#or sometimes with chihaya

[lesbian-kyoru]

arata is super interesting because at first he has shifts in disposition that feel almost inconsistent—he can be super sweet and earnest, cold and withdrawn, fiery and competitive, lots of juxtaposed traits etc etc—but all these facets of his personality simply stem from the traumas and experiences he’s been through 1) before the start of chihayafuru and 2) during the story. 

in his first appearance, arata is already established as shy and guarded around new people, which is only reinforced by being bullied by his classmates at his new school. not only has he internalized that karuta is the one thing he is good at in life, and it’s the only thing where his dream (and NEED) is to be the best—but besides the obvious connection to his grandfather’s expectations, a subset of this is that his grandfather tells him that he can make friends playing karuta. unfortunately, as soon as arata moves he’s bullied for literally everything, and excelling at karuta only further alienates him from his peers.

this pattern continues throughout his adolescence, even after he’s made a life long connection with chihaya and taichi: karuta alienating him from others when it was supposed to bring him friendship and connection. along with the trauma of watching his grandpa die (+ arguably blaming himself for his death) and the following grief, it’s honestly not surprising that arata becomes isolated, emotionally closed-off, and at times cold or insensitive. those experiences would harden anyone, especially a sixteen-year-old. he was treated like an outcast as a child, lost touch with his friends due to distance, and struggled to find community within his passion that’s often incredibly lonely. all of these factors make arata emotionally guarded. he’s quick and impulsive to lash out because he doesn’t feel safe and comfortable until he trusts people. 

even though arata is so kind at heart and really earnest with people he knows well (i.e. chihaya and taichi), just like many characters his experiences and subsequent insecurities/fears haven’t left him unaffected—and i love that we see that thread of his development come up so early on.

[ask-howuuya]

I love seeing selfshippers, it brings me so much joy (I tend to enjoy looking at selfshipper art more than actual bsd ship art LMAO)

Anyways sorry for yappin’

If you wanna, have you ever drew Chuuya and Howett in pajamas? I’m curious on what they wear when they go sleep together (･ᴗ･)

P.S— I REALLY love your art <3

Thank you Thank You THANK YOUUU <3 I’m so so happy that my selfship has supporters like you :) Ahhh I’m so happy

Anyways here’s them in their jammies :D

Howett usually sleeps in big silly PJs and Chuuya sleeps in the nude hehe

[belindarimbi13]

I love when mikawa-sensei placed todo and chihaya next to each other like this. It's like they're an item.

they also shared the same braincell

[mysticalflyte]

Snowy memories ❄️

Instagram | Twitter

[dreamspring]

why do ppl feel the need to diminish arata as a character just bc taichi is their fave?? like they’re both great and wonderful and worthy of love. stop pitting two bad bitches against each other

[the-red-thread-that-strangles]

We've been robbed of Hagiwara and Camel as street racer buddies

[yatagarasuhonyaku]

The Ravens' Hundred Flowers: Chapter of the White Lilies

①かれのおとない ー His Visits

Timeline: After Ravens of Prosperity

Characters (in order of relevance): Yukiya, Shigemaru, Akeru, Ichiryuu, Nazukihiko

Synopsis: For Miyoshi, Shigemaru's little sister, Yukiya's unexpected arrival to the family house brings back memories: both of his many past visits and of the events that just unfolded.

②ふゆのことら ー Winter's Young Tiger

Timeline: At the start of The Raven Doesn't Choose its Master

Characters (in order of relevance): Ichiryuu, Yukiya, Yukima

Synopsis: Ichiryuu, the third son of the Shimaki Township Lord, wastes his days away picking fights and fooling around, unable to decide on the future, until a certain fateful encounter...

③ちはやのだんまり ー Chihaya's Silence

Timeline: After On Ever Smiling

Characters (in order of relevance): Akeru, Yui, Chihaya, Masuho no Susuki

Synopsis: Masuho no Susuki has a message for Chihaya about a very important matter. It's on Akeru to ensure it all doesn't turn into a disaster.

④��きのあやぎぬ ー Autumn's Twilled Silk

Timeline: Shortly before Clothes Don't Suit Ravens

Characters (in order of relevance): None

Synopsis: As widow Tamaki struggles with her late husband's massive debts, she receives an offer to clean them up by becoming the 18th wife of Akihiko, Masuho no Susuki's older brother and the heir to the Western House.

⑤おにびさく ー Fatuous Fire Crafts

Timeline: Sometime before Clothes Don't Suit Ravens

Characters (in order of relevance): Oomurasaki no Omae

Synopsis: Tokiji, an artisan from the Western Region struggling to find success after his father's death, is between those tasked by Oomurasaki no Omae with making a potential present for Fujinami no Miya.

⑥なつのゆうばえ ー Summer's Sunset Glow

Timeline: From Oomurasaki's childhood to the actual novels.

Characters (in order of relevance): Oomurasaki no Omae, Tooru (Southern Lord), Natsumihiko (Acting Golden Raven)

Synopsis: To be a princess of the Southern House is to give up your freedom in pursuit of the family's goals... or never wake up again. A battle for survival and power.

⑦はるのとこやみ ー Spring's Everlasting Darkness

Timeline: Before the previous Rite of Ascension

Characters (in order of relevance): Ukigumo, Haruhito (Eastern Lord)

Synopsis: Rin and Rei are twin brothers, both with characteristic light brown hair. As aspiring court musicians, both are working under the Eastern Lord when the party to select the princess that will be sent to the next Rite of Ascension takes place...

⑧きんかんをにる ー Of Making Kumquat

Timeline: Years after Ravens of Prosperity

Characters (in order of relevance): Shion, Nazukihiko, Hamayuu, Yukiya

Synopsis: As life in Yamauchi goes on, the dangers of Court remain a constant reality.

[beezonia]

Brains been thinking of confidants

——

So we’ve got the thieves but now I’m thinking of how to designate the other arcana for the rest of the cast

——-

Isshiki Wakaba - Devil - The mischievous owner of the Internet cafe 8Bit, she tells Goro a lot about her youth and how she used to be quite the misfit (she was in a rock band, played drums) also tells him really bad jokes

Wakaba will sometimes talk about her former job and how it effected her, especially when she found out she was pregnant with futaba

Her confidant allows Goro to take more risks in battle each rank he gets more guts to pull of more then one attack

Sakura Sojiro - Hanged Man - Sojiro owns a small bar in Yongen-Jaya which is home to some shady characters (it’s a back alley bar what would you expect)

His Confidant is him talking a lot about his journey and the crowds he got into when he was younger, he’s a lot more blunt and rough around the edges now those experiences shaped him into a bit of a hard boiled guy

But he talks about how Wakaba inspired him to change and open up his own spot also talks about how he fell in love with her

Sells Goro weapons (usually on a Tuesday/Thursday) in the back of the bar

I’m not entirely sure what his confidant would give Goro maybe some sort of defence buff?

Kawakami Sadayo - Fortune - Goro’s teacher, has a bit of a fortune telling gig on the side of her teaching (yeah cause I’m not doing the maid shit here)

More upbeat then her cannon counterpart Sadayo works hard to keep her students engaged and feeling good in her lessons which does bring her spirits up

however she’s still the tired teacher deep down inside since her part time job does fuck her over a bit with all the crappy costumers she gets

If Goro goes to get a telling from her depending on what she says it either effects buffs positively or negatively in the metaverse

Takemi Tae - Tower - Still a doctor just not a back alley one, has a small clinic that goro and takuto frequent (takuto to talk about therapy and goro for any phantom thief stuff)

Raging lesbian

I’m not entirely sure what I want to do with her confidant tbh

——-

That’s all I’ve got so far! Probably need to figure out what I want to do with Iwai, Chihaya, Ohya and Toranosuke now

@39tn39

[dustedbooksandreadingnooks]

Match Your Mount Day 3 of Glamtober

Sometimes, Keathan meets a being and feels a kinship with them. For a moment they remember that they, too, are powerful. And ancient.

Shader is Nightingale Dusk Glam items under the cut

Keathan, Pictomancer:

Hair- Chihaya- SN Head- Vanguard Mask of Casting (Ruby Red, Snow White) Body- Red Lady's Yukata Hands- Claws of the Beast (Ruby Red) Leg- Evenstar Tights (Pearl White) Feet- Yakaku Geta (Ruby Red, Pearl White) Earring- Red Carnation Earring Neck- Cait Sith Neck Ribbon R Ring- Ultima Band of Healing L Ring- Ishgardian Knight's ring Main Hand- Augmented Hellhound Round Brush (Pure White) Edit: I know this is not the size of the real mount but i liked the big size and there were so many bones I did not want to make her smaller xD Getting this mount was fun I use it a lot!

[p5x-theories]

P5X Second Arc Summary

(last updated 5/17/24)

With the confirmation that this is the actual release of the game, I realized it makes way more sense to break these posts up by story arc, heh!

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

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

This post (and its reblogs) will cover the Miyazawa Arc. Several scenes in this arc have been distinctly changed since the beta tests!

Picking up where the first arc left off, Wonder, Motoha, and Ruferu take the train to Shinjuku.

Motoha looks at Kiuchi's Treasure, and mutters to herself about how this is just a regular rubber ball, like anyone has. Does that mean they could develop Palaces like Kiuchi if they made the wrong choice?

Ruferu reassures her that it's not impossible, but they've already awakened Personas, meaning they faced the embodiment of their desires, their own Shadows, already. They also changed Kiuchi's heart for the sake of others, not their own selfish gain, helping to protect others' dreams and hopes. He firmly believes their desires won't get out of control... well, probably not.

This flusters Motoha a little.

Ruferu continues that they were even able to influence Kiuchi a bit more than he expected, because they were able to convince Kiuchi to keep living even after stealing his Treasure, even when Ruferu thought there's no reason to be kind to someone like Kiuchi.

Motoha explains she thinks that everyone makes mistakes sometimes, even Kiuchi, and even herself. She believes that Kiuchi was really the one who'd given up on his desires. She then credits this realization to Wonder, who reacts with confusion, and she says he's the one who helped her and Tomoko cheer up.

On the topic of Tomoko, Ruferu asks if she's going to tell Tomoko about the news, and Motoha expresses excitement to tell her that the criminal was arrested when she visits the hospital tomorrow.

She then asks Ruferu if any of his memory came back when he touched the Treasure, which he confirms, although it was just a fragment. That's the information he wanted to share with them later (and he clarifies he didn't want to say it in the moment because he didn't want to ruin the mood right after they'd won). He says there are six more Treasures out there, making seven total. Motoha, surprised, asks if that means there are six more bad guys like Kiuchi that the police can't catch, which Ruferu also confirms.

Their train arrives in Shinjuku, cutting the conversation short.

When they reach Shinjuku, Motoha says they should continue their conversation at the restaurant, and it’ll be her treat since they helped Tomoko. Ruferu asks for the egg topping.

As they continue on to the restaurant, however, Chihaya Mifune calls them over, and warns them that a disaster awaits them if they continue with their plans.

Motoha kind of brushes her off awkwardly, saying she’s hungry and they’re in a hurry. They proceed on to the restaurant, Ashouken. Motoha explains the main store is a popular Chinese restaurant, while Ashouken is a branch of it specializing in ramen. Ashouken's reputation went down for a bit, but she's heard the taste improved after it was renovated.

Inside, they order food (both Motoha and Wonder order shoyu, with eggs and chashu pork on the side for Ruferu) then get back to the more serious conversation- Ruferu admits that he did only tell them about Kiuchi’s Palace, so it’s up to them if they want to continue working with him for the other Palaces. He doesn't want to force them and ignore their own desires. Wonder recalls Igor's advice from before about preventing ruin, honing his own desires, and connecting with others.

Motoha seems to need to think about it, and suggests they eat first as their food arrives. They start to eat, though Motoha notices something different about the ramen- the flavor's different than she remembers, and the soup base is lighter- which catches the attention of the Kokatsu student sitting at the table next to theirs. She brushes it off, saying maybe she just remembered it better than it was, and the Kokatsu student goes back to eating.

Ruferu asks if he can have some of his food, since he can't get to it himself. Motoha's briefly concerned whether owls can eat eggs, but Ruferu stresses that his form is just for stealth, and he doesn't have any dietary restrictions from it. He says the eggs will be his appetizer, and the meat is the main course. Motoha tries to give him an egg, but it slips, hits Ruferu’s face, and falls into Wonder’s ramen, splashing him with the hot broth. (Link to a frame by frame post)

Wonder recovers pretty easily, and Motoha apologizes and asks if they’re okay. Ruferu realizes this may have been the disaster they were warned about.

The Kokatsu student at the table next to theirs, who Wonder previously has seen on the school roof, tries his ramen, before muttering "… wrong". He gets up, and addresses the chef behind the counter as "Masa-san", asking if it's really okay to do this.

Masa only replies "Shun...", catching Motoha's attention. Shun insists that he can't taste the soup base flavor that the boss was so particular about at all, and at this rate...

Masa says it hurts him, too, in a defeated tone. Shun apologizes, bows, and leaves.

Motoha recognizes the student as Shun Kanou-kun from Tomoko’s class, Class D. As she and Wonder start to eat again, someone walks into the restaurant accompanied by a cameraman, and greets Masa. Masa apologizes to him, saying the store's still open, which irks the man, asking if he's going to make him wait, in a threatening tone.

Masa apologizes profusely to the customers, saying Ashouken is now closed. He and the other employees bow. When people start to complain, he says they’ll refund them for the food.

Wonder, Motoha, and Ruferu exit the restaurant, and overhear some of the other customers as they also leave. One comments that while he didn't get to finish his food, the flavor's definitely a restaurant worthy of Miyazawa's perfect rating. When the other seems less sure whether the food was all that good, the first one insists it is, because Hiromu Miyazawa said so.

This makes Motoha realize that the man that walked in was Hiromu Miyazawa, a famous food reviewer that she's seen on TV who has the nickname "the Flavor Swordsman". Still, she thinks the original Ashouken was better...

Shun says he agrees, and approaches them. They exchange introductions, and Shun correctly identifies that if they're in Class C, they're in Katayama's class. Motoha asks if he knows the owner of Ashouken, and Shun brushes off the question, and asks what they thought of Ashouken's ramen instead.

Motoha thinks for a moment and says it was “average, I guess.” Shun, seeming troubled, says that's indeed the case, then apologizes for asking a weird question, and leaves.

Motoha's confused, but then realizes she's still hungry, thinks back on everything that just happened, and apologizes for picking this restaurant, realizing the fortune teller was right about the disaster. She suggests they just go home, since at least they'll be able to eat there. Ruferu agrees, but insists that Wonder stop by the supermarket to get some meat first.

Before she leaves, Motoha asks if it’s only terrible people that have Palaces. Ruferu confirms this. She then asks if they’ll all have changes of heart if their Treasures are stolen, which Ruferu also confirms. Motoha apologizes that she said she'd leave but then asked more questions, and says she’ll see them tomorrow.

Ruferu asks if it's okay if he stays with Wonder at least one more night, whether he chooses to continue being a phantom thief or not, to which Wonder agrees. As they leave, the Cyler Eats person from the train bikes past them, but doesn't visibly react to Wonder in any way.

Once Wonder and Ruferu make it back home, Motoha calls them, and says Kiuchi’s on TV. Wonder and Ruferu rush inside to turn on the TV, where sure enough, the news is talking about how Kiuchi turned himself in.

Still on the phone, Motoha murmurs that it’s just like Ruferu said would happen- he had a change of heart. An interview with another woman that was a victim of his plays, and Motoha comments that she doesn’t know her, but she’s happy. As phantom thieves, they can help people. Wonder nods.

The news also reports that letters addressed to Kiuchi signed by the "Phantom Thieves" were found around Shibuya station- Motoha realizes he's talking about the calling cards- and witnesses reported a wild bird was the one distributing these letters. However, the police believe there's no connection between the two, and it was a coincidence.

Ruferu mutters he wasn't cautious enough if he was seen, and they'll have to be more careful next time- or, no, he's not sure if they'll be with him next time. Motoha asks Ruferu if they'll be able to help more people as phantom thieves, and Wonder holds his phone up for Ruferu. He replies that if they continue, they'll be able to steal back more people's desires, and make the phantoms more nervous to act.

Motoha then asks what Wonder thinks- can they be phantom thieves? Wonder agrees, and Motoha says she thinks it'd be pretty cool to be normal students by day, then phantom thieves by night.

She loudly, enthusiastically asks Ruferu to let them continue working with him as phantom thieves, then apologizes for saying that so loudly into the phone, bids them goodnight, and hangs up. Ruferu complains that if they were in the Metaverse, an enemy would have found them, but then a bit more fondly adds that sometimes humans choose the difficult path. He says he looks forward to working with Wonder in the future, and his Confidant ranks up.

Back at Ashouken, we see Miyazawa giving a glowing review of Ashouken's ramen to the camera, describing it as the true taste of Ashouken.

He reminds the audience that this taste was almost lost forever, as the shop's previous owner fell ill, and the quality of the food dropped, leading to Miyazawa having to give it a bad review, as he didn't want to see the flavor lost. Because of this, some people called him a phantom! But he didn't care if it meant he could help protect the true taste. He worked with the other employees to bring the true flavor back, and improve it, even!

Miyazawa seems to get emotional, and thanks the audience for watching this episode of his show. Signing off, he swipes his pen through the air like a sword, and says "Cut off the banal evil of taste with a pen that is stronger than a sword... The flavor swordsman Hiromu Miyazawa reports for you. Good night, everyone!"

As soon as the camera cuts, Miyazawa gets up and stretches, losing the more emotive demeanor he had during the recording, saying it's tiring acting that stupid, and more flatly asking his agent about their plan for tomorrow. The agent confirms it'll be a restaurant in Zoshigaya called Toraiken, which Miyazawa recognizes as the restaurant that Ashouken branched off from. He says it doesn't matter how the food there tastes, he's already planning to "kill" it.

Masa, standing nearby, reacts to this with alarm.

Miyazawa turns toward Masa and grins, saying he'll probably get called a phantom again, and it's so hard for someone like him with a vicious tongue. Miyazawa then asks for him to show his thanks for the review.

Masa sighs, and presents an envelope for Miyazawa, who gleefully takes it, saying they'll protect Ashouken together.

Masa pleads Miyazawa to stop doing this, it's deceiving the customers. Miyazawa replies that he's the one who helped give them dried bonito for the ramen, bringing Ashouken publicity, customers, and praise. Masa protests the method for the bonito, saying you can only get the boss' flavor by using another method, but Miyazawa dismisses him, calling it outdated, and says the cheap bonito he bought is fine.

Miyazawa threatens to "kill" Ashouken again, and Masa reluctantly backs down. Miyazawa then asks if Masa fired the brat that threw water at him, because Miyazawa just saw the kid walking out of the store when he came in earlier. Masa says he's still allowed to come as a customer, and Miyazawa is displeased, reminding Masa that he still has final say in what happens with Ashouken.

The next morning, Wonder receives some more texts from his mother, asking if it's morning there, then if everything's okay, then if phantoms are still causing a commotion, then reminding him to eat well. Once again, Wonder encounters Kayo on his way to school. She asks about his health, and mentions her Darling hates being sick.

Wonder thinks about how he has to get to school and bows, evidently trying to get out of the conversation politely, but Kayo mentions a clinic in Yongen-Jaya run by a Dr. Takemi. From the bag, Ruferu whispers that medicine might be useful for fighting shadows.

Kayo says he should have medicine, with those phantoms around, but then wonders if medicine even works on phantoms, and laughs, admitting she doesn’t know much about them. As she walks away, she passes a restaurant, and complains that it's closed today, saying she wanted to take Darling there for dinner tonight.

On the train, people gossip about how Kiuchi turned himself in, the fact that he's a phantom, and the calling cards that were scattered around the Shibuya train station.

As Wonder walks to school from the Shimokitazawa station, Motoha calls out good morning to him and Ruferu, and the three walk together. She reiterates that she wants to keep working with them, and when Ruferu calls her another business partner, she says that's too formal, especially given Wonder and Ruferu live together, and they're all just partners. She adds that her parents would never let her have a pet owl.

Ruferu agrees that his "solemn posture" is too bright and eye-catching for an ordinary family, which reminds Motoha that she wanted to ask him to stop using such difficult words while he talks. It seems like he's trying to be cool, but it's not working. Ruferu is immediately flustered, saying he's not trying to be cool, and when he touched the Treasure before, he remembered he's known humans for a long time, and was influenced by them in the past.

Motoha laughs this off, saying he can say whatever he wants since they're friends. She declares the three of them are a phantom thieves group (this is the same term that’s just translated as The Phantom Thieves in P5’s English translation) from this point on. She then remembers with alarm that today is her duty day, and first period is PE, and says goodbye, running ahead. Ruferu comments, exasperated, that she’s a noisy phantom thief.

Shun sees them walking ahead of him, and mutters something about the two of them walking together.

Meanwhile, at what appears to be the back area of the TV station, Miyazawa's agent congratulates Miyazawa on his latest review, saying he was so intense the part-time workers ran away. As expected someone worthy of being an officially recognized phantom! Miyazawa complains that that makes him sound like a villain, but he just needs to figure out how to use that influence.

He says the restaurant he "killed" today was Toraiken, and all he needed to do was give a few fake bad reviews for people to stop patronizing the store, revealing his bigger plan is to force the boss to give him ownership of Ashouken so he can turn it into a chain.

The agent questions whether lying so much is really okay, and Miyazawa turns cold, asking him what's really true. Nowadays, people don't care about the truth, they just care about the trends. And Miyazawa told them it's genuine. He then threatens to have the agent replaced, and the agent apologizes, then leaves as Miyazawa receives a call and waves him off.

Miyazawa's speaking tone switches to something soft and placating, almost ingratiating, as he answers the phone. He confirms he saw the news, and that the person on the news was an "alternative "officially recognized" candidate, right?" It's such a shame. He talks about filling the vacancy, and promises to think about candidates.

After hanging up, his tone returns to normal, and he mutters it's not easy to deal with a topical candidate like the "Collision Man".

In their PE class at school, girls fight over who gets to have Motoha on their volleyball team, while the boys are told to pair up for stretches. Shun catches Wonder's attention, and tells him to sit, suggesting they pair up without really giving Wonder a say.

As Shun helps Wonder stretch, he asks him about Motoha. He asks what their relationship is, and Wonder can reply "friends" or "partners". Wonder can then ask if he cares or if he likes Motoha, which either way causes Shun to insist that's not the case, and push Wonder way too far forward.

He says she noticed that Ashouken's flavor changed, then clarifies he used to work there, and it's amazing that she was able to notice where most people just say it's delicious. He says he can't speak very well, but when he sees her, he feels that she's completely different from him.

After a moment, he finally realizes what he did to Wonder, and apologizes, leaning back again. He stands up, and mutters that whenever someone has something to do with him it ends badly, and walks off.

While Wonder’s gone, Ruferu and Motoha seem to have been talking back in the classroom. Two students nearby gossip about Magatsushin updating to mention Miyazawa giving bad reviews again, and saying he's closed down a lot of restaurants. Wonder slides the classroom door open, visibly exhausted.

He returns slowly to his seat, sitting a bit hunched over like he’s sore and/or tired. Motoha asks what Wonder and Shun talked about in PE, where the player has the option of responding "He said Motoha knows the flavor well" or "He said he used to work at Ashouken". When the former is picked, she realizes he's talking about Ashouken's flavor, and says Shun must like ramen. Wonder then explains the rest, and she reacts, "He worked at Ashouken? He really likes ramen..."

Ruferu switches the conversation to a more important topic- he and Motoha were talking about their next job. They’ll have to look for the next Palace, and also visit the doctor that Kayo mentioned. The bell rings, and Motoha awkwardly asks Wonder if he's going to go change out of his PE clothes before class, which he sheepishly does.

After class, Wonder and Ruferu plan to visit Takemi's clinic, while Motoha says she wants to visit Tomoko and tell her about Kiuchi. Just then, she gets a text from Tomoko, apparently saying she's being discharged from the hospital today. Ruferu encourages her to go visit Tomoko, following her own desire, while they check out the clinic. Motoha thanks him, immensely relived Tomoko cared enough again to message her, and sends Wonder the directions to Takemi’s clinic that she apparently looked up. She leaves, and Wonder and Ruferu head back to Yongen-Jaya.

At the clinic, Takemi notes Wonder is new here, and asks what problem brought him here. Presumably whichever is picked from the dialogue options, she invites him back to the exam room.

She says it's probably an issue of too much pressure, and suggests prescribing sleeping pills. Wonder asks for something stronger. Takemi is unsurprised that's what he's really here for, mentioning the rumors about her. She agrees to prescribe him more medicine, but only things that will restore physical condition. Takemi's shop is unlocked.

After leaving Takemi’s clinic, Motoha texts Wonder, checking in after taking Tomoko home. Wonder tells her they finished at the clinic, and she says she's ready to start looking for the next Palace any time.

Ruferu asks to talk to Wonder for a moment. He mentions that that fortune teller’s prediction of a disaster at the restaurant was true, and suggests she might be another valuable service to look into when they get a chance (unlocking the side quest to go back to her, which unlocks her fortune-telling ability).

Later, in Mementos, Closer asks how they find the next Palace, and Cattle says he was able to listen to the inner voices of humans to find it. He says it's difficult to hear the voices of the next path from here, and clarifies that Mementos is made up of several areas. Closer guesses that means the other Palaces are on other paths of Mementos, which Cattle confirms. He leads them to the door at the end of the first path.

He touches it, and it opens, the MetaNav informing them a new area has opened up. Closer and Wonder check their phones, and sure enough, a new area has appeared on the MetaNav. Cattle explains that people with "excessive desires" are considered troublesome and excluded from the group, and they now have excessive desires because they have Kiuchi's Treasure. Closer wonders if this means the door is opening less to welcome them, and more because it's sort of passively kicking them out of the current area.

Once they’re in the new area, Cattle says he's sure the next Palace is here, but he can't locate it yet. He explains that it's because he understood Kiuchi's actions in the real world, and they were very straightforward, but they don't know much about the next Palace ruler yet, and Closer guesses their actions are less publicly obvious, which Cattle thinks is likely. Cattle suggests they leave for now, and try to get some more information in the real world.

When they return to the real world, Motoha exclaims that being in the Metaverse always makes her hungry, and they should have another celebratory meal at Ashouken. When Wonder asks her why, since she didn't really like it last time, Motoha says maybe one of their other kinds of ramen will be better. Shun, walking by at the moment, warns her not to bother, it's all the same.

Motoha asks him about working at Ashouken, and the flavor change. Shun explains that the current Ashouken has given up its dedication to flavor, though it's not the fault of the employees. Motoha laments that means she'll never get to have the delicious ramen from the past again, and Shun reacts, walking over to them. With a smile, he asks if she really wants to have Ashouken's original ramen again.

Confused, she says yes, and Shun invites both of them to come to Toraiken in Zoshigaya tonight. He then walks off, and Motoha excitedly says she's looking forward to having that ramen again. Ruferu wonders something about Shun, but brushes it off, and says that while he can't eat with them tonight, they better not forget his chashu pork.

That evening, Wonder and Ruferu meet up with Motoha in front of Toraiken, but Motoha starts to wonder aloud if maybe they have the wrong place, as Shun still isn’t here, the restaurant has a sign saying it's temporarily closed, and it has bad reviews. She thinks she's heard the name "Toraiken" before, but can't remember where...

To her surprise, though, Shun then opens the door and invites them in, saying he knows the owner.

Once they start eating, Motoha exclaims in amazement that the food is delicious.

This pleases Shun, who says that their smiles make all the effort he put into making the soup base worth it. Motoha, shocked, asked if he's the one who made this, rather than an employee. Shun says he's still just an apprentice. Motoha replies that's amazing, and it tastes just like Ashouken used to! But... why does Toraiken have Ashouken's ramen?

Shun explains that Ashouken branched off from Toraiken, and even thought it's a Chinese restaurant, the ramen's very popular, and some people actually come here to study. Toraiken's owner liked the idea of helping young people learn, so he opened Ashouken. Shun's also very fond of the ramen here.

As he talks, a man comes down the stairs in the back, and over to their table. He asks Shun to stop saying such "embarrassing things", and Shun reacts with surprise, referring to him as "Yamagoshi-oyassan".

Yamagoshi apologizes for the poor reception he gave Wonder and Motoha, and welcomes them to the store. Shun stands up and helps stabilize Yamagoshi, asking if he's alright, and suggesting he rest more. He says he's feeling better, and it's so rare for Shun to bring friends over for him to say hello.

He then clumsily asks something about mobile phone friends, to Motoha's bewilderment, and Shun asks him what he's saying. He laughs, and says this is how young people exchange contact information now, isn't it? Shun tells him no one would ask that now.

Yamagoshi turns back to Motoha and Wonder, and says Shun's a good kid, but he's bad at communication, so they should contact him if they ever have any questions. He pulls his own cellphone out, and shakes it, to Shun's embarrassment, but Motoha laughs, and says she will. Wonder does as well.

He then asks if they liked the food, and Motoha answers very positively, to Yamagoshi's delight. He congratulations Shun, although Shun doesn't really accept the praise. Yamagoshi can identify just from the smell of the food that Shun still hasn't quite perfected his skills, and Shun agrees.

Yamagoshi starts to say something else, but is overcome with a coughing fit. Shun insists he should go back and rest, but Yamagoshi explains Miyazawa came by earlier and scared off all the part-time workers, to Shun's anger. Toraiken will have to stay closed, because there's no one to run it.

Yamagoshi leaves the room (presumably with Shun's help, though it cuts to black for a moment). Shun thanks Wonder and Motoha for coming by, saying he'll close up shop here and then help Yamagoshi get home, and Motoha thanks him as well for the food.

Outside of Toraiken, Motoha worries about Yamagoshi, then wonders what their history with Miyazawa was. Ruferu pipes up, finally popping out of Wonder's bag (Motoha congratulates him on staying so quiet in there the whole time), and says there's the residual smell of stolen desires here. Motoha asks what the connection between the next Palace and Toraiken is, and then Masa walks up to them.

Motoha recognizes him as the person running things at Ashouken, which prompts Masa to recognize them as customers from the other day, which he apologizes for again. He expresses frustration at Miyazawa.

Ruferu, hidden in Wonder's bag, suggests that they try asking Masa about Miyazawa, since he seems to know him and shows signs of his desire being stolen.

Masa recognizes their uniforms, and says they used to have students from Kokatsu working at Ashouken. Motoha takes this chance to ask him about Shun, saying they're his friends.

Masa explains that Toraiken is his master's shop, and Masa got worried after hearing about Miyazawa's terrible review earlier today, so he came to check on it. Miyazawa puts on a show with his excessive reviews, and will review even good restaurants negatively for the sake of trying to take ownership from them after tanking their popularity. No one can do anything about it because they won't believe it, and even if they do, he's an officially recognized phantom. He also has extensive connections in the catering and entertainment industries to back him up. The only way to stop the bad reviews is to give him what he wants.

He also says Shun apparently thinks it's his own fault that Miyazawa's going after Ashouken, after an incident while he was still working there. When Miyazawa came in and started making fun of their soup stock, Shun got mad and threw water from a glass at him. After that, the bad reviews started. But none of the staff blame him, as he just did what they couldn't.

Motoha suggests he talk to Shun himself, as Shun's still in Toraiken behind them, but Masa says he doesn't want to remind Shun of everything, and heads home instead.

Ruferu says everyone they've talked to related to these stores has had their desires stolen- Yamagoshi, Masa, and Shun- so it's extremely likely the Palace ruler they're looking for is related to all this, too. He suggests they investigate more tomorrow.

The next morning at the train station, Wonder sees Tomoko, who greets him.

She says she was cleared to return to school today, although she suspects everyone there is gossiping about her being targeted by the Collision Man.

She also says that baseball was the only thing she's good at, so she's not sure what to do now, and even briefly lost the strength to live, but Motoha's been encouraging her this whole time, and she heard a lot about Wonder from her, too. When she heard Kiuchi was arrested, she felt "a "power" welling up from the bottom of [her] heart, as if saying "I want to live"", and then laughs, thinking she's a simple person for Kiuchi's arrest to be enough to lift her spirits again.

Ruferu comments the change of heart helped, but it was particularly opening up the new area of Mementos that had this effect on her.

Tomoko admits she was still a little scared coming to the station, and says she's glad Wonder's here. Their train arrives.

After school, Motoha says they should go to Mementos and look for the Palace, but Ruferu thinks they should visit Toraiken again first, since they know it's related to the Palace. When they get there, Ruferu smells desires being stolen inside, and suggests they learn from their mistakes with Kiuchi, and act now.

Inside, Miyazawa is trying to convince Yamagoshi to give up Ashouken to him, though Yamagoshi keeps turning him down. When Wonder and Motoha walk in, Yamagoshi recognizes them, while Miyazawa dismisses them with "The adults are talking".

He tries to get his agent to escort them out, but Yamagoshi denies him this as well, saying the kids are his important guests.

Miyazawa warns that Yamagoshi that he's sick, and his restaurant is going to shut down. He's already discussed this with Masa, so Yamagoshi should just stamp the papers to transfer ownership to him with his seal.

Yamagoshi gets increasingly worked up in his refusal, and his illness gets the better of him for a moment. Miyazawa grins, and says he shouldn't force himself like this. This store holds memories of him and his late wife- wouldn't it be better to give it to Miyazawa than see it close down? Miyazawa believes in the authentic flavor of the restaurants, and he doesn't want to see it lost.

This time, as Yamagoshi tries to verbally fight back, his illness causes him to collapse (dropping his seal in the process), and Wonder and Motoha immediately move to help him. Miyazawa lightly suggests the "little girl" call an ambulance.

Motoha, angry, tells him he doesn't need to tell her that, and exits Toraiken to make the call. While she's gone and Wonder is occupied with Yamagoshi, Miyazawa picks up the dropped seal, and uses it to stamp the papers.

Miyazawa declares the contract settled, much to Wonder's shock. Miyazawa says his eyesight isn't very good- didn't he see that Yamagoshi stamped it himself?

At that moment, Shun comes in, and sees the scene in the restaurant. Furious, he grabs Miyazawa by the collar and demands to know what he did.

Miyazawa asks if he's going to use violence again, and his agent takes out a phone to record.

Yamagoshi weakly tells Shun to stop, and Shun immediately lets go of Miyazawa and helps Yamagoshi up with Wonder.

Miyazawa asks his agent if he got that, and after he nods, immediately threatens to ruin Shun's future with the video. He advises Yamagoshi to stay calm, for both his and Shun's sakes.

This only makes Shun angrier, but Yamagoshi urges him not to let himself get provoked and play right into Miyazawa's hands. Shun apologizes, and says he's always dragging others down with his actions.

Yamagoshi reassures Shun that he likes seeing his energy, and how he's honest, straightforward, and informal, but cares deeply about cooking. He reminds him that making guests smile is the "pride" of cooks. As he's talking, he starts coughing again, to Shun's dismay.

Miyazawa comments that this is like an episode of a soap opera, but he hates it, because it makes him look like a villain. This prompts even Wonder to get mad at him (both response options seem to be angry), but he mockingly asks if all young people act like this these days. They look more like the phantom than him.

He then says he'll give Shun a chance, and challenge him to a Flavor Fight. When Shun doesn't know what this is, Miyazawa seems mildly offended, asking, "Haven't you seen it on my channel?". All Shun has to do is make a dish that can satisfy Miyazawa, and he'll win, and Miyazawa won't cause trouble for Ashouken or Toraiken anymore. But, if he's not confident, then forget it.

Wonder tries to warn Shun this is a trap, but Miyazawa says he's being too suspicious, and Miyazawa's lost a Flavor Fight several times, so there's a chance Shun could win. Shun accepts, and Miyazawa gleefully tells him that the time and place will be announced later on his website.

Motoha runs back in, and announces the ambulance is here. Miyazawa casually takes his leave. Down the street, his agent asks why he's bothering with a Flavor Fight when he already has the restaurant.

Miyazawa explains that Shun is always frustrating him and getting in his way, talking about "genuine flavor", so he wants to return the favor. And, if he can control how the story is told on the internet afterward, he might be able to solve the problem of "filling the vacancy". His agent asks what that means, and Miyazawa says it's not his problem, he should just focus on preparing for the video.

Back in Toraiken, Shun tells Wonder and Motoha that the ambulance took Yamagoshi, and his neighbor went along with it. Motoha says his breathing stabilized, so he should be fine, and then asks Shun about the Flavor Fight.

She says she's seen an episode of it, with another chef that had a problem with Miyazawa. When he lost, his reviews got even worse, and everyone was on Miyazawa's side. And it's not broadcast on TV, just Miyazawa's personal channel, so he's in full control of the editing, too. It has to be a trap!

Shun says that might be the case, but he has no other choice, he has to take the gamble.

Motoha says Shun should just tell people the truth about Miyazawa and the cheap ingredients he's forcing Ashouken to use, but Shun says that won't work, because Miyazawa will explain it away. The only way it'd work is if Miyazawa admitted it himself.

Motoha then points out that winning the Flavor Fight might not even do anything, and Shun agrees that he doubts Miyazawa will keep his promise, but if Shun, a fool, loses the fight, he only embarrasses himself, and it won't affect Ashouken or Yamagoshi. If he's the only one who has to bear the burden, it's fine. He then says Wonder and Motoha should leave, before they get too involved with him and Miyazawa targets them, too. He'll figure it out himself.

After leaving Toraiken, Ruferu says he's almost certain Miyazawa is the next Palace ruler, as he's the only one benefiting here; even the customers themselves are having their desires stolen. Motoha agrees that after she lost her desires, she felt like there was just nothing she could do, and she just had to put up with it. The only way to stop Miyazawa is to make him have a change of heart. They decide to head to Mementos next, to finally locate his Palace.

To be continued in the next reblog!

[tricksterlatte]

Random femAkeshu Pokemon AU lore I couldn’t include in Dark Void for various reasons:

- Akechi becomes the ghost type Elite Four member. She keeps Ceruledge, Mimikyu, Decidueye, and Marowak on the team, but also rotates other ghost types she obtains later during various adventures with Akira.

Among these are a Dhelmise (a callback to Shido’s ship in canon), Gengar, Spiritomb, Banette (throwbacks to her childhood due to their lore as abandoned or resentful creatures), and a Sableye named Kurusu she captured as payback for Corviknight’s supposedly stupid pun nickname. Also she does not mention Kurusu’s name until it gets into trouble and she can call Kurusu an idiot, to Akira’s confusion. Akira thinks it’s petty. Akechi thinks it’s justice.

- She catches a Torracat as well, evolves it into Incineroar, and once again another one of her Pokemon pursues one of Akira’s (Meowscarada this time) romantically. Even the cats are gay.

- Akira keeps Zebstrika, newly nicknamed Loki. For once, Akechi approves of a nickname. Nerd. You don’t even have Norse mythology in your universe.

- The other Elite Four are Sae (Ice), Iwai (Steel), and Chihaya (Psychic). Shido was previously Dragon.

- Gym Leaders as of the fic: Ann (Fire), Yoshida (Rock), Hifumi (Water), Kawakami (Normal), Ryuji (Electric), Makoto (Fighting), Ichinose (Dark), Lavenza (Fairy). Kamoshida and Kaneshiro were previously gym leaders before Ann and Ryuji. Since Makoto was already a gym leader, I let Ryuji take Kaneshiro’s spot.

- Team Ark’s goal was simplistic control over as many regions as possible, and were led by Shido. Shido previously destroyed Akira’s life similarly to canon, so she ran away from home and helped Sojiro at Leblanc. I didn’t pick a singular region for this because I decided it was its own, despite basing the fic mostly in Sinnoh. They globe trot much like the Journeys and Horizons anime.

- Akira doesn’t travel with everyone everywhere like in canon once she befriends them, but some usually accompany her for awhile. Ann and Ryuji journeyed with her after she helped stop Kamoshida because he kidnapped Shiho, a Pokemon breeder and Ann’s girlfriend.

- Madarame was a patron of the Lilycove museum who supposedly painted everything he submitted. Truthfully, Yusuke was painting every contest star submission himself, and lived in poverty at Madarame’s house. Akira, Ryuji, and Ann saved him, he helped Akira with Team Ark in return too.

- Kaneshiro owned the game corner and was a gym leader. He had a bigger hand in Shido’s Team Ark, like a mini boss such as Saturn or Courtney, for example. Makoto nearly outed Akira to the police despite Shido having them under his thumb, because he threatened her city (his gym neighbored his?. However, she decided she couldn’t let injustice slide, and helped her reveal the game corner and Team Ark’s corruption.

- Futaba and Akira were already friends in this AU. She is the PC storage system creator known as Medjed, but she ran into some trouble thanks to a Cofagrius haunting her house. Akira and Akechi were the ones who saved her, solidifying Akira’s trust in Akechi.

- Akira and Akechi traveled together a decent bit, to solidify their bond. They battled regularly, with a pretty even win-loss ratio once Akira got the hang of things. Akechi lied about her Pokemon on hand sometimes “just in case.”

- Okumura was killed by Akechi still in this AU, the same way she attempted to kill Akira. 🫡 HOWEVER, an Okumura power plant was the casualty instead of a spaceship palace, and in the process several Pokemon nearby were injured or killed—including Cubone’s mother. The weight of orphaning something so defenseless the same way she had been after losing her mother chipped at her walls, so Akechi took in Cubone as an apology. It wasn’t enough to change her fate, but Cubone loves her, and she loves Cubone.

- Haru retired from Okumura Corp to open a Pokemon cafe after Team Ark collapses. Shes tired and deserves it

- Kasumi is in a coma after an accident—I still haven’t decided if she’s dead or not. Sumire loses her mind a little bit thanks to Maruki’s totally ethical experiments (lie), and takes on Kasumi’s goal to become the greatest coordinator. She only goes into recovery after the Darkrai and Cresselia incident. Thanks for nothing, Maruki

- Lavenza gave Akira her Zorua, who was the one to fool Akechi at Dragonspire Tower via illusions while Akira rushed to claim Zekrom.

- Zenkichi is in the Officer Jenny role. He has dozens of lookalike relatives, and Akira claims she can’t tell them apart. Takemi is in the Nurse Joy role with dozens of lookalike relatives, and Akira can tell all of them apart with ease. Zenkichi doesn’t know if he’s being pranked or not and he’ll never find out.

- Akira’s Polteageist is on loan from Sojiro, except Sojiro loans it forever. He hopes that kid is safe now

- Shinya is a bug catcher who taught Akira some of those stupid strategies you’d see Ash use in the anime. Akechi is MALDING that they work, by the way.

- Ohya is a reporter much like Gabby and Ty. She exchanges tips about Team Ark with Akira, despite Akira never directly telling her she’s the one committing crimes constantly to bust worst crimes.

- I can’t stop thinking of Akechi just vibing but visibly only there for Akira. It’s like when Piccolo starts hanging out with Goku’s crew because of Gohan, except like with a mean lesbian human. Why did I choose this analogy? Idk!

- Mishima owns a Gimmighoul. I don’t know what else to add here

I have full teams for everyone, but I fear this post has gotten too long! If you’re still reading, thank you for doing so, and I hope you enjoyed!

[taldigi]

Between P3, P4, and P5, whose social links/confidants do you like best? Both from a mechanical standpoint (which one works the best mechanically) and from a character perspective (game with with most social links/confidants that you like).

5 absolutely knocks them all out of the park. I really liked a lot of them, and I liked how they all gave perks AND a lot of them had momentos missions attached to them too.

4 is next, I think I enjoyed them because.. a lot of them felt really casual and comfortable. They were all small moments rather than big ones that added up. A few in p5 do that, but they feel less meaningful in a weird way: like you're there to fix problems in p5 but 4 you're just there to be a friend and if something gets fixed it's just cause you were at the right place and willing to listen.. like... Chihaya vs Naoki for example.

5 had a lot of grand moments in the links, big events that you just felt "there" for- and it was fitting for the game, but sometimes Joker just felt "there" rather than as a starring aspect of it. Again, it's the framework of p5 that does this, and I still liked them all.

SO FAR the 3 links feel very... ah, pandery? I'm not far enough in to get a full, meaningful grasp on it. I feel like i can't really say anything that isn't "right" without getting punished (I can't talk to someone in P3 to check with them without being locked out of doing the link for the day) vs how you can call Rise stupid to her face and it shocks her enough to realize she IS being stupid. It lends to Joker and Yu feeling more like characters and I appreciate that.

just to show how far i am into p3 as reference

[vbs-kaitos-big-naturals]

「聞いてばかりなんだ」

important: please tag any posts with young children (<11) explicitly shown being hurt with #rock don't look. mentions / implications are fine, and its okay if you forget sometimes!!!

hi. you can call me rock. or beffy ig. my pronouns are it/he/they, i prefer it or he

i am also a minor.

(box by @/lgbtq-userboxes)

(by @lillie-of-the-valley)

(userbox by MEEEEEE :3)

(blinkie by @hiddencircus)

(@milaxan7)

(layout by @frilliette here)

in gendered languages, flip a coin!! i'm acespec, and have no romantic or sexual attraction. i still make sex jokes sometimes tho

I WOULD LIKE TO BETA READ !!!!!! reach out to me through dms or asks and I'll see if i can!

i am verrrry neurodivergent. just super off-the-wall audhd depressed apathetic sad boy who probably has several other conditions unbeknownst to it

i have a sideblog, @pjsk-headcanons

#my personal heritage posts - means posts that shaped my psyche

#and then the queue queued everywhere - queue tag (i might forget)

#bam !! band - my prsk oc unit!! i might call it bamu or b!b sometimes

#i speak - my posts. they usually are funny

#it speaks - asks

#urgurg - vents, i almost never make these

#writes boobily - my writing in any capacity. poems, fics, just little cute stories, just little sad stories, any of it

uuuhhhh ask me if you need me to tag anything specific! I'll try to remember and i almost always tag tws but if i forget im sorry!!!

the fandoms i interact with are:

utdr (a lot but less recently)

in stars and time (often)

omori

everhood(sometimes)

vocaloid

pjsk (my main fandom at this point)

bandori (if anyone posts about it ever)

ddlc

bsd

other stuff sometimes

favorite characters:

Minori Hanasato (pjsk)

Mizuki Akiyama (pjsk)

Mirabelle (isat)

Siffrin (isat)

Kris Dreemurr (deltarune)

Noelle Holiday (deltarune)

Sayori (ddlc)

Tomori Takamatsu (bandori)

Kasumi Toyama (bandori)

Anon Chihaya (bandori)

Atsushi Nakajima (bsd)

+ more but lets not get into that

stuff i like but they aren't really fandoms:

music

writing

art

funny stuff (shitposts)

dni if:

you're racist,

xenophobic,

homophobic,

transphobic,

ace/arophobic,

exclusionist,

sexist,

a terf,

you call yourself a "proshipper" or "antishipper" (we dont do that here)

a "MAP" supporter,

just a jerk.

okay anyway, just ask me random questions, important or no. i'm desperate for parasocial interaction.

pjsk id: 491248862040817667 (tell me if it doesn't work. feel free to friend me! if you feel weird doing that you can ask to be friends through my inbox or smth i like playing w ppl oUo)

en id 3 (the other one disappeared in the storm /j i just wont use it for a good while lol): 543507235729326088

JP id (1): 527547982754889730 (i use this one most often)

my ao3 is a-rock-nothing-else, and I have exactly two(2) fic.

(ps, I WELCOME BLORBOTAGGING. even on vent posts lol. and if i ever make you uncomfy, please tell me and ill change my behavior accordingly!!)

「悲しい気持ち、気持ちディストーションさ」

「The shining light

Has turned ahead of us」

[nijigasakilove]

YURI IN MY MAKEINE EPISODE?? WE WON. Guess the girls got tired of losing and said fuck the guys 😂 Shikiya senpai is amazing I can’t wait till we get to her arc, season 2 I’m guessing which with the way this LN is selling the anime is going is an inevitability

The Tsuwabuki festival is officially underway and the school is buzzing. Loved seeing the cast all off doing their own things and having fun. The literature club’s exhibit was a massive success and it’s sweet how Nukumizu helped decorate and present Komari’s work. That had to mean a lot to her with all the weight she was carrying last episode.

“Try calling me onii-chan” hey I know some guys are into that but not at school Nukumizu! 😂 he and Komari damn near died eating that spicy udon because they got distracted from that.

Chihaya trying to recruit Komari as a Fujoshi was too funny as well… and lemon, girl what is that fit?? I know it’s a track event but the mask is so out of place lmao

As the episode wound to a closed we got on the heavier side emotionally. Would be great for everyone to stay together, but alas it is time to start moving on. The literature club went out with a bang, their exhibit was a big success and a perfect send off for the senpai. Nukumizu and Tsukinoki’s conversation was great and I appreciate Tsukinoki being honest about knowing how Komari felt. She’s human at the end of the day, and a teenage girl so can’t fault her for how she handled things. There’s always a winner and loser.

Komari’s sunset conversation with Nukumizu was my fave part of the episode though. The hardest part is letting go of a crush that’s kept you going for so long. Sometimes things just don’t go the way you want and it’s a part of life. Doesn’t mean you need to be bitter about it and I think she took all the right things from this experience. She’s grown as a person and I know she’ll find the right person some day ❤️

[algrolo]

Hey yeah, DynastyScan enjoyers, can we fucking talk about Boyfriend Sometimes Girlfriend? Because something about this series just makes the little hamster in my brain go crazy on its little wheel.

Like, (for the unversed) the general plot is 17yo Hodoka asks out a girl in his class, Chihaya, expecting to get shot down, but they end up dating! Only Chihaya has a family curse where kissing someone turns them into a woman.

Now I know what youre thinking. "This is either going to be wildly ecchi or played for laughs the entire time." Yet shockingly, its not??? Like, the beginning chapters mostly revolve around the two of them navigating their relationship and Hodoka being incredibly emotionally empathetic and mature. Like the kid comes to the conclusion that while the curse is strange, it doesnt change the fact that he still likes Chihaya and that as long as she see him for who he is, regardless of his current gender, than whats the problem? Additionally, it must be incredibly isolating for her to keep this secret and not be able to date anyone, therefore reinforcing Hodoka's own resolve to making this relationship work for both of their sakes.

NONE OF THIS IS PLAYED AS A JOKE. IT IS ALL DONE COMPLETELY SERIOUSLY. (The seriousness to which Hodoka considers these things is the joke, in fact)

Its just. Astounding. Shocking. Every time a new chapter drops I just go "well damn. Good for them. I want to see them work out, they are doing so good."

Like this isnt a transgender allegory and Hodokas not trans he just turns into a girl and its not played for laughs or a bit or a gaff it just Is and its a narrative element that the two characters must navigate together. It blows me away every time.

Tldr: go read Boyfriend Sometimes Girlfriend

[linagram]

mrs sanada and mrs yoshioka reveal!! wow!!

i don't think i'll show everyone's family members, friends, etc, unless they're very important to their backstories and overall plot, but these two definitely play a huge role here. i haven't written full profiles for them, but you can still read some info about them under the cut.

Mrs. Sanada's name, Miori, is written like this: 美居 and it means "beautiful, pretty" and "to stay, to be in the present". Fun fact: she shares a kanji (美) with Aimi and Naomi.

Mrs. Yoshioka's name, Chihaya, is written like this: 知早 and means "knowledge, understanding" and "early, fast".

Both women were pretty young when they gave birth to their oldest children, Miori was 25 years old when Kei was born and Chihaya was 22 years old (Mahiru, I am so sorry.) when she gave birth to Eiko.

Funnily enough (in kind of a messed up way), Kei is also 25 years old right now (26 if we're going with the T2 timeline) and when he was asked what he thinks about children in his interrogation, he said that he wouldn't be surprised to find out that he already has a kid because of his "lifestyle". Oh, just to add to that, Kei wasn't a planned pregnancy. Same goes for Eiji. There's nothing sad or scary about it though, since Miori really was okay with having kids.

I probably should've revealed this sooner, but I wasn't sure how to bring it up. Miori and her husband actually have a quite open relationship, meaning that they're married, sure, but they're free to date anybody they like. Honestly, if I had to describe their relationship, it has both platonic and sexual elements, but they don't have any romantic feelings for each other. They're just friends who find each other very attractive and wanted to live together and that's it. They're so chill about it that it's honestly kinda sweet. (And now you can also see that one of the reasons why Kei doesn't really understand how romantic love works is because his own parents don't like each other in that way) So, where am I going with this? Well, uh. Yeah, there's a possibility that Eiji and Kei are actually half-brothers, it's just that both of them got all the genes from their mother. Their parents couldn't care less about that though and even if it did turn out that Kei and Eiji's biological fathers are different, Miori's husband would still love Eiji the same way. (A very subtle difference between Eiji and Kei's designs is that Eiji doesn't have any noticeable beauty marks and he's more pale than Kei and Miori)

"Then why did Chihaya have Eiko when she was even younger?" Sadly, she had to grow up too fast 😔 Yes, that's why her name meaning is like that. And that's also why her relationship with Eiko isn't really a relationship that you would expect a mother and a daughter to have, for example, Eiko calls her "the head of the family" and says that she "respects" her, but doesn't really "love" her. Chihaya basically had no choice but to have a child at some point in her life and Eiko is a walking reminder of that, so sometimes she prefers not to even look at her own daughter.

Eiko's little brother, however, was born because Chihaya genuinely wanted to have a child that she could love, but.. In the end, she still felt nothing for him. She should've expected it, really. She doesn't even love her own husband after all.

Just like Kei said, Miori really is a toymaker and she really does love to see children's face expressions when their parents buy them the toys they wanted. Her toys, however, are popular mostly with "weird" kids and teenagers because her toys can be cute, but they have this creepy vibe that scares other children, especially very young ones, and their parents. And honestly, good for them, because literally all Sanada family members are criminals in some way. Miori's toys are totally not dangerous in any way, trust me <3 (Some of her toys have tiny hidden cameras and yes, that means she's responsible for many cases of child kidnapping. Why did she have to kidnap them? For her husband's movies, of course!)

Hm? You want to know what Eiko's parents do?.. Well, for certain reasons I still can't tell you much about it, but what I can say is that they got a new job recently. And no, they still were criminals even before that. If you want a hint.. Pretty much all main characters and side characters have never seen or heard of each other (not counting the established dynamics like Akio and Arata, Kei and Ruka, etc) since they come from different towns, cities, etc, but these two actually knew Takame when she was in her twenties and even spent some time working together.

Just a fun design note: Kei and Eiji look a lot like their mother, however, Eiko and Chihaya don't look that similar. Only when you take a closer look, you can notice that both of them have some shade of purple as their eye color and also Chihaya has a hair gradient as well, it's just that hers is a "reverse" version of Eiko's. And Sanada brothers have a very close relationship with their mother even if Eiji hates her, meanwhile Chihaya and Eiko honestly act more like coworkers.

Some information about their husbands: Kei and Eiji's father has been mentioned to be half-American and he really doesn't look that much like them. He's also younger than Miori. Meanwhile Eiko's father is older than Chihaya, has a hair color that's similar to his daughter's (though he lacks the gradient and it's a bit darker/more "dirty") and wears glasses.

Eiko's younger brother's hair color is very similar to Chihaya's, but just like his father, he doesn't have a gradient and he also got his eye color from his father.

The reason why Miori is.. like this is because YAY, HER FAMILY ALSO WAS DYSFUNCTIONAL! She had a lot of generational trauma to deal with (and is now inflicting it on her sons) and she grew up not knowing how to be a child, but also not knowing how to be an adult. She also got the "pain=love" belief from her own parents as well, except she really does love her sons and doesn't know how to show it in a more healthy way.

Eiji had to protect Kei from her because he didn't want Kei to grow up and become like her, since the older boy was already showing signs of it and Eiji wanted to show that it's wrong and begged Miori to leave his brother alone. Except Kei got jealous because he started to think Miori loves Eiji more and he still grew up to be exactly like her.

She still had some oddly cute moments with her kids. For example, she made some toys for them (no, they were completely safe) when they were little and they slept with them too (Eiji still has one hidden under his bed. Yes, he finds his mother terrifying. Yes, he still loves her). When something really bad happened to Kei in school, she took him to his favorite cafe and talked to him about it. And when Eiji got his heart broken because the girl he liked turned out to be dating someone else, she suggested that they make her the star of his dad's new movie- Ah, that one is probably more scary, but still, she cares.