Just wanted to plant an idea if you wanted a bit of fuel: Mahiru asking Yuno to come to her cell before everything goes down.
Edit: I forgot the ask didn't say it but this is part of Kyanako's incredible Order Of Attack AU!
Didn't mean for this to become a mini Mappi study but here we are ✨ Thank you for the request! I fully intended to write them hanging out, but it's more right before they hang out lol. Went a bit on-the-nose with foreshadowing, but isn't that the fun part? It has become Emotional Over Mahiru Hour...
I kept things vague, but TW for mentioning her boyfriend's state of potential self-harm
Mahiru tried not to act superstitious, she really did. As much as she loved the idea of little luck charms, or avoided easy signs of misfortune, it was easier to keep quiet about such ridiculous things.
Maybe catching a bride’s bouquet meant no guarantees; maybe there was no real harm in stepping underneath ladders, maybe a coin tossed into a fountain had no real magic to its wish. However, the one thing she knew for sure held power was a lucky presence. Being in the right place at the right time could alter everything. And today was the right time for something. There was this waiting in the air. The prison had been holding its breath. Mahiru knew it was time to release it all.
“You must be so lonely, why don’t you let big sis Mahiru keep you company?” She beamed at Amane.
She often recalled the good fortune that she and a certain young man had crossed paths on the university terrace. She used to laugh with him about the wonderful coincidence of bumping into each other outside of the bakery, then the convenience store.
Though she’d never spoken about it to him, she was also grateful for many occasions where she walked in on him at the precise moment to talk him out of something reckless. She always told him that they’d do everything together. He didn’t need to be alone anymore.
“I wish to be alone. I need peace of mind to think.” Amane turned away from the cell door.
It was a good thing, too. Mahiru’s smile wasn’t as convincing as she said, “o-oh. Of course.”
She made her way around the panopticon, hearing Fuuta pace his cell in anticipation. He must have felt it too, this holding of breath.
Or perhaps not. He turned down her offer for a bit of company, including a few more colorful words than Amane had. Mahiru just apologized for bothering him and headed back to her cell. She wasn’t sure where Mikoto was at this hour, but she didn’t feel like smiling through a third rejection.
She shook her head back and forth. She wished the motion could rattle the voices inside, she wished she could shake them all away. With her arms secured in place she could no longer cover her ears. She used to hum to keep them at bay, but lately they’d been too loud to stifle. They just kept on talking.
Their words told her the two were right. Nobody needed her company. No – nobody wanted it. Being together hadn’t helped her boyfriend. In fact, being together had been the very thing that got him killed. No wonder Amane and Fuuta wanted to avoid her.
So then, this was for the best. She would rather deal with the brief sting of refusal than stumble in one day to find them hurt… or worse. As much as she tried to avoid the superstition of it all, the voices reminded her that her very presence could mean life or death.
“Mappi, are you alright?” Mahiru hadn’t realized a tear had slipped down her cheek until she hurried to swipe it away in front of Yuno.
“Hah, I’m fine! Just fine.” It was impossible to fool her, Mahiru had learned, but that never stopped her from trying.
At least she always spoke tactfully. “Rough morning?”
Mahiru shifted her arms in her uniform, making a small sound of agreement.
“Can I do anything to help? What if I stay with you for a bit? I can do your hair, and…”
The voices were right. Amane and Fuuta knew it, too. Presences did hold power, and Mahiru’s was cursed.
But she would sound foolish admitting such a fear to Yuno. She'd heard plenty from the voices about how stupid and airheaded she was, there was no use in getting the same lecture from someone as grounded as her.
Mahiru managed a weak protest, unable to explain her real reasoning. Yuno was insistent. She didn’t give much of a choice. Could she feel the strangeness of the prison, as well?
At last, Mahiru allowed her shoulders to sag. Yuno was lucky. And kind. Having her nearby would do her good. Amane and Fuuta would be alright. Mahiru had tried spending more time with them after verdicts were announced. Now, she made a mental note to pull back. If her love couldn’t save anyone, at least she could spare them from her curse. They would be safe.
“Yes. Please stay. The truth is... I don't want to be alone.”
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Do you think the fandom is too hard on Sky?
Mmm, no and yes?
I think people have a lot of good reasons to hate or just kinda dislike Sky. Even if you ignore the Diaspro situation, he has a lot of moments where he just... isn't great (to say the absolute least). Spying on Bloom, immediately assuming she's going to cheat or leave him, directly saying she can't hang out with other guys, implying that he can't trust Brandon, making fun of Stella, literally everything he says to Riven. And I mean that's like the major stuff off the top of my head yknow? Sky just isn't a great person and while he does get called out, it's never in a way that would actually make him change his behavior.
However, I think people also exaggerate his actions and intentions a lot. Instead of recognizing that Sky has practically no control over his life and that he couldn't just break up with Diaspro or tell Bloom the truth, a lot of people make him out to be some serial cheater that always intended to cheat on Diaspro or lie to random girls about his identity. Or when people think he's the worst friend ever because he occasionally doesn't trust people when his entire life he's been at risk of assassination and people getting close to him to yknow. kill him. Like no, implying that Brandon is a spy or that Riven wants to murder people isn't cool. But he's also only like that because there's a history of people trying to kill him, not because he just hates everyone.
Listen, I'm not saying that Sky is a good person or that his actions are justified OR that he's a horrible person who deserves a shit ton of hate. But I think the fandom in general tends to go with very absolutist claims when it comes to Sky. It's either he's the worst character ever and deserves to die or he's a misunderstood baby who's better than Riven. It's literally always one of those two - no in between. Imo, there are reasons to dislike Sky but the fandom also heavily exaggerates the reasons and makes him out to be much worse than he actually is. And on the other side, it's also annoying when people completely ignore all of his faults just to make him look better. He's just as complex and nuanced as the rest of the characters and acting like he's either 100% Evil or 100% Innocent is never fun (for him or any other character).
(i didn't really know how to fit this in but I think a lot of sky discourse also comes from riven stans which makes the situation so much worse. like it's never a fun discussion or debate, it's always just "well he was mean to riven so he deserves to die actually" which then makes riven antis foam at the mouth so they start to defend sky Exclusively to make riven look bad, not because they actually like sky. it's a mess man)
General disclaimer that this is just my opinion and I'm not trying to force it on anyone and it's fine if you disagree.
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