#but this nameless character has less so y'know

[cel-aerion]

I understand why people ship the Sheen character from Midas Box with the Tennant character from Around the World in 80 Days, but my gosh is it weird to see when you're used to a very different Tennant character filling that role.

Anyways the important question is why can I find more gifsets for a character in that movie that doesn't even have a name than I can for my boy Charles Mundi.

[totaldramafan-lauri]

LOOKINF AT THE POLYAMOROUS LABEL FOR GOLDEN CHEESE…

May I propose… Golden Cheese sharing her treasure with Hollyberry during the Queen Mother’s visits…

Hnnnnn.....I-I guess.....? I.....uhhh.....nnnn.....

Hehehe, y-yeah....so, I got the idea of Golden Cheese being poly last year....I-it has to do with the "always looking for more to call her own" thing....I-it made sense to me for her to be cool with many t-treasures, cuz....y'know.....greedy....wants more.....I-I even brainstormed a story idea th-that may have become one of the fics I'm sitting on that uses this.....>//////> B-but, this IS only my headcanon, so I'm not expecting everyone to share it....B-but, since the meme was for my own self-ship, I thought I should just....share my headcanons for her in it since it's about indulging myself anyway.....

B-but....uh......f-for ME being shared.....? I-I......hhhhhh.....? I-I don't think I want....? I-I belong to her, and her alone.....and I'm not....attracted to Hollyberry......I-I'd like meeting her, but not like THAT, like.....Sh-she's cool, and fun, and....yeah, that's about it....? I-I'm not sure I'd enjoy that.....M-maybe if I was ordered to....? B-but it sounds like an uncomfortable experience.....

Golden Cheese being the poly one means SHE's the one who's open to having multiple treasures at once....SHE's in the center....SHE would give her affection around to them all if that situation ever came.....I belong to her only, though.....I-I hope that makes sense...?

Um......t-to be more accurate, if I were to see HER making flirtatious comments towards Hollyberry, I-I'd know that that doesn't make her care about me any less....I-I just wouldn't wanna get involved with Hollyberry MYSELF....

BUT, if this isn't me, and this is another treasure, and this treasure would be up for being shared, then....I-I'm sure they'd both welcome it......so.....i-if that sounds fun to you, then I'm not shaming you at all......!

(As a side note: I don't actually ship Golden Cheese with any canon characters, and her being poly is just a hypothetical with other nameless cookies usually, or with any of you guys, my fellow simps. I-I'm veeeeery picky when it comes to sharing my F/Os. BUT, I do tolerate some ships more than others, and if I were asked to choose the ships with her I'm the most comfortable looking at, GoldenBerry IS one of the ones I'd choose (behind GoldenCacao), so....g-good choice with using Hollyberry in this ask, anon. M-my reaction could've been a lot worse ^//////^;)

[rollercoasterwords]

ooh don’t even get me started on the riots people throw about “she’s got the best tits in the year” saying ‘sirius would never’… the man fully had a wall of women dressed in bikinis in his bedroom in canon, and atyd is meant to be canon compliant.

andddd they will at the same time salivate over regulus in fics where he has killed people?? like murder is an acceptable flaw but one throw away line from a teen in a fic tagged period typical attitudes isn’t? bugs me minority when people don’t read the tags and just read a fic because it’s popular and then get mad because it contains things that are tagged.

yeah i mean. this is another part of the whole thing that really interests me. and like--i'm sure that some of the people who lose their shit over the tits line aren't okay with murder either; i'm not trying to make sweeping generalizations that imply that like. everyone who complains abt sirius "best tits" atyd line are also totally fine with regulus murdering people or whatever, y'know? like i am trying 2 avoid being one of those people who goes "The Fandom complains abt this but is ok with this" as if The Fandom is in any way monolithic.

that disclaimer out of the way though, i do feel like there is. some general inconsistency amongst some portions of the fandom when it comes to what "flaws" get large amounts of complaints. and the thing is--it makes sense for a person to not like one flaw but be fine with another, y'know? everyone's gonna have their own personal boundaries + likes + dislikes, and i'm not saying that if u dislike one type of flaw ur not allowed 2 like any flawed characters. what i take issue with is when someone acts as though to portray a character with a certain flaw at all is somehow a Morally Bad thing to do.

again, still organizing my thoughts, but i have a few ideas right now for what might cause this sort of. perceived general inconsistency in what becomes popular/common to complain about re: flawed characterization. i wonder if it's almost more common to see people upset by things like the "best tits" line because it's so realisitc; because it hits so close to home. most people have probably encountered a teenage boy who has said something like that, and i think it's very easy to connect to the pain + anger that comes with navigating casual sexism, and because of that people get upset when they feel they're being like....forced to imagine their favorite character that way, because it's easy to vividly imagine a sexist teenage boy, y'know?

on the other hand, reading about like. ur favorite character as a criminal or a soldier in a war or a superhero or whatever who like. fights in a battle or kills random people who are nothing more than words on a page, nameless side characters, etc--i don't think that feels as realistic, or hits as close to home for most people. encountering a murderer is much less common than encountering casual sexism; especially considering the demographics of who's most likely to read fanfiction, far fewer readers have probably encountered violence of that sort in their lives. i also think many of us, especially those immersed in western media, are very desensitized to the sort of violence of an action hero like....tearing through a bunch of faceless bad guys and gunning them down, or whatever. as long as we know our guy is the good guy, and the other guys are bad guys, it's fine. and i think most fanfiction that does have the characters committing violent crimes tends to fall into that sort of category--even when it doesn't, it's still usually a story where you know your character is on the "right side." and it's easier to just sort of....overlook these sorts of flaws partially because they're so dramatic that it's like. easy to just go "omg yesss bloody violent characters i love them <3" bc u know that in real life you obviously would not just be ok with someone killing somebody else, y'know? but going "omg yessss casually sexist characters i love them <3" doesn't exactly have the same ring to it lol

but i do think u run into inconsistencies real fast if u start assigning moral weight to the potrayal of flaws--as in, saying "oh, this sort of flaw is ok to write about, but this one isn't." bc then it's like. unless u only read abt characters that have no flaws ever, ur gonna run into someone asking "well why are you okay with this flaw, but not this one?" and that's gonna lead 2 u back to some real shaky premises 4 ur own moral arguments imo

[turtlemagnum]

in one of the episodes leading up to where i am now, they introduced a female character who not only has a face that isn't just yuria's again, but actually has a pretty cool design and seemed like she was gonna be a credible threat to ken. but holy shit did they handle her poorly in what might've been the most sexist way possible. like, i thought it was kinda bullshit that mamiya isn't as competent a fighter as at least rei is, but at least she pretty consistently can mow down the nameless goons about as well as the other two main fighters. but this new character, i think they named her bella, immediately like. her mom's like "hey!! give up fighting and go back to being a woman!!!" and the character sending her after ken is like "heh... ken would NEVER hit a woman... my plan is flawless....." meanwhile like. i didn't really see much of an indication that she didn't want to get into martial arts, and ken explicitly refuses to fight her not because she's a woman but because it's obvious she doesn't actually want to kill him. i definitely feel like we're supposed to take away that she doesn't wanna be a martial artist and that ken doesn't wanna hurt her because she's a woman? but i think what's explicitly said by the two themselves is A Lot Less Shitty and is actually coming from their own mouths, so i'm gonna purposefully misinterpret what the author probably intended to be less shitty.

there comes the point where she no longer wants to fight ken, and now she has to fight the person coercing her into doing this, and i know this is gonna sound weird but like. this is a show where men regularly get every part of their body viscerally mutilated, exploded, amputated etc, and that's all well and good. but the goddamn instant it's a woman getting mutilated, they only show a rose getting cut into pieces and it's like. that's fucking sexist, right? like i know i probably sound weird to a lot of you for wanting a woman to die brutally on screen, but i think if your show can explicitly show men dying brutally in a fight then women should be able to as well, y'know?? gender equality

i think part of why this stuck out to me as particularly shitty is that it frames her whole one episode arc as like, showing how tragic it is that a woman has to be a fighter in the post apocalypse, but it's like... mamiya was literally right there, has been shown time and time again to be an extremely competent fighter, and they never really made that big of a deal about her having a pussy while fighting. and like, i definitely see why they couldn't make her as strong as ken, because he's the Main Guy and you wouldn't want a non-antagonist side character to be an outright equal to him. i get that, there's a reason why you don't make vegeta as strong as goku, y'know. but like, in a world with straight up fucking magic, i don't see why your vegeta couldn't be a woman, y'know? i made mine a woman, at least. but even then, they didn't make mamiya's whole fucking deal that she was Woman, like it was definitely a significant part of her character (arguably too significant) but like, she had other qualities; which is what makes this character being Like That sting that much more, y'know

[knowlessman]

it finally crossed my mind to watch this at the magic hour of fifteen minutes past midnight again so here we go (bnha s6e1-6)

oh yeah, libertaria happened; Mosquito from Soul Eater got his entire city's ass handed to him by pajama sam. and I think hawks fucking killed best jeanist to keep his double agent cover intact. I forget whether Endeavor is in the hospital atm or what, if I didn't know any better I'd swear the bit with the smart nomu was two entire seasons ago -- OH FUCK, AND SLENDERVOID TURNED OUT TO BE AN OLD STUDENT FROM UA. there was a whole thing with him and eraser head and present mic

oh boy, and Chapped Komaeda's quirk leveled up too apparently

new OP to go with the new season? I thought this didn't happen with anime. …I miss Carousel 'XD

oh yeah, and Twice unlocked the ability to use his power on himself freely too.

ah, we're finally learning more about Robotnik

"of course, he does have a quirk, it just wasn't in the records" dangit, show keeps dodging opportunities to have quirkless characters in important roles (and have them, y'know, stay quirkless). I don't know for a fact that the detective guy doesn't have one, but assuming he doesn't, he's like the only one. Hell, even that quirkless-centered faction in that movie had no quirkless members who even had faces, much less names; cept maybe that one nameless police chief guy

(outro showing deku and tomura standing across from each other) gawd I hope these two don't get to have a conversation, deku's gonna piss me off so bad

oh no, she killed the ugly platypus

… no yeah I officially miss Carousel. I should go find the other intros and listen to them again, I'm sure there must've been at least one that I liked more than Carousel and just didn't remember the name of (speaking of which, I'm like 50/50 on whether it's Carousel or Merry-Go-Round)

"in all, we only have five High End nomus, including Woman" really? …is her quirk having hair

Mirko goes pretty damn hard, huh

heh. Pichu has Lightning Rod, then. Kinda doubt this means he's worked past that recoil tho. (misc, ngl that amplivolt guy is kinda hot. lights his cigarette with his sparks. not quite the absolute legend that Dilf Legoshi (Chimera from the second movie) is, but still, not bad)

'XD poor Twice is just racking up the L's when it comes to introducing new friends

"Dark Shadow! Ragnarok!" pfft, calling him by his government name now, eh? 'XD

…wait hawks is a fucking child soldier? what the fuck

"no! mewtwo's not ready yet! he can't be taken out of the machine until it beeps!"

danganronpa 4's looking legit

you're not gonna get very far in tetris with a setup like this, not unless you've got some ungodly T-spins

you had ONE JOB, dollar-tree cyclops. one job. "take care of shigaraki." your dumb ass didn't even take him out of the goop, you just HAD to shoot the bad guy machine with your dinky eye laser before doing anything else so it'd spark up and defibrillate him, even though that probably shouldn't have done anything because HIS HEART WAS ALREADY STOPPED

-- (defibrillators don't start your heart, they force it to stop so that your body freaks out and starts over trying to pump it in a proper rhythm. or something like that anyway, lol I got a D in survey of anatomy and learned from tv tropes that writers have been repeating misinformation about zappy shock pads for ages)

(cyclops got jean-gray'd, probably, I don't know x-men) yooo, tomura takin this dipshit's cape and making it his new wardrobe like Liliana taking that angel's hairpiece, I dig it -- or xykon taking that one guy's crown ig. …okay not that xykon isn't a cool villain but I think I just stopped being impressed by this trope

o_o tokoyami you're even weaker to fire than hawks is (probably), the fuck you think you're doing here? -- "this hero friend of yours killed an enemy" okay here's a take: hawks's subplot and entire deal, even his backstory, is in the wrong genre. that's kind of it. spies do this shit, and even kill their own allies, all the time in intrigue stories. it doesn't stop it from being dark af, but their genre is all about necessary evils (albeit, those evils are often only "necessary" for the purposes of their countries', or worse, governments', interests). this is a kids' show. …fine, a teenagers' show. this isn't where those themes generally show up. -- "those pros you admire so much play dirtier than guys like me" also dabi is talking out of his ass here but I feel like that's pretty obvious, he's just trying to demoralize tokoyami and company

'''XD fuckin A! a shitload of ice explodes out and knocks toko and hawks free of dabi, and it wasn't todoroki??? it was just some named rando villain with ice powers? I think I vaguely remember him from when pajama boy took over, but I could swear I recall him getting completely thrashed last time -- "I know you did what was right, hawks!" aw 'XD you kinda can't avoid meeting your heroes in this show. such a shame

oh dammit, and now bigfoot's woken up -- OH TOMURA'S HIS MASTER NOW? FUCK 'XD

just realized something. I don't think we've seen deku yet this whole five episodes. …oh wait, no yeah he and the others showed up way at the beginning, they're in the back ranks and out of the fighting. …author get bored of them? 'XD -- oh, speak of the devils

oh shit, the avatar spirits are sensing whatshisfuck waking up. …there was raava, I think, was the blue one. the hell was the red one called? think it also might've started with an R. ryukyu? probably not. rakdos, idfk 'XD

ayyyup. boomboom levels are approaching the lower end of the DBZ scale

okay this OP is wayyy too chill and upbeat for this arc 'XD

(toga's on the move) spah stabbin mah heroes

"it's like I've had them since I was born" ayyyyup, papa's got a brand new bag of tricks to back up his signature moves

"where are you going?" deku: "uh, I forgot something!" yeah sure, you left the stove on in the hospital that looks like piccolo threw a tantrum on it -- "following you? what, you think you're the main character now?" …gawd bakugo is annoying. catch up, mr verbal-abuse-is-my-only-language -- "you're the bait" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA get dusted, ya swaglesss vegeta knockoff

0_0 RYUKYU'S DEAD HE TOUCHED HER. …oh wait, hat n clogs is on the scene. it's a fight. hot damn, but what tricks are chapped komaeda packing now that hat n clogs can't turn off? -- …(finally looks up the bleach character I keep associating aizawa with) …wait this guy's blond. he doesn't even have black hair. …why do I think Aizawa looks like him? even their personalities are completely different, so it's not that

gran torino: "bakugo knows about one for all, right?" yeah, I don't know why they trust him with it either

…goddammit, that was six episodes, I don't WANNA keep going, I should try to sleep! 'XD eh, I'll try to make that gif and post these later (there was a split second where I'm pretty sure an indistinct figure during one of the crowd fighting shots was breakdancing, but fuck it nvm)

[buffylikescoke]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 11#8

You're my dog, Y'know? ~ Faith Lehane

Ordinary People is an entertaining issue. There are some things I don't like about it but hey, it's fun, so, like, whatever, go read it!

Buffy and Willow are back in San Francisco, free but under constant surveillance - phones wiretapped, drones floating outside their apartment, drones hovering over the city watching them, drones seemingly following them everywhere they go. Basically, the logical next step of the modern surveillance state. Mentally, Buffy's deflated, as Dawn describes it, but there is a plan. At the moment, though, Scoobies need to stay put. Not that Buffy manages to. A few days after her release, while jogging ( Sweet! I adore jogging Buffy, OK? Lovely workout clothes too! ) Buffy witnesses some asshole harassing a Wiccan. Buffy steps in, confronts the aggressor and beats the crap out of him. Then, after it's over, Buffy melts down. Visually, the scene is amazing! It's brutal and kinetic and art team, you are so killing it but I don't understand Buffy's reaction, I don't understand why she's so affected by violence and it's not just me, wife of Riley actually asks her about it as well. Buffy says that it was about realizing that she could've killed that guy. And that he could've killed her. Sam counters with the obvious question - how is that different from any time you fight a monster, or some whacked-out cultist? Yes, tell me Buffy! It just is. I don't have to justify my feelings to you. Oh, are you serious? Get the fuck out! Look, I don't get it. Buffy has been killing daily for the last whatever years, she's been in countless life or death situations, she even died too! What's going on here? What, it's 'cause it's a human? Buffy killed humans before, she's been killing humans since she was a teenager, she Ichi the killed a human in half and found it hilarious. I mean, OK, it was hilarious and...and Ted! What about Ted? Sorry, I’m not feeling it. If you want a constructive take, here’s what I’d do. I sorta feel more when I don't have my powers, it happened in Tibet too. Boom! All the shock value you want and it still makes sense. Finally, I'm not sure what was even the point of that scene. That, even without her powers Buffy can still kick ass? Yeah, no shit. That even without her powers Buffy's still heroic? Duh.

But what about Willow? There's something interesting Xander says about her and can I just say how much I missed Xander? I haven't seen Willow like this since high-school, he says, making everything she says a question, spending all her time on the computer.... And true, Willow seems less confident in this issue, even her clothes reflect that but I'm not sure if the idea of explicitly tying Willow's confidence to her magic works for me. Willow had no magic in season nine and it didn't turn her into high-school Willow, I mean, she bitch-slapped Angel, right? And I understand that, in theory, it’s not the same thing, outside versus inside power but the effect, as in no magic, is basically identical. Moreover, Willow started becoming more confident before she discovered magic. She casts her first spell in Passion and that's after Halloween and Oz and whatnot. Of course, I don't know when exactly Willow started practicing magic ( high-school series, you're on it, right? ) so maybe it all checks out? Or maybe it's just like Xander said, after what they've been through, they deserve some space. Willow's romantic non-situation ties into this too. She bumps into Calliope and her girlfriend, happily on their way to watch a movie. Willow was right in the previous issue, it really is two different worlds and on the outside Calli's clearly not interested anymore. Now, I can't complain, Calliope is boring but man, aside from some character development, this non-romance seems kind of like a waste of page space. You know, another one. Oh, well, this is Willow, she'll be suffering from respiratory issues soon enough if you know what I mean.

A few days after Buffy’s fight Riley and Sam visit Scoobies' apartment and no, not to arrest Buffy because she beat up that asshole. They're in on Buffy’s plan! This is why, I reckon, Riley was so eager to convince Buffy to take the deal and leave the safe zone, I suspect that Lake is also a part of this. However, Buffy and Willow are suddenly not sure, hesitant to take action. Seeing that, Sam suggests that without their powers, Buffy and Willow are nothing. Of course, Ms Finn doesn't really mean it, it's a gym teacher mind game as Buffy puts it but it works. I mean, OK, it's clunky but you know what? Buffy’s and Willow’s dialog makes it worth it! Don't blame Willow for my problems, Buffy starts. She's never needed magic to be amazing! She's smart, and kind. She sees the big picture, but never loses sight of how it affects everyone. And draining her magic didn't affect her computer skills, which she's been putting to pretty damn good use lately. Wow! Haters are finished, done etc. I'm the one who's useless now, continues Buffy. Jesus, Buff, can you stop with this nonsense already?! Like, she beat up a guy twice her size just to protect a nameless innocent and she thinks she’s useless? Buffy, you beautiful dingus, just, just love yourself already, OK? Thankfully, Willow is quick to destroy her bullshit. Except that's a load of crap, she points out. Your powers aren't why you never give up. Why you refuse to leave anyone behind. Why you never accept anything less than what you know is right. Why have you done things no other slayer in history ever did, even though they had the exact same abilities? That's you, Buffy. That's who you are. Now kiss. No, I mean, this is almost like that Touched speech, don’t you think? Anyway, just like that, Buffy's and Willow's doubts evaporate. With a text send from Riley's burner phone the plan is put into motion. Outside a literal ninja goomba stomps the surveillance drones and stylishly lands on the apartment's balcony. It's Faith and she came to help. And Buffy hugs her! And gives her the scythe! L-look how far they've come! It's beautiful! Anyway, Sam suggests that Dawn and Xander leave the country, since Dawn is, you know, magical, she even has fake IDs prepared but well, you've seen Chosen so you know how that goes. Dawn and Xander receive an address they're supposed to show up at in two days but for their own safety, they're not given any details and the two groups split.

The Finns, Buffy, Willow and Faith travel then to the safe zone. Willow hacks into the facility's systems. This allows the team to simply drive into the camp through the front gate as the guards can't verify Riley's and Sam's bullshit because the system is down. When they're in Wi133t Rosenberg shuts down the electricity as well. Finns then drive out of the facility action movie style drawing all attention allowing Buffy, Willow and Faith to gain access unopposed. They make it to the power drainer room where they find Jordan and her slayers waiting for them. This is where the issue ends, yes, it's all very cliffhangery.

So yeah, this issue is pretty great! It's entertaining and packed with content. I recommend it!

[snow-okki]

Fanfiction TL: Upside Down

By 五反田 (NOT MINE)

read the original here

Summary: Reminiscing the past of 'Forest of the Enlightening Sun' Characters: Miike Mayo, Yugi Kotarou.

IT’S. A. MUST. READ.

EDIT: The name of the religious cult is 「照る日の社」  I might have translated it as ’Forest’ but...it’s not. It’s a shrine. Sumimasen >< Nope it’s a forest. 照る日の[杜]. I’ve learnt my lesson. 

My words will always be upside down.

 'Forest of the Enlightening Sun', in the Oracle's chamber.

On the other side of the veil, the object of worship rises, the strong lighting only allowing his silhouette to be seen. Why, it may seem like such a child's ploy, but this is amazing. Very well done.

You can see the believers clearly from my side, but the believers can not see me. Only a silhouette, whether it is female or a male, an adult or a child, they have no way of knowing. I use my own voice. But the believers are not to even know my name. Nameless, genderless, ageless object of worship, that is my existence. 'The hell is that', even I thought so.

From above, the honored clients entered. A very affluent couple, and their daughter who is struck with an incurable disease. The daughter has premature senility, the thing called Progeria. The symptoms had appeared since she was a child, to grow older at ten times the speed of normal people. Average lifespan is 13 years, only. If I recall correctly this daughter is already, right, 12 years old.

Regardless of the parents, this girl is interesting, so I like her. A petite granny with the body of a young girl, from the time we first met her eyes suddenly lit up. This girl knows. The fact that nothing can cure her disease, that she can not live for long because of her disease, that her parents can not accept the reality,

Parents who are supposed to be raised from a very intellectual background fall into despair, clinging onto a straw only to be swept off their feet and now drowning, she knows everything, clearly. Nice. I don't hate such type.

"Please, give us strength."

"Yep, I understand. Can I have you two for a minute?"

The couple exits. The leaders, in succession, with such pleased countenance have the couple seek advice through donation. Huh, money is amazing! Suddenly remembering something, I stood. Just like that I went out of the veil to a meeting. I've promised not to show my face to the believer, but that's fine, this girl doesn't even believe in me.

"...You're prettier than I thought..." "Ahahahaha, really? Glad I didn't disappoint--" Behind the physique of a granny lies a 12 year old. Why can't it be understood? In this world, beyond the ties that bind, something more, no, something different. "Name....please, tell me your name." "Sorry, I don't have one." "I'm sorry." "Hey, the two of us, we're very, similar, no?"

...yep. Sure enough after that, I was thrown into the basement 'Forest of the Enlightening Sun', aka, 'basement'. Nickname or whatever, only the leaders and I are aware of it. Even so, aren’t they becoming very crude lately? Although it’s all an act, aren’t I still the object of worship? Behave more politely to me. 'Basement', in short, my personal punishment room. When was the first time I come in here?

Ah, right, I was far younger than I am now, at a time when I still thought I was a friend of God’s. The words that came out from me, it’s as if the result becomes the opposite. That was that day when I came to realize it.

I wonder why. I did as per instructions, put my feelings into it, I did them all.  I can not cure anyone's disease, neither have I granted anyone's wishes. Eh, what is it? How odd? Even though I do it exactly as I was told? Why?

Because of that mouth, the next time I realized it, I was here. The basement was dark, as if the light can not reach here. No matter where you squint, everywhere, everywhere was dark. The me who was a child cried. The place where I cried was dark.

I got used to it, as expected. Since I could not see anything anyway, I just closed my eyes and confined myself to sleep. ‘The reason why Mayo's face can’t be shown, it’s to protect Mayo!’ I recall the words that I was scolded with. Easy for you to say, everything everyone, who even has my back. In fact, I hate it. The believers, those eyes. Pleading, throwing everything onto this total stranger, those eyes. The faces of this believer and that believer are starting to look similar. Gradually they all become the same. The only exception is very rare, the girl from before, and also,

'Kotarou' Even though my power is fake, there is one thing that I can actually do. In the midst of this Forest, those who do not believe me, I can see them very well. Yugi Kotarou. He's supposed to be a super strong Judo athlete or something. While he doesn't seem to be the type to have a business in this place, how pitiful, one can say he’s the second coming of the religion.

This youth with so much promise is to be advertised as a sportsman from this religion, and thus somehow, everyone rejoices. ‘Let's pray for you to be chosen from the Olympic training camp’, Kotarou's family come here often, dragging Kotarou along. What is useful to this Forest is pride, that can't be helped, and face. What is amazing about Kotarou, it's just a story about how amazing Kotarou simply is, what are you misunderstanding? The thing that is amazing is not you.

Like that girl with Progeria, ignoring the rest, I do not hate Kotarou. 'Kotarou, definitely, will become a medalist' So somehow, uwaa how fitting so coool so aweesomeee good luck~ as long as they say that they become satisfied, and seeing the face of Kotarou who appears to believe in me grew uncomfortable in that same regard is interesting. A being that belongs to the surface, needing to spend a fake day underground, not in the slightest, this guy.

And that, to this place, he came alone. Something is bothering him, that much I can tell from his face. Y'know if you don't say it I won't know? It’s not like I have clairvoyance. I totally had no idea why he had come here, but Kotarou is like a VIP to the Forest, this treatment is really troubling, and also,

Ah. I thought. Surely Kotarou will also become one of those faces. Being burdened, coming here, seeking relief, that has become the drill. And to think I was interested in Kotarou who would not treat me like a trashcan for despair, aah, this guy will also cross the line, how boring.

Or so I thought. Kotarou didn't become one. He didn't become one of those twisted faces. Rather than being burdened, he might have come to a resolution. Of what? Ah, can it be, he wants to quit judo. If he were to say that his family as well as the Forest will surely make a huge fuss, that, I can understand. If you want to quit then quit? If I were to say that without a doubt I will be thrown back into the basement, and that, I definitely don't want. There are people who can be saved by such cheap words. I don't want to be that twisted, because Kotarou, he has been climbing out of the darkness with his own two hands, right? After I have come up with that thought I decided to let go. The times of deafening silence, it's not that bad, I have grown used to it.

"Hey, can I tell you something?" Kotarou on the other side of the veil. Usually he would have it hidden well, playing puzzle games on his smartphone, the time when he trolls this key to all wisdom. Anyway, since Kotarou is not saying anything, even if I speak preemptively, isn't that fine? "There's this book that I treasure a lot, it broke yesterday...ah, you wouldn't say a book break? Worn out? Doesn’t matter. Anyway,"

Last night, the girl with Progeria died. Rather than by illness, it was suicide. Just before she left, an anonymous mail arrived to the Forest's public relation sector. A secretly taken picture of me, and a sentence, 'I liked you'

"I really, really like that story, but now I can't read it anymore...Hey, what do you think?" "...I apologize. That,...I do not understand." "Ahahaha, of course."

How stupid. How stupid of me. The girl knew everything? She was only 12, no, the person before that, it was not that simple, the one who did not know anything was me, the girl was barely hanging onto her life and yet why did she say it?...Clearly? To me? Am I thinking that if I have done something I would have saved her life? Those thoughts again? Even though I am just a doll who can only speak nothing but the words that have been inputted into me?

That affluent couple is having a dispute outside the Forest. Only realizing after losing the girl that this place is just a straw, it is too late. Facing each other blaming one another, and then blaming this Forest. I know, to vent is easier than to mourn. Like that, how long can they continue to put the blame on others I wonder, while everything in this place is fake, it can at least take the brunt of people's rage.

"Then, say, if someone told you that they like you, what do you think?" "...from whom is it?" "That's why I said, eh, who was it again?"

Kotarou stares blankly. I am constantly in a state of confusion. He tripped over his words in a rush, but trying to tie everything together gets me nowhere. Even so right now, just this moment, it’s fine, isn't it? It's that time when Kotarou goes silent. With the Forest as it is, if I more or less make a miss there is no room to find fault, if they find fault it will be due to the carelessness of this being that presented himself before me.

"Hey, what does 'like' mean?" "..." "It's not the name of some force?" "..." "I don't understand it, to like, to love, those things." "There is someone I want to be together with." It doesn't really form the answer, but something inside Kotarou seems to click. He has suddenly said it with such determination in his face, for a moment I can not follow what he was saying.

"But that person is not from this Forest. ... Will I be sent to hell for that?"

...Ahh. Ah, like that, ahahaha, that, I see. That's what this is about? What kept Kotarou from being twisted, it was not that he suddenly believed in me, it was not that he crawled out with his own two hands, there was someone there clearly pulling him up. That thing, he has it. Ah, that. I finally get it. It is not judo, it is the Forest that he wants to quit from.

"I think that's good, Kotarou should live as you wish...Live, as you wish." The basement is dark no matter how many times I've entered it. I close my eyes and sleep. Whether I open or close my eyes, it's the same.

"Ah, Kotarou" I saw Kotarou's figure in the Church. I was so surprised I nearly sputtered it out. Why are you here? What happened to the person you want to live together with...oh.

My words will become upside down. I see, turns out it became the other way around. Kotarou didn't become a medalist, and he could not live freely as he wished. I see. Kotarou whom I called by name looked at me with such a doubtful face. It's the first time our eyes have met. The type that will look at another person's eyes directly. Of course, I thought so too. I mean, um, could it be that he has not realized it? I might not have shown my face, but to not recognize my voice...eh, this Kotarou in a spy organization? Will he be alright?

"Ahahaha, it's nothing~" Since he is still irritated even with the joke-like tone, I cover it with a fitting laughter. With his neck tilted, Kotarou went off somewhere. As I stare at his back, I resolved on one thing.  Right here, in Church, I will speak things the other way around. Because all the people whom I entrusted my feelings to have drowned, that is why, "I’m fine with anyone as my Messiah, as long as it's not you." I said it. For Kotarou's sake, may it be upside down. "As for me, Kotarou is fine."