#and insofar as she becomes aware of the incest vibes w/akio and anthy she follows akio's implications easily

[gloriousmonsters]

Ok can I ask abt your thoughts on Tokiko finding out™️ abt Anthy - you had the start of that ficlet and I’m wondering when/if/how she realizes that Mamiya has been replaced 👀

OH, this is an interesting one. So the piece I sent you (Tokiko having a creepy dream where she's dressed in white at a ball and sees Anthy, dressed in black, dancing with Akio ft. lots of sibling inappropriate vibes, ftr) is from black swan, which will tentatively cover Tokiko's life, piecemeal, from around the time of Mamiya's illness onset to the moment she manages to escape Ohtori in the wake of the fire.

from what I've written so far, it's not going to fit exactly with half unfolds her glowing heart, but I am going to stick with my pretty-sure-it's-canon-ish impression that immediately before the fire is the first time Anthy impersonates Mamiya, which leaves a very narrow time frame for Tokiko to even realize her brother's been replaced by fan favorite Mamiya Fresh like she's in a Stranger-themed episode of The Magnus Archives. But! While I'm still figuring out how in that narrow time frame she could at least run into Anthy!Mamiya, much less see him and Mikage interacting, I know I want it to happen.

black swan is, obvs, a reference to the Swan Lake ballet, where Odile dances with the prince in the guise of Odette and it's hot and creepy and all. Through most of the fic, the themes show up with Tokiko assuming herself as the 'white swan' and Anthy as the black, with Akio as the prince; but the actual Odette and Odile at the heart of the narrative are, of course, Mamiya and Anthy, with Mikage as the prince a sorcerer wants to ensnare. So in the climax, around the horror of the fire, I also want Tokiko to... not understand everything, because the situation is magical and insane and she has approx. five pieces out of this 5k piece puzzle; but realize that something is horribly wrong, that Mamiya has been replaced/impersonated, and that I was never the white swan, this fairy tale was never actually about me.

am i literally going to come up with a contrived way for her to see 'Mamiya' and Mikage dancing as a parallel to the dream? maybe! who knows! it'll be pretentious and creepy, however i work it out.