#mayoi ayase analysis

[thefourofclubsinactive]

I saw a certain post on twitter that irritated me, so here's a rant

[mamadarama]

698 - anzu has calmed down a lot since engirls era but i like to think shes still just as nuts as she always was and seems calmer because shes better at containing herself now that shes older. also just realized i used the looking disrespectfully post literally just the other day. adhd: 1 me: 0

[scotts-takes]

"Black Out See Saw" is the Climax Alkaloid Deserved

Top Songs from Enstars 2023 Number 1

I was blown away when the album art for Alkaloid was released a few months ago...

This art is such a sharp contrast from their first album art, that shows how they have grown. The basic military style unit outfits have been replaced with regal commander-style ones. The basic emotions that are shown in the original are now much more refined- in particular, Aira has evolved from someone simply happy to be on a stage to someone who is confident in his place on it, Mayoi is putting himself more in center, and Hiiro's confident smirk has become more stoic, as he now has the experience to go with his skills.

All of this went away, however, when we actually got the Alkaloid Climax song...

Sigh...it was the seasonal Halloween event for the year. Yes, the idea of incorporating hospital/illness and Tatsumi's relationship with it is an interesting story to tell...but Alkaloid deserved so much more, especially as the "Protagonists" for the !! era of Enstars. I was frustrated that the end of this era of Enstars for Alkaloid was wasted on a seasonal event, but was at least able to take solice in that Alkaloid gets 200 chapters of the main story dedicated to them, and we still had solo songs for each character to come from the album. December rolls around, and the album releases. After jumping through hoops to buy it, I throw my headphones on to give the album a listen. The first track, "DiZZineSS" is a weird 30 second preamble with no singing, not something I was expecting. However, it rolls directly into the first new song on the album

Bam

Black Out Sea Saw is a violent wall of sound, unlike anything else that has been done for Enstars before, and I can understand fans not liking it. The reason it sounds so different is because it was produced by TK of Ling Tosite Sigure, a 20+ year going Prog Rock group. I listened to the song 3 times before moving on, and waited for the MV release to come, as is usual with the "B" side track from Albums. And what we got was one of the most well constructed videos for Alkaloid fans, and the climax that I was looking for that wasn't provided by the Halloween song.

The video opens...strangly, especially if you haven't heard the song before. The opening is intentionally choppy and rough, almost like it was an unfinished song that still needed production. There is a weird reverb effect happening- which you can especially hear when Mayoi hits the high note, that led to a friend saying "it sounds like they recorded this in a bathroom or something". The other thing that really jumps out is how robotic and synchronized the movements of all 4 members are. This is a BIG deal. In just about every Alkaloid video, you can find little inconsistencies at various points- Aira is sometimes a bit slow to do something, Hiiro is sometimes a bit too fast, Tatsumi's movements are less athletic, etc. The robotic movements are all in perfect unison, especially at points where characters do things together, like make hand bridges. It's a sign of Alkaloid's growth as a unit- they started as a collection of rejects, and now they haver come together and become a great unit together.

As we go to the first chorus, the intensity of the song ramps up- it becomes FAST, yet every member is in perfect harmony. The dancing becomes more intense- and everyone stays perfect. And then we get to the final line "It's Error-Error", and things start to change- we start to see more finger movement, the motions become more flowing and less robotic (the robots are malfunctioning! error! error!), and more personality is shown by each member.

We then get a wonderful effect of feathers raining from the sky, before, and then we get to see everyone smile, including Hiiro with this soft and expressive look. (that I wish I was able to time slightly better when I took my screenshot!)

Why is this important? Lets take a look at the first Introduction of Hiiro, in his first close-up in Kiss of Life

It's a look of focus, of determination, and NOT one of joy. Hiiro NEVER smiles at any point in Kiss of Life except during the SPP- he maintains a focused look the entire time. Additionally, you can look at just about any Alkaloid video, and Hiiro rarely smiles- if anything, he just physically assaults the camera in every one of them! The final chapter of the main story is titled "Smile", which is a discussion between Hiiro and Rinne on what it means to be an idol, and Rinne telling Hiiro "Whenever I see you smile, it makes me smile too", with Hiiro responding that he will do whatever it takes to make people smile

Hiiro wasn't able to smile in Kiss of Life, as his focus was on putting smiles on the faces of others. It's weird, because when he isn't preforming, a smile is basically plastered on his face permanently. He has a very loud and infectious laugh, and he's just happy to be doing anything at any time. On stage, for him, its different. And Black Out Sea Saw is the first time that Hiiro is able to not just smile, but show kindness in it, as opposed to simple joy or excitement. It's a MASSIVE step forward for him- the kind of thing that, you know, you might build a Climax story around?

And then, we come to the end, where the intensity of the song does not let up, before it all crashes to an end as the lights go dark and Alkaloid go still

To me, this is the Alkaloid Climax, the song that I will remember. They have gone from a group thrown together to a cohesive unit with a sound unlike anyone else in the franchise, and all of whom have had character growth. It's the one that they deserve going into the new era that is upcoming, and even has a level of finality to it, seeing as how it was released right at the end of the year.

Alkaloid deserved better than Undying Holy Love, and boy, did they get it...

[lumi-istortured-byengstars]

why you must have faith in KoHii/HiiKoha

gonna go on a little ramble, my mind can't stop thinking about this duo specifically (all the time, but this time, i have the power to gush on people about it)

So a little bit of spoiler warning before you go on ahead :3

If you want to add more onto this, don't be shy, I'd love to discuss this with someone

This will be very long i think, so yeah.. ;3

Gonna put a basic symbol line-break everytime i change topics in this post so...

Table of contents on this post's analysis:

Amagi Hiiro

Oukawa Kohaku

In-context HiiKoha/KoHii

Shameless fic promotion

.............♤❀.............

Both of them are seen as pure and precious (by their closest family members, at the very least) who were born and raised in the most fucked up scenario

Hiiro was seen and raised as nothing but an aide (for his brother, the future monarch) in his hometown, so much so that he wasn't even taught common sense or self-worth. He was raised to specifically only act on instinct and to do as instructed, aka he wasn't treated humanly, which he thought was normal. It still shook me when Hiiro said something that basically implied "if I weren't apart of the Amagi family, I might have died when I was little" i forgot which episode it's in but i specifically remember Hiiro saying that fondly after Aira asking him how he can be this annoying without dropping dead (chapter 1).

Maybe that's why Mayoi specifically said something along the lines of "he has a scent similar to mine, how interesting" when alkaloid was made. They have that similarity in which the both of them were treated as less of a human, so they believed it. They just reacted and lower themselves differently. Mayoi trying to avoid people so they don't have to be burdened by him to the point of believing he's nothing but filth and Hiiro, who, as I said, thought it was normal and think of it as basic etiquette to be treated like a stepping stone. (I shall stop myself here before this post digresses to a HiiMayo post lol)

He was even taught on to be a shield for his brother and he definitely knows how to kill someone using his bare hands with that martial art he always trained for. His pure, innocent, and kind mind never saw any of those as wrong. He thought it was right since everyone (the adults specifically) around him acts like it's normal. To put it simply: he was brainwashed since he was little and he's trying his best to think for himself ever since he got out of his homwtown.

.............♤❀.............

The other one, Kohaku, grew up in a family branch specifically treated as a beating stick to the main family tree. A disposable bloody stick, tainting a glorious garden to be precise. A garden called the Suou family. Hell, he wasn't even supposed to be alive. His humanity was denied of him so much so that his family had to hid him for years to keep him alive. His only friend being his cousin Tsukasa and his SNS buddy "Love." He grew up fairly "normal", he worked his dream job for COS PRO, a rising idol agency and even have a place in the Reimei dormitory, a school affiliated to COS PRO.

Maybe he was trained to and have assassinated some people and know the most painful way to effectively torture someone. But he's still most definitely an adolescent. Yknow, the kind to have sweet tooth, getting scared of zombies, and being a sassy teen who roasts people without fail.

.............♤❀.............

These two barely have interactions which is so so painful because of how well their dynamic is between every rare interaction they have. And Kohaku's newest idol story with Hiiro have shed the brightest light of a possibility that they'll add on some more story with them <-me being hopeful.

Now i shall enlighten you with how these two see each other in the story.

Hiiro sees Kohaku as Aira's friend and his brother's unitmate. Despite being older than him, he always tries to be polite with him (as he does to almost everyone) and refers to him by his family name and even put an honorific on it (which would no doubt make him sound a little distant). They barely talked or interact with one another, but it was Hiiro's friendliness that made them to be good enough acquaintances. Being the low-SQ guy he is, of course he doesn't see that as awkward. He simply thought of Kohaku as a friend since he's also Aira's friend. (Please HappyEle i need more Hiiro's POV of their relationship :"v)

Kohaku is pretty much in a similar situation as Hiiro but he thought of it through more (as much as he could at least). He refers to Hiiro like how the rest of crazy: b call him: "Otouto-han" / "Rinne's little brother." He started calling him "Hiiro-Han" after a couple of meet-ups which I can only assume is a result of hearing Aira's stories about him and how he isn't used to be treated with the kind of respect Hiiro gives out to people (Hiiro keeps finding ways to feel inferior to people in a logical way that icks him but Kohaku can't really tell what it is that he feels bad about, do you understand what I'm saying).

To put it simply, he thought that Hiiro was the total opposite of Rinne: way too innocent and naive for his own good. He considered Hiiro as a simple acquaintance until he began to realise that Hiiro seems to be friendlier than other acquaintances he knew (dude the crumbs HappyEle give on Kohaku's POV makes me go insane)

This made Kohaku became more confused about their relationship status (lol) especially after the events in Matrix (will talk about soon) where Kohaku sees for the first time how the Amagi(s) aren't so different from one another in terms of their stubbornness. He saw with his own eyes how Hiiro would go all out to do what he believes to be right, so much so that it scares him how Hiiro can still look so innocent despite of his capabilities. That fear got him thinking "are we friends or not?" Because of how Hiiro seems to be even friendlier after that event. And eventually the two losers (affectionately) finally start to be actually friends and not a mere acquaintance.

(I need more of them please)

.............♤❀.............

P.s. if you haven't caught onto it yet, both of them are idiots (in their own way) and i believe they'll both be perfect for each other once the two actually opens up about how fucked up their upbringing is.

Can you just imagine how Hiiro would casually talk about what happened to him in his childhood and Kohaku just looked at him with mixed feelings between pity and judgement and surprise? I can and shall use it to the best of my ability :3

Coming soon to AO3 (as soon as my account got approved) it'll focus more on the slices of life for these two + aira because aihiiko is perfection. I shall anounce and post the fic there as immediately as I can. If you're interested, I'm planning to name it as "Estranged Youths" so.. :3

[sucantslay]

BELIEVE 4 LEAVE ANALYSIS 2/2

You can go check my page for part 1/2 ( or tap the "analysis about b4l" tag down there )

Tatsumi: Who don't think he himself deserves the tilt of a priest but everyone knows that Tatsumi are already one without need any to confirm it with him.

Then our little Mayoi, now be able to find his way to happiness!

THAN THE FOURTH COMBINED TOGETHER, MADE ALKALOID!

They are now be able to rise up! To get the thing they wanted the most.

They aren't a shame of them self anymore, Mayoi is still scare, but he's trying his every best.

And that "Hope", "Love", "Blessing", "Happiness" is their purpose for this brutal idol battle!

They won't give up until they get what they want!!!

This line is just adorable, consider the fact that Mayoi outfit in this event is the only one to have a four-leaf clover on it.

It remains Mayoi that he's not a long anymore!!!

You can also see this sense in the MV

He's in a unit, a team, and everyone still needs him. And until then did he feel the happiness of life!!!

and

Is not really a goodbye, is feel so because in the MV, the airship is getting further from the viewer's but they were not, you can see that they are heading towards to a castle where their next journey will begin.

AND HOLD IT! I JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW that this event is name

Sail!◆Heart-faring Phantom Airship

Who is the one that got nick name is: "Phantom"?

Mayoi! This is literally out open about Mayoi song! So if you're like "Haha, silly lyrics with coincidentally alike all the members of ALKALOID."

Think again buddy! I WASN'T MAKING TWO WHOLE ASS POST ABOUT A 2 MINUTES SONG FOR NOTHINGGGGGG.

[fallen-stellar]

After all, you're just a hysteric humanoid

Hysteric Humanoid by ALKALOID Song Analysis

Lyric Translation by Distorted Heart (@/ibitsunahaato)

Overview:

Break free from an empty shell of a life that you are taking where you are meeting excessive expectations. Living impassively and following the lies is as good as dead. Question your own limits and live the way your human heart wants to.

Note: This analysis is my interpretation of the song from the translated English lyrics with a bit of digging from the Japanese lyrics (analyzing the use of some kanji's/words). However, I may not have the wide scope of the song especially if there are deeper meanings/references in the Japanese original. Feel free to correct my mistakes and I am up for discussions! Enjoy!

Before we go any deeper into this song, let us define the two words in the title, "Hysteric" and "Humanoid".

Hysteric in common knowledge is an adjective or something that you would describe a person who is already on the verge or is in insanity. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it is defined as "an overemotional or unstable person." [1]

Humanoid, on the other hand, is commonly used in science fiction and even fantasy to describe something resembling a human. It is used primarily on robots or entities that look uncannily like humans but aren't humans themselves.

We defined these two words as the song (as it should) revolves around these ideas and it will help you wrap your head around the points that I will one-by-one introduce, and later on we will string together.

Take note that we will refer to "persona" in this song to take up the second-person pronouns, as this song could be interpreted to be directed to someone or they are talking to someone else. It will make explanations a bit easier in the long run!

We will tackle the humanoid part of the song, which is the persona that is being referred to a lot throughout it.

This persona is depicted to be following a set of rules and expectations that are laid out in front of them. That's why the first stanza is already calling out this behavior, particularly how it feels so inauthentic or putting up a facade just to please someone else.

The immobile pride sunk in deja vu The appearance you put up doesn't feel authentic In front of the implicitly drawn borderline Aren’t you just trying to please them?

Note that this persona is going along with the flow, meeting expectations as they do. However, it is described as a mockery of themselves and even goes as far as comparing it as if you're dying or lazy, it's as good as you not having a worth or purpose.

Thinking that you've come this far just by going with the flow, all you're doing is mocking yourself

Why? Keep imitating and die Why? To be impassive* is to be lazy

*indifferent, apathetic

There's another line that interested me when I first saw the lyrics

The immobile pride sunk in deja vu

This specific line is hard to crack due to how it's written. So, we will tear it up piece by piece and make our own whole!

This line is quite similar throughout some translated lyrics that I cross-referenced, most of the time the adjective that is followed by pride is synonymous with restricted. In Japanese, it is written "ガンジガラメ" which in kanji form is "雁字搦め". It means to be bounded or restrained (according to the dictionary on hand or foot), leading to immobility. It restricts freedom, basically.

Another thing to note is that sunk (translated from "溺れた") apart from being translated literally to drowning in water, could also be translated to drowning in something else, like an addiction, losing your mind in the process.

The word pride is written in katakana, so we will take the English meaning of it. Pride is not just what we call "being proud", but also the awareness of someone's dignity, someone's worth.

The word déjà vu is as it is, a feeling that you have experienced something, particularly an event, even though you haven't.

Based on these little details we picked apart, we could interpret this line as restricting your own self-worth to something you believe that you experienced already or at least something that you know already.

It doesn't make sense at first but the persona we are talking about is a humanoid that goes on what is expected. They are restricted to what is already been tested because it is the best course of action. That's how most computer processes work, they will troubleshoot a problem and choose a solution provided by the system. It's a cycle, a loop.

It perfectly describes a humanoid, a human-looking figure that isn't human at all. They are also described as if they are robots (mostly humanoids are used for robots, especially if you are a fan of sci-fi movies featuring cyborgs, AI robots, and such) due to the use of words such as deletion, rewrite (as if of a computer programming script) and even this specific line:

A life with better graphic resolution

However, this humanoid of ours is seemingly human to begin with and they have a little history provided by these lines:

Rumors about classmates who parted ways have disappeared Despite being the same batch, only we remain trapped Depending on others and making excuses stopped working long ago But I've just started myself And you?   A classroom that killed your "identity" Anesthesia awaiting well-arranged shipment Even if you start blaming others now No one will listen to you Even if you resent them, they'll never reconsider

It's quite a mysterious and complicated history in a song, however, it will explain a lot of things that will be said next and even to what or maybe whom this song is targeted.

These lines pertain to the past of what made the humanoid humanoid that they are now. It is said this "classroom" killed their identity or even their essence, (the identity in the original lyrics is "ラシサ"). The use of anesthesia here is very interesting because as well all know, it is used to numb pain, which is most commonly used during surgeries and operations. It mainly disables our senses and awareness.

This aligns with what the humanoid is now, it's an empty shell that only follows what is expected of it. It is devoid of what makes a human, a human, their identity, senses (particularly emotions), and awareness.

The song is all about pushing this humanoid to break free and be human again.

Even after deletion, you’re still stained deeply After all, you’re a humanoid

It is said it is hard to get this "humanity" back, it is implied in this specific line that even if they removed this kind of thinking in their mind, they are already used to doing it. After all, it's hard to get off the path you are used to walking over and over again. However, it is reminded that they are not something that is made, they have a soul. The only thing they need is passion to break free out of this life.

We're not man-made. A soul lives in us Dye it red with the passion flowing in

They encourage the humanoid to learn life from others and even explore things, and they will realize that everything doesn't fall between just bad or good, best or worse, evil or good.

If you could learn about life from others Wouldn't that be great? From here on out, it’s an unexplored territory A world which is neither black nor white

Even if it is hard to find their own passion, they are encouraged to question their own limits and even live a better life than this robotic lifestyle that the persona has.

Once you start rewriting, things will go well Keep dreaming Humanoid Even today, don't give up on a human heart; Claim it even if it hurts We live under excessive expectations Question your limits And a life with better graphic resolution

And that's basically the song!

But we aren't done yet~

What if I tell you this song describes ALKALOID so much?

"Well, duh, of course. It's an ALKALOID song, it's not surprising." I hear you say.

Well, you are right. But there's more to it.

It does not describe just ALKALOID, but their experiences and certain people that made that experience.

If you read throughout the song, it perfectly describes what is ALKALOID, especially during the main story. All of the things described above are what essential ALKALOID was or is supposed to be. They are meant to meet expectations, particularly how they are supposed to get in MDM and get enough likes to get in the second part. They are meant to please the higher-ups, after all, they are just test subjects of Eichi's plan.

Which perfectly segues us to important details in this song!

If you have noticed, I have left these specific lines out of the song analysis above.

Why? The lie you’ve imitated Why? Dreams turn out to be alluring traps There’s no way anyone can know your true thoughts Why? A style of unnecessary mass production? Why? Instigate a tragedy and dive They have a silver tongue and a deceptive face If you’re careless, you’ll just get tripped up

Why? Keep imitating and die Why? To be impassive is to be lazy There’s no way anyone can know your true thoughts Why? Then is this what it means to be a villain? Why? Being idealistic all the time is tough They sure have a silver tongue, the pitiable mad scientist That’s enough

This has important lines that will point us to the last nail in the coffin to put this case to rest.

A style of unnecessary mass production?

As I said earlier, ALKALOID is the first test subject of Eichi's grand plan. The basic gist of it is the mass production of idols that shine just enough instead of creating one idol or more likely a unit that will shine brighter (which was commonly referred to as Trickstar who rose to stardom almost overnight).

The verses above pertain to someone who is deceptive and the cause of all of this which is how ALKALOID sees Eichi during the main story. Every line is quite perfectly fitting. "Instigate a tragedy and dive" prefers to how Eichi talked to ALKALOID, particularly about Crazy:B and his plans for them to be his pawns or quite fittingly, his soldiers. "Being idealistic all the time is tough" refers to how hard everything was to get in place with Eichi's plans (and even by extension Ibara's). I am leaving the rest of the lines for you to interpret.

This is what makes me think that this song is quite directed not really just to Eichi, but to the whole higher staff of Ensemble Square that what made all of it to fruition.

This is wholly why I was interested in picking apart this song as it's quite a bold song to sing, especially being under the one you are trying to direct this at. I might be reading this too much, but every line in the song actually pertains to the events that happened to the main story. It just fits too well.

Extra Analysis

There's also a certain part of the song that fits a certain person a little bit too well:

Rumors about classmates who parted ways have disappeared Despite being the same batch, only we remain trapped Depending on others and making excuses stopped working long ago But I've just started myself And you?   A classroom that killed your "identity" Anesthesia awaiting well-arranged shipment Even if you start blaming others now No one will listen to you Even if you resent them, they'll never reconsider

If you ever read Obbligato, you know who I am talking about, or who are the people I am talking about.

This is mainly why I chose Tatsumi as the little banner for this analysis because I believe and I've seen others see this as a song for Tatsumi or of Tatsumi.

These verses perfectly describe what happened in Obbligato.

Rumours about classmates who parted ways have disappeared Despite being the same batch, only we remain trapped

This particular line refers to Kaname (HiMERU) and Tatsumi who unfortunately stopped years off at Reimei Academy due to an incident we will talk about later.

Depending on others and making excuses stopped working long ago But I've just started myself

I believe this might be pertaining to how Tatsumi is starting again especially being bedridden in a hospital for years due to an injury he gained during the incident which perfectly segues us to the next line!

A classroom that killed your "identity" Anesthesia awaiting well-arranged shipment

These lines struck me the most. I am actually heartbroken to even type these words, but basically, this describes the incident in which Kaname was induced into a coma. A classroom might refer not to a literal room, but a group of people, particularly classmates. This line might be directed to HiMERU (oremeru) especially how his identity now is the identity of his young brother.

Even if you start blaming others now No one will listen to you Even if you resent them, they'll never reconsider*

*could be interpreted as not holding a grudge

This makes me believe these lines are directed at him, especially how his relationship with Tatsumi. How he blames Tatsumi and resents him and how Tatsumi never holds a grudge on such things and even takes it himself.

That's your little bonus analysis. :>>

Well, that's a long-winded one!

A little recap, this song pertains to a "humanoid" who goes on to meet excessive expectations and encourage them to break free and find their own path. The humanoid is ALKALOID themselves and we explained how it might be directed to a certain someone or group of people.

I'll be perfectly honest, this is such a hard song to crack and this isn't even what you could understand in this song. However, I like analyzing along with you! I'll be happy to hear your additional analyses of this song. It's also quite hard because it leans heavily on metaphors and I had to dig into the Japanese original of this one. As I said in the beginning, for any clarifications and corrections, kindly send them to me!

All in all, I had fun analyzing it due to how much you could pull in even one line! It is honestly amazing how it could pertain to a lot of things. It's such a fun and challenging song to crack. It beautifully encompasses ALKALOID and the message it sends to us:

Choose it with your own heartbeat

[mayoiayasep]

ok this isnt really a square but im gonna try to slap my thouughts together on it rn so its like

rei/mayoi: supernatural attributes, disconnected from society due to heritage

mayoi/madara: guilt about them being too "impure/dark" to interact with others

tatsumi/rei: saint complex

madara/rei: guilt over hurting a younger sibling, vulnerability issuses

mayoi/tatsumi: mutual acceptance of the other's "darker side"

if i had the mental spoons i would make a rei-mayoi-madara-tatsumi comparison square....

[infernaltenor]

the third (and... maybe final?) niki shiina analysis

thats a lie there's a nonzero chance i'll do more <- i really like reading into his character

the focus of this is intended to be the foil relationship of niki and mayoi. this is something observable between all members of alkaloid and crazy:b, with clear distinctions between who is meant to be a foil/mirror of who: rinne and hiiro, kohaku and aira, himeru and tatsumi. while i would love to do a full in depth analysis of every member in this particular grouping, i've been avoiding any discussion of events that are out on jp but haven't been on en, if only because i want to experience the stories myself, which is why, for the time being, i'll be skipping the rest of the alkaloid and crazy:b units.

there's a second major factor as to why i'm focusing on niki and mayoi: they have the weakest link. that is to say, everyone else in the group has a clear connection in their pasts. niki and mayoi lack this. while you can extrapolate and make guesses (mayoi living in the basement of es and having a surprising amount of information in the building construction and hidden rooms; niki's father being kicked off the air in preference of idols; my conclusion here is that mayoi's parents probably run es and likely ran niki's off the air. is there proof? no. that's why i'm not counting it.), nothing for them is as explicitly stated as it is for the rest: rinne and hiiro through the nature of being brothers, kohaku and aira's childhood friendship online, whatever the hell is happening with himeru and tatsumi's complicated fucking relationship. niki and mayoi have... none of that. and arguably, that's a connection in and of itself, that they have no past in common, but given the care taken for the rest of the units it feels almost like an oversight.

no matter! i'm not here to discuss what ifs; i'm here to read far too much into the silly goofy character of what is otherwise an incredibly sad and tragic unit (despite their rather goofy construct) because i love him and need his depth to be at the front page rather than ostensibly passed over. enstars where's my niki shiina breakdow-

anyway. with that out of the way, let's start with the most basic parts! game design and character design. for game design, they also typically are in the same spot (spot 4 for the live mechanics), although i'm willing to ignore this due to the fact that kohaku and aira, as well as tatsumi and himeru, do not adhere to this particular criteria. niki and mayoi are the two characters within their unit that have long hair; niki's side ponytail and mayoi's side braid (hey where's the niki shiina hair down car-). interestingly, niki and mayoi's main hairstyles occupy opposite shoulders. while it's something that's easy to overlook, i'm counting it because it's something i think is also an easy way to put differences together, the same way color palette is. and for niki and mayoi, color palette isn't really a concern (the same dictates the rest of the crazy:b and alkaloid pairings, however), but niki's hair is more blue-toned, while mayoi's retains a level of red in his purple (shinobu's, for instance, is way cooler in tone).

but this is all superficial stuff. things you can simply observe. beyond the unspecified parents, where's the digging in way too much?

well.

crazy:b is a unit that is altogether kind of goofy, but the individual characters are by and large, tragic. niki shiina reads as an outlier to this specific set up.

alkaloid is a unit that is altogether serious down to their aesthetic, but the individual characters are largely kind of silly. mayoi ayase reads as an outlier to this specific set up.

as an author's note, right here in the middle of this analysis, i know both units are not so clear cut, and that you can see incredible amounts of angst and silliness in the characters i have decided not to focus on. why i am focusing on niki and mayoi is because of their decidedly obvious contrasting personalities to the larger construction of their unit. niki, more often than not, serves as the crazy:b character who has no indication of what is going on, not to mention how much his personality is driven by his own unspecified condition and his relation to food; mayoi is the alkaloid character who has such a clear indication of his tragedy, as opposed to hiiro and tatsumi, both of whom acknowledge it less, and aira, who does it moreso through inner monologues. i digress.

with both niki and mayoi serving as the contrasting element to their respective units, this does include that they are not always that contrasting element; think, whenever niki puts himself down or reads rinne like a book, or mayoi's clear serious relationship with teaching the other members of his unit.

another aspect that i think contributes to a foil relationship more than the mirroring is the opposite ways they talk about themselves and even moreso, how they think about themselves. niki, by and large, puts himself down as an idol; it's expected, especially since being an idol was never his intention (for fun and profit! and also rinne), so he tends to think of himself (frequently) as someone with less experience. while mayoi's full story (afaik) hasn't been touched on, he shows considerable knowledge to the background and teaching of idols (dropping notes in on unsuspecting juniors, teaching alkaloid the choreography throughout the main story, just to name some off the top of my head), even showing in some ways his mastery of the skills for being an idol. what mayoi lacks for in confidence of himself, he makes up for in being confident in his ability to guide others with advice and teaching. this places niki and mayoi in clear opposite corners of their idol positions. that being said, mayoi hardly does think himself an expert in the industry, but while niki recognizes himself as not being an idol expert, he does frequently call up his cooking expertise, something that cannot be overstated. just with these two skills you can see how niki and mayoi treat their own expertise: niki acknowledges his with frequency, mayoi tries to push people away from knowing his.

niki is a character that tries to stay silly on the surface. to be fair to crazy:b, rinne also attempts this. the difference is that rinne's silliness has been broken clearly before, notably in the main story for the game. niki's character, at the point that i'm writing this post, has not had such a break yet. another aspect of niki is he does try to stay as clueless as possible (try isn't quite the word i'm looking for; he seems genuinely uninterested in the politics of the idol world! this is something i count in contrast to his fellow unit members, as much of crazy:b is focused primarily on that political atmosphere). without such a drastic break, niki's character does read as one intending to be seen as a silly character.

mayoi's character, while being silly in his own over the top reactions to, well, everything (alkaloid and mayoi is bocchi the rock if btr was yaoi, but that's... that's a different post), is probably one i would argue meant to be taken much more seriously in alkaloid. for one, his character does frequently deal with intrusive thoughts, which imo makes his overall character feel more serious. another aspect of this matches him with tatsumi for overall being what i feel to be the more seriously read parts of the alkaloid unit, as tatsumi is shown to be levelheaded often; there are some clear breaks for this particular formula with tatsumi imo, for instance, both his driving and technology usage serve to lighten his character considerably. mayoi's character, i think, due to the heavy usage of self-deprecating language, is meant to be read much more seriously than he sometimes ends up being.

my conclusion is basically... well niki and mayoi occupy (what i think) is an interesting balance for the foil/mirror imagery of crazy:b and alkaloid. their unit structures and symbols, as well as intentions feed into this, as do their character pairs, but due to niki and mayoi's own (mostly) untouched connections, their place in the structure feels much harder to nail down. this doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but it does mean that i can (and more importantly) will tear into this gacha game like its a piece of literature.

[heartofalkaloid]

she/her + 19 + alkaloid-p & rinne-p & arashi-p

— enstars blog for my screenshots & rbs (translations, analysis, etc.)

— feel free to talk to me about enstars (or anything really)! it's my biggest interest at the moment and i love interacting and making friends! 💛

— proship dni please!

currently reading...

(reread) Main Story 1 - Brightest Stars EP 129

Main Story 1.5 - Seven Bridges Love and Peace? EP 1

Main Story 2 - Sudden Death Monologue 1

(reread) BOGIE TIME - The Taunted Buffoon EP 5

saving for...

[Flower with a Charming Fragrance] Arashi Narukami — Dec 2

[Igniting Motivation] Rinne Amagi — Dec 21 *

[Stitched Heart] Mika Kagehira — Dec 30

[Unlucky Bunny] Aira Shiratori — Jan 17

[The Warmth of a Refreshing Breeze] Tatsumi Kazehaya — Feb 10

[The Way to Find Brilliance] Hiiro Amagi — Apr 21

[Manga That Brings Memories] Mao Isara — May 9

[Number Carrying a Dream] Rinne Amagi — May 24 *

[Method of How Love is Spread] Aira Shiratori — Jun 2

[Early Night Illusion] Mayoi Ayase — Jul 18

[sucantslay]

BELIEVE 4 LEAVE ANALYSIS ( PART 1/2)

Eating noodles*

Uhm, since Believe 4 leave is coming out soon, might as well watch the translated lyrics for fun.

Song start playing*

"To the thing that you can't see, is there really an end to all of that?"

Noodles drop*

Ya know what, eating is needed, but analysis this song is more important right now!

Uhm...so, *wear my weird-looking but cool-ass glasses on* let's get into it shall we? ALKALOID P? MayoiP?

So before we actually get into the song lyrics, I would like to remind you something about Mayoi.

He's a little freak, a little cute freak that most of the fans can relate to.

Mostly because of his low self-esteem, he gets scared easily and goes from "Haha" to "I SHOULDN'T HAVE LIVE ANYMORE" really quickly.

Few of the first chapters from the main story until recently, even if it is a small thing, he did change. He doesn't usually talk that much, not even in any conversation with other members or outside people in ES.

He's in his own world, his own thoughts for most of the time. If he did say anything, it was either praising others, talking badly about himself, or simply a scream, panic for help.

But later on, he talks more and more, more open about himself. Even if he still has that low self-esteem within him, he's happy that everyone didn't push him away.

And the song covers up some of that Mayoi character in it! It really hit the right spot if you look close enough.

From the first line:

It not really a happy feeling, it more of an unsettled situation where Mayoi couldn't know if any of this going to end of continue to suffocate him to death.

I think this is talking about his first time going out to the outside world and couldn't easily run away like all the other time ( he run away from the hospital once ).

Tatsumi going to catch him back, Hiiro can sense him present, his form has being review to the world outside. But more importantly, he got a Unit to be in, he can't no longer be the phantom that ghost this place with no hope and being agony in his own world anymore.

With that thought in mind, he have to chose, to move forward or giving up and continue hiding.

At first, Mayoi didn't have the chose but to go along with other members, he's being push to continue:

the word "Binoculars" here is not only represent for a binoculars the Airship cool MV, but also about look into the future far ahead.

As he whispered: "I can't really do this, can i? I'm not that good of a person, how can a hideous person like me even deserve a place of happiness like them."

But in his hand was a binoculars, a device to look for the far distance, a further future, even if it was something small and hard to detect, he did in-fact, want to be as beautiful and fill with joy as them.

Yet he fill with nothing but anxious

But he didn't stop, he continue, in his head scream pain and agony yet he show no sigh of stop.

Because everyone still needs him, the team need him to help with their training, Tatsumi needs him to help with his yet to completely recover leg. Hiiro and Aira still need a person to relied on when Tatsumi wasn't around.

He can't stop now! ALKALOID NEED HIM!

I love this line sooooo muchhhhh, it not just about Mayoi, it about ALKALOID itself. About Tatsumi, about Aira and about Hiiro:

We're be able to dream! And we'll continue to dream from this every moment on!

Yes! they accept that their just stupids little bastard, but in that way, if stupids bastard like them were allowed to dream big? They won't stop now!

They announced that, this is all just a beginning

And the journey may be rough, but they won't scare to try out, if that what helps them achieve their long lasting dream.

Than we shift back to Mayoi:

As his little dream now is no longer a small bit of hope, but something that he himself and ALKALOID are chasing with.

He's not alone.

The ALKALOID are with him.

Ah fick that! They said: "We go on this journey with risk at hand!"

Maybe we'll fail, but with that mistake, we'll do it better next time.

And the next lyrics! They are also my favorite!

It LITERALLY about how fourth members represent for, and it even more meaningful when you read the main story!

Hiiro: Was despair when his brother leave him but find hope in ALKALOID.

Aira: Despair for love, you can spot this very easy from the fact that Aira don't really like himself that much, he scare and hate and just a little boy finding his way, so ALKALOID gave him love! The love that he deserves.

Ok...I'm so sorry but Tumblr don't allowed me to put more than 10 pic in here. BUT FOR THE LOVE OF ALKALOID I MUST!

THIS WILL BE 1/2 PART, YOU CAN FIND THE 2/2 PART ON MY PAGE. ( if can't, just use the analysis about b4l tag down there )

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS!

[fallen-stellar]

Hoist your flags in this world of red and black

VERMILION by ALKALOID Song Analysis

Lyric Translation from Distorted Heart (@/ibitsunahaato) and PurpleClubSandwich (taken from the Ensemble Stars Wiki)

Overview:

Among the suit of cards you are dealt with, it is true that you have to make with it. However, you should also find among these cards not just how to use them but how it represents your ideals and morals you are holding onto. Firmly with this cards, it shall give you the purpose that you have been seeking your whole life.

Note: This analysis is purely my analysis--as you might have guessed, so everything is from what I interpret this song to be. My analysis came from the English translation of the Japanese original, so references or deeper meanings accompanied by certain lyrics in the original might not be here. However, I am open to discussions! I love them and if you see anything wrong, please feel free to point it out! Enjoy reading.

Vermillion is an interesting song (and an event, to an extension). It holds so much weight that I could boldly claim the new song that represents Alkaloid. It starts even with its title. VERMILLION is titled with every letter in capitals, in parallel with how ALKALOID is usually spelled, all in capitals. Vermilion is also a color of red, which is what accurately describes the red that is usually associated with Alkaloid (even though their unit color is turquoise). Red is usually associated with Hiiro, which is obvious as this is his center. However, I don't think this is just his center, but it's the new era of Alkaloid. If I am courageous to say so, this is the new Alkaloid.

A little segue, the costumes for Vermilion are actually a callback from their beta unit uniforms with the recent ones being obviously a replica of their old ones. Further engraving that Vermillion is indeed Alkaloid's new era, finding their "true" selves.

For you to understand this "new Alkaloid" era, we should dive deep down into the lyrics of the song which takes on a bit of a narrative style. This song has a lot of metaphors that I would dissect a lot of words that are repeated in the song. It's also for you to understand how it parallels a specific song we will talk about later and how it could be standing on Alkaloid (and specifically Hiiro) finding a way to embrace this theme of suit soldiers as theirs.

The song introduces to us what seems to be the center of this narrative, this persona they call "absolute" (taking on the kanji "絶対"). This is a phrase that will be repeated a lot in the story and have great importance in interpreting this song. The kanji just means "absolute" or "unconditional" (some translations says "almighty" which is still relevant with how it is used) so the literal meaning won't give us anything. To further understand what this means, let's take the lyrics accompanying it.

"A warped absolute” say the invaders “A mighty absolute” doesn’t even notice that existence Allegiance to the “great almighty”

This "absolute" is referred to an entity that is higher-up or revered as something that is highly respected, like a king or an emperor. This absolute is referred to be distorted or warped by invaders and the entity that is being served by the suit soldiers. They are also referred as something that is all-knowing from the line, "The “great almighty” isn’t even aware of your existence." and even pertains it as someone higher up than them, in this case "lord", "My Lord who is befitting to rule upon everything." Meaning for the soldiers, this absolute is something that they are looking up to.

Let's go back to the narrative. There are these invaders that the suit soldiers are fighting. They are claiming that the almighty is distorted or if we see this as a persona, they are corrupted. They are also asking how are they (suit soldiers) compensated by blindly following the orders of this absolute:

Allegiance to the “great almighty” The invaders ask How we are compensated for passively obeying orders It’s a childish prejudice

It strengthens the narrative that this absolute is seen as corrupted and the suit soldiers are blindly following their orders. With how the suit soldiers are narrated this way, they are seen as "unmarked white cards".

Oh, unlabelled one; Does someone like you have any worth? Paint out the defying white Oh, resisting, wandering white—You can’t retreat now

This is because, under this absolute, every suit soldiers have their own responsibilities. It is implied in this song that you'll find your purpose if you are marked with the card suits:

As for the significance we would like to obtain By crossing the boundaries of imagination Let’s draw it on these cards One by one—A destined suit for each one

Now let's move on to the main characters in this song, the suit soldiers.

These suit soldiers are described to be loyal to this absolute, to the point they are described to be blindly following their orders. However, they describe this loyalty to be innate because they are born to serve this absolute:

I was born to offer myself up to him That’s what my life screams You’ll soon understand that at the root of our discipline is unwavering patriotism

Take notice of how they used patriotism in the second line. While it is a perfect word to use since they described Vermillion as a kingdom ("Kingdom is Vermilion"). However, if you relate it to the first line, both have the same idea of being loyal to where you came from. Patriotism means being loyal to your country, where it could be interpreted in a way that you are being loyal to someone (or something in this case) that figuratively "birthed" you in this world.

I pointed this out because this is the main reason why they are the suit soldiers loyal to this absolute because that's what they are raised to do. They are born to be loyal, their purpose is to be loyal. It's their only reason, even the line "My soul, invigorated by the cause that dyes it all" doesn't really pertain to their reason for being loyal. This line pertains to desires and being inspired. It's beautiful in a way since they never said that they liked it, they just said proudly that they are born for this.

Their purpose is to protect their castle which they described as their jet-black pride (we will come back to this later) and also to convince everyone that they could be one of them. This is implied in this lyrics:

In the fortress you have entered One by one—A destined suit for each one

They are convincing anyone, especially those that resist them, to find the card suits that are for them. This moves us to how card suits play out in this narrative.

Card suits are an important symbolism in this little story that Vermilion has. Card suits, if you aren't familiar, are what you call Spade, Heart, Club/Clover, and Diamond collectively. This event is based on Alice in Wonderland which is the Underland event in Ensemble Square. As you could have guessed, Alkaloid is playing and performing as card soldiers. If you haven't seen how the card soldiers are depicted in this story, here's an example:

They are depicted as literal cards with the number cards of hearts imprinted on their card bodies. This further supports what's the symbolism of card suits in this narrative: your soul, specifically your purpose. They are what distinguishes you from others, quite literally in this case. This is idea is further backed-up with these lyrics:

As for the significance we would like to obtain By crossing the boundaries of imagination Let’s draw it on these cards One by one—A destined suit for each one

and especially this specific stanza, which gives much more impact in both the narrative and the message of the song:

By living a self-governed life There’s a significance you can never obtain Using the cards of the soul We’ll keep believing in who we are We are soldiers

The card suits are what represent someone's purpose, and destiny, their entire life as if written in these symbols. For card soldiers, these symbols are what they are. It's their entire life. Being an unmarked white card holds so much weight in this story because, with this, they are like lost souls. People still don't know what their purpose in life is. That's why the biggest mission of these soldiers is to paint out the white, for everyone to have their direction in life:

A world of red and black A perfect world that dyes everything Vermilion, vermilion; We’ll paint out the white Under this “almighty” We are soldiers

In summary of the story, there are these card soldiers that are serving under an "absolute" that are trying to paint out the white or those who still don't find their purpose in this world.

Are we done?

No.

Now, we put these interpretations of metaphors to Alkaloid. Buckle up, everyone!

This is a Hiiro-center song, so I will start explaining the metaphors we just talked about to him.

If you don't know, Hiiro is someone who relies too much--and I mean too much-- on people whom he considers that is higher than him. By relying I meant that he is taught to always follow their orders. This is because Hiiro is grown up in an environment where his role is to follow someone, which is his older brother Rinne. Rinne is the replacement for their father, the head of their village. Hiiro being the second child and the younger one earned him the place of his vassal, servant, his protector. Meaning he has no power over anyone other than those who are below him. However, he is regarded as an "idiot" in his hometown, pushing him more to only refer to the orders of his older brother, which he regarded as someone who has knowledge of everything. It was to the point that he takes him as his reference for things that are for him and is even trying to find a "right" answer to a question about his own future. For his young age and the lack of freedom primarily because of this lifestyle, he couldn't answer it. This way of life throughout most of his entire life leads him to have insecurities about his control, even over himself. He can't even decide for his own needs and even ask for suggestions from others not because he isn't capable of thinking one, he is too insecure to make one.

And this is everything that this song narrates.

The absolute we are talking about since earlier is what Hiiro sees as rules or people he should and willingly listen to. Notice how the song doesn't refer to it as "royalty" or "monarch" like what would you refer to someone who is higher up than you, especially with Vermillion's set up as being this monarchy kingdom. It uses the word "absolute", most specifically with this kanji (絶対). It's interesting how they used that word specifically. It shows how Hiiro sees the orders of people he regards as higher and better than him as absolute. Unchanging. They are what they are and they couldn't be broken. Something that is already set in stone.

It mirrors how Hiiro sees Rinne's words as something "right" or "correct". With how Hiiro refers to it the whole time, it also pertains that it is the absolute, his absolute.

Another thing is how the card soldiers act, we have discussed on how they said their source of loyalty is that it's because they were born for it. That, that perfectly encompasses the reasons why Hiiro is like this. He was born, or he was made to believe that he was born to this world to serve his older brother.

I was born to offer myself up to him That’s what my life screams

But? What about the invaders?

I believe invader the rest of Alkaloid. (They are also the card soldiers, but we will talk about that in a sec)

Invaders in this narrative are described as being lost, however, they are aware of the "corruption" of the absolute which perfectly describes the role of Aira, Mayoi, and Tatsumi in Hiiro's life. Throughout main story 1, Alkaloid's interaction with Hiiro, especially when his brother is involved, is all about them questioning him blindly following the orders of his brother. There was even a time when they wonder what would Hiiro choose if Alkaloid and Rinne presented two contradicting "correct" answers. Also, their being underachievers, idols who aren't known and don't have a role in the industry, are quite literally cards that are unlabelled.

Speaking of unlabelled white cards, it actually takes me back to how Rinne disowned him in Mainstory 1 Chapter 5, taking away his card suit. For hours he felt lost, we come back to how card soldiers will be useless without their suits. This is where the rest of Alkaloid being the card soldiers come in.

Oh, resisting, wandering white—You have to choose In the fortress, you have entered One by one—A destined suit for each one

Alkaloid is the one who helped Hiiro redrew his card suits, not to let others draw them for him, but to let him choose the suit that's for him and not for anyone. They also let him realize something that's explained with this line:

By living a self-governed life There’s a significance you can never obtain

While this line could be taken as the soldiers having great bonds with the absolute, taking this line from the perspective of Alkaloid and Hiiro gives us this interpretation: self-governed/self-contained life means that you don't ask for others to help you. In the story related to this song, Playing Cards, the other main conflict Hiiro had is that he tried to hide Eichi's challenge for him from the other members of the Alkaloid. When he had the chance to say it, everyone lectured him that he shouldn't keep it to himself, especially if the whole group gets affected by it. He missed something when he tries to solve problems on his own and not asking anyone for help, especially those who are willing to help him, which is Alkaloid.

Another detail that describes Hiiro is this line:

My soul, invigorated by the cause that dyes it all It is inevitable that it is attracted to a brightly colored world

Remember when I said it doesn't describe the card soldier's loyalty? Because it actually describes Hiiro's change of mind when he met Alkaloid and when he finally heard what idols really meant to his brother. The ending of Mainstory 1 revolves around him finally understanding and loving idols as well. Let's go back to why it is this:

I believe what they are referring to the "the cause that dyes it all" is the reason why are they doing this. Since remember, "dyeing (the world red)" is the goal of the card soldiers. While red probably means death, especially in the context of soldiers, for Alkaloid, dyeing the world red means they are bringing happiness of Alkaloid to everyone, a color that represents them. This is backed up by how this is always accompanied by drawing card suits and painting out the white that is connected with purposes and destinies. They are giving everyone motivation, a purpose. And in order to do that, at least what could Hiiro do, is be an idol. It's further strengthened by the idea of "a brightly colored world" which is obviously a connotation for the idol industry.

That's all for Hiiro, now let's focus how this becomes the new song that represents Alkaloid.

The song that originally represents Alkaloid is Kiss of Life. From it's lyrics having their assigned card suits and describing them in it, reference on an Alkaloid being a compound, and from Tatsumi's words, "'Kiss of Life' holds the meaning of being brought back from the brink of death." that perfectly describes Alkaloid's situation. However, I think Vermillion brings a new perspective of Alkaloid, especially how the story panned out in this event.

The story of the event primarily evolves around Hiiro finally coming around and finally finding direction in his life. In parallel to this, Vermillion might have been the same for Alkaloid, as they finally embraced the theme they are enforced with and have it as their own. In this song, they proudly proclaim they are soldiers and they will keep believing in this. These are heavily supported by how there are lines in the song of them raising their flag and protecting their castle.

While it also describes Hiiro's struggles, like every Alkaloid song, it actually describes the other's struggles as well as I have pointed out above.

Adding the details such as VERMILLION being written originally like that, paralleling ALKALOID's usual typing, and their uniforms being like the beta uniforms, it feels like it was their original song. Every detail screams like them. It is wonderful as well how there's a wonderful science reference in this song, like how Alkaloid is a wonderful science reference all throughout.

As you would know, the color vermillion, is a pigment of red that came from the mineral cinnabar, which contains mercuric sulfide. [1] This substance when exposed to air for a long time, the red pigment will slowly turn black or darken. [2] Feeling a bit familiar?

The towering castle walls are our jet black pride

A theory that I am speculating is since the card soldiers are painting the world red and the castle in the Vermillion MV is red, it leads me to this conclusion: it mirrors how Alkaloid remains standing throughout struggles and hardships, for so long that their red walls turned to black, representing the long time they have endured protecting the castle, which is each other. Also, it is associated with pride also fits in with this conclusion.

In summary, this song has so much in it to pick apart. I am sorry that this is so long but I hope it's worth it! This song has a special place in my heart and how everything comes back to Hiiro, the center of this song. After all,

Under this “almighty” We are soldiers

[sugawarassoccerlover]

all of this!!! also if you’re one of those who believes he has OCD, also consider the existence of pocd. let’s let flawed, mentally ill characters exist without demonizing them, thnx <3

I saw a certain post on twitter that irritated me, so here's a rant

[lumi-istortured-byengstars]

why you must have faith in KoHii/HiiKoha

gonna go on a little ramble, my mind can't stop thinking about this duo specifically (all the time, but this time, i have the power to gush on people about it)

So a little bit of spoiler warning before you go on ahead :3

If you want to add more onto this, don't be shy, I'd love to discuss this with someone

This will be very long i think, so yeah.. ;3

Gonna put a basic symbol line-break everytime i change topics in this post so...

Table of contents on this post's analysis:

Amagi Hiiro

Oukawa Kohaku

In-context HiiKoha/KoHii

Shameless fic promotion

.............♤❀.............

Both of them are seen as pure and precious (by their closest family members, at the very least) who were born and raised in the most fucked up scenario

Hiiro was seen and raised as nothing but an aide (for his brother, the future monarch) in his hometown, so much so that he wasn't even taught common sense or self-worth. He was raised to specifically only act on instinct and to do as instructed, aka he wasn't treated humanly, which he thought was normal. It still shook me when Hiiro said something that basically implied "if I weren't apart of the Amagi family, I might have died when I was little" i forgot which episode it's in but i specifically remember Hiiro saying that fondly after Aira asking him how he can be this annoying without dropping dead (chapter 1).

Maybe that's why Mayoi specifically said something along the lines of "he has a scent similar to mine, how interesting" when alkaloid was made. They have that similarity in which the both of them were treated as less of a human, so they believed it. They just reacted and lower themselves differently. Mayoi trying to avoid people so they don't have to be burdened by him to the point of believing he's nothing but filth and Hiiro, who, as I said, thought it was normal and think of it as basic etiquette to be treated like a stepping stone. (I shall stop myself here before this post digresses to a HiiMayo post lol)

He was even taught on to be a shield for his brother and he definitely knows how to kill someone using his bare hands with that martial art he always trained for. His pure, innocent, and kind mind never saw any of those as wrong. He thought it was right since everyone (the adults specifically) around him acts like it's normal. To put it simply: he was brainwashed since he was little and he's trying his best to think for himself ever since he got out of his homwtown.

.............♤❀.............

The other one, Kohaku, grew up in a family branch specifically treated as a beating stick to the main family tree. A disposable bloody stick, tainting a glorious garden to be precise. A garden called the Suou family. Hell, he wasn't even supposed to be alive. His humanity was denied of him so much so that his family had to hid him for years to keep him alive. His only friend being his cousin Tsukasa and his SNS buddy "Love." He grew up fairly "normal", he worked his dream job for COS PRO, a rising idol agency and even have a place in the Reimei dormitory, a school affiliated to COS PRO.

Maybe he was trained to and have assassinated some people and know the most painful way to effectively torture someone. But he's still most definitely an adolescent. Yknow, the kind to have sweet tooth, getting scared of zombies, and being a sassy teen who roasts people without fail.

.............♤❀.............

These two barely have interactions which is so so painful because of how well their dynamic is between every rare interaction they have. And Kohaku's newest idol story with Hiiro have shed the brightest light of a possibility that they'll add on some more story with them <-me being hopeful.

Now i shall enlighten you with how these two see each other in the story.

Hiiro sees Kohaku as Aira's friend and his brother's unitmate. Despite being older than him, he always tries to be polite with him (as he does to almost everyone) and refers to him by his family name and even put an honorific on it (which would no doubt make him sound a little distant). They barely talked or interact with one another, but it was Hiiro's friendliness that made them to be good enough acquaintances. Being the low-SQ guy he is, of course he doesn't see that as awkward. He simply thought of Kohaku as a friend since he's also Aira's friend. (Please HappyEle i need more Hiiro's POV of their relationship :"v)

Kohaku is pretty much in a similar situation as Hiiro but he thought of it through more (as much as he could at least). He refers to Hiiro like how the rest of crazy: b call him: "Otouto-han" / "Rinne's little brother." He started calling him "Hiiro-Han" after a couple of meet-ups which I can only assume is a result of hearing Aira's stories about him and how he isn't used to be treated with the kind of respect Hiiro gives out to people (Hiiro keeps finding ways to feel inferior to people in a logical way that icks him but Kohaku can't really tell what it is that he feels bad about, do you understand what I'm saying).

To put it simply, he thought that Hiiro was the total opposite of Rinne: way too innocent and naive for his own good. He considered Hiiro as a simple acquaintance until he began to realise that Hiiro seems to be friendlier than other acquaintances he knew (dude the crumbs HappyEle give on Kohaku's POV makes me go insane)

This made Kohaku became more confused about their relationship status (lol) especially after the events in Matrix (will talk about soon) where Kohaku sees for the first time how the Amagi(s) aren't so different from one another in terms of their stubbornness. He saw with his own eyes how Hiiro would go all out to do what he believes to be right, so much so that it scares him how Hiiro can still look so innocent despite of his capabilities. That fear got him thinking "are we friends or not?" Because of how Hiiro seems to be even friendlier after that event. And eventually the two losers (affectionately) finally start to be actually friends and not a mere acquaintance.

(I need more of them please)

.............♤❀.............

P.s. if you haven't caught onto it yet, both of them are idiots (in their own way) and i believe they'll both be perfect for each other once the two actually opens up about how fucked up their upbringing is.

Can you just imagine how Hiiro would casually talk about what happened to him in his childhood and Kohaku just looked at him with mixed feelings between pity and judgement and surprise? I can and shall use it to the best of my ability :3

Coming soon to AO3 (as soon as my account got approved) it'll focus more on the slices of life for these two + aira because aihiiko is perfection. I shall anounce and post the fic there as immediately as I can. If you're interested, I'm planning to name it as "Estranged Youths" so.. :3