not the why of her though it is the how. It’s not Naoto who goes ‘wait, let’s think about this, we need more information’ at the crucial point, but the MC, who really is a Bird Primary. Naoto was the one to suggest doing a little vigilante justice vis-a-vis murdering Namatame.

Her real Primary is Lion. Being a detective is a Cause for her, not a Truth, and she is blazingly certain of her own sense of what’s right-so much so that she doesn’t stop and check it against other people’s. And she inspires people! She doesn’t even mean to, and certainly doesn’t know why, but she is just so cool that people flock to her and admire her. ‘The Detective Prince’ is, when you think about it, a really Lion Bird kind of title!

Her Shadow has two issues with her. First, it harps on the gender angle. Hey, self, there’s that thing about your identity that you’ve been refusing to think about! You need to go poke at it! And then it breaks down into a scared child. Self, your performance is eating you alive. You need to do it, yes, the Cause demands it, but you also need to be able to stop sometimes and let yourself have emotions!

In short:

MC/Souji/Yu: Bird primary, Badger secondary

Yosuke: Snake primary, Badger secondary, models Lion primary

Chie: Lion primary, Lion secondary

Yukiko: Snake primary, Snake secondary, with Badger primary and secondary models that start out pretty unhealthy for her. 

Kanji: Lion primary that starts out burnt and begins to unburn after his Shadow fight, Lion secondary. Models Badger secondary.

Rise: Snake primary, Badger secondary

Teddie: Bird primary, Lion secondary. Falls dramatically and recovers by shaping his system to be more Snakelike.

Naoto: Lion primary, Bird secondary, performs Bird primary

[bunteatime]

aramika coffeeshop au part 2

idk what i have to say other than,, after like 3 months part 2 is finally here,,

Part II:  Arashi’s POV

It had been almost a week since Arashi had last seen that mysterious boy with the pastries. She was beginning to get anxious over it. She was completely sure that their meeting was fate, yet he had just completely vanished from her existence like a dream. Maybe it was a dream…? No, no. She very clearly remembered speaking to him. Leo had been very pleased with the pastries that had been delivered and even said that he was going to be strictly buying from them from now on. So then why had that adorable boy not shown up since Monday? She shook her head in frustration. It was just about time for Arashi to close up shop. The sun was starting to set and the sky was like something straight out of a painting. The shop was completely empty and she was the last employee left for the day. She really hated getting the last shift. It was so lonely and hardly anyone ever came in at this time of day. She began to brew herself some mint tea while muttering to herself about how she forgot to ask for the boys name sadly. She vowed to herself that next time she saw him, she would get his name for sure. As the clock on the wall chimed, signifying the end of her shift and the end of the store’s open hours, she took off her apron and stretched. She went into the back and picked up her cardigan and the keys to lock up the shop. This whole time she was still lost in thought over this mysterious pastry boy. She grabbed her tea and as she stepped outside. While in her distracted state, she ran right into someone and spilled hot tea all over him. He looked up at her with familiarly mismatched eyes and she instantly knew who he was. Oh god, not him. Anyone but him. She could handle the small amount of embarrassment that came from spilling tea on anyone else, but her own crush? The pastry boy? She blushed just a bit and covered her mouth with her hands in horror. “Oh my, I’m so sorry! I’m not usually clumsy at all but… but.. Ah, there’s no time to waste! Hurry inside!” The boy seemed a bit dazed but he followed her instructions and went inside the coffeeshop. Once in, he took off his jacket, which had a huge soaked stain on it and frowned. “Aww shit… I really liked this one too…” He remarked solemnly.

“I’m so sorry! It’s entirely my fault.” She frowned back, feeling defeated. She had made an absolute fool of herself infront of her crush. Surely he’d be upet with her. Suddenly, she had an idea. “Oh! If you don’t mind, I’d like to treat you to dinner as an apology!” She said hopefully.

She could’ve sworn she saw the boy blush just a bit. He looked surprised and smiled at her shyly. Oh god he was just the cutest. Wait. Did she just ask him on a date? She tried her absolute best not to show it on her face but she was a bit embarassed now. Of course it was a dream to go on a date with him, but they barely knew eachother and she didn’t know if it’d weird him out. 

 “Are ya sure? I’d be happy to go with ya but it really is just fine! It was just an accident, I get it.” He tried to reassure her. 

Her face lit up in excitement. Oh, he really was just the kindest! Arashi knew a few people who would simply get mad at her if she had spilled coffee on them (Not naming names or anything, but she was definitely thinking about Izumi) and she was relieved this boy wasn’t one of those people. She didn’t know what she’d do if he were to get mad at her. Her crush on him was growing by the second, if that was even possible. 

“Oh no no, it really is fine, babe! I know a really good restaurant downtown that we can go to!” She smiled brightly at him, excited for their maybe-kinda-sorta-not-really date. “Well then, let’s go!” He smiled back at her and grabbed her hand, practically running out of the store with her. She giggled at his enthusiasm and gladly followed him.

Part II: Mika’s POV

Mika’s brain was running at eight hundred miles per hour. Here he was, on his way to a date with the prettiest girl he’s ever seen. He couldn’t believe this was happening. Was this a dream? No, it couldn’t be. Come to think of it, I don’ even know her name, He thought to himself. It was quite strange to him that he could fall so hard for someone yet not even know their name. He glanced at her, wondering if it’d be too blunt to just straight up ask her right now. “Hey, Uhm….” He started slowly. “Yeah, love? What is it?” She turned to him, smiling and he could’ve sworn his brain stopped working for a minute. His face turned bright red at her response. Love? Love?? Did he just imagine that? He assumed cute nicknames were just commonplace to her and they didn’t mean too much but oh god, did that make his heart beat practically out of his chest. “Ah, Uhm…. W-well….” He had completely forgotten what he was going to ask her. He was too busy replaying her calling him “love” in his head. “I don’t think I’ve asked yet s-so… What’s yer name…?” He prayed that wasn’t too blunt. “Oh my! Come to think of it, I still haven’t properly introduced myself!” She looked surprised. “My name’s Arashi Narukami.” She winked at him and giggled. Oh wow, even her name was pretty. Was she perfect? Mika was roughly 100% sure she was perfect. “And what’s yours?” “I-I’m Mika! Mika Kagehira.” He responded with a smile. “Even your name is adorable!” She remarked cheerfully. She glanced down at her phone and stopped. “Oh oh! We’re here!” 

Mika stared at the restaurant in a bit of shock. It seemed very romantic, like the types of restaurants that most couples go to in romcoms. This was starting to really turn more and more into a date, although Mika wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or not. If he was being honest, he couldn’t read Arashi that well. He couldn’t tell if she was just very friendly or if she really did like him. It’s probably best for him not to get his hopes up. He really couldn’t believe that someone like her would fall in love with him. 

Once they had gotten a table at the restaurant, Mika was looking over the menu when he caught Arashi gazing at him happily over the top of her own menu. He blushed as their eyes met and quickly looked down. He heard her giggle and set her’s aside. God, her laugh was so cute. He wished he could just ask her out right at this moment. Of course, he wasn’t prepared to, and she’d say no, but he really wanted to. “Do you know what you’re gonna order?” She asked him happily. “Oh, yeah! Sorry, I got lost in though…” Once they had finished their meals, they both began talking about their interests and they surprisingly had a lot in common. Arashi was really good at holding a conversation and Mika found it really cute when she’d go on a little rant about something she really liked. They were currently talking about their past jobs and funny things that had happened while working. “Oh yeah! I also used to be a model for a bit.” She said nonchalantly, as if being a model was just some common job most people could get. Based on her looks, it was 100% believable for her to be a model, but that didn’t stop Mika from almost choking on his tea when she said it. “W-woah, really?” He asked in amazement. She must’ve been really popular as a model. “Yeah! I wasn’t, like, famous or anything but I was decently popular.” She nodded. Mika could’ve sworn her eyes were sparkling. She really was just absolutely gorgeous. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. “Wow… ya really are angelic…” Mika accidentally blurted out. He only recognized what he had just said when Arashi blushed and looked down at the table. His eyes widened and his face grew hot. “I-I mean like… y’know… not in a weird way or anythin’!” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He couldn’t believe he had just said that. God, he was an idiot. Surely, she would be weirded out by it. There was absolutely no way he could save himself in this situation. “I’ve… never been complimented like that before…. thank you...” She replied softly. She was smiling and Mika immediately felt relieved. He was so glad that she didn’t hate him for it. 

Arashi picked up her phone and looked at the time. “Oh, dear! The restaurant is going to close soon! I guess we should go, then!” There was a hint of remorse in her voice. Could it be that she wanted to continue to spend time with him? Wait… Did she like him? He had told himself to not get his hopes up but Mika was really getting his hopes up now.  They walked out of the restaurant together happily. It had been an amazing date. Mika really wanted to hold her hand, but he wasn’t sure if he was overstepping his boundaries or not. Just then, Arashi turned towards him and took his hands in hers. She was smiling. “I had a lot of fun tonight! If you don’t mind, could I get your contact info?” She took out her phone and they exchanged numbers. Mika saw her off and proceeded to walk back to his apartment. He was so happy. Things couldn’t have gone any better than they did. He even had her number! He couldn’t wait to meet up with her again, even though he was literally just with her. 

Once he got home, he flopped onto his bed and started thinking about what had happened that day. It had all seemed like such a dream! It all went way too well to be true. Well, that is, except for the part where he got tea spilled all over his favorite jacket. He didn’t mind though. He was the happiest he had ever been and couldn’t wait to see Arashi again.

[zero-heather]

Persona  Main Cast Arcana Swap (Spoilers!)

I wasn’t really paying attention to ships and stuff like that while making this, more-so what was interesting to switch. It occurred to me in the planning of the P2 cast that some crushes are canon. But, here we go anyway!

Persona 1

The Emporer - Reiji Kido (Protagonist): A silent boy who lost his older half-brother during his younger years. He carved an X on his forehead using a knife to make sure his parents don’t treat him like he was his brother. The Chariot - Naoya Toudou: The partially-spoiled son of a manga company. An occasional troublemaker, but also a nice person. His crush is in the hospital. The Hierophant - Masao Inaba: A rich young boy who will soon inherit control over a large group of companies called the Inaba Group. He’s spoiled, intelligent and has no tolerance for stupidity of any kind. The Strength - Kei Nanjo: A father-like figure that almost everyone St. Hermelin looks up to. He is an ex-yanki who was reformed by one of his teachers, to whom he has great respect for. The Justice - Yukino Mayuzumi: A girl who likes to make jokes and prank people for attention. Her parents were never really around for her and she was laughed a lot during her childhood. The Hermit - Hidehiko Uesugi: A young boy who has been hospitalized for a little over a year. His childhood friend, Reiji Kido, occasionally visits him and he gets more frequent visits from Naoya Toudou. His father is too busy to visit him. The Judgement - Maki Sonomura: A beautiful and intelligent girl who has come back to Japan from studying abroad. She aspires to travel the world, but wants to stay in her hometown for the rest of her studies. The Magician - Eriko Kirishima: An airheaded girl who hates hearing anything that displeases her. She likes to live in the moment and doesn’t think about her future too much. The Devil - Yuka Ayase: A delinquent who doesn’t have much care for anything or anyone other than her parents, who are poor. She usually plays hard to get but is a really nice person inside.

Persona 2 Duology

The Sun - Katsuya Suou: A delinquent type adult. His younger brother gives him lectures on how he should try and be a better person but he doesn’t care. Hates his brother and his father. The Justice - Tatsuya Suou: Katsuya’s younger brother, a high school student who wants to join the police force to clear his father’s name. Also has an obvious crush.

The Death - Kaoru Saga: A narcissistic young man in his early 20s who runs a band, in which he is called Baofu. He rejected his parents constant complaining on how he should be a ‘Traditional Japanese Man’, but he still has a very low self esteem. The Hanged Man - Eikichi Mishina: A high school boy who is able to wiretap and hack into any known database. He hangs around Tatsuya’s friend group, despite remaining a mystery to even them. He goes by the name Michel. The Wheel of Fortune - Maya Amano: A young woman who was the childhood friend of Katsuya. Her parents are both deceased and she works for COOLEST Magazine. All that aside, she’s calm, collected and likes flowers.

The Moon - Jun Kurosu: A high school boy whose motto is ‘think positive’, even in tight situations. He makes friends easily and happens to forget a lot of things, but is a good person. Also doesn’t believe many people like him. The Lovers - Ulala Serizawa: A hyper young woman who knows martial arts and is a fan of Bruce Lee. Her parents wanted her to be a ‘Traditional Japanese Woman’, but just like Kaoru, she rejected their wishes.

The Star - Lisa Silverman: A high school girl who has bad luck with men and can never seem to find someone right for her. She’s a professional boxer and also sneaks out to drink, despite being underage.

The Strength - Kei Nanjo: A photographer for COOLEST Magazine who was involved in the SEBEC incident. He works with Maya Amano, and with the help of her and his old teacher, he’s comfortable with who he is now.

Persona 3

The Fool - Aigis/Metis: A high school student who came back to Tatsumi Port Island 10 years after their parents died on the bridge due to a fire. Canon is Aigis, which is female, and optional is Metis, who is male. The Lovers - Minako Arisato: A young bubbly girl who likes big crowds. She’s a popular girl at school, unknowingly, and also stays in the Gekkoukan High Dorms. She has a gun holster on her belt and has a brother. Somewhat loud and “obnoxious”. The Magician - Minato Arisato: A young blunt boy who hates big crowds. He’s a popular boy at school, unknowingly, and also stays in the Gekkoukan High Dorms. He has a gun holster on his belt and has a sister. Reserved and introverted. The Empress - Yukari Takeba: A wealthy individual and next in line to inherit control of the Takeba Group. She’s a very intelligent person and many people look up to her, as she is also the student council president. The Emporer - Junpei Iori: A second year that runs the boxing club at Gekkoukan High. He takes boxing very seriously and also finds it a good stress reliever. He’s determined and courageous, and also a good mentor. The High Priestess - Mitsuru Kirijo: A quite and kept-in girl, she serves as the navigator for SEES. Her best friend would have been found outside Gekkoukan High with Apathy Syndrome if not for her. She’s a bookworm and likes sci-fi. The Hierophant - Akihiko Sanada: A shady third year who hardly shows up at school. He only joined SEES for personal reasons which he refuses to share. Has a soft spot for Fuuka, and is good friends with Junpei. The Justice - Fuuka Yamagishi: A little girl who seems to know Akihiko from her past. She’s well behaned and a good role-model for others her age. Despite being 11, she lives in the Gekkoukan High Dorms. The Chariot - Shinjiro Aragaki: A robot made to destroy shadows. He can only develop human feelings through contact with those feelings. He is enrolled in Gekkoukan High as a second year, despite being a robot and seeming more like a third year.

Persona 4

The Fool - Teddie: A transfer student from Tokyo who came to live with his uncle for a year. He’s very anxious in social situations, and arguments between his friends makes him nervous. Has a weird obsession with bears. The Magician - Rise Kujikawa: A goofy and fun young girl. Her parents are the managers at Junes, and she works part-time there. She’s also in Teddie’s class.

The Chariot - Kanji Tatsumi: An intimidating young boy with martial arts skills. He may be buff but he’s not really aggressive. Suggests eating more meat a lot and is good friends with Rise. The Emporer - Yosuke Hanamura: A badass who was able to take down an entire biker gang by himself. Feared by his classmates, but he is a good person. He likes knitting and has more feminine hobbies, he also questions his sexuality a lot. Despite being skinny, he’s a lot stronger than the buffest one in the group. The Lovers - Yu Narukami: A model who is famous for his cross-dressing and his way to charm crowds. He’s very blunt about his thoughts but he means no harm. He’s a fun person to have around, but he already has a crush.

The Star - Yukiko Amagi: A strange woman who came from the TV world. She makes a lot of puns, albeit sometimes doesn’t know what she’s talking about, and is fascinated with the human world. The Wheel of Fortune - Chie Satonaka: A detective who acted like she was male for most of her life. Is only now getting used to being able to freely act like a woman, and is still coping with her identity. She’s logical and the smartest in the group.

Persona 5

The Fool - Morgana: A young boy who was arrested on false charges and sent to Tokyo for a whole year as ‘probation’. Despite all the rumors surrounding him, he’s a good person and probably the most lenient friend you’ll ever find. The Chariot - Haru Okumura: An ex-track and field runner, she hates how adults think they can just lie their way through life and not have any consequences. A good hearted person with a somewhat goofy attitude. The Magician - Futaba Sakura: A young girl who was found trapped in Kamoshida’s Palace. She eventually decided to come over to the human world and take the guise of Futaba Sakura. Kind of annoying but overall understanding and polite. The Lovers - Akira Kurusu: A young boy who was being sexually abused by Kamoshida, as for a while he kept telling everyone and himself he was female. He eventually came out as a male publicly, despite being a bit nervous about it. A strong-hearted individual. The Emporer - Ryuji Sakamoto: A young painter who seems to think Akira is still a girl, despite him publicly stating he was male. He’s polite but also poor, so he starves himself a lot which explains his slim yet tall figure. The High Priestess - Ann Takamaki (P5)/Kasumi Yoshizawa (P5R): The student council president of Shuujin Academy. She keeps up her polite and obeying act in public, but when she’s with the group she’s an absolute unit that no one dares cross. The Hermit - Goro Akechi: His father runs the coffee shop which Morgana is in, and he also has an obsession with video games. He serves as the navigator for the group. He is reserved and hates going out in public. The Justice - Yusuke Kitagawa: A young and upcoming detective. He may be polite in public, but he’s really a sociopath who will murder anybody and anything that upsets him. The Faith - Ann Takamaki (P5R): An elegant and intelligent young girl, who gets the top score at Shuujin, which is why she was offered a scholarship there. She’s actually very stressed out and often becomes depressed for no reason.

[individuationfic]

It Was The Best Year

AO3

It’s a cruel twist of fate, Kotone thinks, that they have to stay in the love hotel for their trip. Even two years later, the rooms are painfully familiar; she remembers Junpei joking around, remembers Akihiko-senpai getting flustered at seeing her in a towel, remembers smashing mirrors with her naginata. From the extra little twinge in her belly, she knows Makoto feels the same way.

In some ways, Kotone is grateful for Philemon’s deal. It’s given her another chance to live, and to live it with the brother she thought was gone forever. But the toll—she and Makoto sharing emotions and pain—can be a little much. Though, she thinks, he has it worse. He has to deal with my cramps.

They convinced the school administration to let them share a room, and Elizabeth and Theo are next door. She’s glad they came, even though they had to pay for their own room and transportation. Being back on Tatsumi Port Island is easier with them here.

Makoto fakes being sick to get out of the trip to Gekkoukan, and Kotone offers to stay with him, and none of their teachers really care so it works. The four of them sneak to the mall for coffee and spend a quiet afternoon reminiscing. They’re leaving just as Narukami-kun and his friends are arriving, laughing and chattering, and Kotone can’t help the smile that stretches across her face. She wishes S.E.E.S. was more like them.

She feels more than sees Theo reaching out  to her. Things have been… awkward since he broke up with her when she was still Minako. Was “break up” even the right term for what happened? Can you even break up with someone you’re not officially dating? The whole situation is just as confusing now as it was back then. Maybe even more so, now that Theo’s given her a ring. Regardless, he’s been making amends ever since the day late last winter when he showed up on the doorstep of the hotel room Elizabeth was hiding her and Makoto in, so she doesn’t pull away when his hand falls on her shoulder. “Are you okay?” he asks. 

Kotone’s never been good at lying to Theo, so she says, “I wish I— we —could have said a proper goodbye before we—” The word died is unspoken, but heard all the same.

Ahead of them, Makoto’s feet stutter in their stride. He’s felt the rush of emotions she has. His sorrow answers hers.

A contemplative expression takes over Theo’s face. Then, almost too quiet for Kotone to hear, he says, “Elizabeth and I may be able to help with that.”

*

All four of them end up in Makoto and Kotone’s room. Kotone clambers up onto the bed and rests her head in Theo’s lap. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Makoto and Elizabeth take up a similar position.

“Only the two of you should remember this dream,” Elizabeth says. “The others will only have vague impressions of it when they wake up.”

Theo continues, “This means you can tell them anything you want; nothing that happens in a dream violates your deal.” Warm fingers press against Kotone’s temples. “Do you two have anything specific in mind for the setting?”

And God, Kotone can feel Makoto’s grin. “Hey, Elizabeth, do you remember that time I took you to Club Escapade?”

*

The place they end up in looks like the Velvet Room but isn’t quite right. Igor isn’t there, for one, and there’s a disco ball hanging from the ceiling and pulsing neon lights on the walls and loud, bumping music playing from a source Kotone can’t see.

She looks down and sees that her clothes have changed. They look like a modified version of her school uniform—not from Yasogami, but from Gekkoukan. A quick glance at Makoto tells her he’s dressed similarly, and the message is clear. Tonight, they’re Minato and Minako once more.

Minako blinks, and she and her brother are surrounded by the rest of S.E.E.S., who are also dressed in modified school uniforms. They take a moment to take in their surroundings and freezes when they register Minako and Minato’s presence. Minako’s heart leaps into her throat. Her brother reaches out to squeeze her fingers.

Aigis moves first. Of course she does. She wraps an arm around each of their necks and pulls them into a bone-crushing embrace. Her hug is not warm or soft, but it’s so full of love that neither Minako nor Minato complains about the discomfort. “I was supposed to protect you,” she says, and her voice is thick, like she would be crying if she was able to. “Why didn’t you let me?”

“We missed you too, Aigis,” Minato says. 

The sound of his voice seems to act like a trigger, because the rest of their team surges forward, and they’re caught up in a storm of love and affection and relief, and there’s no where else either of them would rather be.

*

“Wait, Aigis, you’re a Wild Card now?”

Minako, Aigis, Yukari, and Fuuka are all sitting on a couch near the de-facto dance floor, catching up while they watch Mitsuru-senpai try to teach Minato some of her ballet moves. “It happened shortly after your—after graduation,” Aigis says. “We all got trapped in the dorm and had to clear a place similar to Tartarus to escape.” Yukari and Fuuka both shift, uncomfortable, and Minako knows there’s more to the story that they’re not telling her. “Now that I know you two are alive, I’ll channel my new strength into finding you.”

And that’s a headache and a half to think about. Even if Aigis would be able to remember their shared dream, no one knew which timeline Kotone and Makoto existed in. They never wanted to find out. There’s a fifty-fifty chance the wrong Aigis would be the one to remember, and then she’d spend the rest of her life on a wild goose chase.

But Minako doesn’t want to ruin their night, so she just laughs and says, “That would be nice.”

*

After spending a few more minutes tiring Minato out, Mitsuru-senpai grabs Minako’s wrists and pulls her up to dance instead. She giggles helplessly when Mitsuru-senpai leads her into a dip, wildly inappropriate for the heavy rock music that’s currently playing, and when she’s upright again, Minako says, “Aren’t you in a good mood tonight? Do you have a cute girlfriend taking care of you now?”

Mitsuru-senpai flushes. “Not yet. I’ve been busy with work.”

“The Shadow Operatives, right? Fuuka told me about it.” Minako smiles. “It’s good work, Mitsuru-senpai. I’m glad we can trust you to do it.”

“You and Minato will remember this, right?” Minako nods, and Mitsuru-senpai continues, “Feel free to reach out if you need help with Shadows. Anonymously, of course. We take anonymous requests, too.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

*

The couch has been taken custody of by Minato, Junpei, and Akihiko-senpai when Mitsuru-senpai finally releases her, so Minako plops down into her brother’s lap and wings her legs up to secure the other two. Akihiko-senpai, who is apparently just as useless with girls now as he was in high school, goes red and starts sputtering. Junpei laughs and says, “don’t let Fuuka see you. She might get jealous.”

“She’d be a hypocrite,” Minato snarks. “She loves Minako’s cuddles as much as you.”

Minako laughs, and then her brain catches up with her brother’s words and her eyes go wide. She swivel her head towards Junpei and says, “You and Fuuka are together?”

Junpei, a dumb, lovestruck grin pasted on his face, nods. “For about a year now. After, well, losing Chidori and you guys and the whole trapped-in-the-dorm thing, she was really good for me. Plus everyone else is pairing off, so we just kinda got put together and we found out we liked it.”

“What do you mean, ‘everyone else is pairing off?’” Junpei begins ticking off fingers. “Well, Ken never goes anywhere without Koromaru anymore, Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai still have their weird codependency shit going on—” Akihiko-senpai sputters at this, but doesn’t contradict it— “and Yuka0tan and Aigis are living together.”

“Huh,” says Minato. “That’s weird. I didn’t think they got along.”

“They didn’t, for a while. Yuka0tan was pretty resentful of Aigis for becoming a Wild Card. We all figured she inherited from you, y’know, and Yuka-tan was in love with you—”

This makes Minato jolt. “She was what?”

Minako laughs. “You never noticed? She fell for us after Yakushima. It was pretty obvious.”

Minato huffs and says, “Maybe I was just too gay to figure it out,” which sends Junpei and Minako into hysterics and gets a smile out of Akihiko-senpai. 

And then Ken is asking Minato to dance with him, and the conversation is over.

*

Shinji, surprisingly, doesn’t refuse her request to dance. “I’m sorry,” she tells him, voice low so the others can’t hear, “that I didn’t save you. I could have, but I didn’t.”

He knocks his forehead against the top of her head. “I was sick, y’know. Like Trega. I doubt I would’ve lived much longer anyway.”

“Knowing I stole the last few years of your life isn’t much more comforting.”

“Hey.” The soft tone in his voice compels her to tilt her head up to look at his face. “You took care of the others. That’s all I could have ever asked for. I forgive you.”

Minako lets out a quiet sob.

“And,” Shinji continues, “you have my blessing.”

“What?”

He jerks his head toward the far wall, where Theo and Elizabeth are standing, watching their group dream play out. “The blue guy. He hasn’t taken his eyes off you since this whole thing started. I know what an idiot in love looks like.”

“Theo,” Minako says. “He lived in my Velvet Room. He and Elizabeth are helping us live now. He, uh.” She thinks about the ring on the chain. “He wants to marry me.”

“If you love him, go for it. You deserve to be happy, Minako.”

The relief is instant, like she let go of a breath she’d been holding for a long time. Finally, she feels free.

*

Kotone wakes up slowly, a lethargy having settled over her body. Theo’s pale hands are no longer cupping her head and have fallen to the comforter instead. He’s snoring softly. It’s cute.

She turns her head to look at Makoto, who is also awake. In unison, they sit up, careful to not disturb Theo and Elizabeth, and they slip out the door and into the hallway. They don’t speak at first. They just lean against the wall opposite their room, each deep in thought. Kotone is surprised when Makoto breaks the silence first. “What did you and Shinjirou-senpai talk about?”

“He gave me his blessing to get married,” she admits quietly. “He said he forgives me for not being able to save him.”

Makoto’s arm wraps around her shoulders and tugs her in for a hug. “I’m happy for you.”

“I’m sorry Ryoji wasn’t there.”

“I know.”

“Maybe we’ll find him in Tokyo.”

“Maybe.”

Then their door swings open and Theo’s frantic face pops out, though he calms significantly at the sight of them unharmed. “I thought something happened! Why aren’t you in bed?”

Makoto’s laugh is silent, but Kotone hits him anyway.

*

After she gets out of the shower and Makoto gets in, Kotone decides to talk to Theo.

Shinji’s words are a calming mantra in her mind. It’s funny; she’s never felt like she needed permission for anything before, but Shinji’s words are just that.

She and Theo go to Chagall for breakfast. The familiar aroma is comforting. Minako worked here, before. Kotone misses it. They order coffee and pastries and sit at a table in a corner away from the door. It’s still pretty early, so the café is mostly empty, which is nice.

It takes half a cup of coffee to pluck up the courage to speak. “I talked to Shinji last night. Or, well, Shinji’s ghost, or whatever you wanna call it.”

Across from her, Theo freezes. Oh, really?” he asks, his voice carefully emotionless. She knows he doesn’t like talking about Shinji. Well, he doesn’t dislike the topic itself; he just has trouble understanding how she can have platonic feelings for someone she’s had sex with. 

His worldview is still so simple, she thinks. Everything is black and white to him.

“Yeah,” she finally says. “I did.” She reaches under the collar of her uniform shirt and undoes the chain holding the ring he gave her. She holds it out to him, the golden circlet resting in the middle of her palm, and his face falls. She quirks an eyebrow and, before he can say anything, says, “I’m not wearing it until you propose properly.”

It takes him a minute to catch up, but when he does, the smile he gives her makes her stomach do somersaults. He snatches the ring from her hand with an endearing fumble and sinks to one knee. Distantly, Kotone hears the barista gasp, but all her focus is on Theo. He licks his dry lips and says, “Kotone, will you marry me?”

And the thing is, she’s known Theo’s wanted to marry her for a while, but knowing something is different from hearing it, and her heart feels fit to burst. “Nothing could make me happier,” she answers, and Theo takes a moment to shakily slide the ring on her finger before he’s picking her up and spinning her around.

“You deserve happiness.”

“I forgive you.”

Thank you, Shinji, she thinks, and pulls her new fiancé down for a kiss.

[acarnivalofstars]

Ensemble Stars Event Translation: Fleur De Lis Story 1

I realize it’s technically Part 3 and so this can get a little confusing but since Yuuki-sensei doesn’t add fancy titles to her chapters unlike Akira-sensei this is what we gotta deal with

Special thanks to @heartacher and @inthenyxoftime for proofreading as always!

Arashi talks about his not-so-secret crush Kunugi-sensei and Leo comes flying in through the door about fruit sandwiches. By the way, are fruit sandwiches desserts or sandwiches? Leo can’t decide either.

[Studio]

Arashi: No way, I don’t have any ulterior motive at all. It’s just that if it’s an outside job, I figured that Kunugi-sensei might come as well 🎵

The flower gardens are pretty far, so the possibility that Kunugi-sensei will accompany us as our supervisor is big, right?

Ah, but it’s not like that’s my number one goal or anything so don’t worry 🎵

Izumi: Uh, no matter how you look at it it’s clearly your number one goal…...I thought it was weird that Naru-kun, who tends to find most things bothersome, would say he wanted to do something.

But whatever. “Fleur De Lis,” was it? It seems suitable for “Knights” so I don’t mind us taking part, but have you gotten the “King’s” permission in the first place?

Arashi: Nope. Aren’t getting permission and finding the “King” both troublesome?

Really now, just where on earth is he wandering about?

Leo: Since I was called I came flying. Ta da~🎵

Izumi: You scared me! Hey, don’t appear out of the blue like that! It’s bad for my heart, you know!

Leo: So~rry. But anyway, you guys were having a pretty interesting talk, weren’t you? About f-fruit sandwiches?

Uh, why are you guys talking about desserts? No wait, since it’s about sandwiches would it be classified as a staple food?

But since it’s sweet it fits as a dessert as well~ Ahh, sheesh, I dunno anymore!

Izumi: Don’t just continue on with other people’s conversations and make them all confusing. Besides, we weren’t even talking about fruit sandwiches in the first place.

But it’s a good thing that the “King” came. Naru-kun says he wants to take part in “Fleur De Lis,” but we need the permission of the leader, the “King,” right?

Leo: Hmm. Searching for me each and every time is a pain, right? Should I just hand my seal over to you guys?

Izumi: You better not. Think about how we’ll have to feel having to act in your place, our leader, even though you’re close by.

Since we’ve been taking part in most of the DreamFes’s held on-campus, our reputation has been going through the roof.

And recently, the jobs that we’ve been getting individually give off the feeling that we’ve stood out, so I think the time’s come for us to take an outside job and acquire fans.

Even setting Naru-kun’s ulterior motive aside, it’ll still be to our benefit.

Leo: Wahaha. If it’s a Live then do as many as you like. I’m all for it!

Leave the new song for “Fleur De Lis” up to me! If it’s songs for “Knights” we’re talking about then I’ll write them as if they grow on trees! Wahahahahaha ☆

Izumi: Don’t just write the song; take part in the Live properly as well.

Even if we tell you to participate in “Knights’” activities, all you say is something irresponsible like “I’ll take part if I remember,” see.

No matter how many “weapons” we have, if we don’t have you to hoist the emblem of “Knights” then it affects our motivation.

Well, we’ll probably have to rearrange the choreography during the actual performance so having you not there is easier for us.

Leo: Which is it?! If it’s fine for me not to be there then can’t I just hand you the song and serve as a spectator~?

Izumi: No can do. I’ll be having the “King” take part as well this time around. You should reign properly as our ruler.

Leo: Ugh~ Fine. I get it so don’t threaten me. Having a beauty threaten me has a lot of impact for some reason, you know~?

Tsukasa: Well then, I suppose this means that Leader* will also be taking part in “Fleur De Lis,” yes? 🎵(T/N: As a heads up, whenever Tsukasa has words italicized it means he’s speaking them in English as compared to when other characters have words italicized it indicates emphasis)

Of course, seeing as you are participating let us aim for the top! Such a motive is acceptable, right Narukami-senpai?

Arashi: Ufufu. I have a feeling that you’re more motivated to do this than I am~ Does this have something to do with “Trickstar” being on the rise lately, perhaps?

Tsukasa: Yes. Since Leader has returned, “Knights” has been continuously on the rise to the point where others are praising it as a revival of veterans.

However, it is also a fact that “Trickstar’s” renown has been rising.

……”Trickstar” will be taking part in the “SS” as Yumenosaki Academy’s representative, and the fact that they are on the rise is a joyous thing.

But “Trickstar” and “Knights” have a relationship as rivals. In this situation where they are leading by one step ahead of us is something I cannot welcome.

Arashi: Oh my, Tsukasa-chan is a boy as well, isn’t he. Getting all worked up because he doesn’t want to be overtaken by his rival is so cu~te 🎵

Tsukasa: P-Please don’t tease me. Don’t look at me with that pleasant face of yours either, Onee-sama!

Ritsu: *yawn*......🎵What’s this, are you all leaving me out while talking about Ma~kun?

Arashi: Oh my, Mr. Sleepy Head. You have a mark on your cheek after sleeping.

Ritsu: Ergh, don’t touch me…...I’m in a bad mood after waking up so if you get bitten it’s none of my business, okay?

Tsukasa: Ritsu-senpai, during Judgement…...Er, “Judgement*,” you always woke up properly around this time, didn’t you? (T/N: Tsukasa corrects himself here because he first says this in English, and then switches it to the “Japanese” pronunciation. You’ll see him do this a lot with words like DreamFes and whatnot.)

I admired you as being a person who could do it when they put their mind to something, you know?

Ritsu: Urgh~......It’s because I asked Anzu to come wake me up before practice started…...As I thought, waking up during the afternoon might be too tiresome……

Tsukasa: If “Fleur De Lis” is held during the afternoon, won’t it be difficult for Ritsu-senpai to take part with that condition?

Arashi: At night they’ll be having an event with flowers they’ve lit up for the guests to enjoy, but the main Live will be held during the afternoon. Ritsu-chan, think you can handle it?

Ritsu: H~mm. If you have a reward that’s easy to understand then I don’t mind trying hard……

Arashi: Even if you ask for a reward……

Oh my, you say you have a good idea, Anzu-chan?

Ufufu. Anzu-chan is extraordinarily good at drawing out people’s motivation after all. I wonder if I should ask for this favor from you.

I’m looking forward to it, “Producer”......🎵

[imagineyourstars]

JABDJSJSJ MATCHUPS I'm a girl long (thick) black hair, and I'm 163cm. I tend to be really polite but I'm usually super loud and sometimes I have an attitude when I'm with people I'm comfortable w (like best friends and family). I don't have many hobbies, but I've started taking interest in teas and pastries. Singing is also really fun. I spend most of my time on my phone talking w friends. Also I'm not really into the things other girls like so I generally feel out of place at school, etc.

hi you !! I see you a lot in the blog’s notificationsso it was fun to finally do your matchup lmao! I hope you like it ♥ I didn’thesitate one second when writing this, as weird as it may seem the two of youare perfect for each other !!!

Your match is Arashi Narukami !

His first reaction when learning a girl had joined theschool was to gasp loudly. A girl ? A ray of light and hope in this ocean ofmale sweat and dirty jokes ? He didn’t even know you and yet he already considered you his savior. He hurried to meet you, really giddy at the thought he’d finally havesomeone to chat about girly things with ! He found really sweet the fact youtend to be very polite, but told you he’d be way happier if you could be morecasual with him. He wants to be your friend, after all : you don’t need to betoo uptight with him ! And that’s how he took you under his wing as if it werethe most natural thing to do.

Soon enough, you had a self-proclaimed big sister.Arashi’s ready to do absolutely anything to help you feel at home at Yumenosaki! He’ll show you around and make sure you’re not lost, help you withassignments after classes, introduce you to people… He also loves to join youduring lunch break and eat with you ! Most of the time he cooks his lunch athome and brings it with him, so he took the habit to cook a little bit more tomake you taste his cooking every day. He’s a very positive and nice person, sohanging out with him is really fun !To be fair, he was surprised to learn you’re not into girly things. Oh, but hewon’t give up so easily. He won’t bore you talking about makeup all day long,don’t worry. But he likes to bring you at his favorite stores after classes,showing you cute things he likes and offering to buy something for you. Expecthim to invite you to his house during weekends, and to gossip while doing yournails. He could become a professional, really. He likes to do your hair, too,and you always look like a different person once he’s done ! He won’t force youto try those things out, though, and simply offers to give you a little makeover oradvice if you want. Besides, it’s not like it’s unpleasant : he even sometimeshelps you use facemasks and skin care products ! It’s always a bit embarrassingto have him touch your face so openly, but it feels amazing and you have toadmit he’s really talented with his fingers.

Arashi came to absolutely adore you in record time :it kind of feels like you’re his little sister ! You don’t know much aboutfashion, makeup and other traditionally feminine activities, so he has anexcuse to teach you ! That’s not all you do together though. He likes to trainsinging with you, often giving you little tips. He loves your singing voice andsometimes even cries when you try singing emotional songs.He thinks you loving tea and pastries is really cute and loves to bring you tohis favorite cafés after school ! He claims his two favorite things in theworld are reunited there : sweet things and your smile ! He’ll often just stickto tea, though, as he’s always trying out a new diet. You know it’s for his modellingcareer so you can’t really say much, but you kind of feel sad for him when younotice how sugar-starved he looks…This is exactly why you started looking into cooking : you wanted to makesweets he could eat while dieting without feeling bad ! As you’re not veryinterested in girly stuff, you never really considered making sweets for yourloved ones, but you picked up quite a few tricks while helping Arashi around.Besides, he said himself he’d love to taste your cooking someday. The first fewtries didn’t go exactly as well as you hoped, but eventually you managed tomake the perfect snack for him : low-calories but still sweet anddelicious-looking ! He was really flustered when you gave it to him and huggedyou tight, saying he didn’t know what he did to deserve someone like you in hislife. He even teared up a bit !

As time went by, you started to notice you didn’t onlyharbor friendly feelings towards Arashi. Sure, you did at first. But he’s sonice and kind… And pretty, too. It’s only natural that you’d grow a bit of acrush on him at some point… right ? You didn’t dare talk to him about it atfirst. After all, he’s always saying he considers you like his little sister,or gushing about how handsome Kunugi-sensei is. It’s not as if someone like youstood a chance, right… ? He’s always surrounded by pretty girls, too. Yousometimes come to cheer on him during photoshoots, and his girlcoworkers love to flock around him like lovestruck puppies. You used to think you couldn’t possible rival models… They’re the type of cute and girly girls Arashi seems to love, too.So naturally, you decided confessing to him wasn’t a good idea.Only, Arashi noticed you were looking pretty depressed. He came to confront youabout it, asking what was wrong. You were ready to just pretend everything wasfine when he surprised you, softly asking how you would react if he said heloved you more than as a friend. And he wasn’t joking or playing around : hedid admit he had a crush on you on the spot, looking dead serious. To behonest, you still can’t believe he’s your boyfriend now. All that it took wasto tell him you felt the same, and boom : instant boyfriend. Crazy, right ?

But to Arashi, the fun has only just begun. Now hegets to tell everyone he’s dating you, and he has an excuse to constantly betalking about you (which he was already doing before, anyway). He loves to take you out ondates, bringing you to his favorite places and doing silly couple stufftogether ! Going skating together : check. Buying matching clothes : check.Kissing in the amusement park’s ferris wheel : check. Oh but beware if he triesto bring you shopping with him : you’re going to be complaining and holding thebags while he drools over the clothes on the racks. People often look at you inamusement : it’s not very common to see the roles in a couple being reversed like they arefor you and Arashi !Your boyfriend also loves to have nice, long chats with you. He’s prettytalkative but also likes to listen, loving how loud you can get. He’ll also letyou rant or complain about stuff if you want and will be 100% supportive ofyou !

You managed to land yourself a great boyfriend,congrats ! Arashi’s very passionate and takes your interests to heart. He’salways proud of you and pushes you to do your very best ! To him, nothing’sbetter than just spending lovey-dovey moments with you, holding you in his armswhile doing something you love. He treasures you dearly and will make you happy !

Other possible match : Mika