#astra products

[chernobog13]

Almost all the original Showa-era Ultras assembled for Ultramar's 55th anniversary. How they included that loser Astra, but forgot Ultraman King and Yulian, is beyond me.

[straaaa]

𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐓 𝐍' 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 : day two !

Heyy !! I'm here with another updatee ! 😭 but the thing is, today. . wasn't a productive day, like as soon as i returned home, i literally sat on my bed & never got up which suckssss !! despite feelin' bad abt my stoopid decisions, i had then realised that i have always been like this — a lazy ahh person & ik that i can't change it one dayy :/ saurr yeshh, sorry for the mini rant, i just wanted to get it out 😭 !!

ANYWHOO !!

🩰 espresso [ my screen time ] — 6h 24m 💀

🩰 bed chem [ sleep time?? ] — around 6h

🩰 taste [ a show/anime i watched that day ] — weare [ ep 6 ( rewatching it rn ) ]

🩰 sharpest tool [ productive stuff that i did ] – nonee ??

ANYWAYSSS HOPE Y'ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY !!

P.S : future astra, pls get better darls !! 🩵

with love, astraa 🦋

[duckapus]

The Grid

Finally came up with stuff for that shadowy "Real World" organization that orchestrated Tari's abduction that one time and currently has a Character-level Program agent in the Mushroom Kingdom.

So the Grid is actually a very recently created organization, who somehow (I do actually know how this time but it's spoilers for a storyline I want to do at some point) found out about the "multiverse" of living programs within the internet, and Glitch Productions' involvement with it. They've seen the writing on the wall and realized that with how quickly things are progressing there's no way the veil of secrecy can be maintained forever, and want their foot in the door before that happens so that GP aren't the only ones with a head start.

To that end, they've been trying to create living Programs of their own. Now, Code Beings are relatively simple to make as long as you understand how programming works, but Character-level Programs are far more difficult to bring to life, especially on purpose. In fact, while the sheer volume of games and other media on the internet means there's likely at least one living copy of just about anything, the vast majority of games really are Just Games, rather than fully realized universes.

By studying Tari, they figured out the secret: creativity and passion. In order to purposely bring a program to life, its creator has to pour their heart and soul into their work, putting a bit of themselves into the very core of their character, and it has to be sincere, with the creative process itself taking priority over whatever Intended Purpose you may have for the end result. This is harder for a character-level program because their Intended Purpose is so intrinsically tied to their identity that the gap is much smaller. That's also a big part of why every set of SMGs needs one or two specifically dedicated Admins.

Speaking of SMGs, as far as most of the organization is aware their ultimate goal is to create their own version of the SMG program, since so far the Adminspace Admins, and by extension Glitch Productions, have something of a monopoly on the concept simply due to nobody else (besides Susie but that was a complicated situation) seriously throwing their hat in the ring.

Getting into some actual characters;

The organization's leader is the mysterious Director K. They're an absolute mystery to even their subordinates, going to great lengths to hide their appearance and mask their voice, and seem to have some sort of history with Glitch Productions.

Then there's their first Character-Level agent, Magnolia Astra. She's cold, calculating, composed, surprisingly charismatic when it's needed, and probably a few other "C words" you'd associate with a secret agent masquerading as a businesswoman. Her current mission is to give the Grid a foothold in the Mushroom Kingdom, both economically and through positive relations with certain highly influential characters (Jeeves for example), as well as acquire copies of the Haltman Works Co.'s files on the triplets' creation, since those are probably the most complete documentation of how to create and deploy an SMG Mod Package outside of Adminspace itself, and the Grid's not stupid enough to infiltrate that place with their current somewhat limited resources.

There's also Astra's handler/creator/partner/guy-in-the-chair/"word around the office is there's something going on between them" Agent Zed. Zed was chosen for this assignment due to his skill as an artist and programmer rather than as an agent, so he's honestly just a normal, kind of nerdy guy.

[bonzairob]

I just watched Ad Astra. Imagine how mad you’d be if you watched it after reading this technically true synopsis: “Brad Pitt must battle moon pirates and space monkeys on his way to stop his father, Tommy Lee jones, from destroying the earth with his antimatter weapon orbiting Neptune”

[creatingfromchaos]

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[astral-from-afar]

if i look at one more comment on a post about a female wrestler going “omg she’s so hot” or these emojis: 🔥😍🤤. i will self destruct on spot

[primeministerofantarctica]

you know those cartoon characters that are like one-sided mortal enemies with someone that's me with "productivity experts". "Pay me $50 and I'll give you advice that mostly boils down to 'have money' and 'be neurotypical'" no thanks <3

[astrazero]

My revamp of, The Departure of Witches, by Luis Ricardo Falero, 1878

https://www.astrazero.com/product/the-departure-of-witches-x-poster-print/

[mdmahbubulalam]

iShot Pro Universal Smartphone Premium Aluminum Video Rig Camera Tripod Mount Holder Stabilizer Handle Cage - Compatible with iPhone Samsung Android Google Sony GoPro Camcorder DSLR LED Mic and More

Visit the iShot Pro Store

[ireallyamabear]

The choice to put Una Chin-Reily on a Starfleet recruitment poster in the late 2370s seems a nod to the extraordinary person she is and her exemplary service, but Boimler’s enthusiasm for her as a personal hero cannot mask the fact of what Starfleet execs are really doing here: while it is Starfleet tradition to honour esteemed personnel from its centuries of history, we have to look at the poster as a product of its time: it seems clear that, shortly after the devastating death toll and the rapid militarisation of the Dominion War, putting a prominent figure of the Great Exploration Age - and notedly someone who had not served in the Klingon War - as the poster person for Starfleet is an indictment that contemporary young people of the Federation are not drawn to the service as it is in their time anymore.

Critically, Starfleet has to use somebody from a 120 years ago, a timeframe that would lap generations of even especially long lived member species like Vulcans or Denobulans, to attract new recruits. Boimler says himself that seeing Una as a representative and her motto - “Ad astra per aspera” was: “Uh, it was a really big reason why I joined.” Clearly there is a wealth of recognisable Starfleet officers from 2370 and onwards, but their entanglement in the Dominion War, or at least in the Borg threat makes them unsuitable as role models for people like Boimler who cannot help but associate these contemporaries with the horrors of war and intergalactic conflict. Thus, the retreat to a “safe” historical narrative, with Starfleet still being about peaceful exploration reflects the growing divide between the realities of a colonised galaxy, the ongoing need of new bodies to fill the posts on all those ships and space stations and the aspirations and values of young people today. In this essay I will question whether Starfleet can keep its promise of scientific integrity in the face of growing political unrest in the UFP and ask what “Number One” herself would have thought about-

[chernobog13]

"Hi! We're twins!"

"Betcha can't tell us apart!"

[noodles-doodles01]

Some Gravity Falls Stuff I Found

A lot of this could already be known, but I'm having fun and its a way to keep track. All is from thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com

So for computer passwords:

Dipper- a letter from Bill (his handwriting + he calls him Pine Tree) telling dipper to stare into the sun

Mabel- Places stickers all over the lab until the screen says "lab fully Mabelized"

Stanford/Sixer- Gives a Medical report on Ford's hand taken at 18, the report censors the mention of kidnapping him for cloning

Stanley- eBay for brass knuckles

MatPat- a video of MatPat saying "hello internet, this time, you're on your own"

Cipher/Bill Cipher- Eye of Providence Wiki

Bill- Sesame Street Video

Wendy- A letter from Wendy saying that she wrote a way to ward off evil triangles at the bottom right of the book (I have two ideas for what this could be), also a 👌 drawn in the bottom right corner upside down.

Blind Eye- A seeing eye test that repeats the letters WKHBOOVHH (anagram maybe?) with a colour code at the bottom (I'll include this later in this post)

Robbie- Shows messenger messages between Robbie and Thompson. Thompson seems to be getting real tired of the bullying (He wrote out "If you keep insulting me one of these days I-" and then highlights it as if he's about to delete it, followed by Yea :(). They discuss going to a site to see Bill, and later freak out about seeing him and knowing how they both die (Thompson gets mistaken for luggage and Robbie chokes on a mini skateboard). The end is this photo with Bill in the background:

Pacifica- A letter from Pacifica herself warning against Bill, saying that she dumped old Tapestries with triangles on it off a yacht with an unnamed friend. She seems to be super uncomfy about mentioning who the friend is (Dipper maybe?). She ends the letter saying that you should follow her on Platinum Paz

Platinum Paz: Details a story of Pacifica having a nightmare about blood being on her hands and everywhere. She then has a conversation with a statue of Nathaniel NW, who asks about her anger. She tells him everything was better before the Pines' came to town, and he says he will help her if she does something for him: go to the Pines' place and grab a small snowglobe that's new (the rift). He is about to shake her hand before she stops and wakes up. She then adds Dipper's number to her phone and sleeps well. Most likely what leads to the tapestries being thrown off a yacht.

Oneeyedking: a hypnosis tape where there is morse code in the background while Bill says "you want to sell your soul to Bill Cipher" three times. I didn't do this but the morse code gives a series of letters (explained below)

If you spam Stanley: you are a taken to something called “the Wheel of Shame” and it is Bill explaining that he knows all of Stan’s shames since he was in his head. They are listed as follows: Ex Wives, Fears, Secret Shames, Unreported Crimes, Stan’s Failed Products, Lowest Moments, Darkest Thought (pin all crimes on Soos), and How Stan Beat Me (He didn’t! I’M STILL HERE SUCKER)

Now for Codes:

When you click on the book of Bill, there is a letter from Ford to Dipper warning against the book. On the last page at the bottom right corner, this code is seen (this is what I thought Wendy might mean):

I tried all the existing codexes, but they didn't work. Until I typed MASON into the compuer (Dipper's acc name), which gives a sheet where Dipper talks about learning how to make codes. Ford's writing comes in at the end, and the words CRYPTOGRAM CODEX are capitalized at the end. When that was input into the computer, a folder file was downloaded and gave me multiple codes.

I used CypherFontA and flipped the message on the Vertical Axis and reversed the message to get: PER ASPERA AD ASTRA, which means "through suffering to the stars" in Latin

There is another hidden code on the candle, visible through the lightning, and it uses the Runes codex, translating to CURSED. When input into the computer, you get this "Just Say No" campaign poster against drawing triangles (RAD), the words Cool and Parties are both randomly capitalized in this speech bubble from Nancy Reagan (not applicable to the passwords tho)

Carved into the wall (visible when lightling strikes) on the left is the Latin phrase "VALLIS CINERIS", which translates to "valley of ashes", you get this image and a creepy voice that says "why did you do it?" (a reference to bill destroying his home dimension)

The morse code spells out NAITSUAF, and when input to the computer, gives an offer to sell your soul. At the bottom is a button that asks are you ready, when you click on it, it shows a contract that has the following code on it

This is also a codex given in the previously mentioned codex file, and it is the theraprism file. It states: "YOU ARE NOW TWENTY ONE GRAMS LIGHTER"

Below the theraprism is more CipherFontA code, which I have not fully completed but seems to list out the terms of the contract. However, I noticed these rectangles near the words and am wondering if it means to take the letter closest to it or if it is a period. I am too lazy to work it all out rn so feel free to lmk what that all says :)

When you sign the contract, it says "pleasure doing business with you" and the flame on the candle is now blue. When you mess with the toggle on the computer, you get a backwards audio message in the same creepy voice as the Vallis Cineris code. When reversed, the audio says: " Someone help, the murderer’s name is Bill”

The prism that sits beside the computer has a code with the following symbols: #?&&!, which reads out as SORRY (this code is in the Book of Bill). When you input that into the computer, you get an image of college Ford and McGucket :(

That’s all I have for now! Feel free to reblog with anything else you might have found! I know of a ton more but I didn’t include them since this post would NEVER end.

[moonwytte]

documenting the different things you get by interacting with the updated thisisnotawebsite.com ! <3

clickable areas: book of bill, the swords logo, the top of the computer, the jar behind the laptop, and buttons on the computer

computer inputs below!!!

mabel — puts stickers all over the lab. when all stickers are sticker-ed, the computer says “lab is now fully mabelized”

dipper — messages from bill instructing dipper to stare directly into the sun

mason — letter on anagrams by ford. ford mentions a cryptogram codex

tyrone / paper jam — photo of paper jam dipper. “here, he’s your problem now!”

stan / stanley — ebay search for brass knuckles / gold chains for old men / dogs playing poker / 8-ball cane / male girdle / shriner fez / colonel sanders tie / then opens up “wheel of shame!”

wheel of shame opens up various different pages including “ex wives”, “fears”, “secret shames”, “unreported crimes”, “failed products”, “darkest thought”, “lowest moments” and “how he beat me”.

clicking on “how he beat me” repeatedly gives you different messages

imstillonyourmind — video clip of the water, presumably a view of the water from stan and ford’s ship, with stans voice in the background

stanford / ford / sixer — “voulentary discharge” case report from an 18 year old ford.

filbrick — “i’m not impressed”

pines — computer screen reads “a good family tree”

bill / bill cipher — wikipedia article for the eye of providence (all seeing eye)

cipher — wikipedia article for “triangle”

book of bill — “hide it under shirt during pledge of allegiance”

vallis cineris — a staticky video of a young bill, with two other triangles (supposedly his parents). a robotic voice says “why did you do it?” repeatedly.

soos — 3 page message from soos. lol

pinata — video of a bill cipher pinata being hit by a little kid, bill going “OW WHY WHY”

wendy — 👌 (but upside down)

pacifica — note from pacifica

platinumpaz — a story about pacifica’s nightmare, and nearly making a deal with bill. character development!!!!

gideon — opens search bar for “sweat resistant bolo tie”. apparently there is also one where he sings(?) but i have not gotten that one.

waddles — pigplacementnetwork.com

robbie — text messages between xX*RobbieV*Xx and THOMPSON4

tad strange — a… strange video of someone cutting bread.

mcgucket — youtube search for “cotton eye joe”

hectoring — a song about bill is played, the lab computer screen shows a record will a logo of bill on it

giffany — downloads giffany onto the websites laptop, then downloads a file folder onto your laptop full of giffany’s sprites and messages to soos. will have to look closer at this one later

toby determined — search result for “restraining order”

blendin — “time agent lost and presumed incompetent”

various words and phrases are below the cut!

i put this in alphabetical order for your viewing conviencence, and my writing inconviencece!

29121239168518 — “what comes from zimtrex 5?”

3466554 — “what leaves a thin line in the snow?”

ad astra per aspera — a letter from ford ft. notes from mabel on bill’s statue + fords closure

alex — opens browser search for “flannel”

answer — “question”

axolotl — “you ask alotl questions”

baby / baby bill — an ultrasound of bill. “congrats, guess what’s growing inside you right now! see you in 9 months papa!”

black sheep — a test of patience from bill

blanching — youtube result for how to blanch vegetables

blind eye — WKHBOOVHH WKHBOODOOVHH plus a colour code at the bottom

booberry — meaning of life

burnedinside / burn side — a photo of destroyed looking oregon parks sign and a parks department badge

bye gold — “bye!”

card — a photo of a “fructose by the freakin yard” that also says “bill cipher, dream demon”

conspiracy — a video of someone trying to figure out soos’s broken countdown. there’s a joke about morse code in the sparks. “what does it MEAANNNN???”

cray cray — wikipedia result for “mental health”

cryptogram codex — downloads four different fonts

cursed — a clipboard with article pages for how kids can resist drawing bill. the second page is torn and there are drawings of bill scribbled underneath, with the text “he is watching” and “run”

curse wittebane — a bill themed ouija board

death — “life’s goth cousin”

deer teeth — “for you, kid!”

dippyfresh — a reddit post with a photo of the burger king kids club

disco girl — dipper singing in the shower and then singing along to the entirety of disco girl. catchy!

disney — “rat.gif censored for your protection”

divorce — a logo for the bar that bill goes too… billford divorce is real…

dorito — a floating dorito and then a bill jumpscare

ducktective — “ducktective stars in ‘love, quacktually’, coming to: ‘oi, it’s the cockney channel innit?’ this fall

easter egg — “easter eggs? sounds like a conspiracy”

euclydia — “dimension not found”

fbi — “your webcam is on. we are watching”

fortnite / skibidi / rizz — “life privileges revoked. now releasing poison gas”

fuck alex — search result for get help therapy

glass shard beach — a postcard

gravity falls — “never heard of it”

gun — “oh yes oh yes oh yes they both”

harold��s ramblings — “how is clown repellant made?”

help me / god — statue bill and an axolotl

hologram — “universe”

horror — the “always garden” urban legend. backrooms reference!

irregular — bill’s mugshot photos with a code at the bottom

just fit in — a video of someone playing with one of those shape games… i’m unsure what to call it. the game where you hurt he shape into its corosponding spot. you can hear distorted speaking at the end of the video as it glitches out

justblendin — cowboys at a camp… ft irl blendin!

kings of new jersey — downloads the stan twins secret code font

kubrick — a video zooming in on bill cipher inside of a lh old club, i can’t read what the text says (i’m not wearing my glasses SORRY)

liar lyre — “the 20tg ingredient of anti-ciphering tonic?”

lies — “the game of lies”, a parody of the game of life. bill gives us a lesson on lying. lie until you aren’t lying anymore!

life — “life 72% complete. now loading death”

love ya bro — a drawing of stan and ford on the stan-o-war-II. the back has a bro-code on it. will have to translate

love — photo of the bill romance book from the alternate book of bill covers, and an audiobook version of it.

monster — google search for “THERES A MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK”

mountain don’t — “what’s a medicaid homonym?”

multilevel mark — “who defeated silas birchtrpe—?”

mystery shack — google search for confusion hill

mystery — “?”

naitsuaf — article on selling your soul, link to a soul selling contract

no — “your loss…”

nothing — “something”

portal — “portal.exe has been deleted. i bet you could build one”

question — “answer”

r34lity — pictures of bill’s henchmen in various places, the caption reads “they found a new home”

rat — “thurburts’ number?”

reality — “is an illusion”

scalene — “life form not found”

scary — photo of the bill spookeumps book from the alternate book of bill covers, and an audiobook version of it

scrimbles — life form not fount

season 1 — “season -1, anti-gravity falls”

season 2 — “season 1”

season 3 — “season 2”

season 4 has no result

seven eyes — a polaroid photo of bill’s crossed out henchman. the back says “leave him, escape to dimension [scratched out], it’s against the rules but it’s the one reality where you may be safe from him”

shave your grandma — chapter 9 of the bill textbook, two pages.

something — “nothing”

sorry — photo of ford and mcguckett with a letter from fiddleford on the back

tantrum — a transcript of a conversation between bill and time baby.

theory — MATTPAT???????

theraprism — warning sign

they’ll see — “is seeing believing?”

tinsel snake — “the 6th option on bill’s editing software?”

titansblood — “hoot hoot! password please!”

tj eckleburg — “never mention that name again”

torture mentally — “name an unpronounceable wizard”

triangle — “tri harder” or “)”

trigonometry / math — a note from bill complaining about plato

universe — “hologram”

various swear words — “not s&p approved! wash your mouth out with soap!”

virus — opens up “THEPLAGUE.PDF”

weird — weird al is now trapped in the computer (sorry!)

weirdmageddon — gravity falls gossiper news article, “nothing happened yesterday!”

who are you — “i could ask you the same question”

XGQRTHX — “where do tri angels come from?”

xyler / craz — youtube link to the jem and the holograms theme song

yes — “whats’s mcguckets favourite soda?”

[sl-walker]

OTW Candidate Anh P.

I had a very long and interesting discussion with OTW-board candidate Anh P.

They tracked me down because they wanted to talk about how @squidgiepdx and I got otw-a working (for SquidgeWorld Archive and Ad Astra Fanfiction) and what we might suggest to make otw-archive more easily deployable to other, independent archives.  What might make it easier to use.  It was a really productive conversation, too, enough that Walter and I have decided to start tackling the setup documentation from the outside to see if we can’t make it as easy as possible for others to deploy otw-archive, and to test a few things we think might make it more not-OTW userfriendly.  (Like changing the hard-coding of OTW/AO3 to something that can be configured from the local.yml file.)

Anh P. is Vietnamese, very aware of the situation re: racism, AI, and the consequences of PAC being overridden.  They’ve been a volunteer for both Fanlore and Open Doors and have been for long enough to be able to run for board, but not so long that they’re completely assimilated.  They also have deep connections to the pan-Asian fan communities, including those currently marginalized by OTW’s present administrative structures.

Mostly, I'm impressed as hell that they not only wanted to talk to two people who have definite Opinions on OTW, but were genuinely and actively seeking our thoughts, good or bad, about what we would suggest to make the software more easily used by others seeking to do the same as we did.

I know I don't have a real stake in the debate over racism, being white and American and unable to understand the lived experiences of those who suffer it both in everyday life and in fandom, but they made excellent points about how decentralizing fandom and otherwise helping people be able to curate their own, inclusive spaces with their own rules might help with that.

They showed me a script a Chinese user made which is frankly brilliant to translate the AO3 Work posting page, and which could easily be translated to other languages, it’s so intuitive.

The part that sent my eyebrows up was their desire to use OTW's platform to help support independent fan archives in order to keep them afloat, rather than just let them sink and import them to AO3 via Open Doors, including not-Anglosphere archives and communities.

So, take it as you will, but I was very impressed someone was doing some of the harder legwork and seeking outside opinions, especially opinions that aren’t necessarily OTW-friendly, and with an eye towards actual measurable hard action that can be taken to start addressing some of the problems OTW is having right now.

[kykyonthemoon]

Limerence

(noun) — a mental state of profound romantic infatuation, deep obsession, and fantastical longing

⋆˚✿˖° This chapter is a part of a mini-series of dark fairy tales and romance sets in another universe. It consists of three chapters, each with a Male Lead and is separated from one another.

⋆˚✿˖° Character x Reader/MC, from another (OC's) point of view. Reader/MC's pronounce is "she/her/hers".

⋆˚✿˖° Warnings & tags: 16+, MDNI, angst, hurt, thriller, emotional and mind control, manipulation, obsession, unrequited love, major character death, dark fantasy, dark fairy tale, sci-fi theme, m.urder, serial killer, imprisonment, abusive, reference to drugs.

⋆˚✿˖° Detective Cooper is my OC.

⋆˚✿˖° Read more chapters:

✦ Rafayel's ✦ Xavier's

⋆˚✿˖° Masterlist

Chapter: The Goddess — in which he heals and kills for her

⋆˚✿˖° Word count: 4k3

Each white snowflake descended gently to the earth, resting on Detective Cooper's black revolver, which was frozen in the air. The crystal barricade in front of him fractured and dissolved. The ice on his palm eventually melted into frozen droplets of water, allowing him to move again. With a very slow movement, he lowered the gun.

From a distance, sirens sounded. He stared at the city of Linkon on the horizon, which appeared like shimmering stars in the black night. An aircraft had just been dispatched and was flashing its light into the garden, revealing all of the secrets kept hidden for so long.

Cooper narrowed his gaze. He glanced up to the middle of the garden full of jasmine blooms, where there was a shelter made of marble and wood. In the center of that place, on a daybed an ice sculpture of a female in a reclining posture. Prostrating next to her was another figure who had not yet entirely frozen; his head rested on the daybed, and his icy hand held the sculpture's.

Detective Cooper took a deep breath. The cool breeze carried an almost faint aroma of jasmine. He turned and walked away, leaving the tragedy where it had started.

It seemed like just yesterday when Detective Cooper met Zayne for the first time.

The young doctor left the first impression on Cooper as a perfect combination of mechanics and biology. A cyborg. Zayne was a product of ASTRA, the world's foremost technology corporation dedicated to developing robots with human bodies, living like humans, and, of course, exceeding humans in numerous aspects.

That was such a problem with cyborgs. They were too sophisticated, too knowledgeable, and too competent. They overwhelmed real humans, even Cooper. This was how it felt to work with Zayne.

Thanks to the doctor's help, Cooper quickly solved the case. And even though he did not like working with cyborgs, he had to admit that Zayne's presence was necessary for his career. Through repeated contacts, the ice wall surrounding him melted over time. And Zayne, a cyborg, gradually revealed more of his human side.

As for Cooper, he had long considered Zayne a partner. But an occurrence five years ago transformed the doctor into an entirely different person. A cyborg that showed no emotion, as he used to be.

Cooper recalled a tragic accident that occurred in Linkon's suburbs that year. On the way back from her vacation, the little princess of the ASTRA empire was viciously attacked by Wanderers. Upon hearing the news, Cooper hurried there immediately. Yet all he saw were the Wanderers' bodies rapidly dissolving in the snow, blood spraying all over the place, covering Zayne's wide back as he turned away, the dying girl in his arms. That was the last time Cooper interacted with him.

It was not until five years later that Cooper set foot back in Dr. Zayne's office.

It was a late night. The streets were deserted, with flickering neon lights obscuring the sanitation robots. The city slept, but Akso Hospital remained awake as always. Detective Cooper sat alone in the office, waiting. Few hours later, the door opened and Zayne walked inside with perfectly synchronized steps.

“Long time no see, Doctor Zayne.”

Zayne nodded to the detective before returning to his seat behind the desk. He was still wearing his surgical attire, which was concealed by a white blouse. His spectacles were pushed up on the bridge of his nose, and his forehead was still beading with sweat.

"I trust that the surgery was successful?"

"Yes." Zayne replied briefly. Surely he knew what Cooper came here for. “My apologies for making you wait so long.”

"No problem." Cooper settled into the chair across from Zayne on the opposite side of the desk. The doctor remained the same, impeccable as the first time they met. Only Cooper had begun to feel old age creeping up on him, even though he was only nearly forty.

“Saving lives is the most important,” Cooper added. “That's what you were created to do.”

Zayne gave no response, just gazed at him.

“All right, no more rambling. I really need your help, Doctor Zayne.”

"I'm ready to help." Zayne expressed the same thing whenever they worked together. Cooper provided a quick summary of the matter he was investigating. It was a missing case. Many, to be precise. He had enough evidence to assume that the most recent incident was linked to cases that had occurred many years ago.

Cooper placed on the desk photos of the girl who had been missing for nearly half a year. Zayne paid great attention to them while listening to the detective's clarification, which included details about previous cases.

“The victims were young women between the ages of twenty-five and thirty. Their appearance has many similarities. And above all, they are all patients or have been treated at Akso Hospital.”

Silence fell on Doctor Zayne's extremely organized and clean office, furnished in a minimalist and modern manner with a black and white color scheme. A moment later, he said:

“I recognize a few faces here. They were my patients. Others belong to departments that I do not supervise.”

Cooper nodded, but seemed disappointed since he had anticipated Zayne to add something he did not know.

Their conversation went on for a little longer, yet it led them nowhere. Although Zayne gave valuable information regarding each victim's itinerary while at Akso Hospital, including who they might meet during that time, (Cooper was secretly grateful for a cyborg's superior abilities!), the investigation remained deadlocked. All victims vanished after being discharged from the hospital without any further contact.

The clock struck three in the morning, Cooper's thoughts became clouded with exhaustion, rendering him unable to think. He needed to alter the subject.

“It's been a while since we talked like this. You know, about the cases or other things in our lives.”

His response was the consistent, precise sound of Zayne typing on the keyboard.

"This feeling doesn't change either!" Cooper said with a laugh. At that point, his gaze was drawn to the corner of Zayne's desk, where there was a photograph of him and the heiress of the ASTRA corporation - the one who had given him life.

"How is she?"

Zayne's fingers, which were racing across the keyboard, came to a halt. Something shifted in his eyes for only a fraction of a second. Then he returned to his former state.

“She is well. Thank you for your regards.”

The young lady in the photo was smiling and clutching a bouquet of flowers while standing close to Zayne. She was so beautiful and talented. Yet since that accident, she had entirely concealed herself in an isolated place distant from Linkon City. She refused to appear in public, nor did she welcome guests to her mansion. She only kept one cyborg with her, and that was Zayne.

"That accident was truly horrifying for her…" Cooper recalled. Among the clicking sounds from Zayne's desk, he knew that the doctor was still listening. "I couldn't believe anybody could make it through something like that. But she recovered. It was you who saved her life.”

Zayne came to a complete halt. He leaned back slightly and examined the neatly framed photograph. It had been on his desk for the past ten years, ever since he began his employment at the hospital.

"I just did my job." He responded. After that, the room went silent again.

Cooper mused. Nobody knew how Doctor Zayne saved the life of that woman, whom he dubbed Goddess since she was his Creator. He did not take her to Akso Hospital, but instead returned to her residence, which was equipped with advanced medical technology and facilities. The news that she had been saved became a miracle, and everyone appreciated Dr. Zayne's hands even more.

"Sometimes I miss her energy." Cooper said out, breaking the stillness. "When she found out you were helping me investigate a few cases, she was so excited and asked to join. Although, I must confess, she was quite skilled at messing up clues, and it was you who had to assist me sort it out. Haha!"

Cooper was irritated when he merely received a nod from Zayne. The doctor would spend hours talking about his Goddess, only when Cooper knew how to initiate the conversation. But now it seemed that whenever someone mentioned her, he said as little as possible. Was he also adopting her secluded lifestyle after the accident?

When it was too late, Detective Cooper had to bid his former partner goodbye. Before departing, he made it obvious that he wanted to see Zayne's Goddess again. But the doctor only gazed at him deeply, without a response.

Zayne drove home at dawn. As a cyborg, he did not require as much sleep as a human, yet severe sleep was at times necessary. Still, he had been unable to sleep peacefully since the event occurred. Every time he closed his eyes, the only thing he dreamed of was her body lying in a pool of blood.

He saved her. He must believe it. However, she was no longer the same person she had been before the accident.

The enormous gate opened after scanning Zayne's face. Their home was set on a snowy mountain, with thick layers of bulletproof glass surrounding it. Most of the building was constructed of stone and wood, giving people a sense of modernism and classicism. One side faced the mountain and woodlands, while the other faced the sea and Linkon City. There was also a jasmine garden where Zayne spent hours with The Goddess while she rested there.

He walked through the main entrance made of oak. Greeting him was a woman sleeping soundly on a comfortable sofa in the reading room. He softly raised his feet and crouched down next to her.

His rough, scarred hands lifted her hair, revealing a familiar, pretty face. It was the very first face he saw when he opened his eyes, although now it had been somewhat altered by the passage of time. His touch awakened her. She got up.

“Zayne?” She called, and he reached out a hand to take hers.

Zayne helped her sit up straight. Lately, she had been losing weight, her body was constantly cold and she did sleep a lot.

“Why don't you go into the bedroom?” He asked.

“I'm… sorry…” She murmured. “I was just a little tired and fell asleep without knowing…”

Zayne frowned. Even a simple expression like that made her shudder. She held his hand so tightly, apologized.

“I didn't mean it… I know you told me to always go to the bedroom to stay warm… But…”

"Hush." Zayne placed a finger on the corner of her mouth, keeping her mute. “Lately, you often don't do what I say anymore.”

Her body quivered slightly. Her hands clenched on the sofa underneath. She dared not say a word if Zayne forbade her so. He continued to scold her:

“You don't sleep in the proper place. You don't take enough medications. And you met someone you shouldn't have met."

She shook her head aggressively. She muttered: "N-No... that's not true..."

“Have I allowed you to speak?”

Zayne's expression was melancholy as he stared at her. He was kneeling on one knee on the floor, but his physique still dominated hers, and his powerful voice made her shiver even more.

"You already know your punishment for disobeying orders." Zayne spoke again. He reached out to wipe away the hot tears streaming down her cheeks. "There you go again. The Goddess does not cry."

Zayne instantly stood up. Still with that cold gaze, he looked down at her. With trembling hands, she reached to him and pleaded: 

"Please..." Don't…"

"What's the matter?" His stern voice reverberated throughout the room. "Don't you want to become The Goddess you once were?"

“I… want to… But… I'm scared… Please, Zayne…”

She begged, but to no avail. Zayne did not respond. He approached the door, while she stood up and stumbled behind him.

Many hours later, well past noon, Zayne carried her back to the bedroom. She was freezing and shivering still. Cold sweat erupted all over her body. Yet in that semi-conscious state, she remembered something significant.

She recalled dancing with Zayne, in a garden filled with jasmine blossoms. She was still young at the time, and he was only a little older than her. When did he become such a heartless cyborg toward her? Was it because she forgot who she was and that angered him?

Who was she? There were some faint recollections that surfaced. She was the heir to a technology empire. She was a properly trained hunter. She was a schoolteacher. She was a painter. She was a mechanic. She was a scientist... In all of those scenarios, she had always been a girl with a fragile heart.

And just like that, in all her dreams there was Zayne. Whoever he said she was, she was precisely that person. He intended her to become The Goddess, she would be The Goddess for him. She desired to be the person Zayne worshiped. The only person he held dearly.

But why did he treat her that way? He confined her in a freezing cellar. He injected her with hallucinogens. He left her half-dead. And he solely stopped when she was almost unable to tolerate it anymore.

She heard Zayne's footsteps entering the room. The edge of the bed declined as he sat next to her. His cool fingers brushed her hair again.

"Get some sleep. You will feel better when you wake up."

Was it true that she would ever feel better?

The dismal sky indicated an impending hurricane. She cried. But her tears were hidden into the thick cushion. At the moment, she recalled something else.

She waited for Zayne to depart, and as the door closed, she searched under her headrest and took out an old phone.

She could not clearly recall the origin of this phone, yet it recognized her face. She had found it in the old archive of the mansion, some time after the third time she endured Zayne's punishment. Perhaps since that day, she had planned to leave this place.

She rummaged through the pocket of her nightgown for a business card. On it written a name: Detective Cooper.

Detective Cooper's investigation hit a dead end. The only clue he had turned out to be untrustworthy, due to her incoherent state.

He had traveled to that mansion to find The Goddess. She was still as beautiful as he remembered, only the bright smile and virgo he had seen in her were now lost.

She vaguely recalled their acquaintance; everything else was as blurred as the mist that covered the residence. He had anticipated her to provide more valuable clues to the case, but after the encounter, he had to reconsider his entire conclusion.

The first missing cases occurred five years ago. There had been twelve equivalent cases thus far. Despite the differences in their occupations, hometowns, and nationalities, the victims were all about the same age. They had identical physique shapes and even similar appearances. They all resembled a single individual. The Goddess.

For Detective Cooper, there was no such thing as a coincidence. His visit to Akso Hospital that day was mostly to determine Zayne's reaction. However, the doctor made no mention of the fact that the missing ladies all had something in common with the person he regarded most highly, which made Cooper suspicious. He came to see her knowing Zayne was not home at the time. With his instincts, he felt she was somehow tied to those disappearances. Perhaps she was the one being targeted after all.

There were still plenty of details that were left unclear. Cooper attempted to connect the dots, but was unable to discover any evidence to support his conclusion. That night, Detective Cooper was stressing out alone in his office when he received an anonymous phone call.

“Detective…” A familiar female voice rang out on the other end of the line. “Save me… Please save me…”

"You are—?…"

“Zayne! He's… gone insane… Please… get me out of here… I don't want to go back… I don't want to go back to that place… AAAARGH!”

A scream sounded out, followed by a sequence of noises, and then a beeping sound. Detective Cooper rushed out of the office at full speed, started the car and headed towards the mansion in the snowy mountains outside Linkon City.

The first time he woke up, Zayne was in the jasmine garden. Standing before him was a delicate face with a gentle smile.

“It is my honor to serve you, Master.”

He bowed to the lady. The sound of her laughter resonated around the lovely afternoon garden.

"There's no need to call me that."

She was considerably shorter than him, and he tended to lower himself so she would not have difficulties seeking his eyes. When she sat on the daybed, he would be on the floor by her feet. When she fell asleep, he would spend the entire night outside the chamber, guarding her dreams. She would sometimes lay her head on his lap and fall asleep after humming a few songs. Even though she disagreed with him calling her "master," he privately referred to her as his Goddess.

For his life was a gift granted by her. By using technology from the ASTRA corporation, she had created a cyborg, a perfect replica of the childhood friend whom she cherished so much. He possessed that person's appearance, intelligence, talent, and name.

“From now on, you are Zayne.” His Goddess said. “You shall continue his work and live his dreams."

The real Zayne had passed away a long time ago. After being unable to control his Evol, he chose to dissolve himself. Cyborg specialized in the medical field was originally a project of a lifetime that The Goddess and him had collaborated on.

Even though he was only a replacement, cyborg Zayne was delighted to stay with his Goddess. They lived together at a mountain mansion. Every day, she read books, sang, and danced in the garden of jasmine. She taught him everything she knew, evoking deep human emotions in him. He cared for and safeguarded her, while she granted him the grace to walk alongside her everywhere, to keep her company, and watch time impact her gradually while his physique stayed untouched.

His universe revolved around her. She gave him a reason to exist, which was to save lives.

That day, he should have accompanied her. Yet, the duty he was assigned since awakening obliged him to remain at Akso Hospital. He saved someone else's life, but he was unable to save hers.

Her lifeless, bloodied corpse lay on the surgery table. He had tried every method he knew, but her heart no longer beat.

His world crumbled from that day on.

Though, he still had a glimmer of hope. He took her protocore and memories. Her body was preserved by him in ice that never melted. He placed her on the daybed in the shelter, surrounded by a jasmine garden. It was where she often laid down to rest, her eyes always fixed on the metropolis in the distance.

Then, in the darkness, he began his hunt.

The woman with a similar figure was chosen by him from among the patients in the cardiology department at Akso Hospital. He implanted the core and memories of The Goddess into her body. He brainwashed her and through surgery, he transformed her into a version of the Goddess. However, the first experiment proved unsuccessful. She was quick to remember who she was and what he had done to her.

The second person, followed by the third... With each experiment, Zayne learned and improved. However, although the look was easy to replicate, the demeanor was not. Every time a girl said or did something that differed from his Goddess, he deemed her a failure. Then she was made into an ice sculpture in the garden, duplicating every moment of The Goddess he adored.

A sculpture depicting her seated and reading a book. The other portrayed her dancing. Another one featured her cooking meals... Across the garden placed eleven sculptures, all centered on the original essence, the true Goddess.

That night, the twelfth piece would join them.

Zayne raised the woman's chin in a delicate manner. A visage similar to that of a Goddess was staring at him. But he knew it was not her. She would not weep, she would not plead like that. She was quite resilient in taking on everything, including death. Even in the moment when Zayne failed to protect her, still she smiled and said, "You're here."

As for the person who was steadily frozen in that standing posture, she was weeping and begging him to release her. She used to be a scientist. How unfortunate; her brain was almost perfect for receiving all of the Goddess' memories, as well as the prior females' pasts; nevertheless, that was a side impact Zayne did not desire. However, this woman was not obedient at all. She in secret disposed of the medication he had given her and discovered an old but still functional phone in the archive. She intended to run away but Zayne intervened just in time.

"Quiet." He spoke in his usual calm tone, but it sent chills down the woman's spine, literally. Since her body was almost entirely frozen. Zayne added: "Smile. "My Goddess looked nothing like this."

It was always the same; they screamed, they cursed, they pleaded for life. How ugly! None of them were worthy of wearing the face of The Goddess! It was Zayne's hands that adjusted their faces before the freezing procedure was complete. As a result, they all transformed into beautiful ice sculptures at last.

He came closer, carefully extracting the Goddess' protoccore from the false woman's heart and ending her agony.

When Detective Cooper arrived, the mansion's gate was already open. He heard screams in the jasmine garden, followed by a sudden silence. He immediately took out his gun and moved towards it.

He discovered Zayne's collection of ice sculptures in the garden. Twelve sculptures representing varying looks of the same person were coated in a thin layer of ice that was nearly transparent, allowing the faces of those inside to be seen. Zayne was in the center of the place, kneeling close to the daybed. His hand was softly stroking the hand of the woman who was lying down.

"Do not come close." Zayne's words sounded like anguish. Detective Cooper aimed his gun at him and shot.

A layer of ice developed from the ground, forming a crystal fortress between them. Cooper's bullet ended up caught inside.

"Zayne!" Detective Cooper shouted. "Stop it! You will suffer the consequences for your crime!”

"Consequences?" There came an uncanny laugh from the shelter. Zayne gave Cooper a grieving look. "Having to live in a world without her is already a punishment."

Cooper proceeded one step further. The ice spread to his legs and knees before swiftly covering his hands.

"Zayne, what are you doing? This isn't you. This is not what you were made for!"

Zayne's gaze returned to the Goddess, filled with affection. Her face was so calm behind the thin covering of ice. He replied: 

"That's true. She created me to heal people. Yet, I hurt them.

Silence arrived. For a very long moment, there was only the sound of the wind howling.

"I knew you would find out the truth, Detective Cooper." Zayne cracked a smile at him from over the ice wall. "I just hope I have a little more time to create a perfect replica of her."

Cooper, with a portion of his body immobilized, had become a reluctant audience for Zayne's monologue.

"I've tried a variety of ways throughout the last five years. But I've never been successful. I can't replicate my Goddess. And now I know why."

Zayne leant forward slightly. His arm wrapped over her head, cradling her. He muttered:

“For, in this world, she is the only one. Thus even if I searched the entire earth, I wouldn't find her a second time. I have made my own judgment.”

“What are you going to do?” Detective Cooper said impatiently. He had called for reinforcements and they were on their way. This place would be surrounded in just a few short minutes. No one could escape, not even a sophisticated cyborg with the Evol of Ice. However, it appeared that Zayne had no intention of escaping. 

“I disappointed her…” His voice began to tremble. “I could not save her… I murdered others so that I could replace her…”

Therefore, Zayne, himself, was a failed experiment. Everything that failed would be discarded. A fragment of black ice erupted on his chest and penetrated his body.

"Zayne!" Detective Cooper called out. From where he stood, he could see ice sprouting from Zayne's back. It was a torture.

“I do not deserve to see her again in the afterlife, if there is such a place… But if my life must end here… Please let me die… beside her…”

Zayne's words and breathing became stagnant. Detective Cooper attempted to escape, but he discovered that he could only move once the ice Zayne had summoned melted away, just as life was leaving his body.

Zayne shed a tear toward The Goddess as he placed his head close to her. His hand clenched on hers. He whispered one last time before he, himself, sank into the never-ending ice:

“Let me… die… by your side…”

[tired-reader-writer]

Gadget Maker Iruma AU

Enabled by the 17 notes on my post, here is a very bad summary of the plotted stuff I've got for my mairuma AU! It's only like what, half-formed? I hope y'all enjoy this nonetheless.

I was originally gonna post this without putting the bullet points under the cut, HOWEVER as the draft for this post was approaching 7k words (obviously the final product ended up being way more than that) I reconsidered and now it's going under the cut.

I know it only covers up into roughly post Music Festival arc and a very brief touch on the Heartbreaker arc but y'all, I was running out of steam. This thing turned out to be 375 bullet points in total.

375 BULLET POINTS.

LET THAT SINK IN.

Well since I've been super depressed and exhausted the past month or so, and it sapped all of my creativity out, so I'll take whatever form of creation I can get and I'd say this counts.

DISCLAIMER: do note that this AU is in no ways meant to be a fix-it or “better than canon”, it doesn't follow canon's themes of Iruma finding himself and growing in his own skin and whatnot because of his alternate backstory, nay, this is more like me yeeting a bowling ball at a beautiful jenga tower to see how fast it can crash.

Tagging the enablers: @importantdestinydefendor @eclecticcosmonaut @createdbyleftovergods @astra-ash21 @cr4zy-cycl0n3 @lackluster-cloverfield @eshekerexd @swimmingkill @sweetpotatopigeonfood @huggiebub @kurukufute @steveleaf @nightstarblue @drag0nalias0 @hopeless-anarchy

The Main AU Stuff:

Iruma is half-demon. Not saying who his parents are since that's supposed to be a mystery but really there aren't many options, really, so maybe it's obvious lol. At least the demon half. The human is… an OC, basically.

He had wings. Had. They were torn out when he was very young. He doesn't remember.

In fact, he remembers nothing about his life before Babyls. Well, a couple days/weeks before his first day at school, but absolutely nothing before that.

There's this undercurrent of unease every time he wonders about it. It's as though something inside of him is trying to warn him off, “don't dig deeper”.

He only knows that he was apparently hurt badly before. It doesn't hurt, though. He doesn't understand why grandpa, Opera, and Balam-sensei fret so much.

Yeah, Sullivan called Balam in to be Iruma's physician since, y'know, wink wink nudge nudge half-human.

The three adults clearly know more than they're letting Iruma in on, Sullivan most of all, but they're all pretty dodgy when he asks.

Not that he asks all that often at first, there's that mental fog and the sense of “danger: do not approach” in his psyche that ever-so-subtly steers him away from thinking too hard about it.

Not much deviates from canon at first except that Iruma's a little bit more wary/aware than in canon (carryover instincts from a past he'd forgotten) and that his personality grows to be somewhere between regular Iruma and evil cycle Iruma— he might not even have an outright evil cycle arc in this AU, though Iruma still is the driving force behind them getting Royal One.

A bit more on his personality: he's like “hi! I'm your classmate that makes a point to smile even when things are dire! nice to be your friend!” all the while being super aware and hypervigilant about the demons around him

That plot point about him recognizing Kerori as Kuromu but ramped up to everybody around him. Even when amnesiac there's still carryover instincts from his human days.

It's subtle underneath his lovable sweet classmate thing (and the thing is that he is genuinely a kind and sweet kid it's just that he got Issues™) but there's an undercurrent that there's something just Not Right with this kid. Paranoid little rat of a boy who doesn't understand why he himself instinctively looks for escape routes and keeps a pulse on everything

He also doesn't like people standing behind him. Doesn't like having his back vulnerable.

People chalk his weirdness up to him being a sheltered rich kid or whatever but he's. Y'know. Like That™.

It's simultaneously a genuine kindness leading him to reach out to people and this caution/hypervigilance about something he doesn't even know the name of that leads him to frantically keep a pulse on whatever's happening in the school.

(There's a protectiveness around it that he can't place, too. Are my friends okay?)

(Maybe that protectiveness is what drives him to try and obtain Royal One for his fellow Misfits here.)

Anyways, funnily enough, this paranoid rat tendencies is what leads him to have a massive information network in Babyls by accident???

The Royal One incident was what canonically made the Misfits closer with Iruma, but here maybe the order could be somewhat reversed.

Backtracking from that though

The sakura tree. It has some… symbolic and emotional significance that plays into the AU.

I want Balam to be Iruma's familiar in the AU. I just don't know how yet.

Iruma still joins the Magitools Batra.

Though in this AU he has a strong interest in crafting magic tools.

(Yet another carryover from his forgotten past. The instinct yet remains.)

(The human world is not what you think.)

The camaraderie with Kiriwo still exists despite the wariness.

They're both hiding things from each other. Maybe it's because of that that they became drawn to each other. Liar to liar.

Something about the ranking system and how lower ranks are treated by higher ranks and Kiriwo's desire to change that coupled with what Iruma knows due to his information network (he knows when a bullying is going on thank you very much) stirring something inside of Iruma.

Somehow, some way, despite everything, despite the caution, despite— no, because they're hiding things from each other there's just this sort of kinship, this bond.

Kiriwo is the first demon he opens up a teensy bit to.

It is why, even after Kiriwo attempts to blow the school up, Iruma still has positivity towards his senpai.

The taste of a first bond among his peers. Someone who managed to make him want to open up just a little.

Clara and Azz (and Sabro) get there eventually but boy's an oyster at this point and… yeah.

Alarm bells are going off in Iruma's mind because when Kiriwo infodumped his entire backstory on him he very much mentioned an older brother figure who encouraged Kiriwo's tendencies and that would probably make Iruma at the very least suspect that Kiriwo isn't a lone actor who attempted this on his own.

(Don't know what will come of this but. Iruma keeps an ear on the ground. He's paranoid.)

During the whole invisible barrier maze thing, Iruma is incited to act quickly and on his own (mostly— Clara and Azz help like in canon) because there's this deeply ingrained instinct in him that says, “Nobody is coming.”

I don't think I'm doing good enough of a job hinting at his backstory and how it differs from canon but whatever, roll with it 😭

A theme about friendship and cooperation might or might not be starting to pop up by this point.

Ameri has been tweaked.

First of all she's actually masculine in the AU and her insecurities don't stem from her not being feminine enough because I like masculine girls and I think the world needs more of them.

Y'all, I've been too depressed and exhausted to draw but picture her w a modified version of the Student Council uniform but with the coat draped over her shoulders. Supremely cool.

Anyways

Her blushing softie arc has been tweaked to center around fatigue and anxiety rather than making her feminine I guess?

Okay so

Remember how Balam was impressed at Sabro not having had more than one wicked phase, saying smth like “the amount of self-care that must've required”? So naturally demons who aren't taking enough care of themselves must be susceptible to it because stress.

Put a pin on that.

Ameri's bloodline ability is basically a self-hypnosis and Opera commented that it requires a significant measure of mental fortitude.

Also put a pin on that.

What if the user was tired? Was depressed? Was struggling through any mental issue? What would happen to their ability and their strength?

What happens to a demon who's perpetually stressed under pressure?

Another thing to put a pin on: remember Henri's line from chapter 179, “Is your ambition so weak that you're willing to let this opportunity slip away?” What does this line of thought do to his child. To Ameri.

(Don't worry, I do not plan to reduce Henri into a terrible caricature bc I do NOT like dynamics being squashed down into flat echoes of themselves. We'll get to him in a bit.)

Also put a pin on Ameri's internal monologue from the same chapter: “Only then can I stop being a peerless elite… and just be Ameri.”

I suppose canon!Ameri must undergo self-care too it's just not that much shown outside of her manga-reading sessions w Iruma and the girls' gatherings, and those only came in recently, so what was she doing before that, just willing things away?

So in this AU, Ameri is barely hanging on by a thread by the time the AU rolls around, just willing her fatigue away, hypnotizing herself with “I'm fine” and it's such an unsustainable situation that when that terrible mad scientist dude hits her w the girlification gas she has to use romanticist to fight it off but her romanticist ability is already shouldering so much baggage that this was the straw that broke the camel's back and she descends into an evil cycle.

She's so tired she's so fucking tired and she's starting to resent like why was I born w this ability this expectation this responsibility why wasn't I born ordinary I'm tired I'm so tired leave me alone leave me alone I will fucking bite you leave me alone bc pent-up fatigue + anger... yeah. Putting my girl through the grinder

“is your ambition so weak that—” yeah. What if it was weak. What if she was weak. What then. There's expectations and there's love but what happens to that love when the expectations cannot be met. What happens. Ameri's entire world crashing down as soon as she becomes incapable of fulfilling her role of the invincible president, the undefeated heir.

The thing is that in canon girly Ameri says the one the students admire is “the other her”, not her current self, and the sole parental figure in Ameri's life seems to be Henri, Melie is nowhere in sight, either due to death or something else (I do sometimes wonder about the absent parents in mairuma but that's for another time). She thinks students follow and admire her for her strength. Her father probably influenced how she sees ambition and capability. There must be this lingering fear/anxiety that she will lose everything if she cannot provide what they want from her. Isn't that fucked?

Her wicked phase arc would probably involve her lashing out a lot. I'm not useless I'm not weak don't reject me don't come closer I'm tired I'm tired I'm fine don't leave me behind just this scrambled mess as she tries to reassert romanticist's control on herself but she's too tired and frazzled and hurting to actually succeed and... yeah.

It's up to the Student Council and helper Iruma who's probably sniffing around for that mad scientist dude on his own private investigation, it's up to the council primarily to reassure her and ask her to rely more on them and it doesn't make her lesser or anything

(Oh yeah Iruma isn't in the Student Council this time around— the Batra-gets-suspended-if-no-third-year rule is there, Iruma doesn't get summoned for being misunderstood as assaulting a classmate [ew] he just gets summoned for this matter alone and he gets plunked into the Demon King Batra probably because Sabro requested it)

(So he's on the sidelines helping hunt down the culprit— there's a niggling familiarity at the back of his mind, something else is superimposed on an Ameri going through her evil cycle)

(And he probably drags in Balam who as y'all know has a lot of knowledge about evil cycles)

Still, they might not be enough, and what is probably like the actual originating source of that rigid sense of duty should be addressed which is her father

Told you we'd get back to him

I don't think Henri is an abusive monster. Let's get that out of the way.

He clearly wants happiness for her, he cares about his daughter, and there's this protectiveness over her as we've seen in canon.

Here he's just misguided.

Because he's genuinely trying to help her grow stronger. Because he takes it for granted that of course she can do it. His daughter is amazing and he's so proud of her.

But his absolute faith in his daughter doesn't translate well so there's a communication gap and his expectations of her “of course she can do this, of course she's doing this” so…

Ameri's rigid sense of duty and her issues.

It is him who needs to say to her, point blank, explicitly, that he won't think any less of her if she isn't perfect 1000% of the time.

Buer Blushenko also gets involved in this.

As y'all know, Buer doesn't like unnecessary pain and… Ameri kinda is putting herself under a lot of pressure and he along with Balam who is also a kind-hearted individual would be instrumental in saying “you are not lesser for taking breaks”

I feel like outside of her fellow Student Council members, she really needs to hear it from adults because as I said before, Henri seems to be the sole prominent adult figure in her life

So before she hears it from him, I think it's important that other adults tell her this too.

(Buer confronting Henri?)

(Henri gets his act together and reassures his daughter and promises to find a better way moving forward bc he's a caring father he just had this massive blind spot before)

Also found it very interesting how in canon Momonoki's “Get a hold of yourselves!” was directed at the rest of the council, not a de-fanged Ameri

I feel like this is the arc where the cooperation theme really comes into play and establishes itself strongly.

The Student Council must step up.

It's interesting how much they idolize her. Consider this quote, “She's the very symbol of Babyls. With that comes responsibilities and burdens heavier than we can imagine. But she doesn't let any of that show, she's a real wonder. It's an honor to stand so close to someone who shines as brightly as she does.” They admire her for her strength. Great. Now what happens when that strength is stripped away?

We know, of course, from canon, that they will still support her regardless.

But we're gonna take a little bit of a winding road here. They're gonna have to grapple w the fact that even after she recovers, it will be the healthier thing to let her take it easier (bc remember, unlike in canon she's overworking herself to the bone here)

Ameri's arc is about learning to rely on others learning to treat yourself gently that kind of thing and she shouldn't strive to be 10000% self-sufficient 24/7

Her problems don't go away, she's still tired, but the student council could step up to fill more of her burdens for her to give her time to relax. It's a council, not a one-man army (one-demon army?)

It turns from a more unbalanced dynamic into more of a team effort

They gotta break out of their own mindset a bit though.

The Student Council as a whole has been running on a principle of control, control, control—

They eat one singular bean for a meal.

While the “one bean” joke is indeed very funny, Nishi is a good comedy writer, doing all that while starving seems unnecessary and also bad.

You can't pour from an empty jug. You can't boil an empty kettle. A candle lit from both ends will burn out pretty fucking fast.

They're demons, they value strength, their standards are different, and I know the Student Council has to break up fights and protect weaker students, they need this capability, but this just seems like a one-way ticket to burnout and also hella inaccessible. It feels like it's all negative reinforcement.

So they need to examine their current way of doing things.

It's crucial that Iruma not become part of the Student Council in this AU. He has to represent the outsider. The new perspective. Outside aid. It's not just Ameri who needs to learn to accept aid. The entire Council does.

They're upping the ante stepping into her shoes, but they can count on Iruma to track down the culprit.

And Iruma isn't alone because Information Network™ so in a way the entire school is helping Ameri indirectly, even without knowing.

Cooperation!

(Look. Look. I have this whole thing of the cooperation theme and how it ties into demons and humans foiling each other, return to origins, Delkira's ideals, and that fucking sakura tree, but explaining it would take like twenty layers of context and I don't know how to concisely and prettily do that here so. Uh. Pushing it down or even out of this post. If this ends up not making it into the post I hope ppl will be interested in my thoughts on this matter bc I will be making it a separate post and I will be very sad if I'm the only one interested in it.)

Inevitably, Ronove is gonna Ronove.

Trying to reconcile the theme of ambition that was present in the canon arc w my “hey. hey. you're not less worthy for relaxing” theme bc in canon Ronove presented those kinda “slothful/entitled” promises while Ameri pushed for the students to work to seize their ambitions w their own hands and stuff but just copy-pasting that theme in full doesn't seem to mesh w the situation at hand.

The “stop waiting around and do it yourself” theme can be inspiring yes but having that be recited by either a severely depressed and exhausted character who needs a fucking break or someone around her who's trying to help her is. Well. Bad.

Maybe I could graft another thing from canon but spin it for this alternate context. Canon Iruma wants to make a Netherworld that's like Babyls. A kind Netherworld, right?

So. The Student Council's counter promise could be tied into that thing like Babyls being kind to its students, the student council striving/promising to make it kind so that all demons have an equal opportunity to seize their ambitions w a sound body and mind

(The sakura tree ties into this I promise)

(It matters that the one Iruma grew is ever-blooming instead of fleeting petals that are gone far too soon)

The current Babyls is still flawed but it by far seems to be the most compassionate out of the three great schools. What if they make it even kinder.

So anyways, Ameri and the rest of the council might become more “approachable” after this debacle and Ameri has taken her break and stuff like how canon Ameri becomes more approachable after falling in love w Iruma but this time it ain't about love or a dude it's the power of friendship/cooperation and sharing burdens and her being able to be more relaxed/vulnerable.

I have half-formed thoughts about Kerori and Ameri and how one provides relief for others from their pent-up stress while the other is the epitome of pent-up stress and how in canon Ameri derived strength and courage from Kuromu's songs and how I can spin it for this AU buuuut I feel this needs a little more marination time so. Just pinning this down for now.

@amykiriwosdefenselawyer 's posts about RtO are of interest to this AU: [1] [2] [3]

Ameri's arc about the burden of responsibility, the weight of duty, the fatigue that comes with it, the wound-up tenseness, it kinda serves as a mirror to an unknowing Iruma.

Remember those themes, and remember that it involved a psychological spell.

Remember that Iruma's own psyche also has a bit of that suspicious don't-dig-deeper element.

:)

They grow into sort of friendly business partners. They ask for help from each other and all that. They're not romantically involved in the AU (squinting at Ameri. girl are you falling for Kerori) but it's something.

What was Iruma up to in the Demon King Batra?

Well, there's this drive and pull to learn about Demon Kings since Demon Kings are the Netherworld and since he has no past and he must call this place home, he wants to understand it.

He doesn't admit as such to Sabro just yet when the latter asks, he's not ready for that kind of openness lol.

(Also he's drawn towards Delkira in particular. It's only because the current Netherworld is shaped by him, right? Right??? Hahaha…)

(Not sure what I'll do w Ali and the ring, honestly. Half-demon Iruma does have mana, Delkira's… well. I do need to figure out how Delkira's situation affects Ali since we don't really know about the link between the two?)

Iruma doesn't have his evil cycle arc here because. I have Plans regarding him and his evil cycle or lack thereof. His personality is already between the two. Kinda.

But since he was in the Demon King Batra for a while before snatching back the rights to continue the Magitools Batra, he has Questions™ about Delkira that makes his grandpa shifty.

He manages to weasel a story out of Sullivan. That when Delkira was young he disappeared for a while— and would not speak a word of what happened to him during that time when he came back but he clearly was affected by it. Maybe he even claimed he doesn't have memories of what happened to him but he did. He was found smiling as he cried. Sullivan says it was probably the first instance where Delkira resolved to be Demon King.

(Y'all probably guessed at least part of what the deal w Delkira is by now I think)

Royal One Acquisition arc and First Term Final Exams arc probably don't have much in terms of new stuff except maybe slice-of-life group dynamics and Batra shenanigans. Maybe specific tool-making progress and stuff.

(I didn't know where else to put this but Iruma's rampant hypervigilance and friendliness means he drags Purson into being friends, it just happens, and so Purson gets integrated into the Misfits earlier I guess)

(Balam already knows he's half-human since, well, personal physician at Sullivan's behest + familiar)

Balam becomes probably the adult Iruma is closest to— though I wonder if his initial wariness might drive him to avoid Balam because Buzzer. Balam frets a fair bit for Iruma but it's to a more subdued extent than Sullivan and Opera, and just like in canon, Balam becomes someone he can open up to.

Sabro gets increasingly more integrated into the trio dynamic so much that it becomes a quartet. It probably started when Iruma was in the Demon King Batra. The two now share a common interest, and could inspire each other and they could even have petty little competitions for shits and giggles. Azz and Clara frequently stop by to pick Iruma up or whatever, and it can be a cute bickering thing. Sabro could notice that Azz is stagnating and falling into the mistakes Sabro himself fell into before he met Iruma, and it probably boils over in the Walter Park arc just like in canon.

In a way that I find difficult to put into words, Clara feels like, y'know, that safety/warmth of a loving family and being home. It's interesting because Sabro is estranged from his family and lives presumably on his own? I don't know his housing situation. Iruma only just obtained a safe and loving home Sullivan and Opera. His life before that was. Well. Azz I find interesting because his mother does seem pretty loving if overbearing, but he had a very isolated childhood and I'm trying to reconcile the two with each other. Maybe it's like she wasn't that present in the earlier stages of his life, only attempting to bridge the gap later on.

With the kinder Netherworld thing and Babyls and whatnot, I feel like something could be done with Clara in regards to this theme. She literally represents innocence and playfulness after all, but this AU is kinda half-formed and I'm not done cooking w it yet. If any of y'all have ideas for her… do send them my way.

Anyways, where was I

OH, WALTER PARK

The attack stirs something deep inside Iruma. The thing behind his mental aversion/barrier shakes it a little bit loose, not enough to totally break free, but a little.

Overwhelming fear, a sense of duty, a screaming clawing desperation to step in, step up

He steps into a different mode. Disaster management mode. Even shaken and frazzled it feels like he's had experience with this kind of thing.

He can't be talked down. No matter what anyone tries, he can't be talked down.

It turns into a rescue/evacuation management thing similar to canon. Sabro and Azz also go to hold the monster off and have their moment, and Balam still steps in.

It's that way because, well, 2 hot-headed battle-happy boys, and Balam is worried about Iruma going into an evil cycle from stress. In fact, he wonders why it feels like Iruma is at least partially returning to origins. It doesn't seem to be that way, Iruma isn't interested in harming people, but something just feels. Off.

On the end of Opera's group, yeahhh I feel like there's potential for something between Ameri and Kerori. Something something inspiration something something deriving courage something something being a shining star

Due to having spent time with Iruma (who makes magic tools) and Sabro (whose ability is an arsenal of weapons) Clara gets some Ideas™ and probably busts out wack-ass tools for Opera and Ameri, but I also want her to be there for kids at the shelter bc y'know family and safety and whatnot

Maybe she can do both

(It'd be pretty cool if Ameri finds out that Kerori is Kuromu here. Like she moves to protect like she always does because old habits die hard and she has a responsibility but Kerori could give her some peace of mind, “leave the shelter to me, don't you know who I am?” and the two nod to each other and go separate ways or smth I dunno I'm getting way too attached to these two)

Walter Park's progression can turn out maybe a bit different. Maybe it's Team Balam's mission to get to the shelter while avoiding a monster. Maybe the mission turns into a Kalego hunt since Iruma can't just summon him anymore. Maybe the monsters are a bit different to allow for a chase/hide sequence. Either way Iruma's. Uh. Clearly Different™.

Maybe he has to macgyver a magic tool to absorb the monster's blast mana from the debris and maybe Clara comes into clutch by giving him material, maybe the ring and its gluttony aspect is used as the magical “core” of this tool to attract mana towards it

Again, I'm not yet sure what I'm going to do with Ali. I love that guy, he's fucking hilarious, he's an important confidante and advisor for Iruma that I would be greatly saddened to see gone from the story, but I can't figure out what to do with him

Maybe the ring used to belong to Delkira and might contain traces of his mana which can be formed into a projection of a fragment of him when introduced to Iruma's mana or whatever due to some backstory elements or something— yeah sure I'll go with that. For now.

(Maybe when Ali and Iruma are first introduced to each other Ali calls the latter by the wrong name. Like “Masaki, you shrank?!” and yes, the name Masaki isn't there by random it has a purpose)

He barely makes it in time to do all that before the fog in his mind catches up to the thing that got loose going “stop STOP DOING THAT. BACK INTO THE FOG YOU GO.” and the strain knocks him out or something.

Walter Park needs more development. This entire AU needs more development.

In the aftermath, Iruma's three guardians have a talk. It's vague, but we get a name. Seiya.

Sullivan talks vaguely about how this Seiya person was like that too, though less shaken. He remarks on how Iruma resembles his family.

Opera and Balam express worry about how the hypnosis on Iruma might be close to coming undone. Sullivan says it's to be expected from a sibling of someone who bound Sullivan into a contract, and to be expected from someone who's the blood of— It's bound to happen, eventually. They can't stop it. His only hope is that Iruma will be ready for it.

This turns into a discussion of Iruma's school life, how he seems to be settling in and making friends, and also turned into a benevolent mob boss of sorts? Iruma is doing fine, they say, he's not alone anymore, he seems to have a reason to live now, and hey, it's not like the rest of the school term will be chaotic or anything, right? And he has such good friends now, they care about him! He'll have more time to bond securely to them before the spell breaks.

The go and stay with the Valac household and Sabro is also there don't worry about it

The safety and warmth and stuff unravels something that's been wound up tight in Iruma's chest. He opens up to the rest of the quartet about his worries and anxieties and the fact that he has no past (and maybe even the fact that he has no wings)

They grow closer! They grow closer. The oyster is finally opening up.

Maybe he even thanks them for his ambition taking form. He wants to make a kind Netherworld. (Following the letter of Kiriwo's wishes but not the spirit LOL)

Sabro states that he'd have to be Demon King for that, or become someone high-ranked and close to the Demon King. The two agree to be rivals in pursuit of that goal, but no hard feelings if the other wins, they'll just simply become part of the winner's retinue. Azz bickers that Iruma will obviously win, and the four descend into playful scuffles.

I wonder how the other 3 would react. Not so drastically, I would presume, their friend has no memory of his past, okay cool, he's still him. But I do think Azz would have a heart attack at realizing Iruma was left behind at the flying race. Sabro is just impressed. Clara also has never shown her wings in canon and iirc she rode on Azz's back so I think she'd high-five at having something in common with Iruma (and at coming into clutch with his makeshift mana devouring tool debacle with her pocket creation of tools and whatnot). She's so thrilled and also would tease the shit out of the others.

At the Valac house, and after that, actually because that spell on his mind was jostled a bit by the Walter Park attack, Iruma starts having dreams. They rarely ever do correspond to actual memories, it's not an exact 1-to-1 translation, it's like… an amalgamation of the emotions and multiple aspects of his life.

Disaster sirens, “don't go, don't leave me”, “no one is coming”, spaceships, something chasing him, cherry blossoms, moonlit nights, the sound of a bowstring of a Japanese bow as it is released— clear as a summer sky as though it was plucked like a string instrument. The safety of being held by a parent. A crying girl. A tired boy.

“That looks good, height looks good, pressure in the green.”

“Atmosphere toxicity index ■■■, are you sure you wish to proceed?”

“Come here, ■■■■■.”

“Why? Why is there no response—”

“You have to live.”

“Good job, ■■■■■.”

“Otou-san, where are you?”

“■■■■■?”

“Help is coming, okay? Look, look, it's sunri—”

“Breach warning. Breach warning. To the people near annex [■-■■], please evacuate to the inner chambers immediately.”

“■■■■■—”

“Where do you think you're going—”

“■■■■■!”

(The human world is not what demons expect.)

Not going into how they spend the rest of their Final Days holidays, moving onto the next term

(Iruma may or may not have a change in uniform style, I have ideas for his uniform I just need to decide if this alternate design is kept from the start of the school term or he does a switcheroo now. He does start wearing a respirator/mask similar to Balam's because he wants to pay homage to his sensei.)

The Hunting Festival. HOO BOI THE HUNTING FESTIVAL.

Where do I even start.

Canon lineups seem fine, I'm not gonna change those, except figure out where the hell I'm gonna stick Purson

Also smth for Clara outside of Raim. Nothing wrong with Raim, in fact I quite like that Clara gets to embrace femininity and seduction, it's cute, but also I feel like I need to give this girl something more. I'll… figure it out, hopefully.

When Iruma tries forming/holding a bow, there's this nostalgia-sorrow-shame that pops up. He doesn't know where it's coming from, but he figures it's something from his past.

The Harvest Festival more or less progresses similarly? Might change stuff as I think more, but…

[Pinning down Thoth for now since I feel like I wanna do smth different w the storytelling part but I don't know what yet]

Anyways something changes when Orobas slams the Trauma beam on Iruma.

He regains his memories.

He's standing in a wreck of a spaceship of sorts. Blood pools at his feet. And around him, all around him, he sees—

His family

The stuff from the dreams he's been having come back full force. The fear of running out of air. The fear of being crushed by machinery. The fear of his family dying—

So basically, it starts out this way, right? The Trauma ability preys on the victim's fears. I don't think it'd actually be limited by what the victim is consciously afraid of. Subconscious I think plays a big part.

And lo, what's hiding in Iruma's subconscious? The shit he's been through and has been afraid of before he lost his memories.

It doesn't start out with actual memories, no, just visions of his buried fears and trauma

And that? That shakes him enough that the amnesia spell breaks.

And on top of the trauma visions the actual memories return and it just turns into a mess.

So what's his past?

To contextualize that we're gonna do some worldbuilding with the human world because it's. Uh. Different™.

So. It starts with the cosmos. It's chaotic and it has its own messy shit going on.

Enter planet earth.

The planet has a “will”. It's kinda alive but also not.

Any living being on the planet is part of it. It's under the planet's dominion.

The planet's will is there to preserve the planet and anything associated with it.

Humanity started out as part of the planet's dominion. After all, they're animals.

Two things about humans:

They're social animals, meaning, they're wired for cooperation and community

They're creative as fuck

And slowly but surely, humanity starts to gain a collective unconscious will of its own, separate from the planet's

And humanity became more consumerist as time went on, cultures that didn't respect nature taking dominance over everyone else, things turned to progress, progress, progress, one core aspect of humanity squashing and suffocating the other.

Humanity's quest for advancement progress etc pollutes the earth

The earth is mad

Or more like because humanity obtained a separate will and is now actively harming it, the will of the planet perceives it as a threat

And threats to the planet's longevity must be dealt with, the same way a body's immune system must eliminate an invading pathogen

Humanity's collective unconscious will also tries to eliminate any threat to the continued existence of humanity

Thus begins the conflict between the two

A bit of clarification: humanity's will doesn't take cues from individual humans or even human factions, despite originating from humans it's a very inhuman force of protection. Even if someone thinks/knows something is not inherently/actually a threat to them or humanity's continued existence, the Collective Will will descend upon the perceived threat anyways.

Several human factions themselves have been eliminated by this Force.

Something similar for the planet, except I guess it doesn't have a conscious? Or sapience. It's all instincts all the way down.

The planet's defense system would probably take the form of beasts or natural calamities, humanity's defense system… still working on it. Maybe the Collective Unconscious just aligns individual humans and stuff to do the things it wants them to do, I'm not sure about that one yet.

A n y w a y s

Both Wills may or may not “dream up” entirely new worlds.

The planet sings the cosmos' song

Humanity is always looking up at the stars asking, asking, are we alone?

(No but really, the way humanity yearns and wonders and wants for there to be other life forms in the galaxy makes me a little misty-eyed if I think about it too hard so here)

MULTIVERSES BABY. HUMANITY TELLS STORIES AND DREAMS HARD ENOUGH THAT IT ACTUALLY FUCKING MANIFESTS THOSE STORIES

The worlds draw templates from humanity's stories but the worlds can align closer to either the planet or humanity

So what we got here is this sci-fi fantasy thing with forming and dying worlds. The worlds interact, sometimes one takes over the other, takes resources, and though the original planet and humans didn't have access to some materials they sure can take from the “phantasmal” worlds. Ore, magic, all the works.

I'm still swinging back and forth on whether the Netherworld is one such world that was “dreamt up”. I think I'm going with “no it's not” for now.

So, amidst all this, it's not as though there aren't pockets of human factions and families and traditions that didn't maintain cordial, harmonious dynamics with nature.

The Munakata family is one such part.

The Munakata are a family of Shinto priests and archers, though their headcount has dwindled over the generations and now only one little family remains.

So Delkira actually ended up in the human world before. I don't know how yet.

He meete someone named Masaki. Munakata Masaki. Guy was shooting an arrow. Surrounded by cherry blossoms.

So you know this thing, right, the sound a bowstring makes when it is released from a draw. It even has a name but I am kinda afraid of this monstrosity coming up in the fandom tag of an anime whose title is this name, because I kinda yoinked two character names from it, so yeah. Delkira hears it and falls in love with it.

Anyways he remains in the human world for a bit bc for some reason he can't seem to return so Masaki and his “family” (currently one partner named “Akito” though if one looks at them closely… they don't seem exactly human) have to protect young Delkira until they find a way to send him off again.

Maybe they even have a journey. Maybe. This part's still foggy.

But it did impact Delkira a lot. Masaki is someone who is very human, and bonding w him gave Delkira ideas™.

Akito is… kinda something else. They've calmed down, kinda, they used to be like a feral animal, deeply traumatized by smth they refuse to disclose. But they're insanely protective.

Anyways the two's home was in this little peaceful ignored corner of the planet, don't worry about it, they do probably have to go on a cross-planet trip or smth to find a way to send Delkira back.

He is about to be sent back, he asks if they won't come with him, Akito says no, they love their little town, Masaki jokes with “if you become Demon King, maybe”

Delkira goes back, lives his life, becomes Demon King, and somehow ends up on the Munakata's doorstep again— several years after he first left but nowhere near the hundreds of years that passed in the Netherworld.

(I haven't figured out the mechanics shhhhhh)

Again, he can't go back immediately and this time he ends up staying for longer. They had three kids, each a half-sibling to the other. Seiya (Masaki-Akito), Maiya (Akito-Delkira), and Yuuya (Delkira-Masaki).

Don't worry about why they can all have kids with each other, gender is a mere suggestion and I am fucking around.

These kids become relevant, I promise. Their characters only become more fleshed out after their parents are out of the picture but just to get them a little bit established:

Seiya is the eldest son and eldest child, probably born somewhere between Delkira's first time and second rodeo in the human world. Likes archery like Masaki. Looks uhhhh normal at a glance but some hints of abnormality can show sometimes. Even if nobody acknowledges it, he is half-phantasmal.

(Still, nobody talks about what Akito's deal is)

Maiya is the second child and only daughter. Likes dancing. Boisterous, active, impulsive, creative. But falls sick often because her mana is so powerful it's starting to eat her from the inside and Masaki has to calm it for her. Despite liking to be active, she's homebound for most of her early childhood until her body grows strong enough to contain and resist her mana.

Yuuya is the youngest son and child. Starts out as a soft inquisitive and adventurous little kid that will turn skittish later on. Yep, Yuuya is the boy that would become Iruma.

Using the youngest as the benchmark, their ages are: Seiya (8), Maiya (5), Yuuya (0).

So remember how the small town the Munakata family lived in was an ignored corner of the world that didn't attract much in terms of conflict and corruption?

Well that didn't last

Just like in our world (heh) there be some damn powerful corporations and shit and they're unethical as fuck

I haven't figured out the reason but one such faction comes to this part and…

Well.

They saw a half-demon kid playing outside (Yuuya), they kidnapped that child for “scientific purposes”

This is where Yuuya got his wings torn off. He was six.

He gets rescued by Akito, and very hastily has to be hospitalized and then moved to where an artificial nervous system thing can be implanted into his back. Because, well remember the Heartbreaker arc? Marbas was going to torture Jazz with a centipede thing that specifically targets the wing root? “The (centipede's) stinger will enter the target's body, where it penetrates the spine and wing root, tearing the victim's nerves as it goes. You will experience intense pain, nausea and vomiting, and then… you will lose all five of your senses and become paralyzed, unable to move a fingertip.” Scary shit!

Little Yuuya would've been in excruciating pain.

This is when Delkira is faced with true fear and despair— human blood can heal demons, but demon blood cannot reciprocate.

Try as he might, he is not allowed to save his child.

Nor is he allowed to save the rest of his family— his spouses and other children— if anything ever happened to them.

Something inside of him breaks.

Then he should just rid the world of anything that might threaten his family. Anything that has threatened his family.

He goes on to try to wipe whatever organization that was off the census in every way that matters.

Remember how the world has immune systems to defeat any foreign substance?

Maybe whatever had sent him to the human world twice had automatically slapped limiters on him to prevent the universe from trying to wipe him out, maybe it was Masaki who “tamed” his powers via sealing them, either way even with the limiters on he's going wild.

Until all the forces come bearing down on him and corner him— and that's when Masaki is the one to find him.

(Akito had to take all three kids and haul ass because their entire family is a target now by both greedy/paranoid people and the immune systems via association to Delkira. Fun.)

I've got nothing but vague-ass vibes and no concrete information, but… all three of the parents die. Delkira and Masaki first (the power limiter gets taken off and he goes down in a blaze), Akito last.

This leaves Seiya alone to raise his younger siblings.

They live on the run, switching from one place to the other, maybe they even get taken in by some organization, it's still vibes for now.

It's a stressful thing. For Seiya, who's still just a teen, doing his best for his younger siblings, and they've all just lost their home and parents and also Yuuya is in constant pain

Okay, so

Evil cycles are sort of like, returning to one's instincts, being robbed of reason and sapience, that sort of thing, right?

(And RtO is kinda like c-ptsd as in those posts)

Y'know how with humans, trauma responses, that fight-or-flight stuff, it's not tied to logic and whatnot, it's more tied to instincts

It's the animal inside of you trying to shield both body and psyche

Because humans are still animals

Same principle here.

So Maiya is a difficult child to raise, much less by another child, and her hectic and traumatic childhood absolutely affected her negatively

She couldn't make friends, people didn't like her because she was too loud too much too selfish— and she ended up internalizing all that. A stain on a pristine canvas. A demonic wretch.

Seiya actually tries to summon a demon or find a way to the Netherworld in hopes of sending his younger siblings to a world that might accept them more than this world, but his earlier attempts were unsuccessful.

Considering one can get prosecuted for being summoned, I imagine there's some level of choice and agency involved in the whole shebang which is why Seiya was unsuccessful— no demon was choosing to accept his call, but on the other hand Kalego got involuntarily summoned twice (I mean the contract-forming ones, not all the times he got summoned after said contract formed) so. Who knows, really.

(Maybe the barrier between worlds actually prevents involuntary summons and Kalego only canonically got forced into becoming Iruma's familiar because there's no world-dividing border between them and the pull of the summoning circle is much stronger, question mark?)

Those failed summons and a lack of response only reinforced the unwanted-unloved-unworthy feeling in Maiya's mind, and solidified Yuuya/Iruma's “nobody is coming” sentiment.

“well since they don't want to accept my siblings, FINE, I'll fucking do it my fucking self” — Seiya, definitely

Did I mention Seiya would've been 14-15 at this point?

So like. The two siblings with demonic blood. They… definitely have some spicy variety of evil cycles/RtO

At some point Maiya runs away because she's overwhelmed by how she can't find anyone who's like her (aside from her family), feels like she's being a burden on Seiya, halfway almost wishing to die by some accident, and convinced that surely nobody will come looking for her— demons didn't come for her, her parents are dead, Seiya's just so exhausted, she doesn't get along with humans, but it does set her two brothers to try and find her.

Somewhere along the way, name changes happen, and Yuuya's alias “Iruma” was probably born out of a joke but hey if it works it works

This kind of on-the-run sci-fi type premise is where Iruma learnt to deal with machinery, learnt to deal with magic tools, learnt to pilot some sick-ass vehicles, dealt with many many near-death situations, needed this hypervigilance and paranoia, it was to survive all this because while Seiya certainly tried his best, he himself was also very young and also when Maiya was with them, he had to watch her too and she's basically a feral ball of anger that's constantly lashing out.

(Ameri in her evil cycle probably reminded Iruma of Maiya, her exhaustion would've reminded him of Seiya)

Death was a constant companion in that kind of setting. People die and they leave and you leave them and nothing ever lasts.

Cherry blossoms only bloom for a couple of weeks and peak for a couple of days. They're a symbol of rebirth and renewal and stuff yeah but they also represent the fleeting nature of life— how life is short and while it may be beautiful, it is gone far too soon. Cherry blooming windows even in the hometown they had to leave behind became shorter and shorter due to what the world was becoming. Full of death and pollution and pain.

The cherry tree that Iruma created in the Netherworld is ever-blooming, at least in the AU because I don't remember if it's canon (the tree kinda exited the narrative pretty damn fast), and it might represent his desire for a less precarious life for himself and other, a kind world where life doesn't need to be fleeting.

Where was I— oh yeah the backstory. Ehhh I'll skip over a lot because I feel like people won't be that much interested in stuff that doesn't involve canon characters so we immediately jump to the dire point in the backstory where their lives are in even more peril than before— maybe Maiya got involved in some especially dangerous shit and her brothers finally found her and things blew up— and as a desperate measure, Seiya takes up a solution he once gave up on already.

He tries to summon a demon.

Yep, Sullivan is here. I haven't figured out how he got here.

(Maybe smth about the location of summons, maybe something else, I dunno)

(Oh but what if it were something like Iruma or Maiya's blood containing Delkira's mana during the summoning process that caught Sullivan's attention)

Things blow up in a different way, in an interpersonal way, because the kids absolutely do not trust that a demon is finally coming to their aid

Maybe Maiya had even finally found a community in the dangerous underbelly shit she was involved in— and doesn't want to leave that certainty for something she doesn't know, even though a huge part of her pain was formed by the fact that no demon ever came for her and her brothers and that must surely mean they will never be accepted by demons. It feels like an insult, too little too late. Also she's still mad at her brothers for trying to get her out of a path she's chosen in the first place, never mind this fucking stranger.

Iruma doesn't have a sense of home or anything, he's been on the move basically all his life, so he doesn't feel as attached to the human world and all its various phantasmals as Maiya does, but he refuses to leave either one of his siblings behind, one of whom doesn't wanna leave and the other is totally fine with being left behind because he figures Sullivan wouldn't want the child that doesn't have Delkira's blood.

Sullivan is caught in this family drama. Like me when I'm stuck in the car with my mother and sister when they're arguing.

They cannot reach a consensus but they do agree that they gotta find a way to send Sullivan back at least. Again, haven't figured out why he can't just go back willy-nilly a la canon but it is what it is.

On the brink of them finding their way, things go to shit, whatever nonsense was chasing Maiya in the first place manages to corner and separate them, Maiya is the first to die— before the others scramble to reunite and my good god they are not okay about her death. Not even Sullivan despite the girl having been nothing but hostile to him.

One of Delkira's blood, dead in a horrific manner.

(Maybe they even try to take her still-dying body [more durable because demon blood mixed with some other mysterious phantasmal juice] for ✨scientific purposes✨ and Sullivan kills anyone who even attempts.)

(The funerary rites were bare-bones and desolate— but at least she got a funeral. Their three parents… not so much)

Anyhow, they find a way, Sullivan and Iruma get booted into the Netherworld, Seiya stays behind to “shut the gate” from this side, whatever that means and… dies. I don't know how much sense this makes but he gets injured or poisoned with something that puts them all on a deadline and… he doesn't come along because he won't make it anyways or something.

Iruma… is not okay.

He descends into despair and lashes out in agony— everything he cared about, everyone he loved, was dead. He attacks Sullivan, attacks Opera, even tries to end his own existence, to the point where Sullivan has no choice but to put a memory-suppression spell and a Chill Out Please spell on the kid because he was a danger to both himself and everyone else around him.

Balam gets called in as personal physician, yadda yadda, we loop back to the start of this AU with Iruma enrolling into Babyls.

Back to the Harvest Festival.

Boy is… obviously not doing well.

And then he hears it.

The release of a bowstring.

You guys know how there's this ceremony in Japan, where an archer draws a bow, and releases the bowstring— without an arrow— and the sound of the fully drawn bowstring being released is supposed to ward off harm and whatever? Remember that Masaki, one of the three parents, was an archer?

Anyways the kids were blessed with this ceremony when they were born, Seiya and Maiya had already used up that blessing in other near-death situations separate from the ones they died in, Iruma's is only coming in now.

Iruma gets to have a conversation with an echo of Masaki— and Ali maybe regains his memories as Delkira? The latter part is still up in the air but the former absolutely happens.

Masaki's echo guides Iruma into taking up the bow and shooting it to destroy the illusion.

The Harvest Festival proceeds, maybe THIS is when Ali regains Delkira's memories in full, y'know that “so it's you” vision from canon but kinda different, the Legendary Leaf turns into cherry trees in full bloom, and Iruma… cries.

He has a lot to deal with.

Demons around him do notice how exhausted and spent he seems but they chalk it up to him being fatigued after lasting through a rough Harvest Festival.

The Misfits and especially the 3/4ths of the Love Quartet definitely notice something off though. They just can't place what, but are willing to give Iruma some space.

More vagueness. But the mental image of Sullivan saying “It was going to happen. It was always going to happen.” in such a sorrowful, tired voice lives rent-free in my head.

Y'know that time post Harvest Festival Clara and Iruma go visit Azz's house? I still don't know if Sabro is there too (maybe) but. Even after Iruma gets that stellar advice from Amaryllis, he still decides to tell them some part of the story.

That's way generous. He tells them his true name, that he's regained his memories, and “You know, Azz-kun, Clara, Sabnock-kun? The pink fluffy tree I grew in Suzy-sensei's class? Where I'm from, they... they don't bloom all the time. They only bloom in spring— and only for a couple weeks, if that, more like a couple days. They didn't last. They were beautiful but they didn't last. It was kinda like that. My life back then. People came and went. They died and they left and we left and… I won't go into specifics. I'm— that was the kind of place I was from.”

I probably should think more about how they'd react to that but I've been working on this draft for like three days at this point, I don't know if it will turn into four days, my brain is high-key getting fried with all this. So I'm gonna grossly oversimplify the next arc and only briefly talk about the Heartbreaker.

(Plenty of quartet developing stuff between Harvest and Music buuuut as I said my brain is not okay)

So in this AU, Poro became a recluse in the aftermath of Delkira's disappearance.

Okay before we move on w this post, I've seen Poro being referred to by he, she, and they, all three pronouns, from different translations and such, and for the sake of shenanigans I will be cycling through them all because hey, Poro shares the same pronouns as me and that's fun! Please don't try to tell me Poro is one thing or another because I will ignore you.

So anyway Sullivan tried to invite Poro to judge for Music Festivals in Babyls before, but Poro never accepted the invitations because he couldn't muster it in him to create or enjoy anything anymore.

Cue Royal One opening

Cue Poro getting her yearly invitation

They go this time. Of course they do.

He finds out that Iruma is actually Delkira's child.

I do not have a concrete grasp on how she'd react but I'm guessing Not Well At All

Definitely wouldn't like the fact that Delkira's dead, for one, and the fact that Delkira left to go and have a child elsewhere? In the human world at that?

No matter how you slice Poro's feelings towards Delkira, be it platonic or romantic (I lean towards the latter but also sometimes the former, you do you) that is NOT a fun thing to find out

She still joins the Six Fingers but there's a lingering sense of wrongness from how they talk about Delkira and the world Delkira created, how Baal built a castle over the river Poro's friend loved, how they want to tear down everything he worked for

Poro didn't care about the world because everything lost meaning to them due to their grief but… what if he started to care about the world again? What if there was a period between them appearing publicly again and then being recruited? What if Poro came to get attached to the world Delkira fought to build? What then?

What about this child? All that remains of Delkira?

Lots of conflicted feelings, trying to tell themselves things will be fine when Delkira is back, they will bring him back, but also. Something's just not right.

Aka, Poro's getting put into a blender and blitzed to hell and back.

In the Heartbreaker arc, Iruma's team gets decked to hell and back with various gadgets. It's fun.

Sabro and Iruma face off against Atori together. Iruma may or may not have baited Sabro into biting him after Atori beats the shit out of Sabro already in his evil cycle.

Power up, baby

Balam still arrives. It's a whole mess.

One possible outcome of this is Poro suddenly switching sides.

Okay I don't got anything anymore for now I'm dead.

Miscellaneous stuff:

Iruma's AU uniform design: still blue, sailor flaps like girl uniforms, has a false waistcoat kinda thing? Looks like two layers but it's just one layer? The center-front of the garment is shorter than the side and back parts. I don't know how long the blazer gets, too long and it'd look way too much like Azz's but Ameri also rocks a long coat so. Maybe Iruma can have that too. Mask like Balam's. The feather earring Bachiko gives him. Ponytail but the bang on his left side of the face is tucked into the ponytail to showcase the earring. Ring, of course. Oh! I know! The uniform kinda looks like the college uniforms from Ancient Magus Bride season 2! I don't even remember whether I said or not he sometimes shows up in a skirt and nobody bats an eye but it's a thing.

Azz and Sabro have some sort of feather accessory. I think Sabro would rock a wild-looking feather mantle. Maybe Azz's feather accessory can look neater? It's an homage to Balam. I was so sad he didn't get to give his mark to his students in canon so here.

At least one of their feather accessories is green for both Balam and Clara.

Clara, my girl, definitely needs some spicing up. I'll put a pin on that, I'm tired.

I guess Kalego is still the homeroom teacher, I see no reason to change it, even if the familiar shenanigans that got him saddled with this class are absent from the AU, I'm sure there'll be some other wack-ass nonsense that makes the other teachers and Sullivan rope him into becoming the Misfits' homeroom teacher anyways.

This AU was partially inspired by those fics where the teachers find out he doesn't have wings. I like them, but I felt there was a gap between his actual source of trauma vs what the teachers think he went through that made it somewhat difficult for me to get invested, but that's just a me thing.

Also the Iruma-is-Delkira's-son thing, I'd be sad if this were actually canon, I don't think it's canon and I don't want this to be canon. I think it would take away from his growth and journey— like that reveal of Aria from The Villainess Turns The Hourglass turning out to have royal lineage after all. This is just me having fun with “but what if he WAS Delkira's son though 👀”

Also thought Iruma who lives up to his whole Magitools association would be fun.

I definitely want to get into Netherworld politics in the future, especially the Trickster Plan, Poro's defection being accompanied by a reveal of Iruma's lineage, the other two schools and the grandsons, all that jazz, all that mess, but I don't got the energy to think about those right now, if any of y'all could throw me your thoughts and stuff that'd be great because developing an AU alone is boring and disheartening 😭

Probably ended up removing Ameri's manga collection by accident. Whoopsies. But I did her in a way that resonated with me personally.

Tying the cherry tree to a bazillion things like a nexus where lines converge. A fortunate encounter that changed you (Delkira meeting Masaki for the first time), memories of happiness and belonging (the Munakata family), grief and loss and the fleeting nature of life (all the deaths, humans don't live that long compared to demons too), hope, rebirth, renewal (hope of the Netherworld being changed? it did seem significantly more cruel before Delkira and he did change a lot even if it's not canonically specified how, just that he was “responsible for drastic reforms”), a symbol of coexisting w nature, a fragment of Iruma's past but also a representation of the future (the ever-blooming tree as opposed to the fleeting blossoms)

The kanji for Munakata is comprised of 宗 (muna) meaning “religion, sect, denomination, main point, origin, essence”, and 像 (kata) meaning “image, statue, picture, figure, portrait”.

雅毅 Masaki's kanji is comprised of 雅 (masa) meaning “elegance, refinement, grace” and 毅 (ki) meaning “perseverance, fortitude, determination”.

I don't got kanji for Akito but they're just Mordred from this original story idea I had a while back, a continuation after that I suppose. Yippe! (https://www.tumblr.com/tired-reader-writer/748637984044285952/bestie-i-didnt-know-you-had-arthurian-inspired?source=share)

Seiya's kanji is comprised of 靖 (sei) meaning “peaceful, calm, tranquil” and 矢 (ya) meaning “arrow, dart”.

Maiya's kanji is comprised of 舞 (mai) meaning “dance, flit, circle, wheel, revolve” and 矢 (ya) meaning “arrow, dart”.

Yuuya's kanji is comprised of 友 (yuu) meaning “friend, companion” and 矢 (ya) meaning “arrow, dart”.

I was originally going to make Iruma's birth name be “Kiriya” and figure out the kanji situation later, but I realized the names Seiya, Maiya, and Iruma, all had five English letters each and I thought it was fun so I sought to find a name that had the right number of English letters. I won't talk about the other candidates here as this post is getting ridiculously long already, but I'm glad I chose “Yuuya” with the help of my friend.

Also it's been day 5 since I started working on this thing by this point by the way.

I do think child abuse exists in the Netherworld, I know it's a trope that has demon parents treasure their kids more and abuse/neglect is an unfathomable thing to them because life is difficult in the Netherworld and such but… I don't believe that's the case. You need only look at Kiriwo's backstory to see abuse clear in it. The teachers at Babyls do seem to value and treasure their students though, maybe that's where the perception was coming from.

(Seriously, how did anyone lose the Dorodoro brothers in the first place though…)

The human world stuff was… hm. Not relevant to the main body of the AU, per se, it's just me going ham on the concepts because I got carried away. Oops?

Iruma's bow here looks like a really gnarly modern compound bow. Maybe with some glowy lines and stuff for that sci-fi flair. Bachiko said upon seeing it: “Boy, what is that contraption?” “It's a bow, sensei.” “No it ain't.”