#azami too technically

[organichotchoco]

Who was your favorite bird in Hatoful? I happened to adore that one little sparrow that theres a secret ending with. Love her.

hmmmmmmm I'm tied between Yuuya and Hitori lol. Azami (the sparrow I think you were talking about) is also pretty cool tho! The ending where we beat up the punkgeons and start a biker gang with her is one of my faves!

Onto my birdie favoritism struggles (Spoilers ahead!):

On one wing Yuuya is sexy, suave, a child murderer, a super cool spy, hates himself a bit and is hiding his true feelings under his carefreeness and flirtyness, and a legit (Christmas) snacc

On the other wing, Hitori is...Hitori. Lost his family, coherced a depressed person into group suicide, but left them for dead and stole their identity, is constantly hallucinating his dead brother and is just mentally unstable in general, is super sleepy, and shot Shuu (Major Hitori W)

...Yeah I think I like Hitori more lol. Yuuya will always be close to my heart tho (and my tummy lol)!

[organichotchoco]

@pap3rcutz-n-peril Since I don't want to spoil anyone, I'm just going to say that pretty much everyone has a sad/dark backstory.

Except Okosan, Okosan's just Okosan (then again, I'm pretty sure Shuu is giving him steriods)

[sekaiijijou]

8/15.

(higher quality version here because tumblr hates me </3)

[lcs-library]

Short fluffy fic for @ashipiko about her sillies<33333 It’s pre-relationship and has a sort of “fell first, fell harder” dynamic, so I hope you enjoy hehe they were so fun to write!!!

“C’mon, it’ll be fun! Please? Because I’m the coolest and you love me so much?” Ashi pleaded, clasping her hands together and giving Azami the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster. Even still, she couldn’t disregard the slight blush dotting his cheeks at the l-word.

“…Fine.” Azami accepted after some hesitation, having to turn away to protect himself from getting ten times more flustered than he already was at her antics.

“Yay!” She cheered, dropping the cute act to throw her hands in the air with glee. “We’re gonna have loads of fun, prommy!” She said with a wink.

As it had turned out, her cousins had managed to get a couple of tickets to a new museum in Veludo through some connections. Apparently, it was meant to combine both art and general history, but she decided it wouldn’t be much fun on her own, so who better to take than Azamin? He mentioned liking history one time, right? And Ashi could look at the art! Win-win!

When they arrived(with Azami having to practically spring after Ashi), they were met with a grand exterior, showcasing the large “grand opening” banner. The two gawked for but a moment before Ashi dragged her friend inside by the wrist eagerly, grinning like a madman.

It may have been a good thing that she didn’t see the wreck Azami had become at the simple affection. Not even that, but the fact that she was so casual about it? He could barely comprehend how she didn’t think anything of it.

Once their tickets were accepted and they entered the lobby, Ashi turned to Azami.

“So, where to first? You’ve prolly got better taste in this stuff than I do, Azamin!” She exclaimed, squeezing his hand slightly, only deepening the hues on Azami’s cheeks.

“They’ve got dinosaur bones, so, uh, let’s see those.” Azami replied quietly, avoiding eye contact.

“Dinos, huh? Okay! Sounds super hypesies!” Ashi beamed, throwing up a peace sign before dragging Azami across the museum to find the exhibit.

Azami really wished he could let go. This was completely, utterly, totally improper, even if they were just friends. That didn’t change the fact that it was gross! And in public? What would other people think?

And yet, it felt…nice? To age someone who genuinely wanted to spend time with him was something new. To be connected to someone both physically and emotionally was something he had to admit he missed, even just a little.

Then, all of a sudden, someone who wants it just as much as he does shows up and thing actually start to feel alright? Not only that, but she had a similar mentality about age and how they were treated because of it? It all clicked together a little too perfectly, like they were made for each other.

Wait, why was his heart beating faster at the thought?

“Azamin?” Ashi’s voice interrupted his thoughts. Oh, no, now it was hard to look at her. Shit. He put on a brave face and responded as best as he could.

“What’s up?” A voice crack. Why, God?

“We’re here!”

So they were. Azami gazed around the room, taking everything in.

He almost looked like a little kid in the way his eyes shined, Ashi thought. It was cute, something rare for him.

Soon, she found herself skipping after Azami as he prattled on and on about every single creature, giving her an endless supply of facts as she supported him.

“Where’d you learn all of these, Azamin? They’re, like, super cool!”

“I just liked ‘em as a kid…” he muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he realized how he was acting.

God, he was so adorable, Ashi couldn’t stand it. She let out a hearty chuckle as he tried not to let her feelings show, lest Azami kill her for seeing him like this.

“You done here?” She asked cheerfully.

“Yeah. Let’s go see the paintings you wanted.”

“Okie! Race you there!” She dashed off.

“Wh- hey! You shouldn’t do that here!” Azami cried, rushing after her.

[vendetta-if]

LoL i can't help but imagine Yvette, Luka and Takashi if MC romance Rin in a western cowboy style standoff fighting for supremacy in the place of being the coolest favorite Grandparent for MC children.

How rich is Yvette anyway? since it's Canon that she's already rich to begin with being a scion of one of the richest old money family in the city. Also how about Takashi wife how would she react/act in being a Grandma? Maybe even include Rin younger siblings in the reaction?

MC’s grandchildren would be sooo spoiled… 😭😭 This doesn’t even include Grandpa, who would still love to tell stories to his great-grandkids and spoil them too… if he’s still around 😔

As for Yvette’s wealth. While her family is indeed one of the old money families of Elysium City, they were quite a bit far from the richest on the ladder of the elites of the city. They were still rich, of course, but they also haven’t done anything crazy or innovative that could’ve generated more wealth for their family.

But, ever since Yvette rose to become one of the most famous superheroes in the city, her wealth has grown a lot and she still has enough money for her and her grandchildren and their children to live comfortably.

As for Azami, Rin’s mother, she would be really pleased to finally have grandchildren. Whereas her husband, Takashi, is involved in a friendly rivalry and competition with Luka and Yvette, Azami sees that rivalry as childish and beneath her. Her actions would speak louder than their gifts… right? If any of MC’s and Rin’s children has interest in music, she would be more than happy to help them improve and cultivate it 🎵

As for the twins, Rin’s little siblings, they would be excited. I’m not really sure about the exact age difference because I don’t have access to my notes right now, but there’s probably around 9 to 10 years or more age difference between the twins and MC’s children (also depends on when MC and Rin decide to have kids). So, the twins are pretty excited to finally be able to become big siblings figure of some kind 😁 What do you mean they’re technically uncle and aunt now? They’re still too young! They’re gonna be the cool and fun big brother and sister! 😎

[jujumin-translates]

Event | Ayakashi Summer Festival | Chapter 2

Izumi: So, I was invited out to the shopping district today and it seemed like it was a meeting to discuss the festival.

Kumon: So there’s gonna be a festival this year too!?

Izumi: Yep, but this year they’re going to change things up a bit to liven up Veludo.

Taichi: So it’ll be different from the usual festival then?

Izumi: Kumon-kun, do you remember when you helped out at “Ayakashi FES” with Sakuya-kun and Azami-kun?

Kumon: The one they held on Veludo Way?

Izumi: That’s the one. The organizers of “Ayakashi FES” and the ones of the festival held in the shopping district are joining together to hold a new summer festival.

Kumon: Eh, for real!? That sounds awesome!

Izumi: So I was asked if our troupe could help with “Ayakashi FES” since we helped them before.

Omi: Got it. If that’s the case, I’d love to help.

Izumi: In addition to that, GOD-za usually is in charge of the stage at the summer festival, so…

Izumi: They’d like both troupes to help out with the joint planning this time.

Kumon: Seriously!? The planning is so cool!

Taichi: Does that mean you saw Reni-san at the meeting today?

Izumi: No, apparently Kamikizaka-san couldn’t come because of scheduling conflicts, so Haruto-kun and Shift-kun came instead.

Misumi: Really~!? Then, could that mean…

Masumi: Is Madoka going to help out too?

Misumi: Hm~m… He’s not technically a troupe member, so I dunno~. But I hope he can come~.

Azuma: Fufu, I hope so too.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Izumi: Thanks for agreeing to help with the summer festival, guys!

Izumi: Since it’s during summer vacation, a lot of the others couldn’t fit it into their schedules, so I really appreciate the help.

Masumi: I’d do anything for you.

Guy: Yes, leave it to us.

Omi: I’m looking forward to the planning.

Misumi: Me too~!

Azuma: It’s not something I do very often. And I’m not very good at dealing with the heat, but I’ll do my best.

Hisoka: I propose a marshmallow stall.

Omi: Haha, I wouldn’t mind that plan.

Izumi: The festival meeting starts right away tomorrow, so I’d like to discuss that with you…

Izumi: You’ll all have to go on the first day. But after that, you’re okay to take turns.

Hisoka: Got it.

Izumi: For a brief explanation, you can look over the printout I just handed out.

Izumi: Well then, that’s all for today. See you guys tomorrow.

Omi: Yeah, see you tomorrow.

Azuma: Let’s do our best.

Masumi: …Misumi.

Misumi: What is it, Masumi~?

Masumi: I ran into Madoka at the university today and asked him about the festival.

Masumi: He’s not helping out at the summer festival, but he’s planning on going to it.

Misumi: Madoka’s gonna come to the summer festival!?

Misumi: Thanks for letting me know, Masumi~!

Masumi: It’s nothing, I just asked when I saw him.

Misumi: Ehehe, I’ll do my best to make it a summer festival that Madoka will enjoy!

[ ⇠ Previous Part ] • [ Next Part ⇢ ]

[kozakuwas]

okay, clearing eyes rant i've had in my notes app for months that i'm finally posting to tumblr

okay. snake of clearing eyes. me ga saeru hebi. this fucker. word vomiting here since i've had these thoughts for So Long and i need to put them all somewhere.

clearing is obviously the villain of the story. he is the sole cause of everything bad happening in kagepro. he also represents trauma itself to the mekakushi dan and azami. i believe he is more supposed to be perceived as not a solid character like azami for example, but rather a force.

jin intentionally doesn't really give him a defined personality, same goes with the other snakes. they act upon their namesakes and clearing is no exception. his name, "clearing eyes", is supposed to mean he has more awareness, more sentience, than others. makes sense as he serves as azami's intelligence. due to this, he believes he is "above" the other snakes despite not really being too different from the others. he acts upon his namesake like them. he still serves azami just like them. he doesn't really stand out, which may be why he tries to gain autonomy.

clearing represents everything wrong with the dan and azami, he was born from azami's trauma, he was born from a lack of love, therefore he cannot quite understand it and deems it as a useless human emotion. he doesn't feel love towards azami, it's more devotion. he was created to serve azami as with the other snakes. azami technically is a mother to him as she "gave birth" to him, but he does not view her as such. he only views her as his master. his reason for his actions throughout the story is for the sole purpose of fulfilling the wish that azami made that brought him into existence. he is devoted to this, he is devoted to azami regardless of who else he's serving (ex. kenjiro or marry) and he holds no love for anyone.

clearing really isn't supposed to be viewed as a character like azami or the dan. jin shows this with how he writes clearing, even clearing himself is aware of this. he knows his place in the narrative, he acts exactly how you'd imagine a monster to act. how he *thinks* a monster should act, like having a disregard for the lives and emotions of humans or causing tragedy wherever he goes. his true role is to basically make azami remember her roots, bring her back to her lonely and sorrowful existence as a monster because it's how *he* thinks a monster should live. applying all these human characteristics to a character that intentionally lacks these things is where things tend to go wrong. when you do this with clearing, it takes away from his character, in my opinion. it literally goes against his character.

[emblemxeno]

Finished Chapter 6!

Zeke got Dahlia, Praxis, Newt, Azami. Rex got Gorg. Nia got Sheba. Morag got Electra and Herald.

I got Poppibuster too, and I'll use him mostly on Zeke I think.

Tantal is the locale I recall the least from my first place, and I can't really tell why, cuz it's not forgettable in the slightest. Awesome music, great aesthetics, and not too many obnoxious ice physics. If anything the only complaint I have is that between the vertical structure and wide areas, it can be a little unfulfilling to explore at times.

But it makes sense for its backstory, which honestly is my favorite of the main inhabited Titans in the game. Being strongarmed/blackmailed about Addam's history at the expense of their Titan's-and therefore their people's-health is fucking brutal, and extremely poignant given how resources get drained from indigenous populations for political leverage all the time in the real world.

The main story itself really cranks up here as well, given Pyra/Mythra's decision and way of thinking, subtly keeping Rex in the dark about what they want for the world leading both to despair at the climax. And while technically not a part of Chapter 6, the scene at the inn right after Pyra's taken is just a masterful work of character writing, and really pull's the team together even more.

I also quite like Zeke's complicated relationship with his homeland and his father, it makes for some nice drama that begins and resolves well in the same chapter.

Gameplay wise, I keep fiddling with the custom difficulty so I don't breeze through everything, I'm still a bit overleveled lol. Unlocking Tantal for Merc Missions and shopping, which was a breath of fresh air. Did a lot of Blade Quests in this chapter too (haven't been talking about them so far because I'm considering doing a tier list of how I liked each of them when I beat the game); iirc, I did Electra's, Wulfric's, Azami's, and finally completed Ursula's. Only 4 Blades left to pull from the gacha, then the rest are story or sidequests.

Knowing what's coming in Chapter 7, I get even more excited! Though for now I am eepy.

[a3playshipbattleroyale]

WELCOME TO THE A3! PLAY SHIP BATTLE ROYALE!

"Holy shit, another Tumblr poll!?" you ask. Well. Yes. Why? Um. My friends brought up the idea and I have terrible impulse control. ANYWAY.

DO YOU LIKE A3! PLAYS!? DO YOU LIKE MAKING THE FUNNY LITTLE A3! PLAY CHARACTERS KISS!? BOY, DO I HAVE THE POLL FOR YOU!

Welcome, one and all, to the A3! Play Ship Battle Royale, where we pit our favorite a3 play ships against other people's favorite a3 play ships and hopefully spawn either a couple new ao3 fic tags, a silly crossover piece of art, a newfound appreciation for a3 plays, or...! I ran out of stuff. But you get the gist.

SUBMISSION RULES AND GUIDELINES

- The ship must be a play ship. The characters do not have to be from the same play! Extended playverse ships are allowed, provided that at least one person in the ship is a canon play character AND you can provide a visual of the extended play character/s. Ships between a play character and an actor are NOT allowed for the bracket at this time (but maybe it'll change in the future).

- The play ship in question does NOT need to be a main troupe/mixed play. Ships from other plays like Royal Blue or Inner Palace are allowed!

- Play characters must be within an appropriate age range with one another. I'll leave that to your discretion as to what counts as "appropriate", but as a general rule: no adults with anyone younger than college age. Also, please don't submit ships where the characters are related to one another.

- You do not have to ship the actors who play the characters, as long as you ship the play characters themselves. (Just as an example, you can submit Luke/S, even if you don't ship Citron/Tsuzuru.) Specifically, though, I will not accept ships played by Juza/Kumon/Muku, or Azami/Sakyo, even if the play ship is technically okay. I won't consider those submissions.

- In case I get a lot of submissions (like, a lot of submissions), I'll do my best to provide a mix of popularity in the poll. In case that a certain actor pairing has a lot of submitted play ships, I'll likely just choose two or three of them. If your submitted ship didn't make it, I'm really sorry! ><

- Submissions that don't follow the rules will not be considered. Also, if a certain pair makes me wildly uncomfortable, I probably won't consider it, sorry. Unless it's, like, really, really popular or something.

POLL RULES AND GUIDELINES

- Be nice to each other in the notes! If I see the shooters of any particular ship being nasty, I will give one (1) warning only. If you can't get your act together after that, I will disqualify the ship.

- Propaganda is allowed and encouraged! Silly crack fics are allowed and encouraged! Funny art is allowed and encouraged! I want everyone's brain juices to start flowing!

- This poll is run by one person, so please be patient! And please be nice, I'm fragile.

GOT THAT? YOU CAN SUBMIT YOUR SHIPS HERE!

(submissions will be open until may 19, or i'll close them if i get way too many submissions that i start struggling.)

Special shoutout to some of the other tournaments that inspired this! @weirdass-shiptournament and @a3rarepairstournament in particular! Heart emojis.

(last note, i won't be submitting any ships myself, but if you're interested in hearing my personal play ships, um. i guess you can ask, but it might take a while for me to get back to you because dms scare me, lol.)

[golden-doves]

The Garden AU Background information

Around 1,000 years after the game story-line Lambert decided to bring the Bishops back to life, he healed their wounds given by Narinder and restored their Godhood, mostly as an apology for killing them all those years ago.

The only requirement the Bishops have is that they are peaceful towards the Lamb, and that they eventually, help him protect the Garden.

However Lambert was no fool, so he waited until everyone forgave him and Narinder, and they became somewhat friends, somewhat family. (At this point Lambert and Narinder had completed the Marriage ritual long ago, so legally he is family with the bishops.)

Eventually, once everyone forgave them, (Kallamar was technically the last one to forgive them, as he was waiting for Heket too. Shamura forgave them first.) The Lamb showed the four bishops the Garden and explained how he had discovered how this place was the spot that supplied the rest of the Island with Magic and Life.

They all promptly agreed to help protect the Garden, and moved their main temple closer to the Garden. (Shamura's temple was actually the closest originally to the garden, being almost directly underneath it. So he didn't move his)

The Garden itself

(I'm only going to give a short explanation, as the full story comes into play later in the story as a crucial detail)

The garden is a medium sized patch of land in-between everyone's cults.

The Garden is rumored to be the reason that the island exists

The garden before was entirely plant matter, however in front of a magnificent rose, stood a big spot of land, perfect for creating a meeting house(This is around 100 years before he resurrects the Bishops)

Lamb was preparing for the future

Shamura and Lambert collaborated(with some of Narinder's input on the designs) on making armor for everyone when on guard duty, or Weed patrol as they like to call it.

Characters

Baksis, the eldest child he's very protective of his siblings, and just generally the ones he loves.

*He enjoys being with his siblings, even if they all are just sitting there, merely being in each other's presence.

*Baksis also enjoys cooking, and just preparing things (He was taught how to cook by Heket :D )

Kasper the middle child, also inherited that overprotective gene from his entire family.

*Kasper was a very sickly child, up until he seven years old, and there was a long stretch of time, (Like 6 months when he was 4) That Kasper almost died, Kallamar got to have practice treating a gods sickness. though.

*However he slowly got better as he got older, and hasn't gotten sick again since he was around 7.5. Kasper enjoys sports and things that involve lots of physical movement, likely from being bed-bound for 7 years.

*Because Kasper was constantly sick, he and Kallamar eventually became really close, and Kasper even asked Kallamar if he could teach him healing magic and such.

Azami, the youngest.

*Azami in fact, did not inherit the protective gene, however she is able to calm others quite easily. She also is one to quickly defend someone else if they are being bullied or harassed.

*Azami is incredibly smart, one of her favorite past-times being learning things. She and Shamura share this bond of loving knowledge, so they often spends lots of time in Shamura's library, reading until her heart is content.

*Azami is a very social person, much like her two brothers and Lambert, so, naturally, she is in a big friend group. (There's about 13 people in this group including her.) Azami was the one who brought most of her friends into the group, and she is considered the Rock of the friend group.

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

That's all for now! If I realize that I forgot something then I will update this. :)

[a3songtournament]

SIDE D, ROUND 1, MATCH 16

Girl's Paradise vs Runaway Boy A

Fan-submitted propaganda is under the cut.

Girl's Paradise

I didn’t learn that silly-ass choreography for nothing

the summer troupe's playing as girls bit to encourage kumon was already funny in the game but they took it to another level on the stage by actually CROSS-DRESSING (with varying degrees of actually looking like girls, ranging from muku's wig that's the exact same shade of pink of his hair, to the braided cords on sumi's beanie), and the song is such silly goofy fun. the actors do a good job of sounding like guys doing a bad job at impersonating girls. also there's this part where some of their voices randomly go really deep and there's laughter in the background (in the album version at least) JSDKDA THAT'S SO FUNNY. and juza's attempt at impersonating a girl..... well he tried at least and that's what matters. i especially love the part where natsu goes "💄✨👧🏻 juko? 💄✨👧🏻" and juza i mean juko goes "👹k-KYUN👹" they're so silly i love them your honour

Runaway Boy A

it's just so much fun and it's a great way to introduce azami as a newbie member (technically yes he was introduced in summer 2022 but back then he was just some guy hanging around the company) as well as his dynamic with sakyo, and such a banger way to open the play too. also matsukawa begging them to stop is so funny kjndjka

[justminawrites]

tell me, why does home taste like you?

AO3

Summary: Souma finds himself wondering what to do after Central decides to shut Polar Star down for good. A one-shot that takes place the night before the shokugeki with Eizan, in season 3.

“I can’t stand it!”

“Yuuki?”

“I don’t want the dorm to close! I want to stay here.. and cook with everyone, just like we used to!” 

Yukihira Souma stared out the window of his room in uncharacteristic silence as he pondered the events of the past two days. 

A new director, Nakiri Azami, had taken over and imposed a mandatory shutdown of all the clubs and research societies not directly approved by the also new student-run organisation, Central, that had replaced the Elite Ten. That included the Polar Star Dormitory, since it was technically housing students on school grounds. Naturally Tōtsuki students had contested this the way they had contested everything– through numerous declarations of shokugekis, though that might be extremely short-lived if what they’d seen on TV today was any indication. 

Biased votes were one thing, but simply refusing to eat the opposing contestant’s food? That was a low blow, even for this pompous, gourmet-worshipping establishment. 

Souma let out a frustrated sigh and struck his fist against the window pane with a thump; only ten days left to vacate the place.. no, there had to be something he could do. Surely Isshiki-senpai would have some idea, he was two seats higher on the Elite 10 than Eizan was; not to mention he was more attached to the dorm than any of them, but they hadn’t seen Isshiki Satoshi around at all lately– maybe Central had their claws in him too. 

Souma rose and decided to head down to the kitchen; cooking always helped him take his mind off things in the past, maybe inspiration would strike him while he was at it. Turning the key, he slipped out of room 303 and down the staircase, careful not to wake anyone while he was at it- sleep would be a luxury they couldn’t afford soon- but when the entrance to the kitchen loomed in front of him his feet turned the corner and took him out to the lobby instead. Fumio-san had always imposed a 1:00 a.m. curfew for as long as he’d been here, often to deter young delinquent chefs like him from sneaking out to get groceries at the dead of night, but today the front door was unlocked without a care. This dorm business must be getting to her too.

Souma walked out into the cold night air and prayed it wouldn’t rain. 

The sky was cloudier today, no doubt a result of the bad weather they’d been having all week, but a sliver of white moon shone brightly in the sky, surrounded by a smattering of tiny stars. He would miss this view. Souma held out his arm like he was trying to catch the faint light in his palm and hold it with him forever. 

The memory came to him then, swift and unforgiving.

“Hey.. Pops?”

“What is it, Souma?”

“What did this dorm mean to you anyway?”

Jōichirō had smiled in the way he always did when he didn’t intend on answering Souma’s question.

“It was fun.. A place where we could all freely experience each other’s cooking.”

Souma looked up to find himself wandering Isshiki’s garden, he’d ended up tracing the usual path they took every other morning, navigating his way between the leafy crop and the fenced tomatoes. He crouched down beside the cabbages and stared deeply into the dirt, like he’d find some kind of answer from the worms crawling around. 

This was stupid, he thought peevishly as the worm crawled up his shoe; honestly, this whole school was stupid. What kind of dumb, holier-than-thou elitist thought that removing extracurriculars would bring the school closer to better cooking– no correct cooking? The right way of doing things. He reminded Souma of his daughter to the T, but it was actually the other way around now, wasn’t it.

Souma frowned as he flicked the worm off. Erina had internalised her father’s teachings so deeply that she’d probably built her personality around rejecting anything Azami didn’t approve of– but he wasn’t ready to unpack all that. Especially not the previous director, Nakiri Senzaemon, showing up at the dorm in order to beg for his help. 

“Pops would know what to do,” he said quietly to no one in particular; it was true. His six-foot-three, ever-aggravating, cooking prodigy of a father always had the solution to any problem, no matter what life threw at him. If only he was around to actually give him the advice he needed. 

Souma flicked open his phone screen and pressed the redial button; the phone rang once, twice, and then–

“Hello-”

“Pops?”

“-you’ve reached Yukihira.. if it’s urgent please leave a message. Not you though, Gin.”

Voicemail, as usual. He sighed and made his way to the workshop next. 

Though it was technically rented, everyone in the dorm had affectionately dubbed it Shun’s Workshop, since every time Shun disappeared, which was often, there was about a ninety percent chance you’d find him here. 

Souma ran his fingers along the grooves and etchings of the handmade table and inhaled the faint smell of smoke. Eizan would probably tear this place down too, the bastard. This, the garden, Ryōko’s lab, Yuuki’s farm pens; and he’d do it without a second thought. 

He could see his senior’s smug face in front of him, clear as day. What’s the matter Yukihira.. finally accepted defeat? 

Souma pressed his hands against his face and tried his best not to scream. This school may be stupid and skewed but his friends didn’t deserve this. They were all talented chefs who’d worked hard to get to where they were, and if there was one thing good about this backwards institution, it was that they could all come back home and rant about it together. 

He blinked away tears.

Home. 

How long had it been since he’d called anywhere home? 

They used to live in the suburbs near his school, but after his mother died, Souma and his dad had moved into the apartment above Yukihira’s instead. The closest he could come to it was probably the diner itself, he’d spent nearly all his long nights in its kitchens, often sleeping over when his father was away on business trips. Kiyo-san used to come by to babysit occasionally, much to his chagrin, and his middle school friends had loved to watch him cook free food but hardly anyone had seen him out of its four walls.

The Polar Star Dormitory was a strong contender too, if he was being honest. Even though the place was huge, with fifty bedrooms and an endless square footage of land that encompassed even a lake, he’d never really felt alone here. 

There was always someone in the kitchens, or the garden. Isshiki-senpai would pop out from the built in Ceiling Area (how did he get up there in the first place?) or whisper suspiciously into the speaking tubes that ran through the whole building; Yuuki’s wild game would escape her room at least once a week and turn the place into NatGeo; and they would receive fire hazard notices on a regular basis because of Shun’s ‘creative directions’. 

The noise and laughter was often infectious and Souma had begun to rely on it to get him through the week. They’d barely made it through their gruelling Stagiaires and the Moon Banquet Festival in the last few months, but the dorm had always been here, steady and constant as its matron, ready to welcome them back with open arms and a warm meal.

Souma checked his phone and swore under his breath. A matron who’d most likely locked him out by now. No matter how much Megumi vouched for it, he had no intention of spending the night in the barn. 

Souma turned and ran back to the main door, relieved to find it still open, quietly shook off his shoes and padded his way up the polished stairwell. 

He was about to go into his room when a small creak caught his attention. The door to the room next to his was slightly ajar - Was Tadokoro awake? - hinges fallen victim to the breeze he’d let into the house when he’d come in. 

Souma hesitated before gently nudging it open to find moonlight spilling through the windows and illuminating a room identical to his, save for a figure curled on the bed, her dark blue tresses like ink on the white sheets and eyes that were very clearly shut tight. 

He knew he should close the door, knew he should leave her to rest instead of bothering her with his dumb feelings, but his feet remained rooted to the spot. He waited a few seconds and then–

“Tadokoro,” he whispered softly, not moving from the doorway, “Are you asleep?”

“Mmm?” The girl replied, turning the other way and jostling the blanket in the process.

Of course she’s asleep, you idiot, he berated himself, Just like you should be if you’re going to wake up tomorrow and figure out what to do. 

“Soum.. Hah.. Souma-kun?” Megumi said, yawning. She’d turned back around and cracked open one eye blearily to find the redheaded boy looking at her guiltily, unable to move from his place at the door. 

“Are ya.. alright?”

“Uhm.. yeah. All good here. Sorry I disturbed you. I was just checking to make sure, y’know.. stuff.” He finished lamely, looking anywhere but her eyes. 

Megumi blinked a few times, sensing the lie, and then pulled the covers off one corner of the bed to make room for him.

“S’okay..” She patted the empty space beside her like an invitation.

“What’s wrong?”

Souma reluctantly shuffled in but sat at foot of the bed frame instead. 

If her mother were here, Megumi knew she’d be on the receiving end of the worst scolding of her life and she’d deserve it too. A boy in her room in the dead of night, it was so far from proper that she might as well be digging herself an early grave, but she was barely awake and her senses had dulled everything into a dream-like quality. 

Dim light flickered through the window and highlighted the panes of Souma’s face, the steady curve of his nose, his sharp jaw and the slightly puckered scar on his left eyebrow. Except those eyebrows were now furrowed in a mixture of concern and frustration. 

She waited for him to say something but he simply stared at the mattress in front of him intently, like he was burning a hole through it with his eyes. Megumi reached out an arm to pet his hair, but his hand caught it first and unconsciously threaded his fingers through hers as he looked up at her. 

“Tadokoro,” he began, looking at their intertwined hands like they were the most normal thing in the world, “I’m scared.”

Megumi opened her eyes a little more. It had been hard to see before, but the red rimmed eyes and the faint spots of wetness on his tracksuit spelled out that he’d been crying. 

“S’okay,” she soothed again, trying not to think too much about why the strongest person she knew at this school was holding her hand like he was about to break.

“We all get scared sometimes, Souma-kun. You don’t hafta be strong all the time.”

He closed his eyes like he was absorbing her words, like he was letting them sink into his skin.

“I mean look at me,” she smiled sleepily, her accent running rampant, “Ah’m always scared, panickin’ like a cricket in fishin’ season. But Ah’m still here, aint I?” 

Souma snorted, slipping his hand out of hers just as quickly, and clutched his stomach to keep himself from laughing.

“Ah’m.. still.. cricket..” He choked out, unable to form the words as he nearly toppled back. Megumi stopped smiling when she saw his reaction.

“Souma-kun, don’t tease!” She mumbled into her pillow mortified as he snickered again. 

“Tadokoro! What do you take me for? I would never,” he vowed as he proceeded to do just that.

“Ah’m as serious as can be– serious as a ‘ard ‘addack.”

“Oh, you’re terrible.” Megumi moped, hiding her face under the covers. The laughter faded and she peeked one eye out to see Souma staring right past her. 

It was nothing new, she’d seen him zone out plenty of times, but it seemed different this time. Sadder somehow. He was probably driving himself crazy trying to figure out how to postpone their early eviction, a very Souma-like thing to do, but even she knew that it was too much to hope for a breakthrough. Eizan-senpai had rigged the shokugeki as he would no doubt do again and again, if there was anyone left to challenge him that is. The performance today may have broken most, if not all their spirits.

“Souma-kun?” His eyes slid to her face on cue but they were still a million miles away.

“Don’t worry about the dorm okay.. we’ll figure something out.”

“Mhm.” He nodded vacantly, still lost in thought. 

She wished she could bring him back with words alone, but that had never worked with Souma. Apart from challenging him to a shokugeki on the spot, she doubted many things could get through the bubble of pressure he’d locked himself in. Poor, selfless Souma-kun, she thought. It must be hard to constantly be protecting.

Megumi didn’t know when she’d begun noticing the changes but once she had she couldn’t stop.

Souma’s hair grown longer over the summer, the unruliness almost endearing now, and his face had gotten leaner. The shadows under his eyes were darker than she’d remembered, he was barely getting any sleep before, and she’d caught a glimpse of a few more burn marks on his hand than last time. No doubt from the stone oven they’d used at the Moon Banquet Festival. He’d been so insistent about not using gloves too– its gotta to feel authentic, Tadokoro. 

She looked up to see that Souma had gone back to glaring at the floor now, brows scrunched together like he could simply will a solution into existence.  

Without thinking, Megumi reached out her arm again and this time, gently traced the scar on his eyebrow with her thumb. To her surprise, he leaned into the touch, the fog in his eyes clearing as her warm hand cupped his cheek, and lazily drew over the edges of the wound. The dreamy quality of the night returned and she could feel herself emboldened by its ambience.

“Souma-kun?”

“Mm?” He intoned, his eyes drooping. She paused for a second.

“Your scar is cool.”

“Hm?” He was awake again.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, she scolded, withdrawing her hand in absolute shame. She could’ve said anything in that moment but she went with ‘your scar is cool’? Kami-sama– why, why am I like this? 

Souma gave her a strange look and then cracked a grin.

“Isn’t it? It’s actually an incredible story.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I got it fighting off a customer actually. He was trying to leave without paying.”

Megumi gave him a disbelieving look and he pretended to sulk.

“You don’t believe me.” he huffed, offended.

“I didn’t say that, Souma-kun.”

“He had a knife, Tadokoro. A knife.” 

“A tiny knife?” She asked, suppressing a smile.

“Kick me while I’m down, why don’t you.” He grumbled halfheartedly, turning his back to her. 

She watched him, absent-mindedly counting the freckles on back of his neck; one, two, fifteen in total, and resisted the urge to connect them into tiny constellations. A few seconds of comfortable silence passed, and then..

“Tadokoro?” He said, still not looking at her.

“Yeah?”

“Why’d you stick around?”

“Souma-kun?”

“At the Moon Banquet Festival.”

“O-Oh,” she felt her anxiety kick in, trickling into her chest like in a steady stream, “I’m sorry if I held you back Souma-kun, I was just.. just trying to help.. I..“

“What! No that’s not what I– Tadokoro. Tadokoro.”

Megumi made a sound that was halfway between a sigh and a sob and tried to bury her head back under the blanket so he wouldn’t see the tears welling up in her eyes. Souma wouldn’t let her off so easily and tried his level best to pull her back out. After two full minutes of pulling, he admitted defeat and turned back around.

“I meant–” he began, giving the blanket a sideways glance, “–when everything was going wrong, why’d you stay? I didn’t even put your name on the application form y’know. You wouldn’t have gotten expelled, if you left.”

She said nothing.

Just when Souma thought she’d fallen asleep, the weight on the bed shifted and Megumi sat down on the floor beside him, setting the blanket over both of their shoulders as she did so. Her eyes were clear and bright, no sign of exhaustion in them. 

“Don’t be silly Souma-kun,” she said matter-of-factly, “I woulda gotten expelled months ago, if it weren’t for you.”

“This isn’t like–“

“–at camp.” She nodded as she drew her knees to her chest and hugged them.

“That was about justice, Tadokoro. You didn’t deserve to be failed over a mistake he’d made.”

“There is no justice in Tōtsuki, Souma-kun.” Megumi looked at him strangely, as though he should’ve figured this out by now. He opened his mouth to correct her but no words came out. She was right. This was a school where students could simply be expelled over a subpar dish and the teachers wouldn’t bat an eyelash.

“And besides,” she continued, looking away, “It wasn’t like that at all. You coulda given up on me too, but you didn’t.”

“If I had been better, we could’ve beaten him,” Souma admitted sheepishly, crossing his arms, “It wasn’t supposed to be your battle to fight.”

Megumi laughed, much to his embarrassment, and subtly scooted closer, resting her head on his shoulder.  

“I wish I’d seen Shinomiya-senpai’s face when you walked into his restaurant,” she said finally, a small smile on her face, “For the Stagiaire.”

Now it was Souma’s turn to laugh as he remembered his mentor’s disgruntled expression. 

“Oh man, I thought he was going to strangle me on the spot,” he recounted excitedly, “Hey, remember that time he fired someone at camp for wearing scented shampoo?”

“Souma-kun, you didn’t.” Megumi looked like she was switching between impressed and horrified at his blatant disregard for his own well-being. He flashed her a wicked grin.

“And the best part was–“

“–Souma-kun!” She interrupted, scandalised.

“The best part was-“ Souma repeated, like what he’d done wasn’t pure madness, “- he didn’t even notice, Tadokoro. I’m starting to think that camp was just an excuse for them to have us do free labour so they wouldn’t have to feed all those people.”

“Honestly, I didn’t mind it that much,” she confessed, looking down at her hands, “It made me feel good to know that people were enjoying my food.”

“For free,” he chided, but didn’t try to correct her, “I get where you’re coming from though. Giving out samples was the only part of the Moon Banquet Festival that was actually fun.”

“It reminded me of the time I spent with the old man, back home, before he kept pulling his disappearing act.”

“Oh. Were you alone a lot?”

Souma turned to find Megumi looking at him with something like concern in her eyes and backtracked immediately.

“Uh.. yeah, but not really though. It was all good.. it toughened me up y’know? Now I’m tough as a rock..” He could feel his ears burning and hoped she wouldn’t notice. The last thing he wanted was Tadokoro pitying him when he was supposed to be the one getting them out of this hopeless situation.

“You’re very tough, Souma-kun,” she promised, placing her hand on his shoulder reassuringly, “You challenged the Eight Seat of the Elite Ten to a shokugeki.”

“And a whole lot of good that did us.” He sighed and put his hand over hers. Megumi looked startled by the action, but didn’t pull away. 

“Stupid Eizan probably doesn’t even know how to cook.” Souma sulked again, resorting to childish snubs.

“Sure. That’s how Eizan-senpai qualified to be a part of the best ten in a cooking school. Through consulting.” She replied wryly, only half-kidding.

“Yeah you’re right,” he nodded, cupping his chin with his hand, “Still, it feels like he’s got some kind of grudge against this place. You think he didn’t pass Fumio-san’s test or something?”

“Maybe,” Megumi shrugged, pushing away the memory of her initial months of middle school where she herself had fallen victim and slept in the barn, “I do feel bad for Nakiri-san, though.”

“Nakiri?” 

He gawked at her like she’d grown two wings and transformed into one of Yuuki’s chickens.

“She won’t have anywhere to hide if the dorm closes,” she explained, much to his bemusement, “She must be feeling terrible about this whole thing.”

“Tadokoro,” Souma turned to her seriously, clasping her arm in his. The one with the scarf, she would’ve noticed, if she weren’t so alarmed. His sudden move took her aback and she found herself pressed against the bed-frame, looking at him with wide eyes as he leaned in closer.

“S-Souma-kun?” He paused, gold eyes flashing.

“Worry about yourself, for once.” 

“I’m worried about myself everyday,” she countered, quailing a little under the intensity in his gaze.

“A-And anyway. I can probably find some housing on campus with Yuuki-chan and Ryōko-chan. It might be expensive but if we split the rent I’m sure we can manage.” 

“Huh.” 

Souma let go of her and crossed his arms again, opting to look at the ceiling instead. He was irritated, that much she could tell. Megumi wasn’t sure what to do at first, in all their time together he’d never really gotten mad at her; so she simply rested her head on her knees and absentmindedly began drawing the ‘person’ kanji (人) on the polished floorboards next to her.

After a few moments she heard him murmur something under his breath.

“You’ve given up too, haven’t you, Tadokoro?”

She stopped mid-way; the words cut deeper than they should have. 

He wasn’t wrong. Megumi had spent the whole day helping the Regional Cuisine Research Society pack away their props and recipe books into a school certified lockers; they were forced to donate everything they’d gathered to a local library as soon as possible. 

There had been many a breakdown over a paper lantern or a lovingly written essay and whatever little hope she’d hoarded chipped away as the day went by, slowly, steadily; piece by painful piece, until it became clear that there was no way out of this predicament at all. It was either this or guaranteed expulsion, and Megumi didn’t know which one she’d be more ashamed to tell her mother about.

“There’s nothing we can do, Souma-kun.” She said finally, blinking back tears, “Sometimes.. sometimes the world just ain’t right and we just.. we gotta.. get on with it.”

“If that bastard would fight fair, then I know I could take him. We could win.”

His words sounded empty, even to him, like he’d finally run out of confidence and she felt the unspoken question between them grow and swallow her thoughts as the night dragged on–  was it still possible to save the dorm?

After an incredibly saturated silence Souma released a puff of breath and adjusted the blanket around their shoulders, pulling her a little closer. 

He didn’t want to spend one of his last nights here fighting with his best friend, over something stupid. A delicious warmth enveloped her and Megumi caved into the feeling, resting her head on his chest now, his arm encircling her waist. 

“Ryōko-chan said something to me once,” she began, stifling a yawn as the fatigue crept up on her. Souma peeked at her through shuttering eyelids, his own body starting to call it a night.

“She said ‘I didn’t notice it before but Yukihira-kun gets this funny look in his eyes when he’s cooking, like he’s some kind of magician, waiting for you to figure out his trick.’”

“She’s too.. too nice..” He trailed off, trying his best to stay awake.

“Yeah.. but that’s when I realised, Souma-kun.” 

“Realised what?”

“Why I liked your cooking so much.”

Souma opened one eye and glanced at her but Megumi had nearly succumbed to sleep, nestled into him like a perfect puzzle piece.

“It’s like.. a little bit of magic.. every.. day..”

It was then that Yukihira Souma made his decision.

Dawn came, quiet and relentless, the first rays of sun washing over room 302 determined to catch the couple in the act, but all they found was a girl huddled under the covers, blue hair spilling out like ink, fast asleep like she’d never been woken at all. 

____________________

The next day...

“I’m back!”

The residents of Polar Star Dormitory dropped their makeshift weapons and garden hoses to see a redheaded boy walking through the wrought-iron gates, his smile blinding in light of the evening sun. 

Tadokoro Megumi didn’t know when she’d begun crying but as the boy was ambushed by his dorm members with shouts of “You idiot!”, “You left to protect us on your own!” and “That was too reckless, Yukihira.”, it felt like fireworks were going off in her chest every time she took a breath.

“We were all so worried,” she said quietly, the words lost in the general hubbub that surrounded him, but she didn’t mind. 

Yukihira Souma glanced at her then, smiling even brighter than before, and for a second it felt like they were the only two people in the entire world.

Tadokoro, what did you think of my magic show? His eyes seemed to say, glinting mischievously as a lopsided grin tugged the corner of his mouth.

You won’t ever listen, will you, Souma-kun? She smiled right back, wiping away the leftover tears on her cheeks, and hurrying down the steps.

“Not just reckless, that was stupid and irresponsible and the worst decision you could have made-“

“My bad, my bad,” he laughed, taking their scolding with good sportsmanship, as he held out an arm in surrender. He played it off well, but Megumi could see the tiredness that radiated from him; the slight slump of his shoulders, the shadows under his eyes. Souma had gone in without a plan, with barely a recipe, betting everything he had left on a shot at proving their worth, and it had taken its toll.

“But seriously.. Thank you, thank you, Yukihira..” Yuuki bawled finally, holding onto Ryōko for dear life as the stress of the day finally caught up to her. The shokugeki challenge, fighting off thugs, saving the dorm; this whole debacle was like something out of a manga.

The corners of his eyes crinkled fondly as he watched Ryōko scold her friend and Yuuki in turn scold Marui for breaking his glasses, finally relaxing as the weight he’d been carrying around for a week released its hold on his heart. Polar Star was theirs. Everyone was safe. He’d pulled off yet another trick– out of luck or sheer audacity, this time, he didn’t want to know. 

Megumi took another step forward sensing him slip away again, but he didn’t seem to notice- his mind already moving onto the next question, the next duel, the next everything. What would happen now that he’d won? Who was left to help? He hadn’t heard back from Hayama about the seminar either– had his friend run into some kind of trouble? 

Souma’s hand involuntarily tightened on the strap of his bag as he thought about all that was left to do, and she watched him carefully, noticing the way his half-smile dimmed in the span of a few seconds. She couldn’t help but recall the conversation they’d had the night before; how he’d looked almost hurt when she’d admitted she’d lost all hope. It was that same look that had spurred her to take a stance against the fifty thugs that had ambushed the dorm. 

Megumi wanted to tell Souma about the siege first, or how they’d defended their dorm against all odds, borrowing baseball bats and shields from Polar Star’s collection of Golden Era memorabilia; she wanted to grab him by the shoulders and berate him for taking on the Ninth Seat of the elite Ten to save her, to save all of them– but some tiny part of her inherently knew what the redhead chef had been waiting to hear all day. 

“Souma-kun?” 

Souma looked up, eyes clearing as he took her in: the helmet in her arm gleaming proudly as the last rays of sunlight bounced against it and illuminated her soft smile. A warm feeling wrapped itself around his chest like a pair of arms, holding tight enough that he wouldn’t fall– promising him that it was finally time to rest.

He blinked as he glanced around at his friends, their faces flushed gratitude, each one of them fired up to take on whatever Central had in store for the future; the faint spark of hope they’d once lost reignited into a roaring flame– and then back to Megumi, her gold eyes shining with something neither of them were brave enough to name.  

“Welcome home.”

[mekatrio]

this is just a sloppy list and if im not lazy ill pretty it up later + factcheck the dates, but i think? this is the order that the characters received backstories:

- mary, imagination forest MV (feb 2012), her backstory is referenced in novel 4 (aug 2013), and later receives a manga arc that explores it further in uh 2014. she gets an anime episode too

- momo, kisaragi attention MV (may 2012), her backstory receives further exploration in novel 1 + the manga, both released in 2012

- shintaro, toumei answer MV (may 2012), but only in the children record booklet (aug 2012) does it confirm that shintaro became a neet after ayano's suicide

- takane, novel 2 (sep 2012). technically the first character to receive a 'full' backstory (excluding the context of mr2, this applies for everyone btw). this is bc unlike the previous three charas, those character's 'backstories' function more as 'premises' and still leaves a lot unanswered regarding their characters (namely, where did momomary's powers come from?) meanwhile, takane is the first character with pretty cut and clear explanations for why she is in her current predicament (though ofc theres still unanswered questions, bc the story isnt complete yet)

- ayano, ayano's theory of happiness MV (april 2013) (jfc this released earlier than i thought). her backstory is expanded further in novel 5 (mar 2014), which is later adapted in mca episode 11

- hibihiyo, novel 3 (may 2013). their backstories are later adapted in mca episode 4 (2014)

- azami, novel 4 (aug 2013). technically her backstory is shown off earlier with shinigami record + children record booklet (both aug 2012), but im counting those as her premise, and novel 4 as an actual backstory. her backstory is adapted into a manga arc in Umm 2015

- saeru, outer science mv (aug 2013). his role in the story however is first hinted at in the mary's fictional world manga chapter that was released in limited edition versions of Mekakucity Records (may 2013).

- seto, shounen brave mv (jan 2014)

- kano, novel 5 (mar 2014)

- haruka/konoha, mca episode 7 (may 2014). this is later expanded on in novel 6 (mar 2015)

- kido, novel 7 (aug 2016). yeah yeah we see her with rin in an mca episode at some point in 2014 but im not counting that as her backstory bc it doesnt rly explore shit

[romijuli]

!!!

In your Call to Adventure fic, I think you said Izumi is a goddess? Is there a legend surrounding her or is she just a deity (extremely understandable, I want izumi as my deity too) :O

God TKANA is terribly underdeveloped I wasted all my worldbuilding on Tsuzuru I still don’t know how Masumi fights and he’s like a MAJOR CHARACTER—

Yeah she’s the goddess of that particular au! As of right now there’s no particular legends about her, though god knows that’ll change once I actually get back into working on that, hehe.

THAT SAID I guess I can give you a little other info as like a consolation answer: speaking of Masumi, since Izumi isn’t a person one can meet, Masumi’s infatuation slash Whatever One Would Call That Mess is instead more of a devotion to the church he hung around in as a kid when his parents were busy not paying attention to him.

[yukihime03]

Izumi: Still in her mid-twenties but feeling old already.

...I relate.

[starspatter]

Okay but I have so many questions now...

Like could the other Snakes have once been people too???