#and now the moment you’ve all been waiting for. one! two! three! ready!? miku miku BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAM

[justacasualidiot]

hey. hi. how do i add an image inside of the notes on ao3. great. thanks. (i am so sleep deprived)

(ignore the tags below ao3 author. i am SO sleep needing. maybe i should consume some melatonin.)

[mrneighbourlove]

Fall of a Dynasty: Ch 2. Friends in High Places

"... fuck. Fucking shit, damn it all to hell, why. I want to know why." Zizi seldom had a reason to curse. Usually if she did swear, it was for one of three reasons. The first was she was mad and wanted to emphasize her point. The second is if she cut herself using the tolls on the plantation. The third, however, was most rare, was due to Zannah. So, this time, yes, it was due to Zannah, but more importantly, due to the fact that the empress was riding right. To. Her. Stall. And she was covered in soot, blood, and dirt. "Why. Me." The Zemlja wondered if it was too late to pray to Zemlja to make her invisible at will.

Rinku, who was at the house to acquire some vegetable supplies, as well as additionally stay for dinner as it stormed outside, looked up from her steak dinner. “Heeeeey now. There be little ones around. What’s got the mother bear angry?”

Zannah, however, didn’t know or care less who’s house this was. She got off her horse, dragging herself to the front door, all the while collapsing to her knees in the mud once in a while to reach it.

"I sensed the mega-bitch." Zizi replied with an irritated sigh. Now, the ruler of the Empire was banging on her door. All eyes looked to Zizi and she ran a hand down her face. Might as well get it over with quickly. "Stay here. I'll deal with this. Or either I'll get lucky and the ground will hold me hostage."

Rinku frowned, cluing in swearing might be common around the household. “What mega bitch?”

Kahli scowled, moving to secure his younger children away from the door, hell, the first floor.

The Emperor herself, pounded on the door, waiting for whatever peasant lived her to open the damn door.

Yanking open the door, Zizi stood there, not even batting an eye.

"... what?"

Zannah froze like a dear in head lights. This was the last person she wanted to see. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

"I was actually asking my deity why, out of all people, that you have to show up on my doorstep." Zizi said dryly. "So once again, I ask... what? What do you want?"

Fine. No need to stand on ceremony or waste additional time. “Lead me to your sister and brother in law. Right now. I’ve suffered an assassination attempt.”

"Down the street, third left, then go down to your second right, and the castle is right there. Bye." Zizi started to shut the door in Zannah's face, but Manaco stopped her.

"Mom, you know you can't do that."

"I can do whatever the hell I want, you know what that woman did to your father, our family."

"I know that, but... it looks like she needs help."

"She can go kiss Vul'kar's ass for all I care."

"Mom!"

"Look, I'm not being a part of this." Zizi threw her hands up. "Each time she comes around, more shit is stirred up. You want to help her? Then you can. I'm out."

"Mom!" Manaco groaned, exasperatedly, watching his mother stomp off into the kitchen.

“Run off you spineless little—?!” Zannah paused, a part of her trying to recognize the blonde woman step into  view. There was a barrier of time from doing so instantly. “Do I know you?”

Rinku was drying her hands from washing her own dish. Looking at Zannah again she was filled with a lonely sense of nostalgia. “Been a long time Princess.”

That title certainly jogged a memory. “Link? Princess Rinku?”

"Yeah, this is Rinku." Manaco did not wait for permission, he simply swooped Zannah off her feet. "Come on. Let's at least get you tended to before going to see my aunt and uncle. Zarazu would freak if you came into her castle that way."

“What? Young man, what are you-ah! Watch it!”

"Now this I got to see." Urboro started to stand, but Grivy pulled her back down by her shoulder. "Hey! I'm not going to choke her or anything, I just want to see what my brother is going to do."

"He's probably going to play knight in shining armor, like he does for all the ladies." Miku rolled her eyes. "And if you're not going to eat your potatoes, I am."

Grievous was, in a sense, shaking. The Emperor being here, in any state, made her extremely anxious for the near future of her family. “She’s trouble.”

Rinku meanwhile pulled up a chair, and sat comfortably into it as Manaco

set Zannah down. “What happened to you?”

“My Theron agents tried to kill me. They set up an ambush in the Ruto mountain path.”

Rinku nodded to herself, as if trying to recall the memory. “I think I remember. Elite, scary black armoured death squads of your brother. Takes me back to fighting in the war.”

"Therons got you good." Manaco placed the empress on a blanket and looked over Zannah, noticing the blood. "Forgive this, but it has to be done." He took his hands and ripped her dress around her legs, and near her back. "We have to get the material away from the wounds or you would risk infection."

“It’s just a dress Manaco.” Zannah couldn’t feel her leg anymore. Not a good sign.

"... this looks worse than I thought." Manaco observing the gushing blood. "Okay, I think you're going to require some energy transference just to keep you stable. Hold up your hands."

“I can’t do that...” Zannah didn’t shy away, but she spoke in a somber monotone.

"... why not?" Manaco asked, puzzled. "My siblings and I do it all the time if one of them is sick."

“It’s because you’re all Waku. I’m an Ocho. Not all Hasai are alike Manaco. In the same way a Vatra has different abilities than a Munja, I do not have the unique ability your father and his line hold. I can’t absorb fire to heal my wounds.” Zannah sighed, her adrenaline starting to petter out.

Rinku nodded, reading the room. “Anyone here know traditional first aid?”

"Mom... does..." Manaco had to grimace out the words. "I think Dad does too. Let me go check, I think the most qualified for this is Urboro. She's the best with the medicinal plants so she probably knows a bit of healing. I'll be right back."

It didn't take long for Manaco to go and ask his sister.

Which was met by a loud...

"WHAT?! ME?!"

Grievous shook stood between her older half siblings, having become aggressively protective of Urboro in a short time. “No. She doesn’t go near her.”

"Look, I don't like this anymore than you do, Grivy, but someone has to help her or else, Zarazu will not be pleased." Manaco felt like he was stuck in-between a rock and a hard place. "I know my aunt doesn't necessary like Zannah that much either after what she did to Mom, but we have to think of the diplomatic relationships. We don't want to start another war."

"... fine." Urboro relented, having a grouchy expression. "... but Grivy comes with me."

“Gladly.”

As they started to head to the Emperor, Rinku already had one hand on the bolt stuck in her kneecap. “When I pull this out, you might feel some momentary discomfort.” Seeing Urboro come in, the elder woman smiled. “You ready to perform kid?”

"... not at all." Urboro looked a little pale but took a deep breath. "All right. This is... this will be easy. Piece of cake." She slowly bent down and hand her hands ready, Manaco knelt down as well to cauterize the wound. "You stop the bleeding, I'm going to wrap it with aloe."

“I know a thing or two about war wounds. You’ll all do fine. Hey Zannah.”

“What?”

“Look at the bunny.”

Rinku flashed a peace sign, completely throwing Zannah off. It was at that moment she tore the metal bolt cleanly out. The Emperor had a delayed scream as the others got to work.

Manaco used his fire to stop the bleeding as his sister instructed. Then Urboro exhaled slowly and breathed life into small aloe seeds, the plant sprouting from her hand and wrapping around Zannah's leg. It was not the work of a Dusa, but it would have to do until Zannah was at the castle's medical bay.

"... since my magic is green, and she is green, maybe I can share some of my energy. Zemljas have a lot more than Vatras do, anyway."

"Says you."

"Uh-huh, says me."

"They do not.

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

“SHUT UP!�� Zannah wretched, her pain at an all time high compared to the last few decades of her life. “God! Your voices are infuriating!”

Rinku cut Zannah’s voice off with a hard tie of bandages around her kneecap. “Now Zannah. I know commoners have never been your cup of tea, but be nicer to the kids who helped patch you together.”

Zannah actually blushed from embarrassment, if ever so lightly. “Oh yes. You’re too kind.”

“Say, I don’t think you’re allowed to blush in front of commoners. Or drip sarcasm with the same toxicity as a viper. Does anyone want to here the first time the Emperor here lost her composure?”

The Emperor hissed between her teeth. “Absolutely not.”

"Look who's talking, you're the one who fucked over our family royally, yes bad pun intended, and we're trying to help your ungrateful ass out." Urboro scoffed, putting her hands on her hips. "Sure, Rinku, let her lose all composure, faint in front of us 'commoners' and have a bitch fit. Go ahead, I'm waiting."

"Urboro..." Manaco groaned. "Will you please be nice for once?"

"Nice is for pushovers. Except for when it comes to Grivy," Urboro fist bumped her half-sister. "She's baby."

“Well. It was during the War of Fire. Zannah was conducting the distraction to allow her killer robot to capture my baby sister Kanisa. Well, we were two teenagers, and I sprung into action to engage her in sword combat.” Rinku methodically nodded, recalling the details and slowly speaking them allowed. “Back then, she was an uptight princess instead of an uptight Emperor. And she was a pretty good fighter too. Keep in mind this was our second duel, and she didn’t have a concept of what innuendos and throwing singles meant.”

“Please don’t...” Zannah hated not being able to go anywhere, or have the right to stop this.

“So here was, pushing me towards a ring of fire, having this aura of seductive power. In my haste, I leaned in to kiss her.”

“You what?!” Grievous couldn’t believe that a warrior would do such a thing. Zannah herself blushed more at the memory.

“That’s right. And in a switch, her energy went from dominate to a flustered and shy school girl. Turns out that at age 16 or 15 I think, she hadn’t had her first kiss.”

Urboro made a retching noise for emphasis that she did not like the idea of kissing Zannah. "I feel sorry for your lips, you must have been washing them so hard, they chapped. I think you had a better match in that hottie you were dancing with the other night. She had huge knockers."

"Urboro, we talked about this."

"You talked about it; doesn't mean I'm going to listen."

“Well, we have our histories. Don’t we Zannah.”

“I suppose we do, Link.”

Both the woman’s eyes locked with each other. In Zannah’s was a monotone angry. In Rinku’s, a regretful pity at the experiences they shared. The family suddenly heard the death cry of a horse outside. Rinku was the first to stand up, calmly walking to the rake, placing her boots on. “You kids stay inside.”

"Trouble already? Damn, they're fast." Manaco once again took Zannah into his arms and then said, "Sis, I'm going to need your help. We have to sneak her through the tunnels so they don't see her."

"Really? I really got to do this? URGH." Urboro crossed her arms with a huff. "And I just did my nails... fine... tell her if she has claustrophobia, she's going to have to suck it up."

"No need. This will be over quickly. One way or another. Just stay here and keep them out if any manage to pass my eye." Rinku patted Manaco and took her sword, throwing a green tunic on.

Rinku stepped outside, ready for action. The storm raged outside, with rain and thunder pounding the senses. Despite this, the Arbiter of the Goddess was aware of her surroundings. It was the flashes of lightning against the shine of their armour that gave them away in the rainy dark. When one launched an arrow, the warrior princess ducked low. There went diplomacy.  

Theron were surrounding the house, drawing closer. They'd kill everyone inside if they could. What they weren't expecting was a green clothed woman to step out. Too bad that there would be no witnesses. One stepped from behind a tree to fire a shot into her head. What he didn't expect was for how fast she'd move.

After ducking, Rinku drew her sword from her sheath, instantly decapitating the first solider with a clean cut. As his body fell down, another drew a shimmering guardian blade. Drops of water sizzled against the blade. Others in turn drew their own weapons. The princess cracked her neck, staring them down as rain trickled down her hood. "Last chance to leave."

With a violent swing, the Theron closest to Rinku tried to cut her in two. Instead, Rinku rolled around him in the mud, and leap into the air, slicing his backside open with a swing. Her blood cut straight through his armour, cutting his spinal cord apart. With a quick motion, she finished the man off by driving the tip of her blade through the back of his neck, piercing his throat. Taking a stance, Rinku held both hands on the hilt of her blade, waiting for the rest of the Theron to draw close. This cold night they faced the Hero of Hyrule.

Manaco managed to grab a blanket to toss over Zannah and followed Urboro out the back door.

"I'll be back soon, Grivy, got to take the package to the castle." She opened up the earth, rivaling a system of tunnels under the earth. "Can't believe I have to use these to transport her of all people."

"Look, we're doing this for Aunt Zarazu, because we don't want war."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it." Then, she jumped in the hole, and Manaco followed.

Grievous grabbed Urboro by the arm, shaking her head. Where they stupid or just wanting a death wish? "No! You can't go out-LOOK OUT!"

Sure enough, a Theron was waiting. With a launch of an explosive arrow, Grievous had to intercept it with a fire bolt, but the explosion threw her flying backwards. The Theron had the two young adults and Zannah insight, ready to kill them with another arrow, when his visor exploded with glass and blood. His body fell backwards, and Rinku was on the other side, already having another arrow drawn if she needed it. Her breath was a bit raspy, having finished the last of the attackers. The battle was a haze to her regarding time. Short engagements with tough opponents usually were. "Hey. Get back in the damn house."

Not arguing for once, the siblings went back inside the house and waited.

"She told you to wait. You are always in such a hurry." Zizi was not too bothered by the fact that there were Kikai soldiers outside. Their family had been so much, this did not surprise her too much. She sat there with her youngest one, Zaltana, and watched her draw. "Just let Rinku do her thing, then go."

"Don't look at me, it was his idea."

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

Rinku kicked the door open, helping an injured Grievous onto the couch. She had a fresh head wound now from being thrown by the explosion. When Manaco got close, his half siblings punched him in the arm. “Ass! She said to stay inside! I saved your life! All of you actually.”

Rinku shot a quip as she went back outside to check the perimeter further, “She’s not wrong you know.”

"Ow! Hey! Don't make me drop the cargo here!"

"Sorry, Grivy..." Urboro felt sort of guilty when she saw the cut on Grivy's head. "I just really don't like the idea of being anywhere near her."

“There’s trained killers outside. You didn’t even think!”

Zannah chuckled, her head woozy from blood loss. “Your schooling taught you well.”

"Okay, okay, I was dumb and I rushed into getting mega-bitch like Mom said out of our house, I'm sorry, do you forgive me?" Urboro didn't like Grievous being mad at her.

“Shut up." Manaco grumbled under his breath at Zannah. "Or I will drop you."

Grievous took a deep breath in and out to calm her nerves. “Just... think. For me. I don’t want you dead.”

Zannah herself reached up and flicked Manaco in the nose. “You don’t tell your elders to shut up.”

It wouldn't be soon after that Rinku came back in. “Zizi! Kahli!”

The father came down, nodding. “Yes?”

“Dead horse. Eight dead Hasai. No more in the near vicinity. You, kids. With me as back up, you now have my permission to leave. I’m getting on my horse, and you travel under me. I’ll escort from above to the castle.” Rinku immediately took command of the situation. This was survival. “And we’re leaving before more show up. Let’s move out people.”

~

Inside the castle, Leere had lost at chess... again. Ralnor was not going to just 'let' his sister win especially when she wanted such a ridiculous deal. He ran his hand down his face as Leere listed off reasons that it would be beneficial to have... that damn snake so close.

"Leere, I frankly don't care what reason you give me," Ralnor told his sister. "Or even if the deities themselves would kiss me for it, that bastard is not getting a room in the castle."

“Ralnor. He’s not going to have a place to at my wife’s ranch. Why the hell cant he have one here? It’s easier access for him, more luxurious, and he’d blend in with all the monsters that guard the castle in Father’s and Covarog’s service. Yes. He’s a pain. Yes. He can act like an ass. But he’s a friend and a partner. We work with Echidnan kind. We have to give them an ambassadors place in the castle.”

"He can stay in the damn wine cellar for all I care, he's drank half of my collection already." Ralnor was not budging on this issue. "You and I both know that if someone else saw Bonegrinder before it was time to act upon the future plans, something could fall apart. There are others out there who want him dead. And the maids here gossip like it's going out of style. The answer is no. He's safer at the ranch, regardless of whether he stays in the barn, under your bed, or slinks around underneath the floorboard." The prince grumbled. "Besides, the damn monster can teleport, why the hell does he need his own room?"

“Wait. That’s pretty good. We can transform your wine cellar into a pent house for him. Because him trying to eat my cows it more costly to my wife than wine you horde to yourself.” Leere flicked her King piece over. “He’s still an organic being Ralnor. He likes to rest, sleep, snugg- forget that last one.” They both knew Bonegrinder’s snuggles could turn rather pushy. “Ah. Here’s my check. Sunny is carrying a baby. There’s no way he’s going to stay at the ranch and possibly startle her into losing my baby.”

"I was joking, there's no way he can fit into the wine cellar, his ass... coils... body---fuck, whatever you call it, is too big." Ralnor scoffed. "And he would not try to startle your pregnant wife. He's arrogant, a prick, and crazy, but he's not going to purposely frighten a pregnant woman. Bonegrinder is an ass, but he's not that much of one."

“He’s not coming to the ranch. It’s too small. The castle is massive. We could stick him in one of the dozens of towers we have.”

"Sure, sure, we'll room him with Vaati, just so he'll get on the wizard's nerves." Ralnor said sarcastically. "And for the record, I don't want him around my kids either, but we both know that if Ukuri is talking about a snake man singing her bedtime lullabies, that isn't happening. So just wait, I guarantee you, Bonegrinder will be telling your little one all kinds of stories too."

“Your kids are fully grown adult strapping Gerudo women. Your first issue to the stop treating him like the boogie man. He gets a tower here, or he’ll be overwhelmingly annoying to us.”

"He stays at your ranch." Ralnor was not budging. "We're not going to discuss this again, I'm not having a 57 foot snake running around the castle---"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

The prince was interrupted by loud, intense knocking. On the secret tunnel door behind his bookshelf. Irritated, Ralnor hit the switch to move the piece of furniture. "I swear to Hylia, you damn old snake, if that is you listening in on our conversation, I'm going to scale you and make you into a---...?!?! Manaco?! Urboro?! Rinku and---?! ... what the fuck, Zannah?! What are you doing here?!"

"It's uh... long story, Uncle, but can we like, talk later? Mega-bit---Zannah needs medical care."

Leere blinked, surprised by the Emperor’s presence. She was bleeding heavily from her leg, amongst other smaller injuries. It was Rinku, who’s blood covered tunic that worried her, however. “Sis?”

“Leere. Didn’t expect to see you here. But no time for catch up. Ralnor. We can’t seem to find Doctor Boo Boo. And given the high value of our guest, I think our brother should be notified.” Rinku threw her bloody sword onto Ralnor’s floor, becoming too tired to stay up in the middle of the night fighting for her life. And she felt for certain this night was going to become quite the ordeal. If not the near future.

________________________________________________________________

Previous Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/613698270411243520/fall-of-a-dynasty-ch-1-no-negotiations-this-time

Next Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/614058125382844416/fall-of-a-dynasty-ch-3-signing-the-fine-print

Crossover with @ridersoftheapocalypse

[letstalksymphogear]

Symphogear, EP.7 (Cont.)

“i have not now, nor ever, liked this creepy ass church elevator.”

“kanade please get out of my head, just because im hungry doesnt mean you have to tell me every time i am”

Hibiki finishes getting a full body X-ray. She’s fine.

“that anime protagonist immunity is really kicking in well!”

“by the way, your wife is here! and she’s looking mighty miffed., as opposed to me, mighty milfed.”

“you dont strike me as a mother figure but ill play along for now”

“i just hope miku’s okay...”

“oh, she’ll be fine! see, i’ve seen these kinds of plots before. big secret revealed, another lover is shown, the victim watches as they’re thoroughly cheated on, and they get to lik-”

“please stop breathing”

Genjuro’s wasting away again in Margaritaville. Looking for some daughter to adopt. SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT THERE’S A, WOOOOMAAAAAN TO BLAAAAAAAAAAME, BUT HE KNOWS

XYLOPHONE RIFF

THAT’S IT’S ALL HIS FAULT

XYLOPHONE RIFF

“i hate it when he gets like this. jimmy buffets not a good look for him.”

“for once you and i agree. seeing the commander sulk like this like a middle aged perma-tourist is genuinely miserable”

“hey homies! im back and i brought some bitches! oh, jesus, why does this place smell like mistakes in miami?”

“its me. im sorry. every time i feel like i failed as a dad, my anti-dad energies manifest. imagine every midlife crisis rolled up into a single ball, smacked into the face for eternity. thats the depth of my pain for failing this girl.”

In a moment of positivity, the friendship between Tsubasa and Hibiki is cemented.

> Tsubasa has joined the party.

“FRIENDSHIP!”

“fweindship.”

“uuuuhhhhh... dadship? yeah thats close enough.”

“WE’RE ALL GOOD FRIENDS!”

“ya tiddies are ringing again, better go get it”

Ryoko also points out that Hibiki’s relic is fusing with herself at an alarming rate. This is important to keep in mind.

Meanwhile, at night.

Miku is posing in the motherly “you done fucked up, where have you been young lady” position. A cold scolding is coming.

“.........................hey miku......”

“you can come in. are you worried im gonna bite? you suplexed a car. that shouldn’t be an issue anymore.”

“miku, i.... i wanted to tell you.... but.... the plot wouldn’t let me, miku....”

“should’ve told the plot to fuck off anyway. now you’re gonna live with that. you’re sleeping... on the bottom bunk.”

“b.... b..... b...... b.... b...... bottom bunk...?”

They slept separately that night. God, this is so stupid. All of this is so goddamned stupid. “I’m so mad at you even though you saved my life.” This is just so. AUGH. THIS IS DUMB. KANEKO WRITE BETTER ANGST THAT MAKES SENSE THAT ISN’T THIS.

Meanwhile, far away from this garbage...

Chris, having been evicted from Fine’s McMansion, wanders the streets of mumblemumble aimlessly. Don’t be fooled by her new fancy dress. Basically, she’s a combat-competent hobo.

“no food. no home. no victories. this sucks. whyd you do it, fine? we coulda been great together. but no. ya fired me. now i look like im prancing the red light district with a highly advanced superweapon around my neck.”

“no... hibiki’s to blame. ever since that genderbent little mac showed up to fight me, it’s been all downhill. fine thought me a laughstock because i couldnt take out her oversized boxing gloves, and now she beat me while i had nehushtan. god... i wish i never met that damn hamster faced chubby cheeked nerd.”

“wait, whats that crying”

Chris spies two kids talking to each other, one of them crying. Chris immediately makes an assumption, believing the big bro is bullying his sis.

“hey! stop nicking her lunch money, twerp”

Chris currently is a firm believer of corporeal punishment.

But the sister deflects the blow. Chris can’t even defeat children right now. Truly, this is a record low for her. You know you blew it when even kids are schooling you on basic morality. She then tells the little girl to stop crying, ironically mirroring her brother.

The infamous double T-Pose maneuver. Chris, you might as well get a shovel and start digging your own grave.

“i keep doing bad things badly, and now im doing good things badly... when fine said i was bad... did she just mean im not talented?”

Chris, finally, does a good thing and helps these kids find their parents.

“yeah. hibiki saved a kid when she got her gear. guess what? bam! im saving two! that’s fifty percent more kid per kid saved. take that, weirdo.”

The kids call her out on Chris singing unconsciously, and Chris gets flustered over it. Dawwwwww.

Chris manages to get them to safety to their Dad...

...while brutally lying about it, making Chris look like a predator. There’s a very crushing irony at play here, given who Chris used to serve.

“ugggggggggggggggghhhhhh hes not even gonna payyyyy meeeeeee why the fuck did i dooooo thiiiiiiissssss”

“hey, you know. you kids have a really nice relationship with one another. care to give me tips on how to be an empathetic human being capable of making friends?”

“maybe we’re born with it”

“maybe its maybeline”

“maybeline...”

Meanwhile...

A cold wind blows through Lydian Apartment 69-L. (I don’t actually know if that’s their room number, I just made it up.)

“jesus take the wheel, because i’m jumping out the passenger seat to save this current wreck of a relationship”

“miku please i saved your life, doesnt that count for anything”

“you already killed me the moment you lied. also im taking the bottom bunk so i dont have to see your face coming down the ladder.”

“miku you cant hide in this depression den forever. i know i hurt you and im sorry for it, but please understand i literally couldnt do it. you saw there were punches and violence and stuff... i didnt want you tied to that...”

“what was that? i cant hear your apologies over my incredibly loud snoring. SNOOOOOOORE. SNOOOOOOOORE. SNOOO- fuck, i just swallowed my spit, fuck”

“i hope this cocoon of displeasure you’ve made for yourself lets you erupt into a butterfly of acceptance so i can fly with you again.”

“......thats not fair. you cant say those beautiful metaphors and get away with it. let me be mad... sniff... let me be mad...”

Sadness wafts in the den of lies Hibiki has been forced into.

No music plays. There is only heartbreak, and woe.

In the midst of this pain...

Ryoko loredumps about how the Symphogears work and are immune to the noise on her blog, ‘hornyonmainforscience.org’, her hybrid science journal slash kink zone. It’s mostly a recap with some pretty good soft techno beats in it.

“i made a custom brew of red bull, five hour energy drink, coffee, and cream. i call it gamer girl piss.”

“damn. that’s some good piss.”

She muses about how Hibiki has managed to break the limitations of her Symphogear, making her a totally unique specimen. Wait, where have we heard this before...?

Hey... Ryoko... let’s just... cool it a bit with the Hibiki pictures... come on...

Ryoko touches upon the Custodians and the Curse of Babel. We ain’t touching that shit until later, because that’s another shitfuck box of crazy just ready to jump us in a dark alleyway to rob us of our wits.

Back to Lydian:

“miku whats the answer to the first three multiple choice questions”

“B. A. D.”

“oh, thanks. huh, BAD.”

“yeah. you are.”

“mmm. taste likes dissapointment. just like my life.”

“hey table for two haha get it cause there’s two chairs and miku for the love of god, please, forgive me”

“ive surgically removed my eyes and drew eyelashes over them with sharpie so i dont have to see your bird bangs.”

“thats very rude to both me and my hair. also, wig.”

Even Hibiki’s meal is judging her. Mainly for not eating it. Fucking look at this. God, that looks amazing. Fuck, why did I write this while I was hungry.

“miku you cant do this forever. i might die and youll end up crying on my tombstone going ‘oh god, why, oh god’, and really, i cant live with myself if that happens. mainly because id already be dead by then”

The Anime Janai crew show up to break some icebergs with a goddamn sledgehammer. As the self-aware Gods of this realm, they got very tired of this poor display of angst, and have decided to directly intervene.

Nevermind. They came for her kneecaps, and they most certainly got them.

PLEASE. I’M BEGGING YOU. END THIS GARBAGE PLOT THREAD.

“look. imma lay down the facts. yall are gay. yall are in love. yall are angry for the wrong reasons. its nobody’s fault here but the writer. so please kiss and make up. pretty please.”

“kaneko... you fool... we all know what the original sin is. its your hack writing making this stupidity in the first place. let the pencil go, asshole!”

They bring up the fact that Hibiki isn’t doing her work and wonder if she has a job on the side, which isn’t allowed by the school. Miku gets annoyed and bails, with Hibiki running after her. Unfortunately, Miku runs faster...

“oh god miku not the rooftop whatever you’re thinking just dont do it! please!”

“no. i came here to angst, since this is the Maximum Angst Zone.”

“i..... okay! okay, that’s fair! rooftops are the perfect place to look sad while getting proper air ventilation, thats fine”

It really would have been better played if it was played off that she felt hurt not because of the lie, but because she felt like she could have helped her better having known the truth, and it being a self-loathing sort of scenario for not being there better for her and not fully understanding the risk at play.

But no, instead, we get this.

Absolutely obliterated. A heart ripped, shredded, and sent to the Shadow Realm.

The episode ends on that note, but has a post credit scene.

Naked. On an old timey telephone. On a computer. Wearing stockings and long gloves.

The main antagonist of the series, everybody.

She’s talking the best English possible to some random-ass American when suddenly bursting through the scene is none other than:

“I WANT WORKERS COMPENSATION YOU BITCH, BEFORE I UNIONIZE YOUR NAKED ASS”

“AND I WANT A GOOD REFERNECE FOR MY FUTURE EMPLOYER, AND ALSO A SEVERANCE PACKAGE SINCE I’M FUCKING HOMELESS”

“i paint my eyelashes with mascara made from the tar of freshly carbonated corpses manufactured through noise, what on gods green earth compels you to think id give a rats ass about you?”

“so you never cared, huh! you’re just a nasty naked hedonist trying to- trying to- what the fuck are you even trying to do?!”

“i want to live the dream every spicy little fossil like me yearns for.”

“I WANNA FUCK GOD!”

“how- what? what? how do you even- what? are you- do you want to be the pope? is that it? does the pope get to fuck god? are you- is this a larping thing? you’ve really been into larping lately! i don’t like this!”

“youve never read the old testament, have you. ass out, pussy bare, hips up and barefoot. that’s how god’s always liked it.”

“now get lost, punk. you tipped off my hand to genjuro and now you being here is going to ruin everything. if you still feel any semblance of devotion, eat one of your own bullets and call it a day.”

“it’s 2012 bitch, if the mayans dont get you, I WILL”

“what god gives, He takes away, and so do i. i built you from the ground up. your relic, which was good for jack shit on you. the nehushtan, which you failed to do anything with except zap a couple hundred people. stop wars? you’re a walking war, waged by me, for me. and your cartridge has just run out of bullets.”

“uh oh! hand’s acting up again! better bail before i send you back to smacktown where all the bitter little shittalkers like you strut around spending their lives being useless as hell.”

“ah fuck, im not dealing with no manos: the hands of fate bullshit again”

“and guess what else i got on motherfucker”

“i see the union efforts have officially been busted. understandable, have a nice day ma’am”

“LEAVE.”

“I’M GOING, I’M GOING”

[alexidewrites]

Mari

A/N: Do NOT read this story if you have any triggers that can be found in the tags. Otherwise, proceed to under the cut to start reading this short story. You have been warned.

Empty boxes lined the dining and living rooms waiting to be recycled, while Alex finished unpacking the office and Elaine the bedroom. The two had moved into their new townhouse two weeks before, but due to work and wedding planning, only the essential boxes had been unpacked, namely bathroom and bedroom supplies, kitchenware, and pet supplies. Their cat, Snickers, lay in one of the boxes, somewhere.

While Elaine remembered what was in most of the boxes she had brought with her during the move, Alex couldn’t remember which box he had packed which thing in. He thoroughly regretted not labeling them now as he moved about the office looking for the box that housed his personal collections.

“Ah,” Alex said, shuffling boxes around for a moment before stopping and standing straight up. “I guess it got moved to the bedroom. I should’ve known that.” Alex moved out of the office into the hall, spotting Snickers jumping between boxes.

He walked into the bedroom, chuckling to himself.

“Snickers jumping around again?” Elaine looked up from digging through the box that Alex had just been looking for.

He nodded, moving to help her with his mementos.

Elaine handed him a few of his trophies from high school and college. “He’s been doing that all day. And you’re sure you can carry them all?”

“Yes, I can carry them all.” He took an armful back into the office with him.

“Hey, Alex?” Elaine called, moments later, as he set them down on the desk. “Do you know what’s inside this?”

“What’s inside what?” Alex walked back into the bedroom, seeing a wooden box roughly the size of a watermelon with a lock on it in Elaine’s hands. He stopped right in front of where she sat on the ground. “Where’d you find that?”

“It was in the bottom of this box.” She set it down in front of her.

Alex pulled his keys out of his pocket. As he sat down, he flipped to the small key that would open the box. “It’s a bunch of memories from high school and college. My parents must have snuck this in while I was packing it. I don’t remember what all I put in here.”

The lock looked just as old as he remembered, one of the rusted ones he had snagged from his dad’s lock box during the summer of his freshman year of high school. It looked as though his parents had attempted to polish it, to no avail, though, due to the slight glimmer from the metal. He smiled as he opened the box, excited to see what was inside. A miniature figure of Super Saiyan Goku sat on top with a lanyard holding his high school ID on the end. He pulled them out and passed them to Elaine.

“You weren’t kidding when you said you’ve been into Dragon Ball for quite some time.” Elaine laughed, setting the figure down next to her. She looked at the photo on the ID and chuckled something along the lines of how cute he was as a fourteen-year-old.

Alex paid no attention to her. He pulled out more items: a Hatsune Miku photo, a manga that no one had ever heard of, the very first comic of Captain Marvel he had hunted down during his junior year of high school and saved up enough money to buy among other comics he’d thought he’d lost, a couple of medals from his days playing baseball, a couple letters he had kept from friends who had moved away, and an envelope with only “Al-kun” written on the front. His smile waned as he held the envelope in his hands.

Alex stood up, turning towards the door. “Can you put everything back when you’re finished looking through it, Elie?”

Elaine looked up quickly from her smiling at all of the stuff he had pulled out of the box. “Sure.” She noticed the envelope in his hand and instantly frowned. “Is everything okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I just remembered why I haven’t bothered looking for that box in six years.”

“It’s because of her, isn’t it?” She carefully placed the figure in her hands back inside the box. “Do you want to put that back in there, too?” She motioned to the envelope.

“No. I think I’m finally ready,” he said, giving her a wry smile.

Elaine nodded in response, a knowing smile on her face.

Alex shut the bedroom door behind him, making his way down the hall towards the living room. He looked at the envelope as he sat down on the couch. “Al-kun,” Alex read the front of the envelope again. The name in a big cursive calligraphy that the girl, no… woman, who had written it developed. She’d been the only one to use it, too, and had never let anyone else attempt it. Just like she was the only one whom Alex had ever let her call him Al. He hadn’t particularly liked the name at first but had grown accustomed to it over the years after having met her their sophomore year of high school. “Art class, if I recall correctly.”

This girl had sat at a table next to a giant window of the art room, always staring at the outside world.  Alex had sat right next to her. A book and a sketchpad always sat in front of her on the desk, so her drawing and calligraphy had caught his eye initially. It was the first time he’d seen her distinctive style, big, curly and elegant. He hadn’t been able to bring himself to talk to her in those first few weeks, only admire her work from afar.

Alex flipped the envelope open and slowly pulled the flap out. The edges of a picture and a piece of paper lay neatly inside, where he had left them. Having never read the letter due to not having the strength at the time, Alex had placed it with his most beloved picture of the two the night after their senior prom. They had laughed and danced the night away, among good friends, and family that night.

As he pulled the picture out, he smiled at it as his eyes began to water. They sat on top of the bar at his uncle’s restaurant where after-prom had been held. The girl’s amber eyes caught his attention first. Thin black eyeliner lined her upper eyelid, flowing out to a thin, but graceful wing tip. Her eye shadow faded from a deep purple along the outer edges of her eyelids to a soft lilac in the inner eyelid. They smiled back at him along with her gorgeous wide smile she was well known for. Her reddish brown hair fell in tightly kept curls barely falling past her left shoulder, still in the loose pony tail she had tied it up with. She wore a pink top with white flowers falling down the side and a pair of jeans, along with a corsage of white and pink flowers on her left wrist. He had delicately taken the corsage off later when they had chosen to taken the next step of their already two and a half year relationship, intimacy.

“Mari,” Alex muttered, a tear glimmered in the corner of his eye. He set the picture down for a moment, closing his eyes. He could see her laughing that night, having found himself laughing right along with her at another stupid joke of his, one that his uncle had told him when he had helped set up the bar for after-prom party earlier in the day. A grasshopper walks into a bar and the bartender says, “Hey, we have a drink named after you.” The grasshopper says, “You have a drink named Derek?” That had been right before a friend of his had taken the photo. The scene shifted. He could feel her hair between his fingers and his in hers. They lay intertwined on his bed, laughing about how much fun the entire night had been, including the awkwardness between them for a brief moment.

As Alex look back at the photo, he found himself smiling. His hair in the photo was slicked back, as it had been an inch longer then compared to now. He also sported a school t-shirt, along with khaki shorts. He held her right hand in his, smiling back at the camera, his mouth partly open from laughing so much. That had definitely been a night to remember, and one he would never forget.

He set the picture down on the coffee table in front of him. The letter sat waiting for him to read, but he wasn’t ready yet. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, letting memories of their time together come flooding back: the two of them moving each other’s items into their dorm rooms at college, only three rooms apart from each other; dancing to the music of the cicadas as the sun set in the park; hanging out and playing video games or watching anime at her house; splashing each other with salt water at the beach with friends the summer after high school graduation.

Alex even remembered what their first fight had been about, which universe was better, DC or Marvel. Mari had been so adamant about Marvel being better than DC, but Alex held his ground. They’d have fought over this multiple more times, if they hadn’t had other stupid and silly arguments that they’d argue about periodically, such as which Vocaloid was the most emo, and which anime adaption of the manga was better. They’d always make up and kiss, possibly more later on, laughing about how silly their fights were, but agreeing that they could manage to come to terms by agreeing to disagree.

What popped into his mind last, though, was the day he first asked her out to the homecoming dance their sophomore year of high school, only a month after he had first noticed her in their art class. Mari had been quietly reading a book at the lunch table. Alex had noticed that she wasn’t a social light, but could tell that she was friendly to those who talked to her from paying attention in the classes they shared. He had been wanting to talk to her for quite some time, but hadn’t had the nerve to ask her yet, until that particular day, one friend dared him to ask her, leaving him with no choice but to walk over to her. She had looked up from her book, as he asked her out. “Only if you can make me laugh,” she’d said with a smile on her face. So he told her the one joke he could think of.

If anyone asked him now what joke he had used to get her to laugh, he always said he didn’t remember, which he really didn’t. He only remembered that it had something to do with whatever food she had been eating for lunch that day. He could still hear her giggling slightly all these years later, which caused him to reach for the letter.

Taking another breath, he began to read the letter as he opened it up. Even though he hadn’t wanted to cry, he found himself crying from the very beginning. The amount of tears grew the farther he read. After reaching the last line, he lay down on the couch, the piece of paper on top of him.

Elaine found him that way when she finally left the bedroom and made her way out to the living room. Alex sat up for her to sit down on the couch, then laid his head on her lap. Having noticed his tears, she asked, “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be okay.” He smiled up at her. “You’re here with me.”

She smiled back at him, running a hand through his hair. “We can stop unpacking for a bit if you’d like.”

Alex closed his eyes. “That sounds nice.”

After a moment, Elaine spotted the letter and asked, “Can I read it?”

Alex looked up at her, his eyes still watering. “You’ll cry.”

“No, I won’t.”

“Trust me. You knew her, too.” He held the letter up for her to grab. “Just don’t stop with the hair, alright?”

Elaine nodded in response, giving him her understanding that it would be soothing for both of them. Taking the paper into her hands, she began to read, letting the tears fall if they were destined to fall.

To My Love, My Dear Alexander,

You will never understand why I did what I did, but I will try to explain it to you anyway. I grew up in a house where I could have anything I wanted, to an extent. I had loving parents, grandparents, extended family, etc. I was in so many extracurricular activities until I found my passion, calligraphy, and art. Eventually, everything in my life started to look dim for no apparent reason. I couldn’t understand why I felt the way I did in middle school, always feeling sad, but hiding it with a smile. This feeling grew to even greater lengths in high school, that is, until I met you, or so I thought.

You know, the first time I saw you, I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. Your dark hair and eyes caught me by surprise, even if you looked dorky in your gym clothes freshman year. (Yes, we did have gym class together, just with different PE teachers.) .) I ended up having the biggest crush on you, but you had no idea who I was, and I was okay with that. Well, maybe I was just content with that for a while because when I noticed something had changed about you, I grew excited. You started to notice me.

When you approached me sophomore year and asked me to go to the homecoming dance with you, I had to play it cool, but I was actually extremely nervous. That’s why you got the “only if you can make me laugh” response. You told a really stupid, but funny and cute joke, too. “Why did the tomato turn red?” “I don’t know. Why?” “Because it saw the salad dressing.” “I assume that’s a yes then?” I had no choice but to agree, not that I didn’t want to go to the dance with you. I’m really glad I went with you. That turned into four amazing years with you that I will never forget, especially the night of senior prom. I don’t need to explain that. I’m sure you remember.

You changed my life. You erased most of whatever it was that caused me to be depressed. You gave me a reason to live, even if I ended up with only nineteen years of life. That’s why I couldn’t tell you that some part of that feeling, the depression, was still there, still fighting over control of my mind even though I thought it had disappeared. Which is why I’m writing this letter to you now. I’m pleading with myself to stop, to not go through with this. I want to live the rest of my life with you like we’ve discussed. I want you to propose to me. I want to say yes. I want to live in a happy home. I want to have three beautiful children with you who will grow up to be wonderful human beings just like their parents. I want to pursue that double degree in psychology and psychiatry so I can help people like me, people who don’t understand why they feel the way they do, who don’t feel like they should feel this way because they have great and amazing lives. I don’t want to disappear. I don’t want to... but I don’t think I can stop this feeling.....

I need help. I know I need help. But by the time you, or anyone, find this, by the time you find me, it will be too late. I’m too far gone. I’m not even sure how to come back. I can’t stop myself, but I want you to know that I love you. I love you with every fiber of my being. Please find it in yourself to live a happy life, make some amazing girl your wife, and please know, you are perfect in every sense of the word.

I love you, my Al-kun. I will always love you.

With All My Love,

Mari

[recentanimenews]

Love Live!: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide

You! Yes, you over there! Do you want to be a school idol?! You’ve probably seen that term floating around throughout the past decade, and if you have no knowledge of the Love Live! franchise, you might know the ins and outs of what that entails. You’re not signing up with an agency, hiring a producer, or anything like that, but there’s a lot of hard work that goes into making it through competition and eventually winning Love Live. Plus, you might have to put everything on the line in order to make sure your school doesn’t shut down.

  As Love Live! celebrates its ninth year of existence, it's the perfect time to put together a step-by-step guide for those of you that might not have tried the series out yet. Which anime do you start with? Are they connected to one another? Where do the movies come into play? What do you do when you’ve watched all the anime? What’s going to happen next? With our guide, you’ll know the answer to each of those questions and also find out if you truly want to devote yourself to the emotions that come with enjoying school idols.

    Now, you could technically switch around which show to start with, but if you really want to get all the references that are in Love Live! Sunshine!!, you’ve got to start at the beginning. Love Live! School Idol Project debuted in 2013 and was the foundation for what both series would utilize with their stories. Here, Honoka Kosaka forms μ's (muse) along with eight other girls at her school. By the way, school idols are basically what the term says, they’re idols who are still in school and work together to go through competitions, similarly to how a sports anime is set up. There they would attempt to win the Love Live competition as a way to save their school, Otonokizaka High School. Of course, creating an idol group composed of different personalities isn’t the easiest feat in the world.

  Love Live! School Idol Project would air for two seasons, with the first focusing on the group’s creation and establishing the characters, while the second would show off more characterization and showcase if they were able to save their school or not. The series would then be followed up with 2015’s Love Live! The School Idol Movie which sees μ's head overseas to America, and you get to see the conclusion of their story. Despite this being the end of μ's run as the flag bearers of the Love Live! franchise with regards to anime, an announcement from earlier in 2015 showed that there were still more stories to tell.

    Nearly a year after the release of Love Live! The School Idol Movie, 2016 would see the release of the second Love Live! anime in Love Live! Sunshine!!. It’s been around five years after the events of the original series and after seeing a μ's performance, Chika Takami looks to follow in their footsteps by forming Aqours (pronounced Aqua) in order to save Uranohoshi High School. The framework of the story remains similar to Love Live! School Idol Project, but Sunshine!! takes it and goes in different directions by creating an evolution of the previous series’ story.

  Another 2-season run would see the trials and tribulations of Aqours as they try to not only come together to win Love Live in an era where school idols are now the norm and are bigger than ever, but also try to break free of the large shadow of μ's. This year also saw the release of Love Live! Sunshine!! The School Idol Movie Over The Rainbow as the conclusion to the story of Aqours with them travelling to Italy and figuring out what happens when the third years graduate. If you didn’t manage to see the film in theaters during its run, the Japanese release is actually import friendly (along with all Love Live! anime releases) since it includes English subtitles, so if you’re impatient and can’t wait to see it, there’s a way to view it now.

    After 52 episodes and 2 movies, you might think that would be it. That there’s nothing left for you to really dive into. If you’ve gotten this far with the series, then after the anime, you’re only getting started. Since it’s a music-based anime, there’s a ton of music to listen to once you’re done with both series, including a ton of songs that weren’t featured in the anime. All of the releases are available for purchase or are now on streaming services so you can take Love Live! with you everywhere. There’s singles with music videos stylized like the anime that give tidbits of bonus story here and there. Aqours are still going strong with those as they have a new single releasing next month in September, and it was just announced that μ's would be releasing a brand new single and video—their first in three years!

  While you’re jamming out to all these songs, you might be thinking, man, it’d sure be great if there was a video game where I could play all of these songs. With that set up, you’re going to be very shocked to learn that there is! Love Live! School Idol Festival is the longest running game the franchise has put out as it’s been available on mobile devices for six years now. School Idol Festival allows you to play all the songs you know from both series, including the introduction of a third idol group from Nijigasaki High School. You’re also able to collect cards of all the girls you know, which means there are gacha elements to the game, but it’s not as invasive as other games in that style can be. Plus, you get new bits of story for all of the characters and groups that adds more of an incentive to seek it out. 

    There have been other games as well, including arcade versions of School Idol Festival and PlayStation Vita games that featured μ's and were made by the Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA team. A successor to School Idol Festival is even in the works with the self-proclaimed “rhythm action RPG”, Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS. The game features 3D models of everyone and allows you to see them perform, similarly to the arcade versions. It may be a bit of time before we see the game land overseas, but it seems to be a fun step up from School Idol Festival and will even include connectivity with its predecessor.

  Games, music, anime, what more could you ask for from a series? Well, there’s actually still more. Like any music-focused anime, it’d make sense if you put on some live performances from the anime, right? Love Live! has been doing this for years now with both μ's and Aqours having multiple live shows where the voice actresses sing and dance in front of stadium filled crowds. Both groups have performed in the Tokyo Dome, a venue that can seat up to 55,000 people. 2016 was the last big performance for μ's while Aqours are still going strong with a new subunit tour announced for 2020. There’s also the big Love Live! Fest happening early next year which sees all three groups perform together for the first time and μ's reuniting after three years. 

    The live performances might be a bit harder for folks overseas to see, but it is doable. If you do miss out on them though, they are released on home video for you to watch at your own leisure. There’s also so many activities you can do if you visit Japan related to Love Live! including event based cafes, escape rooms based off the franchise, and also going to the towns where each series is based off of. In fact, the city of Numazu, the place where Love Live! Sunshine!! takes place, has embraced the show by embracing the tourist aspect of people coming to see it for that reason and hosting events featuring Aqours. 

  As the Love Live! series with regards to anime is now in a holding pattern following the release of the Sunshine!! movie, there’s questions on where the franchise goes next. Are the Nijigasaki girls going to receive their own anime or will they stick to the School Idol Festival games only? It’d be hard pressed to see them only stay in the game as would that give them the most exposure? Especially coming off of the momentum of μ's and Aqours, not letting them get the biggest audience imaginable would be tough. Will there even be a third anime series? You’d have to imagine if there was that it’d have to go in a new direction as there’d be an increased difficulty to pull of the same story again. Personally, I think it’s something the Love Live! team could do, with regards to doing something new and especially with exploring the idea of school idols just becoming so big and how do you really set yourself apart from all of the others like Sunshine!! sort of does. 

    With all of that now put on the table for you, the option to fully dive into Love Live! is ready for you. Now, you don’t have to seek out everything here in order to call yourself a fan of the series. If you just watch the anime, you’re as big a fan as someone like me who seeks out everything. However, if you’re looking to figure out what to do after watching the anime or just wanting to get into Love Live! to begin with, this is basically everything that you’d need and then some. So, congratulations on becoming a school idol that shines bright with a radiance that will pierce the sky!

    For those of you not new to the Love Live! series, what first got you into it? If you are new, what made you decide to seek it out? Let us know in the comments below or if you have any questions not answered above!

---

Jared Clemons is a writer and podcaster for Seasonal Anime Checkup where he can be found always wanting to talk about Love Live! Sunshine!! or whatever else he's into at the moment. He can be found on Twitter @ragbag.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com