#knight!shiho

[egret-orchids]

ok hear me out

the plot basically goes as follows:

-the empire & yoisaki kingdom are at war over use of magic (empire disallows, yoisaki kingdom allows)

-toya is the crown prince of said empire, and his (trainee) personal guard is one saki tenma!! she might have gotten lost/j

-kaito, rui & ichika are all soldiers for the empire (ichika is an ex knight of white but we don't need to bring that up). kaito is a weapons expert, rui is good at alchemy & demolitions whilst also being the secret sorcerer, and ichika is just good with a sword

-onto the yoisaki kingdom!!

-prince kanade (he/him kanade :>) wants to put an end to the warfare yet doesn't quite know how. his first assistant (mafuyu, ex empire soldier) seems to know more than they let on.. his second assistant is a baker residing in the castel (honami!!)

-tsukasa, akito, mizuki & shiho are all part of the famous knights of white, known for the valiance in battle, impressive wits, and-- oh. yeah they get distracted mid-mission to the empire by a group of magic-using wanderers (led by ena. includes all of mmj & all vsingers but kaito & also rui sometimes??)

-they end up meeting an & kohane later on (acquaintances of toya's, contacts of akito's) to get info on a mysterious shapeshifting gorgon.. that being miss nene kusanagi and her (probably mermaid) princess, emu otori.

-long story short, the knights of white get sidetracked multiple times whilst attempting to gather info on the empire & imperial soldiers. they do eventually get there and turns out the crown prince is evil.

anw yeah take this silly summary. refs under the cut.

also um. i think these'd make cool rp blogs so. feel free to do that.

THE KNIGHTS OF WHITE:

PRINCE OF THE YOISAKI KINGDOM:

HIS GUARDS:

SOLDIERS OF THE EMPIRE:

CROWN PRINCE OF THE EMPIRE:

HIS GUARD:

INFORMANTS:

WANDERERS:

THE SHAPESHIFTER AND HER PRINCESS:

[piks-very-inactive-blog]

The Moonlight is Merciless.

[harrowharr0w]

white day shenanigans

i love them with my whole heart

i’ll draw the other side at some point!!! trust

i also have a bandori version w all the characters i just haven’t gotten around to drawing them yet

[doppostims]

IchiShiho: Knight AU

x x x / o x o / x x x

[ambrosiaocto]

big fan of the white day event

[sokai-asuki]

Macy Relationship with Leo/Need and their Virtual Singer

Leo/Need with Macy

Ichika —> Macy: "A very passionate and supportive person! When we were practice, she always compliment my singing skill. And everytime she sees the lyrics I made, she was very supportive and always ask what some of it means."

Saki —> Macy: "A knight who sing! Though, Macy said she never really sing much but I bet it's the most beautiful sound! Macy seems too caring and understanding when we need a break, like a big sister!"

Honami —> Macy: "Miss Halbert is very kind and supportive. There's one time, she saw me and MEIKO practice the drumset. And she wants to learn how to play it. She seems like a fast learner with how much she playing it!"

Shiho —> Macy: "Macy doesn't seem like a bad person, she treat the others very nicely and if I had to guess, she's not very ladylike from what I can tell... And sometimes, when Saki ask her if she had any princess or prince she serve the kingdom for, she seems to be avoid that topic."

Macy with the Leo/Need:

Macy —> Ichika: "A very wonderful and amazing person! Ichika seems to have more knowledge about music with how her lyrics went a d her guitar and singing skill. Ah, I'm so jealous but Ichika was kind enough to help me."

Macy —> Saki: "A very excited girl if I have to say so myself! From ehat I heard from the girls, Saki was sick and was put in hospital. That's the reason behind her excitement towards everything. But I won't let that get me, Saki deserve to get an equal treatment."

Macy —> Honami: "Very gentle and softspoken person. She seems to be harmless and putting everyone else condition above her. She really care about her friends more and love them as much."

Macy —> Shiho: "A very cautious one. I understand her suspicious towards me... But regardless of that, she seems to be caring and protective of her friends. And sometimes, I notice she seems to be keeping a small animal decoration? Seems like there's a soft spot from her."

L/N Virtual Singer with Macy:

Miku —> Macy: "A very passionate and determine person. She seems so happy and very excited to learn how to play guitar. She also very supportive towards the girls and help them when needed."

Luka —> Macy: "I can tell she's very determine to practice. She seems so relief and happy to be here. I don't mind teaching another person to play guitar, tho she seems to be able to play other instruments such as bass or drums..."

MEIKO —> Macy: "A hardworking girl she is! She seems to be pretty happy playing the drum for the first time! I can also tell, she can play other instrument if given a try."

Rin —> Macy: "An amazing and the coolest person! She's a knight from what Saki told me. She have such a beautiful red hair! She's very kind and caring towards all of us!"

KAITO —> Macy: "Her music and the sound of it proves she's a very passion person, a girl who wants to be a knight and escape her true duty. Even playing a different tune, I can still feel that the sound of it is the same. Very determine and strong-headed person she is."

Len —> Macy: "A very fun and amazing person! Her improvement playing guitar is getting better and better! From others, she's a fast learner. Maybe because of her training as a knight really kick it off!"

Macy with L/N Virtual Singer:

Macy —> Miku: "A thoughtful and kind person. Even with the punk look along school unifrom, she seems pretty considerate and caring. She seems want to know what exactly my world is like."

Macy —> Luka: "A kind and caring person, willing to help at any given situation! I respect her for that. She taught me how to play my guitar and follow the music notes of it. She's patience enough to let me get used to playing it."

Macy —> MEIKO: "I get along very well with MEIKO. She always seems to have something say or what to know. She have taught me a few about drum. Hehe, it was kind of fun."

Macy —> Rin: "A very energetic one. She and Saki getting along well and almost like, there's a second Saki... But it feels nice to have someone who can be the source to light up the mood."

Macy —> KAITO: "He seems very quiet and reserves. Others said he was just shy. But he kind of more than that, he seems to understand what the sound from the music giving off. He always said that mine have some passion in it but something keeping me suppress it..."

Macy —> Len: "A twin of Rin, and unlike his sister, he seems to be on the calm side. He is not very energetic as Rin but very understandable at some certain situation. And when needed, he will try to help it."

[spu10d]

the lil shoulder pads with the tassels are called epaulettes. neat.

[sakitenmaenjoyer]

this made me giggle bc i do kill rui when im angry at him. he never comes home ever so think of this as my revenge for those times and eventual future times

The knights of white work closely with the four maidens of war. The maidens were not severe people; they were dressed in cloth of teal and berry, wore brown leather boots, and rode brightly on their chestnut spotted horses. They had long swords that were thin enough to be mistaken for epee, and quivers that held cream colored arrows. They should have been a contradiction to the austere nature of the knights of white; but the individuals were beautiful, charming, and very human. Who could deny humanity?

Shiho was glad that Shizuku had made a new name for herself. Her sister could smile, unpressured, free of the way her brow pinched in their squire days. She had no idea the pressure the imperial army had on her, but she could guess.

With her quiver at her back, Shizuku had hugged her sister tightly when Shiho had voiced her pride. Shiho really tried to squirm away, but accepted the hug after a sigh. They worked together, a knight of white and a maiden, but her sister really had been trying hard not to coddle her while they were working. A hug she could do, even if the white arrows in the quiver pushed at her cheek.

She had to remind her sister not to push it; sputtering as she was pushed anyways, dragged to make dinner together, only swayed by the promise of rabbit shaped wagashi.

The warmth of that hug and that dinner is the first thing she thinks of when she sees the cream colored arrow sticking out of Kamishiro-san’s chest. The corpse is grueling to look at. His eyes wide and desperate and dead, hand loosely holding the arrow as if to yank it out.

As she walks around, she sees his other hand was drawing a healing spell with his blood.

A near instant death, she thinks. He wasn’t prepared for it.

The knights of white work closely with the four maidens of war, and Shiho has to wonder if they were blind to do so.

[project-sekai-facts]

Interestingly, Rui's Mad Sorcerer costume uses a different symbol to the other costumes from the Imperial Soldiers set. Whilst Toya and KAITO's costumes, as well as Miku's trained Good at Cooking? 3*, have an emblem with a dragon, Rui's has an 8-pointed star.

This 8-pointed star is the same one that appeared in costumes and cards from the Knights of White set, being featured in Tsukasa's Chivalrous Chevalier costume and Akito's Noble Paladin costume. The star emblem also appeared in the background of Shiho's trained Filled With My "Thanks" 3* card.

Rui's Mad Sorcerer costume notably uses a similar base design to the Knights of White costumes, and the color palette appears to be a muted version of the one used in that set. This could suggest that within the alternate universe presented through the White Day sets, Rui at some point was a part of the Knights of White.

[harrowharr0w]

so um he went from one of the most distinguished and respected knights in the kingdom to betraying them and joining another side

these two caused something to happen to tsukasa snd got him to join that side. they werent supposed to do that they were supposed to get him to join THEM but it kind of backfired so now tsukasa is just in a different kingdom

this dude is on kaito&toyas team, he leaves for like 3 seconds and toya and kaito have screwed up and gotten tsukasa to join the wrong side

emu is the one who took tsukasa in, because she thought he looked funny. something something something corrupt is happening to teukadas side and emunene tell him that and so he joins.. maybe.. ACTUALLY. nene is like “wait. you got ambushed by some people. and they told you they were working for a.. rui? okay youre coming home with us”

this random picture is sitting on nene’s desk, tsukasa notices. he doesn’t look like a very good knight. he wonders who he is and why he’s important to nene

these three have no idea where tsukasa went. oh goodness i have a whole other storyline in my head for shiho i dont want to put it all here

[biocrafthero]

Project Sekai - White Day AU Card Lore/Story Masterpost

In other words: I've become obsessed with a very niche part of this game for no discernible reason and have decided to make my gathered knowledge into a post...

NOTE: This post was written before the 2025 White Day event, so some parts may be missing information or incorrect. All information being referenced comes from the Sekaipedia fan wiki.

(I have decided to put this under a Read More because this is so ungodly lengthy that it has taken actual hours for me to write. I hit the image limit on browser, which is 30. If I didn't put this under a Read More I would've been killed with hammers.)

What is White Day AU?

White Day AU is based off of a series of cards that began releasing in 2022 with the White Day event titled "The Gentleman Thief's Thrilling White Day!?". While at first it may seem like a case of colopale putting the characters in a fun setting with cool outfits, it has become more and more apparent that, with the more White Day events that release, the more this universe is getting expanded upon.

I spent some time last month going over the cards that have released over the course of four separate events, pouring over details in the characters' outfits and the environments that surround them in the illustrations in an attempt to parse what kind of story colopale seems to be telling with these cards.

The events/gachas that all contain White Day AU cards are as follows:

The Gentleman Thief's Thrilling White Day!? - Knights of White

Never Give Up Cooking! - Imperial Soldiers

Relax Teatime - What Awaits at the End of War

The Power Of Regret - Noble Knights Fighting for Supremacy

While it may seem odd that a non-White Day event/gacha is here, it may be due to colopale making the decision to start releasing White Day AU lore outside of White Day events in order to ensure they can make at least one card for every major character (both OCs and vocaloids) before the game reaches the end of it's story.

The characters currently missing cards are...

Honami (Leo/need)

Shizuku (MORE MORE JUMP!)

Haruka (MORE MORE JUMP!)

An (Vivid BAD SQUAD)

Kohane (Vivid BAD SQUAD)

Ena (Nightcord at 25:00)

Rin (Virtual Singer)

Luka (Virtual Singer)

MEIKO (Virtual Singer)

It is difficult to guess who would be in which faction (more on that below) due to the fact that, regardless of unit or relationships, it is not uncommon for people to be split between factions even if logically they should've been paired together in the same faction.

White Day AU Lore

The setting of the White Day AU is most likely fantasy, due to the medieval aesthetics and fantastical elements like magic and dragons. Something interesting as well is that there seem to be factions--different groups each of the characters belong to--that may be hinting at a conflict between members of the cast.

There are multiple factions to be aware of:

The Knights of White

The Empire

An unnamed third faction

An unnamed fourth faction

I will go over each faction in this order. They can be distinguished from each other through multiple things such as the emblems they wear, the colored gemstones on their outfits, and the color palettes of their uniforms. These things all work in conjunction with one another to show who is allied with who.

The Knights of White

The Knights of White, which I will refer to as the Knights, is one of two primary factions in the White Day AU. Known characters who are currently part of the Knights are...

Tsukasa (Wonderlands x Showtime)

Akito (Vivid BAD SQUAD)

Shiho (Leo/need)

Len (Virtual Singer)

Nene (Wonderlands x Showtime)

Emu (Wonderlands x Showtime)

The Knights are distinguished from the other members of the cast by the eight-pointed star as their faction's crest and uniforms that comprise almost entirely of white, blue, and gold.

The Empire

The Empire, which I also tend to refer to as the Imperials (even though grammatically that is incorrect it just sounds better LMAO) is the second primary faction in the White Day AU. Known characters who are part of the Empire are...

Toya (Vivid BAD SQUAD)

Rui (Wonderlands x Showtime)

KAITO (Virtual Singer)

Miku (Virtual Singer)

Saki (Leo/need)

Imperial outfits tend to comprise of the colors black, red, and gold. Their crest is of a dragon, likely in reference to the dragon in Toya's card. Their outfits also all include a red gemstone of some kind, a gemstone color that is exclusive to this faction.

It should be noted that Rui's Imperial outfit does not include a dragon crest and instead has the eight-pointed star of the Knights. Additionally, Toya's outfit has a rose on it, which you may have noticed is something that appears on the outfits of other characters from other factions. I will come back to these two points later.

From here, we get to the secondary factions of the AU.

Unnamed Third Faction

Third Faction is currently only comprised of two members:

Kanade (Nightcord at 25:00)

Mafuyu (Nightcord at 25:00)

Third Faction does not seem to have a set color palette (the colors that the two share are blue and gold), but they do have a unique emblem: the four-pointed star. While Mafuyu's emblem is visible in her illustration, Kanade's emblem is viewable on her 3D model. Additionally, despite the emblem having similarity to the Knight's emblem, both of them wear the same distinctive red gemstones that the Imperials wear on their outfits.

These details in conjunction lead me to believe that the role of Third is either as a middle-ground or mediating party between the Knights and Imperials.

Unnamed Fourth Faction

Fourth Faction currently only comprises of two members:

Minori (MORE MORE JUMP!)

Airi (MORE MORE JUMP!)

The faction's color palette likely comprises largely of blue/green, red, white, and gold. Their crest is of four lozenges with a circle in the center. Their colors and crest are distinct from all other factions, meaning they are likely working independently and without the influence of the other factions.

Unknown Alliances

Mizuki (Nightcord at 25:00)

Mizuki's outfit does not appear to hold any similarities to the other factions currently present, her palette consisting of white, blue, and silver. While it does hold similarities to the Knights, the outfit that comes with her card includes a heart-shaped emblem both on the outfit and accessory. However, this could mean nothing, as the outfits that Akito and Tsukasa have from this same set do not include Knights emblems on their accessories.

Ichika (Leo/need)

Ichika's current alliance also remains unclear. Her outfit's color palette consists of white, red, and gold, which does not resemble any of the other factions. Her crest is likely the piece of her outfit that resembles a fleur-de-lis with a gemstone in the center. There are some details from a different card (the upper-left corner of the background in Len's 4* from the "The Power Of Regret" event) that may support her being part of a full-fledged faction, but due to other characters lacking this emblem she is currently seen as independent.

There is the possibility that Ichika and Mizuki are actually part of the same faction, but this lacks concrete evidence. For the sake of the argument though, I will mention that not long ago when I was looking over the details of the cards, the crests on their outfits struck me as suspiciously similar in shape (supported by the banners in the upper-right in the background in Mizuki's card). Still, this theory is shaky at best.

And yes, I made sure to check that Mizuki's banners and Ichika's crest do not resemble the background of the "Knights of White" gacha.

White Day AU Story

This is where we start getting into the nitty-gritty of details in the AU, aside from just talking about the factions. That was an important precursor of information to everything else this post talks about.

Meaning of Roses

My suspicion is that the roses represent nobility. Characters with roses present on their outfits are as follows:

Tsukasa (Wonderlands x Showtime)

Akito (Vivid BAD SQUAD)

Mizuki (Nightcord at 25:00)

Shiho (Leo/need)

Len (Virtual Singer)

Toya (Vivid BAD SQUAD)

At first, it was my assumption that those who wear roses are--or were at one point--allied or part of the Knights. However, upon further inspection of the logo for the "Imperial Soldiers" gacha, roses are not exclusive to the Knights faction.

If roses were associated with the Knights, why would it not only be part of Toya's outfit but also included in the "Imperial Soldiers" gacha logo?

Looking at each of the characters who have been seen with the rose on their uniforms and comparing these characters to their canon counterparts from the base game of Project Sekai (aside from Len, sorry Len), these characters being nobility would check out considering their personal histories in canon.

The Royal Guard

This is where we start getting to the most story-filled cards that colopale as released so far.

This unit of characters, which I have personally been referring to as the royal guard, consist of the following:

Nene (Wonderlands x Showtime)

Emu (Wonderlands x Showtime)

Len (Virtual Singer)

Tsukasa (Wonderlands x Showtime)

Rui (Wonderlands x Showtime)

Notably, (almost) all of the characters here are from the canon unit Wonderlands x Showtime, which is likely due to the fact that the event they come from, "The Power Of Regret," is a Wonderlands x Showtime story event (specifically Nene focus). It is because of the fact we got all of Wonderlands x Showtime in this card drop we get the most story, since we have three returning characters.

The royal guard uniforms have the Knights emblem and color palette, clearly displaying the fact that they are a part of that faction. The most distinct parts of their uniforms are their crown-shaped belt buckles, the crown on the back of their gloves, and the shield with a crown engraved on it that they wear as a brooch. Their outfits even have gemstones that correspond with their character colors that we see in-game, which to me only emphasizes their status as high-ranking knights.

Earlier, I pointed out how Rui has the Knights emblem on his Imperial outfit, despite noticeably not being part of the Knights. This is likely because, at some point between these cards and the cards from the "Never Give Up Cooking!" event, Rui deserted from the Knights to join the Empire.

An assumption could be made that the cards are being released in chronological order, however I disagree. Rui would be more likely to defect from the Knights but still carry their emblem with him when he joins the Imperials, rather than holding a connection with the Knights before deserting from the Imperials to join the other side. It is unclear why he would leave the Knights, but I personally believe it may have something to do with the fact that in his 4* from "Never Give Up Cooking!" he is a magic user, while here in the "The Power Of Regret" cards he is not. In other words, I think he joined the Imperials so he could use magic.

This causes the other cards of characters who were part of the royal guard to have very interesting additional information. Tsukasa likely went up in ranking from royal guard to something else entirely, based off of how his 4* from "The Gentleman Thief's Thrilling White Day!?" event has him in a much more regal outfit.

While it is unclear what happened to Len, it should be noted that his 2* from "The Gentleman Thief's Thrilling White Day!?" event is named "Innocent Squire", so maybe something also transpired with his character to lead to his change in position.

There is some speculation among people I discuss these cards with about what exactly Nene and Emu are doing in their cards, but we highly suspect they are actually fighting each other. The tears in Nene's eyes and Emu's determined expression imply that there may be some kind of heartache occurring during whatever clash they're involved in, which would be most likely to happen if the two of them were in combat against one another. The backgrounds of their cards match up well enough to suggest that they are in the same space, as well.

It is unclear what exactly the two of them are fighting about, but it is of my own personal belief that the conflict between them has to do with Rui's desertion from the Knights. It is realistically the only thing I can think of that could possibly push these two into conflict with one another.

It can also be assumed that after Rui's desertion, the royal guard subsequently dissolved since they make no other appearances outside of this set of cards.

It is unclear what Tsukasa and Len are doing in their cards, but they also appear to be in the same location as one another.

Toya's Dragon

In a blog post by colopale, they refer to the dragon as his "aibou" (partner). While it may seem like they're drawing parallels between the dragon and Akito (considering the fact that Akito and Toya are partners in canon), I don't think that Akito is supposed to be the dragon considering the differing allegiances. I think the dragon is just Toya's friend :)

Separated Tenmas

Saki and Tsukasa seem to be on two entirely different sides of the war--the Empire and the Knights respectively. While it remains unclear as to why they're on opposing sides, maybe something happened between them that caused this divide...

Leo/need in Conflict?!

Other than the fact that Saki is a member of the Imperial Army, I'm very curious about what's happening in Shiho and Ichika's cards. Based off of the backgrounds, and while it doesn't look like it at first, they appear to be in the same location. You can see in the background of Ichika's card, on the other side of the courtyard, you can see a set of windows that are the same shape as the windows light is being cast through in Shiho's card. Assuming the courtyard is symmetrical, you can reasonably guess they're in the same hall. Additionally, the pillars appear to be similar at the very least. If they're fighting, I wonder what its about?

Details about the outfit names...

I want to take a moment to talk about outfit names for each of the characters since I couldn't find anywhere else to talk about this. I will be dividing these by the event/gacha they were released in.

The Gentleman Thief's Thrilling White Day!? - Knights of White:

Tsukasa - Chivalrous Chevalier

Akito - Noble Paladin

Mizuki - Optatio Eques

None of these are exactly notable aside from the name of Mizuki's outfit. The name translates from Latin to "Knight's Choice" (machine translation), which adds some information to her character that, while I have trouble parsing due to the lack of information about her whole deal in this AU, I still find interesting.

Also note that the world "chevalier" just means "knight" in French.

Never Give Up Cooking! - Imperial Soldiers:

Toya - Chevalier Noir

Rui - Mad Sorcerer

KAITO - Wandering Gunner

KAITO's outfit name is intriguing to me and leads me to believe he may be more of a mercenary type of character rather than someone who is absolutely loyal to the Empire.

Relax Teatime - What Awaits at the End of War:

Kanade - Fleeting Light Knight Attire

Ichika - Illuminated Courtyard Knight Attire

Mafuyu - Abyss Knight Attire

There's not much of note here, but I am of the personal belief that Kanade and Mafuyu are matching.

The Power Of Regret - Noble Knights Fighting for Supremacy:

Nene - Fier Chevalier

Emu - Sourire Chevalier

Len - Hability Chevalier

Two of the names here are French. Nene's translates to "Proud knight" and Emu's to "Smile Knight" (both machine translated). Len's name means "Able Knight" (could also be read as "Skillful Knight"), the word "habile" just being an obsolete form of the word "able."

My personal thoughts...

I just know the AkiToya divorce is insane. Couldn't be as dramatic as whatever L/n and WxS are going through right now tho tbh... At least it looks like KanaMafu and MMJ are having fun times in yuri land

Also in the next White Day AU card drop if Ena isn't part of the Knights faction I'm gonna--[remembers suicide jokes are bad for my mental health]--I'm gonna surpass RAD WEEKEND

Why does KAITO have a gun btw???? Maybe its magic idk

[iukasylvie]

Sorry, but the Knights Moralis condemning sexual violence and Easthies offering mercy and understanding to Luluci and punishing her teacher in Chapter 49 feel like empty gestures to me when Ellien and the nobleman in Luluci's backstory are quickly forgotten and the Knights Moralis do nothing but blame the victim every time. Easthies also changes his mind about erasing the peeping tom's memories when the latter says he could help the Knights Moralis find a "worse" violator of the law. The beauty of the Pointed Caps, especially the Knights Moralis, belies their cruelty and hypocrisy just like the people of Romonon; they love judging each other and have no qualms about abandoning their own.

I find Chapter 49 so tangential and contradictory compared to the Kamoshida arc of Persona 5, where Kamoshida and his mistreatment of the students at Shujin Academy firmly establish the theme of corrupt adults who abuse youth. Unlike Ellien, Shiho has a real impact on the story as well because her victimization at Kamoshida's hands inspires the main characters to band together as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Why does Luluci get to make a point about her suffering and have understanding and kindness from the Knights Moralis when Coco, Qifrey, Agott, Richeh, Tartah, Eunie, Ellien, Dagda, and Custas have never been given the same chance?

I have chosen to headcanon that Easthies saved Luluci because he knew her and thought it was only natural for her to want to protect her chastity as a high-born lady who conformed to the societal expectations of the Pointed Caps by being good at magic, honest, studious, obedient, patriotic, pure, chaste, and modest. That would fit in with the theme of the rigidity and elitism of witch society.

Speaking of Custas, his sudden change into a hateful Brimmed Cap was the last straw that destroyed my faith in the series. I think it'd make more sense if he attacked the Knights Moralis to defend Dagda instead of attacking Coco and Tartah even though both of them have done nothing but care for him. I also think that his arc would've been more convincing if Shirahama showed people looking down on him and Dagda for being poor, uneducated, and unrelated by blood given the wealth, the beauty, and the emphasis on blood in witch society.

And I think the emphasis on blood makes the Pointed Caps hypocritical as the house of Arkrome had wealth, fame, power, and everything else in the world but they chose to abandon Agott so easily and without anyone condemning it. How would Dagda feel about this when he's poor and uneducated but chose to adopt Custas and raise this boy with love?

I'd love to hear your hashtag wha critical thoughts about recent developments if you feel like sharing them :)

I'll preface this with saying that for this answer I will not be making a distinction between my personal tastes and what is "objectively worst". The TLDR is I have felt like WHA's been dipping in quality since book 8 approximately.

One of WHA's strong points is its ongoing theme of accessibility, via its premise of how magic is purposefully restricted from people, and via its characters, mostly the kids, who showcase various life issues and allow the story to talk about how to solve them. Disability is an important one and was at the center of book 8, which is one of my favorites. You get to see Tartah and Coco work together for a goal (=making their friend a better mobility aid), and by doing so they brainstorm the why and then how which allows for complex notions to be carried out and explained to the reader. Cute story with touching implications that flows well. This quote in particular sums up so well what WHA is "about"

After this we transition rather brutally to the latest ongoing arc of the Silver Eve. This arc has been ongoing for years now, and three volumes, making it the longest so far, I'll come back to that, putting a star on it [*]. It delves further into aspects of accessibility the series had talked about before - access to magic, access to healthcare, and poverty. This is where this blog's namesake gets relevant. Custas is a kid who was already poor, who got badly wounded ending up disabled, and who because of that was stuck in a situation with no good endings: he can't make money in his state and needs money to get out of his state. On top of this gets added magic, and comes back the question at the center of WHA: Is it wrong to restrict the use of magic, and how?

After the arc is kickstarted by Custas getting his share of spilled beans of magical secrets revealed, enter immediatly strong players via ch.48's introduction of the Wise Ones and the king himself. The political aspect of how the world works was not mentioned before. Great chapter, interesting stuff all around, personally answered much of my questions. Immediatly after this chapter the focus in 49 fully switches to the Knights and their job, and the rest of the chapter is dedicated to a story of a sexual assault survivor and how she made it. It's a surprising topic to see pop up and it's handled with the respect it deserves. Chapter 50 goes back to Coco and her troubles. This concludes book 9 and...it makes for a Lot of stuff to deal with. Put a Second star on that. [**]

Addressing those stars before we move on:

[*] This arc is taking forever. WHA's arcs in earlier volumes only took a few chapters. This arc has taken three books thus far and I doubt we have reach its climax yet. I personally don't like it and it raises an issue the series did not have before: Will the payoff be worth it? Where it is worrying for the future of the series is that manga serialized regularly tend to up the stakes progressively until the end and it might...not work out.

[**] Too many things at once unresolved. This has already had consequences with the progressive vanishing of something WHA was once excellent at: sneakily introducing elements that get used a few arcs later in important ways. The manga has been, for a while now, accumulating unfinished plot threads via not answering the questions it opens and instead adding more and more characters. Jumping from a group of characters to another was not an issue beforehand because unlike this arc's, chapters took place at different times and/or in totally different places. The Silver Eve is both set in time AND place, making it hard to follow because all sideplot happen at once.

Book 10 continues to accumulate ongoing unresolved plots with: the royal family being shady, Agott's struggles irt. her mother, Dagda running around confused and tracked by the Knights, Custas and Ininia jumping Tartah and Coco, and Galga's accident + relationship.

Book 11 does the same adding Agott's crush on Coco, the actual festival, Jujy's inner troubles...Funnily enough, this page is a good summary of the ongoing mess.

Instead of solving all of this stuff we instead get stakes ramped up to 100 with the introduction of what I can only describe as a kaiju attack. As much as I love the horror and drama element, given what was already going on, this does NOT strike me as a good decision.

Now, we go back to the three latest chapters. These follow the same subplot: Custas' faction change and Coco's attempts to save him. This subplot has, to me, a whole lot of issues. Way earlier on in the story, even before Dagda's ambush, I had issues with how Custas was portrayed in relation to his anger, being drawn weirdly spooky for...a frustrated poor kid? Others have also pointed out it wasn't great to have one of your only dark skinned characters be a slum kid. Obviously given my handle on here, I am still a huge fan of the character. After chapter 45 (included), I already found it a bit tasteless to have so much horrors piled on him. WHA is a rather unsubtle series at time which I really, really dislike. Sure, makes it hard to miss the point, but when you're dealing with sensitive topics it can fall into touchy territory fast...

In the latest chapters, Coco appears to save Custas, the "how" part of her plan still being a mystery. Meanwhile, a timelooped and very confused Dagda looks for him, accompanied by Lulucy, who knows them both and is unaware of their ties with forbidden magic. She ends up telling him to abandon the faction he sided with by literally ripping off the brim of his hat with her magic. Meanwhile, Lulucy starts attacking him on sight. I have so, so so many issues with all of this.

Coco's story is about knowing the system in place sucks. Custas' story is about being screwed over by the same system. The story explicitly points those two out as mirrors: Custas is what would have happened to Coco without the right support. Coco's unique POV on the pointed hat witches shows us many prior times they are not the good guys. Hell, Custas himself talks about how the pointed hat's magical gatekeeping prevented him from living a better life.

To me, the point was supposed to be: the system in place doesn't work, which results in people in need not getting help. We loop back to the accessibility I started off mentioning. Yes, before the current system, bad things happened - but the current system is still allowing other bad things to happen now. So...why is Coco pushing Custas to join the pointed hats and abandon the faction he sided with? If a character who was upholding the status quo was doing so it would make sense (like Beldaruit) but Coco as a main character exists partially to point out why the pointed hats are not good. She demonstrates it to the reader via what happens to her AND knows it as a character. It comes off as inconsistent and frankly makes little sense.

Speaking of inconsistencies...why does Lulucy not recognize Custas, a child she's known for a while? Why does the young prince, introduced as a suspicious character on behalf of his family's unknown goals, become a helpful selfless little guy? Why are the Knights, originally introduced as an antagonistic faction because they are a milita enforcing the status quo, suddenly portrayed as fighting for good as a bunch of remarkable individuals?

Ah yes, the cops. I'm going to address something really fast about them. It makes me frankly uncomfortable the author chose their faction to evoke the two very sensitive topics of sexual assault and homophobia. I think the way those topics themselves were handled without greater context was surprisingly good, and it's touching in the first place to see an author who not only cares, but uses her series, destined partially for younger readers, to explain why she cares. However, Witch Hat is a very black and white series: the bad guys are bad and ugly and you should dislike them, the good guys are good and you should like them. There are some exceptions but who have been losing steam as of late. While originally introduced as a group of individuals who act in problematic ways for their day job, the Knights have slowly lost that bad guy flavor to become a fun band of colleagues/friends. They are law enforcers who enforce unjust laws, but it seems that the author's not on board with people hating them because this is the second time she gave a Knight a tragic backstory that makes them more sympathetic to the reader. First of: I do not see what's to redeem about them if the story's about changing an unjust system, so I don't get the necessity to make them nicer. Secondly: at least in my country (which has legal gay marriage and notably less sexist than Japan) law enforcement is renowned to not help sexual assault victims or gay people. The Knights Moralis are fantasy cops and cops, in real life, tend to abandon people who need their help regarding those two issues - if not worsen them, and count a majority of sexists/homophobes among their ranks. Making your unsubtly cop stand-in faction have both characters with those issues comes off as at least a poor decision if not bad taste.

(big words from the guys introduced in the story by arresting a bunch of children who were on a rescue mission for a misunderstanding they would not have cared about. Die idgaf)

Some more surface level things:

The art. The first books of WHA are noticeably more complex in their style featuring more reaslistic proportions for the characters. Latest arc has seen art lose some of the decorative "classic" flair in the linework and characters looking simpler and stylized to look way...Younger? In a way I do not like. Yes, it's expected for manga series to see their style evolve. I also want to make this clear: I consider the pace imposed on manga artists to be inhumane and if Shirahama had decided to draw her manga as stick figures to work less I'd be down for it.

The dialog. While WHA is very in your face (you may call it preachy) the dialog in the latest chapters especially Coco's feels off. A 12yo wouldn't give off speeches about the world in the heat of battle. When it's a calm scene between two characters discussing a deep thing, sure. When it's an epic public adult figure (see: Dean), sure. I'd prefer having the kids talk like kids.

Goddamn the story has become less nuanced and subtle over the time. Scenes like Qifrey getting confronted by Tartah post mindwiping his grandpa owned. The story's current "morally grey" moments just don't do it for me anymore. No, I don't want the witch politicians of the faction you established as a mistake beforehand to continue. I don't care if the fantasy cops are offended by a grieving husband pointing out they suck. I kinda wish he'd thrown hands actually

So...yeah, that's about it. While WHA's plot beats has always been impossible for me to predict, I don't know if I can trust where the story is going anymore. The fans eating it up confuse me and I might even get hate for posting this. Truth is, while some aspects have always been more or less present in the series since the start, I've felt like the really good bits that balanced it out have been going extinct. I don't know why and it's none of my business to. Some friends have pointed out we might be reaching a point where the author ran out of pre-written story and is now improvising. What's a bit concerning to me is I've also noticed she's way less active on social media, where she used to post regular bonus material for the series, this has stopped and I hope it's not because she lost her interest for the series or way worst, is overworked. Given the conditions for mangaka it wouldn't be impossible and like previously stated, I am of the opinion that no comic book series is worth putting their author's life, health and free time down. It's more important than me disliking the comic.

And regarding Custas - him joining the atelier to study with Qifrey would not be a good ending, no matter what the fandom says. It won't be cute found family. Custas has a family who's unique member wouldn't be able to follow him as a witch. That ending would separate a very traumatized child from the only adult he has in his life that gives him unconditional love and support. Custas needs to not be seen as a criminal so the rest of his life won't be over, and also a whole bunch of cash.

I'm not excited for the anime.

[queersekai]

SEKAI Bingo 7 (@sekaitransparents' 1 Year Anniversary Event): silly/funny OR flower meanings.

Chose flower meanings. Reasons for each one under the cut. The PSDs were made to match the flag, which were made based on colors of the flowers (because the original flags repeated the same color palettes and just put the flower on top).

Flags: Bluebellian (Ichika), zinnian (Saki), cireraean (Honami), irisian (Shiho), dandelinian (Minori), dahliaic (Haruka), daffodilian (Airi), lotusean (Shizuku), magnolic (Kohane), chrysanthean (An), sunfleurian (Akito), daisyan (Toya), peonian (Tsukasa), poppyic (Emu), hibiscian (Nene), lavendrian (Rui), hyacinthian (Kanade), pansyean (Mafuyu), marigoldian (Ena), and roseian (Mizuki)

Flower choices (usually when I say "and more," it means there's a negative connotation or one that isn't applicable):

Ichika: Bluebell, meaning loyalty, constancy, humility, and gratitude. Seems self-explanatory.

Saki: Zinnia, meaning thinking of you, remembering absent friends, and sentimentality. Considering Saki's return is what brought Leo/need back together, I thought it fit.

Honami: Cherry blossom, meaning (in Japanese flower language) transience of life, gentleness, and kindness. Seems self-explanatory.

Shiho: Iris, meaning (in general) eloquence, good news, light, faith, valor, wisdom, friendship, and a message. Shiho has (as of 20 November 2024) had two focus events featuring faith in the title, and Leo/need in general is about friendship. Also, White Day knight Shiho card (the 3* from the first set) gives me the valor vibes.

Minori: Dandelion, meaning overcoming hardship, faithfulness, happiness, and more. Minori is basically the poster child for overcoming hardship, given her struggles to become an idol.

Haruka: Dahlia, meaning elegance and dignity, among other things. Seems self-explanatory.

Airi: Daffodil, meaning regard, respect, self-love, and more. A bit more of a stretch, but the respect stood out to me.

Shizuku: Lotus, meaning purity, chastity and elegance, and more. Seems self-explanatory.

Kohane: Magnolia, meaning perseverance, love of nature, and nobility. Following Light Up the Fire, it was a Kohane event that showed Vivid BAD SQUAD persevering in their goal to surpass RAD WEEKEND. And then it was a Kohane event where they did that.

An: Chrysanthemum, meaning (in general) fidelity, optimism, joy and long life, "you're a wonderful friend," rest, and cheerfulness. I saw this and immediately thought Anhane (platonic but could be romantic too). I know she has a sunflower association already, but I used that for...

Akito: Sunflower, meaning adoration, pride, and more. Immediate Akito vibes from this.

Toya: Daisy, meaning (in general) loyal love, gentleness, innocence, purity, fidelity, patient endurance, and more. Tell me this isn't Toya, especially towards VBS and the Tenmas.

Tsukasa: Peony, meaning (in Japanese flower language) masculinity and bravery. I think it fits the new card, okay?

Emu: Poppy, meaning sleep, imagination, fantastic extravagance, and more. Ignoring all the negative connotations that were there, I got wonderhoy vibes.

Nene: Hibiscus, meaning delicate beauty. Nene was hard to come up with one for, so I went with something a bit generic.

Rui: Lavender, meaning love, devotion, and loyalty, among others. Leo/need can't be the only one getting loyalty meanings, alright? He's loyal to WxS and is deeply devoted to them.

Kanade: Hyacinth, meaning (for blue and purple) constancy, grief and sorrow, and, "Please forgive me." Seems self-explanatory given her father.

Mafuyu: Pansy, meaning thoughtfulness, merriment, remembrance, you occupy my thoughts, and, "Think of me." Mafuyu was another difficult one to come up with for, but I do think Kanade (and the rest of Niigo) occupies Mafuyu's thoughts, and Mafuyu can be thoughtful.

Ena: Marigold, meaning pain and grief, jealousy, and more. I know Ena has an association with daffodils, but this screamed Ena between her issues with art, her jealousy towards Mafuyu, and more recently with Where Does the Path of Thorns Go?

Mizuki: Rose, meaning (in general) love, silence, privacy, and conversations held in confidence. I mean... Where Does the Path of Thorns Go? Enough said, I think.

[sokai-asuki]

A Constellation Calls "Draco"

(Macy meeting with Leo/Need)

Knightonia (King Halbert's Castle)

Hama Halbert, the queen of Knightonia and Macy's mother, walking around the castle, trying to find if there is some trouble in here. Until she hear a sound. A music...

Just as she pass by her daughter's room, she heard the sound of guitar. It was from her daughter's room. She didn't open the door but she can clearly see her daughter, with a guitar she holding.

Her daughter doesn't seems to notice her own mother watching her playing the guitar. The guitar seems a bit different than the one she see before.

Her daughter seems to be trying to play the right tune it seems... Hama Halbert can't help but smile softly at her daughter playing. And the sound of the guitar seems too good for her to interrupt.

Hama sigh at her daughter accomplish for playing a music. It's better to keep this one a secret from her husband.

——SEGA——

The Fortrex (Macy's Room)

Just as Macy had done putting her belongings in her room inside the Fortrex. She's open up her phone. After another battle with Jestro and the Book of Evil, Monstrox, and they get Merlok back as an hologram data being. They got the Fortrex, used to be called a Rolling Castle, understandable for the castle look.

Before they even got the Fortrex, Macy had commission Robin to make a guitar, the one that almost looks like in School Sekai. Robin doesn't question on how Macy know the design but still do it anyway, and add a little touch of how that guitar belong to Macy.

After Macy got an upgrade guitar from Robin, she quickly hold her guitar and ready to enter the Sekai. She's not a professional playing the instrument, understandable that she always training to be a knight, but she would be happy if Miku or Luka can taught her.

——SEGA——

School Sekai

This time around, she's on the rooftop. She look up, the star didn't change at all. She smile softly at the stars and the constellations. She sigh and turn away to go find Luka or Miku around the School Sekai.

Only to be stopped by a door to the hallway opening. She paused and look at the person who just come out from the door. What's in front of her is a girl with a pigtails both on her sides.

Both girls just look at each other for a moment and finally the silent got broken by a voice, "Saki? What's taking you so long—"

Another girl behind the pigtails hair girl said as she notice Macy. Macy feeling awkward, just wave at the two girls.

"Um, girls? Is everything okay?"

Another voice, another girl, and this time, there's two other girls appear behind them. Just before Macy could say anything, suddenly the familiar voice could be heard.

"Ah, Macy? You're here!" The familiar voice, Luka, said, "And just in time for introduction."

Huh? Introduction? Macy thought and back at 4 unknown girls, who shows different kind of reaction.

"Um, hey there, the names Macy Halbert." Macy introduce herself, "You girls can just call me Macy."

Macy gives a smile at them. Luka smile back and turn to look back at the 4 girls, "This is Macy Halbert, another one of the people who can access to School Sekai."

"Oh, you did have say there's another person who can enter the Sekai?" A black hair girl said, she look at Macy with curiosity, "Is she also..."

"Yes," Luka said quickly, knowing what the girl was meant to say.

"If she can also have an access to this Sekai, how come we didn't get to meet her?" A grey hair girl asked, she seems suspicious about Macy have been in Sekai before.

Before Luka could say anything, Macy reply back with her answer, "I don't really have time to enter the Sekai again, because there's some trouble in my line of work," Macy said, but the same girl look at her in suspicious. She sigh, maybe she should say it, "I'm a knight."

That did bring some reaction but not something she expected. The pigtails hair girl look surprised but then admiration came, the grey hair girl was shocked and surprised, same goes for two other girls.

"Woah! A knight?!" The pigtails girl exclaimed, and out of nowhere, she already in front of Macy, "You're a knight?! Woah, cool, amazing! Is it really true you're a knight? I thought knight only exist in story book? Or does other country still have a knight?"

"England has one, Saki."

"Ah... But still!" 'Saki' turn back at Macy, "You're a knight?!"

Macy can't help but chuckle at the girl enthusiasm, "Yes, I am. And you are...?"

"Tenma Saki!" The girl, Tenma Saki, said her name, "Miss Halbert, right? Or should I really call you Macy? Oh, should I show a respect to a knight like to a police?"

Police? Macy was a bit confused by that word, "Just Macy is fine, "Miss Halbert" is like making my mother old..."

"Ah, alright, Macy!" She said excitedly.

"Saki, please don't get too excited..." The grey hair girl said, but Macy can see a small smile on her face, "Hello, Macy? My name is Hinomori Shiho. I am sorry, if I said before was suspicious towards you..."

"Ah, it's okay. It's good to be cautious, so no hard feeling, Shiho." Macy gives a smile.

Shiho give a small smile at that, two other girls also come forward to their friends and Macy. The same black hair girl then introduce herself, "Um, my name is Hoshino Ichika. It's nice to meet you, miss hal– Um, I mean, Macy."

Macy notice the Ichika's hesitation saying her family's name, she smile softly at her. Finally the last girl turn to introduce herself, "Nice to meet you, Miss Halbert. My name is Mochizuki Honami. I hope you don't mind me calling you by your family's name..."

"Hm, it's okay. I can guess you want to be polite." Macy smile, "Remind me of a friend of mine."

"Really?" Honami was a little surprised.

"Yeah, he is also a knight," as Macy that line, Saki's eyes lighten up again, "He is kind, gentle and polite when needed."

"I, I see." Honami can't help but smile a little. Just by seeing that smile, again remind Macy about her friend...

"By the way Macy," suddenly Luka appear beside her, "Is this your guitar?"

"Oh, yeah. Last time I was here, I did come at the classroom and notice all the guitars in the room." Macy said, then give a sheepishly smile, "I can't help but commision my friend to make a guitar. He did build other stuff but I guess, build a guitar is the first ever one."

Without weapon involves.

Saki stare at the guitar with adoration, "It's almost like Ichika's but the style of it is really different!" She said, "Your friend seems to be good at building stuff!"

Macy chuckle at Saki's words.

The Leo/Need, Macy and Luka keep going with their conversation. Unbeknownst another Vocaloid looking at them from behind the door. Miku smile gently at the scene.

"I wonder, what adventure we eill be having from this day onwards."

[iukasylvie]

I was so critical of the Knights Moralis because I got the impression that Chapter 49 was meant to say "Look, they're not so bad" by having them condemn the peeping tom and, in Luluci's backstory, the nobleman and her teacher. But it only made them even more unlikeable in my eyes.

I found Chapter 49 to be so disconnected from not only the rest of the series but also itself that the series would still be fine if it existed as much as Lulusia did in One Piece: never. Chapter 49 also privileges Luluci far above the other characters who have suffered from handicaps, abuse, and neglect like Coco, Tartah, Agott, Richeh, Eunie, and Qifrey. Out of them, Qifrey doesn't even get to show his past trauma and struggles from his own point of view; instead, Beldaruit presents his backstory in a manner that is biased against him.

Ellien is similar in role to Shiho Suzui from Persona 5, being Luluci's fellow apprentice who was also abused by the nobleman, but Shirahama gave her less time and characterization than Atlus did for Shiho. Chapter 49 shows her struggling against the nobleman in a brief scene, where Luluci rushed in to defend her. But despite the emphasis on Luluci's past trauma, the nobleman and Ellien disappear from the story once Easthies punished her teacher.

People told me on Discord that the narrative disappearance of Ellien and the nobleman was meant to comment on how the powerful could get away with their crimes and how frequently the victim was denied justice. This argument doesn't make sense to me because Easthies punished Luluci's teacher on the spot for refusing to believe her and I got the impression that Shirahama meant it to be justice for her without irony even though it was left unclear what happened to Ellien and the nobleman.

Persona 5, on the other hand, covers Shiho's reaction to the abuse she suffers from Kamoshida in a longer and more intense scene, in which the main characters witness her jump off the school's roof in a suicide attempt. It is the moment that solidifies their determination to stop Kamoshida. The Kamoshida arc is indispensable to the story because it firmly establishes the theme of corrupt adults who abuse youth and inspires the main characters to band together as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

Disclaimer: I do love parts of the series such as Qifrey's character (he is the best adult figure I have ever seen), Tartah's early character arc about working around his disability, and the Romonon arc in which the apprentices and their struggles shine the most.

I just want to know why so many people embrace Witch Hat Atelier despite all my issues with the series.

[sillyshuffleunits]

Shiho, Mafuyu, Tsukasa, and Nene + Len as knights

BUT- but- wait for it....

Genderbend.

Did these the other day and forgot about them. Oops.

Meant to get through the whole inbox but discord call with friend occurred.

Also I had another ask that I’m gonna have to redo because an blinked, Shiho’s outfit did NOT fit the theme, and Kanade was in empty SEKAI when the rest were in street?