#haruto hirabayashi

[nagasakidivision]

Thirteen: Valentine's Login Line

It's just the one instead of the usual set of three in ARB, my brain is too dead after a philosophy midterm.

Haruto

"'Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.' Simone Weil. She wrote a lot about love, though more in the sense of divine love. So I wonder what she'd have to say about commodifying love the way that we do. You know, all of the holiday-specific merchandise and selling candies at an upscaled price and shit. Gifts don't matter as much as giving someone the time of day.

Oh, uh, no, I wasn't complaining about the chocolates. Let's just say that's factoring into the attention part, right?"

Damien

"Oh yeah, Saint Valentine! His story is pretty cool. I mean, mostly exaggerated, but that's par the course for saint gospels, right? Let's see, according to folklore, he was a bishop arrested and martyred, and while in prison he sent love letters to the daughter of a judge, which is where the tradition of sending letters to loved ones comes from, allegedly. But honestly, it's more likely it was based on a Roman festival—

Sorry, got off topic. So what are the chocolates for? Valentine's Day? His feast day's in July, though, right?"

Shirou

"Ah, roses. One of the most popular flowers to give, and so varied. Red roses for love is the famous one, but black roses can mean mourning, yellow ones for friendship, white for purity of love, pink for innocence...one of the most versatile flowers when it comes to flower language.

Well, nevertheless, thank you. Though, I'm partial to monkshood myself...ah, but don't handle it. It's quite toxic. So these are perhaps a better idea. Ahaha."

[uenodivision]

Hypnosis Mic Shuffle Team, Vol. 3 (Part 2) (Cont.)

Wise Encouragement

Ryūzō "Kage" Mizutori

Haruto "Phoenix" Hirabayashi

Maki "Professor Z-3" Umemoto

Hideki "Twilight Owl" Tsutsujimori

Believe It or Not

KaiShuuYa

Kaiji "Jinx" Sano

Shuu "Men-H" Edogawa

Touya "MC Darling" Kisaragi

Delving Deep into the Cesspool

Suspended Children

Honoka "Maniakin" Ajisai

Ayaka "Marionette" Kagawa

Who's Pulling Our Strings?

The Historians

Aoba "Guinevere" Yamamura

Nellie "Verne" Yukimura

World of Knowledge

Kuraokami Architecture (Ice King Solo)

My Answer Is... (The Response) (Diabla Love Solo)

Can An Android Know Love? (A.D.A. Solo)

System Error (A.I.-ko 1.0 Solo)

Does This Unit Have a Soul? (Iron Heart Solo)

HypMic's Best Friends

Maki "Professor Z-3" Umemoto

Tasuku "Katame" Kawanoe

Shisuta "The Saint" Heisha

Ayumu "Ex-Aid" Hayami

Sayaka "Rhopalocera" Miyuki

Kensaku "Dr. K Tone" Morimoto

Azusa "Onna-Musha" Furukawa

Eden "Ember" Yamamura

Aoba "Guinevere" Yamamura

Saigo "Tsukumogami" Fuyugami

Itsuki "Tsuki" Kamiko

Chiyuri "Algernon/ALiCE" Seiguni

"Queen Card"

Yuki "Ice King" Kuraokami

Yorii "Sireen" Sakuma

Good Fortune to You (Now and Forever)

@sendaidivision @nagasakidivision @suginami-division @tokyo-division @kobedivision @katsushika-division @gion-division @sagadivision @kumamoto-division @hamamatsu-divison @sapporo-division @shinagawa-division @edogawa-division @koto-division @fukuokadivision1 @niigata-division @saitama-division @toyama-division @taito-division @naradivision @kyoto-division @chiyoda-division2 @minato-division03 @setagaya-division

[naradivision]

Hypmic OC Halloween Party 2023 🎃 ~Part II

Disclaimer: Please note that these are not the actual titles to the songs, I just made them up of course. All these songs obviously belong to their respective artists.

And the OCs mentioned belong to their respective creators as well!

*see more notes from the part 1*

Meet the Halloween Shuffle Teams!

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Team R-rated B-Boy

Ren “Vox” Nakashima

Rintaro “Ignis” Himuro

Raiden “Tesla” Otoha

Ryuko “Mista Z.B.” Umemoto

#7 Parade of Horror ☠️

Real title: Bad Monster Original by UraShimaSakataSen Fun fact: This Shima is that same SHIMA who voiced Zen Gaho from paralive...

Team Heroic Youngsta

Joey “Joker” Kurusu

Saji “Street Dog” Buranka

Ryūnosuke “Fist N Fury” Sekiguchi

Haruto “Pheonix” Hirabayashi

#8 Justice In Action! 🚨

Real title: PANDA HERO Covered by mafumafu x nqrse x luz x soraru | Original by HACHI ft. GUMI Fun fact: HACHI the Vocaloid-P is later known as Kenshi Yonezu

Team SolaLune Fairies

Lola “Aphrodite” Takahashi

Evelyn “SPIRIT” Rose

Moriko “Carnopus” Himawari

Miku “Hex 13” Shirazuki

#9 Who’s the Fairest? 👑

Real title: ECLIPSE Original by Raon x DAZBEE Yeah, sorry again for not making the number of voice casts matched... They just look gorgeous together XD

Team Pop★Teen Sensation

Kanade “Spooky” Alarie

Criss “Paradox” Hiromi

Kirara “Cupid” Suzuki

Ririko “2cute!” Akihara

Makina “Screen Shot” Setsukura

#10 Supa☆Supa☆Halloween

Real title: Happy Halloween Covered by MORE MORE JUMP! ft. Kagamine Rin | Original by Junky ft. Kagamine Rin

[At the moment after the girls have already returned to the backstage, suddenly, the thick and hazy mist from nowhere then emerged into the stage from all directions, fogging over the entire scene as if it was curtain in the theater]

Greetings, ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to the wonderful night of October the 31st,

...At long last, we’re going to reach the finale.

[Starting off with the sound of bells resonating in distants, the prelude music began playing before the hazy mist became dissolved —revealing the obscure figures of people standing there in the midst of stage]

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Team Curtain Call

Queen card

Kunio “Arsene” Kurome

Iwao “TRIXT4R” Masuda

Sanyu “MC Rogue” Inouye

Naoki “Stage Queen” Hamasaki

Mitsuru “Odette” Tenjo

Saigo “Tsukumogami” Fuyugami

Nishio “24/7” Tokishou

#11 To the Final Act 🪄

Real title: Finale Original by XYZ 2019 (luz, senra, mafumafu, soraru, nqrse, meychan, araki, un:c)

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.

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Wait— Wait,

Even if this night is going to end soon, how should we forget something really really important…?

Yeah, we haven’t even got our treats yet!

If you want them, then why don’t we go get some?

C’mon, stand up & sing along~~

Team Bakemono:)

Asahi “SWEET-T” Tomoharu

Kohaku “KANDATA-KUN” Meguno

Taria “Misfit” Chinen

Honoka “Maniakin” Ajisai

Ayaka “Marionette” Kagawa

After Story: Are Ghosts Real?

Real title: 異世界混合大舞踏会 (I Wanna Be Your Ghost) Covered by StarLightPolaris (You Kisaragi, Relu, Coe, Kuni, Kottaro)  | Original by Gen Hoshino Unfortunately, you can only find subtitles in the original video

In this night where ghosts will emerge,

But they’re not all that bad

Ghost are real, you know? 

But they’re not as scary as the living!

They’re always watching from the sidelines, so don’t you forget,

Farewell mortals, and take care :P

🎃 Live Reports & Behind the scenes Pt.2

According to the interview from some audiences after the reveal of 6th’s and 7th’s cast, they thought it’s funny that team Bad Boy felt oddly cool to them, while on the other hand, team Hero were also cool but with even more chaotic vibes than the previous one —Everyone did wonder in unison that what went through the organizer’s head when they decided to put them together. Well, Raiden and Saji were the only exceptions since both of them were naturally pretty dedicated to their team titles.

Raiden got a bit carried away as he started laughing like some maniac by the end of his show. And in consequence of that, his temporary teammates were just… letting him be before all left the scene like nothing happened.

Since the beginning of the 9th show, the ladies of team “SolaLune Fairies” were seen solemnly walking out of the backstage with a dark long veil covering most part of their face and their outfits. Each of them were also noted to hold a bouquet with different flowers. Lola were red tulips, Evelyn were blue roses, Moriko were sunflowers, and Miku were moon orchids. But once the first beat of the song dropped out, they suddenly changed their moods and threw their veils away ...showing off their party dresses which were delicately designed just for each of them (ultimate kudos were given to those from the costume team). Thus, the true catwalk showdown began! 

After all the teasing to throw their bouquets to the audience like in the wedding, it was still unknown who those ladies decide to give their bouquets to at the end. Maybe it was their lover/ bestie or etc. Who knows anyway? But as the show title hinted, they might probably give it to their fairest…

Before the 10th show starts, the camera caught Kanade having a high-five with Lola in the same fashion as those two boys from the first half. 

Despite not being much active around these days, Hana Izanami (@snowmantita) was spotted coming here in secret to cheer for her friends.

The 11th show was obviously one of the best highlights of this event, given 6 of them were actually the famed performers to begin with! In addition, Queen card was the one who planned most details of the performance herself. Besides, some of them were really going all-out to the point where they attempted to compete with each other even. No wonder this show received very loud applause as a result, just like their team’s name implied.

There was one funny moment getting leaked out from the backstage. It was the photo of two gentlemen who literally had no idea why they were put in the same line with other talented showmen in the 11th show. Saigo seemed to be deep in thought about how much the staff have spent on props and special effects, while Nishio… He was caught flirting with other participants —Well, let’s hope that he wasn’t flirting with the wrong person there.

Despite the chill and anti-climax vibe that was very contrast to the intense impression from the previous show, the final show performed by team Bakemono was unexpectedly the children’s most favorite! Why was that? The secret of success not only lied in the lyrics of the song, but also its cute and catchy choreography. Moreover, they had also brought in the massive number of candies to throw into the crowd.

And due to some interviews with the parents, they told that this show truly deserved to be the closing show as it was in fact spoke the moral of this spooky event… 

Before the show started, it was a record of five of them chatting with each other. And although it was all according to the script, Asahi confessed that they had retaken it so many rounds he actually lost count of.

And just as the name of their team indicated, they were all wearing the yokāi costumes! For example, Asahi was the Oni, Kohaku was attempting to look like Kasa-obake (even if it came out rather funny), Taria was Karasu tengu, Honoka had animal ears so maybe she was bakeneko or kitsune, and Ayaka wore triangle headband with a kimono to represent the yurēi ghost.

From what live reports said, despite being the performers of the show, both Asahi & Kohaku were noted to really enjoy their time the most —These two spiritual(?) twins loved throwing candies like they’re playing with snow, while Honoka and Ayaka might seem a bit stiff due to their not so great experiences with people. However, Taria was the one making them warm up and enjoy the moment just like other children did —Who else would understand the kids best if not someone with a children’s heart?

Live reports by

Snowflake Sentinel News, Yoichi Shujo

Verne Publishing-house, Nellie Yukimura 

◀︎ SEE THE RECORD FROM PT. 1

Amazing OCs mentioned above are from:

@kobedivision @katsushika-division @chiyoda-division2 @suginami-division @kanazawa-division @megurodivision @naha-division @nagasakidivision @saitama-division @okinawa-division @gion-division @minato-division03 @kyoto-division @akihabaradivision @urayasu-division @nakanodivision @akihabara-division03 @kumamoto-division @sapporo-division @fukuokadivision1 @naha-division @nerima-division @naradivision @echizen-division @ota-division @gion-division @sagadivision @tokyo-division (@snowmantita) @hamamatsu-divison

P.S. Apologizing if I missed out some divisions or have made anyone sound OOC —I'm trying lmao.

...Happy Halloween & hoping y’all enjoy it :)

[toyama-division]

Doodle doodle doodle~☆

I finally finished it! I was teasing the discord group with this a bit and I finally finished it! Posting it now cuz I'm impatient. ♡(๑• •|

@kanazawa-division @suginami-division @edogawa-division @kyoto-division @kagoshima-division @sapporo-division @nerima-division @nagasakidivision @urayasu-division

If any of you have problems with me drawing your character, feel free to dm me and I'll remove it!

[minato-division03]

When They Lose In Mario Kart

@akihabara-division03 @nagasakidivision�� @tokyo-division​ @edogawa-division​ @kyoto-division​ @toyama-division​

[suginami-division]

Shuu’s Thoughts on Nagasaki Division

Haruto Hirabayashi

“Those eyes! That hair! The feathers! He looks like some kind of big birdy! Maybe a hawk? Or an owl? Either way, he looks super-duper cool! I wanna know if the feathers are real… And what’s the rest of his wardrobe even like?! If it’s anything like his outfit in these photos, I want to see them! And touch them too, if he will let me. I can’t imagine how soft those fluffy-wuffy feathers are… Soooo soft!!!”

“Damien”

“Never ever seen this guy before, but I’m a fan of his outfit choices too… Although I prefer more pastel colors than monochrome. But hey hey! What’s up with his name? Does he not have a last name? And why the quotations? Is he some sort of secret agent or criminal? What’s the story, mystery boy Damien?! Fess up, before I use my super intelligence skills to find out myself!”

Shirou Sonozaki

“Oho! A handsome boy with a dull wardrobe. This third member is… Huh, another forensics lackey? I’m surprised that I haven’t met him, but I guess I don’t get to go to Nagasaki much for violent or domestic work. Which isn’t to say that’s a bad thing! Less crimes means a better life! But I wouldn’t want to say I’ve never worked with him. There might be a chance we looked at the same body without ever interacting with each other! Who knows?”

Thirteen

“Hmm… Wonder why they picked the name Thirteen. Is it for luck? Or maybe it’s something like astronomy! Mmm, I can’t really guess why… Whatever it is, this team has some wild looks! I wonder if they’re any interesting in person, especially Haruto-chan! I want to know everything about his outfit, it’s just killing me not knowing about what kind of person he is to wear that!”

“What sort of trouble will I get into for finding these guys and meeting them myself? Only one way to find out~”

[sendaidivision]

Ryūzō's Thoughts on Nagasaki Division

Haruto Hirabayashi

Ryūzō sighs at the photo of the Haruto. "Haruto was, or should I say is, one of the 'special' students we've had here at the Academy. Though he didn't attend my class, it was almost impossible to not hear of him. He had a very strange mind, and I say that in a very positive manner. I've not met anyone with an outlook such as his before. Unfortunately, what he had in IQ, he sorely lacked in EQ. He had a very bad habit of putting himself on a pedestal. I'd almost liken his personality to that of Saburo-kun's from Ikebukuro."

"Damien"

Again, the Languages teacher sighs at the photo of the second Nagasaki member. "Putting aside the fact that only a select few actually know what the man's real name is, I've a hard time figuring out who was the worst between him and Hirabayashi-kun. Apparently, he fancies himself as a 'public speaker'. I won't deny, he has some excellent oration skills, but he sorely needs to improve his character. He has a reputation of being a scoundrel, and that will not do him any favors in the workforce."

Shirou Sonozaki

"Perhaps the only one on this team who has a good head on his shoulders. Despite his profession and his morbid personality, he is surprisingly a decent man. ...I know not how long he has been a mortician, but I wonder if he was present during my time as an assassin. If so, I wonder if he performed the autopsies on any of them. Not that I care to be honest, but I can't help but be curious..."

Thirteen

"In the Western world, the number '13' is considered to be a number of ill-repute, believed to bring about bad luck and misfortune. Personally, I do not believe in such things luck. But besides that, I sincerely hope that these three gentlemen will be able to coexist as a team. I pity Sonozaki-san for having to deal with those teammates of his..."

[msyuksanh]

Umehara Yuichiro and Ishikawa Kaito on the “Toraware no Palm” stage at TGS2019!

They played the heroine to each others’ respective characters, and it was great! Kaito played through the vampire interview with Haruto and Ume-chan played the pocky eating game with Chiaki!

According to Ume-chan the vampire interview is one of the most popular interviews and HE’S NOT WRONG YOU CAN HEAR HIM BREATHING CLOSE TO YOU ♥︎♥︎♥︎

---

“Toraware no Palm” stage at Tokyo Game Show 2019 (2019.09.15) Guests: Hirabayashi Yoshiaki (Capcom Producer), Umehara Yuichiro (Haruto), Ishikawa Kaito (Chiaki)

Watch the full video here!

[nagasakidivision]

Scar....not-a-Chart!

Inspired by @/suginami-division + @/toyama-division, I figured I would do a rundown of the boys' scars since all of them have at least two at this point!

Haruto

Haruto has two scars from top surgery and he's about one step away from exaggerating where they're from to sound more impressive compared to the others in his group. Because when in doubt if someone bothers you about them, you can say "got in a fight with my former self and won" and it's technically true.

...But he also gets a new one along the side of his left rib over the course of the storyline. :> In a story I've only half-written and is after they start meeting some of the other canon (........ish, it's stageplay stuff) divisions. Which was lucky for him, it skimmed off the actual bone, if it'd been slightly lower he'd have a punctured lung to go with it.

He's understandably a little hesitant to show any of them, since the first two are distinctive and it means having to explain...quite a lot. So ironically he's quicker to explain the second one because the story behind it sounds really cool.

Damien

He's got one from a less than glamorous source under his fringe from a freerunning mistake where missing a jump cracked his head open. The others, uh, are a bit more interesting for certain values of the word.

The most noticeable and worst are some chemical burn scars on his lower arms from being careless while handling them (gloves are not enough in and of themselves, he found out), and two cuts across his torso, then one on his lower arm from the rare occasion where he was actively doing field work and got cornered. Neither are particularly gruesome compared to Shirou's whole mess but they are still quite visible.

He's happier to talk about the chemical burns (so he can lecture people on lab safety) and the stab wounds (they're cool and he can do half-truths about being attacked for no reason) but the one on his forehead is just embarrassing, to the point half the reason he has a fringe is to hide it.

Shirou

Shirou is quite badly scarred. He has six on his torso of varying severity (two of which are bullet wounds, one on the front of his shoulder and the other just above his hip. The bullet wounds here are probably the nastiest looking of the scars.) One is just under his neck along his clavicle from where someone tried to slit his throat and missed. He has a third bullet scar that glanced off his upper leg that came from the same gun as the aforementioned one on his hip when the shot went wide, a faint burn scar on his palm from disarming the same person who shot him while the end of the muzzle was still hot from firing a bullet, one long gash on his lower arm because raising your arm to protect your squishier bits from a stab technically is better than getting stabbed in the heart if you have nothing else to block with, and three scars from trying to crash in a window and getting glass shards in there.

And yes, I did deliberately make this add up to thirteen scars.

He knows that this all looks phenomenally suspicious given he's supposed to not be in a particularly violent line of work and the fact you can tell he's been shot at least three times when guns have been illegal in Japan even before the H-Era. As such, he doesn't like talking about them. It could make people ask questions, and he avoids lying at all costs. Unfortunately this is a very difficult subject to weasel his way out of especially with his preference for telling lies of omission and the closest he can really get to lying while giving true statements is "I'm in a dangerous line of work."

Because he is. It's just that the day job of being a coroner isn't that dangerous of a job, but the other one is.

[nagasakidivision]

Character tags and quotes

I have finally gotten into Paradox Live and now I understand how these things work. Hooray! Let's get to the ominous foreshadowing.

Haruto Hirabayashi

Character quote: “Lucky you! You get to work with the greatest mind of the century! That’s Haruto Hirabayashi, spell it peace-grove-sun-soaring!’

Trauma quote: “It’s...it was just a flip of the coin, right? I’ll stay in touch. Thanks for your time. [dial tone beep] Ahahaha...that man left me with nothing but bad in the end, huh?”

Character tags: #Brightest mind of the century, #Cogito Ergo Sum, #Mori boy genius

Trauma tags: #I watched him waste away, #Born under a bad sign, #A sickness unto death

Damien

Character quote: “C’mon dude, relax for a second. There’s another sunny patch right there. You look like you need it. Everyone does, we’re living unnatural lives. God didn’t put us here just to work until we die. And God didn’t give us the world just to let some people hoard it. Also, even if He did, this part is public property so it’s not trespassing and you can’t arrest me.”

Trauma quote: “Hey…don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate you. I wish things had been different for us. So, for both of our sakes…don’t go looking for me. до свидания.”

Character tags: #Stray dog with a cause, #The dog-saint, #Born again

Trauma tags: #Sins of the father, #A name I had to leave behind, #Дворняга

Shirou Sonozaki

Character quote: "I’m Shirou Sonozaki. My deepest condolences we had to meet like this, but I’ll be working their case. Please rest assured I’ll do everything in my power to make sure whoever did this is brought to justice.”

Trauma quote: “Fluid still in the lungs. Confirming death by drowning. Corpse lividity places….places time of death at 11PM. C...compound fractures along both femurs—oh God...”

Character tags: #The Sin-Eater, #Bourbon and formaldehyde, #Like a thief in the night

Trauma tags: #I can never be forgiven, #You’re gonna carry that weight, #Dead man walking

[nagasakidivision]

Haruto: Oh, so when Descartes works until five in the morning, he's a once-in-a-millennia genius, but when I do it, it's 'clinically concerning' and 'probably going to lead to a nervous breakdown.'

[nagasakidivision]

Drama Track: Double Effect 2-3

"Next few days" actually means "a day," apparently.

Okay, I know that Kyushu dialects are traditionally localized into super strong Midwestern English but that doesn’t translate super well into text and I thought very very hard about the associated stereotypes of people from Kyushu (loud, backwoods-y, friendly, free-spirited) and I think a super thick Vermon’ accent is closer in spirit since it has a lot of the same associations. If there's anyone actually from Vermont, I am very sorry but this is probably better than me trying to write something to the tune of Marge Gundersson.

This almost ended with Haruto using a Scouser accent because it’s way more of a direct parallel so count your blessings this hasn’t resulted in him ending every other sentence with “luv” or “la’.” But diegetically most Japan-to-English dubs are assumed to use American English, so.

So the next two parts are just the usual "let's all sit down and talk about our feelings" things that's going to be standard from here on out. It's also the reason that this ended up being four parts instead of just two. Apologies.

[Thug 1]: They saw him in the warehouse. He dipped off somewhere but he can’t have gone far.

[Thug 2]: Pick up the fucking pace, then. If we’re the ones who catch him, we’ll be made men.

[Haruto, interally]: ...This would be a hell of a lot easier if using mics were an option. But I can’t draw even more of these guys to us.

[Haruto]: (takes in a shaky breath) Okay, here goes….

(A loud clatter as Haruto kicks a can, staggering into the alleyway.)

[Haruto, slurring his words]: Oi! Fuck are you two doing here?

[Thug 1]: The hell?!

[Thug 2, under his breath]: Just some drunk hick, ignore him.

(There’s soft footfalls drawing near.)

[Haruto, now leaning in even harder to his accent and speaking even louder]: Hah? You two don’ sound like you’re from ‘round here. Ah, you got los’, didn’ you? Nobody ever comes t’ this part of town.

[Thug 2]: We’re-- we’re not lost.

[Haruto]: Don’t be shy, now, happens t’ tourists all the time. I’ll show you back t’ town center, c’mon.

(A soft smack as he hits one of them on the back, trying to draw the men’s attentions away.)

[Thug 1]: Hey! Piss off.

[Haruto]: Jus’ a short walk this-a-way.

(Stumbling footsteps as the other two men are dragged forward. The rustle of a cape, boots hitting steel as Shirou climbs the ladder.)

[Shirou, softly enough to not be heard over the angry voices of the thugs]: Thank you.

(Haruto catches Shirou out of the corner of his eye, and breathes a small sigh of relief. It’s short-lived, and followed by a gasp of shock.)

[Thug 2]: Last warning, asshole. Back off. We got better things to do.

[Haruto, internally]: ...Shit. That's a knife. They would be armed, wouldn’t they?

[Haruto]: Hey, hey. I get the picture. I’ll be outta your hair, now.

(He backs away, then runs. One last glimpse at the rooftop. It’s empty.)

[Haruto]: …Goddamnit. How do I get back?

(A soft, raspy bark.)

[Haruto]: ...Huh? Lucia?

(Two more barks. She grabs his pant leg in her teeth and pulls gently.)

[Haruto]: Watch it! That’s expensive. Fine, I’m going.

-----------------------------------------

[Damien]: Oh, you found him! Good girl, Lucia!

[Haruto]: Shirou.

(Shirou says nothing, but lets out a long sigh.)

[Damien]: O-kaaaay. Well, close call, but the gang’s all back together now, right? This could have gone way worse. Hey, quick thinking, Haruto. That’s twice now you’ve gotten us out of a pinch. You’re a natural-born liar!

[Haruto]: ...Don’t say that like it’s a compliment.

[Shirou]: Given the situation, isn’t it?

[Damien]: Yeah, like, not even a second of hesitation there. Seriously impressive.

[Haruto]: I was just trying to save Shirou’s life.

[Damien]: And you did. Isn’t that worth it?

[Shirou]: Double effect. Isn’t that right, Haruto?

[Haruto]: Hey. Don’t use my words agai—

(He trails off.)

[Haruto]: ...Yeah. You’re right. I guess.

[Damien]: Alright, well, I guess I owe Haruto a better explanation of all this. Let’s get back to the hotel and we can look over the documents then.

(A too-long silence hangs in the air again.)

[Damien]: ...Shirou. You got the records, right?

[Shirou]: ……

[Shirou]: I need to go back in.

[Damien]: You absolutely do not.

[Haruto]: He’s right. Those guys were armed. I almost got stabbed and I was just being annoying. And they’re actively looking for you. What is going back in there going to accomplish?

[Shirou]: We can prove that Chuouku’s been collaborating with the yakuza. The heat will die down soon. I can still finish the mission.

[Damien]: Yeah, if you want to die. They’re not just going to turn and go home in an hour, man. And there’s no guarantee they’re not going to figure out you’re after the paperwork and not their money and move that somewhere safer.

[Shirou]: ...It’s worth it. Haruto, didn’t you say you knew this was a risk we’d all take?

[Haruto]: …

[Haruto, thinking]: There’s no way he’ll listen to reason. He’s just not that kind of person. He’s completely driven by his own ideals. But I can work with that.

[Haruto]: ...Hey. What are you going to do if we win?

[Shirou]: What?

[Haruto]: You heard me. Let’s say we pull this off. The Party of Words is gone. Solaris is exposed. You and I both know you’ve been working yourself to death trying to make that happen. What are your plans once that’s out of the way?

[Shirou]: I don’t see what this has to do with the issue at hand. Why make plans for the future when there’s no guarantee we’re going to see it?

[Haruto]: That’s my point. Shirou, you’ve got something you’re willing to die for, but that’s only half the equation. What do you have to live for?

[Shirou]: …

[Shirou]: What about you? Neither of us have been doing much else for the past couple years.

[Haruto]: I mean, to start with, I’ve got a dissertation to finish. And theories to prove. I can’t prove anything if I can’t live what I’m preaching myself, nobody's going to let a hypocrite change the world. And I’m not aiming to die before I change the world.

(A pause.)

[Damien]: ...What are you all looking at me for?

(He sighs.)

[Damien]: I...look, I don’t know if we can actually change the world the way you guys want. I just know I can change myself. And I know this is the right thing to do to change myself. Whether or not this works, I can at least be a revolution to myself even if I’m not a revolution to the world.

[Haruto]: So. There you go. I’m not saying we have it worked out, but we’ve at least got an idea of what we want to do.

(There’s an uncomfortable pause.)

[Haruto]: C’mon. Shirou, let’s go. We need you. We’re not a team without you.

[Damien]: I’ve got contacts in other places. Something else is going to turn up.

[Shirou]: ...Alright. Let’s go back. I suppose we have a tournament to win as it stands.

[nagasakidivision]

Drama Track: Double Effect 2.2

>disappears for 4 months >drops another cliffhanger >refuses to elaborate

Seriously though, this should be the last long-term hiatus (please God I don't need anymore excitement in my life.) To make a long story short my employment, financial, academic, and home life related matters are way more stable now and I can hopefully get back to writing things that are not school related. I don't want to make a full post on why I've disappeared and I hate infodumping about life stuff anyways, so we'll just leave it at that.

A-NY-WAYS. Let's pick up where we left off! Link to the first part if you need it because it's been a hot minute. We're looking at.........probably two more parts after this, which I'll shoot for putting up within the next few days but I'll post something frivolous and short and silly and not at all ominous tomorrow to fill in the gap. Absolutely no reason to be concerned about the boys or what's going on in their lives or pasts. Trust me. :)

(but seriously it will be a low-effort fluff post so don't get too excited lol)

(Footsteps as Shirou walks down an alley.)

[Damien]: Yo. Done with the final casing. Or, uh, Lucia is. Heh. You get the footage I sent?

[Shirou]: I did.

[Damien]: Still think it’s doable? They’ve stepped up security.

[Shirou]: I’ve done far worse than this.

[Damien]: Yeah, yeah. I don’t see why you need to warn them. You’re making things way harder on yourself.

[Shirou]: What’s the point of doing this if they don’t know what they’ve done wrong?

[Damien]: Sure, but you could do it after the fact.

[Shirou]: Anyone could take credit for it then. I have copycats.

[Damien]: (sighs) …You know what? Sure. Can’t argue with that logic. Just try to not make a habit of this for every job we work. Street toughs are one thing, going against someone with real money is another. Like, you know, Solaris.

[Shirou]: Fortunately, we aren’t dealing with Solaris. I’ve run dozens of jobs just like this against people smarter than Tomabechi. Have a little faith in me.

[Damien]: Got plenty of that or I wouldn’t be here. So. Ready to go?

[Shirou]: As long as you’ve got my back.

[Damien]: Always. Gimme a sec to get to my post. C’mon, Lucia.

[Haruto]: …Okay, this can’t possibly be the right side of town.

(He sighs and slumps against a wall.)

[Haruto]: I was sure I saw him head this way. How can he walk that fast that quietly?

[Passerby…? 1]: This is a waste of time. Nothing’s happening.

[Haruto, thinking]: Whoa. Those guys look rough. Better get out of the way.

[Passerby…? 2]: Yeah, I know. Dunno why he’s so wound up. It could just be a fake. Someone trying to rile us up, y’know?

[Passerby…? 1]: C’mon. He’s gotta just be an urban legend. There’s no way someone’s that good of a thief.

[Passerby…? 2]: No. Trust me. This is the real deal. The flowers, the note, the handwriting…it’s Gabriel.

[Haruto]: ….Hold on a second. That name…

----------------------------------------------

[Haruto]: I got it! What about Metaxu? Like, the Platonic concept—I mean, I’m not a Platonist but Weil kind of took it and ran with it in a really interesting way. It’s the perfect MC name, right? It’s all got to do with communication.

[Damien]: Hey, so, you know that division from Ikebukuro? The one that’s made up entirely of teenagers?

[Haruto]: …Yeah?

[Damien]: Well, they’re going to shove you in a locker because you’re a nerd. Pick a different name.

(Haruto crumples up a paper and flings it at Damien.)

[Haruto]: Oh, you’re one to talk, Reprobus!

[Damien]: Hey! That’s different, he’s cool. He got torture-murdered and never broke throughout it. And he still healed the guy who killed him.

[Shirou]: According to one account of many. I mean, we can’t even be certain that Reprobus was even Saint Christopher’s prebaptismal name.

[Damien]: It’s a saint gospel, most of it is exaggeration at best. Might as well pick the most badass one.

[Shirou]: Well, fair enough. I’d imagine that’s exactly what the writers were thinking.

[Haruto]: That still puts me back at square one. I’m out of ideas. I guess I could just use my own name like that one guy from Shinjuku but that’s boring.

[Shirou]: What about Phoenix? It still keeps up the…religion-related themeing we have. Phoenixes are used frequently in hagiography.

[Haruto]: Theme? I see how Damien’s does that, but what does Kingslayer have to do with religion?

[Shirou]: Ah. It’s after the archangel Gabriel. He was supposed to be the angel who presided over the death of kings.

------------------------------------------------

[Haruto]: …You are fucking kidding me.

------------------------------------------------

(The wind kicks up. Shirou’s cape rustles.)

[Damien]: Alright. Nest’s all set up. Shepherd, in position.

[Shirou]: Gabriel, in position.

[Damien]: Curtains are up. Showtime.

(Shirou lets out a long exhale. There’s a soft scraping of his boots against concrete, far gentler than it should be. A whoosh of air as he leaps off his perch from rooftop to rooftop. After a few moments, he stops.)

[Shirou]: Ready to breach. How’s it look in there?

[Damien]: Absolutely infested. Your best bet’s through that window on the third floor. Goes into a supply room nobody’s using.

[Shirou]: I’ll see what I can do.

-------------------------------------------------

[Haruto]: It can’t be Shirou they’re after. Right? I’ll just…

(He taps out a phone number. It goes to the dial tone, and rings. Once, twice, then seven times before…)

[Phone]: It’s Sonozaki. Apologies, but you seem to have missed me. Please leave a message after the tone.

[Haruto]: Fucking hell…

(He shoves the phone in his pocket, rather aggressively. Footsteps as he paces in a circle.)

[Haruto]: I shouldn’t take the risk it's someone else. Right? Just in case. I mean, I do nothing and if it is him, he gets killed. I do something, and…

(A pause.)

[Haruto]: What even is something in this case?

[Haruto]: God. Okay. Do or die, right? I just have to find him first.

(He hums in thought.)

[Haruto]: …Huh. They say your last instinct is to look up for something, right? Okay, here goes…

(It takes a few jumps for him before he finally hits the first bar of the fire escape ladder. With a wheeze of effort, he pulls himself up, his boots hitting the metal rungs.)

[Haruto]: Alright. Now…

(He pauses, followed by a small quizzical noise.)

[Haruto]: Don’t tell me someone else had the same idea. Wait, is that…?

(Rapid footsteps as Haruto closes the gap between him and the unknown figure)

[Haruto]: Hey!

[Damien]: Jesus Christ—what the hell are you doing here?!

[Haruto]: What am I doing here? What are you doing here!? And what’s with the dog mask?

[Damien]: Keep your voice down! Does it look like I’m doing something where I want to be recognized? (He takes in a long breath to steady himself.) Okay. So I’m guessing that Shirou never explained anything to you.

[Haruto]: Apparently not.

[Damien]: Cool. Great. Short version is, there’s some documents in there. Stuff from the capital. He’s getting it, I’m spotting for him.

[Haruto]: …Thanks? That was very forthright of you.

[Damien]: Well, not much point in lying now. It’s a tossup whether or not he’s getting out alive.

(The personal comms Damien is using crackle to life.)

[Shirou]: …Shepherd? What’s going on? Who are you talking to?

[Damien]: ....Fuck me, I left the comms hot—

(He lets out a sigh of frustration, causing a static pop in the comms.)

[Damien]: I mean, obviously Haruto.

[Haruto]: Wait, is that Shirou? Tell him if he does get out of this alive I’m going to kill him. Metaphorically.

[Damien]: …He says hi.

[Shirou]: Don’t tell me he—how much does he know?

[Damien]: I think that’s the least of your worries right now, dude.

[Shirou]: You didn’t invite him, did you? I told you I would be able to explain this on my own.

[Haruto]: So those guys are trying to kill him? Goddamnit, I knew it. What the hell did you get him into?

[Damien]: Would you all just—I can’t talk to three people at once, Christ. Gabriel, hold tight, I’m going to get you an exit strategy. Lucia, away to me. Haruto, firstly, this isn't my fault, it was his idea, secondly, how the hell did you figure out what we were doing?

[Haruto]: Shirou was acting weird and left the hotel, I ran after him, there were some sketchy guys talking about Gabriel, it took me like half a second to figure out that was Shirou.

(A moment of quiet as Damien thinks this through.)

[Damien]: Yeah, okay, good footwork. Probably for the best at this point. (Pause.) Where were those guys you were talking about?

[Haruto]: I don’t know, over…that way, I guess?

(A rustle of fabric as Damien shifts towards the indicated direction.)

[Damien]: Shit. That…was our exit. (A too-long pause before he activates the comms again.) Gabriel, we’ve got…complications.

[Shirou]: I’m pinned, aren’t I?

(Damien swears under his breath. When he speaks, it's uncharacteristically tense and anxious.)

[Damien]: Please don’t do anything stupid, just give me a second to think. I’ll work it out.

[Haruto, internally]: I...don't know what I'm doing. But Shirou isn't the kind of person to save himself. So...

[Haruto]: Hold on. I’ve got an idea.

(He digs into his bag and pulls out a flask. The top unscrews with a slight squeak as the cork pops. He takes a long draw of it.)

[Damien]: (The flattest possible affect you can imagine for him.) Interesting start.

[Haruto]: Look, I’m gonna have to sell this. Tell Shirou to stick to the plan and take that route out. I’m going to distract the guys trying to cut him off.

(He exhales, jumping up and down a few times to roll his shoulders.)

[Haruto]: Okay. Do or die...

(TO BE CONTINUED....)

[nagasakidivision]

It was a normal day for Hana Izanami, she was in Nagasaki doing some scenes for a TV series. When she finished, the young woman began to walk around the city because she found it interesting until she bumped into a young man with long brown hair.

"I'm sorry, it was my fault" Said the young woman a little nervous, she didn't want to get into trouble in that city but she kept looking at the man's eyes that caught her attention.

((Hello! If this isn't an RP starter LMK, I used to do old school tumblr RP blogs and so I'm kind of autopiloting now esdfesdf I'm not sure if the practices and etiquette are still the same))

Haruto was, once again, sidetracked, and it was only partially intentional. It was a day without any obligations, and so just wandering the city seemed like a nice way to clear his head and try to jar loose some new ideas while the deadline for his dissertation was looming closer and closer each day.

Seeing strangers was far from unusual in Nagasaki, it was a popular destination for field trips and tourists, so the presence of people who looked anything but local barely registered. So the first thing that seemed out of place was that he thought he caught sight of filming equipment. He considered investigating, but reasoned they were probably already busy and he didn't particularly want to get yelled at by whatever hired muscle they used to make sure obsessive fans and paparazzo didn't try to take covert footage to sell online or steal actors' belongings or whatever it was people did. So he started walking in the opposite direction as fast as he could, and after a few blocks he figured he'd be clear, and—

thump

"Ow!"

It was more out of shock than actual pain, but after having said it he couldn't un-say it. So he took a breath and steadied himself.

"Nah, it's fine. I wasn't paying attention. You okay?"

[suginami-division]

Maki’s Thoughts on Nagasaki Division

Haruto Hirabayashi

“Hirabayashi-san, correct? Philosophy is no easy subject, I can say as much. Simply learning about the history of philosophy for various countries can be pretty puzzling. At the very least, it’s interesting to see how the environment and attitude of a culture can influence the politics and religion of a country. In my years as a student I took several classes on philosophy of history and it was dizzying to read all the concepts and theories behind the study of history and its discipline. As often people may brush the topic aside, I have to remember those concepts when I write my papers nearly every day, so it should not be slept on.”

“Even so, I can’t recall if I’ve seen him before, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I’ve lectured for him, even as an assistant professor. I do wish him luck on getting that PhD.”

“Damien”

“Reprobus? Damien? He doesn’t happen to be Damien the Reprobate, no? If he is, I’m surprised to hear that he is in the D.R.B… But I probably should really feel that way. In my early days of teaching, a foreign student had mentioned his ‘work’ and I looked into his blog out of curiosity. His beliefs are… Wild, I suppose. I’m sure talking with him would be an illuminating experience, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to see him. He sounds like a handful to handle.”

Shirou Sonozaki

“I can confidently say that I’m unfamiliar with this man."

"It is not a surprise that his career with Western-style burials went under. Japan doesn’t exactly have the luxury to bury people like that, which is why family graves are more commonplace. It’s considered to be much more efficient and clean, and it saves a lot of trouble depending on where in Japan you live. So becoming a coroner for the Nagasaki forensics team is a step up in my opinion. Although, this is the second forensics officer we have come across in our reviews, is it not? Right after Kuromiya-san from Edogawa.”

Thirteen

“Personally, I find this team to be the most interesting and unique one we have encountered thus far. However, no matter how bright these men may be, there is something within each person that will make them crack. From Hirabayashi-san’s bullheadedness, to Damien-san’s unapologetic nature, and Sonozaki-san’s tendency to hold grudges, I’ll be sure to tell my teammates about each of their imperfections so that we may win against them… If we ever face them, that is.”

[suginami-division]

Ryuko’s Thoughts on Nagasaki Division

Haruto Hirabayashi

“Hah, what is this nerd trying to do? Take flight? This guy has got the stupidest outfit that I’ve seen in the D.R.B. yet! You think that feathers will fly around like some cartoon when he gets hit? I’d love to see that happen. Hell, will those government pigs give me the honors to do it myself?”

“No clue what he even does, but I don’t really care what people do with their time. All I wanna do is test these theories I got about him… In like, a friendly way. I swear I don’t hate the guy.”

“Damien”

“Another weird face. He’s got a great dog though… Lucia? Reminds me of my… Well, ‘ex-boss’s’ family dog. I never got to see the mutt much, but every time I had to be summoned with people over to that place, I stayed with the little guy as much as I could. What can I say? I’m a dog guy.”

Shirou Sonozaki

“Why does this guy give me the creeps? …I guess it’s the coroner job energy. Being around people who are used to death can be pretty creepy. It’s probably because they’re… What’s the fucking word, desensitized? Which might be weird coming from me, but I’ve never been comfortable with death. My old work rarely had to resort to that level of extreme. If anything, killing people was forbidden cuz what’s the point of killing a guy when he has worth something later? Beating people almost to death was still okay though because some idiots can be real stubborn.”

Thirteen

“Does the public expect me to be chummy with every team out there? Nagasaki is far out from the Tokyo area for crying out loud! Just because I used to get around for my old work, doesn’t mean I have visited every little town in the country. All that I can say about this ‘Thirteen’ team is that they’re gonna have to do more than flap their lips to stop me from caving their faces in. No amount of sweet talking is gonna stop me from reaching my fucking goals. And I expect the same from them. Otherwise, it'll be a waste of my time.”