#he just doesn't know how to express it normally

[writersrkive]

Don't shut up | Spencer Reid

summary: Spencer is used to people who constantly tell him to shut up, but somehow, he feels even more embarrassed and sad when he thinks you want him to stop talking after looking at the tired and confused expression you have when he's trying to help you. The thing is you hate when people do that to Spence and would spend years just listening to his voice.

gender: fluff

pairing: Early seasons!Spencer Reid x bau!reader

warnings: mentions of the team shutting Spencer up. Derek and JJ being a little mean to him when he's spreading information. Spencer being a cutie potato. Mention of a stomachache and its causes (mention of miscarriage as one of the causes, but nothing happens). Reader not being a native english speaker, but just a slight mention.

a/n: Dr. Spencer Reid is a genius.... I am not. I literally had to search for information and copy-paste here in some parts, so if there's misinformation, it's Google's fault, lmao. I wrote this yesterday when I was about to sleep, so I'm sorry if something is wrong with the writing (even though I already edited). English isn't my first language, please be kind <3.

Masterlist Spanish ver. On Wattpad (coming soon)

Spencer and you arrived early that morning. He hated being late for anything. He couldn't afford to be late if he wanted to stick as closely as possible to his assigned schedule, especially because he took public transport. On the other hand, you had no choice but to arrive early when you woke up at four in the morning thanks to a severe stomachache and couldn't go back to sleep.

That's how your conversation started. Your genius workmate was surprised to see you, first hour in the morning, when he walked in the office, even before Hotch arrived.

“Are you feeling better?” He asked, furrowing his eyebrows. You couldn't deny that the expression was too cute for your own good.

“Yeah… I think so. It's not even the stomach ache that bothers me, it's the fact that even if I was sleepy, I couldn't fall asleep again. You know? That happens to me a lot. Once I open my eyes, I can't go back to sleep. I've also been feeling mildly unwell for a week, but even though the medication is controlling it, it doesn't stop."

At this point, he already set up his desk, leaving his briefcase on his own chair to walk over to you and sit at your desk, next to the chair you were sitting in, to listen to you attentively and answer.

“The brain works with different phases of sleep: light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep. The cycle usually restarts every eighty to one hundred minutes, and we typically have four to six cycles each night.”

Hotch came out of the elevator and walked upstairs after both of you waved at him, and he let out a soft “good morning”. Emily arrived a few seconds later. You greeted her too, as she took place on her desk, but that didn't stop your conversation.

“So, it's completely normal that we wake up in the middle of the night because of that process, but if it is frequent, for three months or more, it may be a symptom of insomnia.”

Your view went to the floor, and your head nodded in a semi-unconscious movement, because although you knew that your sleep cycle was ruined by work, you had not come to that conclusion, maybe that was it.

“Now, the stomachache…” He said, taking one pen from your pencil case to concentrate. He usually never took other people's belongings or shared his own stuff because of the germs, but somehow, after a few years of working together, he had come to have a good amount of closeness with you to borrow some stuff from you. Months ago, it hadn't gone unnoticed by Penelope that Spencer had a box full of pens reserved for you, in case you needed one, nor the fact that he denied JJ one of them once, when the blonde girl needed something to write with quickly.

“The causes can be the most common, such as gas, indigestion, a muscle injury, or stress. Although there are also more serious causes: gastrointestinal infections, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage..."

“Wow, what are you trying to do? Scare her?” Derek's voice invaded the place and Emily smirked.

“What? No, I'm just saying the possibilities…” Spencer whispered, looking down, a little worried that he might actually scared the person he cared more, besides his mom.

“It's okay.” You answer loud enough so your friends and coworkers would hear. “Thanks, Spence. I already went to the doctor, so I have none of… those.” I gave him a little smile. “But about stress…” The sentence hung in the air, so Spencer looked up and continued speaking automatically.

“Stress can cause stomach pain because the autonomic nervous system of the gastrointestinal tract reacts to the same hormones and neurotransmitters as the brain. This is because the digestive system is connected to the nervous system, and the enteric nervous system, which is located in the digestive system, is able to send and receive impulses and assimilate emotions.” He started to talk faster.

Your focus on the genius boy and his explanation was sincere, but maybe it was the fact that you didn't rest well, plus the fact that he was speaking too fast and not vocalizing all the syllables, that for a moment your brain didn't process what he was saying.

It was weird. At some point you didn't even hear words, just sounds from his mouth. That didn't happen to you for a really long time because you already had experience with the native speakers, even if english wasn't your mother language. The exhausting feeling of not being able to sleep well was definitely to blame.

While your brain was coming to that conclusion, Spencer could only see your furrowed brow, tense jaw, tilted head, and dissociated look.

“You want me to shut up, right?” That whisper was enough for you to come back to reality. His cheeks were red and his eyes looked a little sad, not to mention the way his mouth formed a line like whenever he felt awkward.

“Yes, please!” Derek answered instead, leaning back in his seat and looking up with his arms outstretched as if he'd had to deal with seven unsubs in the five minutes he'd been there, listening from his place to the information Spencer was giving you.

“Little genius boy got excited… again.” JJ said, looking at some documents in front of her, opening her eyes wide in an expression of tiredness and disinterest.

The young profiler stood up from your desk thinking about returning to his chair, a little embarrassed, but you took his pinky with yours —that way you wouldn't make him feel uncomfortable in case he wasn't in the mood for physical touch, something he refused unless it was you. Again, another special treat—. “Wait. It wasn't like that.” Hazel eyes looked at you intently, still with a bit of doubt. “I'm sorry Spencer. Yes, you got excited, but that's not something bad.”

“It isn't?” He questioned.

“No, but you started to speak fast, and the fact that there are some words that I have a hard time processing in English and I couldn't quite catch what you were saying because I didn't sleep enough, well, that distracted me. Would you mind repeating it again, slower?” This time, you were the one with warm cheeks.

“Oh. Are you sure you don't want me to shut up?” The boy was actually intrigued and a little surprised.

“Why would I want that?” The fact that your teammates often shut Spencer up when he tried to share extra information, or information that he had been asked about, was something you had noticed from the moment you started working with the team. You thought that was rude. You understood that sometimes Spencer got excited, gave information that was perhaps better saved for another time since you were investigating a case, or people could be tired and want silence, but the team either silenced him or made fun of him most of the time. Plus, there weren't many other things you liked more than hearing his voice.

The sweet, soothing tone of his words helped you sleep on the jet after a long case, or made you want to hear more about whatever he was talking about. Feeling like he was sharing with you, a mere mortal, some of the vast knowledge he had was nice.

“I'm always happy to hear whatever you need to say, even if it's about something I don't understand. And, right now, you are helping me a lot, so, please, don't shut up.” The crimson color returned to the tall boy's face, this time not because he was uncomfortable. Your kind and somewhat complicit smile made his heart race, like almost every time he was with you. Spencer knew that no matter how tired he got, he would never shut up if you wanted him to keep talking.

[bossuary]

Neve is painless. Rook is real.

Lucanis likes Neve because she represents what he is desperate to regain. He wants to feel normal, to work and cook and focus on the things he used to enjoy (such as they were) before the Ossuary. He wants capital R Romance, right out of a book.

Most importantly, he wants to get rid of Spite. He wants to pretend that he is the man he was...not this abomination.

Without truly knowing her, Lucanis believes Neve is a pathway to all of that. He's attracted to her, and she to him. Their flirting has an edge, but it's also friendly. She dislikes Spite, and her presence makes Spite disappear.

Neve will tell Lucanis that he's still himself, and that Spite doesn't change that. She will never be the one to reconcile Lucanis with Spite, to get them to accept each other. So, yeah, he gravitates to the charming, flirty, warm person who (through no fault of her own, really) feeds his desire to pretend he's not an abomination.

Even early on, I think he's smart enough to know that accepting Spite is his only option, but he...just... can't. With what tools? Nothing in his life has prepared him to deal with this. Rook does that. When denial tears Lucanis apart, Rook puts him back together with acceptance. Rook accepts the reality of Spite, and deals with it head-on every time.

Neve will remind Lucanis that she's not going anywhere. She'll tell him to open his eyes and look at facts, but she (probably) won't be the one to push him out of his own prison. Lucanis knows this, so Spite knows this, and therefore Spite will not look to Neve for help.

It's important for Lucanis to accept that Spite has changed him. But when it's Rook who says it--for whom Lucanis has developed real feelings, not idealized ones--well, it destroys the fantasy Lucanis clings to so vehemently, the one where he isn't this.

For me, the Lucanis/Rook romance feels the way it does NOT because the writers "preferred" that Lucanis and Neve get together, but because Neve is simply easier for Lucanis to accept. She's easier to talk to, unchallenging. Easy isn't bad! Comfort isn't bad! God knows they both deserve some comfort.

Loving Rook is a profoundly complex choice. There's not a lot of cute ways to work that profundity into sexy banter. It makes sense, then, that Lucanis doesn't have as much dialogue for a romanced Rook as he does with Neve. What he can do is cook, make small gestures. He can, heartbreakingly, tell Rook, over and over, that he doesn't have the words to express how he feels. That's such an awful state, knowing that the person you care about needs to hear words you simply cannot locate. As soon as he does have the words, he shares them.

Rook is real. And real is not easy.

To Lucanis, Rook represents a difficult path to recovery, a path he has to keep choosing to follow, every day. At a time in his life where he is incapable of seeing Spite (and his own PTSD ) as anything but a 'distraction' to shove aside, Rook shows genuine interest in helping Lucanis heal. Rook takes consistent action toward that goal, particularly when it's clear that Lucanis doesn't know how.

Lucanis also has to believe that he's worth the effort, his own and his love's. Neve is great, love her, but I don't see this struggling cynic, this chronic worrier, being very helpful in the self-worth department. No, people in a relationship do not have to perform therapeutic roles. But, partners do have to respect each others' boundaries and needs.

Of course Lucanis goes all-in for Neve, romantically, even while he and Rook are dancing around each other. Accepting how much he loves and cares for Rook means looking at himself the way Rook does. That is so much harder than whatever will happen with Neve.

The fact that Lucanis isn't afraid to pursue Neve, even if Treviso is blighted, tells me that Neve is an indulgence for him. Again, that's not a value judgement. If they treat each other with respect, then the merits of the relationship don't have to fall on whether Lucanis 'heals' as a result. Sometimes not hurting all the time is enough.

BUT. Contrast the ease he feels with Neve with his feelings about Rook:

"When I was afraid to want you..."

That is a powerful admission.

What was he afraid of? The annihilation of neglect, worthlessness, and shame. The awful but knowable pillars of his existence.

Wanting Rook means that Lucanis wants to dismantle everything he knows in pursuit of something he doesn't. To love Rook is to love and accept himself, exactly as he is.

Then...then...Lucanis finds real comfort.

[pareidolla]

hello.

can you tell me what your biggest gripes normally are when people write broken?

like, I get the feeling that there's a fine line between "adorable pathetic sopping wet cat" and "annoying pathetic sopping wet cat" and I personally find Broken in the former. but I cannot really tell what the line is.

I have written Broken before and not to self promo but here is the link in case anyone is curious; like it got positive reviews for the most part. Still, would be nice to know.

hello dearie!! i'm so flattered you asked ♡

i did write this little post about broken a few months ago, and i'd like to first reiterate that i don't want to be labeled an arbiter of broken characterization or anything similar. one thing i admire about the stp fandom is how we all contribute our own distinct flavor to the characters, and i don't want anyone to feel like they're writing broken incorrectly simply because it differs from my interpretation. if i ever were to write a broken fanfic then his voice would be completely off (i just can't help but make him act cute!! he's just an anime girl to me!!!!) so honestly don't place too much stock in my opinions.

with that being said — i'd say my biggest gripe when it comes to depicting broken is when he's pathetic, flat-out, without any rhyme or reason to his actions. he can't perform basic actions, he cowers away regardless of who he's interacting with, and yammers away about giving up just because.

for anyone struggling with writing broken, i think you should first and foremost understand his motivations. ironically, tower is a great place to start here!

one could argue smitten and broken could have switched princesses, with smitten accepting the princess's nature as a world-ending divinity and broken's mirror image being someone equally hollow. except, that's not what either of them desires. smitten wants be the perfect knight in shining armor who whisks away the princess on horseback, and broken?

its easy: once you let her in, you'll be safe forever.

she doesn't want to hurt us. she's just doing what she has to.

what's the point of fighting if she's just going to win everytime? it hurts being sliced to pieces.

broken's main desire is to be safe. you ultimately gain him by failing to be a hero: giving up, expressing hesitance in a key moment, or fruitlessly struggling against a power so much greater than you. as a result, his princess, his love, appears not as a horrific creature, feral beast, or vicious demon, but as a a goddess, someone capable of protecting him.

think of tower less as the dommy-mommy broken was so incredibly horny for he cut his own throat just to kiss her feet, and more as a hurricane. a force of nature which tore apart his home, showed him the frailty and meaninglessness of his life, then offered him both meaning and shelter within her eye of storm—as long as he gives his body to her. which is ideal for broken because it restores the control he's lost by, ironically, offering it to someone else. if he is obedient and lovely and grovel then his savior will take pity on him and he will never suffer again.

to return to my main gripe, if we understand broken desires safety and fawning is his trauma response, then we should know it obviously wouldn't be triggered by every little thing, especially in a controlled environment.

for instance, if broken was invited to a game night with the boys then he's not going to be sobbing pathetically in the corner like a child. he is, and i cannot express this enough, a grown adult man. there are several approaches to writing this—personally, i'd have him decline the invitation outright, muttering excuses about being too busy and he'd sour the mood anyway. if wrestled into it then he'd sit quietly, trying not to take up too much space or attract attention, and then fudge a game once or twice to keep the others happy. ultimately, he doesn't care about winning, and just wants to avoid any fights.

having said that, being conflict-averse does not imply cowardice. broken is a hater, and i love that about him. he's very empathetic and gentle and sweet and the perfect boyfriend, yes, but he's so fucking sassy it's amazing. broken may shy away from conflict but there are several scenes where he expresses his disbelief over how unusual the other voices all are, bickers with them, or straight-up insults them in their face.

like, i'm chill with interpretations where broken secretly admires the voices and aspires to do better, especially post-para apotheosis, but most of the time he hates their fucking asses. he wholeheartedly believes he is the only normal person in a sea of freaks. a caged bird watching as the other birds fling themselves against a glass window. yes, he is a pitiful little sheltered pet who let's out a sad whine every few minutes but please he still has his teeth!!

phew. okay this got too long. uhm! i don't really know how to end this ♡♡♡ i will say i did like your fic! i've been starved for non-wholesome smitbroken look at those boys enabling eachother. if anyone else is reading this, please go forth and create your own broken fic; i will read and i will enjoy it. this is a threat.

[bigfan-fanfic]

Worth More than Gold (Reader x Laios Touden)

@alex126486 Reader first meeting laios in gold scraping , reader listens laios fascination on monsters and what they tasted like then asking he could cook one for him one day

"Do you remember? Back when we first started out with gold scraping?" You chuckle over at the tallman.

Laios doesn't look up from where he sits preparing the rest of the vegetables from Senshi's garden for you to fry up with the last of the basilisk meat and egg you're making. "Remember what?"

it's always been exciting being around Laios.

You were one of the Touden Party's three mages. Marcille with her explosive fire specialty, Falin with her cleric powers, and you with a specialty in protection and gnomish magic.

You once worked together with him as part of a gold-scraping band.

And it was then that he began talking to you all about his fascination towards monsters.

Little facts about the creatures you would face.

And when you gave no indication of disgust, Laios took the opportunity and ran with it, happily expounding upon monster features for hours upon end.

And when it became clear that you enjoyed his sessions of information -

he began to speculate with you about how monsters tasted.

Would a cockatrice taste more like chicken or more like reptile?

Do strangling plants have sweeter fruits than man-eating plants?

"Who knows? Maybe one day I'll cook you one."

Laios' jaw dropped, and he looked almost about to cry before he nodded seriously.

"That sounds great! What are you thinking of cooking?"

And years later, after traveling with Senshi deeper and deeper into the dungeon, you remember your offhand little promise.

"I once said I'd cook a monster for you. Way back when we were gold scraping."

Laios beams, and you know he never forgot. "I did! I didn't think you had."

"I hadn't, til just now. It must be so much fun for you to discover all the answers to the questions you've had."

Laios nods. "It's a dream come true!"

He glances over at a glum Marcille. "Though of course, saving Falin's the top priority."

"Of course." You nod. "Though if I can be honest, I've really enjoyed the stuff you and Senshi have made."

"That's great!"

"I know Marcille and Chilchuck tend to be squeamish about it-"

("Hey!" Marcille whines)

"-but I dunno. So-called 'normal' animals are pretty weird and gross too, but we eat them. Farming can be nasty too, what with fertilizer, but we don't consider crops gross. It's all just... part of a cycle. If you can make it taste good and it's safe to eat, then why not?"

Laios looks at you with something akin to awe. Chilchuck and Marcille look as though they have lost an ally to madness.

"Anyway, try this. I wanna know if I seasoned it enough." You hurriedly say, seeing Laios still looking at you with that strange expression.

He opens his mouth, seemingly expecting you to... feed him?

So you do, resting the chunk of cooked egg and meat on his tongue, feeling his mouth close around your fingers.

So innocuous, but so intimate, your fingertips compressed as his mouth moves from them, slipping out from the corners.

Part of you is going crazy, thinking one thought - that you've just put your fingers in a teammate's mouth and he just... ate from them. His lips touched your fingers.

His eyes flash up to yours. "Mmmmmm! That's perfectly seasoned."

"Oh! Uh... good." you feel your face heating. Chilchuck smirks over at you. "Good. Those vegetables, then?"

He happily hands them to you.

"Thank you."

"Hmm?"

"For keeping your promise. For cooking. For feeding me."

It's an odd way of phrasing it, but you enjoy the sentiment. "You are welcome, Laios... anytime."

He grins, and leans in close. "You might even be better at cooking than Senshi. It might just be that tallmen have different palates and spices they like, but I love it when you cook."

"I, uh... thanks. That means a lot."

You all but flee to prepare the stir-fry, lowering your gaze, smiling to yourself.

Maybe nothing happened yet, and he's just being nice.

But the friend you've had a crush on since those days of gold-scraping has just practically kissed your hand and complimented your cooking.

And that is worth far more than any gold.

[p5x-theories]

(updated 12/20/24!)

Part 4! This goes through to the end of what's available in-game as of Version 3.0.1.

This is also where it officially switches from the Katayama Arc to the Akashi Arc, though it's all considered Chapter 3.

The next day, the group reconvenes on the roof and recaps that their next target is Akashi's Treasure, within his and Katayama's Composite Palace. Shadow Akashi had previously been parasitizing Shadow Katayama, but they were able to rescue Shadow Katayama by getting her to return to her real-world self.

However, Ruferu clarifies that because they weren't able to steal her Treasure yet, she hasn't had a full change of heart yet, either. But she's no longer in danger, and her desires won't distort further. Shun mentions that her suspension from school is still active, and he's worried about her. Motoha also worries that the Treasure will disappear since they couldn't steal it, but Ruferu reassures her that, while normally a Treasure will only manifest for about a day after the Shadow is warned, Shadow Katayama wanted them to take the Treasure, meaning she had a desire to be changed. In other words, he believes that as long as Katayama has a desire for her Treasure to be stolen, it'll stay manifested within the Palace.

Shun says he'd feel better if they could check for themselves whether it's still there, but the Palace is on lockdown. Ruferu adds that they've searched everywhere they're aware of so far without finding a hint of anything, so Akashi's Treasure must be somewhere new, but they'll still need to open the dam back up to get anywhere deeper in the Palace. Riko brings up that a new "power source" will reopen the dam, which Ruferu confirms, but Shun points out that'd mean Akashi finding a new victim to exploit. Wonder stresses they can't allow another victim, and Riko agrees, saying she's come up with a victimless plan: they just need to trick Akashi into thinking he has a power source.

Motoha doesn't quite understand, so Riko rephrases, they don't have to actually let him take advantage of someone else, they just need him to think he's doing so. Shun says he still doesn't really get it, but asks how does she plan to do it, and Motoha asks who she plans to use for it. Riko responds that she'll do it herself, with no hesitation. Everyone reacts with alarm, and Riko explains that it's the only way to avoid someone being hurt.

Wonder dislikes this idea ("Then let me be the bait" or "Too dangerous" as the response options), but Riko only thanks him for his concern, emphasizing that she's the best candidate for this. Akashi currently thinks she's on his side, so if she betrays him, he'd need to work to further control her. Motoha still doesn't like this, but Riko's unfazed, even smiling as she says she won't really become his power source, they're just going to trick him into thinking that. Ruferu points out that Akashi is cunning- how does she plan to accomplish this?

Riko agrees that she's heard about his past and knows how dangerous he can be, which is why she plans to explain everything to them as they go, to ensure nothing goes wrong. Motoha double-checks that she's not going to take this on alone, and Riko assures her that she's not going to force herself anymore, fully intending to rely on them as her trustworthy companions as necessary, and hoping they do the same for her. Wonder agrees, then Cattle (expressing some concern still) and Shun (reminding her to keep her word and not try to be brave here).

Suddenly changing the subject (and apologizing for doing so), Riko abruptly asks Shun if he only ever eats instant ramen, and if he's considered proper nutritional balance. Shun is slightly thrown-off, but clarifies he only eats instant ramen for lunch, and has proper meals at home. He admits that he just likes eating instant ramen, but it's also a kind of market research. This confuses Riko, so he explains that he keeps up with what kinds of instant ramen are available, and checks out any new flavors that come out, even if instant ramen is totally different from the kind in restaurants. Motoha adds that Shun wants to open a ramen shop in the future, and his ramen is super delicious. Shun humbly thanks her for the compliment, and Riko apologizes for misunderstanding his planning for the future.

Shun tells her she doesn't need to apologize, and Riko offhandedly mentions she's never been to a ramen restaurant. Shun and Motoha react with shock and dismay respectively, which makes Riko a bit sheepish, and she quickly explains that she doesn't often go out to eat with her family, and wouldn't just go to a restaurant alone. Motoha, still sounding a bit frantic, says she goes alone all the time. Calming down a bit, she then recalls that Riko never ate ramen with them back in their Little League days, either. She announces they'll all go together after school today, then! Riko starts to say this is too sudden, but Motoha tells her there's no time like the present, and warns everyone not to make any plans for after school.

Ruferu thinks it's a good idea, though he won't really be able to participate, and Motoha promises to get him some pork and eggs, to his delight. Shun suggests they head to Ashouken, so they can ask Masa if he has any news about Katayama. Riko decides she would actually like to go, if there's an acquaintance of Katayama's working there. Motoha declares it decided, and cheers.

Motoha's surprised at how busy Ashouken is when they arrive, even though it's barely evening. Shun proudly tells them business has basically recovered now that Miyazawa's gone, with people praising the return of the ramen's original flavor, happy to see this prove that people really do want genuinely delicious food. He reflects that if they'd never stopped Miyazawa, he wouldn't have gotten to see this, and thanks the Phantom Thieves again.

Feeling that was a bit too sentimental, he quickly asks Riko what she's planning to get, and recommends the shoyu ramen. Motoha then says her own recommendation is getting every topping, and half a portion of rice with it. Riko is surprised to hear she'd want to eat a bunch of rice even after finishing her ramen, looking fond as she says that's a bit too much. Motoha gasps, and Shun says Riko's opinion is too normal. Riko asks Wonder what his recommendation is, with the options being "Simply order shoyu ramen", "Add an egg", and "Every topping with a half portion of rice"; if you pick the egg, Motoha laughs that Wonder's tastes are similar to Ruferu's. Riko decides that if it's just an extra egg, she could probably eat it all.

They begin to eat, with Riko tasting it and making a noise in surprise, commenting on how good it tastes before digging in more enthusiastically. She admits she didn't expect it to be this good, especially the taste of the soup base; she finds it amazing that customers can have food that tastes this high-end for such a good price. Shun's pleased to hear this, and comments that it's no surprise the UMETANE president's daughter has such a good sense of taste.

Motoha announces that the pork slices, soaked in the soup base and then eaten with rice, are also super delicious, and tries to offer Riko a bite. Riko, somewhat alarmed, appreciates the offer but refuses. Motoha keeps pushing, saying just one bite- she'll even feed it to her! Riko is slightly baffled. Wonder, watching this, can comment either "I also want to feed Riko", "I also want Motoha to feed me", or "I want Shun to feed me"; if the latter is picked, Shun coolly replies he's not going to feed him. Motoha (still holding the food out to Riko) exclaims that he's too cold, then wonders if Wonder said that because he wants to imitate what she's doing with Riko. Shun insists he still doesn't want to, so he should just have Ruferu feed him when they get home. Wonder reacts with sweat drops.

After they've finished eating, Motoha comments on how happy she is to be full of delicious food. Riko says it's a pity she's never been here before, and she'd like to come again in the future. However, she still thinks it'd be a bit embarrassing to come alone... Motoha excitedly declares she'd come with her anytime, and she should try fried rice with her ramen next time!

Masa comes over with a plate of eggs and pork, thanking them for coming and saying the plate's a treat for Owl-kun. Ruferu hops out of the bag and says the store manager really understands him, to which Masa (with the tone of one talking to an animal or small child) asks him to keep his voice down so he doesn't draw the attention of the other guests. Ruferu, quieter, very seriously apologizes for his rude and ungentlemanly behavior. He thanks Masa for the food, then eats politely.

As he does so, Shun thanks Masa for going to the trouble of making food just for their owl, and Riko thanks him for the extremely delicious meal. Masa thanks her for coming to their restaurant, and asks if she's another one of Shun's friends, mentioning that Shun brought Motoha here, too, and teasingly saying he didn't expect Shun to have so many beautiful female friends. Shun says it's not whatever he's thinking, and she's his senpai. Masa considers this, and asks if she's Wonder's girlfriend instead, then. The camera pans a bit dramatically to Riko reacting with surprise, then Wonder doing the same, and the player can answer either "That's right", "No", or "My lover is Ruferu".

If the latter is chosen, Ruferu asks what he's talking about, flustered, while Masa laughs, saying it turns out his pet is his lover, and that's why he carries it around in his bag all day. He promises that Wonder can bring him to Ashouken any time, and he'll give him some pork and eggs for free. Shun, with an awkward face, comments that he discovered a while ago that Wonder sometimes likes to "make jokes and act stupid". Ruferu flatly says he's glad it was just a joke, but he almost choked on a piece of egg.

Riko clears her throat, then introduces herself to Masa, mentioning that she's heard he also knows Katayama, and she was in Katayama's class as a first-year. Shun asks if Masa's heard anything from Katayama recently, since she's still under suspension. Masa starts out by saying he heard someone posted on Magatsushin about the "Tyrannical Teacher". Everyone reacts with surprise, and Motoha quickly explains that that's all nonsense, and Katayama was just disciplining some troublemaking students. Masa laughs, saying that having some students get mad at her and post bad things about her on the internet is totally "Kumi-chan's" style; a passionate teacher like her attracts attention, and it's easy to fall into extremes of being either loved or hated.

He then admits that she seems energetic still, and actually just had ramen at Ashouken yesterday, where she mentioned the suspension. She seemed a little haggard, but ordered extra noodles, so she's fine. Shun is clearly relieved to hear this. Masa adds that she said "There are still a few students who believe in me. For them, I can't give up", as well as "I want to start over and become a better teacher", seeming very motivated. Motoha also reacts with relief, and Riko claps her hands together. Masa then lightly tacks on that she said she's using the suspension period to prepare lots of quizzes, to Motoha's alarm. Shun reacts similarly, muttering that that's Katayama for you. Still, Riko is glad to hear Katayama is doing well, and Wonder nods.

Masa then asks around when Katayama was submitted to Magatsushin as a phantom. He says he tried to look for the post, but couldn't find it, and wonders if it got buried. Riko is surprised to hear this, but Shun says it's fine, there was no need for anyone to watch it anyway. Masa explains that he was just curious because it was a post about someone he knows, bringing the legend of “Lightning Legs Katayama” back into the world! Shun mutters that no one needs that legend.

As they leave Ashouken, a man walks by the camera conspicuously.

They stop outside, and Motoha again expresses relief at hearing some good news about Katayama, quizzes aside. Shun agrees, but he's still a bit concerned about Masa saying she looked "haggard"; Ruferu doesn't seem too worried, however, as her Shadow was under a lot of stress from Akashi, and recovery will take some time. Plus, unfortunately, as long as the Palace still stands, it'll still have a bit of an effect on her.

Motoha notices Riko looking at her phone, and asks what she's doing. Riko responds that she's checking Magatsushin, since Masa said he couldn't find the Tyrannical Teacher post, and sure enough, no one's talking about it, and the single post about it ended up getting buried. The Tyrannical Teacher was never officially certified as a phantom. Shun says that's a good thing, but Motoha notes that it still caused a lot of commotion at their school, even if society at large ignored it. Riko agrees- only Kokatsu Academy cared about Katayama being a phantom, which means that if the Phantom Thieves had sent Katayama a proper calling card, they would've given away to the mastermind that the Phantom Thieves are associated with Kokatsu Academy.

The others react with alarm. Ruferu recalls that Kiuchi and Miyazawa were both evildoers in public, and therefore any member of the public could have recognized the threat they posed, but no one knows Katayama is also the Rush Rider, so the assumption would be that the Phantom Thieves were targeting the Tyrannical Teacher, which only people at Kokatsu even cared about. Motoha, hearing all this, is suddenly very glad they didn't send her a calling card.

Shun points out that once they found her Palace, they couldn't exactly ignore her, though, since they don't pick the bad guys here (... not that Katayama's a bad person!). Riko similarly notes that they didn't have a choice in the matter, but still finds this all a bit suspicious. Shun then adds that Akashi is more publicly recognizable as an unscrupulous consultant, so they're at least safe to send him a calling card without worrying too much. Riko agrees; they'll begin her plan tomorrow, to Motoha's concern, and Ruferu asks if she's really okay with doing this. Shun reiterates that they're not going to let Riko sacrifice herself.

Riko very seriously replies that they need to take some risk, or Akashi won't take the bait. And she wants to be able to steal Katayama's Treasure as quickly as possible, so that means starting her plan tomorrow. The screen fades out as she begins to explain what she's going to do.

Elsewhere, Akashi talks on the phone, telling the person on the other end that everything is going well on his end, and it's only a matter of time before they take the bait. A distorted voice asks through the phone if that's really true, which throws Akashi off. The voice clarifies that Akashi's following the plan, but it seems like it's taken a lot of effort this time. Akashi somewhat frantically assures them that that's not true, and everything has been according to his plan. The voice continues that even if the Phantom Thieves don't take the bait in the form of the teacher, it wouldn't matter, as they can still use this incident "as a basis for judgment". However, Akashi should begin preparing the next bait, and thoroughly investigate the entire academy. Otherwise, Akashi himself will be the bait.

Akashi brings a hand up to his face, and tells the voice not to joke like that; he won't let himself be pushed around by others anymore. That's the whole reason he followed the voice's advice and switched careers to be a consultant! The voice replies that as long as everything goes well it's fine, then. Akashi hangs up, then moves his hand to his chest, muttering that everything's going well, but for some reason he feels uneasy.

The next day at school, Wonder, Motoha, and Shun listen through the door as Riko confronts Dean Yamanashi, demanding he end Katayama's suspension (her tone of voice is noticeably more forceful than her usual quiet tone, though she's not over-acting). Yamanashi asks why she's suddenly bringing this up, and Riko responds by asking when her suspension will end, insisting she doesn't believe Katayama did anything wrong. Akashi innocently reminds her she was there when Katayama attacked him, but Riko declares that while Katayama did grab him by the collar, it was after Akashi himself provoked her into doing so. The other teachers react with surprise.

Riko reiterates that, in her opinion from having seen the incident, Katayama's punishment was too harsh. The teachers begin to rethink their initial reactions to the suspension, as Yamanashi and Akashi seem a bit nervous. Yamanashi insists Katayama's behavior was inappropriate, checking with Akashi, who agrees that Katayama was also prohibited from any contact with students outside of class at the time. She visited Riko outside of class, which is why Akashi reprimanded her, and that's what "provoked" her. Riko coolly replies that Katayama only came to talk to her because she was worried about Riko's workload; does that mean they're punishing Katayama for her kindness?

Riko then addresses the other teachers directly, asking them if they really think this is the way things should be, with teachers too scared to even try to communicate with their students. Is it really reforming their workplace to prevent them from guiding students outside of lectures? This gets through to the other teachers, who bring up how worried they've been about appearing on Magatsushin, and how much Katayama always cared about her students. Yamanashi panics, telling them not to be swayed by a few words from Riko, and puts his foot down about Katayama's punishment being correct.

He then approaches Riko directly, and asks what she's doing; it's not like her to speak against the teachers. Riko repeats "like her", then more loudly asks what "like her" means. Does it mean silently taking on Yamanashi's work for him? Yamanashi makes a nervous noise, and Riko asks again that he reconsider the punishment, before curtly bowing and leaving.

At lunch, back on the rooftop, Motoha very seriously repeats Riko's final words to Yamanashi, then gushes over how cool she was there. Shun asks if it was really okay to challenge Akashi face-to-face, but Riko assures him this is all part of the plan, as they need Akashi to recognize her as an enemy. Ruferu recalls that this is in order to prompt him into targeting her, and Riko nods. As long as she pretends to submit to his efforts to frame her at the right time, she'll end up as the new power source in the Palace. Ruferu clarifies that this will cause the Palace to lower its guard, so they can sneak back in.

Riko explains that at that time, she expects that a cognitive version of herself will appear there as the power source. Since her Shadow has already become her Persona, it's not in danger of being pulled into the Palace and genuinely taken advantage of, the way Shadow Katayama was. Ruferu now understands how her plan is a "victimless" one: Shadow Akashi will think he has a new power source, but won't actually be able to gain any power from a cognition, and Riko won't be in any danger. However, if he realizes he's not actually able to generate power, he might close the Palace again; Riko agrees, warning them this will become a race against time.

Wonder still expresses concern for Riko in the real world, and Shun agrees, saying she should count him in as bait as well. Riko insists that's a bad idea, however, as the mastermind is evidently trying to figure out their identities, and raising a commotion together would be very suspicious, not to mention tipping them off to the fact that they're all friends. Shun doesn't exactly like this answer, but Riko continues that Kiuchi's heart was changed after he targeted Tomoko, and Miyazawa's was after targeting Shun, so although they luckily didn't send Katayama a calling card, there's still a lot of evidence to suggest the Phantom Thieves are from Kokatsu Academy already.

Motoha panics, looking around the rooftop in alarm, but Riko reassures her that the mastermind probably doesn't know their exact identities yet. Still, Katayama having a change of heart will likely confirm the Phantom Thieves are at Kokatsu. After saying this, Riko wonders aloud if Katayama was made into a phantom in the first place just to-- then mutters that she may be overthinking it, but it's a suspicious coincidence. Riko declares that she's going to do some research on how Akashi came to Kokatsu.

The next day, Riko catches up with Wonder on his way to school, and says she didn't delay in looking into Akashi. Wonder can ask if she got some sleep too, to which she replies with a smile that she got plenty of sleep, as this actually didn't take very long. As it turns out, although Yamanashi said Akashi was sent by the school board, it was actually the other way around- Yamanashi recommended Akashi to the school board. Ruferu asks if that means the two knew each other beforehand, and Riko confirms, saying her father met one with of the members of the board, who offhandedly mentioned that they decided to hire a consultant based on the recommendation of the dean.

Wonder comments on Riko's dad's connections, and Riko says she believes her father probably knew about Akashi's reputation since Akashi used to be a corporate consultant. Ruferu is impressed by Riko's ability to get all this information so quickly. Riko admits that she used to avoid talking about anything but work with her father, but after chatting with him for a while, she discovered it really wasn't a big deal, and she'd been restraining herself for no reason. She adds that since he has a lot of connections, she'll have to make use of him more in the future. Wonder can agree, or suggest she take her father out for ramen sometime, to which Riko is slightly surprised, but then laughs and agrees that if it's Ashouken, her father would certainly find it delicious as well.

Bringing the subject back, Ruferu says he didn't expect Yamanashi to have been the one to get Akashi this job, and Riko mentions that this is apparently Akashi's first time working as an educational consultant. Ruferu, confused, brings up that Akashi's supposed to be a well-known consultant. Riko clarifies that he's never worked in education before, and generally, consultants work within companies. Companies would also offer a higher salary; Kokatsu isn't paying Akashi nearly as much. So, with all that, she thinks it's particularly strange that Yamanashi recommended a consultant with little relevant experience in the education industry. Ruferu agrees, it's odd to give up familiarity and stability to suddenly work in education. Wonder can suggest that maybe he wanted to sneak into Kokatsu, or perhaps he's the mastermind, or perhaps Yamanashi is the mastermind; if the former is chosen (or maybe regardless of answer), Riko says she's not sure, but it's possible the mastermind is right in front of them, so they'll need to be extra careful.

At the end of what appears to be an inter-club meeting at school, Riko says she has one more topic to discuss. She stands up, and says she's passed out to everyone copies of some complaints the Disciplinary Committee recently received. She also hands one to Yamanashi, who is alarmed to see its contents. There's murmuring in the crowd as everyone reads the papers, and Yamanashi demands to know what's the meaning of this.

Riko turns to address everyone, and says she can't verify whether the claims made here are true, but according to this, Akashi previously worked as a corporate consultant, and during that time, forced employees to be suspended or resign, and psychologically tormented them, in some cases leading to suicide. Yamanashi insists that's all nonsense, and Riko responds that whether or not it's just a rumor, as a member of the Disciplinary Committee, since they received this complaint letter, she would like to ask Akashi about it, and turn this into a public matter at the next student assembly based on his answer.

Yamanashi drops the paper and stands up, forbidding her from making this public, and telling her she needs to discuss this sort of thing with him first. Riko replies that, with all due respect, this was a complaint submitted by a student to the Disciplinary Committee, and the current rule is that students are supposed to resolve students' problems themselves, rather than interacting with teachers. Yamanashi tells her to have more discretion, and the other students react to this. Still floundering a bit, Yamanashi again insists this is just slander against Akashi, and snatches the paper out of one of the other student's hands before telling everyone these copies will be destroyed, and no one is allowed to talk about this matter. He then frantically dismisses the meeting.

Later, Yamanashi approaches Akashi, asking him if what's written in the complaint is true. Akashi assures him it's not, then asks who wrote it, somewhat forcefully. Yamanashi explains that apparently the Disciplinary Committee received it, and Riko planned to raise it as an issue. Akashi mutters, "Tanemura? Her again?", then takes a final drag of his cigarette, tosses it, and turns to face Yamanashi, asking him about how he'd said she was an obedient student, but now she seems to be targeting him. Yamanashi laughs nervously, and admits he doesn't know.

Akashi then asks if he at least took care of the matter, even if it was just baseless rumors, and reminds Yamanashi that, as the one who recommended Akashi to the school board, it'd reflect poorly on him if those rumors got out. Taking on a threatening lilt, he adds that, if this gets him fired, he can't guarantee he won't let something slip... Yamanashi panics, and assures him that he forbid the students from spreading the rumors. Akashi thanks him, and somewhat mockingly says he's counting on him. Akashi's phone then begins to ring, and Akashi shoos Yamanashi out of the smoking area.

Picking up the phone, Akashi immediately apologizes for keeping the person on the other end waiting, and asks if something happened today. The same distorted voice from before responds "Crooked Consultant A", to Akashi's confusion. The voice explains that Akashi was just submitted to Magatsushin, and he should see it for himself. Akashi taps at his phone, then reacts with surprise, seeing the complaint letter was photographed and posted to Magatsushin. Becoming angry, he wonders if the students uploaded this. The voice, however, reminds him that all of this information has been posted anonymously on message boards before, so this isn't much of a surprise. Akashi starts to protest, and the voice notes that it sounds like things suddenly aren't going so well.

Frustrated, Akashi instead says that this was just a prank by a student, and he only lost his temper a bit. He's already arranged for these rumors to be put to rest, so everything's under control. The voice accepts this, and says it'll deal with Magatsushin, adding that even if Akashi becomes their target, it'll still be evidence towards the Phantom Thieves; after all, he's making enemies of everyone there. Akashi winces. However, the voice warns him to be careful, and not let himself have a change of heart. Akashi assures the voice that's impossible, and he's already preparing his next bait, which will hook the Phantom Thieves for sure.

After school, Ruferu spots Riko down the hall as he and Wonder are leaving, and suggests they check in with her. Riko greets them, and assures them that with her actions, Akashi's focus should have turned towards her, and he'll likely take action against her soon. Wonder asks again if she's okay, and Riko says everything's fine, reminding Wonder that Akashi isn't the type to use violence. His approach will either be to slander her or frame her for something, and use that to shape her into a phantom, like with Katayama.

Ruferu points out that that's still a problem, but Riko insists that no matter what people say about her, she won't give in, because she knows there are people who really care about her. Wonder can reply either simply "Yes", or "No matter what, we're by your side", and she thanks him. Ruferu almost complains about how determined and reliable she is, but reminds her not to show off, and to keep the rest of them updated on everything. Riko agrees that of course she will, and says she'll see them tomorrow.

The next day, as Wonder walks into class, he hears some students gossiping, something about Riko and the dean. Motoha immediately asks him if he saw Magatsushin today, and when Wonder shakes his head, shows him and Ruferu a post on her phone. The post says "the Dean of Academic Affairs at K Academy colluded with the company president's daughter", and "the two were in the student guidance room for a long time, where someone saw them exchanging documents. The president's daughter has excellent grades and a good reputation in the academy, but she uses money to buy all this from the dean." Motoha then points out the photo attached, which has blurred faces, but can still be recognized as Riko and Yamanashi, and adds that the idea of Riko buying her grades is so obviously made up that she was dumbfounded.

At that moment, their phones buzz, with a message in the PT group chat from Riko, asking if they've seen Magatsushin. Motoha confirms, and Riko says that although she expected to be targeted, she thinks they could've come up with something better, as she hasn't fallen to the point where she needs to buy her grades. Still, she admits it did make her a bit uncomfortable, and wonders if she's experiencing a slight deprivation of desires. She speculates that Akashi's goal in posting things like this is to contribute to a physical and mental exhaustion, then says she's being called to the teachers' office, and she'll update them after.

Putting their phones away, Motoha mutters that she's still worried about Riko, and suggests they head to the teachers' office as well, to listen in again.

In the office, Yamanashi is, of course, denying all of the rumors. Ms. Taniyama brings up that they often see the two of them together, and Yamanashi insists that he's just having her help with academic work, asking Akashi to back him up. To Yamanashi's dismay, however, Akashi says that's while his claim is correct, it did look like Yamanashi was taking advantage of her with the work.

At this moment, Riko enters, and Yamanashi asks her to explain the situation to everyone, claiming he's never cared about money, and never touched her grades. Riko confirms that this is true, and her grades have never even needed that kind of manipulation. Mr. Shimonuma relents, admitting that Riko's always very serious about her schoolwork, and it's pretty obvious to anyone looking. Ms. Taniyama then asks if they really are together so often because they're doing academic work, and Mr. Endo somewhat more seriously asks her why there's so much work for her to help with, and requesting she explain how she's been helping in detail.

Riko thinks for a moment, then replies that, for example, she helps organize the paperwork that gets submitted to the Education Committee. The teachers, plus Yamanashi and Akashi, all react with shock. Riko continues that she also helped put together the information Akashi requested when he first arrived, and works with other information such as the teachers' attendance sheets, evaluation sheets, and data about the school's income and expenditures on the computer.

Mr. Endo turns to Yamanashi, asking why he's trusting students with things like evaluation forms. Riko, with a surprised face, replies that she thought the teachers must have all known about it. More angrily, Mr. Shimonuma responds that this is way beyond what should be left to students. Yamanashi flounders, and starts to say that's not- Well, but Tanemura-kun is just so good at it- it's for her future! It's good experience for her future career! Riko apologizes, telling everyone she believed it was for that as well, and it didn't occur to her it might be confidential information she shouldn't have. Ms. Taniyama says she has nothing to apologize for. Mr. Endo agrees that she's not the one in the wrong here, but the dean, however...

Yamanashi desperately points out that Akashi, the educational consultant, went along with all this, turning around to face Akashi. Akashi, unfazed, says that he told Yamanashi it was inappropriate to let a student handle those documents, to Yamanashi's dismay. However, he agrees he's also at fault for ultimately going along with it. Changing the subject, he determines that the Magatsushin rumors do seem to be groundless slander, and he'll see what he can do to deal with them. Yamanashi finally smiles, thanking him. Akashi asks him to come with him, so he can hear the full story from him.

After Akashi and Yamanashi leave, the teachers turn to Riko, and Mr. Shimonuma is the first to ask Riko again if the Magatsushin rumors really were just empty slander, which Riko confirms. Mr. Endo says Riko's a very good student, so he had trouble believing any of it anyway, but... Ms. Taniyama finishes, the rumors will probably still circulate for a while now. Riko assures them she's mentally prepared, and knows she didn't actually do anything wrong. She still has people who care about and believe in her; that's what Ms. Katayama taught her.

Ms. Taniyama reacts to Katayama's name, and Riko explains that Katayama scolded her when she found out about Riko's blind obedience to Yamanashi with all the work he was giving her. She adds that she regrets not listening to Katayama sooner, as maybe things wouldn't have gone the way they did. Ms. Taniyama says that they didn't even notice, but Ms. Katayama really does care about her students... maybe she always looks anxious out of concern for them. It's only now that she appreciates how much Katayama was doing for the students. Mr. Endo agrees, admitting that he became a teacher to help guide students down the right path, but lately he's just been avoiding them. Mr. Shimonuma mutters that he hopes Katayama can come back soon, and Riko perks up, agreeing immediately.

In another office, Yamanashi panics, in disbelief that someone submitted him to Magatsushin and asking Akashi what to do. Akashi coolly tells him to calm down, because none of it's true, right? So it won't be an issue. Yamanashi, however, gives a bit of a noncommittal answer, and Akashi smiles, saying there must be some truth to the article after all. Yamanashi panics, telling him to keep his voice down. With a laugh, Akashi adds it would be bad if anyone followed the clues and uncovers anything, and Yamanashi frantically asks him what to do again.

Akashi's smile vanishes, and he replies that it seems like there's more going on than he was aware of. A much more malicious grin appears on his face, and he suggests Yamanashi tell him everything, so he can better help fix this. Yamanashi hesitates, then something occurs to him, and he clarifies with Akashi that all the things he's heard about from when Akashi was a corporate consultant are just rumors, right? Akashi doesn't react well, and Yamanashi quickly explains he just wants to be sure. Akashi flatly responds that he sees Yamanashi's worried he'll use his secrets to force him to get suspended, or resign, or even commit suicide, then grins threateningly again and says that if he wanted that to happen, it would've been Yamanashi that was suspended earlier, not Katayama.

Yamanashi laughs with him, looking relieved but still sounding a bit nervous. Now smiling in a way that looks more friendly, Akashi assures he won't betray him, he just wants to help. So believe in him, okay? Yamanashi nods, saying he does, so please help!

The camera pans to reveal Ruferu was watching this scene through the window. He flies away.

On the rooftop, Ruferu relays this information to the rest of the group. Riko notes that Akashi has Yamanashi completely under his thumb, and Motoha adds that Yamanashi sounds kind of pitiful, also being targeted by Akashi. Riko realizes that, if that's correct, it's actually bad: she was supposed to be the bait, but if things are going like this, then Yamanashi might be Akashi's new "power source" instead.

The others react with surprise, and Ruferu clarifies this means Yamanashi's actual Shadow would be in danger, not just a cognition of Riko. Motoha, slightly frustrated, says she doesn't really like Yamanashi, but based on what Akashi said, it seems like there's something bigger going on, and they can't just ignore it if he becomes a victim. Wonder suggests they head to the Palace, and Ruferu agrees, as something must have changed there by now, perhaps even the lockdown being lifted. Shun says they'll head in after school, whenever Wonder's ready.

Entering the Palace, they discover the weather has changed, now looking foggy rather than stormy. Soy thinks that means there might really be a new power source.

And, sure enough, they're able to reenter the power plant, finding a new, mouse wheel-like contraption with Yamanashi's Shadow running inside, just outside the entrance to the area where they fought Shadow Katayama. He makes panicked, slightly pathetic noises as he runs, while nearby shadows watch and taunt him, saying he won't generate any energy like this, and he needs to have greater desires. They warn him Akashi will abandon him if he doesn't, and Shadow Yamanashi panics further.

From where the Phantom Thieves are watching, Closer comments that he seems really pitiful, while Cattle confirms this is his actual Shadow, not just a cognition. However, his desires likely aren't very distorted, explaining why he looks almost identical to his real world self. As if to confirm this, Shadow Yamanashi whimpers that he wants to keep his job until retirement, with a full pension, and he doesn't want a divorce. Cattle identifies these desires as being a part of his own self-preservation; that is, as Closer clarifies, the most basic desire that anyone has, but also a dangerous one to allow a Palace ruler to steal.

Shadow Yamanashi then continues, pleading Akashi-sama not to tell his wife or his boss about Yamanashi's gambling addiction, to the Phantom Thieves' surprise. Closer amends that his desire isn't that basic at all, as Shadow Yamanashi lists out forms of gambling, insisting they're nothing to worry about, they're just small risks! He's only funding it with money from students' parents! He then mentions that Akashi caught him doing this, and used it to force Yamanashi to recommend him to the school board, abruptly switching from pleading with Akashi (who, to be clear, isn't even here) to cursing his name.

With this, Yamanashi's connection to Akashi all makes sense to Cattle, and Soy grumbles that while it's okay to gamble your own money, it's not okay to use your position to extort money from parents. Closer says it sounds like bribery- isn't that illegal? Wind points out that all this means Akashi targeted Yamanashi's weakness just to get into Kokatsu, and when Wonder asks if it was all to create a change of heart target/to get to the Phantom Thieves, she finds that likely. Soy wonders why he went after Katayama instead of Yamanashi in the first place, then, and Wind speculates that while Yamanashi was Akashi's initial way into Kokatsu, he also gave Akashi free reign within the school, so he was originally better to keep as a pawn.

Closer mutters that Akashi really is the worst, then says they still can't ignore that Yamanashi's Shadow is in danger, even if it is his own fault, right? Wind agrees; originally the plan was for her to become the new target, but Yamanashi was picked instead. Soy worries that the Palace will go into lockdown if they rescue Shadow Yamanashi now, but Cattle reassures everyone that, given the shadows are currently trying to provoke Shadow Yamanashi into having more desires, they clearly aren't at the point of stealing any of his desires yet, so it shouldn't be affecting his real world self yet. Closer asks if that means it's okay to ignore him, and Cattle agrees that it should be- for now. But if he starts to distort, there'll be a problem. The group agrees to focus on Akashi's Treasure for now.

At that moment, one of the shadows taunting Shadow Yamanashi notices them, and the shadows attack. Afterward, with the shadows gone, they're able to approach Shadow Yamanashi directly.

Shadow Yamanashi immediately addresses them, saying he doesn't know who they are, but he can tell they're pretty skilled. Can they let him out?

The five exchange a look, and Soy asks the others what they're doing now. Shadow Yamanashi takes offense, and haughtily asks if they know who he is- he's the Dean of Student Affairs at Kokatsu Academy! Whatever school they're from, he can help them out: improving their grades, letters of recommendation, even faked test scores, whatever they want. All he needs is some money from their parents. Closer mutters that he's awful, and Soy adds that he offered so casually, he must do this a lot.

Louder, Soy calls back to Shadow Yamanashi that they don't care about that, they're looking for Akashi's Treasure. Shadow Yamanashi is alarmed (or perhaps confused), and Soy elaborates, asking if there's anywhere Akashi goes often, or any forbidden areas. Shadow Yamanashi asks if they're planning to do something to Akashi-sama, and Wind replies, so what if they are? Is he going to report this to Akashi? If he stays quiet, they might come back to rescue him after.

Shadow Yamanashi considers this, making another alarmed noise. Soy points out that if Akashi's using his weakness against him, they're enemies, aren't they? This almost sways Shadow Yamanashi, but then he recalls that Akashi-sama's also helping him deal with the rumors on Magatsushin. Concerned, he adds that he's even taken money from the parents of candidates applying to get into Kokatsu in the first place, and if Akashi finds out about that...!

Closer is shocked he went that far, and Wind mutters that her desire to save Yamanashi at all is gradually fading... Soy doubts that a guy like this should even be working at a school. Closer asks Cattle why Yamanashi wouldn't have a Palace from all this, and Cattle explains that it's a bit complicated, because the parents paying him bribes also benefited from the transaction. It wasn't a one-sided interaction where he stole their desires, so it didn't distort his Shadow. But it's still criminal behavior, so the police can take care of it without their help.

Hearing all this, Wonder declares that they're focusing on Akashi's Treasure first (the two options are a more polite or more blunt way of saying this), and Shadow Yamanashi nervously wonders if they can really beat him. Still, he then points to a door at the back of the room, and explains that Akashi (no longer calling him "Akashi-sama") spends most of his time in the control center of the dam, through that door. Shadow Yamanashi himself wasn't allowed in, and very few of the dam's staff are even permitted. If there's anything important to be found, it'd be there, or even deeper past it.

Perking up, Closer thanks him for the intel, and Soy waves, telling him to do his best here. As they walk away, Shadow Yamanashi panics again, asking if they're really not going to save him, and threatening to sabotage their grades. Wind stops, and without turning back to him, resolutely says they will change Akashi's heart. But, if he can't wait that long, perhaps he should try reflecting on himself, and maybe he'll be able to return to his real world self without their help? Shadow Yamanashi repeats "return to... my real self...?", and Wind leaves with the others.

The door takes them outside the dam, right by one of the pipes spewing water through the actual dam wall itself. Closer notes that the weather hasn't changed, probably because Shadow Yamanashi isn't actually working as a power source right now. Cattle suggests it may also be because Shadow Akashi himself is still active. Soy says they'll just have to beat him then, but Cattle reminds him they still need to secure a route to his Treasure in the first place.

They end up having to essentially scale the dam wall, finding themselves on one of the roads they'd traversed before. However, now that they know they're looking for the dam's control center, Wind recalls the direction it's in. Before long, they reach the entrance and head inside.

Soy immediately notes that it's spacious and bright in here, and very clean- in other words, completely different from the rest of the Palace so far, like someone's taking care of it. Closer thinks the colors are a bit hard on the eyes, especially all the green. Just like Akashi's clothes, it's uncomfortable to look at. Soy starts to agree, then realizes, wait, is this part actually Akashi's Palace? Wind suspects this is the case; at first glance it looks clean and safe, but that impression's only superficial, and it's actually quite dangerous.

Closer asks what dangers Wind thinks they'll find, but Wind admits she has no idea, only that she expects something devious. Akashi's a cunning person, so there are likely to be a lot of traps ahead of them. Cattle agrees, and he and Wonder warn everyone to stay vigilant.

As they explore, they see more workers from Katayama's part of the dam, as well as of course the aggressive shadows associated with Akashi. Some workers allude to "that place", but make it clear that it's some kind of forbidden location that everyone's forbidden from even talking about.

It doesn't take long for them to wander into an area where one of Akashi's workers is standing with one of Katayama's workers, operating some kind of machine. The thieves duck around a corner before they're spotted, and Closer and Soy both comment on how much better they've gotten at hiding and being Phantom Thieves in general (until Cattle warns them to keep their voices down).

We get a look through the window at the machine, with another one of Katayama's workers strapped into it, as one of the workers tells the trapped worker that it's a victim of the dam's demand for energy, but it should be honored to be chosen by Akashi-sama. They'll use this "brainwashing chair" to siphon its emotional energy into the purple tanks next to the chair.

At first, the trapped worker protests, but the other workers only comment that its "anger" emotion has reached its peak, then start the machine. Purple electricity crackles around the trapped worker's head.

Seeing this, Closer announces she can't stand by and watch anymore, and yells at the workers to stop. They turn around, and she says they'll have to go through her if they want to keep hurting people.

After defeating the workers, the Phantom Thieves inspect the machine, Soy muttering that it's crazy they're doing human experimentation here. Wonder agrees, and Closer adds that even if it's the Metaverse, she can't let it go. Cattle suggests they free the trapped worker. Once it's free, it mentions that all it did was try to do a bit of research into "that place". Originally, it was angry that Akashi would do this to it as punishment, but now it doesn't feel anything at all. It's like its anger is gone.

Wind notes that this must be how they're powering the dam at all without Katayama, and Soy is shocked that they're stealing the workers' emotions. Cattle adds that they're even provoking the workers before stealing their emotional energy. Wind says that if they stand idly by, there's no telling what Akashi will do next.

After solving a puzzle in one particular room, a box pops up out of the floor, holding several pairs of smart glasses, with the words "blue period" written on it. Soy decides to try one on, then exclaims in surprise. The others tense, and Cattle asks if it was a trap, complaining that he put the glasses on without any preparation. Soy explains he was surprised, because it looks like there's a movie floating in the air in front of him.

The others relax, and Wind decides to put the glasses on as well, reading out the words, "Kei Akashi - The Glory of the TV Crew Era". Cattle asks if that's what he did before becoming a consultant, and Closer realizes this could be like Kiuchi's Palace, where he showed them scenes from his past. Cattle doesn't think it's quite the same, though, as in Kiuchi's case it was a deliberate trap targeting Closer. In this case, he speculates this was born from Akashi's desires, perhaps to talk about himself, or to glorify the past. Wind points out that regardless of the reason, it seems the glasses will give them a glimpse into Akashi's past, and they might learn something about his connection to the mastermind through them. The other three put glasses on as well.

The video starts, referring to this as "Part 1" of Kei Akashi - The Glory of the TV Crew Era, and Akashi's voice narrates, saying his glorious career began with him working as a director's assistant on a prime-time programming block. TV game show titles are shown in succession. Closer recognizes the first- she watched it in elementary school. She and Soy both recognize the second, sounding fond of it. Wind wonders what it means that Akashi worked on these shows, and Closer agrees that she can't imagine Akashi having worked on such a fun program.

The text changes- "And finally, he made it to the director's seat..."- and a new title, "Exploring Dams Across Japan" pops up. Soy says he's never heard of this one, and Closer explains that it plays on weekday mornings, and she watched it once when she was home sick. It played during a break on the shopping channel, and only lasted about 15 minutes. It covered the history and facilities of whatever dam was featured, and every episode was pretty much the same. Cattle doesn't think it sounds very interesting.

Akashi's narration continues, explaining that his first time as a director was working on this show, but although it's been running for over ten years, it gets very low ratings, and is mainly just a filler show for the programming schedule. The director isn't even allowed to change the format at all.

A scene appears and plays out, with Akashi's silhouette being the one on the left. A younger and more upbeat Akashi calls a wrap on filming, and thanks everyone for their work today. The cameraman (on the right) thanks him for his hard work as well, but lightheartedly comments that they're never going to improve the ratings no matter how hard they try. Akashi says he hit the nail on the head.

The interviewer for the show (the female silhouette in the middle) says her grandma loves this show, and Akashi replies that some people like to put it on while they do housework. But, as long as there are people watching it, he'll do his best to live up to their expectations.

The cameraman comments that Akashi's so hardworking and motivated, he's surprised he got exiled to a show like this that no one cares about. Akashi says "exile" doesn't quite cover it, but he's not even sure what he did wrong. Maybe they're just trying to give him some experience as a director first? The cameraman isn't sure, but he's glad to have Akashi here; he makes the job a breeze, and a great experience.

The interviewer brings up that Akashi submitted a pitch for a new show, right? If they like it, he'll be able to get back to prime time. Akashi confirms- he sent it to his senior for review, and he's pretty confident in his idea. The interviewer agrees it's super good, and she's sure they'll like it. Excited, the cameraman asks Akashi to bring him along with him to prime time, and the interviewer seconds that.

Akashi replies that of course he will, and then a bit more hesitantly, as long as the pitch is accepted. Specifically to the interviewer, still in that hesitant tone, he admits that he'd like her to be his partner in life, too, if she's willing. The interviewer is thrilled, while the cameraman says he feels like a third wheel, but congratulates them. Part one ends there.

The Phantom Thieves take off their glasses, and Closer's surprised that Akashi seemed like a pretty good guy back then. Cattle agrees that both his work and private lives seemed fulfilling, and Akashi himself seemed cheerful. Wonder and Soy wonder what made him change, and Wind points out that it said "see you next time", so there will probably be another part to explain that. They'll just have to keep an eye out as they search for the Treasure.

Nearby, they also pick up a computer chip that looks important.

As they continue on, they encounter devices that mind-control the workers in a more traditional sense, altering their thoughts (for instance, we see some workers about to clock out for the day, who are then hit by the device, and suddenly return to work). While this bothers the Phantom Thieves, they realize they can alter the devices in their favor, to stop shadows from attacking them as they proceed, though it makes them a bit uncomfortable to do so.

Eventually, they find another box of smart glasses, this time with "don't forget" written on it. Soy wonder what that means, but Cattle begins to speculate these flashback videos aren't actually for Akashi to talk about himself or to glorify the past- Wind finishes the thought for him, maybe they're a reminder of what happened to distort his desires in the first place. Closer suggests they put on the glasses and see.

Kei Akashi - The Glory of the TV Crew Era Part 2 begins with another TV show title, this time one called "Youth Explosion! Club Battle Kingdom!". Closer is shocked Akashi worked on this one as well- she loves this show! It's a game show involving competition between different clubs from different schools. Soy agrees, finding some of the event matchups to be particularly interesting. Closer adds that sometimes the host of the show gets excited enough to cry, and it's great to see all the passionate students from different schools. Wind admits she rarely watches TV and isn't familiar with this show, but still finds the premise very interesting.

However, the screen changes, and we see silhouette Akashi (the shoes close to the screen) confronting his senior, saying that Youth Explosion! Club Battle Kingdom! was his idea, so why did the his senior get put in charge of the show? Mockingly, his senior replies that Akashi's already so busy with the dam program, and he has so little experience, it'd be hard for him to manage this show on prime time. Just leave it to the senior, he'll turn this show into something popular!

Akashi starts to protest, but then the female interviewer walks into the room, and approaches Akashi's senior, cutely thanking him for the promotion. His senior replies that it was nothing, and he'll see her for dinner tonight at a hotel if she'd like. She cheerfully agrees, and rests her head on the senior's shoulder as he puts an arm around her.

Akashi is momentarily at a loss for words. The interviewer apologizes lightly, saying she really wanted to go to prime time. But the dam show's a great program, so he should keep doing his best! She waves, and she and the senior walk out of the room together, as Akashi collapses to his knees in disbelief. Part two ends there.

Closer isn't quite sure what to say. Cattle summarizes- Akashi's show and girlfriend were both taken away from him. Soy says he can understand why he fell to his knees. Wind stresses that Akashi's actions in the present day are still unforgivable, but they should look for the next part.

They also pick up another important-looking computer chip.

Further ahead, they reach a hallway that seems to inflict them with some kind of intense headache or even migraine; Closer clutches her head, and Soy says his vision's going blurry. It seems it was either only that spot, or perhaps something they had to push past, though, as they continue onward without looking too affected.

Just past this spot is a room where a bunch of Akashi's workers have gathered, with one extra-strong one in the center whipping one of Katayama's workers. Soy asks if they're planning something, but Wind says this feels more like a trial. Sure enough, upon closer inspection, the Katayama worker is sitting with its wrists bound, while the strong Akashi worker says it entered "that place" without permission, and stole some important computer chips.

The Katayama worker says nothing, and the Akashi worker takes this as an admission of guilt, so it will be punished. The workers watching from the sides all cheer "Punishment! Punishment!". Soy agrees Wind was right, and worries about the worker about to be punished. Cattle wonders if the machines and red light around it- which bear a resemblance to the mind control devices they've seen before- might be preventing the worker from responding. Wind points out that it also said this worker entered "that place", so if they save it, it might be able to direct them there. They decide to shut off the machines and save the worker.

After shutting off the machines, the red light glitches and disappears, and the strong Akashi worker seems to vanish as well, leaving only the Katayama worker in the center of the room. It thanks them, and, seeing they're also working against Akashi, offers to help. Wind asks about "that place", and it explains that term refers to the core monitoring room, not far from here. It then says it wants to show them something, and raises the final box of smart glasses out of the floor. Before they put on the glasses, it says it needs to get out of here before it gets caught again, and leaves.

Kei Akashi - The Glory of the TV Crew Era Final Part plays. Akashi is still on the ground, and the cameraman approaches him, asking if it's really true he was embezzling production funds. Akashi stands up, and insists he would never, to which the cameraman replies that "she" was just lying after all, then. Akashi asks who "she" is, and the cameraman clarifies it's the woman Akashi had proposed to (the interviewer). She's been stuck to their senior like glue lately, and constantly spreads rumors about Akashi.

Akashi is angry to hear this, and the cameraman continues that she probably thinks it'd be bad for her if her ex were ever to make it into the spotlight. Akashi wonders why this is happening, sounding upset.

The scene shifts, and Akashi approaches his senior and ex-fiancee. His senior asks what's wrong, and Akashi addresses his ex-fiancee, bringing up the stolen show pitch again, saying she could've vouched for him and proven he came up with everything. Playing dumb, she says she doesn't know what he's talking about, to Akashi's dismay. His senior mockingly asks what he's doing, trying to say it was plagiarism? With no evidence?

Defiantly, Akashi says the proof is that he has the same text on his computer still. His senior, however, fires back that it was actually Akashi trying to steal the pitch, and now he's trying to cause more trouble, isn't he? Turning to Akashi's ex-fiancee, he asks her if the pitch was his own idea originally, and she fawns over him as she says yes.

Back to Akashi, the senior says that this industry is a wild jungle, an eat-or-be-eaten world. If he wants the limelight, he should flatter his seniors more. If he disobeys, he'll be targeted again, and devoured down to the bones. As for the senior, he's currently eating Akashi's ex-girlfriend! The ex-fiancee fawns again, asking what he's talking about playfully, to Akashi's frustration.

She then adds that you have to step on others to reach the top, and the courage to do so is super hot. Akashi's not like that- he's just a weakling that's going to get eaten. She then cutely bids him goodbye with another wave, and the couple walks off.

The scene changes again, to Akashi falling to his knees in the room with the checker-pattern floor again (it's almost identical to the shot where the cameraman approached him, screenshotted above), but this time a distorted voice similar to what we've heard on the phone with Akashi speaks, telling him that just moving on won't be enough. Understanding others, being tactful, planning ahead, and acting with purpose are all necessary. Only by having the appetite to consume everyone else can you survive; that's how this industry- no, all of society- is.

Akashi lifts his hands up from the ground, looking down at them, as he mutters "Eat... or be eaten...", and the voice continues to say, as the saying goes, people's happiness is built on the pain of others. No matter who it is, they have malice in their heart. It tells Akashi's he's talented, and that makes him a target. Akashi repeats this quietly. He's... talented? And it's because of his talent that people target him...? The voice says that people who have motivation and knowledge are suppressed, making their talent disappear, because everyone else only cares about their own best interest. Eat, or be eaten... which will he choose? Akashi, sounding angry, starts to respond that he... he will-!

The scene changes again, and Akashi, now sounding actively malevolent, declares that he'll swallow everything up. The weak, the talented, anyone he can make use of, he'll eat up every bite, bone and skin.

Fixing his posture to be a bit more proper, and speaking in a more calm tone, he introduces himself as Kei Akashi, the "consultant of justice" who will "punish evil and save your business". This isn't a game show- he'll bring you real entertainment. With this, Kei Akashi - The Glory of the TV Crew Era ends.

Closer speaks first, summarizing that Akashi was betrayed by his senior and girlfriend and became a victim, but his desires distorted. Soy adds that in order to take advantage of others, to avoid being taken advantage of himself, he became the shady consultant they know now. Wonder expresses that even given all that, his current actions... and Closer finishes, yeah, it doesn't give him a pass to deprive others of their desires just because he went through this.

Wind says that after the terrible experience he had, he could have used that as motivation to help others, but Cattle points out that not all humans have the strength to do so. The fact that they're seeing these memories proves that sometimes negative emotions can fuel a human's desire for survival. Remembering the betrayal he suffered in the past is connected to Akashi's desire to keep living. Wind doesn't have any words to respond to this.

Cattle continues that it's undeniable that Akashi's own desires are distorted, and he's hurting others and stealing their desires. If left unchecked, he'll continue to do so, and there will be more victims. Wind agrees- for the sake of Katayama, and all of Akashi's other victims, they need to change his heart.

Sure enough, like the worker told them, "that place", the core monitoring room, is just ahead. On the way, they find another important-looking computer chip.

Closer is amazed at all the screens in this room, but wonders what the thing in the middle of the room is- it kind of looks like a brain. As she comments, Wind walks away from the others. Cattle speculates that it seems to be hiding something, and asks how to open it.

Wind, who walked over to one of the consoles with wires running from it to the central brain, catches their attention. The screen on the console is showing the rooms where they'd found the smart glasses, as well as those important-looking computer chips. Wind explains: it looks like those chips are used here, but they need four, and they only have three. A detour further past the core monitoring room ends up being needed to secure the last chip, and then they return.

With all four chips inserted, the cables plugged into the central brain retract, and the "brain" itself opens up, revealing a holographic map of the dam. At first Soy asks if it's the Treasure, but Closer says it doesn't seem like it. Wind speculates that Shadow Akashi may monitor this while giving orders to his workers.

Closer then notices the two red spots marked on the map, wondering aloud about them. Wind notes that one is on the power plant, while the other... is somewhere they haven't been yet, in the middle of the dam. Closer suggests maybe it's marking Akashi's Treasure, since the other dot is on the power plant, which is where they found Katayama's Treasure. Wonder compliments Closer for noticing, and she seems pleased. Cattle says that direction would match up with the direction of the Treasure that he can vaguely sense.

Soy is mildly frustrated that they spent all this time in the control center just to discover the Treasure is somewhere else, but Wind reassures him that determining where the Treasure is is a reward in and of itself. Closer agrees, but adds that she gets how Soy feels, too; the trip wasn't for nothing, but it does feel like a bit of a waste of time. Cattle warns them not to drop their guards, since they haven't fully secured their infiltration route yet. Soy chuckles, and says they should cheer up and head out.

Heading to the spot marked on the holographic map, they reach a fence, and Cattle says he can feel the Treasure just past it.

Most of the rest of this part can be watched here, with rough, machine-translated English subtitles. Parts are missing, however, which I'll add in where they come up.

Soy declares that all that's left is to send the calling card to Akashi, then! Closer says it took forever to get here, but it feels like they've finally made it. Wind turns to the group, and thanks everyone for their hard work; there's just one last step ahead of them now. She starts to ask Wonder what they're doing next, but the audio becomes glitchy, and Wonder is alarmed as everything flashes white.

We see a scene at Kokatsu, with Akashi peeking around the corner, looking a bit out of it. He then walks around the corner, and we see Riko, Motoha, and Wonder walking together further down the hall. Akashi laughs somewhat weakly- very different from his usual tone- and, with his face in his hand, thinks to himself that he has nothing left. Some students walking by glance at him, but he pays no attention, continuing that his hope and reason for living are gone. He stumbles forward, thinking "Why... only me...? Why?" as two other female students gasp, one's hands flying up to cover her mouth as the camera reveals Akashi's holding a knife. He thinks "I'm always being eaten... stolen from, losing..." as the camera focuses in on him drawing the knife, framing Riko, Motoha, and Wonder just ahead. The camera shows his face, clearly out of it, as he says he sees, he'll just destroy everything, as the female students run away. Isn't that a good idea? Raising the blade, he says he'll take you with him, Tanemura-san, charging at Riko blade-first. Wonder watches in horror, reaching out toward him, but Riko and Motoha barely have time to react before he collides with Riko. The screen goes black, Motoha screaming, "No!! Riko-senpai!!!"

Everything flashes white again, returning to the present, Wonder shaking his head and clutching it. He thinks, "It... happened again...", and Cattle, thinking, asks if he saw something again. Wonder nods. Wind repeats "saw something... you've said this before." Closer brings up that he said he "saw" something during the Flavor Fight before as well. Wonder motions to explain, and the scene cuts for a moment. When it comes back, Wind restates what he apparently explained, that he sometimes has daydreams. Soy is shocked to hear that Wonder had one during the Flavor Fight, where he lost and Yamagoshi died. Wonder nods, and Soy asks if he's just so worried that it's making him hallucinate bad outcomes. Closer, however, brings up that Wonder was the one to mention Ashouken’s “life”, which he then asked Yamagoshi about, and that was how they saved Soy. Cattle says it sounds like they're not just regular dreams- they sound precognitive. Soy points out that if that's the case, then why is Yamagoshi still alive? And the idea that Akashi would stab Wind with a knife... Wind agrees that while it's not impossible, it'd be strange for someone as cunning as Akashi to make a reckless move like that. Soy reiterates that maybe Wonder's just too anxious, and his imagination is getting the better of him? However, Wind suggests that, rather than an overactive imagination, it almost sounds more like the *worst* future possible, which they want to avoid. Wonder thinks about this, and both his response options have him stress how real the daydreams feel. Closer asks if that means these visions really happened, but Soy doesn't understand what she means. She explains that it's something you see a lot in manga: in order to avoid a bad outcome, you go through the same thing over and over again. Soy mutters that she's just talking about manga plots, and Closer sheepishly admits she's a fan of stories like that. Wind thinks this over, and Closer becomes nervous, saying it was just a joke. But Wind doesn't think it's entirely impossible. Something like the Metaverse itself would've sounded crazy to them a few months ago, like something out of fiction. Closer admits that's true, and Soy adds that they've got talking owls and hooded monsters, too... Cattle, predictably, takes offense to this. Wind continues: the fact is that Wonder is seeing something none of them have experienced, and he's been able to use information from those visions to avoid worst-case scenarios in the past. It's possible that something about these daydreams *is* legitimate, and they should be taken seriously. Wonder can ask either "Would there be any point?" or "Why is this happening?"; in the video, the former is chosen. Wind replies that she genuinely has no idea right now, but next time he has a vision like that, he should be sure to tell them about it. Wonder nods. Looping back to the original topic, Soy says they've secured their infiltration route for the Treasure.

The linked video cuts off here, but it's not the end of the scene, and in fact cuts out the next scene entirely:

Wind double-checks that they just need to send Akashi a calling card next, and Cattle confirms; last time, Riko's words to Katayama were enough, but that's not going to work this time. They'll need to ensure Akashi sees the calling card, and then steal his Treasure that same day. Everyone nods.

Closer then asks how they're going to deliver the calling card. She suggests putting it on his desk, but Soy points out that while he'll definitely see it, it's so ordinary that he might not take it seriously, thinking it's only a prank.

Wind admits she has an idea, and Closer excitedly asks her what it is. She explains that Akashi's crimes are difficult for even the police to identify, but every time he's consulted somewhere, he's left victims behind. Therefore, she wants to reveal to more people what he's done, making it so he can't ignore the calling card. She wants tens of thousands of people- no, even more than that- to see it.

This piques Closer's curiosity, and Soy mutters that he's glad Wind's so dependable, but he's really glad she's not their enemy. Wind continues that she'll need their help, but she'll explain more later, to Closer's dismay, who complains that she built it up for them just to delay the reveal. Cattle points out that if they stay here much longer, they're at the risk of being found by shadows. He believes it's time to retreat for now, and Closer somewhat reluctantly agrees. Soy says they'll leave the calling card planning to Wind.

Back in the real world, outside of Shibuya station in their usual spot, Riko says they should disband for today, and she'll work out the details for the calling card. Motoha says she's really looking forward to what Riko has in store. Shun suggests Wonder get some rest; maybe he just has those weird visions because he's not getting enough sleep? Wonder nervously nods.

Ruferu brings up Wonder's vision of Riko being stabbed again, but Shun cuts him off, saying he's thinking about this too much. Ruferu continues anyway, wondering what would push someone like Akashi, who's always calm and operates behind the scenes, to suddenly commit murder. Wonder can suggest either "Desperation...?" or "Losing everything...?", and Ruferu rephrases this as losing all his desires. However, if he lost all desires, including the basic desire to live, he shouldn't still have the desire to take someone else down with him. Perhaps someone else interfered, and stimulated his negative desires, completely distorting them...?

Shun, frustrated, says again that they shouldn't overthink a bad thing that never happened. As long as they change his heart, everything'll be fine. Wonder can either agree, or say they need to do this for Riko's sake. Ruferu slightly awkwardly agrees, apologizing for going on about it. He suggests they all rest up and prepare for Riko's plan. Motoha enthusiastically agrees, bidding them all good night.

The video continues:

Wonder goes to sleep, and finds himself in the Velvet Room once again. Merope apologizes for bothering him so late at night. Igor says tonight, he'd like to talk about the glimpses of tragic fates befalling those close to him that Wonder has. Wonder can respond either "You mean the daydreams?" or "Is Igor the one showing me these?". In the video, the former is chosen, and Igor repeats, "Daydreams? So you think these are only dreams?". In my own playthrough, I picked the latter, and he instead replied, "Impossible, these scenes are what you yourself have seen." Igor continues, "are these scenes a reality of the past, a predicted future, or truly just your imagination?". He asks Wonder what he thinks, and Wonder has all three of those possibilities as response options. The video picks "a predicted future", to which Igor replies that makes sense, as Wonder doesn't have these memories himself, so it's natural to assume they're precognitive. In my own playthrough, I picked "a reality of the past", which instead gets the response, "But... you don't have these memories yourself? I'm very curious why you think this." Igor then laughs, and says it could be the past, the future, or perhaps neither entirely... Regardless of which it is, only Wonder himself will be able to determine this. Wonder reacts with a ?, and Merope explains that what Igor means to say is that Wonder must continue to feel a desire towards this, and should not stop thinking about it. Igor agrees, then asks Wonder if he recalls these words someone said to him before: "Not being aware of one's abilities, and not having those abilities at all, are two different things." Wonder thinks to himself that this *does* sound familiar, but after thinking for a moment, cannot recall who said this. (Notably, Ruferu was the one who said this, back when he first sat in the seat across from Wonder on the train, just before the Rush Rider rode onto the train and charged at Wonder.) Igor laughs again, and advises Wonder to continue to hold tightly onto his desires if he wants to avoid ruin. Ominously, he adds that he hopes this isn't Wonder's final choice. Wonder can ask either "Final choice...?" or "Do you know something?"; regardless of which is picked, Merope makes a noncommittal noise (with her expression that's often used for annoyance), then says that's all for tonight. Igor says he looks forward to their next meeting, with a laugh.

The very last bit of a scene from this update is also omitted from the video:

The next morning, Wonder wakes up, and thinks to himself, "Final choice... What does that mean?" He then shakes his head, noting that he's unable to think of an answer, and gets out of bed. He recalls that Riko's planning something for Akashi, so he should get ready in the meantime.

P5X Third Arc Summary

(last updated 7/30/24!)

Only the first half of this arc has been added to the game as of the making of this post. Once the second half is added, that will be covered here as well!

Usual disclaimer: Please keep in mind this game still has no official English translation, so this summary uses a mix of what happens visually, what I understand of the Japanese dialogue, and Google translate for the Chinese text, in order to get the broader picture here. This will be focused on summing up everything that happens overall, without getting into a line-by-line translation.

Contrary to this blog’s name, this post is going to have as little speculation as possible, and stick to confirmed facts.

This post (and its reblogs) will cover the Katayama Arc.

The Phantom Thieves have gathered on the rooftop of Kokatsu Academy during lunch, after Ruferu apparently asked them to. He brings up the "person behind the scenes" that he suggested might exist after they stole Miyazawa's Treasure, and suggests that they should avoid talking about their Metaverse activities in areas with other people around, in order to protect their identities.

Motoha agrees that that's a good idea, but thinks the rooftop should be pretty safe, since it's big and no one else comes up here. Ruferu decides they should make this their hideout for now. Wonder can respond "Hideout...?" or "Very stylish". If the latter is picked, Ruferu is pleased he understands, and suggests it's "chic" as well. Motoha still doesn't understand the term, saying Ruferu's using difficult words again, to Shun's slight bafflement.

Putting that aside, Shun confirms that people rarely come to the roof during lunch, reminding Motoha he always eats alone up here. She hasn't been up here much, but really likes the idea of eating under the blue sky.

As they start to eat, she notices that Shun only brought ramen, and all Wonder has is bread, so she offers to share some of her food. Shun wants to focus on his ramen, but if Wonder accepts, Motoha mentions she made it herself. This catches Ruferu's attention, who now wants to try some as well.

Once they're done eating, Ruferu gets back to business, saying he wanted to discuss their next target. They don't have any clues, but since they stole Miyazawa's Treasure a few days ago, they can use that to open the next area of Mementos. Shun agrees they should look for the next Palace there, and it's decided they'll go there after school.

Before the bell rings, Motoha remembers Tomoko told her about a new teacher coming to Kokatsu, though he won't teach any classes.

Elsewhere in the school, the Dean of Academic Affairs, Yamanashi, is introducing the teachers to a man named Kei Akashi. He's an educational consultant sent by the school board. Akashi explains that, as he's sure they're all aware, teachers in the country are overworked, and the job of an educational consultant is to help ease their burden. While he's here, he'll be conducting an investigation to identify problems at Kokatsu, and assist in creating an environment that allows teachers to focus on educating students.

The teachers all like what Akashi proposes, and Yamanashi lets them know there will be a mandatory school assembly to introduce Akashi to the students. At first, Katayama is in favor as well, but when she says she'll be able to spend more time with her students, Yamanashi berates her for a recent unauthorized home visit she made, which a parent complained about.

Katayama explains that the student whose parent complained has been missing a lot of school lately, and leaving early. She tried calling their parents, but was unable to get in touch, and took this as a further sign that something was wrong. If her student is having family troubles, she wants to be able to support them.

Akashi tells her to stop, and switches his glasses over to another pair, suddenly knowing her full name is Kumi Katayama, to her surprise.

He explains that they're smart glasses, and he checked the information he has on her using them. He then agrees with Yamanashi that she shouldn't be making house visits, citing the fact that students complain about them, and calling her mindset outdated. Katayama continues to try to argue her perspective, that some students need more support, especially if they're clearly not getting any, but Yamanashi shuts her down, saying Akashi is correct. He then forbids her from seeing any students outside of school- saying that goes for the other teachers as well- and ends the meeting.

Katayama and Akashi stare at each other for another moment as everyone else leaves, and Akashi tells her he looks forward to working with her before leaving as well. Outside of the office, however, he mutters to himself that, as he suspected, she'll be the perfect bait, and he needs to let "that person" know everything is going well. He pulls out a cellphone, and the scene ends.

Back in her classroom, Katayama struggles to get the attention of her class, eventually yelling at them all to be quiet.

She immediately seems to regret it, but awkwardly informs them of the mandatory assembly tomorrow morning. She then ends the class for the day. Some murmurs go through the class about her reaction.

Motoha turns around in her seat, and comments that Katayama seems to be in a bad mood. While she understands Katayama couldn't get them to settle down, the yelling was alarming.

The other students start gossiping again, saying Katayama must be a phantom. At this moment, Shun walks into the classroom.

He warns them not to say things like that behind Katayama's back, then heads over to Wonder's desk and asks about going to Mementos today.

In Mementos, they head right to the door, and sure enough, it opens. The MetaNav informs them a new area has opened up, to Soy's surprise. He wonders where the app came from, and Closer admits she never really thought about it since it's so strange already; it works with no signal, and can't be deleted.

Soy asks Cattle if he has any idea, but Cattle doesn't, though it's possible he might remember something as he regains more of his memories. All he knows is that people with strong desires can use it. Closer starts to think it's a little scary, if even Cattle doesn't know anything about it, and the snake icon doesn't help.

Cattle explains that the ouroboros is rather famous, as a snake that eats its own tail... but Closer points out this icon isn't actually eating its own tail, to Cattle's shock. Eventually, they brush it off as overthinking; the important thing is that the MetaNav lets them steal the hearts of people like Kiuchi and Miyazawa.

With that, Cattle attempts to locate the next Palace by listening for the voices of the collective unconscious. He's startled out of his focus by the feeling of a powerful presence approaching, which forms into a shadow. Cattle and Wonder immediately recognize it.

They're forced to fight it again, and find it significantly more powerful this time. When they beat it, Cattle explains to Closer and Soy that he and Wonder fought this shadow before, when Wonder first came to Mementos. Closer asks if that means it came back, and Cattle mutters to himself wondering if it can somehow reform and steal desires infinitely, but then brushes that off, deciding the world would have fallen into chaos long ago if that were the case. Still, they'll have to keep an eye out for more like it in the future.

Cattle then tries to listen to the voices again, but has no luck. Closer guesses maybe that means the next Palace ruler hides their evil actions like Miyazawa did, and Cattle agrees-- they'll need to find more information first. Soy asks how they'll get it here, and the others clarify they'll need to get information in the real world, which reminds him of when they were asking about Miyazawa.

As they leave Mementos, the scene cuts elsewhere, to the Cyler Eats deliveryperson speeding down Shibuya Central Street, rushing right past people and nearly knocking them over.

As people complain, one of them recalls that was a phantom, the "Rush Rider".

That night, Wonder visits the Velvet Room. Igor congratulates him on his desire winning out over another Palace ruler, and Merope applauds. Igor says his desire is strong enough to guide the current world, and he's using the power he was given very skillfully. When Wonder asks, Merope clarifies Igor was referring to the power to enter the Metaverse, and Igor mentions the MetaNav by name, saying that, depending on the user's will, it can be a key to avoid the coming ruin, or the culprit that brings it about.

Wonder can ask "Key?" or "Culprit?", and at least if he chooses the latter, Igor says outright "A person with this power... You're not the only ones." Wonder tries to ask about this, but Igor can't give him the answers; the ending has to be decided by Wonder. With that, Wonder wakes up.

The next day, Wonder sees Yamagoshi taking down the closure notice on Toraiken's front door.

Yamagoshi recognizes him as Shun's friend, and explains that Toraiken is resuming business now that he's feeling better, even if he hasn't completely recovered. He wants to see his customers' happy expressions again. Ruferu comments that his desires have returned to him now that they changed Miyazawa's heart and opened another area of Mementos.

Yamagoshi does lament that Miyazawa drove away all his part-time workers, but then realizes Wonder must live near here, and invites him to come work at Toraiken part time if he ever wants to. He then warns Wonder that it looks like it's going to rain, so he should hurry to school.

Ruferu asks Wonder if he brought an umbrella; he did not, but there's no time to run back home and grab it. Sure enough, they get caught in the rain at Shibuya station, and they run into Motoha, who's in the same situation. Luckily, as they're running through the rain, a car pulls up: it's Riko, who offers a ride. Motoha eagerly accepts, and Wonder follows after Riko clarifies they're both welcome.

In the car, Riko types away at a keyboard as Motoha thanks her. Riko explains she happened to be passing by. Wonder can comment either "Going to school by car?" or "Rich people..."; if he chooses the former, Riko clarifies that she usually takes the train, but she had work to get done, and Motoha sympathizes that it's impossible to get anything done on a packed morning train.

Riko and Wonder then formally introduce themselves to each other.

Once they reach the school, Riko parts ways with them, and Motoha exclaims again about how lucky they were to run into her. Ruferu comments that Riko's car was very comfortable, nearly on par with his own car form. Motoha teases him, saying Riko's car is more advanced, but it makes sense, given Riko is the eldest daughter of the president of UMETANE.

When neither Wonder nor Ruferu know what she's talking about, Motoha explains that UMETANE is a company that sells a wide variety of plum products, and even has ads on TV. She's surprised they haven't heard of it. She used to drink plum juice from Riko after training, back when she was in a little league and Riko would cheer her on. They don't talk much anymore, though.

Students start to pass by Motoha, Wonder, and Cattle, and after a moment of confusion, Motoha realizes they're headed to the assembly Katayama told them about yesterday. They have to hurry to make it in time.

At the assembly, Riko introduces Akashi, then steps aside to let him speak. Akashi introduces himself, and says he's here for an investigation to help make Kokatsu better, which includes any student suggestions. He lets them know they'll be seeing him around school and in classrooms, but he's not a suspicious person... although saying that probably makes him sound suspicious.

The other students seem to have mixed opinions on him, but Motoha thinks he's interesting, and Ruferu comments that he may be able to help strengthen the students' desires. Riko dismisses the assembly.

After the assembly, Yamanashi formally introduces Akashi to Riko, as the head of the disciplinary committee. Putting on his smart glasses, Akashi identifies her as the UMETANE heiress. Riko asks about the smart glasses, so he explains that he has information about the students that serve as the backbone of the school uploaded onto them. He further identifies her as someone who is popular and has excellent grades.

Yamanashi is impressed by how much background research Akashi did, and tells him he's free to order Riko around for whatever information or busywork purposes he may have. Akashi points out that using the phrase "order around" sounds like a violation, and Yamanashi backtracks. Stepping around that, he invites Akashi to make use of the student guidance room and his office as much as he needs. Akashi thanks him, mentioning that though he was already given a desk in the teachers' office, much of his work is a bit more confidential than that affords.

Yamanashi then has Riko hand a file of information that he'd requested over to Akashi. Riko says she'll also send him electronic copies. Yamanashi again brags about how much work Riko did for him, and this time, Akashi wonders if it's appropriate to hand over so much work to a student, not to mention the potential confidentiality issues. Yamanashi, sheepish again, clarifies Riko's very good in this regard, and much better than the other students at getting things done. Akashi pushes a bit more, but Yamanashi insists this is preparation for the family business she plans to inherit. Riko agrees, saying her father encourages her to help out the teachers.

With this, Akashi accepts her help during school hours.

Back in class, Katayama wraps up a lesson, then, somewhat downcast, reminds the class to be polite if they do ask Akashi for any help or have suggestions. Motoha, turning around to talk to Wonder, wonders if something's bothering Katayama, and Ruferu speculates it has something to do with Akashi based on how she talked about him. Motoha starts to sidetrack, and thinks about what suggestions she'd have for Akashi, like less exams, a better cafeteria menu, and more sweet bread types in the school store.

The next day, Wonder runs into Shun during lunch, who apparently bought several "rare flavors" of instant ramen this morning to try for lunch. He asks Wonder if he wants to join in at the hideout. Wonder's thought bubble declares him to be a bit uneasy about the weird flavors, but curious enough to say yes anyway. They take a detour to buy drinks.

However, the vending machine is blocked by two girls filming a video, claiming they're going to buy and try every drink in the machine. Shun complains, and the students nearby say the girls have been doing this for a bit without caring about anyone else, so someone should probably call a teacher.

One of the girls expresses doubt that their video will really get much attention, and the other asks her what they could do instead. The first girl suggests they do the thing that phantom did, and pulls out a lighter and hairspray, saying she's going to make fire spray~! in a cutesy tone.

Shun, alarmed, says they have to stop them, but before they have a chance, Katayama runs over and slaps the lighter out of the first girl's hand. The second girl holds up her phone.

Katayama demands to know what they thought they were doing, and the first girl innocently says they were just filming a video. The second girl then declares she took a picture of Katayama's violent action, and she's going to post it on Magatsushin, hoping it'll go viral.

Shun comes over and grabs the second girls' wrist, saying that's enough, and Katayama was just stopping them from doing something stupid. The first girl immediately takes out her own phone, and takes a picture of him, mockingly calling him a violent boy. Katayama asks Shun to let her go, and he reluctantly does.

Katayama then tells them to stop taking pictures, and confiscates the first girl's phone, to her anger. The second girl refuses to hand hers over when asked, saying Katayama's just trying to cover up the evidence they got, since she's a phantom. She starts to chant "Tyrannical teacher, tyrannical teacher!"

Riko appears, and tells them to quiet down.

Riko asks what happened, and the girls declare that Katayama used violence against them and confiscated one of their phones. Shun immediately says it was because they took out a lighter first, and the girls call him cruel. Riko shakes her head, and continues to try to get the actual story.

As this happens, Akashi approaches, and, seeing this is an argument between a teacher and some students, says he'd like to know what's going on as well.

He decides that he'll hear our Katayama's side of the story, while Riko will talk to the students involved. Katayama protests, saying the girls were going to do something dangerous, so a teacher should be supervising them. He should at least call another teacher over to oversee things, if he wants to talk to her. Akashi brushes this off, saying students should deal with student problems, and dismissing Katayama's further arguments with a line about "outdated thinking" again.

Riko assures Katayama that she can handle them, though this seems to trouble Katayama. Akashi then takes the confiscated phone from Katayama, telling her she can't confiscate personal belongings from students, and if she deleted things from them, it could be seen as destroying evidence. He says he'll look over the videos himself, as an outside party, and then delete them afterward if they're not evidence of anything.

The girls protest this, and he advises them that controversial videos aren't the best way to earn views, but offers to show them some other techniques for video editing that are more popular later. The girls immediately fawn over how cool and mature he is, causing Riko to shake her head again before taking them with her.

Shun mutters that he was there, too, and Katayama says she'll talk to Riko later. With that, she and Akashi leave as well. Shun tries to tell her she did nothing wrong, but she just holds up a hand as she walks away.

The next day at school, some of the students in Wonder's class are gossiping about something that is "definitely Katayama" and a "girl getting beaten". Motoha watches something on her phone, then turns around and shows it to Wonder: it's an edited video of the incident yesterday with Katayama and the girls, posted to Magatsushin and calling Katayama a phantom. Motoha mentions the face is blurred, and the name is changed to "Teacher K", but anyone at Kokatsu can immediately tell the teacher in the video is Ms. Katayama.

Elsewhere, Yamanashi is outraged at this scandal, having one of their school's teachers posted as a phantom. He confirms whether Akashi deleted the video like he was supposed to, and Akashi says he did, but, well, the situation was chaotic. It's possible another student filmed everything. Yamanashi, distraught, now forbids Katayama from interacting with students outside of teaching her classes, and she's also not allowed to confiscate any student's belongings.

Katayama asks if he's forbidding her from stopping students from doing something dangerous, and Yamanashi insists she just call another teacher, or Akashi, or even Riko to deal with it instead. Katayama, alarmed, asks if he's trying to make teachers depend on students, and he declares that Riko's more reliable than her. Akashi adds that after Riko talked to them, the two girls wrote letters of apology, unlike the boy that Katayama dismissed.

Yamanashi then sends a defeated Katayama home for the day, saying they'll have other teachers cover her. He warns the other teachers not to get involved in students' business. Akashi and Riko should be relied on as the go-betweens.

Later, instead of Katayama, Mr. Hakozaki enters the classroom, and clumsily tries to explain that Katayama went home because she was "sick" when students ask about her. The students gossip, speculating she got fired because she appeared on Magatsushin, and Mr. Hakozaki frantically admits she just got sent home early today.

After class, Motoha expresses concern about Katayama, and Ruferu points out that, no matter the truth of the situation, their homeroom teacher is now technically a phantom. Motoha clarifies she was only posted once, and not officially recognized by Magatsukami, but Ruferu points out that that doesn't really matter in the eyes of everyone else.

He then mentions that Kiuchi and Miyazawa were also phantoms, so that could mean Katayama could become a Palace ruler, even as Motoha says it's impossible. He's not set on the idea, but he wanted to address the possibility.

After Wonder goes to sleep that night, we see a whale swimming through a body of water, and then several of those shadows (that Wonder and Cattle fought before) spawn in Mementos.

The scene then cuts to Katayama entering a public restroom, and the Cyler Eats deliveryperson, also known as the Rush Rider phantom, stepping out of the same restroom and getting onto a bike.

With her speech bubble now identifying her as Katayama, the Rush Rider complains that her head hurts, and, sounding like she's in significant pain, wonders why she became a phantom, and why she's like this. She rides off on her bike, and the camera pans over to show Akashi walk up to where she was just standing. He laughs to himself, and does something with his smart glasses.

The next day, Wonder runs into Motoha and Tomoko on his way to the school store during lunch. They invite him to come eat with them up on the roof after buying some food. However, the school store is being monopolized by the same two girls from the other day, filming another video.

This time, they're planning to buy and review all the bread in the school store. Tomoko and some of the other students recognize them as the girls from the video with Katayama, and several of them complain that they're not letting anyone else buy anything. However, the girls just threaten to take videos of anyone who gets in their way and post them online.

Motoha moves to talk to them, but Tomoko stops her, warning her that those are the girls that got Katayama identified as a phantom. This just makes Motoha angrier with them. Someone else suggests they call Riko, but another says they already called her. Wonder wonders why they don't get a teacher, but Tomoko tells him that everyone is supposed to go to Riko now. The teachers are unreliable these days, since all anyone needs to do is take out a phone and say they're filming, and the teachers will back off immediately. Motoha can't believe this.

Riko finally arrives, led by another student, and is disappointed to see these two causing trouble again. She asks if their apology letters were a lie, but they claim they weren't doing anything, just buying stuff at the school store. Riko tells them they're causing problems for the other students, but they whine about wanting to finish filming their video first.

At this, Akashi arrives, and their demeanor immediately shifts, happy to see him and pleasantly asking about what he's doing here as if he's a friend they ran into by chance. Akashi offers to teach them more secrets to making popular videos, and they happily agree to come with him to the student guidance room.

Akashi then turns to Riko, and somewhat dismissively (though smiling) tells her he can handle this, and she should enjoy her lunch. After all, fixing problems here is his job. Riko looks slightly downtrodden at this.

As Riko leaves, she runs into Motoha, Tomoko, and Wonder, and they step aside to talk.

Motoha marvels at how quickly and easily Akashi resolved the situation, but seeing that Riko seems a bit off, asks if she's okay, considering she has to deal with all the students' problems now. Riko admits there have been a lot of people coming to her, but Yamanashi comes over before she can answer further.

He asks about the incident, noting it was the same two girls, but then tells Riko she shouldn't be needing Akashi to solve problems, as their evaluation will look better if he's less involved. This strikes a nerve with Motoha, who steps forward and says the teachers should be taking care of things, not Riko. Yamanashi nervously explains that Akashi's new policy is that students solve students' problems, to help with student autonomy and let teachers focus on teaching. Motoha fires back that that sounds like an excuse, but Riko tells her to stop.

Once Motoha backs off, Riko asks what Yamanashi wanted from her. Yamanashi informs her he forwarded her an email from Akashi, and wants her to take care of organizing the data he requested. Once Yamanashi leaves, Motoha and Wonder are shocked that he'd blatantly push his work onto Riko.

Riko, however, says it doesn't matter, because as long as she takes care of it, she'll also get the evaluation she deserves, from the dean. But then she makes a pained face, and calls him a "shallow" and "easily manipulated" person. Her focus is on protecting herself and her own interests, and as long as people see her as a pawn to be used, they won't betray her. She can trust Akashi to an extent, since he's not the type to sever a useful relationship with someone as long as they don't get in his way, but she finds him a bit suspicious, since she's unsure what he really thinks.

Motoha asks what she's saying, and Tomoko tells her no one would treat her like that. Riko turns back to them, and asks them if they think the idea of relationships maintained on those principles are scary. She can't trust anyone without considering their personal interests first. Motoha and Tomoko insist they care about Riko, and even offer to help her with the dean's work for nothing in return, but Riko says they haven't changed, and politely turns them down. After she leaves, Tomoko says Riko must have changed, because she wouldn't have said something like that in the past.

The next day, the Phantom Thieves gather at their hideout again, and Motoha asks if they're heading to Mementos to keep looking for the Palace. Ruferu mentions that having a full name makes it much easier for him to focus in on the Palace while listening to the voices of the collective unconscious, and the topic of Kiuchi and Miyazawa both being phantoms comes up again. Motoha adds that they were both confirmed phantoms, and Shun comments that it makes sense that bad people like them would have Palaces.

Motoha tries checking Magatsushin for phantoms, and the first two she finds are the Rush Rider (who she says she knows nothing about), and then "Teacher K", the "tyrannical teacher", otherwise known as Ms. Katayama. Motoha tries to brush past her, but Ruferu advises they take the possibility more seriously. Shun immediately goes on the defensive for Katayama, saying she was just filmed by some troublemakers, but Ruferu is unfazed, as the public considers her a phantom, no matter what the truth of the situation is. Shun is still skeptical, because Katayama's not a bad person.

At that moment, Katayama herself comes up to them, Ruferu barely noticing her in time to fly away. She says she wants to talk to them, and brings up the video of the Flavor Fight on her phone. Shun is surprised, as Miyazawa's channel was deleted, but Katayama says his channel was popular enough that people probably reposted the videos. She asks if it's Shun in the video, and Shun awkwardly avoids answering, so she pushes, saying the three of them must have gone to the Flavor Fight the day they skipped part of their afternoon classes.

Wonder can tell her the truth or lie; if he tells the truth, Shun frantically tries to shush him, while Katayama thanks him for being honest. She says she doesn't blame them, and won't tell the other teachers, but she hopes they'll come to her if they have any problems in the future, because as their teacher, she wants to help them. She also expresses concern about how much they've suddenly been spending time together; it's fine if they're just becoming better friends, but she worries they've gotten into more trouble.

Shun starts to ask her how she knows- then cuts himself off, makes a guilty, nervous face, and says there's no trouble at all. Katayama laughs, calling him a kid who can't lie, and asks them to come to her before doing anything dangerous. Shun apologizes, and admits there is a problem, but he can't tell her, no matter what. Katayama seems distraught to hear this, so he tries to assure her that they'll figure it out and be fine for sure, but it doesn't help much, as she mutters to herself that she must be unworthy of trust.

Akashi then interrupts, reminding her the dean forbid her from talking to students outside of class, to Motoha's surprise. He calls her an "internet celebrity" who can't be allowed to influence students, which immediately angers Shun, though Katayama tells him it's fine. Katayama then dismisses herself, but quietly pleads with them to talk to an adult, even if it's not her, before she leaves.

Walking over to them with a smile, Akashi calls that a disaster, though Motoha insists Katayama was just worried about them. Akashi says he can help them instead, and uses his smart glasses to immediately identify them. At their surprise, he explains they can compare faces with the student registry. With that, he invites them to come to him with any concerns, and exits the roof.

Ruferu returns, as Motoha decides Akashi is actually a little scary, though she thought he was a good teacher originally. Shun declares that he doesn't like him. Ruferu complains about their meeting being interrupted, and says he wants to try using Katayama's name to find the next Palace. At Shun's reluctance, Ruferu points out that this could also prove she's not a Palace ruler, while narrowing down their search options, and Shun relents.

After school, they head to Mementos. Though Soy and Closer are convinced it won't work...

Cattle is shocked to be able to locate the Palace after saying "Kumi Katayama" and listening for a moment.

Closer and Soy are also in disbelief, but Cattle insists there's no mistaking it. However, while he's positive her name led him to the Palace, he does describe the atmosphere as "a bit strange", with "something like noise mixed in, interfering with the signal". Miyazawa's Palace didn't have anything like that.

Wonder, Closer, and Soy decide they'll have to see the Palace with their own eyes, so they set off towards where Cattle heard it coming from.

To be continued in the next reblog!

[seleneprince]

And If I tell you that Harvey Dent had an affair with Lucia's mother? If I tell you that he loved her but couldn't be with her the way he wanted to? If I tell you he was there when Lucia was born, held her in his arms and was the first father figure she remembers?

If I tell you he's Marco's biological father, which Lucia knows? If I tell you Harvey knew all along she was Bruce's child, but refused to tell because he wanted to keep her for himself? If I tell you he still cares for her as if she was his own, but also out of a misplaced sense of guilt that he couldn't save their mother/his lover?

If I tell you his relationship with Lucia is complicated, unhealthy, loving and built upon a mountain of traumas and the remnants of the past? That he loves her, she loves him, he relies on her emotionally, she acts like his caretaker sometimes, she wouldn't ever trust him to raise Marco, he sees the ghost of her mother in her?

If I tell you this will be tragic for both, what then?

Taglist: @yuyuzi-ling @lunayaps (if someone wants to be added, let me know)

[juaneloriginal]

Hi! Kinda just got here and I’m curious what the love virus does

Is it like a romantic desire for someone or NSFW? I’m curious because I don’t know what I’ll find on this blog and also because this AU is super interesting

The love virus just makes the emotions of the user explosive and unstable

That combined with painter's manic personality makes it even worse, him at times tearing his body apart due to the sheer extreme of his emotions.

In terms of what the virus wants/does in general, is information, it wants to absorb as much information as it can, but it doesn't really use it.

due to being trapped down in Blacksite with no way of connection to the outside world because Urbanshade cut all of it so the virus wouldn't be able to spread, it urges the virus to find a way out, using the user's desires to achieve that

What it does with painter is manipulate him into wanting more info for a certain purpose, making him hallucinate and appearing at random times to just taunt him.

Since painter loves art the virus will start to deteriorate his ability to do so, making painter frustrated and in response, trying to find ways to get better, absorbing all the art that he can find down in the Blacksite (like an ai does) and the very little the virus was able to grab from the outside world in the very few milliseconds it passed out there, enticing him to get out to absorb more

Besides that, it will also deteriorate his ability to remember certain information, like bro at times would try to throw a fact and it will come out as: "Picasso painted the mona lisa" or smth

the virus also taunts him with his relationship with Sebastian, telling him "He we love us if we are all free".

phun phact: sometimes the virus makes random parts of his body feel weird and itchy, so painter just like buries something in there and tries to scratch the spot with that

also him with my angel teehee

The info might change as i develop the au, also i feel like i explained it like shit here and did not say all i wanted to say but honestly is the best i could do

[hopeswriting]

was thinking about takeshi and how he's my favorite brand of unconditional devotion btw. the utter and absolute and all-consuming kind that runs so deep to the very core and is so intrinsic and fundamental to it, it can only express itself in the most casual and natural and certain way. without second thoughts, without any room for doubts or for any moral dilemma to be had over it, because of course he ought to always be breathing and living for his chosen person first and foremost. of course he ought to hang on their every word and make them true no matter what, no matter what he has to do to make it happen, no matter what he has to do to other people to make it happen, and no matter what it might turn him into in the process. because it's obviously the way the world should be for his chosen person. at their feet, ready to bend over backwards and break and build itself again to better answer to all their needs even if they don't ask it for it. it's the only right way it should be for them, and of course takeshi's going to do his utmost at all times to make it a reality as much as possible.

and his devotion comes out as naturally as breathing, comes out lighthearted and nonchalant like he might as well be talking about the weather, but it's not unaware of itself. it's not that takeshi doesn't know it's unhealthy and wrong and that he's willing to go entirely too far in its name for anyone's good. it's not that he wouldn't hear you out if you were to sit him down and explain to him just why he needs to tone it down a little (a lot). logically, he'd agree with you and know you're right. and then he'd tell you he's still not going to do anything whatsoever about it. that he's not bothered by it and doesn't feel the need to change anything to his attitude. makes it a point to never let anyone or anything sway him even an inch in the stand he took when it comes to that, no matter how many thousand of times you might go over the subject with him.

because the morality of his devotion isn't the point at all. is entirely irrelevant to it and doesn't affect the way he expresses it all. it's not the metric with which he draws a line in the sand to hold it accountable to. because the thing is, takeshi's entire world revolves around tsuna--tsuna is his entire world altogether, and it's just a matter of fact, that simple. to him it's a truth as unchanging as the sky being blue, and so being the way he is according to that truth is the only way he can imagine being that'd feel right to him. and so the actual and only metric that matters here is "would tsuna be happier if i were to do this?" and/or "is this something tsuna needs me to do?"

and like. i don't think takeshi ever stops being a kind person capable of compassion and understanding and mercy and forgiveness even ten years later once they became mafia through and through. and i don't think either he grows up to be feared and called a monster per se despite the things they inevitably had to do during those ten years (and the things they'll inevitably keep having to do as long as they keep being mafia), at least not in the way, for example, they'll never stop fearing and calling mukuro one. but i do think that among the tenth gen, he ends up being the one with the most ruthless, merciless and horrific blood on his hands of that particular and distinct loving kind. you know the one i mean, right? he comes to be the one most expected and the one first expected to be willing and to take it upon himself to go through with it when the need arises. and to think little of it after, if anything at all. all in the name of making tsuna's reign as easy on him as possible.

and it's to the point where it's the kind of blood that makes even mukuro pause at times. or, when takeshi is the one coming up with solutions himself during meetings, makes even reborn blink. not because it's unjustified or wouldn't be safe or efficient or anything of the sort, but because it is unwarrantedly thorough in its retaliation. and sometimes, at times like this, he's the one tsuna needs to step in for the most, because he's the only one who can reason with him that "yes, this would work in getting rid of our problem" but "no, please, don't do that takeshi". because if tsuna is the only thing that infers on just how much and in what ways he'll let himself be devoted to him, then of course, he's also the only one takeshi's willing to reign himself in for without second thoughts. because he'd hate to ever do something tsuna would disapprove of or wouldn't want him to do. or do something that'd make tsuna see him differently or love him back less even in the slightest.

and it's also like. his devotion isn't an undisciplined one. it's not one he doesn't have control over, the very opposite. it's a very purposeful and conscious choice he chooses to keep making over and over again every step of the way, and he taught himself to have control over it, to know when it's needed and/or wanted, and how much and in which ways it is when it happens, and to keep it down otherwise. and, yes, to also reign it back in at tsuna's request at times when it still slips past his control. because it's all about making tsuna's happiness easier and secure and long-lasting, and never about burdening him with just how committed he is to do that.

so it comes down to this: takeshi willing to go above and beyond and more for tsuna unless tsuna explicitly asks him not to. and to tsuna needing to ask him not to every now and then. and to other people pointing out to him how too many times tsuna's already needed to stop him, and that maybe there's a hint for him to take there. and to takeshi seeing the hint, looking it straight in the eye and recognizing it for what it is and just. deciding it doesn't apply to him because it's all perfectly normal behavior to him. because it's the only kind of behavior that makes sense to him and feels right.

and so—to circle back to my first point—he can only express his devotion as naturally as breathing, so casually, almost like it's something inconsequential and not worth talking about despite how unmistakably it couldn't be further away from being the truth. it's the only way he could have always known how to express it, because, after all, who has ever taken time to ponder about the details and the hows of the way they breathe?

and i, for one, absolutely eat that shit up every time, thanks for coming to my ted talk <3

[lloydfrontera]

my biggest gripe with the manhwa rn is that they made javier more of an asshole than he is in the novel and then took away most of the scenes where we see him being kind and soft with others.

javier can be an ass, he is a brat and he's especially annoying when he's with lloyd, but above anything else he is kind and loyal and selfless and good. i cannot emphasize enough how good javier is. he's the kind of person who cannot see someone in trouble or danger and do nothing about it. he's the kind of person who would sacrifice his life for total strangers and no hope of any reward. he's the kind of person who can't even enjoy a lavish party without feeling guilty because he'd much rather help people in need with that money.

he's so fucking good, lloyd is a little annoyed by it because he keeps getting dragged into life-threatening situations because javier just won't stop helping people they don't even know. mind you, lloyd is also endeared by this and would not want him to change but god can it be frustrating in his endeavor to keep them both alive.

there's this particular scene that i just. i'm so sad it was cut. where javier is helping around the refugee camp, going without sleeping and eating so he can focus on helping as many people as possible and then he spots a little kid that got lost on his way back. so he decides to help him.

and he's so gentle with this kid.

Javier walked over to the kid and called him. The flustered boy looked up. Javier strove to put on a warm smile on his face. "Are you lost?" “...” The boy nodded, his eyes all wet. Javier carefully stroked the boy's head. "I think I can help you with that. Why don't you let me help find your tent?" suggested Javier. “...” The boy nodded again. "But why didn't you eat the food? It's going to get cold. Are you not hungry?" "I am… hungry," the boy finally said. But what he said next caught Javier by surprise. "But I won't eat it," said the boy. "Why not?" "My mother is hungrier." "Is that so?" "Yes." “...” Javier wondered why this kid came out to take the food when he had a mother. There must be a reason, he thought to himself. He held out his hand. "I will hold the tray for you." "..." "I won't spill it. I promise." "Okay..." Javier took the tray and wrapped the boy’s hand with his own.

like. god. javier is not a naturally warm person. he's very reserved and stoic and sometimes outright cold, but he still tries so hard with this kid. because he knows what it's like to be him. he knows what it's like to be a child and be scared and hungry and without a home. and he remembers how much it meant for a kind adult to reach out a hand to him and help. and he wants to be that to others too.

everything he does, he does because he genuinely believes it's the right thing to do and therefore his obligation. and even when it doesn't come naturally to him, like being warm and gentle to a child, he still tries his best to do so.

and like that wasn't enough, when they finally find the kid's mom, javier finds out she's blind. recently blinded actually. that she used all her strength to get her child to safety and now she has to depend on him to take care of them because she can't do it anymore. her blouse is smudged with porridge.

so javier kneels down and explains who he is, why he's there and that he wants to help. he lifts up a spoonful of food and slowly and carefully starts to feed her himself. she's a complete stranger and javier doesn't hesitate one second to do this for her.

this is who javier is!! this is who he is at his core!! he's kind and he's selfless and he's above all else good!!

if your audience can't imagine javier comforting a child, then you failed your audience. you missed the point of his character.

[bumblingbabooshka]

Polycule Moments Guess who got access to recording software

[angelsdean]

ruthlessly deleting old 2021/2022 posts (not by me) from my dean studies tag like *click* un-incorporating that from my beliefs system! also the way SO many posts have me like ok uh-huh good aaand then say one completely wrong thing that loses me. it's so many posts.

[spotaus]

New Age au (A Day at Dream's)

Hey y'all! This is another pre-story Drabble, this time from Dream's perspective! Exiled prince doing his best to interact with the populous and do his daily tasks! This was mainly just an attempt from me to get back into writing for this au, and ofc, fleshing out Dream! Hope y'all enjoy!

(Who do I normally tag? @ancha-aus @papiliovolens @mutzelputz I believe? Welcome back y'all!)

The morning was warm, something that Dream had to be grateful for. Ever since the incident, it seemed like he was faced with far more cloudy days than sunny ones, even in the midst of summer. The winters froze so harshly that trees would splinter at the branch, limbs cracking like cannon shots in the nights. The spring was full of awful thunder storms that spewed lightning and wrought floods, and the fall was constantly welcoming wind storms that threw around the rotten remains of plants all about. Even Blue had to admit that the weather was much worse here than his home kingdom, after the first year they’d spent at the very border of Orchard. 

Summers were hit and miss, either clinging to the traces of those awful storms, making everything sticky and humid, or beginning the dry season. This morning, as far as Dream could tell, might’ve finally been the start of a dry season. The garden didn’t seem to be swamped, it didn’t seem to be wilted either. The plants always seemed to know when rain was coming, because their leaves would downturn. After so many years, Dream made it a habit to glance out one of the back windows to make sure he knew just what to expect from the day.

Buttoning his over-cloak, he found himself lingering at the window for a second. He knew he’d have to talk with a returning scouting party later in the afternoon, their most survived thus far, but beyond that there wasn’t much else. Go about the camp, see if he could boost morale, maybe get in a training session with Blue…

Speaking of Blue, his loyal knight was seemingly nowhere to be found. 

Dream took a moment, crossing the quaint living room of their cabin to squint at the sky. Hmm, already past midday. He had been up rather late last night, night terrors plaguing him as they often did nowadays. He must’ve slept in, Blue had always been an early riser. Up just before the sun, back to bed late in the evening. Dream was pretty sure the only days he hadn’t seen Blue out on a morning jog were those that he asked the other to stick around. For safety, for planning, for breakfast… If he knew Blue well enough, which he liked to think he did, Blue was probably out right about now helping the supply carts unload to the outer tents. They always came in on the 2nd of every month, and the calendar marked it as such. Bless Blue for keeping such good track of affairs. 

The prince was practiced as he pulled on his remaining accessories. His archery gloves, which carried up to his elbows, and the thick leather boots gifted to him by a cobbler in the closest village. The boots were durable and comfortable, and while they weren’t the morst appealing at first, Blue had suggested that they find someone to embroider them with Dream’s symbol, the sun. They’d done so, asking one of the refugees they’d taken in if she could, and now they felt much more homey. Of course, it’d been several years now and they were looking worse for wear, but he’d grown a bit sentimental. 

These things were his, and he could keep them as long as he liked. No one here cared if they were mud-stained and threadbare in a few places, they were always looking at his face, after all. 

The moment they were buckled securely, Dream took the chance to stroll towards the door and push outside. 

Just as his plants suggested, the air was warm and dry, something which was deeply familiar to him, and admittedly placed him into a much warmer mood. Especially because, with the good weather, folks had gone about and placed their tapestries outside again. Banners and hanging pieces, all adorned with the shapes of the sun, in bright yellows, striking orange, and even some with that familiar pink accent. Usually, when it rained or snowed, they’d place the expensive and valuable symbols inside for safety, but with the warm air it felt only right that he could once again see his colors flying. 

It reminded him why he was doing all this. He had to regain power, to usurp his brother. Free him from whoever was whispering lies into his ears. Be crowned and see his sun in place of the moons which had infected every inch of the capital and many cities beyond. Though, for now, this was good enough. His own little paradise. 

The walk int the campsite proper was a little ways out from the cabin, a slightly thinner trail through a thin set of trees. Enough that he could see the camp, but the camp wasn’t directly connected to his little house, he needed his privacy every once in a while. 

From even the short walk away he could hear that the camp must’ve been bustling. Warm weather tended to make all of his people more active, it was familiar and welcoming, and rife with time to finish tasks like chores, or playing games, or, even better yet, training. Here there was no dedicated guard like back home, but the militia was very involved in wanting to learn combat, and Blue was certainly a good motivator for them. The clashing of steel and grunting of labored movements was one of several clue-ins that he’d have to stop by the little patch of dirt they used as a training arena of sorts. Off to the side of camp, with a few benches, a shed to store practice weapons, and several targets for aiming practice. Nothing fancy, but certainly enough for these people to learn. 

The prince could hardly help himself as he stepped into the camp proper and slipped that way. 

Each step passed colorful tents, heavy canvas died different colors by whoever most often occupied them. Some tenets were larger, housing the folks who stayed here as their home, run out of whatever village or city drove them off. Others were smaller, filled with supplies or individual tents for guests, dedicated to their returns. 

Dream passed Inl’s tent and smiled to himself in the silence. The inside fo the tent was piled high with half-finished paintings and splattered all over with different pigments. Paint was an expensive commodity, but Ink always seemed to know just how to make the brightest pigments out of the most random objects, plants and rocks and leaves he found on the ground, it was magical. The only thing he’d ever finished when he stayed at the camp for that brief while was the painting which Dream had practically begged him for, a royal portrait, or sorts. Dream sat atop a throne, Blue stood beside him at perfect attention, holding the sun-themed banner. It had been perfect, and it was another of Dream’s prized possessions. After that, Ink hadn’t had the focus to do any of the other paintings he started, but many of them were about tails of Dream’s usurpment, tails of tragedy told to him by the people, made in rough color splashes or with a big chunk of white at a corner where he lost his focus and moved on. Dream had gone inside once to make sure Ink hadn’t left anything behind before he left, but decided it felt lifeless and cold without the artist inside.And besides, Ink could never quite draw Nightmare right. Even though he’d drawn Dream perfectly, and they were identical twins, something always felt off about those pieces. 

The brief moment thinking about the artist fled. He was surely off killing some corrupt noble right about now for his own corrupt pay, and it was frankly none of Dream’s business so long as Ink wasn’t after his own people. 

His boots carried lightly over the soft grass, trodden down by the constant walking about camp. Light green and pretty, his heels sunk into soft soil beneath like some sort of bog, but it didn’t bother him a bit. If he had his way, the sun would stay out all day and dry up the ground a bit, make it more even and solid. Easier to walk over, less likely to slip into. 

To just his luck, only a few people spotted him in passing, waving or calling out to him, and a smile and a wave of recognition was all they needed to move on with their days. His aura must’ve been getting stronger, because he could only taste the ambient contentment from the entire camp as he wandered his way towards his destination. 

And, soon enough, it was upon him. That little patch of ground where the sounds had been coming from. Where the magic of monsters and the energy of humans were all alight with passion and focus. It was a wonder they all stayed so committed. Though, Dream had learned fairly quickly that people like these, who worked in farms, or crafts, making their money day to day, would work harder than any other person he’d ever met. Plus, it wasn’t nearly as hard for them to train as others. These very people could wrangle a steer with their bare hands, so all they needed was the fine-tuning and weapon training, none of the strenght building which usually took so long. 

That was probably why, now, they were as adept as they were with their weapons. Swords and halberds and morning stars and hammers, all of them clashed with another weapon or a practice dummy. Of course, there were only about 10 people out and about at the moment, but a few others sat on the sidelines. 

There was a brief moment where he was simply stood there. Something about combat, the thrill of the sounds and the movements and the force behind each swing, it was all mesmerising to him. He’d always been a natural with long-range weapons, and they were the only ones his mother ever approved of him using. Staying out of the direct line of fire, attacking from far away, that was what would protect his physical body, and his image. If he was struck in a fight, then people would look poorly upon him. Of course, if he’d become King he could’ve done anything. Could’ve learned the sword, or even daggers, and gotten up close and personal. Seen the flurry of emotions fly through his opponents eyes even before he tasted them. No mother to tell him no, no babysitter, nothing. Just him and the battle. 

Alas, here he is, still using his arrows, and still not using close-combat weaponry, unlike the training warriors before him. In fact, he was pretty positive he was one of the only people who actually used the arrow range, even if he didn’t need to anymore. Shots were engrained into his mind, muscle memory practically as easy as sleeping. Maybe easier, actually. 

Regardless, he found himself forcing his eyelights past the forms of the fighting parties, and instead skimmed for Blue. Dream didn’t want to interact with the merchants today, but he knew Blue’s next stop would most likely be here. He couldn’t ever pass up as great a day as this to practice.

“Prince Dream!” The call for him was loud and excited, and a hot rush of child-like wonder burned through his focus as he stood waiting. 

His eyelights shot over, catching sight of a monster he knew should be familiar to him. There very very few people who brought their little ones to the camp, for safety reasons mostly, and those who did often had very subdued children, ones who rarely spoke or played or caused trouble. This child was entirely different. Dream always knew they were nearby, because children’s emotions were far more potent. Adult emotions felt like a warm bath, while children’s joy, for example, was like someone had splashed hot tea onto his lap. Not painful, but far more striking. 

The tyke who rushed towards him now was giggling in high-pitched squeals and stared at him with two bright orange eyelights, beig and round. He was a little skeleton, maybe four, who had white bones with splotches of a greyish hue splattered across his face and hands. Today he was wearing a little white and yellow tunic which had obviously taken some falls into the grass since he put it on that morning.

“Copper, what did we say about running with the practice blade?” Another voice called out, this one deeper and far more familiar to Dream.

The little one, who Dream now spotted was carrying a dulled wooden dagger in one of his clumsy hands, bolted past Dream’s legs, only to pivot and rush in circles around him with an energy unmatched and giggles that were unrivaled in joy. HE was obviously getting enjoyment out of causing mischief for his guardian. 

Dream’s gaze traveled away from Copper with his smile in-tact, not getting a look at the adult whom he knew he knew. Eclipse, one of Copper’s two parents. He was also a skeleton, older than Dream by at least a decade, and much taller with broader shoulders. His bones were a perfect white, his face a bit long, and his eyelights a simple white. He was wearing a tunic not unlike his son, but adorned with all sorts of belts and a heavy fur wrapped around his shoulders despite the heat. It was a dark brown, his partner’s prized pelt. 

Of course, he should’ve expected to see Eclipse sometime today. He’d been eagerly awaiting his partner’s return from the mission. They’d be back tonight.

“Eclipse, how have you been?” Dream asked courteously, drawing his eyes back to Copper with a plan rapidly forming. 

Eclipse came to a halt beside him, at least an arm’s length away, and sighed a fond sigh. “I am faring well, all considered. Since Ichor went off for this mission, Copper’s been insisting that he has to learn to fight so he can protect us.” Eclipse said. “I apologize for his antics, he’s insisted that he start training right away.”

Eclipse sounded humored, but Dream could feel the tiredness seeping from his shoulders. A tension that was surely weighing on him. For a moment, it had entirely slipped his mind, but a glance confirmed his suspicion. Ichor and Eclipse had been away from camp fro a few weeks, about four months back. They’d had a soulling, and now it sat bundled in Eclipse’s arms, quiet and content, probably sleeping. Something warmed Dream’s heart, knowing that this little skelton was under the impression that he could defend his father and little sibling. 

Dream chuckled under his breath and gave a genuine grin, letting a small burst of positivity wave away from his core, pushing back a bit of Eclipse’s worry along with it. 

“No need to be sorry, I was eager to train when I was young too.” Dream confided, but before Eclipse could give a response, Dream crouched and shot his arms out, catching Copper under the arms and practically tossing him up into the air. He was obviously taken by surprise, because he shrieked with glee and stared at Dream with his big eyelights and the biggest smile. He looked a lot like his other parent, Dream realized. 

Copper giggled and Dream held him aloft. Copper hardly weighed anything, and it was a little cute how he kicked his muddy little boots in the open air as Dream held him aloft. He was entirely unbothered by his capture, and the energy obviously had yet to fade. 

“So, you want to be big and strong to protect your father and little sibling?” Dream asked to Copper, making a mock serious face, obviously exaggerated and playful. 

Copper gasped and nodded rapidly, excitedly brandishing his little wooden dagger. “Papa gave me dis! I stab any bad guys!” He insisted excitedly, swishing it around wildly in his little hand, arm limited to his side by the way Dream was holding him. 

Now this was an excited little fellow. Very cute and lively. Dream wondered if he ad this much energy, rushing ahead of his twin to get out into the courtyard and run around, climb the trees when their babysitter wasn’t looking. Nightmare sometimes wrestled with him, he missed those days. 

“Well, I thin you have the makings to be a brave warrior!” Dream encouraged, Copper wriggling happily in his grip, “Just remember, your papa and father want to keep you safe too, so listen to them, alright? That’s how you can get to be just as strong as them.” 

This was met by Copper’s nodding yet again, “So, don’t go running with that dangerous blade, alright? You might accidentally stab a not-bad guy.” Dream added, to which Copper gasped.

The little boy pulled one of his hands to cover up his mouth with wide eyes, shaking his head vigorously. “I won’t stab a not-bad guy! Only bad bad guys!” He insisted. 

Dream just shook his head and tutted, “I know, I know, but accidents happen! My friend Ink, he fights with knives sometimes, and he tripped and almost stabbed someone right in the eye once!” Dream exclaimed, and closed his right socket dramatically. 

This seemed to make Copper hold back a growing smile, and instead his expression was something almost close to a pout. His best attempt at a serious face, Dream had to imagine. Copper nodded one singular, forceful, nod this time. Some sort fo silent pledge not to run with his dagger anymore. 

Dream smiled at him, “Good, good! First step to becoming a strong warrior, listen to your parents.” he insisted, before lowering Copper down with a smooth motion. 

The kid giggled again as Dream rustled the top of his skull, and Copper made careful steps towards his dad, an obvious attempt at suddenly being responsible with the harmless wooden blade. Dream was a little proud, usually he did much worse with kids, had to resort to his magic. Maybe Blue was rubbing off on him after all.

“You really are a miracle-worker, my Prince.” Eclipse said softly, reaching one of his own hands down to gently caress the top of Copper’s skull. He nuzzled into his father’s leg and hugged it, attention distracted by watching the other fight not far off from them. 

Dream didn’t deny it, and instead just slunk a bit closer. He peered down at the babybones wrapped in Eclipse’s arm, held snug in place by a sling. It was pearly white just like its brother, but had a slightly longer face with pronounced cheekbones. Dream couldn’t help but notice the tension return to Eclipse’s emotions. 

“What’s their name, have you two decided yet? I’m sorry I wasn’t able to check in with you sooner.” Dream asked.

Eclipse seemed unbothered when Dream lifted a hand and gently brushed it against the babybone’s skull. It didn’t stir, didn’t even seem to register the contact. 

“His name is Steel.” Eclipse answered softly, “I told Ichor we wouldn’t be naming any more after metal alloys, but I can never say no to him. Steel’s eyelights are a beautiful shade of metallic silver, it was just too fitting.” Eclipse muttered. “And please, don’t trouble yourself with it. We are well aware of how busy you have been.” 

Eclipse gently bounced his arm a bit, and the babybones curled a bit closer to his chest, burying into the fur cloak draped over Eclipse’s shoulders. He seemed a bit more at ease as the little one gave a little smile in his sleep.

“Handsome name, Ichor has good taste I’m afraid.” Dream teased, eliciting a smale laugh from Eclipse.

“Do you think he’ll make it home safe, my prince?” Eclipse suddenly asked. 

Dream blinked in surprise, looking up to Eclipse. The other skeleton still had his eyes on the babybones tucked against his chest, but Dream had a feeling he was being watched nonetheless.

“You mean Ichor?” He asked, and to a hum of confirmation, he tilted his head with a grin, “I’m sure he’ll come home safe and sound. Blue’s been sure to send him on non-combat missions, and with plenty of back-up and supplies. We both know that he has a family waiting for him here, we wouldn’t send him anywhere dangerous.” 

That was a lie. Dream didn’t have any qualms about it. He just knew it was a lie. Every mission was dangerous, could turn to combat, and might end in death. Every person here, as much as Blue tried to deny, was expendable. They were part of a cause, they had to be. Of course, Dream would never put children in danger, but Ichor, just like every other person here, came willingly looking to help. He volunteered his family for this willingly. 

Of course, that isn’t what people like to hear. So, he’ll tell him things he’s heard Blue say. Blue was so kind-hearted, a softie. The moment he heard Ichor and Eclipse were having another soulling he’d re-assigned all their missions and work, and even after they’d both recovered, after Ichor was no longer carrying, he sent the guy on the easier missions. Blue didn’t want to split a family. 

Eclipse sighed, almost with relief, at Dream’s words. “Thank you, my Prince. I suppose I’m just worried over nothing. I’ve been known to do such silly things.” Eclipse relented, and smiled. It was tired, but much happier than before. Dream’s aura must’ve finally gotten to him. Broken down those worries. 

“Anytime, Eclipse. I suppose I’ll see you at their return tonight?” Dream voiced, though he knew the answer. Of course he’d be there. 

Eclipse only took a few more moments, wishing Dream a good rest of the day, before he ushered his son foreward and off elsewhere. Dream waved goodbye to them until they passed a corner, and he internally sighed in relief as he turned back to his original goal. 

Dream moved closer by a few paces and plopped himself down onto one of the benches, one side left empty by someone who had just rushed onto the field. He summoned his bow to his hands and fiddled with the string, and ill-disguised attempt at seeming busy as he just watched the proceeding spars. 

So many people stopped him daily around camp, often simply wanting to chat and catch up on their lives. Eclipse’s new babybones was, thankfully, the most exciting piece of news in the last few months, but before that was a wedding between a bunny monster and a hare monster, before that was the death of someone’s spouse and a subsequent burial, before that siblings reunited, they all had their own stories and things to keep track of. Dream found it trivial, but unfortunately, everyone expected him to now these things, remember them, keep track and ask when they met outside of business times. If he wanted these people to stay, he needed to know. 

His only grace was that Blue was very talented in chatting. Where Dream could rouse crowds and battalions, Blue thrived in a setting of just one or two, and somehow knew just about everything about everyone. They’d talk over dinner, about what they did while split up doing their duties. Dream would tell him about the state of the garden, or the new map he managed to draw up with the cartographer, while blue would tell him all the latest menial news. Crushes, holiday plans, when new people were coming in, all of it. He was always so happy, that Dream simply learned to remember it through him. Shockingly an easy feat. 

The clanging of swords and the heat were both a welcome comfort, Dream was soaking in the sun like some sort of lizard on its rock.

Dream just hoped he wouldn’t eat his words later. Blue had sent ichor and a few others on a mission to simply attend the latest ball, and annual celebration for one of his brother’s elite knights. The Criminal, he thought, the one with the tiger mask. Killer. The parties hadn’t had conflict in the four years they’d been running, and Dream was pretty sure ichor wouldn’t go missing. Yet, anyone they sent directly to the capital had a habit of not returning. Blue had forbade him from sending more spies that way, and had only agreed to send a small party because the ball was meant to be open to the public, so they wouldn’t be technically intruding or trespassing. Along with that, Ichor wasn’t directly affiliated with their cause. Eclipse, up until now, was usually the one more familiar with intel-work. Ichor had always been more focused on welfare and support. So, Ichor couldn’t be recognized. ‘

Dream would just have a lot of explaining to do if his promise went awry. Grieving souls were never easy, especially those who had children in tow. They often loved the hardest, and fell shortly after their beloved. Frankly, Dream didn’t want to lose two promising members of the rebellion, or be left with their children in the worst case scenario.

The prince sighed to himself. Blue would scold him for thinking like this. Maybe he should worry less about the return party and more about his own training. He couldn’t risk getting rusty now. 

-     -

Dream was aware the range was a bit out of his sight from where he’d wandered off to get a drink of water, but when he returned, he hadn’t expected to find an arrow embed itself into the block he was passing beside. 

He jumped a bit with the force of the heavy thunk and almost choked on his own breath when he spotted exactly who was actually training with a bow of all things. 

Across the range, looking wide-eyed and surprised, was Blue! He had their heavy long-bow clutched in his right hand, an arrow hanging to his side y his left, and a whole slew of arrows leaned against the fence behind him, the kind with thin, piercing points that could tear through armor. Dream had never been more baffled, amused, and amazed all in one. Why was Blue training archery?

“Dream! Hey!” Blue called out, and he sounded a bit awkward. 

Dream took a moment to examine the arrow which had pieced the block of hay they were using as a target. It had entirely missed the circle, actually passing itself at an odd angle through he side, the point poking out from the other end haphazardly. That must’ve used a lot of force if nothing else. 

Actually, it seemed Blue might’s been making some progress. Dream had been gone for almost half an hour, caught up in talk with one of the new refugees, welcoming them to the camp. That had given his knight plenty of time to try more than enough shots. Dream spotted now the several arrows which had dug themselves into the dirt, all at a downward falling angle as through Blue had been aiming for the dirt. Then, beyond the hay bale, he could see that several trees in the woods beyond had arrows embedded in them. He didn’t know how he’d missed them, honestly. 

Dream circled back and gripped one which had dug into a pine tree’s skinny trunk, and tugged with all his might. He nearly stumbled, and the end of the arrow seemed to have sap coating it, like blood of the tree itself. 

Dream actually laughed as he finally approached his knight, the arrow in-hand. 

“If you wanted syrup so badly, we could’ve asked for some on the resupply.” Dream joked.

He tapped the shaft of the arrow to the top of Blue’s skull, and the knight sheepishly ducked away from the sticky feeling, the arrow moving with him for a moment before springing away. Blue’s eyelights didn’t evade Dream’s, but Dream couldn’t help but notice the embarrassment becoming far more potent from his friend. 

“Ah, yes, you see…” Blue started, before pausing, “I had no intention of harming the flora.” Blue said, though it seemed a bit half-hearted. 

Blue rubbed at his skull as he lowered the long-bow from his front, down to his side. It was a huge weapon, with a string practically made of metal. Dream didn’t usually bother with the long-bows, sticking to the normal bows, or in desperate situations, crossbows. It took way too much power to shoot a longbow for his liking, limited movement. Usually people on horses used them. Dream couldn’t see the light leave someone’s eye from atop a finicky horse. 

“It was a good shot, even if you didn’t mean to hit the poor tree, Blue.” Dream amended. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass Blue, it was obvious the mood was tanking with Dream’s ill-timed jokes. “Can I ask why you’re trying out the long-bow today?” 

The feeling of Blue’s pride washing over Dream like a comforting blanket as the other seemed to get a second wind. He puffed his chest and lifted the bow right in front of him again. 

“The Magnificent Blue has actually been learning to shoot for some time! The smaller ones that you use are not very cooperative, but this large one does well!” The explained proudly, “It was meant to be a surprise, but I would not lie to you!” 

He seemed largely unbothered by the fact that this secret of his had just been broken wide open. Though, Dream had to imagine this had been going on for a while now. The last time Dream had seen Blue attempt to shoot an arrow, it had narrowly avoided breaking their window in the back garden. They still had a notch in the wall on the back porch, because Dream begged Blue not to fill it in. He’d laughed so hard, and back then he’d needed a good-

“Wait, why was it going to be a surprise?” Dream asked curiously, raising a brow to watch Blue.

The knight laughed loudly, “Because! The plan was to get very very good at it, and then join you for a practice one day and show you! I know you are very talented with lond-range weapons, and if I were too, then I could fight beside you without placing you in danger! You mentioned it once, a while back.” Blue explained as though it was the simplest thing in the world. 

Dream felt a little something in his chest shift to the left as he processed what Blue was referencing. He had mentioned that. Back when they had to scare off some bandits during their trip here, before they found the cottage. He wished Blue hadn’t had to charge in while Dream sat up in a tree and shot at them. Dream had wanted to be in the fray, but… Blue thought he wanted them both to be long range fighters? So they could stay close? 

That was up there with some of the most heartwarming things Blue had ever done for Dream. Trust him, there were a LOT of heartwarming things Blue had done. This was surely, however, in the top 15. 

“Oh, that’s kind of you.” Dream said gently, 

In his distraction, Blue had knocked another arrow and lifted it up. Lined it. Drew the string back. Released. 

The heavy string cut through the air with a vocal slapping noise, and both skeletons watched idly as the arrow arced through the air and just hardly skimmed the top of the hay bail, chunking into the ground somewhere behind it instead. There was a moment of Blue letting out a breath and calmly lowering the bow before he grinned again at Dream. His expression was so concentrated not two moments before. 

“You know that I would do anything for you, Dream. Besides, using a bow is rather fun! I was unaware of how careful you have to be while firing, and setting it up, and aiming.” He listed off with a laugh. 

Now the bow was back at Blue’s side, and Dream was even a bit impressed with his bow etiquette. It wasn’t pressed to the first at his side, he wasn’t fidgeting and bending it, even his motions before he hadn’t dared to dryfire with it. He wondered if Blue had picked it up from him, or if he’d sought out advice from another bowman somewhere. Either way.

“I never meant to discourage you from using your hammer, Blue. I know you’re the happiest while fighting with it.” Dream said earnestly, “But if you wish to continue working with the long-bow, I’m sure I could give you a few pointers.” 

At the enthused expression he received from his knight, Dream grinned, “And then maybe you could teach me to use a hammer. Or, maybe a morning star? They always seemed to have a fitting name.” Dream teased, but Blue seemed even more delighted by the thought.

“That sounds great! We should start now!” Blue agreed, and readied his bow again. 

Dream was a bit startled, but couldn’t bring himself to deny the enthusiasm. After all, he’d been hoping to train with Blue today anyways. 

He watched again as Blue lined up his shot, but this time, he actually watched carefully. He moved behind Blue, and immediately saw a smidge of problem. 

“Here, lift your elbow a bit higher.” He instructed, He stepped forward and set his hand under Blue’d elbow, the one which was pulling his arrow back. He shifted under the touch and stopped right where Dream stopped nudging. Immediately his posture looked a lot better, and his aim seemed more sure. 

“Try pointing a bit further to the right, you’re leaning left.” He added on, and saw Blue squint a bit harder at his target, before repositioning his aim, shifting his feet along with it before Dream could say anything. 

Then, when Dream gave the commend to release, Blue sent the arrow flying. 

This time, it whistled as it shot and struck the bail right at the top ring of the target, almost dead center. Blue whooped an excitement, and Dream hummed. He could’ve sworn that would’ve hit the bullseye…

Without much through, Dream summoned his own bow and took aim from Blue’s side. His night went quiet, watching intently, and Dream let loose his arrow with less than half the preparation time, hardly a thought. Just as he’d expected of Blue’s, the arrow pierced the center of the ring flawlessly, though it didn’t sink in nearly as deep. His brow furrowed as the stared at the target. Why hadn’t Blue’s shot done that?

Sure, the bow was heavier, the arrow too, but the fundamentals should’ve been the same. The golden arrow and landed below the other one, why was that?

“Dream?” Blue’s voice cut through his thoughts.

Dream blinked at Blue, and Blue stared back at him, seeming mildly worried.

“My apologies, could you try hitting my arrow? I’ll spot you again.” Dream requested, and Blue just nodded and prepared himself again. 

This time, Blue automatically placed his elbow up and turned himself to the right. Dream didn’t even need to do more than a little nudge to his arm to encourage a slight but more movement to the right. Blue should strike this perfectly.

The arrow flew, beautifully with a bit of a spin, and… Lodged a few inches to the left of the target. He was aiming right! How-

Ohhhhhh.

“That was great, Blue! You had everything but an extra set of eyes to direct you, good work!” Dream praised.

Now Blue celebrated properly, wrapping his arms around Dream’s sides in a heavy hug. A familiar one that Dream returned, as he realized how silly he had been for a moment. His arrows weren’t affected by the wind. Blue’s weren’t magic, so of course the air would throw them off course! For a brief, horrifying, moment he worried he’d somehow stumbled in his directions. It was just the wind. 

Blue's hug was tight and affectionate, and very very welcome. Dream savored it, returning it tightly, until Blue released him and raised the bow once more. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to train until the caravan arrived in a few hours.

-    -    

Poor choices. He didn’t make many, but he wasn’t going to try and claim that training right up until the arrival was a good call. All he was expected to do was welcome them back, and then listen toIchor recount any important information they’d picked up on, but still. He didn’t enjoy being all grimy and sweaty and middy was the best look or the most comfortable. His only solace was that Blue was equally messay, so he didn’t feel too out of place.

Ask they approached the path into camp, they saw that the light of a lantern was glowing just a bit down the way, and there alone the road stood the sentinels for the night, and Eclipse. 

Eclipse still wore that same tunic as before, though it had gained a grass stain along the bottom hem, no doubt from Copper breaking off at a full sprint at some point during the day. The skeleton himself was without his children, and when Blue greeted him and asked, it turned out he’d left them with someone named Jodie. One of the humans, he believed, a kind elderly woman here with her adult son. Eclipse looked exhausted, but Dream could tell is must’ve been from building worry. Nim help him and make sure that Ichor returns on that cart in one piece.

They stood there together in the quiet, and when the carriage pulled to a stop before them, Dream counted as each person hopped off and stood at attention before himself and Blue. One, two, three, for, five, six, seven… Eight. Ichor must’ve been looking to give his partner a soul-attack, because he was the last of the party to jump off the back of the cart, a thick bag slung over his back and his grin wide and stupid as ever.

Dream acted like he didn’t notice as Eclipse bowled into Ichor’s side, nearly tripping the both of them over and into the grass. Technically, procedure was that Dream would be the first to hear any of them speak, as they could’ve been keeping secrets. However, he knew better than to get between lover birds. That was more of a headache than it was worth. 

Only when the two were done and Eclipse gave Ichor a swift peck on the forehead did Dream usher everyone into the debriefing tent to discuss their findings.

“You’re saying he’s bringing in new knights?” Dream questioned.

Everyone had been explaining their stories, but it seemed that Ichor had managed to get the closest. Hear the most. A servant had tripped over him and spilled a red wine on his suit, so he followed them back to the servants halls to get it cleaned up. Because he was so amicable, the maids weren’t very quiet and told him exciting news. Two more knights being trained.

Ichor had asked more, as much as he dared, but all he could get was that one of them was straight out of the dungeon, and the other one was burly and definitely a foreigner. Some sort of hired body, they swore. It’d be fall when the next party was rumored to be happening. 

Dream hated to hear such a thing. The first criminal was enough, but this second one? And then another? Dream couldn’t fathom what sorts of horrible plans were being fed into his twin’s mind, what horrid plans they were going to enact, criminals and thugs running the country by his brother’s side? 

He sighed a bit, resting a hand against his chin. 

“Did you see my twin at all?” He asked then, to the group.

Ichor was the only one to nod, and Dream gestured to him. 

“The guy was just as guarded as ya said. The Tiger kept circling back up to the balcony where he was hanging, but the stairs were all blocked off by guards, and some other folks were sitting up there with him. Magic on one of ‘em was strong.” Ichor explained, and Dream squinted as the torchlight glinted off of the skeleton’s single gold tooth. Now his pelt had been returned to him, and he looked perfectly barbaric, like the first day Dream had seen him. 

“Mm, unfortunate. My brother is smart, he wouldn’t spare any detail in his protection, I suppose.” Dream muttered, before simply nodding. “Thank you, all. I’m sure you’ve had a tiring past few nights. Go to your tents and rest up, I’ll call upon you if I need to speak with you again sometime later in the week.” 

He didn’t really want to dismiss them, but it was obvious half of them had gotten drunk off their asses within the first five minutes of being at the party. Ichor was really the only one with any good information, and even then, it was extremely limited. Of course, Dream had to be grateful that Nightmare must’ve been slipping with controlling the tittering tongues of his servants, it saved him the trouble of having to wait any longer for information. 

Nightmare adding new, dangerous, knights was not ideal, 

He watched as the party slowly filtered out, some stumbling, some half-awake, and even Ichor yawning as he ducked out of the tent. The only one who didn’t immediately flee was Blue, who sat for a few minutes longer before popping to his feet, gathering the notes strewn across the table, and helping Dream to his feet. 

Together, they left the tent and moved back to the cottage. By now it was far into the night, and Dream could see the stars out. The moon, a thin crescent, seemed to mock him as he took careful steps in the darkness of the path.  At least he’d gotten to enjoy the remaining sun the day had gifted him. 

When they entered the cottage, Dream groaned and moved immediately for the couch. He could try to sleep, but he knew Blue still had to do his nightly routine, and he wouldn't be able to rest with the new information that had been provided. 

“We’ll figure it out.” Blue said unprompted from across the main room. 

His friend was organizing the papers from tonight into a nice little box where they kept all the notes for their plans, and when he placed it back on the shelf, he moved over to the dummy in the corner of the room where he always hung his armor. Every night. 

“I know we will, it’s just…” Ough, he couldn’t say it! This was so infuriating! Every scout who managed to come back only brought him worse and worse news. 

“Do you know, or are you just saying that? Because I know that I know we can figure this out! Two monsters can’t make the difference in a coup!” Blue stated matter-of-factly as he undid the buckles on his chest plate and lifted it up onto its rightful spot. Next followed the boots and Dream watched him. The prince was practically deflated on the cushions of the old couch, a pillow quickly tugged into this arms. 

He was right. Dream knew it, he usually was after all. Still. It wasn’t the fighting that worried him. No, he and Blue alone could probably beat up whatever petty criminals were cabhorting with his twin. It was just… 

“I do. I just- I- I don’t know how my twin could be so stupid!” He exclaimed, practically burying his skull into the pillow, bringing his knees up to his chest, practically curling into a ball. “He was meant to be my advisor, he was the clever one. How could he resort to killers and hired mercenaries. After all those classes he used to tell me about, all the lessons he had to go to, how could he decide to take this path?” He said, hoping his voice was muffled by the cushion.

Unfortunately, like most items in this cottage, it seemed to be cheap and only decorative. No muffling capabilities in sight. He heard Blue sigh, and for a few minutes, the only noise was Blue removing the rest of his armor. 

When it faded, he strained to listen, and caught the floorboards creaking ever so gently under the weight of his friend’s approach. Then there was a pause, and then a weight on Dream’s skull. It trailed heavily down his neck and to his shoulders, before repeating itself. A soothing motion, one that Dream resisted for a moment. 

“I never got to meet him, but I do know you! I think we can definitely knock some sense back into him.” Blue reassured him, and this time Dream listened. 

Blue was right, after all. Blue had been able to knock sense into Dream. If anyone could bring Nightmare back to his senses, it would be Blue. 

He let the skeleton keep doing that comforting motion against his skull for a few more minutes, savoring the contact, before he sighed heavily and shrugged. Blue retracted his hand, and was watching Dream with a soft smile when the prince finally lifted his head. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, before Dream smiled back. 

They both really needed to get some rest. 

[goldentigerfestival]

Yuri's dialogue (JP) is so fascinating to study, like... the repetitive use of certain words/phrases that others use sparingly but he uses constantly. the way it feels like his vocabulary is more expansive than what he uses, but he defaults to a "comfort" level of speech. the way it mixes in with his sort of "street talk" words and the sheer level of informality. the way his "street talk" phrasing is contrasted by the tone of his voice (on that note, people I know who also know JP are also very endeared by these aspects of him so I KNOW IT'S NOT JUST ME!!!).

'cause the thing is, he uses phrases that yeah, other people do use, but he uses a handful over and over and over (contrast to other characters' sparing use of repetition). it's actually... really refreshing? it sounds more relatable and less "video game/anime/JRPG/RPG" writing or something, idk. like closer to how a real person would speak.

I do my best in my translations not to make things sound too stiff across the board, but Yuri makes it so easy. it's why I'm so interested in translating all his lines in Vesperia, like... the actual, original tone for him with his original wording because it's smth Eng only players don't get to experience ('cause even if you listen with JP audio, if you don't know the language, ofc you're gonna miss out on context. it's nobody's fault for not knowing, just... they unfortunately miss out). the thing is, there are a lot of times when the lines in and of themselves are not contextually incorrect in the English ver (usually the situation for smaller scenes, because they altered the text outright for more important stuff which was the stuff that originally set me off, but there were also plenty of cases of just vocal tone shifting with the correct context that still gave off the wrong impression), but Yuri's tone is shifted away from the original in Eng even though it's completely and perfectly translatable.

I am by no means about to translate the entire game because let's face it, I really don't care that much for Vesperia on the whole. I'm kinda stuck with it because Yuri's there lo and behold I actually am WAY more engaged in his stories in Rays, Link and Asteria because it's an amazing character put into circumstances where he actually gets to shine and feels more alive, which Vesperia did not provide nearly as well with its very disjointed story. also, Tales gachas have banger stories that are arguably better than the mainline games, and they regularly make Yuri a very central character to the gachas. Crestoria was also about to do it until they pulled the plug on that game and I'm pretty confident something interesting has been lost to the world. also I just generally don't have the energy or motivation to do that, so... I'll only be focusing on Yuri's lines, especially because his stuff is where the bulk of the messing around was. he's just insanely fun to translate for and I love burying myself head first into his speech.

will I actually finish this project? dunno. will I get around to posting it? whatever I get done (so all of it if I complete it), and if I decide to call it quits then I'll post what I have at the time I decide that. will it take a long time? probably, but I can always mention stuff along the way...

[daz4i]

a bit sad to see fic writers take "this character isn't as mean as they may initially seem/they're only mean on the outside but soft on the inside" and run with it in the opposite direction by never making them mean at all. this isn't adressing their nuance this is just removing another aspect of their character 😔

and like i know that for some it's a response to haters and other misunderstanders who insist they're purely mean, and so said writers (and the character's fans as a whole) try to prove otherwise/try to explore said hidden side and just go a little too far with it. but man does it make me sad to see my boy massacred like this. give him his flavor back 💔

[minty-bubblegum]

MY CHEST AND HEAD HURTS GRR

[borealiszero]

listen some of us may have been repressing their feelings way too hard for over 20 years to the point that your friend pulled you over and asked "hey uhh do you ever felt angry?" that got you realised that 'hey, maybe i should express my feelings. To be healthier i guess' and then when you do want to express it, you found out that. You cant. Because APPARENTLY you repressed your feelings too damn hard that all of that feelings are now trapped in and you didn't know how to get it out, its like getting a pressure cooker and you don't know how to depressurise it because NOBODY TAUGHT YOU TOO. AND I'm MAD ABOUT IT. BC I HAVE SO MUCH FEELINGS, TRAPPED IN A BODY THAT IA WAY TOO SMALL FOR IT. And all i can do is just fuckin let it seeth in here until i explode nuclear style i guess. Anyway to answer that question, yes i did and the way i did it was ripping of a locker door of it hinges. Let your feelings out,let it explode,cry or whatever don't let it stew like a seven-generations secret soup hotpot.