#masking up also protects people who aren’t able to mask

[iliveinprocrasti-nationn]

fauci saying “vulnerable people will fall by the wayside” and that some will die but that’s ok because we’re not going to see the “tsunami of cases” we’ve seen before is so dehumanising. so babies with no immune system, elderly people, disabled people, and people without adequate access to healthcare can all die of covid. but it’s ok guys because actually they’re just falling to the wayside and everyone else will go back to normal and be fine (sarcasm).

my death or the deaths of my family or friends wouldn’t be us “falling by the wayside”, it would be us being failed by our government, healthcare systems, and communities who have refused to take coronavirus seriously despite mounting anecdotal and scientific evidence of the harm this virus does. fact that people can accept the deaths of vulnerable groups just because they want to eat in a restaurant or don’t want to wear a mask is horrifying

[none-tadashi-left-hiro]

can you guys all please actually actually be so kind to each other and I mean it tangibly like stop being a coward about what you’ll lose cause it doesn’t fucking matter more than being kind and you know it just fucking do what you can we’ve already lost so much what is the fucking cost of being kind to you anymore. people are so fucking desensitized to their own bullshit they’re dealing with like they’re so casual and blaise and ignorant about things that even harm them directly like why not at least be kind about it why not at least deal with the bullshit that comes from being kind instead i am so sad abt this why do people have to make it so hard. like I get capitalism and colonialism and whatever plays into people being raised to be unkind but are we that fucking fallible like that really fucking sucks bro

[magics-neptunes-things]

Survivor

Hi guys!

This is a new part of the serie "Lia and the Firefighter", from a request that you can find here :)

Please enjoy ♥

TW : Fire, firefighter, injury, smoke, explosion.

“Can you stop looking at each other like this?”

Katie talks just before rolling her eyes, looking at Lia and you. You were sitting around a big table in one of the Café loved by the team. You weren’t even talking to each other, to be honest. You moved your chair as close as Lia’s one, being a little behind her because of how many you were.

You like it that way though, like this you were able to pass an arm around her waist and kiss her cheek how many times you want without being seen by anyone. Well, unless Katie as it looks like.

“Don’t be jealous because Caitlin doesn’t look at you like this” you tease her back.

You see her arching an eyebrow, looking angry, but you also saw the corner of her lips tremble when she masked an amused smile.

“Don’t drag me to this” Caitlin, sitting next to Katie, smirks.

“Be nice, Pookie” Lia says to you, pinching softly your hip.

“Sorry”

You smile at Lia, flipping off Katie discreetly while kissing Lia’s cheek one more time.

“Yeah, be nice Pookie” you hear Katie mocking.

This is before hearing a sound that can only be a slap behind the head, followed by a growl of pain. No doubt, Caitlin asked her own girlfriend to stop teasing, in her own way.

Next to you, the others aren’t really paying much attention to you. Beth took Myle with her and it caught Alessia’s, Leah’s and Kyra’s attention right away. When Steph came with Calvin, it would have been utopian to hope for a second of attention from them. The dogs were happily eating almost half of the food the players were supposed to eat, but at least they were calm.

At first, when Lia proposed you to come and have coffee with her and her teammates, you said no when you learned that none of the girls' partners were present. You didn’t want to impose yourself on one of their times together, you know perfectly well that their agreement is essential for the good of the team. But then Leah grabs Lia’s phone and threatens to come for you if you weren’t here in ten minutes.

You don’t know what Lia exactly tells them about your relationship, but they know that you have irregular schedules and that sometimes you aren’t seeing each other for more than two days, especially when Lia is away for a game.

You miss her like crazy during this time, but you knew what your life would be when you got together. Plus, Lia is definitely worth the wait. And now that you are living together, it’s easier to have time together.

“Are you still hungry? Do you want more cake?” you ask Lia when you see that her plate is empty.

“I’m fine” Lia smiles.

“Another tea?” you try.

“Another tea will be great, thank you”

You answer her smile with one before getting up. You take Kyra’s mug when she asks you for another tea too with a smug smile, not without rolling your eyes.

“You are courageous to tease her like this” Beth comments to Katie. “She could crush you without even trying”

“Nah, Lia would protect me. Right, Wally?”

“Don’t push your chance” Lia smiles.

She loves the way you effortlessly slide into her group of friends, while still being yourself. Well, you are maybe not as clingy as you are at home, but you aren’t afraid to show how much she counts for you and Lia likes it.

Lost in reading the different possibilities of teas, you don’t feel your girlfriend’s eyes on you. You are in fact so lost in the menu that you miss a noise that you usually recognize in half of a second.

The explosion of one of the pipes inside the wall takes you by surprise. Like the other people you find yourself on the ground, needing several seconds before understanding what happened. The fire has already started and the only thing who comes to your mind is Lia.

You jump on your legs and look around, but with the smoke it’s hard to see through it. People are screaming and running around, and you really hope that Lia is already outside.

“Lia!” you still call, even if you know there is only a little chance for her to hear you.

She’s not near the table where they were seated, and you finally spot her a little far away. She’s looking around and you wonder if she’s confused and doesn’t find the exit. You’re too relieved to see her without any apparent injury to realize that she’s looking for you.

In two seconds, you are in front of her. Her pretty face is a little dirty because of the smoke when you take it between your hands.

“Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”

The Café is now empty, or at least you can’t see anyone because of the smoke. Finding the outside and fresh air is a relief for your lungs but for your anxiety too, you know that smoke can be dangerous for anyone, and you don’t want that for Lia.

You find the girls outside and after a quick mental count, you can confirm that they are all here.

You haven’t released Lia, trapped in your arms. She doesn’t seem to mind, though.

“Did you call the firefighters?” you ask one of the employees.

You nod when he answers that there is an automatic alarm, before lowering your eyes to look at Lia. She’s already looking at you.

“Are you okay?” you ask her.

She nods and you kiss her temple before taking a discreet but deep breath. She is okay, you shouldn’t be so concerned when you know that everything is fine with her. Your eyes roam the crowd while you’re waiting for the firefighters. You wonder who will come.

But then, you see him. A boy, who is maybe six or seven years old. He’s crying and a lady is trying to console him. You frown softly and you can’t fight your instinct, you want to comfort him too, explain to him that firefighters are coming and that everything will be alright.

“I’m coming back” you whisper to Lia.

She gives you a curious look, but you only smile at her and kiss her forehead, letting her go slowly before making your way to the boy and the woman you assumed is his mother.

“Hi there, Kiddo” you say, kneeling in front of him.

He looks at you silently, tears still flooding on his cheeks. But it’s okay, you weren’t expecting him to be better just because of your presence. You are on a day off; you aren’t wearing your uniform.

“That was pretty scary, yeah? But you don’t have to worry, my friends are coming, and they are the best firefighters in the world. It’s going to be alright, you are safe, okay?”

“Will they be able to save my mother and my baby sister?” he asks between two hiccups.

You frown, before looking at the woman near him. She gives you a sad smile and shrugs. And you are suddenly scared of what you are understanding.

“What do you mean?” you ask still calmly.

You don’t want to make him more upset than he already is. But inside, your heart is pounding.

“She went to the bathroom to change the diaper of my little sister. I didn’t want to go with them, so I was waiting at the table with my game and then there was this big boom”

You have to listen very carefully to understand what he’s saying between his cries, but you feel your blood freezing in your veins. You don’t see any woman with a baby, which means they are still trapped inside the building on fire.

“He was crying in the middle of the Café, so I took him with me” the other woman explains.

“You were right to do it. You saved his life”

You stand to look at the Café once again. Smoke is getting out of it; the explosion has broken some windows, and the doors aren’t closed as they should to avoid the air stirring the smoke. It doesn’t look good.

Your decision is already made.

You have to go back inside and save them. You aren’t aware that Lia heard everything and that she understands really quickly what is happening in your head. But you are quicker than her.

You don’t look back, so you don’t see Lia trying to run after you. You don’t see Steph catching up with Lia’s arm at the last moment, only thanks to her footballing reflexes. You don’t see that she needs Leah’s help. And you don’t see either Caitlin grabbing her proper girlfriend’s arm when Katie takes three steps to follow you, warning her with her eyes only.

Inside the Café, there are flames now, coming from where you supposed the explosion was. You know that place, so you don’t have trouble knowing where the bathroom is. But it feels strange to be near the fire like this without your uniform protecting you against it. The heat warms your skin in the most unpleasant way.

You cough a little because of the smoke but try to stay focused on your mission. Find the mother and the baby and get them out.

You decide to ignore the characteristic noises of the building, made with wood decoration, just before things start to fall from the ceiling.

The door handle is burning hot when you touch it to open the door of the ladies’ bathroom, but you grit your teeth and open it as slowly as you can, not wanting to create a backdraft.

“Is someone here?” you shout.

You protect your mouth with the sleeve of your hoodie, trying to breathe as little smoke as possible. But when you finally see the silhouettes of the people you were looking for, you kind of forgot this detail.

You kneel next to the woman, who put the face of her baby against her to protect her.

“Give her to me, I’ll help you”

She hesitates, probably a little taken aback from your look. After all, without your firefighter’s clothes, your tattoos and your appearance are probably more impressive. But she doesn’t have another choice.

You help her to get up and beacon her to follow you. The baby is crying in your arms but it’s a good thing for you, at least she’s still breathing and conscious. The smoke is darker than before and there are way more flames. It’s a little harder to find your way back like this and you miss your helmet very much.

You swear when you realize that a beam fell during this time, making it harder to get out. But you only have to look up to understand that there are way more beams who might fall soon.

You explain your plan to the mother. You stack several things to help her to pass over the beam on fire, before following her to give her her baby. And as soon as she’s outside, you look for other things to stack, because there is no one helping you from the inside.

It’s becoming harder and harder to breathe, between the smoke and the heat of the fire. You start to feel that your head is turning, and your reflexes are becoming lower and lower, which means you are running out of air.

You are able to jump to avoid the beam that fell where you were standing several seconds before. But then you fall backward and hit your head against the corner of a table.

The shock is hard, and you are out for some time. You don’t know if it is for several seconds or minutes. But then you hear the voice of your Commander, beckoning people in difficulty to hide under something. You know that the smoke is less strong if you are on the ground.

You finally lie somewhere under a table in the fetal position, not able to stay awake for more time.

********

You are startled awake suddenly, at least as much as you can be awake when you aren’t able to open your eyes. You hear people shouting around you and two big noises, like if someone suddenly had slammed two doors.

And then you feel your body moving without you able to do something against it. But with some thinking, you understand that you are in an ambulance.

“Her heart rate is stabilizing itself” you hear someone say.

Someone adjusts something on your face, and you understand that they put a mask on you to help you breathe better.

But then you hear a sniff, and you feel the person next to you turning in another direction.

“It’s going to be okay Ma’am. She’s safe now” another voice from the first says.

You don’t hear any answer and there is nothing but silence after that. But you, you feel your heart getting faster. Is Lia with you in the ambulance? What has she seen of you? How is she feeling?

“Her heart is beating faster again” says Voice One after the beeps of the monitoring get mad.

“What is happening?” Lia asks with a broken voice.

“Nothing to worry much about. Her body is adjusting to the trauma.”

Lia’s voice breaks your heart, and you try your best to stay calm. You don’t want to scare her more than she already is.

You probably fell asleep at some point, since you woke up in another place soon after. There is only silence there, but it helps you to try to understand what is happening. You can open your eyes for now again, or even move a single part of your body. There is still a mask on your face and a light weight on your hand to make you understand they probably put a catheter on it.

“Did you call her parents?”

You recognize Leah’s voice, the accent of the native of Milton Keynes making it easier for you. You are glad that she’s here for Lia, even if the other girl doesn’t answer something vocal.

“Do you want me to?”

There are some noises, and you guess that Leah probably just left the room. It’s hard to say how many minutes pass before you hear Lia moving too. You can’t see her but imagining her leaving the room too isn’t really pleasant for you.

On another hand, she could have her reasons. You knew from the first day of your relationship that your career might make her leave. You made a lot of decisions to protect her, even if she made you swear that you would never lie to her.

Today might be the day she decides that she has had enough.

But Lia isn’t leaving. You feel her stroke your knuckles and then your fingers. Her touch is comforting, like always, and you feel your body relax almost immediately.

Lia isn’t talking, but the comfort she brings you helps you to finally open your eyes. It’s hard to do, just like you are awakened in the middle of the night after a shift of 48 hours.

You look around and there is a flick next to you who makes you turn your head softly in that direction.

Lia’s green eyes are looking at you, unable to hide the surprise she feels when she realizes that you are awake.

She doesn’t seem to know what to say, but you do. You reach to take the mask on your hand, taking it off so you can talk.

“Please don’t leave me”

In your mind, you weren’t going to talk with a broken and almost cavernous voice, but you are. Lia doesn’t answer at first, taking the mask from your hand before putting it in its place.

“I am so mad at you” Lia whispers, coming closer to you. “But I’m not leaving in any way.”

You look at her eyes, knowing that she’s unable to lie to you in any way. And, to your big relief, she’s telling the truth. You feel your body relax again, probably helped by the caress Lia does now in your hair.

“Do you remember when you asked me to live with you? You said that you can’t imagine a world where I’m not with you”

You nod softly, not understanding at first where she wants to go with it. You remember, of course. You always have been scared to tell her how much you love her; how much you need her. In part because there are no words strong enough to say how crazy you are about her. But because you don’t want to scare her too.

“Can you please stop assuming that I’m not feeling the same way? I need you in my life too”

It’s another mystery for you, how you managed to catch a girl like Lia. And make her stay.

“Losing you would break me. Please, stop putting your life in danger. I’m okay with you working as a firefighter. I’m so proud of you because of it. But since now, you have to promise me to stay safe. For me. Please.”

She’s begging and it would be logical that she’s the one who should cry. But you shamefully feel some tears rolling on your face. Your throat is tight and makes it difficult to talk. So, you just nod and it’s enough for Lia for now.

She cups your cheek and wipes your tears with her thumb, before kissing your head softly.

“Okay” she whispers. “Now you have to rest. I’ll kick your ass later.”

You smile, even if you don’t know if she can see it behind your mask. 

“The baby” you whisper suddenly, remembering the family you tried to help.

“They are safe, all three of them. They are together. But please, don’t worry about the others. Worry about you now. Sleep, Pookie.”

You want to ask more questions, but your eyes are heavy, and you can’t resist much longer. You still can feel Lia’s presence next to you, helping you to have a real and deep sleep. She never left your side and finally doesn’t really kick your ass.

It’s finally your Commander who will do it several days after, even putting an advertisement on your head, making you do all the worst chores of the station when you will come back. It seems to amuse Lia a lot when you come back home, complaining after having cleaned the engines of all fire trucks in the firehouse all day long.

[lizdive]

I was thinking of older sister violet_evergarden!reader who is also a stoneheart x aventurine. I'd like to see how they interact since canonically, violet sees herself as nothing more than a weapon and will do whatever she has to do, to protect the person she cares for. Aka aventurine. I can also sorta see her either being an emanator of preservation or one the stronger stonehearts.

Hi anon :3 !! I love aventurine with my whole heart he’s just so squishy 😞 i had to go to the violet evergarden wiki for this one bcs i’ve never watched the anime so i’m sorry if stuff isn’t accurate this was kinda of difficult for me,, tysm for requesting <3 if you’re unsatisfied just tell me and i’ll redo it!!

notes 𐙚 fem! reader — "you" + "she/her" used to refer to the reader ,, reader as an older sibling ,, reader is based off of violet evergarden from violet evergarden anime ,, reader is an emanator of preservation but it isn’t mentioned much ,, reader is a stoneheart ,, aventurine is referred to as both "kakavasha" and "aventurine" ,, corundum’s are a type of gemstone that is ranked 9 on the toughness scale ,, of course you can change this to the stone of your desire !! this isn’t proofread ignore typos,,

"The hammer of preservation will fall on all beings, regardless of life or death, regardless of race, regardless of ideology, to uphold the basic rights we inherently posses."

The Rising Stars, the Stonehearts, the Gambler and the Soldier Maiden — all nicknames for two siblings who have seen it all. A handsome aventurine and a beautiful corundum. One blessed by HER, and another blessed by THEM.

To be an Emanator is to be seen as a piece of an Aeon — their will so strong that their abilities have been gifted to them by the Aeon. To be an Emanator in the IPC is to be seen as an asset that cannot be lost. And to be an Emanator of Preservation is to be seen as the biggest tool.

With THEIR blessing you have overcome all that life has thrown at you just for the sake of keeping your beloved brother save from harm. From the moment he was brought into this sad world, you have fought to protect him and your younger sister.

Only one of the two made it out alive.

Many people would call you a murderer, and while they technically aren’t wrong, they fail to see why you do it. Or perhaps they do not care. You killed and therefore you should be sent to your own death.

You remember the day when you and your brother were taken by the IPC. A woman clad in luxury, a smirk on her face, and her tone breathy and warm. "As a servant you should not resist your master." she had said, but you did not pay attention for her.

KAKAVASHA did most of the speaking for you. He was free to go — he had no blood on his hands. You were the one to be sent to the gallows. But you couldn’t and wouldn’t. Death was not an option. It never was and never would be until KAKAVASHA lets out his final breath from old age.

You didn’t see what was wrong — you never did. Yes, you killed the man and many more, but it was self defense. KAKAVASHA and you had always lived in a world where it was kill or be killed. Remorse was foreign to you.

And then came the offer. Join the IPC. Join the corporation that was the reason your kind fell and vanished off the map. Become the same as them. You could not care less. Should your brother join, you will, as well. And he did.

By the end of the day you both were clad in luxuries the same as her.

⭑ Missions were always a package deal. Where AVENTURINE goes, Corundum always follows. Where Corundum goes, AVENTURINE is most likely following. There is no separating the two.

⭑ AVENTURINE is very patient with his big sister. He knows that unlike him, she is not able to properly express what she feels. He’ll try to help explain why people feel the things they feel — he’s good at putting up a mask of emotions and to do so he needed to understand them first so he’s good at explaining.

⭑ If you have prosthetic limbs like Violet does and have room for drawings and doodles, AVENTURINE will definitely doodle on your arms during free time. Even if you hide them with your sleeves, it’s a nice pass-time activity. Nobody says anything about it because 1: he is a stoneheart and 2: you’re a stoneheart.

⭑ Will try to get you to be less hyper-independent. Ask him for help, it’s okay. He’ll even try to make you a bit reliant on him. He’s not a little kid anymore, he can definitely help you take out those guys. He’s good with a gun and it’ll finish the mission quicker, just let him do some fighting too,,

⭑ I feel like there could be some heavy angst potential here, especially with the entire aventurine boss fight. You’re so determined to protect him, and you aren’t against killing people to do so. He knows this, and so he tries his damn hardest to hide his plan from you but he’s your little brother your little KAKAVASHA so you know him. You’re not the best at emotions but you know he’s lying and hiding something.

⭑ He accepts death and welcomes it with open arms but he also doesn’t want to leave his big sister alone. His big sister, who has done everything and more to protect him. She had killed, she has been wounded, she has put up with his shenanigans, and she has done the impossible. He feels like he’s just throwing that all away,,,

⭑ You are lost without him when he 'dies'. He is your purpose in life. Helping the Astral Express fight against Sunday? Screw them! You need to find your little brother, there is no way he is dead. You pray to Mother Gaiathra, to Qlipoth, to any Aeon that will hear your prayers, that he is alive.

⭑ And when you find him alive and well in the real world, alone in his room in the reverie hotel, you feel like a dam inside you has bursted. You don’t cry, but you’re close to doing so and AVENTURINE doesn’t know whether to encourage you to let out your emotions and calm your through them or reassure you that he is alright and there is no need to cry.

⭑ On a lighter note: AVENTURINE doesn’t mind if you communicate with him via letters instead of messages when you’re on your own solo missions! He’ll get you the nicest envelopes and stamps to put on them. Maybe even some stickers! He loves when you use the silly ones. If you tell him it helps you understand emotions better, he’ll encourage you to write letters more and for other people. If you use an old typewriter, he’ll get you the nicest one on the market!

⭑ It said in the wiki that Violet feels guilt for killing the people she has killed, so if you also feel that, AVENTURINE will be by your side to reassure you that it’s okay. That it wasn’t your fault and it was needed for survival. He might use the "you were just trying to protect me" card to make you feel better since he knows he’s your weakness.

⭑ Sadly, to make a pledge to never kill anyone again like Violet did would be pretty much impossible. In the eyes of the IPC, violet evergarden! reader will always be a weapon, so it’ll kinda be forced upon her.

⭑ AVENTURINE loves the anxious expressions of the people he’s gambling with as his big sister stands behind him, intimidating the patrons of the casino. It also reassures him because if anyone tries to get violent he knows his big sis will be there to protect him so he can be as reckless and as infuriating as he wants.

⭑ Overall AVENTURINE would be a very good younger brother to a violet evergarden! reader because he fulfills her wish to protect and she fulfills his want to be cherished.

[gatorbites-imagines]

i was wandering if you can write bane x reader [ i'd ascent to god if its trans/ftm reader, it's ok if you can't or dont want to write it :) ] with a big size difference that's all! have a good day/night and take care of yourself <3

Bane x FTM reader

Headcanons

Still have no internet in my apartment, but luckily my sister is letting me visit her place to do assignments, so I can upload stuff from there.

This is based off of comic Bane more than anything, but i cant really find any gifs of that guy, so comic panel it is.

All in all, I don’t think it matters much to Bane that you are trans. It isn’t something he would see as a dealbreaker, or even care too much about. As long as you guys get along and both have feelings for one another.

Bane is extremely smart too, so if you can’t legally find ways to get treatment, then he would probably know at least 10 different ways to get the result you need.

If you want to build muscle, then Bane is also your guy. He knows as much as one can about the process of working the body and getting the result you want, so he would be able to help you get the look you want, even if you aren’t on any testosterone or hormone blockers.

If you want to work out then Bane could also help you out if you aren’t one for top surgery, as you can get a similar look through the right diet and workout routine. But if you want top surgery, you bet he’s taking care of you afterwards, since he would know a thing or two about medical procedures.

Bane being who he is probably also knows different ways to get you to the hormone level you want, but he would most likely avoid doing anything as drastic as his own mix up with chemicals and the likes, unless that’s what you are trying to go for as well. Would make sure you knew all the dangers first though, just in case.

If you want neither and don’t care much for hormone treatment, surgeries or even presenting masc, then it doesn’t pose any issues either, since Bane wouldn’t really care. Hes one of those “wear whatever you want, I can fight” kinda boyfriends. As long as you are happy and comfortable, then he is comfortable and happy.

He seems like a big scary dude, but Bane would be very respectful of you and how you present yourself. Gives very much “big scary dog privilege” when you guys go out, and you do go out sometimes, as I could imagine some of the bats would let you two go on dates, as long as Bane isn’t causing any trouble. You’ll have to live with being shadowed the entire time though.

The huge size difference also strengthens the whole scary shadow thing, so even if people wanna be transphobic too you, they sure as hell don’t dare to do so, since Bane is towering over literally everyone there with muscles that could kill.

Sharing clothes with Bane would also be entertaining, since hes so much bigger than you. Even just his tank tops would hang off you and slide right off you. You would have to tie it with something or tuck it into your pants with a belt, and even then, it would still look super baggy.

You don’t get the chance to borrow his mask, since he needs it himself. But I could see him finding it kinda sweet if you worked the pattern or colors into your own style. It also helps to tell anybody who wants to hurt you that you hand in hand with Bane. So, crossing you is crossing Bane, even when he’s locked away in Arkham.

The extreme size difference also means you can climb him like a tree, like hanging onto his back like a backpack, or hanging around his neck with your arms without your feet being able to touch the ground if he stands up straight.

You being Banes lover also probably becomes some of the “in the know” knowledge around Gotham. The bigger fish know not to mess with you since Bane would be breathing down their necks if they as much as thought about it.

But being Bane’s partner also means you’d know how to protect yourself and even kill if need be. Being much smaller than him and also being trans puts you at risk, so your lover would want you to know how to take care of anybody that tries to harm you when he’s not around. So, you end up knowing how to use a lot of different weapons and fighting styles one way or another.

But in the end, Bane is a respectful guy whose too damn smart to let you being trans get in the way of a relationship. Your big size difference is also cute in his eyes, since he can easily pick you up or just wrap you in his arms. It’s pretty damn great.

[poughkeepsies]

when you're gone, i come undone

Buck’s never been religious, and he sure as hell wasn’t raised with the brand of catholicism that seems to plague Bobby and Eddie’s every step, but he thinks he can understand why Bobby likes his rosary beads so much. At the very least it would give him something to do with his hands while he sits vigil at Bobby’s side, way past the time visitors who aren’t on a first-name basis with half of the hospital staff would be allowed. 

The others had left hours ago, some with kids who needed taking care of and others anticipating early shifts the next day, promising to take over from him as soon as visiting hours started. There was no shortage of people who wanted to be the one to keep watch over Bobby, but the night shift would’ve usually fallen to Athena, if she wasn’t recovering in her own room and allowed more than a couple minutes out of bed at a time to come see him. 

There was a quiet devastation clinging to her that Buck had never seen before. Maybe because before there would’ve been the safe walls of her home and the arms of her husband to cover her when she lost her unflappable mask. 

That, more than anything, makes him feel utterly helpless. As much as he had been thinking of Bobby as more of a dad to him than his own father for close to a decade, Athena was never his mom. 

After the rough patch at the start of their relationship, they’d understood each other in the way only two people who love someone as much as they both loved Bobby could. You hold half of his heart, so you’ll hold your fair share of mine, as well. Maybe that was why he’d taken one look at the longing in Athena’s eyes and promised to stay the night with Bobby. No matter his own desire to never let Bobby out of his sight again, he also wanted to protect the pieces of Bobby that were with Athena, as well. 

The only problem is that Buck has never been able to stay still for too long. He fidgets, and he bustles, and he fills silences. At the minimum, it usually earns him a dead-pan look that’s suspiciously drenched in fondness, or his name uttered in gentle scolding twinged with amusement. 

He half-expects the latter to fall from the corner of Bobby’s mouth with a single eyelid cracked open to give its best effort at the former, the way it usually happens when they’re in the bunkroom and everyone else is ready to sleep like the dead while Buck is wide-awake and wired like an electric fence. 

The image stands in such contrast to the blank slate of Bobby’s unconscious face that it does nothing to soothe his nervous fidgeting. He’s leaning so far forward, trying to summon any sort of conscious intention behind the mechanical rise and fall of Bobby’s chest and every reflexive twitch of his face, that he accidentally shifts the chair, so the bottom slides against the floor and breaks the momentary silence that only exists between the regular beeping and intercom noises that come muffled through the hospital room doors. 

Come on, Bobby. Tell me to shut up and go to bed. Tell me it’s late, and I can either close my eyes and actually try to sleep or go make some of that lavender tea we keep for this exact reason. You know you want to. Stilling so as to not miss any minute signs of Bobby’s stirring, Buck’s breath catches tight in his lungs like it used to when the fridge door would be too loud as he tried to sneak past his dad’s sleeping form in the living room armchair when he was a kid. Unlike back then, the disappointment when Bobby fails to stir is a living thing that threatens to swallow him whole. He rides the wave of devastation by opening his mouth and intentionally filling the silence, instead.

“I’m gonna say something, but you can’t get mad at me,” he says. Bobby is silent, but that’s not much different from how he’d usually react to such an opening from Buck, so he takes that as his go-head anyway. “I think this may be all my fault.”

It’s probably just his own nerves, but the air in the room settles around the words with so much  tension that it only serves to spur him on. “Not the- not the fire, obviously. I mean, I had no idea you’d even met the guy Athena thinks is responsible for it, but that’s kind of what I mean, you know? I had no idea.” 

His breath is shaky as he exhales, a tremble running up his shoulders. 

“I don’t- I don’t think I ever told you, what I saw when I was in the coma. Maybe you already guessed. Some days it’s like you seem to know what’s going on in my brain better than even I do, but it was just. It was a different world, Bobby. Daniel was still alive, so I guess I never had a reason to come to L.A. and join the academy and everything was just…wrong. Maddie was still with Doug, and Eddie never got to meet Carla so he couldn’t figure everything out fast enough to keep Chris, and Chimney…well, Chim was still Chimney but he told me that you were dead, Bobby. He told me you’d been dead for years and it was like I couldn’t breathe.” 

He kind of feels like that now, actually. His face feels hot and his eyelashes are heavy like when he’s about to cry but his eyes are dry. For the first time in years, he’s in agreement with his body’s reaction to something. If he were to start crying now, he wouldn’t ever be able to stop, and that feels too much like giving up to be acceptable. 

Deep breath, he thinks, in through his nose and pushed out from his mouth. His lips are dry. He keeps going. 

“I used to think that’s why I died, you know. Like I was supposed to learn something and that’s the only way the universe could think to get it through my thick skull, I guess.” 

“But I think I got it wrong,” he whispers, and it echoes as loud as the beeping from the heart monitor. 

“I thought it meant that I matter, you know. Like, ‘they need you as much as you need them! Don’t leave them alone!’ But I was so stupid.” So much for not crying. His day-old stubble is damp with tears. He’s been wearing these clothes for more than 24 hours at this point and he’s starting to feel overstimulated in the way he sometimes does when they’re on a busy shift and don’t have time to freshen up. It occurs to him that Bobby usually notices, like he notices most things that have the potential to bother any of them. This would be the time when he tells Buck to go ahead and take a quick shower while he reheats the food. And Buck would come back good as new, a weight lifted off his shoulders before he could even recognize it because someone cared enough about him to know him better than he did himself. 

“I’ve been so caught up in my own stuff since I came back and, God, I’ve just been so happy these past couple of months it feels like I’ve been walking around with blinders on. I didn’t even notice this thing going on with Eddie until it was too late and now he might lose Christopher. You came to talk to me after our last shift and I should’ve -  I should’ve - noticed something was wrong but all I could think about was if I had everything to go stay with Tommy. a-and then something happened with Eddie, and I honestly don’t think I spared you a single other thought that night, Bobby. I was using your recipe to make dinner for my date while your house was burning down.” 

He’s tripping over his words, like if he says them fast enough he can reach Bobby and earn his forgiveness first, before the disappointment settles in and bars the gates. 

“I should’ve remembered, Bobby. The dream showed me a world where I wasn’t there and you died, and I left it. I came back because I couldn’t live in that world. I refuse to.” Saying the words settles something in him, and he wipes the wetness from his eyes away with the flat of his palm before crossing his arms and sitting up in the chair, body once again posed like a shield between the outside world and the figure lying in the bed. 

“Look, maybe-maybe I already missed the chance the universe gave me. But you know better than anyone that I’m way better at third chances anyway.” He tries for a smile, and if he squints really hard he can almost see the muscles under Bobby’s eyes tensing the way they do when he’s about to smile, too. 

“You’ve never given up on me before, Bobby. Don’t start now.” 

The monitor’s beeping remains the only other sound in the room, but that’s okay. He’s learning to be patient. Bobby knows that, too. 

[fenharels-teeth]

i must be god’s strongest soldier for being able to love and find empathy for mythal because everyone is being so horrible to a woman who did the best with what she had to protect her people. god forbid women aren’t perfect lmao. anyway they could never make me hate you mythal. i can’t even associate myself with most solavellans anymore both on twitter and tumblr, and especially reddit (as if i would interact with anyone on that cesspool anyway) because the masks have finally come off and all i see is a bunch of jealous harpies who jump to use misogynistic language and can’t even make an unbiased analysis of mythal as a character because they feel possessive of their pixel boyfriend. she’s not a bad person. she is good at the core of her heart. morrigan tells us mythal was a spirit of benevolence, she was naturally good and kind but like all spirits she was sometimes twisted into the antithesis of that. i’ve seen people say she’s as bad as the other evanuris and that’s a straight up lie. there’s a codex in dav that tells us that the people no longer serve the other evanuris willingly and that they are now forced. as this comes to pass mythal gathers her people and basically tells them not follow her mindlessly or parrot her virtues, that they must not follow the wise, but seek the wisdom they sought. the people go on to ask themselves how they serve a god who rebukes submissiveness and unexamined divinity. when solas said she was the best of them he was absolutely correct. they were cruel tyrants and she ruled with a fair hand. she showed kindness and protected the innocent but she would also bring retribution to the guilty. yes mythal isn’t perfect im not saying she is! she should have listened to solas multiple times, but she didn’t do it because she craved power! it came from a place of love for her people and the desire to create a safe place for them. she was the only thing standing between the other evanuris and complete disaster. i do understand her reasoning for not leaving the evanuris. solas said elgar’nan would have ruled alone with an iron fist had mythal not forced him to share his power. she essentially was the only thing stopping them all from destroying the world and then she was murdered for standing against them when it mattered. so im sorry but you will never catch me hating this woman! i will always be her #1 defender!

[kydoesthings1]

Translation of two magazine spreads

“Revenge to You” is an illustration with some description while “Love, Hate” is an interview with Sakurai and Matsukaze.

I have been dying to read them for a while now and I finally found ones that are high enough quality to read. Also I was desperate enough. I wasn’t able to find any translations online, so I’m assuming there aren’t any. My Japanese is kind of terrible so any corrections are welcome. Enjoy!

Image source is @/ydotome thank you for the scans!

Revenge to You

Gaelio Bauduin

Taking off his mask, he returns to the battlefield. To vanquish McGillis, he stands up before (McGillis’s) ambition.

McGillis Fareed

With the [unintelligible] Gundam Bael at his hand, he lights the fire that signifies revolution. But destiny has more trials awaiting him.

Text on the right:

Despairing betrayal and farewell to his dearest friend. Even ideals called “revolution” cloud before such hopelessness. The man who fell suddenly into the depths of dejection borrows the name of “Vidar” who continues the bloodline of the god of war and giants, and rises to his feet again. In his chest is not hate, nor justice. Only the anger to completely reject all of McGillis’s actions. The scar carved deep inside the mask is a reminder to himself that he failed to protect those important to him. With thoughts of all that he has lost in his heart, Gaelio returns to the battlefield again.

Love, Hate

With love for a “friend” and hate for a “traitor”, and the unrelenting desire to pursue ambition, what are the two who have become nemeses thinking as they oppose each other?

Finally removing Vidar’s mask, showing his wounded bare face. What sort of determination did Gaelio have then?

McGillis Fareed/Sakurai Takahiro

[Not translating the actor bios because 1) too blurry 2) I don’t care about Sakurai]

With acquiring Gundam Bael, the world should’ve bowed down before him. Although he is driven into a corner by Rustal and Gaelio, he isn’t giving up just yet.

Gaelio Bauduin/Matsukaze Masaya

He concealed himself as Vidar to witness McGillis’s “true intentions”. Now he stands coldly in front of his past “best friend”.

Things heat up as all kinds of viewpoints and emotions mix

[Really could not read the question on this one. Sorry]

Matsukaze: I’ve been so excited ever since then!

Sakurai: Especially Gaelio.

Matsukaze: That’s because I loved the audition, and when I talked about “[unintelligible]” with Mr. Sakurai (and other members), I never thought I’d get a role like this. Of course, I never thought that I would be betrayed and get beaten up by McGillis, or that I would reappear wearing a mask.

Sakurai: It was rather confusing to begin with, I’d always looked up to the Gundam franchise, so at the start I was excited like a child about details like “can I pilot a Gundam?” or “will I wear a mask?” But now that feeling’s almost entirely gone…

Matsukaze: Now things like getting in a Gundam or not for us, is [unintelligible]. Gundams have a lot of screentime, so wouldn’t we worry about dying? Something like that (laughs). Meaning now it feels unbelievable, as an audience and as an actor, and the subjectivity of [unintelligible], lots of different point-of-views are mixed together.

Sakurai: Not only that, but isn’t the show too powerful? Even when dubbing it for real, with all the actors together, a lot of things are mixed together and hard to separate, so I feel what it’s like to struggle with acting for once. But then I felt everyone’s determination and focus, and the atmosphere that a lot relied on finishing the project.

Matsukaze: And of course, “death” really grips your heartstrings. Because “death” is “[unintelligible]”, although “acting a character that dies” is hard, it’s the people around that really make you feel the impact of “death”.

Sakurai: Yeah, you’re right.

Matsukaze: For actors that act as a dying character, of course you’d shout and yell at the moment of death, but it’s impossible to do that after death. It’s the people around that have to bear the emotional fallout of that death. I’ve talked about it with Mr. Kawanishi (Kengo) [Mikazuki’s VA] and Mr. Hosoya (Yoshimasa) [Orga’s VA]. For the deaths of other people, whether it be Carta or Ein, the feeling of those who haven’t died…

Sakurai: He’s bearing all that, Gaelio is.

Matsukaze: It’s so painful! (Laughs bitterly) And although the ending of Season 1 was rushed, as the role of a “rival” that can’t win or lose, I thought it was “[unintelligible]”. If I won I’d overact, and I’m bad at acting the loser, so it wouldn’t work either way…Looking back it was really hard, because the rival is too strong, and the story and drama are so powerful, I was really conflicted about what sort of acting would be fitting.

McGillis and Gaelio’s “reunion”

In episode 43 McGillis’s past is revealed, and his objective becomes clear. And then Vidar - Gaelio took off his mask. It was a turning point for the two.

Sakurai: Announcing the ambition he’d never told anyone about all at once, and then piloting Bael, McGillis had revealed all the cards in his hand, so now all he can do is head towards his goal no matter what.

What did it feel like for McGillis to face Gaelio again?

[This whole next paragraph is very blurry. I am as frustrated as you are]

Sakurai: About that, it’s like getting to the other side of a mist [?], and it’s a straightforward impression. McGillis already has the attitude of “getting[?] everything”, but he shows an ambiguous expression unable to say anything, was he surprised? And [unintelligible] feelings, it’s like, not [unintelligible], but it’s a bit of a [unintelligible] reaction. As I thought, when it comes to things about Gaelio, there might be something unlike with anyone else.

And Gaelio also said that he thought that the McGillis of the past “took off his mask in front of him only”.

Matsukaze: Well, I might be biased because I’m acting as Gaelio [?] (laughs). It might have just been an instant, but I think that instant surely existed. Which is why Gaelio probably also read Agnika Kaieru’s works at least once…he probably didn’t read them very closely, though (laughs).

Sakurai: Hahaha (laughs).

Matsukaze: He definitely asked “what are you reading?” Judging from Gaelio’s personality, if McGillis had the same interests with Gaelio or Carta, he wouldn’t have just used them but worked together with them, is what I think. McGillis who crawled up from the depths and Gaelio who was born into and grew up in a privileged family, they see different worlds.

When Mr. Matsukaze acted as Vidar, did you proceed as if it were Gaelio, or did you change it into something a little like a remake?

Matsukaze: When I heard he hadn’t actually died, but was going to reappear wearing a mask, I asked Director Nagai (Tatsuyuki) “to put it simply, did he become a ghost of revenge?” And then, it wasn’t quite like that, but he was still Gaelio as a human. So for myself personally, being betrayed by your best friend and tossed aside by your childhood friend [osananajimi], after experiencing these emotions he can’t control, changes of that level, and people he talks to changes, for example he talks differently with Rustal to some degree, but the baseline is that I still acted as Gaelio.

The moment of conclusion is approaching…?!

In episodes 45 and 46, there were the direct fights between Gundams.

Matsukaze: For me, it was really interesting that Isurugi was also there in between. It was just like how it was with Carta. Even though the source of the conflict is McGillis, he has to persuade Carta and Isurugi first. Because this is the second time…For Gaelio, there is a theme where he instantly becomes furious. Like “See? You’re being deceived by McGillis!!” (laughs)

Sakurai: Like “Again?!” (laughs)

Matsukaze: I acted like I was an Osaka mom, and it passed on the first take.

[Note: apparently Osaka moms are known for being bossy and yelling at their kids or something.]

Sakurai: (Laughs) But because McGillis is McGillis [?], I do think Isurugi’s last words did hurt a lot for him.

Matsukaze: But McGillis is the kind of person to do it by himself in the worst case scenario. He hasn’t changed from when he was a child and hit someone with a chair.

Sakurai: McGillis has no expectations for anyone. I feel that strongly.

Matsukaze: Even Agnika Kaieru, whom he was so infatuated with, seems to have done everything on his own. Something like “Agnika Kaieru’s three musketeers” probably never existed (laughs).

Sakurai: Right (laughs). He just projects himself onto Agnika, and he’s dedicated to his ambition about power. What an unbalanced guy. If he was cleverer he might have been able to find a different way, with more time, there could have been a more cautious way…

Then what sort of drama will the two have from now on?

Sakurai: I think McGillis and Gaelio will arrive at a final outcome soon. If not, there is no meaning for Gaelio to live for. A reconciliation like “Gaelio, I was wrong!” or “I…forgive McGillis!” probably won’t happen…

Matsukaze: Yeah…(laughs bitterly)

Sakurai: It’s certain that there’s going to be some sort of resolution, but what will it be?

Matsukaze: No matter what, McGillis will be McGillis, and Gaelio will be Gaelio, and they’ll both act out their wills. I think it’s important that they do what they want to [?]. Which is to say, that’s where it’s very “Gundam-like”. All sorts of reasons to fight, important things, there’s things you want to protect, and the conflict that arises from these differences. Not just us but Tekkadan as well, everyone with completely different positions are trying to carry it out.

Sakurai: Yes, once I became aware of this structure, it became a whole lot more interesting. For the inner conflict of Gjallarhorn, that survived the history of the universe, Tekkadan is a very small organization, but their rebellion has connected McGillis and Tekkadan deeply. For example, Shino’s death might just be “the death of one soldier”, but he is one of the mental supports of Tekkadan, so he actually changed the battle at least a little bit…it might be a grown-up way of seeing it, but I think knowing that made the drama much more interesting.

[rose-of-oz]

𝐑𝐄-𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆… 𝐌𝐘 𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑, 𝐌𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐈

❝ Every high school has one. A rich, popular, bitchy girl who seems to have it all. Usually an only child (unless her daddy remarries a blonde bimbo barely over the legal age and finally gets the son he’s always wanted), this girl was born to parents with bank accounts loaded like baked potatoes and will never have to worry about money in her life. Maybe she makes good grades and does extracurriculars, maybe not, but you can bet your ass she’s on the yearbook committee, will be able to get into a good college without even trying, and doesn’t really give a shit about anyone besides herself, not even her so-called “friends”. She’s cold, sarcastic and an absolute bitch, and will never be afraid to destroy anyone who gets in her way.

At Woodsboro High, that bitch was Molly Perbesi.

Aside from her strange obsession with tales of ghosts and murder, Molly was the teenage girl most other teenage girls dreamed of being. Captain of the cheerleading squad, head of Woodsboro’s yearbook committee, a bank account that was loaded like a baked potato, and always clad in the newest fashions, Molly was the type of high school senior all the nerdy freshman girls wanted to be friends with, if only because her very aura would give them a protective shield against bullies.

But if any of those freshman had actually managed to find their way into Molly’s inner circle, they would quickly regret ever wanting to be her friend in the first place. Molly was never sincere, full of backhanded compliments, never hesitated to tear someone down if they said something she didn’t like, and talked about murder way too much. It was a miracle Sidney Prescott and Tatum Riley had managed to stay friends with her for so long, given all the many aspects of her personality that worked so hard to push people away.

(Especially considering the fact that Molly frequently made out with Sidney’s boyfriend, Billy, in various storage closets and empty classrooms all around the school. Not that Sidney knew about that. But still.)

And then Casey Becker, Molly’s childhood best friend until the two girls had a falling-out sophomore year, turns up murdered along with her boyfriend (who, admittedly, was an idiotic douchebag, but Molly doesn’t like to speak ill of the dead), and Molly, whose passion for true crime stories is well-known at Woodsboro High, becomes a suspect for the killings. And then more people get attacked and killed by some freak in a weird mask, and Molly continues to be a suspect, despite the fact that she would never wear anything as unflattering as that long black cape thing.

Her father’s money and expensive heels aren’t going to be enough to get Molly out of this scrape. But her secret inner strength, cheerleading muscles, and Sidney’s utter badassness might be enough to survive this ordeal and finally unmask the Ghostface killer. ❞

General Taglist: @hiddenqveendom, @foxesandmagic, @artemisocs, @reyofluke-ocs, @endless-oc-creations, @stanshollaand, @ginnystilinski-reblogs, @luucypevensie, @ginger-grimm, @arrthurpendragon, @fakedatings, @impales, @claryxjackson, @dancingsunflowers-ocs, @eddysocs, @lucys-chen, @ocappreciationtag. (Also tagging @manyfandomocs.)

[g4ll0wd4nc3r]

school of the viper headcanons

these are not edited and probably not canon compliant but fuck it we ball

they can’t regulate their internal temperature as well as other witchers, so they have to soak up warmth from somewhere else. you’ll often see vipers curled up as close to their campfires as possible when traveling or taking a nap on a nice warm rock.

gorthur gvaed is filled with era-equivalent space heaters

an older viper some centuries back developed hand warmers. it’s a necessity when traveling.

vipers aren’t outwardly affectionate to each other. you’ll know if one trusts you if they offer to make your potions or food (i like you enough to not poison you) or if they turn their back to you

on the rare occasion that they are more affectionate, they will huddle for warmth or wrap around one another. they may also rub their heads/cheeks together, but not often.

on the whole, vipers are loyal and protective of one another, but have difficulty showing it. vipers on the path tend to avoid one another

building immunity to toxins started as soon as you were recruited. trainees (read; children) would be required to drink poison and identify toxic plants, often running the risk of getting severely ill or dying. older witchers were instructed to slip poison onto food or drinks too

you learned pretty quickly to either smell out whatever was on your food or be tough enough to ride it out

vipers will never eat food they haven’t seen prepared. they go hungry more often than not.

vipers who can get away with it conceal their status as a witcher. a lot of people have crossed paths with one and never known

someone made a hc that vipers will wear other schools’ medallions before an assassination and i love that

vipers are smaller than wolves or bears but more built than cats

the cats and vipers are sister schools. they hate each other and need each other. it’s very strange to see. toxic yuri

cats and vipers are known to trade or buy things off one another, with vipers being able to make quality potions and cats being able to procure harder to find ingredients. they also had similar training so on the rare occasion they work together, they mesh really well

however they will most likely attack one another when out in the wild — cats and vipers both take human jobs, and cats especially are known for poaching jobs that vipers may be interested in

a relatively new practice is “getting your teeth”. after a hard hunt, vipers will have a procedure to get retractable fangs in their mouth. they can load poisons and tear through pretty much anything at the cost of being extremely close combat. vipers without fangs are sometimes called “nibbles”.

maybe also split tongues. is that too quirky

best eyesight among all witchers, which makes it even funnier that vipers keep going blind/get eye trauma

like cats but opposite — their mutagens dulled their emotions to an extreme, so young vipers tend to be extremely blunt and rude. older vipers have learned to fake their emotions to “normal” levels, but will drop the mask as soon as they can

expect your viper to be extremely to the point. they expect the same of you. good luck!

cold and mean and weird about affection BUT. but. after ivar and the old guard died people started adopting animals that were left on the base of the mountains / on the path back for winter

gorthur gvaed is filled with animals that are so so loved and spoiled. it’s atonement for the animals that were killed during training and healing for the vipers that are left

vipers can usually whip up their potions and elixirs while on the road, but much prefer the fully outfitted alchemy labs at gorthur gvaed and *will* complain. loudly.

its not winter unless someone explodes something while experimenting

if an experiment goes particularly wrong it’s not unusual to see a viper face down on the floor. floor time. it’s like a reward

all vipers are fucking nerds. they have an extensive library (added on to after ivar’s death) and many of them learn additional skills (languages, math, other sciences, even music) when out on the path.

most horses don’t like vipers

that tweet that’s like i’m probably nonbinary but i have a job so i can’t worry abt that rn. yeah thats the whole school

[nestaismommy]

Nestas experienced far less than everyone else has and has barely ever done anything, trust me when I say Feyre and other characters have a way more complex storyline 😂 Just because they aren’t mean and lash out at others doesn’t mean they aren’t “VERY” complex

ACOTAR series spoilers.

Y’all say this but I promise you, if you experienced even half of the things Nesta went through, you wouldn’t even be able to handle it. She has experienced trauma ever since she was a CHILD. She was abused & controlled by her mother and grandmother. Then she had to experience her mom’s death. Oh and she was neglected her whole life by her parents. Then poverty. Then her father’s death right in front of her. Oh and she was sexually assaulted. Then dumped into the cauldron (imagine how fucking scary it is to get taken from your home & dumped inside this ancient thing where it’s dark and freezing) and being turned into something she hated which, lead to her hating herself even more. Then, locked up and getting her choices taken away from her AGAIN. Not because she didn’t go through 19282992938 years of trauma, doesn’t mean her trauma is less worse than others. Trauma is still trauma. All of THAT is horrible. And if you have never experienced what she went through, then you have NO right to talk about how bad trauma is. Because trust me, it’s horrible. It’s like you’re comparing someone who went through SA to someone who was abused as a child. They are BOTH horrible. And by the way, everyone has different trauma responses. You can’t control how your trauma makes you feel, especially if you’ve experienced it as a child. Especially when you’ve always been treated with so much cruelty, you tend to become cruel too because that’s the only thing you know. And let’s not forget that POVERTY can change you a lot. And I never said Nesta was more complex than the others because she’s rude. Let’s not make shit up.

Nesta has done A LOT. She has done MORE than enough. She was the only person who went looking for Feyre when Tamlin took her. She then proceeded to tell Feyre to stay with Tamlin and to never come back. She HELPED the inner circle even though all they did was judge her when she did NOTHING to them (except for Feyre. She’s the only one who deserves an apology). In the high lords meeting, she opened up about what happened to her to help them. This woman shielded Cassian’s body, and was ready to die WITH him. She helped kill the king of Hybren (thanks Elain), she went on the suicidal missions the inner circle couldn’t go to etc. and let’s not forget how her WHOLE life she did everything she could to protect Elain. That woman stood in front Elain when the three huge Illyrian showed up KNOWING she doesn’t have a chance against them. And she then, gave up her powers to save Feyre. And Yk what? Feysand should’ve stayed dead. Literally the thing that I hated the most about ACOSF is what Nesta did for them. But either way, she is BRAVE. And even when she’s afraid, she doesn’t show it.

I always say that the people who hate Nesta are valid because she was in fact, shitty. Feyre didn’t deserve to be treated that way. But let’s not act like the others didn’t do worse. Y’all will do anything to defend abusers & assaulters like your life depends on it but when someone is mean, you invalidate their trauma and act like they insulted your mom. It’s ok to hate them but why invalidate their trauma? And it’s so funny how people say the others went through “worse” when actually, Nesta’s trauma & problems are pretty similar to the other characters. Especially Rhysand. Nesta was SA’d, she was willing to use her body when she was like 14, and Rhysand did the same UTM. Rhysand’s sister & mom died, Nesta’s father & mom died. She also watched her sister get thrown into the cauldron. Rhysand watched his mate die & was ready to die with her, and Nesta almost watched Cassian die & she was gonna die with him. Nesta hides behind a mask, Rhysand hides behind a mask. Rhysand hates himself, Nesta hates herself. Cassian’s mom was murdered, Nesta’s father was murdered in front of her. So her problems are actually pretty similar to theirs.

Also let’s not forget that we got multiple books about Feyre but we only got ONE book about Nesta. I don’t think her story ended yet. And I’m hoping it didn’t, because her book was shit.

Overall, this is my opinion. If you disagree then too bad.

[matt-the-radar-techncian]

Ship opinion bingo: Elias x Chise, if you've finished AMB. If not, feel free to disregard lol

Where to even start with these two

They are both such interesting characters and after 24 episodes it seems like they’re just starting to realize the potential of their relationship

Elias is a mystery. He’s clearly somewhat upset by his nature as a half-demon and his inability to completely control his darker side. He’s clearly very protective of Chise and cares for her deeply, but this sometimes turns into a desire to control her and go against her wishes. When he’s onscreen you’re usually at ease since you know he’s pretty capable and he really just wants to help, but the alarming part is how when he does take things too far he doesn’t even seem to realize there’s anything wrong. He tries to be conscious of the effect he has on people but sometimes he’s just blind to it

He also just looks so fucking cool. The image of an erudite well-spoken gentleman in a formal distinguished robe with a fucking ram skull for a face is just so pleasing and he looks so good in the anime. He’s basically the sequel to Al from FMA since he has a rigid mask for a face yet the animators are still able to make him so expressive and emotional

And then you have Chise who I just feel so bad for. At the beginning of the series she’s so traumatized that it feels like she’s just numb to everything. Between all of the crazy stuff that happens to her, meeting all these magical creatures, almost dying multiple times it can feel like she’s underreacting to everything, but I guess she’s just overwhelmed by everything in life. She has to really try to let people in and form bonds with them, as well as act on her desires, which might not make for as exciting of a character on the surface, but it’s a really poignant depiction of someone who just doesn’t know how to be more confident. A lot of times while watching my only thought was “god this poor girl…”

And that’s why it’s so satisfying whenever she’s able to stand up to Elias and make her feelings known to him. She’s able to be more assertive and confident, and he’s able to learn more about humans and his relationship with them and with Chise

Even though Chise and Elias are sometimes at odds their relationship does have this warmth and comfort to it, as if they’re family and they’ve known each other forever. The moments when Elias is able to get it right and help Chise or do something nice for her. It really shows both characters at their highest and that’s really what I look for in any ship. I still don’t know exactly what to think of them yet, but I just want to see characters being cute and happy together, and that’s the kind of ship I gravitate towards (like the ones in SU). Chise and Elias aren’t quite there yet but hopefully we’ll get to see more of that from them going forward

[ferallester]

hoo boy good morning everybody!

I saw the video title a few hours ago when I first woke up, and immediately went back to sleep bc I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle it at that hour LMAO

I just saw the thumbnail properly too

this is… this is gonna be an absolute trip huh

live reaction under the cut bc I’m Terrified!

first of all: THOSE ARE THE SAME FUCKING SHIRTS

second of all: ‘nostalgia cannon to the face’

correction: that is in fact a different shirt that Phil is wearing, but it is ridiculously similar, what the hell

‘quintessential emo’ ‘I was serving twink Karen’

‘it’s just… us’ ‘it’s just us being stupid’

‘you’re giving us full sphincter on YouTube’

‘ass and foot baiting’

‘quite restrained’ it’s 2012 of course you’re being restrained

HEART EYES HOWELL COMING IN FULL FORCE WHILE PHIL ATTEMPTS TO TOUCH HIS NECK

I think I found their favourite part of pinof 4 (the cursed Justin Bieber and HMS QEII masks) (lmao imagine if they made actual masks of the boat)

wow those are some really ugly glasses phil

why DO you boys have bugspray in here

‘unless they pressed their noses TOGETHER’ *a sound that normal humans make*

why aren’t they reacting to the blooper videos you guys do know you have bloopers available right

official rating: mid

THE CURSED DAN FACE WAS ON THE SUNDAY TIMES—

oh that is so incredibly unfortunate, why did they use that particular video as a photo reference LMAOOOOO

also who scanned this particular copy what the hell happened to that page

thank you Dan for a recreation

either they don’t want to talk about it or they forgot about 2012

ah. ah that explains a lot about why pinof 5 Looks Like That

PHIL— DAN—

THEY HAD TO REFILM PINOF 5–

the wrecking ball

Dan is fucking relentless with his past self

‘tit tackle’

oh that’s mildly horrifying how low they can go, I think I found an ick

YOU MOTHERFUCKERS— NOT THE REAL VOICES—

I hate them

weirdly the vibes of pinof 5, at least with these idiots reacting to themselves, have gotten. so much worse

Dan able to predict what his past self would do next…

‘crack protected’

oh Phil

a gingerphobic goose…

‘I feel like you’ve recovered from that’ ‘:|’ ‘no?’ ‘A—’

I really hope someone makes a gif of them arguing over the old handshake from pinof 6 and this video

‘assigned mother’ y’know that makes sense actually

successful monkfish backwards!

Phil looks at the camera and Dan just looks at Phil at the end, STOP

they literally JUST used fireside.caf for the shoulder thing actually

the sexy end screen dance also like… horrifically iconic

I always forget about their weird noises they make at the end AND THE BOYS ARE AMUSED

Phil… Phil there’s 8 billion people… on earth… XD

this is the pinof that came out just before I got into them :0

Dan’s hair is. Awful

MOTHERFUCKER DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE SHOW US FESTIVE DITL

shoutout to the vyous tho

love that Phil actively remembers that Dan complained about the thickness of the whiskers

‘I AM BECOME YOU’ also cheese umbrella is still awful (affectionate) to this day

THEY BOTH USED THE SUNGLASSES EMOJI MOST RECENTLY

also hello lobster emoji I know exactly why you’re here

pæch

THEY MOSTLY REMEMBERED THE LIZARD SONG—

rip that peace lily

the anaconda scene…

the game does indeed still work

‘TIMMY LIKES IT’

WHAT THE FUCK DID DAN SAY— also I think I found the most iconic moment of this video so far, they’re just DYING—

TATINOF reference

shut the FUCK UP boys we KNOW you’re touching

as someone who once ate a lemon near-whole bc fruit and who regularly eats lemon and lime slices, their flinching is a fail

existential crisis :(

boys isn’t the time for the merch outdated???? anyway moving on

SLUTTY CATBOY

my calendar and sweater are FINALLY shipping btw and I’m so excited!!!!

THEY’RE GONNA DO A TIERLIST :D

PINOF 7!!!! NEXT EPISODE IS PINOF 7, FINALLY I’LL BE ABLE TO RELATE AGAIN

THEY FINISHED RECORDING POPPY PLAYTIME CHAPTER 2 AT FOUR????

‘danisshowinghole’ ‘amazingtimmy’ thanks!

oh my god I can’t wait for part three actually

[raytm]

southernwood :   how seriously does your muse take themself ?   do they prefer a solemn   &   intellectual atmosphere or do they delight in jokes   &   banter ?  / @tenshujo salvia : is your muse possessive over people or things that matter a lot to them ? how do they express that possessiveness , or lack thereof ? / @starspurn amaryllis :   what is something or someone that your muse takes pride in ?   how do they express that pride ?   goldenrod :   does your muse believe in luck or fortune ?  why or why not ?   where do they believe these things come from ?  sunflower :   what brings your muse the most joy in life ? / @dupliciti

sparkle does not take herself seriously, however, a satirical take on the concept of solemnity is very much a farce she would participate in. she revels in a transposing identity, in being able to accurately discern and replicate if not create of her own volition, people, histories, truths. she can find delight in many a place, both in the asinine and in the most severe. inherently, she is not one to tie herself to a true sense of severity, i think one of the biggest parts of what makes me intrigued about sparkle as a character is the fact that she appears untethered to most things and able to delve into a great many without any particular, lasting attachment to them. she could take herself very seriously, or not seriously at all, depending on the circumstance and if it were to her own elation.

to a degree, yes, but aren’t all people. is what i feel she would tell you but, she gives off a certain degree of not being restrained by concepts such as possessions or people. however, perhaps this is interchangeable also, considering her mask, the girl who preceded sparkle, who gave sparkle her identity ( or perhaps she didn’t, again it’s impossible to tell with her because she has such a penchant for lying or making things more interesting than they are ) was maybe someone / something that she is possessive of. reading her lore makes me inclined to believe that the person sparkle is now emerged from that initial spark, so it would be that spark which birthed her elation, thus she may be protective / possessive of it. It’s her’s after all. But she also gives off the vibes that she would be pettily possessive over things just to see the way it makes others feel / riles them up. 

she takes pride in her performance, in her capacity to deceive others with her immaculate impressions. she spent a great deal of time studying others in order to be able to personify them, to wear their face and play their role. she expresses this in her splendid acting, be it small scale, or large scale, where eyes can fall upon her is where she’s drawn to being. I do not think there is much she takes in pride for apart from this, it seems to be where she draws her elation from and where her identity emanates from. I think it would be rather amusing if sparkle had say, small rituals she did before certain performances / acts that she believes, perhaps with a sort of ingenuous flair, enhance if not guide the course the act will take. perhaps innately linked backed to aha and knowing that which satiates the laughter also satiates herself. luck is bestowed upon her because she plays the part designated for her, if that is guileless belief then perhaps, she is indeed so.  elation, steeping herself in the delirium that arises from anarchy. sparkle revels in the uninhibited essence of her own elation at any given time, causing other’s strife, witnessing the marionette perform in the way she has devised for it, seeing plans come to a splendid, anarchic fruition. she also enjoys saccharine snacks, effervescent beverages. she is someone who can enjoy both life's intricacies and its simplicities. another thing she truly enjoys is being able to deceive others with her imitations, with the time she dedicates to studying, comprehending and purloining others mannerisms there’s something quite satisfying about the look of credence on their faces when their friend has been replaced and they are none the wiser. 

[queen-ofsunflowers]

Literal Theatre Kid Ren, Act 4: Our Winter

 As always, please note that times given in each game have been messed around with a little to make things work out. And because of where we ended last time, this act is going to start out pretty rough. As always, spoilers for Persona 5. And for A3!, too.

It is highly recommended to reread the end of Act 3, since that is where we’re picking up from.

Prologue Chapter:

Act 4 picks up almost immediately where we left off on Act 3, which means that Ren is still unconscious after being abused by the police following his capture. The public believes that the leader of the Phantom Thieves is dead. This was something that while initially planned, still has the entire company worried. Even those who had an idea of what Ren was doing are worried. So, when Ren finally comes around, it should be to no one’s surprise that the first thing that Morgana does is go and alert the others.

Now that Ren’s awake -- and after making sure that he didn’t have a concussion or worse -- it’s time to get some answers. While waiting for the other Phantom Thieves to arrive, Ren is glad to see that Taichi’s sticking around with the troupe, and Autumn is relieved that their brat is fine. (remember that Ren left right after it was revealed that Taichi was a spy for God Troupe? He never got to learn what happened after, so closure on that part.) 

The remaining members of the Phantom Thieves, along with Sae who needs an explanation too, arrive. Ren’s helped down the stairs from the attic and almost gets tackled by a few of the other troupe members. Notably, one of them almost breaks his already bruised ribs. After all that good stuff, it’s story time.

The Phantom Thieves never actually stole Sae’s Treasure. They used her Palace to deceive their own traitor that was working amongst them: Akechi. Akechi was the one in the black mask. Akechi was the one who had killed Haru’s father, he was the one who lead the police into the casino and he had tried to kill Ren. However, the Phantom Thieves were a step ahead of him this time. Outside of a Palace, the world is identical to reality. Ren’s capture and subsequent interrogation by Sae would allow a cognitive duplicate to take shape. Thanks to a bit of sleight of hand and Futaba’s hacking skills, they tricked Akechi into killing the cognitive double rather than the real Ren. (cue proud big bro kazu because of his sister’s hacking skills).

It’s also brought up that the Thieves knew of Akechi’s true nature -- or had an inkling of it -- all along. Back during the social studies trip, he let loose by accident that he had heard something that only Morgana mentioned. Normal people -- such as Masumi at the time -- aren’t able to hear Morgana speak. The only way to gain that ability is to hear Morgana talk in the Metaverse. It rewrites one’s cognition, so they’ll be able to hear him in reality. It’s why the Phantom Thieves can hear his voice while the Mankai Company can’t.

It’s also through Akechi’s slip-ups that the Phantom Thieves have learned who exactly is at the head of the conspiracy that’s plotted against them. It’s a politician by the name of Masayoshi Shido, who had some influence over the Metaverse thanks to having his hands on Futaba’s mother’s research. It was his underlings that were responsible for Haru’s father appearing on the Phan Site’s ranking poll in the first place. It was all a ploy to frame the Phantom Thieves for murder. His stance against them would boost his popularity and get him elected prime minister.

All of this has made him the Phantom Thieves’ next target. Despite some misgivings about them going after the guy who went after and nearly killed them, things would get a lot worse if Shido ended up prime minister. The older members of the Mankai Company end up promising to do what they can to protect the Thieves, but with how much power Shido has, it’s unsure how much they can do.

It’s during that conversation that Sakyo asks about what they’re going to do with the new members that are about to join the troupe, it’s here that Ren and the other Phantom Thieves go silent. Oh, crap.

They forgot all about the Winter Troupe.

The plan that the Thieves and the Company come up with is that for the time being, Ren’s going to pretend that he’s dead, with Izumi using him having to head back to his hometown briefly as an excuse for anyone who asks such as his school. For Winter Troupe auditions, they’ll have to go through with them primarily because the company is still in debt and needs to complete their final troupe to pay it off. That, and it would raise suspicions. They’re being careful about this though, with Futaba running background checks on any person that auditions and anyone with ties to Shido or the government overall will be turned away.

As for them learning about the Phantom Thieves’ IDs? ...yeah, Ren’s gonna figure that one out later.

Chapter 1: The Winter Troupe Auditions

It’s only a few days later that the Winter Troupe auditions take place. The Thieves have made very little to no progress in trying to guess Shido’s remaining keywords in order to actually access his Palace and take him down. With him being “dead” to the public, Ren has to stay behind at the dorms, much to his dismay. Haru, Ann, Futaba and Morgana volunteer to keep him company while the rest of the troupe deals with their usual daily tasks and Autumn Troupe accompanies Izumi to the Winter Troupe auditions.

Yusuke, Ryuji and Makoto go with Autumn Troupe and Izumi to audition Winter Troupe in Ren’s place. If he was caught, it would spell trouble and it’s a risk no one in willing to take despite how upset about it that Ren actually is. So, they’re there when only two people show up to auditions -- Azuma Yukishiro and Tsumugi Tsukioka. And lucky for them, neither of them work in the government.

And for those wondering about how the Thieves react to Azuma’s work? Makoto turns bright red, Ryuji had the misfortune of taking a swig from a water bottle at the time and promptly started choking, and Yusuke was honestly unfazed by the whole thing. Work is work, he ain’t gonna judge.

Chapter 2: The Challenge

As expected, the audition goes fairly well for both auditionees. And as expected by now, both Azuma and Tsumugi pass the audition. The company is running out of time, and they need all the help that they can get. However, there were only two people who auditioned. And Winter Troupe needs five members total.

Even though Izumi desperately wants to recruit the three Thieves that she brought with her, they have bigger matters to worry about for now. So they’re off the table, but she’s still not going to give up her efforts. They’re just... put on the backburner for now.

...though, what the troupes and the kids decide to do to get more actors does kind of help. Similar to what they did with the Spring Troupe, it’s time to hit the streets to see if they can find more actors that way.

Chapter 3: The Wandering Actor

The plan was to originally have Autumn Troupe pull off a street act with the two new Winter Troupe members in hope that it would draw in attention and potential recruits. However, Makoto, Yusuke and Ryuji get pulled in on the street act and Izumi notes that the three of them are better than expected. And that all three get really into it. Like... really get into it to the point where some of the passerby think that they aren’t acting.

Surprisingly though, it is what they’re doing (on top of Ryuji’s rather vulgar vocabulary) that draws in the third new recruit to Winter Troupe -- Homare Arisugawa, a poet that some of the group notes is about as eccentric as Yusuke.

It’s Taichi that gets the fourth member of Winter Troupe when he spots him in the crowd. Much to Mankai’s surprise, it’s Tasuku -- a now former member of God Troupe who had quit after finding out about what happened with Taichi. After quitting, he was blacklisted from every troupe in Veludo Way due to God Troupe’s influence. Well, almost every troupe. When it’s brought up that he could always join the Mankai Company, he accepts. Though, as Izumi and Makoto both note, the glare he gives Tsumugi makes them wonder if there’s something else going on between them that they don’t know about. Have they met before?

Izumi tries to figure out what to do about the tension between the two new members when Omi pulls her aside. During the past few conversations, he had been texting Ren and checking up on him. Ren needs them to come back to the dorms as soon as possible.

And Izumi panics when she reads about why.

Chapter 4: The Man with No Past

While everyone had been looking for Winter Troupe members, Ren was left behind at the dorms with Ann, Haru, Futaba and Morgana. With not much to do, the group chills out in the dorms’ common space while trying to figure out what Shido’s keywords could possibly be. No matter what they’ve tried so far, nothing has worked. Ren’s starting to think that maybe there’s something about the Metaverse that Shido knows but they don’t that’s keeping them from getting in. Not even TV is a useful distraction, as Akechi’s face is everywhere being praised for his actions against the Phantom Thieves.

None of them are sure that if what happens next is a good thing or a bad thing at all. With the election coming up, Shido’s been making campaign speeches around various neighborhoods, and today’s happens to be in the same one as the Mankai dorms. Hoping that they could get a clue about the keywords straight from the horse’s mouth, the girls and Morgana disguise Ren the best they can and head out.

However... that’s not exactly what they discover. Not only does Ren realize he’s heard Shido’s voice before, he’s met the man. Shido’s the man responsible for his arrest earlier that year. He was the one who sued him for assault and got him put on probation in the first place. It’s all his fault. And it kind of makes Ren spiral a little. Even the girls are shocked by this development.

Ren gets in contact with Sae about the situation, to try and figure out if there’s something that can be done about it if they bring down Shido. Even with proof of Ren’s innocence and a confession from Shido, it’ll be impossible to get his verdict overturned. And this is all something that Ren relays to Omi as the group is heading back to the dorms in defeat.

Ren’s in mid-text when he hears Futaba and Ann scream, the former jumping back and making him keysmash his latest message. Haru’s sharp gasp and Morgana racing ahead just as they get to the dorms has him concerned, and he soon sees why everyone’s suddenly on edge.

There’s a man passed out in front of the door.

It takes a lot for Ren to persuade them to help him bring the man inside because again, this might be a trick from the people who wanted him dead in the first place. Ren is quick to remind them that their enemies already think he’s dead, and they have no reason to go after Mankai. They bring the man inside and place him on the couch, and Ren contacts the rest of the troupe.

This is also how the Phantom Thieves accidentally found the fifth member of the Winter Troupe. Speaking of whom, they arrive with the rest of the Thieves, Izumi and Autumn Troupe not long after Ren told them about what happened.

The Winter Troupe gets immediately put on edge when they spot Ren and how beat up he is since his injuries haven’t exactly healed yet. And oh yeah, they don’t know about the Phantom Thief stuff and Ren’s not entirely sure if they can trust them with his secret yet, so Ren does use his probation and past experiences to explain away the situation as a hothead from school hearing rumors spawned by his criminal record and fighting him as a result.

The entire time Banri glares at Autumn Troupe’s Brat. Ren ignores it for the most part because there’s more important business to handle. Ren didn’t call them because of his injuries, but rather the unconscious man on the couch. Just as the group is contemplating whether or not to call an ambulance, the man wakes up briefly. Though it is difficult to get him to stay awake, they manage to get out some information from him. His name is Hisoka Mikage, and... actually, that’s about it. Hisoka can’t remember anything else besides that. He doesn’t even know why he wound up on Mankai’s front step in the first place. And there’s nothing on him that could help the others identify who he is.

When Hisoka refuses to have the police called, he gains Ren’s trust pretty quickly. After all, why would their enemy refuse to go to the police the way he did? Besides, Morgana seems to trust him plenty and that’s pretty much enough for everyone. And that’s also enough for Izumi to make one particular offer. Thus, Hisoka Mikage is allowed to stay at the dorms as the fifth and final member of Winter Troupe.

Chapter 5: A Surprise Connection

After letting the other Phantom Thieves know what Ren and the girls (plus Morgana) learned about Shido yesterday, the group heads over to the Diet Building where Shido’s Palace is located. One particular memory of Ren’s is what gives them the final keyword that they need to get in. And the palace itself? A large ship sailing through a flooded Japan.

With this twisted Palace now open to them, the mission to take down Shido and save all of Japan is a go. They have until election day to take care of this mess, which at this point is plenty of time for them to do things. With Izumi and a majority of the company knowing about their identities as Phantom Thieves, it will make working around Winter Troupe a whole lot easier than it was with the other troupes prior.

Or at least, it would be easy if the only path that they need to take to Shido’s Treasure wasn’t blocked. The only way to get through is to get letters from five cognitive beings that serve as Shido’s upper circle in the Metaverse. It’s too much for the group to tackle all at once, so knocking out as much as possible is definitely off the table.

As things settle into a new routine, the gang starts to gear up for the new Palace. And again, with Ren playing dead, there’s not much that he can really do. Haru and Makoto are on equipment duty, Ann and Ryuji can deal with stocking up on first aid and any other supplies they’ll need, and Futaba’s looking into the real-world counterparts of the people that they need to get the letters from in Shido’s Palace. That just leaves Ren, Yusuke and Morgana to... Actually, to help Winter Troupe move into the dorms. It’s not the most glamourous and Ren rather would be doing something else, but it needs to get done.

With all the members of Winter Troupe being adults, there’s no issue with them moving into the dorms other than having to do the work themselves. But again, Ren’s there the entire day to help out and Yusuke pitches in later when he gets home from school.

The only real problem that they run into at the dorms is who is going to be rooming with who. It’s not hard to make those choices, honestly. Hisoka has been staying there on his own and needs a roommate because of how easily he tends to fall asleep anywhere and everywhere -- a position that Homare is more than happy to fulfill.

Sensing the tension between Tasuku and Tsumugi, it’s finally addressed what the heck is going on between them. They do know each other. They were friends since they were kids. This gives Izumi the perfect excuse to put them in the same room together, leaving the last room to Azuma alone.

However, later on, Ren catches sight of Tasuku leaving his room under the excuse of not wanting to be around Tsumugi at all. Apparently, despite having grown up together, Tasuku can’t stand looking at him. Ren is kind of confused by Tasuku’s behavior towards Tsumugi. Every time he’s run into him before now, he had always been pretty decent towards him and his friend. So what made Tsumugi so different? Seriously, what the hell happened with the two of them?

Oh well... it can be a situation to deal with later or leave to Izumi for now. For now, Ren mostly has to keep an eye on the Winter Troupe from the background while the Phantom Thieves deal with Shido first and foremost. Then Ren can deal with Winter Troupe. After all, it’s not like Tasuku’s and Tsumugi’s situation is going to affect his own in the long run, right?

Chapter 6: Playing Shop

Winter Troupe starts their first rehearsal together that morning, and it’s also here that they learn that Ren is the assistant director for the company and not one of the actors as expected. A couple of them are surprised that they’re going to be working with a kid like this -- and they aren’t wrong, Ren is seventeen by this point. But he’s been working with the company since the previous troupes and according to Izumi, he’s irreplaceable. It’s not up for discussion. Especially after Ren starts off practice for them with the etudes.

He’s gotten better at acting in front of an audience since spring.

Long story short, it gives Izumi and Ren a good idea about where everyone’s standing at this point. Everyone shows promise and potential from where they stand, even if there are a few points that could use some brushing up on.

Chapter 7: A Half-Hearted Candidacy

Practice continues on until Ren has to head out for the day. The Thieves want to get the Palace done as soon as possible before any more shit can hit the fan, which means get as much done as they possibly can. But before he can go, there’s one more thing that needs to be taken care of and that’s who the leader for Winter Troupe will be.

To the group’s surprise, Ren nominates Tsumugi for the position. Though Tsumugi tries to deny at first, he ends up accepting the leader role.

He confides in Izumi before taking his leave that this was similar to how he himself had been nominated as the leader of the Phantom Thieves a few months ago. It really helped with his self-confidence, so maybe having Tsumugi as the leader for Winter Troupe could do the same.

It is also after this that Tasuku overhears a bit of the conversation between Ren and Izumi. Thankfully, it’s nothing about Ren being a Phantom Thief, but it’s instead when Izumi comments how similar Ren and Tsumugi are which confuses the both of them. She explains that Tsumugi acts pretty much the same way as Ren did when he first arrived at the dorms back in spring, and on top of that, his confidence in his acting skills is the same.

Though Ren’s cleared up on the matter, Tasuku is left confused. This is when he gets clued in on Ren’s stage fright and the cause for it. So, yeah. Tasuku gets the hint that there’s something going on with Tsumugi a bit earlier than he does in canon. What Tasuku decides to do with this information, Ren has no idea. He has to dash out with Yusuke to get into Shido’s Palace for the Thieves run-though that day.

Chapter 8: Hisoka’s New and Improved Digs

There’s still some tension in the air with Winter Troupe that the company doesn’t know what to do about and it’s been hanging around for a while now. It’s hard to break since Winter Troupe is made up of adults, which has a much different energy compared to the younger student members of the previous three troupes.

When Izumi overhears the troupe talking about how bare Hisoka’s room is though... she gets quite the idea for what could work for their bonding moment. The whole of Winter Troupe is gonna go out shopping for furniture and the like for Hisoka’s side of his dorm. 

Because Ren is currently playing dead and is dead tired from the Palace, it’s Yusuke who kind of gets kidnapped by Winter Troupe to go do the shopping thing. It’s not really kidnapping perse, more so that he just wants to go along to make his and Ren’s attic look better. that, and just like how i had plans for ren and autumn troupe, there are plans for yusuke and winter. Yusuke’s fine with a simple futon, but the attic is huge and almost bare despite supposedly having been a living quarters before. It’s kind of sad when you think about it.

So Yusuke goes with Winter Troupe. Have fun imaging that. He definitely got separated from the group at one point. He has fun with the outing, though. He never really got to decorate his room back at Madarame’s, so this is a first for him. Having everyone help keep him from going overboard is a plus, too.

But this also means that Yusuke is there when they stop at the beach on the way back at Hisoka’s insistence. Where he remembers that this was the beach that he washed up on, leading everyone to believe that he’s in Japan illegally. It’s hard to say at the moment because they won’t know for sure until Hisoka gets his memories back, but it is something that Yusuke brings up to Ren and Morgana when they get back.

All things considered, they’re not that surprised.

Chapter 9: Urban Legends Redux

Another day of skulking through the Palace (and a letter under their belt), and Ren, Yusuke and Morgana return home to dinner and a few of the Mankai members playing Mahjong together. After the chaotic day that they’ve had fighting Shadows, it’s a nice scene to come home to. Even Matsukawa is pleased to see it. The Mankai Company is starting to heal from past wounds and return to the way it was before.

A lot of Mankai’s history gets brought up (some of which the troupe is surprised that Ren already knows, and which Ren surprises himself by knowing). It’s here that Matsukawa decides to fuck around with Winter Troupe a bit and add Ren into the theater’s urban legends when those enter the conversation... just a little, even if one was already proven to be Misumi. 

There are few that have yet to be talked about: The Torment Doll, which is said to have trapped two quarreling troupe members in a time loop until they made up; the Locked Room, which is an unknown room that once locked in a troupe member who had to be let out, and finally the Loupe of Sincerity, which would allow someone to read a person’s thoughts if they looked through it. And then Matsukawa adds in a ghost that haunts the halls, beaten and bruised as he looks for the one responsible for it.

Ren just explains that last part away as such: “The closest thing we have to a ghost in the dorms nowadays is Morgana since he likes to wander around the building at night.”

It’s in this chapter that they learn the Winter Troupe’s stance on the Phantom Thieves when someone decides to bring them up as a way to defend the legends being real: Tasuku is firmly against the Phantom Thieves, especially with what they did to Okumura. He’s the only one who really is in this camp. Tsumugi and Azuma are part of the number that don’t think they killed anyone since until that point they’ve been helping people. Homare believes that they were an inspiration and Hisoka... isn’t sure, mostly due to his amnesia. (Though all can agree that since it was released that their leader was a teenager, that they didn’t deserve the fate that they got -- it’s a tragedy.)

Chapter 10: An Act-Off

So, Ren and the gang get their next letter a bit earlier than expected and therefore get out of the Palace earlier than expected. Sure, Ren and Yusuke are bit more banged up than they’d like to be, and if Morgana says one more thing about it when he doesn’t have to walk home, Ren’s gonna shake his bag but...

But they get caught by a friend. It’s Sumire, who had no idea that Ren was alright at all and nearly makes a scene. Actually, she does make a bit of a scene and catches the attention of God Troupe’s Haruto. He swears that he’s going to lose his mind on this guy because today really isn’t the day to do this (especially since Ren is playing dead and doesn’t want to attract any more unnecessary attention). Luckily for him, Winter Troupe was nearby doing street acts for rehearsal that day.

Now that they’re no longer working together, Tasuku is really able to lay into Haruto for the way he’s been treating these kids. To make things... more intense, let’s say, Sumire also brings up what happened during the closing night for The Roman Episode with Kamikizaka confronting and forcing Taichi to try and sabotage the show. She had been waiting in the wings and hoping to wish Autumn Troupe luck and caught the whole thing. This pisses off Ren immensely since he had no idea about that happening, even though Morgana had been there in the first place.

Izumi’s a bit worried that there might be a fight when Kamikizaka shows up to put an end to it... or possibly make it worse. Ren’s still trying to figure out what the hell this guy has against the Mankai Company in the first place. It makes no sense... and neither why he seems to recognize Tsumugi at all.

Ren and the rest of the troupe is thrown for a loop when Kamikizaka challenges the Winter Troupe to an Act Off on Christmas Eve -- a competition between two troupes perform for the same audience and have the audience vote on the better show. In this case, if Mankai wins, they’ll get all of God Troupe’s profits from the performance. But if they lose? They’ll have to disband. For good. He gives them a week to come up with their answer.

The whole group returns back to the dorm to let the rest of the company know what happened. Ren’s a bit upset about the whole thing because the Mankai Company’s become his home over the course of the past year. He can’t lose it. He just can’t. Not to mention, there are a few people who wouldn’t have anywhere to go if the dorms closed (Yusuke and Sakuya being the best two examples).

That being said, Yusuke’s incredibly nervous about it himself, though he’s doing a better job of hiding it and pretending that he’s fine. Much like with Ren, he’s found a place where he feels comfortable and can say with confidence that he belongs. This is now home to him. He doesn’t know what to do without it since he has nowhere else to go.

No one is sure whether or not to accept. If they lose, Mankai will have to shut down. But the profits from the show will be able to pay off their debt in full -- which if they don’t take care of soon, they’ll have to close down anyway.

Since they will be the ones performing this time around, the company leaves it up to Winter Troupe to decide whether or not to accept. It’s a heavy choice to make, especially for the new recruits. But they have a week to decide, and until then, Yusuke, Morgana and Ren have other things to worry about.

Chapter 11: Responsibility and Commitment

The next few days fly by as the Phantom Thieves dive into Shido’s Palace, getting the letters that they need to clear it one by one. And for those curious, yes. The other thieves do know about what’s happening with the troupe. Ren told them. They’re just as on edge. The way Tasuku has been so irritated and Tsumugi has been so anxious hasn’t been helping either. Winter Troupe’s doing a lot, but it’s not enough.

And the Phantom Thieves’ nerves get even worse when they realize that they weren’t as careful as they could’ve been. Taking the letters from the cognitions had an effect on Shido. And it’s one effect that Akechi noticed, putting two and two together and realizing that Ren is actually alive. Just as the Phantom Thieves get their hand on the last letter, he confronts them in the ship’s boiler room with his true nature now revealed.

Here’s the thing though. Ren doesn’t want a fight unless necessary, where Akechi clearly is looking for one. Akechi and Ren are the exact opposite of each other according to the detective, even if both regret that it had to come down to this. It’s also here that a rather huge bomb is dropped in the fact that the only reason Akechi agreed to work with Shido in the first place is because the man is his father.

“I had my Persona long before then, but the moment that I discovered the cognitive world was when I realized what I was truly capable of. Someone, be they a god or a demon, finally gave me a chance!”

Akechi sought revenge against Shido for abandoning him and driving his mother to her death. By becoming his hitman, he would be able to bring Shido right to the top... only to bring him to ruin and destroy everything he worked for by making him the puppet instead. At this point, any hope of avoiding a fight is lost. And so, the Phantom Thieves clash with Akechi in the boiler room.

During the fight, it is also revealed that besides the mental shutdowns, Akechi was behind the psychotic breakdowns as well. That was the true power of his Persona, driving the Shadows around the berserk with a looming shadow that doesn’t look like Robin Hood at all. It’s new, and it’s something else. But it’s still not enough. Akechi is driving himself mad trying to defeat Ren, but Ren is still calm and steady. He’s spent time with Akechi, and their fight in Act 3 has made Ren see that there’s more to him that what they’re currently seeing. They’re both against Shido. They’re both on the same side. So why doesn’t he act like it?

But it’s not an answer that the Thieves are ever going to get. Because as much as Ren begs and pleads, there’s an outlier that arrives and breaks up their fight. Shido’s cognitive version of Akechi shows up, ready to take out the real one. Shido had been planning to get rid of Akechi after the election. If anyone found out about the murders that he committed for him... well, Shido was ready. The cognition is ready to kill Akechi and the Phantom Thieves once and for all.

Shadows flood to the cognition’s side to almost an overwhelming extent. The cognition gives Akechi one last chance to prove himself by killing the Phantom Thieves. Akechi raises his gun and... misses. Instead, he hits the controls for the bulkhead’s door. It comes crashing down, separating Akechi, the Shadows and the cognition from the Phantom Thieves and confusing the Thieves as to what had just happened. Ren runs forward, banging on the door and trying to get it to open. They hear two gunshots, and then... silence. Akechi’s gone, just like that.

As much as Akechi was their enemy, Ren also spent a lot of time with him and become close in some strange way. There’s a relationship there, a relationship that received no closure, had holes and gaps where so much more could’ve been done and THAT’S what makes it hurt worse that Ren couldn’t stop him or save him.

The Phantom Thieves withdraw from the Palace for the day, in shock and still trying to make sense of what just happened. Ren is the worst among them. The train ride back to the Mankai dorm is done in silence. And though the troupe members realize something is wrong, all Ren really wants is to be left alone.

Ren and Yusuke run into Tsumugi as they make their way to their attic, the latter holding a stuffed doll in his arms. Ren does his best to keep on a brave face, to show that nothing is wrong since he has yet to know about the Phantom Thief secret. Ren quickly shuffles past Tsumugi, leaving Yusuke to try and come up with a solution to explain why they had gotten back so late. He heads up to the attic and collapses on his bed, too tired and too much done with the day to want to do anything else.

Deep down, a part of him hopes that this was all just one, terrible bad dream.

Chapter 12: Back to the Morning

When Ren opens his eyes again, it’s the same day as it was yesterday. He thinks that what happened in the engine room was really just a bad dream... until the day starts to play out almost exactly like his “dream”. Rehearsal is the exact same, the Palace is the exact same... the only ones who show as much confusion as him over it are Tasuku, Tsumugi and surprisingly Akechi to some degree. But it doesn’t matter in the end.

Because once again, the day plays out the same as before with the door slamming shut and Akechi being taken out by his own cognitive self. The only difference is that this time, Akechi uses his own power to drive himself briefly insane, resulting in another fight. But even with that change, he still ends up getting killed and spares the Phantom Thieves without any explanation why. And once again, Ren starts to break down.

Yes, the day that loops is the day that they fight Akechi in the engine room. So Ren has to watch Akechi die again and again the more that Tsumugi and Tasuku prolong this shit. We’re traumatizing Ren more than canon does.

Ren, Morgana and Yusuke trudge back to the dorms. Unlike the day before, Tsumugi is nowhere to be seen. Ren is still absolutely DONE, just wants to sleep and be left alone. He wants to just sleep until tomorrow and forget about everything.

The next morning isn’t the next morning. It’s the same day once again. Having this happen once was strange, but then only Ren thought that it was a dream. Having this happen twice is not a dream and is getting suspicious. Even more so when Ren gets pulled to the side by Misumi as he, Morgana and Yusuke go to leave for the Palace after morning rehearsal.

Ren tries to protest as Misumi drags him upstairs to Tasuku’s and Tsumugi’s room. It’s there that Misumi finds the cause of all their trouble  in Tsumugi’s hands -- the same plush that he had in Ren’s previous “dreams”. Apparently, the Torment Doll is living up to its name after all.

Chapter 13: Bridge-Mending Eternal Torment

It’s only once Ren hears the toy’s name does he remember the legend associated with it. He hasn’t been having the same dream over and over again. He’s been caught reliving the same day over and over again because of Tsumugi’s and Tasuku’s fighting. He suspects that the reason he’s conscious of the loop is due to his ability as a Wild Card, since the other Phantom Thieves haven’t been aware of what’s going on either. Misumi, though, Ren has no idea, but he’s grateful that the Summer Troupe member realizes that Ren was awake and brought him over to tell him what was going on.

Because while Misumi has only been losing the triangles he’s found over the course of the day, Ren’s been caught in eternal torment watching someone he considered a friend get killed over and over again.

And this is how Tasuku and Tsumugi become the first members of Winter Troupe to find out about the Phantom Thieves. Because Ren has to explain what’s been happening every day (for the most part, he leaves out the fact that Akechi keeps getting killed) and why he’s aware. They’re stunned for a moment but thinking back to what Ren looked like when they first met him, it kind of makes sense. So, those two are also the first members of Winter Troupe to find out about the Phantom Thieves’ identities. At least Ren’s for right now, the rest get revealed later.

The only way to fix this and end the loop is for the two members of Winter Troupe to make up and knock it off with their fight. If Tasuku and Tsumugi don’t get their shit together and Ren has to keep watching Akechi die, he’s going to punch them both in the throat. ...He’s not actually going to, Ren’s too much of a good person to do that, but he’s pretty damn close.

It’s also here that Ren learns of a possibility of why Misumi has been immune to the Torment Doll’s effects. The latter thinks it’s because of the fact that he’s one of the urban legends himself or it’s because of his Persona’s ability.

Yup! Misumi is a Persona User, wielding Myrddin (merlin) of the Aeon Arcana. The ability that Misumi is talking about is something that he’s been calling “Illusion Breaker”, which strips something of its falsehood and reveals the raw, real thing underneath. Misumi compares it to taking away the mask a person wears and making them face their own Shadow. It’s literally the ability to show someone’s true self or just the truth of something in general. 

From here on out, Misumi’s going to be helping the team and filling the gap that Akechi left behind. The Phantom Thieves are quite stunned about this, but there was always something a bit weird about Misumi since he could understand Morgana from the get-go, and now they have an answer for it that makes sense.

So, Misumi is taken into the Palace with them and becomes a Phantom Thief in his own right. (He’s kinda happy about it, getting to show off his skills and use his Persona again, as well as getting to keep an eye on their troublemaker. he thinks izumi would be proud of that one.) Which means, yes, Misumi is involved with the fight against Akechi in the boiler room.

Right up until Ren holds out his hand, inviting Akechi back so they can take down their common enemy together, everything has been playing out the same and Ren is shaking with what he knows is about to happen. But Misumi’s present this time. So when Akechi starts to have his own breakdown, things take a shift. With Myrddin’s Illusion Breaker, Misumi is able to reveal Akechi’s true self underneath Robin Hood’s mask and free what he’s been keeping bottled up.

And if we’re being honest, it’s not something that anyone was expecting. Because without something holding him back, Akechi fucking snaps. His princely attire starts to flicker, wrapping around with shadows and twisting into something else as he shows the Thieves who he really is. It’s at this point that the that their theory is confirmed and the Black Mask that they’ve been looking for and chasing has been Akechi the entire time. Akechi once again drives himself berserk, revealing his other Persona -- that looming shadow from the past loops -- Loki as the Black Mask rises to the surface.

But even then, it’s not enough for Akechi to be able to win. He’s taken down, and just like before, his cognition shows up to finish him off when the Thieves try to help. And just like before, the bulkhead door comes down. Akechi makes them promise to take down Shido in his stead and then... he’s killed. The group disperses, and Ren faceplants into his bed while Misumi takes care in explaining to the company what happened. Hopefully tomorrow will be easier...

That would be if it were actually tomorrow. The day loops back again, and Ren’s growing more and more frustrated. Misumi’s the only reason he doesn’t snap on Tasuku and Tsumugi when they talk after rehearsal that morning. The latter two are really bad at making up with each other. How hard can it be just to tell the other person what you’re really thinking?

That being said, Ren and Misumi go to catch up with Yusuke and Morgana so they can head out with the rest of the Phantom Thieves for the Palace. As Ren is rehearsing his explanation as to why Misumi is coming with in his head again, Misumi forces something into his hand. It’s a glove that Akechi had given him a few weeks ago, when they fought each other in Mementos. A reminder that they promised to have another duel again. He’s calling it a lucky charm.

Ren really hopes that this time, he’s right.

Chapter 14: Now and Then

Everything goes the same as it did in the last loop -- from the fight with Akechi, Akechi making himself go mad and reveal Loki and the Black Mask. Though Ren hesitated to let Misumi use Illusion Breaker, he knows that it’s probably for the best that Akechi loses his shit the way he did in the last loop. Keeping all those feelings bottled up... as much as they hurt to hear, they needed to get out. So, things start to play out the same way as they did in the last loop, though this time Akechi seems more defeated -- emotionally speaking. There’s remorse and pain that he’ll never be like Ren in the fact that Ren is surrounded by people who love and care about him. Even when the Mankai Company discovered they were the Phantom Thieves, they chose to support Ren and help him rather than turn him away. It’s that that Akechi wishes he had. Maybe things could’ve been different if he did.

Ren holds out his hand to Akechi again, promising that maybe he could, and for a second, he thinks that he’s going to take it. But then the cognition appears. And makes Akechi draw his gun. And... Akechi double-crossing his double by shooting it just as it shoots him in the side. With the cognition injured and stunned, Akechi shoots the bulkhead’s controls and brings the door down.

Remembering what had happened this morning and the glove in his pocket, Ren rushes forward to do one last thing as Akechi makes them swear to take down Shido.

“I promise... so you better deliver on your own, alright?! I’ll be holding onto your glove for you until you do!”

Akechi is... kind of surprised that Ren remembers this. He only laughs, and Ren is given no clear answer other than the sound of two gunshots, just like before. And then... silence. The Thieves, wanting to head out for the day, actually continue on under Ren’s direction. He remembers what he and Misumi had told Tsumugi and Tasuku that morning. Telling the other person what you’re really thinking... that’s what showed you were friends. That’s how you can fix a broken bond. And if they break their promise, Ren’s pretty sure Akechi might come back from the dead to make their lives hell.

And so, the route to Shido’s Treasure is secure. All that’s left is to send their calling card. And Misumi has the perfect idea in mind. All that they need is a little help from Yuki and maybe Taichi and Banri too, for an extra set of hands.

When the Mankai group gets back to the dorms, there really is no time to ask Yuki for his help with anything, as everyone is gathering in the common room for a meeting. Ren takes note that Tasuku and Tsumugi look more relaxed than they were that morning as Tsumugi tells the troupe what had happened in the past: how he had auditioned for God Troupe with Tasuku, how Kamikizaka told him that he had no talent, how he had run away from acting as a result... but this time, he’s not going to run away. Though he can’t promise that they’ll win, he wants to accept the challenge and do the Act Off.

Everyone agrees. They’re going to take down God Troupe, and the Phantom Thieves are going to bring down Shido. The pieces are finally starting to fall into place, and Ren is tired.

Chapter 15: An Old Maid Showdown

While the rest stay downstairs to talk about their upcoming show and how they’ll take down God Troupe, Ren is just tired from everything that happened that day. He excuses himself early to go upstairs and just sleep the rest of the day away. And possibly cry. Because even though everything was still out on the table and resolved, Ren still couldn’t save Akechi in the end.

Tsumugi goes to check on Ren because he recalled how Ren came back every day looking like the world collapsed around him. His heart breaks when he realizes what kept repeating for Ren. In an effort to make it up to him, he gets him out and downstairs to join everyone for their old maid tournament instead of having him lock himself away up in his room all night like he had been doing previously. He found out the hard way that bottling up everything isn’t good and can only drive away those that you care about.

if anyone remembers the confidant post, this is absolutely when tsumu’s gets established. ren now has all his confidants established and in play.

Ren does get dragged into playing as a representative for the Mankai’s crew members. He does a pretty good job, slipping into his Phantom Thief act a little bit to throw the others off, and being surrounded by the people he cares about does do something to make him feel better.

When he notices Hisoka is missing, though, he goes to look for him. Today was still a lot, and while he does feel better, he does still need some space to breathe. He finds Hisoka outside, halfway asleep and decides to be a brat and play a little prank by scaring him. It... doesn’t work out as planned, as the moment that Ren has his hand on Hisoka’s shoulder, Hisoka has his hands pinned behind his back.

So, Hisoka actually does hurt Ren a bit, even more than he would normally because Ren’s still recovering from his stint in the interrogation room. When Hisoka realizes who it is, he apologizes and lets him go. And though Ren brushes it off, he’s still left wondering...

...what the fuck was that?

Chapter 16: A Leader Meeting

The next morning is actually the next morning. There’s a sense of relief that washes over Ren when he realizes that the time loop has finally ended. Though there’s still the lingering pain over losing someone and being unable to do anything about it, talking to Tsumugi and being with everyone doesn’t make it hurt as much as it should. He’s going to solider on. He has a promise to keep, after all.

Later after rehearsal and Izumi calls Kamikizaka to let him know that they’ve accepted God Troupe’s challenge, she gathers the troupe leaders and Ren for a meeting. It’s also here that Ren reveals that he might’ve told Tasuku and Tsumugi about the whole Phantom Thief thing when he cracks a joke about him being present at the troupe leaders’ meeting because he’s the leader of the Phantom Thieves and not just because he’s the assistant director. ...that also reminds him that he should let the other Thieves know about Tasuku and Tsumugi, too...

Anyway, the theme that they’ve been given for the Act Off is “angels”. Their show has to surround this concept, and it’s one that God Troupe takes an advantage in since it’s different from what Mankai has done so far. Tsumugi’s slightly nervous about it all, especially since Winter Troupe isn’t a cohesive unit like the other troupes yet. He’s reassured that they were all like that at first, and Winter Troupe will come together soon enough.

Chapter 17: Pleasant Bickering

With the short amount of time that Mankai has to prepare for their latest show, it is something of a relief that Tsuzuru has already something written. He had been writing a couple of shows in his spare time just to keep himself from getting rusty with his writing skills. All he needs to do is make adjustments to have it fit with the “Angel” theme, as well as the Winter Troupe’s actors, and they’ll be good to go.

It’s with talking about the show to Winter Troupe that the troupe decides to differ from their past shows and do a tragedy this time, befitting how most stories with angels in media tend to go. A tragedy with a calm, mature feel to match the vibes of the Winter Troupe, seeing as they’re all adults.

we’re speedrunning the winter troupe here because i have an idea for the ending, kind of like what I did with act 3.

Not even a day later, Tsuzuru has their script done: a tragic love story that Winter Troupe is prepared to begin rehearsing.

Chapter 18: Roles that Click

Rehearsal gets started and Ren is still trying to process how different Tasuku and Tsumugi are acting with each other now that they’ve made up. It’s like someone flipped a switch, but hey. He’s not complaining.

Seeing the others act out the show for the first time, Ren nearly starts to cry at the end of it though at this point only tsumugi and morgana might be able to guess why. He reassures the others and Izumi that he’s fine, and that they should continue on with practice.

Instead of Tetsuro jumpscaring the group, it’s actually Yusuke who came to ask about the sets since remember, he’s the one helping to work on them. The whole thing makes Winter Troupe think that he was the ghost Matsukawa was talking about (even though that was actually Ren).

And Yusuke bringing up the sets reminds Ren... aside from asking Tsuzuru to write something out for the Phantom Thieves, he needs to borrow Yuki for a little commission that he has in mind. And that involves a trip down to the subway station.

Chapter 19: Holding the Fort

Ren is over the moon to learn that Yuki and Tsuzuru are willing to help out the Phantom Thieves for their hopefully final heist. They have to hurry, though, since elections are coming up and that’s their deadline to stop Shido. Yuki has to get taken into the Metaverse to get a decent look at the Phantom Thieves’ uniforms and masks to recreate them, so as of right now, he’s the only one outside of the team who is able to understand Morgana. First time he hears the cat speak, though, he screams.

While Yuki gets to work (and after he calms down about Morgana) Azuma’s begun to act a bit strange. He’s been going out after practices and getting home rather late. Azuma’s an adult, so Ren tries to brush it off as adult business, but that doesn’t mean that none of the troupe members aren’t worried or concerned.

Since they really can’t do anything else until Ren’s commission from Yuki is done, Ren and Yusuke decide to take a look and follow Azuma to see where he’s been going every day, with Tsumugi coming with to keep an eye on them. Eventually, the group tracks him down to a bar where he’s meeting with a woman... and then proceed to get caught. Yeah, not the kids’ best moment considering they’re Phantom Thieves. Azuma’s more perceptive than most Shadows.

Though Azuma is disappointed that Tsumugi went along on the whims of two teenagers, he does understand that they were worried about them... especially when Yusuke flats out states it. Azuma is quick to brush them off. And he doesn’t come back home that night.

Ren’s worried that he, Yusuke and Tsumugi might’ve overstepped a boundary so when Azuma comes back that morning, he’s quick to apologize to him, even though Azuma didn’t think much about it. In fact, it’s what helped him make the choice to go back to work and move out of the dorms. He assures him, Izumi and Winter Troupe that he’s still going to take part in the show, just that it would be better this way.

...will it, though?

Chapter 20: Morning Will Come

There’s not much that the others can do in order to persuade Azuma. He’s an adult. He’s allowed to make his own choices. A few of the troupe members lend their hand with packing Azuma’s things when the latter falls a bit behind on it. While the others start to get to work, Yusuke shows Azuma where the cardboard boxes are since he has a majority of the storage rooms’ layouts memorized from his set work at this point.

That is, he thought he did because there’s a door to a room that he hasn’t seen before. A bit curious, Yusuke decides to investigate without telling Azuma what’s going on. This leads to both of them getting trapped in the room when the door shutting on them and getting stuck.

Yeah... Instead of Izumi getting stuck in the Locked Room with Azuma, it’s Yusuke.

And they end up stuck in there for hours, waiting for someone to realize they’re missing. But time ticks on and the pair eventually fall asleep.

Chapter 21: An Inedible Dream

Morning eventually comes, and both Azuma and Yusuke are still locked in the room together. While Yusuke thinks it’s strange that no one has come looking for them yet, Azuma’s current sleeping state catches his attention quicker than that. He wakes him from his less-than-peaceful dream and being curious and lacking in social boundaries, asks what happened to cause it.

Azuma isn’t about to explain this to a child. Possibly the director if the need arises, but Yusuke’s not at the top of the list. A bit concerned, Yusuke continues the conversation while they wait for help to arrive since there’s nothing else to really do, and this is slowly starting to remind him about his time under Madarame’s care.

The fact that Madarame had one student left under his care was something that was brought into the public, but since Yusuke is still a minor, his identity was never revealed to the public. So Azuma is 

The two end up talking about their shared experiences: the loss of their parents, etc, etc. More importantly, Yusuke brings up how the Phantom Thieves changed him and made him feel less alone.

Yes, Azuma is the third to find out about the Phantom Thieves. When asked why Yusuke told him, he simply replies with that he and their leader trust him. And this is what leads into Azuma giving in and telling Yusuke about what caused his nightmare in the first place and that he can’t stand sleeping alone because of it.

To Azuma, no matter what he does, he will never be able to rid himself of that feeling of loneliness. Yusuke finds this strange, since -- as he voices out loud -- Azuma doesn’t seem like he is alone when he’s working on the play with the other members of Winter Troupe, or when he’s with them in general.

Before the conversation can continue any further, the two are rescued from the room by the troupe members plus both directors that had been looking for them. There’s not much time left before Azuma has to get all of his things out, so they’d better get a move on--

Except that Azuma has changed his mind. Thanks to his conversation with Yusuke, he’s decided to stay in the dorm. As Winter Troupe heads off to their morning rehearsal, Yusuke pulls Ren aside to let him know that he had told Azuma about the Phantom Thief secret. Ren wishes that Yusuke had talked to him about it before he decided to do it, but he’s fine with it either way since he did the same with Tasuku and Tsumugi.

However, when Yusuke does ask about the storeroom that he and Azuma were just locked in, he’s confused as to why Ren gives him a weird look, saying that there’s not a storeroom there. There wasn’t even supposed to be a door. When both boys look back, the door is gone. 

...they decide it’s best to keep this to themselves.

Later on, Azuma finds that Ren let Morgana into his room for the night when the cat’s curled up next to him in bed.

Chapter 22: On Love, Winter Edition

When it comes up that Winter Troupe goes out drinking in order to sort of bond the same way that the other Troupes have. Since the Phantom Thieves are underage, Ren is thankfully saved from getting teased by Winter Troupe like he had been with Autumn when they get to talking about their relationships. However, that doesn’t mean there’s not going to be teasing abound here.

Back at the Mankai Dorm, the target of the group’s teasing is going to be Tenma this time around. Mostly by Summer Troupe, with the younger members of the remaining troupes and Yusuke joining in. It turns to a conversation about previous relationships that the teenagers have had. Turns out, between all of them, there’s not that much experience.

This sort of turns to the group teasing Taichi and Tenma about crushes that they have (Taichi with Sumire and Tenma about someone that he’s determined to keep under wraps). It gets a bit out of hand and Sakyo has to come and get everyone to quiet down.

Chapter 23: Seamsters Union

With Yuki working on both the costumes for the Phantom Thieves and the Winter Troupe, his sewing machine has been going almost all night. Tenma has taken refuge in the attic with Ren and Yusuke to escape it.

When it comes time to put the final fittings together for Winter Troupe’s costumes, Ren feels a bit bad about the state that both Yuki and Taichi -- who had been assisting the former in his sewing binge -- are in. They’re both exhausted, and Ren’s not sure if it’s because of the time crunch they were on or because he had them also working on the secret project for the Phantom Thieves. Even with Ann and Makoto working to help them in the background when she could, the bags under their eyes aren’t going to go away for a while.

Speaking of which, while Winter Troupe tries on their own costumes, Taichi comes up to Ren with a few boxes. They’re the costumes that he had asked Yuki to make. With them ready, it shouldn’t be long before the Phantom Thieves can put their plan into action.

...all they need to do is borrow Kazunari’s expertise and Tsuzuru’s script and they’ll be set.

Chapter 24: Seeds

The Phantom Thieves have wrapped up filming a short video with Kazunari. After getting changed, they head out with the Troupes to advertise Sympathy for the Angel. Well, everyone but Ren and Morgana, since Ren is still technically in hiding and playing dead.

Passing out flyers went well according to what Ren had heard, so he doesn’t quite understand the heavy tension that’s in the air during rehearsals that evening. And Winter Troupe seemed to be starting to get along, too. That’s when it comes up that Winter Troupe members were approached by a few people who had overheard rumors about them. There were even a few going around about Hisoka being in Japan illegally, something that only the company should know.

Ren’s blood runs cold when Tasuku tells him that he overheard the assistant director’s criminal record brought up as well. Outside of the troupe, the only ones who know are students from Hanasaki. Even then, it was confined solely to the school and no one outside of the Phantom Thieves and the troupe members know about his involvement with the Mankai Company since he’s almost always backstage and unseen. 

Azuma immediately turns this around, calling out Tasuku for hanging around Haruto, who had most likely been the one to tell him (which isn’t wrong, Tasuku even says so himself but knowing how Ren and Haruto interact, he kept that part quiet). It turns into an accusation of Tasuku being a spy for God Troupe, and then an argument between Tasuku and Azuma since the former thinks that the latter might’ve let something slip while out working one night.

Things aren’t looking to be too good. Ren knows that Tasuku wouldn’t say anything about his criminal record, nor would Azuma. He trusts both of them, and both of them also know of his identity as a Phantom Thief. If they wanted to do some real damage as a spy, they could’ve easily leaked that and ruined Mankai because of the association.

...so what the hell happened? And is Winter Troupe’s fracture going to mend or break them apart entirely?

Chapter 25: Discord

While Kazunari goes about editing the video, Ren has to get back to rehearsals and it feels like it did when Winter Troupe first started. It’s worse now than it was back then, especially with the performance right around the corner. Azuma and Tasuku threaten to start arguing again when Homare decides to step in to put an end to it.

Homare is... incredibly blunt in what he says to try and get Azuma and Tasuku to calm down. And while he’s not entirely wrong and gets to the root of the problem, it’s not exactly something that should’ve been said out loud like that. This extends to Tsumugi, Hisoka and even Ren as well -- the latter of whom stepped in to try and let Homare know that maybe he should’ve kept his mouth shut about Azuma’s feelings concerning his job, Tasuku’s about his previous affiliations with God Troupe, Hisoka’s about his amnesia and Tsumugi’s about his failure at God Troupe’s audition. With Ren, it’s targeting his feelings over being labelled a criminal and how that has been affecting him.

So everyone gets quiet and kind of winds up pissed off at Homare for blurting out their innermost feelings like that. Everyone leaves, practice cut short. What Homare said might’ve been true, but sometimes there are just things you don’t say out loud. Once again, Homare has made a mistake.

...wait, again?

Chapter 26: A Broken Cyborg

Instead of Izumi having this discussion with Homare on her own, it’s Yusuke who joins them since I think Yusuke can also relate to Homare on this matter to some degree. He had come to get Izumi’s opinion on the set design when everyone had stormed out of the practice room, so he’s here now.

As Homare explains it, he’s something of a “broken cyborg”. He has difficulty understanding how others’ minds work. His own only thinks in logic and art. Not emotion. To him, if he had made the root of the problem obvious, that would fix everything.

Izumi and Yusuke try their best to help Homare with the issue he’s having. Communication and explaining your own thoughts is the key, but Homare is just afraid of hurting the other members of the Winter Troupe again.

Yusuke takes Homare to one of the storage rooms to help him clean out a few props, hoping that it would help him clear his head somewhat. And maybe he’ll be able to divulge some advice like he had with Azuma -- keeping the Phantom Thief secret this time of course. 

What happens instead is that Homare finds something rather interesting hidden away within the storage room that might just help him out -- one of the urban legends. The Loupe of Sincerity, a simple magnifying glass that can allow someone to read another person’s thoughts.

Chapter 27: The Loupe of Sincerity

Before rehearsal begins that day, Homare asks to call a short meeting. Ren’s a bit confused by the magnifying glass he’s holding up to them and worried that Homare’s vision might be going. He has no idea what’s going on, but Homare seems to be reading the room better today. He explains that he wants to understand the others, and he meant no ill will with what happened the day before.

Not only does the Loupe help him read and understand the thoughts of his fellow troupe members, but those of the director and the assistant director as well, using them to help smooth things over. It’s also because of this Homare learns of the Phantom Thieves’ identities by reading Ren’s thoughts, who is still thankful that it was his probation record that got leaked again this time around and not the fact that he got arrested as the leader of the Phantom Thieves.

After rehearsing, Homare catches Ren on his way back to the storeroom to return the Loupe where he found it. It’s here that he also confronts and explains to Ren what had happened. It doesn’t take long for Ren to figure out what’s going on.

Homare is... surprisingly calm about the whole Phantom Thief secret as Ren explains it to him, since he is a member of the company and has a right to know as three thieves are currently living under Mankai’s roof. Homare had an idea about something being kept secret from Winter Troupe, and no one has exactly been subtle about their preparations for helping the Phantom Thieves with their final calling card. He just hopes that they can continue to be an inspiration not only to him, but to those who need courage as well. He promises to keep their secret, as well as to let Izumi and the others know that Ren had told him about it so Ren doesn’t have to go through the trouble of stammering over another explanation... especially since he has to be the one to tell the Thieves.

So that’s everyone except Hisoka knowing the Thieves’ identities now. 

Speaking of which, Yuki’s put the finishing details on the commission that Ren gave him (with some help from Ann, Makoto, Taichi and Banri as well to help speed things along and work on the Winter Troupe’s costumes at the same time). With Kazunari and Omi lending their assistance, it’s time for the Phantom Thieves to make their calling card shine.

Chapter 28: Better and Better 

For the Phantom Thieves, it’s finally go time. They tell the Mankai Company to keep an eye on the news and set out, with Futaba leaving Kazunari a flashdrive containing the calling card that they made. All he has to do is follow what she tells him to do to send it out when she calls him before heading into the Palace with the others.

So, later that night when he gets the call during Winter Troupe’s dress rehearsal, he plugs it into her laptop and... well, let’s say that these siblings make quite the scene in downtown Tokyo as their little video acts as the calling card, projected over every single screen in the urban streets and hijacking the news’ airwaves. Even when they try to take them down, Kazunari is able to keep the video rolling until the very end with Futaba’s instructions.

The police are scrambling to understand what’s going on, as they had believed the leader of the Phantom Thieves to be dead. Meanwhile, the Phantom Thieves themselves duck into Shido’s Palace and make a beeline for that Treasure. They made a promise, and Ren’s sure as hell going to keep it. 

They are met with a grand stage for their battle, as well as the mastermind behind it all. The Phantom Thieves confront Shido’s Shadow, who reveals his plan to use the changes of heart that Akechi had done for him to basically manipulate the public into making him Prime Minister. He shows no remorse, regret or care for those who got hurt or lost their lives because of his actions. He sees it all as necessary for the one who was chosen by God -- himself -- to fulfill his plans. He offers the Phantom Thieves a chance to stand with him and join him.

And after all that he had done to them -- what he had done to Ren...? There is no way in hell that they would ever accept that offer. And so, the battle begins. It is a long and difficult fight, involving Ren completely losing his shit on Shido and nearly one-shotting him in his fury. It’s only when Misumi reminds him of something that Tsumugi told him that he calms down.

The Phantom Thieves barely have enough time to swipe Shido’s treasure when the Palace starts crumbling around them. It’s being destroyed, only explained as something happening to Shido in reality to cause it. He’s trying to take them out while they’re still in his Palace. They race out, barely able to make it out in time and causing Ryuji and Misumi to apparently sacrifice themselves in order to protect everyone else. It was luck that they make it out alive, getting yelled at and tackled by the others in relief that they’re okay. Misumi had activated Ryuji’s MetaNav before the ship exploded to get them out.

In the end, they’ve done it. They’ve changed Shido’s heart. All that’s left to do is to return home and wait.

Little do they realize that as they made their move, the police and Shido’s conspiracy made moves of their own against those connected to the Thieves, such as Sae and the Mankai Company itself. By the time Yusuke, Ren, Morgana and Misumi return, the place is in shambles and no one can be found. No one is answering their phones, either. Before they can start panicking, the entire company returns to their relief. Izumi is happy to see that they’re back safe and sound.

The company goes on to explain what had happened.  As soon as rehearsal wrapped up, there were police at the dormitory and at the theater to catch Izumi and the Winter Troupe. Since they had connections to multiple suspected Phantom Thieves (such as being classmates or directly related to them in Kazunari’s and Banri’s cases) and their leader himself, they were taken into custody and questioned heavily. Suddenly, they had been let go... right around the same time  It was luck that Yuki thought to store the costumes he made at the theater instead of in the dorm, otherwise they might have been in even worse trouble after the dorm had been searched so much.

Ren is just relieved that everyone is okay... even if they all have to clean the dorm from top to bottom now. Though, it comes as a second thought and is only brought up in the explanation but... While they thought Hisoka was clueless as to why they had been all taken like that, he flat out states without batting an eye “it’s because we had connections to the Phantom Thieves and their leader, right?”

So... yeah, Hisoka’s known this whole time. He can’t remember how or why he knew, but he’s known, claiming that the others weren’t very subtle about it. He didn’t have any strong opinions on the matter, so he kept it to himself. That... is something of a weight off of Ren’s shoulders. He wasn’t sure how to tell Hisoka at all.

But now, all that’s left to do is wait... 

Chapter 29: Debut Night

The next morning, despite being exhausted from all the work the night before, Ren is woken up to get back into his normal routine and to see if Shido’s change of heart had taken effect. Not only was it the day of the election, it was also opening night for Sympathy for the Angel. He’s already on edge with the election and the possibility that their change of heart might not have worked.

Luckily, Tsumugi is there to remind him that all their changes of heart have worked before. Though it hasn’t always ended in their favor, they have worked. He needs to relax and believe in himself and his friends. Ren swallows his fear, choosing to focus on the show that night instead.

With Yusuke and Morgana working backstage with him, Ren has little difficulty focusing on the show as Winter Troupe makes their debut performance. A wave of relief comes crashing down over Ren when their play is met with a resounding applause. It gives them and Ren some confidence that maybe they might win the Act Off that’s ahead of them towards the end of the week.

As they leave the stage, Yusuke has a video ready for Ren. It’s of Shido. Although he won the election in a landslide vote, he also made a speech where he confessed to everything that he had done.

Everyone -- be they Mankai member or Phantom Thief -- gathers at the dorm to celebrate their victory and a successful opening night. It feels like a dream to Ren. Something that’s almost too good to be true. The efforts one both of the fronts have paid off really well.

The celebration is brought to a halt when the adults -- Sakyo and Sae mostly -- remind everyone that Ren has to go back to school just in time for exams, which Sakyo tells him that he’d better not fail. Just because he might have just saved Japan from a sociopath doesn’t mean that he can fall behind in his studies.

Don’t worry. Sakuya (and a semi-reluctant Masumi) promise to help him catch up on what he had missed.

Chapter 30: Theatre Junkies

Ren feels like he’s on top of the world. Despite having been out for almost a month, he’s been finding his exams easy. Though, that might be due to Masumi’s and Sakuya’s studying sessions with him and the rest of the thieves each afternoon before Winter Troupe takes to the stage for their showings. Even with the high that he’s feeling, Ren still needs a break. That might be why Izumi sends him out with Tsumugi and Tasuku on a small shopping trip. Ren IS Mankai’s little gofer, and the fresh air could do him some good. That, and Izumi thinks the kid should be walking around the streets by himself until the whole mess with the Phantom Thieves is resolved since their enemies know his identity.

Ren finds it amusing that Tasuku’s and Tsumugi’s relationship has improved so much to the point where they seem to be back to what he guesses what they had before. It’s a strange in-sync that Ren finds comforting. ...though, they get so into their conversation at one point that they forget that Ren is even there.

While they’re out, Ren heads off on his own for a moment to go and get some personal things that he forgot to pick up at the last minute. He assures Tasuku and Tsumugi that he’ll be fine and heads off.

On his way back to Tsumugi and Tasuku, Ren has the misfortune of running into Reni Kamikizaka. Like before, Kamikizaka acts strange around Ren to the point where it kind of sends the feeling of spiders up Ren’s spine. It’s like Kamikizaka knows him, or more about him. He keeps asking Ren questions that makes him feel like he’s in the interrogation room all over again.

He basically says a lot of things that confuse the fuck out of Ren, delving in pretty deep into something that Ren had repressed and forgot about until Tsumugi shows up to kind of save him. It backfires, as Kamikizaka turns his attention onto berating Tsumugi for his acting ability, crushing the confidence that they had spent so long building back up. It’s only when Ren finally tells him to (in a polite way) fuck off does he leave.

Tsumugi is off when they return, and Ren doesn’t blame him. It gets a bit worse when Hisoka isn’t at the top of his game, either. Turns out, he accidentally fell asleep in the courtyard and is under the weather. Ren has an idea that might work -- even if it means diving into the first aid supplies that are strictly meant for the Metaverse. He wonders if it could do something to help with Hisoka’s cold so that he could go up on stage that night.

But before he has a chance to try them, Hisoka is nowhere to be found.

Chapter 31: Memento

Hisoka is missing. Even without being under the weather, this would be a bad thing. Everyone scrambles, searching the dorm from top to bottom to try and find the missing Winter Troupe member. Eventually, the search stretches beyond the dorms. Ren grows worried, lingering back in case Hisoka returns and to call in the rest of the Phantom Thieves for help. He also wants to try and find something that might be able to work on Hisoka and help him with his cold.

It’s pure luck that Morgana leads Ren right to one room that they haven’t tried before because it was locked. Ren silently thanks Morgana for teaching him how to lockpick before picking the lock and getting inside. And there is Hisoka, collapsed on the floor. Ren heads inside, not thinking twice before the door shuts behind him and locks him and Morgana in as well.

Not that they realize it. They’re too focused on Hisoka, trying to get some answer out of him about why the hell he’d do something like this when he’s under the weather and trying to get him to take the medicine that Ren’s offering. According to Hisoka, it was what he was taught to do. Though confused, Ren doesn’t question it for now. He attempts to call the others to tell him they found Hisoka, but his phone isn’t getting reception. And they can’t open the door.

It is only then that Ren and Morgana realize that they’re in the exact same room that Azuma and Yusuke got locked in a few weeks ago, much to Ren’s dismay. All they have left to do is wait.

Hisoka, in his feverish state, starts talking to Ren as Ren tries to get him to sleep off his illness and let the medicine he gave him take effect. It’s then that he says something... strange.

“...I remember... I remember what I did... How unforgiveable it was... What I did to August... ...I’m so sorry, June...”

 And then proceeds to pass out, calling Ren “June” rather than his actual name. Ren gets confused as hell over this, since he actually has no idea what Hisoka is talking about, but he guesses whoever “June” was must’ve looked like or acted him in some way.

Not long after, they’re found and saved by the other company members. Thanks to the medicine Ren gave him, Hisoka recovers remarkably quickly. Though when Ren asks him about what happened and what he said, Hisoka can’t remember what he’s talking about.

...Hisoka is definitely one of the more eccentric members of Winter Troupe, he’ll say that much.

Chapter 32: The Night Before Closing

The past few days for Ren have been... strange. What Kamikizaka had said to him and Tsumugi, what happened with Hisoka... it’s all been dwelling on his mind. At the afternoon show before closing night at the Mankai Theater, Ren happens to overhear some of the audience members critiquing the troupe’s performances.

He understands that there were bound to be some people who perferred Tasuku’s performances from when he was in God Troupe, but dragging Tsumugi’s acting through the dirt just to lift up Tasuku?

...he will not deny that he had to be held back from saying something he shouldn’t have. 

Chapter 33: Regret Bubbling Over

Apparently, Ren hadn’t been the only person who overheard what the public had to say about Tsumugi. During the closing performance at Mankai, Tsumugi changes his approach to his character while on stage. It’s different than how he was before, and it surprises Izumi, Ren and the rest of Winter Troupe. It’s not Tsumugi at all. It felt like he was trying to mimic Tasuku instead.

It... doesn’t exactly go over well with everyone. With the way Tsumugi just performed, there wasn’t any chance that they could win the Act Off like that. Tasuku... goes off on Tsumugi somewhat, trying to figure out what was going on with him, but Tsumugi is tight-lipped and leaves fairly quickly, believing that he might have been in the right.

It’s only later that Ren reveals what exactly Kamikizaka had said to Tsumugi in the first place to Tasuku and Izumi while everyone’s getting ready to head back to the dorms for the night. Suddenly, things make sense to them and Tasuku leaves to go and talk to Tsumugi and hopefully help him get through the funk that he’s currently in.

... things are starting to look up.

Chapter 34: Stand By Me

Morgana lets Ren know that Tsumugi and Tasuku talked things out and things might actually go well with the Act Off. And now with the Phantom Thieves on their winter break, the rest of the team can finally help out with the show and packing things up to take over to God Troupe’s theater for the Act Off.

Ren feels a little bit relieved to see both parts of his life meshing so well together. He feels comfortable. At peace with everything. As he’s cleaning up and making sure all the props are accounted for (not wanting a repeat of what happened with The Roman Episode), he’s approached by Tsumugi who was wondering what he was still doing here so late at night.

The two of them have another heart-to-heart moment where Ren is reassured that no matter what happens, he’ll always have a place to go. Tsumugi and the rest of the Winter Troupe promise to make this performance the best one yet to assure that it would happen.

However... When Ren feels good, things decide to take a turn for the worse. Yusuke calls out for Ren, saying that he and the rest of the Phantom Thieves need to speak to him about something important.

Despite his confession, the news talks about Shido’s inauguration as Prime Minister. It was like nothing that the Phantom Thieves did matter. The public is acting like they don’t even exist. They still believe in Shido, and Sae is having difficulty assembling a case against him because of all of this. Even after everything that they had gone through, the Phantom Thieves are still labelled as criminals by the public. There are some people even calling for them to be hunted down.

Needless to say, it’s bad. It’s worse than that.

Ren tries to calm down, but the group needs a plan to fix this. To him, it was like dealing with a hydra: even if they cut off one of the conspiracy’s heads, there was going to be another to take control of the main body... or even worse, two more would grow back in its place. At this rate, the crimes committed using the Metaverse will escalate. Not only are the Phantom Thieves themselves in danger, but so are the Mankai Company as they know the truth. Putting them in danger is the last thing that Ren or anyone of the Thieves wants to do.

So what can they do?

...It’s then that Morgana reminds them that Mementos still exists. It is technically the public’s Palace. It is the source of all cognitive distortion and a direct link to the collective unconsciousness. But it is still a Palace, which means that it has a Treasure. Stealing it would have an effect on the public... and might just be what they need... even if it means that it will lead to the collapse of the Metaverse, and the end of their actions as the Phantom Thieves. It’s risky, but it’s a risk that the Phantom Thieves have to take. And there isn’t a lot of time to do it.

Though Ren had made it a rule to not go into Palaces on show days, this time has to be an exception. During the day, they’ll dive into Mementos and carry out their mission... and be back in time for Winter Troupe’s closing performance.

It looks like tomorrow will be a day that they won’t soon forget.

Chapter 35: Refrain

It’s Christmas Eve. Ren explains everything to the Mankai Company, and while they understand the severity of the situation, they warn Ren to be careful. Izumi reminds him to be back in time for the show. He’s a member of the company, too, after all... they all are (Misumi quite literally). He should be there. Ren promises that he wouldn’t miss it for the world, and if he does, then Masumi has every right to kick his ass.

So... the Phantom Thieves dive into Mementos for one last heist. It is there in the depths that they discover something unsettling: the Shadows of the public locked away in cages on their own accord, including all those that they changed the hearts of sans Haru’s late father. They’ve allowed themselves to be imprisoned by the pressure society has placed on them. They think that it would be better to allow someone to control them rather then make decisions on their own. It’s sad and pathetic to see, but the Thieves need to do something about it. It isn’t right to sacrifice and eliminate one’s own free will like that.

And it doesn’t take them long to discover the cause behind it all. At the bottom of Mementos is the Holy Grail -- the true ruler of Mementos. It speaks to them, trying to get them to submit to its will. But these are the Phantom Thieves its talking to. There is no way that they would submit after all they’ve been through.

And it seems like they’ve done it. With one last blow with the screams of the masses to stop on their ears, the Phantom Thieves take down the Holy Grail. There’s a bright flash of light before they can watch it crumble and they’re ejected from Mementos. The MetaNav is gone from their phones. They believe that they did it. That they won. The battle wasn’t made difficult, but they’ve done it.

At least, they’re all certain of it. Morgana and Misumi aren’t entirely sure, but there’s little time to dwell on it. There’s one more thing that they need to do that night. 

The team makes it just in time to help set up Mankai for their performance, to the elation of everyone present. Even Sumire shows up to lend a hand, despite not officially being a member of the Phantom Thieves in this timeline. At first, the company thinks that they’re going to be sitting in the audience and watching but no. With how big the stage is, Ren’s going to need some help managing it from backstage. At this point, they’re basically Mankai’s stage crew. It’s time for them to start acting like it.

Besides, they do need to make up for making them worry so much. 

Chapter 36: Like Praying

They’ve come a long way, and now it’s time to shine. The Winter Troupe even pulls a surprise on Yusuke, pulling him onto the stage with them for a small, one-line role that one of the Winter Troupe members usually fulfilled from backstage. Even if they failed, the entire company puts everything they have into blooming on stage and making their performance count. Ren has to agree with Izumi when she says that this might be Winter Troupe’s best show yet.

By the time the curtain falls, everyone’s holding their breath. And then... an applause so loud that it makes the company’s cheers go deaf on Ren’s ears. And it shows no signs of slowing down when the Winter Troupe steps out on stage to take their bows, including bringing the stage crew with them. After what they did that day, they deserve a round of applause... for everything,

Chapter 37: The Votes Are In

Finally, the time has come. After the applause calmed down, the audience cast their votes. Both the God Troupe and the entire Mankai Company -- every troupe member, every Phantom Thief... all of them that had participated one way or another. They wait patiently and with high levels of anxiety as the votes are counted. Ren is among the most nervous. After all, he could lose his home if this fails. Sakuya, Misumi, Tenma, Banri and Tsumugi try to reassure him that there’s nothing to be worried about, but he isn’t the only one with a lot riding on this vote.

In the end, they were right.

Mankai manages to beat God Troupe by two more votes. The whole of Mankai’s team screams and cheers, revealing in their victory. And as promised, God Troupe hands over all their profits from the showing. It’s enough. It’s enough for the company to pay off their debt. They can continue performing. They get to continue blooming on stage. This could be the happiest night of their lives.

Except... for one thing. The audience has filed out of the theater, Mankai has packed up everything to store away for a possible revival performance. The whole company and their thieves are still elated after they leave the theater, planning their celebrations when they get back to the dorm. But as Ren’s learned by now, when you’re at your most comfortable and vulnerable, that is when your enemy will strike.

Remember when Misumi and Morgana felt that something was off? That their mission wasn’t done? They were right. As it turned out, they had been tricked by the Holy Grail into thinking that they had defeated it. In reality, it had been protected by the masses’ wishes. And now that the Thieves have let their guard down... it’s time to strike.

Mementos and the real world begin to fuse together, and since the Phantom Thieves are no longer in the public’s cognition anymore... they begin to fade to, right in front of the Mankai Company’s eyes. To the Holy Grail, they don’t have a place in the new world now. Ren fades into unconsciousness, hearing his friends and newfound family screaming his name and the names of the rest of the Thieves.

And then... he opens his eyes.

There is one thing that I have yet to bring up while outlining this crossover, and that would be the Velvet Room. During Ren’s journey, he has been aided by Igor, an old man that resides in the Velvet Room and allows assistance to Persona Users like Ren... those that are able to use more than one Persona. A Wild Card. The room takes the shape of the guest’s heart, and in Ren’s case, it’s a prison that he’s locked in with Igor serving as the warden. He has been assisted by two girls: Justine and Caroline. They helped him grow his power and fuse his Personas together to create new ones to help his journey. They said that they would help him face ruin and rehabilitate himself.

But when Ren opens his eyes and finds himself in his cell in the Velvet Room, he has no idea what is happening. Igor berates Ren for having failed in his mission, ignoring Ren’s shouts and pleads for where his teammates are and if they’re alright. He orders Caroline and Justine to execute Ren to punish him for his failures. Ren is forced to put up a fight, one that he can’t win.

Just before he can be killed, he’s able to use the one thing he has to his advantage. His words. He manages to get through to the two girls, making them realize that something is wrong. Their duty wasn’t to kill, but to rehabilitate. Memories of theirs come to the surface, and they reveal Igor to be an imposter who took over the Velvet Room and split the girls into two. With Ren’s help, they use the same mechanism that they used to fuse Personas to fuse with each other. Justine and Caroline are restored to their original self: a young girl named Lavenza.

Lavenza goes on to oust the Igor Imposter as the mastermind behind everything that had taken place that year, creating a game to decide the fate of humanity with Ren as one of the players. The other was Akechi. If Akechi had won, then the world would have been destroyed and rebuilt anew. If Ren had won, then it would have stayed as it was. However, the game had been rigged from the very start to prevent Ren’s victory.

The imposter offers Ren a choice. If he allows the imposter to control humanity, then Ren will be allowed to become his assistant. The world would be restored to normal, but people wouldn’t be allowed to think for themselves.

Ren looked the imposter dead in the eye and begins laughing. He must have been insane if he thought that Ren would ever accept something like that. There was no way that he ever would do that to the people he cared about, or to people in general. No one deserved to be oppressed and pushed around by a higher power. The imposter leaves, and the Real Igor is freed.

Lavenza guides Ren through the halls of the Velvet Room to free his friends and teammates, stoking the fires of rebellion in each of them and giving them hope that they still could win. Being in the Velvet Room allows Morgana to regain his own memories, too. He had been created by Igor using humanity’s hope. He was meant to find Ren from the beginning and guide him so he could stop the Holy Grail and the entity behind it. The Thieves promise to help Igor and Lavenza put an end to the Holy Grail’s plan and return to reality.

When they are returned to where they had been taken away, reality and the Metaverse’s fusion has rapidly progressed. Shadows are beginning to crawl out of the depths and devour people. Very few people are able to see them, so they fight as they rush to get to the Holy Grail. And along the way, they come across some familiar faces that are relieved to see them back and in action.

Thanks to Sumire’s Cendrillon, the Mankai Comapny were able to keep themselves safe... which has been difficult since Hisoka is struggling with something at the time. Misumi calls his Persona, and stays behind to help Sumire manage the Shadows while the Thieves tend to the bigger problem at hand. With reality and the Metaverse merging the way that it is, summoning their Personas now shouldn’t be much of a problem.

It’s also here that another bomb is dropped in the form of Hisoka calling upon a persona of his own -- Morpheus of the Death Arcana -- to assist Misumi and Sumire in crowd control. 

...that is something that they are going to deal with later, when reality isn’t trying to merge with the Metaverse. He tells the Thieves to go and make the wrongs right again. With one last nod, the Thieves rush off to take down the Holy Grail once and for all.

They battle the Grail once they find its hiding spot on top of a nearby building. And this time, they shatter its form to reveal its true self: the God of Control, Yaldabaoth. Yaldabaoth unleashes the power of the Seven Deadly Sins on the Thieves, but even that’s not enough to stop them. They’re determined to find their freedom and free society as they pledged to do.

But eventually, Yaldabaoth exploits their weaknesses and brings them down. They can’t do it alone, and Morgana does his best to stoke humanity’s memories and hope.

And then Ren hears a very familiar someone scream at the top of her lungs from the crowd down below. It’s Izumi. She’s crying and cheering for the Phantom Thieves, and that she believes in them. Soon, others join in... Sakuya, Sumire, Misumi, Sakyo, Tenma, Omi, Taichi, Banri, Juza, Tsumugi... One by one, the rest of the Mankai members join in, shouting and encouraging the Thieves to keep going. Their words and belief are just what was needed to stoke the general public’s belief and faith in them. And it’s the cheers and rallying cries of humanity that gives Ren the strength to stand again.

It gives him the strength to do more than that. He hears the echoes of his Persona on his ears and grabs the chains that bind Arsene to free him... and awaken his true form: Satanael, a fallen angel with the power to punish a god with the sins that has been forced upon him.

Quite literally, actually, as his Persona creates a bullet from them and shoots Yaldabaoth directly in the head to deal one final blow. All that’s left behind is the lifeless shell of the grail itself. With it in hand, reality begins to return to normal and for the Metaverse to collapse.

Chapter 38: Party Time!

Sadly, though, not all of the Phantom Thieves make it back. Morgana’s existence was heavily tied to the Metaverse, so when it went... he went with it. The Metaverse is gone, and reality is normal again. Strangely, those connected through Ren’s bonds are those who retain their memories, which includes the entire company since Mankai as a whole represents The Fool Confidant. Everyone else in reality seems to have woken up from a dream.

It’s hard to stay cheerful without Morgana there, but Ren and the rest know that Morgana wouldn’t want them to be upset, so they celebrate for him. They celebrate the Phantom Thieves’ win, as well as Mankai Theater being allowed to continue on with its productions. And maybe, as Ren is reminded, that he could join them soon.

And this time, Ren accepts. Unfortunately, though, Sae approaches Ren during the celebration and takes him off to the side to speak to him privately before she takes Makoto home.

At this point, in order to prosecute Shido, Ren would have to turn himself in as the leader of the Phantom Thieves. Without Akechi (the true culprit behind the mental shutdowns), it’s the only way to avoid the rest of the Thieves from facing arrest. In the process of turning himself in, Ren would be violating the rules of his probation. He would be sent to juvie.

But it’s the only way to ensure that their efforts weren’t a waste. That everyone would be safe. So Ren accepts, asking Sae to not tell anyone about it. Not right now. He wants them to be happy about what they’ve done today... He doesn’t want to ruin it.

Chapter 39: Again and Again

The next morning, Ren leaves a note and heads out early to meet with Sae and fulfill his end of the deal. When the rest of Phantom Thieves arrive to celebrate Christmas, they find that everyone’s spirits are gone. Izumi tells them about what Ren did for them. Without the Metaverse around, there isn’t a way for the Phantom Thieves to do anything.

...or is there?

Ann reminds them that Ren is their friend, a member of the “weird” family that they’ve created. If they can’t use the Metaverse, then they’ll find other means of getting Ren out of juvie. The only reason he’s in there was because of his probation. So if they could get that sentence overturned and prove his innocence, then there’s the chance that they could free him.

The Thieves are on board with the plan, but they’re not the only ones. The Mankai Company offers them their support in any way possible. In the words of Banri, “[they] aren’t about to let that self-righteous brat take the fall when all he was trying to do was help people.” Ann said it herself. Ren is one of them. He’s a member of their family. And like hell Izumi is going to let him fall behind when they were just getting started. The Mankai Company and the Phantom Thieves are going to bring Ren home, no matter what.

And that brings us to the end of the first year! It took me a LONG time to get to this point, and I apologize for such the long wait. But the story still isn’t over. After all, I have plans for Year 2, and Ren’s still in juvie. That’s not going to last for long...

Anyway, thank you for reading!

Act 1 | Act 2 | Act 3 | Masterlist 

[giantchasm]

Been thinkin about the Star Allies waves. I like the idea of them each being pretty tight-knit groups of friends.

Wave 3 especially. Lately I’ve been rotating a headcanon in my mind that Susie stays with Taranza in Floralia for a bit post-Robobot before she has a way home and is able to restart the company. She’s put with him both because no-one in Dreamland is really comfortable having her around (fair!) but also because Kirby knows they have similar trauma. I think it’d take a bit for them to open up to one another— with there just being an obligatory, detached politeness between them at first, but eventually they’d learn about what was Going On with each other and very quickly pack bond over their experiences.

I think they’d be very protective over one another, with Taranza seeing Susie as someone vulnerable— someone he doesn’t want to fail like his last vulnerable friend, and Susie seeing Taranza as a little bit of a wimp but a good guy who she’ll aim a gun at you for if you dare make fun of him.

Magolor would, in part, come into this equation to help Susie build a new way home (she refuses to take the Lor Starcutter on the principal of rejecting ‘handouts’), but also in part just because he’s lonely. I think he’d catch wind of the other two ‘ex-villains’ hanging out and be like “you know who’s ALSO an ex-villain turned goodboy? MEEEEEE :3c”

At first they’d both be sort of annoyed by him, but eventually they’d realize he’s legitimately fun to talk to and knows a lot of interesting things about both magic and technology. His infodumps are a good distraction from the more upsetting elements of their lives. And so he just kind of becomes part of the group.

Eventually Susie is able to go home, but they keep in close contact, and when Star Allies rolls around they’re like “OMGGGG. Villain squad REUNITED 💕💕”

Magolor keeps trying to get Marx inducted into the group, but he’s a little Much for both Susie and Taranza. Marx thinks this is because they’re used to “being the only internet clown and court jester around,” respectively.

Speaking of Marx, though, I thought it’d actually be really funny and cute if he was also buddy-buddy with his wave. So I ended up coming up with the headcanon that post-Milky Way Wishes he actually crash-landed on Popstar, where the Animal Friends and Gooey found him and nursed him back to health, not knowing he was Kirby’s enemy at the time. He’s still like, a selfish lunatic, but he has a soft spot for them because of it— especially Gooey, who he thinks is the funniest person on the planet,

At first Kirby doesn’t know but eventually he catches Gooey going out to meet with Marx and instead of being upset he’s just really, really jealous. He’s like “WHY IS EVERYONE FRIENDS WITH THE EVIL CLOWN BUT ME? 😭”

It’s okay, Kirby. I’m sure your time will come eventually.

Then as for Wave 2, I can’t really imagine them knowing each other before Star Allies, but can envision them becoming close during it. I like to think, as the only group who aren’t initially besties, they’d feel like the odd ones out at first and Adeline and Daroach— sociable-types, would instantly want to get to know each other and become buddies to one-up all the other groups. Cue Adeline becoming an honorary Squeak

Dark Meta Knight would be a little more distant at first— having no interest in this ‘nonsense,’ but eventually even he would get roped into it via their unwavering pestering of him. Adeline draws him a portrait and he’s like 🥺. He’s SOLD on this whole friendship thing, even if he’d never admit it. He and Daroach talk about robbing people while Adeline draws on his mask with magic marker.

I DO like to think DMK was the one who corrupted Sectonia, albeit not intentionally. I think it’d be fun if his resentment and hateful vibes just kind of warped her. It’s not something he feels particularly strongly about, but I think after bonding with the Wave 2 gang he’d be a little worried about potentially doing something like that to them. However, they’d reassure him everything would be alright, with Adeline telling him she’s sure things will be okay as long as he lets go of the hatred in his heart and Daroach bragging he “can’t get worse than he already is.”

It’s fun. They’re good. They love friendship :)