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huesofthemorning · 6 years

Text

The Frog Kingdom

Words: 4800

Summary: The girls go fishing. Somehow, they’re actually successful. Who would have guessed? Meanwhile, Nana introduces monarchy to the frogs.

“This is possibly the worst idea we’ve ever had,” Junna said, “even worse than the Pool Noodle Massacre.”

“No way,” Claudine argued. “Nothing is worse than the Pool Noodle Massacre.”

Junna, who was already completely sunburnt, looked Claudine dead in the eyes and asked, “Are you sure about that?”

Claudine laughed, reeling in her fishing line. “I still can’t believe you burn faster than me. Didn’t you put on like seven layers of sunscreen?”

“Yes.” Junna pouted, arms crossed. She had stolen Nana’s sunhat, too, the wide brim casting a shadow over her red face. “What I can’t believe is that you actually know how to fish. Where did you learn that?”

“Oh, you know,” Claudine answered, throwing her line back into the lake.

“No, I really don’t.” Junna followed suit, her hook landing with a quiet splash. They were sitting on a big raft in the middle of a lake, legs dangling in the water. It was warm. The sun was shining, and only the barest breeze ruffled through the trees lining the shore. Somehow they had all agreed to a day of fishing, despite only three of them having any sort of experience. Futaba and Mahiru seemed confident in their skills, though Junna was starting to doubt Claudine’s claims. The rest of them were making it up as they went. Those of them that were actually trying, that was. Kaoruko was lying in the middle of the raft, parasol propped up to shade her face. Futaba and Nana were sitting nearby, discussing the best types of fish to eat, their poles sitting idly in their hands. Mahiru was on the other side of the raft, coaching an energetic Karen and a strangely awkward Maya. Junna had a feeling that Maya had never been this far from a city before in her life. She was going through a rough adjustment period.

Junna pulled in her line and grimaced at the clump of pondweed stuck to it. “Are there even any fish in this lake?”

“Does it really matter? You don’t go fishing for the fish. Come on, Jun, get with the program.”

“Then why are we actually here?”

“Cause we’re a bunch of gay losers with no better ideas?”

“....Fair enough.”

“Ah! I got one!” Karen shouted, jumping to her feet. She was holding her fishing rod like a baseball bat, trying to pull the fish out of the water. Mahiru hurried over to help, reeling in the line. The group watched with only mild interest. This was the fifth time Karen had called that out this hour, and each time it had been a disappointment. It was looking like there was finally a chance for success, though. Karen and Mahiru were fighting for their fish, pulling with all their might.

“We’re almost there!” Karen shouted.

Bubbles rose to the surface of the water, a dark shadow beneath them. The group leaned forward, holding their breath. Was it true? Did Karen do it?

“Alllllllllmooooooossssssttt!” Karen and Mahiru made one last, big push of effort. Something broke through the surface-- everyone gasped--

“Wait- Hikari-chan????”

Hikari looked up at Karen and Mahiru’s shocked faces, the hook stuck in her hair pin.

“I found this,” she said, handing Mahiru a purplish piece of seaweed. “It reminded me of you.”

With that she sank back underwater, swimming away. Everyone stared after her, open mouthed.

“I hate these group trips,” Junna finally said.

“What… do I do with this?” Mahiru asked, looking around at everyone, seaweed in her hand.

“Eat it, probably,” Kaoruko said, choking on her laughter. “What a catch, Karen-han!”

“You might just win biggest fish of the day!” Futaba called. They were keeping track, of course. They were too competitive a group not to. Junna had her notebook tucked inside her oversized shirt - another stolen item from Nana, who was delighted by the sight - and was ready to mark down the winners. Assuming any of them managed to catch a fish in the first place.

“I’m going to go look for frogs,” Nana declared a few minutes later. She slipped into the water, swam underneath the raft, then reappeared by Junna’s feet. “Wanna come with, Junna-chan?”

Nana’s usual banana hairstyle had fallen apart after their initial swim to the raft. She had retied it into a short ponytail, and combined with her eager smile, she was too adorable to dismiss. Junna sighed.

“I suppose.”

“Yay, Junna-chan!”

“You’re so whipped,” Claudine said.

“Shut up.”

Junna joined Nana in the water, careful not to splash her glasses as they swam over to shore.

“How interesting,” Kaoruko said, watching the pair go. “The parents have abandoned their children. Whatever are we supposed to do now?”

“Probably something that’s not whatever you’re thinking,” Claudine said.

“How boring. I’m sure Tendo-han would be interested in my idea.”

“What?” Maya looked up from the tangled mess of a fishing line she’d managed to create. Futaba winced at the sight of the giant knots.

“Tendo, how did you even do that?”

“I’m… not sure.” Maya frowned at the disaster sitting in her lap.

“You’re just useless when you’re not on stage, aren’t you,” Claudine said, rolling her eyes. Art and fishing, Tendo Maya’s apparent weaknesses.

“What if we make this a stage?” Kaoruko asked sweetly. Instantly everyone turned to her, a gleam in their eyes.

“Go on,” Claudine said.

“Wellllll, I was simply thinking that’s it been soooo long since we did any improv work…”

“Let’s pretend we’re on a boat!” Karen shouted, bouncing up and down, the raft rocking under her feet. “I’ll be captain!”

“Woah, why are you captain?” Futaba countered. “You’d strand us in the middle of the ocean!”

“We are in the middle of a lake…” Maya commented, looking thoughtful. She set her rod aside and got to her feet.

“I’m calling for mutiny,” Claudine decided, standing up as well. The rest of the group followed.

“W-wait!” Mahiru said, wrapping an arm around Karen. “Let’s not be hasty! I’m sure Karen-chan can get us out of here.”

“Thank you, First Mate Mahiru!” Karen said. She placed her hands on her hips, striking a confident pose. “I will get us out of here, absolutely!”

“You better!” Futaba placed her hands on Kaoruko’s shoulders, who instantly adopted a worried look. “My fiancee and I were supposed to get married on this ship! Not get lost at sea!”

“Yes!” Kaoruko chimed in with her perfect offended princess voice. “How dare you! I’m lodging a complaint!”

Claudine laughed. “You’re lodging a complaint? To who? The shark?”

“Shark!?” the group cried out. Hikari circled the raft, hands pointed above her head to mimic a shark fin. Karen sang the Jaws theme song under her breath for dramatic effect.

“Everyone, behind me!” Maya called, throwing an arm out. All her city girl awkwardness had disappeared under the shine of the stage. Her voice echoed with power.

“What if we sacrifice her?” Claudine whispered to Karen as she huddled with the rest of the group.

“I’m on it!” Karen rushed forward and flung herself at Maya.

“Ah!” The pair hit the deck, wrestling for control. “Captain Aijo! I demand-- be sensible!”

One moment Karen was on top, straddling Maya’s waist, the next Maya had flipped them over, trying to catch Karen’s wildly swinging arms. Claudine was laughing so hard she was crying.

“C-Captain Karen!” Mahiru called out. “Watch out--”

Karen and Maya rolled right off the edge of the raft and into the water. Immediately Hikari dove after them, teeth bared in a feral grin.

“Well,” Futaba gasped through her laughter, “I think that makes Mahiru the next captain?”

“Ummm. That’s okay. I’ll pass.”

“I’ll be captain!” Kaoruko announced, graciously stepping forward. “As the most beautiful person on this ship, the duty clearly falls to me.”

“Hold up,” Claudine said, eyes narrowed in challenge. “Most beautiful? Says who?”

“Says the fact that I’m the one getting married, of course!”

“Yeah? You’re just a fiancee right now, Hanayagi. I am a wife!”

The three girls still alive on the raft gasped dramatically, hands to their chest. Claudine smirked, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

“Never expected that, huh?”

“Objection!” Futaba said, pointing a finger at Claudine. “I’m engaged to Kaoruko, so you can’t be married to us. Mahiru was shocked by your announcement, so you can’t be married to her either. That leaves only Captain Aijo and Tendo, who have both been tragically killed.”

The group paused for a minute of silence, the memory of their comrades’ deaths still fresh in their minds.

“You’re forgetting someone,” Claudine said after the moment passed.

“Who?”

“I,” Claudine stated in her haughtiest voice, “am married to the shark.”

There was a beat of silence as everyone processed the words.

“EHHHH????????”

Hikari surfaced, leaning on the edge of the raft and flashing Claudine a grin.

“Good work, my beloved,” Claudine said, returning the smile. “Soon this entire ocean will be ours.”

Hikari winked and disappeared again.

“Isn’t my wife hot?” Claudine asked the rest of the crew. They mumbled their agreement, casting fearful looks between them.

“But, but…” Karen whispered, treading water a few feet away. “Hikari-chan is…”

“Hush. We’re dead, remember?” Maya pushed Karen’s head under the water.

“Now!” Claudine said, taking control of the ship. “I am your new captain, and I expect order! I want all three of you cleaning the decks. I want them spotless, you hear me?”

“Yes ma’am!” The three girls saluted and went to work, getting on their hands and knees and pretending to scrub the raft. Claudine oversaw them, commenting on Futaba’s and Mahiru’s work, while purposely ignoring the way Kaoruko scooted over to the edge.

“Hey, hot shark girl,” Kaoruko whispered, looking behind her to make sure Claudine wasn’t watching. Hikari raised her head out of the water.

“Yes?”

“You like your wife, right?”

“Of course.”

“You want to make her happy, right?”

“Ideally.”

Kaoruko grinned. “Good. Because I bet Claudine would be really, super happy if you decided to eat her. If you know what I mean.”

“Hmm.” Hikari dropped below the water again, keeping eye contact with Kaoruko the entire time, until she was deep enough to swim beneath the raft. Then she was gone.

“Hanayagi!” Claudine called. “That doesn’t look like work to me!”

“I’m very sorry,” Kaoruko said, lacing her voice with false sincerity. “It’s simply that I finished already.”

“Finished? That fast?”

“Oh, yes. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you come inspect it?”

Claudine thought about it for a moment. Futaba and Mahiru were watching out of the corner of their eyes, waiting to see what would happen. “Fine. I think I will.”

Claudine marched over to the edge of the raft, peering down at the wood. “Hmm. Looking at this, I don’t think you spent a single second working at all-- Ahh!!”

Hikari burst out of the water and wrapped her arms around Claudine’s legs, pulling her in. They disappeared in a cloud of bubbles. The trio left alive watched as Claudine’s bright hair faded away into the murky depths.

“Another one bites the dust,” Mahiru murmured.

“I’ve had enough of this shark!” Futaba declared. “It’s eaten three of our friends! It must be stopped!”

“Babe, no!” Kaoruko cried out as Futaba dove into the water after Hikari. More bubbles rose to the surface as they wrestled under the water. Kaoruko and Mahiru caught only flashes of movement.

The fight must have ended in a draw, for neither returned to the raft. Instead they joined Karen, Maya, and Claudine, treading water in the designated Dead Person Zone.

And then there were two.

“Well, I’m still planning to get married on this trip,” Kaoruko said, turning to Mahiru.

Mahiru took a step backwards. “Ummm. Well, we don’t have anyone to officiate anymore, so…”

“I think that’s fine,” Kaoruko said, taking a step closer to Mahiru. “If there’s no one to officiate, then there’s also no one to complain.”

Mahiru’s heels were at the edge of the raft. One more step and she’d tumble into the water. She had to do something - but what?

“I…. I have a confession to make!” she shouted. Kaoruko paused, eyebrows raised.

“Oh?”

“Yes!” Mahiru nodded seriously. “I will only marry someone who can beat me in a wrestling match!”

Kaoruko paled, fear flashing across her face. “Wait-”

Back on shore, Junna looked up from her frog hunting just in time to see Mahiru tackle Kaoruko across the raft, the two of them tumbling into the water, Kaoruko’s shriek piercing the air. Then all was still, almost picturesque, an empty raft floating quietly in a lake. Junna decided she didn’t want to know what had gone down in her absence.

“Nana, I’m never saying no to frog hunting again.”

“Great!” Nana beamed at her, holding out her newest catch, a small speckled toad. “What should we name this one?”

Junna frowned. “Isn’t that Shakespeare again?”

“No, no! Shakespeare was smaller.”

“I see,” Junna said, not seeing at all. How Nana managed to keep track of the dozen frogs she’d found so far, Junna didn’t know. “How about…. Anne Hathaway?”

“Isn’t that some American actress?”

“Yes. But it’s also the name of Shakespeare’s wife.”

“Oh! That’s great, Junna-chan! Let me find Shakespeare again, I have to introduce them!” Nana bounded off through the reeds, Anne Hathaway carefully cradled in her hands. Junna watched her go with a fond, if exasperated, smile.

“Alright,” she muttered to herself, standing up and looking across the water. “Time to make sure the rest of these idiots haven’t drowned themselves.”

Said idiots were all treading water in the middle of the lake, pondweed tangled in their hair and algae freckling their skin with green.

“I can’t believe you betrayed me like that!” Claudine complained, glaring at Hikari. “We were supposed to be powerful together!”

“Kaoruko told me to eat you.”

“And you listened!?”

Hikari shrugged.

“Speaking of listening to bad suggestions,” Maya said, frowning at Karen.

“You don’t say no to sacrifice!” Karen declared.

“Exactly!” Futaba agreed. “Especially when that sacrifice is heroic.”

“My hero,” Kaoruko said, swimming over to Futaba and clinging to her arm.

Mahiru sighed. “I’m going back to the raft.”

“I wouldn’t, if I were you,” Claudine said, nodding her head in that direction. The group turned to look, then immediately turned right back around.

“Maybe if we pretend we didn’t see her,” Karen whispered, “she won’t notice us.”

“No way, she has her glasses on this time, we’re done for,” Futaba moaned.

“I don’t know why you’re complaining, Futaba-han,” Kaoruko said, cowering behind her, “You’re not the one she gets mad at!”

Claudine hummed in thought. “You know, Karen, I’m thinking we should go the sacrifice route again.”

Maya nodded. “This time I agree.”

“Aye-aye, captain!”

“Wait! No!” Kaoruko cried out as Karen grabbed hold of her and began dragging her to the raft, where an expectant Junna was waiting with her hands on her hips.

“Ah, Karen-chan, maybe you shouldn’t…” Mahiru trailed off, wincing.

“No, this is good,” Hikari said. “We can sacrifice both of them now.”

“Karen! Hanayagi!” Junna said, her voice loud enough to carry to the rest of the group. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“It was Kaoruko-chan’s idea--”

“Karen-han tackled Tendo-han--”

“Stop, stop.” Junna rubbed the sides of her head, already feeling a headache form. “One at a time. And the rest of you, come over here too.”

“Yes, Dad,” Claudine muttered as they paddled over to the raft.

“I heard that.”

Claudine made a face, sticking her tongue out. Maya giggled. When the entire group was assembled on the raft again, Junna asked, “Okay. Who is going to explain what happened?”

The girls looked at each other, none willing to speak up. Finally Maya poked Karen in the back, whispering something about sacrifices.

“Right!” Karen said, jumping to her feet. “See, Kaoruko-chan said we should do an improv play. So I decided to be captain of our boat, but Futaba-chan got mad because I stranded everyone in the ocean and she wanted to get married to Kaoruko-chan, but then we realized that Hikari-chan was being a shark, so I tackled Maya-chan to sacrifice her, and we both got eaten!”

Kaoruko picked up the story next, after a pointed look from Futaba. “Our dear Kuro-han then told us she was married to Shark Hikari-han, so I told Hikari-han to eat her, as any proper wife should, and then Futaba-han bravely jumped in to fight her, and then Mahiru-han tried to propose to me by wrestling me, and then we both fell off the ship!”

Everyone looked at Junna with determined faces, ready to defend their play. Junna stared back at them, open mouthed. It took several moments for her to collect her thoughts.

“So… You’re telling me… That we go to the most prestigious theater academy in the country… and this is the best improv play you could come up with?”

Everyone turned away, making various awkward faces as they tried to avoid eye contact with their disappointed pseudo father figure.

“So,” Futaba said, attempting to give a normal, friendly smile that didn’t show her embarrassment, “how’d the frog hunting go?”

Junna let out a long sigh. “Nana found 13 different frogs and has started weaving grass into little hats for them to wear.”

“God. Nana is really just the cutest person in the world, isn’t she,” Claudine said, shaking her head.

“It’s certainly impressive,” Maya agreed. “She’s still planning on cooking dinner, yes?”

“That depends. Have you caught any fish yet?” Junna asked, the silence confirming the answer she already knew.

“Okay!” Mahiru decided, taking charge. “Let’s get back to it! Maya-chan, I’ll untangle your fishing rod. Hikari-chan, stay out of the water, okay?”

“But-”

“You’re probably scaring all the fish away! If you want to swim, do it somewhere else.”

Hikari pouted, taking a pole and moving to the edge of the raft. The rest of the group followed suit, Karen and Futaba joining her. Mahiru took Maya to the other side, getting to work on the tangled fishing line. Junna and Claudine returned to their original spot, Kaoruko flopping down beside them.

“You’re not going to help?” Claudine asked.

“Of course not! Futaba-han is the one who does the fishing. I’m the one who does the eating.”

“It’s always eating with you, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Speaking of which, Junna-han, I’ve always wondered, does Banana-han taste like bananas?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Junna said, voice surprisingly steady for her red face. “I’ve never eaten a banana in my life.”

Claudine snorted. “Don’t let Nana hear that. She’ll cry.”

“Ugh. You’re so boring today, Junna-han.”

“Alright, Maya-chan,” Mahiru said, handing Maya her detangled rod. “Just throw the hook into the water.”

“That’s all?” At Mahiru’s nod, Maya tossed the hook as best as she could. It landed with a sad plop a foot away from the raft.

“Try… throwing it a little harder than that,” Mahiru suggested. “Like a baseball!”

“A what?”

“A… baseball?”

Maya gave Mahiru a blank look. Mahiru was starting to get very concerned.

“How about… I’ll cast the line, and you can reel it in once we get a bite?”

Maya nodded, gladly relinquishing control.

“Hey! Hey! I got one!” Futaba shouted, a fish dangling from her line. “Look at that! Hey, Junna! You gotta measure it!”

Futaba bounded across the raft and shoved the fish in Junna’s face. Junna grimaced. “A little less enthusiasm, Isurugi, please.” Junna gingerly took the fish and pulled out her pocket ruler. “It’s about… six inches.”

“Six inches! Nice!”

Futaba ran over to their bucket and threw it the fish in, watching in awe as it started swimming around. Junna wrote down the exact measurement in her notebook, marking Futaba’s name with a star. She was the current winner. Claudine leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Do we tell Futaba that six inches is the smallest thing she can catch in this lake?”

“No,” Junna whispered back, “she’s already short enough. We don’t need to shrink her ego too.”

The fish started coming quick after that. Mahiru and Maya pulled in an eight inch one, topping the leaderboard for an hour. Karen was winning in terms of amounts, catching fish twice as fast as the rest of the group. There were whispers going around the raft that she was catching the same one, throwing it back in already on her hook. Their bucket kept filling up, though, two dozen small fish swimming in circles, scales flashing in the light.

“We should start cooking these,” Maya said, depositing her latest catch. “I’ll bring them over to Daiba-san.”

“Careful,” Claudine said, “she probably has a frog army at this point.”

“But they’re all wearing cute hats,” Mahiru reminded them. “So it’s okay.”

“Please make sure she hasn’t tried to become one with the frogs again,” Junna said, looking over at the shore with a frown on her face.

“Again?” Maya asked.

“Let’s not talk about it.”

Maya left for shore, bucket held above her head. She set it on the beach, next to their little grill, and headed off into the reeds to look for Nana. The croaking led Maya right to her.

Nana was crouched in a little clearing, several driftwood structures in front of her. It looked like a little village, complete with walkways and road signs. Frogs and toads of all kinds covered the ground. each one wearing a small grass hat. There must have been close to 50. Nana was moving them about, humming to herself. Maya took it all in wordlessly, then turned around and left. She’d come back to this later.

“You know,” Claudine said, “I’ve been thinking we should ban Nana from frogs. I think she’s too into them.”

“I think it’s kinda cute,” Junna said.

“Sure you would. But did you hear what she told me the other day? She told me the frogs watched over my dreams and then sang her songs to tell her what they learned. That’s terrifying.”

Junna paused for a moment. “Okay, maybe you have a point.”

“Yes! Catch number 13!” Karen held up her newest fish and twirled around. “Aijo Karen, the best fisher girl in the world!”

Mahiru clapped politely. Junna sighed.

"I think I’m done with this," she said, getting to her feet.

"What, annoyed that Karen is having more luck than you?" Claudine asked.

"Yes.” Despite her best efforts, Junna hadn’t managed to catch a single fish in the entire two hours. No matter. She didn’t need a fishing rod to fish. “Kagura?" Junna held out her hand. Seconds later and a knife was in her grasp. Junna slid into the water and took off for shore.

"What is she doing?" Futaba asked.

"Trying to stab the fish?" Hikari suggested.

"More importantly," Claudine said, watching the awkward doggy paddle Junna had to use to keep her glasses above water, "why didn’t she bring her contacts?"

“I don’t think JunJun owns contacts,” Karen says.

"What?"

"Yeah, she says they’re annoying."

Maya frowned. "Wasn’t she wearing contacts during Starlight?"

"Nope!"

"So you’re saying that she was essentially blind the entire time?"

"Probably!"

"Oh, man," Futaba laughed. "That’s hardcore!"

"That explains why she was so insistent that the set pieces were placed in the exact same spot every time," Mahiru realized. Futaba started laughing harder.

"And why she ran right into the stairs when we moved them 2 inches forward!"

"What a loser," Kaoruko said.

"No, I’d say that’s very impressive," Maya said

"Don’t tell me," Claudine guessed, "you’re going to start practicing with a blindfold now, aren’t you."

"I was thinking about it."

"Oh my god."

“Oh?” Kaoruko asked. “I thought you’d be into blindfolded practice, Kuro-han.”

“Kaoruko, I’m going to push you off this raft soon.”

“Um, Daiba-san,” Maya said, back on shore. “Are you busy?”

“Hmm?” Nana looked up from her frogs. The village had grown in the fifteen minutes Maya had been gone, and now included a little driftwood castle. As best as Maya could tell, Nana was roleplaying a princess rescue, one frog trapped high up on the castle with a little grass crown, the other hopping along the ground and fighting the guards with its little grass sword.

Maya had no idea how to react to this scenario. She’d rather go back to the raft and learn about baseball. “We were… thinking of cooking soon. Did you want to help?”

“Oh! Of course!” Nana put down the seven frogs she was holding and tapped them on their heads. “Be safe now, okay?” Maya breathed a sigh of relief, leading Nana back to the grill.

“Were you able to catch a lot fish?” Nana asked.

“Somehow we managed.”

“Great!” Nana inspected the bucket, letting the smallest ones go free and passing the larger ones to Maya. The two of them set about to cleaning and cooking the fish.

Back on the raft, Kaoruko was getting bored.

“Futaba-haaaaan,” she called out, rolling across the wood to where Futaba was sitting. “I’m done with fishing.”

“Have you even touched a fishing rod yet?”

“No. I’m a lesbian, I don’t do that.”

Futaba turned around to high five her. “If I let you sit in my lap, will you be patient?”

“Yes!” Kaoruko scooted over and gladly took up her favorite position, head resting on Futaba’s legs.

“Oh! Me too!” Karen said. She laid down in the middle of raft, head resting on Kaoruko’s stomach. “Ahh~ This is nice.”

Mahiru and Hikari looked at each other and shrugged, joining the pile, Mahiru in Karen’s lap and Hikari in hers. Claudine looked over at the cluster of people.

“Wow. We’re all just abandoning fishing now, are we?”

“Yeah,” Futaba said, setting her rod aside and falling backwards. She landed on Mahiru’s stomach, sharing the space with Hikari.

“Hmph. That’s fine. If there’s no one left in the competition, then I’m the automatic winner!” Claudine pulled in a medium sized fish and tossed it in the bucket.

“Nice one, Kuro,” Futaba said. “Where’d you learn to fish so well?”

“Oh, you know. Hey- Looks like Junna is finally coming back.”

“Is she… carrying a bunch of sticks?” Mahiru asked.

“Alright, I’m ready to fish,” Junna said as she reached the raft, pulling herself up. She was indeed carrying several sticks, each sharpened to a point, as well as a larger wooden creation.

“Did you… make yourself a bow?” Claudine asked, dumbfounded.

“Yes.” Junna dried the wood off with her shirt and tested the string, nodding proudly as it vibrated the way she wanted.

“But. How?”

“It’s not that hard. You just need a knife and the proper tree.”

“Junna, you’re a menace.”

“Are you going to shoot the fish?” Futaba asked, looking eager.

“Yes,” Junna answered again. The rest of the girls sat up, moving closer to watch Junna at work. Junna picked up one of her makeshift arrows and pulled the bowstring back. She’d have to be careful. Without feathers, the arrows would fly differently. There was refraction to take into account as well. That was fine. Junna had calculated harder angles. She spied her target, several feet below the surface, and let the arrow fly.

A fish floated to the surface.

“Incroyable!”

“That was amazing!”

“JunJun, you’re the best!”

“See?” Junna said, looking smug. “Who needs a fishing rod to fish?”

“Am I allowed to stab fish with a knife now?” Hikari asked Mahiru.

“No.”

Nana arrived a short while later, swimming over with Maya sitting gracefully on her back, carrying the tray of food. The smell reached the girls well before the food did, their stomachs growling. Pretending to fish all day was hungry work.

“Dinner time!” Nana called. “I’ve got nine hot plates of Banana Grilled Fish!”

“Yeah!” the group shouted, rushing to take their share. It was delicious, as was everything Nana cooked

“Mm, Banana, you’re the best,” Futaba mumbled around a mouthful of fish.

“Did you bring one of your frogs with you?” Junna asked, spying a patch of green on top of Nana’s head.

“Yes! I didn’t want Anne to be lonely.”

“What happened to Shakespeare?”

“She ate him.”

“...Ah.”

Claudine frowned at the pair. “Do I want to know what you two are talking about?”

“No,” Maya answered, thinking of the frog village, “you don’t.”

“Hey, JunJun! Who won the fishing contest?”

“Me, right?” Futaba asked. “My first one was pretty big.”

Junna flipped through her notebook, scanning through the numbers. “I won.”

“What?”

“I won.”

“You only caught two fish!” Claudine protested. “And you shot those with arrows!”

“And I aimed well!”

“Congrats, Junna-chan!” Nana gave a big smile.

“Yeah, congrats,” Claudine said, making eye contact with Karen. “And you know what they say: the winner is the sacrifice.”

“What?”

“I’m on it!”

“Karen!”

Karen tackled Junna right off the edge. They landed with a loud splash, quickly sinking below the surface as Junna tried desperately to fight off Karen. None of the girls reacted.

“Sacrifice?” Nana asked.

“Oh, you know,” Claudine answered.

#shoujo kageki revue starlight #revue starlight #my stuff #ro fic #junna actually has a good time in this one!#mostly #maybe like 80% of a good time #thats a solid start

104 notes · View notes

leefi · 3 years

Note

Hi, I noticed you did the MBTI types of the ORV characters, and I was wondering what you think the MBTI types are for the Revue Starlight gals :D

Anon, I want you to know that this google doc is 14 pages single-spaced, and I'm still not done.

WITH THAT BEING SAID, I'm so glad you asked!! I'll be breaking this up into four parts so we don't have to scroll through one massive wall of text. The other schools will take a bit more time to publish as I'm still working on a couple from each (I think I have four girls left!).

But without further ado:

Starira MBTI Part 1 - Seisho

Siegfeld

Frontier

Rinmeikan

I had a lot of help with all of this reading @HalfACape’s wonderful character analyses of so many of the girls on twitter, as well as consulting the Personality Database page for the characters I was less sure about (though there were a few I disagreed with on there - none in Seisho, we'll be discussing the others later). But everyone feel free to discuss if you disagree with anything!

Karen Aijo: ENFP

ENFPs’ dominant function is Ne (extroverted intuition) (that running gag Karen has in the game where she mishears words, spouting off suggestions even if they make absolutely zero sense to the situation at hand - “telescope? telephone? telenovella?” - is such stereotypical Ne). Ne is always running towards any possibility, no matter how unlikely it seems, and I don’t need to spell out for you how much of that we saw from Karen in the anime. Ne-Fi feed each other to create a rebel/free-spirit type of personality (Ne seeks all possibilities, Fi holds strong inner values and selfish desires - what do I want, what do I need? How does this make me feel?). Her Te isn’t too developed yet, which is fine because it’s tertiary and she’s still so young. That tertiary, undeveloped Te shows up in her scatterbrained, lackadaisical, go-with-the-flow attitude (but when dominant Fi gets fired up by something - like an old childhood friend coming home - it kicks Te into high gear). Inferior introverted Sensing shows no respect towards rules or regulations - see her revue with Junna (Si-dominant) and the anger she draws out of Maya for (a child of the system and traditionally hard worker) in their Revue of Pride. Karen is the natural rebel, the forever optimist, the sunshine girl - textbook ENFP.

Mahiru Tsuyuzaki: INFP

If you want to see what leading with an introverted function looks like compared to an extroverted function, compare Mahiru to Karen! They share the exact same functions, just flipped on the I/E axis. So Mahiru is Fi, Ne, Si, Te. Karen is Ne, Fi, Te, Si. And Mahiru is a very clear example of an INFP - such a warm, brilliant, awe-inspiring person, but can also be her own worst enemy and others tend to underestimate her. And it’s hard, I don’t blame her! Leading with Fi and not having that physical/in the moment Se to support it (like ISFPs do, just compare her to Kaoruko--yes--they’re only one letter off from each other) means that it’s extremely hard for INFPs to naturally advocate for themselves...so instead, they retreat into their own imaginations where it’s safer (Ne). BUT THEY’RE SO INCREDIBLE!! THERE’S SO MUCH THERE TO RESPECT AND ADMIRE!! *shakes her like maracas* IF YOU WOULD JUST SHOW US!!!!!!! (and this is her whole arc in the anime i don’t need to tell her lol). It’s actually so interesting how she and Karen’s Fi and Ne escapism manifests in their respective introverted/extroverted personalities. These two really are more similar than most of us think!

I love INFPs so, so much because they’re like sleeping giants. Once they get a hold of and develop that inferior extroverted Thinking it’s over - nobody else can compare. They’re like the characters in video games that start off super weak, and then you blink and suddenly they’ve become the most powerful units near the end of the game.

Kagura Hikari: INTJ

ENFP’s stereotypical partner (I swear every other reserved person A/sunshine person B couple in fiction is this type pairing) and while it’s tropey it works because these two types play off each other so well. I actually originally had her pegged as an ISTJ, but I think that her bullheadedness earlier in the anime is more indicative of Ni being stubborn. Hikari is cagey, reserved (tert Fi/inferior Se), and an incredibly high-achieving individual (dominant Ni sets specific goals, auxiliary Te implements). Her tertiary Fi (which INTJs LOVE to keep locked up, right here, forever, until they die) is so obvious as you slowly learn just how much of a sap/romantic she is. It’s her weaker Fi that holds that sentimentality towards Starlight after all these years, her Fi that struggles to hold on to that childhood promise, her Fi that has her following Karen (and eventually Mahiru as well) around like a duckling (though we initially get the impression that the dynamic is the other way around). She grows to care deeply for all the other girls around her and that’s all her tertiary introverted Feeling getting stronger as the story progresses! Like so many people in the fandom have realized, she isn’t a mean person, she’s just socially awkward. Not too much to say on her inferior Se, that mostly manifests in how she’s a homelier person who would rather stay in than go out, and doesn’t actively try to seek new experiences (this was what had me thinking ISTJ at first).

Junna Hoshimi: ISTJ

Karen’s polar opposite - they actually share the exact same functions, just in reverse! So Junna leads with introverted Sensing where it’s Karen’s weakest, and Karen leads with extroverted Intuition where it’s Junna’s weakest. And we see this play out in their revue!

Junna is one of my favorite characters in the series for a reason and it’s because it’s SO rare to see the ISTJ in a rebellious role. Si is all about following and respecting order, and Junna breaks all of that to create her own! We see that dominant Si show up in literally every other facet of her life, though - from her by-the-book attitude to her stringency with deadlines and tardiness to her respect for the creatives of old - Shakespeare, Nietschze, etc. She’s an incredibly bright and successful student as well (any type can be of course but the “kind of student” she is is very much Te supporting Si - super studious and placing heavy weight on studying and getting straight A’s). And her Fi is SO GOOD. SO SO SO SO GOOD AND SO APPARENT - MUCH stronger than IxTJ’s sibling Hikari’s at the start of the anime. That’s where the rebellious part of her spirit comes from - her values, her strong sense of self and desire for autonomy (EXTREMELY Fi thing - Fi is all about the self, how I feel about something, what I want out of this, not feeling trapped by others’ expectations, etc.). Inferior Ne manifests in how she struggles with improvisation, ends up tunnel visioning (see her revue with Karen), and can sometimes struggle to accept new ideas or ways of doing things (Junna works so hard, but it’s evident in the anime and a lot of her starira bond stories that she can end up getting stuck in her old ways if someone else doesn’t come in to offer a new perspective -- see her Jekyll bond story dialogue with Maya!). Another example we see is when her extroverted xSTJ sibling Akira, who has Ne a step higher than her but understands where she’s coming from with their shared functions, guides her towards using it in the High Priestess bond story!

Nana Daiba: ESFJ

Textbook ESFJ!! Caring, motherly, affable; Fe doms are always looking to appeal to the group and make sure that everybody feels comfortable (and, likewise, are very keen on suppressing their own insecurities/emotions/discomforts). Nana is not ambitious for ambition’s sake, and in fact suppresses her own talents to appeal to the group. As for that Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :) Si aux… :)

Unhealthy Si can manifest as an extreme fixation on past experiences and a fear of moving on (we’re going to see this later with Si-dom Fumi too). Her poor tertiary Ne had gotten absolutely quashed by her stronger auxiliary Si in the anime - it doesn’t want to change anything! Claudine and Maya can be the leads again. We don’t need to modify the script. The first one was already perfect, why are we risking failure by changing things?! Also, holding herself back for the sake of everyones’ happiness is so Fe dom it hurts. If you want to see the difference between ESFJ and ENFJ (the two Fe-doms of MBTI), compare her to Michiru, who also suppresses her talents -- yes to cultivate the other girls’ (specifically Akira’s) brilliance but also for the sake of her ulterior motives to one day create her own troupe (aux Ni at work vs. Nana’s aux Si). Nana’s is more deferrant, but still just as ferocious - she’ll defeat Maya 60 times over to get what she wants. And the craziest thing is that all of this comes out of love and fear - she’s scared, and all of that is coming from her unhealthy Si aux. Junna is a very good example for her to follow for healthier Si.

Claudine Saijo: ENTJ

“DON’T IGNORE MY LINES!!!” ENTJs LOVE being at the top - the leaders of the pride, the people in charge, the ones you have to answer to (AND she’s a Leo too. Jfc girl pick a struggle LMAOOOOO). You get the picture - except Claudine isn’t in that position. Maya is. Claudine doesn’t even get a revue or her own song, because she’s Maya’s eternal second. This is a really, really uncomfortable spot for an ENTJ to be in, and it’s evident in how hard she pushes herself - and how antsy she gets whenever Maya is around. But Claudine never blames an outside system or factors like Karen (inferior Si) does for her situation - she just gets angry and more driven to succeed, bulldozing her way to the finish line (dominant Te-tertiary Se interacting). The tragedy of her character is that she will never surpass Maya, so we see her Ni begin to reframe achieving the very top to becoming the only star in Maya’s eye (little does she know that she’s already succeeded). That ripping off of her cloak at the end of the revue duet - “the only loser here is me” - is her inferior Fi poking its head out. At the end of the day, Claudine is an interesting character because she’s a walking contradiction. She’s a star denied a spotlight, but she isn’t a failure either, so she’s forced to grapple with this ambiguous, there-but-not-quite-there middle ground. It’s one big identity crisis in the making, and it’s clear to see why so many people relate to her and love her as a character - a lot of us can empathize with never quite being satisfied, and looking up towards heights that can appear insurmountable.

Maya Tendo: INFJ

She seems so normal and established and then you look closer and realize there’s something seriously wrong with her and oh my god where did this massive god complex come from. Typical Ni dom

From her detached, more “mature” personality to her altruistic and often surprisingly keen insight towards people, she has so many key makings of an INFJ. That dominant Ni is strong in Maya - everything is poured into theatre. Everything. From her hobbies to her interests to her personality, everything Maya does in her life is deliberate and all of it is for the sake of theatre. Ni bitches LOVE to fixate on just one thing, and for Maya, that is the stage. “I have no need for those who lack willpower...Come climb up here if you have the resolve...A single step forward is a step closer to my dream” is just...yeah I’m being redundant. Dominant introverted intuition. Ni Ni Ni Ni. This girl embodies it - while Hikari is also a Ni-dom, Maya shows a TON more of it than her (can’t say I blame the writers - Ni is probably the most difficult function to write because it requires thinking so many steps ahead for your character). We can see a marked difference between INFJs and INTJs here in how Maya and Hikari practice solitude - Hikari purposely isolates herself from Karen to avoid hurting her, while Maya purposely isolates and crafts herself into an untouchable God to serve as an inspiration to others (auxiliary extroverted Feeling). Want to see how this looks with the INFJ’s extroverted sibling, the ENFJ? Look at how Michiru crafts Akira’s public image. That’s Ni and Fe at work, just in different priority slots (Maya is Ni dominant, Michiru is Fe dominant - they share the same functions, just flipped on the I/E axis). That tertiary Ti is very prevalent too - Maya mostly keeps her thoughts to herself, and loves to mull over things. She definitely isn’t the first one to shout out an answer, she prefers to think things over.

One interesting comment that really stood out to me on her personality database page was how she’s an INFJ with an INTP persona in the anime, and I think I agree (INFJs and INTPs tend to present similarly and can be easily confused with each other anyway)! But I want to add on to that - I think that INTP presentation is her auxiliary Fe at play crafting a persona that better coincides with Claudine’s, as ENTJ/INTP matchups are extremely compatible (not saying Maya was thinking about MBTI LOL but rather she brought out and exemplified aspects of her personality that would better complement Claudine’s - their partnership is not a one-way street at all! Maya does so much for her!!). Just compare anime Maya to stageplay Maya, where she gives no headway and is absolutely brutal to Claudine.

Futaba Isurigi: ISTP

Futaba is such a great example of what a healthy ISTP can look like! Dominant Ti shows up in how she communicates with others - she's honest, direct, and to the point, but it's never utilized in a way that’s mean-spirited (contrary to how her girlfriend often can be) - it’s just how she communicates. Claudine (a Te dom which works SO well with Ti) actually points out in Starira that this is why they get along so well. Aux Se shows up in her physicality - her love and strength is in stage fights, she's into mechanics with her motorcycle and does all the maintenance herself, etc. Funnily enough, I think that tert Ni, while a slot above Fe, is actually Futaba’s least developed trait (or, at least, the one she's most guarded about) - she went into Seisho to follow Kaoruko, and her aux Se dominates that tert slot and gives her a … little bit of a lackadaisical attitude? Obviously not as much as someone like Karen, but in many senses she doesn't outwardly display a strong fear or anxiety towards the future like the other girls (completely understandably) do - and it’s that tert Ni getting angry when she feels as if Kaoruko is stagnating in her plans. There’s some inklings of her own plan for the future, but Futaba’s own individual plans are mostly kept to herself, so we don’t know how much or little she’s done about them. (I have more to add but will not continue as I’m venturing into movie spoilers territory, but for those that have watched/read them, try to draw your own conclusions based on what I’ve said!). I think that having such a close relationship with Kaoruko is what pushed her to develop that inferior Fe so early to support her girlfriend's dominant Fi. I actually originally had her typed as ESTP for how strong her Fe was (ESTPs have it a slot higher than their introverted siblings), but she really doesn’t strike me as an extrovert, and ISTPs with developed Fe can be very warm, affable people too!

Kaoruko Hanayagi: ISFP

“Kaoruko Hanayagi’s dream is world domination.”

Kaoruko is such a great example of what an unhealthy ISFP can look like! LMAOOO but no, I’m dead serious - if you want to know what unhealthy introverted Feeling looks like, look to Kaoruko. Everything is me me me me me me me, to hell with what anyone else wants (if you want to compare unhealthy Fe to unhealthy Fi, compare Nana and Kaoruko). Tertiary Ni shows up to support Fi in how surprisingly sharp she is towards other people - what makes them tick, exactly where to hurt, their inner thoughts and feelings (see her bathtub conversation with Mahiru).

BUT THAT DOMINANT Fi IS ALSO SUCH A POWERFUL THING. That “me me me me me me” is going to turn into “my vision, and what I want to create, and what I’m going to do” (once that inferior Te finally develops - which Kaoruko is going to be forced to put work into eventually). This is why, like Mahiru, I think that Kaoruko is seriously going to blossom later on in life - ISFPs and INFPs, the Pisces of the MBTI, have this weird penchant for going under the rader and then becoming insanely fucking successful OUT OF NOWHERE??? Like, they aren’t super motivated and driven with a specific plan like Ni-strong xNxJs, or disciplined and hardworking like Te-strong xSTJs, but???? You blink and suddenly they’re millionaires with four creative projects going on simultaneously (but if they get bored with any of them they’ll drop them instantly - you could not pay me all the money in the world to be an IxFP’s manager it must be an absolute nightmare <3). Just...legends out of nowhere? Rihanna is an ISFP Pisces so I have real world evidence to back this up.

#revue starlight #woof #seisho #some are longer than others but i promise it wasn't intentional :( just a matter of when i got to them (i went out of order)#for example Karen and Mahiru were written first so there's a lot less on them. Maya I JUST finished writing 10 minutes ago so I could #publish Seisho and you can tell by the length of hers how much I got into the swing of things LMAO #aijo karen #tsuyuzaki mahiru #kagura hikari #saijo claudine #tendo maya #isurigi futaba #hanayagi kaoruko #daiba nana #hoshimi junna #i love nana so so much but couldn't write enough for her. idk why she was giving me a block...

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artistsfuneral · 4 years

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Curtains - Chapter Two

“So... I guess I owe you an explanation?”

Geralt hummed as he stepped into the bathtub. Jaskier's family was rich enough to have actual bathrooms. Well, Geralt thought, someone who could afford curtains could afford private bathrooms. The water sloshed over the brim. On his right Jaskier sat, with only a towel covering his hips, in front of a big mirror-table. A vanity, Yennefer had called it?

He was kneading oil into his hair that smelled of herbs and roses, surely it was expensive.

Geralt closed his eyes and slit further into the water.

“My father is the Viscount de Lettenhove. It's not the highest title, but he has made a few smart moves concerning the trading companies. Some coin here and there and suddenly he was even richer.”

Geralt listened how the troubadour took a hairbrush from the vanity table and started to untangle his brown hair. “He's also a fan of beautiful women and not satisfied with only one, nothing to be frowned upon in this part of the world, I believe. He has two wifes, his first one and my mother and last time I checked a few pretty girls on the side. I think we're... twelve siblings? No wait, thirteen with Lizzie and fourteen if you count...”

Geralt opened a single amber eye to look at the bard, who was staring at the ceiling, his fingers silently counting. “You know what, Geralt? I have no idea. We are a lot, that's all you need to know. Not even I have met them all, to be honest,” he started brushing his hair again.

After a long pause he spoke again.

“Most of us have the same name, by the way, just with different numbers. Makes it easier to remember, father always said, but I am sure he was just lazy. I am Julian Alfred Pankratz VI.” The brushing stopped again, “Or the seventh?” He groaned out loud and Geralt didn't need to open his eyes to know that Jaskier had thrown his hands into the air. “Whatever, it is messy and I am not interested in that kind of mess. I love my mother dearly, but frankly speaking she could have chosen any other man.”

The witcher hummed again, “So how did family dinners went? Someone called for Julian and seven boys answered?” While the thought of growing up with so many siblings was nothing new to Geralt (Kaer Morhen and everything) the idea of having five other Geralt's right next to him seemed annoying to begin with.

Jaskier laughed. “Hardly, my dear. We have nicknames,” he made a vague gesture with his arm, “like Jaskier. My brother, who you have met, is called Julian since he is the oldest with that name. The first Julian died from the pox. The third one fell into a river and never surfaced again. Then we have Julek, Junna, Scout, Jaskier, Jupiter and...” Jaskier shrugged again.

“I really have to look at the family tree again,” he said more to himself than to Geralt.

It was silent again, apart from the sound of Jaskier's naked feet tapping on tiled floor.

So Jaskier's father was a Viscount, which meant Jaskier was a Viscount. It was not that far fetched, considering how squeamish Jaskier had been when they first met. A well sheltered childhood, scholarship at some academy, after that four years in Oxenfurt. Nearly twenty years of soft beds, four walls and a roof at all times. A life full of curtains and bathrooms and family trees.

The water sloshed over the brim again, when Jaskier entered the tub across from the witcher. There was a soft sigh and Geralt opened his eyes, looked at the bard.

His eyes were closed, his face slack in relaxation, hot steam was rising up and settling on his skin. Jaskier had not the body of a noble, the witcher mused. His shoulders were slim, yes, but his arms were strong and muscled, his stomach was flat and showed a few scars, from their encounters with monsters or bandits and Geralt didn't need to lock further, to know that Jaskier's thighs and legs were as strong, if not stronger, than his arms.

He didn't have the body of a noble. Even if the bard was not good at it, he was build like a fighter. A survivor. Because he had decided to follow Geralt, a witcher, on the Path.

Jaskier slowly opened his eyes, “You are thinking to loud, dear.”

Their eyes met and Jaskier smiled. “I can hear your thoughts, you know?” Geralt raised an eyebrow, which made Jaskier laugh. “Yes I can! Right now you are wondering why I spend my days with you instead of this lovely tub that we are sitting in.” Geralt snarled quietly. He hated it.

“I know you hate it when I'm right,” Jaskier had the audacity to say, “but I just know you too well, my love.” There was nothing Geralt could say against that.

It was true. When they first met, the path Destiny had laid out for them was full of obstacles, but somehow they had managed to get a grip and work together. It was as if they were meant to be. In their own weird way, that allowed a bard and a witcher to be... friends, partners. “What are we?”, Geralt asked into the room. He had asked many times before, fearing the day Jaskier couldn't give him an answer.

There was a pause, before Jaskier softly sighed. The witcher watched him turn around in the bathtub , sitting now between the older man's legs. Chest to back, arms finding their way around Jaskier's middle, fingers intertwining, forming a bond.

“We are two petals in a storm that is chasing us through the lands of Destiny. Not even the elder speech has words that fit us right. The closest to them all is 'love', but how do you define something as love? No, we are everlasting lights in complete darkness, fueled by only each others strength. Best friends, brothers, partners, lovers. It all comes close, but not close enough. I was born to press my head against your shoulder blades at night, you were born to keep the world at bay, when it all becomes to much, 'cos you are so much stronger, I know. We are two birds trapped in a hurricane, we know the winds around us, but we can't control them, we can only keep close to each other and wait for the storm to pass. And it will pass and we will safely land again. Together.”

Geralt had his head buried in Jaskier's damp hair. It was not fair how only a few words from Jaskier could make him feel completely undone. He silently wondered if there was anything about him, that came even remotely close to that feeling. But then again, it was Jaskier who always looked at him as if he had gifted him all the stars in the night sky.

Geralt held his bard close to his chest, hoping, praying that Jaskier understood. Geralt was not a man of many words, but he could hold Jaskier close to his chest, keep him save were he belonged. With his heart. “I know, my dear,” Jaskier said softly.

Because Jaskier knew.

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scoutception · 4 years

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Yet again ranking the 5 animes I’ve watched most recently

After losing the will to just sit down and watch it for quite a while, I’ve finally gotten through 5 anime series yet again, and, as is tradition for me by now, I’ve decided to just type out my thoughts and rankings of them, with my first two posts of this nature being here and here. As usual, this is just my personal thoughts, and the only other thing worth noting before I start is that, unlike last time, I do think everything listed here is at least decent on its own. With that, I’ll just get to it. 5. Robotics;Notes

Number of episodes: 22. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Funimation. Robotics;Notes is an adaptation of a visual novel, which I actually just wrote a review on, which can be found here. Long story short, it’s the third entry in the Science Adventure series, the same series Steins;Gate is part of, unknown to most people, with Robotics;Notes technically being the sequel to it. Originally aired in 2012, the same year as the visual novel was released, and made by Production I.G, Robotics;Notes is in an interesting middle ground between the acclaimed and popular Steins;Gate animes and the downright awful and obscure Chaos;Head and Chaos;Child animes, and until 2020 was the only option those who didn’t speak Japanese had to experience it at all. Since I went into so much detail in said visual novel review, I’m mostly going to focus on how the anime holds up both by itself and as an adaptation. Ever since its creation nearly ten years ago, the dream of the Chuo Tanegashima High Robotics Research Club has been to finish Gunbuild-1, a lifesize recreation of Gunvarrel, the titular mecha of an insanely popular anime that’s credited with starting a “robot boom” within Japan, and the club’s current president, Akiho Senomiya, the little sister of the club’s founder, Misaki Senomiya, is extremely determined to see this dream achieved. Unfortunately for her, the club has fallen on hard times, with its funding being cut, its advisor being completely unreliable, and the few other members it has, namely Kaito Yashio, Subaru Hidaka, Junna Daitoku, and Kona Furugoori, aka Frau Koujiro, being quite difficult in their own ways, and often more than Akiho can handle. While Akiho puts her all into finally bringing the club to greatness, the otherwise apathetic Kaito finds himself involved with a mysterious AI called Airi, who exists within the augmented reality app IRUO. Airi’s creator, the deceased Kou Kimijima, turns out to have also created several AR annotations scattered throughout Tanegashima, titled the Kimijima Reports, which warn of a grand conspiracy that will utterly devastate humanity if unopposed. I’m not the most unbiased viewer, since I had played, and enjoyed, the visual novel months before watching this anime, but generally, it’s actually an enjoyable time. Some of Robotics;Notes’ biggest strengths were always its cast of characters and lighter tone, and for the most part, the anime preserves both well, keeping it mostly silly, but endearing early on. The artstyle actually matches up fairly well with the VN’s CGs, and the dub, which I watched just to spice things up, since I already knew the Japanese voice cast was quite good, is overall solid, with Clifford Chapin as Kaito, Lindsay Seidel as Akiho, and Monica Rial as Junna especially sticking out to me. As an adaptation, on the other hand, it falls short in quite a few places, namely when it comes to characterization. While obviously, no adaptation could feasibly fit in every detail from its source material, the Steins;Gate anime managed to preserve almost all of its cast’s characterization, whereas in Robotics;Notes, several characters lose prominent details to their backstories or personal conflicts, or act differently in scenes unrelated to that, making quite a few of them come off different. While instances of the latter case, such as Junna coming off as less shy and hesitant, don’t necessarily worsen anything for the most part, the former definitely does, as it makes the affected characters much less developed and interesting. Nobody suffers from this worse than Kaito himself, who loses most of his backstory, motivations, and arc, to the point of one of his best moments being changed from something intentional to completely accidental, with the end result making him come off as a completely different character, and an inferior one, at that. Additionally, around episode 16, the anime starts diverging pretty significantly from the VN, and not in ways that are improvements, to the point it even leaves a few otherwise preserved scenes in earlier episodes without context. Overall, I can imagine the Robotics;Notes anime still being a decent, if unremarkable watch on its own, and was certainly an interesting and fun way to reexperience the story, and definitely fares better than many visual novel adaptations, but I can’t quite say I’d recommend it. If Robotics;Notes interests you, the visual novel is very much preferred. 4. Nichijou

Number of episodes: 26. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming options: Funimation. Here we have one of the most acclaimed anime comedies out there, an adaptation of Keiichi Arawi’s surreal sketch comedy manga series, produced by Kyoto Animation, a name that’ll be showing up here again later. Nichijou mainly focuses on two different trios of characters. There’s the ordinary high school girls Yuuko Aioi, a rather dim and reckless girl with terrible luck, Mio Naganohara, the most relatively normal one of the cast, whenever she’s not having explosive freak outs that involve beating people up, and Mai Minakami, a stoic girl who enjoys messing with people just for their reactions. On the other hand, there’s the far less ordinary Shinonome Laboratories trio of Professor Shinonome, an 8 year old girl who happens to be capable of building incredibly advanced machines, Nano Shinonome, a robot built by the Professor who desperately desires a normal girl more than anything, and Sakamoto, their pet cat who, thanks to a special scarf also made by the Professor, is capable of talking. The series focuses on their would-be ordinary lives, were it not for the seemingly daily chaos they get involved in, from witnessing the school principal wrestle a wild deer, to being trapped in an elevator for hours, to the school science teacher attempting to capture Nano for study. It also follows the antics of several other side characters, such Koujiro Sasahara, the seemingly upper class student who is actually just the son of a family of farmers, to Misato Tachibana, a very typical tsundere towards Sasahara, whose tsun side manifests as assaulting him with military-grade weapons, to little effect, to the equally quirky teachers of their school. Needless to say, it’s a very silly and chaotic series, and that’s exactly what makes it so memorable. The humor is pretty hit and miss in the first half of the series, but from episode 14 onwards, they thoroughly master it, with every episode having at least a few scenes that got me laughing. Beyond the silliness, though, the series actually has a lot of heart to it. There’s a few moments that change up the status quo, or even develop the characters just a bit, and some scenes are surprisingly sweet, if still played for laughs more often than not. There’s also a lot of continuity, which in later episodes often provide the punchlines to some of the best gags, which definitely encourages watching the whole series. The Japanese voice acting is fittingly crazy for each character, and the animation fits perfectly, as while the character designs are quite simple, there’s many would be mundane moments that have contrasting overly impressive and exaggerated animation that makes them very memorable. All in all, Nichijou is a very enjoyable series once it finds its groove, and about the only reason its not higher on my rankings is just because pure comedies aren’t really one of my favorite genres. Still, if you ever want a good laugh, you can’t go wrong with this. 3. Soul Eater

Number of episodes: 51. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Netflix, Funimation. Soul Eater is yet another adaptation, this time of a manga by Atsushi Ōkubo, produced by Studio Bones, who also did the Fullmetal Alchemist animes, and is quite similar to the original FMA series in that it outpaced the manga and, rather than simply overloading itself with filler, decided to go in an entirely different direction by the end. The Death Weapon Meister Academy is a school founded by Death himself, dedicated to the training of Meisters, who wield Weapons, humans with the ability to shapeshift into weapons, for the purpose of destroying Kishin Eggs, evil beings who have consumed the souls of others, and pose the risk of transforming into extremely dangerous demons. Any Meister who can collect the souls of these corrupted beings, as well as the soul of a Witch, can transform their Weapon into a Death Scythe, the personal arms of Death. Among the students of the DWMA are seven Meisters and Weapons who stand out in particular: the teams of Maka Albarn, a kind hearted and responsible, though temperamental, girl, her Weapon, Soul “Eater” Evans, a laidback and snarky wannabe “cool” guy, Black Star, a prideful and loudmouthed ninja who’s seemingly always out to make a spectacle of himself, regardless of how it hampers him, his Weapon, Tsubaki, a humble and levelheaded woman, Death the Kid, the son of Death and one of the top students in the cool, held back only by a crippling obsession with symmetry, and his Weapons, Liz and Patty Thompson. While these seven gradually come together as a team, a Witch named Medusa begins to put an ambitious and destructive plan into motion, one involving her “child”, Crona, and the strange, insanity inducing black blood that courses through their veins. Soul Eater has a lot going for it. A likeable and crazy cast of characters, even the side ones, like the maniacal Doctor Stein, or the surprisingly goofy and casual Death, or the tragic Crona, or the hilariously egotistical Excalibur, to a lot of fun action scenes, to its great animation and overall unique visual design, including the sun and moon having giant, creepy laughing faces. It has a lighthearted, comedic tone that doesn’t detract from the serious moments, and the main characters get some pretty good development as the series goes on. The dub is also great, with Laura Bailey as Maka, Micah Solusod as Soul, Brittney Karbowski as Black Star, and Todd Haberkorn as Death the Kid especially sticking out to me. In general, I don’t have a lot of significant criticisms, besides how the story is handled once the villainous organization Arachnophobia is introduced, which is also about where it begins to deviate from the manga. Most of the villains part of it never really feel like a threat, and the story becomes much more simple and typical compared to how the manga went, and when the ending arrives, it just kinda, happens, with several notable subplots just kinda left unfinished. It definitely feels like an underwhelming ending, and is a big reason why I place this lower on the list, but Soul Eater is still a pretty entertaining watch that’s worth a try if you want a decently lengthy, but not horribly long shonen. 2. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Number of episodes: 28. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Funimation. Here we have the big one, an extremely memetic and famous series by Kyoto Animation, based on a series of light novels by Nagaru Tanigawa, a series that was finally completed back in November 2020 after its start in 2003. Kyon is a lazy and down to earth high school student who wishes for little more for himself than an uneventful, normal high school life- a hope that’s abruptly shattered when, on a whim, he becomes involved with Haruhi Suzumiya, an eccentric, hyperactive, and thoroughly self centered girl, who claims to have no interest in ordinary humans, and instead wishes to discover things thoroughly unusual, such as aliens, time travelers, or espers, and forces Kyon to form a club, the SOS Brigade, with her to achieve this. Haruhi quickly pulls three other students into the brigade, those being Yuki Nagato, a stoic and quiet bookworm, Mikuru Asahina, a shy and passive girl often subjected to humiliation and abuse by Haruhi, and Itsuki Koizumi, a calm transfer student who acts extremely subservient to Haruhi. While Kyon initially writes off the club as an unreasonable use of his time, his fellow members reveal an unexpected truth to him: the subjects of Haruhi’s fascinations actually do exist. Yuki is an alien, of a sort, created and controlled by an entity known as the Data Overmind, Mikuru is a time traveler from some point in the future, and Itsuki is an esper, and member of an organization of similar people. All three of them have been sent to observe the oblivious Haruhi, who appears to have the unconscious ability to change reality itself according to her desires, and is at threat of remaking the entire world if not placated. With Haruhi apparently having taken a unique interest in Kyon, he finds himself taken along for all sorts of supernatural adventures spawned from Haruhi’s whims. There’s a lot I could go on about regarding Haruhi, but in the interest of not turning this into a full on rant, I’ll keep shortish. It’s more or less an insane mishmash of several different genres, from slice of life, to science fiction, to fantasy, just depending on what each individual story feels like being. The episodes are mostly adapted from the early light novels, mostly the multiple stories from the third and fifth novels, The Boredom and The Rampage of Haruhi Suzumiya, respectively. It’s not often you’ll have any idea just what to expect from each individual episode, which makes the series very chaotic, but interesting. The characters are likeable and memorable, including the side characters, and the sheer ridiculousness of what goes on makes for many amusing moments. At the same time, the series is surprisingly complex, with many possible interpretations of its characters and the events they go through, furthered by the antics Kyoto Animation pulled when it was originally airing, such as airing the episodes out of chronological order, meaning the plot would often jump from the middle of an arc to something else. The end result is a very unique and enjoyable product, helped by the fantastic dub, with the actors capturing each character perfectly, from Crispin Freeman as the grounded and snarky Kyon, to Wendee Lee as the aggressively energetic Haruhi, to Stephanie Sheh as the gentle, yet secretive Mikuru. That said, there is one pretty disappointing part of it all, and that’s the second season, mostly thanks to the infamous Endless Eight arc, an eight part arc that’s more or less the same things happening over and over, with only the first and last episodes having anything noticeably different. Regardless of its own uniqueness, more than half the season is taken over by this, and something that may have worked if cut down to three or four episodes instead singlehandedly killed off the series’ goodwill. About the only redeeming factor of the second season is the five part adaptation of The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya, which has some of the funniest moments in the whole series. Overall, Haruhi is still a very fun series, and I’m really gonna have to watch its movie, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, one of these days. 1. Trigun

Number of episodes: 26. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Funimation, Hulu. Finishing off this list is an adaptation of a manga series by Yasuhiro Nightow, produced by Madhouse and another adaptation that overtook its source material. Compared to how Soul Eater handled it, however, Trigun went down much, much better, to the point Nightow himself had nothing but praise for how the anime turned out, and the series is generally considered one of the best animes of the late 90′s. On the harsh desert planet of Gunsmoke lives a wandering gunslinger known as Vash the Stampede, the “Humanoid Typhoon” with a large handgun known to leave tremendous destruction in his wake, who amassed a bounty of $$60,000,000,000 after destroying the city of July, leading to an endless trail of bounty hunters out to collect the price on his head. In the middle of all this, Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, two representatives of an insurance society which is often forced to pay for damages caused by Vash, track him down for the purposes of minimizing the chaos he causes. Upon catching up with him, however, the duo discovers that, contrary to his reputation, Vash is a kindhearted goof, and self proclaimed hunter of love and peace, who absolutely refuses to ever take another person’s life, even at great personal risk to himself. Vash continues his travels carefree, helping out whoever he can, with the occasional assistance of Meryl and Milly, as well as a traveling priest known as Nicholas D. Wolfwood, only to one day have an encounter with a mysterious and cruel man known as Legato Bluesummers. Vash soon learns that Legato has hired a group of assassins known as the Gung-Ho Guns to kill Vash, and leave a trail of bodies wherever they go, seemingly for the sole purpose of tormenting Vash. As Vash hunts down Legato, he is gradually forced to face his past, and consider whether he can truly stay committed to his pacifist ideals. In general, Trigun is just a very, very well made series. It has a likeable and developed cast of characters, with special mention going to Vash, who is a very compelling and sympathetic character, and Wolfwood, who makes a great foil to Vash with very interesting development of his own, with characters outside of the main cast being memorable as well, from Legato himself, to even some of the more minor villains, such as the varied members of the Gung-Ho Guns, or Brilliant Dynamites Neon, who makes an inexplicably strong impression for a one off villain not even important to the overall plot. The space western setting is quite good, and the designs are great, with many villains having distinctive looks that further help them make an impression. The action is great, and the animation is also quite good, and has that 90′s anime charm. The dub, while a bit rough around the edges, is generally solid too. From Lia Sargent as the ditzy but kind Milly, to Dorothy Elias Fahn as the hotheaded Meryl, to Jeff Nimoy as the weary Wolfwood, to Richard Cansino as the calculating and disturbing Legato, with special mention needing to go to Johnny Yong Bosch as Vash. Despite it actually being his first voice acting role ever, he does a great job in portraying the many sides to Vash, and absolutely sells many of the biggest moments in the story. Speaking of which, the series started quite lighthearted and wacky, with the first four episodes actually being filler, but gets gradually darker as it goes on. The earlier episodes are still quite enjoyable on their own, though, and manage to slowly reveal new aspects to Vash in each one, before finally setting his nature in stone in episode 5. What really sells the series and makes it so memorable, however, are the themes it explores, of the practicality of unwavering pacifism, and whether taking a life, whether for heinous crimes committed without remorse, or with the purpose of protecting others, is ever justifiable. While quite a few series have touched dilemmas like this before, what makes Trigun stand out with it is the emphasis placed upon it throughout the whole series, with many episodes touching upon it in some regard. It genuinely fairly looks at the different sides of it all, and the consequences of each, with many emotional moments coming from it as a result. While the manga did ultimately take a very different turn from the anime, the anime actually preserves several of the most important plot moments, and manages to come to a satisfactory conclusion of its own regarding the themes. Ultimately, Trigun makes for a very fun and interesting watch that I highly recommend. And with that, my ranking is complete. With the exception of Robotics;Notes, I can pretty confidently recommend every show on this list. Got some more shows I plan to get through soon, so another ranking like this may be soon in the making. Either way, till next time. -Scout

#anime #trigun #nichijou #haruhi suzumiya #the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya #soul eater #robotics;notes #long post

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shintorikhazumi · 3 years

Text

Sleeping Beau-

A/N: Happy Birthday Leoooooooo

I KNOW I’M OVER A MONTH LATE I’M SORRY ;-;

MAKING IT A TWO(?)-SHOT SO THAT CONGRATS ON YOUR GRADES TOO YEY! (Also because It was getting too damn long)

k. that’s all from me. Sorry for the meh quality and sorry in advance for all the mistakes and plotholes. I’m getting rusty. Forgotten how to write.

Enjoy?

~Shintori Khazumi

[Okay, how about a Mayakuro "remake" of seeping beauty? Where Claudine is all like "Tendo Maya give me that sword, I can do this shit myself" and wasn't in a coma like sleep but that it was just a rumour or something. ...she'd be so confused for a minute, no one told her that the princess would have that much of an attitude.]- Was the request, hihi.

“Sleeping Beau-”

“A princess... in a tower, oh so far away from me. This dear princess, deep in slumber, oh how much I long to see...”

“... Is this because you want to use her as reference for your new play?” A certain brunette mumbled through a mouthful of food she’d managed to smuggle in while on duty.

“Dame Aijo... It’s not like that.”

“I thought I heard you ask that vendor girl earlier for the location because you had plans to visit.”

“Shut up, Karen!” The bespectacled playwright frowned, scribbling down her latest line. “And how do you even know about that?” Junna narrowed her eyes at the knight who merely shrugged. Junna clicked her tongue, turning back to her sheets of paper. “I’m just a little curious, is all!” She defended, mumbling incoherent complaints to herself.

“But Miss Junna, the last time you used actual people as references for your script, you got scolded by Hikari.” Karen reminded, resting her head in her palm as she watched Junna jot down more lines, more notes for her newest work.

“Th-that was only because she didn’t like how I stared at you or Mahiru for too long! I couldn’t help it! I have to study my subjects intently to fully grasp their characters and way of life, and embody-” She was going off on a tangent, and Karen couldn’t help but giggle.

“So you are thinking of her as a reference.” Karen grinned smugly.

“Karen!”

“Now, now. What’s all the fuss about?” A voice called from the other side of the room, catching the occupant’s attention. The pair froze in place, minds registering the identity of the newcomer.

“Your highness!” Junna greeted first, immediately straightening up as she and Karen offered their respects in deep bows to the tall figure, regal and proud, stood at the doorway of the study.

The Royal Princess, Tendou Maya, in her full glory, sauntered into the room, not forgetting to shut the door behind her, before taking a seat on Junna’s desk- much to the latter’s chagrin- and immediately destroyed her image of poise and elegance as she hid behind closed doors.

“Finally.” Maya sighed, gazing out at Junna’s balcony, seeing the bright blue sky and the rustles of trees as the wind’s whistling was heard through open windows. “I thought they’d never end.” She huffed, jumping back onto her feet as she walked about the room.

“Princess, what are you doing here?” Junna addressed their new companion once more, surprised at the sudden visit. Usually Maya would inform her beforehand if she was planning on dropping by. “Did you run away from more noble meetings?”

Maya smiled at her in an amused manner that had Junna feeling a little irritated. “Can’t a student come see her Tutor at any given time should she have any queries in mind?” Maya asked sweetly, picking up a random book from a nearby shelf and flipping through its pages.

Junna stared, trying to read the woman’s expression and actions. She couldn’t. Groaning, Junna replied, “First of all, you are no longer my student. You’ve learned all you’ve needed to from me, finished all your course work two years ago. Secondly, do you even have anything to ask that I can answer that you don’t already know?”

Maya kept smiling at her mysteriously. “How are you?- is a valid question that you can answer and I don’t already know?”

“Don’t be cheeky, Your highness.” Junna rolled her eyes, getting back to her script on her desk.

“My, the genius scholar, the Kingdom’s royal tutor, can’t answer one of the simplest questions?” Maya faux-gasped. “Whatever shall we do? Find a new one?” She continued to tease.

Junna frowned, feeling a headache coming on. “Maya, you really don’t want me to dive into a long discussion on how that question could actually be one of the most difficult to answer.”

As if to remind the pair of her presence, Karen agreed enthusiastically, nodding her head at the same time. “You wouldn’t want to get bored, your highness. One time, Miss Junna tried to explain to me why I could buy five sacks of rice in the next town over for the price of only three in the capital, and I still don’t get it.” She chuckled sheepishly, scratching her head in confusion.

“Um, Dame Aijo, that’s a little different. You might be somewhat slow-”

“Oh, how interesting!” Maya clapped, playing along with Karen. Turning to Junna who had just flinched, she directed another question. “How can that be, teacher?” She asked innocently.

Junna grimaced, really not up to the task of having to play Maya’s little games today. Regaining her composure, Junna cleared her throat. “Okay, for what purpose have you actually come to see me, Princess?” She asked, hoping for a reasonable answer.

“To see my good old friend and catch up on life?” Maya tried.

Junna deadpanned. “Like hell that’s true. You haven’t visited me in three months. Each time you’ve visited before that, it was to either ask me to hide you from marriage interviews, sneak into a play, escape whatever duties you found tedious, or snack on baumkuchen secretly with Karen over here.”

“Baumkuchen is good for the soul.”

“Not for your figure.” Though she said that, Junna frowned as she remembered the time she was chewed out by the etiquette tutor for allowing Maya to eat ‘junk’ outside of mealtime; allowed her to eat more than her designated and controlled portions.

Despite knowing how nobles liked to keep up appearances, Junna hardly found it necessary to impose such a diet on the princess with how active she was anyway. Also, as someone with lists and lists of responsibilities to cater throughout the day, she worried if it was even enough, what they fed the poor girl.

What if she simply collapsed one day?

“You don’t mean that.” Maya smirked at her, propping up her face in her hands on Junna’s desk.

Junna’s frown deepened. A splash of color appeared on her face that she quickly hid behind her manuscript. “I suppose not.” She admitted quietly.

Maya laughed freely, stepping back to allow her friend some breathing room. She went over to Karen to strike up some more amusing conversation maybe.

“So what kind of whimsical fairy tale has Miss Junna tried to string together this time?” She asked Karen.

Junna choked on air as she turned to glare at the cause of her stress today. “Why would you like to know?”

If the princess claimed she wanted to take part in another one of her productions, Junna would have to discourage her from doing so. She used to be pleased to have Maya on board, sometimes even pleading her because of her talent and potential for the stage- she was very clearly loved by its goddess. However, Junna had quickly learned that a Royal should not be placed under that kind of spotlight.

They were already on a high enough pedestal that was better tailored to people of their caliber; worlds and worlds beyond even the most talented actors, the brightest stars.

When His Majesty’s second wife, the queen consort, had heard of these activities, she had hounded Junna, and her fiance Nana- the director and owner of the theater- to cease any production that would ‘taint’ the Royal Princess’s image and only serve as distraction from her duties that were of greater significance.

Such as trying to succeed the throne.

It wasn’t only for her sake that she had to turn Maya away from the stage that called to her like a siren from the sea. It would be better for that sailor to keep away and stay alive all together. After all, mermaids were temptingly beautiful, but they devoured the life of those drawn to them.

So would it be for Tendou Maya.

“There’s just been this rumor circling about, princess.” Junna heard Karen begin, looking over at the pair who shared amicable smiles as they conversed.

Should she halt this topic?

“And this rumor is...?”

“Oh, just how there’s this weird, abandoned, palace-like thingy in the forest just by the border to that terrible west kingdom.”

Junna watched as Maya seemed to perk up, not liking the interest that was apparent on her face.

“They say there’s a princess there!”

“My! A princess!”

“They said she’s been sleeping there for a while!” Karen continued to share without much thought, Maya nodding enthusiastically and clinging onto every word. An action Junna did not like. “And that she’ll never wake up. Poor princess. Can’t they bring her to a clinic or something?”

“Ohoh? I suppose that would be the usual course of action.” Maya replied, going along with Karen’s storytelling. “What else do you know?” Maya asked, hoping to fish out some more information, no doubt.

Junna had to stop her already burning hunger from getting even bigger.

“Nothing else that you should hear of.” She cut the conversation off with a tap of her pen. “Anyway, it’s all just a rumor.” Junna stated. “It’s not as though there is proof of an actual structure suddenly being there in the western forests, nor is there any certainty about a princess residing in deep slumber there.”

Maya flashed her an evil grin, walking over to her table again, standing right in front of her once more.

“But there isn’t any proof that it doesn’t exist either, right?” She whispered to Junna with a glint in her eyes that only spelled trouble.

“Don’t get any funny ideas, Maya. The kingdom will absolutely have my head if they learn that I’ve somehow placed ideas in yours.” She sighed, rolling up her papers and smacking Maya on the head lightly. The princess simply laughed in amusement.

“Worry not, my good friend. I’ve taken your kind words into consideration.”

Junna stared at her, still skeptical. Knowing Maya, ‘consideration’ was just that. Consideration. And, most likely, Maya was considering going against Junna’s warning.

Really, she could only hope for the best, and pray that Maya wouldn’t do whatever her pretty little head had clearly already planned.

‘No, no.’ Junna shook her head. She should trust Maya. She was an adult, responsible, and a royal. She knew her duties, and she knew what was right. Maya was an intelligent woman. She wouldn’t just thoughtlessly go out in search of the existence of some baseless tale. Yes. Junna shouldn’t have anything to worry about.

She looked over at the princess still casually conversing with Karen, all cheers and smiles coming from the pair. The knight continued to entertain Maya with more and more trivial details regarding the stories of that hidden castle in the woods, and the shine in Maya’s eyes that Junna usually associated with her excitement and craving for adventure only became brighter and brighter.

This was worrisome.

Junna bit her lip, anxiety growing more and more as she tried to convince herself that everything would be just fine.

Okay, okay. Even if Maya would, hypothetically, try to go off in search of this ‘mystery princess’, there were many guards posted about the castle anyway.

She couldn’t escape and do anything, right?

No, in the first place, she wouldn’t do anything. Right?

Right?

//-//-//-//-//

She shouldn’t be doing this. She knows it deep down.

Should her parents catch wind of her plans, she could either be disowned or forever locked away in her own tower.

Regardless, these threats of consequence could not hope to quell her hungered curiosity. Maya couldn’t sit still after hearing such a tale- an adventure outside the walls of the palace. One that was much like the stories she had only ‘played’ thus far.

This time, it was real.

And so did the princess sneak out into the dead of the night.

“Come now, Samson.” A lone horse’s whinny shook the silent air, Maya feeling her heart pound at the thrill of game she had begun to play. A game of life. “Shhhh. Be silent, my boy. We must be discreet.” She whispered, stroking the silky mane of her stallion, hoping it would soothe him.

It seemed to have worked and Maya sighed in temporary relief.

Looking ahead into the darkness of the courtyard, she surveyed the area ahead in attempts to check for any possible dangers. Finding none, she took one final look behind her to ensure that she was not being followed.

Good. The coast was clear.

Addressing her loyal companion, Maya took the reins and commanded forward. “Shall we?” She smiled as she got a little huff. “Hyah!” She exclaimed, loud enough only for their ears to pick up.

She cantered Samson over the currently-empty courtyard, out the back, having known a secret pathway through the castle gardens to get onto the streets without passing the main gate where guards were usually posted, and rarely left.

She should really advise their knights on how to better their security. People could get in through places besides the gate.

...or people could sneak out.

She could.

But maybe... not now.

Stepping onto the cobblestone pavement, she grinned. So far, so perfect.

Catching sight of the palace gate, she giggled as she saw a guard stretching in the distance, probably yawning from drowsiness during night duty.

Yes, she should indeed talk to her father in the future. Or not.

“Fools.”

//-//

Into the dense forest, they ran. Galloping hooves braving a weather that was somehow stormy. The air and the scenery was somehow eerie. Darkened clouds and thorny paths had so soon greeted them as Maya traversed towards the direction Karen had pointed out.

The location of a hidden tower.

From what Junna and Karen had shared in terms of the rumors they’d heard about it, they said a princess from the neighboring kingdom had been born twenty or so years ago. She had been blessed by three fairies, and cursed by a witch, Maleficent- was her name, apparently.

The girl was to prick her finger on a spindle of a spinning wheel, and then she’d sleep on death’s bed inevitably.

That was how it had gone.

Maya was a believer in the magic of the world. After all, the members of the royal family were some of the few who had been gifted with its wonder.

She wouldn’t call them miraculous, but she had undeniable strength that far exceeded many of their best male knights, as well as healing abilities that could get rid of smaller cuts, and halt excessive bleeding.

This proved useful as Maya made her way through the thick brush, feeling the sharp of thorns on occasion as she went deeper into the forest.

After a good hour or so of searching, Maya had found herself at the base of what she had presumed was the ‘palace’ from the rumors. Tall-standing and surrounded by thorns, with an eerie air that only added more fearsome layers to its image shrouded in darkness, Maya deliberated continuing on her little adventure.

Should it hold terrors far greater than she had initially accounted for, this curiosity trip would very easily end up with chaos and sorrow in an entire kingdom.

However, should rumors stay as rumors...

Maya laughed at her own foolishness as she dismounted Samson, tying him to a nearby tree.

“Let’s hope I don’t die, my boy.” She stroked her trusted steed as he nuzzled against her hand. “I’ll be back.”

//-//-//-//-//

Another cough exited her mouth, particles of dust shrouding her vision. Clearing away a cobweb with her hand, Maya found the first open door to any room she’s passed by thus far. A long winding stairwell sat inside, steps that snaked their way to the top of a tower invited Maya to take them and uncover the secrets they might lead to.

Maya took one step. Then another. And another.

Half-way to the top, she had found another door. Right away, she knew it was different from all the other wooden entrances she’d encountered so far. Besides the odd glow that seemed to be coming from within, it had an equally strange inscription carved into its wood.

With a light push, the door flew open, revealing a spinning wheel. The glow she had initially taken note of didn’t come from the room, apparently. But neither was it from the spinning wheel itself.

Maya focused her eyes on one part of the machinery, seeing the spindle sparkle alluringly, almost invitingly.

“What a dangerous-looking contraption.” She murmured, stepping closer. Sharp. It was sharp, she observed, the closer she got. “What if... someone got hurt?” In a trance like state, her body continued to close the distance between herself and the seemingly glowing piece of furniture. Her eyes remained fixated on its eerie shine. “...How tragic... would that be...”

Stopping just inches shy of the spindle, Maya’s breath stilled. Almost as if it had a mind of its own, almost as if Maya had forgotten the whole tale she had just been told, her hand lifted up, reaching for the spindle-

...when a creak suddenly caught her attention. As though a spell had been broken, Maya blinked, quickly pulling her hand away and looking up towards the source of the noise. She saw another door, one that was slightly open, leading into more darkness, revealing none of what possibly lay beyond it.

Her heart beat fast at the thought of either being caught by someone from her kingdom, or by an entirely different entity- a monster or ghoul perhaps? Either way, the dangers the options presented was not to her liking.

Still, this did little to douse the fire that was her thrill-seeking curiosity, and thus, she went after it: the dark and beyond.

She took careful steps, pushing the door to widen its opening in hopes that the strange light from the previous room would help to illuminate this new one. The hinged wood budged with an echoing creak, one that made Maya flinch, still wary of alerting any possible inhabitants of the palace.

Upon entering the room, Maya’s eyes fluttered about the dim surrounding, scanning over the surprisingly dusted furnishings, and well-kept room.

How strange.

For a place that supposedly only had a sleeping individual of a few years already, to be this clean... Was this also due to the effects of magic?

Her gaze continued to travel, hopping from one thing to another. She took careful, quiet steps about the room as she surveyed it, searching for a better source of light at the same time.

Coming to a curtained wall, she pulled the fabrics apart, hoping a window was present there. Smiling victoriously at her correct assumption, she allowed the natural evening light to flutter into the room and illuminate it as she turned around to see things more clearly.

And clearly she saw. Eyes widening, they came to rest upon a figure glowing under the elegant light of the moon. A sleeping beauty, resting. The princess of the rumors. Maya gazed upon her face, mind blanking and unable to tear her gaze away.

Her cheeks were somehow still a gorgeous apple-red despite supposedly having lack of nutrition due to her lengthy slumber- should the rumors hold any truth- albeit somewhat hollowed out. She had long lashes, and was fair-skinned. What drew Maya in the most in that moment was the glow of golden hair. Silky, fluffy, seemingly magical.

“Absolutely beautiful.”

Maya, outside of her conscious control, reached out to touch it- much like she’d almost done to the needle before. However, unlike that earlier attraction, this one was... different.

The pull of danger was as a hypnotic, malicious trance. Despite the dread coursing through your veins, the fear pounding in one’s heart, you could not step away. On the other hand, this allure was gentle, soft. She was not as a moth to a flame, nor a sailor to the siren’s song.

This was a hand held out, beckoning her for a life-changing dance as her fate entwined with whoever it was that lay upon satin sheets in an abandoned castle.

Maya flinched once her skin made contact with silken gold, before relaxing, enjoying their soft feel. Holding a few strands that slipped through her fingertips, she brought it to her lips placing a kiss on them.

Her heart beat painfully in her chest, but she did not think it was in any way unpleasant. Her eyes scanned over Sleeping Beauty’s features once more, resting upon slightly paled lips somehow growing larger and larger in her view.

Oh.

Maya had been drawing closer.

And Maya was about to kiss the lady.

Breath stilling in her lungs, Maya pulled her senses together, shaking her head as she berated herself for even considering such a distasteful course of action- throwing herself upon someone without the least bit of consent.

She’d seen many beautiful faces in her lifetime, she’d flirted with some too- much to Junna and her parents’ chagrin. But never had she felt as... captured as she was in this moment; never had Maya been filled with a strong urge to know who this person was, to have the pleasure of being acquainted with someone such as this.

She had never felt the desire to steal a kiss from someone she’d just met, and hoped that maybe... they’d kiss back.

Eyes widening, Maya slapped her hands against both sides of her face; the feeling of the warmth of her cheeks grounded her back in the reality of the moment as she attempted to take a step back and recollect herself-

And suddenly she found herself looking up at the ceiling and into precious garnets with a flame-like passion burning within them as she was pinned down to the mattress by their glare and their owner’s physical strength.

A lovely owner, might she add.

“Who. Are. You.”

Maya blinked.

‘Even her voice is lovely.’-She thought, despite the venom in its tone. Whether Maya’s heart was picking up speed due to fright or something else, she didn’t know. Her mind was a jumbled mess of being dumbfounded and starstruck at the beauty presented to her, her subconscious’ warnings that she was currently in danger, and confusion towards this predicament she had found herself in.

“I said, Who are you.” Maya’s fair lady repeated, shaking her by the collar for emphasis that she was not to be joked with, and that Maya should answer seriously if she wanted to make it out of this situation in one piece.

Did she, however?

Maya wondered if she had some sort of odd preferences deep down that despite her apprehensions and surprise, she couldn’t help but feel merry and excited in her position, laying beneath some unknown gorgeous woman who was angered and threatening.

She couldn’t help the smile that broke out on her face as she replied, “Why, I’m Maya. And you?” She hoped it at least looked charming, like the one she usually used on all the pretty village girls as their faces soon turned red and flustered.

She didn’t expect to get a growl instead... or should she have?

“Are you one of her servants?” The blonde interrogated, not answering Maya’s own question as she searched Maya’s eyes for any motives of deception and dishonesty.

“Her?” Maya cocked her head to the side curiously. “Who might you be referring to, my dear?” She asked, somehow still hoping to charm or tease the woman with a subtle pet name that only went ignored.

Golden brows scrunched up further, fangs baring more obviously for Maya to admire as the woman answered her question. “Maleficent, obviously!”

“Maleficent?” Now where had Maya heard of that before...

Apparently, this strange beauty had taken it upon herself to fill Maya in on the details, as she released her from her grip, pushing her away and onto the sheets as she got up to pace the room in clear vexation and rage from just the thought of whoever this ‘Maleficent’ person was. Just her name was enough to rile her up, it seemed, and Maya’s suspicious and intruding presence was now quickly forgotten as her newly-awakened companion went off on a raged rant.

“She who has locked me up for who knows how long. With the silly prophesy that I’d prick my finger on a spindle and fall asleep for many years.” She explained, pausing in her steps to give Maya a look. “That one.”

Maya still didn’t quite follow. It all did sound so familiar.

“I beg your pardon?”

The lady didn’t seem to have heard Maya as she continued on her fiery tirade. “Who in their right mind, when being told the exact misfortune that would serve as their demise, go with it? Certainly not I!”

“I see...?” Maya had now assumed a more comfortable sitting position atop the room’s mattress, watching the woman in front of her continue to grumble and pace about.

“Avoiding that damned curse was nothing of a challenge- it was trivial, even.” She sighed, biting her nail in annoyance. “But there’s an entirely different issue at hand!” She exclaimed, stomping her foot down as she crossed her arms and looked to Maya, as if asking her to tell her what it was.

Maya had no clue whatsoever.

She heard her companion click her tongue in disappointment at the lack of response, and that somehow stung for Maya.

Maya was quickly enlightened once more by the things she had no clue about.

“I can’t leave the building for some reason. Each time I’ve tried, it was as though I’d entered a never-ending maze.” She huffed. “And even if I got passed that, I’ve discovered that she sends a dragon to check up on me from time to time. The timing is sporadic so I can’t even plan a definite schedule of escape. Maybe if I had my sword, though...” She mumbled the last bits to herself. “Maybe it would be a different story.”

Maya watched the troubled girl continue with her mental acrobatics and murmuring, still bewildered by the sudden outburst of emotions and quickly growing pile of information that she was still trying to process bit by bit. She reviewed the story she had heard in her memory to the best of her abilities, somehow feeling that something was off with the tale she had just been told.

Something clicked, and she snapped her fingers in realization, as she got up from her seat and walked over to the perplexed lady.

“Excuse me-”

“What.” The response was biting and cold.

Maya flinched, but prepared an unbothered smile as she tried to strike up a coherent conversation with this girl.

“I’m sorry, but... I just wanted to confirm something.”

The blonde only raised her brow, telling Maya silently to go on.

Maya suddenly felt nervous, and nervous wasn’t really something she thought she was capable of feeling, not with all her background and training. However, under the scrutiny of those intense eyes, she felt her throat dry as she struggled to use her words.“Um, so...” She began, feeling the urge to rub at the back of her neck to ease her sudden anxiety. “You said you couldn’t find a way to leave?” She finally got out lamely.

“Yes, that’s what I said. Weren’t you listening?” Was the fiery response that confirmed Maya’s confusion.

“I... I see.” Maya stuttered. She cursed at the fact that she did. Still, she had to continue on with this conversation in order to understand what was nagging at her. “I see, but...”

“But?”

Maya pointed towards the way she came in, the door still wide open and with that odd glow from the needle in the previous room she’d passed to arrive in this one. “The exit is right there, milady.” She stated slowly, clearly, hoping the other woman would get her message.

“...”

“...milady?”

She received an angered glare, feeling her collar grasped once more as Maya was pulled to meet the woman eye to eye. “What foolishness are you spouting?” She questioned, thrusting a finger in the direction Maya had pointed at. “That is clearly a wall.”

Maya blinked, tilting her head in confusion. No, no. She was clearly not blind, was she? She was sure that she wasn’t dreaming either- that she was in the right state of mind. So why...

Instead of trying to explain things, or understand through words, Maya decided to figure things out the easier way. She pried the other woman’s hands away and made her way towards the door. She felt the heated gaze on her back as she stood in front of the open frame. Looking back once, she nodded.

And she walked right through the door.

Staring at the lady through the passage, she wondered why she wasn’t being followed, why there was no ‘I hadn’t noticed that there’, or any similar words.

All she heard was an awed, “How did you do that?”, and her lagging brain clicked. Oh.

Maya came back in, multiple possibilities and reasons now running through her mind as to why this girl could not see the clearly placed exit. Right, this place was covered in magic. Why hadn’t she thought of that sooner? Maya put on her smile once more, approaching the girl as she took her by the hand and led her closer to the door. “I’m telling you, milady. There’s nothing here.”

She still looked at Maya skeptically, clearly in doubt.

“Milady, do you believe in magic?”

She received a deadpanned look, and she realized it wasn’t the smartest question to ask someone who had been locked up in a tower, guarded by a dragon, and cursed to suffer eternal slumber by the touch of one tiny needle.

“Apologies, of course you do.”

Maya watched the blonde sigh, as she nodded, looking at Maya with a calmer demeanor as she stated what they now thought they both knew. “So there’s a door there, and I simply can’t see it because I’m probably under some type of illusion spell.”

Maya hummed her agreement, and admired the way her companion’s face lit up in relief and a joy she didn’t think she’d ever see replace the grouchy expression that seemed to be forever set in place.

“Well.” Maya’s sleeping beauty smiled at her, unknowingly making her heart skip a beat. Maya wondered what that was about.

“Well?” Maya parroted, clearing her throat after a minor crack in her voice.

“Now that we know that this wall is but an illusion... I guess I feel like a fool for not trying to figure that out any sooner.” The woman laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she turned to look about her room. “I suppose it’s time for me to leave this musty old building and claim my freedom.” She grinned. “I wonder if I can find anything of use here that I can take with me.”

Huh. She was leaving.

Somehow Maya didn’t like the sound of that.

She couldn’t leave. Not when they hadn’t even had a proper conversation yet.

To where would she go? Would it be to a place where Maya could find her, or seek her out? Maya felt compelled to stay with her, or have her stay with Maya. Maybe they could go back to Maya’s kingdom together... and then she could get to know her more. Maya... wanted-needed to get to know her more. Even if she didn’t know why that was herself.

Right, Maya still didn’t know her name. Where was she from? Why was she... Maya needed to ask. Maya needed to know.

Clearing her throat once more, she reached out for the girl.

“So, I was wondering-”

“It was nice knowing you, thank you for showing me the way out.” Were the words that interrupted her plans.

‘Wait, no. Not yet. Where are you going?’

“Now I must be off-”Maya’s panicked hands were too late in catching the girl as she tried to exit the room, “Oof-What the...” but instead found herself hitting a hard barrier and falling onto her back.

Hmm?

“Hmm? What... happened...” Maya asked, quickly kneeling to check on her fallen companion.

The woman rubbed her forehead, a red spot marking the area that probably hurt the most. “That’s what I’m asking.” She quickly turned to glare at Maya, pointing an accusatory finger at her. “You.” She angrily spat. “You lied to me.”

“Wha- I did no such thing!” Maya felt compelled to defend herself, getting up from her spot and hastily walking in and out of the doorway, as if that would prove some point. “See?”

“I don’t see!” The blonde exclaimed, crossing her arms as she sat on the floor. “You really are one of Maleficent’s henchmen! What, did she send you here to make a fool of me? Is she watching from somewhere? Is this some kind of sick entertainment for her?” She madly questioned, standing up and jamming a finger into Maya’s chest, forcing her back.

“I’ve already told you, I’m not!” Maya countered, her own volume raising.

“Then who are you?!” The woman screeched at her, pinning her against the wall- except that it wasn’t a wall for Maya, and she promptly fell through into the other room and onto the cold hard floor.

“Ouch... that hurt...” Maya groaned as she got up, running her fingers against the back of her head gently to soothe the sharp pain there.

She looked up to see the girl on the other side of the entryway banging her fists against a barrier Maya could not visualize, but the other could not deal away with, apparently.

“Who are you?” She was asked again. “Who are you?! If you aren’t one of those people who have thrown me in here, how did you find me? How did you know of this place? Why are you here?! Tell me!”

Maya silently watched her continue to yell in fury, continually slamming her hands desperately against the ‘open door’.

“Were you here to toy with my sanity? To give me false hope that I’d finally get be able to be free?”

Each question was accentuated by a hard thumping sound as she beat against the wall.

“Did you leave already?! Figures you would! You didn’t even try to prove me wrong!”

Maya considered the option of exiting the place, no longer willing to tolerate the manner with which she had been treated the entire time. She considered it.

She considered no longer having to deal with this clearly crazed woman. She did not know what came over her when she thought that she was the least bit attractive.

She considered getting up. She got up.

She considered turning away. Maya did.

She considered finally walking out of the room...

-until she heard it.

The tiniest sniffle, so small she could have missed it if it weren’t for the sudden complete quiet after all the loud noise.

“...I just thought I’d finally be able to find my way home...Wherever home is...”

A pang shot through her heart as she turned back around, eyes falling upon a forlorn face that was quick to be covered in tears. If that wasn’t enough to drive an emotional knife through her chest, the lady beyond the wall began to wail helplessly in what Maya could only describe as pure, unadulterated pain.

“WHY AM I HERE?! WHAT DID I EVEN DO TO DESERVE THIS?! WHO EVEN AM I?! WHY ME?!” The girl sobbed. “Damn you, Maleficent! Damn you, dragon, damn this stupid tower, damn it all!”

Maya watched the girl slump against the clear barrier, falling to her knees as her poundings returned in weak waves and slaps against the wall, until she ended up curling on the floor, quietly sniffling and well-worn.

Maya approached the door once more, wanting to reach out, but not knowing what to say. She crouched down, mouth opening and closing until her voice eventually came out.

“I... I’m still here.” She spoke softly. There was no response. “Can you hear me?” Nothing still.

Maya bit her lip nervously. If she tried to go back in, would she be walking straight into death’s clutches? Would she get beat up? Even if she escaped later, how was she to explain what happened once she returned home?

Maya needed to think... wait, but did she have the time? She didn’t have all night to do whatever it was she came here to do. She needed to be out by sunrise and well on her way home. Wait... home? What home? Where was she? Why did she need to go home? Why was she here in the first place? Where was here?

“What am I...”

She felt a sharp pain in her head. Was it from the fall? Maya suddenly felt dizzy, her head began to spin and ache as she fell to the ground. She cursed the throbbing in her head. Maybe she could try healing it with magic. Maybe that would assuage the pain.

Healing? Magic?

What...

Maya shook her head. She didn’t have the time to think about all these things that were suddenly confusing her. She just had to do what she needed to.

Her hand took on a golden glow that almost seemed foreign to her. She didn’t know what it was, but somehow her body told her she should do it, that she could.

Shakily raising her hand up in a struggle, she managed to touch her head, and suddenly, along with a blindingly bright glow that filled the room, she felt clarity and many thoughts flowing in, as the pain melted away into nothingness along with the light.

Maya blinked, suddenly remembering so many things that she didn’t even know she’d forgotten. “...The princess. I’m... a princess. I’m Tendou Maya and I’m here to... I wanted to find out about a princess- the princess!” In panic, she turned to the lady she had been with all this time, her story earlier now registering in Maya’s mind and associating with the tall tale Junna and Karen had spoken about.

Maleficent... a tower... magic... a spindle and a curse.

Maya whipped her head about to see that the needle was no longer glowing to her. It looked like any old spinning wheel, sat in a room.

It was like an enchantment had been lifted off of Maya, and she saw with clearer eyes what was going on.

When had it settled? Was it the moment she entered this forsaken castle? Was it when she had laid eyes on the cursed contraption? Maya did not know.

All she knew was that she needed to help set free this woman that was most probably the princess from the rumors that may as well not be rumors. But how?

Well, it didn’t matter right now. Maya just needed to take some course of action to temporarily ease the situation. She could figure out the rest later. Soon. She did not know how long she’d been here in the tower, nor did she have a way of telling how much time she had left before needing to leave except through the window she’d opened in the other room. If she had to go in anyway, she may as well explain things to the captive princess inside.

Maya swallowed thickly, wondering what she should do now. The princess still lay across the way. Should she simply step over her and enter like that? Or should she move her out of the way first. Either option would probably get her beat, but Maya didn’t need to think about that right now... maybe if she held her in place to prevent her from attacking once she notices Maya’s presence?

Nodding to herself, Maya crept closer to the open door, knelt down on one knee, bracing her arms for the weight.

She needed to do it smootly and quickly, before there was any time for the other woman to register what was going on.

Three... two... one...

“Wha-!”

Maya slipped her hands and arms under the princess’ weight and hurriedly carried her up and over to lay her down on the bed before she could react.

“You!” Wide eyes regarded Maya with shock as she pinned the other princess down by her wrists, hoping that she couldn’t break free. “Why are you back?! What more are you going to do to me?! Are you- Get off me! Get off!”

“Wait! Wait! I need you to listen to me for a moment! Please!”

“Why should I, you rascal- what are you doing to me-mmpghhmm! Mmmmphhh!!!”

Maya had managed to hold down both the other woman’s wrists with only one of her hands, while she used her free one to cover her mouth, hoping to silence her, if only for a bit.

“PLEASE JUST LISTEN FOR ONCE.” Maya shouted sternly, shocking them both by the power and force in her voice. She felt worse as she noticed the still-present tear stains on her cheeks. They stared at one another in complete silence, until Maya regained her thought process. “Please. Listen. I’ll tell you all I know. But please listen first.”

The girl still looked shocked, but nodded.

Maya nodded back, pondering her next words. “If I... release you. Will you promise to stay silent and behaved, and let me explain everything?”

She watched the girl slowly nod once more.

Maya looked at her doubtfully.

“You won’t attack me?”

Another nod.

“...okay. I’ll let go now.”

To be safe, she first took her hand away from the girl’s mouth, receiving a disgusted glare.

“Leather tastes awful.”

“You promised to stay silent.”

“You promised to release me.”

Maya felt her brows furrow, feeling the slightest bit annoyed.

“Do not attack me.” She warned, slowly releasing the woman’s hands. “I swear, do not attack me. Do not.” She chanted, hands finally completely off. “I’m telling you, I swear. Do not-”

And once more, she found herself pinned against the cushions, only this time, she was face first into them.

“I SWEAR TO GOD-”

“Tell me who you are and why you are here!” Was demanded of her. “And don’t try anything strange.” Maya could probably find a clever way to weasel her way out, but she knew if she raised any more suspicion by being untruthful or vague, she’d get nowhere in negotiating and explaining with this person.

Sighing her usual pride away, she asked a single question first.

“Will you believe what I’m about to tell you?”

After all, there would be no point if she didn’t.

“Yes.” The answer was quick, and Maya was genuinely surprised.

“R-really?!”

Genuinely surprised.

“Just spit it out. No funny business either.”

Maya actually felt elated as she did her best to nod in her position.

“Okay, I will tell you. My name really is Maya.”

“Maya. Maya what?”

“T-Tendou Maya.” She answered, before adding, “I’m a princess from the nearby kingdom, and I came here to confirm a rumor.”

Suddenly she felt herself released. Easing up into a sitting position, she turned to look at an oddly nervous face.

“... Are you serious about the princess bit... Tendou Maya?”

A tingle ran through her spine at the sound of her name rolling off those insanely gorgeous lips that she was suddenly so conscious of once more, almost forgetting to respond.

“Y-yes. Yes. I promise. No lies here.”

She was given a once-over, before the other party looked away and whispered a quiet ‘sorry’.

Why... was it so cute.

“So we can be civil.” Maya quipped, lightly teasing.

“Shut up.” The woman huffed. “And so? What rumor, p-princess?” Maya was asked carefully, snapping her out of any unnecessary thoughts.

Right. Maya inhaled deeply, breathing out a question in return to first confirm something. “Do you know how old you are?” She asked.

Her companion looked at her confusedly, before nodding. “If my guess is right, and that Maleficent visits every year or so to see if I still exist... then I know I am roughly twenty years old from the time I was taken away at six. But what does that have to do with what you’re saying?”

Maya nodded to herself, now a little more sure, and hoping that these rumors actually held some kind of truth to them. She looked seriously into confused eyes, ready to explain.

“If that is so then... the rumor was that a princess had been asleep in a castle in the woods for many years. I... came here to investigate.”

“Princess?” The girl echoed. “Me?” She asked again, pointing a finger to herself.

Maya nodded.

“What?”

“If the rumors hold any weight to them, then...”

“But really, a princess?” The girl continued to be skeptical, and Maya was becoming just as confused as she was.

“Wait, don’t you know that? But...” Digging through her memory, Maya was so sure that... “But you knew that you were supposed to prick your finger and fall asleep, didn’t you? Why wouldn’t you know that you’re a princess...”

Two confused ladies sat on a bed, staring at each other in utter confusion.

“I was raised in a cottage in the woods by three aunts. They just happened to warn me about something odd like this. And they told me that if I ever came across a Maleficent person, I should try my best to get away...”

“But how did you end up here?” Maya was now so very lost.

“I honestly do not know.” The blonde shrugged. “I woke up one day in the room with the needle, somehow felt angry that I fell into the stupid situation I was trying to avoid... and I remember walking away from it. Next thing I know, I’ve already grown up in... this place.” She shrugged nonchalantly, gesturing towards the whole room. Maya suddenly felt the urge to laugh.

“Pff- what?”

“What?” The look on the other woman’s face told Maya that she was slightly offended with Maya’s reaction.

“No, I just... Your tale sounded like it should have been much more dramatic than that. But then you just... walked away. From what was essentially your life’s bane.” Maya giggled, laughed in disbelief, combing a hand through her hair. “I can’t... I can’t believe you.” She said, looking the girl in the eyes in amusement.

“How rude... after I believed every word you said.” She grumbled.

“Except that you are possibly a princess?”

“...No one would believe that.”

“And you believe that I am?”

She received a shrug. “Best be safe than sorry. If you ever go back to your little kingdom and report that you were manhandled by a random prisoner in the forest, I might be free from this prison, but moving straight into another. Though that doesn’t sound so bad if it means I have company.”

“Pfff.. ahahahha. What are you saying?” She broke out into laughter, wiping tears away from her eyes, feeling more and more relieved by the second.

Everything felt so surreal to Maya. It all felt peaceful and settled, like she wasn’t just adventuring in a dangerous area; like she hadn’t just been under- and fighting against- the effects of a spell that was distorting her mind; as though she wasn’t just wrestling for life with the woman now seated calmly across from her.

A woman she still didn’t know, but felt like she should.

“And so?” Maya said, finally calming down.

“So? So what?”

Maya felt a familiar giddy smile playing over her lips once more.

“You told me what was essentially your life story, so how about you finally tell me your name next?”

“My name?”

“Yes. Your full name, if possible.” Maya said with a bat of her lashes that earned her an eye roll.

“Right, how about no.”

Maya felt her lips fall into a pout. “But why? Isn’t it only fair that I get your name in exchange for my own?”

“All is fair in love and war, whether you get my name or not.” The woman shrugged, returning a grin of her own.

Maya liked that. The grin, and the mention of love.

Love... huh.

As Maya continued to get hung over on those words, she heard a cock crow in the distance, reality immediately sinking in as she looked in the direction of the window only to be greeted by the thin orange line of the morning horizon.

‘No!’

“I-I have to go!” She sprung up to her feet, panic in her voice as she looked around the room hastily for anything she may have dropped of hers. Finding all her things secure, her gaze finally landed on the lonely smile on the face of the woman she had strangely become attached to- so much so that she didn’t want to leave. She gasped, realizing what she’d said wrong. “I-I mean... we- we have to-”

“I suppose this is goodbye.” The other woman said quietly in a tone that was a far cry from her earlier fierceness. “We both know I can’t leave. Not unless we figure out how I could.” She spoke, eyes trailing towards the door only Maya could see. Her voice was small, insecure. It was sorrowful. It hurt.

But it didn’t have to, Maya realized.

She coughed a few times, approaching the foot of the bed, kneeling by the seated maiden. She hesitantly offered her hands up, pleased when the response of the woman was to place her own in Maya’s.

Maya took in a deep breath to counter the unexpected anxiousness growing within her.

Lifting her gaze up, her words came out in a mere whisper. “M-May I... come see you again?”

Maya watched her eyes express the widest range of emotions she’d ever seen from a person. Shock, embarrassment, warmth, fondness, gratefulness...

They were beautiful.

Even the small drops of tears that had begun to form at the tips of her long lashes, beautiful.

Her current smile and bout of gentle laughter, beautiful.

The way she sniffled, and the fresh trail of tears that rewrote the story of the prior stains on her face- so beautiful.

The way her golden hair framed her face, stray tresses sticking to her slightly sweaty skin- beautiful.

Maya stared at beauty itself, and was left in awe.

“Only if you bring me a better meal than stale bread and uncooked potatoes.” She chuckled through her sniffling.

Maya felt her heart flutter erratically, barely managing a playful response. “Any requests?”

“... Tuna.” Was the near inaudible reply, coupled with a shy tint on her companion’s cheeks.

“May I inquire as to why?” Maya asked, feeling her stupid grin widening so much, it ached.

“...I just like it...”

Just who was this adorably shy creature, and how could Maya make her even happier.

“Understood. I will acquire for you only the best.” Maya smiled, the pads of her thumbs running circles over the smooth skin of the other princess’ hands.

Another crow of the rooster made her grip those hands lightly, the sting in her chest coming back.

“I s-suppose I’ll see you again later.” Maya said, looking down at their joined hands, avoiding the other’s gaze as she stood up.

As she began to pull away, she felt a light tug. Looking up, she met bashful garnets searching her eyes, and quivering lips that were trying to communicate something.

“Yes?” Maya gently prompted, squeezing her hands lightly.

“Claude. For now... you can call me... Claude...J-just so that... when you come back...” Claude trailed off, averting her gaze shyly- rather endearingly, might Maya add.

“Claude.” Maya smiled, placing a chaste kiss on her knuckles. “I will come back.”

She relished the blush blooming across ‘Claude’s’ face, pocketing it in a memory to be recalled multiple times throughout her everyday, no doubt.

“I will definitely bring you home. I’ll figure out a way.”

Maya cupped her face, wiping the few tears that had escaped away as she rested her forehead against Claude’s.

“I will definitely bring you home, free.”

A/N: I clearly strayed from theme. Sorry. Ah. ;-; sorry, this was no-good ;-; Sorry Leooooooo, hope you liked it even a littleeeeee.

~Shintori Khazumi

#mayakuro #shoujo kageki revue starlight #revstar #starira #fanfic #saijou claudine #tendou maya #aijo karen #hoshimi junna #parody #sleeping beauty

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docholligay · 4 years

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@yamadara87 asked me to write out what I think ALL the girls’ entrances to the stage would be, since I pointed out I like that Karen falls into her transformation every time, just as she’s basically fallen into this whole competition. IT’S LONG.

Junna: Junna gets onto the stage by climbing, ascending a long stair up to the stage. She’s been climbing her whole life, fighting, trying to get to this place she knows she wants. It will never be given to her. And so the staircase is long, and steep, but she never tires. Junna is determined, and even though every time it makes her legs burn, she feels that’s a part of the progress, even realizing that the other girls do not have the climb she does. It is her climb, and she takes to it with great courage. She changes over much more slowly than Karen, at landing and landing, adding pieces to her costume, putting the bow in her hand, slowly becoming the creation she knows she’s meant to be. Just like in life, it is the accumulation of several skills, all of which she has had to climb for and drive for as she makes her way to the stage.

Maya: Maya simply walks on from stage right. Why such a simple answer for a character imbued with so much drama, you might rightly ask, but the answer is this: Maya already belongs there. She’s a child of the stage, from word one, and so much of the arrogance and pride we see in her, the desire for a true opponent, is not at all undeserved. She simply strolls onto the stage, under a spotlight, because she knows she belongs there. And her transformation is nothing gradual either, but the work of an instant. As soon as the spotlight illuminates her, in a mere puff, she becomes this Maya of the stage, something she is immediately ready for and utterly lacking in surprise.

Nana: What Nana’s entry might have looked like the first time that she came to stage, I can’t really say, because I know so little of the Nana before the cycles, but this Nana I know now, I have coming in through the back. Isn’t that unusual, you might say, and yes, it is because it’s treating her like a set piece. She is the architect of this entire cycle, and so we see her pass by the clouds and backdrops and little card board bushes as she makes her way toward the stage, and they move out of the way for her as she does so because she is the commander of them. She is the one who has set out what the stage looks like, and it respects her for it.

Kaoroku: A child of a certain destiny, that was always good enough until it wasn’t, until she wanted to get away and not be told what to do, Kaoroku walks down the stairs, descending from her place of ease and privilege to the work of the stage. It’s strange how I can;t get this concept out of mind because it feels so right to me, but also it irritates me so much because it’s giving Kaoroku a huge amount of credit that I really don’t want to give her. But my mind is stuck there, and so I’ll simply lean into it, the idea of Kaoroku looking back at the place she’s currently at, knowing that there is a world of ease, but also a place where she will never be in her own, and deciding that she is going to descend.

Hikari: Hikari is the interloper, however bidden she was by the giraffe to enter the contest. ANd so I have her come in through the back of the theater, a part of the crowd coming out to join the fray. As she comes up through the aisleway, we see people surrounding her, fellow crowd members giving her an outfit, a weapon, a bit of flair, all failed members forced now to watch the stage and supporting HIkari’s bid to be the one who comes back, the one who succeeds.

Futaba: I like Futaba, but a lot of what I’m going to put into Futaba’s entry has to do with how I think she came into this, because, well, I have the whole episode to show. Futaba enters by being pulled by a curtain cord, something that simultaneously wants her onstage and wants the curtain to be drawn on her immediately, as useful yet set aside as a sandbag. I don’t think Futaba’s even conscious of any of this, in the same way that I don’t think Karen’s conscious of how much of her entry signifies her falling into her position.

Mahiru: You and I are likely going to disagree on this, because I know you and visualize Mahiru’s whole thing in vastly different ways, and this was actually the hardest one for me to write because in so many ways her personality fades into the background compared to the other girls. And so I think if I have to decide for her, I would probably have to say that she comes up from the bottom of the stage, you know like in those musicals where someone is lifted through a trap door? In the dark, lifted up by others, stopping where she’s planted.

Claudine: Claudine is nothing if not endless effort. She’s good, but she��s good because she wants everything, she craves it, and if you get in her way she’ll simply come and take it from you, and this is what I love best about her, so I full on have her swinging in on a goddamn rope from stage left. Not in an uncontrolled way, but in the sort of way that suggests that you may have written and casted this play, but Claudine is going to be in, and be the star. You could do something really interesting with this visually, having her swinging through the intermediate curtains and some of her transformation going each time, and as she drops down onto the stage she grabs her sword out of the air and lands perfectly, yes Claudine is my favorite, why do you ask?

#Doc watches Revue Starlight

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mono-blogs-art · 2 years

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Hi this got very long so feel free to ignore but wanted to share my revue starlight movie experience! (so sry for any spelling errors I wrote this in a rush) I split it between theater experience, personal reaction, and translations changes that I noticed

Theater Experience:

- very very very loud throughout, before Masai's scream preemptively covered my ears and was glad i did - think some of the songs suffered from it being too loud but still loved them all - teared up but thankfully managed to not actually cry - movie theater only about 20-25% full :( - pretty quiet with the exception of a pair one of whom had clearly not watched the movie before and was very confused - inconsistent song lyric subs, didn't always cover the song if it was too background - I love this movie so much I'm so grateful i got to experience it on the big screen and surround sound 11/10 will watch again Personal/Friend Reactions: - forgot men existed in revue starlight and got the shock of my life - how many straddles and declarements to stay together or wait forever for each other can you have before the audience realises they're gay - so many divorce arcs - friend who had not seen movie before audibly choked at maya's "I'm always adorable" line - didn't love their translations of maya and claudine's lines with hero and saint but the line "give me you" absofuckinglutely redeemed it - when maya thought she won proving that an empty and lonely existance is the best path foward she looked so sad :((( good thing claudine is always ready to kick her ass and ruin maya's god complex - before their revue: claudine: you're so weak maya (pouting which was freaking adorable!!!): but the baby chicks claudine: fair but you're still weak - i love that nana flat out states she has an obsession with junna love nana so much - love that the 5 who were in the audience for the episode 10 revue of claudine crying were also there for part 2: revue of maya crying - why are they crying for each other? what are they, gay? - so funny that while everyone is already married/getting there in the anime and having their divorce arcs in the movie maya and claudine are so dense that it takes them until the movie to get together and then they have to have a long distance relationship when they had 3 years in the same school - saw that bird on claudine's window very cute (was it a gift from maya or rep of maya's soul from the revue?) - all the divorce arcs were sad but i think their relationships are better for it!! sometimes things need to break and time apart to grow stronger - that metal bird was so ugly maya pls no you deserve better - the fact that hikari has dropped out of prestitious acting schools like 3 times and they keep accepting her back is just - only realized after that the reason hikari freaked out so much is while the other 7 encountered their dead bodies and blood with tendo maya keeping them calm Hikari was in London, flat out missing everything - its been mentioned before by many people but the fact the claudine both passively and actively causes divorces is never not funny to me anime: accidently helps in futaba and karuko divorce movie: actively caused the futaba and karuko divorce (if its futuba you can do it), possibly helps in the junna and nana divorce (if it's junna you can do it) game: helps start the hikari and karen divorce (movie) in her revue with hikari, also is forced to mediate between fumi and shiori (deserved karma sorry claudine) - kinda sad that they changed the selfish line for hikari in the final lines as one of the many things i love about revue starlight is how they are selfish and have it be a good thing - the groupings in the credits scene have so so so much potential i love them - mahiru got to kick hikari's ass and love hikari but mahiru deserved to kick her ass - mahiru: I'm going to kick your ass so you can go kick our girlfriend's ass Translation changes: (i think the translations made some of the lines lose their bite/impact, but i enjoyed some like the switch to co-stars for mahiru and hikari)

-revue of X -> X revue - malice -> resentment (karuko vs futaba) - competition -> co-stars (mahiru vs hikari) - always waiting -> can't tie me down (resentment revue) - dazzling -> bright (hunting revue) - your star is just a piece of trash -> star is stardust (hunting revue) - for a hero there are trials, for saints there are temptations, for me there is you -> give a hero trials, give a saint temptation, give me you (soul revue) - in you I lose myself -> i am captivated by you (final lines) - i am the most selfish -> most willful self (final lines)

If you made it this far sry for long post and thank you!

#submission #revue starlight #omfg thank you so much for taking the time to send me this!!!!#amazing showstopping sentai on their redemption arc #i love the co-stars revue name even if it's not the original meaning #star is stardust is a funky way of doing that line but i think it kinda loses the vulgarity of the original line #and other ppl have also said their theaters were quite empty which is understandable ofc but also it definitely depends on the location #and there were a lot #other people have stated that their theater was booked out

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animebw · 5 years

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Binge-Watching: Revue Starlight, Episodes 3-4

In which the race to the top means letting the rest of the world fall behind, but two shining stars promise to share the spotlight together, and I adore every second of it. This show is really fucking good, guys.

Race to the Top

If there’s one thing that’s become clear by the end of this set of episodes, it’s that Revue Starlight is one of the densest goddamn shows I’ve ever tackled for this blog. Not every anime has so much going on in every individual scene that I get enough material to spin a full analysis out of with just two episodes. But hey, that just means I get to spend even more time talking about it, and I have no complaints about that, because sweet butter biscuits on a pineapple, this show is so goddamn good, you guys. It’s the kind of good where I reach the end of every episode in awe at how entertained I was, how much meaning I’m able to glean from the countless tiny details scattered throughout. Clearly the team at Kinema Citrus was just as ambitious as the Stage Girls themselves, because they’ve achieved a truly remarkable piece of performance art here.

On the subject of ambition, the more time we spend with these girls, the more it becomes clear just how much the desire to become Top Star is affecting them. It’s a goal they all strive towards together, but only one of them can reach it in the end, which means that to some extent, all of their friends and classmates will eventually become obstacles to surpass or break through. And all of them deal with that pressure in very different ways, trying to make sense of squaring their own ambition against the people they care for. We’ve already seen how Junna pushes herself to be the best she can be, using the more talented divas above her as idols to aspire to and keep her motivated to one day match them. Futaba’s starting to feel that same fire burning in herself, but she doesn’t want to cut Kaoruko out of that process; she wants to fight for her sake as much as her own, rising into the spotlight for the good of them both. And Kaoruko herself seems content to play the capricious trickster, pushing her worried aside by needling everyone else about their own. Meanwhile, matriarch Tendo Maya take it to the other extreme, casting all of her friends aside to rise to the top on her own. And the massive acropolis of moving staircases that marks her decisive duel with Karen is a testament to how incredible her pride has grown. If she can only summit this mountain on her own, then that’s what she’s gonna do, even if it means cutting everyone out of her life who she would risk hurting. But that only pressures Claudine to fight even harder to surpass her, refusing to yield to the challenge she represents.

And then there’s good old Banana, who makes the most fascinating choice of all; turning her efforts backstage. Unlike her incredibly motivated peers, she seems perfectly content with playing backup, doing stagecraft and script-writing to give everyone else the spotlight they can best shine in. She may still be fighting in the auditions, but she she seems perfectly fine not being Top Star, walking her own path to self-actualization. And that kinda throws the Giraffe’s entire philosophy into question, doesn’t it? If a Stage Girl is happier pursuing their own dreams than fighting for some arbitrary Best Ever position, then what is that position even worth? It’s no wonder he keeps such a tight control over the process; the slightest show of weakness could bring the entire illusion crashing down and make these girls realize that they’re fighting for a meaningless role. So to hide that inherent flaw, he makes the competition itself as demanding and superficially cutthroat as he possibly can. And it’s here that Hikari’s desperation to keep Karen out of the battlefield really comes into play; if you’re one of the unlucky eight who lose the auditions, that’s it for you. It means you weren’t worthy, that you weren’t good enough, that your star will never shine and you should just sit back and let the people with actual talent take what they rightly deserve. This entire tournament is a death sentence that sacrifices the good of the many for the benefit of the one, and if you’re not 100% sure you can be that one, then you should get out before you’re tossed onto the scrap heap.

Sharing the Spotlight

As you can probably imagine, that particular philosophy does not exactly sit well with me. It’s the philosophy of my younger, stupider self, who believed that all that mattered was being number 1 and taking the spotlight for yourself. Young me thought that not being the center of attention on stage meant you weren’t worthy, that you were somehow undeserving or lesser. Young me was also a big fat idiot. And thank god Karen is smarter than young me, because she doesn’t even flinch at this news before deciding that she and Hikari are gonna Katniss and Peeta this system to the ground. Ever since they saw that first performance of Starlight that inspired such joy in them, their promise was, and always is, to share that spotlight together. Not as selfish attention hogs letting their ambition take away everything they truly care about, but as two people dedicated to making something special together. Hikari’s so scared by the prospect of losing her that she can only see them as dangers to each other, their battle-ready selves reflected in the puddles pooling in the rain, opposite forces destined to clash under the light of an underground Tokyo Tower. But Karen’s determined that they make it through together, no matter what it takes.

And this conflict plays out in one of the most remarkable scenes I’ve seen in a while: Hikari leaves campus and leads Karen on a wild goose chase all throughout the city. She moves from location to location, dropping Karen clue after clue to show her where to follow next. The unspoken message couldn’t be clearer: I’m moving forward, and I’m not stopping. If you can’t keep up, I’m going to leave you behind. And Karen accepts that challenge without a second thought. She follows Hikari’s trail throughout the city, never stopping, never giving up no matter how late it gets always following through to one more place, one more stop, one more step closer to the person she’s determined to move forward together with. And as Hikari finally starts realizing that Karen’s determined to follow her all the way, they finally get to talking. About life, about England, about the stage, about food, about the countless hours and days and years they missed of each other’s lives, finally catching up on all that lost time and reconnecting as the people they’ve become today, restoring the trust of their youth without ever standing face to face until Hikari finally gives in and lets Karen catch up to her at last. It’s an absolutely riveting montage, a beacon of love and trust between these two girls patching things up piece by piece, coming to understand each other and connect across space and time without ever having to say it out loud until the very end, as they swear to conquer the stars together. God, isn’t it incredible how much can be said in the spaces between what you actually say? It’s evidence of some truly talented writers and directors working on this show, and by the end I was positively giddy with joy at their reunion. These two are gonna make some real magic together, and I cant fucking wait to see it happen.

Be Still, My Beating Heart

But as brightly as Karen and Hikari have started beating as the heart of Revue Starlight, there’s no way I can consider them my favorites, not when the entire goddamn cast is this spectacular. I’m honestly amazed at how deeply I’ve fallen in love with these dorks; there is so much nuance and joy packed into every one of them that every episode I spend with one of them might as well be a full cours worth of character work from a lesser show. You understand them so deeply, their quirks, their worries, their fears, their motivations, their passions, and their relationships with each other. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that every last one of them, in true theater kid fashion, is the single most extra motherfucker to ever extra motherfuckerly. I’m not exaggerating here, every single one of these dorks is a fucking delight. Mahiru is a giant gay disaster whose twin ahoges spike in horror as she realizes how close Karen’s growing to the other girls, but she’s still got the spunk to protect the hallways for her beau as a baton-twirling chuuni in a scene that ha me doubled over cackling. Jesus fucking wept, the lengths she goes to for Karen are so goddamn spectacular that I’m genuinely having trouble deciding whether I ship Karen harder with her or Hikari. It should be illegal for any one person to be this much of a confident mess.

And that’s just one character out of a spectacular nine-person masterclass in entertaining character writing. Futaba is a tough-punk joy to behold, and her casual intimacy with Kaoruko makes for one of the show’s most heartstring-tugging couples. Did you all see that moment where Futaba’s massaging Kaoruko’s hair with one of those ticklish head- massage toys? Because I did, and it was goddamn adorable. Karen herself is a complete and utter doofus, always finding the most spirited reactions to the most absurd situations and leaving me cackling in the process. Her frantic attempts to stop Hikari from locking her up like they were arguing over homework duties (”Hikari, I can’t eat like this!”), the way she walked about sneaking out loud as she was trying to sneak away, her utterly lunatic search for Hikari after his disappearance (in what universe would she be hiding under the bathroom stools I swear to god), and, of course, her utterly beautiful nickname of “Bana-nice” for Banana to compliment her after suggesting she call Hikari on the phone, because of course she hadn’t thought to do that before. Christ on a cracker, that one really had me rolling on the goddamn floor. And then Banana’s laconic nonchalance as she accepts that nickname was just the cherry on top of this wonderful disaster gremlin’s frantic flailing.

But even all that is nothing compared to Claudine; I aspire to this French beauty’s level of extra. Carrying herself with the air of a diva, only to dispense that haughtiness in the most absurd scenarios, her ability to wring raucous laughter out of me is truly something of wonder. That moment at the en of episode 4 where she fakes an illness to give Futaba and Kaoruko time to fool the teacher? Great googly moogly, I almost had to pause the video I was laughing so hard. And that’s not even getting into her prickly chemistry with Maya; I swear, every second these two spend dancing in unison, curling their fingers across each other’s spines, whispering declarations of purpose into each other’s ears, dipping each other with domineering swagger, I want to reach through the screen and forcibly mash their faces just those last few inches together. Good lord, it hasn’t even been that long since Diakko stole my heart, and we’ve already got another epic lesbian rivalry to worm its way into my heart. And can I just say, how fucking great is it that this show makes no bones about how gay these girls are all for each other? No hemming, no hawing, just Mahiru tacitly admitting that she says “Karen, I love you” in her sleep every night. Sometimes, the world is a wonderful place to be. And as long as I’ve got more Revue Starlight to talk about, that world is going to stay wonderful for a very long time.

Odds and Ends

-”I-it’s not like I mind waking her up or anything…” OH JUST KISS HER ALREADY

-”I’ve been quite bored here… since Futaba left.” KAORU DON’T YOU DARE CHEAT ON HER

-WHY THE GODDAMN SQUEAKY DUCK WHO EVEN ARE YOU FUTABA

-Okay, trading blows through the bars of a chandelier is really cool.

-”WHAT NO I WASN’T JUST LOOKING AT PICTURES OF MY CRUSH WHAT DO YOU MEAN” -Claudine, probably

-”I can’t understand you if you don’t speak Japanese!” I mean, I speak French, and I could barely understand that myself, Claudine.

-”Or was it the peso?” Yep, let’s go with that.

-”We ran out of money.” Jellyfish call was that alluring, huh?

-oh SHIT THE ED BUILDS ON ITSELF HELL YES

Man, it’s going to be a great few sessions. See you next time!

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #revue starlight #shojo kageki revue starlight #shoujo kageki revue starlight

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the-sun-princess · 1 month

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Emi Plays Revue Starlight: El Dorado Part 4

what's the point of having carmencita be a role that shows their face/has diff outfits if she shows up like once to do nothing and then dies

meanwhile the bit roles who show up quite a bit all look like this

i was hoping they'd at least put whoever's playin them eyes on there

wow alejandro sure caught up to salvatore fast for being at least a half day behind

iskjdfhks its very funny that salvatore first hires zulfikar to help kill alejandros dad and then alejandro goes n hires zulfikar like 12hours later to kill miguel

mm and the play ends. at least this isn't super long so going back thru it won't take too long

and it does promise different script depending on who is who so. yay gon have to find all the new songs on spotify i got star darling and one other one but there's more in the bg. oops i did not mean to close it. anyway. 2nd go around time

i know i dont NEED to start from the very beginning i did save at the choosing screen but i will anyway

mostly BC I WANTED TO GET THE AXOLOTL THIS TIME. WHATS ITS NAME

AND BC i didnt get the full list of what chief voted for whom last time

equipment karen, art futaba, lighting nana, props maya, music mahiru, stage setting kaoruko, production claudine, costume junna

I CAN PICK MAHIRU NOW-

tho now i kinda wanna save her for last...esp now that i know its not really terribly all that long. i'll save her for last yeah bc i will Not shut up during it

not quite as dramatic a reaction of frustration for kaoruko n maya as it was for junna and karen lmao

lesse....junna and karen as leads had nana miguel, mahiru isabel, futaba carmencita, kaoruko cavallero, maya columbuc, and claudine luigi

for kaoruko maya leads, we get futaba miguel, claudine isabel, junna carmencita (based off who's left) karen luigi, mahiru columbus, and nana cavallero

kaoruko WHY are u sighing so much that u got the leads kjfhkjshdf

oh ok they got asked to say a few words as leads and now kaoruko busts out the ojou-sama laugh. there she is

snort

i don't believe you

maya: i refuse to be as cringe as you

i am curious, what on earth does kaoruko have to revenge against maya

and claudine v futaba idk that either. mahiru v nana i do lol.

well i guess that's right

yeah ok

KJSHFDKJHSDF THIS IS SUCH AN OLD REF.....ALSO WASNT IT ONE WHOLE LOLLIPOP MAYA THAT WAS LEFT IN THERE

oh she's pissed BC there was only ONE LOLLIPOP AKJHKFJSHDF WHEEZING

I dont even remember exactly WHY kaoruko gave her candy like i know it was the episode futaba n kaoruko were fighting but i cant remember what maya did in that ep

maya is so serious about the funniest things

so DRAMATIC and it IS funny maya. also girl just don't eat baumkuchen everyday you'll be fine

kaoruko + maya: u bitches gay. good for you

oh a SPECIFIC beach for kaoruko

it's actually a different beach background color me surprised. tho it might just be the same beach but flipped later on i'm not positive

girl ur the onee who wanted to come out here

kaoruko we all know u nap on futaba's bike what are u talking about

lmaoooo maya knew futaba was gon leave the bike with kaoruko that's hilarious. national troupe trio secrets ftw

maya: get a bike license get a license kaoruko: i think NOT maya it's very funny u are trying so hard to get kaoruko to ride the bike but she MAY wreck it

sjkfh the last one is funny bc im just remembering her being put in the 'knock them down a peg' class in whatever stageplay for the new national

maya's alejandro sounds like a 12yo shounen protag lol

skjdfh eroge ok masai id u say so

skjfhkjshkjfhskjdfh innocuous. u are Very Wrong judy

karen thats not the point-

tru kaoruko and hikari have that in common

tho at least kaoruko's easier to get back

sfkjhsdf at least karen n junna bother to let ppl know they're off somewhere. kaoruko n maya just disappear

fair nuff kaoruko

fkjsdhKJHKFJH

SNORT NOW SHES THE ONE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE DISTANCEkjshdfjh demanding kaoruko get a bike license

'and if you don't, i will!'

kaoruko just going WHY skjfhiuhsdf i mean. it is a silly demand just bc kaoruko poofed. i mean u DID find her maya

honestly actual logic from kaoruko

jdkfhksjfdh maya: u aint SHIT compared to judy knightly

i wish there were actual lil stabby arrow animations like the sounds imply it'd be funnier

oh i hit the image limit i guess that's it for this one. off to the next post then

<<part 3 part 5>>

#emi plays el dorado #revue starlight el dorado

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theatricks · 5 years

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"The Dying King and the Four Knights" - Main Story #8, Part 4 - A Summary

Videos: First Half, Second Half

Continuing from the last installment, here’s a summary of Part 4! Please note that this part in particular has some pretty major spoilers!

The King and Chancellor trek through the desert in search of the Pearl while the King continues his monologue. "I...could not accept it. That I would have to give up this crown, this throne. When I received the crown from the previous King, he told me this---To the living King, the rising curtain is a curse; to the dying King, the falling curtain is a blessing." He says this is why he rejected those who showed potential to become the next King, all to avoid the path of the dying King. He starts to falter in his step and the Chancellor tells him to stay strong. The King asks for water but the Chancellor apologizes and tells him there's not a single drop left. The King says he's so thirsty and that he's at his limit. He wonders if he'll be able to do it, to pass on his destiny. The Chancellor says he will, that it's his duty as King. The King agrees but says if he can't do it, if he can't pass on the crown and everything else---

We then see Yachiyo being attacked by a korosu and Akira and Michiru again jump in to save her. After the korosu is defeated, Akira says, "That's right... I remember now. Her name is... Tsuruhime Yachiyo."

Frau Perle -Potential- 2 months ago

The flashback begins with Michiru repeating to Akira a few lines she read from Yachiyo's notebook. Yachiyo had written that Akira continued to be a pillar of strength among the Edels and that Yachiyo's appointed role to watch over them and smooth over any disputes might be coming to a end, and wonders what she'll do if so. Akira asks Michiru if she's certain of what it said. Michiru says she saw it when she circled around behind Yachiyo and that there's no mistake. "...And how exactly did you do that without being noticed? Are you Special Ops?" "More importantly... What are you going to do, Student Council President?"

Akira says that Yachiyo had indeed been behaving strangely and wonders exactly what they should do about it. Michiru says it seems they have a spy amongst the Edels, from the Court of Inquiry. Akira says there's no real proof at the moment. Michiru wonders if that means they're hiding something. Akira asks her why they would, but Michiru is at a loss. Akira decides to find out for herself.

The next day, Yachiyo is completing her accounting work in the Student Council room. She tells Michiru she's finished and takes her leave. Out in the hallway she starts jotting down a report: that she worked with the Student Council after school again today and that there was no change from yesterday; that the relationship between the members is good, with Akira as the pillar at the center of the group---but then, Akira herself shows up and starts repeating the lines from Yachiyo's notebook that she heard from Michiru, about how Yachiyo's duty may be coming to an end and what she'll do about it.

Akira pins Yachiyo to the wall and asks her, "So, Yachiyo. What will you do now?" Yachiyo tells her that peeking at other people's notes is a poor hobby for Frau Platin to have. Akira tells her she's been behaving strangely and she wanted to confirm what was going on. Yachiyo asks how Akira knew about what she wrote, she never parts with her notebook for even a second. Akira says that for Frau Platin, nothing is impossible. Yachiyo is quiet for a moment and then says there's not much she can do if Akira's already seen it.

"That's right. Everything written here is---" " 'I know. It's all the truth.' " "---just my imagination. ...Wait, what?" " 'Hmph... You seem surprised. But, to think you were the spy sent by the Court of Inquiry.' " "Eh, wait... Akira-senpai?" " 'Well, this is the kind of trick that vixen would play. Perhaps she wants the Edels to observe each other...and to look away from the truth hidden in this Institute... Isn't that right?' " " ....Hmmm, I see how it is. 'To think you knew that much... As expected of the Student Council President. I guess there's no use trying to decieve you anymore.' "

They then start a very long improv session, with the basic story being that 'Yachiyo' chose to become a spy to investigate what happened to her older sister Tsuruhime Chitose, who was a previous Student Council President and who mysteriously disappeared during a performance of Elysion. Also something about an underground 'Stage 13'. Akira then asks Yachiyo (again, all improv) to choose between either cooperating with the Edels to destroy the Court of Inquiry...or death. And that's where the first half ends.

As the second half begins, Yachiyo is about to make her choice when---"This has gone on too long, you two!!" Michiru makes a sudden appearance and startles Yachiyo. She says, "Honestly, I came to see how Akira was handling the situation, but you two just kept improvising forever!" Yachiyo says, "Improvising... Oh... That's right. I got completely pulled in." Akira says she didn't expect Yachiyo to play along that far and that it was impressive. Yachiyo says that with Akira skillfully leading, the role just came tumbling out.

Michiru says, "The 'role', huh." Michiru says Yachiyo has been playing that role of the Court of Inquiry's spy for months now. Yachiyo says that's what it turned into, yes. Akira tells her that playing that 'role' everyday is no simple feat. Yachiyo says Akira is the outrageous one, going that far with their improvisation. Michiru says this is nothing for Akira, she's always acting something out in her head. Yachiyo says she didn't know there was anyone other than herself who did that.

Michiru says, "So, what's written in your notebook really is..." Yachiyo says it's all just a daydream, nothing but her imagination. She says she's always loved daydreams and fantasies. That she's always loved pretending to be someone else and going to other places in her head. But that her parents, classmates, and teachers...no one understood it. Akira says, "An everyday stage, huh." Yachiyo says right, something like that.

Michiru asks her what the 'Court of Inquiry' thing was about. Yachiyo says she wanted to see if she could keep the role a secret from everyone, and that was her pretense. Akira says playing the role of a spy everyday would certainly make things thrilling. Yachiyo says, "Right? Exactly!" and Michiru says to herself, "They're really hitting it off..."

Yachiyo says she was trying to play the part perfectly and wonders where she messed up. Akira says it's simple. The actual person who the Board of Inquiry authorized to watch over the Student Council members...is Michiru. Michiru is momentarily caught of guard by this, but confirms it. Yachiyo lets out a cry of shock. "M-Michiru-senpai is on the Court of Inquiry!? No, wait, the Court of Inquiry is an actual thing!?" Michiru says, "O-Of course. That's why we weren't flustered when we saw your notebook. Geez, you were supposed to keep it a secret, Akira!" Akira says it was only right to tell Yachiyo the truth after that splendid improv.

Yachiyo starts asking what sort of organization the Court of Inquiry is and what sort of things they do. Michiru says the one at the top of the organization is the head of the Institute, Victoria Siegfeld, the one mentioned in the student handbook. She says it's a large organization of 108 members. Yachiyo seems to believe her and says she really can't compare to the real thing, then apologizes for her shoddy acting.

Akira says that it may have been in part because of her setting of the scene...but that as a Stage Girl, Yachiyo is the real thing. She says that daydreams and imagination are both wonderful things. That pretending to be someone else and going somewhere else inside your head, that's the Stage Girl ideal. She tells Yachiyo not to be hesitant or uncertain. That as a Stage Girl, it's fine to act just because you want to. A planet of daydreams, a world of delusions---that's their living Stage. Higher, further, no matter how far... "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."

Yachiyo recognizes it as a Shakespeare quote and says she learned it from Seisho's Junna-san. Akira says she's correct and tells her stick to her path. "Here at Siegfeld, there's no need to be ashamed of acting." Yachiyo is quiet for a moment and then says that no one has ever told her that before. That, until now...no one has ever joined her on her stage. She asks Akira why she did it. Michiru says, "It's because she's a Butai Baka." Akira asks Michiru not to call her that. Yachiyo starts laughing and says she likes the sound of it. Akira chuckles too, and tells Yachiyo that if she remains her own style of Butai Baka...that she might be able to become it. Siegfeld's next King.

Michiru is surprised and Yachiyo asks, "The next King... You mean, the next Frau Platin and Student Council President?" Akira says perhaps. Yachiyo asks if she really thinks she can do it. Akira says the stage will improve one's acting and that includes the Student Council President role. And besides, like Akira has Michiru, Yachiyo has Mei Fan and Shiori. The rest is up to her to decide what stage she wants to stand on. Yachiyo thinks it over and then taunts Akira a bit, saying "But if I start aiming to be the next King, you might lose your place as the current King, y'know~?"

Akira pauses but then chuckles. She says Yachiyo is right, but that she understands it now, the meaning of that line. "To the living King, the rising curtain is a curse; to the dying King, the falling curtain is a blessing." Yachiyo is confused but Akira says she'll understand in time too, but until that day---"I'll be depending on your Student Council work. Frau Perle... Tsuruhime Yachiyo." Yachiyo laughs a bit and says this really is the first time anyone has said these things to her. She then takes a deep breath, and like Mei Fan and Shiori, she recites her pledge.

"Thousands upon thousands of years, solo after solo The polished, isolated Pearl The stage's border, the play's equinox Shining there, the Platinum truth" Frau Perle, Tsuruhime Yachiyo. All the world's a stage, and even the King is merely a player---did you know?

Yachiyo then tells Akira that she'll be relying on her as well from now on.

The scene transitions to later that day, while Akira and Michiru are out on a walk. They look at each other silently for a moment and then Akira says, "I think 108 members is too many." Michiru retorts, "It's because you went and said something absurd! How exactly am I part of the Court of Inquiry!?" Akira says it was an improvisation. Michiru calls her a Butai Baka again and sighs. Michiru says she better understands how amazing Yachiyo is now, though. And why it was she seemed so elusive. Akira wonders if she's the type of Stage Girl with a 'possession method' of acting, and that if so, it had already bore fruit. Michiru asks her if she's talking about Yachiyo being chosen for the Earth Goddess role. Akira says it was a wonderful performance for a first year, wasn't it? Michiru says she understands now. Who the King considers next in line---

The scene jumps back to the King and Chancellor, having just retrieved the Pearl. The King is amazed they were able to find a spring here in the desert. The Chancellor says it must have been thanks to the Pearl's guidance. The King says his body feels restored and that he feels a will to live again, a thirst for tomorrow. He says it's the same feeling he felt seeing that Young Knight's potential. He says if it's to that Young Knight...he might not mind passing on the kingdom. The Chancellor is surprised but the King says the Young Knight shares his blood, the result of a one-night stand with a dancer on his travels. The King says they should finish collecting the gems and return to the capital, so he can pass on the crown to the Young Knight. The Chancellor is quiet, then says, "...As you wish, my King. Let us go, to the frozen lands of the north---"

#revue starlight #shoujo kageki revue starlight #revue starlight relive #summary #siegfeld

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