#and Homura is standing right next to them and pulls out a very real and non-magical glock. that she stole with time magic

[desolationlesbian]

still the funniest plot point in all of pmmm that Homura Akemi is a 14 year old magical girl who realized that her sparkly transformation sequence did not come with a cutesy custom weapon like everyone else's so she just went online and googled "how to build a bomb"

[anikkis-fantasirealities]

“LiVELY Legacy of Japan’s Lionized Anisinger”

➀ Personality Profile ┊ ˢʰᵉ ʷʰᵒ ˢʰᶦⁿᵉˢ ᵗʰʳᵒᵘᵍʰ ˢᵒⁿᵍ ᵃⁿᵈ ˢᵗʸˡᵉ··· ˢᵐᶦˡᶦⁿᵍ ˢʷᵉᵉᵗˡʸ ʷʰᶦˡᵉ ˢᵃˡᵘᵗᵃᵗᶦⁿᵍ ˢᵘᵖᵖᵒʳᵗᵉʳˢ·

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ꒰⁺˚₊·₍₍loading...₎₎ ㅤ ✎...۪۫❁ཻུ۪۪ -ˏˋ 🎤 ˊˎ-

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

༘✶ ㊉ ㈦〘 ⅯⅯ 〙⋆｡˚𓆟 ༉ ║ Posted : ０６/１５/２１° ｡༄ ‧₊˚ ๑ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ •ଓ.° ｡❍ ㈩ ㊇

- - ——— ꒰ An article by Nicole “Nikki” Elaine S. Chua of NEU-IS ꒱

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ₊·͟͟͟͟͟͟͞͞͞͞͞͞➳❥ ࿐ྂ—͙❬₊° ᶦ ᵃᵐ ᵃ ᵇˡᵒᵍᵍᵉʳ ᵃᶠᵗᵉʳ ᵃˡˡ·“= ‹⸙͎

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

ㅤㅤ ㅤ❝ Madamada iku wa yo~! ❞

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ- LiSA (Rally Go Round)

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤ.ılı.lıllılı.ıllı. ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤᴺᵒʷ ᵖˡᵃʸᶦⁿᵍ﹕ᵍᵘʳᵉⁿᵍᵉ ⁻ ᴸᶦˢᴬ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ0:11 -◦————— 3:59 ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ〔 ↠ⁿᵉˣᵗ ˢᵒⁿᵍ ╵╻↺ ʳᵉᵖᵉᵃᵗ ╻╵⊜ ᵖᵃᵘˢᵉ 〕 ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤVolume: ▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100%

Lush, loose—lofty and lovely. Lucent and lavish—lustral, laid-back, & luxuriant. Luminous. Legendary. Limitless. Light hearted and letter-perfect. There is not enough words for me to describe her overflowing talent for music, and the impact she has created for tech-savvy usernames cheering on their favorite idols & animations alike. Nowadays, most millennials and Gen Zs go neck-to-neck with their clashing interests of two international sensations: one known for the funky beats of charismatic boys dancing in synchrony, and the other, notable for moving illustrations of all kinds of stories that allure the imagination. Yes, let’s admit it, my generation has fallen in love with the influence of K-pop and anime, though I cannot blame anyone because of the fun & happiness they bring. Do you agree with me?

Well, even if you cannot agree or relate with me, I’m sure you would be able to find this article interesting! This personality is not someone of looming authority nor power—she is not a lady from the West, nor the Northern isles or even the Southern seas. She is here: the Rising Sun’s pride and honor bestowed by a sharp katana slaying all evil. It is where that familiar tune of hers is empowered with the narrative of a young man and his breathing techniques—a tale beloved by many anime fanatics. Yes! I’d like to introduce to you, one of Japan’s famed singers of all time: 𝙇𝙞𝙎𝘼! Make your entrance, please!

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ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ 【 今日もいい日だつ 】 ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ❝ Today is another great day! ❞ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤ- LiSA ╰╼|════════════════════════════════════|╾╯

My life is truly music-inclined, even if I have two left feet and a raspy, rough voice. Those foreign lyrics ring out in my head, every time I enter through the gates of Japanese culture and enter my fantasy I know so well. I mean, cool right? I can still remember how I first embraced her beginning chords in January 2020, when that song, Gurenge, was heard throughout the spacious stadium of the New Era University college department. It was the opening ceremony for Intramurals 2020, and as soon as the melody played, the crowd sang along in a noisy type of harmony.

𝙂𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚, it means “red lotus” in English—the title of the Japanese opening theme for the animation called, “Kimetsu no Yaiba,” or more acclaimed as “Demon Slayer” by millions of anime ethusiasts across the web. I wondered what that range of vocals wanted to tell me. Those beautiful notes and the intensifying instrumental that accompanies such an epic story. Slowly, I understood why she is adored by many people, rain or shine, sun rays to lunar silhouettes. Now, here I am writing with everlasting conviction, to share everything I know about her—the reasons why that captivating rhythm, those inspiring words, and the pleasant emotions, made me sing along. So, let’s rest for a while, and I’ll tell you more about LiSA, behind the reflection of that worn out blade.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

LiSA, or Risa Oribe in real life, is a Japanese singer, songwriter, and lyricist from the Gifu Prefecture—in the small city of Seki. She is 165 centimeters tall, which is quite tall for a Japanese woman. She is known for her multiple song hits used in Japanese animation titles such as the Fate series and Sword Art Online. Though, did you know that she also sang for the music-based anime series, “Angel Beats!” as one of the main characters who so happened to be a vocalist, as well? This was LiSA’s professional song debut in the music industry, which she lunged into when she was given a chance to step onto the reknowned arena for some of Japan’s history makers: Nippon Budokan! As a kid, Risa Oribe was taught lessons in piano, dancing, and singing, which continued onto her junior high school years. After auditioning in the infamous Budokan, she held onto the dream of becoming an artist on the next journeys she would walk on outside her hometown.

Believe it or not, the name “LiSA” is an stylized acronym, consisting of confident letters that possess unique dignified meaning from one another. The stage name is adopted from a blast from the past, of the times Risa Oribe had travelled to Tokyo to form a band. “LiSA” stands for, “𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙎𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝘼𝙡𝙡” which may sound weird for English speakers, nonetheless, its significance still pulls my heartstrings all in all. Prior to becoming the individual singing artist, “LiSA,” Risa Oribe has always been a part of bands ever since high school—one of them being a cover band of indie rock music, “CHUCKY.” Despite the risk of working with the band in exchange for her accredited certificates from university, she continued to reach for her ultimate dream career as a singer. Unfortunately, “CHUCKY” only lasted for three years, and this is what led Risa Oribe to test her luck in the capital of Japan—persevering for that aspiration, because there’s no turning back now!

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ㅤㅤ 【 じっと見つめた　キミの瞳に映ったボクが生きたシルシ 】

ㅤㅤ ❝ As I stare intently into your eyes, ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤmy reflection there is the proof I exist, ❞ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ- LiSA (Shirushi)

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LiSA’s musical influences are, surprisingly, internationally respected musicians of the English language. Some of these prominent figures in her life are Avril Lavigne, Green Day, Paramore, and Rihanna. She is well-known for memorable hyped performances filled of power and passion. Sometimes, if people are granted the opportunity to be mesmerized by remarkable skill, she is also able to play the guitar and key harmonica in her concerts. She can sing in Japanese, obviously, but her words weaved with melody extends into Chinese and English perception, too. As a songwriter, she personally wrote some of her produced masterpieces like “Shirushi” and “Rally Go Round.” Though, perhaps you’ve never would guess that LiSA had a voice acting debut in 2015, too! Don’t get your hopes up because she did not give life to any anime characters, but instead, she became the Japanese voice of Madge Nelson in the film, “Minions.” I know, don’t get me wrong, it’s a shocking difference from the person LiSA is famous for.

However, for Risa Oribe, it was not something to be shy about, for she absolutely loves Minions! For avid fans of LiSA, they would often spot sightings of Minions merchandise in her social media accounts. It’s a fact that wouldn’t make you think that she can be that intimidating performer on fire, once she leaps onto stage. She still has that gentle vibe, especially when she raises her arm to greet the audience with a simple peace sign. The dark packed venue would chant along the bridge instrumental, rapidly waving their lightsticks until the song performance is finished. It’s as if the stars have landed in a small part of Earth during the night fall, to take a day-off head banging to the beat of rock. LiSA’s concerts deliver the message that “𝙇𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙎𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝘼𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨,” as it is the running title pinned to her lives from then to now.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

Speaking of which, here’s a fun fact! Did you also know that LiSA’s albums all start with the letter L? From “Letters to U” and “Launcher,” to “Leo-Nine” and the recently revealed “Ladybug,” each album has a motif that follows her musical style. LiSA’s original songs tell stories of hope, determination, and love. Ever since she released her first solo single debut, “Oath Sign,” for the anime, “Fate/Zero,” her name would never vanish from the music charts of new singles and albums in Japan. Songs like “Crossing Field,” “Catch the Moment,” and “ADAMAS,” of “Sword Art Online” were also noteworthy for their impact on LiSA’s career as a singer, not only for Japanese animations, but also for Japanese TV dramas and live-action films. Her very own, “Homura,” for the anime film, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Train” have even outstretched to the Billboard charts across the Pacific ocean!

Today, she has celebrated her 10th anniversary in the music industry—a realization that it just seems like yesterday when she got to meet her fans in different countries, go on tours to perform everyone’s favorite anime songs of hers, and made her mark as an “𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧” of the Rising Sun. That is why she is, indeed, an artist with a lively legacy to our current era—a personality deserving of a profile article from yours truly. It’s been great having you with me in this article, and I hope you were able to find admiration for LiSA and her work! Thank you for reading! I’ll see you again in another blog where my fantasies become realities! A Nikki reminder: don’t always go with the flow, and be yourself! Good day!

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ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ 【 生き残ったこの世界で　新しい　眩しい　 ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ 開けを迎えに行こうか 】

ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ❝ In this world I live in, there will be a new glow, ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ for now let’s welcome the new dawn! ❞ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ - LiSA (dawn)

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· * ✫ * ⊹ * ˚ . . 　　· ⋆ * . * . . · . · . * · . · · + . ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ· ** ˚ . . + 　　· ⋆ * . * . . · . · . *

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ. . + 　· ⋆ * . * . . · . · .˚ ⊹ · * ✧ ⋆ · * . · . · · .. . .

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ· + ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ· * ✫ * ⊹ * ˚

ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ · ** ˚ . . + ㅤㅤ　· ⋆ * . * . . · . · .˚ ⊹ · * ✧

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ⋆ · * . · ㅤㅤ . · · .. . . · + .

ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ. · + . *

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ⋆ * . * . .

ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤ . · ·

ㅤㅤ﹙dedication. ﹚ ୨˚୧ ˚ ༘♡.↳ ₊˚‧

This blog is dedicated to my sister, who is a big fan of LiSA. I am grateful that you’ve made me sing with her, forevermore.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ﹋﹋﹌﹌﹌「 🎀 」﹌﹌﹌﹋﹋

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ┊彡 Credits

➥ Cover Edit

➫ Background

➫ Stand-out LiSA holding a microphone stand

➫ Sitting LiSA

➫ Butterfly themed LiSA

➫ Kimono LiSA

➫ "Brave Freak Out" promotional picture

➫ "Only ≠ Lonely"

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ

➥ GIF

➫ "Gurenge" Music Clip ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ

➥ First Blog Divider

➫ "Datte Atashino Hero" Music Video

➫ "KiSS me PARADOX" -LiVE is Smile Always ～PiNK & BLACK～ Live

➫ "No More Time Machine" Music Clip

➫ "LEO-NiNE" Limited Edition A Album Cover

➫ "LUCKY Hi FiVE" Single Cover ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ

➥ Second Blog Divider

➫ Raising Arm LiSA

➫ "ASH" Single promotional picture

➫ "Unlasting" promotional picture

➫ "ADAMAS" article by Billboard

➫ "Shirushi" Music Video ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ

➥ Third Divider

➫ Red-themed LiSA

➫ "Letters to ME" Music Video

➫ "Surprise" Music Video ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ

➥ Source of Information

➫ LiSA Wikipedia page

➫ LiSA’s Discography Wikipedia page

➫ Every Anime Song by LiSA fan-video compilation

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ﹋﹋﹌﹌﹌「 end. 」﹌﹌﹌﹋﹋

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ⭆ Back to Homepage ⭅

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ Next Blog ⇨

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 9 Review

Tephi was upset that I didn't include this in my last post:

Ah, Farquaad. Who I just looked up the voice actor of- John Lithgow?! Wow, ok then. Farquaad, you may have been one of the few characters who had absolutely no redeeming qualities. I mean, at least the pictures I posted were of characters who had beneficial goals, even if they went about them in the most cartoonishly evil ways possible. Farquaad was just a dick. But that quote does a damn good job of summing up Bunny-Cat.

Afraid that I’ve been busy studying for a test this Monday, but I think I can snag some time Tuesday morning to start Ep 10. Until then, maybe a short post on my thoughts-

Keeper of Tales said:Ranubis you have probably noticed the sharp up-swell in conversation since you began hitting oh, episodes three, six, eight and nine. Part of this is that you came into this series with a very different mindset than usual and there was a real risk of ruining that. If you read this before the next episode could you tell us what your thoughts upon the characters are and how they have changed? The entire cast if you can. Thank you for your time.

Ok, make that a detailed response on each of the characters. Here we go!

Madoka Kaname

Our title character and protagonist… who’s kinda just been along for the ride all this time. She really bucks the trend of main characters that I’ve gotten used to in most shows. No powers, no real strengths of her own beyond her kind nature. Heck, if she wasn’t the first character to appear and the show wasn’t named after her it wouldn’t be hard to call her a side character. I think back to Gurren Lagann, how Simon had the same meek attitude and was overshadowed Kamina. But then, he got his mini-mech by the end of the first episode, Madoka has yet to pick up any tools. Even Sayaka showed up next episode with a baseball bat, Madoka’s just been tagging along.

And yet, everything revolves around her. Madoka had the Future Dream at the very beginning. Sayaka got involved because she was Madoka’s best friend. Homura focused on Madoka that first school day and tried to warn her away from the trials of Magical Girl-ing. Mami tried to recruit Madoka because she sensed she would become a powerful MG in helping defend the city. Kyoko, who showed up as a hard-line Magical Girl, in the space of apparently a few days joined the Madoka Protection Brigade. And of course, it’s clear now that the Incubator’s been manipulating things to ensure that Madoka makes a Contract, that will net it a ton of emergy.

Still, we’re nearing the end of the show, and I’m 50/50 on whether or not that Madoka will actually make a Contract, especially if Homura has anything to say about it. I mean, if the Incubator flat-out tells her that only she with MG powers can save the day, her helpful attitude is going to steer her straight into selling her soul. The question remains: how far is Homura going to go to stop that?

Sayaka Miki

Best friend of the main character, initially I was amused at how she bucked the Red Oni, Blue Oni trope as being much more outgoing and aggressive than Madoka (pink is a lightish-red, it fits). That got flipped around later when she turned into a Paladin and contrasted with Kyoko. Such a fun character, cheerfully bringing a common baseball bat to fight the monsters, calling herself an Ally of Justice, a great heroine. Unfortunately, it seems that that is Urobuchi’s favorite character-type to stomp on, the show could probably be called “Everything goes wrong for this poor girl Sayaka”. She loses her soul, her crush, her idealism… guh,

It was just depressing, seeing how Sayaka kept going further and further into her Paladin identity until she had nothing left. Losing her optimism, going on a Roaring Rampage of Despair fighting familiars instead of getting Grief Seeds… I keep thinking about Homura about to kill Sayaka. She said it was to protect Madoka from more suffering, but I think that there was at least a little bit of mercy to Sayaka there too. Kill the girl, before she becomes a Witch.

I just wish that things could have been better for Sayaka. She meant well, wanted to save people. Yes, there was an element of wanting to be with Kamijo in her Wish, but can you really blame her for that? She wanted to be a hero. Instead, she became a monster.

Kyubey (Incubator)

Yeah. I can only imagine how you jerks were sniggering in my early posts. I mean, I start out thinking “Ok, here’s the show’s mascot, I’m a little creeped out by the red eyes but whatever.” Then I start thinking he’s cute, plays off the girls well. Then I get annoyed at how he keeps acting like a salesman, really pushing the girls on the Contract. Then… well, then Bunnycat was revealed for the absolute jerk it is.

Seriously. The show’s mascot turns out to be the main villain, twisting plans and leaving snide little comments to achieve it’s goal of turning these young girls into batteries. No, not batteries, coal: fit for one quick burst of energy, who cares where the smoke goes afterwards. All that smiling, those cute comments, those pushes for a contract to be made, not telling the girls the true cost of the Contract even when he knows, or rather because, it knows how they will act, implying (but never outright lying) actions that play right into its tiny, bloodstained paws.

And we can’t even kill it, apparently. Homura shot it what I would normally call an unnecessary amount of times. But as it turns out, it was just a waste of ammo, since the Incubator can just show up in a new body. It can show up without an invite apparently anywhere, it can’t be killed… in a show of murdering Witches, it is the real monster.

Mami Tomoe

Mami… :’(

I was so happy when she showed up that first episode. An experienced Magical Girl who can summon a ton of muskets? Standing up to the (apparent) Bad Girl, taking our main character and sidekick under her wing? And she only got better from there, teaching our characters about the world, fighting a Witch one-on-one, destroying it with an artillery piece and then landing for tea.

Classy.

Then we get a tragic backstory, she’s shown to be lonely. But our characters are there to help her fight these monsters and stop whatever plan the Bad Girl is brewing up! And look at that, she and Madoka are so adorable together, I can’t wait for them to-

And then Urobuchi took my heart and stabbed it.

Mami’s story should not have ended there. If she had just listened to Homura about the Witch, if Madoka or Sayaka had Contracted and could help her, if she had not gone into that fight distracted and happy about the future and focused more… but she didn’t. And she died.

Ever since that episode, Mami’s absence has cast a pall over everything. Madoka is understandably terrified from seeing her mentor eaten right in front of her, Sayaka was driven to imitate Mami’s lone fighter style, Kyoko got involved because she was attracted to the “open territory”, and Homura seemed to hope that it would scare off the Muggles from Contracting.

For a while, I thought that “Ok, that took me completely by surprise, but now I see what will make the girl’s Contract! Madoka will wish for Mami back, we’ll get our lovely team fighting these monsters a little more cautiously now that they know the risks but it’ll still be exciting and they will be adokrable on these missions and Sayaka will tease them for being so cute and…”. But nope, it was just the start of the Pain Train.

Kyoko Sakura

Oh jeez, has my perspective of Kyoko changed from that first scene of her looking down on the town. At first I thought she’d just be a competitor, maybe an ally of Homura. Then she spouts off her philosophy of letting Familiars go to kill people, and she supplanted Homura (who I thought planted that Hospital Grief Seed and caused Mami’s death) on my List. Urobuchi then worked his magic and made me sympathetic for a character who had so much working against her, with a backstory more tragic than Mami’s, the discovery of the true nature of Magical Girls, and her growing attraction to Sayaka even as the Ally of Justice was crumbling, all culminating in me screaming at my computer as she kisses her Soul Gem and sacrifices herself to defeat Sayaka’s Witch and save Homura and Madoka.

Kyoko, I would like to apologize. I can understand where you started from, seeing your family die in connection to your well-meaning Wish, and how you would focus on yourself after being hurt so badly. I am so proud of you, for rising from that and regaining your morals, to the point of helping out Madoka.

Homura Akemi

Homura. Homura, Homura, Homura.

I started this show convinced that you were the Big Bad, or at least an agent of them. Then, before I learned the true nature of the Incubator and thought that there was an anti-Kyubey running around causing the Witches (I can only imagine how much you lot enjoyed that, thank you so much for not spoiling me), I considered that maybe she was just trying to secure her own power, remove competition so that she is secure. Then there was the huge “Homura summons Wally-Witch to get a Super Grief Seed, cannot put down what she called up” theory that I thought would culminate as the series finale, give our main characters time to shine and teach Homura the power of Friendship.

Then the true nature of Magical Girls was revealed, and she was not surprised. Then she attempted to kill Sayaka, citing that doing so would spare Madoka pain. Then she killed the Incubator (but not really).

Then we learned that she is a time traveler.

Just… just wow. It actually makes sense. All of my crazy theories, and time travel trumps them all. She knows the truth about Magical Girls because she learned it in the previous timeline. She knows Bunnycat is a dick because it pulled all this shit before. She tried to warn the girls away from Contracting because she knew the costs, and that they would turn into Witches. She knows that Wally-Witch is coming, to the day, because that’s what happened before-

Oh! I get it now! I really get it! That Dream Vision, Homura fighting the Super Witch but losing, reaching out to Madoka… I get what happens now. Madoka arrives to see Homura is losing. She knows that with all the other MGs dead, there’s no choice. She makes the Contract with the Incubator.

And for her Wish? She Wishes for Homura to get another chance, or something along those lines. And the Incubator (who is a dick) ‘interprets’ that in the way that best suits its interests, and throws Homura into another timeline, so that they can harvest Madoka twice.

Damn it. If I understood the credits-teaser right, next episode is going to be Homura’s story. If we see this happen, Homura reaching our timeline only to try and warn people, but no-one believes her… this is going to be rough.

[takerfoxx]

RD Walpurgis Nights 8: Part 1

Then…

Homura, I’m scared!

Waking up seemed like it would be cold, wet, and painful, so she resisted it, mentally clinging to the dark that was just so warm and inviting.

…mura, I’m scared!

It wasn’t easy though. Now that the pain had been registered, it grasped at the ragged edges of her consciousness and, once it had a decent grip, began tugging. Once it had pulled enough out of the dark, the cold and wetness joined in, all of them working together to haul her closer and closer to wakefulness.

…I’m scared!

Her eyelids twitched. Her fingers flexed. Remaining unconscious was becoming more and more difficult. For one, something seemed to be wrapped around her arms, something sharp and metal that dug into her skin. For another, she didn’t seem to be wearing any clothes, and as noted, it was very cold out.

…m scared!

And finally, wherever she was, it seemed to be outside, and it was raining. Raindrops pelted her exposed skin like tiny, freezing hammers. Meanwhile, she was starting to become aware of other problems, such as the deep, rhythmic beating of what sounded like a massive clock, ticking away the second right behind her. Something was pressing against the flesh of her neck, digging in and making breathing difficult. Furthermore, her legs were stretched out in all directions, and were subjected to the same digging pain as her hands and wrists.

Also, she seemed to have way too many.

…scared…

Wake up. She couldn’t afford to sleep any longer. She was in danger.

…scared…

But she didn’t want to. Wakefulness was scary and painful. At least being asleep would shield her from the pain, would protect her from the cold. She didn’t want to wake up, she didn’t want to…

…scared…

…didn’t want to…

…scared…

…didn’t want…

…scared…

…didn’t couldn’t…

WAKE UP!

The freezing girl’s eyes snapped open, and she immediately regretted it. She was what had to be dozens, if not hundreds of meters up, tied to the front of a building during a massive storm, with a bizarre, twisting city stretching out below her.

She tried to scream, but the thing pressing against her throat choked her off.

…

Now…

Homulilly stood in front of the full-length mirror that sat in the nearly empty room. She carefully looked at herself from top to bottom, scrutinizing her appearance.

She liked what she saw.

She wore a full-length dark violet dress, sewn from a material that shimmered pink wherever the light caught it. It was sleeveless and open in the back and tied up in the front around her neck, leaving her bones bare. Her hair had been drawn up, curled, and carefully pinned in place by a pair of mother-of-pearl rods, with her spider-lily sitting perched in the resulting nest like a jaunty little hat. She wore a touch of blush on her cheeks, red lipstick, and just a bit of shadow around her eyes. Dark violet stones dangled from her ears.

It had taken her three hours to get all done up, but she was very happy with the results, even if the reason for prettying herself up was making butterflies churn in her stomach. But they were the good kind of butterflies. This was it. The day had finally come.

Another face appeared next to hers in the mirror, and a pair of slender arms slipped in around her waist. “You look beautiful,” Gretchen said as she laid her head against Homulilly’s shoulder.

Homulilly’s happy smile perked up a little bit more. “You do too,” she said, laying her hands on Gretchen’s arms.

Gretchen was also done up and wore a similar kind of dress, though hers was dark pink that shimmered rose, and a skirt that billowed out instead of hugging the hips like Homulilly’s did. Her dark pink hair, usually tied up in a pair of pigtails, now hung down her back and done in waves. She had on a silver bracelet set with pink stones instead of earrings.

“It’s kind of hard to believe, isn’t it?” Gretchen said as the pair admired their reflections. “All this time waiting, all this hard work, and we’re finally here.”

“Yeah. I’m kind of nervous though.”

“Of course you are! I am too. I mean, this is kind of huge. The end of one life and the start of another.”

Homulilly looked around the small dorm that they had been their home for the last five years, which pretty much made up their entire life until then. It had been stripped of practically all ornamentation, all traces that they had ever lived there, save for the bits of furniture that had already been provided when they had first moved in. All of their personal possessions had been packed up and now sat in a small stack of boxes in a corner, waiting to be removed.

She had to admit, she was going to miss the place. Sure, it wasn’t much, but it was the only home she had known, and it had been theirs, hers and Gretchen’s. Their personal sanctuary, their private slice of Heaven.

Their time with the Freehaven Integration Bureau had been…nice. Sure, there had been some downs to balance out the ups, some rough bits, but on the whole it had just kept getting better as they got older. She really was going to miss the place, but she was also excited about what was coming next.

“It just seems so strange, doesn’t it?” Gretchen said, as if she had read Homulilly’s mind. “I don’t really remember anything else except for our time here, and now it’s just…done. We’re not coming back.”

“Well, don’t jinx it,” Homulilly teased her. “Maybe we’ll screw up so badly that they send us back.”

“Not likely.” Then Gretchen’s smile dipped down a bit.

Homulilly, of course, noticed. “What is it?”

Gretchen sighed. “Oh, I was just thinking…How long do you think it’s been? In the…the other world, I mean.”

Ah. Yeah, that was something of a mood killer. “No idea,” Homulilly admitted. “I tried to do the math once, but I just got a headache. Apparently the time difference isn’t even consistent. Not long though. Maybe a few weeks.”

“It’s so weird. I mean, we probably still have families out there that are still looking for us. They must be worried sick, and here we are, in such a happy place. Kind of doesn’t feel right, you know what I mean?”

“I do,” Homulilly said. “You’re right. It doesn’t seem fair at all.”

“You know what’s really weird though? I kind of wish they were here. I mean, I have no idea who they are or what they’re like, but I wish they could see us now.”

Homulilly thought on that a bit before saying, “I don’t think that’s weird at all.” She turned in Gretchen’s embrace so that they were facing each other. “But you know what? A long time ago I decided that I can’t live like I’m dead. I can’t be the ghost of someone I don’t remember. There’s nothing we can do about any of that. So let’s not worry about it, and just live our best life together, okay?”

Gretchen’s smile returned in force. “I like the sound of that.” She rose up to kiss Homulilly gently on the lips. “Okay. Let’s do it. Let’s live our best lives, for them and us.”

…

“…and as that part of your lives comes to an end, your real life begins,” said Corrie Linemann, Freehaven’s mayor. A black girl with as much hair as Ophelia, she was wearing a charcoal suit and standing at a podium set atop of an outdoor stage set up in the FIB’s courtyard, addressing both the attending audience and the current integration class. “As mayor of Freehaven, I am proud to welcome you not only as full residents of our wonderful city, but of this…extremely weird, but very magical world. Congratulations!”

The residents of Freehaven that had gathered for the graduation ceremony all started applauding loudly, while Homulilly, Gretchen, and the rest of their class waved, some of them joining in the cheering themselves.

The FIB courtyard was decked out for the graduation, with an oval stage surrounded by balloons set before several rows of folding chairs for the students, both the ones set to graduate and the younger classes come to watch. On either side of those were several metal bleachers. And the bleachers were filled with the people of Freehaven. For a ceremony involving people with access to both magic and extraterrestrial technology, it was very simple seeming, but Freehaven did like reverting to a more “rustic” aesthetic when it could.

To Homulilly’s surprise, there was a pretty good turnout. She hadn’t expected many to show up, given that none of them had families and very few of them had friends outside of the bureau. However, as it turned out, graduation day was something that many people showed up for anyway, simply as a sign of support. She appreciated the gesture.

Which wasn’t to say it was all strangers. Candeloro, Charlotte, Ophelia, and Oktavia were all there, of course, as were a few outside friends of the other girls. There was also a smattering of nonhumans here and there, most of them liaisons from other territories, but a handful actually lived in Freehaven and had showed up on their own.

The mayor backed away from the podium to join the rest of Freehaven’s elders while Vionna, the FIB president, took her place. As she did, the caretakers signaled for Homulilly and Gretchen’s class to rise from their seats and line up next to the stage.

“We will now be introducing our new citizens in alphabetical order, by first name. Please remember to hold your applause until after they all have been introduced. Now, please welcome to Freehaven…Amaya Alverez!”

Gretchen and Homulilly stood hand-in-hand next to one another, each anxiously waiting for their turn. Their class was small, and they were in the first half, so it would come very soon.

“Brittney!”

If one were to get technical, Gretchen would actually have to come a few names after Homulilly. After all, her full name was Kriemhild Gretchen. But she was so used to going by her second name that she had requested to be introduced by that instead. Besides, that meant that the two of them would be introduced right after each other. And it wasn’t as if there was some kind of Gretchen clan to dispute the change.

“Carly Sanders!”

“Lucy, put your head back on,” Dr. Cynthia whispered to the remainder of the line.

“Oh, come on! Please?”

“No, put your head back on.”

“You never let me have any fun.”

“Claudia!”

“This is it,” Gretchen said in a loud whisper. “Our life begins now.”

Homulilly stuck out her lips in a mock-pout. “What, everything up until now wasn’t living?”

Right behind her, Jordan Lewis said, “Well, if you want to get technical about it…”

Then it came. “Gretchen, Kriemhild!”

Shooting Homulilly a nervous smile, Gretchen released Homulilly’s hand and strode across the stage over to where Vionna, Corrie Linemann, and the rest of the elders were waiting. She was handed her certificate and exchanged a handshake and a bow with Vionna.

A wide grin splitting her features, Homulilly shot a glance up at their friends, who were technically following the mandate of holding their applause, but were still expressing their approval with a lot of arm pumping and upper body dancing.

And then, “Homulilly!”

Homulilly took a deep breath. Then she ascended the steps of the stage, one shaking step at a time. Thank God her dress was full length, else everyone would see her knees knocking.

And yet…not for the reasons one might expect. It was stage fright, nothing more. Her arms were bare, her bones exposed, and she didn’t care. She was more concerned about accidentally stepping on the hem of her dress. But beyond that, she was actually kind of excited. Happy, even. She had made it.

Careful to keep the hem of her dress a few centimeters above her feet, she walked over to where the smiling elders were waiting. Vionna handed her a rolled-up piece of paper sealed with the Freehaven crest. They shook hands and bowed their heads to one another. Then, before she exited the stage, Homulilly paused for just a second to look out over the crowd.

All eyes were on her, from her friends to her classmates to the teachers to the counselors to the caretakers to the therapists to the elders to complete strangers. And there she was, bare-armed for the world to see.

And yet…she didn’t mind. She looked out into the sea of faces and saw so many people as strange as her. She saw faces of every known hue, eyes of every imaginable color. She witches and magical girls, humans and aliens, all sitting next to one another without fear.

Maybe in another world she would be considered a freak. Maybe in another world she would be thought a monster. And maybe in another world they all would be enemies, from magical girl versus witch to human versus alien, and everything in between.

But not here. Oh, this world had its problems. It had its prejudices and its monsters. But at the very least, someone as strange as herself could fit right in.

Then the moment ended, and Homulilly snapped back to reality. Clearing her throat, she hurried from the stage before anyone noticed her hesitation.

She descended the steps, and almost immediately Gretchen threw her arms around her.

The rest of the names passed by in a happy blur, and when Zhao Ming had joined them, everyone in the crowd stood up and starting cheering loudly.

Their arms around each other, Homulilly and Gretchen looked out at all the people as they happily welcomed them into their lives. Homulilly found herself fighting back tears. She had done it. She was one of them.

…

Ophelia raised her shot glass. “All right. To our weird family of freaky, adorable, and really hot dead monster girls with superpowers, and to its newest permanent additions! Welcome to the family!”

“Cheers!” Everyone clinked their own glasses against hers.

Homulilly was about to knock her shot glass back with everyone else, but then she hesitated. There wasn’t even a mouthful, but it was still more than she was used to. She had only ever had anything with alcohol a couple of times and never enjoyed it.

She glanced over to Gretchen, who was eyeing her own with the same dubious expression. The two exchanged glances, and then Gretchen shrugged, smiled, and gulped hers down.

Well, bottom’s up. Homulilly threw back her drink and swallowed it quickly.

It was…interesting. It burned a little, it fizzed a little, and it tasted a lot like minty mouthwash. Not bad, per se, but not good either. And it had a pretty weird aftertaste.

But before she could finish sussing out her opinion was when the alcohol hit.

“Bleh,” Gretchen said, making a face. “BLEH!” She hastily grabbed her glass of soda and swallowed several mouthfuls.

The others laughed. “Yeah, it’s very interesting, isn’t it?” Charlotte said. “You get used to it though.”

“Why?” Gretchen said with a violent shudder. “I mean, what’s the appeal?”

“The kick in the head and the rush of power!” said Ophelia.

“It’s a kick of something all right,” said Homulilly with a shiver of her own. “Whew. Did you guys really drink these back when you were in the program?”

“These? Nah, this fancy stuff is for celebrations. But yeah, we did have some fun times back when we were in the program.” Then she frowned. “Which…kind of became a problem after a while.”

Candeloro grimaced. “That it did.”

Oktavia made a face. Charlotte sighed.

Homulilly frowned. Usually her friends were very open about their escapades when they were younger, especially the alcohol-infused ones. This was the first time any of them had looked at all uncomfortable about it. “Why?” she asked Candeloro. “Did they get into trouble?”

Candeloro winced again. “Actually, it was me.”

“You?!” Homulilly and Gretchen exchanged a look of disbelief. Out of all their friends, Candeloro was the last one they would have suspected to ever have had a drinking problem.

“Me,” Candeloro admitted.

“Not just you,” Ophelia said.

“Well, it was mostly me. Anyway, I won’t go into details, but an intervention was staged, and since then we’ve all agreed to keep things in moderation.”

“So hey, you guys want some really important advice?” Ophelia said. “Have fun, but remember to keep it under control. Most things just suck if you do too much of it.”

“What happened?” Gretchen asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Oktavia hastily interrupted. “Let’s…leave that in the past. Besides, we’re celebrating your futures, not digging through out past mistakes.”

Something about the way Oktavia said that told Homulilly that this was a subject better left dropped, so she let it drop.

Their party had gone to the Sea Breeze to celebrate, which was popular Japanese steakhouse in lower Freehaven. The chef was a witch who had as many arms as Gretchen had legs, and had entertained them with deftly cooking up a banquet on the griddle set right into their table. Homulilly’s favorite part was when she made up several cool onion volcano things, and flicked a fried onion to each one of them in turn, letting them try to catch them in their mouths. Homulilly had actually managed to snag hers, though Gretchen had almost missed the one flipped her way, but had managed to catch it with one of her legs before it hit the floor, getting a laugh from the group. Now they were relaxing and munching on pieces of steak and chicken.

“So, now that you’ve left the innocence of childhood behind and joined the boring, dreary world of being a grown-up, what’cha think?” Oktavia said around a mouthful.

Homulilly and Gretchen glanced at each other. Gretchen shrugged.

“Uh…well, the drinks taste nasty, but at least I don’t have math class anymore,” Homulilly said.

“Not so fast,” Charlotte said. “There’s still college.”

Homulilly made a face. “Oh. Right. Thanks for reminding me.”

“Eh, don’t sweat it,” Ophelia said. “College is way more fun. Once you get all the gen ed crap out of the way, it’s pretty much just spending all your time doing stuff you’re actually interested in.”

“But I still don’t know what I’m even going to major in!”

“Me neither,” Gretchen sighed.

Ophelia shrugged. “So? I didn’t figure it out until like a year and a half in! Relax, most people don’t know at first.”

“I did,” Oktavia said smugly.

Charlotte flicked a rice grain at her face. “You’re a fish that was keeping us up screwing around on your keyboard less than two years into the integration program. It was pretty obvious that you’d be spending the rest of forever making music and exploring the ocean, looking for sea monsters.”

“Sea monsters?” Gretchen said.

Oktavia’s face lit up. “Yeah, I didn’t tell you? There’s karnuk somewhere near Freehaven!”

“A what now?”

“You know how they closed off Celeste beach and all swimming outside of the protected zone?” Charlotte said.

“No,” Homulilly said.

“We’ve been pretty busy this week,” Gretchen added.

“Fair. Okay, well, they did, and the reason for that is that some kind of nasty from the same planet as the butontikos and the nask got into Freehaven waters.” Charlotte motioned over to Oktavia. “Tavi here’s been working with the coast guard to try to capture it before anyone gets hurt.”

“Isn’t it awesome?” Oktavia said, looking entirely too happy for someone who was apparently spending a lot of time in the same water as a sea monster. “I never thought I’d get to see a karnuk in our waters!”

Homulilly’s face screwed up in confusion. “I never heard of a karnuk before. Are they dangerous?”

“Extremely!”

“Oh.”

“But why is it so hard to find?” Gretchen asked. “Don’t you have all those really powerful scanners and stuff?”

“You’d think! But okay, you know how butontikos are like all transparent and stuff?” Oktavia continued. “Well, karnuks are the same way. Plus, for some reason magic and sensors seem to just slip right off it. It’s what’s making hunting this guy down so hard. We’ve been having to go out and search by eye, and since it’s practically invisible, you can see how that would be complicated, it’s crazy!”

“Aren’t you scared?” Gretchen said with a shiver. “I mean, if it’s as dangerous as you’re saying…”

“Aw, I’m fine,” Oktavia said dismissively. “It’s not like I’m out there alone. There’s a whole team of us armed to the gills. Besides, it’s not like it can kill me. Swallow me whole, sure, but that just makes it more thrilling.”

“I’m with the kids with this one,” Ophelia said. “I still don’t like it.”

Oktavia shot her a look. “Come on. I can handle myself.”

“Sure. Right up until you get bitten in half.”

“Fee. Really. I’m literally the most qualified person to be out there.”

“I thought you weren’t scared of the water anymore,” Homulilly said.

“I’m…mostly not,” Ophelia said. “That doesn’t mean I like the idea of my girlfriend hunting for invisible sea monsters. I’m just…worried, is all. I’m entitled to be worried!”

“Ophelia. Come on. I got a freaking force field on. That thing tries to take a bite, its teeth will break right off.”

Ophelia sighed. “I guess…”

Homulilly shook her head. “Well, anyway, if what you are decides what job you get, then that means I’m going to end up as a florist and, uh…” She looked down at her arms and frowned.

“Taxidermist?” Oktavia suggested.

“That’s skin,” Charlotte said.

“Masseuse?”

Homulilly stared at Oktavia. “How does that even work?”

“I dunno, some people like bones!” Oktavia said with a shrug.

“This is some weird sex thing, isn’t it?”

“You said it. Not me.”

Gretchen lifted a couple wires, wriggled them around, and let them drop. “Well, I’m probably going to end up as either a plumber or something.”

“Why a plumber?” Candeloro asked.

“Because I can stick my legs as deep into any pipe as I want,” Gretchen told her. “Sure, it’s useful, but it’ll also end up being completely disgusting.”

“Pretty sure they got technology that lets them do that without sticking actual body parts into anything.”

“That’s what she said,” Oktavia muttered by reflex.

Then Candeloro brightened. “Oh, that reminds me!” she said, reaching down. “We have something for you two!”

“Something for us?” Homulilly said in confusion.

“How the hell did that remind you of those?” said Ophelia as Candeloro lifted up a pair of sizeable wrapped gifts.

Candeloro ignored her. “Here you go,” she said, placing the gifts on the table, one each in front of Gretchen and Homulilly. “A little housewarming gift.”

Both presents were pretty large, thought Gretchen’s was longer and flatter while Homulilly’s seemed a bit bulkier. “Oh, wow!” Gretchen said as the two of them tore into the wrapping paper. “Thank you! Let’s see, what do we have…”

Then the two of them stared in bewilderment into what was inside. Gretchen was gifted with an archery bow, a pink one with a pole designed to resemble a rose vine, with an imitation rose sticking out of its top and leaves clustering at the bottom. Homulilly had some kind of metal disc the size of large frisbee, with a sort of spiral design set with three golden spheres on the front and a metal strap on the back. It looked kind of like a small shield.

“A bow?” Gretchen blinked in confusion as she lifted it up. “Well, it is pretty, and-”

Then realization hit her, roughly around the same time it hit Homulilly.

“Wait.”

The two gaped at each other, and then down at the pair of armaments.

“Oh, my God,” Homulilly whispered.

“Is this what I think it is?” Gretchen said in much the same tone.

Ophelia grinned widely. “Well, I’d say that reaction pretty much confirms things.”

“We got in contact with Doomsday Clock’s SSSR,” Candeloro explained. “Turns out, they keep very clear records of everyone they retrieve, and we were able to find your entries without much fuss.”

“Not only that, but they also hang onto any weapons that might have been left behind by accident,” Oktavia added. “You know, just in case. Given what you guys had said about your first day, we were able to put things together pretty easily.”

“We figured that since you’re part of the family now, it’s only right that you have your own spots over the fireplace,” Ophelia said.

Oktavia looked from Homulilly’s face to Gretchen’s. “So…do you like them?”

Homulilly couldn’t respond. There seemed to be something in her throat, something keeping the words from coming out. Also, her vision was getting a little blurry.

She had made her peace with the death of her former self long ago. She knew that she was never going to find out who she was, what kind of person she had been, or even what her name was. And that was fine, because as much as she might’ve liked to know, she didn’t need to.

But while learning about her past was never going to happen, she now had the one memento she would’ve been able to bring over. It had never really sat right with her that she hadn’t managed to hold onto it, and while there was no way she could’ve known, the fact that their friends had all managed to keep theirs and she and Gretchen hadn’t just didn’t seem all that fair.

But now it was hers again.

She blinked away tears and looked over to Gretchen, who was staring at her bow like it was her long lost pet, suddenly come home. Her eyes were as wet as Homulilly’s, and her chin was trembling.

Gretchen glanced up at her, and as if on cue the two of them embraced.

This got a round of applause from the rest of the group. “I’ll take that as a yes!” Oktavia said.

Laughing, Gretchen released Homulilly, put her bow down, and rushed around the table to wrap her arms and several legs around their friends. Homulilly’s wasn’t far behind.

“Thank you,” Gretchen said, tears now streaming down her cheeks. “This means…this means more…”

“I think we get it,” Candeloro said, cradling Gretchen’s head. “Welcome to the family.”

A bit later, after the last of their meal had finished up and their bill settled, the group headed out of the Sea Breeze and into the streets. Gretchen was cradling her bow to her chest, while Homulilly had figured out how to strap her shield to her arm. She had to admit, there was something comfortingly familiar about feeling its weight there.

“So, you thinking of taking some archery lessons or something?” Charlotte said as they started up the hill.

“Uh, maybe?” Gretchen frowned. “Do you guys know how to use your weapons?”

“What’s to learn?” Oktavia said. “It’s a sword! You stick the other girl with the pointy end.” She slapped her thigh. “Besides, I’m not exactly equipped for sword fighting anymore.”

“I tried it for a bit,” Ophelia said. “But turns out that spear has this weird segmented thing going on. A couple of twirls, and the whole thing just came apart and whacked me in the head. So that was pretty much the end of that.”

“I’m not really into marksmanship,” Candeloro said.

“And I got a stick,” Charlotte said. “I know it probably does some sort of magic whatever, but eh.”

Homulilly was fiddling around with her shield. Part of it seemed to be on some kind of swivel. Was something supposed to happen when she turned it into place?

“Well, actually, I think I might look into it,” Gretchen said. She twanged the bowstring like a harp. “I always thought I should learn some kind of-”

Suddenly a pair of strong arms slipped in around Gretchen’s waist from behind and yanked her fully off the ground.

“-erk!”

“We did it!” Mitty cheered as she swung Gretchen back and forth, causing her legs to flail about. “We did it, we did it, we did it!”

Gretchen hastily squirmed out of Mitty’s embrace and practically collapsed into Homulilly’s arms. “Y-Yeah,” she stammered as she struggled to regain her sense of balance. “We did. Yay.”

Homulilly sighed.

“Damn straight!” Mitty crowed. “Now we’re free, free, free…” It was then that she caught sight of the five pairs of eyes staring at her, and realized that Gretchen was currently in the company of others. Her face went pale. “Oh.”

Oktavia snorted loudly. Charlotte breathed out. As for Ophelia, she noisily cleared her throat and said, “Hello, Mitty. Congratulations!”

“Um…thanks!” Mitty squeaked. She winced. “So…nice to see you all! Nice bow, Gretchen! I’m going to…go. Bye!”

The six of them watched as the girl all but fled over to where her girlfriend Alyssa was standing and watching with a mixture of amusement and annoyance. Homulilly couldn’t hear what they were saying, but apparently it had something to do with Mitty’s little faux pas and the incredible amount of chagrin it had brought her.

“Is it just me, or has she gotten even more…excitable lately?” Charlotte remarked.

“It’s not just you,” Gretchen said. She managed to get all of her legs on the ground and stand up, albeit a little shakily. “She’s been hyper all week.”

“Well, graduation is worth getting excited about,” Candeloro said. “Though that doesn’t explain why she suddenly got so embarrassed when she saw us.”

Oktavia coughed into her fist. “I’ll give you three guesses,” she said. Then she pointed at Ophelia and Charlotte. “And the first two don’t count.”

Charlotte stared blankly. “Me? Why me?”

Oktavia opened her mouth to respond, but at that moment a girl they had never seen before suddenly approached the group.

“Um, ex-excuse me,” she said, wringing her hands. “Are y-you Charlotte Walpurgis?”

Charlotte’s head snapped back, and she blinked several times in quick. “Uh, ah, yes! You know me?”

“I do! I love your books! Um…” She held up her phone. “I don’t suppose I can get a picture?”

Charlotte looked honestly tongue-tied. Fortunately, Candeloro was on hand to act as her in-between.

“Of course you can!” she said. She gave Charlotte’s calves a small kick. “Right, Charlotte?”

Charlotte jolted. “Oh, o-of course!”

After the picture was taken and the girl had left, Ophelia started snickering. “So was that enough of an explanation, or should we draw you out a flowchart?”

“Shut up,” Charlotte said, though it sounded more like a reflex than anything. In fact, she was kind of beaming.

“Do we need to start searching the bushes for paparazzi?”

“Shut up, Fee-fee. I’m not that popular.”

“But you know, we all kind of are,” Oktavia chimed in. “I’ve got my music, you got your books, Fee’s got her dancing, Candy’s got her baking awards. Put all of our followings together, I’d say we equal at least one and a half soap opera actress!”

Homulilly sighed. “Gee. Thanks. It wasn’t like we had enough pressure going on about our futures. Now apparently we need to do something to make us famous too.”

“Ah, plenty of time for that! Now, let’s get out of here before an autograph line starts forming. We already gave you your new keys, right?”

Homulilly nodded. She pulled her key ring out of her purse. “Got it right here. And-”

Then she frowned. “Oh. Oops.”

“What?” Charlotte said. “Don’t tell me you lost yours already?”

“No, but I forgot to turn in my dorm keys,” Homulilly said, tapping a plastic card that was still stuck onto her key ring.”

Gretchen blinked. Then she pulled out her own key ring, which also still had her card key. “Um, looks like I did too,” she said sheepishly.

“Oh, you girls,” Candeloro sighed. “All right, we’ll swing back at the Bureau before heading home then.”

“Can we stop at our old dorm first?” Gretchen said. “You know, just to say goodbye to the place?”

“So long as you’re fast and clean up after yourselves,” Ophelia said. “They’ve probably already disinfected the place. It’s not polite to leave behind any-”

Charlotte swatted the back of her head.

“-ow!”

…

For the very last time, Homulilly and Gretchen entered their dorm.

All of their possessions had been removed and were on their way to their new home. The double-bed that they had shared for the last few years had been removed, and the pair of twins had been brought back and put in place. The room had been carefully cleaned and tidied up, with all trace of their presence cleaned away.

And on the mantle, that old clock was back, slowly ticking away the seconds.

Tick-tick-tick.

Homulilly had hated that clock when they had first arrived. It had reminded her too much of that huge clock tower that she and Gretchen had been bound to during their first few minutes. Eventually they had requested that it be removed and replaced with a digital timekeeper.

But now, she was kind of glad it was back. It would remain there, looking over as generation after generation of the newly dead came through that same room, keeping track of the time for them. As far as she was concerned, some things ought to remain consistent.

Tick-tick-tick.

“This is weird,” Gretchen said as they stood hand-in-hand, looking around.

“But good.”

“Good, yes. But also weird. This is it.”

Homulilly took a deep breath. “Yeah, I guess it is.” Then she grinned. “So…one last time? For good luck?”

They stood in the middle of the room and kissed, this time long and deep, arms wrapped tightly around one another while six of Gretchen’s legs wrapped around Homulilly’s calves and waist.

For a moment, the ticking of the clock seemed to stop. All that mattered to Homulilly was the feel of Gretchen’s body pressed against hers, Gretchen’s taste in her mouth, Gretchen’s scent in her nostrils.

Homulilly closed her eyes, just enjoying everything about her. Sure, she was still nervous about their future, but wow, if every kiss was going to be like this, then they were going to be fine.

Then they finally parted. They were breathing hard and their cheeks were flushed. “Wow,” Gretchen said. “Way to end things on a bang.”

Ophelia would probably have something smart to say about Gretchen’s choice of words, but Homulilly decided not to fill in for her. “Yeah,” she said. “It is.” She released Gretchen’s waist and gripped her hand. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

They left the dorm for the last time and locked the door behind them. Then they headed off together, to both turn in their key and leave that chapter of their lives for good.

It was early evening, and the light shining in through the windows was of a soft gold. In a way that made Homulilly feel even better about what was ahead of them. It didn’t matter what happened next, they would still have the same sky overhead, the same sun shining down on them.

Well, unless they moved to a different territory, then the sky and sun would technically be entirely different, but…

Homulilly decided to stop thinking about the weird metaphysics that governed their world and just concentrate on the positives.

They turned the corner, and something caught their eye. One of the caretakers was there, and she was gently holding a crying green-haired girl in her arms. For a moment Homulilly was confused, as she had no idea who that girl was.

Then she understood. It had to be one of the newly arrived, someone who had died very recently and only just wound up in Freehaven.

Despite her good mood, Homulilly couldn’t help but feel a little sad. Just as she and Gretchen were finishing up that part of their lives, that girl and others like her were just beginning theirs. And the first part was always the worst. Everything was so new and strange and scary, and coming to terms with their own deaths was just awful, especially if they happened to be Puella Magi and not witches, as the girl seemed to be.

Homulilly and Gretchen exchanged a brief, sad look. Freehaven may be a wonderful place, but those first few months were always hard. Homulilly wished the girl well. She was going to need all the help she could get.

The pair passed by the two as quickly and quietly as they could so as not to disturb them.

And then, right before they were almost out of the door to happily embark on the next chapter of their lives, one word brought it all crashing down: one three-syllable word that was called out so loudly that it was almost screamed.

“MADOKA!”

Homulilly froze in place. She did not know that word, and yet…she kind of did. There was something about that word that tugged at her mind, something triggering something buried deep in her memories.

As for Gretchen, she let out a small gasp. It was clear that she had been affected the same way.

“MADOKA KANAME!”

Homulilly and Gretchen both turned. It was the newly-arrived girl with green hair. She was no longer crying in the caretaker’s arms but was instead staring at them both, her eyes wide with shock, with the caretaker standing behind her looking totally befuddled.

“It is you!” she exclaimed, hands covering her mouth. “It is you! I found you!”

“Wh-What?” Gretchen stammered.

“Madoka, don’t you recognize me?” The girl held a hand to her chest, her pale green eyes pleading. “It’s me, Hitomi!”

…

Oh, I’m sorry. Were you expecting a return to the slice-of-life cuteness, something breezy and fun for the final chapter? Oh nooooooooooooo! Who exactly did you think I am? We are doing this, bitches!

Until next time, everyone!

[dimensiontripperhibiki]

A Name In The Wind (8/?)

Here’s the next chapter of A Name In The Wind, hope you guys enjoy!  Warning(s): A rule for this chapter is if it’s a HonoEli scene it’s most likely NSFW. As in mildly explicit. 

Chika stared after Riko long after she disappeared from sight. It wasn’t going to be the same without her there, even if she wasn’t going to be gone for long. She recalled her discussion with Riko about her leaving as she stared ahead, as if waiting for her friend to return. ‘I’ll be waiting, I won’t go anywhere. We’ll all be waiting for you, I promise.’ She was relieved that she had been the one to have that discussion with Riko. She wouldn’t have wanted it to come from anyone else. She wrapped her arms around herself, almost able to feel Riko’s warmth clinging to her. She wondered how she’d never noticed that before. Just how warm Riko was. Everything about her was warm and comforting. ‘I love you.’ Her thoughts shifted briefly to Maki who had reminded her of Riko. She felt nothing short of guilty for hurting her but she wasn’t going to do the same with Riko. Not that it was the same thing, given her attraction to Maki and Maki’s attraction to her.

“Hey, where did you go?” A voice that was unmistakably Kanan’s sounded and a moment later, Chika felt her hair being gently ruffled. “You was talking to you.”

“Huh? She was?” Chika looked up in surprise, finding You and Kanan had returned to her side. “Ah, sorry. I just got distracted. It’s odd to see Riko-chan go…” “Yeah, it’s just the three of us again, huh?” Kanan lightly pinched Chika’s cheeks, causing the girl to whine and duck away from her. Chika ducked behind You, using her as a shield. “What are you doing?” “Huh? I used to do that when we were younger.” Kanan said, tilting her head in confusion. “Yeah, when I was five! I’m not a kid anymore!” Chika said, her voice slightly higher than usual. Kanan raised an eyebrow. “I’ve noticed.” “Eeh?!” “Geez, you’re acting so distant suddenly.” Kanan complained, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Just a couple of days ago you couldn’t stop clinging to me. Sleeping with your head in my lap, on my shoulder, holding my hand…” “Checking you out.” You piped up, her tone a bit accusatory. “What?!” Chika exclaimed in disbelief. “It’s true. You stared at my boobs for five full minutes on You’s boat. I don’t think you even blinked.” Kanan pointed out matter of factly. “I guess it’s nice to be appreciated, even if it’s sudden…” “I did not do that!” Chika yelled only to remember they were in the middle of a train station. “You’re my childhood friend, practically my sister! It would be weird. If I was going to check anyone out it would be You-chan or...well maybe not You-chan because she’s my childhood friend too but...Riko-chan! O-Or um...Hanamaru-chan? No wait, that would be weird...just Riko-chan then.” She cursed Honoka’s attraction toward athletic girls. It was a real problem when that described both of her childhood friends. “Of course just Riko-chan.” You muttered with a roll of her eyes. She cleared her throat and spoke louder this time. “You really were checking her out though.” “Maybe I’m just...jealous of her boobs!” Chika suggested desperately. “Did you even think of that?!” Both You and Kanan looked skeptically down at Chika’s chest. It was unlikely. “No, you looked like you wanted to touch them.” Kanan disagreed. “Like the look Mari gets when she…” “Aah, no more talking!” Chika exclaimed, feeling a headache coming on. “Fine! Yes, you’re attractive. If I want to check you out, I will. You’re both attractive, that doesn’t mean I like you like that!” Noticing that Chika’s face was bright red, You decided to take pity on her. “Okay, let’s drop it. Let’s catch up with the others, Chika-chan.” --- Honoka gasped softly against Eli’s lips as the girl’s hand slid under her shirt, fingers splaying over her stomach. She couldn’t get enough of her touch, of the taste of her lips. Over the past few days Eli had gotten bolder and bolder, stealing kisses in the student council room when she was meant to be helping Honoka with paperwork, pulling her into a deep kiss before dance practice. Her hands were wandering too, travelling over Honoka’s butt and thighs. It was intoxicating, the way Eli touched her so intimately. They were in the student council room now, the door locked so that nobody else could get in. Eli had Honoka lightly pinned to the wall next to the door to make sure they were out of view. The moment they’d stepped inside, Eli had kissed her, gently pushing her back against the wall. Honoka had to admit that it was hot when Eli took control of her. More often than not, the third year was still somewhat tentative in her actions. Eli’s lips trailed to her neck, her right hand sliding to the back of Honoka’s thigh as her leg pressed up between the second year’s thighs. Honoka hissed softly, her head falling back against the wall.. “Eli-senpai…” “Mmm?” Eli gave a questioning hum, lightly nipping at Honoka’s neck. She could feel Honoka subtly grinding against her leg. Honoka reached out, playing with the top button of Eli’s shirt. Her bow and blazer had been discarded a few minutes ago. “Can I unbutton this?” Eli paused for a split second, surprised by the question. “Sure. Why?” “Because I want to see you.” Honoka murmured, lifting her other hand and making short work of the buttons. When it was unbuttoned, she darily pushed it off Eli’s shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. Eli hissed at the cool air hitting her skin. She felt herself being turned and pushed to the wall, her legs lifted by Honoka’s firm hands. She let out a squeak of surprise and clutched Honoka tightly, instinctively wrapping her legs around her waist. “H-Honoka, wait. I’m too heavy.” “No, you’re not.” Honoka’s lips moved to Eli’s chest and she smattered kisses across the soft skin there, her hips pressing insistently against Eli. Neither of them noticed any noise outside of the door until it opened suddenly and they both heard Nozomi’s voice. “I told you I could pick the lock, Umi-cha...holy…” “What? Nozomi, don’t close the…” The door slammed shut and  Honoka was completely still for a moment, letting what had just happened wash over her. She dropped Eli after a moment, quickly backing away. “Oh no…” Eli bent to grab her shirt from the floor and quick pull it back on. She buttoned it up, watching Honoka in concern. “I don’t think Umi saw anything.” “I hope not.” Honoka said quietly. Eli was about to ask why she would care if Umi knew what they were doing if Umi already knew they were going on dates together when Honoka opened the door. Nozomi was standing there, blocking the door to keep Umi from entering. “Hey, Umi-chan.” Honoka greeted, running her hands over her hair to neaten it. “Was there something you needed?” “I wanted to see if you needed any help with your work. I know you haven’t been feeling very…” She wavered, not sure how to describe Honoka’s odd moods. “I just wanted to know if you needed help.” “No, I’m all done.” Honoka answered brightly. She was ahead actually, now that she had Eli’s help. “Oh. Then do you want to walk home together?” Umi asked hopefully. “Kotori already left but she said I should ask you.” “Um…” Honoka glanced uncertainly at Eli who averted her eyes. “Sure.” Umi noticed the look between the two of them and realized they must have had plans. “Do you want to walk with us, Eli?” Eli looked up in surprise, having not expected the invite. “If you don’t mind.” Umi shrugged her shoulders. She’d wanted to walk with Honoka but they were her friends so she wouldn’t say no to them. “What about you, Nozomi…?” “No thanks. I’ll walk home with Nicocchi if I can find her.” Nozomi said with a laugh. “This is one threesome I’m not interested in getting in the middle of.” “Nozomi!” Eli exclaimed, her eyes widening. Nozomi walked over to Eli and took her hand, tugging her a couple of feet away. “Elichi, you need to be more careful. You're lucky that I’m the one who saw you.” Eli sighed in response. “I didn’t expect anyone to pick the lock!” “Well she needed to get in, how was I meant to know you two were getting it on in here?” Nozomi asked, raising an eyebrow. “It’s not a bedroom you know.” Eli growled under her breath. “I know. And just so you know we’re not even having sex so...it wasn’t like that.” “Sure.” Nozomi said sarcastically. “If you get off it’s still sex.” “Nozomi!” “Well I’m gonna find the ball of anger that is Nicocchi. Have fun you...three. Good luck, Umi-chan.” “Huh?” Umi stared after Nozomi as she walked out of the room laughing to herself. “Good luck with what?” “N-Nothing.” Honoka said with a blush. “Let’s just go.” Eli walked over to Honoka and took her hand, tugging her toward the door. Umi followed, frowning in confusion at their joined hands. --- It was only when Honoka reached the front door to Homura’s that it sank in that Umi was still with her. She had been so absorbed in their conversation that she hadn’t noticed. She was confused though, now that she had. “Do you want to come in, Umi-chan?” “Ah, no. I shouldn’t.” Umi said with a shake of her head as she stepped back. Her gaze fell once more to Honoka’s hand, clutching Eli’s. “I have some things I need to do. I promised Kotori we would talk.” “Didn’t she leave you at school though?” Honoka asked in confusion. “Ah, she texted me.” Umi said, thinking quickly. She breathed a sigh of relief as Honoka nodded, seemingly accepting that. “Do you need to talk, Umi-chan?” Honoka asked outright, deciding that being subtle hadn’t worked for her so far. “I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me…” “Eh?” Umi’s eyes widened in surprise. She looked quickly to Eli who was watching Honoka closely. “No, I’m um...I’m fine. I can’t right now.” “Because Eli-senpai is here?” Honoka let go of Eli’s hand and stepped closer to Umi. “Come upstairs, we can talk in private. You know you can tell me anything, Umi-chan. I know I haven’t...been myself lately but if there’s something bothering you I want to know.” “Of course I know that.” Umi stepped forward and hugged Honoka tightly, meeting Eli’s eyes over Honoka’s shoulder. The blonde looked confused, she noticed. As Honoka’s arms came around her, Umi allowed herself to linger in the embrace for a moment before she drew away. “If I need to talk to you, I will. I promise. I just have to go and help Kotori with something.” “Okay. Call me later?” Honoka requested quietly. She watched as Umi smiled and nodded in agreement before she wandered off. She felt Eli come up behind her, not touching her but standing close. “I hate this. I know there’s something she’s not telling me.” “Yeah. Maybe it’s private.” Eli guessed as she watched Umi’s retreating back. “I mean...it didn’t seem like you told her about us even though you mentioned her on our date…” “But that’s different!” Honoka protested hurriedly. “We’re not...dating or anything so we don’t need to tell anyone, right?” “Huh? But you said we are.” Eli said in confusion. “We don’t have to be a couple but we can try it out, remember? We can still date.” “I don’t know what the difference is.” Honoka admitted, turning to Eli once Umi was out of sight. “But I don’t think we’re...doing that officially. We’re just…” “Friends with benefits?” Eli interrupted, looking disgusted at the thought. “We’re just friends who fool around, right? Making out and stuff?” Honoka nodded silently and watched as Eli’s shoulders slumped. “I can’t give you anything else right now, Eli-senpai…” “You said we were just testing it out, seeing how you feel about it.” Eli took a deep breath. “I like you, Honoka. Do you like me? Not just physically. I think that’s what it comes down to...” “I do.” Honoka said quietly. “But I can’t date you. Or be with you, I just...need this right now. I need us to be simple and...I need you to not get too attached.” “Attached? Are...are you kidding me?!” Eli exclaimed in shock. “I didn’t mean it like that!” Honoka said loudly in frustration, taking a step back. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me! I’m attracted to you but I’m attracted to Umi-chan too! And a girl who looks like you too! And a redhead I know. And I like you and Umi-chan and Kanan-chan and Riko-chan because you’re all my friends so I-I don’t know how I feel or who I want! How am I supposed to KNOW?! This is all new to me and I don’t know what I’m doing, Eli-senpai! I don’t want to hurt you or Umi-chan like I hurt Maki-chan...” “Hey, calm down.” Eli stepped forward and took Honoka into her arms. “No labels, okay? Not with us. We can just...be us. Doing what we want with each other.” She pressed her lips to the top of Honoka’s head, feeling her nod against her shoulder. “Let’s go upstairs. It’s freezing.” Honoka nodded again and let Eli pull away and take her hand, leading her upstairs to her room. When they got there, Honoka numbly sat down on the bed while Eli paused in front of her. “Hey um..who are Kanan and Riko?” Eli asked curiously, remembering Honoka mentioning them. “Do I know them?” “No.” Eli sat down on the edge of the bed and let herself fall onto her back. “Can you tell me about them? Or is that too weird?” “Maybe…” Honoka couldn’t resist moving to Eli, lying on her side next to her. She lay her head on Eli’s shoulder, pressing close to her. “Kanan-chan is like...she looks like you and Umi-chan, kind of. She’s um...fit like you but she has Umi-chan’s hair. She has a big sister vibe and she loves the water. She works at a shack and she’s so caring. She’s always looking out for me. You would like her, I think.” Eli offered a small smile. “And Riko?” “Riko is just...she’s really pretty. She has red hair, darker than Maki-chan’s but she reminds me of Umi-chan too. She has her eyes and I feel safe with her, like...she would support me no matter what. Just like Umi-chan. She gets embarrassed almost as much as Umi-chan too.” Honoka admitted, a slight blush to her cheeks. “She plays the piano too, like Maki-chan. And she’s so passionate about her music. I really like that about her.” “And Umi-chan?” “Umi-chan is...my best friend. You know how she is, I don’t need to tell you that. I just...I love her. That’s all.” Eli hummed, playing with the ends of Honoka’s hair. “Honoka, are you sure you don’t like Umi the most? You talk about her a lot…” “Sorry.” Honoka mumbled, earning herself a gentle smile from Eli. “I’m just confused.” Eli hummed softly but fell silent. “Uh...do you mind if I ask you something? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” “I’ve never kissed anyone but Eli-senpai. If that’s what you want to know.” Honoka felt Eli relax, that alone telling her she had been right in her assumption. “I was wondering about that.” Eli murmured. She pressed her forehead to Honoka’s temple and lightly nuzzled her cheek. “What about Nozomi? Do you think she’s attractive?” “Nozomi-chan’s super hot.” Honoka said, turning slightly toward Eli. “And she’s so kind too. She helps me a lot. But I don’t like her in that way.” “But she’s your favorite, huh?” “Favorite?” Honoka echoed in confusion. “I mean you’re always going to her…” Eli said warily. “Whenever you’re worried about something. Whenever something is wrong you always talk to Nozomi instead of anyone else.” Honoka reached up, brushing Eli’s hair back from her face. “Eli-senpai is my favorite.” She leaned in slowly, giving Eli time to pull away before she kissed her softly. “You didn’t ask me to talk about you. When you went through the list.” “Why would I?” Eli whispered back. “I know about me. But if you want to…” “You’re bold.” Honoka murmured, still so close that Eli could feel her breath on her lips. “I like that you took action when you wanted me. And you’re so hot. Sometimes I’m just...so tempted to take you.” She brushed her lips lightly against Eli’s, noticing the girl was holding her breath. “To do what it says on the internet, to sink my fingers deep inside of you and make you feel good…” “You do?” Eli finally released the breath she was holding, a familiar warmth forming in her lower stomach. “Mmm.” Honoka kissed Eli once more but pulled back before the blonde could deepen the kiss. “I like you...sexually. And maybe romantically. But I love you as my friend and I think that’s more important.” “Well I love you in every way.” Eli said with a confidence Honoka wished she had. If she knew for sure how she felt about Eli everything would be a lot easier. “So my first time is yours. When you want it. As you said, it should be with someone I’m in love with…” Honoka swallowed thickly. “In love with? I thought you just liked me.” Eli gave a slight nod of her head. “I was lying about that.” Honoka sighed and looked down at the sheets below them. “I’m sorry…” Eli shrugged. “It’s not as if it’s your fault. You didn’t do anything besides be yourself. Maybe it’s my fault.” Honoka bit her lip and let her eyes drift over Eli’s form. “So you do want me to touch you?” Eli gave a hesitant nod. “Not if you don’t want to though.” “We could do...other stuff. We don’t need to go all the way.” Honoka said tentatively. Her confidence was lifted by the hopeful look on Eli’s face. “Take your shirt off. A-And your bra. Please.” Eli shyly looked away. “You can do it for me if you want.” Honoka’s eyes briefly widened before she nodded quickly. With shaky hands, she reached out and unbuttoned Eli’s shirt, helping her out of it. She swallowed thickly, taking a moment to look Eli over, taking in the sight of soft, supple looking skin before her eyes lingered on her chest. She pressed closer, her arms going around Eli’s torso so she could get her hands to the clip. “Is this okay…?” She waited for a nod before she unclipped the bra and carefully helped Eli out of it. “Shit…” Honoka breathed, her eyes wide with wonder as Eli’s bra fell from her hands. Eli cracked a smile when Honoka just continued to stare. “I don’t know what to think about that reaction.” “Sorry, you’re just um…” Honoka shook her head and looked back up into Eli’s eyes. “You’re really…” Eli raised an eyebrow as Honoka’s cheeks flushed slightly, her gaze drifting back to her chest. “Really…?” “I-I don’t know. Hot. Not hot, you’re…” Honoka struggled to find the right word, strong enough to express how she felt. “Beautiful. Yeah…” “You’re sweet.” Eli smiled, a blush crawling up her cheeks. “I’m just being honest.” Honoka said with a shrug. Eli was way out of her league, she knew that. “Um...can you lie down?” “Sure.” Eli trustingly lay down on her back and waited. After a few seconds, Honoka threw a leg over her and situated herself so she was straddling her stomach. Eli felt her breath hitch in her chest as Honoka’s fingers skimmed lightly over her stomach, pausing near her breasts. “You’re allowed to touch.” She said before Honoka had a chance to ask if she could. “Whatever you want.” Honoka smiled briefly before she leaned down and pressed a light kiss between Eli’s breasts. Looking up, she found that Eli’s eyes had fluttered shut. Experimentally she cupped Eli’s right breast in her hand, squeezing lightly while she trailed kisses over the other until she could take a hardening nub into her mouth, her tongue flicking against it. She remembered reading somewhere that it was a good idea to pay attention to that area. Eli gasped softly, her hand moving to the back of Honoka’s head, resting there lightly as Honoka nipped and sucked at her skin. “Yeah. T-That’s good, Honoka. Just like that.” She whispered, sliding her fingers into Honoka’s hair. Honoka drew her mouth away for just a moment and Eli hissed at the cool air. “Tell me what to do, Eli-senpai.” “Uh…” Eli blanked out for a moment as Honoka’s mouth returned to her breast. “I-I don’t want you to. I know you’re not ready b-but what if I touch myself? I’m so turned on, Honoka…” Honoka stilled completely for a moment before lifting her head. “It’ll just be under my skirt. It won’t be...you won’t see anything.” Eli hastened to reassure her, her cheeks flaming red. “Please?” “Alright.” Honoka whispered with a slight nod. “Do you want me to move?” Eli shook her head as her own hand travelled down. “Just lift up a bit.” She waited until Honoka had lifted herself on her knees before she slipped her arm under her and let her hand wander under her own skirt. Honoka watched Eli for a moment, taking in the way her eyes closed and her lips parted in a silent gasp. She could feel the wrist pressed against the inside of her thigh moving subtly, Eli’s hips moving slightly too. “How does it feel?” “Good.” Eli moaned softly, forcing her eyes open so she could look at Honoka. “It would be better if it was your fingers though. Can you uh...go back to what you were doing?” “As long as you tell me what you’re doing.” Honoka paused until Eli hastily nodded in agreement before she went back to what she’d been doing, her lips capturing Eli’s nipple once more. Eli hissed at the feeling and pushed her hand into her underwear. Remembering her agreement, she took a deep breath. “I’m...I’m just rubbing myself right now…” “Hmm?” Honoka looked up at Eli, meeting her blue eyes. Eli nervously licked her lips. She wasn’t used to this and she wasn’t sure she could manage dirty talk. “I’m...uh…” Honoka smiled slightly against Eli’s breast, enamoured by how much of a bumbling mess the blonde suddenly was. “It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything. Just keep going.” Eli took a slow breath and then shifted her hand, slipping two fingers inside of herself. “Honoka, will you...do something for me?” Honoka looked up with innocently questioning eyes. “Take your panties off.” Doubt niggled at the back of Honoka’s mind but she didn’t want to say no, she was too caught up in the moment. She moved off of Eli and slid her panties off, tossing them aside before she moved back on top of the blonde. She hovered over her self-consciously. “Um...what now?” “Grind against my arm.” Eli ordered, seemingly forgetting about how embarrassing the situation was. “I won’t see you, I’ll just feel you.” She noticed a flicker of hesitation on Honoka’s face. “Come on, it’ll just be like doing it yourself. You’re just using my body to make yourself feel good. You want to feel good, right?” The way Eli was looking at her through half-lidded eyes, her hand moving at a lazy pace between her legs was more than enough to convince Honoka that she needed to say yes. “So...like this?” Honoka hesitantly lowered herself down until she could feel Eli’s arm against her. She gasped at the same time as Eli did. “Ah, that feels…” “Good?” Eli guessed shakily, moving her hand a little bit faster, her hips jerking slightly. “God, you’re so wet.” “H-Hey!” Honoka exclaimed flushed with embarrassment. “We’re even now.” Eli remarked with a soft smirk. Honoka wanted to wipe the smug look off Eli’s face but she couldn’t bring herself to try. Her hips were moving on their own, Eli’s arm acting as the perfect thing to grind against. She leaned forward slightly, gripping the blankets beneath the blonde for stability. “Wait…” Eli lifted her free hand and used it to quickly pull Honoka’s untied ribbon completely off before she unfastened the top three buttons of her shirt. “That’s better…” Honoka felt Eli’s free hand grasp her shoulder, keeping her pushed slightly back and keeping her stabilized. She was grateful for the support. Even now her knees were trembling beneath her. She whimpered as Eli’s wrist pressed up against her. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip, focusing on the movement of her hips against the blonde. “Fuck.” Eli swore, planting her feet against the bed to steady herself as she quickened the speed of her fingers. “You’re so hot, Honoka. Just keep going. Just like that.” Honoka’s eyes opened for a moment, briefly meeting Eli’s before they closed again and Honoka doubled her efforts, moaning unashamedly as she continued to grind down against Eli’s arm. “Eli-senpai, I think I’m…” “It’s okay.” Eli’s grip on Honoka’s shoulder tightened and she focused on her face. “Just go with it.” With one last push of her hips, Honoka felt a rush of pleasure, her hips jerking as if of their own accord against Eli’s wrist. Eli watched in awe as Honoka threw her head back slightly, her lip still tucked between her teeth. The sight was enough to get her to follow Honoka to climax and she moaned loudly as it hit her, her hips jerking up against her fingers. She kept her eyes on Honoka as pleasure washed over her in waves before finally stopping. She slumped down and let Honoka fall forward on top of her. Honoka tucked her face into Eli’s neck, breathing heavily. “That was…” “Hot.” Eli finished, lightly rubbing Honoka’s back. “This is as far as we can go though. We can’t go past third base.” “Hmm?” Honoka didn’t bother to lift her head. “So this still doesn’t count as sex?” Eli shook her head. “It’s not sex unless my fingers are inside of you. And we’re definitely not doing that until you’re ready. Just think of this as...mutual masturbation.” Honoka wasn’t sure she was inclined to agree. She moved off Eli, lying on her side next to her instead. “That’s the first time I’ve ever…” “Well I must be good.” Eli grinned as she grabbed some blankets and tugged them over them. “Do you do it a lot?” Honoka asked curiously. She sighed in relief, feeling Eli’s warmth press against her back, an arm going around her waist. “A lot more than I did.” Eli gently kissed Honoka’s cheek. “Now that we have this no labels thing going on. It’s hard not to.” Honoka smiled at hearing that. She liked that it was so easy with Eli. She reached down and took Eli’s hand, drawing it to her chest. “I really like you, Eli-senpai. As someone I do this kind of thing with. But I love you too, as my friend. I love you and I like you.” Eli chuckled softly against Honoka’s back. “Well I love you and I love you.” She felt Honoka tremble in her arms with silent laughter. “You really are new to this, huh? It’s so adorable.”

“Well so are you!” Honoka pointed out hurriedly. “You said I was your first kiss.” Eli gave a soft hum of agreement. She couldn’t argue with that. “I just mean that you’re new to even being interested. You’re pretty dense. Even more than Nico.” Honoka sighed loudly and loosened her grip on Eli’s arm enough that the blonde could draw it away without trying. “Honoka?” Eli spoke warily. She was worried when Honoka didn’t answer. “Hey, I’m only kidding. I’m not trying to offend you. I think it’s cute, really. You don’t have to be upset about being...innocent. I knew that already, remember? Honoka?” “I know.” Honoka mumbled. “And I know you’re not with me because I’m good at things like that. You really like me so it doesn’t matter, right?” “You are good at things like that.” Eli kissed just behind Honoka’s ear. “But it’s not the reason I love you. You’re a catch, Honoka. Really.” Honoka turned over suddenly and crawled atop Eli, lightly pinning her hands to the bed at either side of her head. “I’m not as innocent as you think I am, Senpai.” “You aren’t, huh?” Eli smirked up at Honoka. “Maybe you can show me sometime. How...not innocent you are.” “Maybe I will.” Honoka said, raising an eyebrow. Her lips turned up slightly as Eli shifted her hands, entwining their fingers but didn’t fight against the way they were pinned to the bed. She pressed herself close to the blonde and leaned down, kissing at her neck. Eli inhaled sharply at the feeling, her eyes fluttering shut as she focused on the feeling of Honoka’s warmth against her. A sudden twinge at her neck had her gasping softly as the girl sucked lightly at her neck. “There.” Honoka announced huskily as she drew back to assess her work. “Now it’s obvious you’re taken.” “Taken.” Eli muttered with a slight shake of her head. “Does that mean you’re taken too? Even though we’re not official.” Honoka thought about that for a moment before breaking into a smile. “Yes, I am. For now, I am.” --- Kanan wasn’t all that surprised to find Chika sitting on the beach, her knees drawn to her chest. Chika had been going to the beach to think for years. Almost as long as Kanan had known her. She slowed down her run, slightly out of breath as she approached the girl. She was slightly uncomfortable, her swimsuit still wet and clinging to her skin but it was nothing she wasn’t used to. “Hey.” She greeted Chika, plopping down next to her on the sand. “You look deep in thought.” “Not really.” Chika answered with a small smile as she turned to look at Kanan. “I’m just worried about You-chan. She’s seemed kind of upset. I guess I’ve been acting kind of weird lately too, huh?” Kanan raised an eyebrow. “That’s an understatement.” She shifted closer to Chika when the girl frowned, their arms brushing together but she didn’t say anything. “I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you.” Chika said softly as she shifted, crossing her legs beneath her. “I guess I’ve been...distant lately? But it’s not you, I even freak out when Ruby-chan touches me. Ruby-chan!” Kanan felt her lips turn up slightly at Chika’s comment. It was hard to believe that anyone would find Ruby intimidating. “You’re not saying anything.” Chika sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly when Kanan made no effort to respond. “I’m just hoping you’ll tell me what’s bothering you.” Kanan said quietly. “I think I know but I would like it if you would tell me.” “Kn-Know…?” Chika stuttered, a shiver running down her spine. Kanan couldn’t know. It wasn’t possible. She gave a slightly nervous laugh. “Just how weird was I a couple of days ago?” “You were cuter.” Kanan moved closer. Chika swallowed thickly. This wasn’t good. That wasn’t a tone she was used to hearing from Kanan. “I’m usually right about these things so I’m going to take my chances…” Kanan lifted her hand and placed it lightly on Chika’s cheek, turning her face toward her. “K-Kanan-chan…” Kanan shushed Chika gently and slowly leaned in. She lingered close to her for a split second before she decided to follow her instincts and kissed her softly. She felt Chika freeze but she hadn’t expected her to respond right away. A moment later she felt hands plant themselves on her shoulders as Chika moved and felt herself being pushed away. She opened her eyes, looking at Chika in surprise. “W-What was that?!” Chika exclaimed, her eyes wide. “Why would you…? Y-You’re like my sister!” “Huh? I thought that was...what you wanted?” Kanan felt her stomach drop. “I thought that was why you had been acting so off lately and you’ve been looking at me differently so I-I thought you wanted it. You gave me signs! I’m confused…” “You’re not the only one who’s confused!” Chika exclaimed loudly. She groaned and buried her face in her hands. “I hate this!” “Wow, that kind of hurts, Chika…” Kanan said teasingly. “I-I’m sorry! It wasn’t bad, I-I kind of liked it. A little bit.” Chika said, hurrying to reassure Kanan. She didn’t want her to get the wrong idea and think she hated her or anything. “I mean…” Kanan smirked. “I thought I reminded you of Mito-san?” Chika yelped and placed her hands over her ears. “Bad images, bad images!” Kanan chuckled under her breath, relieved that Chika didn’t seem angry with her at least. “Why don’t you ever call me Kanan-onee-chan if you think of me like that?” “What?” Chika looked up at Kanan, her brow furrowed in confusion. “I mean...even when we were younger you always called me Kanan or Kanan-chan.” Kanan said with a shrug of her shoulders. “So I was wondering when you started thinking of me like that.” “I-I don’t know.” Chika stuttered, shaking her head. “I guess...I always have. I don’t call you Onee-chan or anything but I’ve always thought of you as being closer than a friend. Because I know we’ll always be together. I mean...not in that way. I know you’ll never leave me.” “But you can say the same thing about You, can’t you?” Kanan asked expectantly. “And you don’t think of her as your sister.” “I-I don’t really…” Chika stared down at her crossed legs for a moment, her brow furrowed before she looked up at Kanan again. “Can you kiss me again?” “Eeeh?!” Kanan exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise. “Please?” Chika asked hopefully, reaching out to take Kanan’s hand. “It’ll really help me.” Kanan sighed in response but finally gave a nod of agreement. She waited until Chika had closed her eyes before she leaned in and kissed her again. This time Chika responded to the kiss, her hand moving to Kanan’s shoulder as she rose up slightly to meet her. Kanan’s arm went around Chika’s waist and she drew her closer, keeping them balanced with her right hand on the ground. Chika was surprised when she felt Kanan’s tongue against her lips but she parted them anyway, figuring she needed this to get the full experience. She couldn't deny that it was pleasant, from the feeling of Kanan’s lips and tongue against hers to the feeling of the older girl holding her close. She drew away slowly, taking a gulp of much needed air. “Well?” Kanan asked, loosening her hold on Chika. “Uh…” Chika thought for a moment before shaking her head. “No. I mean...it was nice. But I didn’t feel like it was going anywhere really. I-I mean usually with this kind of thing you want more, right? You want to kiss more or do other stuff...right? I was just kind of nervous the whole time, worrying about what you would do...” “Maybe if we try something else.” Kanan moved to her knees and straddled Chika’s lap, ignoring her cry of surprise. She grasped the girl’s hands and moved them to her hips. “Usually it would be more intimate but there’s nobody around. See how you feel taking the lead.” “T-Taking the lead?” Chika stuttered nervously. “Just for practice, right? And I can do what I want?” “Within reason.” Kanan said with a light laugh. “Right.” Chika took a deep breath and leaned up, carefully pressing her lips to Kanan’s. She closed her eyes, feeling Kanan tentatively respond but it was clear she was letting her take the lead. She kissed her harder, her grip on Kanan tightening as she focused on how it felt. It didn’t really feel like it had with Maki. She drew away and nervously turned her attention to Kanan’s neck, kissing there. She couldn’t deny how satisfying the sharp inhalation she heard was so she nipped lightly at the skin there. She paused after, her grip loosening. “I-I don’t think this is working…” “Maybe not for you…” “Sorry.” Chika let go of Kanan and felt her move off her lap, settling down next to her. “I definitely don’t think of you like that.” “Right.” Kanan leaned back on her hands, thinking. “So why do you keep giving me mixed signals?” Chika sighed irritably. “Would you believe me if I told you I keep switching with someone else’s...spirit and they like you in that way?” Kanan was silent for a long moment. “That would make sense actually.” “Eh?!” Chika exclaimed loudly. “Are you serious?!” “Well there are times when you don’t seem like yourself.” Kanan reasoned thoughtfully. “What kind of spirit is it? A spirit from the ocean?” “What? No!” Chika said, shaking her head. “It’s um...this is going to sound crazy. You know Honoka from Muse, right? My idol? She’s...the person I keep switching with.” “So you’re telling me a famous idol...likes me?” Kanan sounded smug about that and Chika rolled her eyes in response. “She’s in the past. Back when she’s in her second year of high school so she’s not that famous yet.” “Oh. I think I...need to process this.” Kanan said quietly, feeling an oncoming headache. “She only likes you because you remind her of Ayase Eli?” Chika added, hoping to make it feel less weird for Kanan. “Wow, thanks…” Kanan muttered with a roll of her eyes. “Sorry. I’m just being honest.” Chika said sheepishly. “But it does seem like you’re her type…” “Shut up, Chika.” Kanan sighed, leaning her head back. “So who was your first kiss? I can tell it wasn’t me so who was it?” “Uh...Nishikino Maki.” Chika answered sheepishly, her cheeks turning red. “Whoa, you got one of the hot ones.” Kanan said in surprise. “Isn’t she the pianist too? Riko would be so jealous if you told her you made out with her. You did make out, right?” “Yeah, I guess...well once. I didn’t really tell Honoka-chan about that though so don’t mention it to her if you…” Chika trailed off, shaking her head. “She just thinks I kissed Maki-chan. But that was the first time so...yeah. I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t think I’m ready for any of this with anyone.” Kanan nodded, a little reassured by that at least. She fell silent, her chest tightening as she felt Chika lean into her side. “I don’t know what to do.” Chika mumbled, staring out at the sea. “It’ll be okay.” Kanan said softly, though she wasn’t sure she could promise that. From what Chika described it was obvious they were in over their heads. TBC

[entamewitchlulu]

Homura’s Top 15 Arc V Characters

and finally my top fifteen favorite Arc V characters!!!! <3 (not including cameo charas)

this was the absolute hardest one to narrow down tbh, there are like a billion other characters that i wanted to also be on this list ;w;

once again under the cut, this was a lot of fun to do~

and can i just say how blessed I feel that there are so many girls in Arc V that most of my list is made of them?? they might not be written the best they could be but damn it’s great to just have so many, especially coming off of the previous series where we’d be lucky to have two or three.

15. Selena

My dumb, useless lesbian daughter who needs to be grounded.  Idk, I just like her cause she’s kind of different than the usual fare for Yu-Gi-Oh ladies.  She’s prideful and brash, abrasive, headstrong, and hard to get along with, and she doesn’t always seem to notice social cues, being first and foremost a soldier and definitely a little gullible (like, she’ll immediately accept what other people tell her about Academia, my dumb child).  I can’t help but find her endearing, tho, for all of this mess of flaws and uncertainties.

14. Yoko Sakaki

Can you say BEST MOM???  Yoko is legit everything I ever wanted out of a mom character in Yu-Gi-Oh.  As someone who is very picky about parental characters, she’s honestly a legit good parent who supports her son, takes care of him, and gives him the right kind of pep talks when he’s down.  Not to mention she was a fucking gang leader???  Dude.  Best mom.

13. Masumi Kotsu

I love her for a lot of the same reasons as I love Selena: she’s a female character who’s allowed to be kind of a dick.  She’s rude and jumps to conclusions and sometimes bullies the people around her, but she’s also a fucking tsundere and I can’t help but like her for it.  In the end, she’s a stubborn butt but she’ll give in once she finds a reason to respect someone.

12. Sayaka Sasayama

God....look at her??? Pure.  Pure and good.  She is a precious child and I will protect her.  I always adopt the young ones, honestly, especially when they’re shy and nervous.  I love Sayaka because she’s the kind of person who overworks herself for the sake of others, who is scared and easily frightened but if she has to, she can pull herself together and fight.  She has to take her confidence from other people, but when she does grab hold of it, she’s a warrior like the rest of them.  She didn’t lose her softness from the war and she doesn’t seem to hold any grudges or resentment, she just wants to participate in making the world okay again.

11. Yuuri

I love him because he’s an absolute shit stain, and maybe he’s kinda tropey and flat, but he’s legit the exact replica of my favorite kind of self-indulgent, guilty pleasure villain.  He smooth talking, suave, talks formally, messes with people in his own creepy way, is incredibly confident and can’t even think of the word “losing,” and he has a legitimately creepy deck.  I love how sassy and confident he is, how he laughs every time someone tries to overcome him, and his possessive sort of nature, his intensity and single-minded focus on winning and being the best.

10. Tsukikage

THIS BOY IS MY S O N AND I WILL FIGHT ANYONE WHO HURTS HIM!!  I was not expecting to love Tsuki as much as I did.  He’s a loyal and reliable person, who really seems to have a great moral core.  He doesn’t have much in the way of back story but I find his aesthetic fascinating and I always want to know more about his clan and where he came from.  I also still really want to see under that mask goddamn.  But anyway, Tsuki is a pure, good boy and he deserves the world.  He’s so incredibly morally upright and I just can’t help but adore him.

9. Yuzu Hiragi

Her more recent appearances in the anime aside, she’s what I wanted out of a female lead in Yu-Gi-Oh since the very first series.  She’s tough and doesn’t back down from a challenge, she takes initiative to rectify her own weakness and isn’t afraid of putting in the hard work to better herself; she’s very morally minded and she’ll put herself in danger if it means doing the right thing.  Even when she’s lost in another dimension, her first priority is finding a way to warn the people there of the danger that’s coming, putting other people’s safety before even finding her way home.  Yuzu is a great girl who struggles with her own uncertainties and still comes out the stronger for it.

8. Reiji Akaba

I could talk for h o u r s about how much I love Reiji Akaba.  Reiji is someone that just keeps becoming more and more great as the series continues and hindsight begins to color his actions.  What he is to me is a sixteen-year-old boy who was forced to grow up all too quickly, forced to discard any and all unnecessary feelings for the sake of the greater good, against his own father no less, someone he was supposed to be able to trust.  I can’t blame him for the decisions he’s been making, for the sacrifices that occur, because he’s being sacrificing himself all this time.  I remember a post once about how Reiji represents selflessness in a way we normally don’t see in media, because it doesn’t look selfless.  But in the end, it is--Reiji hasn’t let himself enjoy anything or do anything for his own sake; everything is and always will be for the safety of his world.  And he will stand up for his convictions, his beliefs, and that safety for the peace of the universe even against the people he should be able to trust.  He’s a fascinating character full of layers of complexity much like rivals before him, and I love him for it a lot.

7. Sora Shiunin

Sora is a boy that deserves great things, okay?  I loved him almost from the minute he showed up, but that love only deepened as the series continued.  He’s got a great character aesthetic, for one thing, and a ridiculously cool deck.  I love his little quirk of always having a lollipop, and I love his internal struggle with morality and his place in the world.  His decision to defect from Academia because of his friendship with Yuya and Yuzu just felt so pure and I was like oh god this child has been so badly indoctrinated and now he’s experienced real affection and??? he deserves so many good things.  I just love him and I hope he gets adopted by Yoko because he deserves friendship and affection.

6. Zarc

He’s??? why is he so pure looking????  Zarc didn’t get as much development as I was hoping (I’m still crossing my fingers for a bit more) but for what we did get, I found him more than fascinating.  He was a happy, pure, joyful person who could hear his monsters, and was probably overjoyed to be able to actually interact with him once Real Solid Vision came into play.  And yet, circumstances turned him into a demon.  I want to know more about that, but from what I can glean, I think he was just tired.  I think he really wanted to entertain people, and so he gave into their demands, but the more violent things got, the more they demanded, and the more tired he and his monsters became, the more frustrated with being used as a glorified show animal, and that rage and anger just channeled through Zarc and he had no choice but to become a demon.  That transformation is fascinating to me, and I think it mirrors Yuya in a really interesting way, only Zarc continued all the way down the path of the demon and Yuya tried to reject it.  I have a lot of theories and headcanons about Zarc and I really hope we at least get to see him a bit more on screen before the end of the series.

5. Reira Akaba

I have adopted this child and he is mine now.  I found his character arc to be very powerful; this is a child who has survived hell and lost most of himself in the process; he was so broken that he didn’t even know who he was anymore and chose to be an empty shell instead.  But through interacting with others, he started to develop a new sense of self and reclaim not only his own personality, but his own will and strength too.  He’s so inspiring, especially in the wake of the last few episodes where he truly showed how much he had grown and how powerful he had become with his newfound courage and confidence.

4. Ruri Kurosaki

I love her??? A lot??? I fell in love with her the moment her design was revealed; she’s incredibly aesthetically pleasing and what little we were able to glean of her personality (damn you writers for building her up with so little at the end :( ) really resonates with me.  She’s a sweet girl who sometimes trips up on her own strategies, but she has a strong heart and will and would rather fight when cornered than scream and cry.  She deserved a lot better than the narrative gave her, but I still love her with all my heart.

3. Ray Akaba

Okay fuck me but she jumped up fast on my list (and by fuck me I mean I might be asexual but I would be 100% okay with her fucking me).  Ray is just??? Cool??  Like others, she didn’t get as much as I wanted (still crossing fingers for a tiny bit more before it’s all over), but what I did get from her was just exactly what I wanted.  She’s strong and takes on the sacrifices necessary for her family and her world.  It was honestly great to see a girl character being the world’s savior, and what I love the most is how Zarc’s voice actually wavered when he heard that Ray was back; like damn...he was actually scared of her because she was the only one that could take him out.  She’s a beautiful design and I love everything about her.  I only wish she had gotten a real deck ;w;

2. Grace Tyler

step on me Anyway, Grace is really super hot and I’m gay

I could leave it at that but also, I love what a fun antagonist turned ally she is.  She’s one of those villains who does things cause she things they’re fun; it’s fun to fight people and turn them into cards and solidify her superiority over others, she enjoys it.  But once she finds something more fun and more interesting, she becomes obsessed with that instead.  I can’t help but find her strange, cheerful personality and the way she bounces from whatever she finds interesting to the next interesting thing endearing.

1. Yuya Sakaki

I could talk for fucking days on end about why I love Yuya Sakaki, about why he is one of the most important things to happen in my life, about how inspiring he is, about how powerful his character arc is, everything. 

I could talk about how his philosophy is something that has gotten me through depressive episodes ever since I started watching, about how I wear his goggles that I made for my cosplay when I’m feeling sad, about how he’s basically taken over my life in the form of keychains.

Yuya is everything that I want to be and everything that I think that I am.  He wants so desperately to be the person that makes everyone smile, but there are selfish reasons behind it. He wants to be happy, but he doesn’t feel like he’s allowed to be happy unless he’s making other people happy.  He’s vulnerable, he feels things like an actual person, he bounces back and forth from fears and uncertainties and depression to confidence and exuberance and a willingness to try again.  He is legitimately a good living example of a pendulum, swinging back and forth between two sides, depression and confidence, and I have never related more to something than that.

And despite everything, he overcomes.  Despite everything against him, including himself, he steps forward and he never gives up.  For every time he falls back, he jumps forward just as far and farther.  Yuya Sakaki is one of the reasons I get up in the morning, and I couldn’t feel more blessed than to live in a world where his character exists.

He is me, and he is what I want to be, and I will continue to bounce forward from every period of sadness with as much egao as I can muster.

After all, the fun has only just begun <3

[agent-7-at-your-service]

Future Plot: Project Titanomachy - Chapter 11

(( Camille, her parents and the Wonder Inklings concept belong to @inklingleesquidly​

Nebula belongs to @myzzy and @agenttwo​

Agent Blueshift belongs to @myzzy​

*Emerald and Sapphire belong to @son-of-joy and @twelvetailedkitsune​

Jacar belongs to @son-of-joy​

Sylver belongs to @twelvetailedkitsune​

Arsenic belongs to @a-demo-of-a-hero​

Celeste belongs to @alpinesquid​

Chaodis, Telemachus, Agent 7, Circe, and Sandra belong to me

*- Author’s note: I almost got into trouble with the story idea that’s executed in this chapter. Although the issue was resolved, I fear I cannot continue the story without causing trouble like this. ))

Despite Rhea wearing a mask, Camille and the rescue team can tell she’s staring straight at them. She was standing elegantly and has commanded every patrol in the prison cells to leave so that the Olympians won’t be harmed.

Camille pointed her .96 Gal Deco at the Titan, Emerald changed into her Olympian form again to aim her bow straight at Rhea’s face, and Telemachus aimed Agent 3’s Hero Splattershot with Camille. Chaodis had Camille’s back with his Mini-Splatling

“Why did you kidnap my sister?” Emerald questioned.

Rhea didn’t answer.

“Excuse me, your majesty, but it’s rude not to answer,” Camille noted.

Still, Rhea didn’t answer.

“Answer us, Rhea!” Emerald was ready to fire an arrow.

Rhea still wasn’t answering, and instead, she sighs. She looked down at something else.

“Rhea, answer please!” Emerald shouted.

“Phoebe foresaw this coming,” Rhea warned, “You have to leave right now.”

“Not without my sister, Sapphire!” Emerald demanded. “You kidnapped her!”

“Only to help our cause,” Rhea rationalized, “And the Champion of Artemis has failed to bring peace between us and the Olympians.”

“Sapphire…” Camille continued glaring at the Titaness.

“She wasn’t the only one that wanted to bring peace,” Rhea stated.

“We don’t have time to talk about this, where is Sapphire!” Camille demanded.

“Camille! Emerald! I’m right here!” Sapphire was found across Camille and her team and a few floors up. She was still in her Olympian form.

Rhea looks at Sapphire’s cell. “She’s an Olympian’s champion, she must be killed. Her body would be dumped in the depths of Tartarus as food for those already there.”

Emerald wanted to fire, but she fires her arrow at one empty cell as a warning fire.

“You Titans are sick!” Emerald commented.

“There’s nothing I can do to stop the execution,” Rhea replied.

Chaodis smiled at Rhea and then stepped forward. “Your majesty, we can tell you’re torn, but what you’re doing is making it worse. All we ask from you is to give back the Champion of Artemis. Can you do that?”

Rhea looked at Chaodis for a moment and she nods. “Very well… but remember that I am still your enemy until the end of the war.”

Sapphire, at first, can see a potential change of heart in Rhea.

Rhea opens Sapphire’s cell, she has the inkling in her hands. She was about to move her close enough to get to Camille and the others but stops. Sapphire looked confused and looks at Rhea.

“Rhea?” Sapphire asked.

Rhea quickly gasped, gripped on Sapphire tightly and retracts her arm away from Camille and her rescue team. Emerald and Camille were shocked; Camille quickly got into her Olympian form and prepares Athena’s spear for a possible fight. Telemachus did the same while Chaodis stepped back.

“Ahhh!! Help!” Sapphire began to struggle. There was fear in her eyes which flooded with tears.

“Sapphire!” Emerald called out. “Hang on! We’re coming to help!”

“Rhea what are you doing!?” Camille shouted.

Rhea was gasping and wheezing, she began to shake a bit, and she was staring straight at Camille. She looked one more time at Sapphire and looks back at Camille.

“….Forgive me….” Rhea then has her hands around Sapphire. “But it is not me who making me kill…..”

Sapphire screamed. “Camille! Emerald!! Help me–!!!”

Rhea’s tightens her hands on Sapphire to the point of crushing her to death. It didn’t make the inkling splat, but it did make ink burst. She relaxes her hands; she moves one hand away to reveal a lifeless inkling body that is Sapphire.

Emerald’s eyes and Camille’s eyes widen and their irises shrink.

Emerald stared at Rhea’s hands; they were stained with blue ink.

Rhea throws the lifeless body of Sapphire to them. Sapphire now just lays there in front of Camille and Emerald. Her eyes were closed and with no expression on her face.

Camille quickly runs to Sapphire and checks if she is alive. There’s a faint heartbeat and a faint sound of groaning. Camille was still worried. Sapphire manages to open her eyes slightly and look at Camille; she gave weak smile.

“Sapphy…” Camille tears up.

“Camille… You did come… I… ” Those ended up being Sapphire’s last words before she gave her last breath. Her eyes stayed forever closed.

Camille then didn’t hear her heartbeat while the warmth from the body was beginning to escape. She moves closer with terror still in her eyes.

“S-Sapphy…” Camille doesn’t get a response. “Sapphy… don’t go….. don’t go please….. please…” She was now weeping.

There was a pain in her chest. It was the same pain she felt from her dream of Camilla accidentally killing her sister Hippolyta during hunting.

I’ve never felt like that before… It never experienced it. I was always tough and never let it get to me….. but losing Sapphire like that……. it hit me.

“Sapphy! Sapphy please don’t do this to us!” Camille yelled.

Emerald quickly walks over slowly to the lifeless Sapphire and she tears up as well. “Sapphire……. No….”

Camille was close to crying now. A few gasps, a few tears coming down, and a hand covering her mouth showed it.

Emerald has a moment of silence and looks down, tearing up. She then turned to Rhea and screamed in rage, beginning to fire all her arrows with Apollo’s bow. All the flashes the arrows made on impact pushes Rhea back little-by-little.

Emerald fires three arrows directly at Rhea’s face and shatters the queen’s mask. She then fired another three arrows at the exposed face.

Rhea mask shattered into smoke and metallic shards, and she quickly covered her face in pain. Moments layers to reveals her real face: a woman’s face made of a mosaic of sapphire and lapis. Her eyes were a black void with blue emeralds for irises.

She then turned around, turned into smoke, and retreated.

“Don’t you run from me!” Emerald’s eyes turned black and pulled out the throwing daggers, she runs and jumps off the ledge.

Telemachus, while in his Olympian form, had a few undead prisoners summoned to stop Emerald. They manage to catch Emerald and grab her arm. She struggled as the smoke disappears.

“Emerald! Don’t do that!” Telemachus runs over to help her up. “Grab my hand!”

Emerald did so, but once she’s helped up, she turns back to try and go after Rhea. Telemachus and the undead prisoners disarm her and hold her down. She still struggles in rage and heart-brokenness.

“Emerald! We came only to save Sapphire!” Telemachus reminded.

“She killed my sister!” Emerald eyes were still black.

The undead prisoners continued to hold her down.

Camille was still looking at Sapphire’s face. She placed a hand on her cheek and she gave a kiss on the forehead. She whispered something to her, hoping Sapphire can still hear them. Moments later she took a few breaths and then picked up Sapphire’s lifeless body.

“There’s no time to stand around, we have to leave,” Camille commanded.

Telemachus and his undead prisoners had to drag Emerald while she was still predatory. Minutes later she’ll calm down and just follow Camille who was carrying Sapphire.

As Camille’s began to get going, Minotaurs and Nagas already arrived to fire arrows and throwing axes at them. Chaodis looked at them and sighs; he then continues following the rescue team.

We made sure we escaped with Sapphire. The only thing to figure out is how we are supposed to get out of there.

They returned to the piers where they began, and Camille let Emerald hold the lifeless Sapphire. Camille looks for a way off the planet. Telemachus was back in his Agent suit, checking behind the team along with Chaodis. They made sure the patrols didn’t chase them down to the piers.

“We can use an escape plan right now!” Telemachus demanded.

“I’m trying to find a way, Telemachus!” Camille responded.

“Well do it quickly!” Telemachus replied as his personality, Homura.

Camille was trying to put aside what just happened for a while so that she can focus on how to get out of the planet. She reflected a bit on the ritual and remembered the lightning. If they got here by lightning, she thought, then that means we can get back by lightning. And finally, there was an idea.

Camille stands at the end of the pier points Athena’s spear up high and activates Zeus’s lightning bolt from within the weapons.

“Guys, come on.” Camille reaches her hand out.

Telemachus, Chaodis, and Emerald came up to hold Camille’s hand. Soon, blue lightning came down and struck the spear and there’s another flash of light. The whiteness fades and they appear back at the entrance to the caverns of Hephaestus’s Forge.

They would later bring Sapphire’s dead body to Hephaestus who stared at it grimly. He takes the antler crown off her and she returns to wearing her casual clothes.

“What will happen to that?” Emerald asked while looking at the antler crown

“It returns to the vault,” Hephaestus explained, “waiting for its next champion.”

The cyclops them began to set up a funeral event in one of the forge rooms.

Emerald made sure the message about Sapphire’s death gets to her parents. Telemachus did the same, sending the message to Agent 7, Justinian and Sea Angel Splatoon, and then sending it to Agent Blueshift and Agent 2.

Camille has yet to send this message to her family but was very hesitant.

Telemachus places Sapphire in a glass case and preserved the body with a purple fire that doesn’t burn the corpse. A funeral was performed with Emerald and Camille were the first to place blue roses. Celeste and Nebula attended, shocked to hear what happened to Emerald’s sister. Arsenic didn’t get to know Camille or the others well, but a friend she never got to know is worse than a friend you once knew.

Hephaestus and his Cyclopes attended the funeral, sharing the same feelings the inklings have right now. At one point, Hephaestus placed a splattershot that Sapphire taught him how to make along with two books. One was Diana Artemisia’s Nature Journal and the other was his book on making weapons and tools.

Chaodis also attended, standing next to Camille and hoping to comfort her.

At night, Emerald has instructed her parents, Nebula’s parents, Agent 7, Circe, and Sandra the directions to Hephaestus’s Forge through the shortcut in Octo-Valley.

When they finally arrived, they were amazed by the underground forge. They had no time to sightsee since they’re only there to attend the late funeral. Jacar and Sylver paid their respect and showing the most emotion. Blueshift and Agent 2 shares the same grief with Emerald’s parents; they, too, paid their respects. Agent 7 just stood silent and only took one glance of Sapphire’s resting place; although he didn’t know much of Emerald’s sister, he couldn’t help but share the grief. Circe and Sandra felt the same grief and paid their respects.

Camille was outside Hephaestus’s forge, still wearing her Wonder Inkling Nemo uniform but with the mask off. She finally notified her parents of the tragedy. However, she lied about Sapphire’s resting place. After that, she requested Agent 7 to make a false grave in Inkopolis.

I had to lie.

The reason I didn’t want to tell my parents this was because who knows what they’ll do if they find out what I’ve been actually doing. Sapphire’s death was that point where I can’t return to being just a normal squid.

The Titans killed Sapphire… and they’re going pay for what they did!