#least insane sumire fan has walked into the room

[kroosluvr]

january 9

ok i have a lot of thoughts. erm. buckle in

im sure everyone agrees that the joker vs sumire fight on jan 9 was so nothing..... so i wanted to raise the stakes. UP THE ANTE.

so to make it more intense life-and-death situation, in my head sumire basically tosses her own life away at joker in a "one of us is gonna die here and honestly? i dont care which way the cards fall"

"either i die here -> sumire doesn't have to live anymore. or, i kill you and i get my true reality (and sumire doesn't have to live anymore.)"

joker notices this immediately, by the wild way she fights all of a sudden. however crow doesn't notice bc i think he sees sumire as inexperienced and just assumes joker will win by default (like he does in canon. nothingburger fight.....)

but joker is too damn cautious, knowing one wrong move might result in her demise or his downfall...

i think here he only deflects with his melee, doesn't even try to summon his personas. crow notices smth is off and then sumire manages to get a deep hit on him w cendrillon+her sword

which activates crow bc. at this point he dgaf abt sumire BUT he doesnt want joker to die.

(ironically, crow's selfish goal to Help Joker helps sumire bc she then realizes that she's being irrational/hurting one of her dear friends (akira).. she didnt really think abt how this choice of the ideal reality would affect him (or goro)

also i always thought crow just walking away frm that fight was kinda lame so. just the idea of akira Faltering... about to let himself get killed.. in a way Giving In to the Wrong Choice of the ideal reality.... yeah that'd piss him off BIG time

(though, if i framed it in the way this comic does, crow walking away at first to let joker handle it is so real. bc hes like i cant be wasting time on this, just let akira handle her and then we can go back to figuring out how to conquer this palace and maruki etc. Sumire is small potatoes rn)

also akira being too compassionate/sensitive abt her emotions to fight her directly bc he can see how shes barely hanging on by a thread.. ough ough ough.....

but also sumire being so angry and desperate that she dgaf if she hurts akira rn. OHHHH OUCHHH OWIE

also this is the scene i showed in the bg of this comic! (sorry twitter link im lazy

"she'd rather die at our hands than her own" implying if she lost here and didnt die, she'd kill herself upon returning to the True reality bc she cant live with "sumire" anymore. okkk.. yeah

"This is the only way. I know you know that too, Joker" -> the only way back to our reality as we know it. we can't afford to be soft if it'll kill us. if this is truly sumire's choice, then we HAVE to fight. we can't back down here.

(and, also, this is the only way to show sumire that we're serious: we won't let her live as kasumi, she has to face herself, she can't run off to some dystopian ideal reality - this is the only way!!!!!)

Dying's easy. we already know sumire would die to become kasumi, to become a better gymnast, to not be sumire anymore. But would she kill for it. Who would she kill for it

[idealnreal]

Maruki Palace over-analysis (pt.1)

Thank you for @appleyjuiceboy​ for helping me out with this and entertaining my brainrot. and to @goalexstark​ for requesting this :D Now buckle in, put on gentle madman, and a whole lot of insanity under the cut

So the best place to start is outside the palace. Specifically, the external architecture of the palace. It’s clearly very contemporary even futuristic in its design, while holding an organic form. It’s design reminds me of rotating tower concepts with the way the first half of the tower curves and twists. And the palace itself does seem to rotate and shift, especially the components in the top half -- accentuating the organic and dynamic futuristic design. However, in comparison with most contemporary and organic architectural designs, the external architecture isn’t minimalist. There are various components, that make the design seem chaotic and even Extra. Of course this is a palace, and we should expect that.

The middle section of the palace is a twisting glass ‘stairway’, surrounding a golden almost ‘woven’ like structure. There is an elevator shaft running through the middle of it. This elevator leads to the garden of eden section of the palace. While the peak is a hologram of a globe, surrounding an amorphous golden form -- that seems to be the source of the light. Strangely enough we don’t see the tree of eden from outside. That would’ve been neat. But alas. The we come to the rotating rings, bound by these golden ‘wires’, and have these camera lenses attached to them.

So, the architectural style of the lab is futuristic, organic and dynamic -- and completely whack. This reflects how he thinks that his new reality is also effectively a new way, a new future -- breaking past the confines and rules of even the most contemporary of architectural design, and breaking past the confines and rules of life and reality.

All throughout the exterior of the palace there are these limelights and cameras, rotating about, focusing it’s lenses. This alludes to how he gives each patient his full attention, to be the centre of attention, to be in-focus. Alternatively, it could also suggest an over protective, surveying/ supervising mental state -- ever watchful for anyone in pain.

The entrance’s design, in comparison with the rest of the exterior, seems very straightforward. If you take away the glass atrium, the grey structure in the middle would actually be very imposing. The gold ‘wires’ arcs also surround this area, giving it an organic and dynamic design. Note that these aren’t doors, but an elevator. From the get go, Maruki is taking patients up, above ground.

Stepping out of the elevator, from the dark and up a flight of steps, into the light, we are greeted by a flight of doves-- accentuating the idea that the entrance hall is an open-aired space despite being indoors. This becomes a theme across the palace, going back and forth from high-ceiling and open-aired sections, to very closed and claustrophobic corridors. There are also those golden ‘wire’ arches decorating the ceiling of this entrance hall. In contemporary architecture, big atriums and open-aired spaces are meant to promote airflow and natural light, to give visitors a sense of ease and relaxation, while also being a respite from any harsh conditions outdoors. The sound of the doves taking flight add on to the peaceful and calm atmosphere.

Like all information boards, Maruki is showing people the benefits of his research, how it works, and most importantly, evidence that it does work -- that it is for the best. The amount of detail and the number of charts on these boards suggest that he is being transparent with his research -- and that it is scientifically proven. Of course, no one real (beyond the phantom thieves, shibusawa and the professor) has read this research. The people outside who’s cognitions he had changed, did not need to read this research -- they only needed to wish for happiness. Even so, these boards reflect his belief that if people know about his research, about how it works, they can be convinced into accepting his help. The cognitions who talk in the entrance hall also tell the PT to give it a try, and were understanding of any hesitance and were reassuring.

Also notice that the walls of the hall are lined with flower-beds, specifically wildflowers -- Calling back to Rumi’s love for the wild-flower field and Maruki’s youth with her. It also fits into the open-ness of this section that these are not potted deliberately arranged plants, and it would seem that these flowers just grew out in the patch of dirt and grass left for them.

Here, we come to the reception hall, where there are a few components to note. The first is probably the huge fan topping off the very high glass ceiling -- again, adding to the idea that this palace is all about natural light, air circulation and a breezy peacefulness. Then we have those golden wires/cable things (they actually remind me of computer cables), wrapped around these cameras and helping to prop them up and move them. THese cameras are also propped up by these black thin wires -- and the gold and the black -- hinting that there is more going on here. On the huge cameras themselves, now they seem more like surveillance cameras than the camera lenses outside. Adding credence to the idea that this is a big brother type situation, but one that is just reALLY keen on making sure everyone isn’t suffering and is happy.

The design of the reception itself is well organised, with lined benches and the calling numbers on full display. When i first played this section i thought that this was more like a hospital -- not a lab.

The next section is this green house looking area, with a tree and a garden in the middle and four TV screens. We don’t know if these screens are meant to play memories of anyone who comes by but that’s what we see-- Sumire walking in as her father is crying over Kasumi’s body. Importantly, after this section we see a cognition of Kasumi who sees and waves at Sumire, and then once we meet Maruki, he shows us another video from Sumire’s POV of the accident. Also the room we see the cognition of Kasumi and meet Maruki is a gymnastics arena.

This is important because we know that this is Maruki’s palace, and not Sumire’s. How is it that these POV memories are in this palace, and that Maruki would have a cognition of Kasumi? Of course one can argue that he created these memories and the cognition of Kasumi based on what he knows of Sumire/Kasumi -- and was doing this to manipulate her. But this definitely isn’t the case. He has never met Kasumi, and from what we can tell, he only had one session with Sumire, who didn’t really give any details of the accident itself to Maruki, or speak of her father to him. I doubt that Sumire as Kasumi would’ve spoken to Maruki about the accident after -- as she was more concerned about her gymnastic performance.

Perhaps this will get to personal headcanon territory, because the game doesn’t give us any answers on this. So Maruki is definitely an empath, and while that doesn’t give him the affinity to gain other people’s memories -- I believe that with Azathoth’s power and with this palace, it does. We know that he can see into people’s minds and know their pains and wishes -- which would very likely come in the form of memories -- whether it be persona users or mementos dwellers. Also, being an empath means that he can feel what another is feeling. Or rather if i can describe it -- letting someone walk through the door and change the furniture around. This is Maruki’s palace, and yet he is allowing Sumire to walk in and see her own memories from her point of view. Therefore, while i think that Maruki has access to some of these memories, they’re supplemented and brought into focus by the presence of Sumire. At least that’s what my hc is.

Speaking of the gymnastics arena, we arrive at our first colour switch of this palace. Dark purples and violets. It doesnt look like the walls or floors are purples/dark -- but instead some purple light, and that the big lights aren’t turned on on purpose. Like discussed before, this seems very much like Sumire’s section of the palace -- and Maruki allowing her to ‘move the furniture’

Something else to note thanks to juicedup14 from twitter for these translations of the banners, tickertape/crawler text, “We’ll watch over you always” “ The ideal reality you haven’t seen is waiting for you” “ May the world be a happy place where no one suffers”

And these posters, translated “ Let’s keep our hearts healthy”.

After a week we return to the palace and head to the Auditorium. This time, this is definitely Maruki’s section of the palace. Unlike the Arena, the Auditorium is a circular and bright hall, flanked all around with seats and podiums and screens for presentations. Yes, Maruki’s cognitions of people are fuckin creepy, but this is where they are the creepiest. They’re all sitting in rows, faceless and happy -- and have their hands together clapping. There is also a hologram of the globe topping off the ceiling -- like the hologram globe outside. This is where Maruki’s research will and has gained global recognition -- presented to thousands, and seen as the panacea to all ills and suffering of the world.

I went into more detail in my analysis of the shadows, but tldr; the cult-like vibe this palace, and especially this room, gives. However this ‘religion’ is founded on research, factual and scientific evidence. Which is why we have those presentation screens and all the information boards in this first third of the palace. And given how his research has been suppressed and ignored for years, it makes sense if those cognitions are his converted detractors, his followers, as well as his ‘patients’. Maruki doesn’t deny wanting his research to be recognised, and this is what this room is dedicated to. But like he says, and ultimately what the rest of this palace will show -- Maruki wants to heal the world at whatever the cost.

And with this i’ll probably close this off here. I reckon this will be one of four or five parts, kinda split to how the game splits this palace. This will be a long and wild ride ladies gents and enbees. Oof.

[clubgazette]

the GazettE 10th anniversary THE DECADE @ Makuhari Messe 2012.03.10.

Full day report on my Livejournal, but I’ve cut out the relevant bits and put them here (it’s still quite long, mostly because I used to write a lot more descriptively about the crowd etc). As this is now available on DVD it might be more interesting reading what I remembered off their MCs and to see how much of what I remembered from the live itself is accurate rather than reading my observations themselves.

The way the stage was set up made it so the crowd in front had 3 “blocks” to choose from; shimote, centre, or kamite (usually the first row is a straight line and you just choose your general area depending on who you want to see better). GFC got lucky again and had tickets around 160s-210s. My group ended up 4th or 5th row in the middle block, but when the push came we were moved up to 2nd row.

The stage backdrop was their current logo, and opposite the stage in the far back of the hall was a huge banner with their old ガゼット logo. It was really cool. There was one screen on each side of the stage, which was probably good for the people further back. I didn't notice them at first since I was so close and had to bend my head backwards to see them properly. The stage also had two hanamichi (extended parts going out towards the crowd), one on each side. A little past five, they did the usual announcement that the live would start soon and asked us to be careful with pushing and headbanging as to not hurt other fans. The crowd roared with excitement when the announcement ended, but I think the one most excited was their live manager, Kusaka. He was standing on the side of the stage, throwing his hands in the air and screaming. I've seen him a couple of times during the VC tour too, doing hip thrusts(!!) and whatnot, but he looked really excited this time, haha (kind of like this ψ(｀∇´)ψ). Shortly after, the lights went out and the SE started playing. It was a classical piece, very beautiful. Images of the members from 2002 and up til 2012 started flashing over the screens in time of when they came on stage - first Kai, then Uruha, Reita, Aoi, and finally Ruki. It was really nostalgic seeing their old pictures, and I think seeing the pictures like that made me realise that it's actually been 10 years (it doesn't feel that long at all).

I didn't take a picture of my poster before I sent it home, so have a picture of the front page of MASSIVE vol. 5 instead to get an idea of what they looked like:

The picture doesn't really show it well, but Kai's hair is really light. We thought it was blonde at first, but it's a light brown. It looks very nice on him. I personally really love Reita's half/half look, and black hair really suits him. Aoi was being flawless in his swishy ensemble again and Uruha looked stunning as usual. Ruki looked really young. The SE ended and they all got ready for the first song. Setlist: -SE- 未成年 (Miseinen) 赤いワンピース (Akai one-piece) 春ニ散リケ��、身ハ枯レルデゴザイマス。(Haru ni chirikeri, mi wa kareru de gozaimasu) -MC- 舐 〜zetsu〜 Psychedelic Heroine SWALLOWTAIL ON THE DEATH VALLEY ガンジスに紅い薔薇 (Ganges ni akai bara) 菫 (Sumire) 枯詩 (Kare uta) Cassis -MC- THE $OCIAL RIOT MACHINE$ RUDER VORTEX VERMIN HEADACHE MAN IN THE MIDDLE OF CHAOS FILTH IN THE BEAUTY -EN- RIDE WITH THE ROCKERS Nausea & Shudder 十四歳のナイフ (Juuyonsai no knife) 泥だらけの青春 (Doro darake no seishun) -MC- 貴女ノ為ノ此ノ命。(Anata no tame kono inochi) 関東���下座組合 (Kantou dogeza kumiai) LINDA ～candy dive pinky heaven～ -EN2- -MC- 別れ道 (Wakaremichi) 春雪の頃 (Shunsetsu no koro) -END MC- [Announcements]

They. Started. With. Miseinen. ★ It took me (and the crowd, I think) a good couple of seconds to realise it was actually happening, then came all the emotions, and a massive surge towards the front. (Miseinen was my first gazette song and is also my all-time favourite, the timing of them kicking off their 10th anniversary with my first and favourite song was just too unreal.) Since I was so close to the stage, most of the streamers flew over me, but I caught a small one. ヽ(・∀・)ノ The band seemed really hyped up from the start, and since it was at the beginning of the live Ruki was actually able to sing most of the song (lol). They all did the song perfectly, I think it's the best live version of it I've heard so far. Reita came up on the middle stand for his bass solo as usual. (ﾉ〃∇〃)ﾉ So cool~ Aoi was dancing around and showing off as usual (gotta love him). Uruha seemed pretty hyper, and Reita kept sticking his tongue out at us (he's been doing that a lot lately, idk why but it's adorable anyway). Regrettably I didn't see much of Kai, and Ruki was just being his usual fabulous self. I swear. That man. (`∀´) ★ It was both uncomfortable and kind of amusing to be squashed up to the front since nobody had space to move (I couldn't even put my arms down), but everyone wanted to dance. During Aka wanpi we swayed from side to side and got the hand roll going, but didn't really manage much more, haha. (´ω｀;) There was some joking around between Reita and Aoi at the very beginning of the song, and they both got low when Reita played the first bass note. Aoi, Reita, Ruki and Uruha all moved up closer to the edge of the stage when the guitars and bass started playing. They moved around on stage a bit more during this song compared to Miseinen. There was a bit of bromancing between Reita and Uruha. Aoi and Uruha came up to the middle tachidai and swayed back and forth together for the middle part of the song (you understand which part I mean if you listen to it, you can hear it haha). They were both grinning like crazy ♥ Overall I think it was pretty obvious they all enjoyed themselves a great deal. ★ Haru ni chirikeri. Oh. My. God. I heard this song while I was waiting outside, so I knew they were going to play it, but I still felt so excited when it started. Ruki's little dance at the start/during the song is AMAZING. I think it was during this song that Reita came up to the front and sat down next to Ruki while playing his bass. So cute ♥ ★ I think most people found it pretty given that they'd play lots of old songs, but everyone still seemed equally surprised and ecstatic every time a new song started playing. I think by far, the biggest 'shock' was Zetsu. The crowd went completely nuts. ★ The first riffs of Psychedelic Heroine started playing and the hype from Zetsu just carried on through this song too. When we heard Ruki's "odorou ka?" there was nobody standing still anymore, everyone screamed and jumped around. It was insane. Ruki did his usual hipthrusts + touching himself lol. Uruha and Aoi were jumping and dancing. ★ Psychedelic melted quite perfectly into SWALLOWTAIL ON THE DEATH VALLEY. More jumping. ヽ(　´∀｀)ノ ★ The lights went out and Ruki's tachidai lit with fire. He held a rose and walked closer up towards the burning tachidai when the beginning of Ganges ni Akai Bara started playing. I was actually quite surprised they chose to play this song at the anniversary, but it also felt right because it's the one song Kai has composed (haha). It's a nice song live, and it was a good bridge between a somewhat hyper start and the more calm part of the live. ★ Next up was Sumire. I've always wanted to hear this song live, so when they started playing it I just felt so incredibly grateful. It was just as good as I'd always imagined it would be, and I'm just so happy I got to hear it live. ★ After Sumire was another song we'd heard during rehersalals, Kare Uta. Despite knowing it would come, it took me by surprise. This song has always been special to me and I think it just in general carries a lot of meaning between the band and the fans. ★ I also knew they would play Cassis, and it amused me a little at first because Anna has always said she'll die if she hears it live and there it was. I've heard it a couple of times before and while I think it's a nice song, it was never that special to me, until now. I'm not sure what happened, but Cassis has just become very emotional to me, haha. (´ω｀;) I think most of the foreign part of the audience had really hoped for this song, because they all cried and screamed along, something that might've been touching it it wasn't for the fact that they completely deafened Ruki out (at least for me). (Also, shouting 'wooooooh!' during a quiet part of a song is a bit of a faux pas in Japan). ★ There was a short MC before they kicked us right back into the live mood with THE $OCIAL RIOT MACHINE$. The logo backdrop disappeared and up came the old Disorder logo. I was so thrilled to see that, it was so cool and fitting. There was another unison shove up towards the front (I was surprised it was physically possible to get even closer - of course on the cost of air, though). As everyone knows this song is completely crazy. The crowd did their best to jump and headbang despite having so little space to move. The band was totally rocking out on stage too, though no hip thrusts from Ruki (lol). ★ Next up was Ruder. Complete Mayhem. I don't think I caught that much of what was going on on stage here because we had some room to move and people were just going crazy. ★ Right after Ruder came VERMIN. So much excitedness for this song, it's so great live (though more fun in a seated live hall imo). We all jumped and shouted along to the "fall down!" parts. ★ IN THE MIDDLE OF CHAOS was next. I was really confused by this seemingly (to me, at least) random song choice, but it was fun nevertheless. ★ Everyone's favourite furi mosh song, HEADACHE MAN, came up next. Somehow the crowd managed to headbang and do the furi mosh part without killing eachother. It looked like the band was having fun too, lots of headbanging from them as well. ★ VORTEX was great, as always. We all shouted along to "countless bug!" and "I don't want to become a fucking garbage like you". Fun times. ★ They finished the main part of the live with FILTH IN THE BEAUTY, to much excitement from the crowd. After the song ended, they left the stage. I couldn't believe the main part was over so fast. I could keep going forever (as always at gaze lives, haha). ヾ(¯∇￣๑)

★ Some people left during the encore call due to having been beaten around too much, and people seemed to generally step back a little to get some more space to breathe. It was quite nice. There was a small push up towards the stage again when the crowd lights went out and the stage lights came on right before Kai and Reita came on stage for RwtR, but we still had a bit of space to move. It might just have been me, but the RwtR sounded exactly like the one from the VC tour. I wasn't really disappointed seeing as they've been busy with recording a new album and prepping for the live ++, but it was a bit surprising too. It's one of my favourite RwtR's, though. When Aoi and Uruha came on stage they had white backlights and no front lights, so we could only see their silhouettes at first. Then the main stage lights went back on and they started rocking around the stage. ★ When Ruki came in, they all went up to the drum set and we all knew which song was next (I heard it during rehearsals too so.... orz). Nausea & Shudder is such a great live song. And it was nice to have some space to do furi for it. ★ Kai started beating the drums in a familiar beat, but I couldn't quite put my finger on which song it was until Reita started playing the first bass lines for Juuyonsai no knife. I’m so glad I got to hear this song live, it’s great hearing a bit of that old Reita action. We all clapped and danced along. Ruki danced a lot too (so cute!) haha (　´∀｀) ★ Doro darake was another song I've really wanted to hear live, so I was so happy when they started playing it. All the members jumped around and swung from side to side (like in the PV). They didn't do any poking, but us fans did, haha. At the end, Reita changed the last couple of bass lines, and he looked so accomplished. Everyone laughed and he grinned. ♥ ★ There was another MC, then they started playing Anata no tame. We always sing this at karaoke, so me and my friends went crazy along with the rest of the crowd. The furi was so fun ヽ(●′▽‵●ヽ)( ノ●′▽‵●)ノ ★ When Anata no tame was over, Ruki did the kind of talk he always does right before Kantou, so I was just waiting for his 'welcome to hell' before finding some girls and throwing ourselves at the ground. I have no idea how we had the space to considering we were so close to the stage, but we managed anyway. We didn't stay for long though, so I did see most of the show on stage. I'm not entirely sure what happened when (if this was part of other songs or what), but the general rule of thumb with their lives seem to be that if something happened between the members and you're not sure which song it's from, it's probably kantou. At some point Reita was standing next to the middle tachidai and Ruki was leaning against him with his arm on his shoulder. Aoi and Reita sat down on different tachidais to play, and a little bit later Reita was standing on Uruha's side and Aoi walked up behind him and pulled at his noseband. Reita startled and Aoi laughed. Uruha hit Kai's drums, Ruki spat a lot of water, and the members generally just ran around and played with eachother. It's so great to see them like that ♥ We threw ourselves on the floor for the last part too. ( *｀ω´)ゞ ★ After Kantou, they played Linda. Aoi clapped along. Reita did his spin and Uruha looked at him kinda like he was looking after him (so he wouldn't bump into anything), and when the spin was done Reita looked at Uruha and they smiled at eachother (thanks to Rui for this observation!). ★ Even more people left/moved back during the second encore call, so we got more space. I was standing quite comfortably at this point, not brushing against anyone even though I was 4 rows from the stage. When the members came back out again they held another MC I honestly can't remember much of, but Ruki kept saying through the whole live that 10 years passed a lot quicker than they thought and that they were really happy. He started this MC with saying something like "10 years ago, in __, the GazettE was formed. This guy-" at this point he put his arm around Kai's shoulders, "was at home at the time, but he's been with us all along." I was really touched that he made it a big point that Kai is an important part of the band too, and he really made it feel like Kai's been there since the beginning. Kai seemed pretty grateful too. Then Ruki talked about the next song they were going to play, and that it was an important song to the band, that it held a lot of meaning (to them), and that he wanted us to listen closely. Then they started playing Wakaremichi. I had been quite back and forth with this song, if I wanted them to play it or not. It would be weird to have a 10th anniversary without playing their first song, but at the same time it is a breakup song and it is very sad. (I heard it during rehearsals, so I knew they were going to play it, but I guess I didn't really believe it til they actually announced it and started playing it on stage). The song itself was beautifully performed, I feel like they really put their heart into it. Ruki stuck to the low key notes. Some of the fans linked their pinkies and held their hands up. At the middle part we all knew what was coming, and when Ruki moved the mic away from his mouth we all sang along to the chorus. He held his hand in on front of his mouth during the first part of it and looked like he was about to cry. We sang it 2~3 times, then they resumed playing and finished it. ★ We all thought that was the last song, but then suddenly Ruki went 'last!', and Shunsetsu no koro started playing. I was so surprised and overwhelmed (still not recovered from Wakaremichi and then they threw that in our faces, hi, thanks). We sang along to the 'day of blue graduation' part, and some of us held hands. Then they suddenly started showering us in white and light pink square-shaped confetti. It looked like snow and/or sakura petals, and it was really beautiful (even though it got everywhere and was kind of annoying lmao [I also couldn't see much of the stage because it was so much of it]). It never seemed to end (and when we left there was a 3~4 cm thick cover of it on the ground!). (・ω・) Some of the fans were crying and most of them held hands and/or stood close to eachother. The members gathered on stage and Ruki leaned on Reita's shoulder again. Reita put his arm around Ruki's waist, but Kai slapped it away LOL. He also slapped Uruha's and Ruki's butts (idek what he was doing). Ruki had the mic, but he said that he, and probably the fans too, would like to hear what the other members had to say. Then he handed the mic to Uruha. Sadly, I can't remember what Uruha said, but he was grateful to the fans and his band members. I think he also said it didn't feel like 10 years at all. He then handed the mic to Kai, who handed it to Reita when he was done speaking (I don't remember what he said either, but I think he said something like it felt like he'd been with them from the start even though he hadn’t really, and that he also was grateful).

Reita tried to hand the mic straight to Aoi, who looked surprised, then they played janken over it and Aoi lost (paper to scissors) and had to talk first. He talked really long LOL. At some point in his mile long speech he was like “ah, I know I've talked for a long time, but...” and looked at the band, who all looked at him and laughed. He teased the fans a lot and was generally being sweet and dorky as always. (　´∀｀)

He finally handed the mic to Reita and Reita seemed to hesitate a little, though Ruki nodded at him and was like 'speak up, man' lol. Reita's speech was really heartwarming. He is usually the biggest cheese of the band imo, and uses pretty simple Japanese so I can usually understand all of it (Reita ilu, your blog entries are so easy to translate lmao). He certainly was cheesy this time too, saying that even though they're old, they'll continue to their 20th and 30th anniversary etc. He thanked the fans and the band, and gave the mic back to Ruki who more or less continued off from where Reita left. He said it's all happened so fast and that he couldn't really believe they were there (at their 10th anniversary). He then said with a smile that they will keep working towards a 15th, 20th, 25th, 30th, 35th, 45th anniversary, at which point all the members looked at him like 'eeeeh?!' and we all laughed. So cute ♥ He really seems to want to keep going forever. (´・ω・`) ♥ In the end Ruki asked us to hold hands with the people next to us, and then dared us to do the highest jump in their 10 years. He said that therefore we should crouch properly. We all laughed and did as he said, and then jumped. They joked around on stage a little more before they threw their picks, water bottles and drum sticks and left. Aoi came back on stage with the bath towel they sold that day and teased us with it, making us think he'd throw it, but then he just turned and left the stage LOL. Ruki was the last one to leave, drinking some water before throwing his bottle to the crowd and spitting some water on us.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: ✯2012/07/04～08/09 STANDING LIVE TOUR 12 -HERESY PRESENTS- 「HETERODOXY」 ✯2012/08/29 NEW ALBUM RELEASE 「DIVISION」 ✯2012/10/08～11/29 LIVE TOUR 12 -DIVISION- 「GROAN OF DIPLOSOMIA 01」

おまけ Ruki tweeted a couple of days later about their guitars (that they used on 10th) would be on display in a store in Akihabara, so Rui and I decided to go there the last day I had left. I took some pictures: